Steelforged Legacy 2 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Casey kept to the forest for the next two days, making sure to never spend long exposed to the sky and keeping his fire small and well shielded when he did camp. The Gladewalker Elk, who still refused to accept any of the names he’d suggested, was happy to show him many different trails through the trees.

The animal had an uncanny understanding of Casey’s desire to stay out of sight and hasten through the forest. It kept to huffs and grunts, rather than the loud bellows and bugles he’d heard from it on the trip to the town, always moving at a steady pace without leaving him behind or vanishing into the trees like he’d seen that first night.

In exchange for the animal’s help, Casey paid in apples and then oatcakes when the elk saw him cooking up some the second night after they left town. Despite being standoffish in accepting a name from him, the elk was more than happy to bed down next to Casey, seeming to enjoy the warmth of the small fire as much as he did the treats that Casey fed him.

They’d been making good, but slow, progress so far, and Casey hadn’t seen or heard any signs of search parties yet, but he wanted to make sure to cover as much ground as possible.

I think you should stop trying to find a descriptive name for him, Maude suggested as Casey finished packing up his camp the morning of the third day.

“Look, at this point I’m nearly ready to just start reeling off names of folks I knew from back home, but an elk named something like Nigel or Tony just doesn’t fit in my head,” Casey said with a sigh, hefting his pack up onto his back. “Come on, big guy. On your hooves so I can get your saddlebags on.”

The elk opened one large, brown eye from where it still lay curled up by the smoldering remains of the fire and grunted quietly through its nose, not moving.

“Look, I know you don’t want to get up yet, but we need to get moving. We’ve been wandering back and forth a fair bit, but we need to make distance today. It was only three days by road to the next town to the north, but the first actual ford over the river isn’t for two more beyond that. And that’s on the road, not wandering the bush like some kind of wilderness explorer in search of a merit badge.”

Obstinately, the elk didn’t move.

“I swear to…” Casey blew out an exasperated sigh.

Probably best not to complete that thought out loud. Swearing by gods can draw their attention, especially here. And you’ve already gotten the attention of one you were lucky was friendly, Maude said with a throaty chuckle. Come on, handsome boy. While you are right that it is comfortable here, we do need to get moving. My partner has no more cores left to cultivate and needs to fight to continue growing. If you want better treats, you might want to try to impress him some. Then he’d need to return the favor.

“Thanks, Maude. For setting the bar so wonderfully high,” Casey grumbled. His annoyance was only momentary though, as the Gladewalker Elk grunted again before climbing to its feet and shaking its coat out. Once it was settled, the animal waited patiently for Casey to toss a blanket over it before looping the improvised harness into place and securing the saddlebags.

“I’m going to buy a damn saddle in the next town,” Casey grumbled as he fought with the leather ties for a moment. The elk grunted and rolled its head to look at Casey suspiciously. “No, I’m not going to try to ride you until you are bigger, Andre. Just figure it’ll be easier to get your packs in place with a saddle of some kind.”

The elk considered for a moment before it grunted and shook its head in denial at the name.

Or proper tack. You won’t need to worry about a bit and bridle for our smart fellow here when he does finish growing. Something else to look forward to. If you can help us find some natural treasures, we can help you grow quicker. Maude’s mental ‘voice’ switched from addressing Casey to the elk cleanly, and he knew that his lover enjoyed being able to talk to someone besides just him too.

The elk huffed again, tossing its head in agreement to the idea before stamping one hoof enthusiastically.

“Oh? Do you have an idea there, Lassie?” Casey had to duck when the elk playfully hooked its rather large rack of antlers at him, but the joke made Maude laugh at least, so it was worth it. Casey had to placate the animal with another of the dwindling supply of apples from his bag before he could finish securing the saddlebags.

For all that it was a bit of a pain to get them on and off again, and he had to bribe the elk to let him put them on it, Casey couldn’t deny that having someone to help him transport supplies was good. His pack had been absolutely stuffed with equipment and food before, but as soon as he’d had the chance, he’d moved several things to the Gladewalker Elk. The animal had no problems moving with its load and appeared to relish the exertion.

While the elk crunched his way through an apple, grunting happily, Casey got the bags secured and gave them a tug before nodding.

“Okay. Did my exercises earlier, camp is cleaned up, bags are packed. I just need to cover the fire over, check the offerings I left, and I can eat the last of the stuffed buns while we follow Homer here.”

No.

