The Threads of Destiny - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A Quest Given

The trio followed the pair of stag-folk through the forest, still amazed by the mystical feeling of the place and how the air almost hummed. Even coming from a life spent in the Great Forest, Osric couldn’t get over how full of life this place was.

Osric was so enamored, trying to see everything around him, that he almost walked into the gargantuan tree the stag-folk stopped in front of, jumping back a step out of fright. Its trunk was so wide that a dozen men could not have encircled it with their arms outstretched. One of the stag-folk, a woman, Osric thought, giggled at his sudden alarm at the appearance of the tree. It was an odd sound, almost a high-pitched chirp ending in kind of a snort. He didn’t know how he knew it was a giggle, except that he somehow did. Like it made sense, which considering they were now in a world where nothing made sense... made sense.

Osric shook himself from the confusing line of thought as the stag-folk led them to an opening at the base, the edges worn smooth by countless years of use. Inside, the tree had been hollowed out, creating a spacious chamber. Spidersilk hammocks hung from the walls, shimmering in the soft light that filtered through small gaps in the wood above, like something soft and glowing sitting in the gaps.

A female stag-folk with chestnut fur and kind eyes approached, carrying two wooden bowls. She handed one to Osric and the other to Talia.

“Please, eat. You must be famished after your journey.”

Her voice was like Valens. Soothing and pleasant, like when someone sings a gentle lullaby.

Osric glanced down at the bowl. A strange broth swirled within, flecked with herbs he did not recognize. He brought it to his lips and took a tentative sip. Flavors burst across his tongue - savory and rich, with a hint of sweetness. It warmed him from the inside out, soothing the aches in his tired muscles.

“This is delicious,” Talia said, her words mumbled as she tried to eat and speak at the same time. “What is it?”

“Roots and herbs offered up by the forest. It is good for fueling the soul and the body. I’m told humans find it good for bringing strength to the weary and comfort to the soul.”

“‘ish good,” Talia said around more food.

Osric smiled at his friend. For someone raised by the ever proper Elder Miriam, she’d always been a little bit of a wild child herself. Not that Osric didn’t finish his almost as fast. Setting the bowl aside, he couldn’t help but feel a little better, although it was unclear if it was some mystical quality of the food or just that he was famished. He had become full after one bowl of root and herb soup, so he was willing to lean toward the mystical.

Talia set her empty bowl down beside her, leaning back against the smooth wood of the hollowed tree and looked over to Osric. “I don’t even know what to think about all this. The Calaphium, the Veilguard, how magic really works... It’s overwhelming.”

“I know. Everything we thought we knew … or I guess what you knew.”

“It’s like the world’s been turned upside down. I mean, the Calaphium being guardians of magic instead of evil monsters? It’s … It’s …. I don’t even know.”

“Makes you wonder what else might not be what it seems, or what we were told.”

“Exactly,” Talia said, snapping her fingers. “You know, Elder Miriam, she never trusted the conclave. I didn’t really give it much thought and she didn’t talk about it a lot or really say why, but I can’t help but wonder if she may have suspected the truth all along.”

“You knew her better than I ever did. To me, it seemed like she knew everything, so it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Not everything, but certainly more than she let on.”

“But do you really believe it? Everything the Sage said? About the Calaphium, I mean.”

Talia considered the question for a moment before saying, “I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in.”

“Right? I mean, these ... things we’ve always heard about as existing before time, they were actually a real empire? With people living and breathing before our recorded history? Just because he says it’s a thing … is it?”

“It is hard to wrap my head around,” Talia admitted. “But there’s something about this place, about the Sage. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel like we should trust him.”

“Really? Even with all the crazy things he’s telling us?”

“Yes, even then. This place, Avendell, it’s clearly special. There’s a magic here that feels ... pure, untainted. And the Sage, he doesn’t feel evil. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Talia smiled and said, “Besides, Cinder trusts him. And how bad could he be?”

As if on cue, Cinder lifted his head from where he lay on the ground between their hammocks, his tail thumping softly against the earthen floor.

Osric chuckled, reaching down to scratch behind the wolf’s ears. “You make a good point.”

They chatted for a little while, in their tree trunk seemingly separate from the whole world, talking about how different things were, about the amazing things they’d seen and done, and about home. Neither mentioned the danger they’d been in or how afraid they’d been, as if even talking about it would bring the evil back down on them. Inviting it.

Over time, their conversation slowed, the gaps of silence extending. As Osric’s eyes drifted shut, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of safety wash over him. For the first time in days, he felt like they could truly rest, protected by the mystical embrace of Avendell and the watchful eye of their newfound allies.

