1
'I'm gonna take a nap,' said Ozin sleepily. They had reached the Gorowrath port and sailed up the Vessel River for about ten minutes in the sweltering hot afternoon. All of their stuff was tucked away safely inside Ozin's pocket dimension. They were forced to apply sunscreen to avoid being sunburnt. Even wearing a T-shirt, June was sweating constantly, her blonde hair scorched hot under the sun. Her iconic set of clothes? A cotton-woven white T-shirt with the words 'I ♡ Fjords' on it. Her dark blue shorts were specially strapped by a red, silky ribbon located on her waist for this special occasion. She wore casual/sports shoes that matched the colour scheme of her T-shirt top. Her large, piercing green eyes were exceptionally dazzling. One year after the tsunami she had grown to a considerable height for an eleven-year-old, not shorter than others anymore. Furthermore, her jawbone became gradually more vivid, making her all the more attractive.
Ben wore slightly more formal wear. He rested his feet on the bow and whistled relaxingly. 'There's not going to be ghouls attacking us this time, right?' he remarked.
'I've reimbursed my magic. If they attack us, a magic circle should wipe them out,' Ozin replied casually. 'I'd worry about other things if I were you.'
'Like what?' June asked cautiously.
'You see the forests that are on our left? Be alert! Because we shall get attacked by forest spirits at night. And wolves.' He added.
'How do we deal with them?' she asked, frowning.
'Fire,' Ozin declared. 'Light stops them from approaching, but fire will make them flee. Like all things, the forest is fragile to fire, and so are the things that reside in them.' He brought out a match and blew it with his mouth. Strangely, instead of putting out a fire, it made sparks of flames aloft the thin wooden stick. He raised it to contact with the breeze, and the red tip ignited spontaneously. They watched in great awe, but everything about this place could surprise you. Eventually, the fire smothered. Ozin inserted it back into his pocket, before hearing a loud clang—the match had hit the bottom. 'I've always complained about how the pocket dimension looks a lot like an isolation chamber.' he smiled wryly.
Despite going up the river, the ride was smoother than they expected. Ozin docked their boat in a tiny bay and anchored it by the shores. 'We have to walk a bit now, lads,' said Ozin. 'Setting up camp near the shores will only make it easier for the ghouls to ambush us.' Sammy dropped medium-sized rocks to form a trail behind them. When they reached a clearing, Sammy's clothes were already drenched in sweat. He looked tired but satisfied and gave them a huge grin. 'Nice work, boy,' Ozin congratulated. 'Who wants to take a shower first?' He hinted at his pocket.
'First, there's a house in there, now there's a shower?' June looked flabbergasted. 'Just where did the water come from?'
'I have no clue,' Ozin smiled awkwardly. 'Must be the magic.'
'Must be.'
'Did you hear that?' Ozin shushed. 'The forest spirits.'
Nothing could be heard but faint birds chirping and the loud, clear rustle of the leaves. The forest was cooler than everywhere else, blocking the sun. 'I don't hear anything,' said June hesitantly. 'Besides, it's only late afternoon. Don't they come out at night?'
'The sound of the rustling leaves is the sound of the forest spirits breathing,' said Ozin dreamily. 'They are sleeping, yet to wake up. But they shall soon.' He patted on a thick tree, which was four times his width. 'They're only hostile towards humans because we'd cut down countless numbers of trees in their wake. They can sense the deaths of their children and they know exactly who did it.' He turned solemnly towards them. 'These trees have been here since the beginning of times, much like how most of the things in the world are. Archaeologists say that the world is over five billion years old. We only existed here for two million. The Alpine plains used to be the Alpine forest.' He stopped and wiped away a tear. 'Truly phenomenal, if you ask me.'
'What's this forest called?'
'Vessel forest. It's one of the three existing forests still alive in the Alpine realm. The other two you'll soon see.'
Once they'd settled down, Ozin quickly fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from the magic use. The children didn't want to consume too much of their rations on the first day, so they just ate some sandwiches and put themselves to sleep after that.
