Chapter Nine
We stood in astonishment, not quite believing our eyes. It had taken more that an hour to get through the Briar Patch, but through it we had gone. I guess it was kind of my fault. Going down the right fork of the tunnel had definitely added about half an hour to our trek. Adding even more rips and tears to my clothes in the process. We eventually hit a dead end, then had to go all the way back to the fork where we started. Then follow the path of that stupid rabbit. Darn thing. Now I almost wish I'd hit it harder with that rock. Almost.
We'd made it through the Briar Patch, alright. All the way through. On the other side we now stood, the bank of the Geasan Bacadh river in front of us. The Enchanted Forest on the far side.
"How did that get there?" Cid asked, pointing at the small bridge that spanned the river. The one that shouldn't be there.
"Your guess is as good as mine," I answered. "I thought the only ways across the Geasan Bacadh were the Tribes trade bridge, and the one by the Wood Elves fortress. I've heard rumors the Dwarfs have one up North. Only rumors though. This one should not be here. Who could have even built it? Its so tiny." And it was. From rail to rail, I would only be able to fit one foot, with only a little wiggle room. It would be like using a balance beam to cross it. Not a desirable notion considering the deceptively calm flowing river beneath it. The river is wide and strong, but it narrowed considerably—though only briefly—where the bridge crossed it. I don't know much about river currents, but I assumed the sudden constriction to the flow would increase the current. Making it more dangerous if you were foolish or clumsy enough to fall in. But I could be wrong.
Cid had walked over to it, kneeling down to inspect the bridge. "Must have been the Little People. This looks like their craftsmanship. Too small for the Gnomes. They don't live anywhere nearby either. Has to be the Little People. They must have wanted a way to and from the Enchanted Forest. They can probably make it through the Briar Patch even when its not, you know, so open."
"Yeah, your probably right. Looks like their work," I agreed as I approached to inspect it for myself. "Their village isn't too far from here. But dang, for such little folk, that would still be quite a trek." With how small they are, the distance would seem a hundred times further than it would to me. They're exactly the same as humans, except only about as tall as my extended finger. They're a private folk, and don't tend to fraternize with us giants. "Hmm…" I pondered to myself. Then continued slowly, "What to do now."
"Go back, obviously," Cid said immediately. "There is no way we are crossing that. We don't even know, if…" he trailed off as he looked across the river. At the edge of the forest, calmly grazing, was the White Stag. It looked over to us, then turned back to continue grazing. Was it taunting me?
I stood staring out over the bridge while I contemplated our situation. There were so many reasons not to cross over there. It was now late afternoon, and the sun would only be out for a few more hours tops. I did not relish the idea of being stuck outside overnight. We always brought tents with us just in case, but they were back with the bikes. Then there was the bridge itself. It would be incredibly dangerous all on its own. If we lost our balance for even a moment, we could plop right into the river. Then there's the fact that it led into the freaking Enchanted Forest itself. I know this is an adventure, but that was almost too much, even for me. Almost.
"I realize we should turn back, but we've already come so far," I said. "Do you guys really want to go back after all that? It's the White Stag, I doubt it's trying to lead us into a trap or something nefarious like that. Look at it. Its practically begging us to follow." Actually, it was ignoring us at the moment. For some reason, that came off as a challenge to me.
"Could say, we had an adventure already," Chase said. "How many can claim they been through the Briar Patch?"
He had a point. It just wasn't enough for me. "We haven't accomplished our goal yet. The whole reason we suffered through the Briar Patch," I rubbed one of the still stinging cuts on my arm, "Was to catch up to the White Stag. If we had lost it, that would be one thing. But its right there! The adventure is clearly not over yet." I looked back and forth at my friends, who still seemed dubious. Before they could object, I added, "Haven't we already had this argument? A couple times? We decided then to continue on our adventure. We might as well just agree now to see it through to the end." I tried to say it with as much confidence as I could, but I wasn't sure if I'd been able to mask the fear that was rising in me. Not now that I knew just how dangerous a place it could be. Dark Elves and corruption curses filled my mind. Then I remembered my ancestors, Kanti and Menw. If they could face evil like that, so could I. Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I'd even start to believe it.
"She still got that look," Chase said to Cid. "Not sure arguing will help. Might as well hurry. Not much sun left." Now that he'd made up his mind, he didn't seem all that worried. He almost seemed eager to continue the adventure. He had said he'd been bored recently. I'd bet the Enchanted Forest is anything but boring. Now, just had to convince Cid.
