Chapter 25: Greed and Sorrow

"Reed!" Violet screamed; her voice whipped away by the wind.

She dropped to her knees and peered over the edge, dreading what she would see. By the light of the next lightning flash, she was astonished to see Reed just below her, hanging precariously from a rocky outcrop. The headless skeleton hung from his belt by one hand. It was trying to use the hand with the sword to get a second grasp on him, but over the long years since its death, its fingers had fused in place around the hilt. It couldn't release the sword.

Reed looked up at her, "pull me up!"

She lay down and leaned her upper body down until she could reach his hands. He released his hold of the rock with one and grasped her hand. She grabbed it with the other and pulled with all her might, but too much of her body was over the edge and Reed's weight combined with the skeleton was too much for her.

"I can't," she panted after struggling unsuccessfully. "You're too heavy. You need to knock off the skeleton."

Still clinging to her hand with one of his, Reed tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the skeleton by kicking at it. Then he planted a foot on each shoulder and pushed as hard as he could, grunting with the strain. The skeleton's grip didn't loosen, but Reed's belt slid down on his hips as it stretched under the weight.

"I've got this hand," Violet told him. "Use your other to unbuckle your belt."

Reed looked up at her fiercely, "no! My bags are attached to it. If the belt goes, so do they."

"So?" she asked.

"So?" he almost snarled up at her. "Do you know how much gold I have in these? I'm not going to just throw it away. Let go and go get my sword."

"Gold? Reed," she pleaded, "it's not worth your life. All the gold in the world doesn't do you any good if you're dead."

"Shut up and get my sword!"

"Reed, please!"

"Now, Violet!"

Reluctantly, she released his hand and scrambled back to find his sword. It lay on the path near her spear where he had dropped it as he fell. As she lifted it, she thought she saw movement back down the trail where they had come from. Crawling in the wet dirt, she dragged the sword back to the edge. Leaning back over, she could see Reed was starting to have a hard time maintaining his grip on the rock in the downpour with the added weight hanging from his belt.

"I think more are coming," she called out to him.

"Just give me my sword," he commanded.

"How?"

"Pass it down to me hilt first," he told her.

She shook her head, "this isn't going to work."

"It will," he insisted. "Hand it to me."

Doing as he ordered, she held the sword out to him. Concentrating, he released the rock and grabbed for it. As he reached, his other hand slipped on the rock making him fumble and drop the sword.

"Gah!" he yelled incoherently.

Violet grabbed his hand.

"Reed, please, just unbuckle the belt and let it go," she tried again. "I have some gold and gems on me. You can have them instead."

He looked at her wildly, "the ring! Get the ring!"

It took her a second to understand; he wanted her to get the levitation ring.

"Okay," she told him. "I'll get it."

Reed transferred his hold back to the rock, his hand slipping off once before he had a good grip once again. Below him, the skeleton was still struggling.

Sitting up, she reached for the bag with the ring in it. Wet and chilled, her hands shook as she tried to untie the leather drawstring that held it closed. The leather was wet and slippery, making it hard to untie.

"Hurry up!" Reed called up to her.

"I'm trying!" she yelled back.

To her right, she heard a moan. Looking up, she saw a zombie just a few feet away. Forgetting about the ring, she scrambled over to her spear and stood facing the oncoming undead monster.

"What are you doing up there?"

"There's a zombie!"

"Hurry! I'm slipping!"

The zombie lurched forward, reaching for her with its rotting hands. Violet jabbed it with her spear burying it deep in the monster's stomach. The zombie didn't even look down. It just kept coming, pushing her backwards with its weight. She wrenched the spear free and remembered all the movies and TV shows she had seen about zombies. If they were to be believed, it took decapitation or a blade to the brain to stop them. Having nothing to lose, she lined up for a head shot. Stabbing with the spear, she missed the eye she was aiming at and the tip slid harmlessly along the side of the skull.

"Violet!"

The zombie grabbed for her again. Luckily, it was slow and not very coordinated, allowing her to avoid its hands again. She took another step back and planted her feet solidly on the ground.

"Come and get me!" she snarled at it.

It came at her and she stabbed with her spear once more. This time, her aim was true, and the tip pierced the eye and went deep, stopped by the back of the cranium. The zombie dropped to the ground and lay still.

From the ledge she heard Reed yell and she rushed over to help. Looking over, she saw that he no longer clung to the rock. He was gone.

"Reed!" she screamed. "Reed!"

No answer came.

Violet wasn't sure how long she huddled there on the trail crying, but while the chills that wracked her body didn't make her move, another groan from down the trail did. Using her spear to stand up, she blinked the rain and tears from her eyes and forced her heavy feet down the trail. Moving mindlessly, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, she barely noticed when the rain stopped. By then it was full dark, but she didn't dare risk a light.

