Chương 34: The Scar

"Thanks for what you did back there," Paige said quietly. She was sitting opposite Aaron in the carriage. The whirring sound of the contraption was plenty enough to stop Giddoen from overhearing their conversation.

"No problem," Aaron replied, "I'm just relieved you're okay." From Aaron's perspective, he was responsible for any harm that happened to Paige from his spell, even if she had asked him to do it. Her apology left him feeling guilty. Tim frowned and his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"Is there something I should know?" Tim and Aaron had not been on the best terms since leaving the city. There was still some bitterness between them from the secrets they had kept from each other. Aaron thought he knew what was best for Tim, and he knew that he disagreed. But if it was up to Tim, they would still be safely in the city and he would be working at the infirmary whilst Tim gradually got sicker and sicker.

He hoped that Tim would forgive him once he was well again and he could see that the risk was all worth it. Deep down, Aaron knew he was being a bit selfish, but the reality was he didn't know how he could live his life without his brother. Sitting back and letting his curse consume him simply wasn't an option for him. The brothers had mostly been able to keep things cordial on the trip in the little time they had spent together.

Aaron didn't know what to do to fix things between them, so he had opted for giving him space, but his heart ached with guilt knowing his brother was upset with him. Although he wouldn't have done anything differently.

"We practised some spells last night. We are preparing in case those dogs come back. It got a little bit out of hand, but no lasting damage was done," Paige said.

"Aaron?" Tim said, looking directly at him.

"Ok, I'm not keeping secrets from you anymore, Tim. Paige is telling the truth. I learned a new spell to animate a corpse. Paige was testing her light magic on it. The animated creature became enraged and I lost control. It attacked her and I had to help out. But it was nothing we couldn't handle. We were never in any real danger." Tim raised an eyebrow and paused for a moment as if he was trying to decide if it was the truth or not.

"Okay." He said bluntly.

"Okay?" Aaron said, raising his voice slightly. He realised his tone and quietened down so as not to alert Giddeon.

"I thought you'd be more concerned."

"No, not at all. That dog tried to kill me. I think we need every advantage we can find. And I knew about your potential corpse animating abilities. We've talked about it plenty." Aaron was shocked by Tim's pragmatism.

"Yep, that's what I thought too." Aaron let out a sigh of relief. Another argument with his brother was not what he needed right now.

"So, what did you learn?" Tim asked.

"Light is highly effective. It burns them and they're afraid of it. But they heal rapidly. The magic that animates them also seems to keep them from degrading. This includes repairing wounds. I think there is a finite amount of healing depending on the skill of the Necromancer. The deer I animated stopped healing after I hit it once and a stab through the heart ended the spell." Paige explained.

"And reanimated dead do not pass on corruption like the dragonfire corrupted do. At least Aaron's doesn't." Aaron looked at Tim sheepishly, fully expecting him to judge their recklessness.

"If you're going to practise more, at least let me watch. I'd like to learn about these creatures as well. Maybe I can document some of the techniques you develop. I'm sure it would be helpful to all the people living out here who need to defend themselves" Tim paused for a moment and focused his eyes on Aaron. His gaze felt harsh and icy.

"And I'm well read. Maybe I can help you. I'd appreciate being in the know, rather than you sneaking off. I can understand hiding from Giddeon, but I expected you to trust me better." A wave of guilt sank to Aaron's stomach.

"I'm sorry Tim, I do trust you. It's just been battle after battle and I haven't stopped to think. I'll do better. No more secrets, I promise." Tim acknowledged Aaron's apology with a quiet hum and a gentle smile. It was a relief to feel some warmth from his brother again. He fully intended to keep his promise. Even if he thought Tim would disapprove of his actions, hiding them was wrong.

"Aaron needs to learn to control the animated undead. It looks like that control also extends to the corrupted," Paige said.

"He needs repetition and challenge then, but you need to make sure you don't get injured. We could build a cage next time. Or find a place to stand where they can't reach you," Tim suggested.

"Good idea, but I need some combat magic, or a way to defend myself," Aaron said.

"Between Harrold's men, the corrupted and probably every bounty hunter and guard in the Desolated Lands, there's a lot of things out here trying to hurt us." Aaron looked over at his brother, "I know I swore by do no harm, but I can't let myself be defenceless. They've probably banned me from the Spirit Healer's guild already if they've seen the wanted posters."

"They will have, for sure," Tim agreed.

"It was noble, but I always thought it was foolish that healers allow themselves to get attacked and never fight back. Do no harm doesn't mean don't defend yourself. At least not by my standards." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Tim's approval meant a lot to Aaron. He had always gone by the mantra do no harm in every aspect of his life. It was almost fanatical the way the Spirit Healers followed it.

But he had been questioning his morality ever since he defended himself from the thief in the city and when he drained Harrold's guard. His class had evolved, so it was about time he adapted too.

"Can you teach me to fight?" Aaron said, looking at Paige.

"And do you know any way to make a dagger of light, like your one?"

"Hmm," Paige hummed, "not without a natural affinity for Ectomancy, but we might be able to make a weapon effective against the undead."

"Like Giddeon's dagger?" Tim asked.

"Yes, exactly. It's infused with a boonstone. Smiths can crush them and alloy them with the metal used to forge weapons. His dagger was forged with a rare boonstone of undead-bane. It glows when they are nearby and I assume it has some combat effectiveness, but I'm not sure what it does exactly," Paige said.

"Ok, so we need some boonstones and a smith," Aaron said.