“What?” Casey did his best to sound innocent as he kicked dirt over the embers and stomped it down to ensure the fire was fully out. The elk’s head had come up inquisitively while Casey did that, clearly curious about the name.

You are not allowed to name that gorgeous animal after Homer Simpson.

“What makes you so sure that I was meaning that Homer? He’s leading us on a grand journey.”

I know what you are thinking, Sullivan. If you actually try to convince this fine fellow to accept that as a name, then I won’t be visiting your center again for a month. The iron in Maude’s tone immediately decided it for Casey. He could still remember the faint taste of her skin on his tongue after she’d given him his ‘reward’ for being so diligent in gathering information in town.

Since then, they’d been too focused on putting miles behind them from town to do any more, and he didn’t want to endanger his chances.

It’s amazing how motivating having the love of a good woman can be, Casey thought within the safety of his own mind. I’d do just about anything to keep Maude happy. Not just because she’s my teacher, or because she’s beautiful. She’s just… Maude. She makes me want to be my absolute best, and encourages me to put in the work to get there. Which is good, because I need to be my best if I’m going to get the chance to punch that orange-suited asshole in the balls next time I see him.

“All right, not Homer. Probably best to avoid, since he wrote The Odyssey and I always thought that was a tragedy. And you wouldn’t be leading us into a tragedy, would you?” Casey addressed the last part as a question to the elk, adopting Maude’s affectionate tone as he reached forward to dig his fingers into the thick mane of fur that ran along the beast’s neck.

The elk let out a happy groan and leaned into the scratches. Casey could feel the thin rootlets that hung inside the thick mane shifting under his fingers, guiding them to just the right spots so he kept at it until the elk was satisfied.

Giving its head one last shake and squaring its shoulders, the elk glanced towards Casey and tossed its head towards the bushes where Casey had left his offering for the Little Folk, clearly telling him to hurry up.

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“Okay, either sharing that fae-honey candy with him was a good idea, or a very bad one,” Casey puffed as he ducked another low branch, skipped up and onto a tree root to run along it around a puddle, then dropping back down onto the path.

Definitely good. Do you see how happy he is? The laughter in Maude’s voice was evident as Casey chased the prancing Gladewalker Elk through the woods, having to tap into every bit of his newly enhanced physique to keep up with the animal.

When he’d checked the stump he’d left his offering on, a small handful of the dried cherries he had left from the cherry-dryad’s grove, Casey had found two of the toffee-colored squares sitting in their place. As he had a small hoard of the candies in his pack, he’d decided to just eat these, knowing it would give him a boost for a long day today.

On a whim, he’d offered one to the Gladewalker Elk when he made it back to the clearing. The animal had snapped it out of his hand with such speed that he’d nearly taken one of Casey’s fingers with it.

The thick, sweet square dissolved on Casey’s tongue before sending a ripple of energy racing through his body. Besides being packed with sugar, the candy also was thick with qi and he could feel it pouring into his center like a stream of liquid sunlight. The rush of energy was welcome, because as soon as the elk finished swallowing his share, the animal broke into a rapid trot and hadn’t slowed since then.

Four hours had passed, and Casey was pretty sure that they’d covered more ground now than they had the last two days. His guide changed trails multiple times, leading him overland for short periods until joining with another narrow trail. The only time the animal stopped moving was when Casey lost sight of him. He would inevitably turn a corner or come around one of the larger trees in the forest to find the animal waiting for him with an irritated tint to its eyes before the beast started jogging again.

“I think you are just prejudiced,” Casey panted, rolling his shoulders to adjust his pack as he ducked under another branch, this one thick enough that it would have knocked him on his ass if he’d hit it going full speed.

I think you just need to pick up the pace! Come on, Casey. You can do it!

With Maude’s encouragement ringing in his ears, Casey grit his teeth and picked up his speed. With how windy the game trails were, it was impossible to really break into a run. Instead, he had to rely on his judgment moment-to-moment while moving as fast as he was able. Logs were used as vaults, branches as a hanging pole, and boulders were scrambled up and over.

Through it all, the Gladewalker Elk kept ahead of him, but the distance between them began to close as Casey focused himself on the pursuit of the animal. He knew the elk was letting him catch up, just like it was ensuring he never lost sight of it for long, but the animal’s large brown eyes held more respect when it glanced back to check on him.

Casey was just beginning to find the bottom edge of his vastly improved stamina when the elk’s speed slowed abruptly, and the trees opened up in front of them. He’d closed to a dozen feet behind the animal, so when it suddenly cut its speed, Casey almost plowed into the rear of the elk before he came to a stop.

