Vistus

Five days had passed since Feri’s news about the earthquakes in Tananshia, but to Laerya it felt like a month. Each day dragged on; still she was unable to access her magic, if she had any, and there had been no other news from Feri. Every time she tried to contact him, the crystal ball would not respond. Either he was busy or he was deliberately ignoring her. And not just him either, but Kiyake too; between the both of them there must be some time to call Laerya back. But no answer came.

She had resigned herself to stewing in her nerves for the remainder of her trip, and Akorri wasn’t really helping her fix that. He spoke to her only when he needed to, and they often separated after Lae’s training sessions. She had no idea where he went and she didn’t want to ask.

Every now and then she tried to meditate. She would sit by the rock, sometimes accompanied by Jinny, who would be reading her book on legends. She managed to sit still for a total of ten minutes, her eyes closed to the world, but her mind was always fully awake. Even when there was nothing going on around her, Lae still felt the energy of the village. Just knowing that Greenglade was buzzing with life was enough to make her lose focus. It excited her and she longed to be part of it, but she had a duty to try and find her magic.

So she sat once more under the shelter of the rock with Jinny nearby. The sunny weather of the first few days she had been in Greenglade was not holding out; the sky was cloudy and when the breeze picked up it carried a slight chill. The sky’s grey tint suggested rain was on the way, and Lae figured she would have to try meditating indoors soon. But Jinny remained outside, as if the impending drizzle didn’t bother her.

“So what legend are you up to in there?” Lae asked her idly, her concentration broken by the prospect of rain.

“The Moora Sea Dragon,” Jinny replied, glancing briefly at Lae before turning back to her book. “There’s supposedly an underwater civilisation that this dragon protects.”

“Underwater, huh?” Lae tilted her head. “Can’t say I’ve ever been that far. Didn’t know anyone lived down there.”

“The dragon created the underwater folk using its own scales,” Jinny went on, “and once it had shed all its scales, it settled down to sleep for a thousand years. During that time the sea people thrived, building their own city and everything.” Her visible blue eye seemed to shine.

“Ooh...” Lae blinked. She made a mental note to try diving in the future.

“When the dragon woke it was pleased with the progress of the sea folk and decided to become their guardian.” Jinny was actually looking up at Lae now. “It obscures the city from plain sight, protecting its children from any divers who might wish them harm.” She blinked. “According to this book, the dragon and the city still exist, but no one has been able to find them.”

Lae raised her eyebrows. She might have to give Jinny’s book a read some time. “Sounds like I’ve got some exploring to do,” she said.

“It’s just a myth,” Jinny said. “It’s probably not true.”

“Even if it isn’t, it’s worth checking out, right?” Lae grinned. “That’s part of the fun of adventuring.”

Jinny furrowed her brow slightly. “Is it...” She swallowed. “Is it, um... is that...” She looked away and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“Eh?” Lae blinked, her curiosity piqued. “No, go on. What were you gonna say?”

“Just...” Jinny’s ears lowered. “Is that really okay?”

“What?”

“Going, um, exploring, adventuring... leaving your home. That’s all right for you to do?”

“I don’t see why not.” Lae shrugged. “My parents were supportive and I did pass the exam required to do it. Why d’you ask?”

“Greengladers don’t really, um, like the idea of someone leaving their home to do something like that.” Jinny sighed. “We do get a lot of travellers passing through, but people who were born here tend to stay here. Unless they don’t have magic.”

“Huh.” Lae hadn’t considered the possibility of non-magic users being born here of all places. “What do those people do?”

“This place isn’t... um...” Jinny paused, choosing her words carefully. “... They almost always leave,” she said instead.

Lae wondered what she had meant to say originally but didn’t press her. “I guess I get it. I don’t think I’ll be staying here much longer if I don’t have any magic in me.” She smiled, but she felt bitter over her words.

Jinny’s ear twitched and she looked down at her book. “Ah.”

Lae shrugged at her short reply and decided to try meditating again. She closed her eyes, breathing as deeply as she could manage. That was what Alex said to do after all. Breathe, breathe, breathe until you explode. No, that wasn’t right. What did he say again?

Suddenly she froze. Her keen rabbit ears picked up the sound of something running toward them on heavy paws. It was coming from the forest, still a distance away. “That’s not a villager,” she mumbled, her eyes flying open.

“What’s not?” Jinny asked.

Lae’s blood ran cold. “A monster’s coming this way,” she hissed, “run!” With that she bolted towards the forest. She heard Jinny’s confused exclamation behind her but she had no time to reply. She just hoped the girl would flee to safety.

Better to stop it in its tracks before it reaches the village, she thought as she sped forwards, whipping out her blaster from her backpack with the ease of practise.

She stopped dead once she reached the forest. The scent of carrion was thick in the air, stinging her nostrils and making her choke. Her stomach lurched in protest at taking another step. “This is disgusting!” she muttered. “What the heck’s making this stench?”

