by Sergei Katz
My Totem’s whole demeanor indicated that he was deeply offended. When Alex and Yaga disappeared into the hut, I looked at the bird, realizing that he had his own secrets.
— So, you know how to eavesdrop now, do you? Then tell me everything down to the finest detail!
I prevented his attempt to fly off on ostensibly urgent Totem affairs. The Shining Grass spell appeared under his claws and stopped him from flying away. Then I bribed him with his favorite delicacy - a yellow fruit. Sighing sadly, my Totem issued a strange birdlike cry, and his eyes and ears started glowing faintly.
— Okay, I can see that when you want to your hearing and vision can improve drastically. Is this something I can copy?
My Totem shook his head.
— Okay, so it only works for birds, does it? How long have you had this ability?
The bird began to shift from one foot to another and pretended to be busy cleaning its plumage.
— Oh, come on! Did you really have this ability from the very first day we met?
My Totem nodded cautiously, confirming my suspicion.
— So, why haven’t you been using it before then?
For the first time ever, I saw a bird shrug its shoulders.
— So, you have been using it, haven’t you?
I got a positive nod again.
— Okay, that’s cleared up now. So, do you have any other talents that I’m not aware of?
It seemed as if my Copper Wing was very pleased that I was no longer angry with him, and he shook his head happily to indicate that there was nothing else that I should be aware of.
— So, let's make things clear: let me know if anything new comes to light, if this, of course, does not violate any Totem laws. So I'll know that I can count on you. Do we have a deal?
My Totem nodded his head so hard that I began to worry if it would fall off.
By the end of our conversation a smiling Alex had come out of the hut.
— Well, do you know where the stone is now?
— I do, — the boy just shone with happiness.
— Do you also know how to get there? — I asked.
— Yes, — the boy noticed my inquiring glance and continued: — It located a bit to the north of a restaurant known as “The Hollow”.
— Is that the name of the restaurant, or is it really a hollow? — I asked.
— Both, — the boy smiled.
“He’s smiling way too much, as if he’s not telling me the whole truth,” — I suddenly concluded. — “I think he’s playing me for a fool.”
— Is it far from here? — I asked casually.
— Well, uh ... a month and a half away on foot, — Alex was prepared for me to lose my temper with him.
“I’m in deep trouble! That is almost all time I have left on this world unless I find the rune word!”
I didn’t want to dump the boy on his own. I liked him a lot, and the chances of the boy achieving his goals alone were slim. With the help of me and my Copper Wing, we could easily face all the monsters in the forest, but the young archer could never make it alone.
“Okay, let's hear what the Fortune Teller has to say, and I'll decide what to do then,” — I decided to put off my decision for a bit.
— Alex, — I looked into the boy’s eyes. — First, I will go to Yaga and hear what she has to say, and then we'll decide what to do and how to do it. Are you okay with that?
The boy turned pale, but pulling himself together, he nodded in agreement.
I went into the hut: the furniture had been moved to the walls and corners, and a huge oak table stood in the middle of the room. The cracks in the wood indicated just how ancient it was. Two stacks of mysterious looking cards lay on the table in front of Yaga. One deck was of an indigo color. The depiction on the box had been made by a luminous pen that used the threads of destiny instead of ink. I had no idea how, but I clearly understood that each thread of destiny on the cards was real, not painted on. The cover of the second deck was the color of sea water, covered with moving images that were shimmering across the deck of cards.
I wanted to sit on a chair opposite the Fortune Teller, but she motioned me to stop.
— Before you sit down, you must know certain rules: I cannot be interrupted, and you cannot repeat your questions. Neither before, nor after, nor at any time are you allowed to dare ask me to explain anything. No one should ever know the full content of what I am about to tell you. Do you understand?
Yaga’s voice was so serious that it pierced me to the bone. I nodded silently.
— Very well, — the Fortune Teller relaxed a little. — Now choose one of the decks of cards.
I almost asked her what was the difference between them, but when I saw a warning look in her eyes, I choked on the question. When I looked at the deck with the shimmering images, my blood turned cold. The deck didn’t look threatening or scary, but my gut feeling told me that it wasn’t for me. Definitely not for me, that’s all there was to it. I silently pointed to the deck that had been decorated by a luminous pen.
— You have made your choice, now sit down. I'll start reading your fortune. It’s very important that you remember everything word by word.
The Fortune Teller touched the deck lightly, and the cards began to come to life. I suddenly felt as if a thousand eyes were staring at me – probing into every part of my consciousness and soul. Everything ended suddenly, as if the eyes had learned everything there was to know about me and I no longer held any interest for them.
On the one hand, I was incredibly glad that the depths of my soul were no longer being explored against my will, but the deeply unpleasant sensation remained: “Is it possible to learn everything that is interesting about me in such a short space of time? Is that all there is to me? Although I haven’t been in this world for two weeks yet, so why should it matter to me that my character is of little interest to these cards?”
