Emily on the Road

As Aria and Emily trudged down the dirt road, the trees that dotted the plains became more and more frequent, until they found themselves in a dense wood. The waning sun painted the horizon in shades of lavender and gold. Birds cawed and rustled in the distance, preparing for evening, and an icy gust raised goosebumps on Emily's exposed skin. The faint sound of running water indicated that they were approaching a river.

The britches offered little protection from the cold, and Emily wrapped her arms tightly around herself, shivering at every gust of wind.

"We should find a place to camp for the night," Aria said. "Though I cannot feel this cold, I see it is having a strong effect on you."

"Really missing that cloak right now," Emily replied, her teeth chattering.

"Let us walk a little farther," said Aria, pointing ahead at a dark silhouette. "Look, we're coming to a bridge. On the other side, we'll find a clearing and make a fire."

Emily was about to ask how, exactly, Aria intended them to make a fire, and to remind her marble companion that, where she was from, the ability to make a fire in the woods had not been considered an essential life skill. But before she could figure out exactly how to articulate it, she was stopped in her tracks by an extraordinary sight.

Towering ahead of Aria and Emily stood an enormous, hulking humanoid figure, taller even than Aria and made even more menacing by the fading light. The creature had lumpy blue skin and wore a brown loincloth. Its right hand rested on what looked like an uprooted tree trunk. Its massive yellow incisors glistened, and it focused a pair of beady black eyes on the two travelers.

A scream died in Emily's throat, and she could feel her heart thundering against her chest. Her eyes darted to Aria, desperate for an explanation.

But Aria's expression was more annoyed than frightened. "It's a troll," she whispered. Then, projecting her voice forward, she shouted, "Greetings, Forest Troll! We are humble travelers, who desire only to pass through these lands. We wish you no ill will."

The troll's voice was deep and sonorous, booming as though it came from the depths of the earth. "I am the guardian of this bridge. Those who would cross must pay the toll."

The annoyance in Aria's countenance intensified. "Typical troll," she whispered to Emily. "They all do this--find a bridge, or a gate, or a chokepoint, and harass travelers for tolls. Terribly bothersome."

"It's more than bothersome, Aria!" Emily hissed back. "In case you've forgotten, we don't have any money!" She wiggled her scantily clad hips as a reminder.

"Oh, they're not usually after money," Aria said dryly. Then, addressing the troll, "What is your toll, Forest Troll?"

"Your most treasured belonging."

Emily's pulse quickened. What did she have that this troll could possibly want? All she had was her scanty outfit.

Aria leaned in close and whispered, "Remember, Emily, do not part with the Stoneshell."

Emily felt, or imagined she felt, a warm spot on her chest, where the pendant rested, as though it were agreeing with Aria. She nodded solemnly.

"I have no possessions," Aria said to the troll.

The troll regarded her for a moment, before saying, "Then you are free to go."

"Oh," Aria replied, clearly taken aback. "Th--thank you."

The troll stepped to one side, and Aria passed him and stepped onto the bridge. But when Emily attempted to follow, the troll stepped back, blocking her path. "The toll, please." He was so close now that she could smell his foul breath.

"I don't have any possessions either!" said Emily. "No, money, nothing, not even a shirt!"

The troll's beady eyes leered down at Emily and she pulled her arms tighter across her chest. "You lie. Pay the toll."

Aria turned around, a panicked look on her face, and peered around the troll's bulk to look Emily in the eyes.

Emily mouthed the words "I know", annoyed that Aria seemed to believe she would give away the Stoneshell so freely. Its power and importance had been deeply impressed on her. If she gave it up, the Castle Elid curse would return, and then what would happen to her friend Aria? Emily couldn't face this world alone.

Maybe the Stoneshell was her most treasured belonging. She couldn't let the troll know that. He wanted something from her, but it didn't have to be the necklace. There were far less important things she could part with instead.

"Will my socks pay the toll?" Emily asked, pushing onto her toes with one foot to display the gray fabric. "They, uh, belonged to my late grandmother."

The troll shook his head.

"What about my boots?" she asked, already crouching down, her hands on the laces of her left boot.

Again, the troll shook his head.

"Really?" Emily asked. "These boots are very precious to me, they were a gift from my father. And they're essential for this journey, that's for sure. My feet are going to be really sore without my trusty boots!"

