Chapter 2: Across The Bridge

 Flowers reached their petals to the sun collecting the rays of warmth and life. A spring breeze made them slowly sway and dance making it an obstacle for the bees to collect the pollen. There was a garden in front of every hollow in Herns where the fauns lived. Kole walked along the dirt road with a sack of fresh mushrooms he had picked, the smell making his mouth water. He could see his hollow up ahead, and Theena tending to their own garden. She was the most beautiful thing in his eyes. She held her large stomach with one hand and watering with the other. ‘He’ll have his mother’s eyes.’ He thought, smiling. He called out her name and she looked up, the sunlight making her hair shine and her eyes pop out like emeralds. Suddenly, a black fog began to creep from the flower bed. Kole stopped, dropping the mushrooms. Theena glanced down at the smoke with a look of terror growing on her face. The fog grew higher, and she looked back up at Kole. She reached out her hand to him as if she was grounded. Kole began to run. The path grew longer, and the faster he ran the further she somehow became. Her mouth moved as though she was trying to say something but Kole could not understand. The darkness swirled around her leaving only her face and hand visible. His feet then suddenly stopped. They were planted to the ground as though his hoofs had turned to stone. He reached out but it was too late. Nothing but darkness surrounded him.

 

            “Kole!” Briggs shook the faun whose fur and skin were now covered in sweat. Kole suddenly shot up from the ground gasping for breath, hands shaking. He looked around, unaware at first where he was. Dirt surrounded them in a small cave-like den. Brigg crouched down beside him with a look of concern and the water pouch held out to him. “Are you ok?” He asked. Then Kole’s memory returned to him. They weren’t in Herns anymore. They had escaped.

            “A dream.” Kole mumbled, the image of his wife engulfed in the smoke floating in his mind. “It was just a bad dream.”

            “Drink some water. Your face has gone white.” Kole took the pouch and drank. The water was cool and went down easily, but he didn’t drink much.

            “Is this the last of the water?” He asked.

            “Yes, but I’m sure we’ll come by a river soon.” Brigg sat back down on his cloak that he laid out to rest on. The small enclosure they had chosen for a short rest was an abandoned bear den. It was small, but it kept them both cool and out of sight.

            “What time is it?” Kole asked, lying back down. He rubbed his forehead, trying to calm his nerves.

            “I think it’s around midday but I can’t be sure. Not a lot of light gets in here.”

            “I’ll stick my head out and see. I need the fresh air anyway.” Kole rose again and stretched, though he couldn’t stretch far. His body felt cramped and dirty. Nothing sounded better than a hot bath at that moment.

            Crawling from the den, the sunlight seemed the blind him and he shielded his eyes. Once accustomed to the light he brushed the dirt from his arms and fur. He smelled of fresh earth and sweat. A bath began to sound better and better. Trees surrounded him that stretched higher than he could see. Turning to his left he could almost spot the Wooding Bridge they had passed last night.

            It had been quite a journey for both of them. He could still hear the howls of the Hounds close behind him and the snapping of their enormous jaws. You could not hear them running, however. Their feet seemed to barely touch the ground. A shiver ran up Kole’s back and he crossed his arms. Although the summer air was warm, he still felt a chill passing through his veins. They had almost not made it. The Hounds had almost been upon them and the Darkness would have swallowed them whole. But somehow the will to live made their hooves fly. When they came to the bridge they did not stop to see if it was safe. The bridge had been hanging across the canyon for hundreds of years and a broken plank would not have been surprising. But the Hounds and the Darkness behind them frightened them more than anything else at that point. All that could be thought was to get over that bridge, or surely perish. It swayed underneath them and creaked loudly with age. Once they had crossed however, they kept running until they reached the woods a few meters away. Brigg wrapped his arms around the nearest tree gasping for air. Kole collapsed to the ground, his body trembling with exhaustion. They looked back to the other side of the bridge towards the ear splitting howls which seemed to send chills through your soul.

            Suddenly from the trees before the bridge sprang a pack of creatures surrounded by a dark fog. The insides of their eyes were outlined with yellow around the red pupils. Fangs jutted out beside rows of gleaming white teeth under long gnarled snouts. The Hound’s fur was black and grey and the claws of their huge paws gripped the earth. It could not be determined how tall they were, but Kole could tell they were big; big enough for one of them to easily take him down without him having a chance. The sight of them brought terror to Kole’s heart. He shivered from a strange coldness that quickly swept in around them. The fauns could run no more. They stared ahead helplessly, wondering if the bridge would really protect them.

