Call to Adventure: Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Keep Moving Forward

I would find no rest that night as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Pain wracked my bloodied and beaten form as I tossed about, delirious from hunger and this horrible feeling that seeped down to my very bones. It was a deep seated ache that left me feeling dry, like I was some desiccated corpse out in the desert and I had no water to sate it.

Anything, Must Fill the Stomach, Must Fill the Furnace

Laying there on the ground, bloodied and beaten, I wanted nothing more than to just drift away, to cease just to end this torment but I clung on, afraid of what's on the other side. Pushing myself forward, I shoved ice, dirt and stone down my throat, anything to fill me. Forcing myself even as my lungs burned at the effort of just breathing, I ate and I persisted.

Fight On, Must Fight, Must Survive

I felt cold, the light of the moon and stars having faded as snow drifted in the wind. The darkness was creeping in and I felt helpless to stop it. The light was fading from my vision, my breath drawing weaker as my eyes slowly closed shut. I attempted to resist it, trying with all my might to keep my eyes open but it felt like I was holding the weight of the world with my eyelids.

Resist… you must… fight on…

I fought on but it was a losing battle and slowly I slipped away, my thoughts slowly fading, slipping even as I tried to wrestle them in. I could feel myself looming over the edge, the all consuming darkness swallowing me as even my breath faded. As I lost the sense of my heart beating, I found all that was left was two sputtering lights sparking in the void and even then they were fading.

It was in this darkness that I would hear the most beautiful of voices reaching out to broken form. I could hear her voice echoing through the emptiness, filling it with light as she spoke and the world listened, “No, Not yet little one. No when you still have so much left to do,”

-x-x-x-

I didn’t know how long I was asleep or how many hours had passed but I’d woken up to the feeling of small paws scratching away at my eyes. I would have laid there if not for the feeling of something sniffing at me before a soft, warm and wet tongue licked me in the face.

“Gah!” I’d let out a curse, making the small creature that had been bothering me yip in surprise, as I woke up gasping and panting.

With my heart pounding against my chest, I’d scrambled to my feet, feeling my scaly chest and wings for injuries… but I would find none. I was once more whole and hale, my injuries healed and my scales shining in the soft light that filtered through the foggy clearing I found myself in.

Sighing in relief, I plopped back on my back, sending a wave of low hanging fog outwards as stared up at the sky above. “I’m alive,” I whispered in disbelief. I should be alive right? All thoughts however of last night would be forgotten as the creature that had woken me up was far more curious than afraid.

Walking up to me, this racoon-like creature (A tanuki he corrected himself) looked at me curiously while it blocked the gray overcast sky and the clawing branches of the trees above. I did not know what compelled me that time but the first thing that came to mind at that moment was to ask the creature a question, “Where am I?”

The Tanuki would cock its head to the side at my question which made me laugh. I should have honestly expected the silence. Still, that does not answer the question of where I was exactly.

With the thick layer of snow blanketing the land and the tree’s around me, I knew I was still in the forest but at the same time, I was not. I also felt rather strange. I did not feel any pain as everything felt muted for the lack of better words. I breath but it was as if there was no air entering my lungs. I could move but there was no strength in my movement nor was there any resistance. I simply am.

It almost felt like a dream… thus I just laid there. I was neither hungry nor was I tired so I did not get up. Why did I need to get up? I should just stay here and rest. After all, this was just all a dream.

But I would find no rest as I felt the Tanuki nudge me awake, pressing its face against my sides and refusing to relent even as I swatted at its furry body. “Stop it,” I muttered as I scrunched my eyes closed, wanting to rest when suddenly, I felt something sharp on my wings, “Ouch!”

Fully awake, I glared at the Tanuki who looked all too smug before scampering off into the woods, “Why you little!”

Getting back on my feet, I shot off into the woods. Hot in pursuit, all thoughts left my head. Each time I’d catch up to them, they’d step behind a tree and appear elsewhere. It was the most frustrating game of cat and mouse and I want nothing more than to catch them.

Even as the woods got darker, the thorny brambles of the undergrowth scratching at my scales, I kept going until I lost track. Panting, I came to a stop in another clearing. I… was starting to feel the aches from yesterday, the bruises coming into focus yet I felt more alive than I’ve ever been. As tired as I was, I could feel everything.

“That… Tanuki, I swear I’m gonna catch him,” I swore, wincing at my aching limbs as I limp ahead, “Right after I catch my breath.”

As my breathing got under control, I'd find myself in a path leading somewhere. The path looked dark and winding, twisting into the treelines and hidden by fog.

Looking into the darkness ahead, I felt afraid. The darkness hid many shapes that danced in the unseen wind. The branches like claws reaching out, wanting to snare me in their grasp. I wanted to flee, to run anywhere.

So afraid was I that I didn't notice a creature watching me from above. "Hoot!" The creature called and I looked up to find a great big owl perched in the trees.

It took one look at me before it looked behind me. Turning around, I'd find the fog that obscured the path that I'd already crossed and the clearing that I'd left lifting and revealing what it hid.

Dozens of creatures, their emaciated and frozen form curled up as they slept, never to wake up, stared back at me. Bramble clung to them, digging into their peaceful form. The haunting sight sent shivers down my spine.

"Hoot," the Owl would call out once more as it leapt from its perch and into the dark path ahead. They flew without hesitation, plunging into the darkness and leaving me behind.

"Follow the animals, get it," I whispered as I turned away and fled, running as fast as my little legs could take me.

Each step I take however would sap my strength or rather this numbness that I felt but I now my heart beat pounding against my chest, blood rushing in my ear as feeling returned to my chest. Even as pain coursed through me, I seeked it out, letting it guide me in my desperate bid to escape.

I ran and ran until I broke out of the fog and came upon a shrine in the middle of the forest. It was that of a attractive woman dancing in the light that bathed this clearing, her moment forever preserved in stone. While the forest behind me brought me nothing but terror, this place made me feel at ease, a sanctuary for my weary bones.

“Boof,” A dog would bark out and there I’d find them sitting at the base of the statue with none other than the Tanuki from earlier and the Owl that had guided me. At the sight of the three just sitting side to side, I knew I was in safe company as I remembered who they were. To think they’d come all the way here just to help me…

Crawling beside them, the trio scooting to the side to provide me space, I’d plop down between them and lay my weary head. As I laid down my head on the soft ground, I would smile, yawning before I whispered, “Thank you,”

My sleep would be uneventful unlike the one from earlier as I woke up soon after, finding myself in the same forest that I woke up too all those night ago, resting below the statue of the beautiful goddess that had provided sanctuary, surrounded by three smaller statues of an owl, a dog and a tanuki. While the statues were weathered, I knew who they were. After all, how can I forget my friends after they had guided me through the darkness and the goddess that had provided me shelter when I was in need.

“I’ll pay you back one day Elistrea,” I whispered, silently thanking the goddess as I picked myself up and walked away. I have been healed so now it was time for me to head back. I still had a troll to slay.

A/N:

Couldn't get the thing I was working on to come out so I tried pushing this out and even then, this was a struggle to push out. As for the identity of the animals, let's just say they're my close friends to stuck with me through thick and thin. I owe them alot.