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I COULDN’T BRING MYSELF to sleep. I sat awake for the rest of the evening amongst the foliage, looking up at the arched gate in silence. The voice kept me company throughout the night while my comrades slept under the stars. I fiddled with the blades of grass to my side, sprouting daisies from the earth and watched the sun rise on the horizon. My body exhausted from my restless night, I clung to my crook, resting my head against it. I held my spot, refusing to move in case the voice returned.
‘Saria,’ a voice spoke and I snorted while waking up from my nap.
I turned around to see a ginger paw tap on my shoulder, ‘Oh Mitztail, it’s just you,’ I said softly and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I glanced back up at the arched gate, the glow now non-existent and the voice a distant memory.
‘Here I bought you something,’ he replied, handing me a mug of warm liquid. ‘I hope mew don’t mind helping myself to the tea leaves in your satchel, mew seemed restless and Barcius suggested a brew might aid mew.’
I smiled and said, ‘That was sweet of you, both of you. Thank you.’ I took the mug in my hands, the warmth heating my fingers, once cold from communing with the land.
Barcius joined us, offering me a piece of lembas bread, ‘How did you sleep?’ he asked.
I took the slab, dipping it into my tea to soften before eating. The mix of sweetness of the lembas with the fruitiness from the tea warmed my body. I’d almost forgotten about my evening.
‘Talk to us,’ Mitztail said, his tone unusually stern. ‘We might have been sleeping, but we all heard mew.’
‘Why didn’t you reach out to us? We could have aided you,’ the tiefling added.
I avoided their gaze, training my own to the ground as I drained my mug, ‘I had it under control, no help was needed,’ I lied.
Barcius sighed before adding, ‘Group meeting in five meetings, Tarasque has something she wishes to discuss with us all.’ He got up and moved to the other side of camp to check up with Cogsworth. The strange being chirped with glee as it saw the tiefling.
‘He’s feeling better, you know,’ Mitztail said, ‘I don’t really understand mewr magic or what it is mew can do, but mew have a gift, Saria. It wasn’t something that was taught like Barcius or I, is it? It lives within mew.’
I nodded, but I didn’t glance his way, ‘Something like that.’
The meeting was fast approaching, I gathered up my things and walked over to the campsite. I took a moment to glance back at the arched gate, but still it stood silent. I’d spent my evening wondering what might lie beyond the door. I pushed aside my worries and hurried over to join my comrades, sitting in the same awkward shape we’d formed for dinner.
I took the spot opposite Tarasque, the tiefling and tabaxi either side of me, looking just as confused as I was. ‘Is everything okay?’
The fire genasi drew in her breath and shook her head, ‘Something doesn’t sit right with me,’ she said. No one dared utter a sound. ‘These trials are unlike any quest we’ve faced before. They’ve tested us to our absolute limit, and what for? For the sake of trinkets?’ She held the Tempest’s shield in her hands, the lion crest dancing in the morning sun.
Mitztail took out his crescent lyre and plucked a few strings, unwilling to partake in the conversation. We’d only faced two trials so far; one for him and one for Tarasque.
‘I would have to respectfully disagree,’ Barcius chirped up.
Back to his old self, I see.
No one dared talk back to the fire genasi, yet he seemed fuelled by a new found confidence.
‘While I agree these trials have been difficult, I don’t believe we can compare the two,’ he added. ‘Both of you had to overcome something in your past that allowed you to move forward, only then were you able to secure the sacred relics. But why-?’
‘Why these trials, why your past specifically though?’ I cut off the tiefling, finishing his sentence. He shot me a glance, yet I shrugged it off. The question had been sitting on my tongue waiting for an opportune moment to discuss.
None of them could give me an answer. They were in the dark as much as I was about the situation. All of us had been played, we were risking our lives relieving deities of their relics, and for what, petty amounts of coin?
‘I’ve been considered the same myself,’ Barcius said, ‘The jobs we’d received in the past were nothing like this. I fear there might be an ulterior motive behind choosing the Ashen Order specifically. Consider this-’
‘Not again, not more theory crafting,’ Mitztail groaned and set down his lyre.
Tarasque shot him a glare and said, ‘I’m inclined to agree with him, I too have been considering the possibility, it was no accident we were selected for this job.’
‘Precisely, which led me to wonder, why us?’ Barcius continued, before glancing at me, ‘We reside in a guild hall with others, we’ve got close to fifty adventures living there. It just strikes me curious why the sorcerer would call on us. We’re not even in the top ranks of the guild.’
‘There’s only one possible conclusion I’ve drawn. Consider our recent hardships, losing Cecilia, and those from our past. We are the ones who have nothing to lose. We’ve all lost our homes, through one means or another, no one would miss us if we were gone. I believe he choose us for a suicide mission, I don’t think for a second he believed we would actually be able to complete them.’
In the next moment, the skies opened up. The clear and cloudless blue skies deepened to mimic the ocean waves. A thundering voice halted our conversation completely, and when I glanced up at the sky I saw a faint image of a face.
‘Raexius,’ I muttered under my breath.
So he had been keeping a watchful eye on us.
I glanced at Cogsworth, the automaton jumping for joy as it saw its master above. The bulbs on its tail and ears flickered rapidly, flashing blue then yellow. An excited chirp escaped from its mouth, and its little arms waved about wildly. But Cogsworth was the only one delighted by the sorcerer’s presence.
Tarasque wasted no time getting to her feet, greatsword and shield already drawn. Her lips baring her snarl, and her brows furrowed. ‘You’ve got some nerve,’ she bellowed.
