Lady of the lake (incomplete)
There isn’t a single man in the entire realm that hasn’t heard stories about mysterious Raven Forest. It is a very dangerous place, imbued with mysterious magic and inhabited with fearsome creatures. People tell tales, about a lake, in the north, towards the swamps of Cowrel, somewhere within the Raven Forest. This lake, they say, is never frozen; and as the cruel winter flows down into the forest, and raving hunger seeks pray on the all-covering-snow, still then, the lake wont freeze. Some years ago, as Erlow entered in sporadic battles with Callaghan, it became necessary to cross from the outskirts of Raven Forest to Erlow in few days. Of course, no commander or army would dare enter Raven Forest, but once or twice, cunning Knights and fearless warriors, having no choice but to cut through the forest, traveled into it’s darkness and managed to reach the battle at Callaghan in one piece. So was the case of Lord Lorènce, a brave knight, right hand of king Leoric of Erlow. Lorènce had traveled into Raven Forest with five of his finest men, and returned with only two. The lake, he narrated, was filled with warm water, even though all life around it had perished before the merciless winds of winter. As Lord Lorènce arrived to it, one of his men was wounded, for they were attacked by a hunger-driven pack of wolves a day before. They immediately washed the man’s wounds in the water of the lake. Realizing the water was so oddly warm, they doubted about using it, but soon saw no use in not taking advantage of any magic at work in the lake. They decided to stay over night at the shore. The next morning, three of his men were missing. Lorènce gave orders to leave at once. Within a few hours, they were all ready to depart. Suddenly, the lake’s waters bubbled and revolved. From the center of the lake, slowly emerged a young beautiful woman, with skin white as the snow and hair black as the feathers of a crow, nude under the biting cold air, staring at the warriors with two deep yellow eyes. ‘You wouldn’t want to leave your warriors behind,’ said the lady with a fierce smile as three dead bodies emerged from the waters of the lake; they had drowned. Lorènce’s best warrior was about to draw his sword, but his master stopped him, ‘How did you manage to drown tree of my best men, lady of the lake?’ Lorènce asked. ‘They fell in love with me, captain, you know how love is, you don’t know what you’re doing anymore,’ she replied with the same malicious tone in her voice. ‘What is your name, lady of the lake?’ he then inquired. But the lady didn’t answer; she just slowly sunk amidst the warm waters of the lake. Lorènce took his dead men and departed arriving to the battle in Callaghan three days later. The next day, the army of Erlow buried Lord Lorènce. He had fought terribly and was lethally wounded by an enemy arrow. The men that slept with him the night he arrived say he wouldn’t stop talking about the lady of the lake, about her overwhelming beauty; he was ready to return to the lake as soon as the battle with Callaghan was over. Too bad. The lake was named after him, and the lady was never seen again, but neither was the lake, no one has entered so deep into the forest ever since.
I looked at Marius with astonished eyes. ‘Is this story true Marius?’ I asked. ‘How would I know? I’m telling you what people is talking about, now that king Feradeer has taken the throne of Callaghan and we enter in battle with them again, they intend to warn travelers and soldiers from the dangers that await within Raven Forest,’ he replied and gave his beer a sip. I kept silent. The story of this lady of lake Lorènce intrigued me deeply; of course it wasn’t the first time I heard about lake Lorènce or the lady of the lake, but never with such detail. I had heard as well that all other warriors who returned alive from the forest with Lorènce didn’t survive the upcoming battles with Callaghan, they were all top class warriors and they all died because of sloppy stupidities. Who was this lady of the lake and what evil magic did she work on all who saw her? Or was it the water of the lake? ‘I want to see this lady of lake Lorènce, Marius!’ I said. Marius looked at me estranged ‘Are you insane Victor? What I just told you was no fairy tale, it was a serious warning, nobody knows what this witch does to the men that dare come close to the lake! Besides, it would be quite an accomplishment if you got that far into the forest, there are thousands of other mysterious beings that could slice you into an unrecognizable corpse when you least expect it.’ I understood Marius preoccupation; I was no exceptional warrior, even though I was commander of a little squad of loyal men. Truth was; I wouldn’t venture with my warriors or alone into the dark alleys of Raven Forest... unless of course we received orders to move across it. ‘And just in case you are thinking of getting orders to move across Raven Forest,’ added Marius suddenly, ‘you may forget about it, the battle in Callaghan won’t last another week!’ He could be right, but I had a feeling things were to take a different course. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about the lady of the lake anymore.
As days went by, we kept on approaching Raven Forest, the plan was to reach the outskirts and then start going around it, there was no faster way to get from Erlow to Callaghan, except of course, going through the lower edge of the forest instead of around it. I managed to forget a bit about the tale of the lady; people talked about many other dark beings lurking the inner roads of Raven Forest, rest assured, the most worrying stories were about creatures living on the edge of the forest, to where we would arrive in a few more days. As my mind grew clear of the thoughts of lake Lorènce, I focused on the battle strategies we would make use of in the days to come. It took the whole army two weeks to surround the edge of Raven Forest and arrive to Callaghan. We were all looking forward to engage battle as soon as possible.
