The Lost Quest

Creeping beneath the climbers jumping over the roots, bending against the twisted trunks, Yannic and Zohar reached the mid part of the forest. On the way, they only could hear the sound of the cracking dried leaves and dead grass on the floor. A strange desolation they felt in the dense forest.

“Ouch!”

Yannic knocked his head on a twisted branch, held his head and sat down on a bulging root sprouting out of the forest floor.

“Why are all the trees in this forest so twisted? It’s so difficult to move ahead.” said Yannic as he rubbed his forehead.

Zohar stopped and turned around touched the nearby branch.

“These trees have been cursed, my lord.”

“Cursed? How is that?”

“After Ariman invaded Peninha, he captured and tortured the good people. Especially, the queen and the princesses. Those high born beauties rich in values and ethics could not tolerate the tortures of Ariman and his demons. They fled from Peninha to this forest through the pond but demons followed them. They felt it would be better to kill themselves rather than to return to the same torturous hell in Peninha. The queen was skilled of wizardry, so she commanded all the trees to block the way so that they could die pious, untouched by those evil beasts. They all hung themselves on these tree.”

Yannic nodded in agreement.

“The pain of their screams and their tears were so intense that no birds or animal could stay in this mournful environment. No flower have ever bloomed since that day. The forest was only left with these cursed trees and the hideous silence which still haunts everyone who visits this place.”

“But you were not here when that happened. How did you know all about it, Zohar?”

“I’ve communicated with these trees, the creepers, the climbers. They have told me their stories, my lord.” Zohar smiled to himself.

“Let’s move ahead there’s a long way to Peninha.”

Yannic followed Zohar and both headed towards the holy pond. Even, after walking for hours, all they could see was the twisted trees, bushes and creepers getting denser and denser. The path ahead was all covered.

“How do we move further? The creepers have all blocked the ways.” Yannic looked Zohar. Zohar stepped ahead raised his hand and swung them apart. The creepers and the twisted trees slowly moved apart and made ways for them.

“Zohar, they follow your command.” Yannic looked Zohar in amaze. Zohar smiled. Both men started moving towards the denser part of the forest kicking the dried veins. They had been walking for hours, continuously starving. Yannic felt his throat getting dry, he started coughing. “Do we have water?”

“There’s no water shed in this forest. But there’s a fountain past this forest. You rest here. I’ll go get you water.” Said Zohar and left Yannic in the forest and went to fetch the water. Yannic rested beneath the tree on a twisted root. In the silence, he felt gentle breeze blowing past his hair. The moving leaves had gentle rattling sounds, he could hear.

“Yannic!” he heard something whispering above him.

“Yannic!” he looked up. He could see blue feet trembling, on the air. He moved his eyes up, he saw a boy with a rope around his neck, turning blue, fighting for his breath. He was swinging on the air, with his head tilted to his shoulder as he opened his red eyes. Blood flowing out of his mouth and ears had his face painted.

“Save me! They are killing me. Save me Lord!” his voice fell upon his ear.

“Save me!” “They took him away. They are going to kill him too.”

“Save us!”

Yannic stared at the boy.

He had the same feeling, when he saw Tiara, the previous day. Yannic gathering all his guts, stepped ahead and asked.

“Who’s killing you?”

“Who’s taken away?”

Yannic could see tears rolling through his eyes.

“Whom are you talking to?” he heard Zohar talk from behind. He had brought water.

“Zohar, this boy” Yannic pointed towards the tree.

“There’s no one, Yannic.”

There was no one. It was difficult for Yannic to believe, he just had heard a boy talking. Yannic turned back to the tree. The boy had got off the tree and was standing in front of him.

“But you cannot harm him. You’re attached to him. He’ll kill you too. Run away! Run Away!” shouted the boy. He smiled, showing his blood painted teeth and ran towards Yannic to grab his throat.

“Get off me!”

“Get off me!” shouted Yannic as he tried

to pull out his hands away from the throat. To Zohar it seemed like Yannic was

fighting with himself, grabbing his own

throat.

