FATELESS: A Boy’s Bonds

Ghost Town

 

My slumber was unfortunately short-lived.

As the red-orange sun ascended above the stark white horizon, a loud thumping emerged from the outside of our door.

Awoken by the thunderous knocks that would put my father to shame, I opened my eyes.

Warm light spilled through the small window and painted our room in a pleasant hue. A thin layer of frost covered the glass like thorny vines; the picturesque sky beyond indicating that the snow storm had passed.

When I realized that the room was deathly silent, I turned to the side and locked eyes with the boy beside me.

"Morning," Ben said. He was once again uncomfortably close. "Nara woke up first."

“Uh-huh.”

I turned away from Ben’s face and sat up, glancing over at our third roommate. Ruse sat on his haunches while rustling through the bags sat beside his mattress.

“Good morning, Frost. Sleep well?”

Rather than returning his greeting, my attention was drawn to Ruse’s uncharacteristically tousled hair, a ginger jungle, sitting atop a sunkissed head and waving at me like some kind of sea creature.

“Nice hair,” I said.

His green eyes widened, hands flashing up to his head in a desperate attempt to fix his precious mane.

Ben sat up and stretched his arms, yawning softly. He was such a quiet boy while awake, but I promised myself never to share a room with him in the future.

I’d rather battle blight wolves than attempt to sleep next to the living blowing horn.

With a weary sigh, I stood and strode over to my own supplies. I slipped the white cloak over my shoulders in a single motion and carefully placed the leather sack within.

At my hip, I strapped a froststeel dagger I’d taken from a bandit months ago. Safer and easier to wield than a sword, though I rarely had the chance to use it.

I preferred to travel light, with the bare essentials on my person. Though I lacked the physical strength of Father or Abel, I made up for it with my slight body.

As a magic-user, it was better for me to keep my distance and use my speed than engaging in close combat. So lumbersome baggage would only get in the way of my fighting style.

By contrast, Ruse kept many bags of mysterious contents at his side. Meaning that he forced Ben to carry them for him.

Again, the door trembled.

“I hope no-one’s trying to sleep,” Ben said, his face creasing into a concerned frown. “She’s going to make Byulf angry.”

“Yes, Yes. We wouldn’t want to upset the old man,” Ruse replied. He shot to his feet and made his way toward the door.

Neglected hinges creaked as the wood parted, revealing a tall figure standing beyond the threshold. Her dark eyes bored into Ruse’s with a scowl.

“I’ve been knocking for five minutes. You boys better have gone deaf.”

“Good morning, dearest Nara."

Nara growled and shoved him away, stomping into our room with heavy footsteps. Ben waved a hand, eliciting a small nod.

By contrast, Nara's expression fell even further upon seeing me. As you can surely tell, I have a way with women.

Ruse met my eyes with a shrug and nodded toward Nara’s back while comically mimicking her expression.

Which somehow did not go unnoticed, prompting Nara to punch Ruse in his shoulder. I heard the man yelp in pain but my attention was already moving toward the girl standing outside the room.

Tia’s hair was freshly washed and fell across her forehead in dark curls. She seemed hesitant to enter our lodgings, glancing around with a flush.

When she noticed my stare, the red of her cheeks deepened and she quickly hopped into the room, closing the door behind her.

She’d changed out of her soiled brown robes, opting to wear a simple traveling outfit instead. The soft cloth clung to her wet body like a second skin, revealing the curves of her body and the shape of what she wore beneath…

What am I doing? I asked himself, quickly fixing my gaze on the floor. I could feel my cheeks burning, and sank deeper into the folds of my cloak.

‘What’s wrong? Didn’t you want to be more like your brother?’

As usual, Zakarot seemed to only pay attention at the most inopportune times.

We need to stay focused. The Apostles could be on their way to Ormr as we speak.

‘Oh, they certainly are. But this town has its own problems, and you’re a teenage boy. None would blame you if–’

My goal should be to solve Ormr’s problems, then. I don’t suppose you sent me here to stare at girls.

‘No. That’s not a bad plan, though.’

I shook my head, purging the last of my indecent thoughts, and turned back toward Nara. She and Ruse were locked in a heated conversation, while Ben stood in the corner of the room as he collected his leather armor and strapped it on.

Unlike Ruse and I, the young archer hadn’t cleaned his gear. Odorous black stains tarnished the dark leather, though it seemed that he’d cleaned off his bow properly.

Ben’s bow was of particular interest to me, having caught my attention during our first meeting.

