Chapter 3: Unluckiest Day
Inside the Portal
The portal felt really hot inside. Nathan was unable to breath well and the surroundings made him to almost throw up. He was alone in the vast space surrounded by glowing violet rings. As he looked at his own self, he saw his body changing. All he could do was to gaze with disbelief.
My body, it's structure is changing. What's happening to me?! Nathan was panicking and his body was shrinking or maybe, his clothes were getting bigger. In all the confusion, the only thing Nathan could do was to wait until the other opening of the portal shows.
Evergreen Forest, near Donogol Village
The leaves rustled as a slight breeze passed quietly. Behind the thick bushes, two people were patiently waiting for their prey.
"Cosette, I can smell him already. Get ready to trap them." The man wearing a dirty white coat told his comrade.
"Yes sir!" The little girl with blonde hair looked determined.
Then, the sound of footsteps entered the area. From a far distance, a guy was running breathlessly towards Cosette and Elli's direction. His panting was clearly heard and his face was all covered with scratches.
"Now, here's our chance!" Elli whispered loudly to Cosette.
"Yes!" Cosette stared at some weeds that might be stepped by the running stranger.
"Weed trap!" She yelled pointing at the wild grasses.
Suddenly, it was like her finger drew out a magic circle from nowhere. The circle had several unusual lines and symbols and it was glowing with a green color. Afterwards, the grasses began moving by themselves grabbing Nathan's leg. Nathan was busy running for his life he was not able to see the grass creeping towards him.
"W-woah!!!!" Nathan lost his balance and stumbled on the ground, his face kissing the grass.
"Ugghh... This is such a humiliation." Nathan said to himself.
As Nathan raised his head, He saw a silhouette of two human figures looking down him. His senses were shutting down but he could hear the two people talking to one another. Nathan was unfamiliar of the language even though he learned to speak 8 languages through out his life. He tried hard to listen to the conversation but four hours of running had used up all of his energy. His vision began to blur until he was swallowed by the darkness.
"Oh no! He's passed out! What should we do about him Elli?" Cosette was worried.
"Hmmmm.... Maybe we should string him up and bring him back to the lodge for questioning." Elli implied.
"But, what if this man is not the right one. Looking at his clothes, I suggest that he's not from around here. The witnesses said they saw someone with a brown cape running with the ancient relic. This helpless boy seems innocent to me. And by the way,he smells really bad" The little girl explained, covering her nose.
"Let's check him first." The huge bald man stared at Nathan for a moment. Then he sat down and started touching the unconscious teenager.
"Doesn't he resemble someone from the lodge? I mean the this boy really does look like him." Cosette brushed off the dirt from her black linen shorts while waiting for Elli's inspection to be done.
" Yeah, I know. But this is not him so we still are not sure if he's a friend or one of them. By the way, he's empty." Elli confirmed.
Cosette started to pity Nathan. His clothes were torn from top to bottom and his body was full of scratches and small cuts. I wonder what happen to the strange man. Cosette's face saddened.
"Okay, even though he's empty we'll still tie him up just in case. We've been here in the large forest since yesterday and he was the only one present here other than us." Elli instructed.
He got the rope that hanged on his back and tied it around Nathan slowly yet tightly. After securing the fibered rope, the pair began departing Evergreen Forest with while dragging Nathan before at their backs.
"A-are you sure it's okay to drag him like that?" Cosette asked.
Elli gazed down Cosette. "Of course it is. He won't feel it since he's unconscious. Riding on my back isn't free you knnow."
"Yeah." Cosette looked down.
The walked through the forest with silence. Only the sound of wild animals and the rustling leaves was heard. Cosette admired the colorful wild plants as well as the Barrim flowers that sprouted near the stream. Barrim Flowers were herbal plants that cured magic related diseases. They were rare flowers that could not easily be found anywhere. Cosette was happy to have found a bunch of them.
"Elli! Look! Look over there!" Cosette shouted and ran towards where the plants were.
"You're lucky to have found a lot of them." Elli felt glad about his partner's happiness.
The flowers blossomed beautifully in the midst of the forest. Their orange petals were wet with sparkling dews and their stalks were fine and healthy.
"Ooohhh!!! I want to pick at least one of them! they're pretty!" The blonde haired girl was fascinated.
"If you promise to take care of it, maybe they'll let you have one of them." Elli replied with a smiling face.
"I promise I will." Cosette swore from he bottom of her heart.
She pulled out one Barrim plant carefully and placed it inside her pocket. Then suddenly, the emotional scene was interrupted by a heavy coughing sound. It turns out that Nathan was now wide awake and he was gasping for air. As he moved, his cuts hurt him and he shrieked because of the unexplainable pain.
"Easy there." Elli backed off his prisoner.
Cosette approached Nathan and poked one of his wounds.
