Coqoj 33th, 4288: 207 Days in the Mortal Realm
This morning was off to a bad start. Isaac was becoming restless with all the flying we’ve been doing. He would pace around and continually snack. Then he began crowd me. He kept asking what buttons did what and what each lever was for. I was already under pressure to fly us safely to our destination, so when he began poking a few buttons I punched him in the chest to back off.
The screech and roar of the owl bear blared in my face. I quickly scrambled backwards as the eyes of the owl bear narrowed on me. The owl bear swiped at me twice, slashing me across my torso twice. I fell to the floor clutching my chest. Fear for my life and anger at Isaac for allowing the owl bear to attack me, coursed through my body. I was just about to teleport the beast out of the ornithopter when the owl bear waved it’s hands submissively in front of him.
“Zorry!, I’z zo zorry Araja!,” I heard Isaac say.
“What the hell was that Isaac!?” I cursed.
“I you hunch an ow air?” Isaac retorted. I bit my lip, hating the tears that spilled down my cheeks.
“You’re the one controlling it aren’t you?”
“It’z hill can oh-wer hower ‘ine,” he replied. Of course, I thought, I should have known he wasn’t complete control. Just like how he was ‘so in control’ over Billy.
Carefully I stood up. Isaac offered out a paw but I shrank from it. I made sure the ornithopter was flying in a straight line before going down the stairs to Carl. The bar room was empty. I looked over the bar counter, just wanting to grab one of the bottles of alcohol. If there was anything I learned about alcohol, was that it could be used to help cleanse a wound. I was slightly surprised to find Carl cowering being the counter.
“Oh, he didn’t kill you?” Carl said, surprise and fear in his voice.
“Luckily,” I said, wincing from leaning too far forward, “Carl, could I use some of your stores to cleanse my wounds?” I asked.
Carl’s face contorted in thought with a touch of reluctance. He then stood up and grabbed a bottle off the shelf.
“Here,” he said handing me the long, dark brown, glass bottle, “It’s elven wine. Nasty stuff, but they seem to enjoy it.” Before I could ask, Carl handed me a clean rag.
“Thank you,” I said. I then proceeded to clean myself up. The wine barely stung, though it added to the stains on the turquoise dress. How immodest I suddenly was. I did my best to not think about the gaping holes. How I wished I had my circlet.
Once back up on deck, I went right to the controls and shifted the ornithopter until the compass showed we were navigating northeast. I saw Isaac huddled by the windows at the front of the ornithopter. How I wish he wasn’t in my view. I was still angry with him. He should have maintained better control.
A few hours later, Carl came up the stairs.
“Araja, I wanted to let you know that we’ll need to find some place to land. We’re starting to run low on fuel. We have roughly 2-3 days worth left,” he informed me, making eye contact. His eyes then darted down, to my chest, but shot back up with a touch of confusion.
“What?” I asked feeling self conscious and embarrassed by my indecency.
“Sorry, just... wasn’t your dressed ripped?” Carl asked, “I mean, I saw that you had been attacked and just am confused by the lack of tears... never mind!” Carl quickly said, his face red with embarrassment, “We’ll need to land somewhere so we can get more fuel.”
As he told me that, I had looked down and saw that the dress had repaired itself. I was impressed by the quality of dress Isaac had gotten me. I didn’t realize it was magical.
I then redirected my attention to Carl.
“We’ll land at the next bit of land I see,” I informed him. Carl gave a quick nod before turning on his heels and headed back down stairs.
Evening was setting in when I stopped an island. It was small, but with all the water stretching from horizon to horizon, I figured we’d try our luck with the island. Maybe there’d be some kind of civilization. There were large raptor type of birds attacking the ornithopter ever so often as we made our descent. Unfortunately for our windows, two of them became cracked.
I was able to land us with no problems at the floor of the forest. There Carl came back and we discussed that if no civilization could be found that we should also keep an eye out for wheat and a potato like root. He knew how to make the kind of fuel the ornithopter needed, though it’d take a week roughly. With the large birds still making attacks on the ornithopter, I told Isaac he should go scout for us. He was an owl bear, and perhaps they’d leave him alone over me or Carl.