"I don't think it will be that easy. I'd imagine any magic effective against undead and corrupted will fetch a hefty price around here," Tim said.

"You're probably right," Aaron said.

"Apparently you can also wear or Soulbind them. If we find the right synergy with my magic, that could also be an effective way to defend ourselves."

"Let's figure it out when we cross the scar," Paige said, "there's a settlement on the other side and potentially some opportunities to make some money. But you will need to be careful. If Harrold's men have made it that far, there will be posters with your face everywhere." The whirring sound outside the carriage stopped and the coach ground to a stop.

"We're here," Giddeon shouted. Aaron opened the door to look outside. They were on a road next to a farm. There was a wooden fence surrounding the pasture, enclosing a huge plot of land to the south. Looking further east, there was a distinctive separation between the green farmland and blackened earth. It was as if the very soul had been burned out of the land. The corrupted land ran from as far south as Aaron could see and all the way to the horizon in the north. There was a farmhouse in the middle of the scar.

The roof and the front of the house were completely missing and the timber frame of the building was rotten and in disrepair. It looked like the entire structure would collapse under his weight if he walked up the stairs. Past the farmland, there was a forest, except there were no leaves on the trees. They were tall black stalks impaling the ground, standing like soldiers. Not a single bird could be seen in the trees, nor any other animals for that matter.

No sounds were coming from the scar, except for a piercing whoosh of wind, bringing a foul rot into their noses. The land felt wrong. It was obvious that it was the antithesis of life. Althea's soul was absent from the land and had been replaced with rot and corruption.

"I.. forgot how it looked. It's been so long." Tim said solemnly. Giddeon climbed down from the front of the car and approached the group.

"Listen up, we are going to sneak through the scar. This road is the thinnest point, but it will still take a few minutes in the coach. It will be even slower as we need to keep noise to a minimum. I need you all to be silent for this to work. Do you understand?"

"Understood," Aaron said. If there was any time for sarcasm and disagreeing with Giddeon, it was not now. He didn't want to find out what kind of creatures lurked in the scar. They climbed back into the car and sat down. It took no conscious effort to stop talking. There was a sombre atmosphere in the coach, killing any remaining desire to chat. A brief flash of light erupted from in front of Giddeon as he crushed a Boonstone in his hand. He threw the dust backwards over the car.

Aaron figured it must have been some sort of stealth magic to help them pass unnoticed. The contraption started whirring, but much quieter this time, gradually pulling the coach forwards, the wheels barely making a sound. Aaron felt the instant they entered the scar, as the temperature in the carriage dropped and goosebumps popped up on his arms. He didn't dare stand to look through the slit at the top, but from his seat he could see the sky had lost all of its colour.

It was a reddish grey as if even the light coming into the scar was affected by its corruption. They picked up speed slightly, but not enough to increase the noise made by the carriage. Any faster and the wheels would bounce out of the holes in the road, rather than gently rolling across them. Tim looked uncomfortable. Sweat was dripping down his head and his knuckles were white from tensing. He was clenching his jaw, making the veins on his neck prominent.

Aaron made eye contact, raised his eyebrows and gestured with his hands as if to ask if he's ok. He responded with a thumbs up, but it looked painful for him to even move. Something about this place was affecting him. Aaron's heart was racing. What if the curse was being amplified here, or had something to do with the corruption in the first place? They needed to get out of here. The coach slowed down and stopped. Aaron wanted to scream to speed up, but it would only make things worse.

He stood up to look through the slit at the top of the door. A pack of mana hounds were roaming around the car. They looked like they were sniffing the floor with their tentacle-like appendages. They could sense something. The Boonstone must have been enough to hide the carriage from their sight, but perhaps it wasn't enough to hide their mana. Aaron didn't hang around to watch them, he shot back down and slumped low in his seat. Paige didn't even flinch.

She sat, relaxed in her chair with her arms folded as if nothing was happening. Tim was baring his teeth, biting down hard with his eyes tightly shut. It was as if the creatures' mere presence was agonising. Giddeon knocked gently twice on the front of the car. Paige opened her palms and let out a small orb of light. It slipped through the slit in the door on her side and shot off into the distance.

The dogs chased it, or at least it sounded like they did based on the demonic screeches, shuffling of feet and claws scraping against rock and dirt. The sounds grew distant. The whirring started again and the car moved, but at a faster pace this time. The car bounced around the divots in the road, cracking and knocking along the path. But all the creatures were distracted by Paige's glass and light spirit… He hoped. Aaron let out a sigh of relief, as did Tim.

Except Tim's sigh looked like he had just surfaced for air after falling in a river. He was clutching his chest, but his face was no longer tensed up. After another couple of minutes, warm air flooded through the car and the red light filtering in through the windows turned warm and white. The carriage stopped again, but Aaron wasn't worried this time. The warmth and the smell of grass filled the car. The danger was behind them.

There were men outside talking to Giddeon, but he couldn't quite hear what they were saying. Paige quickly opened the hatch in the floor of the car and threw Aaron's bag into the hold without asking. Until now, Aaron hadn't realised that it was designed in such a way that it could easily be hidden. The handle pushed flush into the floor, hiding it from view and Paige unrolled a small rug into the footspace, covering it.

The door of the car flung open and a soldier dressed in leather armour holding a quill and scroll stood facing them. He bore a crest on his armour which Aaron didn't recognise. He only knew the bronze hawk of the king's guard back in the city.

"Name and nature of visit, please."