Page 3 of The Glass Unicorn: Part 13

Otsiano shook his head. “No, actually, but the people of the Summer Kingdom keep to themselves. There are a few big cities and several large towns, but the people tend to stay within the borders. The forest-folk, those who make their home in the woodlands—tend to be magical and unpredictable. Rheyna’s rule seldom reaches the inner sanctums of the forest, and while she may rule the free-folk of the realm, she does not rule the dwellers of the forest. At least, not except in name.”

“I’ve felt watched since we first entered the forest,” I said.

“That’s because you have been. We’re being watched even now, though you can’t pierce the veil of shadow they place across their homes to keep unwanted eyes from prying.” He looked even more solemn than his voice sounded.

“Are they really so dangerous?” Thornhold asked.

“That and more so. The Summer Kingdom is one of the older lands in this world, and the older the land, the stronger the magic. The stronger the magic, the more chaos that fills the realm,” Master Ashelainn said.

“It reeks of chaos,” Brynn said. “I can smell it—like dusty summer nights filled with the fae folk.”

“Right,” Otsiano said. “Watch for faerie rings; they’re rife here and they’ll speed you into dimensions you’ll wish you'd never found. As you’ve seen before, the Fae here can be chaotic.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes open and my mind as alert as I could as we marched onward through the forest.

By nightfall, we hadn’t seen another person. We built a cautious fire out of deadwood, and Ray and Thornhold gathered water from a nearby creek. Only, instead of eating cold food, we decided to make a stew out of the rest of our dried meat and some potatoes that Marta had given us. After dinner, we stretched out around the fire.

“So, tomorrow we find Devastey?” I asked.

Otsiano nodded. “You should make certain you’re as prepared as possible, in case Zaran got there first. Also…while she can’t fight, she may have managed to find some form of protection through the years she’s been in there. I can’t even guess as to what, but don’t go in expecting the quest to be easy.”

“I think we lost those expectations weeks ago,” I said. “I just want this done with. I want to feel like I’m choosing my path instead of having it chosen for me.”

Otsiano laughed. “Good luck on that. Even the gods don’t always get to choose their paths.” He sighed. “I miss my wife and home. Yet here I am, because I’ve been the one assigned to guide you, and to watch over you after this.”

“Who assigned us to you?” Ray asked. “Does that mean I’m your cleric?”

“I suppose you can be, if you like,” Otsiano said. “And to be honest, I can’t answer that. Not because I’m being obtuse, but I truly don’t know. I just woke up one morning knowing I had to find you and that you were under my care, as much as I can offer you.” He leaned back against a tree. “When reality gets inexorably linked to a creation of the mind—as in the game weaving itself into reality—the rules are difficult to decipher, but they’re there, nonetheless.”

I stretched out on the ground, staring up at the stars that began to appear. In less than six weeks—actually, I wasn’t even sure how long it had been—we’d gone from our everyday lives to a new life, a new reality, a new world.

As I lay there, I heard a muffled weeping. Frowning, I rolled to my feet and followed the sound, till I found Ray, cross-legged on the ground, sobbing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Everything’s just hit me—my girlfriend, my pets, everything’s gone and I miss them. When Otsiano said he missed his wife, it hit me in the gut. I was going to propose, you know. I was going to propose on her birthday. And now…” He dashed the tears away. “I can’t imagine what she’s thinking.”

“Probably that we’re dead,” I said, placing my hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry. I wish we’d never come on this adventure. I wish we’d decided to fly to Mexico for a vacation, or just...”

“I guess it’s too late for regret,” he said. “But it’s going to take me time to get beyond this. I try to hide it because we need to keep as upbeat as possible, but I think we’re all hurting in our own ways. I suppose we should be grateful we’re alive, and that the attack didn’t destroy us.”

“I suppose so, but we need to grieve what’s gone, and then do our best to embrace the future.” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. I wasn’t usually touchy-feely, but I could feel his need for comfort. “Come back to the fire. We have a big day tomorrow.”

As we headed back to the campsite, I wondered what the next day would bring. Would we all be alive by the end of the day? Would I be free of the cursed key? And if we all made it through…then what?

Too many questions filling my mind, I did my best to fall asleep, but it was near dawn before I slipped into an exhausted slumber.

CHAPTER 75: AT LONG LAST

As I opened my eyes, my head felt fuzzy, and I realized it was way too early and I had gotten way too little sleep. The stars were still out, though I had the feeling we were nearing early dawn. Groaning, I sat up. As I looked around, I realized everyone else was still asleep. Well, everyone except Otsiano. He was sitting near our camp, keeping watch. I scratched my head, then pushed myself off the ground and wandered over to him.

“I’m tired,” I said.

“You need more sleep,” he said. “It’s still a couple of hours till dawn; why don’t you go back to bed?”

I shrugged. “I barely slept last night. I don’t know if it would do much good.”

“I can help,” he said, reaching into his pocket and then handing me a tablet. “This is an herbal remedy. Take it and you’ll sleep deeply for a few hours and wake up refreshed. I seldom offer it to anyone, but you’re going to need your sleep today.”