At some point, Nori returned to her side, mewing at her with concern before curling around her shoulders to provide some warmth. Using the faint purple glow from the fae, Violet was able to stay on the trail as it wound around the mountain and up another. Soon, it was little more than a goat trail that followed a series of ridgelines before dipping into a small valley. Nori guided her off the trail and to a pile of boulders. One large, flat boulder stuck out, forming a sheltered area about two feet high and three feet deep. At Nori's urging, Violet crawled under it and found the ground had been dug out by some animal to form a depression big enough for her to curl up in.

Cold and sorely depressed, Violet was sure she would never be able to sleep, but within moments, her eyes closed, and she drifted off. As she slept, she dreamed that she was floating on a warm cloud, wrapped in a luxurious blanket made from the softest fur she had ever touched.

When she woke, the sun was shining brightly. Crawling out from under the rock, she saw Nori perched on a nearby boulder sunning. She felt surprisingly well considering the horrible night she had experienced. Joining her familiar, she took out the food she still had. There was a stale heal of bread, a chunk of cheese, and the end of a sausage. Not much, but the rest had gone over the cliff with Reed.

Her breakfast over, she was loath to get started. It didn't feel right to just leave and not go back to look for Reed. What if he was injured? Could she live with herself if she didn't try? The question would always haunt her.

"Nori, can you find Reed and make sure he's…," she hesitated, not wanting to say it. "Make sure there isn't something we can do for him."

Nori stared into her eyes unblinking and still. Not even her tails flicked. Then she gave a low chirp and disappeared.

While she waited for the fae to return, Violet took in her surroundings. Last night, with the storm and fatigue numbing her senses, it had been impossible to see much of the area. All she had were impressions and they were all dark and sinister. Today, however, with the sun shining brightly overhead, the valley wasn't so bad. The ground was rocky, with hardy, heat tolerant shrubs and small twisted trees that she guessed were juniper. Quickly drying puddles spotted the area from the rain and insects swarmed around them trying to take advantage of the readily available water while it lasted. In the junipers, she could see small rust-colored birds flitting from branch to branch or preening their feathers. Looking closely, she could see that some of the creatures in the trees weren't birds at all, but fae in various shape and the colors of the desert landscape surrounding them, rusty browns, dull yellows and oranges, sage greens, and grays. All watched her every move.

Violet realized that this was the first time she had seen any fae other than Nori since she entered the tunnels under the farmhouse back in Highmoon. That was odd. Why didn't they follow her in the underdark? She knew there were fae that had an affinity to the underground. Had they been around and she just hadn't see them? That hardly seemed likely. She snorted. Another mystery.

Nori returned with a muffled chirp. Flying around Violet, she spat something out that landed with a thud in the dirt at Violet's feet. Curious, she bent over and picked it up. Wiping the dirt and fae drool off it, she held it up.

She gasped. It was an intricately cut diamond as big as a robin's egg.

"Where did you find this?"

Nori showed her an image of Reed. Tears filled her eyes at the sight. While she wasn't surprised that he was dead, seeing his body laying twisted atop a pile of boulders was a shock. A dark stain spread down the boulder under his head and his torso. Sticking up through his chest was a jagged yellowed bone, probably from the skeleton that had dragged him over the edge. Scattered around him on the boulders and the surrounding ground were more bones along with bright coins and jewels from his bags. The very same coins and jewels he had refused to let go to save his life.

Choking back a sob, she closed her fist tightly around the diamond. She was tempted to throw the horrid thing as far away from her as she could. Raising her arm, she brought it back to make the throw.

Nori flew in front of her, merrowing in alarm.

Violet paused. "Why?" she asked. "What's so important about it?"

Nori voiced a series of chirps and whistles that Violet had never heard from her before.

Dropping her arm, she sighed. "Alright. I'll keep it."

She fumbled with one of her bags until she got it untied. Dropping the diamond inside, she tied it back.

"When we get back to Highmoon, I'm going to change the closures on all these," she told Nori. "They don't do me any good if I have to struggle to get into them every time I need to."

Nori chirped happily.

Though there was no trail to follow, from her studies Violet knew that the mountains lay to the west of the Dalelands. Using the rising sun as her guide, she headed east. Or at least she tried to. Keeping a straight course in mountainous terrain was impossible as she picked her way up, down, and around the hills surrounding her. The going was slow and grueling.

These were not the heavily forested mountains of her home. None of the vegetation offered any shade from the sun. Every shrub and tree either was a tripping hazard, with its roots sticking out above the soil like the bones of ancient buried beasts; was covered with thorns that ripped at her clothes and exposed skin; or had seeds that clung to her and worked their way through the fabric of her clothes or the leather of her boots to irritate the skin beneath. Her way was frequently blocked by cliffs or boulders too large to climb, forcing her to detour again and again. She estimated that for every kilometer east she went, she had actually walked three or four.

The only thing going in her favor was that she hadn't encountered any more skeletons or zombies with Nori scouting ahead. Once during the morning, her familiar had appeared and herded her into a narrow ravine. The image Violet got from her was of a small group of goblins traveling quickly to the west along the same route they had been on. If not for Nori, she would have run head right into them.

