Remorse Of An Adventurer II
Tangled Paths
By DaringDanger
VI: Eternal Warriors and Eternal Companions
***Hilda***
Lite rock trilled from David's headphones as the Sparrow Scouts bus passed outside of the Trolberg wall. Twig was also wiggling around inside my bag. Pets weren't allowed on Scout trips, but Raven Leader didn't seem to mind. She had commented on how bulky the bag looked and just said "make sure you keep track of your fellow scouts". I turned and saw Frida staring out of the window in the opposite seat, Alfur resting comfortably in the girl's wavy hair. The bus filled me with a bit of anxiety but I was growing used to scout trips again, and being with Frida and David I feel much stronger.
David began bobbing side to side with his music and his arm brushed across mine.
"David?" I asked, tapping the boy so he'd remove the headphones.
"Yes Hilda?" He asked as he paused the player with a click.
"You're really getting into that music. What is it?"
"Oh you know, uh… hard rock, popular stuff." He blushed a bit.
"You know I know better than that." I smiled. He listened to the music in our room sometimes, though I never listened closely.
"Sorry. I feel like I'm supposed to like hard rock, you know?"
"There's nothing wrong with a little lite rock, silly." A ladybug landed on his head suddenly. "Hang on." I reached up and took the creature onto my finger, before letting it free with a whisk of the hand. "Are you nervous? About the trip?"
"It's our first time camping outside the wall, what if there's trolls?"
"Even if there are, we have a deerfox." I opened my bag and Twig poked his head out.
"You brought a stowaway again?" Frida moaned from across the aisle. "Don't get us in trouble okay? I've been waiting my whole life for the advanced camp out! We get to make our own course, our own camp!" Frida rubbed her hands together excitedly.
"So Twig protects you from the trolls?" David asked as Frida looked back away.
"No, he's terrified." I smiled.
"Alright Sparrows! The advanced camp out has begun, I'll see you all at the meetup the morning after next!" Raven Leader's voice carried between the trees as everyone stood at the mouth of the trail. As she finished I produced our map, adorned with a drawn trail.
"Hilda, that's not the recommended course." David moaned.
"Hilda and I talked about it, and I wanted to go research the Screaming Stones." Frida responded. "Legend has it there's a pile of stones in these woods that, well, scream!"
"What about trolls?" David whined.
"According to the books from the Witches' Tower, the screaming scares the trolls away from this area."
"Oh. Okay." David gulped.
"Don't worry David, I ensured they read every footnote." Alfur smiled.
"It'll be fun!" Frida insisted.
"Yeah, fun." David agreed reluctantly. They set onto the trail and I released Twig.
***David***
"Last one across has to build the campfire!" Frida yelled as she and Hilda skipped across a river on some stones. I looked down over the first jump and gulped as I grew dizzy. Twig looked up at me with a whine.
"You think I can do it boy?" I asked. The creature continued staring. "Sure why not?" I jumped and landed on all fours in a panic, the rock moist under my hands. I continued across on all fours, each jump more mortifying the last. Twig jumped along behind me the whole way. I was lagging behind the girls as they pressed deeper into the wood. I wanted to speak up, but I'd been asking for breaks the whole way and neither of them had. What if I was just dragging them down? We crested a tall hill just in time to see the last sliver of sun slip below the ground.
"Are those the Screaming Stones?" Frida asked, pointing to an odd tower of rocks in the distance.
"Looks like it." Hilda agreed.
"Why aren't they screaming?" It seemed an obvious question.
"Maybe we aren't close enough?" Alfur hypothesized.
"I think we should set up camp for the night." I insisted, taking off my pack. The girls nodded in agreement and set theirs down as well.
With Frida's tent set up prim and proper, Hilda's also together, and a fire roaring, everyone changed into our night clothes and began settling down. I walked over to Frida's tent, where the girls' voices were coming through, though a bit muffled.
"Maybe we would have gotten to the stones today if we took a shorter route?" Frida noted, I leaned in closer to eavesdrop. I know it's wrong but I just couldn't help it.
"You know David Is afraid of heights, we had to go around that little canyon." Hilda insisted.
"We could've jumped." Frida suggested.
"Yes, but could he have? No, this is fine." Hilda continued. I felt a pit in my stomach. If only I were more brave! Was I letting Frida and Hilda down? I walked towards the edge of the hill we were camping on and sat on a smooth rock. I jumped with a squeal at some rustling only to see it was Twig, sitting to my right. I grabbed my tape-deck and clicked the music on. Twig tilted his head.
