°??───??9??───??°

  The day in which seething tempers are quickly tempered by fear

  °??───???───??°

  The cloaked man had risen hours before. Can we find out his name already?

  As frustrating as it is, ahem, this is how the sisters know him at this point in the timeline. As the faithful storyteller, it would be irresponsible to reveal too much so early on, no?

  Well, can they just give him a name?

  Patience. All will be revealed in due time.

  ~ L e t u s s t a r t a f r e s h ~

  °??───???───??°

  The cloaked man had risen hours before. His disturbed sleep had eased in the early hours of the morning and he had managed his usual couple of hours. He lifted the mask slightly and rubbed his concealed eyes. In normal circumstances he would have set off by now. He sighed, he needed to take into account them. The Crumbolian and her toe. How had events led to this? His mouth was set with disdain at the absurdity of the situation.

  “Ridiculous,” he muttered to himself.

  The situation really was ridiculous if you took a step back from it. Kally was in too deep to find much humour in it, but it was definitely there.

  He leaned against a tree as he waited, his tongue clicking absentmindedly. He had waited for too long for them over the last few years. Placing a wayward brown hair back into his hood, he let out a sigh, shifting slightly between both feet.

  Despite his growing impatience, he was not made to wait for long. It must have only been twenty minutes since he had risen until Kally arrived. She spotted him from a distance and laughed sleepily to herself, he really loves striking a pose against a tree.

  Without deigning to look at her, he asked a question in greeting, almost perfunctorily.

  “Did you and your toe… sleep well?” An unfortunate question, considering the night before.

  Kally’s eyes flashed, not catching the slither of concern which had caused his cadence to quiver. He had rubbed her the wrong way. Hours she had been awake last night, hours, and to top it all off, he had dismissed Katoia to a toe again.

  “Stop calling her that,” Kally requested. “She’s called Katoia.”

  “Apologies.”

  “We don’t all shun names,” she said pointedly, jaw obstinate.

  His mouth twitched in annoyance.

  ???

  After scowls had simmered and stewed until they grew cold, the cloaked man rid the campsite of his sigil and they departed. The day was much like the day before, long bouts of walking and silence peppered with the odd rest. A new development though - stilted enquiries about Katoia.

  ~ “How can she be trapped in the boot for this long?”

  ~ “Is there nothing that can be done to air her out?”

  ~ “She is not at risk of suffocation in there, is she?”

  ~ “Could we fashion a hole in your boot to enable her to breathe more freely?”

  Kally found this sporadic concern confusing, to say the least. He would go through almost an hour without uttering a word, then this garbage would blurt out with no warning but a slight huff from the shoulders in front of her. She had mostly just replied in one word answers, intent on focusing down below towards her boots; looking out for the dangerous stray purple vines.

  As she walked onwards, her thoughts consuming her, she noticed the forest wildlife and oddities of her surroundings. She reminded herself she was not hallucinating. Yes, there really was a tiny red caterpillar - one that swelled and stretched into a beast the size of her arm. Black heads of kittens fluffed out of its body, as if attempting to create a domino or imitate a ladybird. A completely harmless creature that lived its short life this way, tampered by the purple. She laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

  “—Is she—”

  Before he could continue, Kally broke. She was tired, far away from home, in a strange situation, with this strange man asking these pointless questions. Katoia was fine. She was always fine. With gritted teeth, she seethed at the first utterance from him.

  “Stop.”

  “—too w-warm…?” His voice fizzled out towards the end as he turned to look at her.

  She pursed her lips in an attempt to bring her emotions in check. It seemed to work, for a short while, until she noticed him looking dejectedly at her boot. Was Katoia all he could think about?

  At this point, irate, she repeated in a high octave, “Too… warm?”

  “She is not too hot, she is not upset, she is not hungry,” Kally rolled her eyes and quipped, “She is not being suffocated by my sock.”

  Kally paused and focused her attention to her toe. “Katoia is in fact, right now… asleep.”

  The cloaked man’s mouth dropped to an ‘oh’ shape. This was not enough to quell any of her anger. If anything, it made her frustrations bubble over. He was so - she pulled up her lip - o b l i v i o u s. She was the one living with this, and had been for many years now. If Katoia needed anything, she would naturally be the first to know.

  Faltering and unsure, “It’s ju—,” he blustered, “—Just.” He clenched his fists and muttered, “I have never been any good at this.”

  Kally rolled her eyes and stifled a yawn that had been threatening her for hours.

  “She’s always asleep in these sorts of moments.” Kally sighed in annoyance. “There’s no reason to worry about her.”

  Kally’s eyes welled. It had been a long few days: of pure exhaustion, of aching feet and of all consuming emotion. Her lack of sleep from the night before and the cloaked man’s questions only added to her impatience. She thought dreamily of a cold beer from Karin’s bar. Maybe, just maybe, that was all she needed. A cold beer and a chat with Karin. He would easily guide her out of this mood.

