Part 25
Phantoms of the Night
The sun slowly drifted across the sky, as the soft cool breeze of the fall ruffled through the trees. The land about saw its fair share of change, as many of the leaves of the forest had now turned into the various shades of red and yellow. With a large amount of evergreens intermingling amongst the sea of auburn the sight of this forest captivated the girl. She would stop and soak in the beauty of the land, but the Trapper did not slow his pace, nor allowed the group to break for very long. There were few roads where he led them though most of the paths he took were little more than foot paths of other travelers or animals. Yet despite this the Trapper led them unwavering, seldom hesitated on his decisions. As soon as evening ensnared the land about and the light started to fade, the Trapper began setting camp.
“It is unwise to travel in the dark in these parts,” the Trapper said. “And as we travel deeper into these woods, I warn you not to stray from the path.”
“Sounds advice,” Namic said, startling Ranin.
“Ah! Don’t sneak up on me,” Ranin said.
Namic gave him a curious look before focusing back into the discussion.
“Set your bed rolls here,” the Trapper continued. “I will collect some firewood.”
As dusk began to fall the wind picked up and distant wails seemed to be carried by the wind, like cry for attention or calls of help. The Trapper increased his pace as he set the fire. At first the wind seemed to attack the small fire, but with the Trappers diligence, it grew. Once it started burning brightly, the wind almost seemed to encircle the campsite as if avoiding the flame. The girl shifted closer to the campfire, welcoming the warmth in the cold eve.
“You should rest some,” the Trapper said, “I will take watch.”
Without complaint the girl drifted off almost before he finished. Sworder and the Trapper sat silently for minutes, before he continued, “You don’t trust me, do ya?”
“My trust is none of your concern,” Sworder said.
“It is; when it is me,” the Trapper said.
“I have no reason to trust you.”
“That may be true, but both of us do not need to watch,” the Trapper said as he looked over his shoulder, “Grota!”
At his word a figure seemed to rise from the shadows. It was difficult to make out it shape, but it gave the appearance of an old man in tattered clothes. Slowly it stretched out a thin and boney hand and spoke in a ghastly voice, “Do you have but a trinket to spare.”
Drawing from his pack, the Trapper gave the hand a scrape of cloth. The hand closed around the cloth, and the scrape turned to dust falling to the ground and was carried away by the gentle breeze. The figure of the old man staged and emerged was a tall slender man wearing neat formal attire.
“What is your desire?” the new form asked the Trapper.
“Wake me if something important happens, okay Grota?” the Trapper said.
“As you wish,” Grota said, taking position near the Trapper, and calmly watched into the night. There the two Kazans sat silently.
“Well, this is awkward,” Ranin said.
“There Kazans have little reason to talk,” Namic said. “They both have their mission to secure and the other is not baring them in any way.
“These are two Shadow Warriors I would not want to get between if there ever was an issue,” Ranin said.
Namic remained silent as Ranin lazily watched the two figures, and in silence, the night passed into day. The Trapper awoke once through the night to refuel the fire to keep it burning. In the morning he was the first to rise and when he did Grota rose and wandered off.
Sworder silently watched the Kazan’s departure. Then turned and shook awake the girl, who rolled over, yawning.
“Is everything fine?” she asked, half asleep.
“The wind seemed to die with the sun,” Sworder said, looking at the tree line.
“What?” the girl said groggily, not understanding.
“It is nothing to concern yourself with,” Sworder said, “I just feel uneasy in these woods.”
“He has a right to be uneasy,” Namic said.
“Calta is not looked down on, for no reason,” Ranin said.
“I warn you, not to stay from the path. As we travel deeper into the country side it will become more dangerous. No matter what you see or hear, stay on the path. Now hurry, we are losing sunlight,” the Trapper continued, as he stomped out the fire. He then turned to the now awake girl and Uncle Ben and shouldered his pack. “Ready?”
The path they took that day looked no more used then the ones they had taken the day before, and as in the previous day the Trapper led them unhesitatingly. He kept a close eye on the sky as clouds started to roll in. His demeanor darkened as the sky became overcast sinking the world into a murky gray.
Slowly the breeze grew until a strong piercing wind cut through the group. In the silence of the midday, voices began calling the party. The girl looked around as they beckoned. Within the trees in the distance, figures moved slowly and faint lights hovered around. The girl stepped towards them moving a branch to see cleaner when someone caught her by the arm.
“I said don’t leave the path,” the Trapper growled angrily as he pulled her back. “Keep a closer eye on her,” he continued thrusting her into Sworder’s arms.
“What’s out there?” the girl asked as Sworder held her up, glancing away hiding his face.
“They are called Sleepless Walker,” the Trapper began. “A breed of Kazan with neither form nor body. They are masters of illusions and tricks, leading travelers off the path to become lost in the wilderness. Some say they feast on the souls of those they led astray. They detest light as is shines through many of their illusions and tricks.
“That’s horrible,” the girl said. “I have never heard of such a thing before.”
“You journeyed from Selia did you not?” the Trapper responded. “In Kingdoms like those, when reports of such ill creatures surface, the authorities are tasked with eliminating it. In Calta, however, they don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Keeping the population isolated is convenient for retaining control.” the Trapping said. “It also delays attacking armies who will have to deal with such threats. Thus the cost to defend the land form these things is too great and they deem the reward vary little.”
“That’s terrible,” the girl said.
“Kind thoughts, but meaningless in this world,” the Trapper said.
