The Legend of Lost Aulta

14. The Third Dream

FELIKS

That night, laid out painfully in a rickety bed, his eye swelling and his joints aching, Tsarevich Feliks dreamt again.

The air was thick with fog. He was standing by a window, staring out into the murky landscape of a city made of stone, carved houses moulded deep into a mountainside. He looked further, and saw a great expanse of water, fog ridden, empty aside from dark spirits with wide, black eyes poking their heads over the surface.

He waved to them.

And then, he turned.

"Your majesty," a woman said. Her eyes were dark, and two brown horns emerged from her head, twining above her. He felt himself smile.

The woman pulled a suit jacket over his shoulders, which fitted him perfectly. It had holes, after all, for his huge, leathery wings.

"We're missing one thing," he felt himself say. And with that, he took a large gold pendant from his dresser, encrusted with red rubies and white diamonds. He hung it over his neck, where it laid heavily on his chest with pride, just atop of his red waist jacket.

"I'm ready," he said.

Suddenly, he was in a large, dark throne room, the floor a carpeted red. He sat on the left side of a larger man, with huge horns and dark wings protruding from his skin. The man clamped a hand down on his.

"Don't embarrass me," he snarled, "in front of Vorig Sponik."

*************

The group left the tavern in the early hours of the morning, and Feliks told no-one of his dream. They traipsed out of the village, where some drunks still lingered in doorways. But this time, no eyes were on them.

Halima and Yulia both wore common dresses, Halima's brown and Yulia's a dull blue, and Feliks wore a homespun tunic that was slightly too large for him. They walked with their knapsacks, and Ronnie with his axe, nobody giving them a second glance, even with Yulia's red-crusted nose and Feliks' purple eye, Ronnie's bruised knuckles.

They left the village as the sun rose, and before them lay a large expanse of woodland- tall, green, beautiful.

They lumbered down the cobbled path, which grew more faded and less world-worn as they approached the looming trees. Feliks swallowed as he took them in, knowing where they were going to lead them.

"Is our next friend a forest spirit?" Asked Yulia, smiling brightly despite the previous night's events, "that would be nice, wouldn't it, Halima?"

"It depends," murmured Halima, "just don't let them trick you into a circle dance."

The air was heavy with silence as they walked through the countryside, the air warm and humid around them. Soon, the trees opened up like long, stretching arms, inviting them in through the branches.

"Do you know where we are going, Feliks?" Asked Yulia, "did you get another dream?"

There was a silence.

"Yes," he said, quietly.

The eyes of the group turned to him, and Yulia squealed, "yes, I knew you would! Tell me of them! Is it a girl? An elf? A human? A spirit? A water spirit- I see that we're approaching the Wide River. A rusalka, maybe? A-"

"Demon," said Feliks.

The group went silent. Ronnie cleared his throat, his eyes averted, "an Orc?" He said.

Feliks shook his head.

"No," he said, "a Chort."

The Chorts were a race of  humanoid demons, and they fed, almost similarly to Halima, from humans. However, instead of feeding from souls, they fed from misery. They lived in Aulitia, but on a separate island, separated from them across the Wide River, the largest river in Aulitia which almost resembled a small ocean.