With Blades and Flames: Awakening

by David Csontos

  “How do you know my name?”he inquired, while reaching for the food for his right hand. As soon as the question came out of his mouth the dwarf pointed towards a figure on the opposite side of the fire. It was Agaroth, silently sitting, eating away and looking at him.“Without him you would not be alive. That man has an amazing skill at healing. Should have wished I would have ran into him sooner” continued the dwarf.

  “Why, what do you do here?”

  “We are nothing but memories of the now desolated Kirkahal. Destroyed by humans. The people that think only their own kind is good; that there should be nothing else but them. Disgusting”when he was saying that, Arkain could see it on his face that he had been through a lot, and when he said“disgusting”, he spat.

  “Not in the blimmingcave you idiot!” opened up another dwarf, this time the middle with the same voice.

  “Watch your tongue, we have guests!” replied the one on the right hand side, with the same voice yet again. And then it hit Arkain.

  “Are you twins?”As soon as he finished all three of them jumped up and starting from the left, finishing each other’s sentences.

  “We are” started the first one.

  “The Dunglkhar” went the second one.

  “Brothers! At your service” and finished the third one. Then, they all sat down again.

  “To be honest, we had enough of honest getting the blame” explained the one on the right.

  “Yes, even we had to escape from our home and settle down here. It is a nice cave, we have plenty of space and the forest around had plenty of opportunity for hunting until now. We go out hunting every moon-turn but animals have started disappearing. Not enough food, so we might need to go on” continued the one on the left.

  “Have you noticed an army that might have gone through here?” asked Agaroth.

  “No, it has been very quiet since we came here” exclaimed the middle one.

  “And don’t worry about your friend Burdõl. As I said Agaroth has quite the skill, and a simple bite won’t really kill him if treated quickly. But don’t worry he will live”articulated the left one.“Now go on! Eat up!” And so, the boy started eating, thoroughly enjoying every bite as he slowly ate the hot, cooked piece of meat. For a long period of time, everything went quiet as all of them chewed away. There weren’t even looks. Everyone was looking at their own food, thinking about what has happened. The fire place quietly crackled away and echoed through the room. It was actually nice for once, thought Arkain, but wasn’t sure about whether his journey worth it. Burdõl nearly died because of it. No, don’t think that! You are currently eating, so try not to think about that! His subconscious tried to reason with him but it just could not work. As soon as Burdõlwakes up, he is going to explain it to him, why he should just stay here with these dwarves, or do anything instead of coming with him, but he was not sure about Agaroth. If he tried to be honest with himself Agaroth looked like he knows what he is doing. He would probably be nowhere without him.“Where do you come from?” he asked after finishing the meal.

  “From a mountain fairly close to us right now. Believe it or not but I was the Master Alaunus! The healer itself!”

  “Oh, don’t start again…” interrupted the right dwarf and walked out, along with the other. It was all quiet for a second, then the brother continued.

  “We have not got enough food, so you will need to go on. But don’t think that I am cruel. Your friend is lucky, he will survive and be ready to travel in a day. A city is not far from here to the south-east. Three days of walk should get you there”

  “Thank you for your friendliness. We will leave just as you said” replied Agaroth.

  “We know a lot about, this side of the mountain even though we have not been here for a while. Still, we can lead you out. I am going to wait for you at the end of the corridor by tomorrow dawn. Arkain, you should get some sleep, it will help you heal. After all you have been passed out for five days” and just as he said, the boy went back to his bed, sat down, looked around and went to bed, leaving Agaroth and the dwarf to talk about whatever they want to. But are they just gonna sit there or talk as well, and if they talk what is it going to be about? I have been out for five days?