"That is not the toll."

Emily's adjusted her arms to better hide the Stoneshell pendant from view. "Are you sure?" she asked the troll, shooting a worried glance at Aria. If the troll wanted the necklace, they may be in for a fight.

"Your most treasured belonging," began the troll, speaking slowly, "is that."

An outstretched troll finger brushed against the fabric on Emily's hip. Aria sighed with relief, but it was all Emily could do to repress a scream. He was completely right, of course. Though far from an ideal covering, the britches had upgraded her from naked girl to half-naked girl. "I--what? Really? That?!" Emily stammered. "But--but--I need it! It's... it's all I've got to wear..."

The troll's blue tongue flicked across his incisors. "That is why it is the toll."

Tears pricked at Emily's eyes, and she bit her lip to keep them in. It had been a bad enough letdown, going from her dress and cloak to these wholly inadequate shorts, and now she was going to lose even that? She couldn't bare her nethers to the world again, not so soon after finally giving them some privacy.

The world seemed to stand still as Emily contemplated her fate. The troll appeared to have endless patience, and Aria had had plenty of practice standing motionless for a long time. But Emily was getting cold, especially standing still like this.

Slowly, she brought one arm away from her chest and reached down to her hip. Her hand was shaking as she brought a thumb between the britches and her skin. But before she completed the movement, before she stripped, a crazy idea occurred to her.

The troll blocked her path, but he was standing with his legs wide apart. He was larger than Aria, but not double her size. Emily recalled something Aria had said to Brom in the castle, about falling on anyone who tried to attack the two of them on the road. A desperate plan to preserve her modesty was coming together in her mind. She would need to act quickly and decisively, keeping the element of surprise on her side.

Slowly, carefully, Emily pulled her other arm away from her chest and placed her other thumb beneath the waistband of her britches. She stood in a slight crouch, unsupported breasts hanging forward, drawing the troll's eyes. Blushing, she slowly began wiggling her hips, pushing the britches down very, very slowly. This would buy her time.

"Aria," she said, still wiggling, and keeping her voice very calm. "Be careful when crossing the bridge. I wouldn't want you to FALL." This last word was punctuated with a knowing stare, and after a moment of confusion, Aria appeared to understand.

"It wouldn't do to FALL in. Not right NOW!"

As she spat the final word, Emily yanked her britches back up and sprung forward, arms pumping at her side. She dove between the troll's legs, headed straight for the bridge. A crash and a roar sounded behind her, followed by a surprisingly fierce battle-cry from Aria and the sound of stone slamming against skin.

Emily kept running. Her boots pounded against the wooden bridge, one after the other, and the sound of rushing water filled her ears.

Then there was a sickening crack, and the floor gave way beneath her. Emily screamed as she fell.

The water was cold, shockingly cold, and it was dark under the bridge. Emily thrashed in the water, fighting her way up to the surface. As her head breached the water, she inhaled a sharp, cold breath. The current had carried her out from underneath the bridge, but the river bank was not far.

In the last light of the setting sun, Emily hauled herself to shore, grabbing fistfuls of grass and pulling herself out of the cold water. She lay on the shore for a moment, breathing heavily, before the light was blotted out by an enormous shadow behind her.

Too tired, cold and shocked to run anymore, Emily twisted her body to look up at the troll. His massive hand held something aloft--the gnome's britches, flapping the breeze.

"The river takes its toll if I do not," said the troll.

The cool breeze that whipped across Emily's backside was further confirmation that her plan had failed.

"Let me help you up," said Aria's voice, her marble face appearing in Emily's vision. "I'm sorry, Emily, he was too strong for me."

Emily reached out, grasped a cold marble arm, and pulled herself up. Then, looking around, she asked between chattering teeth, "W--where did he g--go?" For the troll had disappeared back into the night, along with Emily's gnome britches.

"His job was done," said Aria, eyes flicking down involuntarily and causing Emily to blush. "Let's see about that fire."

Cold, wet and wearing only a waterlogged pair of boots, Emily nodded vigorously. "I'm f--freezing!"

A pleasant clearing came into sight a few yards from the river, and Aria made quick work of finding and piling up firewood. Emily removed her waterlogged boots and socks and placed them in front of the pile, shivering, rubbing her hands on her upper arms and jumping up and down to keep warm. "H--how do we s--start a fire?" she asked Aria.

