A few days have passed since Talj's awakening. The convalescence wasn't fully spent in bed, however. With his brother's help, he'd assist Anicla in her activities such as feeding her cattle or checking on the chickens and their eggs.
Talj greeted the simplicity of those days with open arms. After weeks of running from guards and fighting, it was nice to perform tireless tasks and enjoy the lucid company of loved ones. Sharing a meal, recounting stories… In Anicla's cottage the only battles were the ones that animated the night through Nyr's memories that he recounted before they headed to bed.
The house bathed in a warm and soothing pool, muffling away the noises and hassle of the outside world and letting the two Spearmen sink in restfulness. For a little while, Talj was free of the burdens that tangled his mind.
To him, there was an invisible beauty in sustaining a life not through grand deeds, but through the small, unremarkable kindnesses that allowed others, and himself, to live a little easier. Simply existing and being of service before admiring the fruits of his labor was a feeling he had missed.
However, the dome surrounding the cottage that banished the outside parted its gates, and it was time to continue their journey. The young blacksmith's strengths returned to him, allowing the group to continue their expedition.
Of course, before their departure, the trio said their heartfelt goodbyes to madam Anicla who generously offered them enough provisions to settle them until the end of their voyage and even repaired their torn and dirty clothes.
"Woah! They look good as new!" Talj exclaimed. "Do you have some secret tailoring spell you haven't told us?"
"Yes." Anicla replied with a glint. "It's called forty years of experience."
"Goodbye Madame Anicla." Aklas said with a slow movement of his head. "Your generosity will always be remembered."
"Fare thee well, children." Anicla replied. "Thank you for keeping this old pile of bones some company in her final years."
And thus, Talj, Aklas and Nyr stepped through the door of Anicla's cottage and engaged in the Shogre Swamps. Parting ways with the old woman filled the blacksmith's heart with a strange melancholy that steeled his resolve to see his mission through. She had shown him a glimpse of the life he wished to return to, and was nothing but too kind for all of them. She earned the place of the long list of people whom Talj had to win this fight for.
"In about a week, we should reach a small river, marking the end of the swamp." Nyr explained, perched on Talj's shoulders. "Its course cuts the land from west to east."
"The river of the Silent Lake." Aklas commented. "We're getting close to home."
"Aye…" The Night Eagle confirmed. "The river marks the halfway point of our current location and our destination. However, beyond the watercourse, you will both need my guidance, for the area ahead has a mischievously treacherous reputation, and it's well earned."
"The Mist." Talj commented.
"Aye, the Mist." Nyr's voice was thoughtful.
They fell in a brief silence, each of them deep in thoughts. The Mist, the remnants of a powerful spell conjured up by none other than Torm Lightbringer, the founder of The Spear. It shrouded the small forest that surrounded The Rise and prevented any intruder or travelers to draw near The Sheath, to avoid any unwanted within the Spear's lair.
None, not even Nyr, knew how the spell sustained itself despite its caster's death, aeons ago. It was no ordinary fog like the one that naturally gathered above the Shogre Swamps. No, the Mist was way thicker and bizarre. Sometimes it even appeared to be sentient, constantly moving and roaming within itself, actively luring any uncalled for individual out of its perimeter with calculative measures.
Many adventurers and Dali guards attempted to best it and become the first ones to uncover the secrets beyond it, naturally ignoring the true purpose and origin of that mysterious phenomenon. And all of them returned with nothing but discouragement and empty hands.
However, it wasn't the Mist that was the source of the group's heavy silence. No, it was the thought of what laid beyond it. A nameless forest that surrounded The Crying Mountain for around a hundred kilometers. It served as a small ecosystem that flourished near the Spear's base.
It was the same forest where Aklas's mother taught him to hunt and develop his skill. The same woods where Talj would curiously roam in hopes to find anything that would catch his eyes.
The same trees that burned to ashes the night the Spear succumbed to the Darkness's attack, as screams and blood filled the forest.
Chasing the image away from his mind, Talj asked with as much lightness as he could gather:
"So, Nyr, will you ever tell us how you escaped Klaus and aided my helpless brother to flee the grasp of his ferocious beast?"
"I am going to be the mature one here and ignore the provocation." Aklas scoffed.
"Ah, yes!" Nyr beamed. "Not one of my most impressive feats of course, but still a tale worth telling!"