They didn't get attacked by anything on the first night and reached back to the shores by following the trail of rocks that Sammy had set down. But the forest spirits would say otherwise on the second.
2
A loud screech rang through Sammy's ears, before he collapsed on the boat, shivering. 'Sam!' June cried, dropping to her knees. 'What happened?' The sound was splitting Sammy's head open, covering his ears didn't help. The piercing scream lasted for half a minute before stopping abruptly. Ozin jolted awake from his nap, shaking the boat. 'Forest spirits,' he said grimly. 'They've noticed us. An attack is inevitable tonight, we have to be aware when we reach our next stop.' He closed his eyes and wrapped his fingers around Sammy's ears. A blue light radiated from his palms, vibrating soothingly. Sammy's features relaxed and he held Ozin's hand. 'Are you feeling alright?' asked Ozin.
'I feel… magnificent,' Sammy whispered softly. 'The uneasy feeling has passed. I feel better now.'
'Great,' proclaimed Ozin. 'I'm hungry, we should have something to eat.'
'What was that all about?' June asked sophisticatedly.
'The forest spirits' warning,' he sighed. 'Their message for us to stay away or else they'll profusely attack us.'
'How did Sammy hear it but not us?'
'Their voices have a high frequency, but just low enough for a child's fresh ears to register. It's fascinating, really.'
'There's no way to stop them from attacking then?' June asked worriedly.
'I'm afraid there aren't,' replied Ozin. 'But as you know, we can keep them away with light.'
'What do they look like?' asked Ben.
'They're everywhere, yet they're invisible to the naked eye. However, you can sense their presence with enough synph.'
'Synph seems to play an important role in this realm.'
'To a degree, yes.' said Ozin profoundly. 'Synph is heavily connected with magic. You can think of synph like this: if magic is electricity then synph are the electrons. Inanimate objects, such as the world itself, have synph of their own. We can harvest its synph and conduct it into magic just like electricity.'
After they'd set up camp, Ozin looked unsettled. He stood up and walked out of the tent entrance. 'Stay here. I'm going to secure the perimeter.' He left without saying another word. Ben drifted off into a restless sleep after playing with Sammy and June until the sun had set, the crickets chirped furiously in the background…
A car passed by the empty streets, and a child was playing on the swings. The metal chains creaked each time he swung. It was turning nighttime as fewer and fewer people strolled by the park. The boy continued swinging, seeming to forget the time. A man walked up to the boy and whispered to him something.
'How long do you think you can ignore reality? You have to face it,' Jayden Faley hissed.
Young Ben looked shocked. 'What do you mean?' He asked innocently.
'Let's be perfectly honest, you can't live with throwing away everything for a person you like.' Jayden whispered mockingly.
'You don't know anything about her.' Ben replied with anger. 'You are dead.' Tears were unresistable.
'One day, you'll understand,' his father continued in a sinister voice. 'That you'll die in vain because of pure love. It will stab into you, torment you, until you become an empty corpse.' He extended his hand. 'Follow me now,' he whispered. 'Leave the Alpine realm, that is not your future. Return to our world and live a long, rich, happy life. Your intellect is enough to make you do so,' He paused for clarity. 'Forget about them, leave them to their own fate. You don't belong there.' He grabbed his hand impulsively.
'It's not true,' Ben snapped his hand back, weeping out loud. 'You're lying. This is only a dream. You've been here before, and I don't know why you would ever come back.' He glared into his father's piercing dark eyes. 'Leave me alone.'
'You know I've only been trying to protect you. Your love and everyone around her will eventually spell your doom,' Jayden snarled, his face became stiff and twisted. 'If you insist on staying, that's fine by me. I'm giving you a chance. Come with me!' He suddenly reached out his hand and snatched Ben's arm harshly.
'Let me go!' Ben screamed, struggling in his grip. 'I'M STAYING WITH HER, IN THE ALPINE REALM!' The street lights flicked as his vision blurred, his father's scarred face shifting in and out of focus.
'STAY IN THE REALM!' roared his father. 'YOU WILL DIE, TRYING TO STAY IN THE REALM!'
