Bound to the Abyss (10 page)

“Well, Ean, we are off on our own.” He gazed into the fire as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. “As much as I’m enjoying the freedom, I’m glad to have someone like you—a skilled healer—at my side.”

“Yes, well, I’m nowhere near as skilled as old Cleff, but I should be able to handle the occasional injury." Why was Bran still refusing to look at him? "Bran, it's clear something is bothering you, so let's hear it. As nice as the silence has been, I don't want it to continue for the entire trip."

Dragging his gaze from the fire, Bran regarded Ean quietly for a few moments, the only sound being the crackling of the embers. When he spoke, the words came out of his mouth in a rush. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before we left, but I didn't want to risk having you tell either of our parents."

“Tell me what, Bran? Ambushing me to come on this little trip was enough of a surprise. I don't need any more."

"Well then, hopefully, this one will be a pleasant surprise?" The sound of a familiar female voice behind him made him jump to his feet. He turned around to see beautiful, forest-green eyes staring back at him.

“Jaslen!” he gasped.

Used to seeing her in long skirts, it took a minute to adjust to her more masculine attire—a short-sleeve, green shirt with a brown vest, form-fitting brown trousers, and black leather boots. A bow and quiver were slung over her shoulder. She walked past him, patting him on the back a few times before sitting down next to Bran. All Ean could do was stand there dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open.

“See, I told you he wouldn’t take it well,” Bran said, turning to look at Jaslen. “He can’t even say anything, he is so upset.”

“Nonsense!” she replied, placing an arm around Bran. “He is just shocked to see me, is all. Once the shock has worn off, he’ll be happy to have another person to talk to while we travel. Isn’t that right, Ean?”

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Ean let out a grunt. “You really think you are coming with us?” Turning to face Bran, he gestured towards Jaslen with his left hand. “You can’t really think it’s a good idea to take her, do you?” Bran tried to respond, but Ean didn’t give him the chance to answer. “I can understand how you might think it fun to have your girlfriend along, but this trip is going to be dangerous. How can we worry about keeping ourselves safe while we have to worry about her?”

“Now wait just a moment!” Leaping to her feet, Jaslen moved right in front of Ean, leaning forward and jamming her face almost into his own. “Out of the three of us here, YOU are the one least likely to be able to do anything in a fight!”

“If I remember correctly, you were the terrified one at the bog,” Ean retorted. “Bran had to carry you all the way home.”

“I had never seen anything that terrible in my entire life,” she shot back. “You’re a healer. Blood, guts and bone are your life. Excuse me for being momentarily overcome by the horror of it all.”

“Who’s to say you won’t be overcome if some other horror comes along?”

“Give me the chance to prove myself. I’m pretty good with a bow and staff. And Bran is the best swordsman in the village. You’re only useful after the fighting is done. I’m useful during, unless you have some other skills that neither of us know about.”

Well, let’s see. I can summon creatures that I have no control over, and I could cast spells if I knew at least a tiny amount of how to read the runes from the Abyss. Not comfortable going with either of those answers, Ean decided his best course of action was to just shrug and look disgruntled.

“That’s what I thought!” Jaslen said, a self-satisfied smirk appearing for a brief moment before she returned to her seat next to Bran. The boy had just sat there and poked at the fire during the entire exchange. “So, I don’t want to hear anything more about having to worry about me. Now, with that out of the way, we can enjoy our little trip together.”

“Whatever,” Ean said, turning his back on the two. “I’m going to head to bed. All of these surprises today have destroyed my appetite.” He walked over to his tent, opened it up and placed one foot inside before turning back around. “It’s… nice that you’ll be with us, Jaslen,” he said in an attempt to make peace. He received a warm smile as a response before he moved into his tent.

He set about inside getting himself changed and ready for bed, a hundred thoughts running through his head. It was one thing to stomach seeing the two cozying up in the village every now and then; it was another thing entirely having them sleeping together only a few paces away. But what could he do? And how could he keep his secret from both of them? That was going to be the bigger problem. It was going to be hard enough with just Bran around, but now with Jaslen too, did he have any hope?

