The Last Fairy Tale (20 page)

 Olivia looked down at the bandolier and felt it. The material was soft, strong, and leathery. The texture reminded her of the cover of her father’s journal.

 “So, is rauhaut leather?” asked Olivia.

“Is it
what
?” asked Bren, tilting his head to the side. “It’s completely dwarf-made. The process is a little tedious, so I’ll spare you all the details unless you just really wanna know.” Olivia declined, stating that she believed him and would perhaps ask about the process another time.

 “So, Rufus, which lake did you and your wife travel from?” Bren asked.

 “We are from Stonehaven, under Stonehaven Lake,” Rufus replied. “We actually came this way just yesterday to reach town.”

“
Under
 Stonehaven Lake?” Olivia asked.

 “Well of course,” Rufus said. “Water is the base for almost any medicine. What better place than under a lake?”

 “So you make medicines?” Olivia asked.

 “Rufus and I are remedologists,” Holli said. “With some transmutation, fermentation, and distillation we can create potions and salves for most ailments.”

 “Wow,” Olivia said. “That sounds incredible.”

 “And what about you, Kili?” Bren asked.

 “Cheep! Whitewood!” Kili said from atop Rufus’s hat.

“Now
that’s
 a beautiful forest,” said Locke. “I’ve only ever seen it from a distance from the Nocturnal Archives, but from what I can tell it’s gorgeous.”

 “Cheep! Not beautiful! Tweet tweet! Anymore!” chirped Kili, hopping around on Rufus’s hat to face Locke. “Creatures act strange! Tweet tweet! Trees act strange!”

 “What?” Locke asked, taken aback. “There’s something wrong with the forest?”

 “Yes, cheep!” Kili replied. “Lich King is involved!”

 “Yes, we, too, have noticed strange things occurring near the forest,” Rufus said. “Just before we left for Handel’s Sanctuary, we caught a glimpse of the Nocturnal Archives from a distance and saw the hjorthovin surrounding it.”

 “What?” Jin exclaimed suddenly. “The hjorthovin never leave Whitewood. Aside from the spindelum, they’re the most reclusive of the races. Things must be extremely serious for them to be seen outside of the forest.”

 “Aye,” said Bren, thoughtfully. “Somethin’ definitely doesn’t sound right about that. Kili, what did you say about the Lich King?”

 “Cheep! He controls,” Kili said. “Kili saw sister and brother. Chirp chirp! Mindless like Taken! Squee…” She bowed her beak and began to cry softly.

 “What is he using the Taken to accomplish?” Olivia asked.

 “No one knows for sure, Olivia, but I’m sure it’s nothing good,” Holli answered.

 “I know, Miss Holli,” Olivia said, remembering her son, Ronald. “I’m just trying to learn as much as possible about the Lich–” A sudden rumbling coming from beneath her feet cut her off.

 Everyone halted and looked to their right as the ground began to break between two of the willow trees along the road. A piece of the ground rose up, and Olivia saw two shining, yellow eyes peering from beneath the grassy earth. They stared at the group for a moment, and then a low, rumbling voice came from the direction of the eyes.

 “Do these people make journey to evil man?” it asked slowly.

 “Aye, we do!” Bren shouted. “Why does a trol such as yourself ask?”

 “Thunc feels the earth,” the trol said after a moment. “Evil man taints earth. Hurts Thunc…”

 Olivia stared at the mound of earth with wide eyes. She gasped and took a step back as the mound of earth began to rise, revealing a creature. First came two massive arms made of thick dirt and tangled roots. The creature used them to pull the rest of its huge, stony body from the earth. It stood, intimidatingly tall, over everyone in the group and stared down at them from under its grassy hat.

 “Thunc come with you,” boomed Thunc. “Thunc help these people push evil man out.”

 “We are all here to do just that, my friend,” said Jin. “But our true mission is to protect and aid Miss Wickworth here.” He pointed toward Olivia. “Only she can put an end to the evil.”

 Thunc walked forward toward Olivia, his massive stone and dirt feet pounding the ground with each step. Olivia wanted to scream, but held it in. It took all the courage she could muster to stand still. When Thunc reached her, he slowly squatted down, so that his face was almost level with hers. He breathed heavily through his mouth, and Olivia could see that instead of teeth, his mouth was lined with pebbles. She smelled his pungent, earthy breath as he spoke to her.