The Night Eagle cleared his throat with slight exaggeration as Aklas and Talj exchanged an amused look at their mentor's attitude.
"I was veiled by Aklas's spell, my wings one with the air as I roamed over the city." Nyr began. "But, as suddenly as lightning, I felt a presence creeping within its streets. A powerful dark mage hidden like a wasp in a beehive. Naturally, I went to investigate. Skimming above Kaelnah, my eyes landed on the source of the ominous magic. I dived into the streets, confident in my shroud's competence, but I didn't expect to find myself in front of an Archmage, let alone Archmage Klaus himself."
"You know him?" Talj asked.
"Aye." Nyr replied. "I've only seen him thrice in my life, two times during the Collapse and then during the attack that befell on us. He's one of the very rare Archmages that was alive during the war between Torm and Koronus."
"A mage from the primordial times." Aklas mused. "No wonder he was so strong."
"To you, maybe. But Klaus is actually way weaker than you'd expect." Nyr corrected. "Klaus was born… crippled, in lack of a better world. The powers of his lineage hardly awakened within him. He was doomed to remain powerless his whole life, while his fellow mages would surpass him by a lot."
"But clearly, he's leagues too far from powerless." Talj commented.
"He is." Nyr nodded. "And that's thanks to our treacherous General, Kroll The Deceiver. Kroll, despite his completely unsound nature, is a brilliant savant. He is the one who discovered the inner magical realm within each individual and the founder of the four basic laws of magic. The same laws we've taught you during your training. Albeit, his results would be achieved through torture and death, one cannot dismiss the impact of his work on the world."
"What a nice guy." Aklas sarcastically interjected.
"Oh, I never said we should forgive him." The Night Eagle continued. "All in all, he took in Klaus and offered him a deal: To allow him to perform his experiments on him and in return he'd restore the power that lay dormant within him. Klaus, desperate for power, accepted and thus became Kroll's Archmage."
"So basically… He's a laboratory experiment." Talj concluded.
"All of Kroll's Archmages are." Nyr replied. "Most of his subordinates either unlocked their powers with his help or have been subjected to horrors for the sake of growing stronger. But do not be fooled by his smile and gentle airs. Kroll does not see his Archmages as people, but as achievements, trophies that of the great advances his mind had come to. Polished tools he used to fetch and mend together the fragments of his success."
"And he currently has his own chair at the Council as the Dali General of Jibal." Talj said. "Great. Hopefully his big brain came at the cost of his strength"
"Let's just say that… The only person who ever managed to insight fear in his heart was Torm Lightbringer. In fact, Kroll has only ever respected two men in his life: Torm and himself. No other mage could come even close to posing a threat to Kroll."
"And we just pissed off one of his Archmages… Great." Aklas grunted.
"Don't worry, brother." Talj smiled. "With our luck, I'm sure we'll find some super powerful ancient mage to keep him in check."
Nyr sighed, pausing his tale momentarily. Talj's mind analyzed his previous words carefully.
So Klaus is weaker than most of the other Archmages, and I've barely managed to stand my ground against him. Salzeka was right, we need to get stronger really fast if we want to have a chance against The Darkness.
The thought lingered a bit in the blacksmith's mind. Thus far, he's been mainly focused on the immediate objective: Reach the Confluence. He blissfully ignored the implications behind the accomplishment. After that, they'll have to find a way to strike back and fend off The Darkness. However, Aklas and him were clearly too weak to even face a High Lord of The Darkness, let alone liberate the entire continent with the sole strengths of their arms.
Let's focus for now. Talj reminded himself. As Aklas had said, inaction assures failure, so any form of effort we make is better than simply staying still.
"Where was I?" Nyr quipped. "Ah yes. When I found myself in front of Klaus, his gaze pierced through Aklas's invisibility like sunray in the fog."
Talj remembered the Archmage's glowing eyes and how he seemed to always know where the Spearman would strike.
"Klaus seized me before I could fly away." The eagle said.
"Did he recognize you?" Aklas asked.
"Not at first." Nyr replied. "But Night Eagles are creatures that disappeared from Ylbunish's face thousands of years ago. With the sole exception of me of course. The rest of my species are probably alive and thriving in The Primordium… Hopefully. Anyways, the Archmage didn't take long before realizing I was the same Night Eagle that accompanied Torm into battle during the Collapse, thousands of years ago. He was in disbelief at first. He probably believed me dead alongside all Spearmen after the attack. To see the Spear's councilor and eldest member alive after thousands of years and despite the raid they put us under was more than a shock to him."
