Of Bonds Forged Ch. 01

He worked his way up the hill to the flats, making an educated guess as to where he was going based on the drunken, half-crazed storytelling of an old woman who claimed to have been all over the world and laid claim to have done everything from finding islands that no one else knew of to being a courtesan to royals in her prime and having seen everything from sea monsters to the mythical city of Adar.

During one of her slurring, run-on stories she mentioned that she'd run across a dead man's camp in the woods. Her bloodshot eyes darted around the room as she talked about how the place felt cursed and, as soon as she confirmed the man dead she got as far away from it as possible as fast as she could go. "I could feel the power of the curse," she whispered. "Chilled my soul, it did."

Kel never believed any of the "cursed," nonsense, much less anything about the city of myth or that that woman was ever a courtesan anywhere other than her dreams. But, if something there so unsettled her, that suggested to him that it might have value. Add the fact that where she was talking about was reasonably close and not some snowy island on the other side of the world, those combined to send him on his way. He was happy for the more moderate temperature which made the hike more bearable.

He trudged through the trees, wondering at what he might find, assuming he could find the place at all based on the directional bits he remembered. He found himself laughing as he thought of himself spending the day chasing down the ramblings of a drunk. He laughed because, for all he knew, he was following breadcrumbs that she dropped while spewing out half-remembered bits from half a dozen different adventures, assuming she hadn't manufactured every bit of it from her imagination to begin with.

Behind a group of trees in the hills south that are taller than the rest, sticking out like thumbs.

He climbed the hill and walked a bit before, off in the distance, he saw four or five trees a little taller than the rest, settled together in such a way that, when he imagined them with leaves, he had no trouble seeing the formation looking like a thumb pointing up toward the sky. He pressed forward with renewed energy, picking up his pace to a near-run now that his goal was in sight. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could see what there was to see. If there was nothing, he could set his own course once again.

The trail was fairly free of obstacles, so he made it to the growth of trees he sought. As he closed in, he slowed to a walk to both catch his breath and to miss no signs. He didn't have to concern himself with the latter because, while the small camp nestled itself nearer other trees, its owner wasn't trying to hide its presence. The small fire steps from the weathered brown canvas tent was long since burned out. The eerie calm that surrounded, coupled with the cloudy sky and the absence of life and feeling of desolation that came with winter conspired to set him on edge, ready for fight or flight at a moment's notice. He felt something here, that much was true, but he chalked it up to his own disquiet knowing that, likely in the tent, there was a man not getting any older. He blamed the drunk for the feeling, "Crazy old bitch," slipped from under his breath.

Truthfully, it was easier to blame her for what he was feeling instead if the fact that he was here essentially to rob a grave, something he'd never before actually done. As an abstract exercise, it was fine. It wasn't like they needed whatever they left or were ever coming back for it, but that was different than actually taking what their was to take and he found himself debating within whether or not to press forward. You haven't done anything yet. You're just looking around is all.

So he did, not that there was much to see beyond some old cooking utensils and various odds and ends that one that lived off the land much as Kel did might have, but most of it was older than what Kel had and, by the looks of it, older than Kel himself. What bits that were newer weren't any better. He could still take them and trade them for a meal if he were lucky, but he had coin to feed himself, so it hardly seemed worth it.

That left him staring towards the tent. You've come all this way.

He silenced the part of him that called him a grave robber.

You haven't taken anything. You're just looking. If he doesn't have anything, and he probably doesn't by the looks of this shit, you can just leave the rest of it and walk off, no harm done.

There was a greater urge to walk off, but he dismissed it. He'd already come all this way. Even with finally quieting that part of his conscience, he was still tentative in those small steps to the tent and stood there for a moment more before pulling the flap apart. There it was. Well, there he was. Kel dipped his head and entered the tent to take a better look at the man that was. He looked like he'd been ready for death for a long while before he actually died. He was old and had been long so with thin skin wrapped around a skeletal frame. His hair was long and white as it went down his back behind the bald crown at the top of his head. His eyes were sunken under bushy brows and they stared out into nothing, mouth slightly agape, almost like he had watched himself pass pass to the next world.

Acting before he could get another fight with himself, he dropped to his knees before the body and examined it. He rolled the man onto his back easily, the stiffness of death having faded even with the chill and he found something worth seeking at once. There was jewelry of gold and silver on several fingers, some bejeweled and some not. But, around his neck was the apex of beauty. The necklace was gold, and dangling from it, was was a triangle of etched gold. Each point held its own jewel, a yellow, red, and blue one respectively. In the center was a large black gem that seemed to reflect a wine red when one of the facets caught the light. They were all expertly crafted and, when he touched his hand to examine it, he found it warm to the touch. Around the man's neck was something worth a bidding war to decide how large the fortune whoever owned the thing would be paid.

His conscience did not oppose him and he searched for the clasp to remove it. Releasing it with a soft click he hurriedly shoved it under his belt knowing he'd take off his pack and find a safer place for the trinket later.

