Truth by the Fire

Orange flames reflected across the dirt of the campsite warming Ray the best it could. Lucky for them the camp had remained untouched through their whole debacle. Ray listened to them with her knees to her chest, a wool blanket over her shoulders, and her eyes on the fire. It reflected in her glassy eyes as she tried to hold back tears from forming. After rubbing her nose and running an arm over her eyes, she grabbed a stick and poked the fire built in a cone.

"Jex, I hope you're safe…" she whispered. It was lonely without him, out in the wilderness. She was not alone, however.

Her eyes wandered towards the figure sleeping under blankets, stripped of his shirt and bandaged the best she could manage. It had taken two days and small amounts of medicine they had to stop the bleeding in his shoulder. She had found Nimer only a few days earlier lying unconscious in the dirt. She feared he may be dead but shallow breaths still exited his mouth. It was the least she could do by dragging him through the forest in search of their camp. She nursed him back to fair health, pouring water and brew from his bag down his throat and messaging it to help it go down. She was lucky her grandmother taught her healing as a child.

The fire crackled and flared as she stood, fetching a morsel of food from her saddle bag. They were running low, so she ate small portions. During the day she did her best to hunt small creatures with her bow, but the wood was barren, for the animals had made their way off the mountains and towards the forests at the base.

With water skin in hand, she knelt down by Nimer and parted his mouth to hydrate his slumbering body. As she poured, however, he reacted with a grunt and she pulled away as he coughed, choking on the water. After a moment his eyes parted, and he turned towards Ray.

Her eyes watered, "Oh thank gods…"

Nimer sat up, and, the blankets tumbled off his bare shoulders. He raised a hand touching his wounded shoulder, admiring the handy work she had done.

"How long has it been…?" he asked, his voice raspy.

Ray capped the water skin and took it back to his saddlebag. "Two days," she answered. "I-I thought you would not make it."

"I'm sure that may have been better for you," he stated. Nimer moved his shoulders. His movements were slow for small tremors caused him to shake. They stopped as he woke up. "I've been through worse…" he mumbled. Light markings, only visible at a close distance, imprinted his skin as horizontal stripes running up his arms. Even in the darkness, Nimer saw them. They haunted him.

"They're getting darker," he thought as he reached for his shirt next to him and slipped it on over his head.

Ray pulled her blanket over her shoulders once more. She gazed at the fire before shaking her head. "No, it wouldn't have. I'm sorry… I should have listened. This never would have happened."

Nimer tugged the strings at the neck of his shirt to tighten them. He surveyed Ray before letting out a lingering sigh, "This is your first time in the woods like this, I presume," he said standing and pulling on his coat, being mindful of his injured shoulder.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ray asked in defense.

"It means you are not an expert in fighting dangers out here in the woods. A deer is one thing. A mage wielding dark magic is another," he said taking a seat in the dirt by the fire. "I don't blame you for what happened."

Ray studied the ground, "I... didn't even want to come."

"Then why are you here?" Nimer asked.

"Jex... he's always dreamed of leaving Aldoak. He wanted to go on an adventure...but," she said. Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her face. "I found happiness running my grandparent's farm, watching him work hard in our fields, hunting in the mornings, and visiting the butcher's shop. I wanted nothing to change... it was perfect."

"But you came with him, why?"

Ray rubbed her nose, "I love him."

Nimer gave her an even stare. "It sounds like you were not made aware of the heartache this journey causes."

"That's why I wanted to stay… I want to marry to him, have kids, and a...and a house... a peaceful life," Ray said.

"And you're not. Some things turn out different don't they." Nimer's voice was distant, and he gazed at the fire.

"You've been searching for the kingdom all your life, haven't you? You don't seem like you have anything to lose," Ray mumbled.

Nimer was silent as he watched the flames rage and sparks dance in the sky. "That's because I have already lost it and try to prevent others from losing it."

Ray stared at the man's face, the sad glint in his eyes. "What could a man like you lose? You have everything, luck, fortune, skills, abilities."

"I don't have her touch," Nimer said. "Nor do I have my humanity anymore."

"Her touch?" Ray asked.