2 hours passed and twilight was in full effect. Isaac walked back into the ornithopter. He wasn’t able to find a town, but he did find wheat and the root. Carl mentioned he would need a lot more than just the handful he had brought. Isaac volunteered to go get more once he had something to carry more in. I knew the food bag to be a bag of holding, having discovered that a week ago. There was so much food! The pile of food was beginning to take up all the tables in the tavern when I came across some wheat and potato like roots. Lots of it!
Isaac groaned having done so much walking when we had the material to make fuel already. I apologized and offered him one of the fine cure of hams. He happily ate it.
A few more thuds were heard against the dome of the ornithopter. Isaac then goes back outside. While he’s gone, I put the food back into the bag of holding. Half way into doing that, I sharp trembling rattles the tavern and ornithopter. It was only a few seconds, but it was enough to have me and Carl eyeing each other out of confusion. I hadn’t a clue as to what Isaac was doing, but that seemed a bit extreme of him if he was shaking the whole contraption.
A few moments later the ghost of Isaac came back through the door.
“You decided to ditched the owl bear?” I asked. Part of me was thankful that he got rid of the beast. I didn’t want to have it attack me again.
“Yeah, I had to so I could scare all those birds away before they destroyed the windows,” Isaac explained.
“It’s nice being able to hear you more clearly now,” I added. Just then the whole contraption shook violently again. As it shook, a distinct sound of breaking glass echoed from up the stairs.
“What on earth is happening out there?”
“I saw a volcano off in the distance. I think you could see it from upstairs,” Isaac answered. I braced myself as the shaking calmed down, making my way toward the stairs. As I walked into the control room, I could see shards of glass on the ground and two empty window frames. It was disheartening to have to repair the windows on top of making fuel. Let alone off in the distance, there was a glow of a volcano... I doubted we’d be safe to stay the night.
Quickly I went to Carl to see if there was a way to repair the windows. He heaved a sigh that resembled what I felt. He said we could, but it’d be at least 8 hours to melt the glass and mold it back into it’s shape.We could only hope we had eight hours...
Carl placed me in charge of sweeping up the glass and grinding it into a powder once more. I actually really appreciated him letting me help. I wanted to learn how to run the contraption. If Carl and I went into business together, I wanted to have an idea of how the ornithopter worked and how to fix it. Plus it still gave me some time away from Isaac. I was still irked with him. The dress may have mended itself, but I still bore the scratches from his attack.
As I crushed the glass, there was a knocking at the door to the tavern. Carl and I looked at each other. Neither of us wanted to leave the boiler room to answer the door. The knocking continued off and on for a minute. I wondered who was out there. Was there civilization?
I called for Isaac. He floated into the room, Carl jumping back. He looked panicked in the glow of the forge.
“It’s okay Carl. This is Isaac. He was the one controlling the owl bar,” I introduced. I’m not sure if Carl registered what I had said, but I redirected my attention to Isaac, “Would you check who’s outside the tavern?”
Isaac floated away without a word. I continued my task for another minute before Isaac returned.
“Some hooded guy,” Isaac shrugged. My heart skipped. There was a bad connotation in my head about strangers in hoods. Maybe it was the hooded figures that attacked the guards all those months ago in Sardik’s dukedom. I couldn’t recall why it scared me so at first. I then figured that I needed to push that aside and go see what I could do for this person. If it was just one person, surely I could handle a confrontation with them if this folk was a threat.
I wiped my brow from the sweat that had collected from being in the boiler room. Carl, who was heating up some glass powder called out to me before I left.
“Want me to activate the defences?”
“Absolutely,” I said. I hadn’t known that the ornithopter was equipped with defences. I then made my way to the front door.
I took a deep breath before opening the door to the unknown fate. I looked out the door and saw a figure walking away. Part of me wanted to shut the door, to have walked back to Carl and continued mending the window, but my decision to see what it was this folk needed over powered my senses.
