Chapter 16: Hopelessness

 

 

 

 

"...And still there’s nothing..." Sairek sighed as he fell back into his chair and closed his eyes to rest them. "We’re getting absolutely nowhere. We can’t keep reading these books; it will take weeks to go through them all even without even the three of us having a moment’s rest..."

 

Cyial, who had also been deep into the books slowly slumped down on the table and buried his head into his arms; wanting his eyes to not see any light as his too were tired. "I can barely read the words now... They’re getting blurry..." he muttered, which was muffled slightly by the robe.

 

Even Nayleen, who had decided to join the two after they hadn’t found nothing for a while, had fallen back in the chair like Sairek had. "This isn’t working boys... we need a new plan to get information... Isn’t there like, someone we could go to?"

"I thought going to the abbot here was the plan we had..." Sairek muttered.

 

"Maybe he knows someone else?"

 

"Can we really afford the time to go on a goose-chase going from person to person?"

 

Cyial rose his head up from out of his arms as he spoke. "Well, maybe if the person is still in the general direction that we need to head into..."

 

Nayleen looked back to Sairek. "Doesn’t hurt to ask, right?"

 

The prince sighed as he opened his emerald eyes. "No, I suppose it doesn’t... I guess I can also ask when I can get these patches removed while I’m at it. They are beginning to itch..."

"What does that mean for the group then?" Nayleen asked.

"I don't know. I would have us leave now, but it's late afternoon. We could cover distance but I don't really want to camp at the edge of a forest. That's too dangerous for the small amount of ground we would be covering."

"There's been rumors around town that there's been a lot of bandit attacks around there recently..." Cyial noted. And Sairek crossed his arms over his chest as he thought; but soon shook his head.

"No... there's nothing we can do today but prepare for tomorrow. We haven't made any progress with these books and we've must have at least gone through 35 of them in between all of us without finding anything of interest. I think it's safe to say this idea was a whiff."

Sairek uncrossed his arms as he placed both hands on the table looking at the both of them. "That means today we will do nothing but rest and plan; we will push out as far as we can to get through the forest as fast as possible." Sairek then turned his head towards Cyial. "Are there any other rumors that we should know about that have to do with the forest?"

"There are also rumors that the forest is haunted as well."

"Haunted?"

Cyial nodded. "It's not the kind of spooky ghost stories haunting either... There's a rumor of a particular old, ruined house in the forest. It traps people who go inside. Apparently many undead 'live' in that house. You should already know about the last war this kingdom had. Many of the undead are restless spirits that have fallen on our side of the country. I'm especially afraid for you Sairek in this case; there's been stories of kings, queens and princes to have been scratched onto the walls; the spirits looking for revenge. We should stay away from any sort of buildings in the forest; it would be too dangerous for you."

"...What happens to those not related to the crown that come in?"

Cyial shrugged. "Too many different stories to tell. Some say nothing, some say the undead come to try and drag you into the the underworld... the variety is too different. Either way..."

"What about any monsters in the forest?" Nayleen asked Cyial. And the acolyte thought for a moment.

"There's some overgrown spiders, and then your occasional bears and wolves... there's been rumors of some slimes now as well, although sightings say they are smaller slimes right now -- not even close to what you two encountered. The number of animals has been drastically increasing though; the place is being littered by the undead according to the rumors... It sounds very hostile."

"...Sairek, I'm beginning to have second thoughts of going through the forest..." Nayleen muttered to him. Sairek exhaled as he thought. "So am I... but the only other way through is by boat; and that would lead us in a completely different direction. We need to go more inland; not out. And the only other way to avoid the forest is to scale up the mountains, which would take far too long. The other option is to backtrack, and go back the way you came from. That too would be too dangerous; we would be without any civilization for maybe a week or more; aside from also taking way too long. It wasn't so bad being able to feed yourself off of hunting; but we can't find enough game for the three of us, despite how much food we have now."

Sairek soon glanced towards Cyial once again. "There is a specific cave that leads under the mountains and will take us straight through, right?"

