“Here.” Astral draped the blanket around both their bodies. But Regina shrugged out of her end and folded the corner around Dwain, to cover his shivering limbs completely. She hugged her adoptive brother tight, burying her face into the blanket.
Astral sighed. He lowered himself beside Regina with some effort, stared off at the ruins of their cart and produce. “What a mess all this is. Please forgive an old porcine, children.”
He felt Regina’s little paw on his shoulder blade. She rubbed slow circles against his upper back, as if to remedy Astral’s own dour feelings.
“It will be okay,” she assured him gently.
Astral appreciated the gesture. But the fact of the matter was there was no way he could lift the cart back onto its wheels all on his own. Not even all the Mana Energy in the world granted old and frail Astral Ages the strength needed to do so. They were alone now, in the middle of the woods, exactly between Keeto Town and the Hollow. Out in the open, with the uncertainty of danger hiding in the trees and shrubs all around them.
Regina’s paw fell away when Astral shifted to reach inside his robes. He withdrew his long-curved smoking pipe along with a pouch of duskroot and matchbook. With shaky hoofs, he started to prepare everything in his lap.
They were too far out of the way in either direction to head back or forward. It was possible, maybe, to gather up whatever goods hadn’t been ruined – but how much could two mentally-frail children and an old porcine carry on their own? It would be nightfall before they ever arrived at Keeto Town’s gates without the aide of Phalanx and the cart.
Astral took a look in both directions, feeling Regina’s silent gaze on him. Who knew how long it would be before the next traveller or merchant came along and found them?
Who knew how long until the next set of bandits, either…
Astral took a deep squinting puff off the end of his pipe as he thought and thought and thought on what it was he should do. He held the harsh-tasting smoke down his throat for a long while as he sat there in deep reflection.
The answer was to find Phalanx and to get the cart upright.
But in order to get the cart upright, Astral needed help. He needed the help of a mammal who was no stranger to the labour of farmyard turmoil.
He turned his gaze past Regina’s searching eyes and found Dwain, still shivering and staring off into the void of nothingness – lost, as the innocence of the young hedgehog’s soul had already started to turn dark and ashy with corruption.
He’s never killed another mammal before, Astral realized. Neither of them has killed before. Not unlike those who raised them … told them of the false evils of the world – bred their innocent little minds into that of naïve, hateful indoctrination.
He closed his eyes, felt the smoke in his lungs billow back up his throat. A burning sensation travelled past his nose. Calmness and clarity from the duskroot enveloped Astral in that moment. It was then that he realized what must be done, in order for them to survive this day. He exhaled the duskroot smoke through flexing nostrils, and nodded to himself.
I’ll take it away.
He slid around to face the children, and called Dwain’s attention until the little hedgehog finally heard him through the deep darkness of the mind’s eye. Dwain’s eyes flicked to level with Astral’s own gaze. Astral lifted a hoof, slowly guided his touch to the centre of Dwain’s forehead. But Dwain let out a sharp sound of protest and jerked away from Astral’s touch.
“Shh, shh … it’s all right, my lad,” Astral said to him. “I’m not going to hurt you…”
“What are you going to do?” Regina asked, hugging around Dwain’s shoulders tightly.
Astral ignored her for the time being, too focused on calming Dwain’s nerves. He tried again, aligning his cloven hoof with the little hedgehog’s brow. “It’s all fine, lad … I’m here to help you.”
He stared deep into Dwain’s eyes. And there it was, deep and fresh amidst all the others of its kind – the memory.
The memory of the ambush.
The memory of taking another mammal’s life.
Astral shuddered, closed his eyes and searched deep within himself. The pool of Mana Energy within him was nearly depleted from his earlier arcane expenditures, which had saved all their lives. But there was enough. Just enough. For one – hopefully, maybe, two more acts of much-needed wizardry.
“Brava … Sol … Devos…”
“What are you doing?” Regina asked.
“Brava … Sol … Vey.”
“Mister Ages?”
