Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) (15 page)

Jem held his face for a second then took a step back, swung the plank above his head and ripped into the door of the tavern with all his anger. The door splintered off its hinges sending dust and shards of wood flying in all directions. The noise startled more carrion birds from the tavern and also woke Thist. He tried to get up but he was disorientated and unbalanced from the pack over his shoulders. He righted himself and freed himself from his burden. He stood up, scanned the scene ahead of him and then called. “What in the world?” with his hands raised, palms open to the sky.

“Abandoned.” mouthed Kelvin without sound and gestured a finger over his lips for Jem and Thist to keep quiet. “What’s next?” he whispered.

Jem was in no mood for playful banter and Kelvin understood that they didn’t have any backup plans for food or shelter. There was nothing this far up the mountains and the tavern was a make or break stopover.

Jem held his plank in front of his face as he entered the tavern ruin. Kelvin followed Jem with his bow drawn.

Jem stopped a few paces from the door and scanned the scenery. The dust had settled on everything and was thick enough to indicate that the place had been abandoned for more than some years. Thist tiptoed in behind them, making the floor boards creak. “What now geniuses?” he asked with a solemn face.

“Secure the house.” whispered Kelvin. “And then…”

Jem reached to the floor and picked up a sturdy part from the broken door and put it in Thist’s hand. He made a gesture for him to move to the right. They scouted the building in a tight group.

As they came around the bar where the barmaids used to serve the travellers, they noticed one complete and dusty skeleton of a slight figure. The bones were white and were covered in cobwebs. The clothes were ripped by claw marks. Thist shook his head, his adrenalin soaring. Jem looked away and gagged. Kelvin reached past the skeleton into a shelf and pulled out an unopened bottle and put it on the counter. He brushed the bottle down for dust and pursed his lips, “Good stuff this.” He whispered.

Jem gestured with his hands to wait and attend to the first item on the agenda. He pointed towards the upper floor area and they moved to the stairs. Jem went first, placing one foot on a step to test it, halting when it creaked. “Just space out more.” he instructed. The stair boards creaked, echoing through the building. He reached the top and found nests and bird rubbish and small piles of shiny trinkets in every nest; spoons, forks, coins, sewing needles, a thimble, a metal arrow head, a golden button, and broken chain mail rings.

“That’s odd” said Jem, “look at the broken chain mail rings in this nest.”

Kelvin pointed to the door on Jem’s left and drew his bow afresh as he pointed it to the door. Thist came to the side of the door and raised his plank. Jem opened the door to reveal a pristine bedroom, covered in a layer of fine dust. Nothing had been disturbed for a long time. “Dibbs!” shouted Jem, claiming the room.

“Wait, let’s check the other rooms first.” said Thist, “We might still all bunk with you.”

They went through to every room. There were ten rooms but they were only after three good ones. The second room was trashed by the carrion birds, as was the third room, but the fourth and fifth rooms were good. The last one was locked. “Great.” said Jem. “Let’s get some sleep and we can deal with the problem when we are rested.”

“Two hours.” said Kelvin.

“I’m sleeping till I wake up.” said Thist who was not in the mood for negotiating. He started to strip his cold damp clothes and hung them over a dusty hat stand by his room door.

Kelvin stood in the passage undecidedly with his bow still half drawn.

“It’s okay,” said Jem. “Let’s get some sleep. We can deal with this when we have rested.”

Kelvin shook his head. “We should post a guard, I don’t like this place.” He stepped into the room that Thist had chosen. Thist was fast asleep.

Kelvin was beaten. He thought that he had had the journey planned out only to find adversity and danger, followed by disappointment and anguish which was made worse by hunger, fatigue, cold and hopelessness. Kelvin’s resolve started to crumble. Something was wrong in this tavern and he could feel it coming closer. He lowered his bow and relaxed the string. He walked to Jem’s room to ask him one question only to find Jem fast asleep on a filthy mattress.

30

The Hagget was in the tavern.