"Yes, it is a major short cut. The forest gets wider at first, but after around the half way point, it will begin growing narrower the deeper we go through. Once we reach the mountains we can venture along the mountain walls until we find it. The mountain range at the end is pretty steep, so we will know when we reached that point. I also hear that the forest is a fair bit clearer at the end as well, so finding it shouldn't be too hard..."

"Then anything about the cave that we should know about?" Nayleen asked.

"Nothing that I know off. Most people don't go that way. I do know for a fact it is a shortcut as far as distance goes... But how long the cave is, and what's inside... I have no idea. As long as it doesn't take us more then six days which it would normally take to walk around the mountain range on average, then it should be worth it."

"...So... it's a question of whether we take the short but difficult route... or the easy but long route..." Sairek pondered out loud, as he stood up from his chair, and stepped away from the table. Sairek interlaced his hands behind his back as he began to pace slowly around the room. Cyial and Nayleen watched him without saying anything. Sairek's hands eventually went to cross over his torso as he thought and thought. Eventually leaning against the side of a book case as he stared at his own feet.

"...I can't come to a conclusion. We need to make up lost time... but I am not sure if the danger is worth it. If something happens to us, then that's it; we're done."

"If you can't decide," Nayleen spoke out. "then why don't you just try flipping a coin? The decision made is the one we stick with."

"I'm not really too keen about a coin deciding our fates..." Sairek mumbled quietly. "Besides, I will be getting problems like this all the time when I become king. I can't decide things like these based on just a coin flip."

Nayleen sank back down on the table, not saying anything. Sairek closed his eyes, thinking some more. Eventually he pushed himself away from the book case.

"We will have to brain storm this and divide the decision up. Cyial, I want you to make up a list of reasons why we should stay away from the forest, and go on to the path. Nayleen, I want you to do the opposite; think of reasons why we should go into the forest, and why we shouldn't go on to the path. Think of anything possible. I'm going to go out and have a look around town, see if I can find out anything more that could be useful to us, whether about Yggdrasil or the forest and cave."

Sairek soon grinned. "...And, since I'm the prince, maybe get a few free supplies. But before I do that, I need to speak with the abbot once again."

"Sounds like a plan, for now at least." Nayleen answered, standing up in her chair.

"I'm in," Cyial said, also standing up from his chair.

"Good, let's commence it now then." Sairek ordered. And he soon began walking towards the exit to the Library. Cyial motioned Nayleen to follow him so that way they could get paper and something to write with to brainstorm ideas.

Sairek moved his way towards the alter where the abbot had taken his staff and did the ritual. As he guessed, the abbot was indeed there.

"Father abbot?" Sairek called out to him to get his attention as the prince slowly stepped forwards. The abbot turned around, and seeing Sairek, smiled warmly.

"Ah, Prince Sairek. Have you been able to come with a decision yet?"

Sairek closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "...No... I have the two of them brain storming for which way we should go. The cons and pros for either direction. And if that wasn't bad enough, we haven't found anything useful in the books either."

"I'm sorry the books have not helped Sairek. I also apologize that I do not know the forest very well myself. I've already told you all that I know."

"That's not why I came to speak with you though."

"Mm?" The abbot let out in curiosity. Sairek's left hand came up to the collar of his hood and shirt, as he pulled it down and out some revealing a bandage patch. "When can I remove these? I plan to go out to town and look for information, but these really itch. I'm afraid I can't look formal if I am constantly distracted with the urge to scratch myself..."

 

The abbot chuckled a little. “Well, it should really be by tomorrow. But you have been exposed to a large concentration of Ethereal yesterday… So I suppose it should be alright by now.”

 

Sairek grinned at the answer. “Great, thank you abbot. You don’t mind if I go into Cyial’s room temporarily then?”

 

“I don’t think he would mind, Sairek.”

 

 

"Alright, thank you." Sairek said, bowing his head forwards slightly in thanks. He began turning around, but stopped half way though, and turned his head to look at the abbot again.

 

"Which way will you be going?"

 

"You shouldn’t let my decision make yours, Prince."

 

"No... I’m just curious."

 

The abbot smiled a little. "I will be taking the long way Sairek. My mission is to gather information. Maybe if I am lucky I will meet a few people who may know something. Fellow travellers."