"Use the Stoneshell," Aria said.

Emily grasped the Stoneshell pendant and looked at it quizzically. "W-what? How?"

"Just hold it out and think of fire," Aria said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Emily was still skeptical, but more than that, she was cold. "Ok--kay then," she said, holding the pendant over the pile of firewood. "Uh, one... f--fire... please?"

There was a sudden whoosh, followed by a thunderclap, and Emily jumped back as the pile of firewood burst into flame. "Holy--"

Aria clapped her hands in glee. "Aha! The power of the Stoneshell is truly a sight to behold!"

"You can s--say that again," said Emily, spreading her frozen body out in front of the crackling flames. "This is amazing."

"The Stoneshell is a magical source of heat, light and fire. It can summon any of these at the bearer's will, while also protecting the bearer from their effects," said Aria.

Emily's eyes widened. "After we left the castle, I had this inexplicable feeling that the Stoneshell was protecting me from getting sunburned," Emily replied, inspecting the still-pale skin of her arms.

"The bearer has a special bond with the Stoneshell. It was communicating with you on an intuitive level."

"Neat." Emily lowered herself onto a moss-covered log a safe distance from the fire. "Does that have something to do with the curse?"

"That is its second and more recent power. The spell that entrapped me and the other statues bound us to the Stoneshell. In its weakened state, without a bearer, we too were weakened. As goes the Stoneshell, so go the stone statues."

"The statues!" Emily exclaimed, feeling a sudden pang of guilt. "I remember seeing statues trapped at the bottom of the Labyrinthine Pool. Now that the curse is lifted, what will become of them? With all the excitement and attention back at the castle, I totally forgot to ask!"

Aria smiled sweetly. "Do not worry, you have done your part by becoming the new bearer and lifting the curse. It is Brom's quest to rescue those poor souls. I daresay he and Jivaro are already hard at work designing a complex system of ropes and pulleys."

"That's good to hear."

A long moment of silence passed. The fire crackled and Emily turned the Stoneshell pendant around in her fingers, while Aria stared off into the trees.

"I would never give it up, you know," said Emily. "The Stoneshell, I mean." She gripped it tightly as she said this, feeling every bump and curve.

Aria said nothing.

"You were very insistent about that, both with Brevin and the troll," Emily continued. "I suppose you were afraid that I would want to trade the necklace for those clothes or give it to the troll so I wouldn't have to give up something I was wearing."

As Emily spoke, she could see Aria slowly angling herself away, intensifying her gaze into the forest.

"The sunburn thing isn't all that the Stoneshell communicated to me," Emily said, reclining on her arms. "I understood, from the moment I put it on, that it bound me to you and the other statues, and that if I were to give it up, the curse would return, perhaps even worse than before."

At this, a sob escaped Aria's marble throat, her shoulders shaking. Emily stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn her head.

Droplets appeared newly carved below Aria's eyes, merging to form rivers and flowing down her face. "I--I was afraid," she stammered.

"Aria," Emily said, puffing herself up and blushing a little as she did so. "Look at me." She took a step back, while keeping a fingertip on Aria's shoulder.

Emily gestured at her bare body, side-lit by the fire's flickering flames, adorned only by the stone seashell that rested just above her breasts. "I'm wearing this necklace. And I'm going to keep wearing it, even if this world never gives me anything else. Not because of its awesome fire powers, but because you're my friend, Aria."

Aria sniffed, smiling weakly. Emily, blushing ever more as she stood before Aria's gaze, opened her arms and wrapped them around the statue in a very tight, but quite cold and uncomfortable hug. "I do hope this world does decide to give me something more to wear though," she added. "The sooner the better."

As Emily separated herself from Aria, she was hit by a wave of fatigue. The nervous energy that had sustained her since she first arrived in Castle Elid and began her naked adventure was finally waning, and she felt a weariness in her bones unlike any she had previously experienced. Since the last time she'd slept, Emily had experienced two full days--one normal, slightly frustrating day at her job, and a second, incredible, bizarre one among talking statues in the magical land of Thessolan.

Eyelids heavy with sleep, Emily stumbled towards the softest-looking patch of grass she could find near the fire and collapsed.

"Rest well, Emily," came the sound of Aria's voice. "I will keep the fire going and watch over you."