“Yannic! Yannic there’s no one.”

“Zohar, get off this boy from me.” he continued fighting the virtual boy with bloody teeth and red eyes.

“You’re being haunted Yannic. Wake up! Wake up!” shouted Zohar. He took water on his hand, mumbled some chants and sprinkled over Yannic. Yannic stopped, unaware of what had happened earlier. He started coughing vigorously.

“Here’s the water.” Zohar had brought the water on an old leather bottle he carried on his belt of the cloak. Yannic drank the water hastily spilling all over the face. He finally recovered.

“It was horrible. What was that? A dream?” Yannic asked.

“The forest’s haunting you, my lord.”

“Yes, may be the curse,” Consoled Yannic to himself.

“Help” “Help!!!”

“HELP!!!!!!!”

Suddenly, the men heard some ruffles on the forest floor, cracking and crumbling of the dried leaves. It felt like some ones being chased into the woods. The fear they could hear in the form of heavy breaths and bumping hearts. The men hustled towards the part from where the scream was being heard. “Help!” “Help!”

The voice was fading away as they were approaching the point. They saw a boy, lying on the floor above a pile of dried leaves. He had his abdomen torn brutally as if fed by any wild creature. His eyes turned red in pain. Zohar and Yannic got near the boy. Yannic held his head and put it on the lap to comfort him. Looked carefully into his face.

“Beth!”

“It’s Beth.”

He had seen that cheerful boy with Aiden in his wedding ceremony and there he was lying on the forest about to die. Tears came rolling through his eyes.

“You went out to the camp with Aiden,

right? What happened? Who did this to you?” Yannic was shocked.

The boy could not speak he slowly raised

his hand and pointed towards the bushes. Yannic and Zohar felt something moving behind the bushes. Three men in black cloak were rushing towards the denser part. Yannic got up to follow them. Zohar stopped him. “They are the demons of Peninha, they will hurt you here. You can only invade them in Peninha.”

“Why is that?” asked Yannic

“That’s your kingdom. The pure shrine where the good souls have been captured. Until you sit on the throne and gain all the blessings of the good souls and remember your powers, you cannot win them. You’re just a weak human here, way too weaker than those demons.”

The boy started breathing heavily as if he was counting his last breath. Zohar gently poured water into his mouth. The boy coughed he could not even swallow the water. Yannic could see the blood flowing through his mouth. He saw tears rolling through his cheeks, he enlarged his eyes as stopped breathing. Yannic felt like he was getting a Deja vu. He had seen that boy bleeding from his mouth, his tears he had seen flowing through his cheeks erstwhile.

“Zohar, I had seen him before.” Zohar nodded in agreement.

“Hanging on that tree. Yes! He was the boy who attacked me. I saw him Zohar.”

Zohar seemed no surprised but he looked down and tried to look away from Yannic.

“What does that mean Zohar? I had seen Tiara the previous day.”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Zohar slowly looked up. He was sad.

“Yannic!” “This is the suicide forest. You see dead people hanging on the tree.”

“You said I was being hunt.”

Zohar looked down. “They must have ripped her by now.”

Yannic took out the cell. Switched it on, but it won’t. The battery was dead, he threw the mobile in detest. “I’ll go save her.”

Yannic started running through the trees.

“You can’t reach her,” shouted Zohar. “You’ve already being bounded by magic. You can’t go out.”

“Why? She’s my wife. I need her. I’ve sworn to protect her. I can’t let her die!”

“You can’t go back Yannic! Do you know how you came into this forest? How you got into that river?”

“You can’t go back until you finish what you came for.”

Yannic stopped, got down on his knees. In front of him, he could see sun setting from the gaps of trees. In that silent dusk, he could feel his beloved slipping away from him. He was crying. His tears were dropping on the body of crumbled dried leaves. At the side of him, laid an innocent lad on the pool of blood and Zohar, well he was looking at his lord, the heir to the throne, the rage he could see into his eyes, the flame that he would keep burning to get back their lost kingdom.