Given how still the animal was standing after stopping, with its gaze fixed towards the treeline ahead, Casey just crouched down and sidled up next to the elk, searching the clearing with his eyes while he fought to get his breathing under control.

This close to the animal, Casey had hoped to see at least a little sweat or heaving sides on the elk, but it was as calm as if it had just gotten up from bed.

What is he looking at? Casey thought after he’d let his hand settle onto Maude’s hilt so she could hear him.

Clearly something dangerous from how stiff he is. Which is good for us. We asked him to take us to a place where there were natural treasures, and if it’s something that warrants a spirit beast guarding it, then it’ll be worth the effort. Not to mention the guardian will be worth taking down.

And that isn’t wrong? I mean, we asked one spirit beast to lead us to another spirit beast and we’re planning to kill it? Casey asked, glancing nervously towards the elk at his side. While he knew the animal couldn’t hear him, it could hear Maude. But it gave no sign of reacting.

Predators take prey all the time. It’s part of life. The important thing is ensuring we do not waste anything from the kill if we can help it. If whatever is in that clearing was friendly, then you’d think our handsome fellow here would have just trotted right out. Wouldn’t you?

Casey grimaced but couldn’t come up with a way to counter Maude’s statement, so he just studied the clearing alongside the elk.

The open, grassy space wasn’t very large, maybe sixty or seventy feet across and irregularly shaped. It was filled with the same kind of pale blue-green grass that had been ubiquitous ever since he’d left the rocky mesas behind. A few large boulders broke up the expanse of grass, and a single tree sat in the middle of the clearing. As Casey watched, a breeze swept through that tree, making the branches shake slightly. It shook again a moment later and Casey realized that, while the tree moved, none of the grass nearby stirred.

Do you see it? he asked Maude mentally, getting a grunt of acknowledgement from his lover. Glancing towards the elk, Casey noted that its eyes remained fixed on the tree as well.

“Do we go out and challenge it?” Casey asked in a very low tone, and the words spoken aloud drew the elk’s eyes to his. The animal huffed quietly, dipping its head in an approximation of a nod. “Is it going to attack us?” Another nod. “Do you care if I kill it?” This time it shook its head back and forth in a negative, before stamping one hoof on the ground firmly.

Got it, Casey thought before carefully drawing Maude from her sheath. The comforting weight of the weapon in his hand took away the last of his anxiety, and Casey crept forward into the clearing. He only made it ten feet into the clearing before the top of the tree began to thrash back and forth rapidly. A moment later, the branches parted and a furry face poked out to glare at him.

The creature that lurked within the tree branches was long and slinky, with dark brown fur shot through with blonde highlights. Small black eyes stared hatefully out of a wedge-shaped head set on the end of a body that was half as long as Casey was tall. As soon as the animal spotted him, it launched from the tree and into the grass, racing towards Casey while chattering in anger. As it leaped down, Casey spotted green leaves intermixed with its fur.

Ah, a Leaf Lynx, the meat isn’t that great. For one that size, it’ll have a core at least, Maude said, relief in her voice. They are rather aggressive, but you can handle it. Just be careful. It’ll try to ambush you from the grass.

Casey wanted to say something biting to Maude, about how he’d appreciate more of a warning next time, or even some actual suggestions on what to do, but the grass on his right parted at that point and the hissing animal threw itself out of the brush at him with large paws spread wide.

Reacting entirely on instinct, Casey threw a cross punch with his left fist. The blow caught the animal on the nose, sending its mouth snapping shut and turning its pounce into a headlong crash into the ground. Not hesitating, as he’d gotten a good look at the creature’s hooked claws as they flashed towards him, Casey stabbed out with Maude and drove the seax into the spine of the animal. It let out a muffled howl of pain and thrashed for a moment before going limp. Casey finished the motion by planting his knee in the back of the animal to pin it down and did not remove his blade for nearly a minute to confirm that it was actually dead.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Casey muttered when he finally removed the weapon from the body and wiped it clean on some grass nearby.

You have been training, Casey, Maude reminded him. Something as small as this should be no challenge for you at this point. Now, make sure to check the tree for anything of use. Leaf Lynx like to drag prey back to their dens to eat, so you might find something useful there besides whatever it was guarding. But first—

“I know,” Casey interrupted with a sigh, drawing his skinning knife. “First, we need to process the body. At least this isn’t as gross as the Fomori.”