The Death Bridge

Two pairs of eyes stared at Axil.

He, in turn, stared at the scroll with a puzzled look on his face.

"What is?", Raven asked. {"He sits there not paying attention to any of us, with his nose in that scroll and now he wants to talk?!"} , she thought annoyed. After Axil stayed silent for a long time, Raven grunted in frustration. {"Of course he won't answer me…"} , she thought as she continued to prepare their meal.

"It says that the object is, in fact, a weapon", Axil finally said as he looked up, the puzzled look still on his face. "A weapon that no man can wield."

"That's it?", Raven asked.

Axil nodded "Yes. The rest of the scroll is blank."

"Well, that's just grand now…", Brongr said.

"It just doesn't make any sense…How could the weapon destroy the creature if no one can wield it?", Axil asked, a defeated look on his face.

"Maybe Beastie isn't meant to be destroyed?", Raven said as she placed a large pot on the fire.

"If 'at were the case, then why is there a weapon 'at accordin' tae the scrolls, could destroy it?", Brongr asked.

Silence fell over them. Each busy with their own thoughts.

Raven continued to prepare the broth, but her attention was not with the meal but far away. {"Mother and father never spoke of such a thing. At least, not that I can remember. I just wish I could remember better"} , she thought as she softly sighed.

She could not understand why there were so many blank spots in her memory. They were there before but, it has gotten worse. {"It's almost as if the memory of mother and father are slowly being erased…but could that even be possible? Maybe I'm just being forgetful…"} , she thought as she stared with unseeing eyes at the flames.

Finally, their meal was ready and they started to eat. {"Well, that's fortunate"} , Raven thought as she looked at the pot with half of its contents left. {"Then we have something to eat tonight…thank goodness…"} , she thought with a sigh of relieve. She stood up and went to collect something to store the broth in. But when she came back, she stood flabbergasted in front of the now-empty pot.

"Wha-…What happened to the rest?", she asked, disbelief written all over her face.

Axil looked up.

"What do you think happened?", he answered as he gestured to Brongr.

Raven's eyes flew to Brongr who was still eating as if he would never see another meal in his life again. She felt her face turn hot with anger.

"You selfish, blubber guts!", she exclaimed as she marched up to Brongr with her fists firmly planted on her h.i.p.s.

The latter lifted his head and looked surprised at the angry woman before him. He was too busy with eating that he had forgotten about everything around him.

"You ate everything!", Raven said, steaming.

"I was hungry lass! I hadn't eaten for almost a day! Whit did ye expect?", Brongr cried indignantly.

Raven g.r.o.a.n.e.d as she threw her hands in the air.

"Scrolls, evil beasts, nightmares, magic, ice-hearted scholars and teddybear bandits! What have I gotten myself into!?", she complained loudly as turned around to get her bow once more, unaware of the silver eyes watching her.

And then she disappeared into the forest.

***

After a few hours of searching in vain for something to hunt, Raven sighed as she sat down on a fallen over tree. Her wounds ached and she felt drowned. She slowly laid down. {"I just need to rest for a bit"} , she thought. Her eyelids grew heavy.

_______________

Raven found herself standing in the same ruins as before.

"Raven", a soft and delicate voice called out to her.

Raven turned towards the sound of the voice. She saw a figure standing in a doorway.

"Follow me, child", the soft melodic voice reached her ears.

The figure turned around and disappeared into what seemed to have been a hallway. Raven knew she shouldn't trust the mysterious figure yet, she felt like she could.

Hesitantly, Raven followed the figure.

She walked down the hall, her footsteps echoing eerily. They reached another doorway that led to a broken stairway. Raven followed the figure up the stairway, avoiding the missing bits of stone.

They reached the top of the stairs and the figure disappeared through a door. Raven pushed the door open and found herself standing in a room that hadn't yet collapsed entirely.

The first thing that caught her eye was the big bed in the centre of the room, against the wall. Her eyes followed the ivy growing against the wall and saw a rotten wardrobe standing near the hole in the wall that once was a window. Her eyes followed the beam of daylight falling through the window and finally rested on a c.h.e.s.t at the foot of the bed. The c.h.e.s.t seemed to be made of some kind of metal that time could not harm. She walked closer and saw that the c.h.e.s.t was made of a glittering, dark green metal. Shining crystal-like vines wrapped the entire c.h.e.s.t.

The figure suddenly appeared beside Raven.

She saw the figure was, in fact, a middle-aged woman with long grey hair hugging her fine and beautiful face. Her dark eyes held a strange tenderness and almost sadness. Her thin lips were pulled into a gentle smile. She wore a grey dress that sparkled with black and gold dust.

She gently reached out to cup Raven's face. She relaxed a bit at the woman's gentle and loving touch.

"My beautiful girl. Look at you…you look so much like your father", the woman softly said.

Raven stiffened. She looked up into the woman's face.

"My fathe- Mother?", she asked as realisation dawned upon her.

"Yes, my dear…It's me", she said as tears welled up in her eyes.

Raven stammered. "H-how…y-you…you died! I saw it with my own eyes! How…h-how could this be?"

"My spirit remains here. I've tried for so long to reach you…and now, finally! Here I am…", her mother said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh, Raven, honey, I wish we could stay like this forever…but we don't have much time…", she said as she turned around and slowly walked towards the c.h.e.s.t.

"What do you mean, mother?"

"I managed to cast a spell that allows me to walk in your dreams, Raven. I don't know if I can repeat it, so we only have now…I must tell you something", her mother said as she turned to face Raven.

"You see, the ancient scrolls speak of a weapon that no man can wield. Your father and I came to this forest to search for this weapon that could destroy the creature and break the curse. We found it and tried to use it…but it didn't work. We tried many ways, but nothing worked. It was just a dull weapon. It's only later that we learned that it contains powerful and ancient magic. The ancient scrolls also speak of a person in whom's veins this power flows. This person, your father and I figured, could perhaps wield this powerful weapon", Raven's mother explained.

She looked at Raven with a smile.

"We were hopeless. We didn't know where or how to search for this person. But then we noticed that you were always drawn to the weapon. You always played with it, c.a.r.e.s.sed it as if it was a pet. And your eyes always glowed slightly when you'd touch it. We knew…you were the person we were looking for. The person who could wield the weapon", she said.

Raven felt overwhelmed at the news. Slowly the pieces started to fit together. But, some pieces were still missing.

"If what you're saying is true, then…were is the weapon now?", she asked.

Her mother smiled. "Remember the sword that I gave you? Raven, that is the weapon", her mother said.

Raven felt her heart sink. "I…I lost it, mother. The night you and father…I was attacked by a beast and I tried to kill it with the sword…I couldn't get it out of its body before it fled…I…I lost it, mother", she said.

Her mother smiled and turned around to open the c.h.e.s.t. She reached inside and revealed a sword. She rested the blade on her right palm and the hilt in her left. She slowly walked over and presented the sword in her hands to Raven.

"Everything that was lost can also be found…"