It was made of simple elm wood, like most bows you’d find in Geimhread, but a series of runes were etched into its belly. I’d wanted to get a closer look so that Zakarot could properly inspect them but the boy rarely let it out of his reach.

Even while sleeping, it would always be placed directly next to him. I surmised that the bow was probably of some sentimental value, similar to my own cloak.

That didn’t keep me from wanting to study it, though.

“I haven’t seen a single body enter or leave these doors since we arrived. Doesn’t that seem strange to you, Ruse?” Nara’s voice tore my focus away from the mysterious runes and back to the mercenaries’ argument.

“They probably woke up before you,” Ruse replied, tying his hair back with an unfazed expression. “We’ll talk to Byulf soon enough anyway, so ask the old man himself. We need to get rid of those wolf pelts before they start rotting.”

“Rotting more, you mean?” Tia grimaced and pointed toward the sack hanging from Nara’s large back.

A bunch of gray-fur could be seen sticking out from its cover, and the blighted wolves were indeed releasing a pungent odor, not unlike Ben’s armor.

“Do you really think he'll buy them?” Ben asked.

Ruse turned toward the boy and held a hand to his chest in mock insult, “Why, of course. Do you doubt your leader’s mercantile talents, Benjamin?”

“Is that what you call scamming a destitute innkeeper out of his hard-earned coin?” I asked, fixing a cool gaze upon Ruse.

His smile never faltering, Ruse shrugged. “So similar as to be indistinguishable.”

Well, at least he’s aware.

It wasn’t like I boasted a particularly strict moral code. I was on a mission to save lives, but lived under no heroic delusions. People were being scammed every day in each part of the world.

If Byulf bought those worthless blight pelts, it would be his own mistake. I wasn’t going to argue on the old man’s behalf.

Though I wouldn’t deny that I felt a pang of guilt when considering that these people were just trying to survive, much like the people of Flykra Village.

He might be able to sell them to scholars for study, but I doubt anyone in Ormr has connections within any major guilds.

The Wayfarer’s Guild, a group of explorers dedicated to uncovering the world’s secrets, and the Magocracy would surely pay good money for a collection of mostly in-tact samples of the blight.

There were many other guilds throughout the world, such as the Merchant’s Guild and Mercenary’s Guild, but I didn’t know much about them.

Zakarot insisted that we avoid the Mercenary’s Guild, because it attracted unsavory characters. While mercenaries themselves are simply folk who sell their services in exchange for coin, each individual has certain lines they will or won’t cross.

My past five months had been spent running errands and slaying beasts, while others spent their time working as hit-men or thieves. I wasn’t in a hurry to brush shoulders with that crowd.

“Frost, are you coming?”

I was torn from my thoughts by Tia, standing in the doorway by her lonesome. It seemed that everyone else had decided to proceed with Ruse’s plans and left to visit the innkeeper.

With a shrug, I nodded and strode toward the lone girl. She smiled at my approach and we started down the hall-way that would take us back into the common area.

Though I hadn’t realized it the night prior, the inn’s first floor was lit by a plethora of windows that covered each wall.

The morning sun’s rays shone through the glass and created an atmosphere wholly different than the last time we’d been in this room. It also put the dust clinging to the furniture on full display.

Byulf's inn itself could have been a comfortable place if he’d decided to clean once in awhile.

As Tia and I reached the end of the stairway, our eyes were drawn to the innkeeper’s counter. Harsh voices echoed through the desolate room.

Ruse stood in-front of the broad counter with an atypical expression, his sharp brows furrowed in confusion. Nara stood behind him with her arms crossed while Ben looked on with his usual anxious frown.

Standing in-front of them, beyond the counter, was a man who was certainly not Byulf. He was at-least a decade younger than the innkeeper had been, and possessed a full head of graying hair that reminded me of a helmet.

Beneath caterpillar-esque eyebrows, the man’s beady eyes settled upon us.

“Oh, great. Just how many of you are there?! That makes five, so I expect you to fork over double unless you want me to call the town guards..!”

Ruse raised his hands in a placating expression, his smile unusually strained. “Listen, sir. We already spoke to the innkeeper last evening and paid his price of two silver.” The leader’s head swiveled on his shoulders as he searched the room, “Where is the kindly old man, anyway? I have some treasures I think he’ll really enjoy–”

“What nonsense..? I don’t know who you are, but I’m the innkeeper. I set the price. Two silver for five guests? In this economy? Are you insane?"

