Chapter 13

They had been travelling for four days, Chase had found a new creek for them to follow, it was narrower, more treacherous and weaved through dense woodland. Chase readjusted the strap on his makeshift bag, his jostling made Elie toss and turn in her sleep, trying to get comfortable.

They had long left the clearing behind them, leaving behind the corpse and ominous ring of people. He had tried taking as much as he could from the corpse, but only its shield arm and head were exposed enough to extract armour from, the scabbard of the sword was embedded deep in the earth. Despite taking the shield, sword and enough armour to cover his entire left arm, Chase didn't feel any safer.

He absentmindedly pushed through shrubbery and swatted away some flies that had started to gather around them. Chase could hear some frothing and splashing of water up ahead, when the source of the noise came into view he let out a groan of resignation. There was a steep incline as the river ran off a sharp overhang, it bounced against a large boulder that was slowly being worn away before parting on either side of it, the white froth of the crashing water stuck to the edges of the rock, refusing to be carried away by the current. It was a waterfall, albeit a small one.

The only way to keep following the river was to either walk around the overhang, which would put the river out of view, a prospect that Chase felt uneasy with, or try to scale the overhang with what handholds he could find, an equally unpleasant option.

"Elie, let's take a bit of a break."

He slowly lowered her and watched as she curled up into a ball. He placed the back of his hand against her brow, the faint warm damp was cause for concern. He cupped some water into his hands and brought it to her mouth, the smell of water woke her up and she started to sip the water before it slipped through his fingers. Once there was no water left he brushed the remaining water onto her forehead and neck, letting the faint breeze cool her.

He went back and took a drink himself, he'd never thought about the taste of water but the absence of it was wearing him down, it was like being a stranger in your own home. He couldn't relax, not when travelling, not when eating or drinking, not even in his sleep. It was a slow and sinister torment.

He rummaged through their bag for any of their remaining food, all that remained was a handful of smoked and dry deer meat and a few leaves that he knew weren't poison, even now they were beginning to wilt.

Elie walked up to him, limping until she reached him, her breaths came out with an irregular cadence.

Every third breath was a little too deep and she would be forced to take a quick sip of air to avoid the stabbing pain coming from the bruise on her back. Her eyes were sunken after days of restless sleep and rosy red cheeks were replaced with a sickly yellow. Elie kept glancing at their remaining food but she tried to hide the hunger in her eyes as best she could.

Chase pretended not to notice and took a small chunk of the meat, wrapped it up in leaves before handing the lion's share of the dried meat to Elie. She looked at him expectantly and he just nodded at her, prompting her to start eating. She took small bites, timing each mouthful to avoid choking.

Neither of them had the energy to speak, they had already switched over to a very lean diet when they first got lost, and now that they didn't have anything left and Chase saw no means of gathering more food, they were beginning to starve. Chase was already feeling it after cutting back for a few days to give Elie a chance to recover, he almost had the urge to snatch the remaining food out of her hands, but a sense of shame and guilt overwhelmed any hunger he felt.

He waited for Elie to finish before unloading everything he could from the bag, he hoisted Elie into the bag and onto his back, she wrapped her arms around his neck holding onto him as best she could. He took a final look at his forearm, it no longer bled and there was a glossy red scar that still looked raw and tender. He flexed his hand and although there was some pain, it wouldn't stop him from being able to climb.

He started to scale the overhang, grabbing onto jutting rocks or roots moist from the fine mist that emanated from the waterfall.

By the time he reached the top he was out of breath and couldn't even muster the energy to continue. He took a long drink before finding a spot they could rest for the night, unfortunately, a slightly softer patch of ground was the best they were getting.

They could still hear the waterfall from where they were sleeping, the low hum of water crashing down in the distance lulled them both to sleep.

The next morning Elie woke up after a night of restlessly tossing and turning in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. Her eyes felt swollen and teary after a night of holding in a painful cough or waking up in a panic after hearing something.

She limped over to the riverside to wash her face, leaving Chase behind to get some more rest, he would be awake soon anyway. After clearing up her face she made her way towards the waterfall and stared down curiously at the water crashing down.

Until yesterday, she had never actually seen a waterfall. It wasn't as grand as she was expecting, it barely stood taller than a tree. It was nothing like the waterfalls in stories or what some of the others in the village had told her. According to them, there were waterfalls that fell from the top of mountains, they were so massive that the trees looked tiny next to them.