"What do you have there?"

He jumped out of his skin at the question and, when he put himself back into it, he spun around to find a younger man peering into the tent after him. He was one with scruffy, dark hair and he looked slightly unkempt, as though maintaining himself to the highest personal standards just wasn't a priority. The grin made him seem friendly enough, but that didn't stop Kel from stammering a response, his wide eyes darting to the young man, then the old one, then back again. "What? Oh...oh, nothing at all. I just found this camp and I...uhhh...heard a man calling for help and by the time I got here, uhh..."

The young man smirked before he let loose a concerned tsk at the scene. "What kept you? Looks like he's been dead for a while. If only you'd acted sooner, huh?" The man let Kel squirm for a few heartbeats before laughing. "Relax. You were at the bar last night. I was at the bar last night. We both heard the same crazy lady talk about the same dead man. You're here. I'm here. Relax." He stepped back to give Kel room to step out.

He wasn't really relaxed, but he could at least accept the explanation. Kel left the tent, "I don't know how long he's been here. I think a day or so. Whatever it is, it's not that long or else the animals would have tried for their piece."

The man angled his view over Kel's shoulder trying to see what he could see., "What do you think he died from?"

"I don't know," he said, glancing back at the tent himself, unsettled by the memory. "Whatever it was, his eyes were wide open for it."

An awkward silence enveloped them both before the other man broke it by laughing. Kel, annoyed by having a moment that felt like it should at least be somber broken by laughter, snapped at him a little. "What's so funny?"

He didn't stop laughing. "You normally piss gold like that?"

Kel looked down to find the chain draped just over his crotch, which made him snort despite himself. "Not normally, no."

"I hear older men have trouble controlling themselves sometimes." The humor in his voice tapered off. "How about you give it to me?"

Kel's heart beat faster, not unlike the run to get to this place. A fight was the last thing he wanted and the close second in unwanted events was the flash of conscience that popped in to remind him that he never even should have been here in the first place. He just tried to think of the best, fastest way out. "This one...is, uh, mine. But, look, there's plenty for both of us. He has a bunch of rings on him and other things in the tent that might be worth something. I'll have this and you can have the rest." He added a smile to try to seem as non-threatening as possible and diffuse the situation.

He reached behind his hip and drew a six-inch blade that looked well used and better kept than the man himself. "Actually, I think the best idea is if I just gut you. That way I get everything and I don't have to worry about you chasing after me."

"Wait a minute. I really won't..." He never finished before the man lunged at him. In the way he'd always heard of in stories, time slowed as he watched the blade come towards him. He didn't see the arm holding it, or the body it was attached to. Kel's universe was the piece of sharpened metal. When it closed in on his body, he grabbed the man's wrist with both hands and pushed the blade away from his body just as the man slammed into him, sending both to the ground.

What worked in his favor was that his pack absorbed much of the force. What worked against him was that now he was flailing a bit like a turtle flipped onto its back as they struggled. The knife wasn't in his body yet and it had to stay that way. The man had strength and anger, but Kel, facing the blade, had fear and desperation so they were well matched for the moment, but the blade was back in sight and inching closer as the stranger snarled through gritted teeth, spit spraying in Kel's face.

A satisfied smile began to form on those maniacal features. "Sorry."

Kel doubted the sincerity of that as he looked on, being able to guess now that the blade would take out an eye. His arms were tired already. How long had they been struggling, he wondered. He also wondered if he'd see whatever the old man saw out of the one that still worked in that last moment.

The blade came up as the force against him lessened as the man distracted himself, grabbing at the chain holding the talisman and pulling it free. Kel should have just let it go. That's what would have happened if there was a hint of rational thought in that moment. He would have let him take it and hope the attack would stop once the man had what he wanted.

At the very least it might have allowed Kel time to regroup, or perhaps get away. But he was exhausted, afraid, and there was that little part of him that was angry. There was that little part that wasn't thinking about the fact that they were fighting over the possessions of a dead man. That little part that was all about, 'I was here first' kept rationality at bay enough to keep him in the fight. That kept enough rationality at bay for Kel to grab at the necklace, his hand gripping the talisman as it lifted into the air, free of him.

He took it firmly, distracting himself for but a moment, reality slowing again as he realized his mistake. The blade was coming for him now.

Oh, shit. Goddess, I'm going to die. I never should have come here. I never should have done this. What he should have done was meaningless now. What was before him was the final consequence of that decision. Terror swept through him, terror that combined with the chill outside to leave him colder than that dead old man in the tent.

The only warmth to be felt was from the talisman and that warmth seemed to build in response to Kel's turbulent emotions. Without thinking, Kel clutched it even more tightly as it seemed like the only lifeline he had in the world.

I don't want to die.

That was irrelevant. It was about to happen. Horror, desperation, and that ache to continue living that, all things equal, everything living had, balled up within him and pushed outward through his being like an explosion. Kel closed his eyes, not wanting to see the last instant of his life that way.

