Legacy of Kail - Chapter 8

Kin and Kail stood on the island in the middle of the lake. It wasn’t a huge lake. Kail could even see the other side from where he stood, and he could see where the lake narrowed and snaked into the forest as a river. Siegfried stood by the boat he’d used to take them there and motioned to the wooden cabin in the middle of the small island.

“Not coming with us?” Kin inquired.

“No.” Siegfried responded flatly. “The old man is hard to handle sometimes. I’d rather not. I’ll wait here for you.” Kin shrugged and walked towards the cabin.

“Thanks.” Kail quickly said before catching up to Kin. Kin knocked on the door. There was no response. He held his ear up to it. Kail tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a disapproving look, but Kin gestured for Kail to do the same. Kail sighed and pressed his ear against the door. He could hear voices… No, just the one voice. Someone was talking to themselves. Then Kin simply opened the door and walked in.

“For gods’ sake, Kin.” Kail said, shaking his head in frustration, then moved to follow him. Immediately they were greeted by a strange smell. The inside of the cabin was filled with some smoke that made them lightheaded. Kail couldn’t help coughing as he inhaled it. In the centre of what Kail assumed to be the living room sat an old man in the pose of meditation. He had long grey hair, and a long grey beard and moustache to match. His eyes were closed and he was smoking a pipe. He opened his eyes to look at the intruders. An intense stare. This isn’t just any old man Kail realised. Does he think we’re here to hurt him? The old man put down his pipe.

“I don’t get visitors very often.” he said, his voice carrying a strange authority about it. “Not so much anymore anyway.” He didn’t move from his position, but he seemed as if he had no openings. “Well, since you’re here…” he said. An intense silence followed and then… he burst into a coughing fit.

“Err, are you okay?” Kail asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just gimme a minute will ya?” the old man said. He regained his composure and moved to his feet. “You two are human aren’t ya? What’re you doing in my forest?”

“Didn’t anybody tell you?” Kin asked, a tone of annoyance evident in his voice. “I’ve been here for the last month, helping your village against these… well… werewolves.”

Werewolves? Kail had heard stories and myths about werewolves, and hearing the word spoke out loud made him realise how well it fit for what they were fighting. He hadn’t thought werewolves were real though.

“Werewolves?” Soxolfr asked. “Aye maybe that’s what they are. Anyway, what have you come to bother me with?”

“Here you go, Kail.” Kin said, nudging Kail forward. “Here’s the person who can see souls just like you.”

“Hm?” Soxolfr responded. “A shaman, eh?”

There’s that word again. Shaman Kail thought. Then something strange happened. Soxolfr’s eyes glowed peculiarly. Kail stepped forward to look closer and he could see a strange symbol in his eyes. Was Soxolfr looking at his soul? Kail reciprocated, focusing on Soxolfr as the world turned blue. He was surprised. Soxolfr’s soul looked normal enough, but there was a strange symbol marked on his chest. It might’ve been the same symbol Kail had seen in his eyes. Did he have one too?

Aye you are a shaman after all. Kail heard a voice say. It was Soxolfr, speaking to him in the world that they could both see. Although yer soul looks strange.

What is a shaman? Kail asked.

Ye don’t know? Even though you are one? Soxolfr responded. Kail heard what could’ve been a laugh. We are those that can interact with spirits. Hasn’t anyone ever told you how to use your power?

Power? You mean there’s more to it than just talking to the dead? I mean… it did feel like someone’s spirit took over my body once… Kail replied.

Aye, possession. The same as me. How lucky. Soxolfr said. We can take spirits into our own body, and, depending how well you do it, gain their memories and skills. It takes practice and control to do it well, though. Ye’re lucky you met me. Maybe I can teach you how to do it so they don’t take complete control.

That sounds… like an amazing ability. Kail thought to himself, although he then realised Soxolfr could hear him. Talking to spirits was very similar to thinking, and it was hard to differentiate between the two.

Yes. Soxolfr responded. It’s why we ended up coming to this forest, from what my mother told me back in the day. It’s this power that has allowed the shaman of the village to shape the trees to our will. The spirit of the forest gives us its power. The Ookami.

Soxolfr pointed upwards. Kail realised that he couldn’t see the walls of the house. Unlike the tahke village in the trees, this cabin was made from wood that had been cut and worked. There wasn’t an actual tree on the island. The word used for the cabin was no longer alive. Kail looked up, not seeing any ceiling. Instead he saw a spirit looking down at them. A gigantic spirit glowing magnificently of white. It had four legs, seeming like they were connected to the ground itself. It’s body and head looked like that of a wolf. It remained silent, simply looking at them. Kail couldn’t take his eyes off it. It glowed like it was made from white fire.