"So the Darkness doesn't know about any other survivors either?" Talj assessed. "Now that I think about it, Klaus didn't seem to realize that Aklas was a Spearman too."
"Let's not raise our hopes up." Aklas responded.
"Aye, there's no knowing truly how much our enemies know." Nyr replied. "Returning to Klaus. His initial surprise faded slowly, giving way to lust for glory and fame. Lo! He imagined the praise he'd receive if he brought me to his master. Klaus, the Archmage who captured the guardian of the Spear's secrets. The knowledge I hold was to be a valuable asset to The Darkness. And so, the reward he'd receive for my capture would be far greater than anything Kroll would give him if he handed Talj, his initial target, to him."
"A birdie's more valuable than me. Noted." Talj jested.
"No offense young lad." Nyr chuckled. "But even amongst the Darkness, there are very few people who were alive during the Collapse, a war that concerns our history as much as theirs. Exceptions like Kroll exist because of their primordial blood giving them an extended lifespan."
"Nyr knows secrets that were lost hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago." Aklas explained. "The stories he tells us around the fire are a testimony of his vast knowledge. And remember that Night Eagles have unique magical properties. If the Darkness could extract information from him, who knows what monstrous feat they may be able to perform."
Talj nodded in understanding, allowing Nyr to continue his story.
"I needed to escape. However, the binding spell he had put on me was firmly anchoring me to the ground, and undoing to flee would take a minute at the very least. Time and haste were clashing, but I needed both in order to fly away. And now, young ones, tell me: If you were in my stead, what method would you adopt to outmaneuver your captor?"
"Negotiation." Aklas suggested. "Use his greed against him. Make an offer that would make him consider long enough for you to escape."
"Negotiation would work if he had some bargaining ground." Talj countered. "What could Nyr offer that would rile Klaus more."
"A bluff?" Aklas tried. "Give him something Nyr doesn't have. The idea here is to buy time, not buy freedom."
"Indeed." Nyr nodded. "A bluff, embellished with a fake frightened state I adopted to brew the illusion that the lad's hold on me is absolute. Oh, how fear crippled as I was under the sole mercy of Klaus, Archmage whose renown I'd preceded by his might."
"I'm sure you didn't overdo it." Talj smirked, to which his mentor replied:
"When someone wishes to make you their puppet, give them more strings than they can hold. They'll tie their hands together and watch you run in glee."
"Did Klaus buy the act?" Aklas asked.
"I was convincing enough to sow doubt in his heart," Nyr replied. "I told him I was not the last surviving member of the Spear, that there were others hidden, and that I could lead him to them if he spared my life. Naturally, I salted my claims with promises of the glory he might earn by heeding my plea. My words shackled his thoughts. For a few seconds, he was torn between the temptation of claiming the Spear's fall to himself, and the reasonable choice of dismissing my words as the lies of a small bird clinging to his life. And those few seconds were his bane. The alarm sounded in abruptness, shaking his thoughts with surprise and momentarily alleviating his grasp over his own spell. An opportunity I clasped as I overcame Klaus's binding magic and fled across Kaelanh."
Talj snickered, before saying with a smirk:
"So, in a way, if I didn't storm in the city head first, the alarm wouldn't have rang and you wouldn't have escaped Klaus's grasp."
Facing Aklas, the blacksmith added theatrically:
"It's okay, brother. I shall graciously accept your apology and forgive you for your mistaken thinking."
The hunter rolled his eyes with a suppressed scoff. Seeing Nyr's confused back and forth between the two of them, he explained briefly:
"We had a disagreement at Kaelnah's entrance about whether to look for you or wait for you when I felt my spell fade from you."
"Of course you did." Nyr tittered.
𖤓─────✧✦✧─────𖤓
The journey across the Shogre Swamps was fleeting. The two days spent in the marsh were thankfully uneventful for the most part. The very few monsters that crossed the Spearmen's path did not pose much of a threat, allowing them to advance quickly. The light of their third morning in this swamps shone on them, keeping them warm despite the cool fog that weighed on them. Talj and Aklas were quietly eating some bread given by Anicla, waiting for Nyr to get over his scouting session.
