Day 14 Interlude - Liselotte

I woke up to the smell of smoke and burnt flesh. I had trouble opening my eyes. They felt like they were made of lead. Since I couldn’t see, I tried to listen. There was a commotion around me. Heavy things being dragged on the ground. Fire crackling. Moans of pain. Some of it was mine. Then I heard a voice.

“…ame, plea… …. go fi… … … Mafter!”

I couldn’t hear it properly, but I thought it was a young girl’s voice. What was she doing here? What was I doing in here? I couldn’t remember. It was hard to focus. I finally gave in, and in spite of the pain, I fell unconscious.

~~~

I had a dream. Or a memory. Maybe both. It was the day we set out for the Abyss. I was surrounded by people I knew. We weren’t friends, I was only acquaintances with their leader. Anthon was the name. I used to see him a lot while I was an apprentice in the Healer’s Pavilion. They asked me to join them for a while, because their healer was injured during their last trip, and they needed a replacement.

They were looking for spider silk to sell. I told them it was dangerous, but Anthon said they've done it before, and the benefits way outweighed the risk. They also offered to pay me upfront for my services.

My usual group was on a break after a long expedition, and I didn’t want to let these people brave the dungeon without support, so I gave in. I joined them. I remember how Anthon smiled when he shook my hand to seal the deal. It made me a little bashful. He was a handsome man, even though he was unkempt and a little rugged. I wasn’t smitten by him, but I think I liked him a little.

~~~

The scenery changes. Now we are in the dungeon. We just got out of the labyrinth. I always hated that place. I never liked confined places. Maybe it’s the fae blood in me, but I always liked a wide open sky over my head. The dungeon cavern was better, but still suffocating.

Anthon urged me forwards. We were heading straight towards White Widow territory. I told him it was a bad idea, but he said they had a foolproof strategy to draw the attention of the spiders while they harvested the web. I should've been suspicious, but I wasn’t. Biggest mistake of my life.

When we reached the edge of the Silkwoods, they told me to stay behind. They said they were going to lure out the spiders from the area. I didn't like being left alone, but I did as they told me. A few minutes later they ran out of the woods with a large spider behind them. It was much bigger than the ones I saw when I was with my usual group, and they were leading it towards me. I panicked and tried to run away, but then Anton grabbed me and tossed me to the ground. Right onto the path of the spider.

At first I didn’t know what happened. I thought his hand might've slipped. That he would turn around and help me up. Instead, I felt two burning stabs on my back and my body immediately stiffened. I can hazily remember the three of them patiently waiting, hidden behind some trees, while I was paralyzed and encased in web. It was harrowing. I didn’t want to remember. Everything went black.

~~~

The scenery changes once again. It was dark. Cold. I was shaking. I couldn’t move. I was sitting with my back to the wall. I was sticky with sweat and other fluids. I couldn’t remember where I was. Then I saw the spider. It was much bigger than the one that abducted me. Its eyes. They were glowing in the dark. They looked at me. I tried to run away, but my body was stuck to the wall. It was spiderweb. I couldn’t break free.

The spider came closer, its claws clattered in the dark. I tried to break free. It towered over me, its fangs slowly rubbing against each other with a sickening sound. I tried to break free. There was a fleshy sound, and something extended from the abdomen of the spider. It was a large, segmented rod, longer than my arm and about as thick. I tried to break free. The rod wriggled about like a giant maggot as the spider lowered its body. It touched my stomach and spread viscous mucus over it. I desperately tried to break free. It made its way under my clothes, and there was a sudden, searing pain. The worst pain I've ever felt. I no longer struggled. Everything went dark again.

~~~

I opened my eyes with a gasp. It was dark, but… I was warm. After a second, my eyes adjusted, and I looked around. I was in a hut. My body was covered in layers of fur blankets. It smelled bad, but it was nothing compared to the smell of burned flesh I could recall. Where was I? What happened to me?

I wanted to get up, but I froze. There was a goblin in the doorway, a brutish creature with a huge nose and ears. It noticed my movement and made a strange sound and ran away. Did I frighten it? How could I? No, it sounded excited. Why? What were they planning to do to me? I've heard stories of goblins eating the flesh of humans who died in the labyrinth. Maybe they carried me to their village because they thought I was dead. But then why did they cover me in blankets?

I tried to get up, but then I was paralyzed by the sight of the person entering the hut. It was a young girl, and she was beautiful. She was dressed in a stained gambeson, and she had a soot-mark on her face, but somehow even those enhanced her beauty. It was like meeting a princess in a slum. I couldn’t help but wonder what someone like her was doing among the goblins. Was she a prisoner? A slave? Did goblins even have a concept of those things?

I wanted to ask, but before I could utter a word the girl broke into a smile and ran to my side. Her feet pattered around me as she made some free space and she finally kneeled down beside my bedding.

“You woke up! Smaragd was worried because you didn’t wake up. Are you all right?”

“I…” I had a hard time forming words. My lips were dry and my throat was burning every time I tried to swallow. “I'm thirsty.”