That is the Ookami. Soxolfr explained. It has been in this forest for a long time. It lends me its power in times of need, and in return we promise not to damage the forest and keep care of it. Although we haven’t been able to do such a good job lately…

It was a lot to take in. Kail glanced to Kin, his tall and human soul unmoving, made up of a light blue fire, not quite as impressive as the Ookami, and not privy to their conversation. Kail turned his attention back to the land of the living, and Soxolfr seemed to follow suit.

“It’s strange that the Ookami seems to look like a wolf, and your people are turning into wolf-like creatures. Is there any chance this could be caused by it? Maybe someone angered it” Kail said.

“Wait, what? What’s an Ookami?” Kin asked. “Have I missed something?”

“Aye I agree, it’s strange.” Soxolfr said. “Some of my people have voiced the same concerns, but I commune with the Ookami regularly, and it’s not the cause of this. It was distressed when the infection came to the forest. It could feel as the animals of the forest became rabid.”

“When exactly did that happen?” Kin asked, realising they had ignored his question. “Seemed to me like we haven’t been told the whole story.”

“Perhaps we might be able to look at events in a fresh light.” Kail added.

Soxolfr sighed. “Alright. Come with me, let’s sit and drink some tea while I tell you.” He led them into a separate room with chairs and a table, and had them sit down while he boiled some water and made them each a cup of tea. It tasted different to the tea that Kail used to have, which is popular throughout Terra Deorum, but it didn’t taste bad.

“It all started about a year ago.” Soxolfr started. “The Ookami felt somethin’. The animals of the forest crying out in pain. So I sent patrols to find out what it was. The animals of the forest everywhere were going crazy and attacking anything they could. People were wondering if we angered the Ookami, but it was nothing of the sort. Of course, eventually one of our patrols got attacked and infected. That patrol was made up of Siegfried, Edwin, and Torbjorn.”

“Wait a minute… Siegfried doesn’t seem like he’s infected.” Kin interrupted, seeming dubious. “And who are Edwin and Torbjorn?”

Soxolfr waved his hand in annoyance to quiet Kin. “I’m getting to that, by the gods. Siegfried is unusually strong. Not sure why. He reported to everyone else that he didn’t get bitten, but in private he told me that he’d only said that not to worry people. The animals simply didn’t manage to break his skin. His skin is like iron. We know now, thanks to Salomon, that the infection spreads through saliva. That’s why Siegfried didn’t get infected. Edwin… well, he’s not here anymore. Shame, really. He and Siegfried were good friends. Like Siegfried, Edwin didn’t have two horns like the rest of us, he had three. And Torbjorn… well Torbjorn was the husband of my daughter, and Ylva’s father.” Soxolfr took a moment, sipping his tea, while he recounted the bad memories. “So, they started showing symptoms. At first they just had a fever that seemed to be getting worse. Then they started getting violent. We had to tie them up for everyone’s safety. That’s when we sent a messenger to the mountain tahke, to see if they knew anything about it. The messenger came back with Salomon. Salomon had been around different tribes that had suffered from the same thing. He came to our village to help.”

“So your doctor, Salomon, wasn’t originally from here?” Kail asked, curious.

“No, he is from a different tribe. But he told us he’d seen similar cases and had helped before. He inspected Torbjorn and Edwin. He said he’d never seen a case this far along, but that he’d try to help anyway. He thought he had a cure, one he had used before, and we captured some animals for him to test it on. It worked. When he used it on Torbjorn and Edwin, however, it didn’t help. He did use a medicine that kept them asleep though, so we didn’t have to keep them tied up. But then….”

“But then?” Kin pressed. “It sounds like there weren’t any werewolves at all to begin with.”

“Right, not until it happened. While Salomon was working on a cure, more of our people were bit by animals in the forest and infected. Salomon kept them unconscious too. But then, one day my daughter, Ylva’s mother Bodil, she visited her husband. Not unreasonable. To be expected. But during her visit… Something happened. Torbjorn and Edwin turned into what you’ve seen there to be out there, as did the rest of the patients. They fled into the forest. Inside the room Salomon was using…. Bodil had died, killed in the outbreak. And now we’re in this situation. Werewolves, if ye wanna call them that, out there in the forest. And while, over time, we’ve killed some of them, sometimes they bite one of us and add to their numbers.” Soxolfr sighed, seemingly worn out by the story. And yet… something didn’t seem right about it to Kail.

“Were all the animals in the forest infected?” Kail asked. Soxolfr looked thoughtful.

“Not sure about all of them, but probably most of them.” he said. Kail nodded, then got to his feet.

“Alright, thank you for telling us everything.” he said. He motioned for Kin to follow. Kin didn’t seem to have any more questions and followed Kail outside. They walked towards Siegfried, who was still waiting by the boat.

