Bound to the Abyss

by James R. Vernon

  “Alright,” Ean said, taking it all in. “But then why should I worry about one if it got out? It wouldn’t have any interest in me. I can barely control what little I understand about my abilities as it is. I’m no threat.”

  “It would be interested in this.” Taking Ean’s right arm, the imp peeled back his glove enough that some of the glowing tattoos on his skin became visible. “A human tied by this to the Abyss? A human that can summon creatures, and is becoming stronger every day? Ean, to a Nar’Grim you are probably the most interesting human alive. Let’s just hope that if there is one or two in this world, they have no idea you exist.”

  Wonderful. Now, he not only had to worry about the Seekers finding and killing him, he had to worry about becoming the plaything of one of the most powerful creatures in the Abyss. Enough was enough. Zin had to know way more about the tattoos. It was time Ean found out.

  Lashing out, Ean grabbed the imp by the arm. Usually that feat was near impossible, but with the imp still holding onto Ean’s arm, it was easy to grab him. Zin tried to bite down hard into his hand, but Ean’s glove lessened the impact to a slight pinch. The imp shook his head a few times, then sighed and gave up. Sitting with his shoulders slumped, he looked up at Ean with questioning eyes.

  “I want some answers, Zin.” Ean was trying his best to sound intimidating, but the shock of actually catching Zin had caught him off guard. “I want to know everything you know about my tattoos, and don’t try to lie to me again.”

  “I’ve told you everything a dozen times now! The tattoos help you channel the energy from the Abyss better and protect you from being changed by it. They will slowly grow and cover more of your body as your own power grows.” He tugged at his arm trying to get it free for a moment, then gave up again. “And I guess they let you feel when anything else that’s been touched by the Abyss is nearby. That’s all I know, so let me go already.”

  “No, you’re still hiding something. Why would these Nar’Grim take that much interest in me? It has to be more than the few things you’ve told me about the tattoos.”

  “Nope, that’s more than enough to get their interest.” The words poured out of his mouth while his eyes darted around. They mostly went between the still sleeping mound that was Bran and the door.

  “They love collecting odd things,” he continued on. “One even specifically hunted me down, because I could speak an actual language. Kept me around for I don’t know how many years …”

  “Hold on a second,” Ean cut in. “You mean to tell me that your kind can’t speak? Not even some strange imp language?”

  Zin shut his mouth, his eyes darting around faster now. Had he finally gotten the imp to slip? He gave Zin’s arm a little shake.

  “Start talking, Zin. Why can you speak and the rest of your kind not be able to?”

  “It’s nothing—I’m just a weird mutation.” The imp’s feet were squirming about. Ean was sure if he let go, Zin would be halfway across the room before he could blink. His speech increased in speed. “You saw what the energy from the Abyss does to creatures. I’m just a fluke.”

  Ean was just about to call him out for lying when the door opened and Jaslen walked in with the bag of food. Dropping it on the floor, she turned and gave Ean and Zin a warm smile. Which apparently was Zin’s cue to let out a scream.

  The imp began to whimper. Before Ean could open his mouth, Jaslen shoved him so hard, he almost fell off the bed. He caught himself but let go of the imp. Zin took advantage of the opportunity and jumped behind Jaslen and grabbed onto her skirts.

  “What are you doing to Zin?” Jaslen scolded. “Look, you’ve scared him.”

  “Now wait a minute. I was just …” The look she shot him made his jaw snap shut. She knelt down and patted Zin on the head.

  “It’s alright. I won’t let that bully bother you anymore. You can just stay by me for a while until Ean learns to treat you better, ok?”

  Zin nodded and flashed her a big, toothy smile.

  This isn’t over, Ean mouthed at him before climbing to his feet. Walking over to where she had dropped the food bag, he reached down and opened it up. It contained dried meat, vegetables and fruit. It was enough food to get them through a quarter of the season if they were careful, and the journey to Lurthalan was only supposed to take five or six days.