She quickly found her answer. The sound of running paws grew louder and soon she caught sight of what they belonged to. A cat-like creature bounded towards her on bulky legs, crashing through the trees and obliterating the bushes in its path; its forelegs were winged and its tail was spiked. The closer it got, the more Lae’s stomach tightened.

“A Cragwing...” she whispered in horror.

She barely had time to leap out of the way before it lunged at her and she shot at it with her blaster. She had absolutely no qualms about attacking a monster; they were dangerous and would kill her if they got the chance. She hit its flank and it snarled, whipping round to face her, its teeth bared in a vicious sneer.

There was something off about it. Lae narrowed her eyes, looking at the monster as it stalked towards her. There shouldn’t even be any Cragwings in the forest; they lived up in the mountains and rarely ever left their territory. Not only that, but this particular Cragwing’s fur was too ragged and dark to be natural and its ears were almost completely torn off. It looked like it was dead.

Her eyes widened in shock. Its naturally foul breath was nothing compared to the stench of decay its body gave off. As it approached her, she saw its eyes were unfocused, yet glowing with purple energy.

She only had a second to put the pieces together before it pounced on her again and she sidestepped away, a new terror almost paralysing her limbs. “It’s a walking corpse!”

A dead Cragwing was coming after her. A dead Cragwing. Lae couldn’t believe it, but she didn’t have much time to think about it. However it got this way didn’t matter; she just knew it couldn’t come any closer to the village.

She quickly switched her ammo with a click and shot at the beast again, striking its wing. The fire bullet pierced through the wing membrane, but the Cragwing didn’t seem to notice. What should have caused a normal Cragwing to slow down did absolutely nothing to this creature. “It’s got no nerves there,” she muttered, her eyes wide with dismay. “It didn’t even realise I shot it!”

She was so shocked by her ineffective bullet that she didn’t have time to dodge the Cragwing’s claw swipe. She winced in pain as it struck her, sending her flying and crashing into a tree. Pain lanced through her body but she hurriedly stood up, ignoring the fresh ache in her back.

“How am I supposed to kill this thing if it’s already dead?” she hissed, rolling away as the Cragwing swiped at her again. She shot its paw, struck by a wave of nausea as she saw its claw fly off.  “Oh Vacerus, that’s disgusting!”

The Cragwing let out a fierce roar and Lae had to cover her ears. She felt as though her eardrums would burst and the ground was trembling beneath her. While she recovered the beast swiped at her again, gasping as the breath was knocked out of her. She plummeted to the ground some distance away, only just managing to roll out of the way before the Cragwing lunged at her.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the monster had lodged itself between the branches of a tree. Seizing her chance she shot its tail, breaking off the spikes. It struggled to free itself, its tail thrashing madly, and Lae shot at it again. However her relief was cut short when she noticed that no matter how much she shot it, no blood would pour out. “How is this thing moving?” she wondered aloud, her voice high with desperation. If she couldn’t stop it the Cragwing would head for Greenglade, and who knew what kind of carnage it would cause?

“Get out of here!” she yelled, giving the Cragwing a hefty kick with her leg. Bile rose in her throat as she felt something crack beneath her force. She had broken its bones.

The beast roared again, finally freeing itself by breaking off the branches. Its broken back leg dragged behind it as it ran for Laerya, its mouth wide open to deliver a killing bite.

Impeded by its leg, Lae had enough time to shoot the Cragwing right in the mouth before she dodged. The beast reared back as it was struck, but it didn’t sound pained. If anything she had only stunned it. Before she could do anything else however it turned and fled, crashing through the foliage on lumbering paws.

She could only watch as it ran away, her blood pumping with the urge to chase after it. If she left it unchecked it might come back and attack Greenglade... but what could she do against it? Her blaster did nothing and she wasn’t sure she wanted to kick it again. The sound of pawsteps gradually died away, leaving Laerya alone in the forest.

Once she was sure the danger had passed, the adrenaline left her and her body started trembling. Her legs gave way and she slumped to the ground, staring out into the forest in disbelief.

“What... what was that thing?”

-

“Jinny? You okay?”

Akorri found the Feln pacing back and forth around the rock, looking out at the forest with her ears down. To his surprise, Laerya wasn’t with her.

Jinny jumped as he spoke, snapping her out of her daze. “A-Akorri,” she mumbled in acknowledgment.

“Hey.” Akorri frowned at her. She seemed to be upset by something. “What happened?” He asked out of politeness, but he was getting a little anxious just watching her erratic ear twitching.

“L-Laerya ran off into the forest,” she explained, struggling to keep her voice from shaking, “She said there was a monster coming this way...”

Akorri’s heart dropped. Laerya was such an idiot! How could she deal with a monster on her own? She didn’t have any protection except for her blaster; what was she thinking? Akorri almost snapped at Jinny to ask her why she didn’t follow her, but he knew that was a bad idea. The Feln’s irritable pacing was probably because she was thinking the same thing. Knowing how she reacted to the bandits, he wasn’t really surprised that she wanted to stay out of trouble. He might have done the same thing.