Despite that, now that she was at the top it felt oddly taller than what she remembered from yesterday. She rubbed her eyes and let out a strained yawn, she took a final glance before heading back. But something made her freeze on the spot, far below, grazing the surroundings, was a herd of deer. Elie slowly backed away from the edge and woke Chase up.

"What- what's wrong?" He asked, dazed.

Elie cupped her hand against his ear and whispered, "Dad, they followed us." And pointed towards where they had climbed up.

Chase ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed a fistful of hair, "Let's get going."

Chase walked until his shins ached and his knees started buckling from fatigue, at first Elie tried to walk besides her father acting as if she had recovered. But when she started to trip and falter on even ground, Chase quietly lifted her into the bag and carried her the rest of the way.

Most of the trek was eerily silent, save for the sounds of the forest. Neither of them had the energy to speak, at most they would exchange a few words before Elie drifted asleep and Chase entered a single minded trance as he put one foot in front of the other.

Chase didn't like travelling at night, but today he continued until he wasn't able to see more than an arms length in front of himself. They were going to sleep rough again tonight.

He lifted Elie from his back and tried to make her comfortable, he rested his hand against her head and felt a slight sinking feeling when he noticed how much warmer she was. He took off his bandage, washed it and put the wrung cloth on the back of her neck.

He lay her, face first, on top of himself. He put one hand on her lower back and the other on her head and hugged her close to his body. She was starting to cool a little after a few minutes with the cloth against her neck, but was still warm to the touch. The thing that really scared him though was how skinny and small she felt in his arms, it was as if she was slowly disappearing, bit by bit.

When Chase entered his dream, he could immediately tell that he wasn't alone. It wasn't anything rational that drove him to think this, but an animalistic instinct that whispered in his ear.

He was in Felicitas, one of the great trading cities that bordered the forest. It was a place where the people flowed in like sweet honey, bringing with them goods and gold. The city had a massive market at its heart, towered over only by the town hall and the lords manor. The streets were so overflowing that you could taste the sweat of working tradesmen in the air, especially after the harvest months.

In the distance he could make out the port, there were over a dozen ships docked and people bustling around to unload everything as quickly as the overburdened wooden dock would allow. If you looked past the ships you could see the lake glistened in the midday sun. He had swam in there before, the water felt cold no matter what time of year it was, in fact it almost felt colder in the summer.

He had lived here for two years and still visited occasionally after moving away; it was a place that held a significant place in his heart. It was the place he buried his parents, the home to some of his best friends and where he first met his wife, Elian.

He walked through the market weaving through the crowds, although it felt nostalgic he wasn't at ease. Holding his hand and dragging him along with a smile on her face was Elian. Or at least what appeared to be Elian.

"Come on! They aren't open all day!"

His body bumped into a bearded man shouldering through the crowd with a bag of grain over his back, the man spat on the ground and glared at him, before deciding he had better things to be doing. It all felt exactly as he remembered it.

Elian stopped in front of a stall consisting of a rickety table and a flap of cloth to ward off the sun. A wrinkled old lady with dozens of silver bracelets along her arms and rings on every finger stood at attendance, however the thing that stood out the most was the chain that attached her waist to a large sturdy box. The table swayed with every bump from a passer by and the weight of all the jewellery in the locked box, on the top there was a window in which you could see into it.

Inside was a velvet cloth that housed an assortment of the finest metalwork, gemstones and fabric. The patterns etched onto them were so fine and detailed that it was not of human hands.

The old lady went wide eyed before beaming a toothless grin at Elian, "Oooohhh, our little Elie is here! And who's this you've brought along?" she said looking Chase up and down with far less enthusiasm.

"Aunty! Stop doing that! You always scare them off when I bring them to you. Why can't I have a little romance?"

"Fine, but I ain't giving you a discount." Said the old lady before crossing her arms.

Chase had goosebumps, it had been years since aunt Beatrice had died. He'd had to comfort Elian all week the night they learnt of her passing. He felt conflicted at seeing her alive and well so vividly in his dream... It felt wrong.

Elian had a cheeky smile, "Can I try on that ring? I don't know if it will fit, what will I do if the ring is too small for my hands?" she asked, wiggling her fingers.

"They have all been etched to fit the wearer. No need to try it."

"Come on aunty I just want you to open the box. Please."

Chase could hear aunt Beatrice grinding her teeth in discontent "Now listen here," she started,  "An arcanist isn't some kind of fancy horse to show off to your friends," here eyes glanced over at Chase, "Or fleeting romances."

"Please! I promise I won't bother you anymore."