"I'm starting to get tired of this stench." Talj complained as they finished breakfast. "It's seriously unbearable, I can barely swallow my food."
"That's the fourth time you say that." Aklas replied with calm. "Does his majesty wish for a warm bed and a nicely polished carriage?"
"Very funny." Talj deadpanned. "I just hope we get through the marshes a bit faster. I feel like my lungs are starting a protest."
"Stop whining, little brother." Aklas tapped Talj's shoulder. "Some people have it worse, you know. Not everyone got to live with a roof and the smell of roses every morning."
"If that's a way to say some people have it worse I'm sorry to say that does not make the stink any better."
"My point is the sooner you'll understand a bothersome smell isn't the end of the world the faster your conscience will be at peace, and so will be my ears from your constant whimpering."
"Complaining and annoying you are two activities that I enjoy, don't take them away from me." Talj quipped.
Aklas didn't reply, simply eyeing the sky for any signs of their mentor.
"He sure is taking his time." Talj assessed. "Let's hope he didn't get tangled with another Archmage."
"That would be just our luck." Aklas commented.
After a few minutes of silent scouting, Talj's eyes finally met the sight of the Night Eagle, rapidly descending to them.
"There he is." He said, watching the bird dive to the ground before suddenly stopping at their eyes' level, maintaining a stationary flight.
"We're being tailed." Nyr announced. "One rider. At his pace, he might catch up to us in two to three hours"
The words came out as suddenly as the chill that ran on the two brothers' spines. Their hearts skipping a beat, Aklas and Talj quickly exchanged alarmed expressions, the dreadful realization of their safety's compromise mixed with the confusion of their mentor's abruptness clearly written on their faces.
"Are you sure that he was following us specifically?" The hunter asked.
"Yes." Nyr replied.
"How?" Talj inquired.
"Now is not the time to explain." Nyr urged. "We have to get going! Talj, your wolves."
The two brothers raised their eyebrows. Nyr's hasty nervousness seemed so uncharacteristic of him. He, who was usually grounded in front of danger, harnessing his panic into a fuel for focus instead of letting it control him, now seemed to be the prey of a dread profound enough to sway away his steadfastness.
"I will give you answers when we're out of danger!" Nyr conceded. "But I coax you now to trust me and flee! This is not a foe that any of you can thwart!"
Aklas and Talj exchanged another glance, this time filled with slowly growing determination instead of unease. Their shoulders stiffened as they assessed the eagle's claims. They were in danger and needed to move fast. So despite the many questions that tangled their minds, they decided to comply.
"How far are we from the mountain?" Talj asked.
"If we're fast enough we could reach The Mist by dusk." Nyr replied. "We should be safe from that point onward."
"Alright, let's not waste time then." Aklas goaded. "Talj, the wolves."
"Aye aye, captain." Talj replied before summoning Bolt and Tempest.
Hopping on their mounts, the Spearmen trekked through the Shogre Swamps with unbridled speed, as if death's jaw itself was coursing behind them.
𖤓─────✧✦✧─────𖤓
The Mist stood right beyond the narrow river's edge, like a great rempart of immaculate white, glaring at whoever wishes to enter its domain.
I can't even see the trees even though I know they're there! Talj scanned the mystical fog.
"Are we sure we're not going to get lost inside that?" He asked, quelling his two summons into two puddles of smoke.
"Not with my guidance." Nyr replied. "Torm specially designed this Mist to recognize those who took the Spear's Great Oath and allowed them to trek freely in and out of the woods. If anyone else ventured into it then it would purposefully lure them out."
"A domain spell that covers hundreds of kilometers of radius and that's under rigorous conditions…" Talj mused. "You weren't lying when you said that Torm was on another level."
"So the rider you spotted earlier won't follow us through here, right?" Aklas corroborated.
"Hopefully…"
Nyr's uncertain tone didn't please Talj, but he decided not to press his mentor. The blacksmith called for his frost powers, carving a path through the river as he turned its water to ice.
"Tread slowly and carefully." Nyr said as they engaged in The Mist. "Despite its benevolent nature towards Spearmen, this fog is still treacherous to navigate through."
"How did Spearmen bear to walk through it every time they had to go on missions?" Aklas asked.
"The Spear had its own way of dispatching members on expeditions." Nyr replied as they slowly walked into the veil.