  He closed the bag up and left it by the door to retrieve later. It would be one of the few items they would take with them on the journey ahead. They were also going to keep their money handy, Bran’s sword and Jaslen’s bow, of course, and a few other miscellaneous supplies. Everything else would go into his Pocket in the Abyss.

  “Are your things ready?” He tried to make his voice as normal as possible, but he was slightly annoyed at Jaslen. She had jumped to the imp’s defense without even attempting to find out if he had a reason to be grabbing the imp.

  “I suppose so,” she said in a flat tone, “although, I can’t exactly ask him.” As if in response Bran let out a loud snore. A small smile appeared on Jaslen’s face for an instant, and she sighed. “We’re ready, I suppose.”

  That small smile expanded into a grin. “Which means you get to show me again how you create that Pocket of yours.”

  “Of course.”

  Although Jaslen was quick to anger, she was just as quick to smile and offer forgiveness. That was one of the reasons he admired her so much. Ean took a seat next to the rest of their supplies piled in the center of the room. Jaslen and Zin joined him, with the imp keeping a safe distance away from Ean’s reach.

  Ean wiped the floor with a gloved hand to clear it of any dirt or stones they might have tracked in. Content with the space he was going to use, Ean placed a finger on the ground and began to mentally run through all of the runes he would use.

  Without warning, a streak of dark blue light shot out of his finger and began snaking across the floor. He watched in stunned silence as the light moved faster and faster, eventually branching off into two and then three separate lights. In a matter of seconds, the complicated runes that opened up his Pocket were outlined on the ground, perfectly created and the exact size he had pictured. The design stayed for a moment longer before the runes activated and his Pocket appeared in the floor.

  “No fair!” Jaslen said, a slight pout to her lips. “That was way too fast, Ean. I barely got to see it happen!”

  “I … well, sorry. It’s open now, though.” He began to toss their bags down into the mist that floated along inside the Pocket.

  “Do it again, please.”

  Could he even try drawing them slowly again? Not if he was going to use pure energy, that was for sure. Maybe if he physically drew them with something, like he used to, but he really couldn’t see himself doing that ever again.

  “I don’t think I can do it any slower. At least not anymore.” He ran a hand through his hair, frowning at the hole. “I guess with my powers increasing, things are getting easier, like Zin said they would.”

  That earned him a cold stare from the imp, but he just returned it in kind. Just because the imp had been right about something, didn’t mean he still wasn’t holding things back. The answer did seem to placate Jaslen at least, as she nodded with a sigh.

  “Alright then,” she said, climbing back to her feet. “Let’s get everything packed away so we can get some sleep. I’m guessing you want to leave early.”

  “Absolutely,” he replied. “The innkeeper’s wife was pretty adamant about us not heading north. Other people here might feel a bit stronger about it and try to stop us. The idea of anyone bringing the Seekers down on the village seems to put everyone here on edge.”

  “True.”

  Jaslen joined him as he stored their things, and together, they were able to get everything put away. Zin stayed by Jaslen’s side the entire time. So much for getting him alone again in the near future. The imp would probably avoid him whenever they had the chance to be alone. The imp couldn’t stay away from him forever, no matter how much he tried to
be Jaslen’s shadow. When they were finished, Ean placed his hand on the outside of the Pocket and watched as it closed just as easily as it was created.

  With everything prepared, Ean and Jaslen said their good nights, put out the candles, and climbed into their own beds. Zin curled up at Jaslen’s feet, one eye closed and the other watching Ean. The eye stayed fixed on him until Ean was completely under the covers. The imp was taking things a bit far. As a peace offering, he would let Zin have some of the meat in their supplies. Good food and not having to scavenge for a meal would make him feel better.

  Tomorrow.

  The Scar was certainly on the forefront of his mind. It was over a day’s travel away, according to what they had heard and was somewhere off the path. Ean hoped that they could find it. It would be interesting to see something connected to the Abyss that he hadn’t created. That thought swirled around in his head for a while longer until he finally fell asleep.