"You shouldn't be bothering me in the first place." she grumbled under her breath. But then a sigh escaped her lips and she straightened out her arms.

"Thank you so much aunty!"

Aunt Beatrice rolled her eyes and began unlocking the box. Chase stood in trance like he had the first time he'd seen it. The bracelets, perfect bands of silver, slid off her arms one by one, they seemed to be held in the air by invisible hands. The rings spun around the box until they found a set of ring shaped grooves all along the box, stopping and nesting into them like a burrowing animal. Once all the rings were in place they all started to turn in different directions until a faint click could be heard.

The rings slid out and gracefully returned to aunt Beatrice's arms in single file, like a snake returning to its charmer. Her wrinkled hands reached over and opened the lid, displaying the priceless goods inside.

Elian started clapping and there was a small crowd forming around her table after that display, a mix of the curious, fearful and disbelieving.

"Well?" she started, "Anything you are interested in?"

Elian gave another cheeky smile, "Nope."

Her old face seemed to pop in anger and the grinding of her teeth could be heard by those nearby. She slammed the box shut and glared at Elian. But she couldn't stay angry for long, Elian pulled out a small dark rock with small red spots reminiscent of rust. When you looked at it there were these small black spikes that stuck out of it.

"I'm here to sell."

Aunt Beatrice stared at it, stunned, and immediately started negotiating with a feverish look in her eyes. Chase remembered this whole exchange, he was actually the one who had found that rock when it got stuck to one of his arrow heads. He held onto it like a sort of charm, until he came across Elian who told him there was someone willing to buy its weight in gold.

He hadn't believed her at first but after they haggled away and the crowd dissipated she had come over to him with a bag of gold.

"It's always a pleasure doing business with you Elie my dear. I didn't think you'd have such a high quality lodestone with you, a lucky man like that is quite a catch." She said, rubbing the lodestone in her palms.

Elian placed two gold coins in Chase's hand, a bit more than the weight of the lodestone and pocketed the remaining dozen or so.

"Well, that's your share. It was nice knowing you." she said, before pausing.

There was an awkward silence that stretched for several seconds, and with each passing moment the smile on Elian's face was growing more strained.

Against his better judgement, Chase started speaking, "This is where I'm supposed to tell you we should at least split it half and half."

The grin on Elian's face disappeared and instead a blank look of disappointment remained, followed by intense anger as the dream demon lashed out at him. Elian's hand whipped his face hard enough for his head to snap to the side, there was an intense jolt of pain as if all the skin on his face had been peeled off.

He cupped his face out of agony, the remaining bystanders simply walked past, oblivious to a stranger rolling in the dirt in agony, if this really was Felicitas, at least a few people would spare him a glance before distancing themselves.

He looked down at his hands expecting them to be covered in blood, but there was nothing. As if it was all a lie, the pain stopped and he was standing exactly as he was before.

"Let's try that again." She said, with Elian's perfect smile, "Well, that's your share. Nice knowing you."

"We- we should at least split it... half and half."

"Oh? And what makes you think I'd do that? I fulfilled my end of the bargain, the lodestone’s weight in gold, I even gave you a bit extra, aren't I nice."

"In that case, I'd like something else in return."

"Which is?"

Chase took a deep breath, knowing that he was taking a big risk, "If I play along, will you let me go home?"

The dream demon clicked their tongue and without a word slapped him again. He was met by intense pain and screamed out, "Stop! Please listen!" he felt a kick against his side and it was like he had broken all of his ribs.

Then once again he found himself like a few moments before, standing exactly the same way.

"Which is?" It continued from where they left off.

"Why are you doing this? None of this is real, none of these people are real." He braced himself for another hit but it never came. Instead when he looked at the dream demon it was wearing a smile so wide it appeared euphoric.

"Why? Because it's interesting." it said, glancing behind him.

Chase felt a cold chill run down his  nape, he looked back and saw everyone in the crowd was completely still. Not a hair on their head moved. All of them simply stared right at him with blank expressions. No matter which direction he looked they all had their gaze on him.

"You should have just played along, they don't like being told they aren't real."

Then one by one the crowd started to move towards him, one arm raised towards him, trying to touch him. They each reached out to grab at him, to smother him with their existence.

Chase tried to find a way out but there were people in every direction, "No. no no no no. Stop! STOP! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! NO!"

The hands of those that weren't real grabbed at his arms and legs, grappling him down and covering his mouth, then eyes, then throat. His tears and muffled screams were hidden by the growing mound of bodies.

They would show him how real they were.