Memories from long ago returned to it. But now it was just a pile of rubble standing in the shape of a building. It had been a traveller’s haven for centuries and it remembered snippets of a time long past. But there was something in the ruins that should not be there. It was a soul. The ghost of a person who had not crossed and was not trapped. It was a loose soul, like a wanderer in the wild. The Hagget was scared for a moment. Some ruin haunting souls were good and others were evil. It could not tell which this one was but it had to enter the tavern. It was weary from following the boys. It was leading them on an alternate path for its own purpose. They were unaware of this and that’s how it should remain. It could not allow its presence to be known and yet it was right there with them in a form indiscernible to them, for now. The Hagget was in the tavern, the boys were sleeping and it could roam, but it was transfixed. An apparition floated at the end of the passage. It was the soul of its long lost loved one from centuries before it had turned into a hideous abomination. The apparition approached it and looked at the hagget, scrutinizing it. “It’s me.” said the hagget as tears started to roll down its face. “You remember me.”

The apparition reached forward with a smoky wing and touched the hagget on the arm. “You must finish this.” It whispered. “No matter what happens to you, you must finish this.”

“It’s the hardest thing in the world to do.” said the hagget.

The apparition hovered backward and started to fade into the walls. As it disappeared the hagget glimpsed a tear in the ghost’s eyes. The hagget felt something that it hadn’t felt in centuries and it felt infused.

The hagget wept.

31

Kelvin wept.

Jem and Thist had become the closest friends he had ever had and he felt like he had led them into a death-trap filled with corpses and poison. He dropped his bow on the floor and slid his back down the side of the dirty wall. Sitting in a heap in the passage of the derelict tavern, he sobbed from the bottom of his weary soul. His voice was hoarse and he made little sound but he wept until the tears soaked his tunic.

Thist stood at the door to his room. “It’s okay buddy, it’s not your fault. Get up. Go to your bed and rest. Sleep as much as you need, everything will be okay.”

Kelvin looked up at Thist and then hoisted himself up, walked to his chosen room and crashed onto the bed.

Thist stood at the gorge, the white water lapping at his ankles, the deafening sound of the raging river seemed like festival music with bards humming in harmony. The water sparkled on the surface but you could still see the dark menace below of powerful, fast flowing torrents. He looked up to the distance and could barely make out the tavern building at the top of the high cliffs. He felt over his shoulders for his pack but there was nothing, “How did I get here?” he thought. He looked to the side and then to the other side. There was no path or bridge, or rope or ladder, or any way in or out.

Thist took a confident step into the raging white water, his feet balancing on the water’s surface. “Come to me,” said Thist. “I am listening. I know you will teach me something profound.”

A figure appeared deep in the water like a shimmering mermaid. Then her beautiful body emerged from the water. She was naked but her flowing long hair covered her body.

Thist was a little disappointed and willed the hair from her body. He encountered resistance and the hair kept her body covered.

“Wow.” said Thist as he gazed at her beauty, “What is your name?”

“I am Nea-aylah. This is a dream Thist.”
said Nea-aylah, as gorgeous as the song of the river.

“I know.” said Thist.

“But I am real” said Nea-aylah, “Please respect me as if I was living.”

“Do you still feel?” asked Thist “Are you still sensitive to the ill whims of people?”

“We have emotions; fear mostly, remorse and sorrow too.”

Nea-aylah’s figure was flawless but her face was obscured like frosted glass. Thist remembered that a previous lost soul had told him that they could not remember their own faces.

“How long has it been for your people in the soul stones?” asked Thist

“I know not how long.” said Nea-aylah.

“What can you tell me of your people?” asked Thist.

“We were a beautiful tribe, our women were attractive and our men were kind, gentle and wise.”

“Were the men not attractive?”

Nea-aylah looked down and giggled bashfully.
“Yes they were. You are handsome too.”
said Nea-aylah.

Thist looked deep into Nea-aylah’s face, he thought he saw a shy smile but was unsure.

“Will I ever see what your faces look like?” asked Thist.

“It will likely corrupt you if you do.” said Nea-aylah.

“And if it does not?” asked Thist.

Nea-aylah looked down and then back up to Thist. “Beware what you wish for. We were banished from the world by the cruel and jealous druid and his reasons were unreasonable and his judgment was corrupted.”

“What was his downfall?” asked Thist.

