The Witches Aid
There was a small argument after supper about where I was going to sleep. Svanhildr wanted me in the barn. In the end Lariss convinced her to let me sleep in the loft. When I awoke the next morning I knew that I had a dream but for the first time in my life I couldn't remember what I had dreamed. When I came down the ladder, Svanhildr was cooking breakfast while Lariss was still in bed.
"How did you sleep?" Svanhildr asked.
"It was fine." Not remembering my dream was strange but I wasn't about to tell her that.
"Who's Sara?" She asked.
I nearly tripped over my own feet when I heard that name. "I don't. I've never heard of that name." How the hell did she know my wife from Earth's name?
"Hmm, it was the only thing I could pluck from your dreams last night." She barely looked in my direction as she spoke, just continued cooking.
"You were messing with my dreams." I said.
"Not really. My intention was to send you on a dream quest as a way to test you. But I should have known that your spirit was too strong for that to work. I only heard the name Sara." She said.
"Why would you do that?" I asked.
"The forest's corruption messes with your mind and the two of you are headed to the very heart of that corruption. If you couldn't even deal with a simple dream quest, you wouldn't be able to survive where you're going." She said.
"You seem very intent on stopping us from going." I said.
"I'm very intent on making sure you don't kill yourselves. You're not the first ones to head into the heart. Since the corruption I've given my blessing of protection to many people I care about. Lariss' father was the only one that came back alive." She said. I kept quiet hoping that she would continue.
"We learned that the corruption in the heart of the forest weakens during certain celestial alignments that happen every few years. Group after group came to me for my blessing of protection during the alignments in the first decades after the forest fell. They were survivors and their children.
"The last group that I blessed included Lariss' mother and father. They left her with me for weeks. In the end he came back. She and the others didn't. The two of them lived in the area for years afterward. I think her father hoped her mother was still alive. But in the end, even he gave up. Everyone either dies or gives up in the end. Those that survived have learned to live with the loss."
"Is that what you did, give up?" I asked.
"There were six witch bloodlines in the forest before it fell. I was 12 at the time and the only one that wasn't of any use in trying to heal the forest. Once I'm gone the last of the Gosigronn bloodlines will be gone with me." She said. If that was true, she'd be around 64 and still looked like she was in her mid 20s.
"You could have children." I said.
"I'll let you in on a little known secret. Witch bloodlines only last for seven generations without being blessed again by the spirit entity that originally gave them their power. If your line didn't fulfill the will of the spirit they would find another. But that doesn't matter for me. As far as I know my bloodline's patron died during the corruption.
"It's the reason the Nlorthen did what they did centuries ago. They found a way to bypass their generation limit and have been a scourge for the kingdom ever since. So unless I want to join them, I get to be the last of centuries of witches that kept the spiritual beliefs of the forest."
Before I could comment, a scream came from the bedroom.
"Svanhildr!" Lariss threw open the door and stood there furious still in her nightgown.
"How… How could… Why would… My mother… You shouldn't….." As Lariss stammered, Svanhildr stopped what she was doing and went to pull Lariss into a hug.
"I know, I know, but you really don't understand what it's like. I've sent so many of those I care about to their deaths. Please don't go." Svanhildr held her with one hand and stroked her hair with the other like a mother would.
"I have to go. I have to go." Lariss was trying to pull herself together but it wasn't working.
A few moments later the three of us quietly ate the slightly overcooked breakfast that Svanhildr made us. I had no idea what Lariss went through and strangely it seemed to make the two of them closer. Svanhildr was now resigned to the fact that there was nothing she could do to stop her from entering the forest.
When it was time we left the house and headed towards the edge of the woods. Svanhildr would look after our horses while we were there. As we walked towards the forest, I noticed that the straw animals were in different places and had several gash marks on them.
"It seems we had more visitors than usual last night." Svanhildr said as she noticed the state of her effigies.
"One of Svanhildr's powerful abilities is to imbue golems. They are very effective at killing monsters." Lariss said.
"Before you ask, they have to be close to me. So I can't position them at nearby farms. I also don't put up wards around my place like I have at the nearby farms to purposely draw monsters here. Don't bother looking for any useful monster parts. The late comers snag their bodies to eat rather than trying to get past the golems." Svanhildr said.
When we arrived at the effigies I saw the ground was torn up and blood was splattered here and there. Indeed, I didn't see any monster body parts laying around. It was a rather good defense for the village. The wards on the other farms would push monsters towards here where they would encounter some strong defenses. Any monster strong enough to take out the effigies wouldn't be bothered by the wards, so it shouldn't be anything Svanhildr couldn't handle. The stronger ones would end up as quests for the Union.
"Alright, it's going to take most of the day to repair these, so let's get this over with." Svanhildr said.
Lariss pulled her into a hug. "Thank you my friend."
"Just know that it's okay to turn back at any time. And you." Svanhildr broke the hug to point at me. "Once it looks like you're going to die, just throw her over your shoulder and run. Just know if you come back without her, you're a dead man."
"I'll do my best." I said.
"Knee down facing the forest." Svanhildr said.
We did as she instructed. She then pulled out a bowl and burned some herbs in it. After that she added some more herbs and crushed them with a runed covered stone. Then she spit in the mixture and added a vial of water. With her middle finger she used the paste to trace symbols on our foreheads while muttering a chant that I couldn't understand.
"There used to be six great spirits in these woods. I don't know if they're dead, slumbering, or corrupted. But the last of their power will protect you for the next 13 days. Even before my protection runs out, don't believe everything you see or hear. The closer to the heart of the forest you get the worse it will be. Memory can become your reality so be careful." With that Svanhildr lit a bundle of herbs on fire and wafted the smoke on us. She circled us three times before stopping and placing a kiss on each of our foreheads. Lariss embraced her one last time before we set out into the woods.
Once we could no longer see the edge of the forest I thought it was past time for some answers. "Now that I've fully committed, maybe you could tell me what the real quest is?"
"I didn't lie to you, we're after certain objects in one of the villages. They just happen to be what was used in the ritual that went wrong. And we're going to either cleanse or destroy them." Lariss said.
"If numerous groups failed in the past, what makes you think we'll do any better?" I asked
"With every passing year the corruption gets weaker and weaker. Also most of the group didn't understand the dangers they would be facing. The reason I've been jumping from guild to guild over the past few years was so that I could get close to people who have been near the heart of the forest and survived. Knowledge will be our biggest asset." She said.
"It's still going to be risky. Just because you know a dragon can breathe fire doesn't mean you can get out of the way when it breathes." I said.
"If you're so unsure, why are you coming? You don't even know me." She asked.
"I wasn't lying when I told Svanhildr that fate throws me where it wants to. I have a destiny and I think you're going to help me fulfill it." I said.
"So I am a girl of your dreams." She teased.
"How about you? From what Raginhard told me, you're well liked within the Union. I'm sure you could have gathered a larger party." I said.
She shook her head. "One of the things I learned from those that survived the forest is that large parties can be a liability. Once the forest starts to affect your mind, people can turn on one another. Less people makes it easier for us to keep each other sane." She said.
"That still doesn't explain why me. You have to have more qualified friends in the Union." I said.
"I do but… My mother told me to bring only you."