True Soul Part 20: The Rainy Road

The day Selesta and Nearin left the compound the weather had taken a sharp turn for the worse, rapidly getting colder. Cold rain and gusty wind just amplified the chill that did its best at sinking to their bones. The heavy jackets covering their mail shirts, the cloaks processed to handle rain and deer skin gloves put up a valiant fight against the weather, but they still couldn't make the six days of travel comfortable.

The village of Alne was remote, so after the first three nights there had been no farms for them stay in, so they had to camp outside. Obvously their pack mule was carrying a tent so that they had someplace dry to sleep.

It had been almost a month since Nearin had left the hospital wing and the only thing that hadn't recovered was her voice.

Nearin stared at the meager fire they had started and shivered. Autumn had come early this year it seemed.  The village was in the mountains so she hoped that the rain would stop soon. Searching the surrounding rocky areas would be decidedly unfun in this weather. It might even be dangerous.

She glanced outside beyond the fire where the forest had gone dark hours ago. The only sounds were the cracking of the fire, the steady hammering of the rain on the tent's canvas. She shifted about in her bedroll a few times, then sat up and picked up the offending pinecone and tossed it into the darkness.

”Can't sleep, girl?”

”No, ma'am,” Nearin mumbled, embarrassed at having woken up her mentor. ”Nightmares,” she shrugged.

”Understandable. A Demon got inside your head. Nightmares are a common result of that. They'll go away eventually.”

Nearin just nodded.

”I assume Tiilin told you this already?”

”She did. They didn't start until much later though.”

”They'll go away, now get some sleep.”

Nearin remained still for a long moment then nodded before obeying, even though Selesta had probably fallen back into sleep already. She didn't actually remember the nightmare. Only the panic she had felt in it and the disturbing feeling that she had forgotten something important. She closed her eyes and listened to the rain, eventually falling asleep again.



The morning came too early as usual. The rain had eased, but only a little. Now it was a trickle of small drops that kept everything wet instead of a constant hammering. Still, there was nothing to do about it, but start breaking up the camp.

She was putting something in Selesta's saddlebag when she finally asked something she had been wondering about for a while.

”Ma'am?”

”Yes?”
”Why do you have two swords,” she gestured at the sword Selesta was carrying and to the bundle that was hiding the blacklade. Both were about the same shape and lenght so it wasn't like one was a sidearm.

Selesta stared at her for a moment. ”Even though there is a change of demonic activity, the most obvious explanation is more mundane.” She mounted her white steed. ”The Blackblade is not meant for petty criminals.”

Nearin shrugged, then took the reins of their pack mule before mounting her own steed. And then they continued the journey.

Towards the noon the sky started clearing and after a few hours the North-Western mountains were visible on the horizon. Nearin pointed at the tallest one. ”Thats the Spear, isn't it? The tallest mountain in the queendom.”

”But then... the one behind it is the Phoenix's Fall right?” Nearin hurried her mount until she was next to Selesta.

”It is.”

”That Phoenix's Fall? The supposedly haunted volcano where the Demon Lord Nefertia was vanquished in the Second War?”

”The very same.”

The questions were burning Nearin's throat but she wouldn't shut up just yet.

”Why do people live near that?” she croaked.

”The village was founded fifty years ago. The last confirmed haunting was thirty years earlier.”

”And the demon lord?” Nearin was glancing back and forth between the mountain and Selesta.

”That part is true as well.” Selesta patted the bundle that contained her blackblade. ”That is where it was defeated after being wounded by this very blade. Sadly it got away and escaped back to hell.”

Nearin boggled. The blade that she had been training to use had wounded a Demon Lord? She had known its purpose of course, had know that it was a terrible weapon but she hadn't thought about its history. It made sense of course, the blackblades were not easy to replace.


As the dusk approached they neared the village. It was located in a valley between two of the closest mountains. The valley was just big enough for the fields the small village needed. A few trees were left between the plots but it was obvious that the villagers had to go further for their firewood.

The village would have looked idyllic, but the mere knowledge that people had been disappearing and the sinister reputation of the nearby mountain ruined the image. Nearin couldn't help but glance at the slopes that loomed over the valley.

What was behind these disappearances?