Within

by Aaron Bunce

Why am I still alive? Why did the monster not kill me too?

  It didn’t matter. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live anymore. Not when her brothers were dead.

  The beast gently gathered her into its arms and set off determinedly into the wilds. It stopped the following morning in a small clearing surrounded by pine trees.

  The camp was crude, but it appeared to be a spot the creature had used before. It busied itself making a fire and gathering food. She realized after a time that it was not food for itself, but for her.

  Eisa expected the monster to act like an animal, savage and untamed. But that is why she was so surprised when it labored over its kill, cleaning and preparing it with skill she never thought possible. She shied away when it placed a flat leaf full of cooked rabbit and wild berries in front of her. It eyed her evenly, and when she refused to eat, it grew angry.

  It clawed at the ground, accosting her in a strange and frightening language. Trembling and terrified, Eisa scooped up the leaf and started to eat. The creature watched her for a time but then retreated to the base of a large pine tree. It pulled off large chunks of tree bark until it found what it was looking for. Eisa ducked her head, picking at her food every time the creature looked up. She feared angering it again.

  It went about its work, rubbing pine sap into several wounds with it's smaller more opposable hands. The cuts were clean, like those made from a very sharp blade.

  Hunter injured the beast!

  She couldn’t take much solace from the thought, however, considering she was here with it, and not Hunter. Eisa cursed the monster. It killed her brothers, her family. She tried to shake those thoughts away. If she wanted to survive, she couldn’t cling to grief. Eisa would have to focus on finding a way to escape.

  The creature forced them to travel day and night. It didn’t seem to need sleep. Eisa would dread each sunset, for fear of the night that followed. The darkness brought new sounds, shapeless horrors moving in the darkness, just beyond the limits of her sight. The creature did not share her fear, however. It stood a quiet vigil each night during their short stops, a steady rumbling issuing from its chest.

  The meager fires she was allowed did little to warm away the chill. The subdued flickering barely penetrated the darkness. In the black Eisa’s imagination threatened to take control. Eyes hovered in the night, staring at her and following them through the wilderness. Eisa became aware of dark, moving shapes, some large and some small. But as long as the creature stayed near, nothing came close.

  She stayed vigilant through countless hours, even skipping sleep in the hope that the creature would wander off or fall asleep and allow her to slip away. To her ever-growing frustration, that moment never came. On the occasions when it ran off to find food, it would bind her hands and feet. Even then she had the notion it was still watching her.

  Eventually, fatigue claimed her, and she fell into a troubled sleep. In those short and witching dreams, she would see her brothers, broken and bloodied. When she awoke, she did so to the same horrible reality.

  During one brief rest Eisa didn’t cower on the ground like normal. Instead, she decided to follow it around. She didn’t shy away when it turned on her. It appeared confused by her sudden change in demeanor.

  It was at that moment that she gave the creature a name. She decided to call it Dombrangr. It was in the old tongue, the language of her grandmother. She heard them use the word many times, usually for someone or something that brought bad luck. That individual would become an omen or a sign of doom. The application, she decided, was most fitting.

  Eisa was jarred awake by the snapping of tree branches against her face. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and craned her neck towards the sky. The horizon showed the first signs of sunrise. It was a gentle hue, just enough to warm the night sky. Dombrangr stopped in a small valley for a brief rest.

  There was a pond fed with fresh water from a stream. Eisa wanted desperately to jump in and take a bath. She dipped her toe into the water just as Dombrangr swept her up, and they were off again.

  Where is it taking me!

  Dombrangr refused to let Eisa walk when they traveled. When she tried to strike out on her own, he would run her down and hoist her, kicking and screaming off her feet.

  The terrain changed gradually. Gone were the endless expanses of coniferous trees and pine swag. The hills and valleys grew more severe, until they grew into rocky cliffs and sprawling, jagged bluffs.

  Eagles circled far overhead, screeching their challenge to all below. They passed through a herd of grazing mountain goats. The horned animals cried out at the sight of Dombrangr, scaling the jagged face of the bluffs like skilled adventurers to escape the beast.