A day before reaching the edge of the forest, something unexpected happened. A scout arrived precisely from within the forest, having made his horse run as fast as possible for several days. The poor beast died when reaching the encampment. Soon, news spread among the troops; Callaghan had asked for help to some other kingdom in the south, the reply was positive and came along with reinforcements, lots of them, we had lost two consecutive battles at the border of the main city of Callaghan, our people needed troops as soon as possible, not to retake battle but to perform a better organized retreat. Of course, for troops to arrive on time, they would have to cross Raven Forest. The most likely candidates grew terribly uneasy, even entering the forest in large groups seemed most eerie and dangerous, crazy. Different leaders started to evade the responsibility; any candidates were well received to be part of the army that would cross the forest and save our men in Callaghan. I requested to go, but none of my men accepted to come along, I made no objection, they were quickly transferred to another squad and I was incorporated in the lines of the severely insane soldiers that would travel into the forest. There were some sixty of us, sixty out of an army of three thousand warriors. We left the encampment that very evening. Once again, my mind was immersed in thoughts of the lady of the lake.
Three days of travel had gone by, we had entered the forest the day after we left the encampment. We would never stop, short breaks to recover some strength were allowed, but no sleep, we would sleep before battle at Callaghan. So far, we had encountered some wolves and one or two bears along our journey, but nothing that surpassed our defensive capabilities. Strange things happened around us all the time, we were even close to getting used to it: strange glows in the night, trees moving abnormally, stones changing shape, voices that didn’t belong to any of us. So far we had seen and heard all kinds of odd things, but not encountered any bizarre being or ran into any unnatural creature. Everybody was nervous during day and night, but we kept very tight together and walked on, we would arrive to Callaghan in another three days more or less. But that night everything changed course. A few hours after dusk, we started hearing howls and trees around us started to move like touched by a silent draft. Suddenly, from the darkness, hundreds of ravenous wolves, almost the size of a pony, raced against us. We defended ourselves in disorder. They kept a tight circle around us, wherever a wolf was slain, another one appeared, such that there was a flawless round wall attacking us savagely with teeth sharp as daggers and clawed paws. We fought for our lives on the edge of despair, the howls surrounding us invaded our souls with unspeakable terror, I could smell the blood of my companions and of the wolves, soon it ran under our feet in little streams and gathered in puddles. We fought for several hours that felt like days, constantly falling back and stepping back into a smaller circle, being careful not to trip with stones behind us or getting trapped between a tree and an enemy. In the center stood the archers and a man holding the torch that illuminated the battle. But as much as we stepped back, the number of wolves around us seemed smaller too, we could tell by the howls and groans. Three hours after the attack began, the wolves started to flee.
Our army was destroyed; the men that survived bled profusely, bit and scratched. The rest was dead or bleeding to death on the stained ground. As the archers ran out of arrows, some continued fighting with a sword and died, others helped us now pick up our wounded men. I counted sixteen healthy men and some nine wounded, our army in Callaghan was now left alone, they would have to resist until the rest of our forces arrived, but apparently, that was now the least of our concerns: we had to leave Raven Forest alive. ‘What way commander?’ said a warrior. He was talking to me, it was then that I realized all soldiers with a higher rank than mine had died; I was now the official leader of the people left alive. The fastest way out was either towards Callaghan or back on our own steps. However towards Callaghan there was still a long unknown way to go, while going back we’d have the safety of the known road ahead us. As I took my decision, the most disturbing of all things happened. I realized the road we had traveled to reach our actual position had disappeared. Trees had moved too much, there was no way to tell how we got there, even the terrain seemed to present different elevation. ‘The road is gone!’ yelled a wounded archer, trying hard not to be overran by panic. The other men started looking around. ‘It will still be dark for another few hours, we better don’t move from our position,’ said a warrior who had fought bravely. ‘This man needs to get his wounds bandaged,’ yelled another one from behind some trees, others claimed to be in the same situation. But we were deep inside Raven Forest, we couldn’t move without at least having daylight shinning ahead us. ‘We’re staying here,’ I said, ‘and let’s hope this men make it until dawn.’ Everybody agreed; a fire was started with dry wood we found near us, nobody would venture too far into the darkness; we set up a little tent to protect our wounded men from the cold air of the night. A constant night watch was now imperative, shifts were established, three men were to guard us each hour of the night. We all prepared to rest.
