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Hejira: Crystalline Hall

By Mantrid Brizon

Episode 17: Breadcrumbs

Back on the road, Kelly and Faye head north, keeping a swift but steady pace. Faye seems possessed by the desire to reunite with her sister. She is perpetually convinced that she is around every corner, and over every hill. They walk down a hill, staying on the well-traveled path, and come upon a patch of land that has been trampled flat; it had clearly been used recently as a campsite for a moderately large group. Faye looks over the post holes dug into the ground with growing excitement.

“They had to have come this way…” Faye thinks aloud.

“I hope that whoever was camping here was friendly, and didn’t hurt them.” Kelly comments.

“If they were human, then that is a guarantee.” Faye replies.

“Are you so sure about that?” Kelly asks.

“Exactly what do you mean?” Faye grumbles.

“I’m just saying, Kahlera didn’t try to kill us on the spot, but the humans did.” Kelly explains.

“Did you forget those three monstrosities?” Faye barks.

“All I’m saying is that there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the two. They are as likely to be attacked or treated fairly by human or Sahvorai.” Kelly poses.

“I doubt that.” Faye says through clenched teeth. “And you’re starting to sound like Gary. That’s not very wise…” She warns him.

Kelly looks at her with puzzled eyes, his brow furled as he turns his head. He doesn’t recognize her anymore. She stands and turns back to the road, quickly jogging north. She moves up the next hill as Kelly struggles to catch up, gasping as he stomps up the path behind his companion. As they reach the peak of the hill, a group is walking toward them in the distance. Faye stops and watches them for a moment. They walk ever closer, keeping their steady pace. The leader rides a large steed, giving them a polite wave; the half-dozen men approach apprehensively.

“Hello there!” The knight calls out.

“Greetings.” Kelly gasps.

“Where are you two heading?” The knight asks.

“We’re looking for two friends; we lost them at a mountain pass during a rock slide.” Faye begins.

“They were traveling with a Sahvorai woman, too. We were heading north, to find the Crystalline Hall.” Kelly says through labored breath.

“Newcomers, eh?” The knight chuckles.

“Most people give up on the Crystalline Hall after the first few days of walking. Too hard for ‘em…” Another soldier adds.

“Have you seen them?” Faye asks.

“No.” The knight says, while climbs down from his horse. “We haven’t seen anyone on this road. We’re actually looking for someone ourselves.”

“Oh?” Faye raises an eyebrow.

“A witch!” A third soldier comments.

“Burn the witch!” Another jests.

Kelly and Faye look to each other and then back at the knights.

“A witch, you say?” Kelly comments.

“Yes, a witch.” The knight replies.

“And how do you know that she is a witch?” Faye poses.

“If she weighs the same as a duck…” Kelly murmurs.

Faye jabs him in the ribs with her elbow.

“She came through a town called Blackwater and slaughtered half of the village with powerful aura talents. She started in a tavern and moved through the town heading north. She was rumored to have a slave boy with her, who also has talents. He spent the battle guarding his mistress.” The knight continues.

“Slave boy?” Faye laughs.

“Mistress?” Kelly scoffs.

Kelly’s heart drops. He tries to contain his nervousness.

“There’s quite the bounty on their heads.” The knight smiles.

“Well if you have a price on your head, you’re doing your job.” Faye says with a sigh.

Kelly’s heart sinks, and he takes a step back. He looks at the knight who blades his body, as though preparing himself.

“Excuse me?” The knight asks, narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t suppose I can collect my own bounty. Do I have to be dead or alive?” Faye snickers.

“Either…” The knight grunts, drawing his iron sword.

Faye holds out her right palm as she blades her own body. Her hand glows a vibrant orange as the soldiers draw their swords. Kelly steps back as the knight approaches them without fear. He turns to Kelly, quickly walking by Faye.

“There’s not much of a bounty on you.” The knight begins, pointing the tip of his blade at Kelly. “If you cooperate, I won’t kill you…” He offers.

“What about her?” Kelly asks, genuinely considering his options.

“She’s dead either way.” The knight replies.

“Oh...”

Kelly draws his bronze sword with his right hand and brings up his left arm. His aura shield quickly forms over his left forearm as his sling-blade covers the sword with a vibrant blue glow. The knight laughs as he lunges at Kelly. The knight’s sword glows a vibrant white, as he too charges a sling-blade. The other five soldiers all attack Faye who quickly sets them ablaze with her aura flamethrower. They writhe in agony, dropping their weapons and falling to the ground. Faye turns to Kelly and the knight as they lock blades. She aims her palm at the knight, who stands between her and Kelly.

“No!” Kelly yells. “I’ve got this one!”

Kelly shoves forward, knocking the knight off balance. He stumbles backward but quickly regains his composure.

“You’re a lot stronger than you look. And here I thought you were just fat!” The knight laughs.

The knight lunges again, as though he had not fought a swordsman in quite a long time. Kelly spins, knocking his sword away with his own blade, and slamming him in the shoulder with his shield, pushing the knight to the ground. Kelly steps up to the knight who quickly swings his blade, but Kelly blocks it with his shield. Kelly thrusts his arm out; the knight’s sword flies away from him, sliding across the ground. The white aura immediate dissipates as the sword tumbles away. Kelly plunges the blade into his chest.