  Eisa tried to count the sunrises and sunsets since she had been taken, but they blurred together. Her thoughts moved forward.

  What does Dombrangr have in store for me?

  She couldn’t see the creature going to such trouble if she was simply to be a meal. Am I to be a trophy, a slave, or worse?

  Dombrangr snorted loudly, tearing her from trouble thoughts. Eisa gasped and hooked her arms around his thick neck. The loose rock broke away, clattering to the ground far below. Dombrangr climbed spider-like, using every available appendage to scale the nearly vertical face of the stone bluff.

  Finally, they reached a shelf, and he set her down to rest. Eisa turned and crouched, grabbing onto the stone as her knees went weak. Looming straight up above them, reaching up to pierce the heavens were the mountains. They had forever been the backdrop to Eisa’s life, but they were all around her now, at her fingertips.

  They towered over her, the snowcapped peaks blurring mistily as they pierced the passing clouds. Monstrous evergreen trees clustered over the granite slopes, draping them like moss on a damp forest bed.

  That next night, after hours of dangerous climbing, the sky loomed larger and more expansive then Eisa had ever seen. The moon, which was much larger and brighter, now traveled like a glowing eye amongst the twinkling stars.

  The noises of the mountains were different than that of the forest. They made her feel incredibly small. Strange and bizarre creatures cried into the night. Their songs of hunger or pain kept her tense, and even her hulking kidnapper seemed to be on edge. As much as it repulsed her, Eisa started lingering closer to Dombrangr.

  A raw pit started to well in her stomach, a sour manifestation of her trepidation and pain. The thought of food was enough to make her gag, an even more unpleasant experience when mixed with the mountain air. It had become hard to breathe, and she labored just to pick herself off of the ground. Eisa started to fantasize about Dombrangr spinning around, and mercifully striking her down. In those waking dreams, she didn’t feel pain.

  She wanted desperately to lie down and rest, to fall into a deep sleep in which she could awake back home, and find everything returned to normal. But rest, just like her freedom, hung just out of reach.

  Trembling and winded, Eisa pulled her weary body up onto a prickly bed of grass. She rolled onto her side, her head spinning from the thin mountain air. Her nose started to bleed, but she didn’t have the energy to wipe it. Scrapes and bruises covered her arms and legs, and her clothes were a mess, muddied and tattered beyond repair. She tore strips from her dress to wrap around her shoes, to keep them from falling apart.

  Denoril sprawled endlessly in all directions. She could see farther than she ever thought possible. The Bear Claw River twisted and turned like a slithering serpent. Had it been under different circumstances, she imagined she would weep from the sight, at the amazing beauty of it all.

  Is this what the gods see when they look down on us?

  A rare chuckle bubbled up inside as she imagined Luca. Her little brother, standing there in the very spot she now lay. She imagined his jaw hanging open, as he gawked at the scenery below. But her mirth turned to tears. She tried to shake those thoughts away.

  He can’t say anything, she reminded herself harshly. Luca was dead.

 
Moments later Dombrangr pulled her to her feet. Her brief rest was only a pause in a downward spiral. It was a chance to catch her breath before she was pushed ever forward, towards whatever fate awaited her.

  Nestled at the back of the outcropping, and hidden inconspicuously behind some hanging vegetation, lay the jagged mouth of a cave, its interior obscured in darkness. Showing no hesitation, Dombrangr pushed through the scratchy brambles and twisted branches. Eisa’s world fell into darkness. The meager light splicing through the leaves of the vegetation died too quickly to break the gloom.

  The ceiling of the cave appeared high near the opening, but quickly sloped down to an uncomfortable height, forcing Eisa to stoop down to continue. She could hear Dombrangr growing impatient with her.

  She felt her way along tentatively in the darkness, one small step at a time. She had lost her shoes, but couldn’t remember where.

  The darkness became oppressive. She stared into it, forcing her eyes to focus, willing them to see anything in the black. She couldn’t see or feel him, but Eisa could hear Dombrangr behind her, watching her. Fearful that he would grow angry, Eisa struck out blindly in what she hoped was the correct direction. She constantly flinched, expecting to hit her head or toes on the unyielding rock. She fought hard to deny the panic only blindness could inflict.