A hand tapped my shoulder. I woke up. ‘Sir, it’s three hours for dawn, your shift begins,’ said a tall bearded man. I nodded. ‘What’s my place?’ I asked, not yet fully awake. ‘The northern pine sir, there is a torch there.’ I looked towards the north of the encampment. There was a big pine tree and a torch hanging on the air at its feet. ‘Understood.’ I replied, but the bearded man was lying on the floor, asleep. I walked up to the pine tree and turned around, looking for the other two sentinels. Seeing me, one waved his torch above his head; the other one gazed into the night nervously. I took a look into the darkness around us, it was an inscrutable lake of obscurity, that looked back at me from time to time with anonymous bright eyes. Night creatures ran around the encampment like a river. They flowed and whispered to one another. But I paid little attention, my greatest concern were the wolves. I wondered if we would see them again before leaving Raven Forest, if that was ever going to happen. Suddenly, a light poured out of the darkness, far in the north. I could see it well; it was a torch, walking behind the trees. The yellow glimmer approached in an errant pattern. But soon I distinguished what held the light: It was a little creature, more like a dwarf than anything else. It carried a lit stick on top of his most strange hat. The dwarf walked towards me smiling, but not really looking at me but to the encampment. I took my bow and readied an arrow, then walked a few steps to encounter the creature. ‘Ho, little dwarf,’ I said, ‘I can’t let you go beyond this point, for there lies my encampment.’ He looked at me with two black eyes and rising two thick red eyebrows. Without losing the wide smile in his face, the dwarf talked to me: ‘Warrior, wounds in your people I see, has it so occurred that some horrible lineage caught your steels withdrawn?’ I mistrusted the dwarf greatly, they are known to be most deceiving creatures, never able to be serious or concentrate. The dwarf before me seemed a good example of such; he took one glimpse at my arrow and then gave his attention again to the encampment. ‘We were attacked by wolves, dwarf,’ I explained, ‘they sprang out of the night and laid siege upon our lines, but we defeated the pack, not without losing many valuable men though.’ ‘They are not wolves, those animals you encountered,’ said the dwarf, now looking into my eyes; ‘they are called Bantra dogs, conjurations of sorceress Bantra, a lady dangerous at most. Wounded her creatures you have, you must leave, or there will be not one of you left to step out of the forest.’ I gazed at the little dwarf speechless. ‘We can’t move from here,’ I said at last, ‘we have lost our way, the trees moved and erased out tracks. The night is dark, so we preferred to stay, if we leave, we may just as well die...’ The dwarf turned around and started to walk away. ‘No, wait,’ I said, ‘dwarf, please don’t leave, can’t you help me? Help me save my army men, I beg you!’ But then, the light on the dwarves hat went out. The darkness swallowed him. I quickly ran to get my own torch and back to the place where I lost him; there was no trace of the creature. I cursed my luck. My men were in no conditions of leaving the encampment until dawn, still an hour away, and there was nowhere to go anyhow without daylight. There was no way to be sure if the creatures the dwarf described would strike again before the sun came up, or after, while we made our way out of Raven Forest. In any case, their renewed strength and maybe even, increased number, would crush our weak escape in minutes. Or on the other hand, what if a completely different creature attacked us, a different conjuration of this sorceress the dwarf talked about. Desperation now invaded my heart bitterly. I returned to my position. Trying to move the army was useless, they needed to rest, so I proceeded with my watch and hoped there would be time enough for dawn to send us on our way home.
Time passed by slowly, but at the end, sunshine greeted me from behind the heels in the far east. I wasn’t relieved. We could now start our journey out of the forest, but a great danger awaited. ‘Flee,’ said a voice from behind some low bushes. I drew my sword. ‘Who speaks to me?’ I shouted. The little dwarf I had seen just an hour ago came out from the underbrush. ‘While you still can, run away,’ he said, with no trace of his anterior permanent smile. ‘What are you asking me?’ I replied offended. ‘Coming they are, foolish warrior! You run as fast as your legs allow you to or you will die today!’ He replied with an angry tone of voice. ‘This men trust me, how can you ask me to leave them here to be slain?’ I asked with all sadness pressed against my heart. ‘No hope they have, only one or two of you will escape this attack, run!’ The dwarf yelled. I looked back, the encampment started to come in motion. I withdrew my sword. I was totally confused, but time was of vital importance. I ran. I ran into the trees, over the bushes, as fast as I could, tripping and rolling and running again; down a hill into a valley and then up another hill. I stopped for a second to look back and recover my breath. What I saw filled my chest with unspeakable sorrow and my eyes with tears. Something huge in size removed the trees like a fierce wind, straight into the encampment. It stroke with sharp agitation. Then only calm. I fell on my knees, exhausted and devastated. ‘All those men...’ I sobbed. ‘Why did you come in here?’ a voice was heard. The fright made me trip and fall. I tried foolishly to draw my sword but then recovered my temper and waited a little, then replied whipping my tears off: There is a war... in Callaghan, our men were losing the battle, we were meant to assist them in a withdrawal. ‘Callaghan... a second war this is, I remember a first one made other warriors come into Ràivehn Forest,’ said the dwarf, coming out from behind a tall cedar. ‘You...’ I said panting, ‘I am thirsty dwarf, is there...’ ‘A streamlet there is, that runs down into a little lake at the other side of this hill,’ said the dwarf pointing north ‘Go and your strength renew,’ I stood up, thanked him and walked on without looking back; the dwarf smiled again.