  The cloaked man took a small step towards her, shifting again on his feet. He drew back his arms that had almost reached out to her - his hands landing on his chin and traversing over his mouth. He kicked himself.

  Kally raised her eyebrow at this. Her toe throbbed in unison with her anger. She glared.

  “Totally oblivious to the world— to this journey, my tiredness, aching limbs, the frazzled nerves.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The cloaked man looked at her, his expression hardly discernible due to the mask obstructing his face. Those eyes, what had happened to those eyes?

  He stood a while, unsure how to proceed.

  “My apologies,” was all he could muster.

  Needless to say, this did not alleviate Kally’s anger. Her now red eyes glowered at him.

  “You—!“

  Before the argument could escalate further, they were interrupted by a loud rustle in the trees beside them. The cloaked man stepped forward, shielding Kally. She, wide eyed and with heaving breath, felt her anger dissipate somewhat as another emotion took over.

  ???

  They heard the voice before they saw its owner, a singsong-y melodic child-like voice with a faint rasp of a lisp.

  “Mister… miss, mister… miss.” The voice rang out through the trees.

  Evidently, they had been spotted. Clearly at a disadvantage, the cloaked man held his arms out straight by his side and focused his energy to his hands. That same magical force emanated through him and he formed the same sigil as before. Yellow and bright, its magic glowed; its form, an intricate thread, woven quickly but expertly. Power emanated from it and they were soon enveloped in that familiar bubble of protection. A yellow shield, bright like the afternoon sun.

  “Stay put.”

  Kally nodded.

  They both looked to the greenery where the rustle had originated, awaiting their visitor in anticipation.

  Sharp leaves of pure green.

  Sure enough, a child appeared. Kally started. A child, in this forest? Alone? She shuddered at the thought of trying to survive here alone.

  The child was a tree sprite from the looks of it, a young boy not older than six or seven. He had a pale complexion with a slight grain to it, covered in veins of brown not blue. His hair, short and wayward like freshly cut grass, was littered with leaves. Its green, deep like emeralds. A tree sprite, that made sense. Kally exhaled, he could easily survive in a forest, after all. He would certainly be better at it than them.

  The tree sprite’s eyes twinkled in excitement as he approached their barrier. He jumped and danced around, reaching out to touch it but contained himself, and giggled. His joy was hard to miss. It could almost be called glee. He brought his face towards the yellow glow, careful again not to touch it, and sniffed, as if he wanted to consume it in one big motion.

  Kally, now safely inside the barrier, looked at this scene with a cocked head and a bemused look on her face. She softened. The cloaked man shifted on his feet again and folded his arms, resolute on waiting for the boy to calm before taking any more action.

  After this strange display of delight ended, the boy, as close to the barrier as he could get, whispered, “Can you help me?”

  “Help you, my dear? Of course,” Kally responded instantly and she walked forward.

  The cloaked man grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her back, keeping her well under the protection of the barrier she had tried to leave.

  “Wait, we do not know of this child.”

  Kally scoffed. “What’s to know? He’s just a child.” She looked around. “Do you see anyone else who could help him?”

  The cloaked man’s mouth curled to form a slight smile at this show of naivety.

  “Let us find out of what he speaks first.” He turned to the boy. “You, boy! Tell us your name and what ails you.”

  Kally rolled her eyes. He really could be quite stiff most of the time.

  “Come now, it’s alright,” Kally coaxed.

  Between them they retrieved the information they required. The boy’s name was Naevii. He was a tree sprite, as they had surmised. His family had suffered a misfortune in the forest and only he and his sister had survived. Unfortunately, a few days ago he had been separated from her and was unable to locate her whereabouts.

  Kally, who had grimaced throughout the boy’s story, turned to the cloaked man and tugged on his sleeve. She wanted to help - besides it was getting claustrophobic within the confines of the barrier.

  Jaw shut and mouth a small line, the cloaked man’s face - hard to read as always - gave nothing away. Kally could hear his breathing, slow and steady; again, giving nothing away. He paused and rapped his fingers on the barrier. Was this to strengthen it?

  “Well, we can’t just do nothing,” she implored.

  He brought his mouth up slightly, pursed, as if deep in thought. He shuffled his feet and sighed, “The forest is a dangerous place.”

  “Even more reason to help then. Look at him…” Kally signalled her head toward the young tree sprite, who with a morose look was studying his feet. “He’s so young and defenceless. What if something happens to him?”

  “What if something happens to us? You cannot just trust everything you see outside Crumbledgard.”

  Kally, exasperated, exhaled. “You can’t trust everything in Crumbledgard either. I just—gah—! I’d be too worried if we did nothing.”

  The cloaked man studied her face; determined lines etched in place, eyes wide and earnest. She just had to be a teacher, didn’t she. He bowed his head. Was this worth another argument? He already felt bad enough about earlier and would rather not repeat it. Besides, there is plenty of trouble the forest, they would be bound to find it at some point, and if the sprite was truly innocent—

  “Very well,” his solemn voice broke the silence.