            When the Hounds came to the bridge, they all stopped abruptly as though a wall blocked their path. Pacing, the creatures raised their snouts and sniffed the ground and the air, testing the area of the bridge. One of them slowly approached the bridge and the others stopped, waiting to see. When it placed its paw on the ancient wood a cry of agonizing pain escaped from its mangled muzzle, and the Hound evaporated into a grey mist. The others simply went on with their task as though they had not lost one of their own. Finding no way across, the Hounds quickly turned and left, taking the Darkness with them. It was as if they were never there and yet Kole could picture nothing other than the Hound simply disappearing in a fog, hearing its cry of pain.

 

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Kole snapped his head towards the voice as though he had been suddenly taken from a trance.

            “What?” He whispered. Brigg had joined him out of the den and the two now stood side by side.

            “Your dream. Do you want to talk about it?”

            “Oh, no.” The dream now seemed far away and its images were beginning to fade. “It’s gone now. But thanks.” Kole smiled, and that seemed to calm Brigg. Somewhere a bird chirped a simple tune and a breeze blew past them. Both turned their face against the breeze enjoying the coolness.

            “I can’t believe we made it.” Brigg said softly. “And that Hound, when he was destroyed was amazing.” Brigg turned his head facing Kole. “Why do you think that happened?”

            “I guess there’s been an enchantment placed on the bridge.”

            “By who?”

            “I don’t know.” Another bird began singing along with the first. The sound calmed him making it seem like all was well. No Darkness, no Hounds. “But I do know we should get moving. We need to find water and the nearest village.” Kole reached down into the den and brought up his pack and cloak, wrapping it around himself. Brigg followed and both checked their packs.

            “I have some biscuits if you want one.” Brigg held out a small, dry crumbly piece of bread. Though it wouldn’t look appetizing to them normally, facing exhaustion and fear made it appear to be the most delicious morsel in Tarroj. After basically inhaling their small meal Kole reached into his pack and retrieved the small brass compass. Its sides gleamed in the sunlight and his softly wiped the glass clean with his cloak. Brigg glanced curiously at the strange round object.

            “I think we should keep going the way we were going last night. West seems to be a good route for us.”

            “Where did you get that?” Brigg asked. His eyes were fixed on the thin pointy line inside the glass that mysteriously always pointed in one direction. It was a kind of magic he didn’t understand.

            “It’s mine.” Kole said matter-of-factly.

            “It’s not yours.” Brigg scoffed. “They took everything away when…” His sentenced faded away, but the point was made. A moment of silence sat between them. Kole looked down at his compass avoiding Brigg’s eye, while Brigg tried to catch Kole’s. “You stole it.” Brigg mumbled, breaking the quiet.

            “I didn’t steal it.” He quickly answered. “It was mine before the Darkness came. I was only reclaiming my property.”

            “How come I’ve never seen this, thing, before?”

            “Because I inherited it when my father died.” Kole snapped. Another pause rose between them. Brigg now looked to the side.

            “I’m sorry.”

            “You didn’t know.”

            “I’m still sorry.” Kole let out sigh and the ends of his mouth slightly curled.

            “Let’s start walking.” He held up the compass and focused for a moment, watching the needle.

            “It’s a peculiar instrument.”

            “It’s human.”

            “Human?” Brigg took a step away from Kole with almost a frightened look on his face. “Why did your father have something human?” Kole smiled.

            “It’s not a bad thing.”

            “If it’s human then something about it can’t be right.”

            “It got us here safely didn’t it?” Brigg contemplated this idea still starring at the compass that Kole had now extended towards him.

            “I still don’t know why your father had it.”

            “You know my father. He was always off somewhere finding new lands.” Kole brought the compass back near his chest, rubbing the side with his thumb. The needle swiveled until it quickly found north. He starred down at the careful painting under the glass. The letters were fancy with added curls and the middle was the sun, the painted needles its flames. Time had been put into this compass and he took note of it, human artifact or not. If his father took it into his possession, then something about it must make it special.

            “Well let’s put it to work then. Let’s head west.” Brigg turned away surveying the area in detail for the first time.

            “Alright then, west is this way.” Kole pointed to his right and Brigg turned towards it.

            “Fascinating.” He mumbled, although the instrument still made Brigg nervous.

            Suddenly something collided into Kole’s chest. He cried out in surprise taking a few steps back and clutching at the spot that was hit. Both looked down at the object that bounced off Kole. It was small and round and a string that protruded from it sparkled with a flame. Neither could move but only stare at the odd object. The flame traveled down the string and once it reached the ball, disappeared. Brigg opened his mouth to speak, but before he could let out a sound thick green smoke spouted from the ball. Before they could run, Kole felt his eyelids become increasingly heavy. His vision blurred and in a cloud he watched Brigg fall to the ground.

            “Brigg?” He whispered, in which his friend began to snore. Then, blackness.