“Brava … Mey’rhosso…”
And then it was done. Astral felt the Mana Energy leave his body, leaving only behind further exhaustion behind his eyes, in his arms and in his soul. He held his hoof firmly a few centimetres before Dwain’s forehead.
The space between Dwain’s eyes and hairline rippled. Then something started to push forward through his brow. It was an orb – a translucent blue-shelled orb, about the size of a Clementine orange, with innards that sloshed and rolled not unlike a soapy bubble. It pulled free from Dwain’s mind, leaving not a mark behind. In an instant, Dwain’s eyes faded. He became still, silent – a living, semi-conscious, statue.
“Mister Ages, what are you doing to him!?” Astral ignored Regina as she tugged hard on his robes. He squinted deep into the orb, and saw within the sloshing strands, the exact memory he wished to draw forth. The orb weaved forward and hovered over the points of Astral’s hoof – and only shifted when Astral’s arm shifted. The orb was like an extension of him now. Connected, totally.
“Look, Regina.” He guided the orb down to level with her terrified sight. “Nothing to be afraid of. This is simply just a snippet of the mind’s eye. One of hundreds of thousands of memories.”
“Memory?” She gazed at the orb, a little less afraid, thanks to Astral’s tender tone. “Like – what I saw?”
“In my own mind, you mean? From before? Quite so, yes,” Astral said. He moved the memory away from Regina, and levelled it with his own gaze. “A memory that will no longer be. Now then…”
Astral turned his full attention onto Regina. He raised his hoof, gestured it towards her forehead. She furrowed her brow at him – and suddenly realized what was about to happen.
“No!” She shoved his hoof out of her face.
“It’s for your own good. Please, trust me.” Astral gestured at her again.
But Regina shook her head, pushed his arm away again. “Stop!”
“Regina—”
“No! No! No!”
“It won’t hurt. I promise.”
“I don’t want to!” She scooted away from Astral and gathered up whatever rocks she could find in the dirt. “You can’t make me!”
“But it’s for your own good, child … I only wish to protect you. Keep you safe…”
Regina took up one of the rocks and reeled her arm back overhead, ready to strike Astral if need be from a safe distance. Fear broiled behind her eyes like angry flames. It was a sight Astral never expected from the little timid skunk. Guilt formed in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes, nodded. A shame-filled tear formed behind his lashes.
“You’re right,” he said to her. “I can’t make you. And I won’t.”
With that, he scooped Dwain’s memory into both hoofs, opened his mouth wide, and pushed it into his gullet, swallowing it forever.
In that very moment, Dwain’s eyes became alert. His shoulders raised. He took in a great breath, let out a deep exhale, and became fully conscious once again. He blinked, looked around. “Oi, then, what happen? Reggie? Why’re ye lookin’ like yer gunna whip a rock at me, yeah? Knock me out already, ye did? What’d I do this time?”
Regina blinked, lowered her throwing arm, confused. “…Dwain?”
“What do you remember, lad?” Astral carefully asked him.
Dwain regarded Astral, flexing the corners of his mouth with a perplexed expression. “We was going to Keeto Town. We crossed the ol’ culvert, and –
I dunno, yeah. Oi then! What happen to the cart, then, yeah?!”
“We had an accident,” Astral said. “You hit your head, knocked you right out. But-but-but – you’re okay? How many hoof points am I holding up?”
“Errm – wot? Two, like always!”
“Exactly. Okay. You’re all right? No bumps or scrapes or—Regina, don’t just sit there like a dazed ladybug. Come help your brother to stand. We’ve got to get this cart back up on its wheels. Phalanx shouldn’t be too far off from these parts. Come on. Come on, lad. Easy does it. There we go…”
As soon as Dwain was back on his footpads, he and Astral wasted no time in rolling the cart back onto its wheels. However, even with the both of them working together, righting the thing was a challenge, due to the sheer nature of both Dwain’s and Astral’s different sizes and levels of stamina. Astral was weak and exhausted with his Mana pool completely drained, and Dwain was just so small.
But in time, with a little coordination and some use of solid branches fallen from the trees around them as leverage, Dwain and Astral were able to get the cart back on its wheels. Afterwards, Regina helped Dwain repair what they could and scavenged for whatever produce was still marketable, as Astral took a much-needed rest.