But right now Laerya was in danger and he had no time to doubt. Fear spiked through him but he pushed it away. “I have to go help her,” he muttered. He didn’t know how; he only had his dagger on him as a weapon, and in his experience that wasn’t very useful against monsters. He just knew he had to go find her.

“But...” Jinny trailed off, biting her lip.

“It’s okay, you stay here.” Akorri gave her a nod of assurance and ran for the forest.

He had only gone a few paces when he noticed that Jinny was running beside him, a grimace on her face. “Damn it,” she mumbled as she ran, though her voice was so quiet he assumed he was not meant to hear her.

They ran into the forest, urgency lending them speed. Akorri kept his ears pricked for sounds of fighting, but he could hear nothing. It was as if he and Jinny were alone in the woods. If Lae heard a beast in the forest... where was it?

Then it reached him: the smell of rotting flesh. He halted, swallowing his urge to vomit, and Jinny stopped beside him. She gave no sign that she could smell anything, and he frowned. “Can you...?”

“I can,” she replied with a nod. Her gaze was firm. “Something died here.”

For a second fear flashed through Akorri, but once he realised the smell had to have been caused by something that died a while ago, he relaxed. “I wonder what it was...”

“A monster that left their prey and forgot about it?” Jinny suggested. She looked past the trees, her eyes narrowing in thought. “Was it...?”

“Was it what?” Akorri asked.

“Ah?” Jinny blinked and turned to face him, shaking her head. “Mm, nothing.”

Akorri stared at her. Was she hiding something? Then he remembered what Lae had told him:do you trust anybody? He did. He did trust people. He would trust Jinny. “Okay,” he murmured, letting the subject drop. He was probably thinking too much about it.

Jinny blinked and looked away. Akorri set off again with her following behind him, and the two moved deeper into the forest.  As they walked they saw dark fur caught on tree branches and strange spikes littering the ground.

The foul scent did not waver, not even when found a familiar purple rabbit stumbling past the trees, walking in their direction. Her ears were low and she didn’t seem to be looking where she was going.

“Laerya!” Akorri called out. She raised her head, her pink eyes taking a moment to focus on him. His tail flicked with unease; Lae wasn’t her usual alert self. But at least she was okay.

“Hey guys,” she said once she approached them. She was rubbing her back.

“Where’s the monster?” Akorri asked.

“I dunno...” Lae closed her eyes. “It ran off after I hit it a few times.”

“It fled?” Akorri raised his eyebrows. “You must’ve given it quite a beating.”

“No.” Lae swallowed and a haunted look flashed in her eyes. “I barely hit it at all.”

Akorri and Jinny exchanged a glance. It was unusual for monsters to run off when they found prey, especially after only a few hits. “Then why...?” he murmured.

“That monster wasn’t normal,” Lae said. “It was a dead Cragwing.”

Akorri blinked. “What?” Laerya must have gotten something wrong. Dead things couldn’t attack; they were dead.

“You heard me.” She folded her arms. “It was moving, but it wasn’t alive.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding.” Akorri snorted. Laerya was spouting absolute crap. “I mean, for one thing, you said it was a Cragwing. Those things only live in the mountains. What would one be doing in the forest?”

“Exactly!” Laerya’s eye twitched. “It’s not normal!”

Akorri frowned. Clearly Lae was determined to stand by her lie, even if it was ridiculous. “If you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable.”

“Why would I lie?” Lae’s voice was high with desperation and she clenched her fist. “Smell the air, you idiot. That’s carrion. That was the monster!”

Akorri’s ear twitched. She did have a point there. But even so, there was absolutely no way she was telling the truth. “Could just be some random dead prey for all we know.”

“Except it’s not!” Lae growled. “You’re being difficult on purpose, aren’t you?”

Akorri had been about to retort when Jinny spoke up. “I... I think it’s possible.”

He stared at her. “Huh?”

“Hah! See?” Lae pointed at him accusingly. “Jinny has an open mind. She believes me, so why don’t you?”

“Because the very notion of a dead monster walking around like it’s alive is complete crap!” Akorri pressed.

“I would have thought so too...” Jinny’s voice was steady, but her tail kept twitching. “But I’ve read about it.”

Akorri paused. “... You have?”

“Yes, it’s in that legends book.” Jinny twirled her silver hair anxiously with her finger. “I kind of glanced over it... it didn’t interest me that much, but I remember something... something about a powerful mage using Dark magic to uh, control corpses.”

“Well.” Lae blinked, her fire gone. “It’s possible, then.” She looked at Akorri, but he couldn’t see any challenge in her eyes. “Do you believe me now?”

Akorri didn’t have much of a choice. He couldn’t think of a reason for her to lie, and if such a phenomenon was actually possible, then he had no reason not to believe her. But this only raised more questions. He looked from Jinny to Lae, a new wave of anxiety coursing through him.

“Then that means there’s a magic user here who’s purposefully reanimating corpses.”