  A clawed hand clamped down on her shoulder and guided her to one side. Eisa spun around, instinctively trying to wrestle out of the creature’s grip, but froze. Dombrangr’s eyes glowed like ominous floating orbs in the darkness. Eisa quickly relented under the horrific stare and allowed him to guide her through.

  Eisa tried to navigate the black space, her hands extending out before her. She knocked her head painfully against the low ceiling several times before it sloped back up to a more comfortable height.

  Abruptly, the cave ended. Her hands crawled out like frantic spiders, searching for the way. With a little luck, she found it quickly and knelt down to pull through the waist-high opening. She hoped for a moment that the hulking creature would be too big to follow, but then she heard it slide effortlessly through behind her.

  Eisa stepped out of the small crack in the rock. A dim light flickered off in the distance. She gratefully moved towards it. She had only taken a few steps before her foot struck a jagged rock. With no shoes to protect her feet, she felt her largest two toes pop as they gave under the impact.

  Unable to wrench free of Dombrangr’s grasp, Eisa slumped to the ground, clutching at her foot. She sobbed as pain shot up her leg in red-hot waves. Tears bubbled from her eyes as she held her throbbing foot in her free hand. Dombrangr didn’t wait. The creature grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her along the rocky ground.

  “Stop it. Stop it! Let go of me! Let me go!” Eisa hissed, the pain and anger releasing within her.

  She crumpled to the ground, whimpering and clutching her foot. Eisa looked up into her tormentor’s indifferent eyes, her face wet with tears. She knew she would find no sympathy there.

  With what little pride she had left, Eisa hobbled back to her feet and continued.

  Hopping along to keep the weight off of her throbbing foot, Eisa made her way towards the warm glow ahead. They followed a gentle curve in the tunnel and rounded a large stalagmite as a small fire came into view. A small group huddled around the fire.

  They’re much too small to be men, she thought.

  Another prod from Dombrangr and Eisa hobbled out around the stalagmite and into the warm light from the fire. The creatures huddled together were goblins, and they noticed her immediately. They jumped up howling from their seats around the fire.

  Several of the small creatures lowered spears threateningly. Eisa instinctively tried to take a step back, but strong hands held her in place. Spears leveled, two goblins charged, wild chattering spurring them on. The little creatures moved frighteningly fast as they closed the distance between them. A threatening growl reverberated behind her and then she was falling.

  Everything seemed to slow down to a flickering dance in the firelight. Dombrangr bounded over her as she fell, and for the first time came into view of the charging goblins. Eisa looked on as the goblins recognized the hulking monster and tried to halt their advance, but it was too late.

  The closest goblin’s eyes went wide as Dombrangr came forward and leapt cat-like through the air. His arm flashed across in a blur of ghostly skin and claws. The goblin’s head jerked back, blood and flesh spattering from its neck and chest as it toppled end over end, finally falling into a lifeless pile. With a horrible mewling noise, Dombrangr sprang at the second goblin before it could turn and flee. The two creatures rolled together, a tangling, twisting mass of limbs.

  They tumbled about for a moment, the goblin’s spear falling forgotten to the ground as it bit, kicked and grabbed anything it could. Dombrangr overpowered the goblin in every way. In a terrifying moment, powerful jaws snapped together, and with a sickening crack, the smaller creature went still.

  The remaining goblins had gone quiet, but as the scene turned ugly they began their agitated dance, several even bending over to cast stones at the predator.

  Eisa watched the goblins fully set in their panic. Her heart dropped as she realized that several of the frantic little creatures clutched tightly to offspring. Their response, which at first she thought was hostility, was actually defensive.

  Dombrangr stood quietly over the bodies of the fallen goblins, his eyes unblinking, the chalky white skin of his face now spattered with the dark blood of his kills. He leaned back, and for the first time stood upright, the goblin’s lifeless body still in hand.

