So for anyone still here, YAY! Updates! Woo! As many of you may know, the sequels to Goblin Wood book are out. Tbh I barely even remember what happened in them very well. What are your thoughts?
The characters of this story are derived from Hilari Bell's Goblin Wood, and are not mine.
Chapter 15:
The Hedgewitch:
Makenna was at her wits end. Last night was one of the darkest she had endured.
"Tobin, can you hear me?" The Hedgewitch said, ever hopeful in the abyss.
As time went on, it became harder for Makenna to retain that hope in the nothing-realm in which she was trapped. Had she not known better, she might have called it an otherworld. The possibility crossed her mind that her new dark and lonely realm was death, and that the sensations she felt were the spirits of her enemies and allies surrounding her in the solitude, but she could not believe it. She did not know why the old sorcerer had chosen this particular magic, but she was beginning to piece together the puzzle. Days, weeks, years. Time was infinite for her here. Would her suffering never end? She did not know. What she did know was that getting out of here had to be part of her vow to rid Otherworld of those who would exploit its natural and unique power. She could only imagine what sort of things the barbarians would do there, where time was slowed and magic enhanced. What if the Hierarchy got wind that this place had become their new home? She shuddered.
With a concentrated effort, she had begun to sense more of her surroundings, both of her mental and physical prison. Thus far all she could 'see' were the black and blue coils of her mind. Like fog tracing its own obscure patterns, these images clouded her vision. Beyond this, there was nothing. Every so often a feeling of panic and hatred that was not her own began pounding away at her mind's realm like an invader demanding entrance to a fortress. It rattled her, startling the space around her into a tense frenzy. When that sensation subsided a reassuring warmth and hope followed. The feeling, unlike that of her invading foe, enveloped her in light and healing. It reminded her of Tobin and her goblins.
It wasn't until she had begun to hear Tobin, and only Tobin, speak for days on end that she realized what was happening. She was becoming more alert. He must have moved her somewhere outside, away from her goblin friends and away from the centaur. For that she was thankful, yet, it also reminded her of something on which she had avoided dwelling. That she had become a burden. Instead of leading the charge and protecting her goblins, she had gotten distracted, and was now unable to help them. The guilt of this ate away at her. This made the last night the worst yet. She had begun to succumb to the solitude, hope slipping away. Now she knew what was happening. She could hear the strain in Tobin's voice as clear as day. She could feel the dull ache of the cold winding its way into her bones. Not a Fall chill, but a winter's bite. Through it all she remained paralyzed.
Worst yet, there was something nearby that wanted to thwart them, of that she was sure, but there was nothing she could do to help.
The nameless sorcerer had chosen his curse well.
The Knight:
They had found the frozen lake. It was hard for Tobin to believe they had come this far in a mere three days. Looking around at the frigid shoreline and then across the frozen ice to the distant snow covered shore, he let out a misty sigh. They were not far from Agna's dwelling. Tobin, who had stopped to examine the lake for signs of life, spurred the ram forward. It wouldn't budge. He dismounted to inspect the creature, only to find that his hooves were starting to get a layer of frozen ice on them. He had painstakingly cleared and treated them the night before, but it was obviously colder and wetter near the lake.
"We have to keep going," Tobin said to no one in particular. For the last day and a half, he had been compelled to speak aloud, to remind himself of his humanity. The ram starred back, mute. Makenna lay on her side in the saddle, unresponsive. It would have to do. Looking at the shoreline again, Tobin estimated they had another hour before they would find Agna's dwelling, maybe less if they could see signs of inhabitation. It would have to do. After making a few adjustments so his hedgewitch did not look too uncomfortable, Tobin set forth into the unknown. The centaur map was mostly empty here, which included where Agna supposedly lived. The lake was flat and empty, save for handful of islands near the western bay, and the occasional felled tree jutting out from the ice. It was almost a relief to not be shut in by the forest, but Tobin also felt exposed.
For each step he took, his ram followed, and the rope in his hand eventually fell slack, for they kept pace with one another. Tobin thought silently that he would make sure his new found companion was well kept and fed a right full banquet when they returned home.