The hill was a bit higher than I expected, and my thirst grew with the walk; I couldn’t drive away the thoughts about my betrayal, my cowardice. I reached the top and started going down. And then I saw it, a lake with crystal clear water. I craved madly for a sip at least. I ran down, trying hard not to mistake a step. I could almost hear the voices of my men, screaming before their imminent, brutal death. Then, a different thought hit me all of a sudden, ‘Lake Lorènce!’ I yelled, then stumbled and rolled a few meters. Once recovered, I took another look at the lake. Streams of water vapor raised into the air from its surface; the lake’s water was warm. ‘Are you not thirsty warrior?’ the dwarf’s voice was heard again. I looked around me violently trying to find the little creature. ‘You sent me into my own death dwarf!’ I yelled, unable to spot him. He was then before me. ‘If it’s the lady of the lake you are talking about,’ he said with his usual wide smile, ‘she inhabits the lake no longer.’ I went silent. ‘Come then,’ he said and turned around. I stood up and followed him. We kept on going down the hill until reaching the shore of the lake. I could feel the warm steam going up from the surface of the water, creating a dense atmosphere. The dwarf didn’t stop and started walking into the lake. I kneeled and saw my face reflected on its mirror-like surface. I approached, pulled some of the water into my mouth with both my hands and drank. ‘Shivara ma kael moth’ said the dwarf. ‘Excuse me?’ I replied, looking up. The dwarf wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at the center of the lake. The waters removed, and something started coming out. It was the black haired head of a woman. As she kept on emerging, I saw her eyes, which gazed back at me, yellow and deep. Her skin was white like the cotton and her lips blood red. She was beautiful. She stared at me as her body met the surface; she had long hair, a slender neck and two round and sensual breasts. Her belly button bore a black marble and her legs were long and her skin silky. ‘Ni karhat maske’ she said with a soft voice. The dwarf turned around and walked out of the water. ‘You said she didn’t...’ I muttered, but didn’t finish, my full attention was set on the woman displayed so slanderously before me and my words had troubles leaving my mouth. The dwarf paid no attention to them and disappeared behind me. Then, she approached, floating on the surface of the water like a swan. A jasmine scent met my nose, it was fully enwrapping, as was the beauty of the young woman.
Once before me, she stopped. She kept gazing into my eyes with her yellow, bottomless, cat-like eyes. Then, her hand, took my face by the sides, her touch was silk-like; she leaned over a little, nearing her face to mine, looking now at my lips, until her lips and mine met. She opened her mouth slightly and her tongue glided through with softness. Then a stinging sensation came. I started tasting blood; all enchantment dissipated at once, I pushed her back, feeling blood run from my tongue into my throat. I groaned confused, my mind was losing clarity. It blacked out.
I tried to open my eyes, but the sun hurt them. I tried to cover with my hand but as I lifted it on my face, it dropped water on me. I turned my head and looked around; I was lying on the lake, floating on the surface, like a tree leave. Then a weight pressed my hip and chest; as I turned back, two yellow eyes met me again. She was laying naked on me, with her elbows on the joint of my arms and shoulders, her hands holding her face, her breasts against my chest and her legs at the sides of my hip, her feet sunk in the water that I now felt warm. She stared at me with a frolicsome smile. ‘Who are you?’ I asked intrigued. She smiled, then moved her hands to my chest and lifted herself. Her firm breasts arose between her arms. ‘I have a quest prepared for you, knight,’ she said, with a voice that sounded like the whisper of the wind between the trees of autumn. But her charms were not as effective on my mind anymore, a powerful prod still made my tongue ache. ‘What quest should that be, lady of the lake?’ I replied stern. ‘Well…’ she answered, ‘it is a rather complicated story. There is a witch in this forest, which used to be free of demonic presences, until she arrived. She sprouted form some dark pit-hole and is now causing chaos among the creatures of Ràivehn Forest. The dwarves preferred not to oppose her directly, but they will have to eventually. She intends to put every living creature in this forest under her control, and whoever doesn’t join her becomes a rotten carcass. My dilemma is that, I feed on the creatures of the forest, but those that come under her control become poisonous to my tongue, if she controls the forest, I will perish.’ ‘Uhm…’ I interrupted uneasy, ‘but, aren’t you a witch too?’ She smiled delighted and maliciously. ‘Yes I am little human, but she has cast a curse on me, which I am unable to lift. You see, I can’t leave this lake; my powers diminish as I do. However, in order to defeat her, I left the lake for too long, so her powers eventually surpassed mine. Now she pretends me to starve, for I can’t fight her anymore. Within a few months, I will have nothing to eat anymore… except humans, which are the only outlanders.’ My body became tense. ‘How… how can I help you?’ I said nervous. ‘Well, the curse states that, if the witch speaks out my name to a human being, my lake will freeze, which will mean my death. So I have turned you into a munrok.’ ‘Excuse me?’ I said disturbed. ‘You no longer feed on normal food. It is now vital for your existence that you drink blood; only raw blood will quench your thirst. The blood of anything you can hunt will do, otherwise, you will starve.’ ‘That is demonic!’ I yelled. ‘Only I can give you back your normal nature,’ she continued, ‘yet again, if I die, you stay as you are now.’ ‘No,’ I yelled, ‘I refuse to help you prevail, witch…’ She smiled. A burning sensation started pouring from my heart, it was an indescribable desire and devotion. ‘I… I love you…’ I muttered. She laughed, ‘that’s right little knight; you ache for a kiss, a caress, to hold me in your arms and make love to me until your breath fails to keep you alive. I’d prefer to keep your head working properly, but if you leave me no options, I can always force you to do my will.’ I tried to lift myself, but the water posed no support to my arms, which sank helplessly. ‘No knight, first you will listen carefully. The witch I talk you about is the responsible for the murder of your army-men,’ their faces came back to my mind as I heard her soft voice speak, ‘yet, defeating her will be no easy task. She is guarded by her dogs, which know no fear, and her Bazma, an enormous and ugly beast that could eat your most tasteful half in a glimpse. Both you may have to defeat, before ever thinking of laying a finger on the sorceress. But once the task of these creatures has been overcome, the witch should be a relieving situation, she holds no special strength or speed, and it would take her at least a day to cast any helpful spell or curse to stop you. Still, she is a deceiving individual, don’t underestimate her abilities.’ I said nothing for a short while, pondering my situation. But then, wrath started running freely through my veins as I though of my deceased comrades. ‘I’ll do it…’I said, ‘by the gods, I will slay that monster!’ Suddenly, the water held me no longer. I started sinking heavily. Reacting, I swam out of the lake and, still confused and panting, turned around; the lady of the lake was nowhere to be seen anymore. But I knew my quest was now clear and waiting impatiently.