The girl nodded and turned around. She pointed at one of the several goblins peeking around the doorframes and ordered, “You! Bring some water! In a clean cup!”

To my surprise the goblin in the doorway not only obeyed, the others around her also followed her lead. The girl nodded to herself with a satisfied grin and she turned to me again. So she wasn’t a slave. But then what was she? Why were the goblins following her commands? I wanted to ask many things, but those questions were for later.

“Where… am I?” I squeezed the question through my parched throat.

“You are in the village.”

“A village? Of… goblins?”

“Yes.”

Before I could ask my next question, the goblins came back. They all carried mugs and cups of various shapes and sizes filled with water. I was confused by the sight, but the girl took the cup from the hands of the first goblin without a word and offered it to me. Normally I would've been wary of a drink offered by a monster, but the girl’s eagerness overcame my caution, and I took a sip. It turned into a big gulp before I knew it, and I emptied the cup in one go, yet I still felt thirsty. When she saw that, the girl took the next mug and handed it to me.

In the end I drank all four cups. Three would've been enough, but then the girl told me that leaving the last cup made the last goblin sad, so I forced it down. I didn’t know why I did that. Maybe because I felt indebted to her and I didn’t want to disappoint her?

At last, the goblins left with smiles on their grotesque faces, and I managed to sit up on my cot of furs.

“Are you okay now?”

“I…” I hesitated for a moment before answering the girl’s earnest question. “I'm… fine.” My stomach felt a little heavy, but I wasn’t lying. I was fine. Surprisingly so, considering the circumstances. I could only think of one reason. “Did you heal me?”

The girl looked at me funny for a moment before she shook my head.

“No, it was Mafter.”

“Mafter? Who is that?”

“Mafter is Mafter,” she repeated like she was stating the obvious. “Mafter is Smaragd’s best friend, and Smaragd loves her a lot.”

“I… see. And where is she now?”

The girl, whom I presumed was called Smaragd, became sullen all of a sudden.

“Mafter disappeared.”

“Oh…” I tried to smile sympathetically, but the expression just didn’t come to me. “Was she taken by the spiders?”

She once again looked at me funny before she answered, “How could that happen? Mafter burned the Manylegs.”

Manylegs? Was she talking about the spiders? I not only didn’t understand, I didn’t even know what to ask first. Thankfully, she continued speaking, unaware of my plight.

“Listen, listen! Do you want to know what happened? Mafter and Smaragd went to the home of the Manylegs to rescue the gobbis they took, but then the big Manylegs woke up and it attacked us. It spit that sticky white thing at us, and then Mafter got really angry, and there was a big boooooooom, and lots of fire, and the big Manylegs was gone. After that, all the little Manylegs got scared and ran away, but then…” Suddenly her voice choked up, startling me. “But then Mafter glowed, and Smaragd could see through Mafter, and Smaragd tried to hold onto Mafter, but Mafter suddenly disappeared and left Smaragd all alone.”

I could only hold my breath in surprise. What the girl described was definitely [Teleportation], an extremely rare magic. I've heard that there were no more than three wizards on the entire continent who could use it. Just who was this ‘Mafter’?

In the meantime Smaragd sniffed and rubbed her nose on the hem of her gambeson, then she forced a smile.

“Smaragd was left alone, with everyone else covered in sticky white stuff, but Smaragd is the chief, so Smaragd had to stay calm and help the others, but then Smaragd remembered that Mafter told Smaragd to keep the hume lady safe, so Smaragd decided to do that, so that when Mafter comes back, she would be happy and tell Smaragd she was a good girl.”

Halfway through she began to rub her nose again, and even though I was in a much worse situation, I could still feel a pang of concern in my chest for my unlikely savior. I reached out and gently patted the back of her hand and said; “I'm sure she is all right.”

“Mm.” She nodded with a weak smile. “Mafter is all right. Smaragd knows, because Mafter is very strong and smart and kind and pretty and strong, so Mafter can do anything… but Smaragd still feels lonely.”

“I see.” I patted her hand again, and for a while, we both stayed silent. I was about to ask her about where exactly I was and whether I could leave once I got better, but then she shook her head and stood up.

“Smaragd has to go and tend to the wounded. It’s Smaragd’s duty as the chief and it should not be skipped. Smaragd will come back and see you again. Is there anything you need?”

I hesitated for a moment, torn between two questions, but at last curiosity won me over.

“You have injured?”

“Yes. All the rescued gobbis were hurt, and only Mafter could heal them, so Smaragd is trying to do her best to help everyone until Mafter comes back.”

“That’s… really admirable.” I paused, looking for the right word. At last I uttered; “I can also use healing magic.”

“You can?” Smaragd grabbed hold of my hands and looked me in the eye. “You really can?”

“Y-Yes… I'm still weak, but I should be able to help a little.”

“Yay! Come, this way!”

Before I knew it I was being dragged out of my bedding and through the hut’s entrance. I felt weak and a little conflicted, but as long as I was helping this earnest, lively girl, I thought I might be able to forget about the horrors I experienced, if only for a short while…