 

Sairek thought a moment, and then nodded, and resumed walking away from the abbot.

 

After Sairek had went to the privacy of Cyial’s room to remove the bandages, he was making his way out of the monastery, when another Acolyte walked by him. They lightly brushed against each other; against Sairek's shoulder. Sairek felt a sharp sting that made him yelp out and clutch his side the acolyte touched him on as his vision flashed green for a split second. The Acolyte spun around hearing the Prince yell out, and was immediately at Sairek's side.

 

"Prince, are you alright?! I apologize, I did not mean to hurt you!"

 

"No no... It wasn't that..." Sairek muttered as he caught his breath. "...I feel like something just stung into me..."

 

"Stung you?" The acolyte repeated quizzically. "...That's is very strange... A brush on the shoulder cannot sting you... And you are wearing thick layered clothing. Something should not be able to sting into your so easily."

 

"The sting wasn't even on my shoulder, it was in my side..."

 

"Your side? Maybe a wound has opened up. Do you wish for me to see?"

 

"...No, it's alright... The pain is subsiding now... Maybe I just pulled the wound a little too much, but I don't think I opened one. I'll be careful when moving around. Thank you for your concern however, Acolyte..."

 

The Acolyte stepped away slightly from Sairek and bowed his head. "If you wish, Prince. Good luck in your search."

 

Sairek nodded his head back in departure, and soon turned around. He rubbed his side a little again, making sure it was alright. Perhaps he was indeed doing this moving around a little prematurely...

 

Sairek made his way out of the Monastery and out into the city streets. He had walked around for only a few minutes before he spotted two young women chatting to each other. Sairek walked up to them, wearing his formal expression.

 

"Excuse me, you two?" Sairek called out as he neared, catching their attention.

 

"Oh my, the prince!" One of them let out. Wearing a green dress, with butter blonde hair. She curtsied to Sairek in greeting and respect. The other one, wearing a similar dress, although purple, and having lengthier black hair that went down her back did nothing to greet Sairek. The prince thought nothing of it, and bowed his head and torso forward to return the gesture to the blonde female. Her eyes widened slightly in light amazement. It was an honor to be greeted by anyone in royalty; it was usually reserved for special guests. Sairek though, following his belief that everyone was equal, did it to anybody he met. It generally caused confusion by a small amount of people.

 

"What would the Prince like to request of us?" The black haired woman asked Sairek. Despite her lack of manners by not gesturing in greeting to him, her tone of voice seemed innocent enough.

 

"I’ve heard word that at the end of the forest outside of town, there happens to be a specific cave that I may need to investigate. Would neither of you know anything about the cave, whether it be rumors, or anybody who may know anything of the sort? Any information at all?"

 

"You are in luck Prince... I happen to have a friend who goes through the cave system to go to Lamen from Daceia now and again... It does save nearly a week of travel after all. She is a trader; she knows the woods very well too. I am sure she would be more then delighted to guide you through the forest and through the cave to the town."

 

"Really? That would be most excellent..." Sairek said, but then lowered his head some to gaze at her eyes. "Except... I don’t recall ever saying we would be going through the forest... It was just an option..." His teeth gritted some as he took a few steps back, and brought his staff up, holding it into two hands.

 

"Who tipped you off?" Sairek demanded through clenched teeth.

 

"Oh, nobody told us anything." The black haired woman spoke with a smile.

 

"We’ve been lurking in the Monastery for a little while now... All you have to do is steal a couple of robes and you’re in. I don’t usually like doing ransoms for children, but for a prince, I think we can make an exception. Talk about your staying in the Monastery spreads the news on what you have been planning like wild fire. I tell you, we’ve been wanting to do this for quite a while..." The blonde one spoke with a small grin.

 

"You have, huh..." Sairek muttered in disgust. "I’m not a helpless child. Had you seen me in the duel, you would know I am very capable of defending myself..."

 

"Oh, we saw your duel. But believe me; you won't be able to defend yourself. Not this time." The blonde one taunted Sairek, smirking.

 

Sairek didn't like their confidence. He gritted his teeth. Perhaps he should make some sort of rather noticeable sound or explosion... Vulkenhei would be the best for that.