 “Is this creature the Miss Wickworth?” Thunc asked, pointing a large finger uncomfortably close to her face.

 “Y-yes, I’m the Wickworth, I mean, Olivia,” she stammered. She was shaking and her teeth were chattering.

 “Thunc wishes to aid the Wickworth,” Thunc said. “Thunc feels pain of earth. Brothers in north dying.”

 “Y-you can come with us,” Olivia said. She knew Thunc meant no harm, but she couldn’t stop herself from trembling.

 “Thunc thanks the Wickworth,” Thunc said, standing back up to his full height.

 “You’re very welcome,” Olivia said, her eyes still wide.

 “Right, then let’s get moving! We hope to reach the Nocturnal Archives before nightfall,” Jin said.

 The group continued down the tree-lined road with Thunc near the rear of the group and Kai-Tu still trailing them all by a few feet. Olivia occasionally looked back to make sure he was still there. Each time she did, he quickly turned his head.

 “We are approaching the Great Aeldyn River,” Jin said loudly. “Mind your step as we cross the bridge. If you are afraid of heights, don’t look down.”

 Olivia swallowed hard at the mention of crossing a bridge high in the air. She didn’t think she was particularly afraid of heights, but she had never had the experience to be able to know. Soon she heard the rushing of water and knew that they were close.

 They rounded the last bend in the road, which led to the bridge. The willow trees lining the road ended, and Olivia saw a grassy slope ahead ending at a steep cliff. The group was about to ascend the slope, but stopped suddenly in its tracks. Before them, as if standing guard in front of the bridge, was a gigantic spider.

Chapter Twelve

A Missing Thread

 “Oh, me beard,” Bren said shakily. “That’s Morragin, that is!” He took a step toward the giant spider.

 “Wait, Bren!” Jin hissed. “This isn’t right. Arachons don’t just come to the surface.”

 “Aye. I haven’t seen Morragin since I was a little one,” Bren said, not taking his eyes off the spider. “And I only saw her then because me father took me down into the depths of the Camicaras lookin’ for rare stones. Nay, somethin’s definitely not right here…”

 “Hello, friends,” said Morragin in a raspy hiss as the group approached. She was sitting with her gigantic abdomen resting on the ground. She looked exhausted, as though her energy had been drained. She spoke, but took pauses to breathe heavily. “I was…just on my way back to my king. I was unable…to gather any Unenlightened, so he would have been very displeased. However…you have come so conveniently to my aid. Might you come back with me, so that I may get today’s rations?”

 “What are you talking about, Morragin?” Bren asked. He took a few tentative steps toward her. “Who is your king?”

 “The Grimoire, of course,” she said, blinking all eight of her massive eyes. “He came to us and showed us the error of our ways!”

 “Do you speak of the human?” asked Jin, moving to stand beside Bren.

 “Indeed,” Morragin answered.

“You mentioned the
Unenlightened
. Who are they?” Jin asked.

 “Why, you, of course,” Morragin replied. “Those who live under no rule are not guaranteed a long, successful life. There must be order, structure, and law. Without these things, the people of New Aeldyn will have no purpose. Can’t you see? Or are you blind, like the rest of the Unenlightened?”

 “No!” Bren shouted angrily. “You’re the one that’s blind! You’ve lived for thousands o’ years in the roots of the Camicaras! How can someone so ancient and wise become so–”

 Morragin slowly began to raise her body off the ground with her black, spindly legs. It looked like it required great effort.

 “If you will not come willingly,” she hissed, “then I will have to force you!” She staggered toward Bren and Jin, her long legs towering over both of them. Bren’s mouth fell open. Jin turned back to Olivia and the rest of the stunned group.

 “Olivia!” Jin shouted. “Get across that bridge, now!” He barely had time to get the words out before one of Morragin’s legs landed hard in front of him, causing him to lose his balance.

 Olivia was too frightened to move. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t budge. She watched as Morragin fought to have her way. She wanted to do something, but she didn’t know what she would be able to do. Suddenly, Rufus and Holli dashed past her and onto the bridge, weaving in and out of Morragin’s legs. Kili flew over Olivia’s head, following them.