  EAN WOKE TO THE feel of one of Zin’s sharp claws between his shoulder blades.

  “Knock it off, Zin!” he growled and burrowed deeper down into the covers.

  A moment later, he found himself soaking wet.

  Tossing off the blankets, he found Jaslen standing over his head with a pitcher.

  “Sorry, Ean,” she said, giving an apologetic grin. “If Zin’s fingers poking you in the back wasn’t enough to get you up, I figured I had to turn to something more drastic.”

  The only reply he could give was a grunt before he got out of bed and dried off.

  Bran was just as difficult to get up. Jaslen pulled off his covers and jumped on the bed; she even hit him a few times with a pillow with no result. Eventually she just resigned herself to dumping water onto his head as well. That got him up quick. He mumbled a few words Ean couldn’t hear from his side of the room and then climbed out of bed while the water dripped from his hair.

  With everyone awake, once the men had dried off, they left. As they walked towards the stairs with their belongings, Ean took a look at his companions. Bran’s hair was a mess, and he had stayed in the same shirt and pants he had slept in, both of which were riddled with stains. His eyes were half open, and he kept rubbing at them as he stood in the hall.

  Jaslen was the complete opposite, wide-awake with her usual smile lighting up her face. She had put on one of her many brown dresses that she wore when she worked in her father’s fields. She kept rubbing her hands together anxiously. Was she nervous about traveling again or excited? Hopefully the latter. If she suddenly decided that it was too dangerous to go anywhere near the Scar, Bran would take her side. Then not only would Ean not get to see the Scar, but they would add on a couple more days of traveling just to make sure they went around it.

  Best not to worry about that. Glancing at Zin for a second earned him a dirty look before he turned invisible. Ean watched as his blur moved down the hallway. He was probably going to go hunt down some breakfast before they left. It was much easier to catch village rats than wild ones. Hopefully he would cool off a bit while he was gone.

  With no one around, the three made their way out the front doors. Walking onto the main road, Ean got a clear view of the clearing where he had spent most of the previous day. There were fewer tents now, which he hoped meant the people that had been inside them had been well enough to go home. While he believed he had left most of those in good condition, without Rottwealth, it was impossible to say a person with a serious wound was ever out of danger.

  Ean tried to stay positive as they began following the road east. The main road branched off to the north and southeast. The northern pass was the one they were going to follow, but it was what lay ahead, in-between the two paths, that made Ean pause.

  A clearing similar to the one in the center of town sat off the road, filled with more wagons then Ean had ever imagined. There had to be over two dozen wagons resting out in the field. They sat some distance away from the road in no discernible order—wagons of multiple shapes, colors and sizes, some with wood roofs and others with canvas. Spaced out evenly about the wagon camp were small fire pits. Men and women moved between the fires and wagons, making the area around the caravan look like its own tiny village.

  “Do all of those wagons belong to one caravan?” Ean asked as they turned and continued on north. Bran kept his head down and didn’t respond. Jaslen gave him a disapproving look before turning her head slightly towards Ean.

  “Yes, they all belong to Berek’s family,” she said, her eyes still on Bran. “They arrived a few days before us from the South. They had been trading with a group of people called the Shadaer Umdaer, some kind of tribal people that control all of the land a dozen or so days walk south of here.”

  “I couldn’t imagine spending most of my life traveling around. I’m not saying I want to spend the rest of my life in Rottwealth, but I would like to have some place I could call my home.”

  As Jaslen’s eyes narrowed and a small frown crept onto her face, Ean knew he had said the wrong thing.

  “What do you mean you don’t want to live in Rottwealth? Are you actually thinking about never going back?” She had slowed down now until they were walking side by side.

