Isaac slumped against a desk, his body feeling like lead. He could vaguely hear the birds chirping outside but he wasn’t able to go out and be in the sun with those animals. Instead he was stuck inside and making reports. His pen going across the paper slowly, checking boxes, signing forms and doublechecking results.
The room was well put together. Shelves of books against one wall, a window on the far wall that was open and a soft breeze rolled in. The walls were painted a soft blue and a symbol of the Sanctum painted along the walls, a trio of interlocking ovals within a diamond. The same symbols carved into the bottom of the walls as a sort of frame colliding to the door in front of him that was presently closed.
Paper work. Paper work was not something for a soldier like him to be doing. He was meant to be out being physical and swinging his sword and roughing around with his battalion. But he had volunteered to do this. One stack on his right was much smaller and the pile to his left was shrinking slowly.
The door opened slowly and Isaac didn’t bother checking it, assuming it was one of the other helping hands of the church to deliver more forms. Instead though he heard a voice that immediately earned his gaze. “Look at you working so hard for the church.”
Glancing up he saw Hector, wearing his summer robes. They were white with blue trim and lighter just by the way that they hung on his arms and legs. His hair was messy still, tousled by the wind into curls. His cheeks were red, his skin sun kissed to a gentle bronze. His lips were pouty and curled into a smile and his amber eyes crinkled with his smile. All of Isaac’s complaints melted away and instead he sighed reaching his hand out to him. Hector closed the distance between them and took his hand in his own. His fingers traced the light callouses along his palms and he smiled.
Raising Isaac’s hand Hector pressed it against his cheek and then kissed his palm. “Why do you have me in this office doing paper work. Can’t you do it?”
“I need you to do it because we have a group of new orphans and they’ve been a bunch of trouble makers.”
“What do you mean? I can handle a bunch of unruly kids.”
“I’m sure you can. But I don’t think that would be good for the children.”
“I wouldn’t hit them hard,” he said. Hector chuckled and walked around the desk and pushed a stack of papers to sit on the edge of the desk. “You look tired. But you look happy.”
“I love working with the kids.” Hector looked towards the window and stared outside. “They’re so bright and have great minds. Before a priest can get to them and teach them the discipline and drills to make them ‘model members of society’.”
Isaac moved the chair over and wrapped his arm around Hector’s waist and rested his own on his lap. “You can’t bring one home. Our little cottage is way too small for that.”
“Come on Isy. Just one. One little one we can call our own.”
Isaac snorted. “You can’t get me with that nickname Hector.”
“You sure Isy? It usually works.” Placing both his hands on Isaac’s cheeks he turned his head upward to look at him. “Think about it. A little one that needs a family. And keep you around more.”
“We go through this every time Hector. I’ll always find my way back home to you.”
“You always say that,” Hector sighed and lowered his head. But he leaned down and kissed his forehead before sliding off the desk and taking both of Isaac’s hands. “Come.”
“Come? Come where?”
“We’re going on a break. Getting out of this dusty room. We’re going to get something sweet and then we’re going to go wrangle some children.”
Isaac laughed as he got to his feet and glanced at him. “I thought you were behind on work.”
“I am behind on work but I’d rather spend time with you. So, come on Isy. The church has demanded that you help with the relief effort. We’ve got a lot of restless orphans who need a bigger orphan to lead them down the right path.” With a wide smile Isaac let himself be pulled toward the door and into the sunlight.
Isaac awoke with a start. Falling out of his trance he barely caught himself and stared around the cave. Gasping and feeling the burn in his chest again he started to cough. Getting his body under control he first looked at his hands and saw the skin unmarred. Almost good as new.
Blinking slowly, he looked around and saw the glowing runes on the walls. They pulsed with soft purple energy that wasn’t hostile to him. Remembering the reason he was in the cave at all he looked down and touched his crystal. The sensation of the touch was still sensitive but the crack was gone.
Looking around he glanced outside and saw that night had fallen again. “Where are you Shin?” he mumbled and turned toward a glowing circle on the ground. And a little ways away was Shin’s shovel. He’d never seen Shin without the weapon or even put it down for long periods. Going quickly toward it he looked at the circle and raised his eyebrow.
“Touch me?” he repeated touching the hastily scraped in wording. Glancing above the words he saw the glowing magic circle. He touched it and his eyes rolled backwards. He wasn’t seeing the cave anymore. He was seeing what looked like a prison cell. He could vaguely hear the rattling of chains and smell a mixture of piss and mold. The air was cooler and just as quickly as it happened he was back in the cave.
Falling to the ground he doubled over gasping. Staring at the circle again he was hesitant to even go back to that. But with a deep burning breathe he touched the circle and gripped it hard as his eyes rolled back. He was back in the dungeon and he felt like he was standing firmly on his feet this time.
“Isaac,” Shin’s voice came from his lips as if they were his own. “Take a good look and then get my shovel. It will take care of the rest.”
Looking around quickly Isaac tried to take in the details of the dungeon. A window above the wall, a hole in the ground where all the liquids were going, empty shackles against the walls. And then he saw the shackles attached to dark brown arms that were not his own. The chain extended to the middle of the room.
He was sent back to the cave again and gasped. Shaking slightly he turned to the shovel. After dealing with Shin’s magic for the second time he was reluctant to do anything more. But he had to figure out what happened to him. Picking up the shovel he felt nothing at first. Just a hunk of iron in his hands.
But then he turned around and suddenly there he was. Shin was standing in front of him looking the same as when he last saw him. Scratch that, he looked fuzzy, like he wasn’t really there. In fact, as Isaac approached he realized he could see right through Shin’s body.
Startled he jumped backwards. “Shin! Are you dead?! Am I dead? Are you a ghost? Have I always been a ghost? Have you always been a ghost?”
“Shut up,” Shin didn’t move despite the harshness of his voice. “God I knew you were a fool but I didn’t peg you for an idiot. I’m not a ghost.”
“Then. What are you?” Isaac asked carefully.
“I made you. As your necromancer we are connected. This is one of the ways in which we are connected,” Shin explained. “And now I need your help.”
Isaac raised his eyebrows. “You need my help?”
Shin didn’t move, he was like a statue but he spoke with the same annoyance. “I was captured. By the Norians. The bandits sent someone out the night before we got here. I let myself be captured for the sake of you recovering properly. So now it’s your turn to save me.”
“Where are you?” Isaac asked suddenly serious. “And how do I find you?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of fortress. A training grounds for new soldiers. Both conscripted and volunteer. And I’m one of the former.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t kill you,” Isaac said but nodded. “Alright. I can ask around. Figure out where you are.”
“Do so soon,” Shin said and then his image fizzled out and faded away. That left him alone in the cave, even the runes blinking out slowly. Before the last one faded he caught the glint of steel on the ground. Crouching he picked up the scimitar and set the shovel against the wall. Drawing the blade he moved with it. It was light and as he swiped and slashed with it, it felt good. Not a Sanctum weapon by any stretch of the imagination but still a very good one.
Affixing the weapon to his hip he moved to try and draw it quickly. It took him a few practice swings before he got it adjusted to the right height at his hip. looked at the torn shirt on the ground and wished that Shin had simply told him to take it off instead of tearing it off him. Taking the shovel he walked with it like a staff and headed out of the cave.
As he stepped outside he paused staring at the carnage. Two giant scorch marks were on the ground from some form of explosion. He got the feeling that was Shin’s doing. A few horses were on the ground and dead but they had shown the signs of something trying to pick at them already. There were one or two dead bodies, one of them noticeably missing a head.
Walking with the shovel Isaac made a face as he saw one body’s head having been eaten away by a few scavengers as well. Going toward the bodies he picked at the armor but none of that looked like something he wanted to try on.
As he searched through the corpses he felt like some kind of grave robber. He searched a few more of the bodies before giving up. Nothing was going to work as a shirt for him mainly because they were either bloodied or blasted to pieces. But he did notice a dark spot on the ground.
Quickly walking over to it he picked up a cloak, dusting it off a bit before grinning. He recognized Shin’s cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. It was a little smaller on him than on Shin but he affixed it to his shoulders and pulled the hood forward. Turning the shovel, he pushed it through the sheathe on the cloak. Turning he looked at the ground and could see the foot steps in the dirt.
Before leaving he glanced at the other cave where the bandits had been. Working his way into it he went over to one of the bleached skeletons. The product of the holy fire. Going into the back of the cave he pushed through the ashes of what might have been a crate and found a barely held together pouch. Digging past them he finally found what he wanted in the form of a pile of rocks.
Kicking them away he saw the pouches nestled in the corner. It was an old bandit trick to hide any and all coin they had or stole. They hid it from one another to not start fights at night and also in case their hideouts were found while they were gone. There was only one pouch but it was somewhat heavy. Untying it he counted some of the coins and it was a decent sum. Affixing it to his hip on the opposite side of his sword he left the cave and started back on the path to hopefully find Shin.