He shook his head, trying to knock free the questions plaguing his mind. Wrapping a blanket around his body, he was just about to nod off when he felt Zin draw close. It was going to take some time getting used to, having the ability to feel the imp’s presence. A few moments later the imp’s mostly invisible form crept through the opening and moved to sit down by Ean’s head.
 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ean whispered, hoping to cut off the inevitable conversation he knew was coming. “Let’s just get some sleep, and we can figure things out in the morning.”

“Fair enough,” was the reply, and he felt the imp moved down to his feet and curl up beside him. With a sigh Ean kicked a bit of his own blanket over the invisible form then turned his back to the imp. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was how he hoped having Zin around would balance out traveling with the happy couple.

Chapter 7

TRAVELING IS HARD WORK

They woke just before dawn. As they packed up camp, the first rays of the sun peeked over the mountains. Grassland surrounded them, making the smooth path cut into the mountain easy to find. Their goal for the day was to follow the trail until they came to a clearing halfway through the mountains. It was where the Merchant camped on his way into and out of their village the one time of year he visited. With that goal in mind, they broke camp and headed up the mountain.

The road through the mountain was an interesting piece of work. Less of a road, it was more a carving into the natural formation of the mountain itself. Decades ago, Cleff’s father had hired miners to cut a travelable path to connect their small village to the outside world. They had worked with the natural formations of the mountains instead of against them, carving into the rock wherever it was most convenient. This led to long winding sections that rose and fell, curving at spots and making sharp turns at others, often doubling back on itself. The only convenience the workers had provided was a flat, narrow surface for travelers to access.

The small group spent the first part of the day traveling in silence. While Ean, Bran and Jaslen moved on foot, Zin had returned to his seat on top of the packs. Ean could just imagine the imp lying back and enjoying the ride. The group ate as they walked, not bothering to waste time cooking breakfast. Ean made sure to slip Zin a dried piece of meat for him to eat. It was strange, not only being able to see the imp while he was invisible but also to actually feel his presence whenever he was nearby. It could have something to do with the tattoo he had painted onto his hand, but there was no way to know for sure. Zin had seemed just as surprised, which made Ean nervous. What other side effects would start to spring up?
 

As the sun started to reach its apex in the sky, Jaslen broke the silence. “Ean, there was something we, I mean, I wanted to ask you. If you wouldn’t mind, of course.” Her hands were folded across her chest and she sounded nervous, which could mean any number of things.
 

Ean gave a noncommittal grunt.

“It’s about a rumor that we’ve heard about you,” she continued. “One I’ve been too nervous to ask about.” She looked at the ground for a moment, before continuing on. “Do you really follow Ze’an?”

Ean remained silent for a time as he tried to figure out how to answer. In his village, the fact that people thought he followed a cursed god made them less likely to bother him. Was she one of those people? Should he continue his lie and tell her that he did follow the forsaken god or deny it? He had no idea how either of his companions would react either way. A quick glance at Jaslen and Bran found them both staring at him with blank expressions. Bran’s opinion he didn’t care that much about, but Jaslen’s was a different story. If she already thought he was a follower of Ze’an and came on the trip anyway, he might as well go along with it.

“Yes, I worship the Lord of the Abyss.”
 

“That’s great!” she said, clapping her hands together in excitement.

It certainly wasn’t the reaction he had expected.
 

"We’ve been trying to learn more about him, and of course we couldn’t ask around our village. The rumors about you are the only time Ze’an’s name is ever mentioned. When we heard you had actually spoken to him, we saw this trip as the perfect opportunity to--”

That caused Ean to stop in his tracks. "Wait, what? Who told you I've actually talked to a god?"

She must have heard the panic in his voice, as she raised her hands in a soothing manner. "You don't have to hide your beliefs from us, Ean. We both are interested in Ze’an as well. That's another reason why we wanted to make sure you came. Knowledge about the other gods and goddesses are practically forced down our throat. We want to learn everything you know about the Lord of the Abyss.”

She stopped, looking at him with wide, expectant eyes.
 

