"This time I will attempt to fuck up another games' reputation."
- Some God
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| Chapter 5: A Starlit Path | | | Author: | | | IP: | ip68-230XXXX | | Date: | 10/24/04 10:10 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for Keanu_Reaver: 7.9200 |  | A Starlit Path
Judging from the climate, the pigmentation, and clotting of Zacharim’s wound, Jarius concluded that they had been asleep for, at the very least, a half a day; although with the deadening of the forest, he had much difficulty pinning a precise time down, and hadn’t the faintest idea on how long it’s been since their journey started from Byrtum’s tree-grave. He knew that another day lay before them, though, and while there was no immediate threat, it would still prove very difficult…especially for his wounded brother.
Zacharim, on the other hand, looked un-naturally pale and weak, his hair matted to the ground in a mess and his eyes peered on with the faintest glow. Yet his spirit was revitalized and his demeanor spoke of great power lying beneath his even more pale and weak body. Determination painted his face through the winces, and Jarius soon gained a new outlook on this journey, he would not be at all surprised to find Zacharim dragging him out of the woods.
Jarius took a single deep gulp from his canteen then gently fed Zacharim some water. Zacharim grunted only slightly then snatched the canteen and guzzled most of his precious water down before Jarius finally stopped him. Jarius sealed the canteens up and stored them tightly in his robes, knowing every drop was of incalculable value.
The two then ate their fill of the surprisingly tasty resin bread Friend had prepared for them. Zacharim realized instantly – and Jarius soon after – why Friend chose that bread for them as he felt an overwhelmingly powerful surge of energy flow through him He stood up almost instantly -- much to the delight of his brother -- ready to find the answer to Friend’s riddle, and ready to blaze his way from this hellish nightmare. It was clear Friend was far more wise than his lack of eloquence suggested.
The two traveled briskly, with eyes darting amongst the forest, and in their zeal it was not long before they found what they were looking for.
“Ok stop Zach, this tree is tall enough, I’m going to find the hidden path now,” Jarius said, hand resting on an especially large, yet very much dead tree.
“Ok,” Zacharim said, stopping slumped, favoring his wound.
With that, Jarius deftly leapt from branch to branch until he became lost in a maze of brown, leafless limbs. Zacharim took the opportunity to sit down remove the cloth covering his stomach wound, which began burning profusely once the cloth was removed. The stitches were holding fast, but the edges of the wound seemed to be festering and turning a very noxious pink, emitting a rank diseased smell. He knew immediately that it was infected, what he did not know was how he was going to treat it.
At that moment, Jarius plummeted to the ground landing gracefully on his feet, in front of Zacharim. He had a grin on his face, but it quickly changed to a grimace as he caught sight, and smell, of Zacharim’s wound.
“Zach! Poison?” Jarius said, leaning his head over to get a closer inspection.
“Ugh…No I don’t think so, it burns like infection, I just need to keep it clean I think.” Zacharim responded.
Jarius snatched a canteen from his pocket and ripped off a piece of cloth from his robe. Using half the canteens remaining contents, he scrubbed the cloth free of any dirt and blood, which was quite plentiful as the water entered it pristine, and left it as little more than muck. The other half of the canteen he quickly soaked into the cloth, laid it gently on Zacharim’s belly, and began lightly stroking the outside of the wound to free it from dried darkened blood.
“Feel good?” Jarius asked as he continued to swab away at his brothers wound.
“The next time you get wounded, I’m going to get some ragged wet piece of cloth, shove it in there then ask you ‘feel good?’” Zacharim cynically retorted.
“Hah, fair enough. This side’s done, let me see the other.”
Jarius administered the same treatment to the other side of Zacharim’s wound, and soon he had the young elf up and ready to travel on. Zacharim could feel his renewed energy being sucked away from him mercilessly, he did not want to damage Jarius’ hope but he knew it was not long before his legs could no longer carry him. Perhaps Daaman’s dagger was poisoned after all.
Jarius marked the brightest star in his mind and positioned himself based on its direction. As is urging the boys on, Jarius’ first step was met by a single ephemeral ray of starlight piercing through the tree canopy above them and lighting an area mere feet from his current position. Jarius gasped and dashed over to it and, once again, another ray of light appeared in front of him, begging for him to continue. Jarius was happy to oblige.
