by K Dezendorf
“Kehehe, never would have thought you'd find yourself here,” it spoke, it's voice akin to the crackling and bellowing of flames.
It turned to face the large animal that was still stalking around, gauging how to attack this newcomer. Rose saw its eyes reflecting the light coming off the burning man. The beast’s movement and stature was feline but it's bulk was more reminiscent of a grizzly bear.
“Let's have some fun shall we?” Then the burning man leapt at the predator.
The beast snarled and hissed, taking a swipe with a massive, clawed paw, but the burning man was too nimble, too quick. It dodged the strike and raked its flaming claws down onto the beast. The claws ripped at the beast’s shoulder and it roared and snarled angrily, stumbling back. It seemed to reassess the situation because it turned and loped away, disappearing through the thick trees and into the darkness. The burning man didn't go after it, but instead turned back to Rose who was frozen in abject terror, unsure of what to make of what just happened.
“Are you just going to sit there staring like an idiot, or are you going to say ‘thank you’?” The burning man asked impatiently.
“What... Who are you?” she squeaked out.
The burning man gave a chuckle. “Ah, yes, this is the first time you're seeing me like this. What a pain. Haven't you figured it out yet?”
Rose slowly shook her head. Her heart was jackhammering against her chest and her brain was spinning with questions. She opened her mouth to ask one, but instead blurted out, “You're on fire.”
“Yes, brilliant observation.”
“It’s blue.”
“Give this girl a round of applause. She knows her colors.”
Calm down. She needed to calm down. Clearly this, whatever it was, wasn’t out to harm her, she didn’t think. She needed answers. Rose looked around, worried another hungry monster would come along to have a try for her flesh. “Where am I?”
“Not where you should be, and don't ask how you got here because I don't know. I have a life of my own.”
“How do I get back?” She asked, wrapping her arms around her legs.
“I could take you back through my channels, but that…” He chuckled darkly. “Would be very risky. It's highly possible you might not make it back to your world in one piece.”
Rose whimpered. “What am I supposed to do? I don't know where I'm supposed to go or how big this forest is. What if-”
“Oh, stop crying. Being in this plane is exhausting as it is, so I can't stay long. Just keep your head down and follow my lead, got it?”
“What…” Rose began but before she could ask, he vanished in a flash of blue fire, leaving her sitting alone in the growing darkness.
Just when Rose was beginning to feel helpless again, she saw a small sphere of blue fire a ways ahead of her. Curious, she made her way towards the spot she saw it. Once she got there, it disappeared and another one erupted in the air a ways ahead. Feeling somewhat heartened, Rose followed the flaming orbs through the maze of trees and foliage as night pressed in around her.
Rose had worried that traveling through the forest in the dark would be near impossible. However, she’d occasionally come across patches of glowing leaves and mushroom caps growing along the ground or on the trees. Like natural neon lighting, only more vibrant and alive. She noticed her clothes were also glowing with spots of bright pink and purple, and she wondered if it had anything to do with the mushroom patch she’d landed in earlier.
While the glowing plants and fungi were helpful, Rose still slipped and fell many times as she stumbled through the darkness. She was covered in scratches, her belly ached, and her throat was dry. She wanted to lay down and sleep. However, she forced herself to follow the lead of blue flames, not wanting to stay in one place for too long and be attacked again.
At some point, her nose caught the smell of woodsmoke and cooking meat. She followed it, her mouth watering and her stomach grumbling its encouragement. Her ears occasionally picked up voices and she saw light that was out of place amongst the soft, ethereal glow of the plant life. Making her way quietly along, she eventually caught sight of an occupied clearing.
A large wagon with two oxen was parked off to the side, and a campfire had been made where meat was cooking over the flames. Three people sat around the fire, though Rose couldn’t get a good look at them. It was too dark and she wasn’t close enough to discern any details.
Rose dithered on whether or not to approach them. Would they help her? Maybe they would ignore her, or worse, hurt her. Before she could make a decision, she started when something heavy rested on her shoulder. Glancing over, she found a sword sitting very close to her throat.
A husky female voice spoke, but Rose couldn’t understand the words being said. “W-what?”
The blade pressed against her throat and her panic flooded back. The voice spoke again more harshly.
“I-I don’t understand,” Rose wailed, her voice shaky.
A hand grabbed her firmly by the shoulder and she felt the point of the blade pressed against her back as she was pushed forward. Rose didn’t resist, not wanting to give this person a reason to impale her. Fear welled up as she was forced into the clearing and into view of the other three people. They all looked up.
A lithe figure spoke, and once more Rose didn’t understand the words. The voice was male, and had a pleasant cheer in his tone. He wore a large, feathered hat and strange clothing. In fact, all of them were oddly dressed, like actors at a Renaissance fair.
The female holding Rose said something, and then another thin figure spoke up. The voice was higher, but still very male. He also wore a cap, though it was more compact and angular. His fingers softly plucked at the lute he was holding.
The final, larger figure spoke. The voice was much deeper, more guttural, thick with an accent that differed from the first three. He wore no hat, but a hood that didn’t quite hide the scarring on his face.