“He fell in love with us.” said Nea-aylah. “And then he tried to rule us but we were a free spirited people. He tried to domesticate and sophisticate us but we were not meant for that life. Some of our village folk asked him to leave and never return. They cast a spell to ward him off from the village and he lost his mind. He wanted to destroy the village and kill everyone in it but his love for us was unique and he could not. His love turned to anguish and in our absence it turned into madness. We were locked in soul stones and cast into water where our voices became dull.”

“That is incredible.” said Thist. “Tell me what I can do to help your people to find the light of life again.”

“I know the answer to this but I cannot tell you, we are bound by the spell, but if you find that a stone loses its lustre then the soul has been freed from it, that is all I can say.”

“One of the stones has lost its shine, is that soul freed?”

“Yes,” said Nea-aylah, “but free from the stone can also mean ‘dead.’”

Thist’s skin crawled, “How does that happen?”

Nea-aylah looked down again. “When one loses the last shred of hope.” she sobbed.

“So does every soul die when the stone turns dull?”

“No.” said Nea-aylah abruptly. “The one that went dull in your little pouch has been freed.”

“How,” asked Thist, “How did I do it?”

Nea-aylah backed away, “I cannot tell you, I am bound by the spell. I must go and you must wake.”

“No wait!” protested Thist.

Nea-aylah started to fade into the water. “Just know this Thist, you and your friends will try to cross this gorge tomorrow and if by accident you should lose us in this river then we will be gone forever and we will never return.”

Nea-aylah’s figure shimmered into the water and was just about to fade when she burst from the river and grabbed Thist by the shoulders and shook him.
“Wake up Thist.”

Thist bolted upright in his bed. He was fully awake. The sun shone through the dirty window, burning his face.

He was disorientated and could not remember where he was or how he got there. The bed was filthy, there was dust everywhere, his body was covered in dust and he sneezed. He walked to the door, put his hand on the door knob and started to turn it. The floor boards creaked under his feet. He paused. Then he remembered, in the tavern by the gorge. The raging river in the gorge was loud, and he wondered how long he had slept. He gauged the sun was just rising now and they had arrived well after sunrise so he had slept the whole day and the whole night.

His stomach grumbled. He shivered from the cold and he rubbed his arms to warm them. He took the clothes from the coat and hat stand and was dressed in an instant. Then he picked up the coat and hat stand and readied for a death blow. He flung the door open and startled all the carrion birds that had returned to roost for the night. The squawks and clatters and flapping were so loud and so frightening that he slammed the door and stood with his back to the closed door. He sneezed again from all the dust that had been lofted by the hurricane of wing flaps in the passage.

Thist listened. He heard Jem curse, then he heard Kelvin curse. He opened his door and looked into the passage.

Jem stood at the door to his room, eyes wide, and Kelvin stood by the door of his room with a drawn bow.

“Everything alright?” asked Thist.

Kelvin drew his bow tight and loosed an arrow out of the far window sending it whistling down the passage.

Then he laughed loudly. “I’ve never slept that well in my life before.”

Jem nodded. “Fatigue is the best mattress.”

Thist nodded back at Jem, “Then I guess hunger is the best cook, because…” he pointed at his stomach. “…damn.”

Kelvin nodded, “It’s early morning, yet I feel fresh and rested. Let’s get our morning chores sorted and then we can get out of here, this place gives me the creeps.”

Thist got the wood burning stove working while Jem rummaged through the pantry.

There were a lot of stale supplies there; rotten flour full of weevil husks, a pile of dead potato plants, with shrivelled leaves and stalks. The remnants of fruit which rotted and caused their own seed to germinate only to let the plants die of thirst on the dusty floor.

There were dried fruit preserves which looked fine and some jars of honey, jam and one large jar of hum. There was a barrel of ale that looked like it could be just perfect for a warm night and a group of village friends.

Kelvin went hunting. He didn’t think he could get anything of great use as carrion birds were diseased and eating them was forbidden for health reasons.

Jem stubbed his toe on a loose floor board causing it to bleed from the nail. He swore and held his injured toe as if trying to press away the pain. He looked at the floorboard willing it to answer for its transgression. To his astonishment he saw that it was the lifted corner on a trapdoor, possibly to a cellar. His mind raced as he thought what treasures there could be down there in this abandoned building. He decided to keep it to himself until after they had eaten and had gathered their strength.