“I want to investigate something else, outside the village.” Kail said to Kin.

“As long as don’t go too far and we get back before night, we should be safe.” Kin replied. “Not sure why but they only seem to be active during the night.” Kail also found that strange. Perhaps they were on to something.

*

“Strange, don’t you think?” Kail asked. They had looked around, but then it had started to get dark, so he and Kin had gone to doctor Salomon’s house to ask him questions. They were waiting patiently for him to appear.

“You mean that we could find any infected animals? Yeah, pretty strange.” Kin agreed.

“If there aren’t any animals infected in the whole forest then it means it was a temporary thing… It wore off over time? But then why hasn’t that happened with the tahke? It could mean that the initial infection and the werewolves are two separate issues.” Kail said. Then Salomon appeared from the shadows at the far end of the room. Kail realised there must be a staircase or another exit there, hidden away in the dark.

“What are you two doing here?” he asked. “You should go and help Siegfried patrol the village in case it comes under attack.”

“Thought you wanted us to leave?” Kin asked with a smirk. Kail nudged him to be quiet.

“We wanted to ask you some questions. We got the full story about when the infection started from Soxolfr, and some things don’t make sense.” Kail explained.

“No surprise.” Salomon said, tutting. “That old fool is high most the time. Thinks he can talk to some wolf god.”

“Either way…” Kail started. “He told us that at first the infection spread amongst the animals of the forest before spreading to the tahke- I mean the people here. Yet me and Kin went around to investigate the animals around the forest… and none of them were infected. I think that the initial infection and whatever is turning people into werewolves are two different things.”

“They are linked.” Salomon responded, seeming adamant. “Maybe the animals you found were ones I used an antidote on when I was testing different ingredients. Or… perhaps the….werewolves are because of that wolf god that Soxolfr worships.”

“Thought you didn’t think the ‘wolf god’ was real?” Kin asked.

“Soxolfr assures us it isn’t the work of the Ookami.” Kail added. “But look, if the two infections are different, then you might be looking for a cure for the wrong thing.” Then the loud sound of a horn interrupted their discussion. Kail looked to Kin. Kin looked… scared. Well that’s unnerving.

“That’s the horn they sound when an infected tahkean has been found.” Kin explained. The horn sounded again. Kin’s eyes narrowed. “That means they’re under attack…” Then the horn sounded a third time. “And that means the village is under attack.”

“Well you better get out there and help.” Salomon said. Kin nodded. Kail, however, wasn’t convinced. Salomon walked towards the corner of the room, where he had appeared from. Kail once again looked into the world of spirits in case there were any secrets he might find. He could just about make out the structure of the tree. It seemed like it did turn into a staircase at the back and joined to a room underneath. And underneath them was… a soul. A human soul. No horns. No tail.

“Wait!” Kail called. “Is there someone downstairs?” he asked. Salomon’s eyes went wide in shock. This is it! He is hiding something.

“Nothing you want to see.” he said, seeming to regain his composure. “It’s where we keep the bodies of the dead, to help me find a cure.”

He could be telling the truth…. If that soul is her, then maybe she’s dead. But surely they would’ve noticed if a werewolf without any horns or tail had attacked.

Kin nudged him, rousing him from his thoughts. He saw Salomon disappearing into the staircase. Kail moved to go after him, but Kin grabbed him.

“We should go help.” Kin said. Kail sighed. It would be easier if Kin could also see what he could see.

“There’s someone down there. A human. Or at least a human soul. If she is dead then it likely means her body is down there. If she isn’t. Then… It means Salomon has something to do with all of this.” Kail explained. Kin was shocked but nodded and moved to follow. Then they heard a nearby scream from outside the room. They both look to the outside and rushed to investigate. A little tahkean girl was standing on one of the platforms coming from a separate tree. She was staring in horror at a horned, tailed, and clawed werewolf. It was growling at her and closing in. A woman, presumably her mother, then grabbed the girl and jumped to a different tree, amazing Kail at how easily and at how far the tahke could jump. However, both Kail and Kin knew that the werewolf wouldn’t have any trouble following her. They both drew their weapons, although Kail wasn’t sure how he was going to fight so high up in the trees without falling to the ground below. Kin, however, threw his spear straight at the werewolf. It moved back at the last second. Kin’s spear embedded itself into the tree. It then looked at them as the woman and child ran away.

“You’ve got this, right?” Kin asked, now weapon-less.

