"Oh my god, I had no idea it could be this bad!"
I zipped up as I was in front of what appeared to be a giant-looking tree. We had been traversing this woodland, which seemed to be a limitless maze, for around 30 minutes along with this chilly, unsettled elderly man.
Although he indicated that his people were nearby, his difination of proximity was different from mine. If I didn't ignore him and finish my work, I would be truly unable to hold it any longer.
I was making effort to use my camera to record all the noteworthy views, but I won't deny that everything appeared to be a dream. I think I came out of the cave through the incorrect door and found myself in a forest full of unknown tribes; maybe I'll be the first to discover them, like Christopher Columbus' adventure in America. A valuable finding is one.
"Hey, look, I am from the other…side of the…mountain."
The old man was pacing alongside me like a statue in motion while gazing at me without showing any expression, but I think he was progressively comprehending as I attempted to explain where I was from. He seemed to know our language, but he should know sign language much better.
"This is a…camera."
I started positioning my camera in front of the man's face since I needed proof for my statements. Despite the fire torch in his palm having given us enough light to see what was happening in front of us under the branches that were creating a roof above us, the camera still had a flash. The flash made my newly found acquaintance look like he was in tremendous terror; he was covering his eyes with his hands as if someone were attempting to smother him.
"No…No mate…!"
I approached him, trying to reassure that it wasn't a big deal.
"I've lost my vision!" May Naralis curse you, stranger—ungrateful, evil; I am going to pierce you down like those undead... if I just…!"
The man was shouting and struggling furiously to reach his hand to the bow that was strapped to his back.
He seemed to be more fluent in my language than I was. It must be the case since there is just one mountain separating us, so everyone here may speak the same language that I am. I should have, however, taken action to do something for the man who was straining his eyes to the point that he would soon become blind for real.
"hey… look at me…"
I mentioned it quietly, trying to hold the man's face upright so he could open his eyes. At the same time, the sound of approaching horses could be heard, and two cavalrymen with emaciated faces and elongated ironed hair that reached their waists emerged out of the woods. They quickly dismounted and walked over to us. It looked as though it was a fashion show of old wartime uniforms, but really, staring into their eyes up close was not that good for the neck.
"Hey you!..."
One of the soldiers shoved me over to another and started tying the elderly man's hands together with a rope while the old man was still writhing.
The other soldier in green armor pulled a rope from his belt and performed the same action as they had with the writhing man, while suspiciously glancing at my ears with eyes that were like watchtowers from my sight. At least they were humans; maybe having razor-looking ears isn't that common in my place, However, I must keep in mind that my ears don't have many admirers here as well; the fact that they were speaking in my language was a cause for gratitude in and of itself.
They accompanied us both as we boarded the stallions; still proceeding on my journey toward an unknown destination with two new tower-looking companions, although this time I was less eager to snap pictures of our new friends.
It didn't take long before we were able to have a view of a wooden gate the size of a water dam that was engraved with various eerie forms and paintings. It appeared as though each scratch had its own hidden narrative.
During the whole time the elderly man was gazing at me strangely, it was obvious he was holding a world of words behind those dry lips. It appeared as though I had intentionally tried to make him blind; but at least his eyes were open once again.
I continued my attempt to explain it to him, but this time I did it in a different way. I wasn't lying, but I also wasn't telling the whole truth; I was simply trying to postpone doing so until the proper time and a proper place.
I told him stories that after all of those events I was beginning to believe myself; I began with saying, "This is a holy weapon that... takes the evil souls away from the victim," and added, "I did not mean anything but to take the evils away and...and staying far from blood and blood spilling because-- you know-- I am a virtue girl—I mean woman," All of the movies I had seen eventually paid off for me, but today my luck was especially good since the man was directing his attention at the camera as though it had anti-ghost abilities. I had to be grateful that my naked hair was not telling a story that was in contrast.
My eyes were mesmerized by the city's enormous gate, which was not too far away. It was an enormous gate; I had never seen anything like it before, not even in historical areas I had visited. The man, however, rapidly increased that shock in me when he grabbed one of the cavalrymen by the neck and hurled him to the ground.
The soldier swiftly dismounted as the horse I was tethered to halted, and the sight of his unsheathed sword reflecting the flames was truly horrifying.
Thanks to the man's good timing, the soldier-like moving flames stationed on the enormous wall were unable to see us under those branches, which served as a thick-backed roof. I believe I should be considering going back home at my earliest convenience as well.
With the sword in both hands, the soldier in green armor charged at the man. A seemingly old man with shackled, bare hands like him would have no chance against that tower-looking opponent.