The gentle sway of the hammock and the soothing sounds of the forest lulled him into a deep, dreamless sleep, his mind finally quiet.

The next morning Osric felt better than he had in a long time, even before all of the crazy events that had happened over the last week. He loved learning from Master Ironhand, but sometimes the mat he slept on in the back room left his back feeling sore and stiff. When this was all over, he was going to have to ask the sage to let him take one of these hammocks to string up instead.

To Osric’s surprise, shortly after they were woken up a human in deep brown robes collected them instead of a stag-folk, leading them to another large tree, larger than the one they’d been given to sleep in. A curtain was pulled across the entrance, but the man, who never spoke to them other than to ask them to follow him, pulled it aside, not knocking or anything.

Inside, the Sage sat hunched over a table strewn with ancient tomes and scrolls. He had dark circles under his eyes and his silver-white hair looked more disheveled than the day before. He glanced up as they entered, giving them a weary smile.

“Ah, Osric, Talia, please come in. I apologize for the clutter. It’s been a long night of study and meditation.”

There were a few seats around the room, most with things in them. Osric picked up some scrolls and set them gently onto the table before taking a seat.

“I have spent the night attempting to commune with the gods, seeking their guidance on these matters. As with any attempt to gain knowledge from them, the answers I received were … difficult to understand. I was able to glean a bit more from the document itself, or at least deduce a few additional details.”

Osric leaned forward to look at the page they’d carried with them from the keep. The symbols on it still meant nothing to him, although he still thought the script itself was beautiful. As much art as language.

“It’s to be written in ancient Calaphium, that much I can tell you. However, with the page torn as it is, long ways, a significant portion is missing, and in such a way as to destroy the context of everything on the page. I think, perhaps, that was deliberate. The page had been protected with powerful magics, I believe to keep it intact. Whoever broke it might have wanted to destroy it, but had to settle for just tearing it in two parts. They were smart about it though. Had they ripped it the other way, I would at least be able to tell what the top half said.”

“So you can translate it?” Talia asked.

“No. If it was torn the other way I could, but like this … it’s not possible. Their language was highly context-dependent. Seeing only half of sentences, missing other sentences, I lose too much context and the words don’t make a lot of sense. Without the other half, it’s impossible to tell what it said. What I can tell you is that it’s very old, likely dating back to the time near, or just before, the Reckoning.”

Talia whistled. “That old. You said they were from … before.”

Osric knew what she was getting at. It was hard to fathom a time before Aeloria, or at least a time before the dark days before Aeloria came into being, when people lived in small tribes and struggled to survive.

“I can also tell you that this ring bears the symbol of the Calaphium,” the Sage said, picking it up off the table in front of him. “I believe whoever sent it knew how to manipulate the energies of the barrier, essentially tying a thread, for lack of a better word, of energy from the barrier itself to both the document and the ring, connecting them across time.”

“They sent the ring into the future, so someone there could find the document,” Talia said, suddenly connecting the dots.

“Precisely,” he said, before turning to look at Osric. “You said you found the ring just in the forest. Where exactly did you find this document?”

“We found it in a hidden chamber beneath an ancient keep, deep in the forest. The place was in ruins, but there were signs of recent activity. There was this secret door in what used to be the kitchens that had been repaired and put in place, so it was hard to find again. There were also these stone rings. When the ring got close to one of them, that was partially melted, a … tear, I guess, like you described, opened and we could see through it. It was the same room we were in, but, clean and new. The ring was whole. Somebody yelled and a man in the other room cast a spell and the rift closed, but for a moment, one of the men looked like they could see us through the rift.

“Fascinating,” The Sage said.

“There were more portals,” Talia added. “There was this long room protected by powerful glyphs, although they had long since faded. It had more of these stone rings, but they were … I don’t know, I guess dormant or whatever. They were just stone, but they looked like the other one. Nothing happened when Osric took the ring near them.”

After that, we ran into more of the men who were chasing us, who I guess are called the brethren, or at least that’s what one of them told us later. They were guarding an ancient vault, and that document was all that was inside of it.”

“Interesting,” The Sage said, leaning back and thinking for a moment. “It is possible to use magic to create portals, essentially tearing the veil to travel from one place to another within our reality. However, such acts would cause significant damage to the veil itself, which is why it is not a technique that I or any of my predecessors tried to learn. As I said last night, it’s possible to imbue an object with any spell if you know how to work the veil, tearing pieces off and making them part of the object being enchanted. They could have used the magics to create these portals and weaved that magic into these stone circles you found. Someone with that knowledge, who understood the intricacies of the veil and its tears, might also possess the power to send objects through time.”