“Err… No?” Kail responded. The werewolf leapt effortlessly onto the platform they were on. Kin and Kail both moved to opposite sides of the werewolf, effectively pincer-ing it, although Kin was unarmed. Kail couldn’t help but peer over the edge, looking down into the darkness below. He did not want to fall off the edge of their platform. The werewolf seemed focused on Kin, so Kail swung at it with his sword. His sword pierced flesh, but it didn’t go very deep.. The werewolf immediately turned around with enough force to send Kail’s sword out wide. He grabbed onto the tree so that he wasn’t thrown off the edge, and he managed to keep his grip on his sword. The werewolf howled at him; an all too familiar sound that made his blood run cold. It reminded him of the first one he had seen. He had almost died. He carefully backed away. The werewolf looked like it was about to pounce on him, but when it tried it fell down as if something had tripped it. Kail looked to its feet and saw that they had been frozen to the wooden platform.

“No problem!” said Kin from behind the creature. Then, seemingly in reaction to his voice, the werewolf’s tail whipped up, hitting him in the face. He fell over as he yelled in pain and shock. He got to his feet to retaliate, then seemed to remember that he had no weapon as the monster’s tail lashed about threateningly. Then, as Kail watched, he ran and jumped to the other tree. He hit the tree just above the platform and with enough force that Kail was sure he was going to bounce right off and fall in between the trees, but he stuck to it instead. Kail then saw that he had created ice, freezing his hands to the tree so that he wouldn’t fall. Then the ice vanished and he dropped down comfortably to the platform and retrieved his spear.

Kail’s attention was brought back to the werewolf as it growled at him. It struck at its own feet with its tail, breaking the ice. Then it moved to jump at Kail again. Its horns looked even more deadly, seemingly like it could simply skewer him onto its head. Kail looked around him. There was another platform, but it was too high up. The werewolf was between him and Kin’s platform, and he doubted that Kin would easily be able to get back up to him. As the werewolf jumped at him he reacted on instinct and fell flat to the floor. The werewolf went over him, its own momentum against it, and off the platform. Kail quickly rushed over to help Kin back to his platform.

“Well done!” Kin shouted, but there didn’t seem to be any easy way for him to get back. Kail’s platform was above Kin’s, so jumping back was out of the question. Then Kail spotted a rope. He remembered how Siv had shown him that each platform had ropes, to make travelling between them and between different levels easier. It was firmly tied to the platform, so threw it over to Kin, who gave him a thumbs up. Then his eyes focused on something behind Kail. Kail turned to see that the werewolf hadn’t fallen all the way to the ground. It was climbing up another tree that it must had grabbed on to. It then turned its head to Kail threateningly and jumped easily onto his platform. Kin had swung over on the rope by that pointed and had his hands on the platform, trying to pull himself up. Kail could see the spear safely sheathed on his back. He positioned himself between Kin and the werewolf, and realised he had to attack to buy him time, as much as the creature scared him. So he did. He swung his sword at the creature, who caught him by surprise by deflecting it with its horns. Kail didn’t lose focus, however, and brought the sword back, and the werewolf actually moved back to avoid Kail’s attack. Relief spread through him. He’d actually made it momentarily retreat.

“Don’t lose focus.” Kin said, appearing at his side, spear brandished before him. Despite it being two on one, Kail and Kin had barely any footing as they presented a united front. “We have to finish this fast.” Kin said. “I’ll try to create an opening.”

The werewolf moved closer to them, eyeing the spear warily that Kin had pointed towards it. Then it swiped at the spear. Horror struck as its large claws swiped through the wooden shaft, sending the sharp end of the spear flying through the air. Then werewolf closed in, focusing on Kin. Kail realised that it had actually served well as a distraction. He could stab it… but he remembered that these creatures were the tahke of the village, albeit infected. Maybe they could be saved? The werewolf swung a claw towards Kin. Kail reacted in time to cut into its. It roared in pain, pulling its arm back, and Kail with it, his sword firmly embedded. As it did so Kin closed in, grabbing onto Kail as he stabbed above him at the creature’s face. In his hand was the broken half of the spear that he’d kept a hold of. He jammed it viciously into the creature’s eye. He then grabbed onto the creature’s horn to stop it from retreating and forced the shaft deeper and deeper until… the werewolf halted. Kail pulled his sword free and moved back to see that it had stopped moving. Kin let go of its horn as it fell to the floor lifelessly in front of them. The sound of Kail and Kin’s breaths were all they could hear as they stared at its body as if they were in a trance . Then shouts in the distance brought them back to reality, and Kail pushed the brutal sight of the creature’s death to the back of his mind.

He ran back into the room they’d come from and looked to the world of spirits once more. He couldn’t see anyone. Salomon, as well as the human spirit, had gone.

“They’re gone.” Kail said. “Salomon and… whoever was in the room below. They’re gone. Where is he?” he said angrily in frustration. “If that was the girl then why would her soul go with him? Unless she’s alive and he took her with him! We should… go to Soxolfr.” he said. Kin nodded in agreement and they made their way towards the lake.

Chapter 9