Chapter 20 - Like we used to

Erik finished telling her what he had gone through, and Freya was no less surprised than he had been when it had happened to him.

"I've never heard of a Horror or an Accursed Nilgrims being inside a First-Rank Whisper..." she mumbled, still in shock.

"Yeah..."

"By the Exalted! How did we find ourselves here?" she mused dejectedly.

Erik gave her a thoughtful look. “I don’t suppose you’re here for the same reason I am?”

“Taron?”

He sighed deeply. “Yeah…”

It seemed they had both spoken to their friend and decided to enter the Whisper based on what Taron had told them. And both of them had reacted the same way.

Freya had probably felt guilty, too, but after everything that had happened, she seemed to feel less so.

"How do you call this not so hard!" she exclaimed.

Erik chuckled. He had practically said the same thing.

"And these... mosquitos? Do you know what they are?"

Erik thought for a moment and glanced down at his forearm.

His Undead had killed two spiders—earning him a rune for each—but strangely, he hadn’t managed to kill any of the flying insects. Or at least, he hadn’t received a rune for one.

Spawned Aberration, Lost Cluster's Foulspinner.

Huh. Yet another peculiar name for a Nilgrim.

“The spider-like creatures were definitely Nilgrim—thankfully, only Spawned Aberrations. But the mosquitos… I have no idea.”

“Curious… I’m not sure which is worse: the noble, the Horror, the Accursed, or those insects,” she mused.

“Well, at least the scion’s group is down by one member,” Erik said coldly.

Freya grimaced in disgust. “I hate nobles, but we can’t afford to get entangled with him.” She gave him a worried look. “You shouldn’t have done that. If we survive this Whisper, they could easily hunt you down and kill you.”

“What was I supposed to do? Just let them kill me?”

“No…”

“Plus, I didn’t kill him. I only did what they were trying to do to me. And I’m not even sure they realized what happened exactly. The scion and the other subordinate were much further ahead—they might not have even seen it.”

“It would be best just to avoid them,” Fee sighed.

Erik shrugged but then remembered something.

“This scion is looking for a fruit from one of the Elderines. Do you know what they’re for?”

She shook her head and became thoughtful. "I've only heard that they are mythical plants and that there are just a few species in the world. But whatever it is, it must be important."

“Yeah… as for everything else, we might be able to avoid the Nilgrims if we’re careful. But the swarm? Impossible. We need to leave before it consumes the valley.”

“Yeah, but how? Taron mentioned that the Whisper Tree only needs to be touched before we can leave. And that isn't going to be hard to identify, but I’ve yet to catch a glimpse of one or even hear a whisper about it.”

Erik smirked. “Lucky for you, I’m here.”

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

“The kid I ran into when I left the mines—the one who led me to the village—told me something interesting on the way here…”

Erik then retold the story he had heard.

“Glowing beacon…” Fee fixated on the same thing he did. “That must be it.”

He nodded. “I think so, too. But it’s not going to be easy. That peak is home to both the Horror and the Accursed Nilgrim.”

“That’s certainly an issue, but we’ll figure something out.”

”…Like we used to.” Erik smiled.

“Like we used to,” Fee echoed.

They exchanged a long look.

“Feels like a lifetime ago when the five of us used to get into all sorts of trouble,” he said.

“Even after we came to Skulheim, we were always like that. But after that happened, life just… got harder,” she said with melancholy.

“It was always hard. We just left the bubble we were in,” he sighed. “And I feel like we’re about to leave yet another one. Maybe we already have.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Still… it was fun, running with the gang all that time.”

She looked him right in the eyes. “You shouldn’t have taken the fall for me.”

“Really, Fee? You want to bring this up now?"

"We might not make it out of here."

He sighed. "We've talked about this before. You know why I did it. They looked up to you a lot more. Me screwing up the job was bad, yeah, but if they knew you had a hand in it? It would’ve broken them.”

“It was an accident,” she said firmly.

“Maybe. But people need something to blame when things go wrong. Let it go. It’s in the past.”

“Is that why you didn’t want me to talk to them before?”