Ruse’s eyes widened at the man’s words. “What? The elderly gentleman we spoke to claimed that he was the innkeeper. You’ll find my crowns somewhere around here, I’m certain.”

The ‘new’ innkeeper grumbled and began rustling through the contents of his counter. Tia and I joined the group, the former immediately beginning to pepper the others with questions.

Ben was quite happy to indulge her curiosity. “We came down here and this man started yelling at us. He said we were trespassing, and that Nara’s knocking disturbed the other customers…”

“There are no more customers,” Nara replied grumpily. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that her lips were contorted into a pout.

“Were we scammed, then?” Tia asked.

I shook my head. “Scammed out of two silver crowns? We would have paid far more for shelter from that storm, and any scam artist would’ve known it.”

Though Byulf had rubbed me the wrong way, I doubted that he’d intended to scam us. Crime was likely more common in this region than eastern Geimhread, but scammers and thieves tended to be vagrants.

An elderly man like Byulf couldn’t trek through the northern wilderness on his own, and partners would imply that he was part of a gang. No gang would scam a group of well-equipped travelers out of a measly two silver.

“Hnh. Frost has the right of it, I think this one’s more likely to be a thief.” Nara’s gauntleted hands began to tighten around the hilt of her warhammer, prompting Ben to begin scolding her.

“Ah! Two silver crowns.”

The innkeeper spoke, holding a pair of silver coins in his palm. He glanced up at us with a frown. It seemed that Byulf had left the coins on the counter, which had then been buried when this new innkeeper placed his own materials over them.

Meaning that they weren’t likely to be working together, and Byulf was certainly not a thief. At-least, not a very good one.

‘There’s a reason why geriatric criminals are so rare.’

“See? I would never take advantage of an elder,” Ruse replied. I held back a snort, though Nara did not. Ruse glared over his shoulder and continued, “My sincerest apologies if this is below your established prices, but Byulf assured us that we were speaking to the owner. Perhaps if we can find him–”

Ruse stopped when the innkeeper’s face visibly paled. His eyes widened in horror as he listened to the mercenary’s words.

Bringing a trembling hand to his helmet-like hair, the innkeeper let out a shaky breath. “...Byulf, you say? I’m afraid that ain't possible.”

“Why is that?” Ruse asked.

“Byulf is my father, the previous owner of this inn. He’s been dead since before my sixteenth nameday.”

The mercenaries each blanched in response, and Tia let out a soft gasp. Even I hadn't been expecting that answer. At this point, the geriatric criminal angle actually seemed more believable.

Ruse struggled to regain his composure, words beginning to sputter from his lips. At any other time, I would find it immensely satisfying to see the man’s mask crumble.

“Pardon? Byulf is dead? Then who did we speak to last night?”

The innkeeper scratched at the back of his neck before leaning against the broad countertop in a very Byulf-esque way.

Now that I'd heard they were related, I could see the slight resemblance. Their dark beady eyes, squashed noses, and thick eyebrows were evidence of their familial relation.

He sighed. “Well, I can’t say for certain but...I think you probably did speak to my father.”

The truth settled into the pit of my stomach, as I realized the innkeeper’s meaning. None of the other mercenaries seemed to understand, appearing even more confused than before.

I had my suspicions, especially when Byulf mentioned seeing six guests.

The way he’d looked at me made me think that the elderly man could sense Zakarot’s presence.

But the spirit was hidden within an incorporeal form at the time. Even another animancer wouldn’t have been able to see nor hear him unless they were linked through a contract.

So, Byulf wasn’t an animancer.

“Your father’s a spirit,” I stated matter-of-factly.

Everyone turned toward me, surprised. The innkeeper recovered first, appearing mildly impressed. He nodded gravely. “I’m afraid so. This town has a reputation for being cursed, you see. Been stories of ghosts and shades ever since I was a wee lad.”

“G-Ghosts? This inn actually is haunted?!” Ben shrieked in no particular direction, swaying on his feet as if he was about to faint. Tia didn’t look much better, her eyes round as dinner plates.

By contrast, Nara immediately straightened her back and adopted a battle posture. Her knuckles tightened across the hammer’s hilt once more, but this time no-one stopped her.

Even Ruse seemed unnerved, though a smirk was playing at the ends of his lips.

“Ghosts? Really? You’re saying that a ghost took my crowns?” Ruse asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

“Bah. We’re right smack in the middle of the northern trade route. Ain’t normal for a town like this to be so empty. Don’t tell me ya didn’t notice the state of my inn here?” The innkeeper scowled and gestured behind us, where the dust-covered furniture sat. “Y’all are my first guests in weeks, ‘sides the other lad who's been staying here.”

