Escape From Kraznir

Chapter Four- Forest Haag

We reached the forest after a long and tiresome hike through the day and into the night, slumped with loss, exhausted. Completely unaware of the fears waiting for us behind the trailing vines obscuring the entrance.

After following a faint trail in a maze of leaning trees, we arrived at a clearing, flooded with moonlight. The plants surrounding us cast menacing shadows all around. I slumped into the crisp, cold grass. The damp dew penetrating my thin clothes. I slowly closed my heavy eyes. The frozen earth felt soothing against my hot and feverish skin. Touch fire stayed standing, alert and wary.

Suddenly, a sharp scuffling sounded in the dark bushes. I lifted my head just in time to see a shining beetle scuttle across the dark terrain towards me. Behind it, a million more followed in waves of glistening shells flowing forwards. I considered just lying there, letting them swallow me, eat me alive. But Touchfire didn’t think like me. He yanked me to my feet and shook me to make me think. I grasped his arms and tried to focus on lifting him over the oncoming swarm.

 My arms buckled and the scarabs were nearly upon us. I realized that they must have been sent with a reason because wherever we moved, they changed their route so as to always be facing us.

            Their purpose was to devour and destroy.

            Their target was us.

            My mind whizzed under the pressure of survival. Being a super genius isn’t always the most helpful trait, the information overwhelms you at the most inconvenient times. I told Touchfire to cast a spell on the beetles. He conjured up a ball of fire and threw it at the advancing scarabs. It went up in a puff of smoke before it could even have an effect. Clearly Touchfire’s magic does not work as well here as outside.

            I suddenly decided that at least Touchfire should survive. I took the chest up under one arm and grabbed the wizard with the other and using all my strength, pushed off the ground and glided just meters above our pursuers.

It worked! The scarabs were so confused at having to turn all at once that they started to crawl over each other. Soon they were just a squirming mass of shining shells. It gave us a head start to get away. We landed and ran for our lives, the chest wobbling between us as we ran.

Puffing and panting, we stepped into another clearing. But this one was inhabited by a terrible sight. Lying across the exit out of the space was a huge, rotting corpse. It was seeping clotted blood and white maggots were slithered across the exposed ribs, gnawing at the blackening flesh. I felt dizzy and sick at the same time. I peeked at the giant wolf, bigger than a Warg, and saw its clouded black eyes staring back, tongue lolling.  I tried to imagine what I would have been like as a playful puppy, and suddenly saw it raise its head. There were no more wounds and it was much smaller and fuller in the stomach. I realised that my imagination had brought the creature back to life. I connected my mind to Touchfire’s and told him to do the same. I saw the wolf clamber up and move away from the exit leaping playfully around the clearing. It brightened my day.

At the next winding path I suddenly felt a wave of woe wash over me like a cold shower. I remembered all the bad things that had entered my life and was pulled to the floor. I screamed. All the pain and hurt that I had ever experienced, all the lives that had been lost, came back to haunt me. I felt a pair of strong hands grab me beneath my arms and the ground slipped away from me. The loss and fear faded when I heard a familiar voice in my ear

“Nehemath is a wizard of illusions. He has brought back all of your worst memories. Think happy thoughts” Touchfire advised

I followed his instruction and the next thing I knew I was outside in the fresh air. Alone.

At least that’s what I thought.

Lying limp beside me, a burnt and blackened body stared vacantly towards the open stretch home. Next to its head, shimmering globe lay on top of a scrap of paper. I leaned in and read the scrawled message:

Pick up the ball, and you will know the truth.

I took a second look at the body and realized that it was my last companion, Touchfire.

I took the ball in my hands without even thinking and all at once pictures and sounds echoed around my head. Finally I could make sense of it all and realized that what I was seeing was a war between the evil wizard Nehemath and Touchfire I was nowhere to be seen. The battle raged and suddenly there was an explosion of sparks and there was my Touchfire. Burning. Dying.

            And then there was just a continuous image of the face of my last friend.

            I threw the ball to the dusty earth and it disappeared. I got to my feet and set off on the last journey I would take.