“Can I help you?” I called after the cloaked figure. The being stopped and turned around. It walked right back to me and stood still.
“Do you need something?” I asked. There was a low, rough sound made. It was as though the person was growling at me. I looked around and was grateful to see Isaac next to me.
“Did you catch what he said?” I asked.
“Yep. He’s the Keeper of the Mountain.”
“Could you ask him what he needs?”
Isaac made a similar sound, some throaty growl like noise. The person responded with same noise and length of sound.
“He’s the Keeper of the Mountain.”
“That’s all he said?”
“Yep.”
I had to wonder if the Keeper of the Mountain wanted us to leave. Part of me also wondered if I should be more hospitable. Maybe give him something to drink
“Here, come in,” I said, taking a step back. The Keeper of the Mountain stepped in. There was an ashy sound to his steps. I looked for a drink and surprisingly found a jug labeled water. I then poured him a glass and handed it to the Keeper. He held the glass and seemed to stare at it. The water suddenly was boiling as the glass melted and ran down his hand and into his robe.
What was I to do with this being? I was trying to be welcoming, but suddenly I couldn’t help but worry for our safety. Was this whole place about to burst into fire?
Then again, he did just melt glass.
“Isaac, ask him if he would help us melt glass. If he’s wanting us gone, all we need to do is replace the windows. Once that was done, we could just go land in the ocean for the week Carl needs to make more fuel,” I instructed. Isaac gave a nod of his head and then proceeded to communicate with the Keeper in the throaty, growl like language.
The Keeper once more gave a familiar response.
“Let me guess, he’s the Keeper of the mountain,” I asked.
“Yep.”
Just then the keeper walked toward the stairs and went up into the control room. I followed after. The Keeper was standing near the control panel that operated the ornithopter. He must have been looking at the windows, taking note of them, but I couldn’t be certain for his head was still hooded. I was beginning to feel frustrated with the Keeper of the Mountain.
“What do you need from us?” I asked, a bit stern too as I think back. The Keeper turned his head toward me, then pointed a long, charcoal finger in the direction of the mountain. Once more he informed us that he was the Keeper of the Mountain followed by another quake from the volcano. I could see a few trails of magma that had begun to crawl down the side of the volcano. I figured it was time to go. He surely didn’t want us there.
“Okay, if you’ll kindly leave us, we’ll be sure to get going,” I said. I then went downstairs to Carl. I assumed the Keeper would have followed me and I would show him out after I asked Carl my question.
“Carl, what would happen if we flew without the windows in?”
Carl looked up from the glowing hot pool of glass he was working with.
“If you go too fast, we could very well get succed out or the pressure difference will crush our eardrums. I would imagine though if you kept it slow enough, that we’ll be fine, but keep in mind, I still haven’t had time to make fuel,” Carl explained. I shook my head and left to escort the Keeper the rest of the way out. I was surprised to find him still in the control room. I was about to ask him once more to leave, but the volcano let off another violent earthquake. This time bits of fire spewed from it’s mouth. If the Keeper wasn’t about to leave, then I supposed he was going to end up leaving with us.
I parked myself in front of the controls and prepared the ornithopter for take off. I pulled the lever down to lift us but was met with resistance. I put some more gas into the lift off. I could hear the ornithopter groan. I looked at the Keeper and saw the floor warping under him. Quickly I dropped the speed right as Carl yelled up the stairs, “STOP THE ENGINES! SHE’LL BLOW!”
With the engines turned off and the Keeper very much still in the ornithopter, I gave up on being polite.
“Why won’t you leave? Can’t you see we’re trying to go, to leave your island? Or are you trying to destroy us?” I snapped.
The Keeper then spoke a different sequence of sounds.
“He wants you to go with him,” I heard Isaac say behind me.
“Why?” I questioned. And why hadn’t he said that at the start of all this? Isaac gave a short grunt to the Keeper. The Keeper then reminded us once more that he was the Keeper of the mountain. “I got that.” I said before Isaac could translate.