Off I went, into the woods, trying to clear the fog in my ideas. I had a sword at my disposition, a regular armor and respectable combat skills, but the foe I was to oppose now was not even going to be intimidated by such details. Somehow, I needed to increase the efficiency of my attack. Traps could yield my some advantage against a large group of attacking parties, but it would take me a whole week to prepare enough traps to even the odds of my situation. I was not sure how much it would take the dogs or the sorceress to discover I had survived the attack of the monstrous creature, furthermore, I still needed a right emplacement to make the traps efficient, some sort of corridor or passage in the woods. But these still moved constantly, if I set any trap, there was the ever-present danger of any other creature falling in it by accident, reducing or even neutralizing the whole system. I then realized that I was now moving around the forest as if it was a normal wood. The mysterious movement and noise around me had become normal and even kept me relaxed, for it was familiar activity in the surroundings.
I looked at Marius with astonished eyes. ‘Is this story true Marius?’ I asked. ‘How would I know? I’m telling you what people is talking about, now that king Feradeer has taken the throne of Callaghan and we enter in battle with them again, they intend to warn travelers and soldiers from the dangers that await within Raven Forest,’ he replied and gave his beer a sip. I kept silent. The story of this lady of lake Lorènce intrigued me deeply; of course it wasn’t the first time I heard about lake Lorènce or the lady of the lake, but never with such detail. I had heard as well that all other warriors who returned alive from the forest with Lorènce didn’t survive the upcoming battles with Callaghan, they were all top class warriors and they all died because of sloppy stupidities. Who was this lady of the lake and what evil magic did she work on all who saw her? Or was it the water of the lake? ‘I want to see this lady of lake Lorènce, Marius!’ I said. Marius looked at me estranged ‘Are you insane Victor? What I just told you was no fairy tale, it was a serious warning, nobody knows what this witch does to the men that dare come close to the lake! Besides, it would be quite an accomplishment if you got that far into the forest, there are thousands of other mysterious beings that could slice you into an unrecognizable corpse when you least expect it.’ I understood Marius preoccupation; I was no exceptional warrior, even though I was commander of a little squad of loyal men. Truth was; I wouldn’t venture with my warriors or alone into the dark alleys of Raven Forest... unless of course we received orders to move across it. ‘And just in case you are thinking of getting orders to move across Raven Forest,’ added Marius suddenly, ‘you may forget about it, the battle in Callaghan won’t last another week!’ He could be right, but I had a feeling things were to take a different course. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about the lady of the lake anymore.
As days went by, we kept on approaching Raven Forest, the plan was to reach the outskirts and then start going around it, there was no faster way to get from Erlow to Callaghan, except of course, going through the lower edge of the forest instead of around it. I managed to forget a bit about the tale of the lady; people talked about many other dark beings lurking the inner roads of Raven Forest, rest assured, the most worrying stories were about creatures living on the edge of the forest, to where we would arrive in a few more days. As my mind grew clear of the thoughts of lake Lorènce, I focused on the battle strategies we would make use of in the days to come. It took the whole army two weeks to surround the edge of Raven Forest and arrive to Callaghan. We were all looking forward to engage battle as soon as possible.
A day before reaching the edge of the forest, something unexpected happened. A scout arrived precisely from within the forest, having made his horse run as fast as possible for several days. The poor beast died when reaching the encampment. Soon, news spread among the troops; Callaghan had asked for help to some other kingdom in the south, the reply was positive and came along with reinforcements, lots of them, we had lost two consecutive battles at the border of the main city of Callaghan, our people needed troops as soon as possible, not to retake battle but to perform a better organized retreat. Of course, for troops to arrive on time, they would have to cross Raven Forest. The most likely candidates grew terribly uneasy, even entering the forest in large groups seemed most eerie and dangerous, crazy. Different leaders started to evade the responsibility; any candidates were well received to be part of the army that would cross the forest and save our men in Callaghan. I requested to go, but none of my men accepted to come along, I made no objection, they were quickly transferred to another squad and I was incorporated in the lines of the severely insane soldiers that would travel into the forest. There were some sixty of us, sixty out of an army of three thousand warriors. We left the encampment that very evening. Once again, my mind was immersed in thoughts of the lady of the lake.