"What? I know most people don't like lite rock, but it calms me down." I slipped the headset over my ears. Something was shimmering past the stones, a green light in the sky. "Perhaps we'll see the northern lights tonight Twig." The deerfox looked where I pointed and whimpered a bit.
***Frida***
"Let's check on David." Hilda suggested. I hadn't seen him since we'd finished the tents. We unzipped their tent and stepped into the night air, the wind blowing gently across the low campfire, a few ashes carrying into the sky like stars.
"There he is!" I pointed to him, slouching on a rock near the edge of the hill. We approached and sat on the edge next to each other, causing David to look over.
"What's up?" He asked, clicking his music player off.
"We wanted to check if you were okay." I explained.
"Yeah I'm fine." As David spoke, something cracked. We looked around for a second before the ground fell from below us, our screams echoed around us as I fought for equilibrium. I evened out and was now sliding on my back, each rock passing under felt like a knife. Hilda was rolling on her side near me and I reached out, grabbing for my friend but missed. She grew further away and I turned back forward just in time for the ground to vanish and my stomach to lurch, the ground growing quickly until I landed with a smack.
A star shone across the sky, moving as though it had its own free will, turning and even doing a loop. It suddenly moved towards me, closer, and closer until my vision nearly turned white.
I gasped as I awoke, Twig was standing over me.
"Hilda?" I moved to sit up, sore but seemingly unhurt. No one replied to the call. "David!?" I called louder into the night. "Alfur!?" I could see the hill I'd fallen from, but my friends seemed nowhere in sight. Twig whimpered loudly.
"Do you know where Hilda is?" I begged. The animal was sniffing around wildly, and repeatedly craning his head to the sky. I looked where he was and noted some odd green lights in the sky.
"The Northern lights?" I recognized them, they would rarely show up over Trolberg. The animal really seemed drawn to them. Suddenly he darted off.
"Twig!?" I took off after the animal, the lights vanishing as the trees thickened.
***David***
"David?" The familiar voice seemed a bit drowned out. "David?" I opened my eyes, dizzy. My double vision corrected and Alfur was over my face. I grabbed the elf and sat up, taking in the room. A wooden structure, with ropes, candles, and what looked like pelts. I reached for his head and found a bandage. What happened? Where am I?
"Alfur, where are we?"
"No idea, I woke up in Hilda's pocket the next room over."
"Is Hilda okay?"
"David!" She ran into the room, her own head bandaged as well, and gave a strong hug.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sore!" I protested.
"Sorry."
"Where are we, where's Frida?" I pressed.
"I'm not sure on either. I don't know where Twig is as well." Cheering began echoing nearby. We glanced at each other, and slowly moved towards it. Hilda parted a curtain and revealed a well lit room of people in full armor and blue face-paint. They all turned and I quickly ducked.
"Don't worry!" A large man with a braided beard laughed. "You're in no danger. I found you both at the foot of the mountain."
"Are you a viking?" Hilda asked.
"Yes! My name is Torgund! And this is my clan!" His voice bellowed.
"Have we gone back in time?" Hilda whispered over the sounds of tankards clanging.
"Or we hit our heads really hard."
"Oh you did! But we patched you up! Your injuries aren't that bad!" Torgund moved with his words, emanating power with each flex. "Look at Olaf!" He gestured at a man who was missing an arm, and had replaced it with some sort of stick. "His injuries are also not that bad."
"Can we repay you in any way?" I asked.
"Well, we could use a battlefield messenger!" Torgund said.
"A what?" Hilda questioned.
"No thanks, we've got to find Frida!" I stammered a bit as I turned away in fear.
"What? Why would a young man like you turn down a chance to show your bravery in the glory of battle?" Torgund asked.
"The thing is, I'm not brave." I balled my fists.
"How fortuitous! We came to this valley in search of the amulet of Sigurd! Any who touch it will be afraid of nothing for the rest of their days!"
"You're saying, I could be fearless?" I suddenly became excited, butterflies in my stomach.
"I could be fearless again?" Hilda also now had her attention focused.
"The only thing in our way is the Knudsen clan! Those brigands stole it before we could take it!"
"What will you do then?" Hilda questioned.
"Slay every last one of them!" Torgund bellowed and received many cheers.
"That seems fair?" What else was I to say?
"These guys seem more violent than the Lost Clan." Alfur joked.
"Come David and Hilda! Soon your troubles will be over!" Everyone began marching out, including Hilda.
