Chapter 46 We Come to Tyrnis
Come morning, we woke to a layer of frost on the ground.
I shivered, realizing that the temperature here was lower than what it had been in the marsh.
Remembering the dragon from the night before, I turned toward the mountains and shaded my eyes, but all I saw were lemon-chiffon streaks among the pale blue skies.
The morning was clear, and I had a feeling we had left the rain behind.
From here, the silhouettes of the mountains were massive and covered with white, stark and craggy as they rose so far into the sky that we couldn’t see beyond them.
Wondering how we would find the passes through the peaks, I didn’t notice that Brent had wandered off towards the spring. All of a sudden, we heard her call out.
“Come here! I found something!”
Collectively, we dropped what we were doing and headed in the direction of her call. As we broke through the bushes, we saw a sign to the side. It looked familiar, and it read, waypoint ahead, to the right.
“Is this the mountain waypoint, or the marsh waypoint?” I asked.
“I think it’s somewhere in between. Or maybe it is the one for the marsh. I believe the mountain waypoint is higher up in the hills.” Thornhold motioned for us to follow him, and we jogged over to another large stand of bushes. Brynn was peeking out of them, motioning to us.
As we passed through the second stand of bushes, we saw it.
A large platform on the ground, like the other we had found, and it was formed of dark bronze.
It looked almost exactly like the Dark Woodland waypoint.
Square, with the clockwork design on the bottom, it—too—was enclosed by a large acrylic booth.
I opened the door and stepped into the chamber, almost immediately finding the button which brought up the screen on the acrylic door.
The list of waypoints was there, but only the Launching Area, the Dark Forest, and the Cryptic Marshes were lit up.
The other designations were faint and difficult to read. I opened the door and peeked out.
“We found the Cryptic Marshes waypoint. I’m surprised it isn’t in the middle of the marshes, but at least we found it.” I paused for a moment, thinking of Liesel and Star. “Do you think we have time for a visit —”
Ray cut me off. “We would, except for the fact that Zaran is on our heels. If we took the time to go home and visit Liesel, Zaran will have reached our location — or beyond. And the last thing we want is to walk into a trap that he has set up ahead of us.”
I sighed, wanting nothing more than to hide out for a day or two in the comfort of Liesel’s home and to reconnect with Star.
“You’re right. We’ll come back when we’ve taken care of him.
But mark this on the map so we know where it is.
” Reluctantly, I closed the door on the booth, and we went to the spring to fill our water bottles again and to have a brief wash-up before we broke camp and headed out on the road.
“How long until we reach the village of Tyrnis?” Reggie asked.
Thornhold looked over the map. “We can probably reach there by nightfall. So let’s break down camp and get moving. I suggest we eat on the road. We have enough bread and cheese to eat on the move.”
“Sounds good,” I said. As we walked away from the waypoint, I couldn’t help but look back, longing for the comfort of a quiet little house with a wooden stove and a Frazzle Cat.
As dawn blended into midmorning, and midmorning brightened into noon, the sun startled me. There was no warmth in the golden glow that lit our way, but it was cheerful to see, and it lifted my spirits after the days we’d spent in the marsh.
The trees here were different from those of the dark forest. The forest was mostly deciduous, and the trees had shed their leaves and now stood barren and stark.
The frost faded under the sun, but it was cold enough that I knew we’d have to buy supplies once we reached the village.
If we were cold now, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if we ventured into the mountains without sufficient protection.
“You know, I just realized something?” Reggie said.
“What’s that?” Ray asked.
“When we first came in here, I could barely walk two miles without getting winded, and that was at an easy pace. Look at me now,” he said.
It was at that moment that I realized he was right. Even though I now had the body of an elf, I felt stronger than I ever had. We had toughened up, and our endurance and stamina had grown so much from when we first appeared on the landing pads.
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Thornhold said. “Though I’d rather have my old body. I was fit then, although I have to admit I didn’t have the muscles I do now. I doubt if I could ever hope to have the muscle I have now,” he added.
As we walked along, I kept an eye on the edge of the forest. The treeline started a few feet back from the trail, and I didn’t want to be surprised by any unwelcome guests. But then I noticed a bright purple mushroom. Gasping, I stopped and pointed toward it. “Isn’t that a thantar?”
“You’re right,” Reggie said. “Are there anymore?”
He hurried over to look, kneeling down beside it. “It’s a thantar all right. If you find any more, gather them. I can use these to make potions. They're also good for healing potions as well, so let’s see if we can find more than just the one.”
We scattered into the woods on a mushroom hunt.
At least, in this woodland, we were able to see each other, even at a distance.
There was very little undergrowth except for fallen leaves, scattered rocks, and various mushrooms. We found a number of toadstools, which we avoided, but in the game, the thantar was the mother-gem of all mushrooms. Highly coveted, it was used for potion-making by both mages and clerics.
And just one was worth its weight in gold.
“Unless we need to, we don’t sell these,” Reggie said. “There are potions that require them — that you can’t substitute anything else for. And those potions will go a long way in helping us, especially in our fight against Zaran.”
A light breeze rustled through the tree limbs, blowing the last of the leaves off as we continued foraging. We spent about thirty minutes looking for the plum-colored fungi, and — in the end — we managed to find twelve of them. Reggie and Ray divided them, then packed them away securely.
“What if they rot in your pack?” I asked.
Reggie shook his head. “The moment they’re cut, they start to dry. By tomorrow morning they’ll be wrinkled and shriveled, and ready to powder into dust. That’s why I packed mine in a spare bag. That way, if it accidentally gets jarred, the dust won’t escape into my backpack.”
“I did the same,” Ray said. “Also, if you happen to notice any fickle-ferns, we could use some of those too. I can make some minor stamina powders with those. They look like a regular fern from back home, except they’re bright yellow, and they have serrated edges on the leaves.”
As we resumed our journey toward the village, we kept an eye out for both fickle-ferns and thantars.
Given the good weather, we were able to set a steady pace.
A couple of hours into the afternoon, I noticed that, up ahead, an old man was headed our way, pulling a cart behind him.
He didn’t look strong enough to do so, but somehow he managed to drag the wagon behind him.
It had one wheel in the center, so there wasn’t much stability, but it provided enough room to carry a number of supplies.
As we passed him, he gave us a wide berth and a cautious nod.
“Excuse me, good sir, but can you tell me if we’re near the village of Tyrnis?” I asked.
He hesitated for a moment before stopping. “Aye, you’re about a quarter hour outside of the gates. If I were you, I’d make haste. They lock the gates now, once sundown approaches.”
I frowned. Most villages didn’t do that. “Is there trouble?”
“Trouble follows everywhere we go,” he said.
“You have only to be born to attract it. But yes, Tyrnis is having trouble with vampires. There’s a small nest to the north, not far from the village, and they attempt to sneak in after dark.
Bloodthirsty monsters,” he added. “But I suppose you’ll be welcomed, especially if you reach the gates while the sun still shines.
” He picked up the harness fastened to his wagon and slipped it over his shoulders, starting up again as he headed along the road.
I glanced at the others. “If we show up all the sun is still shining, it means we're not vampires. Let’s hurry, I don’t want any questions, and we certainly don’t want to be outside the gates after dark if there’s a vampire nest near.”
Within 15 minutes, as predicted by the old man, we saw the gates of Tyrnis up ahead. The sun was still shining, though it was low on the horizon, and we hurried toward the guards waiting by the gates. We had finally made it to the village of Tyrnis.