The path of the canyon wasn’t long before it started sloping upwards. His idea was to follow the river for as long as it could go. But as he walked he saw that the river was turning to the right sharply. As he stared at the ground he noted the foot prints were going the same way.
As he walked he thought about where he was going. Walking deeper into Norian territory and away from the Sanctum. Away from his home. But he owed Shin a lot and he couldn’t, no he didn’t want, to abandon him.
Though his thoughts strayed to Johnathan, Nate, and Karl. If they had gotten to the town safely and if they were on their way back to the Sanctum. Though he couldn’t imagine them keeping those horses for long.
They were lucky that they were found. They could have died, been made into slaves or target practice by the Norian army. Though a thought nagged at him. Would they have come for him? Would they have tried to rescue him if given the chance?
But he knew the answer. They always said that he was too kind for his own good. He’d give the clothes off his back to help another. It was never an insult just a fact. And now in whatever unlife he was going to risk it for the one who gave it. Hector would laugh at him for doing this.
Glancing at his side he could see him now. Wearing the robes of the church, blue white accents along the edges. His brown hair tousled and a small smile on his lips but mischief in his eyes. Isaac stopped for a second and stared at the ground.
The absence of his husband hadn’t hit him that hard before now but being alone like this, for the first time since dying that he felt it. Closing his eyes, he took a slow shuddering breath on instinct and regretted it in the coughing fit that followed.
Starting the quest again he leaned forward and started running. The feeling of the wind on his face and the rush of it in his ears. Pumping his arms, he sprinted faster. Every step he took felt weightless. Not even the sword at his hip or the shovel on his back impeded him.
He kept a glance down to make sure he wasn’t losing track of the tracks. The river had sped up and he could hear its waters rushing. Finally, he saw it ahead, a bridge dug into the ground over the wild waters. Nothing about it seemed secure with the water getting more severe.
So rather than go toward the bridge he started running toward the river itself. Looking at the river he tried to guess at how wide it was at this point. It had gotten a little wider than when he saw it earlier but he was sure this wasn’t a bad idea. He hoped it wasn’t a bad idea.
As the river approached he took a slow deep breath, dug it into the ground, and jumped. Raising his legs up to his chest he sailed over the top of the river and for a second, he looked down. He was at least five feet over the top of the bridge and at the height of his arc hit at least six.
When he came down on the other side he planted both feet into the ground and skidded forward grunting. Stumbling forward he glanced over his shoulder and sure enough he made it all the way over. Face split by his grin he laughed and kept going. Following where the bridge was he back tracked to find the tracks and ran again.
The problem became the tracks that left the canyon and carried on toward the plains. The grass obstructed much of the foot prints and he wasn’t any sort of proper tracker. After a few more minutes of running he paused and glanced behind him to reorient with the canyon. There wasn’t much ahead to go off. He couldn’t see a town or anything like it though it was dark enough that his eyes probably just couldn’t catch it.
Pacing forward Isaac glanced up toward the moon. It was the same as the moon in the Sanctum. Same moon just from different sides of the world. Turning to look in the opposite direction the canyon looked beautiful. The river was a silver line in the ground splitting a giant maw of stone like the path into an afterlife.
“Here I am being poetic,” Shaking his head he started walking again and kept his eyes as open as possible. The ground was uneven, the vegetation spotted here and there, in pale green spots where it did grow but barren brown spots where it didn’t. Walking up a small hill he ran a few steps and slid down the other side.
Slowing to a halt once the ground evened out again he saw a spotted light in the distance. It was an orange flickering spot that he guessed was some kind of camp fire. Pulling back his hood he started walking toward it.
As he walked the wind rolled over him but he didn’t feel cold. Really he just felt it against his skin like a strange caress. He wondered if the cold was going to be a companion of his or if it had to be really really cold for it to finally set in.. He wondered if he seemed cold to others. Maybe he’d talk to Shin once he found him.
As he got closer to the glow it was a strange sight because it was just a campfire. There were no sleeping bags or blankets or even a groove in the ground. Raising his eyebrow and continue to come closer he didn’t see anything like a caravan or cart. The space was barren except for the fire burning in the middle of nowhere.
Slowing down in his walk he peered around the fire. There were no places to hide of ambush in case someone was trying to trick a good natured traveler. No ditches hastily dug, no trees looking stressed by extra weight and no bushes big enough to hide a rabbit. This whole situation felt odd but he couldn’t justify why it was there.
Finally walking in front of the camp fire he stared at it and arched his eyebrow. It was burning on piles of thin logs from trees and brush. There wasn’t any sign that someone had used it to cook anything. No bones, no sticks set outside it.
