The Great One, part 23

The canopy of tree branches allowed very little starlight to reach us on the ground. It felt strange to be sleeping outside; after having slept underground for my whole life and then dwelling inside a castle for several weeks, this was an entirely new experience.1

The fire had died down to a few smoldering coals; I watched them glow, unable to fall back asleep. Why did my life have to suddenly change with the event of Edrik’s death? Why couldn’t I have stayed in the City, deluded into thinking that everything I’d been taught was the truth?2

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I had a feeling that, deep down, I knew.3

The distant call of an unfamiliar creature sounded through the forest, sending a chill down my spine. It caused me to remember something I had read in Kaiven’s library; predators were completely silent when hunting and killing their prey, but the victims would cry loudly when attacked in order to warn other quarry. For some reason, I felt empathy for the hunted.4

A soft whisper of a noise caught my ear, and I shot up. Glancing around the camp, I saw the Rattragons all slumbering peacefully; Lisper and Jast were lying on their backs with their short swords parallel to their bodies; Zela was curled up not too far from where I was, using her bag of herbs as a pillow. Suddenly I realized what was missing—where was Airam?5

I looked around frantically to make sure I hadn’t missed her in the dark. My crystal shard grew a little brighter, shedding a little more light around the campsite. No, she was gone.6

Before I knew it, I was on my feet. I went over to the spot I had last seen her, lying against the crooked tree. The dead leaves there were more flat than the others. I studied the ground, looking for more signs of pressure; her body weight was sure to have left flattened signs of her departure—or someone else’s arrival.7

A chill went through me. What if she hadn’t left, but instead was taken?8

I shook it off. Don’t be irrational, Xen. If someone had wanted to capture some Namu, wouldn’t they have taken the entire traveling party? A single Vorn wasn’t important enough.9

An impression, as big as Airam’s boot, stood out. Because it was a lower elevation than the rest of the leaves, the shadows cast by the light of my crystal shard made it easier to find. I saw that there were others ahead of it, laying out a path that I could easily follow. 10

I felt a little more calm now. 11

I went back to my side of the camp and picked up my sword, the one that Jast had brought for me. I slung the strap over my head, so it stretched diagonally across my chest; the sword rested between my shoulder blades. I was much more comfortable with it there than in the typical position hanging from a Warrior’s belt. Nobody was sure why I was so odd—though many of the other Vorn had attributed it to my being a Naktol.12

My feet brushed the leaves as they traveled along. They rustled softly, as though touched by a breeze. My eyes, however, studied the ground silently—picking out all signs that Airam had been this way.13

The imprints left by her boots grew deeper. Her tracks showed much more pressure at the balls of her feet; when I looked back, I saw that this was far enough away from the camp for her to begin running without detection. But why was she running?14

I felt my eyebrows draw together in concern and frustration. I would have thought that she would know better than to sneak off in the middle of the night—especially in a forest while on a mission! Perhaps my fellow Vorn had less sense than I had thought.15

“Airam?” I whispered, glancing around. Silence.16

I gave a soft growl and continued following her tracks.17

A beam of moonlight hit my face, causing me to groan and cover my eyes. It seemed so much brighter than normal because of the canopy of branches blocking the sky.18

Once my eyes adjusted, I looked up at the small hole in the thick, twined limbs of the trees; it was an odd shape. Rather than some irregular hole, it seemed cut into a perfect triangle. How strange.19

My crystal shard suddenly pulsed.20

“What….”21

I turned in confusion. What on Terna was going on here?22

Each corner of the triangular hole pointed in a specific direction; one exactly faced our campsite. Another pointed to a path.23

The final corner, facing nothing but darkness, was where Airam’s tracks led.24

/*/*/*/*/*25

Once again, against my better judgment, I found myself traveling down a dark path with no idea where it went. I suppose it was just part of my nature to not learn from the past.26

My crystal shard was glowing gently as I quietly walked through the foliage, careful to make as little noise as possible. Its light reflected off the damp leaves, making eerie shadows that could easily have spooked me had I been paying attention to them.27

I truly had no clue where I was going. I was still searching the ground for Airam’s bootprints—they were more visible in places were the ground was moist and soft—but it seemed as though she had moved faster and faster as time went on, rather than getting slower. This was puzzling. With the amount of running she had already done, and the long day of traveling, she shouldn’t have had this much energy.28

Eventually, I paused to take account of my surroundings. I was officially quite lost, as far as I knew. Where could Airam possibly have been going? All around me was nothing but dark forest.29

I rubbed my temples in frustration. Why couldn’t I have woken up the others so they could help me? Why was I so stupid?30

Certain that I would only get more lost if I tried to get back to the camp, I continued following Airam’s trail. 31

The plants grew gradually more sparse as I went, and finally I noticed a change in pace in Airam’s bootprints. She had begun to slow down. I breathed a silent sigh. Hopefully this meant that she was nearby, since the prints were fairly fresh.32

I approached a large gap between the trees. From that point I could see that this was a large, open area—or would have been if there wasn’t the remains of an ancient structure scattered over the clearing. 33

I approached the weathered ruins, stone overgrown with moss and vines, with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. A short sword nearly identical to mine lie on the wreckage, and I knew that Airam was indeed here.34

“What are you doing here?” 35

I jumped, startled, at the sound of that furious hiss. Airam was crouched on the remnants of a gigantic stone pillar, and her golden-brown eyes were blazing. The canopy of tree branches was thinner over this clearing, and the starlight made the silver scar on Airam’s cheek shine brightly, almost as angrily as her eyes.36

“I came looking for you,” I said, indignant. 37

“You mean you followed me,” she spat. 38

My crystal shard grew darker in color. “What was I supposed to do? You just disappeared in the middle of the night, and it’s not like we know what could be roaming around out here. What if you’d been hurt or something?”39

Airam flinched at the tone in my voice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My words had all too clearly betrayed my fear for her safety, and I couldn’t let that slip again.40

“I don’t like being followed.” Airam jumped down from her location and disappeared into the ruins.41

“Airam—“ I began, but she was already out of my sight. With a growl of irritation, I scrambled over the pillar and went after her.42