A Brief Tale in the Moonlight

Warming light bounces against the surrounding darkness. A forested silhouette stands out against the campfire, my shadow the only company as I lift a spoonful of soup to my mouth. 

The taste provides me with the rustic comfort of my homelands, especially from the spiced scallions that abound in the wild there. The heat flows down my throat and goes far in staving off the chilling night wind. Swaying vegetation creates a lone accompaniment left unmet, as my lute remains tightly bound in its wooden case.

“There will be no songs for you this night, sweet forest.”

Across from me is Kaiden, stocky and still wearing armor, sharpening a weapon before the next adventure. But he is gone.

Next to him is Zephyr, who is as beautiful as ever. She parts her golden hair behind pointed ears and unstrings her bow to relax. But she is gone.

As the wind picks up, ash and smoke blow into my face which smolders over. I choose not to move since there is no telling where the wind will blow next anyway. 

As light from the embers dance in my eyes I remember back to this morning. Kaiden and Zephyr were still alive. 

We had just set out at the behest of a small rural village with ‘rodent’ problems. The pay was cheap. For a nameless triad of adventurers, this was an easy meal. It was supposed to be easy.

But that wolf. That hellish thing. 

Killing the oversized rats made for light work. Sure, they were as big as a dog, but each of Zephyr's arrows sang fearlessly past Kaiden and into their mark. I would get a stab or two in myself when the opportunity presented itself. 

“You’re too fast for yer own good”, Kaiden would compliment, reminding me that I don’t have the power to follow through. “Stick wit’ the tiny blades” he’d say, swinging away with his axe.

My real talent is with the lute anyway. More than anything, I just wanted a journey. My adventure. I’d tell the story of a lifetime with song and poem.

One after another we felled the rats. I could practically feel the silken sheets at the inn calling me tonight for luxurious slumber. The last rat’s instinct appeared far greater than its comrades, and it began to flee towards a thick brush. I rushed after the fiend, smiling as I decided to take on the test of speed.

“Oh no you don’t!”

“Be careful!” shouted Zephyr. I took the challenge to heart, but the slippery rat succeeded in beating me through the bushes. I decide the brush scrapes are worth it, and crash on through. Kaiden is yelling something behind me, but I don’t hear over the violent rustling of the shrubbery.

I come out to an open field on the other side just in time to witness that the creature has already ceased to move.

The rodent then raised from the ground, its head tightly locked in the sharp clutches of a white wolf. The beast appeared a colossal three meters tall, and its mass of fur flowed with brilliant motion. Dark and unfeeling eyes were locked onto me.

The acknowledgment ended, and the beast snapped tight its jaws, letting the rest of its previous prey fall to the earth. Sweat dripped from my hair and neck down to the grassbed. I had never seen any creature quite as large as this. With a glance, I knew I couldn’t hide or outrun it. My daggers slipped from my hands, and I fell backward from the sheer loss of willpower.

I wonder now if I hadn’t been so afraid. Would my ‘song’ be different?

Like a streak of lightning the beast closed the distance, and with a leap its maw curved open to end me.

All I remember next was Kaiden’s arm. In an instant, his arm which had reached out for the sake of my defense was lying in the grass. The next moment, teeth clamped down deep between his shoulder and neck. With his remaining arm, Kaiden dug deep and held the wolf at bay. His muscles were straining, every last bit of effort against the beast's force. 

An arrow flew past my head and into the shoulder of the wolf, who didn’t let go, or even seem too bothered. The whistle of another was loosed, and this time the beast let go to avoid a blow to the head. Kaiden slumped to the ground, and Zephyr was by my side. 

“Go.” She spoke with finality.

Go. A painfully short goodbye. I was a coward. 

I fumbled forward, and the fear was like an intoxicating haze. I ran so hard that I couldn’t hear or see anything around me. Nothing but forward existed. 

Spiteful campfire smoke blows in my face once more as my thoughts wander back to the present. The moon began to dimly shine through a break in the blanketing clouds. I look up, and my hand subconsciously travels down to the case of my lute. A strap loosened, and then another. Before I knew it the wooden neck was in my hand.

A note pluck. 

It rang out like a raindrop. Then another, and another. Notes were flowing through the air for no one. I did not attempt to memorize any of what sang forth from my strings. Melody poured from moment to moment. Each musical phrase was as fleeting as a leaf in the storm, yet gentle as peace thereafter. I struck a note for Kaiden’s burly laugh, and another for Zephyr’s charm. For smiles and tears, I play on. Each humming vibration spins the tale of two adventurers who sought to make a name in the world. My strings begin to lash with the pain of a story cut short. I play on harder until my fingers bleed, and my arms fall to my knees.

“I’ll remember you,” I whisper. “Your tales are safe with me. All will know who you once were.”

Moonlight begins to fall intensely, mocking me with splendor. The treetops are filled with brilliant light, all now silent.