If it was me this person was after, then I felt I really had no choice but to go. He wasn’t going to leave without me and we couldn’t fly off in the ornithopter with him in the building. I shook my head as I considered this being me willfully walking to the slaughter. This couldn’t be good. But I clung onto a small sliver of hope that if I went without trouble, that whatever was in store for me, I’d have a chance to get away.
“Okay, I’ll go,” I said defeated like. The Keeper moved past me, leading the way. I quickly ducked into the boiler room to inform Carl where I was headed. He nodded, seeming confused by my choice. I informed him I was leaving the bag of food, for I had no hope of returning (though I left the reason out when I told Carl).
Isaac and I followed after the Keeper for a time. We walked through the dense forest and soon were climbing up with mountain side toward the mouth of the volcano.
“You know, I’ve heard legends that young maidens would be sacrificed to appease the Gods,” Isaac whispered.
“Good thing I’m not young,” I retorted.
“You look it.”
“Shut up!”
Isaac chuckled to himself. I could feel my nerves rise the high we went up the mountain, no thanks to Isaac’s words of comfort.
Once at the top of the mountain, I looked down into the depths of the volcano. The lake of lava radiated heat that surely would have burned me if I dared go any further into the volcano’s mouth. In the midst of the lake I noticed a small island. Something was on it.
The Keeper made some sounds, pointing toward the lake of lava.
“He says you need to help it,” Isaac translated.
“Help what? The thing on the island?” I asked. Isaac nodded, “Could you go see what it is?”
“Sure,” and with that Isaac flew away toward the island. He came back but before he got close enough to say anything, the Keeper made a loud rumbling sound. Isaac slowed his return a little. As he got closer he told me I had to go find out for myself. I looked at the Keeper wonder what it was that was out there for me to help.
I took a deep breathe of the hot air and casted a protection spell against fire on myself. I then made the descent down into the inferno. I could feel the ward I placed upon myself under pressure with all the heat around me. Knowing the ward could end any moment, I made an effort to fly faster and to prepare another spell to protect myself if the ward I had up failed.
As the island got closer, I was able to catch sight of the creature walking about it. It was a chicken. As I landed on the island the chicken cocked it’s head and happily clucked to me. Realization then came over me. It was Henny! I certainly couldn’t believe it and I had to wonder why Isaac didn’t tell me or why the Keeper instructed him to not say anything.
Quickly I picked Henny up and flew back to the safety of Isaac and the Keeper. As I landed next to them, I felt my ward end. I certainly lucked out on that.
“It’s Henny Isaac,” I said.
“That’s Burne’s chicken right?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t a clue how she got all the way out here,” I responded. Just then Henny nipped at my fingers and flapped her wings to break free from my grasps. I let go and she quickly strutted over to the Keeper. She clucked happily to which Keeper bent down and picked her up. As he stood up straight, he then took down his hood. As he made his reveal I knew immediately who the Keeper was. It was Burne! Well, it was a burnt, ashen version of Burne.
“Why’d you need me to go fetch Henny?” I asked. The form he was now in, he looked better equipped to handle the heat than myself.
“I had to be sure,” he answered in a earthy tone that was aged.
“Sure about what?”
“Henny has only trusted one other mortal and so when I saw your craft land on my island, I needed to test you to make sure it was you.”
I almost laughed thinking I was quite iconic and hard to be mistaken, but then I remembered. When I met Burne, I had a disguise on. Not my typical disguise of my human self before I died. No, I had put on an elven disguise. I believe it was short blonde hair... Anyways, it was curious that he would have even suspected me being the elf that brought him Henny all those months ago.
Burne lead us to a cave. It’s still unclear as to what happened to Burne and the others, but somehow Burne became ‘the Keeper of the Mountain’ while Jaroo, the druid, had become some kind of plant spirit. He also made it sound like hundreds of years had passed. I don’t know, it’s confusing. Either way, we should be safe in the cave for the night. Our section of the island looked like it’d be protected from all the lava that was now flowing all over the island. I really hope Carl will be alright.
Also discovered the birds that kept attacking us are Henny’s children. That chicken is an odd one to say the least. I don’t even want to know who the dad is.
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