Into the Hedge Ch 7

Knight of the Autumn Crown : Book 1

A gentle tapping of wood to stone reverberated down the canyon. Its meditative rhythm eased the rampant behavior of the wildling. Their red eyes peered from the trees down to the cloaked figure that strolled along the cliffside, caressing a large briar thorn within its bony fingers. Fearful, the wildlings were eerily silent, not a movement among them.

The rain drizzled down, tapping upon the heavy cloak of the gault wanderer. Unfazed by the change in atmosphere and weather. The cloaked wanderer stared down, over the edge, upon the ruined tower below, raising the thorn up, aiming it slowly back and forth, like some kind of compass. The motion stopped once the thorn aimed down upon the ruins of the tower.

Its skin twisted as the wanderer grinned on one side of its face. With a rise of its staff, the wildlings leaned out from the trees, their long, thin limbs tensed, staring at the wanderer in wait.

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Aes leaned in towards the floor, peeking through the worn stones and wooden beams. The three wolf-like gnolls stood on guard towards the open entrance, crude weapons in their robust, clawed hands, spotting an opening to squeeze through. Thick vines clung to the walls beyond the opening. Slipping her hand through, Aes tugged hard several times on the vines. They seemed secure. She slowly removed her pelt and extra attire.

Gloam was quiet as Aes slipped through the opening, feet first. Her injured shoulder made the descent more difficult, with her weakened grip, but the vine was thick enough for her to place her feet over it. She looked back several times to watch the knolls. They seemed more concerned with something in the forest.

One after the other, her feet eased upon the cold stone floor. Tugging the loose tunic back up to cover her shoulder, she crept low towards the smoky flame, staring with large eyes at the roasted bird, nearly 3 feet long, charred black, still drizzling with melted fat. She didn’t hesitate to grab the carving utensils and hack off pieces to eat. She winced at the hot, greasy meat burning her fingers but gulped it down shortly after. It was moist and fresh. She licked the juice from her fingers, preparing for the next piece.

A few times she looked beyond the spit to watch the knolls. A low growl from the corner stole her attention. It was a massive black-furred hound that bared its sharp teeth at her. It moved forward like a stalking tiger. Aes raised the cutting tool at the beast. It barely moved forward with a loud bark before the chained collar on its neck caught the beast mid-leap. It made far too much racket.

Aes didn’t even look past the spit to watch the knolls. Rushing back to climb the vines and slip back through the opening. The beast barked and jumped, the chain around its neck choking it with each charge. One of them approached the large animal. With a roar of his own, the gnoll struck the beast hard in the snout. The animal cowered, still watching Aes climb the vines.

She had one knee placed through. Her escape halted instantly as something seized her by the ankle with a crushing grip. Aes was yanked back out by the large wolf-man, leaving her held high in his grasp. With burning eyes, he stared at the human, who was maybe around half his size, holding her up by the scruff of her tunic. He called out to the others.

The three wasted no time. Lifting a grid from the floor, they tossed the young woman down into a reservoir drain, creating a loud splash as she fell upon her hands and knees within. The steady stream of icy water, flowing in from the rain, rose midway to her calves. Aes stood, glaring up at the mocking faces.

“Let me out!” She demanded, her petite hand grabbing the grid, trying to push up on it. All three grinned and snarled in response. One chewed on the leg of a large bird, mouth open, in front of her. Pieces of food fell from its open mouth. Her chipped nails dug into her whitening palm. With gritting teeth and tearful, glaring eyes, she roared up at them.

“STOP LAUGHING AT ME!!” Her scream reverberated off the stones of the ruins, echoing out into the darkness of the forest.

Aes hid from the sight of the knolls and their hyena laughter, satisfied with their sport. The water increased in flow as the storm came down harder. She sat upon a small stone elevation built into the structure, breathing deeply as she fumed with rage. Muttering curses and insults about the savage wolf-men. Shivering almost uncontrollably from the cold.

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A flash of lightning illuminated the still form of the cloaked wanderer, breaking through the night. Bringing down the staff upon the cliffside rock. The wildlings screeched, either from fear or excitement, fleeing from their haven in the tree, descending upon the canyon below.

One knoll turned his attention outward towards the trees. A feral sneer on his sour face, yellow eyes glaring into the shadows. He snorted as he saw the swarm of red eyes raining down upon the tower with ear-shattering sounds. Rising with his savage weapon, he let out a lion’s roar. Spittle and meat spewed from his maw. The other two joined him against the wildlings.

Within her prison, Aes heard Gloam speak through the shadows. “De’ah?”

“I’m h-here,” she huffed, struggling to stay alert. “Wait…” Aes noticed something. As the water flowed in, it didn’t rise, despite the flooding waters from the storm. “This is go-ing somewhere.” She braved the frigid waters to inspect the smooth stones. “It’s just big e...nough.” She hesitated, looking back up to the grind. She knew it may be her only way out.