"Shaja told me about it." Talj remembered. "They use some sort of doorways system. Like teleportation gates that work under certain circumstances. I never understood how they worked though."
"Keep heading straight for now." Nyr instructed. "I'll let you know if we deviate from our trajectory."
"Do you have some sort of inner compass?" Talj asked, half joking, half curious.
"Every bird has one, Talj." Aklas replied.
"We shall not stop in our march until we're out of the Mist." Nyr continued. "You'll have to bear the march, young ones, until it is done."
"Can't we go on wolfs' back?" Talj asked.
"No." The Night Eagle answered. "None of your spells will work within this fog. Not at your current strengths, at least."
"Great." The blacksmith muttered under his breath.
The trio advanced into the forest, deep in focus and silence. The ghosts of leafless trees would sometimes emerge in the Mist, drawing unclear shadows in the smoke. After some time spent striding between invisible bushes and unseen trees, the terrain seemed to have changed drastically. Aklas and Talj instinctively recoiled, as if their bodies were repulsed by the new nature that surrounded them even if they couldn't see it. Each step they took echoed with a coarse sound as their feet slightly sank below the ground, as if they were walking on dried sand.
Not sands… Ashes. Talj realized. The consequences of the Darkness's attack… The woods burned during the battle. I wonder if the wildfire was caused by them willingly or if it was a mere casualty born from the conflict.
The prolonged quiet that was occasionally broken by Nyr -who was holding on Aklas's arm- was starting to feel heavy. They had spent long and restless hours surrounded by nothing but murkiness and apprehension. The sky was screened by the fog and their path was hidden from them, which left them at the mercy of their thoughts. And those thoughts extracted a heavy weight from them. Their minds slowly grasped the true gravity of the situation they would be in: Soon enough, they'll come face to face with their old home, the one they watched burn and fled years ago. Both the future and the past were waiting beyond the Mist, and they could not proceed to the former if they didn't go through the latter. What would they find once they reach the Sheath? Was the ground still napped with the bones of their fallen comrades? Were they too late? Was the Darkness still besieging the Crying Mountains in hopes to open the gates to the Spear's lair? If yes, could they have succeeded?
Let's just hope for the best and expect the worst. Talj reassured himself.
Stride after stride, their memories piled, and their weariness condensed, arching their backs and making every step more insufferable than the last.
"We're almost at the end of the Mist, young ones." Nyr announced at last.
"Already?" Talj bitterly replied. "And I was having fun advancing in complete blindness.
After a few minutes, the veil lifted. The world gained back its colors, allowing the two Spearmen to have a look at their surroundings.
And it was not a pretty sight.
Lifeless trees, grey soil, putrid air… Almost everything on sight was marked by death. The chilly wind howled distantly, playing a gloomy tune as it slipped through this cemetery. The two brothers widened their eyes, taken aback by a scenery where they grew up, but that was completely alien to them. Talj gazed at what used to be a valley gorging with life. He remembered the amount of times Shaja had taken him through the forest to train him, when he and Aklas would venture it when they were children to explore its secrets, when it got scorched the night of the attack, as the Devourer soared from the Silent Lake and his fellows died one by one… Now, the dead branches looked down on him, seemingly blaming him for what had happened.
The sun's position indicated that it was noon, meaning that they've been walking for more than half a day's worth. Nyr, feeling the desolation in his companion's heart, sighed and told them compassionately:
"Get some rest, little ones. Our journey is almost done."
The Night Eagle leaped off, probably to verify that their pursuer lost them. Talj partly wished it not to be the case. Any form of life, even a foe, would have been a better sight than the wasteland that tarnished the legacy of what this forest used to be. A memory surged to him suddenly. A question he had asked Nyr when he was still in training.
He looked to his left, hoping to see any sort of relief in his brother's face. Instead, Aklas seemed to have distanced himself from the group and peeked between two trunks, eyes open so wide they seemed to be trying to escape their sockets.
Talj walked up to him with curiosity.
"You good?" He asked. "Now is not the time to see ghosts, brother. Although if you see one do ask for directions plea-"
The blacksmith interrupted himself. His eyes found what Aklas was looking at with such intensity. The woodland terrain before them spread generously in a gentle slope that would take a few days to cover fully, converging circularly into one singular point. Like a halo of trees, circling around a common center. And at that center stood the dominative point of the landscape:
The Crying Mountain looked back at them, waiting for its inhabitant's return.