"Don't you feel it. The Enchanted Forest beckons. Just like in Gramps story. We are drawn to its magic. Just ignore that uneasiness. It's nothing to worry about," I said, waving my hand as if shooing something.
He had that look on his face again. Half a frown, eyes narrowed and creasing his brow. I call it his, 'I know this is a really really bad idea but I can't find a way out of it' look. Hmm, maybe I should be wondering why I see that expression so often. Nah, he's just a worrier.
"You know. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one around here with any common sense," Cid said, then added under his breath, "Or a sense of self preservation." I stuck my tongue out at him. He smiled, then took off his backpack. His was a bit bigger than mine. He had all kinds of things in there. He believes in being over-prepared. "If we're going to do this, lets do it right. I don't like the look of that bridge," he said as he rummaged through the bag. "Good, I knew I put a coil in here." He pulled out a large coil of thin rope.
"Were you planning on going mountain climbing or something?" I asked. It was a goodly bit of rope.
He gave me another look. This one was his, 'Only because I'm with you' look. That one was less an actual facial expression. It was like he could project the thought from his eyes. We could look into each others eyes, having soul gazed on accident when we were younger. We got in a lot of trouble for that. We are only allowed to soul gaze members of our family until we come of age. Also, we aren't supposed to use the sight except under supervision of a qualified teacher. I can understand. Memories can be a terrible thing. Especially the ones you can only hide from for so long. Thank you again, Malia.
"I only brought it because I knew I'd be with you," he said. I laughed out loud. I know him too well. "I'm glad I brought it. We can at least tie ourselves together. Could end up badly, but that way there will be a chance two of us can stop the third if anyone looses balance." It actually wasn't a terrible idea. Though I couldn't help envisioning one of us falling and dragging the other two in with them.
"Ha, got a better idea. Hold it. Stay," Chase said and grabbed one end of the rope. Then he slowly and carefully crossed the Little Bridge. I discovered it, so I get to name it. As a quadruped, the trip across was much easier for him than it was going to be for us. Once he was on the other side, he turned around. He still had the end of the rope gripped firmly between his teeth. "Cah," he said. With the rope in his mouth, I could only assume he was trying to say, 'come'. I was pretty confident though, since I finally realized what his plan was. If we held the rope tight, it would help us clumsy bipedal folk from losing our balance. It was an excellent alternative to Cid's previous plan.
"That, works a whole lot better," Cid said. "Okay, Liz. You hold the rope from this side and keep it tight while I cross. Then I can help Chase hold it from that end while you cross. With both of us, even if you fall we should be able to pull you in." I made a fish face at him, pretending to swim towards him. He rolled his eyes. I took the rope to hold it tight, knowing Chase is the master at tug-a-war. I was glad Cid's confidence seemed to be returning now that we had figured a reasonable way across our first hurdle. I wasn't surprised. Adventuring is what we do, and Cid has learned a lot from his mistakes. Well, my mistakes mostly. But don't tell him that.
None of us fell into the river, thankfully. There were some touchy moments. The rails on either side were high enough that it made moving my back foot forward awkward. We managed though.
As I reached the end of the Little Bridge, Cid made a gallant half bow and presented his hand to me. I ignored it as usual. He gave me a huge goofy grin. I felt like I should be remembering something as I took the last step off the bridge. My foot touched the ground inside the Enchanted Forest for the first time in three years. As soon as it did, the Memory came back in full force. I saw the Never-Tree. Fade to black.
I was getting really sick of passing out. And that twice cursed Neve—
No, don't think of that. I quickly put up my strongest mental defenses. It took nearly everything I had. I couldn't even speak as I heard my friends talking above me.
"We have to get her back. There's something wrong, something bad. She drops the second she set foot in here? What could even cause that? And, I can feel something in here. I didn't notice it at first… now though…" Cid said, sounding extremely worried.
"Agreed. Can't take her back that way. Never make it over the bridge. Gotta find help. In the Enchanted Forest," Chase answered him. He sounded worried as well. I must look in really bad shape.
I tried to lower my mental defenses just enough for speech. My mind was immediately assaulted by pitch black branches. Or were they tentacles? Or crooked arms covered in chitin, reaching for me… I quickly slammed my defenses back in place as my mind filled with the sight of that abomination. I absolutely did not want to remember what it truly was. When they were back in place, I accepted that I wouldn't be able to speak for the present. I'd just have to put my trust in my friends. They would take care of me, until I could regain control.