“Tis a reservoir, I believe,” Gloam whispered through the shadows. The waters came up just below her knees. Aes reached into the aqueduct’s structure. “It will be difficult, Childe. Keep ya mind focused, no, not f'ah.”

“Yeah, okay, wait… How can you s-see me?” Aes asked, looking around.

“Ne’vah mind that now. Focus!” He ordered. Aes huffed, taking in several deep breaths to psych herself. Taking one last inhale before submerging her head under the waters.

The shock of the cold hit her hard, gradually impeding her mental focus. Aes reached out with both hands, one to feel the way. The other to pull herself, which took little effort from the water pushing her forward. Her fingers ran over the fine sandy stones. Her feet got lightly scratched from kneeling too close. The cold water gripped down on her shaking body, her muscles losing coordination as her movement became less controlled. She teetered on the edge of consciousness.

“Ya almost out de’ah.” Gloam whispered. “...De’ah? Aes?” There was no response. The cold waters flushed from the tower's stone drain. Aes, now a soft purple in hue with no responsive movement, along with it. “Aes!” Gloamed called out again. Still there was no response.

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Heavy rains drenched the three knolls, each fought as ruthlessly as they appeared, like savage barbarians, to ward off the howling beasts. What seemed like two dozen, at least, of these wildling apes bit, grabbed, clawed, pounded, and jumped all over the militiamen. Each of them swung mighty blades hard, cutting through several of the wildlings at a time, slamming them down, stomping, and crushing their little bodies.

More of the wildlings hailed from above, ripping chunks from the exposed flesh of the wolf-men, some retreating from injury or with the fallen back into the woods. One warrior had been targeted the most. He fell to his knee from the intensity of his wounds. Still he fought fiercely. With only a couple of the wildlings left to fight. He aimed his weapon at them definitely. The primal creatures grabbed the dead and even pieces of their destroyed bodies. Fleeing back into the trees,

Perched upon a crumbling stone atop the stone tower. The cloaked figure looked down upon the victorious yet wounded gnolls. One by one, they spotted the figure, its silhouette backing against the flashing skies. The three prepared themselves once more for battle, but as a crack of lightning boomed across the sky, the figure was gone.

With wide eyes and snarling faces, the largest of the three ordered a tactical retreat. The smaller two obeyed without question. They vanished into the forest, leaving many things behind.

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Eerie green flames danced atop pillars of tall black candles, their deathly radiant glow illuminating Aes’ unconscious body. She lay out, stretched over a stone table. Occult implements and tools surrounded her body—dark gemstones, bowls of flora, herbs, animal skulls, and a short blade. Looming over her was the cloaked, gaunt figure, studying her shoulder wound.

The bony fingers sifted through jars of powder and poultice. Applying strange ointments to her wounds and other parts of her body, flush life returned to her freckled, lily-white cheeks. Aes breathed deeply in her unconscious state.

Presenting a hooked bone needle, the cloaked figure pricked the young woman’s finger, soaking the ivory pin in fresh blood. With delicate and professional precision, ran the needle through the human sound in cross-stitch fashion. Its eldritch properties created a thread that knitted Aes’s flesh back together seamlessly. A final ointment was applied over the wound, a faint smell drying out the moisture.

The candles had lost about four to five inches from their wick. Aes gradually came into consciousness, springing up with a startled look. The ungodly glow of the green flames bounced off glass jars sitting on open cabinets and tables. A faint bluish-green mist leaked from the stones underneath, swayed as a shadow moved about from the corner of her vision. Aes snatched a black blade that rested beside her on the cold stone table.

She felt a gentle tug of her hair with something cold. Turning around with the blade raised to face...nothing, nothing that she could see.

Aes searched for a means of escape. There was none. No door or window, just a cocoon of mossy stones that reflected the green candle lights that occasionally dimmed from a darting shade. Aes spun in circles a few times.

“Where are you?” She whispered, her eyes darting from side to side. Something brushed against her head again. A mixture of scream and battle cry escaped her lips as she blindly swung the blade behind her, striking hard a rolled cloth sack suspended from the ceiling. It fell to the ground, the rope having been cut from the blade’s edge.

The room began to shift and warp, as if she was seeing double. Aes struggled to keep her balance. A shadowy form walked towards her quietly. Aes turned to face it, but it too was fading from her sight. Everything dimmed until Aes stood alone in the black void. She could see only her own body.

The soft sounds of cracking glass echoed in the vast abyss. Aes turned to see from where, with each movement, the cracking became louder and louder. She looked down, whence the noises were coming, to see her own reflection underneath her. She hoped to get away. The reflection shattered into tiny pieces as Aes fell into nothing.