  The upcoming hours became agonizing. Arkain could not get any sleep at all, and it was impossible to determine time. It could be day, night, or even both of them, but Arkain would not have known about it. He did feel safe and secure but being closed was unbearable. No sound other than the torches and an occasional water-drop hitting the ground. Eventually when he managed to hypnotize himself with the monotone sounds of the cave, his dreams were the same. Over and over again like days and nights. Nothing has changed for him other than that he knew what was going to happen. The screams, the pain and eventually the blood. Lots of it flowing through the street’s cobble stone. Then there was a scream like no other, a scream that he felt mattered the most, but could not recognise even if he saw it a hundred times. Could this be a memory? Or simply just a dream? He was afraid that this will turn out to be a memory later. He tried to despise it, forget about it or just simply ignore it, but the more he tried to destroy it, the more he got to know it. It intrigued him about his past life. A mere feeling that could have given him something to live for. Anger or sadness? He was still doubting what to do with Burdõl, no good ideas appeared so the last option was to tell him. But how? He didn’t ask anyone to follow him, he did not ask for all of this. The only objective he wanted is to get there whatever that place is, because other than that nothing else matters. All the current world’s problems and faults did not affect him because he didn’t know any connection between him and it. Maybe if he gets there, he will find something that would explain all of this. No more troubles remembering and he could live a happy life. But if he would try to be honest, why is he doing this? Is it a goal? A life goal? Or do I enjoy all of this? Do I enjoy danger? How do I know the things I do? I can talk about things that I have never seen in my entire life before, and imagine. Maybe that is the key, imagination helps me build a world from which I can understand this one? Or am I just going crazy? There was no certain answer, for all he knew, he could be just imagining this. In the end, this didn’t matter.

  The spent hours that he used to sleep quickly passed but his body kept rejecting it. He could not sleep for long, and by the end it became worse and worse.“That is enough! I will no longer try. I had enough and I don’t want to be lying down anymore”So he stood up and took off. This time, instead of going to the right, he continued on. The long corridor type of tunnel was leading forward with a few other tunnels splitting through it. Through one, there were a thousand long spears hanging from top and standing straight up from the ground. In the middle, two of these spears connected forming a pillar next to what seemed to be a small lake. Surrounded by darkness there was no determining its depth but it looked like it was… bubbling.It looked to be hot and felt like it heated up the whole‘room’. It was nice and warm but yet again, Arkain didn’t want to stay in one place. He continued on walking. The next place was a lot smaller. It was barely even a room and as Arkain inspected, it was used as a storage for the equipment. It had a few heavily used pickaxes in it with chipped off edges, next to it, there were stones. Small round stones that were clean and smooth. Around it, lay a few small daggers and rugs made from animal skin. He continued on and reached a turn, there weren’t any more other tunnels only one that lead left. Only small passages that lead up and down continued in the same direction splitting off of the main path which was in the middle and from it, some of these passages sprang. Torches on the sides helped to lit up this peculiar area. The boy managed to nearly get lost as he tried to determine where to go because even though the pathways seemed to travel towards the same direction some of them looked like they were a completely different route.“Arkain?! What are you doing here?”sounded a familiar voice, clear and loud, from the end of the tunnel. It was like a saviour, which pointed the boy into the right direction. The sour
ce of the voice was the same dwarf that spoke the first time Arkain glimpsed at the three of them.“I couldn’t sleep anymore” he answered as soon as the two of them were close.

  “Trouble determining time?”

  “Looks like it”

  “I was about to get you but since you came we can start heading out. The others will be here soon”

  “You mean there are other tunnels?” he wondered.