"Aren't you coming David?" Hilda asked.
"Are you sure Hilda?" My words seemed to pause her.
"I want to be fearless again."
"This sounds way too dangerous for you both!" Alfur insisted.
"Well…" I froze, all eyes on me. "Such is the life of an adventurer right?" I laughed nervously. I had to stop holding Hilda and Frida back. I had to do this, I had to touch the medallion. Hilda smiled at that, and we both went out together.
*** Frida ***
Twig suddenly stopped just ahead of me, and I quickly saw why: a ravine stretched out in front of the two of us, separating us from the lights. Twig looked up and down, side to side for some way across, but there were none.
"Twig, can we please go find Hilda and David?" I squatted on my knees as I spoke to the animal, who whined in protest. He began craning his head back and forth between the lights and back into the woods, as though he were trying to make a difficult choice. Back and forth, each time his head moving slower, each time lingering longer on his two paths forward. Finally, he bolted away from the light, and I quickly followed.
***Hilda***
Torgund's clan had taken to various hiding spots in the woods, all of their eyes fixated on a group of others, presumably the Knudsen clan. One of them held a necklace, aglow in violet magic. Torgund stepped into the dark opening, his sword drawn and ablaze in its own magic.
"Torgund!?" The man with the necklace shouted.
"Knudsen." Torgund smiled back. The Knudsen clan drew their weapons, but their leader held a hand up to keep them back. He pulled his own weapon and walked aggressively at Torgund.
"Don't look David." I instructed to the boy behind me.
"I am here to relieve you of your ill-gotten treasure!" Torgund announced.
"You had no chance last time, now you have less than none!"
"Last time?" Alfur pondered. Torgund hit his fist against his armor, the signal. The clan sprang from their hiding places.
"You think you can-" Without hesitation Torgund sliced Knudsen's arm clean off, causing David to let out a scream. Knudsen looked at his arm and yelled a battle cry. Screams and clangs of metal on wood, meat, and metal filled the air as the clans clashed. David and I sprung from the hiding place, not fully certain what we were supposed to be doing.
"Messenger!" Torgund yelled. David sprang forward with a whimper, sliding and ducking under the weapons of the clashing vikings. It was actually rather impressive as the boy darted around the field, until I saw him struggling to carry an ax. My turn. 'I can do this.' I thought over and over as I went forward, Alfur digging deeper into my hair. I bobbed and weaved over to David and laid a hand on his weapon. We exchanged a smile, until a shadow towered over us. The Knudsen raised his ax, but just as I closed my eyes he was sliced in two. We looked up to see one of our allies give a thumbs up. David looked down and screamed louder than I'd had ever heard him scream at the body of the former Knudsen.
***Frida***
Another scream echoed through the woods, catching our attention.
"Man, those stones are really screaming tonight." I noted. "Maybe we should make a temporary camp?" The Deerfox almost looked like it was nodding in agreement with me. "Alright then." I quickly gathered some sticks and began searching for a good spot. This did feel rather eerie though, too similar to the night I'd gone through Nowhere Space with Hilda. I winced a bit at the memory.
***Hilda***
After another few minutes the sounds of battle waned, the Knudsen's all felled to the superior Torgund clan. Torgund himself approached his rival, and freed the amulet from his neck. The others gathered around.
"A bit senseless if you ask me." Alfur complained.
"Isn't it glorious?" Torgund turned to the group. "This is what we have fought for! The gift that will free us from the bonds of fear! Come and claim your share!" Torgund held the amulet out to David. "Here's your chance, you're one of us now." One by one everyone placed a finger on the amulet, David and myself included, and all of us were bathed in pinkish-purple light.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Alfur moaned.
***Frida***
Day broke and I was still sore, partially due to the impromptu shelter I'm sure. I collected myself and gestured for Twig to continue on. We pressed through a thicket and into an opening.
"The Screaming Stones!" I exclaimed. "No wonder it was so loud, we were really close." Still, no sign of my friends, nor any more screaming for that matter. Twig let out a small growl. I instinctively pulled both of us into cover as something rose from the mud surrounding the stones. A tall creature with green skin exited the mud and walked into the woods. We stealthily followed, moving from cover to cover in the trees.
"Frida!" I jumped at Hilda's voice. Hilda ran down and pulled me into an embrace, David following right behind her.
"We've been looking everywhere for you two!" Twig gave a yip in agreement.
"Well you found us, and we're better than ever!" David made a strong pose.
"That's good?" I said, a tad confused.
"Don't ask." Alfur popped out of Hilda's hair.
