Chapter 5 - Part 1

Pash

It took Pash a good few hours to get used to riding on the boulder hound. In fact, Pash could not have imagined anything scarier. In all his life, his one glaring weakness had always been heights. That, and cold water.

As he bounced amidst the sea of black fur with his eyes tightly closed, a sudden realization came upon him. He realized – after everything that he had been through – that this was the single most frightening thing he had ever experienced. Even more frightening than the demonic bridge, even more frightening than bloodthirsty bandits.

He was unsure what about it he feared so much. Of course, there was the fact that they were so high up. He feared falling and dying that way. But it was even worse than it might have been, had it merely just been up high. The way he was tossed up in the air with every stride that the racing hound took, that served to make things much worse. There was a horrible sick feeling in his belly. It was a miracle that he had not yet thrown up.

His master sat back cheerfully, shouting into the wind, enjoying the way the rushing air distorted his voice. "OnnnnnwaaaaaRRRdsss!" Pash heard him shout.

It had taken Ermos a while before he was able to get back to such cheerfulness. They had spent a good while in that rushing stream, searching for the gold ring that his master had discovered. But no matter long they searched, they never caught sight of it. They even employed the dog's help, but he could catch no scent of it either.

It had broken his master's heart. To have been so close to such grand wealth, only to lose it all because of a slip of the fingers. Pash had never felt so dreadful. He wished that he could help his master more. He deserved much better than what he had. He had trained for so long, worked towards such grand power, only to live the life of a common sellsword, worrying each day about whether food would make it to the table. It wasn't right.

The smell of the hound's fur was what eventually persuaded Pash to lift his head and open his eyes. It was such a strong scent that it made its eyes water. It was irony like blood, but there was also a dankness to it, as though the dog had spent the last hundred years sitting in a dirty river.

With that, the first step was taken, and his master spotted such movement, calling out to him encouragingly. "Ah! You're awake, are you? You've been missing out on a beautiful night, o' apprentice of mine. Open those eyes nice and wide and take a look."

He followed the line of his master's finger as he pointed towards the night's sky, and despite his fear, he was made to feel the utmost of awe. Never in his life had he seen so many stars. He had always heard talk of different constellations, how certain stars would make a horseshoe, and how travellers would use them as guides, but never had he seen one himself.

There were three bright stars together in a perfectly straight line, like a belt. He wasn't sure what such a group was called, but he was sure they meant something. There were another three that were less bright and formed a triangle, and then there were hundreds more lone stars of different sizes, twinkling up there, high in the sky.

As Pash stared at them, he could almost forget that he was riding atop a terrifying hound high up off the ground. It was almost like he was on a magical ship, floating safely, on a tour of the galaxy. '

And then, completely round and full of light, there stood the large full moon, standing proud like a king, the governor of the stars.

"It's beautiful," Pash managed to say, having to time his words with the motion of the running hound, lest he bite down on his tongue once again.

"Of course it is," Ermos said, "night time is where all creatures draw their power. The stars are the origin of magic."

Pash looked to his teacher sharply. It was rare that he said something so scientific. "Is that true, master? Is that how you grew so strong?"

Ermos shrugged. "I'm not sure. I made it up just now, but it sounds right, doesn't it? Where else could something as weird as magic come from, if not the stars? Have you ever tried staring at a full moon? You can feel the power of it, if you concentrate ever so slightly."

Pash tried looking at the moon as his master had said. It was ever so bright. He wasn't sure whether he could feel its 'power' as his master had stated, but he certainly felt something very strange. He was made to feel rather small as he looked at it. On the moon was where the Gods dwelled. He wondered if he was being disrespectful by looking up at them.

"I need to get stronger, master," Pash said suddenly. It was the same feeling he'd had for more than two years. It made him clench his fist every time he thought about it. He was terribly frustrated by his own weakness.

"You'll get there. It just takes time," his master told him, as he reclined back so casually against the neck of the hound.

"I don't have that long," Pash stated adamantly. "I need to be strong enough to help. Today I was worse than useless. Even those girls were able to fight, but not me. I couldn't even take on a single gargoyle. Tell me master, please, how do I get as strong as you?"