 

Sairek raised his staff up, intending on chanting the spell and swinging the staff down onto the ground to make the explosion.

 

"Vulke-- UGH!"

 

Sairek's swing stopped half way as the stinging sensation he had before shocked his full body. He gritted his teeth, struggling to move his muscles but they wouldn't respond in any sort of way. Sairek groaned out in effort to move even the slightest inch; but he was incapable of even doing much more then that.

 

"I... c...can't... move... ...W-What's... wrong... with... my body...?!" he grunted out.

 

"You should have received a sting earlier from one of our undercover friends in the monastery... It looks like it's taken effect now. It's a stealthy poison that almost instantly infects the entire body once it is triggered by the white blood cells in the body trying to attack it. Luckily for us, it triggered just at the right time." The black haired woman explained smirking.

 

"Oh, Bull~" The blonde one called out. Sairek soon heard footsteps behind him, but he couldn't even turn his head to look. His body was frozen midway swing. His eyes craned to the side to see a big man step beside him. He couldn't get full view of the man though, other than the fact he was probably rather built. Fear began gripping Sairek as he fought with all his might to move, but his body was not responding to any single command. It was a struggle to even blink his or move his mouth.

 

"Let's escort our prize into the house, shall we?" The black haired one suggested.

 

Sairek felt his arms lowered forcibly, as he was grabbed by the back of the hood, beginning to be dragged away into a nearby house.

 

"Nayleen... Cyial... They won't know I'm missing until hours later...! S**t.... s**t s**t s**t!!" Sairek mentally cursed out in his mind. There was no way they would find him... He was absolutely on his own.

 

He was soon dragged into the house, as the man was dragging him, and the women followed, making sure nobody was present on the streets and able to see them. Sairek's stomach churned when they shut the door and stepped inside of the house. He knew he was doomed.

 

"Hmm, this could be dangerous, let's take it from him, shall we?" The blonde woman spoke out, reaching towards Sairek's staff. However, when she touched it, she cried out, snatched her hand back and gripped it. "Ouch! What the hell?!" She shrieked.

 

"Of course it would burn. Think! The spell the staff is holding hasn't been launched yet. We can't disarm it from him, but it's alright. He can't launch the spell while he's paralyzed as he is." The black haired woman said. She then turned to Sairek, and grinned.

 

"Now, you're going to do a little favor for us..." She began, and Sairek clenched his teeth tighter.

 

"Nev... Never...!" Sairek managed to spit out angrily. He was still being held from behind by his hood. The woman snapped her fingers, and Sairek felt himself lifted off the ground with seemingly no effort by his hood; the cloth choking him as he cried out from being unable to breathe.

 

"You're in no position to be denying us demands, boy." The blonde one spoke out as she jabbed Sairek's stomach with her finger; poking him hard enough to make him wince. "You will do as we say, or we will make this much worse then it needs to be. Had you known what was good for you, you would have stayed in the castle with your father."

 

"I-If you knew... what was... good for... you..." Sairek began, although his voice was highly restrained and quiet. "You'd... release....." Sairek trailed off, as he was lifted higher off the ground. The prince's face was a deep red from the lack of oxygen. He soon dropped his staff, as his hands managed to rise up to his hood, trying to pull back on the cloth to make room for his throat to breathe. He was glad he was able to move somewhat again and the poison didn't seem to have lasted very long, but it was extremely difficult to do so. Sairek's body didn't have the strength to help him. Any strength he did have was quickly being sapped by his inability to breathe.

 

Eventually, Sairek's face began turning into a shade of blue. Sairek felt so light headed, his arms slowly fell away from his hood. The pain was unbearable. His eyes were sealed shut in agony.

 

"St...Stop...p-pl... please..." The prince pleaded.

 

"Should we have Bull let him go?" The blonde one asked the black haired one. She shrugged. "He did say please." She answered. With a nod to the man behind Sairek, he felt himself let go, falling to the floor, he landed on his feet, but with no strength to even hold himself up, he fell to his knees, and fell the rest of the way to the floor as he clutched his throat with his hands, sucking in fresh precious air. He only managed to get a few breaths in before grunting out in pain as one of the woman slammed her feet down into his back, and pinned him there.