 “Olivia!” Rufus shouted. He beckoned for her to follow. “Hurry!”

 Olivia took one step, but suddenly froze. She watched in horror as one of Morragin’s legs knocked Bren to the ground with a kick. Thunc loped over to him and helped Bren to his feet. Thunc then pushed Morragin with his massive, rootlike hands. She faltered and swayed for a moment.

 “Olivia!” Locke yelled from behind her, grabbing and shaking her shoulders. “Listen, we gotta go! Now!” He nudged her forward, and they began to run for the bridge. As they passed Morragin, Locke pulled his violin from his back and began to play a soft melody. Morragin stopped for just a moment, but then continued to attack. She had become sluggish, but the song didn’t lessen her strength.

 As soon as they were on the bridge beside Rufus and Holli, Olivia spun around, happy to find that Kai-Tu had been following them. However, to her disbelief, Morragin seemed to have mustered new strength despite Locke’s song. She hissed and shoved Thunc and Bren away. She pounced toward Jin, knocking him to the ground.

 “You will come with me!” Morragin hissed shrilly. “The Grimoire will have his way. I promised him I would not fail!”

 “You’ve lost your mind!” Jin bellowed, kicking wildly in the air. “You don’t understand anything anymore!”

 “Silence!” Morragin screeched, bending down toward Jin’s face. Her ever-moving fangs dripped with slimy poison. “You are the one who does not understand, you fool! You are Unenlightened, without purpose. Come with me and prosper in a new life under the rule of man!”

 “No!” Jin shouted. He struggled to get out from under Morragin, but her hold was too strong.

 “Bren! Thunc! Jin!” Olivia cried from the bridge. “You have to cross! She’s too strong! We can’t fight her!”

 Morragin quickly lurched forward and sunk a dripping fang deep into Jin’s shoulder. He screamed in pain and writhed violently under the arachon. Bren, watching the attack in stunned silence, shook his head, clenched his fists, and yelled furiously. He pulled his hammer from his beard and charged at Morragin, swinging the hammer at full force into her side. The blow didn’t seem to faze her.

 “Take this,” Jin said weakly. With his uninjured arm, he tossed his scythe toward Bren. “Cut the bridge when you’re across. I’m done.”

 “Jin friend not done!” Thunc boomed. He ran over to Morragin and shoved his arms down in front of her fangs to grab Jin. Morragin jabbed her fangs into his arms repeatedly, but he ignored her. Once Thunc had a hold on Jin, he ran toward the bridge, Bren following closely.

 Olivia, tears rolling down her face, turned and ran to the other end of the bridge at Locke’s insistence. After they had reached the other side, she turned and saw Thunc and Bren racing toward them. Morragin wasn’t far behind.

 Just as Thunc stepped onto the ground on the other side, Bren raised Jin’s scythe and slashed the ropes holding the bridge up. Morragin shrieked and stretched out her legs to find a hold. She latched onto Bren’s leg, dragging him over the edge of the cliff before she lost her grip and fell into the ravine below. Bren grabbed onto the ledge, yelling and trying to find a foothold. Thunc laid Jin down, spun around, and grabbed Bren’s arm just as his fingers started to give. He then gently lifted Bren over the ledge and laid him down beside Jin.

 “Jin!” Olivia cried. She ran to him, dropping to her knees to look at his wound. She wiped tears from her eyes as she stared down at the punctured, oozing skin. Jin’s eyes were closed, and he had become a pale gray color, but he was still breathing.

 “Let me have a good look at that wound, my girl,” Rufus said urgently from behind Olivia. She moved out of his way, and he stood over Jin’s shoulder, studying the wound.

 “Hmm…I don’t suppose we’ve ever made an arachon antidote, have we, my dear?” Rufus asked, turning to Holli.

 “No, we’ve never had a need, Rufus. Oh, I still can’t believe this has happened…” She shook her head, looking down at her feet and trembling.

 “I can’t either, my dear,” Rufus said, turning back to Jin’s wound. “But if we don’t tend to this quickly, Jin will die.”