One Too Many

Episode 14 - The World Stone

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recap |

Myra reluctantly permits Daymel to join them and he led them to a hiding place by the path up the cliff to hide until dark then they start the ascent.

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Within minutes, they were climbing the narrow path carved into the cliffside. It was dark and Tasol could barely make out five feet in front of him. He moved slowly, his feet catching on rocks so frequently that he resorted to leaning into the cliffside itself–one hand firmly on the cliff wall so that if he fell, he would fall into the wall instead of the less forgiving way. He felt the lithe hand of his sister on his shoulder, and paused.

“Hold on,” she whispered, “I have an idea.” The three paused, and she suggested they lash themselves together with a span of rope. They discussed it briefly, and even thought Tasol was not a fan of being lashed together on a cliff, both Myra and Daymel thought it wise. Moments later, they were lashed together, once again slowly plodding their way up the rocky trail.

Tasol looked down into the creek valley below, the only thing visible was a pinprick of light from the fading campfire of the thieves' encampment. They were now directly above it, moving along at a decent pace, having gotten used to the path. As he trained his eyes back to the darkness of the path in front of him, there was a tug on the rope from behind, and he could go no further. He stopped, turning back to Myra.

“What’s going on?” he whispered. “Now’s not a great time to be stopping.”

“I don’t know,” Myra answered, turning to look behind her, “Daymel has stopped.”

They both inched back down the path looking for Daymel, hearing the sound of hushed whispers. They followed the rope back to Daymel, seeing another figure in the darkness that they could barely make out, now hearing a hushed conversation.

“Please, Daymel, take me with you. I can’t stay with these thugs. They killed my family.” The voice was from someone young, someone pleading.

“Tristan,” Daymel whispered back sternly, “you shouldn’t have followed.”

“Daymel, please,” he pleaded.

Daymel let out a deep sign, lowering his head as if he were considering the young man’s plea.

“Daymel,” Tasol said, interrupting. “We need to keep moving. If you bring him with you, then at the top of the cliff we go our separate ways.”

“Understood,” Daymel said in a resigned voice. “Come, Tristan, let’s get you lashed up, and at the top, you and will make a run for it.”

Tasol scoffed, watching as Daymel started to lash this newcomer up with them, but instead, with a quick motion, Daymel made to push Tristan off the cliff. Tristan quickly realized what was happening and grabbed the end of the rope before tumbling over the edge. Tristan’s quick thinking caught Daymel by surprise, making Daymel drop to his butt to avoid going over the cliffside himself. From below, Tristan was trying to climb the rope and grab onto Daymel.

“Daymel! Don’t do this,” Tristan called out, his voice echoing through the valley below. “Don’t let me fall.”

“Shit!” Daymel cursed, calling out to Tasol and Myra. “Brace yourselves. The little bastard grabbed the rope. Hold on before we all go over.” Daymel struggled with the rope, the sudden addition of Tristan’s weight pulling him forward, but with Tasol and Myra’s help, they were able to stop Daymel from sliding any further.

“You’re here to kill me,” Daymel said to Tristan, no remorse in his voice. “I know the ways.” As he finished speaking, he lifted his boot, driving it down heavy into Tristan’s forehead several times, but Tristan would not relinquish his grip on life. Tristan started to plead again, but before any words formed, Myra reached out, cutting the rope with her knife, Tristan screaming the whole way down.

“Problem solved,” Myra said. “Now let’s go.”

Tasol didn’t need to look at the camp below. He was certain that anyone who wasn’t drunk was awake before the body hit the ground. Without another word, they were moving up the path, Tasol’s arm outstretched, touching the cliff wall again for reference. Down below, the first voices of alarm sounded. They inched up the cliff face in darkness until they finally crested the top onto what looked to be a grassy plateau. Within moments, they unlashed themselves from the rope, and Tasol looked across the open plain as Daymel stepped to his side.

“I know you are the leader here, but I’ve been here before. Let me show you the way, at least until we have some distance from them. And there are dangerous things that lurk in the darkness up here–we should remain alert,” he said, pulling a small dirk from his belt. It was a wickedly sharp little thing, the size of his forearm.

Tasol looked at this friend warily as he also drew his weapons. This night would not get any easier it appeared. He then turned to his sister. “Myra, weapons. I don’t know what this place hides, but I’ve heard the rumors of its darkness too.” Immediately when he was done, he felt something pass above them in the night sky and pushed don on their shoulders, forcing them all into a crouch.

“What is it?” Myra asked, her blades now dull shadows in the night, her eyes following Tasol’s tracking something invisible in the night sky.

“I felt it too,” Daymel added. “But strange for things to be airborne in the night sky, especially in this darkness. Perhaps it was just a bat and our senses are heightened with all the excitement.”

They sat for minutes waiting for a repeat of the experience, but having none Tasol finally sided with Daymel’s conclusion. “Perhaps. I can’t think of any other explanation. Let’s just keep moving. We’ve wasted too much time already. Show us the way Daymel.”

With that, they fell into line with Daymel slowly picking his way across a lightly worn path through the grass. The talk of lurking dangers had them all on edge, their blades flashed aimlessly to and fro, their footsteps all falling quietly on the sodden grass below their feet. As they became more comfortable, their pace hastened, and in no time they’d made it across the grass field to the edge of a pine forest. If they thought the night was dark in the pasture, looking into the forest ahead was pure darkness.

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