By early afternoon, it was time to go and find Phalanx. As they trekked along the road, Astral and Regina remained silent as Dwain did all the talking for them, babbling on and smart-remarking about the current situation they’d been thrown into. Astral ignored him for the most part as they searched the woods. He knew they would find Phalanx. He was probably hiding like a coward inside a fallen log, with his eyes covered. Astral wasn’t concerned for his mule in the least.
But what did bother him was Regina.
How in the world would he handle Regina?
Astral looked back over his shoulder to find her staring right up at him, with firmly-set eyes as she drifted behind Dwain on slow footfalls. Her lips were a thin straight line across her muzzle as she cradled her tail in both arms, sending little muddied digits raking through the fur in an attempt to bring serenity to inner chaos, confusion – feelings of betrayal.
The guilt in Astral’s stomach panged alive once again. He kept it tucked away beneath a look of grownup wistfulness, and in an attempt to ease Regina’s nerves, winked at her with a knowing smile.
This shocked her. She dipped her chin, averting her gaze from Astral.
Astral let his eyes drop, also. He looked back towards the road, and sighed.
In time, you’ll come to understand, little Regina. In time, you will come to know the lengths of which a loved one will go, in order to protect those who matter most to them. The lengths of which a guardian will go, in order to uphold the vows they made to the children they watch over. Even if it seems sinister. Even if it seems unfair.
In time, you will understand.
And in time, you too, will do the same.
~
They found Phalanx off somewhere in a wooded meadow clearing, where crisp, fresh, grass kept him well-fed and the sparkle of the nearby pond provided all the water he could ever need to drink. He had seemingly forgotten the incident with the vandal-hearts, as the important thing – to him, at least – was that he was safe and far and away out of the reach of danger.
“It’s good to see you’re fine, old boy.” Astral patted him on the neck. “Come on now, we’ve all had too long of a day. Time to go back and get you all hitched up. Pray the market is still open, or this whole ordeal will have been for naught.”
“What’s the point in even going back to get our stuff, anyway?” Dwain asked. “Most of it is garbage now, yeah, and Phalanx was already pointed t’wards Keeto Town, I reckon, yeah.”
“We still need supplies. Can’t get supplies if we have nothing to trade with,” said Astral. He scooped Regina up under the arms and set her on Phalanx’s saddle. She hugged the mule tight around the neck and murmured sweetness in his ear.
“But we’ve got nothing ter trade with,” said Dwain. “Everything’s trampled and muddied.”
Astral gestured for him to come near. “Some of those carrots were still good. Smushed a bit, but still good. Come along, saddle up. You’re not walking all the way back.”
“But, but – Ages, no one’s gunna want smushed carrot! If’n they want smushed carrot, they can buy the carrots whole and smush ‘em ‘emselves, yeah.”
Astral glowered at him. He sent a sharp point to the ground by Phalanx’s flank. Dwain sighed, obliged without another word.
“Consider us the middle mammals,” said Astral as he helped him up onto the saddle alongside Regina. “We’re taking the work out of it for them. And don’t call me Ages.”
Dwain smirked at him. “But it suits you.”
“It does not.”
“Shore it do. Ages – the mammal of mystery! What’s under his hat, then? A full head o’ hair? A golden hen? Perhaps some Goddess-willin’ snackfoods, yeah?”
Astral grumbled. “I should have let you stay unconscious back beneath those huckleberry bushes.”
“Oi, then!”
“Mister Ages!”
“Whaaaat? Oh, bother…”
~
In the time it took Astral, Regina, Dwain, and Phalanx to head back to the cart and gather up whatever vegetables were salvageable, the father sun had crept far across the western skies. The winds had become colder, and the smell of rain was in everybody’s noses. Nobody expected it to turn into an overcast evening, not even Astral who knew all the ways of the world, but grey and heavy clouds rolled in anyway, despite anybody’s grounded expectations.