Zacharim smiled, watching proudly as his brother quickly picked up the starlit track, their only way to freedom, and continued in his brother’s footsteps.
Trees howled and leaves groaned around them, whispers of malice beneath their feet and over their heads. Wind bellowed through the decayed vegetation in a low roar, as if it were masking its own rustling of leaves. The smell of fire and death choked the two in nausea, making what was left of their meager water supply seem even more precious of a commodity. Even the ground felt like a sulfurous sponge, grasping hold of their feet and sucking them in wantonly.
They continued on, at a snails pace, unconcerned or perhaps feigning unconcern for the significance of the book stolen from them. Zacharim grew weaker and weaker and it was not long before Jarius had to lend a supporting shoulder to his ailing brother. Zacharim’s feet would fail him as each step stretched and gnawed at the wound, making him relive the dagger plunging deep into his torso and viciously tearing itself out. He collapsed into his brother, knocking the two down as Zacharim heaved painfully trying in vain to muster up some form of strength in his body. But he would not need to, as he felt his body struggle off the ground and into the air. He straddled his brothers back, and Jarius continued on with not a word said.
Jarius could feel his muscles tear at the burden put on them, often times causing him to collapse, only making it more difficult to stand up and continue on. Often times he would stop, using small remnants of the water they were gifted with to clean Zacharim’s continually worsening wound.
Zacharim, through pain and fatigue, continually slipped in and out of consciousness. Occasionally opening his eyes only long enough to see, through haze, the hellish scene of death and decay that has become of this forest, and then pass out once again. At times, the weight of his own body and regret would suffocate him, he wanted so desperately for his brother to just leave him and save himself, but whenever he tried to beg for his own demise, his brother would simply continue walking on without even so much as a shrug. Perhaps his own fatigue was too great for him to even speak, or perhaps his brothers fatigue and concentration prevented him from hearing his brother. Zacharim couldn’t be sure, the bellow of the trees and wind had fully conquered his mind, he was unable to hear his own voice, if he even had it any more.
After hours of travel, and starlight fading, Jarius collapsed in a heap, unable to will himself to move any more. Zacharim, unconscious at the time, rolled off of Jarius’ back and sprawled across the forest floor. The two remained there for a brief period, Jarius searching for the courage to move, and Zacharim searching for the courage to wake up, until finally Jarius popped open their final canteen of water. He took a small but infinitely rejuvenating sip of water, then turned over to his brother.
“We’re almost out, I’m sure…” Jarius said faintly, as he opened Zacharim’s tunic to attend to his brothers wound. “Won’t be too long now, and you’ll be able to get medical attention.”
Zacharim groaned slightly as he woke up from his latest stint of unconsciousness. He looked up at his brother, a haze over his eyes preventing him distinguishing any features, only that the soft touch on his torso had to be of his brother. He opened his mouth as if to say something to his brother, but no words came out.
“Don’t talk, save your energy…you’ll need it,” Jarius said, as he began the cleaning of his brothers wound.
Please, brother, save the water…leave me behind, please…
“Well, not too much water left…you can have it, I’m sure you need it to help your body with that wound. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll rain hmm?” Jarius said, gasping for air between each breath.
I don’t want it…just let me die, the pain is too great and the infection has spread too far. Please brother…hear me…
Jarius tilted Zacharim’s head up slowly and poured the remaining few drops of water into his brothers mouth. Instinctually, Zacharim swallowed it all, a rush of cold refreshment traveled down his body for a moment, but soon it passed and once again he faded into unconsciousness.
Heaving mightily, Jarius pulled himself from the ground and prepared himself once again to trek what was left of these woods. He bent down and pulled one limp arm of his brother across his shoulder then slowly and painfully stood back up. His brother, limp like pudding hanging from his arm, slumped forward making the task all the more difficult for Jarius. Sighing, he pulled Zacharim’s arm until he had the passed out elf behind him, then grasping both of his arms, he bucked forward, hunching his brother in the air and on his back. He pulled the rest of his brother’s weight up, from the hips, to his back, and sighed once again as he stabilized himself.