Thist had found some spices and other liquid treasures in the bar, some sealed bottles and some unsealed. It wasn’t obvious if the tavern was attacked by something or someone but it was never raided or ransacked. Everything was in order except for the dead bartender whose body they had removed to the outside as it was too disturbing for Thist to try to cook or even think where there was a skeleton.

Kelvin came in by the broken door with a smile. He had two fat fowls and a hare in his hand. “Meaty breakfast boys, this place is rich with small game, we could live well here if we just had some regular customers.”

Thist prepared a hearty broth for the trio while Jem poured over his castle blueprints. Each boy had a jug of ale from the cask which turned out to be mature and refreshing. Kelvin had found some carpentry tools in a back room and had set up a fletching production line over three tavern tables. He was making arrows quickly and with great precision. The task consumed his focus so that it seemed only moments before Thist announced the meal to be ready.

Jem had agonized over the four large scrolls of plans with little success until it dawned on him that the drawings were in a code. Each page had to be folded to make triangle shapes and each triangular folded page was a piece in a four piece puzzle. Once he had put it together and studied the complete puzzle for some time, the shape of the castle became clear. The code in the folds of the scrolls was intricate. Changing the faces of the triangles revealed different aspects of the castle. One orientation was for the whole macro size, another was for the main assembly hall the other seemed to be the letter of instruction to the stone masters. Jem was intrigued.

The meal had been exceptional and Jem and Kelvin thanked Thist for his effort.

“You guys are being soppy.” said Thist. “It was a team effort.”

Jem lazed back in his chair, “Indeed it was. Now, what is the game plan from here on Kelvin?”

Kelvin placed his ale jug down on the table and blew out a long breath. “We have a problem. The rope bridge is damaged beyond repair and there is no crossing the river without it.”

A light flashed across Jem’s vision as his relaxed, jovial mood changed to angry denial. “You have led us far from home on a wild goose chase only to despair.”

Kelvin became defensive. “This journey was your idea Jem, I followed your whim and you know it.”

Jem gulped his ale. “Let’s go and look at this rope bridge.”

Thist was quiet. He was still reminiscing over the dream he had had of Nea-aylah and the river, he knew that they would cross the river.

Kelvin grabbed his ale jug and gulped the last of it. “Drink up Thist, let’s go and look at this rope bridge.” He said.

Jem was the first to leave the tavern. He stormed along the path that wended its way just a few hundred yards to the bridge. The path was a maze, winding between wind sculpted rock statues and overgrown by small shrubs. Kelvin was confident that there were no large predators here but had his bow ready as a growing habit.

Thist exited the tavern and gave a loud burp.

Jem shook his head in anger at Thist’s insolence and stormed on. He stood at the edge of the cliff where the long expanse rope bridge should have been. “This is bad.” said Jem.

Thist came up to where Jem stood and gave a long whistle. “That is going to be a problem.”

Kelvin kept his distance from the edge of the cliff. “Do you think we can fix it?”

“Now I know what happened to the barmaid.” said Jem. “She drank herself to death after the bridge failed.”

“Why didn’t they fix it?” asked Kelvin.

Jem shook his head, “This was probably a massive undertaking the first time, but the maintenance on the bridge would have been simple once it was in place. Getting the first ropes across is the biggest challenge. Then it takes a brave soul to cross a bridge that is made of only one rope.”

“If we had the ropes then we could make the bridge over, at least in part, so that we could cross.” said Kelvin.

Thist stood with his arms folded looking down at the drop to oblivion. “Kelvin, you are insane.” said Thist.

“No.” said Kelvin. “We have come this far, we should at least see what ideas we can come up with.”

Jem shook his head as he looked at down into the canyon. The cliffs were very wide apart and the depth was both awe and terror inspiring. “Kelvin, you are in denial of the truth that faces us here.” said Jem.

Kelvin looked at the gorge. The raging river could be heard clearly and even a light spray of water made it up the sides with a cool draft. He looked to the far end and cleared his mind of the distraction of the dizzying height. In the distance he could see two stone pillars very close together and from them hung the broken remnants of the old rope bridge.