'I DON'T CARE IF I DIE! I'VE MADE UP MY MIND AND YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!' Ben closed his eyes and shouted, shouted until his throat went dry and hyperventilating. He opened his eyes.
He was gone.
The street lights flashed and fizzled out, leaving him in complete darkness.
'You've made the right choice, Benjamin Faley,' a layered, mesmerising feminine voice crackled as if coming out of a speaker. 'You will always be there for me… until the end.' Suddenly, eight arms reached out from the darkness and grabbed his back. He yelled in horror as the hands pulled him towards the swing with supernatural strength. The feminine voice laughed maniacally, as the swing was pulled back by more hands, as high as the metallic chains could hold them. Ben's feet were planted into the ground by the hands as the swing let go, swinging into his face at full force.
After a few minutes of silence, the street lights flickered back on. The quietness of the neighbourhood was once again replaced by crickets screeching. And yet, the only place that the streetlights couldn't reach anymore, were the swings, now dripping with blood.
An even louder screech rang through Ben's ears as he jolted awake. The sharp pain was shooting through his stomach. He was met by June and Sammy screaming in a corner of the tent, beaming their flashlights in the air wildly. 'Ben! We're being attacked!' they screamed in panic.
The tent was ripped apart by seemingly nothing. Much of the roof was gone, torn to shreds. Ben analysed the situation and instantly knew what was happening. Ignoring the pain, he grunted and stood up, his eyes scanning the air. Forest spirits. His mind said. Quickly, he threw his own mattress outside the ripped tent as he sensed something swooping down at him. He ducked down, adrenaline rushing. A hole was punctured in the thick material of the tent above him where his head was. The material was shredded like cheddar by what seemed like invisible claws. Without further hesitation, he scrambled for the matchbox, lit a match, and threw the lit match onto the cotton-stuffed mattress outside. 'Get down!' Ben shouted with all his might, his voice cracking up.
'Where did Ozin go?' Ben heard June yell in dismay before he dove for them with his arms and hauled them onto the ground, just in time to hear the cotton mattress combust violently behind him. The excess air inside burst the seal open as clumps of ignited cotton were launched into the dark night. Screeches of agony could be heard as the flaming balls made contact with the invisible spirits, setting them on fire.
The screeches continued as the naked flames drifted around in the air aggressively, dropping bright orange sparks onto them. The three children watched in horror as the burning spirits released silver wisps from their bodies, gradually getting smaller as more and more wisps filled the air.
The screeches got quieter and quieter as more and more fire was put out, more and more wisp filling the air before vanishing out of existence. The lucky ones that didn't get caught fled the scene in terror, still hearing their comrades screaming in agony, before disappearing into the thick woods, never coming out again.
His heart was racing, breathing fast. He lay on the ground in exhaustion, the Haven siblings still in his arms. All of their pyjamas were drenched in large amounts of sweat. The lit mattress was still burning, with the silvery mist lingering in the sky above them. He noticed her teeth chattering, so he pulled her closer, hugging her shoulder tightly. 'Are you cold?' He asked tiredly. She nodded. 'Sorry, I had to set the mattress on fire –' he swallowed as June pulled her jacket over them, breathing shakily.
'You saved us,' she said softly, with joyous tears in her eyes. 'Thank you.'
He smiled, blushing. 'My pleasure,' he said, and then realised he was bleeding. He clutched his stomach as the waves of exquisite pain returned.
'You are hurt,' June exclaimed. Ben released her and turned over to lie on his back as she examined the gash wound on his stomach. 'The forest spirits ambushed us while we were asleep,' she said shakily. 'Sammy heard them first and woke me up, we didn't get a chance to get to you before…' She trailed off, bursting into tears again. 'Oh, Ben. I'm so sorry.' She gave up on her composure. 'Osen came back, but then went out again to pee… he's probably attacked and… Oh, everything that could go wrong did go wrong!' She yelled helplessly, still crying.