Finally, I realized that my eyes had been closed shut and that I had been sat there like this for the whole time that the thousand eyes had been studying me. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The Fortune Teller was looking through the cards as they hovered in the air. They seemed to follow her instructions, but sometimes they resisted her and followed their own path. Gradually, the deck of cards shuffled itself and it looked as if Yaga was stringing them all into a new deck. If Yaga and the cards agreed, then they were frozen in place. If one of the cards objected, then the shuffling began again as the deck tried to substitute an alternative card. If Old Woman Yaga disagreed, then the card wasn’t allowed to take position in the deck, and Yaga would choose a different card.
“There was something strange about this divination – it looked more like she wanted the cards to fit in with what she wanted to tell me, but ... what did I know about fortune-telling? Maybe it's the way it’s supposed to be here,” — I thought to myself.
Eventually, all the cards returned to the deck. A drop of sweat dripped down the old woman's face. It was clear that this particular fortune telling had not been easy for her.
Yaga laid out the deck in front of me and instructed me to pull out any three cards. I chose the first card. As soon as I touched it, a parchment appeared before the old woman. The card I had chosen dissolved into it, and a line of writing appeared on the parchment. However, then I saw that the card had flown up into the air on its own. Several more cards had flown up with it, and all of them also dissolved, creating more lines of writing. As instructed by the Fortune Teller, as soon as the first batch of cards had finished their task, I chose a second card, and then a third. On both occasions they behaved in the same manner as the first card: every time I chose another card, more lines of writing were added to the parchment. Despite all my efforts to understand how the cards were connected, I couldn’t discern any relation between them.
The last card touched the parchment. The room became incredibly dark, so that I couldn’t even see my own hands. The only thing that was clearly visible was the Fortune Teller’s eyes a
nd the lines of writing on the parchment. There was no light in the hut and there was no sound either. If I didn’t breathe out at that moment, then I could have sworn that even the air disappeared along with everything else.
In the midst of this silence, I could hear the hollow and omniscient voice of Yaga, and it sounded totally different to her normal voice:
Soon you will be judged,
You could lose everything barring your brother.
Or you will find strength. Yet, I am certain that
Fate will make you pay for your choice.
A dead man will compensate you for something that you will be forced to surrender.
This reality will shock you nonetheless.
Your friend may become your enemy.
Multiply your strength, and work harder.
The devil may try to trick you.
Be persistent, and fight against your Fate,
and she may be kind to you after all.
As soon as the Fortune Teller finished the last line, she disappeared. After she had finished speaking, the Fortune Teller's voice returned to normal. For a moment I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to me. My eyes refused to focus. I couldn’t hear or feel anything, as if my head had been covered with some type of hood. A moment later, everything returned to how things had been before I touched the first card. Yaga was sitting in front of me, and there were two decks of cards on the table.
— Newcomers always face a similar sense of disorientation, — the old woman smirked. — Don’t worry; it takes the Fortune Teller a few days to return to normal as well. Now you can leave and take your noisy bird with you. You were only out of it for a couple of minutes, and yet it squawked like crazy. Take the boy away as well - I still have a lot to do for today, — the old woman's eyes gleamed in excitement as they settled on a flask of moonshine.
— I get it. All you want to do now is to get drunk, — I sighed.
— You know nothing about me, do you? I've been surviving on tea for the last couple of months now, and nobody around here can make a half decent drink. They can’t even manage to infuse an ordinary drink with herbs. There is nobody around with even the basic knowledge to teach people how to do things right. This Elf may be eccentric, but he’s no fool. Maybe his recipes aren’t perfect every time, but he still refuses to share them. I even offered him my “services” free for life, but he just grinned at me and said that if someone like me was to tell his fortune free of charge, then he would be unlikely to live for long. He said that he didn’t need to visit a Fortune Teller to know that he wouldn’t live forever. What a rascal!
The Fortune Teller spoke so emotionally and with such sincere resentment that I couldn’t hold myself back, and I burst out laughing.
— How dare you laugh at me? — The Fortune Teller began to grope for something behind her back.
I decided not to wait to discover what she was looking for, so I flew out of the hut like a rocket.
You have completed the hidden quest “Plans of Destiny”. Destiny has plans for her instrument. Alex's quest is to find “The Traveling Stone” and now it’s yours as well. In case of non-fulfillment of the quest, both of you will die without any chance of resurrection.
“BLEEP you! What kind of BLEEP is this? Why the hell did I go to have my fortune told in the first place?”
Behind me I heard giggling coming from the hut.
— I will have you, you old hag! Now I’ve got a gift for you! — I turned around full circle and came up against a solid wall. The door was gone.
Alex and my Copper Wing were watching curiously, as I furiously rushed around the hut in search of a hidden door. After checking the hut several times, I was convinced that the door had totally disappeared.
“Well, if it has disappeared, then it has disappeared!” — I smiled and took out my sword, and I approached the wall where the door used to be. Funnily enough, my sword was excited by the idea of cutting a new doorway into the hut, and it was shaking in anticipation.
— Don’t even think about! — I heard the Fortune Teller’s voice, and then the entire hut disappeared into thin air.