“Can’t someone do something about this?” the girl asked.
“How?” the Trapper responded. “What can one or two do to over turn a system long installed? The rulers have more to gain keeping the system as it is. For now consider your own problem before trying to fix others… else you may fail at both.”
“Harsh,” Ranin said.
“He is a practical man, through. He showed no regrets in his words,” Namic said.
“Tell me more about Sleepless Walkers?” the girl pressed.
“As I said earlier, Sleepless Walkers are without a physical form. This can make them difficult t’ deal with. They work with illusions; that is there only vulnerability. When they create these illusions they have ta put part of themselves in it. The stronger the illusions the more of themselves they need to risk. Defeating such illusions will harm the Sleepless Walker, but they rarely risk too much and if they did, taking on such an illusion may prove t’ be dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Their illusions do not just affect sight or sound. Touch, smell, even taste can be change or altered. If a truly strong Sleepless Walker bent its whole essence onto you; you may find yourself lost in a endless dream. You may not even realize you have been trapped. In someway it would be real.”
“How would you defeat such an illusion?” Sworder asked, helping the girl over a fallen tree in their path.
“That would depend on the illusions,” the Trapper said, “Generally all illusions center around something specific. The stronger the illusion the more obvious the center becomes.”
“And how would one know when you’re in an illusion if it becomes too real?”
“No illusions is perfect,” the Trapper said, “You’ll eventually find something wrong, but the chances of a Sleepless Walkers throwing something like that at you is unlikely, to say the least.”
As their conversation continued the cloud cover only became thicker, much to the Trapper’s dissatisfaction. The group camped earlier then they had the previous day as it became dark long before dusk. The wind grew ever stronger with the fading of the light. The Trapper set to immediately light a fire while the girl started gathering some firewood.
As the girl stopped to pick up some sticks, a whine gave her pause. It was the cry of a young child, as if lost. Creeping slowly the girl moved forward, when a voice called out to her.
“It is just an illusion,” Sworder said.
“How can we be sure?” the girl asked.
“No child could be this far in no-man’s land,” Sworder said. “He would already be dead, and the tricks of the Sleepless Walkers would have led him far from any path.”
“You are right, I know that, but it is hard knowing… knowing I might be able to do something,” the girl said.
“In this case there is nothing for you to do.”
“When you know to look out for illusions they are far easier to avoid,” Ranin said.
“One would think, but attracting victims is not the only way they accomplish their task. Namic said.
“I guess your right,” the girl sighed, turning back towards Sworder. Looking up, she froze, “S-Sworder!”
Sworder reacted immediately, jumping back as he turned and drew his sword. Behind him was a large skull billowing out dark smoke. The skull’s mouth was open and inside held nothing but eerie blackness. The girl instinctively took a step back.
“Her body is telling her to flee,” Namic said.
“I think her mind is telling her that too.” Ranin said.
Sworder half turned and held out a hand to her, “It is all right; when I am with you nothing will harm you.”
In that frozen moment, an entire conversation passed between their eyes and slowly the girl’s hand reached out to hold Sworder’s. She stared at the two joined hands, as her face became flush.
Sworder smiled and turned back to the large skull, as he staged. In a moment, he was the Vassal of Water. “Aqua Slash,” he cried swinging his sword and a large blade of Water extended from the sword slicing through the air and the skull.
The illusion faded and the girl and the Vassal were by themselves once more. Sheathing his sword the Vassal of Water turned to face his master, “Thank you,” he said.
“I should be the one thanking you,” the girl said. “If you had not stopped me, I don’t know what I might have done.”
“It is but a part of my duty to protect you,” the Vassal said.
“Oh.”
“Let us hurry back.”
“Wait,” the girl said delaying him, “Why this form?”
The Vassal held her gaze for a few moments, a span of time, which seemed to drag on in ever lengthening seconds. “I felt unstoppable, like the flow of a mighty river, like a stream I continued until my goal was in hand,” the Vassal finally said. “I am not sure if that helps.”
“Well, I may not fully understand,” the girl said, shyly, “but I know you better now.”
Leading her by the hand, the Vassal of Water guided her back to the campsite. By the time they had returned the Trapper had ignited a fire and it burned steadily. The girl added what she had collected to the pile of spare firewood before sitting down.
“We have lost sometime today,” the Trapper said, tending the fire. “If delays like this keep up we will be late.”
“Is there a reason we have to be at the pass in the next three days?” Uncle Ben asked.
“No,” the Trapper said, “But I have a bad feeling, and in this business you learn to trust your gut. If this infernal weather clears up, we will set off early tomorrow.”
But when the next morning came, the weather was worse then the day before, and so was the Trapper’s mood.
“He doesn’t look happy,” Ranin said.
“He had good reason not too be,” Namic said.
The Trapper set them at faster pace and they did not take a rest till sometime afternoon, though it was difficult to measure time under the darkening clouds. Before long, small droplets started to cascade down off the tree branches over head.
“Quickly, we make for cover, this way,” he said and no sooner had he finished speaking then the rain started. Unerringly he guided them to a grove protected under the canopy of two ancient pines. Already the rain was falling in sheets soaking the world in moments. “This will probably continue sporadically over the next hour,” the Trapper said, beginning to set a fire. “Make yourself comfortable till then, but I want to begin again once I think it is over.”
“Impatient much,” Ranin said.
“Indeed, and such impatience might cost him more time in the end,” Namic said.
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