'Everything going to be okay…' Ben managed to say. 'Osen couldn't have gone far… knowing him. He's probably more worried about us…' he paused, realising he was going to slip into unconsciousness soon. 'I can't stand up, the cut is too deep. You see the ripped tent? The fibre is perfect for bandaging…' He groaned. 'Good luck.' His vision went out of focus, the world seemed to be swaying. Just before he was about to pass out, he remembered what his father warned him about in his dream. Your love and everyone around her will eventually spell your doom. His high, cold voice repeated and echoed in his mind. To hell with you and your blasphemous philosophy. He thought bleekly, before blacking out.
3
'Sam, you need to find Ozin,' said June urgently, and he nodded. 'We need him, or else Ben wouldn't recover.' She had torn some fabric off the stripped tent and bandaged the wound tightly after cleaning it. The blood gushing out had slowed tremendously, and Ben's breathing had stabilised quickly. While she was treating his wound, she had a sudden flashback of herself bleeding and buried under deep debris, resisting the excruciating pain in her punctured flesh as she waited determinedly for people to rescue her. I got over that memory already. She thought dreamily. But then a simple injury had turned into something much more sinister. June wiped away the blood from the external side of his stomach delicately with a wet wipe.
She was pulled back to reality by out-of-rhythm footsteps coming from the forest. She stood up defensively, beside Sammy, who was holding a metal bar from the remains of their tent. A dim shadow appeared in the distance, limping on the thick branches on the ground and breathing heavily. The siblings looked at each other nervously as the figure came closer, not stopping whatsoever. Deciding to attack first, Sammy performed a rush-down attack and swung his metal bar impulsively onto the figure's head. 'Ouch! What was that for?' the figure cried innocently.
June took a step back, inhaling sharply. The hermit stepped out of the shadows, covered in dirt. 'Osen!' she cried in relief. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine…' he grumbled sleepily, then turned serious. 'Are you alright? I wasn't expecting the forest spirits to attack this early at night. They surrounded me… but I managed to fend them off and scared them away. I heard your screams and came running, but I tripped on a root.'
'Me and Sammy were okay because Ben protected us, but he's injured.' she explained. Ozin looked behind them and saw Ben lying on the ground, passed out. He then raised an eyebrow when he spotted the ripped tent and the severely burnt mattress.
'Tell me about it later,' Ozin gave a small grin, then got to work. He checked on Ben's injuries. 'The cut was pretty deep, and he'd lost a lot of blood,' he reported. 'But fortunately, none of his internal organs were touched.' They sighed with relief as Ozin carefully unwrapped the bandages, rubbing his hands together. A bright, yellow, radiant glow emerged from his palms as he hovered his big hands over the injury. 'This is going to be a very magic-consuming mending,' he commented. 'However, his huge amount of synph should help this process a lot.' A familiar scene of glowing golden particles floated around Ben's torso, shooting tiny bursts of light beams into the wound, regenerating the broken tissue. They lingered around for ten minutes as the siblings watched intriguedly, slowly closing up the open wound until the blood clotted up and left a faint red mark made of fresh skin. 'Done,' he announced, tired but satisfied.
'When is he going to wake up?' asked June.
'Whenever his immune system decides to wake up his brain,' said Ozin, wiping a large bead of sweat off his forehead. 'That's out of my control.'
'Is he safe though?'
Osen nodded. 'He'll be quite weak when he wakes up, best not to evoke him.'
Weary, she dropped to the ground, breathing deeply, while staring at the stars. 'One of those stars is the solar system, our home.' She closed her eyes and stretched her limbs. 'Want to know what Ben did to erase the spirits?' She asked, her mouth half-open.
'Tell me about it,' replied Ozin admiringly.
'After we do something about the tents,' prompted Sammy unhappily.