It wasn't long after they left the protective dark of the forest that his senses went into full alert. It wasn't just the feeling of being exposed, they were being watched. At first he thought it was an animal, a wolf or maybe a bear of some sort, but soon he realized that it wasn't. He thought of the strange creature that had starred at him from across the fire the night before. It was close, but he couldn't see it. Without drawing too much attention, Tobin scanned the forest line and shoreline casually. When his eyes failed to find anything, he opened his ears. Wind and his own crunching footsteps and the metallic clanks of his sword and gear was all he could hear. Yet, he knew there was something there. He kept up this pattern of looking and listening over and over for what seemed to be an hour, until eventually he saw something.
Smoke in the sky. It was his beacon of hope.
With the lake on his left, he kept a keen eye on the forest through which he expected to see some sort of cottage and picked up the pace. His ram followed, obedient. Finally, from between the ancient gnarled trunks he saw a hidey hole entrance to the cottage. It was pinned between the roots on a mound of earth, covered in snow and ice. In that moment, he let his guard down. Careful not to slip on the ice surrounding the land, he hurried. Just passed the trees he stepped onto the flat earth of a plowed field just beside the buried cottage. The structure's only company on the field was a small barn.
Out of the forest came a shrill cry. Before he knew it, his ram scampered towards the barn out of his grasp, Makenna in tow. Tobin followed. On a tentative glance back he caught sight of a black figure emerging from the forest, tall and slim, with no eyes or features. It raked its arms out, searching for them, ready to snatch them up. The ex knight cried out for . In his haste he stumbled forward onto his open palms, which gated against the ice and frozen dirt. Makenna had fallen off the ram, just ahead of him. With a heart already full of fear, looking at her sent him into a panic. He turned, caught his footing, and readied himself to face his pursuer.
His hand fell to his sword, ready to slice.
"Not today, Knight." Said a voice. Tobin's eyes jumped from sword to the man before him.
"Agna!" Tobin said. It was all he could get out before the creature burst into a fury at the sight of him.
Quieter than the sun rising above the treeline, Agna drew a rune of warding. A comforting hum surrounded them, slightly louder than the gentle hum of Makenna's spell. The creature stopped short. It stuck out a tentative arm, only to be stung by an invisible barrier. It only incited it to rally against it with its other limbs.
"Will it hold?" Tobin asked. He cast a glance at Makenna and saw she had her own barrier as well.
Agna's eyes trailed to him without turning away from the creature.
"Just long enough for us to dispel it. Just long enough to cast it back from whence it came."
Agna, silent and stoic as the frozen trees around them, whipped back his long coat to reveal a simple leather belt carrying a number of satchels. While the creature continued to slam against their protective shield, Agna gathered a powder in the palm of his hands, splashed a few drops of what looked like water into it, and set forth with making another rune.
"You'll need to run to the girl when I tell you. I must draw the creature into here so its essence has nowhere else to go." Tobin nodded.
Agna finished his rune, which began to glow faintly from the ground. Tobin felt a shaking underneath the earth, along with the subtle sounds of cracking from below.
"Now. Run." Agna said. Tobin obliged. He darted through the barrier towards Makenna, whose own barrier fell just quick enough for him to snatch her up. Somehow he had the strength of five men and flipped her own his shoulder. He ran to the barn.
Behind him, he saw the creature hesitate. It looked at Agna and back to Tobin and Makenna. Before it could decide which target to pursue, Agna threw a ball of something at it.
"Here, demon." He said. The creature let out another chilling shrill cry and plummeted into the barrier. Agna threw his concoction at it, and it sizzled and smoked. The run below glowed brighter and brighter until Tobin could see no more.
From inside the glowing barrier, Agna's silhouette was the only thing he could see. Accompanied by the shrill cries of the creature as it was cast away, it was not a moment he would soon forget.
Particularly because as soon as the light subsided, as soon as Agna turned to face him with a victorious grin, his hedgewitch pulled on his sleeve suddenly.
"Tobin?" She said. Her voice was raspy and faint. She gasped for air.
Tobin grinned.