“Like the ring and the document.”

“Precisely. It’s possible that the document originated from that very keep, created by someone with a deep understanding of the veil’s workings.”

“What about these Brethren? You learned about the ring through visions from the gods, how could they possibly know anything about them? And why are they so intent on getting this? Why were they guarding the document?”

“Truthfully, I can’t answer much of that. We have had some contact with them in the past, and we know they are part of a group that seems to have an interest in the veil and magic, but their true motives remain a mystery. As do how they found out about the ring or why they want it so specifically.”

“If they were guarding this document,” Talia said. “Then they must know at least some of what’s happening, or what happened way in the past.”

“Perhaps, but again, I just don’t know what they know or don’t know. Occasionally, they have stumbled into Avendell. But the ones we’ve managed to capture knew nothing about their group’s true purpose. Until now, we thought them to be mere nuisances. Treasure seekers with some knowledge of the arcane. It is clear, now, that we underestimated them.”

Osric reached down and picked the ring off the Sage’s table, turning it over in his hand. “Is this of any use anymore?”

“No,” the Sage said. “Once you found the document, the loop closed. The ring’s purpose has been fulfilled. While historically interesting, there is nothing else I can gain from it. It is yours.”

“So I should keep it?”

“That decision is yours to make.”

Osric closed his fist around the ring and said, “I think I’ll hold onto it. As a reminder of everything that’s happened.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Talia asked. “If someone recognizes it, it could be a problem.”

“I won’t wear it or anything,” Osric said, pulling the strap he’d carried it on from his pocket and running it through the ring before pulling it around his neck and inside his shirt. “Besides, they didn’t recognize it, and neither did the Sage, who seems to know more about the Calaphium than anyone else. If it’s from a small sect, it can’t be that noticeable. And, with everything that’s happened, it just feels weird to throw it away.”

“What should we do now?” Talia asked, turning to the Sage. “We gave you everything we found, so that’s all finished, but those people are still out there, hunting us.”

“Well, it’s not completely finished. There is another part of this page out there that has to be found. The magic protection made it so that all they could manage was to rip it in half, so it’s doubtful it’s been destroyed. If these Brethren had the first part, it means they probably had a connection to whoever ripped it, which means they probably have the other half too. Or know who does. If they didn’t want anyone to have it, they would have stored them separately. If we could get it and put the two together, we could translate this and find out what’s really going on.”

“If it’s so important, why don’t you go find it?” Osric asked.

“I wish we could, but there are few druids left, and we must take care of the forest, doing the work to keep the boundary around our haven up. This is one of the stronger places in the world for the boundary. If it became corrupted, it might become impossible to keep the tears from expanding until our world is consumed. As for the stag-folk and the others who live here, they would ... not do well in the human world. Just sending them out to rescue the two of you was an extreme danger.”

The sage stopped for a moment, looking at his hands, clearly considering his next words carefully before looking back up.

“The gods have chosen you, or you chose the gods, or fate did. However we say it, you are meant to do this. You found the first half of the page, which is a sign you are the right ones to find the other two.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Well, there are places just outside the borders of Avendell where the veil has already begun to thin. If the person who sent the ring through time was indeed using these openings to travel and connect across the ages, those locations might be a good place to start your search. I’m not saying there is a way to connect to him through them, but…” he said, pausing and holding his hands out in a ‘maybe’ gesture. “Aside from that, as with the Concordant Grove where I met with you last night, there are places where the connection to the gods is stronger. Actually, we’ve found that tears in the veil create an even stronger opening for communicating with the gods than even the Grove, but of course, this place was created to make those very tears difficult, so to reach them you have to travel behind our borders. The gods, or at least those that are part of the Veilguard, are clearly trying to direct you in this, so it makes sense that would be a place to start.”

“Okay, we’ll go and try to make some kind of contact,” Osric said.

“If you don’t find anything, you can come back here and we will try to figure out another option. The barrier will now admit you freely, as friends of the forest.”

“I don’t know if Valen mentioned, but the last time I passed through the barrier, I was knocked unconscious. It was... painful.”

“He did mention it, and it should not happen again. The effect you experienced was likely a residual reaction between the ring and the barrier. The ring carried a touch of the world beyond the veil, and the barrier here is a piece of that same veil. The two energies reacted adversely,” the Sage said, before placing a hand on Osric’s shoulder. “Whether you find something or not, return here when your search is complete, so we can decide the next steps of this mystery.”