  “Oh, yes, for sure! This bit that we are walking through has lots of what we like to call ‘catwalks’”answered the dwarf with passion. Even though he was pretty much smaller than the boy, there was respect around. A feeling that told him that this man has been through a lot and might be pretty much better off listening to it. It was all dark around them by now. Only the torch was lighting the way.“Can you see to the end? Can you see a door?”he asked once both of them were covered in darkness. Surprisingly Arkain could answer with a“yes”to which the dwarf showed signs of being impressed.“You should be careful of who you trust. Someone like you needs to be careful”he continued“Cautious”. The repetition had awakened a warning sense in the boy. Like something was not right. He was sure that his secret got told to more people than what could be seen.“Did Agaroth tell you?”queried the boy, hurryingly. Not being sure about what would happen to him if someone finds out his secret, he was still trying to be very cautious. The dwarf explained that when he was attending to his scars, there were quite a few things the boy revealed, including his ‘healing’. He said that Arkain kept repeating a name and a song becoming more and more aggressive whenever his mouth left it.“Arianna”. As soon as the name was picked up in the boy’s ears it also became lost. This name had suddenly created a lost feeling. It suddenly created the feeling of warmth in his heart but also coldness. It felt like a name that should not have been forgotten, but it had been. It also created a sharp pain. Sharper than an arrow, and it managed to incise its way, deep into his heart.“Does that mean anything to you?”asked the dwarf.“No it doesn’t” answered the boy later, realizing his loss.

  “You are very special and I am sure I am not the only one saying that. But don’t trust anyone. Not even your friends”

  “Even you?” The dwarf laughed when the boy said it.

  “No, not even me”

  The door was now in front of them with the others waiting for him, including Burdõl who was quietly talking to the other two dwarves. Agaroth, as always, quietly looking at the incoming pair. A few words have been said and the door opened revealing a sunrise above the trees. A short climb was leading down onto the ground which the three of them, Arkain, Burdõland Agaroth took. The other three dwarves stayed at the door.“We will soon be far away from this place and in maybe five to six days’time, reach your destination Arkain. Don’t worry it is going to be easy” said Agaroth.

  “Then why does it feel like I am doing the wrong thing?” said Arkain, looking at Burdõl who was whispering and dictating the rhythm of each step they took further. When Arkain looked back only one of the dwarves was still standing on the cliff, looking at exactly him. It was not hard to guess which one. Even though not much could be seen from this far, it looked like his face showed great sadness and worriedness. When the boy looked back, he looked at Burdõl, and was trying to find out if he was alright, but none of the dwarf’s expressions surrendered or gave out any sign of clue whether it could keep going. At that moment he realised that he didn’t talk to him about staying with the others, but it was already too late and there was not much to say anyway. Even when he tried, Burdõlquickly understood what the boy was trying to do.“I will not leave you, don’t worry. I told you that I will follow you and I will not break my promise” This quickly finished the argument and left Arkain speechless for a long time.