By the time the sun was directly overhead, she was sweating heavily and covered with grime and plant matter that stuck to her sticky skin. Her lovely blue silk pants had multiple rips in them, and the laces of her boots were covered with burrs. Stopping in a narrow strip of shade at the base of another cliff that cut across her path, she mopped her brow with her arm and drank the last of her lukewarm water.

"I need to find water," she told Nori.

The fae chirped then disappeared. Within moments she was back, her ears up and her tails held high.

"Found something?" Violet asked.

Nori chirped happily.

"Lead on, then," Violet gestured.

Nori took off, heading south instead of east.

They wound around a mountain that towered over the others in the immediate area, then down into a narrow valley that ran between it and another. As they descended into the valley, Violet could hear the water below. After squeezing through a series of boulders the size of cars, she came to the stream. Only three meters wide and shallow enough she could easily wade across it and only get her boots wet, it wound its way through the bottom of the valley leading away to the east.

Violet sat on a flat rock that jutted out into the brook, taking off her boots and soaking her feet in the water. It was cold, but not the icy cold from a melting snowpack. Scooping up handfuls, she washed some of the sweat and grime off her arms and face before drinking her fill. Then she filled her water bladder and slung it over her shoulder.

"Can I follow this stream out of these mountains?" she asked Nori.

After another disappearing act, Nori returned with an affirmative answer. Violet put her boots back on and stood up.

"Let's hope it doesn't take days," she said to herself.

With no more food, she wasn't sure how long she would last in the wild. If these were her mountains, she could forage for enough edible plants to get her through a few days without any supplies. But these mountains were dry and inhospitable. Even here by the stream, there were few green plants, most of them inedible.

Following the stream, her way was not as easy as she had hoped. While she didn't have to climb around mountains or down into valleys that blocked her way, at times the stream flowed through narrow canyons where she could not traverse. Forcing her to climb to higher ground. Even when she was following it, the way was littered with rocks and boulders. She had to constantly watch where she stepped or risk slipping and falling.

By the time the sun disappeared behind the peaks, she was exhausted. Not wanting to spend the night exposed, she climbed away from the stream and located a somewhat sheltered place under an overhanging ledge to pass the night.

The next two days passed in a similar manner, with Violet trying to ignore the rumblings of her empty stomach. Once more she had to scramble away from the stream to hide from passing monsters, but otherwise they were uneventful.

As the stream wound its way through the mountains, smaller ones joined with it until it became a fast running, deep river coursing through the valleys. The valleys became wider and greener with the increase in water volume. Just as the sun dipped behind the mountains behind her, she stumbled upon a still pool beside the river with a healthy growth of sweet flags on one bank. With a shout of delight, she dug up several, washed them in the stream and made a meal from the raw stalks and roots, enjoying the lemony flavor of the plants.

The next morning, she ate more for her breakfast and stored two handfuls in one of her bags to eat later. Feeling better with food in her stomach, she struck out with renewed energy.

Midday, she came around a bend in the river and almost ran face-first into a frantic Nori. There was something coming. She was in a narrow gorge with steep cliffs on both sides and there was no place to hide. A garbled shout from downstream was all the warning she got before three orcs came into sight. Putting her back to the wall of the gorge, she held up her spear and prepared to defend herself.

Seeing her, the leader of the group snarled and ran towards her, the largest axe she had ever seen raised high in both hands. Violet had mere seconds to decide whether to hold her ground or run.

Dropping her spear, she held out both hands towards it and cried, "èist fiadhaich ionnsaigh!"

The orc took three more strides before it stumbled. As Violet watched in shock, its gray-colored flesh darkened then started to dissolve rapidly, exposing the muscles, tendons, and veins underneath. These then dissolved as well with blood, bodily fluids, and dissolved flesh flowing in torrents down the orc's body. The huge hands that welded the axe became skeletal, and then, as the bones crumbled, the axe fell to the ground.

The orc's bone-shaking battle cry became a scream of pain as its body was melted as if submerged in acid. Its forward momentum carried it forward and Violet had to dodge out of the way as it careened blindly, its eyes liquified in their sockets, and it collided with the side of the gorge with a sickeningly wet thwack. The monster hung, whimpering, stuck to the wall by the fluids, then slowly slid down into an unnaturally small mound of gore.

Violet looked at her hands in horror then at the two remaining orcs, who had stopped dead in their tracks to watch the demise of their leader.

Without warning, an arrow struck one through the throat, dropping it immediately. Another arrow barely missed the other orc as it dodged, then sprinted past Violet. Before it had gotten more than a few meters up the river, four arrows sprouted from its back and it fell face down into the water.

Relieved, Violet swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and took a step away from the still dissolving orc towards her rescuers, only to stop suddenly when another arrow buried itself in the gravel at her feet.

"Take another step, sorceress, and we will drop you where you stand!" a male voice called out from above the river.

Frightened, she held her hands high in surrender. Another arrow hit the ground between her feet.

"I don't mean you any harm," she called out. "I'm just trying to get out of these mountains and back to Highmoon."

Laughter answered her. To her left, a lithe figure dropped from a boulder to the ground.

"Violet? What are you doing here?" Tamirell Nightwind asked.