I stepped closer to the counter, drawing the innkeeper’s attention. “You didn’t know about your father’s spirit, so I assume there are others. Is that why travelers have been avoiding Ormr?”

The innkeeper nodded again. “It used to be stories, that’s all. I never saw a ghost myself until…” his beady eyes flicked around the room nervously before continuing. “Until five months ago, when everythin’ went to shit.”

Five months.

When I was outed as one of the Fateless and woke the Demiurge from its slumber. It seemed that there were more side-effects than the blight and strange weather.

Whether the Demiurge’s power had any power over the dead, I wasn’t sure. That’s why I called out to the resident expert.

Zakarot. Care to elaborate?

I waited. And waited.

The spirit made no attempt to respond. I stifled a groan at my companion’s behavior. As usual, Zakarot had vanished when I needed him most.

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I drudged up the information I’d learned about spirits. Most spirits weren’t powerful enough to assume corporeal form, let alone interact with the physical world.

That was why I’d scarcely seen any spirits since awakening my talent. Even animancers can’t see spirits if they’re incorporeal, though they can feel them.

That could have been the source of the unease I’d felt ever since approaching the town.

There were many types and classifications of spirits, and Zakarot was far from ordinary. It helped that he was a powerful magic-user in life, but his mastery over spirit magic was a result of his classification.

Which he kept a closely-guarded secret, despite my constant inquiries.

Byulf was able to easily interact with physical objects, and the non-animancers in the group had seen him. He was a spirit who could assume not only corporeal form, but physical form.

Was that elderly innkeeper a powerful spirit like Zakarot? Doubtful.

Something was seriously wrong with Ormr if the villagers were consistently witnessing spirits in corporeal or physical form. Either this was once some sort of ancient battleground, or the Demiurge’s power was somehow causing this.

Apparently taking my silence as a prompt to continue, the innkeeper resumed his explanation. None of the mercenaries seemed able to interrupt.

“No-one stays dead in this town anymore. I never heard of my own father haunting our inn, but there’s no mistake. Only an old-timer would charge two silver for five patrons. The economy ain’t what it used to be, after-all.”

“Has anyone been attacked by these spirits?” I asked.

The innkeeper scratched at his helmet hair. “Alotta injuries. Bite marks, claws, and the like. Sometimes the bastards will mess with ya, tryin’ to trip people and such. That’s why nobody goes out past sunset anymore.”

“Any deaths?”

His expression faltered further, beady eyes growing heavy. “Only at the old graveyard. The alderman closed it off ‘cause people were being found…” The innkeeper swallowed deeply, glancing down at his feet.

The implication was clear enough: these spirits had already killed people.

“Bite marks?” Ben was sitting in a chair, his trembling growing fiercer with each word.

“Frost, do you understand what’s happening here?” Tia asked, licking at her lips nervously, barely disguised panic on her face.

I frowned. “I have some…experience with spirits.”

“Wonderful!” Ruse–who had been strangely quiet for a while–exclaimed brightly. Everyone in the room save for myself jumped at the sudden proclamation. “Ghosts are haunting this fine town and I’m certain you wish for them to be dealt with, yes? It just so happens that our friend, the infamous White Frost, is an experienced spirit hunter! We’d be more than happy to help you if we receive appropriate compon– ”

“I’m not a spirit hunter,” I interjected. Ruse slumped, turning back to me with a frown.

But loathe as I was to admit it, Ruse did have a point. This was undoubtedly the reason I was there.

Zakarot was treating this as a test; he wanted me to do something about Ormr’s plight. So, with a heavy sigh, I met his gaze.

“You’re right, though. I can’t leave this alone.”

Ruse’s expression lifted once more, and he turned back to the innkeeper. “As I was saying, with appropriate compensation, the Four Fists would be more than happy to help the good people of Ormr.”

The innkeeper nodded once and then frowned. “There are five of you.”

“Please don’t change the subject,” Ruse replied with a dismissive wave. “What do you say, sir?”

The innkeeper pursed his lips, narrowed eyes sweeping over the group as if gauging our usefulness. Then, he shrugged.

“We don’t have much in the way of crowns, but I’m sure we could scrounge up enough. I’d have to bring this up with the alderman, though. What do ya plan on doing? The folks around here ain't used to your strange sorcery and whatnot. Not many ‘mancers around here.”