“Oh, bother. Just another nuisance we need,” Astral grumbled, when droplets began to pelt the brim of his hat. He hoisted Regina up over the edge of the cart’s wagon as Dwain scooped her under the arms and pulled her in, beneath the safety of the blanket, which they’d earlier propped up sort of like a sagging canvas cover.
Regina poked her head over the edge of the frame and watched Astral hobble around to the front of the cart. He muttered kind words into Phalanx’s ear, and then struggled to climb into the bench seat. Once Astral was settled, he sat upright and adjusted the brim of his hat. Then with a snap of the reins, the whole cart jerked hard and rolled forward bumpily through the muddy road.
“I know that blanket isn’t much, but try to stay as dry as possible, children. Don’t want you to fall ill, now,” Astral called back to them. “Not much further, now. By the Goddess’s blessing, our wretched trek is nearly over.”
15. Keeto Town
Regina awoke with a start, cold and shivering, despite the fact that she found herself cradled against Dwain’s body. He too was asleep. Regina was glad to see this, and that he seemed to snooze soundly, without effort nor trouble.
“Whoooa, old boy. Slow it to a trot. Now, now … there we are…” Her ears twitched as the sound of Astral’s voice, muffled and distant thanks to the blanket that covered the children and what remained of the vegetables.
“Oi, then – what’s yer business?” – A new voice perked Regina’s attention immediately. She wriggled out of Dwain’s arms and dared a peek out from under the safety of their blanket, damp from the elements. She searched over the frame of the cart and found what looked from her narrow vantage like a steel-clad mammal heading towards Astral.
“I’m here to trade market wares for prime-grown crops,” Astral replied.
“Vendor’s licence, please.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.” Astral reached into his robes and handed off something to the steel mammal. Regina couldn’t quite make out what he looked like though, on account of the angle at which Astral blocked her spying sight.
The mammal swayed into Regina’s view at that moment, though, handing the item back to Astral after a brief inspection. “Right. Thank you, Mister Ages. Do you have anything else to declare?”
“Ahh – yes. My niece and nephew are with me,” said Astral, pocketing whatever it was he’d shown the armoured mammal. “They’re asleep under
the blanket, with the crops we’ve brought to trade.”
The mammal looked Regina’s way. All she saw was a steel face. Two narrow slats, dark as night, where eyes should have been. Fear of what she saw filled her to the brim. She gasped and ducked back beneath the safety of the blanket.
A moment later, something started to creak and slosh towards the cart’s flank on heavy-thudding footfalls. One side of the cart suddenly sagged with additional weight off the outside of the frame. Regina braced herself. The top corner of the blanket vanished. A horned, metal face, with dark slats for eyes stared down at her.
Regina screamed bloody murder. It was the most horrifying thing she’d ever seen.
Dwain bolted awake. “Wot – wot, then!? Wot’s happened? Reggie, are you all right?”
“It’s all right, Regina, just a mere routine check is all.” Astral’s voice echoed on the wind a bit as he spoke. The metallic face peered directly at her, then glanced about the inside of the cart, nodded, and then the edge of the blanket fell back over Regina and Dwain. The weight off the side lifted with a jolt. The sound of a heavy plop of boots dropped to the muddy road.
“Right then. On you go. Enjoy your visit to Keeto Town. Stay dry.”
Dwain bolted upright. “Keeto Town? We’re here?!”
He struggled onto his knees, pushing the blanket completely off his and Regina’s bodies, despite her protest to remain dry – when really she was terrified of coming face to face with that horrifying metal face, again.
“Whoaaa…” Dwain was now at a full stand beside her, gazing around their surroundings like nothing he’d ever seen before. Above him, the blurry tree tops shimmered with rain drops through a mesh of leaves and branches blocking the cloudy sky. “Reggie, look at that!”
He pointed her attention past Astral and Phalanx. She started to protest when her cloudy vision gave way to a stone wall as high as the treetops, vanishing into the overcast sky. Hanging across the tops of a great archway were sweeping flags of red and yellow checker colors, flapping in the breeze. “Oh – oh my goodness!”
The Book of Wind: Page 11