It was well after dawn when Emily stirred again, stretching and groaning herself into wakefulness. She recalled having a long and vivid dream, about statues and castles and trolls and--

"Good morning, Emily," said the stone face hovering above her own. "Did you sleep well?"

Emily blinked a few times and took in her surroundings. She was outdoors, with trees overhead, looking up at a smiling face made of marble. The sensations of grass tickling her back and a slight breeze across the skin of her front reminded her that she was naked. There was nothing dreamlike about that.

As memories of the previous day rushed into her head, Emily pulled herself up to a seated position. The clearing made for a beautiful scene in the early morning, accentuated by a chorus of birdsong. A wispy plume of smoke rose from the charred remains of the fire.

"I gathered some breakfast for you," said Aria, presenting Emily with a multicolored array of berries.

Surprised by the ravenous of her hunger, Emily wolfed down the berries without a second though. None was quite so good as the Starvine she'd had the previous day, but all were pleasant in their own ways and left her well sated--and a little sticky.

Aria accompanied her back to the river, where the troll was thankfully nowhere to be seen. Emily waded in, immersing herself completely in the water. It washed away the berry juice and bits of grass and dirt that had stuck to her as she slept. She dove down, submerging herself completely, and broke the surface again, joyfully flicking her hair back with a shower of droplets.

Rejuvenated by the water, she returned to the bank and walked back to the clearing, wringing her hair out and enjoying the sun's soft rays on her skin, which was soon dry.

"I'd better get dressed," she said wryly to Aria, eyeing the boots next to the remains of the fire.

"Yes, then we shall resume our journey." Aria didn't appear to catch the joke.

Emily pulled on her socks and boots and nodded to Aria. "Let's go."

It was a strange sensation, soft fabric encasing her feet while the rest of her body remained stark naked. The vulnerability of it caused her to take a moment to arrange her hair over her chest while wishing it was also long enough to cover her butt. Hopefully, she would find a permanent outfit before that happened.

The travelers left the clearing and continued along the winding path through the forest, leather and stone crunching leaves beneath them. The trees and other foliage grew denser around them. Birds sang above and the occasional squirrel darted in front of them, briefly eyeing them with its beady black eyes.

"How far away is Lirethel?" asked Emily, after they'd been walking in silence for some time.

"A month's journey by foot, along this path" Aria replied. "But it has been many centuries since I last undertook the journey, and the path may have changed. I do not recall this wood."

"A month!" Emily exclaimed. "If only there was a flight we could catch."

"A... flight?" Aria asked.

Emily was in the middle of explaining air travel to Aria when she suddenly felt a queasy sensation in her stomach. It was her intuition telling her that they weren't alone. She glanced around anxiously at the forest and drew her arms around her body protectively.

"Is something wrong, Emily?"

Before she could voice her unease, a loud cracking noise jolted her. At once, she felt something press around the ankle of her left boot.

She looked down to see a rough-hewn rope encircling her boot, the end of which disappeared into the trees. "What--"

A forceful tug at her ankle cut off Emily's words. Her stomach flip-flopped and the world turned upside down as she was jerked into the air. "Ahhh!"

"Emily!" Aria exclaimed, looking up in horror.

Several grizzly and dishevelled figures stepped out from behind the trees, each one brandishing a dagger or club alongside a nasty expression. Their eyes flicked between the living statue and the naked girl hanging upside-down from their trap, paying extra attention to the latter. Emily could feel their eyes moving up and down her suspended body.

"Well, what do we have here?" a tall, lanky man sneered, twirling his rusty dagger. His ratty hair and stained clothes matched his filthy expression. "A moving statue and... a little snack. How lovely."

Emily winced as one of the bandits reached for her, grabbing onto the chain of the Stoneshell necklace, while making sure to brush the outside of his rough hand across Emily's clavicle. She could smell his foul breath. "Look at this! A little treasure."

Aria's eyes flared. "Release her," she commanded, her voice deepening.

The bandits hesitated for a moment, glancing at each other. Their leader, however, seemed unpeturbed. "And if we don't? What can a statue do?"

The statement barely left his lips when Aria lunged at the bandit examining the Stoneshell. Her hands curled into hard stone claws, which she dug into his face. The bandit cried out and fell, his dagger skidding into the underbrush.