"So, what were you doing hiding?" Hilda asked.
"I was following that." I pointed to the grass creature, who was barely still visible. Hilda and David suddenly ran into the opening.
"I was trying to be stealthy!" I complained before following. The two stopped and I caught up to them at the top of a small hill.
"By the Raven!" I exclaimed, covering my mouth in horror. The field below was filled with dismembered bodies floating in pools of blood.
"Don't worry Frida, it's not as bad as it looks. Everyone on our side lived." David boasted.
"What!?"
"What do you mean 'what'?"
"I mean what. As in 'what is going on'?!"
"Last night Hilda and I assisted a clan of Vikings in a glorious battle to reclaim the Amulet of Sigurd, which freed us from the bonds of fear!"
"I… don't know what I was expecting." I moaned. The creature began collecting body parts and returned them to their owners, before producing a small bottle, and dripping purple liquid onto the bodies.
"What's he doing?" Hilda asked to nobody. As she spoke the first one of the bodies grotesquely twitched back to life.
"He's undoing our victory!" David yelled.
"We have to tell Torgund!" As Hilda spoke the two grabbed her and pulled her away. Alfur leaned out of Hilda's hair.
"Don't touch the amulet, they've been acting really bizarre since they did." He commanded.
"Alfur I have no idea what's even going on." I snapped back.
"How dare those ingrates come back to life after we gifted them such honorable deaths!" Torgund balled his fists in rage. "Prepare for battle! We can't let Knudsen reclaim the medallion!" The entire clan cheered as they clambered for their weapons.
"Why not just take your prize and leave?" I suggested nervously.
"What fun is that?" Torgund retorted. "Come messengers, we'll need you!" I watched as Hilda and David proudly walked out with the viking clan.
"Alfur, what is happening?"
The Elf climbed from my hair. "This is what I was talking about. We better go with them, they might get themselves killed otherwise."
"Come on Twig." I began walking but didn't hear the animal behind me. "Twig?" Alfur and I began looking around, but the animal was gone. "Great, now we have three things to worry about."
"We should save our friends first, Twig can take care of himself." Alfur suggested. "I'm not so sure about them."
"Afraid to stay dead are you!?" Torgund yelled as we caught up. The clan was walking alone in a field. Suddenly, with the faintest thwack, one of the Torgund clan fell, a red arrow in his back. Everything suddenly turned to chaos as the Knudsen clan surrounded Torgund and my friends. I ducked behind a rock and watched. Quickly the Torgund clan began toppling one by one.
"This isn't going well." I muttered.
"They just aren't employing much of a strategy." Alfur agreed. "See, this is why we should've had a meeting. Drawn up some plans, executed contracts, at least sent out some scouts." Suddenly David and Hilda picked up axes from their fallen comrades and charging the Knudsens. I dashed in front of David.
"David! You'll be killed!" I insisted.
"That's fear talking! But I'm not bound by it any longer!"
"Fear is good sometimes!"
"My fear was holding me back, holding you back! This is what you wanted!" David pressed. Without another word he ran past. I turned and watched as a Knudsen armed with a sword swung at him, the sword cutting clean through his neck. I covered my eyes in horror, and curled into a ball as the sound of fighting died down around me.
Once it quieted I opened my eyes again, the Knudsen clan gone, the Torgund clan, and my friends in pieces.
"What will we tell everyone?" Alfur asked, sobbing lightly.
"I have no idea Alfur.. I'm not even sure we can go home."
"Maybe we will move to Cauldron Island?"
"The Swamp Man!" I realized.
"The what?"
"He's the one that revived the Knudsen clan, he can revive David and Hilda too!" I got on my feet and ran back to the screaming stones.
"Swamp man!" I yelled. "I need your help Swamp Man!" Behind me I heard the sound of gurgling as the creature emerged from the muck.
"It's Sigurd. You wouldn't like it if I called you flesh girl, would you?" The man spoke softly.
"My friend needs your help, he got his head cut off!" I insisted.
"Calm down, I'll take care of it." He gave a passive hand gesture. "I do it every night."
"Wait, they do this every night? For how long?" I say, baffled.
"Feels like forever."
"Why do you keep saving them then?"
"To get back at them. Those vikings stole my medallion, so I've been making them fight for it over and over again."
"Oh!" Alfur exclaimed. "The stones were never what was screaming, it's the battle!"
"You mean my rock collection?" Sigurd perplexed. "Yeah, those are just rocks. Mighty fine ones, if I do say so myself."