"Okay," Cid said. "One of us should stay with her. I hate to say it, but you can cover more ground than me. You should be the one to look for help. Sorry, I probably sound like such a coward…" he trailed off for a second. "But we need to get her help as quickly as possible." His voice gained strength with that last statement. He's a good friend. I felt a soft wetness gliding over my hand, smooth and gentle. Chase is a good friend too.
"Its okay, I will go," Chase answered him, his voice getting further away. I tried to open my eyes, and managed to crack them the tiniest bit. I was on my back, looking up. The first thing I saw were the long crooked branches of the nearby trees stretching above me. I shut my eyes before that sight could trigger anything.
"Wait Chase," Cid shouted. "I think she's awake." I felt his hand grip mine. "Lizbeth? Can you hear me?" I nodded fractionally. Though I had admonished him for using my old nickname earlier, for some reason it made me feel safer at the moment. "Chase, she's awake, she's awake." He sounded more than just a little relieved. "Lizbeth, can you speak?" I shook my head as much as I could. "Okay. That's okay. We are going to get you some help. Unless… Do you think you can walk? If I help you?" I couldn't shrug, so I did a mixed version of a nod and a shake. I think he understood. "Alright, lets at least try. We have to find you some help. You don't… You don't look so good." He squeezed my hand reassuringly.
I tried to sit up, and with Cid's help it wasn't as hard as I'd feared. He took my arm, draping it over his shoulder, then began to stand. He was a lot stronger than I remembered. Had he been working out? When we were fully upright, I realized I could hold most of my own weight. Cid shouldered the rest for me. We began to make our slow and steady way forward.
"Follow me," Chase said. "I'll find a good path. Easy one for both of you. We'll find help. No worry."
We trudged along, and I let Cid steer me. I focused on my breathing, and pushing the Memory back into the deep dark place in my mind where it belonged. It was so hard this time. Every time I thought I had it, it would pop back into the fore of my thoughts. Then I remembered something Cid had said. 'I can feel something in here'. I had thought it was just part of the Memory, but now I could feel it too. Similar, yet separate from it. A sinister feeling. One that would enjoy nothing so much as to incapacitate me, making me easy prey. The feeling called to my Memory, not allowing me to hide from it any longer. All I could do was keep it from overwhelming me.
I wasn't aware of much during our shambling walk through the magical woods. All my focus went into staying conscious. Cid and Chase spoke on occasion, but my mind registered little. Chase's warning growl changed that.
"Who's there?" Chase shouted. "Show yourself." Now I could hear rustling, as if many creatures were moving around in the brush. "I said show yourself." There was no answer.
"Lizbeth, hold on to this. I n-need to h-help Chase," Cid said softly to me. He took my arm from his shoulder, placing my hand on something thin and smooth. The trunk of a young tree? I gripped it, using it to stay upright. "Chase, watch over Lizbeth. I g-g-got th-this. I'll pr-protect her." He sounded beyond nervous, maybe even terrified. I couldn't blame him. I couldn't even see. I was beyond terrified. "He sa-said to sh-show y-yourself," Cid shouted, but his stuttering voice diminished any authority it may have held. "I m-mean it. I'm wa-warning ya-you. I'm a w-w-wizard." I felt him begin to draw in power.
I couldn't just stand here, not even able to watch as my friend potentially risked his life for mine. I cracked my eyes open, making sure not to even glance at the branches above. We were in a small clearing. The sun must have sunk low, the area around us was only dimly lit. Cid stood in the middle of the glade ahead of me, and I could hear Chase's quiet warning growl beside me. I saw a motion, just beyond the edge of the trees ahead of us. More than one. Several indistinct shadowy figures were beginning to emerge. They were definitely not human. Their shapes were wrong. Familiar, yet somehow wholly strange. This odd combination was not reassuring. If anything, it put me more on edge. Apparently, it had a similar affect on Cid.
I felt it as Cid poured power into his focus item. A glove worn on his right hand, covered in runes and sigils, with a minor gemstone affixed to the center of its back. It began to glow lightly as he gave it power. A lot of power. More than I had ever seen Cid use before. He was serious.
He held his arm up, his hand palm out, aiming at the approaching figures. As they got closer to the edge, the shadows around them altered their already strange forms. I guess it was too much for Cid.
"Majeur," he shouted, and unleashed a powerful kinetic blast.
Unfortunately for me, it was too powerful. The force went out, smashing into the approaching creatures. That was his intention of course. He hadn't intended for the blast to spread out in all directions. At least, I hope he hadn't.
The wave of kinetic energy smashed into me, like a pillow of air. It lifted me off my feet, throwing me backwards. My head clipped a low hanging branch, and darkness fell over me once again. The jerk.