Ser Raexius smirked, yet ignored the fire genasi. ‘I must say I am pleasantly surprised by the progress you’ve made,’ he said, almost mocking us. ‘I trust you realise these trials have a unique design to them?’
The boys got to their feet and drew their weapons. I followed suit, holding my crook close to my side. But no one dared speak back to the illusion in the sky.
‘I see you’ve already completed two of the trials,’ Ser Raexius mocked. He must have seen the golden shield Tarasque bore.
‘But still two more to complete and precious time remains.’
The sorcerer flicked his wrist. In the centre between the two remaining trial gates, a wooden pedestal emerged from the earth. A golden hourglass sat upon it. The sand collecting in the bottom was over halfway filled. If this was to be our guide, we were behind with his challenge.
‘Here lies the remaining time you have to complete the last two tasks,’ Ser Raexius called out, ‘If you do not complete the trials within the time allotted, there will be consequences, and believe me, you wouldn’t like to see me angry now. Cogsworth will be my eyes and ears as you traverse across the realms, much like he has been this whole time. Enjoy your time with these adventurers.’
In a blink of an eye, the illusion of the Grand sorcerer disappeared, and the skies returned to their beautiful clear blue hue. Cogsworth stopped his chirps and the bulbs on his body died.
‘Coward,’ Tarasque roared up to the heavens, driving her fist into the earth. ‘Damnit.’
I stood shaking by the sorcerer’s revelation, clutching my crook, ‘S-so what happens when all the sand has fallen? What happens to us?’ I asked. I directed my questions to no one in particular but loud enough so the entire group could hear my voice. I glanced at my tiefling comrade, he always knew what to do, he always cooked up theories.
‘I don’t know,’ Barcius confessed. He too looked as defeated as I felt.
My stomach dropped. My mouth was dry like cotton.
If he had no idea, how were we all to know what cruel fate awaited us?
‘There’s only one thing we can do, move forward despite our best judgement and finish the quest we’ve been given,’ Tarasque said. She sheathed her greatsword and returned the Tempest’s shield to her back. ‘I fear there may be more the sorcerer refuses to tell us, but there is little we can do. We agreed to his contract without questioning him.’
‘We didn’t really have a choice. Having our back against a wall is not a choice,’ Mitztail replied. ‘Am I happy I found the inspiration to write music again? Yes. But I have lost Merry and my home, that life I can’t return to. Mew should understand better than anyone.’
The fire genasi glanced over to our tabaxi comrade and nodded, ‘You’re right. If anything, these trials, although dangerous, allowed us to overcome the troubles in our past. In a way we should be thanking for that eccentric firbolg.’
‘My only concern lies on what awaits us next,’ Barcius confessed, glancing at the two remaining gates. ‘Neither of these look inviting.’
I fiddled with the hem of my skirt, I knew if I didn’t speak up now I would regret my decision, ‘Did anyone hear any voices last night?’ I asked sheepishly.
They each looked at me in turn before Mitztail queried, ‘What voices?’ He looked confused, and I assumed neither of them had any idea of what I was talking about.
‘I… I heard something last night.’
Barcius raised an eyebrow and asked, ‘What sort of voice?’
Here lies my problem. Telling them about the voice I believed to be the darkling, required me to tell them everything about my banishment and how it transpired. I didn’t want to reveal my secrets, scared of what might happen if I did.
Would they abandon me too?
‘A voice from my past,’ I replied, careful with my words not to lie. It would only cause more problems in the near future.
‘Did this voice say anything out of the ordinary?’ Tarasque asked.
I shook my head and said, ‘It only called out my name.’
‘Then either someone you know is looking for you, or one of these trial gates does indeed belong to you,’ Barcius replied. His expression perplexed, ‘But how is that possible? Ser Raexius would’ve had no way of knowing you’d joined the Ashen Order until we met him as a group. Why would he create a trial for you?’
I shrugged and said, ‘I have no idea.’
‘Your magic, you say you can hear the earth speak with you?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘So, is it possible you can trace that voice back to the source?’ Barcius asked.
I nodded, walking past him until I reached the hourglass pedestal and pointed to the arched gate, ‘There.’ As I glanced at it, I noticed the same pulsing of energy fireflies flickering through the overgrowth. But the voice wasn’t present.
‘Then that is where we’ll pick up our journey,’ Tarasque announced. ‘Saria, I would like you to lead us. Remember these trials are based on our individuality, and this one should be no exception. Follow your heart and we in turn shall follow you.’
I looked around, all three of them seemed happy to follow me into the unknown. All I needed to do was summon the confidence to take that leap of faith. ‘Right,’ I said, inching myself closer to the arched gate, with each step the ground beneath my hooves sprouted daisies in my wake.
‘We’re all right behind you,’ the fire genasi reassured me, her tone unusually calm but somehow brought me much needed ease.
I placed my hand against the woodgrain, smoothing it with my fingertips. ‘May Melora guide our journey,’ I whispered to the gate. One by one the tiny fireflies swarmed to my hand and circled around me. The arched gate creaked open and the scent of fresh blooms rode on the breeze. I took it in, and closed my eyes, searching for that voice once more, begging for it to call out to me again.
But I was met with silence, not even the chorus of humming began.
‘Perhaps I’ve made a mistake. Perhaps this gate wasn't for me,’ I said. But just as the words left my lips, a snaking vine appeared and wrapped itself around my waist and dragged me off through the gate. I tried to claw myself back to my comrades but I wasn’t strong enough, and once they were out of sight, I heard them call after me.
‘Saria!’
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