Three days of travel had gone by, we had entered the forest the day after we left the encampment. We would never stop, short breaks to recover some strength were allowed, but no sleep, we would sleep before battle at Callaghan. So far, we had encountered some wolves and one or two bears along our journey, but nothing that surpassed our defensive capabilities. Strange things happened around us all the time, we were even close to getting used to it: strange glows in the night, trees moving abnormally, stones changing shape, voices that didn’t belong to any of us. So far we had seen and heard all kinds of odd things, but not encountered any bizarre being or ran into any unnatural creature. Everybody was nervous during day and night, but we kept very tight together and walked on, we would arrive to Callaghan in another three days more or less. But that night everything changed course. A few hours after dusk, we started hearing howls and trees around us started to move like touched by a silent draft. Suddenly, from the darkness, hundreds of ravenous wolves, almost the size of a pony, raced against us. We defended ourselves in disorder. They kept a tight circle around us, wherever a wolf was slain, another one appeared, such that there was a flawless round wall attacking us savagely with teeth sharp as daggers and clawed paws. We fought for our lives on the edge of despair, the howls surrounding us invaded our souls with unspeakable terror, I could smell the blood of my companions and of the wolves, soon it ran under our feet in little streams and gathered in puddles. We fought for several hours that felt like days, constantly falling back and stepping back into a smaller circle, being careful not to trip with stones behind us or getting trapped between a tree and an enemy. In the center stood the archers and a man holding the torch that illuminated the battle. But as much as we stepped back, the number of wolves around us seemed smaller too, we could tell by the howls and groans. Three hours after the attack began, the wolves started to flee.
Our army was destroyed; the men that survived bled profusely, bit and scratched. The rest was dead or bleeding to death on the stained ground. As the archers ran out of arrows, some continued fighting with a sword and died, others helped us now pick up our wounded men. I counted sixteen healthy men and some nine wounded, our army in Callaghan was now left alone, they would have to resist until the rest of our forces arrived, but apparently, that was now the least of our concerns: we had to leave Raven Forest alive. ‘What way commander?’ said a warrior. He was talking to me, it was then that I realized all soldiers with a higher rank than mine had died; I was now the official leader of the people left alive. The fastest way out was either towards Callaghan or back on our own steps. However towards Callaghan there was still a long unknown way to go, while going back we’d have the safety of the known road ahead us. As I took my decision, the most disturbing of all things happened. I realized the road we had traveled to reach our actual position had disappeared. Trees had moved too much, there was no way to tell how we got there, even the terrain seemed to present different elevation. ‘The road is gone!’ yelled a wounded archer, trying hard not to be overran by panic. The other men started looking around. ‘It will still be dark for another few hours, we better don’t move from our position,’ said a warrior who had fought bravely. ‘This man needs to get his wounds bandaged,’ yelled another one from behind some trees, others claimed to be in the same situation. But we were deep inside Raven Forest, we couldn’t move without at least having daylight shinning ahead us. ‘We’re staying here,’ I said, ‘and let’s hope this men make it until dawn.’ Everybody agreed; a fire was started with dry wood we found near us, nobody would venture too far into the darkness; we set up a little tent to protect our wounded men from the cold air of the night. A constant night watch was now imperative, shifts were established, three men were to guard us each hour of the night. We all prepared to rest.
A hand tapped my shoulder. I woke up. ‘Sir, it’s three hours for dawn, your shift begins,’ said a tall bearded man. I nodded. ‘What’s my place?’ I asked, not yet fully awake. ‘The northern pine sir, there is a torch there.’ I looked towards the north of the encampment. There was a big pine tree and a torch hanging on the air at its feet. ‘Understood.’ I replied, but the bearded man was lying on the floor, asleep. I walked up to the pine tree and turned around, looking for the other two sentinels. Seeing me, one waved his torch above his head; the other one gazed into the night nervously. I took a look into the darkness around us, it was an inscrutable lake of obscurity, that looked back at me from time to time with anonymous bright eyes. Night creatures ran around the encampment like a river. They flowed and whispered to one another. But I paid little attention, my greatest concern were the wolves. I wondered if we would see them again before leaving Raven Forest, if that was ever going to happen. Suddenly, a light poured out of the darkness, far in the north. I could see it well; it was a torch, walking behind the trees. The yellow glimmer approached in an errant pattern. But soon I distinguished what held the light: It was a little creature, more like a dwarf than anything else. It carried a lit stick on top of his most strange hat. The dwarf walked towards me smiling, but not really looking at me but to the encampment. I took my bow and readied an arrow, then walked a few steps to encounter the creature. ‘Ho, little dwarf,’ I said, ‘I can’t let you go beyond this point, for there lies my encampment.’ He looked at me with two black eyes and rising two thick red eyebrows. Without losing the wide smile in his face, the dwarf talked to me: ‘Warrior, wounds in your people I see, has it so occurred that some horrible lineage caught your steels withdrawn?’ I mistrusted the dwarf greatly, they are known to be most deceiving creatures, never able to be serious or concentrate. The dwarf before me seemed a good example of such; he took one glimpse at my arrow and then gave his attention again to the encampment. ‘We were attacked by wolves, dwarf,’ I explained, ‘they sprang out of the night and laid siege upon our lines, but we defeated the pack, not without losing many valuable men though.’ ‘They are not wolves, those animals you encountered,’ said the dwarf, now looking into my eyes; ‘they are called Bantra dogs, conjurations of sorceress Bantra, a lady dangerous at most. Wounded her creatures you have, you must leave, or there will be not one of you left to step out of the forest.’ I gazed at the little dwarf speechless. ‘We can’t move from here,’ I said at last, ‘we have lost our way, the trees moved and erased out tracks. The night is dark, so we preferred to stay, if we leave, we may just as well die...’ The dwarf turned around and started to walk away. ‘No, wait,’ I said, ‘dwarf, please don’t leave, can’t you help me? Help me save my army men, I beg you!’ But then, the light on the dwarves hat went out. The darkness swallowed him. I quickly ran to get my own torch and back to the place where I lost him; there was no trace of the creature. I cursed my luck. My men were in no conditions of leaving the encampment until dawn, still an hour away, and there was nowhere to go anyhow without daylight. There was no way to be sure if the creatures the dwarf described would strike again before the sun came up, or after, while we made our way out of Raven Forest. In any case, their renewed strength and maybe even, increased number, would crush our weak escape in minutes. Or on the other hand, what if a completely different creature attacked us, a different conjuration of this sorceress the dwarf talked about. Desperation now invaded my heart bitterly. I returned to my position. Trying to move the army was useless, they needed to rest, so I proceeded with my watch and hoped there would be time enough for dawn to send us on our way home.