One step…a second, and a third. Jarius had once again begun his hike. As if on cue, the beams of starlight once again shone through the treetops and guided the weary feet of the young elf. It did not take many steps for Jarius to realize that something was quite clearly wrong, though. His surroundings seemed far too hazy, his mind far too unstable, and his legs far too limp. Shrugging off this uneasy feeling, Jarius motioned forward to take another step, but no sooner had he lifted his leg than the starlit path in front of him became the rotting forest floor.
Jarius blinked, still unable to understand what had happened. It took him a seeming eternity for him to realize he had fallen, and that he unconsciously rolled over on his back. A sudden feeling of nausea overtook him, and he quickly sat up and leaned forward, covering the rot with his vomit. Decayed; the taste of this forest overtook him, as he emptied all that remained in his stomach onto the ground in front of him. Trees circled and swam around him as he let loose one final mighty heave.
He hunched over into the ground, shivering, trying to recover and shake off the sickness overtaking him. The sounds of leaves crunching suddenly hit Jarius, causing him to use what pitifully little energy he had left to look behind him, only to see forest.
“Damn…wind…” Jarius choked out, staring longingly into the forest.
Although he gave it his best efforts, his body simply could do no more. His vision, now enveloped in a thick fog, began slowly blackening from the outside in. He willed himself to keep conscious; that his brother’s life depended on it. He tried so desperately to reclaim his body from the forest, but it was to no avail, his body tingled and the impending darkness consumed his vision unrelentingly.
As he slowly slipped away, one last beacon caught his vision. A single white visage, standing mere feet away, approached steadily. Help or harm, Jarius could do nothing more but fall into a deep sleep.
“Hey! Are you awake already?! You can’t sleep all the time you know!” An overly cheery voice flooded Jarius’ ears.
Jarius opened one lazy eye, then another, and saw a young girl looking down on him. He gasped at the sight of his surroundings, a foreign and very large house. Lumber was all around him, from the ground to the roof, stretching as large as the chiefs hut. He stumbled out of the bed he was in and rushed to his feet in a panic, scaring the young girl to the ground causing her to yelp slightly. He saw her voice belied her age, as she appeared to just be entering womanhood, yet had the voice of a small girl.
“Deina! Watch out you clumsy boar!” Came a loud female voice from one of the various passages of this graveyard.
A woman, looking to be in her middle ages, walked briskly from one of the many passageways wiping her hands on a fairly clean looking cloth. She stopped suddenly, startled, and stared at the boy in front of her and her daughter sitting on the ground.
“Look! I don’t know who you are but you don’t repay a persons kindness and hospitality by attacking their daughter!” Her startled expression turned to one of anger as she approached Jarius.
“H-House?” Jarius choked out.
“Yes! This is my house, and I will not have you attacking none of my children in it do you understand?!” Her finger shook in Jarius face as she reprimanded the still very confused elf.
“Mom! He didn’t attack me! He just jumped up real fast and it scared me!” The girl stood up and brushed off her very humble dress, smiling nervously at Jarius.
The woman turned her back suddenly to Jarius, hiding a bright red face. She regained her composure, cleared her throat, and turned back with a half smile to Jarius.
“Well, it would appear my daughters clumsiness and my big mouth got this family into trouble again hmm? Well sit down, I’m sure you’re hungry, I’ll have some tater soup out for you in just a few; the taters aren’t peeled, Paolo doesn’t like it much though I’m sure you won’t mind! Oh, and you might want to put some clothes on too, you are in a house of ladies after all,” The woman nodded slightly and walked back behind the wall.
“Oh! …Right, thanks…” Jarius said, noticing that he had nothing more than a loin cloth covering him, and that the girls face had a deep shade of pink covering it.
“Yes…well…sit down and rest, mom should be back with something nice and hot to warm you up in no time! I mean…well…you’ll find some of dads old clothes in the uhh…closet, on your right,” the girl stuttered out her words, forcing a smile afterwards.
“I’m Jarius…” Jarius said, sitting back down and covering himself with the thick wool blankets.
“Oh right! I’m Deina, Deina Avaril, pleasure to make your acquaintance! Umm…nice to meet you rather.”
“Thank you for your hospitality Deina.”
Deina cleared her throat and quickly left the room. Jarius scoured the closet only to discover this girls father was clearly a very heavy set man. He grabbed the smallest looking clothes he could find, and figured he must look pretty silly in clothes big enough for three of him.
Hmm…no sword, but it won’t be needed. Zach is around here somewhere, we have to get away.
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