He had no choice now but to make something up. “Of course,” he said, standing straight and trying to look impressive. “If you want to learn about Ze’an, I clearly am the best choice to instruct you in…ah…our beliefs.” He placed a hand on his chin as if deep in thought and resumed walking down the path. The other two glanced at each other once then moved after him.
 

Ean let them follow along in silence as his mind raced in an attempt to come up with something to say. He knew little about the Lord of the Abyss. Zin, of course, could provide a wealth of information, but he couldn’t exactly ask him at the moment. Bluffing his way through the day was his only option. While he struggled to come up with something interesting to say, Jaslen caught up to him.
 

“So what questions do you have about Ze’an?”

"Well," she hesitated for a moment. "Bran and I wanted to know if you have actually spoken to Ze'an before." Ean grimaced, which caused Jaslen to rush on before he could speak. "I'm sorry if that was too forward. The rumors we’ve overheard all mention you speaking to thin air. We figured that he must speak to you. Or you’re crazy." The laugh that followed couldn’t have been more forced.

So much for not getting caught speaking to Zin, Ean thought. "Oh...well. To be honest, no, I have never spoken to him. And I have no idea why people think they saw me talking to thin air. That would be crazy.”
 

When she remained silent, he pressed on. “I just believe what Ze’an stands for, is all. That’s why I worship him.”

A smile lit up her face. "Great! That's how we feel too, although Bran and I have our different reasons. I believe that Ze'an is misunderstood. The creatures he creates in the Abyss are meant to be a benefit, not things to be feared. After all, he does keep most of the dangerous ones contained.”
 

“I believe,” Bran said, calling up to them, “that he creates dangerous creatures in order to test humans and make us strive to be stronger."

Jaslen let out a small laugh, casting Bran a fond look before turning back to Ean. "As you can see, we believe close to the same thing, that Ze’an is helping humans in the long run. We try not to worry about the small differences in our opinions. How about you, Ean? What do you believe Ze'an stands for?"

"Me? Well, actually, I believe the same as you. Why would a god create things if not to help us, right?"
 

Behind them there was a burst of laughter that lasted only a moment. Jaslen turned around and shot Bran a dirty look.
 

"It wasn't me!" he replied, a confused look on his face. By Jaslen's expression, it was clear she didn't believe him, but Ean did. He knew that laugh, and Zin would pay for it later.

Casting Bran one last annoyed look, Jaslen turned her attention back to Ean. “I’m glad you feel the same way I do. It makes me feel better about what I’ve believed all along. I mean, the stories we hear from our parents have all been about horrible monsters that eat people and destroy farms and villages. I’m surprised our village hasn’t blamed the monster’s appearance on the Abyss.” She gave a sniff before continuing on. “Enough about that. Tell us about the Abyss, Ean. You must know a lot about that.”

This was one topic that he did know quite a bit about. Zin had told him a great deal about the terrors of his home.
 

“Yes, I do,” he replied. Jaslen’s eyes brightened and she waved him on. Even Bran picked up his pace and moved closer to hear. “From what I understand, the Abyss consists of eleven levels, each level containing different creatures and areas. The further down you go, the stronger the creatures you will find. Resting at the bottom is Ze’an himself.”

Jaslen frowned before replying. “Yes, we all have heard those stories, Ean. I want to know MORE, though. Do you know more?” Her voice was a mixture of hope and doubt.

“Yes, yes, I know more.” Ean said, not bothering to hide the frustration in his voice. “Have the stories you’ve heard mention the types of creatures and where they are? Have the stories told you about the Imps that reside on the first level, simple creatures hunted by every creature stronger than them for food or slaves? Beasts like the Hounds live on the first three levels. They are huge black dogs, three times the size of a normal dog with intelligence, that have acidic saliva that can burn through most things. Or how about on the fifth level, where scores of rock-like creatures called Maruks reside, their only purpose is to forge weapons and armor infused with the energies of the Abyss. Do you know what resides on the seventh level? Spirits. The souls of those too filled with rage or somehow corrupted by the energy of the Abyss lie trapped, unable to be taken by the Goddess Kaz’ren. Or the tenth level where there are creatures so terrible that they are simply referred to as the Nameless Ones. Have you heard any of those in your stories?”