Isaac thought about staying for a moment to warm his hands and rest but he didn’t need to do that. He also was at a loss for where to go. So, he walked toward the fire and sat down across from it and started to think. If he mentally retraced his steps he could probably guess which direction to go in.
Deep in thought he started to hum a tune, a tune from back home. He couldn’t remember if it were a hymm or a song that they sung during service. But he knew it for two reasons. Growing up it was the tune that was song most days in the orphanage that he came from. The nuns would use it as a wake up tune for them to being their days with. For the longest Isaac hated it. Though it was just annoying and high pitched. Especially because it was tied to early morning chores for years.
The other reason thought was because Hector loved it. Growing up in the church he knew all of the songs by heart but for some reason this simple one was his favorite. It was what he hummed while working, waking up, reading. If there were an occasion for it he would hum along to it. Waking up to Hector humming that almost every morning, changed his perspective on the song.
As he sat and thought he could vaguely feel the wind shifting and on it he heard music. A light flute sound that melded on the wind itself. The gentle notes floating across the breeze blown onward by the heavens. Slowly from the ground came the gentle plucking of strings their notes trickling from within the flutes. The music swept around him, swirling along the ground.
The music came louder now dancing through his ears and he could feel the urge to move within his limbs. Not to truly dance but just to move. To walk, to run, to jump just to feel the momentum. Sighing lightly, he danced his fingers across his thigh to the tune of that sounds. But it occurred to him that the tune wasn’t in his mind anymore.
Opening his eyes, he realized that he wasn’t alone anymore.
Staring across from the fire was at best he could call a jester. They were wearing full blue tights with and black checkered patterns on the thighs and the arms. They had a lute in hand, playing it slowly with black gloves on. They had a hat with bells hanging from the rim and a pale white mask with no facial features and black spots for the eyes. When Isaac looked into them they seemed dark like the void instead of actual eyes behind it.
They played a tune, similar to the one that he had been humming but this one had more style to it. A more festive tilt to the same song. Isaac stared at this jester and truly wondered where they had come from. He hadn’t heard anyone approaching and he didn’t imagine he was so lost in thought that he would have missed a stranger strolling over and plopping down and starting to play a musical instrument.
Frowning hard Isaac looked at the jester and tried to figure out how to word his question. Finally he just committed to the direct approach and asked them, “Uh. Hi? Is this your camp site?”
The jester stopped playing for a moment and the silence was cutting. Jerking their head up they stared at Isaac and he felt like he was under the gaze of a predator. A creature that was debating if he was a threat or food. Isaac’s hand on instinct hovered toward the sword at his waist.
They told stories often at the Sanctum. Of the demons that roamed the open world. Products of the Calamity, a natural disaster that just destroyed portions of the world randomly throughout the year. Though he had never seen one himself his captains and the bishops spoke of them. Foul creatures that would tower over a regular person and eat them whole. But there were others who took the shape of men and would trick and steal away their souls.
Isaac always thought that they were myths but staring across the campfire at this jester he was sure that this was one of them and feared that he may have walked into its trap. The jester continued to stare at Isaac before looking down and raised the lute, tuning it slightly before it began to play the song again.
Isaac watched the hands of the jester and they moved like liquid, gliding over the strings. Somehow through the lute it was producing sounds that shouldn’t exist. Flute sounds, the sounds of cymbals and horns. It was like magic but so much more than that.
Transfixed Isaac just listened and took a breath. As he listened the map he created in his head seemed to illuminate itself more. His mind was cleared of the doubts and confusions as he drew it in mind. Suddenly he had a plan, not a good one but a confident one.
Opening his eyes he punched his palm with a grin and looked across the camp fire but the jester was gone. The music had stopped playing and the spot where the jester had been was empty as if it had never been there at all. Getting to his feet Isaac looked around and even walked over to the spot where it had been but it wasn’t even disturbed. The ground was still and the grass was swaying gently.
“Did I imagine it?” he whispered to himself.
Taking a step back he shook his head and tried to put the possible demonic jester out of his mind and started running back toward the river. The run back was shorter now that he was moving with confidence. He slowed down as he hit the bank and caught sight of the bridge that he probably should have crossed.
Finding the tracks he retraced his steps back to the grass and slowed down keeping his gaze on the ground. He couldn’t find anything specifically yet but as he walked he finally found it. A few dozen feet away but the moon illuminated it better. A path on the ground that was obviously trodden over. Foot prints and wagon wheels. As for whether or not this was the path that the Norians had gone he wasn’t sure but it would at the very least lead him to a town proper.