3
I feel like I'm flying. Ben thought. Please don't let this be a dream. He opened his eyes intriguingly. He was lying in the tent, rebuilt and in place. It was morning, and he could recognise that he was still in the forest from the clear rustling of the leaves and the shadow of the branches cast on the surface of the tent. What happened last night? He wondered. Didn't the tent get destroyed? Or did my absurd mind imagine all of that? He looked down at his slashed stomach—it was fully healed and wrapped in a fresh dressing. Ozin. He nodded, satisfied. I'm not going crazy after all. He sat upright, feeling light-headed. Unshaken by his injury, he walked out of the tent and smiled. They were all there, playing with a deck of cards on a foldable table. June noticed first and ran to embrace him, her head resting on his shoulder, crying with relief. 'You made us worry so much.' she said softly.
'You saved me back,' he grinned. 'So does that make us even?' She let go of him, still sniffing, she nodded.
'What an adventure you guys had last night,' exclaimed Ozin. 'That was very clever of you, Ben, to improvise with the mattress like that.'
'Maybe if you hadn't kept all of the flashlights inside your pocket, we could have saved the bedware.' Ben joked sarcastically.
'My bad,' Ozin apologised. 'I didn't know you had a tendency to sell those.' He answered coolly.
'So much for saving up resources,' Ben sighed. 'I had to do what was necessary.'
They packed up the new tent and left the forest hastily. The river was flowering slower than the first two days, so they'd made a lot of progress going up north in the boat. So much for saving up resources. Ozin sighed. 'We have two options for where to stay tonight. Either on the North shore, which is the Sicily forest, or the South shore, which is the Noen forest.'
'I don't really care to be honest,' June shrugged. 'I'm fine with what you say.'
'Okay, then. Noen forest it is.' replied Ozin. 'Noen forest has more neutral spirits since it has never been excavated by humans, and most of the trees are fruit trees that grow namberries.'
'What are namberries?'
'It's kind of like grapefruit.' answered Ozin.
Soon, they reached a new area of forest that had extremely skinny tree trunks, red bark and dense, yellow, citrusy-scented leaves and branches. A leaf fell onto Sammy's hand and he cried in surprise, blowing it off. 'It stings!' He exclaimed confusedly.
'The leaves are highly acidic,' Ozin said causally. 'But the fruits taste heavenly.' Not being able to reach them, he extended his hand and a fruit came flying into it. The fruit has the shape of a lemon, but the surface is covered by drops of citrus. Ozin dug his fingernails into the namberry and peeled off the skin of citrus, revealing purple pulps that were swelling with juice inside. Ozin chewed the exotic fruit joyously, juice dripping from his chin. 'Try one.' He grabbed more from the trees and passed one to each of them.
'This is so tasty!' exclaimed Sammy, stuffing the whole thing into his mouth. 'I could eat this the whole day without getting sick of it.'
'We might as well pick some of it to refill our rations, while we're at it,' suggested Ben. 'The forest spirits wouldn't mind, they will rot anyway.' Ozin stopped him before he reached for it. 'Use gloves to touch them, or else the fruits will cause skin irritation from the acid. Hermits can use their magic to protect their hands, but others need protection.' He reached into his empty pocket and grasped at nothing. 'Where are the gloves… goddammit! Whoever designed the pocket dimensions did not take organising into account!' he complained. 'There they are!' His hand came out with three pairs of rubber gloves.
They picked at least one hundred of them before the sun had set. Feasting on them for supper, they sat quietly around the campfire while the fire crackled, disappearing into the air. 'The forest was quieter than the first two nights.' June informed. 'Does that mean we're safer?'
'Yes,' said Ozin simply. 'The journey had taken less time than I calculated, we should be able to reach Sorrow Mountain tomorrow.'
'I'm so nervous,' exclaimed Sammy. 'The demons sounded scary.'
'We wouldn't encounter demons until we go higher up the mountain,' replied Ozin. 'And then if we encounter anything, we sneak around them silently.' The fire reflected off his glassy emerald eyes. 'They are thwarted easily by being quiet.'
That night was the most peaceful yet. The fragrance that came from the fruits and leaves was sweet and repelled all of the bug pests from their tent. They slept comfortably and their dreams were equally as good. Against all odds, nothing disturbed them contrary to the previous night.
The next morning, they woke up feeling all energetic and refreshed, sailing up the flowing river confidently, towards their final destination—The Sorrow Mountain.