— BLEEP! When I meet you next time, it will be payback time!
I couldn’t say if it was just in my mind, but I heard a whisper:
— I know that we will meet again and when we do I will pay you back as well.
I was exhausted. I fell down on the grass like a sack of potatoes and put away the disappointed sword. The troubled boy and my curious Totem both approached me.
“Of course, why would the bird have been concerned that I might not have returned from the hut?” — I wondered to myself wearily.
— What happened? — Alex cried out. — Does this have something to do with what she told you about your fortune?
— No, — I had already calmed down.
Soberly assessing the situation, I realized that things were not as bad as they sounded. At the end of the day, I still didn’t have any specific plans in mind, so it was probably best to go on a quest than to just wander around in an unknown world. What really got my goat was that somebody had decided what I was supposed to do next without asking my opinion about it: “After all, Yaga knew 100% what would happen in my future without even looking at the cards! I wouldn’t even be surprised if she had actually fixed the deck.”
My reflections were interrupted by my noisy bird, who at that particular moment decided to show how much he cared for me. To be completely honest, my Totem was merely hungry and licked at me so that I would give him a yellow fruit as a treat.
— Here, take them! — I poured a handful of fruits in front of the gluttonous bird.
While the happy bird was over eating, I talked things over with Alex:
— It's settled, we're going with you. I will be honest with you: I have my own quest, and it is vitally important for me. This is not a figure of speech; I really can disappear from this world if it’s not fulfilled on time. However, after Yaga’s fortune telling, I have no choice but to help you in finding the stone. — I told him.
— Yes, I know, — the boy shifted unsteadily from one foot to another. — When you were given my quest, the world told me about it. I'm sorry that you now have two deadly quests to complete because of me.
— Don’t worry about it. Where I came from, there is a saying: “You can only die once. We all die one day, but until then, we need to make the best out of life.
— Really? — The boy’s eyes started shining. — That’s an excellent saying! I am very glad that I have met you. For some reason or other, I feel that if you are close by, then everything will turn out fine.
— It looks like you're not the only one who thinks so, — I grinned.
My Copper Wing had already wolfed down all of the delicacies, and at this point his feathery bottom was ready to fly off on new adventures, which he demonstrated by flying back and forth above us.
— Okay, let's go to that bar in the hollow tree.
— It’s actually a restaurant, and it's in a hollow, — the boy corrected me automatically and said: — That’s where we are heading to next.
As soon as my Totem saw the direction we were heading off in, he soared ahead of us.
CHAPTER 19:
TO FIGHT, OR NOT
TO FIGHT
Fast forward a few weeks into our journey ... The pine forest, together with its inhabitants, was like an open book for us. Even the large groups of Forest Hubs we came across, that sometimes amounted to ten warriors plus a shaman, we considered as an easy prey. Occasionally, I would jot down details of the plants and monsters that interested me in the notebook that I had bought from Votina. At this moment, while my young companions were having some fun, I finally found the time to return to the question of changing my name.
I had chosen the name Dee on the spur of the moment: when the High Fairy told me that she called herself Tsi. I had thought of the vampire hunter and it seemed to me a good idea to take his short name. At this point, given that thi
s name had become so well known, it was definitely time to change it. So, my new name should have no association with vampires. I had always believed that names of places and personal names could have an effect on your fortunes, and in this world, it seemed, names carried a special weight. That’s why I rejected any flashy names from my list.
Most of my abilities appeared to be related to the forest, and I had been spending the majority of my time here in the woods. So, the idea of hunting appealed to me. I'd always liked Scandinavian mythology, and hunting in the wild wasn’t such a jaded topic as vampires and elves. Also, I had some knowledge of “Wild Magic”. In many different countries, hunting was led by different kings and gods. Erlkoenig, which meant Forest King or King Alder in Scandinavian, appealed to me the most. Of course, I wouldn’t call myself a king, but the Alder was actually a very beautiful tree.
— Alex, — I called the boy. — Remember, I told you that I needed to change my name?
— Of course, Dee, I remember. Have you found yourself a new one? — He asked.
— Yes, from now on call me Alder.
The boy repeated the name a couple of times, as if trying to understand if he liked it or not, and finally, he said: — It seems OK. I’m no expert in such matters. In our world, usually such matters are discussed by the family with their ancestral spirits, but you don’t have any here. So, I think, it will be alright.
We were all already tired of this monotonous pine forest, with its low life inhabitants. So, when we finally came to a huge hilly plateau, where the trees grew in clumps of ten to fifteen trees a few kilometers apart, all of us felt relieved. These were strange trees resembling Cassia trees, with thick crowns covered with green flowers, and bunches of a type of grape. There were fields of tall grass here and there, and sometimes we could see some bushes on the hills. It seemed that the entire plateau was full of greenery, but there were so many shades of green that I found it simply fascinating. From our observation point, it seemed that this plateau was endless. Just to make sure that I was wrong, I glanced back and saw that boring pine forest behind me.