Stop! He thought it. He screamed it. In that instant, that's all there was in his world.

Time passed.

Kel began to realize that he wasn't dead.

Opening his eyes, he saw the man over him. His eyes were wide and unseeing. The knife hung over Kel, but the man holding it over him was frozen like a statue. He used the pause to regain his breath and his sanity while his would-be killer seemed to have no objection. Kel's brow displayed his growing bewilderment. He was thrilled that the man had apparently decided not to kill him, but he didn't understand why.

"Get off me."

The man withdrew the blade and lifted himself smoothly, planting his feet firmly where he stood.

Inspecting himself, Kel decided he was fine. In fact, he was better than fine. He felt heat. No. He felt warmth. No. This was warmth that made him feel alive. It made him feel like there was nothing he couldn't do and nothing he couldn't make happen just by willing it.

Kel, for the first time in his life, felt real power and it didn't take long for him to make the connection. The power ran from him, to the talisman and back again like a river flowing, replenishing itself as it went, drawing from Kel linking to him for guidance. He thought of it that way. In his mind's eye he saw it that way. That flowing reserve of power had been left waiting and without direction. It had been tapped before the man's death and left unused without again being locked away once again. It had lacked direction and connection until the moment a will wrapped in the added strength of fear and directed that power.

The magic responded to his will and overwhelmed the source of the threat. It, like all magic, acted for and with Kel's desires. That those desires were to stop his attacker immediately led the magic through the paths of least resistance and blunt force to dull the other mind it found. Kel didn't understand the nuance. He didn't understand the why, but what he did understand was that if he concentrated on that pool and on that power to the point where it almost hurt to think, he could feel hazy tendril of that power go from the talisman to the other man's mind, almost like a leash.

Magic. Forbidden magic was the only real explanation. No wonder the old man was well away from people. If he were caught with such a thing, it would all be over for him.

I told him to stop and he stopped. Kel's eyes, reflected the fact that his mind was reasoning his way through things. Maybe it is a leash.

He gripped the piece of jewelry more tightly. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." The response was slightly monotone, as though it were pulled from his mind without his full awareness.

"What's your name?"

"Bin."

"Hello, Bin. Stand on one foot."

Nothing happened.

"Stand on one foot," he said, this time more forcefully.

Still nothing.

He kept asking, thinking about the pool of magic within and the tether between them. It was tied to how badly he wanted something somehow. It wasn't enough just to want it or to shout orders, he had to push for it. The pushing took effort in and of itself, but, once Bin's left leg came up from the ground, Kel smiled. That alone made it all worthwhile.

As it opened up a world of possibilities.

He spent the next two hours with Bin asking him questions, watching the power twitch and waver as he did. It almost felt like its own living thing, like an animal or a pet. It was, Kel found, much easier to get Bin to think things and say things than to actually do things. It was easier to make him want to dance than to force his muscles to move. He couldn't imagine anyone was able able to control a body like that.

But, making him want to stand on one foot got the same result as trying to him to, so, in the end, it made no difference. He left Bin sitting by the leavings of the dead fire so that Kel could rest his brain as he fished through the tent for other things worth taking aside from the rings on the man's fingers. His conscience was quiet now, even it deciding that, now that so much seemed possible, it was time to try to have some fun, and maybe earn his fortune while doing it.

Deciding that the place was looted enough, he left the tent and started focusing himself again on Bin. He found that, the more he pushed on a mind to get it to want, the easier it became to actually do. "Stand up, Bin."

He stood. There was more light in his eyes now. At first glance, he even seemed almost normal. Having that cloud around his brain even seemed to make him kind of happy.

"Are you listening, Bin?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to leave. Before I leave I'm going to tell you to do some things and you're going to do them because you want to. Understand?"

"I do."

"I'm going to leave, and, in a few minutes, you're going to remember that you made your way here because of the old woman. Understand?"

He nodded. "I do."

"You'll find the old man and then go back to town to get help to come get him and bury him. When you tell people about what happened, you won't remember me, our fight, or anything about any valuables being here. Do you understand? And do you understand that you want to do this and that it makes you happy to do things just that way?"

He smiled broadly. "Sure."

Kel thought again, imagining Bin's blade cutting the tether between them. That was also pretty easy and, if he looked hard enough, he could see feel the magic still in Bin's brain. He didn't know how long it would linger and it didn't really matter, as long as Bin did what he was told, or at least didn't come back to himself before Kel was long gone. The lone traveler took one last look around, chose a path that offered the quickest way out of sight, and walked. As he did, he began to imagine the possibilities and, as he did, he found his conscience cared less and less the more interesting those possibilities became.

Minutes later, Bin looked around, surveying his find. The old bitch wasn't that crazy after all.

He just hoped there was something to find and the hike hadn't been for nothing.

To Be Continued...