"Ow! That hurts." Nathan spoke in English. He watched Cosette as she tasted the blood she poked out of Nathan's cut.
"Hmmmm.... I don't know what this man is talking about but I think these cuts are made by poisonous snake roses." Cosette concluded.
"Snake roses huh? don't their poisons kill people?" Elli was confused.
"I don't know but the poison tastes like it."
"Hey! Is it alright for you to be tasting poison like that?" Elli was worried.
"That's okay. The poison was mixed with blood already so a drop won't take effect on me." Cosette looked at Nathan's blank face.
"And it seems he doesn't understand a thing we say." Cosette realized.
"Ah! I got an idea!" The young girl pulled a petal from the Barrim flower she picked. Afterwards, from her other pocket, she got a piece of what seemed to be a black tablet and wrapped it using the orange petal.
"Eat this" She offered it to Nathan.
Is she telling me to eat it? Well, they tied me up with a thick rope and probably dragged me here-
Before Nathan could decide wether to eat it or not, Elli grabbed the remedy from Cosette and pushed it inside Nathan's mouth. Nathan was surprised but eventually, he swallowed it and received a bad taste from the flower petal yet he didn't show it.
"Now, that was like something prepared at some cheap fast food chain." Nathan commented calmly.
"Finally Elli! he speaks our language!" Cosette jumped with joy.
"Speaking your mind boggling language? I believe I'm speaking English at this very moment." Nathan disagreed and tried to stand up. But then, the wounds all over his body still hurt him. He stumbled back down the ground.
"Hey! we saved your life you mean boy! and you have a terrible accent." Cosette crossed her arms and looked away.
"The Barrim won't take effect in about 5 minutes so stay still if you want to be healed. Lucky for you the snake roses' pricks were shallow and were not able to kill you." Cosette was mad at Nathan.
Nathan looked up the clear skies and gave a sigh.
" From exiting the portal I crashed down trees, chased by angry bees, bumped unto a stranger, passed through thorny plants, tripped and got unconscious, tied up with cables, and now, I'm being scolded by a mere child for commenting on her language. I think I'm going to be insane." Nathan recalled the unfortunate events that happened to him.
"Hahaha!!! Serves you right!" Cosette could not stop herself from laughing. She tumbled to the ground and rolled like a log.
"Wait a minute!" Elli suddenly spoke. " Where is that stranger at this very moment?!"
"Well, if you're desperate to know then he's still laying unconscious on the ground." Nathan stood up. The medicine Cosette gave was already repairing Nathan's wound.
"Unconscious?" Elli was puzzled.
"Yes he is. Instead of following me, the bees changed their course and diverted their attention towards the poor gentleman. He got all the bites and fell to the ground unconscious. The bees were still swarming above him and so I have no choice but to run for it." Looked at himself. "Ughhh... I really need a change of clothes."
"Well you won't get any of it if you continue with that attitude!" Cosette yelled.
Elli's face started to get serious and without any remark he went back the thick woods.
"Where are you going?!" Cosette asked.
Elli turned his back against the two of them. "The man that this boy is talking about might be the one we're looking for."
"Cosette!" Elli spoke
"Yes?!" Cosette stood up straight.
"Take the prisoner to the village and give him clean clothes. After that get some rest for a few ours and then return to the lodge." Elli instructed Cosette.
"B-b-but where are you going? And why do I have to be with him?!" Cosette argued.
"Cosette, you don't know what power the ancient relic holds. You have to keep out of this and stay out of trouble. Bring that man with you to safety and I'll handle the rest." Elli explained more further.
"But I'll help you!" Cosette still argued.
"No Cosette! It's best if you take that man to safety than to leave him here or to take him with us. He's not yet healed completely exposing him to great danger. Besides," Elli gave a warm smile.
"We're mages of the Diamond Candle Lodge!"
At that point on, Elli continued to his path, determined. "Cosette, the relic is something powerful enough to defeat both of our magic. The one who stole it must be aware of it's magical power and he could destroy us for a split second.I'm sorry for not telling you this earlier. If you reach the lodge, tell the master about everything that happened, including the incident involving the boy. This is farewell for now, I know we will meet again."
After that, Elli disappeared inside the thick trees. Tears fell from Cosette's eyes and her joy was changed into sadness. The sound of running water was heard and the birds chirped as they passed by.
"Could you stop crying. It's loud and it makes you look ugly." Nathan uttered.
He stood up and gazed at the water. Then, he was surprised of what he saw. He could've sworn he was 20 years old when he left the cave. But now, his face was younger and his wrinkles were gone.
So that must be why I felt a little lighter when I got out of the the purple vortex. And the thing that happened in the portal must be this. My body shrinking, my face changing, not to mention my voice. Something or someone, or whatever could it be reverted me back to being a 14 year old boy. Ughhh..... Nathan thought and lay down with a deep sigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment