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"Our adventure is nearly over, my friend."
The Black Tulip looked up from the map in hand, the half-elf was staring at him in an almost melancholy manner.
"Aye."
He replied dismally. The trotting of their horse's hooves filled the silence that followed the brief exchange.
"What will ya do?"
Clarity was unsure. Now that they had been through so much, traveled so far, faced so many challenges, how was he ever going to return to his village? Especially without the Black Tulip? His companion, his best friend...the love of his life (though the Tulip wasn't aware of this).
"I suppose I'll just go home. I'm sure my mum misses me."
Clarity said softly.
"Settle down maybe?"
"Settle down?"
He echoed.
"Aye. I'm sure lots of lassies are gonna be lined up outside yer door."
The ravenette said bitterly. Awkwardly the half-elf tugged at his collar, he swallowed a lump in his throat.
"I guess they will be..."
"Mhm."
They came across a fork in the road, they slowed their steeds to a stop.
"Which way?"
The Black Tulip studied the map.
"Well, the right goes off 'round the mountains, but if we go left we can cut through a forest and be home in a day or so."
The half-elf nodded, and snapped the reins to his horse.
"It'll be night soon."
"Aye, we can camp out in the wood."
Sunlight trickled through the line of trees, slowly the golds and oranges of the dying light faded away into nothingness, and brought on the dark of night. The trees around them curled down towards their horses, the branches menacingly hung low and grasped at them with claw-like stems.
"I think we should stop here."
The half-elf announced as they came into a clearing.
"Aye, I'll get a fire goin'."
Clarity unloaded some of their supplies, which included dry meats and canteens of mead, then began to clear a space for the campfire. A firm crack echoed through the trees, the half-elf turned expecting to see his partner, but no one was there. The horses pawed at the dirt nervously. He shrugged it off, and firmly tied the animals to a branch. Another snap of branches bounced off of the trees, still there was no one there.
"Naib?"
Clarity whipped around and punched the Black Tulip in the throat.
"God-"
The taller man wheezed and clutched his neck.
"Sorry! Sorry!"
The half-elf rushed to apologize, he helped the other man sit down to catch his breath.
"The hell was that fer?"
"Sorry, it was reflex..."
"Work on those, will ya?"
He grumbled.
"You got the firewood?"
"Aye, I put it over there."
He motioned towards the pile near the area he had cleared.
“I’ll get it started, you just sit there.”
The Black Tulip took a seat upon the mossy earth and watched patiently as the half-elf got the fire going. Once it was a decent blaze, Clarity passed out their rations, and they snuggled close to the roaring embers.
“Are you nervous?”
Clarity asked and turned to the other man.
“What’re ya on about?”
“I’m just asking if you’re worried about our return. Everything will be different, we’ve been gone for most of the year.”
“We’ll be fine. Stop being a worry wart. You’ll go back to yer farm, and I’ll get back to doing my thing.”
“Being an outlaw?”
“Exactly.”
The half-elf took a few swigs of his mead.
“I’ll miss ya though. Ya really gave me quite the adventure,”
“I would’ve never left if it weren’t for you.”
The Black Tulip scooted closer to his partner, Clarity took a bite of his dried meat.
“Really? Cause I could say the same ‘bout ya.”
He swirled his canteen’s contents in his hand, Clarity thought about how charming his smile was.
“I guess we…sort of…needed one another?”
“I guess…we still need each other.”
The half-elf’s cheeks heated up as his companion set down his drink and cupped the side of his face.
“Do ya need me?”
He asked sincerely, his voice was barely heard over the crackle of the fire. Clarity’s half-lidded eyes fell to his partner’s lips.
“I think I really do.”
They leaned in, electricity crackled over Clarity’s skin as his mouth made its way to the Black Tulip’s, but the whinny of their horses interrupted the pair. Both of their steeds were rearing on their hind legs, attempting their best to gallop into the forest.
The half-elf rushed to settle them, but their fear could not be quenched. Their reins snapped loose from the rotting branches, and they dashed off into the trees.
“Fuckin’ aye!”
The Black Tulip cursed and threw down his cap. Clarity looked around in the dark-woods. All was eerily silent, save for the curses the other man muttered under his breath, and the remaining pops of the fire.
“Norton, shut it.”
He whispered, as he gazed towards the black forest.
“Something spooked the horses,”
A crash in the distance echoed through the night, followed by an inhuman howl. The Black Tulip instantly withdrew his sword, and Clarity fetched his hunting knife. Another sinister snarl reverberated in their ears, it was unlike anything either had ever heard in their lives.
“What…the bloody hell…was that?”
The Black Tulip asked quietly. There was no sound for the longest time.
“I dunno…but we can’t stay here.”
A demonic roar came from their left, a beast crashed through the foliage and rammed itself into the half-elf, knocking him to the forest floor, along with his blade. He was winded, but he scrambled to his feet just in time to see the creature engage in battle with the Black Tulip.
“Werewolf! Get out of ‘ere!”
Clarity dug through the underbrush to find his knife, and once he had it he took off into the night. The silver that the Black Tulip wore would keep him alive, but Clarity had no such metal for protection: his weapon was iron. Blindly he ran through the woods, the full moon blessed him with some vision, as well as a reminder of how awful their luck was.
The Black Tulip held up his silver pendant to the werewolf, and it growled and curled back its lips to reveal dagger-like teeth. It let out a defeated grunt and took off into the forest, nearly opposite of where Clarity had run. He sustained little injury, and luckily he had not been bitten. If he had, well…
He tried not to think about it.
“Naib?”
He called out into the abyss. There was no response.
“Don’t worry, I’m coming!”
The Black Tulip dashed off into the woods.
-
A blood-curling howl erupted the silence, Clarity jumped at the sound, but it was distant, so he decided he was safe for now. Once the adrenaline had worn off, the half-elf climbed into a pine to scan his surroundings. It all looked the same, every tree, every clearing, every stone. The dark-woods were a maze of trees and bushes.
He didn’t dare call out to his companion, it’d put his safety in jeopardy. For now, he clung to the branches of the pine he rested in, and waited for something to happen.
The silence was deafening. Clarity must've dozed off whilst he was waiting in the tree, because he suddenly jerked awake. There was a sound...was it sniffing?
The half-elf looked down to the base of the pine, where a monster lurked at the roots. It was smelling the areas around the tree: the werewolf was tracking him.
He stayed still, and held his breath. The beast looked up into the tree, and growled low in its throat. Their eyes met for a few terrifying moments before the werewolf stood on its hind legs and began pounding on the trunk. The needles and pinecones shook from the assault, and Clarity was nearly knocked out of the branches. Clutching for dear life, the half-elf waited for the werewolf to cease, but it kept slamming its front paws into the pine. There was a mighty crack, and the wood splintered under the attack. The tree shook violently, and began to slide downwards towards the earth.
Clarity clambered on the other side of the tree so he wouldn't get crushed, and begged that the surrounding woods would cushion the pine's fall. Clarity ran across the trunk and reached the summit, then leapt from the mighty bows and caught the branch of another tree.
He forced his other hand up and gripped tightly to the wood, he willed his fingers to keep a tight grip. The tree went crashing down the rest of the way, and he heard the werewolf yelp in pain.
The beats must've attempted to catch him in its jaws, but it was injured by the fallen trunk. Clarity looked down as the animal howled, and crashed through the woods, leaving the half-elf clinging to a branch. He hoisted himself up, and listened to his heart pounding in his ears. He thanked the gods that he had survived.
-
The Black Tulip swiped his sword through the thickets and vines, he was no closer to the half-elf than he had been two hours before.
"Naib!"
He repeated his friends name like a broken record, hoping that there would be a response. The moon disappeared behind dark clouds, all illumination vanished instantly. The ravenette cursed, and squinted in the darkness.
If only he had a torch...
"Naib, ya out there?"
The night stretched onward. The Black Tulip became more distraught as time wore on. Was Naib okay? What if he was seriously injured? What if he wasn't even...
No. He couldn't think that way...but he couldn't help but ponder the horrendous scenarios. He paused to take a rest, battling a werewolf and running through a forest really did a number on the Black Tulip. Leaning against a tree trunk, the man let out a long sigh and looked around.
Everything looked the same.
He cursed himself, he never should have tried to cut their journey in half. Especially because he did want more time with the half-elf.
Clarity was someone he could settle down with. Someone he could marry. A soft smile formed on his lips as he thought of the other man.
The moon returned, and illuminated a clearer path, which the man quickly took. A rustling in the briars yanked the Black Tulip from his thoughts, he became alert and wary as he approached the plants.
"Naib?"
He asked. A man shot out from the bushes and tackled him to the ground: the outlaw was taken by surprise when a huntsman covered his mouth. The Black Tulip bit down on the stranger's hand, eliciting a pained grunt from the huntsman, and in retaliation he shoved him aside.
"What the-"
A roar shook the earth, and the ravenette understood why the huntsman was attempting to quiet him. A mountain of a bear clambered into their space, and let out another blood-curdling roar.
"Now look what you've done!"
The huntsman hissed, and rolled away to dodge a massive paw. The Black Tulip jumped to his feet and grasped his sword, just in time to swipe it across the beast's nose. It howled in fury and swiped at the outlaw, who ran to escape those lethal claws. The huntsman withdrew a bow and arrows and shot multiple into the bear's thick hide, but they only served as a minor distraction from the Black Tulip.
The bear turned its attention towards the huntsman, which gave the Black Tulip the opportunity to leap onto the beast and shove his rapier into the animal's shoulder. It didn't sink in as well as the ravenette had planned, but it did enough to where it became lodged inside of the beast. The bear was evidently far beyond pissed, it smashed into trees to attempt to remove the Black Tulip, whilst he clung onto his sword for dear life.
"Don't let go till I tell you to!"
The huntsman shouted. Easy for him to say, he wasn’t riding bear back on a…well bear. The stranger let out a whistle, and a falcon swooped down into the bear's face and viciously clawed at its yellow eyes.
"Now!"
The huntsman yelled, and the Black Tulip dropped down from the monster's back. He rolled into the dirt, and nearly dropped off the edge of a cliff, where the bear tripped and fell. It let out a pitiful bellow as it plummeted to the trees below, and a terrible crashing followed its descent.
The outlaw struggled to breathe as he lay there in the leaves and rocks, he listened to the wind run wildly through the bushes.
In and out. In and out. Breathe Campbell.
He thought to himself.
"You were foolish."
Suddenly the huntsman was leaning over him, he looked as if he was disappointed that the outlaw was in one piece.
"Tis’ a miracle your survived. Now that that’s over with, it’s high time you leave."
He grabbed the Black Tulip up by the collar, and yanked him on his feet.
“Hey-“
“Go on! Go back from whence you came!”
“I’m lost, and I’m not alone. I need to find-“
“Aw bloody hell, there’s more of you?”
The huntsman growled to himself, and the falcon from earlier came to rest upon his shoulder. The bird’s eyes bore into the ravenette’s: he had to look away from the creature. The stranger seemed to be speaking to it, however, and to the Black Tulip’s bemusement the huntsman seemed to understand the creature.
“Ah I see…”
He mumbled, then shot a look over his other shoulder to the outlaw.
“But my lady…”
The falcon chirped for a few moments, then turned to the Black Tulip, who was awkwardly watching their encounter the entire time.
“Fine.”
The huntsman muttered, and made a hand motion for the Black Tulip to follow him. It took a few moments to register that the stranger meant for him to follow, but he understood after an annoyed huff from the huntsman.
“My lady says she has seen your companion. We will help you find him.”
“Really? Well…thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, thank her. If it weren’t for her council I’d have left you on this cliff side for dead.”
“Hm. How considerate.”
-
Clarity descended back to the forest floor after an eternity of silence, he looked for the tracks of the werewolf. He found imprints in the dirt, and they lead to the east, so the half-elf headed to the west. The Black Tulip had mentioned a mountain pass towards the western direction, so he concluded that he’d travel there in hopes of a safer environment to pass through.
To the upper country the half-elf went, unknowing of whether the Black Tulip thought to do the same. The outlaw was fully human, however, and did not have any sense of direction.
In the distance, Clarity heard laughter, and the roar of a bonfire. He was hesitant to approach the sounds ahead, the owners of such a ruckus could be friends or foes. He quietly inched towards the noise, and his golden eyes caught sight of massive figures in the firelight.
“Oi, pass that leg over will ya?”
Clarity froze as he watched a human leg be exchanged between hands, he grabbed the hilt of his blade and slowly began to tip-toe away. He’d never seen one up close before, but the half-elf had stumbled across a troll encampment.
“Do ya smell that?”
“Smell what?”
“Human.”
A thwack echoed through the trees, followed by a pained groan.
“Whaddya think we’re eating?”
“Uh…human?”
Clarity stepped on a branch, and the trolls grew silent. He held his breath. He was suddenly yanked into the air, a troll had grabbed him by his hood and lifted him up into the light.
“Lookie ‘ear lads! A man!”
“Looks like a lady-“
“No! It’s a man!”
The half-elf was passed off to another troll, who held him close to its ugly face. The scent of the troll’s breath was enough to make Clarity gag, he took his blade and plunged it into the troll’s hand, and it dropped him immediately. He scrambled to his feet and made a dash for the forest, but another giant hand scooped him up and held him firmly in its grasp.
“He stabbed me! He stabbed me he did!”
The first troll wailed, and sucked on the finger that Clarity had injured.
“Little bastard.”
The second troll grunted, and squeezed him tightly in his palm. The half-elf writhed in the firm grip, but it was steadily getting harder to breathe.
“Oi, lookie! He’s got elf ears!”
The third chimed in, and pointed towards Clarity’s head. The second sniffed him, and scrunched up his fat nose.
“This ain’t a human.”
“It ain’t an elf either.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Clarity was jostled around as the second troll shook him around, the half-elf felt bile rising in the back of his throat.
“Ya think it’s a half-breed?”
“Yeah! Yeah!”
“Never tasted one of them before!”
“Humans are so fatty and tender…and elves are so gamey…Maybe he’ll taste like both!”
The trolls cackled and looked down with hungry eyes at the half-elf.
“Ya think we should roast ‘im on a spit?”
“Nah he needs to get boiled!”
The half-elf was passed to the third troll, and as he was Clarity was able to utilize his weapon, which he promptly sank into the last troll’s thumb. It screamed in fury and threw him, and with a thump he crashed into a bush; he heard something pop, but the adrenaline pumping through his body prevented him from knowing what had broken or dislocated. Immediately he rolled out of the plants and sprinted through the woods, the earth shook as the three trolls raced after him.
The half-elf leapt over a small creek, and rolled downhill, the group of man-eaters were steadily gaining on him. Time seemed to slow, it was eerily still as the half-elf contemplated his life. Death was hot on his heels, there was a high chance he’d never see the end of the dark woods.
Was he proud of himself? Hardly so. Did he make many mistakes? Of course, more than he could count. His mother, could she go on without him? Clarity did not wish to find out.
An arm reached out of the inky night and snatched the half-elf out of the way of the lumbering trolls, who did not notice at all that their target was no longer in sight.
Clarity listened to the crashing of the monsters as the passed him by, and the frantic heartbeat of his savior. When all was silent, the half-elf pulled away from the Black Tulip, and laughed in relief.
“Norton!”
He exclaimed, and the outlaw cupped the half-elf’s face, then examined him for any major injuries. He found that Clarity only suffered from a few scratches and a dislocated shoulder.
“God almighty! Naib yer never leavin’ my sight again!”
“You saved my life!”
“Toldya I’d repay ya someday.”
“Gods…”
They laughed, and the Black Tulip rested his forehead on the smaller man’s. Someone cleared their throat, and the pair turned their attention to the third party: the huntsman.
“Oh Naib, this is ah…”
“Eli.”
“Ah, ya, Eli. He helped me find ya.”
“Thank you.”
Clarity held out his hand, the huntsman stared his outstretched palm for a brief moment before shaking it.
“Yeah, yeah. Now you lot need to get going. Sun’s gonna come up soon. You’ll find your way to a village if you keep heading that way.”
He pointed with a tattooed finger towards the moon, which Clarity noticed was lower in the sky.
“Thank you ever so much. If we meet again-“
“Do not return to this wood, it is far too dangerous for your kind.”
The half-elf looked to the human, who shrugged his shoulders.
“Well…if we ever do meet again, you will have our unyielding loyalty.”
Eli nodded his head, and turned towards the trees.
“Fare thee well.”
He said, and disappeared into the night.
The stars slowly began to fade away, the sky transformed from an abyssal black to a soothing orange as the sun came over the horizon. The half-elf and the outlaw made their way to the edge of the wood.
“I think I may settle down.”
The Black Tulip declared. It was the first exchange of words they had had since their separation from the huntsman. For the majority of the walk, they had quietly held hands, relishing in one another’s presence and warmth.
“Really?”
“Aye. I was thinkin’ bout a wee farm. Maybe a heifer to go with it.”
“And someone to share it with?”
“I said ‘maybe a heifer’, didn’t I?”
“Norton!”
Clarity chuckled and playfully elbowed the other man in the ribs.
“Maybe I could come and visit?”
The half-elf spoke softly.
“Aye, or maybe ya could stay forever.”
Clarity grew red and smiled, he looked away from the other man. He didn’t see how fondly the outlaw looked at him, but he did see the werewolf in the bushes. The half-elf yanked the human out of harm’s way, but the creature snapped its jaws on his shoulder and dragged him into the thickets.
“Naib!”
The Black Tulip cried out desperately. A horrendous crunch followed the attack, Clarity’s ribs felt like they were shards of glass, slowly digging into his vitals. Armed with only the silver upon his breast, the outlaw leapt onto the werewolf, and allowed the necklace to sink deeply into the flesh of the beast.
It let loose of his companion and whimpered in agony as the metal scalded its flesh, and Clarity dropped to the forest floor, still as death. The werewolf howled menacingly and thrashed out of the Black Tulip’s grip, which sent the human flying backwards into a tree. The werewolf grunted, then took off into the dark woods, this time defeated for good.
Sadly, it took some time for the outlaw to come to.
His eyes slowly inched open, he weakly leaned up and held a pained spot on his scalp. His golden eyes caught the beginning rays of the morning sun, which fell from the heavens in glorious pools on the forest floor, and illuminated the unmoving body of the half-elf.
“Naib!”
He cried, and crawled over to Clarity’s broken form. Blood had pooled around the injury on his shoulder, but with time it had clotted and crusted on his blue cloak.
“No…No, no, no…”
He muttered hopelessly.
“God…”
He whispered, he looked down at the half-elf, and brushed a finger against a pale cheek. He looked ever so lovely, as he had in life. He looked peaceful, as if he were just asleep. The Black Tulip gently lifted the half-elf in his arms, and cradled the corpse to his chest.
-
An older woman hung up her laundry, it smelled of soaps and flowers. They dripped in the evening sun, and the cloths cast shadows towards the unkempt grasses of her property. She turned and caught sight of a man, a man who she remembered had traveled with her son.
She smiled to him, but it quickly faded as she realized he was alone. He removed the cap from his head, and she approached him hesitantly.
“Where is my Naib? Where is my son?”
The Black Tulip looked to his feet, and swallowed a lump in his throat. He heard her choke up, he watched as she fell at his feet. She became blurry, as did the world without Clarity.