I nodded. “I’ll try not to cause a ruckus. As for my methods, I can’t say until I do some investigating on my own.” Then, I turned back to Ruse. “And I do mean on my own.”

With that, I put distance between myself and the group. Zakarot still wasn’t responding, leaving me with little more than my own thoughts.

Though I talked a big game, this was my first time dealing with spirits.

Questions leapt around in my head.

If these spirits take physical form, they can obviously be harmed. But how should I deal with the others? How do I exorcize an entire town of spirits? And most importantly, how do I find what’s causing these spirits to stay here, in our world?

From the sound of it, Ormr was practically overflowing with lost souls.

The timing can’t be a coincidence. This must have something to do with the Demiurge, but what can I even do here? It’s not like I can tell it to stop.

If the Demiurge’s presence was causing this, then it would hardly be an isolated incident. We’d traveled through most of central Geimhread, and the only genuine spirits I’d seen were Zakarot and Byulf.

Something in Ormr had to be reacting to the Demiurge’s power, trapping the spirits within the town’s boundary and preventing them from passing on.

Locked in contemplation, I didn’t notice that Ruse had crept up behind me.

“Hello, there. Crown for your thoughts?”

Whipping around, I glared back at him. “I told you already. This is where we go our separate ways.”

“Aw, but look at Tia! She’s so worried for you! Are you the type to break a beautiful girl’s heart?” Ruse began pouting theatrically.

I did as told, and found four pairs of eyes locked onto me. Tia’s were among them, but she looked more terrified by the prospect of murderous ghosts than for my own safety.

I was likely the strongest individual in the area, afterall. These mercenaries only wanted me around for my protection.

Not that I blamed them. I kind of wanted someone around for my own protection.

As if reading my thoughts, Ruse continued. “I know you’re strong, Frost. But even the strongest warriors can be stabbed in the back, yes? You need allies. Allies you can trust. Allies like, I don’t know...A dashing rogue? A grumpy but loyal warrior? A sharp-eyed archer? A pretty magic-user who desperately needs a pair of glasses? I–”

“You can’t even see spirits, Ruse.”

“What? Clearly we can...” Ruse chuckled.

“Anyone can see spirits like Byulf. Most of them can’t manifest physically, and only animancers can see them. Is there another animancer in this room besides myself?”

Ruse winced at the word ‘animancer’, and I realized this was the first time I'd told someone about my talent. Zakarot had warned me about animancy being a taboo discipline, and considered heretical by the church.

In olden days, animancers found in the Holy City would be executed on sight.

The advent of the Magocracy had cleared up many of the nastier rumors, but most didn’t have access to their knowledge. They connected animancers to stories of demons and possession.

I half expected Ruse to begin treating me like a leper, but the man didn’t seem that fazed. “Then you can be our eyes! ‘If you can’t see with your eyes, see with your magic’, right?”

Grimacing at having my own words used against me, I sighed. The mercenary’s logic wasn’t horrible, but…

“Even so, there’s no reason for the Four Fists to stay here. You won’t find any profit–Oh.”

Ruse nodded. “We’re mercenaries; we risk our lives for crowns everyday! And while these townsfolk might not have much to spare, ridding Geimhread’s cursed town of evil spirits would surely boost our reputation. I’m thinking long-term, Frost.”

“You’re not concerned about being torn apart by enemies you can’t even see?”

“Not at all!” Ruse replied with a grin.

“Yes!” Ben replied from the back of the room, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

I considered the man’s proposal. The idea of putting these people in danger didn’t sit well with me, but I also didn’t like the idea of fighting unknown enemies on my own.

And this could have been the reason Zakarot told me to travel with the Four Fists to begin with.

An idea sprung to mind, and I glanced over at the others. Nara’s gaze was fixed on me alone, and she seemed even angrier than usual.

Perhaps because I’d outed myself as an animancer–who knows what kinds of things the southerners say about us.

Tia was relatively calm, despite her knocking knees and fearful pallor. I didn’t think she was afraid of me, moreso of the threat we were facing by staying in Ormr.

“Tia?” I asked reservedly, hoping I was correct.

The girl perked up at the sound of her name. “Y-Yes?”

“Let’s make a deal.” I glanced at Ruse before continuing. “I’ll allow the Four Fists to assist me, and you can even have the earnings.”

Ruse’s eyes widened greedily as he leaned uncomfortably close to me.

“In exchange, I only want one thing.” My gaze shifted back to Tia. Her eyes widened. “Please teach me how to use aeromancy.”