  “Of course I’m going to go back,” he said. “As soon as we figure out some way to help the village.” Her features relaxed slightly, but she didn’t look convinced. “I just meant that after we go back, and if we’re able to get rid of whatever that creature is, I might leave to set up my own Healer’s shop somewhere else, is all.”

  “What’s wrong with Rottwealth?” Flipping her hair back, she glanced ahead at Bran for a moment then returned her full attention to him.

  “It was just a thought, Jaslen,” he said, trying his best to grin as much as he could. “I’m sure I’ll end up taking over for Cleff and running things back in Rottwealth once he gets too old to keep working. It’s just fun sometimes to think about other possibilities is all.”

  She sniffed at him and walked on in silence. So much for putting her at ease. Ean couldn’t help but smile. If she was getting upset at him for talking about leaving, that had to mean she wanted to him stay, right? He didn’t read into it as anything more than her not wanting to lose him as a friend, but even that felt nice.

  They followed the road in silence from that point on until they reached the edge of the village and the beginning of the forest. Where most of the area around the road had been cleared before, as soon as it entered the forest, the dirt road became patchy and slightly overgrown. The trees were much thicker than Ean had first thought, making it hard to see very far. That combined with the low light of the morning made the forest intimidating. At least it felt that way to Ean, making him stop. Jaslen did as well, her face filled with doubt.

  Bran didn’t hesitate, although Ean couldn’t tell if it was because of bravery or that Bran was in such bad shape that he simply didn’t notice. He certainly didn’t notice that Ean and Jaslen had stopped. They both watched him walk on a little ways before they turned and looked at each other. Jaslen broke the awkward moment first, giving him a sheepish smile before speaking.

  “It can’t be much worse than the mountain pass. As long as we stick to the road, I’m sure we will be fine. And after a night to think about it, I am curious about that Scar, and I’m sure you still have plenty of things you can tell us about Ze’an and the Abyss.”

  “Oh, right, of course,” he said, turning away and readjusting the bag he carried. Sure he could tell them more, as soon as he could get Zin to tell him more first. Where was the imp anyway? He couldn’t even feel him nearby.

  “Well, we shouldn’t let Bran get too far ahead,” he continued on. “He might walk straight off the road and get lost without us to steer him. He looks like he’s in really bad shape.”

  “Right.” Jaslen nodded and set off after Bran.

  Ean paused a moment longer to take a look back at Rensen. As crazy as his short time there had been, the people of the small logging village had been generous to him once they realize
d how helpful he had been. The possibility of settling down here was an attractive one. Of course, there were many more villages besides this one, most of which he didn’t even know the names of. Best not to make any big decisions until he had been out in the world longer, and especially not until they had finished doing what they had set out to do. He had been honest about that with Jaslen. No matter how much he detested most of the people in Rottwealth, with the feeling being mutual of course, he didn’t want to see the place where he grew up destroyed.

  Jaslen had caught up to Bran and had put a decent amount of distance between them and Ean. Ean certainly didn’t want to let Jaslen and Bran get out of sight, so he jogged after them. As he caught up, he decided to leave his thoughts about settling down behind him. A day or two ahead was an actual direct link to the Abyss, and he needed all of his attention to be focused on that. Closing his eyes, Ean ‘felt’ around to see if the imp had caught up with them.

  Nothing.

  THE THREE SPENT MOST of the morning traveling in silence. Bran remained in a sour mood, shooting Ean and Jaslen a pained stare whenever either one tried to strike up a conversation. So instead of talking, they took in the scenery, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Ean’s thoughts flickered between the Scar that he hoped was still ahead, and all of the different plants and herbs he saw just off the path.

  Surprisingly out of the two, it was the plants and herbs that monopolized his mind. The pure abundance and variety that he was able to spot in the forest was amazing. Back in Rottwealth, the most plentiful plants grew in the marsh and those were mostly Rottwealth and Oranganger, the plant used to make Flashseal. Most other types of plants that could be used in medicine and salves were difficult to find around his home. That wasn’t the case out here, though.