  The monstrous creature brought another fist against his chest in a thundering challenge. The panic that rooted the goblins in place broke, sending them scurrying frantically towards any exit possible. In the confusion, several goblins ran into the fire and went screeching out a side tunnel. Another of the frantic creatures almost ran straight into Eisa.

  Dombrangr’s arm flashed out, and like a frog nabbing an insect from the air, grasped the goblin around the neck and easily hoisted it off the ground. The crushing grip strangled the life out of the flopping creature.

  “Dombrangr, NO! Please don’t kill it. They’re just trying to protect themselves!” Eisa shouted at him before she could stop herself. Dombrangr turned his head, his eerie glowing eyes burning into her with frightening intensity.

  “Dooom…briiinngggerr!” It was a deep, croaking voice that resonated from deep in its throat. She couldn’t be sure, but she swore that he looked pleased.

  Dombrangr tossed the goblin back over his shoulder, his gaze never leaving Eisa. The goblin landed with a smack and proceeded to flop about, clawing at its crushed neck.

  Eisa retreated, taking a painful step on her broken foot as Dombrangr came towards her.

  “Dooom…brrriiingggerr,” he impersonated her again. It scared Eisa that the creature mocked her, and even more so that it seemed to comprehend what it meant, and that it approved.

  She fought back as he tossed her over his shoulder, a horrible chuckle resonating deep from within. Dombrangr bounded forward past the goblin’s cook fire, and out through a side passage.

  The tunnel was utterly dark, but Eisa wrenched her head around as a haunting orange glow appeared. The glow grew more intense, basking their surroundings in strange, shifting shadows.

  Eisa felt panic swell up inside. The strange glow tricked her eyes, and she couldn’t orient herself. She blindly searched for its source, and as Dombrangr leapt up onto a ledge, she finally spotted it. Bulbous, mushroom shaped fungi clung to the walls and ceiling. They emitted a peculiar glow, pulsing rhythmically, growing brighter and then fading again.

  “Glowing mushrooms?” Dombrangr chuckled menacingly beneath her. Eisa let out a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. She focused in on the gradual and not so gradual changes in the environment. The floor was no longer uneven and rough, but smooth. It shined like polished stone, just like the weather bearer statues standing v
igil in Shale.

  They passed bowl-shaped stone braziers, perched on massive blocks of marble. She envisioned blistering fires illuminating the passageway long ago. They passed under a large archway, and Eisa had to turn away. The same braziers that sat lifeless in the hall behind her burned brightly in the chamber’s four corners. Smoke hung heavily in the air, burning her eyes, nose, and mouth.

  Dombrangr stopped and set Eisa down. She stood gingerly, working to keep any weight off her bad foot. It was swollen and already turning purple. Two of her toes bent off at unusual angles.

  A large cave-in blocked the tunnel ahead. Someone had tunneled through the dirt and stone, supporting the passageway with roughly cut timber. Dombrangr pushed her forward. It wasn’t hard, but firm, like a parent directing a wayward child.

  Eisa limped out of the tunnel. Braziers burned as far into the distance as her eyes could see. Dombrangr lifted her back onto his shoulder and padded quietly down the tunnel. He turned in through an archway decorated with elaborately carved vines and flowers.

  The ceiling arched in a cathedral pitch while fantastical statues lined either wall. The stone carvings towered from floor to ceiling. They were chiseled in grand armor, capped in kingly helms. Long, fashionable beards were formed down over their breastplates, some reaching their belts.

  “Dwarves,” Eisa gasped. She recognized the stout folk from the few scrolls her parents had hidden away from the Council. But she had never seen one. Not in person. Not up close.

  Eisa knew the stories about the dwarvish settlement in the lakes. Few saw them. Even fewer traded with them. Eisa’s favorite stories growing up were about the dwarvish kingdom in the north. No one alive had ever seen it. To most it was only a legend.

  Now she stood amidst their long-forgotten roads, heading deeper into darkness and uncertainty. They continued under the stone gaze of the dwarf kings of old.

  Dombrangr loped through yet another archway into a smaller passage. By now, Eisa had given up trying to remember her way out. None of the radiant fungi grew in these chambers, leaving the shadows impenetrable between fires.