“P-please,” Rose said, her body shaking as tears began to build in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry. Crying was bad. She shouldn’t cry, but she was so scared and she didn't know what was going on. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where I am. Please don’t hurt me.” The words spilled out of her mouth in a jumbled rush.
They all stared at her, looking just as much at a loss as she felt. The one with the feather on his cap tapped at the curve of his chin. Then he snapped his fingers and stood up, going over to the wagon. There was more conversation and Rose kept still, the woman holding her tight.
After rummaging around, the man with the feather in his hat came over to her and held out his hand. In his palm sat a small, round stone. He gestured for her to take it. Rose picked it up, and was surprised at how it hummed against her palm.
She stared at the stone, and then to the man.
He made a motion of tossing something into his mouth. Rose looked at the stone again. She was nervous about eating something given to her by a stranger -and she was pretty sure eating rocks wasn’t good for her- but better than being stabbed. She shoved the stone in her mouth. It was bright and alive on her tongue and she swallowed it down quickly. The stone slid down her throat and settled into her belly.
At first, nothing happened. Then, there was movement in her stomach, small at first, but the feeling grew. For a few, horrible moments, Rose thought that a tree was growing inside her, but the feeling spread from her stomach up, up all the way to her head and it was there moving around. It felt so strange and Rose shut her eyes. She was remembering things she never learned, words she knew but didn’t. Her head felt very full and heavy, and when the movement finally stopped and all was still, she was trembling, breathing heavily.
“There now,” the man with the feathered hat said. “Can you understand me?”
Rose looked up at him, both surprised and glad she knew the words he was saying. They still sounded strange and alien to her ears, but she knew them all the same. “What was that?” Even her own words sounded not quite right in her mouth.
“That, my dear, was a tongue stone,” he said, proudly. “A novelty item I picked up a while ago. It allows one to learn to speak and understand a single language. You just learned Tradespeak. Not to worry, I hear the side effects aren't too horrible.”
“I can’t believe you used something like that on… this,” the woman holding Rose commented.
“Well, it wasn’t making any sales, and I had no use for it. So why not use it to help a young lady in need?”
The woman snorted. “So, what should we do with her?”
The man peered down at Rose. He was incredibly handsome, beautifully so even. His face was smooth and elegant, the only imperfection being the eyepatch he wore over his right eye.
“What are you doing out here, young lady?” he asked.
“Please,” Rose said, meekly. “I’m lost. I’m not here to cause any trouble.”
“You poor thing.” The smile he wore was sympathetic. “I think you can relax, Lara. She seems harmless enough.”
“There are a lot of things that ‘seem’ harmless,” Lara remarked. Nevertheless, she withdrew her sword from Rose’s neck.
Rose glanced over to see a tall and very muscular woman clad in leather armor. Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail and Rose noticed that her ears were pointed. Glancing back to the man, she noticed his ears were also pointed, even more so. They must have been at least an inch longer than the woman’s.
“You’re…” Rose couldn’t help but stare. “Are you an elf?”
He let out a laugh, clearly amused. “That I am. May I presume you’re not from around here?”
“Not exactly,” she mumbled.
“Well, my name is Vincent. Purveyor of goods, at your service.” He gave a slight bow, then extended his hand. “And you are?”
“R-Rose, sir,” she stuttered out, cautiously placing her hand in his.
Vincent brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. “A pleasure to meet a lovely young flower.”
Rose blushed and she could hear his two other companions around the fire snickering.
Lara, however, snorted again. “You really can’t help yourself, can you?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Vincent said cheerfully.
Rose’s head was swimming and her stomach twisting. She stumbled and Vincent grabbed her hand, steadying her. “Easy does it, let’s sit you down shall we?” He pulled her towards the fire with him. “Come, come. We were just about to have dinner. You look positively famished.”
That she was. Rose went along with him, still terrified, but also very, very hungry. Lara followed behind, taking a seat between the other two males. Vincent sat Rose down between him and the other hatted gentleman.
“Rose, allow me to introduce my companions,” Vincent said. He gestured to the man with the lute. “Seylvin.”
The man gave a quick strum and a half sung, “Hello~.”
“Lara.”
The woman lifted her hand in silent greeting.
“And Kog.”
The large man grunted and gave a short nod.
“Nice to meet you all,” Rose said softly.
Being this close, Rose was able to get a good look at them in the firelight. Seylvin, she noticed, had oil black skin, and his hair was white as starlight. Like Vincent, he was stunning to look at.
The other, larger man had skin like worn leather, both in texture and coloration. He had a very obvious underbite, and two large teeth that protruded from his lower lip. He looked like he could bench press a couple boulders, no problem.
The woman was both large and lovely, built like a brick house but her face was obviously feminine. Her hair shone ashy silver in the firelight, and her skin was the color of dark bronze.
Vincent was the fairest out of all of them, cream-skinned with not a mole or freckle to be found. Rose rubbed at her cheeks, as though that might make her mess of freckles magically disappear.
“So, what are you doing out here in the woods all by yourself, young flower?” Vincent asked conversationally.
“I’m not sure.” Rose glanced around at all of them. “So, are you all elves, then?” She didn’t want to be rude but at the same time she was insanely curious. She still wasn’t yet certain if this wasn’t just an elaborate dream she was having.
“Two and a half elves, actually,” Vincent answered. There was a growl from Lara and he quickly added, “And I say that with the utmost affection.”
Lara rolled her eyes but said nothing.
“Kog here is an ogre, and one of the finest gents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.”
“Oh, stop it, Vince,” Kog said, rubbing the back of his head, sounding thoroughly embarrassed. Rose noticed whenever Kog spoke, he never quite fully pronounced his Ts.
“So, what would that make you then, small one?” Lara asked her.
Rose swallowed. “W-well, I’m human.”
The four of them stared at her, all with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. Seylvin sang as he strummed his lute.
“A young flower emerged from the woods,
possibly here to steal our goods.
But turns out it was a human child,
out here in the deepest wild.”
Rose reflexively cringed at how tone deaf and horribly off key it sounded. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one. Kog and Lara had similar reactions.
“A human, you say,” Vincent said, smiling. “My, oh my, but this is interesting. We haven’t had another known human in this world for quite some time.” He gave Rose a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Well, young flower, welcome to the Umbra. Although, we just call it ‘home’.”
The Umbra. Rose had never heard of it before.
“What are we going to do with her?” Lara asked. “We can’t have her tagging along like a pet.”
Vincent rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Ah! I’ve got it! We’ll take her to Dimitri. He’ll know what to do with her.”
“Dimitri?” Rose repeated.
“Yes. He’s human, like you,” Vincent explained. “Plus, he’s got a fair bit of influence. You’ll be far safer with him than with us. We tend to travel on the open road quite a bit.”
“Is he nice?”
“Very much so. I’m honored to do business with him.”
Rose honestly wasn’t sure if she could trust any of this. However, she reasoned, she figured she was better off with these people than she was on her own in the woods with a bunch of hungry bear-cats.
“How long will it take to travel to… wherever this Dimitri person is?” she inquired.
“We still have business a little north of here,” Vincent said. “Then we can turn around and travel to his castle. The entire journey should only take about a month if we make good pace.” He took a gentle hold of her hand. “And we’ll keep you safe in the meantime. You have my word on that.”
Rose could feel herself turning pink, not used to getting this sort of attention. She felt like a princess being courted by a prince from a fairytale.
Seylvin gave a hearty chuckle beside her. “You’ll have to forgive darling Vincent, Rose. He can never seem to turn the charm off.”
“Ah, but you know I only have eyes for you, my dearest partner,” Vincent answered with a broad smile. “Or at least, just the one.”
They both laughed and Rose couldn’t help but feel comforted watching the pair of them. Lara and Kog, however, groaned.
“What mush,” Kog muttered.
Rose giggled, feeling more relaxed.
“Food’s ready,” Lara announced, taking the roasting meats off the fire. “Let’s eat before I choke on all this mush in the air.”
The food was divided up and they shared some with Rose, along with a sweet and dry tasting drink that left Rose feeling giddy. At one point, she pulled her notebook out of her backpack and asked if she could sketch them, to which they all happily agreed.
It was hard to sleep. Even though Vincent had provided Rose with thick blankets to sleep on, she woke u
p many times to the sounds of strange noises. Someone would always be awake standing watch, and the soft glow of the campfire made Rose feel a bit safer.
Eventually she did fall asleep, so soundly that by the time she woke up she was inside the wagon. It wasn't moving and she could hear running water and birdsong. Emerging from the back of the wagon she found it was parked near a mountain stream. They were out of the thick jungle and into less dense forest. The trees were no less impressive with their towering heights to rival city buildings, but at least she could see the clear blue sky above. Rose could also see the valley of the jungle below.
“Finally awake, I see,” a cheerful voice said. Rose looked around to see Vincent striding over to her. “I hope you were able to rest well.”
Rose gave a nod, still feeling intimidated about traveling with a group of adults, mythical creatures or otherwise. She spotted Kog and Lara at the stream washing off, and Seylvin napping under a tree.
“I'm happy you're awake,” Vincent said. “There's something I could use your help with. If you’d be so kind.”
Feeling it would be rude to say ‘no’, Rose agreed and followed him a ways away from where the wagon was parked. They arrived in an area where the ground dipped down and split open, giving way to a gaping wide gorge. Looking down, Rose couldn’t see the bottom through the mists, however, she thought she saw shadows of shapes moving about. An unexpected wave of dizziness caused her to stumble back knocking into Vincent. He caught her with steadying hands.
“Easy now. There, do you see it?” he asked pointing.
Rose squinted and beyond the gap she could see a cluster of plants with long leaves that curled up like octopus tentacles and tall stalks with bright pink bulbs on them.
“You and I are going to get that for Seylvin,” Vincent said.
“But how are we supposed to reach it?” Rose asked. There was no bridge and the gap was far too wide to jump.
“Simple, just take hold of my hand.”
Rose hesitated, unsure if she should trust this. She supposed if he wanted to hurt her he would have done so already. So, cautiously, she grasped his hand. His long fingers enveloped her own in a warm and gentle grip.