Time passed by slowly, but at the end, sunshine greeted me from behind the heels in the far east. I wasn’t relieved. We could now start our journey out of the forest, but a great danger awaited. ‘Flee,’ said a voice from behind some low bushes. I drew my sword. ‘Who speaks to me?’ I shouted. The little dwarf I had seen just an hour ago came out from the underbrush. ‘While you still can, run away,’ he said, with no trace of his anterior permanent smile. ‘What are you asking me?’ I replied offended. ‘Coming they are, foolish warrior! You run as fast as your legs allow you to or you will die today!’ He replied with an angry tone of voice. ‘This men trust me, how can you ask me to leave them here to be slain?’ I asked with all sadness pressed against my heart. ‘No hope they have, only one or two of you will escape this attack, run!’ The dwarf yelled. I looked back, the encampment started to come in motion. I withdrew my sword. I was totally confused, but time was of vital importance. I ran. I ran into the trees, over the bushes, as fast as I could, tripping and rolling and running again; down a hill into a valley and then up another hill. I stopped for a second to look back and recover my breath. What I saw filled my chest with unspeakable sorrow and my eyes with tears. Something huge in size removed the trees like a fierce wind, straight into the encampment. It stroke with sharp agitation. Then only calm. I fell on my knees, exhausted and devastated. ‘All those men...’ I sobbed. ‘Why did you come in here?’ a voice was heard. The fright made me trip and fall. I tried foolishly to draw my sword but then recovered my temper and waited a little, then replied whipping my tears off: There is a war... in Callaghan, our men were losing the battle, we were meant to assist them in a withdrawal. ‘Callaghan... a second war this is, I remember a first one made other warriors come into Ràivehn Forest,’ said the dwarf, coming out from behind a tall cedar. ‘You...’ I said panting, ‘I am thirsty dwarf, is there...’ ‘A streamlet there is, that runs down into a little lake at the other side of this hill,’ said the dwarf pointing north ‘Go and your strength renew,’ I stood up, thanked him and walked on without looking back; the dwarf smiled again.
The hill was a bit higher than I expected, and my thirst grew with the walk; I couldn’t drive away the thoughts about my betrayal, my cowardice. I reached the top and started going down. And then I saw it, a lake with crystal clear water. I craved madly for a sip at least. I ran down, trying hard not to mistake a step. I could almost hear the voices of my men, screaming before their imminent, brutal death. Then, a different thought hit me all of a sudden, ‘Lake Lorènce!’ I yelled, then stumbled and rolled a few meters. Once recovered, I took another look at the lake. Streams of water vapor raised into the air from its surface; the lake’s water was warm. ‘Are you not thirsty warrior?’ the dwarf’s voice was heard again. I looked around me violently trying to find the little creature. ‘You sent me into my own death dwarf!’ I yelled, unable to spot him. He was then before me. ‘If it’s the lady of the lake you are talking about,’ he said with his usual wide smile, ‘she inhabits the lake no longer.’ I went silent. ‘Come then,’ he said and turned around. I stood up and followed him. We kept on going down the hill until reaching the shore of the lake. I could feel the warm steam going up from the surface of the water, creating a dense atmosphere. The dwarf didn’t stop and started walking into the lake. I kneeled and saw my face reflected on its mirror-like surface. I approached, pulled some of the water into my mouth with both my hands and drank. ‘Shivara ma kael moth’ said the dwarf. ‘Excuse me?’ I replied, looking up. The dwarf wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at the center of the lake. The waters removed, and something started coming out. It was the black haired head of a woman. As she kept on emerging, I saw her eyes, which gazed back at me, yellow and deep. Her skin was white like the cotton and her lips blood red. She was beautiful. She stared at me as her body met the surface; she had long hair, a slender neck and two round and sensual breasts. Her belly button bore a black marble and her legs were long and her skin silky. ‘Ni karhat maske’ she said with a soft voice. The dwarf turned around and walked out of the water. ‘You said she didn’t...’ I muttered, but didn’t finish, my full attention was set on the woman displayed so slanderously before me and my words had troubles leaving my mouth. The dwarf paid no attention to them and disappeared behind me. Then, she approached, floating on the surface of the water like a swan. A jasmine scent met my nose, it was fully enwrapping, as was the beauty of the young woman.