“Not just that. My Talent situation wasn’t good for the gang—still isn’t.”

Freya scowled and gritted her teeth. “Have it your way.”

“We need to figure out a way out of here,” he said, trying to steer the conversation away.

She snorted and stood up. Still weak from essence depletion, she swayed slightly as she made her way toward the small window.

It was high on the wall, but when she rose onto her toes and gripped the bars, she pulled herself up just enough to peer outside.

“This building is on the edge of the village, and this window faces the eastern mountains. If we’re lucky, we might be able to leave before anyone spots us.”

Erik got up and joined her by the window.

“We still need to get out of this prison,” he reminded her.

“That’s the thing—my Ability does more than heal,” she said with a smirk.

She bit the edge of her finger again, and a drop of blood slowly morphed into the shape of a small, serrated blade.

Erik watched, amazed by her Talent yet again.

“I’ve been working on the bars since they threw me in here. If I keep at it, I should be able to break us out in the two or three days. But I’ll need to heal you first. You need to be in the best shape possible if we’re going to make it.”

He gave her a nod. At least now they had a plan. With her Ability, they would be able to get out.

The little blade felt like an extension of her finger and was surprisingly sharp. She sawed at one of the bars, making decent progress while trying to stay as quiet as possible. But it would take time.

Before long, night descended. One of the villagers had dropped off a measly portion of food and a small cup of water for both of them. Calling the mush food would have been generous, but it was better than nothing.

Then, they settled into a corner of the bare room to sleep.

"At least some hay or something for bedding have been nice," he grumbled.

"Quiet!" Fee shushed him.

"I miss my blanket," he mumbled, earning himself a kick.

After a while, he started drifting off. This time, however, it was not a dreamless sleep…

***

Erik’s father and mother lounged on the large animal rug before the fireplace while he curled up between them under a warm blanket. This was his favorite spot in the house and his favorite way to fall asleep—especially on cold nights.

He had nearly been sent to his room as punishment but narrowly avoided it after explaining himself. And why he had done what he did.

No matter. All was well that ended well. But still, he couldn’t move a muscle.

His little body was completely exhausted—because, earlier that day, he had nearly drowned. His father had pulled him out of the water just in time before his so-called underwater armor betrayed him, dragging him under.

It had been quite the experience. Despite a few… hiccups, he was proud of himself. His experiment had been a partial success. And with this invention, he was one step closer to proving himself worthy of becoming an Ulednar.

His parents had thrown a fit, lecturing him nonstop. But after all was said and done, the family settled in for the night.

Half asleep, with eyes already closed, he caught some of the conversation between his parents.

"They are stirring, Tyr," his mother said softly.

"I know my love, but we knew this was eventually going to happen."

"I know, it's just... I thought we would have more time. Our boy is still so young, we might..."

Erik felt his mother's gentle hand brush his hair.

"We still have some time left. They are only probing for now, and it will be a while before they find anything."

"It's quite pathetic. Although the traces are covered well, it's still obvious that it's them."

His father signed, "Yes... when the time comes, we must be ready. I've already sent word to my brother. He knows what to do."

Uncle? Is he coming over? Erik smiled in his half-conscious state.

He hadn't seen his uncle in a long time. He was usually away in far away lands, having epic adventures.

"Good..."

"It's going to be all right. We've prepared him as best as possible and have everything ready. More importantly, he will have it."

His mother chuckled softly.

"I know... I just wish I could see what chaos he would raise," his mother said.

She paused before continuing, “And look at you, acting all calm and collected. Weren’t you the one fussing earlier about what he’d do if he couldn't wield the axe? I think I even saw you shed a tear.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Liv. You must’ve been seeing things,” his father replied in an unusually stiff tone.

His mother chuckled again.

“Of course, dear. If you say so.”

“I mean, just basic axemanship would be great. It’s really easy!” his father said, sounding dejected. “Maybe I should get him a better one? And increase his training!”

“Oh, we both know that’s not it. He’s meant for the—” Their voices started fading away, “and you know it…”

Before long, their conversation disappeared, and Erik’s dream sank into darkness…