Nimer picked up the stick to poke the fire. "I made it to the kingdom with her. It was all that we could dream about, starting our lives in the kingdom together...that was until towards the end of the journey she became ill. I stood at the gates of the kingdom with her, begging them to let me in to save her. Instead, they took her from me, telling me she was no longer fit for humanity the way she was and she died that night. I can still remember...it was raining. I fell off the maps, out of contact with anyone. I retreated to my hometown, being told I would never be the same...that I had lost my humanity."

Ray listened and crossed her legs. Part of her empathized with him while the other remained untrusting of his word. She pulled the blanket tighter around her looking up towards the night sky. "That's terrible...I'm sorry for your loss."

"I try not to think of it," Nimer said as he stood and retrieved his brew from his saddle bag before being seated again.

"Can I ask what made her sick?" Ray spoke up again.

Nimer took a good swig of his brew before setting it down, "It was the shards."

Ray's eyes widened, "The shards make you sick?"

Nimer shook his head and explained. "The shards speak to the soul in anyone who touches them. Hidden in the soul is an enormous, slumbering power. It is a forced change that will transform those who have handled the shards. Once touched, the power cannot reverse. Your soul will awaken until you gain the full potential of new power and abilities producing a stream of power produced by the soul called Prana. The time before you awaken may be painless or painful. It all depends on what you awaken into. Anyone who awakens will lose their humanity to the shard as their power grows and overcomes them. The more shards you have the less painful it will be. I fear that's what those bandits were after."

Ray's mouth hung agape. "How many shards are there?"

"More than I can count," Nimer answered. "Dragons keep them safe and several are in the hands of ogres, goblins, elves, and more. It would take time to gather them all."

Ray raked her fingers into her hair, "Jex has been the only one to touch the shard-"

"You have," Nimer said nodding towards her bow. "Those destined to handle shards seek them without meaning to. If a shard is placed in the wrong hands, there is a higher chance they may kill whoever is using them or may not affect them at all. The shard can kill others if used on them. This allows some to use the shard for destruction and vainglory."

Ray picked up her bow and examined the fine detail carved into the bow. "But there are no shards inlaid in my bow."

"They are inside your bow," Nimer answered.

"That means you can sense shards," Ray insisted.

Nimer nodded and stood and crossed the camp to his saddle bag, withdrawing a bag. The content sounded like glass scraping together. He cleared his throat as he sat back down and untied the top and poured out the content. Sixty bloody, red shards fell into a pile in the soft dirt and glittered in the light of the fire.

Ray was in awe, "How did you get so many?"

"From fallen friends, dragons, trolls, anything I have slain," he answered. "They are my prize. Without them, I fear I would be in agony."

Ray eyed each one, her mind filling with visions of what it would have been like to slay each creature to receive the shards. "I think Jex would challenge you for these. He collects things like stones and gems."

Nimer chuckled, "The kid will have to get his own."

Ray's face fell sad as she thought of Jex challenging Nimer in a race or a sword fight to win the pot of shards. She could only think of where he was and how he was doing. She curled her hands into fists.

"We need to find Jex," she uttered looking up at Nimer. She knew she needed his help more than anything. "Please, help me find him."

"I can't do that," Nimer said, drinking more of his brew.

"What?!"

Nimer gave her a cruel smile, "I am no longer in your service. If you want my services, you will have to ask for them, nicely."

Ray scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest, her lips bunching in a pout. "I nursed you back to health, and this is how you repay me?"

"I took an arrow for you, and this is how you treat me, still?" Nimer raised an eyebrow.

Ray turned red in the face and huffed. "May I please have your services?"

Nimer lay back with his left hand behind his head and the other draped across his stomach, crossing his legs. "Just this once."

Smoke continued to rise from the fire and drift through the night air as the two remained in silence before sleep took them into deep dreams behind closed eyes.

Only embers burned in the bottom of the pit at the first morning light. The sky displayed the threat of harsh weather. The two woke having slept decent hours and moved about the camp, filling the fire pit and gathering the rest of their items for the day's journey, in search of Jex. After tethering Jex's horse to Ray's saddle and grabbing food for breakfast, both mounted and they started off towards the woods.