  Chapter 14: Long and quiet

  The road was calm and quiet, the wind was slowly blowing through the trees and leafs obeyed its command. Each step the three men took was quiet as a step can be, slowly sauntering. It was all quiet and they were happy for that. No-one was trying to dictate a faster pace so they were able to do as they thought. No longer did they need to stay awake next to the fire, feeding it. As soon as Arkain felt tired he could start sleeping and wake up late in the morning. It seemed like everyone had enough of the rush. On the second day, when there was no more food left in the satchel, Agaroth decided to go hunting and asked Arkain if he wants to come with him. When they were alone, the traveller started talking about the need to learn to hunt and that the boy must learn too, because they are going to be on the road for a long time and it can’t hurt to learn how to get food. Anything can happen and they need to get ready. When they were far away from the campsite, which they left Burdõl to build, they quickly kneeled down onto the ground next to a great, wide bush. There was no wind and everything was motionless. The warm sun, standing tall above gave warmth to the places where shadows were forbidden. When the boy asked what they are going to hunt with the man quickly dropped his bag and opened it. In it was a stack of wood that were curled on the sides. Two of these wood ‘planks’ were connected with a thin piece of string. In the ends, two small holes. The man started to use a piece of iron rod to connect the three pieces of wood together, firmly gripping it. When he finished, the object no longer looked like a piece of mess, but a bow. Also in his bag were two arrows, equipped with sharp spikes on one end and a long feather on the other. When the boy wondered whether he is dreaming, the traveller quickly explained to him that, he made it and that it required more knowledge than others would think which he acquired through long years of work and still didn’t master it completely. When he finished Arkain asked whether he could learn it, but received an answer that could have meant yes and no at the same time. He was told that sometime in the future, when there is time, there might be enough for him to be taught, but for now stay quiet and start looking for a prey. When they got bored, Agaroth asked if the boy could handle a longbow. The answer of course was rather grey, and the answer to that too. So he decided to teach him a few tricks about it and show the boy the essentials. When that was done he asked him to look out for any prey, and he walked away with a promise of returning. The man was only going to set up some traps around the place to make it more likely that they catch something edible. While he was gone, the boy held up the long piece of wood, pulled back the string and released it plenty of times to try and get used to the weapon. He pulled it back slowly, holding the crude string in the middle equally, using only one eye to aim. Everything slowed down around him as he was trying to imagine the prey in front as he strikes the killing blow. And there it was. The sound of rattling could be heard from a few steps away as a deer walked out from amidst of his hiding place. The boy quickly noticed this, grabbed his arrow, pulled back the string yet again and tried to aim perfectly for the neck. Everything was still as the animal continued walking across, slowly breathing. Then, it raised its ears, pointed it towards the hunter. Its head turned around, his eyes gliding towards the arrow. This was the perfect moment…but something had stopped the boy. Something that he didn’t expect to feel. His hands were giving up, his eyes couldn’t pin point the location anymore. Arkain couldn’t bring himself to kill it. He pulled the string back again, repeated everything. His fingers slowly started releasing the arrow and sending it on its short but fast journey into the flesh. One, and two. Only one last finger was left. His last chance to stop, and the last obstacle he needs to jump over. But just about when he was to release it, a small axe had flew by, spinning towards the target, where the arrow should have been staggering the animal. It fell over. Agaroth rushed to it, grabbed his dagger and with ease pushed it into its heart. Blood was now covering the fresh ground, suffocating it from air. He asked why the boy didn’t shoot but there was no answer. Then he told him that it was either the deer or them and that everyone is just trying to survive. As he continued the knife’s edge quickly slipped through the skin revealing red, blood soaked meat which was fast in falling into the man’s hands. When he was fi
nished, he walked up to the boy and started packing his bow together back into the bag. Arkain was still staring at the dead corpse with frozen eyes. Agaroth told him that he knew that he wouldn’t have shot the deer. No-one does, and that he wasn’t expected to do it. It takes some time getting used to the thought of killing and taking a way one’s life in order for the other to stay. To this the boy stood up and was ready for an answer he was scared to say. He said that the problem wasn’t whether he should shoot it or not, the problem was that if Agaroth wouldn’t have done something, he would have killed it, without a blink. When he thought about what he was doing he realized that, if that axe wouldn’t have woken him up everything would be different now. By the time they got back the fire was already crackling away in the distance with Burdõl curling up next to it with enough firewood that would last through half the night. All chopped up into quarter of the original size, dried up and ready to start emitting heat. Around the fire, some rocks were placed that held together the planks inside the circle. The dwarf’s helmet was so clear that it clearly reflected the dancing flames as the two hunters came closer. Agaroth managed to successfully use some of his traps and caught two edible rabbits. Both of them were skinned, and the meat was taken out. The pelts were cleaned and placed into his backpack. There was a small puddle near their camp which they could use to gather some water and boil it to make it better. When the pieces of flesh were slowly cooking, the sun was already on its way to the other world. Above the fire a stick was stretching across from one side to the other, through three pieces of meat that slowly cooked, changing their colour and releasing small drops of fat progressively, and supplying the heat. There wasn’t much to do after. Everything became quiet and there was little movement around. The three of them all sat around the fire, trying to stay warm. Bit by bit all of them got tired and went to sleep. It was first Burdõl who loudly started snoring after he fell onto his back. Next, it was Arkain who decided to get some rest after this long day. He did the same as Burdõl but without possibly the snoring. He put his hands around his body to protect himself from the bitterness and looked at Agaroth who was staring out into the wilderness. None of his body parts moved at all, only his eyes that scattered and joined at different locations, only to start again. Something did not feel right for him but there was no sign of danger at all or anything to get worried about. So Arkain went to sleep with Agaroth in his eyes.