"Wait, can you see me?" Alfur asked.
"Yeah, what of it?" Sigurd began walking away. I followed. Alfur began scribbling frantically.
"Why not take the medallion back?"
"Why, it just makes you stupid. Besides, it's hilarious."
"Seems a shame they should do nothing else with their lives." I insist.
"Out loud it does sound silly." Sigurd relented. We walked in silence to the battlefield.
"Perhaps it's time I put an end to this." Sigurd thought out loud. "Here. For your friend." He produced the bottle from the previous night and tossed it to me.
"What about their fear?"
"The effects of the amulet wear off at death." Sigurd laughed a bit. I ran to David first, grabbing his head, uncomfortably heavy, and placing it near his torso. I dropped a bit of the liquid on him and he came aglow in purple, before inhaling sharply.
"David!" I cheered. He began moving and we both realized in horror. His head was on backwards. Everyone began screaming until a blue sword sheared his head once more.
"You gotta line everything up right." Sigurd instructed.
Soon the Torgund clan was gathering itself. David and Hilda included.
"Sorry. I was just worried I was slowing you both down." David said somberly.
"I was just caught up in being like my old self again." Hilda added sheepishly.
"You both are fine the way you are." I insisted.
"Agreed!" Alfur cheered.
"Sorry for being a pain." David smiled.
"So you've been reviving us every night to make us and our enemies fight endlessly?" Torgund bellowed.
"That's right." Sigurd agreed. A slight pause.
"That's hilarious!" The Torgund clan burst out laughing. Torgund himself took the bottle and quickly slayed one of his allies with a sword, before reviving him.
"What happened?" The viking asked.
"I slayed you! Who's next!?" He cheered. "You three want in on this?"
"No, David's been killed enough times today." I declined.
"I what!?" David screeched.
"Wait, where's Twig?" Hilda asked.
"Don't worry, I think I know where, I'll explain on the way." I instructed the three to follow.
"-and so he just kept chasing the northern lights." I finished as we reached the ravine I'd been at earlier.
"I know this place." Hilda mumbled.
"Really?" I asked.
"I accidentally fell off of the side looking at the lights. I got attacked by a bird and Twig saved me."
"Twig just saved you out of nowhere?" I was perplexed.
"I'd saved him the day prior. He was trapped under some rocks. I suppose he was grateful and wanted to return the favor."
"Twig is very intelligent then." Alfur interjected.
"I agree!" Hilda smiled. The four of us looked at the lights for a bit.
"They almost look like they are coming from the ground, over the ridge." David pointed out.
"It can't hurt to check. Why don't we find a safe way across?" I suggested.
"Hilda!" David suddenly pointed as we reached the top of the opposite clif. Standing in front of us, illuminated by the fabulous greens and blues of the sky, was a full grown deerfox, standing at least four times as tall as Twig. It jumped over the ridge and out of sight. We followed and were left in awe as we looked down upon a valley alight in green, full of deerfoxes.
"Twig!" Hilda slid down and the animal ran out of the crowd.
"Is this where you are from?" Hilda asked as she embraced the animal.
"Hilda, I think we may be the first humans to see this, ever." I had noted there was a complete lack of knowledge on deerfoxes, even within the Witch's Tower. One of the animals began howling, and the others joined in. What looked like a bridge made of stars reached down from the heavens and met the ground near them. They began walking towards and onto the bridge, each one of their steps letting out a beautiful ring.
"They're leaving." David said. Two of the deerfoxes were left standing, their eyes meeting ours, and Twig's.
"Do you want to go home Twig?" Hilda asked, tears welling in her eyes. The animal looked back and forth, and whimpered.
"You've been a good friend, and never asked anything in return. But if you want to go, I understand. I'll miss you though." Hilda hugged the animal and he began walking away. He greeted the two adult deerfoxes, and began ascending the bridge of light. David and I put our arms around Hilda.
"Everything's changed hasn't it?" She asked.
"That's just life." I replied.
"Hilda!" Alfur pointed as the deerfox returned down the bridge.
"Twig!" She ran down to meet the animal halfway with a hug. "You decided to stay?" The animal replied with a howl.
"Seems he's found his family after all." Alfur said as we caught up.
"His chosen family." I agreed.
"I think we've all found our family." David smiled, joining his sister in the embrace. I followed, and Alfur followed me. The bridge faded and was replaced by a small amount of snow in the air.
"The first snow of the season." Hilda smiled.
To Be Continued in: The Fifty Year Night