  Kally beamed and grabbed his arm, jumping slightly in place. She motioned with her eyes to the barrier. The cloaked man - frozen in situ - cleared his throat and, breaking off from her grasp, touched the sigil. Its rope-like form, shining and glistening, dropped to the ground with no thud and disintegrated in a crackle. The barrier’s yellow sheen lessened until it faded completely away.

  At this, Kally rushed to the child and bobbed down to his height. She patted his head. “Of course we’ll help you, little one.” The cloaked man still stood firmly in his original spot and looked around for signs of an ambush.

  “Can you show us where you last saw your sister?”

  Naevii nodded with a wide grin on his face and took Kally’s hand. He tugged her forward. The cloaked man followed, keeping a few steps behind.

  ???

  The party weaved through the forest in the direction Kally and the cloaked man had come from. Only, as if following a hidden maze path. This path was not well trodden, with plenty of roots and rocks and it dipped and rose as it pleased. Each step they took on this uneven surface dislodged more and more purple dust.

  Kally’s feet had long been aching, the throb of her toe prominent in her mind. Her breath was short and she could feel her heart banging against her rib cage. Wishing she had been more active back in Crumbledgard, she continued on.

  Not that she had much choice otherwise; Naevii tugged harder and harder, pulling so hard her shoulder hurt and the cloaked man quickened his pace to keep up.

  Before long they were in an unfamiliar part of the forest, deep within its depths.

  “How much further?” Kally asked.

  “Not long. Not long,” Naevii sing-songed back.

  Kally sighed. The cloaked man grimaced.

  “Just where did you lose her…?” he asked, through gritted teeth.

  Naevii’s grip on her hand tightened and he continued pulling her along without responding. The cloaked man, all this time, had been surveying their surroundings and checking for assailants. Whilst the assailants had never arrived, the increase in purple mist had not escaped his notice. At first it had been a light dusting, hardly perceptible to the naked eye. As they had weaved in the maze like path it had built up to cakey foundation levels but right now—

  Now it was becoming a smog, a miasma of a marsh, a great haze. It enveloped them suddenly, threatening separation with its affront to their vision. He prepared the protection sigil. A quick cast was all that was needed now and they would be safe from any trickery.

  Just as the barrier was about to be cast, Naevii yanked Kally out of sight. The cloaked man, alarmed, ran after them and ended up in a clearing. He scanned the area. Purple fog kissed the ground and rose up with a sizzling heat. It was a wide expanse, too wide to be natural, too flat too. It was like a disc had been scorched into the forest from above, and trees lined the stage - an audience waiting in anticipation.

  Kally, on her knees in the distance, seemed to be alone. He frowned. Naevii had brought them to this place, in the thick smog, and had now disappeared. Had something happened to him, or was it as he feared?

  He strode towards Kally but his attention was soon diverted to the centre of their stage.

  The ground cracked, crumbling, as something from below pounded the earth to be let out. A thundering roar resounded as a mammoth of a tree trunk burst from the ground. Screeching and almost writhing in pain, gnarled twigs and razor sharp leaves spiked through its newly formed branches. They thrashed and twisted angrily, pulsating with a threatening energy.

  The cloaked man tasted the dark intent in the air - salty and fusty, like a pocket humbug sucked after a salted salmon. He felt a thickness on his chest, the weight of the fog crushed his ribs and tightened his throat. This would not be good.

  He looked over at Kally who wore a horrified expression upon her face, her hand clutching her boot.

  K a t o i a.

  He cast the barrier, flinging his energy over them both, and captured them in his yellow net. Relief washed over him. They were both safe for now, at least.

  He turned his attention back to the monstrosity of a tree. His senses heightened as he went into fight mode.

  °??───? Author’s Note ?───??°

  So, here we are, diving headfirst into the chaos of a cryptic cloaked man and a little sprite with a big problem. Oh, and let’s not forget Kally - who’s really just trying to get through a forest without losing her mind (or her toe).

  Tensions are high, tempers are short, and I swear, even I can hear the sighs through the pages.

  Things are about to get even more charged - because when does it not? (And yes, the cloaked man’s will get a name eventually. Patience is a virtue, right?)

  As always, leave your thoughts and feedback below - I love to hear what you think!

  ? Coming up - Chapter 10 title ?

  °??───?? The fight in which Kally finds out the difference between a tree sprite and a tree spirit ??───??°

  ? Update Schedule ?

  The next chapter will be released 08-05-2025 (dd-mm-yyyy)

  ?? Vision Watch ??

  ? A faraway land, with blue eyes and pale faces vying for attention (Chapter 5)

  ? Gribbles play as a celebration is happening and Kally wakes up mouthing a name - Alena (Chapter 8)

  ~ SK Payde

  ? ? ?