With a panicked expression and my eyes locked on the dance of the blade in the air, I hurled myself to the ground. Trying on all fours to reach the fallen soldier's half-dead body lying on the ground while they were still fighting. The half-dead body of the soldier was still moving slightly, especially his lips which seemed that he was mumbling to himself while holding a dagger in his shoulder and blood surrounding his neck. My body started to shudder involuntarily as soon as my eyes rested at blood flooding next to him, which appeared like a sea, drowning me in fear.
The best I could manage for him was to tie the linen scarf I was wearing around my waist to his shoulder while he kept his eyes glued to mine.
I tried with all my might to get the sword out of it's scabbard, but this time the damn blade was not like the ones I was used to seeing in movies, which could be held in one hand, but this iron sh*t could not even be lifted off the ground with two hands.
I gazed at the sword for a few seconds while my pulse was racing in my chest. I tried to reach for the dagger that was hanging from the man's belt after feeling let down from lifting off the sword.
"Ah!!!"
The elderly man's loud groans emerged as he struck the armored man across the chest with his own sword, hitting him to the ground.
"Stranger, we need to get out of here right away!"
My steps involuntarily followed the man as he limped toward one of the stallions while pointing at me with a serious expression on his face and hands coated in blood, as if my brain was out of signal like the antennas here.
Simultaneously, while I was having a hard time mounting the horse, which was way higher than I was, several other riders in green armor appeared out of nowhere.
I was experiencing a variety of emotions at the moment that were hard to explain; it was a kind combination of, faster they are coming, dread, worry, and exhilaration and the ground, which was covered in the blood of those maybe innocent men, did nothing more than exacerbate my sensations of nausea.
"You little bastards, you won't be able to even touch the book."
mumbled the old man under his breath,
I felt that I should agree with him after witnessing his combat with the two dead bodies a few feet behind us, but other than that, he labeled them "little." Who knows? They may be bastards, but I do know that they are not small.
In my whole life, I had only ever been on a roller coaster once, but this must have been the second time. I clutched at the old guy like a little kid. He was rushing the horse around the massive wall and wooden barricades while dodging thorny plants and trees.
Armed men with bows and arrows continued to pursue us, and the wind that was rustling through the tree branches was imitating wolves' howling, along with the sound of the arrows that were cutting the wind and haunting the wolf howls in the air. Fortunately, they were not able to bring us down, at least not yet.
Our pursuit lasted for a while, like a cat chasing a mouse, until the elderly guy pulled a fast one, playing on the night's darkness, and slipped around the corner of the wall.
Despite the blazing summer weather, I felt coldness creep into my heart as soon as we stepped off the horse.
"Here..."
I moved ahead without thinking twice when I heard the old man, who was shoulder to shoulder with the wall, urging me to get to him. The man seemed to remove a little hatch leading underground from the surface, and he jumped in without a moment's hesitation.
It was dark inside, and although my dread of darkness was a formidable foe, those bows and arrows appeared to be even more resilient. I kept my eyes shut on each other until my distrust was no longer a barrier, and I dove headfirst into the door's shadowy interior. Yet in contrast to what I had imagined, it was not that deep at all, and the terror, like the depth, was only overexaggerated; the man abruptly shut the door behind my back.
There were lines of sparks surfacing in the air, giving the impression that he was clacking stones in his hand. It took him no time at all to succeed in starting a fire. A flame that was bright enough to fill that apparently cramped, dark room with brightness.
The space was congested, but it was unquestionably not due to the tight walls; rather, it was because of the countless wooden tables dominated by various accessories on them.
It appeared to be a collection of filthy and outdated items, ranging from books of all kinds that looked as though they were shedding skin for how old they were, to horns and tails beside other animal parts in glass cans.
My eyes fell on the man again among all of those duty items when I realized that he had not manufactured a flame with a piece of wood and sparks but rather by holding a bizarre instrument with two pointy edges that had flames that were extremely hot, resembling genuine flames.
Contrary to what I expected, they have access to a lot of items that it seems my city's residents don't even know exist, including this shiny, flame-looking thing that I had never seen before. Now I understand why he was not that surprised by the story of my camera.
"From which tribe are you, lass?" It seems that you were after the same book that I was looking for at the moon well, Huh?!"
In the long run, by asking me a question the man broke the silence that had been surrounding the tunnel, a question that I had no idea about, while he was hurriedly yet quickly pacing toward a small wooden door at the end of the tunnel.
But what was on the other side of the door left me speechless, as much as I could not even think up another white lie for his inquiry.
"OH GOD!"...