Once before me, she stopped. She kept gazing into my eyes with her yellow, bottomless, cat-like eyes. Then, her hand, took my face by the sides, her touch was silk-like; she leaned over a little, nearing her face to mine, looking now at my lips, until her lips and mine met. She opened her mouth slightly and her tongue glided through with softness. Then a stinging sensation came. I started tasting blood; all enchantment dissipated at once, I pushed her back, feeling blood run from my tongue into my throat. I groaned confused, my mind was losing clarity. It blacked out.
I tried to open my eyes, but the sun hurt them. I tried to cover with my hand but as I lifted it on my face, it dropped water on me. I turned my head and looked around; I was lying on the lake, floating on the surface, like a tree leave. Then a weight pressed my hip and chest; as I turned back, two yellow eyes met me again. She was laying naked on me, with her elbows on the joint of my arms and shoulders, her hands holding her face, her breasts against my chest and her legs at the sides of my hip, her feet sunk in the water that I now felt warm. She stared at me with a frolicsome smile. ‘Who are you?’ I asked intrigued. She smiled, then moved her hands to my chest and lifted herself. Her firm breasts arose between her arms. ‘I have a quest prepared for you, knight,’ she said, with a voice that sounded like the whisper of the wind between the trees of autumn. But her charms were not as effective on my mind anymore, a powerful prod still made my tongue ache. ‘What quest should that be, lady of the lake?’ I replied stern. ‘Well…’ she answered, ‘it is a rather complicated story. There is a witch in this forest, which used to be free of demonic presences, until she arrived. She sprouted form some dark pit-hole and is now causing chaos among the creatures of Ràivehn Forest. The dwarves preferred not to oppose her directly, but they will have to eventually. She intends to put every living creature in this forest under her control, and whoever doesn’t join her becomes a rotten carcass. My dilemma is that, I feed on the creatures of the forest, but those that come under her control become poisonous to my tongue, if she controls the forest, I will perish.’ ‘Uhm…’ I interrupted uneasy, ‘but, aren’t you a witch too?’ She smiled delighted and maliciously. ‘Yes I am little human, but she has cast a curse on me, which I am unable to lift. You see, I can’t leave this lake; my powers diminish as I do. However, in order to defeat her, I left the lake for too long, so her powers eventually surpassed mine. Now she pretends me to starve, for I can’t fight her anymore. Within a few months, I will have nothing to eat anymore… except humans, which are the only outlanders.’ My body became tense. ‘How… how can I help you?’ I said nervous. ‘Well, the curse states that, if the witch speaks out my name to a human being, my lake will freeze, which will mean my death. So I have turned you into a munrok.’ ‘Excuse me?’ I said disturbed. ‘You no longer feed on normal food. It is now vital for your existence that you drink blood; only raw blood will quench your thirst. The blood of anything you can hunt will do, otherwise, you will starve.’ ‘That is demonic!’ I yelled. ‘Only I can give you back your normal nature,’ she continued, ‘yet again, if I die, you stay as you are now.’ ‘No,’ I yelled, ‘I refuse to help you prevail, witch…’ She smiled. A burning sensation started pouring from my heart, it was an indescribable desire and devotion. ‘I… I love you…’ I muttered. She laughed, ‘that’s right little knight; you ache for a kiss, a caress, to hold me in your arms and make love to me until your breath fails to keep you alive. I’d prefer to keep your head working properly, but if you leave me no options, I can always force you to do my will.’ I tried to lift myself, but the water posed no support to my arms, which sank helplessly. ‘No knight, first you will listen carefully. The witch I talk you about is the responsible for the murder of your army-men,’ their faces came back to my mind as I heard her soft voice speak, ‘yet, defeating her will be no easy task. She is guarded by her dogs, which know no fear, and her Bazma, an enormous and ugly beast that could eat your most tasteful half in a glimpse. Both you may have to defeat, before ever thinking of laying a finger on the sorceress. But once the task of these creatures has been overcome, the witch should be a relieving situation, she holds no special strength or speed, and it would take her at least a day to cast any helpful spell or curse to stop you. Still, she is a deceiving individual, don’t underestimate her abilities.’ I said nothing for a short while, pondering my situation. But then, wrath started running freely through my veins as I though of my deceased comrades. ‘I’ll do it…’I said, ‘by the gods, I will slay that monster!’ Suddenly, the water held me no longer. I started sinking heavily. Reacting, I swam out of the lake and, still confused and panting, turned around; the lady of the lake was nowhere to be seen anymore. But I knew my quest was now clear and waiting impatiently.
Off I went, into the woods, trying to clear the fog in my ideas. I had a sword at my disposition, a regular armor and respectable combat skills, but the foe I was to oppose now was not even going to be intimidated by such details. Somehow, I needed to increase the efficiency of my attack. Traps could yield my some advantage against a large group of attacking parties, but it would take me a whole week to prepare enough traps to even the odds of my situation. I was not sure how much it would take the dogs or the sorceress to discover I had survived the attack of the monstrous creature, furthermore, I still needed a right emplacement to make the traps efficient, some sort of corridor or passage in the woods. But these still moved constantly, if I set any trap, there was the ever-present danger of any other creature falling in it by accident, reducing or even neutralizing the whole system. I then realized that I was now moving around the forest as if it was a normal wood. The mysterious movement and noise around me had become normal and even kept me relaxed, for it was familiar activity in the surroundings.
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