 

"Will you do what we want you to do yet?"

 

"Wh... what... is it...?" Sairek managed to groan out. He felt helpless. He felt afraid. He felt pain in his life before, but he wasn't ready for torture. He didn't have the courage to brace it.

 

"You're going to write a note to your father. You're going to tell him you've been kidnapped. Tell him that we want money; lots of it. If he doesn't send any money, then we will cut a finger off and send the finger to him to prove that we are serious..."

 

"Wh-What...!" Sairek let out as he struggled to get up and move, but the man half standing on top of him help him in place.

 

"You heard me, boy."

 

"It won't work..." Sairek grunted out. "How would... my father know... it isn't... a... trick...?"

 

"Then you lose a finger. I am pretty sure he will know what's up by then."

 

"No...!"

 

Sairek let out another grunt as the foot lifted up and slammed him back into the floor again. He weakly cried out from it, before the foot moved to pressing down on his head from his back. He cried out more as his eyes squeezed shut from the torment.

 

"I suppose Bull can always have a little fun with you at first, if you want to wait before one of your fingers get cut off. Does that seem like a deal?"

 

"Sick... you take... pleasure in-- Unh!"

 

Sairek was kicked in the right side hard enough he was sent rolling and slammed against the wall. He slumped back on to the floor as his gloves finger tips pressed hard against the floor. His left hand went and clutched the damaged side as he gritted his teeth. Slowly pushing himself onto his knees.

 

For the first time, he looked up to see 'Bull' as they woman seemed to have called him in full form. Sairek realized 'Bull' wasn't even necessarily human.

 

"O...Ogre..." Sairek grunted out, before collapsing a little bit back on to the floor from the pain in his side. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to regain his breath. He could only watch though as the monster slowly walked towards him. He tried to push himself back up, but the Ogre raised both hands, and slammed down on Sairek's back, forcing him to yell out in pain as he slammed back onto the floor.

 

"C...Can't... I can't... do anything..." Sairek weakly thought to himself bitterly. "My... staff... I need my... staff..."

 

Sairek was picked up by his right leg now, dangling upside down. His cape and tabard flopped upside down accordingly. Sairek couldn't do anything but helplessly dangle as he was soon randomly thrown. He spun a bit in the air, landing on his stomach and sliding with a weakened gasp from the collision. Sairek soon slid to a stop as he slowly pushed himself up to at least his knees. He choked, and coughed out blood seconds later. His arms shook, barely able to support his weight. Out of fear and desperation, he began to slowly try to crawl away. He only crawled a couple feet before there was a large stomp behind him, and his knees slid on the floor. As he slowly turned his head to look behind him in dread as the Ogre had stomped on his cape. It soon reached down, grabbing Sairek's cape, and pulled the boy up off the floor with it.

 

Sairek didn't even try to struggle anymore, and braced himself when the Ogre turned Sairek around to face him. He closed his eyes tightly as he saw a fist approaching him, and groaned out as he clutched his stomach when the fist connected there. Once again, he struggled, but failed to cough out the blood from his mouth. He struggled once again for air. He felt himself moving in the air, and one more time, was thrown from his cape. He was sent sprawling into the air, where he crashed, bounced and rolled on the floor until he ended up slowing to a stop on his back.

 

Sairek was only away he was conscious when he felt himself being moved again. He slightly opened his right eye as the black haired woman grabbed him by the collar of his blue hood, lifting him up into the air. Sairek was too weak and injured to resist. His limbs and arms dangled in the air as he was at her mercy.

 

"I suppose, alternately, we could keep you as a slave. You are quite a handsome boy. I wouldn't expect less from the king's son."

 

Sairek found the compliment rather distasteful. He didn't say anything -- couldn't say anything but let out a weak groan as a verbal answer.

 

"What do you think we should do, Triss?" The black haired woman asked to the blonde one. 'Triss' grinned. "I suppose keeping him as a pet for now wouldn't hurt. It has been a while since we've had a cute one so young."

