Chapter 8 #3
The demon dog stood there, panting happily, tail wagging wildly. A small chirping sound escaped him as he bounced forward.
For a moment Aldric simply stared.
He didn’t know what to do.
Then his chest broke open.
Tears came without warning.
He dropped forward and wrapped his arms around the animal.
Nimble didn’t care about Aldric’s state in the slightest. He sat down and licked Aldric’s face enthusiastically, tail thumping against the sand as if this was the happiest moment of his life.
Aldric buried his face in the dog’s neck.
“I’m sorry, boy,” he whispered hoarsely.
Nimble chirped again.
Licked his cheek.
“Daddy is sick… Daddy will need to be away from home for a long time. I hope you’ll have it good back in the palace.”
Aldric scratched behind his ears.
He wiped his blurry eyes with the back of his hands and smiled, the first time in gods knew how long.
The dog’s tongue hung out happily.
“You’re a smart boy… You’ll be okay.”
Then a thought struck him.
Aldric frowned slightly.
“How did you even manage to find me?”
A sound answered him.
Sand shifting.
Someone else was there.
Aldric slowly turned.
And froze.
He knew that gaze.
Those eyes.
Deep blue at first glance, but when the light caught them, they flickered toward crimson, like embers flaring beneath a dying fire.
Varnir.
Aldric stared at him in disbelief.
The blacksmith stood calmly a few paces away, arms resting loosely at his sides, looking almost… satisfied. As if Aldric sitting here, half-broken in the desert, was exactly where he was meant to be.
Aldric turned away again.
He scratched Nimble behind the ears, eyes drifting back to the endless horizon.
“Why did you seek me out, blacksmith?”
“Ah,” Varnir said quietly. “That is the great question, isn’t it? Why?”
Aldric didn’t answer at first.
He kept his eyes on the horizon.
Then he turned his head slightly.
“I’m not in the mood for riddles.”
Varnir walked over and lowered himself beside him in the sand.
For a moment he said nothing.
He simply looked out across the desert.
“I have always enjoyed the serenity of this place. It is curious how fate tends to guide wandering souls toward the desert.”
His voice drifted for a moment.
Then Varnir’s gaze hardened.
“You are struggling. That is understandable. You have only just begun the Trial of ?thellé.”
Aldric turned toward him sharply.
Something bitter flared inside his chest.
A dry, mocking laugh escaped his lips.
“Here we go—” His smile twisted. “I’m so tired of this nonsense. Fate. Trials. Prophecies. Everyone talking in riddles and half-truths instead of saying things as they are…” He let out another harsh laugh. “I’m going to die out here alone because of what I did. Just say it! Spare me the sermons.”
Varnir moved.
Fast.
He shifted closer.
The calm in his expression vanished.
Something darker replaced it.
Ancient.
His voice came through clenched teeth.
“Mind. Your. Tongue, boy.”
The desert wind seemed to still.
“You have suffered, yes. But suffering does not excuse arrogance.” His eyes burned now, blue shifting slowly toward crimson.
“Do not mistake my patience for weakness.” His hand tightened slowly into a fist. “As easily as I can help you… I can tear each limb from your body and leave you to a slow and painful death… choose your next words carefully.”
Nimble nudged Aldric’s side with his snout.
A quiet reminder.
Aldric exhaled slowly.
The anger drained from his shoulders.
His head slumped forward between his knees.
"...You're right."
A long silence.
"I've been acting like I know everything.”
He looked down at the sand.
Varnir’s posture softened.
The calm returned.
Aldric swallowed.
“I lost her…” His voice cracked. “The only person I ever wanted.”
Varnir sat down beside him.
He nodded slowly.
“Yes. You did. What are you going to do about it?”
Aldric watched the wind push thin waves through the sand below the dune.
“You have the gift of foresight. Tell me the truth.” He hesitated. “Is there any chance she could forgive me?”
Varnir was silent.
The desert stretched endlessly around them.
Finally he spoke.
“Yes, there is. However, you know what must happen before you meet her.”
Aldric sighed.
His shoulders sank.
“The Well of Light.”
Varnir nodded once.
“But where do I even start?”
Varnir didn’t answer.
Instead, Aldric noticed something.
A faint glimmer.
Far to his right.
A small speck of light in the distance, almost like an invitation.
“What is that?”
Varnir continued scratching Nimble behind the ears. The demon dog chirped happily, clearly enjoying the attention.
“That,” Varnir said calmly, “is the mountain peak Zalrrathras.”
Aldric stiffened.
He knew that name.
One of the northern peaks.
The jagged barrier that separated Isendor from the Demon Wastes.
Varnir looked at him.
Aldric exhaled slowly.
“They’ll kill me.”
“If you let them.”
Aldric frowned.
“What does that even mean?” he snapped. “I can’t use weapons. I can’t wear armor. I’m walking straight into their hands. I might as well ask an Inquisitor to escort me to—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Slowly, he turned his head and looked into Varnir’s shifting eyes.
The blacksmith was smiling.
Almost… pleased.
Like a father watching his son finally solve a difficult puzzle.
Understanding dawned.
Aldric went very still.
Then he let out a quiet laugh.
“This is madness,” he muttered. His gaze hardened. “You knew this all along… didn’t you?”
Varnir simply nodded, still absentmindedly scratching Nimble behind the ears.
“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning? Before all this mess?”
Varnir’s smile carried a trace of sadness.
“Because you possess free will. And before today… you would never have chosen this path.”
Aldric stared at the distant mountain again.
“What’s different now?”
Varnir studied him for a moment.
“Now,” he said gently, “you have nothing left to lose.”
Aldric’s jaw tightened.
His gaze settled on the distant peak.
Varnir spoke again.
“If you walk at a steady pace, you should reach an oasis a few miles from here. It lies directly along your path to Zalrrathras.” He gestured toward the horizon. “After that… in few weeks you will be back in Isendor.”
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Aldric stood.
He brushed sand from his clothes.
“Make sure Nimble gets back home safely.”
Varnir nodded as he scratched Nimble’s chin.
“I will take him to Nerathys. He has been a very good boy.”
Nimble chirped proudly.
Then the dog trotted over to Aldric and bumped his shin, tail wagging.
A quiet goodbye.
Aldric knelt briefly and scratched behind his ears.
“Thank you. Now go back to mommy and take care of her, okay?”
Nimble chirped softly.
Aldric lingered for a moment longer… then rose.
He looked at Varnir.
“Something tells me we’ll see each other again soon.”
Varnir inclined his head slightly.
“That is my hope.”
Aldric nodded once.
And began walking.
Toward the distant mountain.
Toward Isendor.
Toward whatever awaited him.