The Cavern and the Mountaintop

2

The Fortress- Part One

Ben sucked in a breath. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. He could hardly hold the glass he was supposed to be drinking from. He could practically feel the wrongness flowing through his veins. He couldn't place it, but he knew he had to go somewhere.

He left the building, guards hastily opening doors so he wouldn't run into them. His bag bounced against his side, but he hardly noticed. It wasn't until he was halfway to the woods on a black, bulky horse that he remembered the golden chain hidden in his pocket. He sucked in a deep breath, putting the pieces together already. Please don't be what I think it is. Pleasepleaseplease-

The crystal hanging from the end of the chain was red, already starting to drip blood. A pulse ran through his body, everything screaming at him just one simple word.

TOLIN.

He didn't know what it meant, but the blood pooling in his hand was a primary concern.

The Forest- Part Two

The pulsing sensation grew even more the closer he got to the woods, and he carefully guided the galloping horse to where the blood pool in his hand drained. Northeast, five minutes. North, ten minutes. A sharp west turn had him dismount the horse, slinging his leather bag off of his shoulder and onto the soft bed of cedar needles on the forest floor.

He had to know exactly where to look or he wouldn't find her.

"Jana? Jana, are you here?" He called frantically, sweeping the area, the blood now forming a miniature river in his palm, flowing forward. Ben barely noticed the horse nervously nickering, or how the entire forest was still. Not even a tree was moving, much less the animals or bugs.

His footsteps made a soft pounding on the needles, the heels of his boots occasionally catching on a stick.

At last he found who he was looking for, after almost tripping over her. The soft fabric boots he was wearing were stained with blood, from his palm or the dying body he wasn't sure. A glowing iron spike was embedded lightly in her neck, and her body was twitching uncontrollably. He threw his bag on the ground, his mind a sharp focus.

He checked for the woman's pulse, tearing a leather glove from her hand and frantically placing his fingers on her olive wrist.

Barely, just barely, a faint and already stuttering heartbeat could be felt. Ben let out a breath he didn't know he was holding,

"Jana, you have to stay with me..." He said through his teeth, withdrawing a bottle of salts from his leather bag. He wiped them under her nose, instantly regretting waking her up because she cried out in pain until she rested her ever-changing eyes on Ben.

"Ben..." She started, shifting a little. He quickly pushed her down, his blood-soaked hands leaving glossy stains on the deep blue armor piece she wore. Why is there so much blood? Where is this wound-

And then Ben saw it. A long hole was burned in her armor, the metal forming a clumpy rim around the opening. Blood oozed from it.

He cursed, fumbling to shove a white, sharp smelling cloth into the hole to assist in staunching the bleeding. After the blood was gone, he could find out how to open the armor plate to gain access to the wound.

"Doctor Agea! What in the name of-!" The voice behind him cut off, noticing Jana and the hulking Ben over her. He didn't bother to turn around. The head guard of the fortress was there, probably having noticed Ben's erratic behavior. He could hear the nervous shuffle of two more pairs of feet besides the voice's.

"Quickly, tie together a platform. We haven't much time, Cillian. Now!" Ben barked, hearing the guard jump and then do what he was told. Ben couldn't operate on her without his lab equipment, plus the forest floor was not sterile and bound to cause infection.

"AHA!" The doctor shouted, unlatching a strap on Jana's side. The chest plate fell away, leaving a simple black shirt underneath, where Ben could work with the wound.

"Jana, I need you to stay awake, you hear me? I can save you. You need to stay awake, though. Talk to me, Jana." He said, tearing the bottom portion of the shirt away,  revealing the end of a gaping hole the center of her chest. Ben shoved the clot against it, pressing down hard.

"Ben, I made a misjudgement..." She attempted to laugh, only to cough up the almost black blood onto his white coat.

"Really? You can tell me all about it later when you're healed. I need you to describe the forest to me, it's very important." Ben told her, holding his breath while pulling an intricate silver ring inlaid with green stones from his middle finger. It unraveled, turning into a small metal snake with green eyes. Ben grabbed it, focusing his mind on the pierced heart within Jana's ribcage. The eyes of the snake glowed in tandem with a golden light in her chest, where her heart should be.

"The forest... Trees, everywhere. Plenty of shadows which they cast, enough for me to hide in. P-plenty of soft pine needles on th-the ground. They s-smell nice, with the flowers." Her strange eyes widened, but the doctor paid no heed until she started talking again. He was tightly binding the wound with bandages and any other material he could find, while the soldiers were hastily grabbing fallen branches and weaving them together with a roll of twine Ben had thrown at them.

"And there are white lights everywhere, they're covering everything...Doctor, this is the end for me... I can hear them calling me. They're singing... " Her eyes were suddenly clear at the sharp turn of Ben's head.

"Tolin is a danger to us all. You have to protect them. Find my family, the Queen, anyone, but please don't let him get away. I will not die in vain." Jana stated, her voice now powerful for just that savory moment. Ben went into a panic, losing his grip on the bandaging and ceasing to breathe.

"No, not now, Jana. You have to stay with me, dammit! Do you understand? Your family needs you. The Circle needs you. Hell, I need you!" His voice cracked on the last fragment, his composure gone. Luckily, the makeshift stretcher was finished.

Carefully, the two other guards lifted Jana onto the platform, hardly moving her twitching body as she did so.

Ben again noticed the spike in her throat, and how its unnatural glow set him off a bit. He reached out and plucked it from her olive neck, a small dot of blood welling to the surface. Immediately, her body went completely limp, out of its twitching trance.

The stretcher was tied across two chestnut horses' backs, their royal purple armor keeping it stiff in place. They creatures were led by a single rope, dutifully keeping the right pace.

Ben kept the snake close to the wound, focusing his entire existence into keeping her alive with the creature's magic.