 

Sairek grunted as he was dropped on the floor and landed once again on his back. He somehow mustered up the strength to lift his head just enough to look at the two females. Barely being able to open his eyes, it was a struggle to do just that had he not been so weak. He would have recoiled in surprise, but it almost didn't register that the women now had long thing black tails with iron tips; just like Cyial's. Like the acolyte did, the tails too had been hidden under the clothes.

 

"S...Succu..." Sairek struggled to speak.

 

Triss crossed her arms and grinned. "That's right prince; Succubus. Just because that one Incubus may be your friend doesn't mean we all are good. And thankfully for us, a certain soldier who you hate allowed us to sneak our little... or should I say, 'big' friend in here."

 

The black haired woman moved over to Sairek, crouching down to him over top of him. She used his right index finger to poke Sairek's jaw, forcing the child's head to crane back. His eyes closed again as if just the simple action of her doing that hurt him; he was too weak to even fight against her finger. Sairek's face was covered in a light sweat from the torture he was being put through, along with the fear of all of this.

 

"Mmhmhm... You really are a young one... How old are you boy?" She asked him.

 

"...N...Nearly... nine..." Sairek grunted out.

 

"Hey, I got an easier idea on how we can get money Natalia." Triss soon spoke. She wandered over to Sairek, looking down at him grinning. "Let's make him go missing for a few days. Put him in the forest somewhere, and whether he's dead or alive, find him. Whether he be alive, or just his body, we would surely be rewarded. Although if he's dead we may get less money, but it would be a lot safer~"

 

"That does seem like a good idea, Triss."

 

Sairek thought it was a terrible idea.

 

"There's just one problem though." She noted. "We need to make sure that he can't get back to town. Although I'm sure being dumped in the middle of nowhere in a forest would be hard for him to do so, we should make it so he 'can't go back to town, just in case."

 

"Should we pleasure him before we dump him off? Just as a 'farewell for now' gift?"

 

Sairek's eyes opened, somewhat lit up in alarm as he knew what she was referring to. However, he squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain as Natalia grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanked his head up.

 

"Hmm... He is a handsome one, but too young. I don't think he would be ready for that yet."

 

"I suppose you're right."

 

Despite his position, Sairek felt a small wave of relief, almost graditude for her 'protecting' him for something he truly didn't want to happen. He felt even more so when she finally stopped pulling his hair, and his head dropped back down to the floor.

 

"We should do it early tomorrow morning. It would be too obvious to throw him out now in broad daylight."

 

"Works for me; let's store him in the closet for now.

 

Sairek felt himself soon being dragged by Trish by his hood once again. He wiggled a little, but it was absolutely insufficient to help him get out of her grip as he was skidding across the floor. She soon stopped, as he heard a door open, and felt himself soon lifted up. He made a pained noise, unable to breathe for a few seconds from the pressure on his throat. He was moved in the air, and soon placed against a wall. He was confused for the first few seconds as to why the pressure off of his throat hadn't been lifted. He then realized in horror that he was actually being hung along the wall. His hands went up to the collar of his hood once again, trying to relieve his throat of pressure. It was barely working.

 

"Pl...ease..." Sairek struggled to croak out. "I... can't..... breathe..." he gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled against his hood with all his might. His boots scraping off of the wall behind him as if trying to push himself down from the wall sideways would help.

 

"...Oh, fine. I'll lower you a little bit." Triss said. Picking up Sairek again, she hanged him lower on the wall to the floor, to a different level of hanger on the wall. Sairek was able to at least breathe if he stood on his toes while tugging his hood down... but he knew he wouldn't have the strength to do that for very long.

 

"We'll see how you're doing in an hour. Have fun! Make sure you don't pass out; you'll be dead if you do."

 

To Sairek's fear, she closed the door. Leaving him in pitch black. It was only a few seconds later he heard the door leading to outside of the building open, and the three of them moving and walking outside of the building.

 

Sairek's bottom lip quivered, and he soon let out a yell. A yell of anger, frustration, pain, desperation and anguish.

 

Author's Note

This chapter was made when my internet was off. I had no spell checker, or grammar checker, and I haven't spell checked at all yet since I have no internet. So please bare with me. If you read this chapter now while it may have several mistakes, it is your own choice.