After maybe an hour of the running and the moon having moved higher into the sky he caught a sight of the town. It was still a long ways off but it was bigger than the one the one they first went to. With that town in sight he leaned forward and started running. Sprinting across the uneven ground was fun because it forced him to keep moving. For the first time since the transformation that he felt like maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. He could get used to this.
Isaac continued running for hours never losing step. By the time the town was near enough that he could actually make out buildings in it the sun was already starting to rise. The sky had turned a pale pink and there were birds in the sky likely having just woken up. The town was bigger than the village from before by far. A general store with a garden behind it. Stables for horses at the bars. He could lightly hear the sound of a hammer on an anvil from a forge master.
He noted a cart on its way and slowed. It was being pulled by a single horse and had a tired looking man in the front saddle. The back of it was covered by a cloth but he was more than sure they were a trader. The man looked at him warily and Isaac realized how he may have looked. Pulling the hood back he smiled naturally. “Hello friend. You’re a trader are you not?”
“Trading is indeed my trade,” the man made a small smile. He was younger than Isaac would have thought. Not much older than himself. “Just making the early rounds to restock.”
Isaac gave a short nod. “I’m a traveler. Haven’t been on this side of the country in quite some time.”
“I can tell. Your accent isn’t one I’ve ever heard before,” he replied and Isaac gave a short nod. “Well this is one of the bigger towns outside of the cities. The people tend to keep to themselves though they won’t turn you away. Just make sure you have some coin.”
At that Isaac was glad that he’d found the gold. “I have a little something that I hope may buy me a little bit of information.”
“Information?” the driver repeated. “What about? Maybe I can help you.”
“Is it going to cost me?” Isaac asked with a raised eyebrow and both of them laughed.
“Call it a show of good faith,” he said instead.
The pair of them entered the town, a place called Rizk, and the man came to a stop outside the general store. Calling to the horse he then hopped out of the seat and tied the horse to one of the poles near the store. He stood a little shorter than Isaac and had the makings of facial hair though it was something that he shaved consistently from the red marks on his pasty face.
“I’m looking for a recruitment center. For the army.”
The youths faced darkened slightly as he looked at Isaac. “I thought you said that you were a traveler.”
“I am. And I’m looking for a friend of mine. He wanted to join the army. Or at the very least prove that he was strong enough for it. He’s a bit head strong and has a lot to prove to people. I’m trying to bring him home before he gets himself hurt.”
The traveler’s face softened and nodded. “I have a brother who speaks of nothing but earning glory in the Norian army. But he doesn’t recognize just how dangerous that kind of thinking can be.”
“That’s exactly what I want to find him.
“Well it wouldn’t be in this town. There’s another, a big city, further southwest called Isal. A major hub and it has one of the training facilities for the army. They’re always looking for volunteers for the army and turn almost no one away. If your friend was going to go anywhere, he’d probably start there.”
“Then that’s where I’m going to start. Thank you.”
“Happy to help. I hope you find him in time,”
Isaac nodded but walked into the general store. It was a smaller space, a few barrels of supplies against a corner, an older woman behind the counter and a window wide open to let in the light and fresh air. Behind the woman was a storage room with a few shelfs of supplies but he couldn’t see them. She looked at Isaac but didn’t say much of anything toward him, just kept her eye to him.
Isaac walked around for a few minutes checking the wares and debated on buying food but he decided against it and just focused on what he would need. Going to the counter he looked at the woman and tried to smile but she wasn’t smiling back. Instead Isaac just spoke, “I need a map, a flint, a pack and hunting knife.”
She held up her fingers mumbling to herself for a second. “Twenty coin for it all.”
Reaching into his pouch he pulled out the amount and felt just how much lighter the pouch had become but he needed the supplies. Letting out a grunt he placed the coins on the counter and the woman backed away to the storage room.
She came back with a pack already closed though he saw the wrapped paper poking through the top. She also laid down the heavy knife and he picked up. Drawing it slightly he saw the serrated edges and the good heft of the knife. Nodding he fixed it against his hip and then slung the pack over his shoulder.
Leaving the general store, he pulled the map out and glanced over it quickly. Finding Rizk first he dragged his finger down southwest until he found the bigger marker for a city. Bringing it closer he found Isal and could guess that it wasn’t too far away from where he was now. Though it would take at least another day for him to get there.
Considering it was dawn now he was hoping that he could get there sooner rather than later. Rolling the map up he slid it back into his pack. Adjusting everything to be comfortable he started the march toward Isal.
The Harlequin Library 