“Too easy.” Kelly thinks aloud.

The blue aura easily slides through the knight’s iron armor. The knight groans, spewing blood from his mouth. Faye smiles as she watches Kelly pull the blade from the knight’s chest. The knight struggles to speak as Faye approaches. Blood oozes out of his mouth and nose as he coughs. He glares at his killer with fiery eyes, struggling to point a finger. His lips move as he croaks.

“I think the dead should shut up, unless there is something to say.” Faye comments.

She reaches out her palm and aims at the knight, preparing to roast him alive, but Kelly swiftly decapitates him. His head rolls away as his helmet flies off. Kelly steps back as his shield and sling-blade fade. He sighs and slowly slides his bronze sword into the frog on his belt. He hangs his head low, as his blonde ponytail flows over his shoulder. Faye approaches the corpse, searching it for valuables. She checks the other five corpses, collecting small quantities of food, water, and coinage, though much of what is left is burned beyond use, or recognition.

“I should probably start saving the fire for people who really piss me off. I’m destroying too much loot.” Faye thinks aloud.

She looks to the horse who sidesteps from her. She reaches out and takes the reigns.

“You don’t know how to ride.” Kelly comments, looking at the knight’s twitching corpse.

“You don’t either… How hard can it be?” She replies.

“Very.” Kelly retorts.

“Well, it’ll help us catch up to Naomi.” Faye continues.

“What about Gareth and Kahlera?” He asks.

“Huh? Oh, right. Them too...” Faye murmurs.

Kelly steps up to the horse and Faye places a foot in the reigns, quickly pulling herself up.

“I think I probably should’ve gone first.” Kelly comments.

With a frustrated sigh, Faye dismounts and Kelly takes her place. Reaching a hand out, he takes a hold of Faye’s wrist and pulls her up onto the back of the horse. He holds the reigns tightly, pulling to one side. The horse turns around. He can barely contain his own excitement, controlling the powerful steed. It slowly moves back, facing north along the road. He thinks back to video games, attempting to imitate the movements. He taps the heels of his boots against the haunches of the horse and shakes the reigns; the horse begins to move down the road. A few more taps and it begins to trot.

Kelly grins wide as he silently commands the beast. He quickly brings the horse to a gallop. Faye wraps her arms around Kelly’s waist, holding tightly as the horse dashes down the trail. They ride for an hour, alternating from a swift gait to a slow trot. Kelly tries not to push the horse too hard. Faye demands they keep moving, barking orders into his ear. They push the horse until it can’t go any further; they need to stop and rest. Though Faye wants to keep moving, disregarding the animal’s needs, Kelly holds the reigns; sitting behind him, she is forced to yield.

They stop as the daylight begins to fade, having already ridden nearly thirty miles. After resting for nearly an hour, Faye insists they keep moving. Nothing is going to stop her. They climb atop the steed and begin moving through the darkness, illuminated by their powerful LED flashlights. After a short while, the horse struggles with the second gallop. Faye smacks the horse on the rear, determined to keep moving, no matter what. It whinnies with every slap of her palm.

“Stop! It can’t keep this pace!” Kelly yells to her.

“Shut the fuck up and ride!” Faye screams.

The horse suddenly stops, neighing in frustration. It begins to rear up, narrowly throwing its riders. Faye jumps off as Kelly leans forward and pets the horse on the neck, trying to calm it down. He dismounts and holds the reigns, slowly walking the horse down the dark path.

“Kel.” Faye suddenly says.

He turns back to her, only to see her holding out her hands. He quickly releases the reigns, jumping aside as Faye blasts the horse with a powerful push. She crushes its ribcage and snaps its legs. It falls over, making horrible noises as it suffers. Unable to bear the sound of its agony, Kelly pulls out his pistol and fires a single round into its skull, ending its life in an instant. With a blank expression on her face, Faye pushes past Kelly as she keeps moving north up the road.

Kelly is terrified of Faye, who no longer seems to regard any life with value. He isn’t even sure if she was calling his name to warn him, or make him look at her before killing him. Faye walks a steady pace throughout the night. Though Kelly’s legs burn as though they were on fire, and his eyelids feel as though they were made of lead, he manages to keep up with her. They come upon a fork in the road that leads to the left and the right.

They take the right path on impulse, hiking down the road as it quickly narrows, winding through the forest. It opens to a valley that leads up a hill, which is lined with bizarre rotting corpses. Faye rushes up and examines the corpses. Many are burned with an aura flamethrower not dissimilar to her own, though many others have arrows sticking out of them, and wounds that look suspiciously like bullet holes. Further investigation reveals small quantities of .40 S&W shell casings from Gareth’s beloved pistol.

Faye rushes up the hill to the peak, only to find that it is a dead end. They look through the putrid corpses, noting that they are several days old, as well as that none of their friends are among them.

“They have to be alive! They just have to be!” Kelly says with excitement.

“We’re coming, Naomi. We’re right behind you.” Faye mutters to herself.

They quickly rush back down the hill, through the valley, and out of the forest. They return to the fork in the road, taking the left pass, with their energy boosted from their discovery.