As A Predator Stalks Its Prey: Artuck/???

"Are you actually Artuck?" 

Meila asked, a genuine curiosity resting on her face as she looked at Artuck. In the torchlight, her pale skin appeared to be a soft tanned color. A somewhat smaller woman, she was only about a foot taller than Cruu.

"Yes, that's me. I take it, you know who I am?"

Artuck looked at Meila cautiously as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! Himrol talks ab–"

"Himrol?" 

Artuck couldn't contain his excitement as he asked.

"He sent me one letter about ten years ago, but I haven't heard from him since. He told me he was in hiding but didn't tell me where he was."

"Yeah, he's in Willspore Village. In Pointe Forest. If you'd like, I can take you all there. It's pretty secretive, though. I'm not sure how the elders would treat you all."

"Well, let's finish clearing out this temple then we'll go with you."

Artuck began to look around, and Mitrax simply shrugged, and Cruu was eating a small piece of bark. He looked up at Artuck and gave him a look that said 'What?'

"Oh! No need, I've already gotten what was down here."

Meila began digging in her bag, and soon revealed two small boxes.

"I can't seem to open these, but maybe one of you guys can?" 

Meila asked shyly, clearly embarrassed by her inability to open the boxes. Artuck accepted the boxes from her and thanked her.

"Let's see here." 

Artuck began to fiddle with the small lock on one of the boxes, and handed the other to Cruu. Artuck saw a small keyhole on the underside of the lock, and he took out a small undipped quill from his bag, and stuck it in the lock. As he did so, a loud clang came from Cruu.

"Cruu did it! It was easy. See? No more lock."

Cruu displayed the unlocked box for the four of them to see. As Artuck watched Cruu display the box, he began to turn the quill in an attempt to open the box, trying to not only see what was in the box Cruu opened, but to get his own opened as well.

As the lid to Cruu's box opened, inside was filled with red, velvety fabric, and the torchlight glimmered off of it. Resting on the velvet was a small orb, about as big as a teacup. The inside of the orb seemed to house some sort of milky, cloudy white liquid that swirled around as Cruu moved the box. Mitrax gently picked up the orb and looked to Meila.

"You don't mind if I hold onto this, do you? If you're joining us, that is."

 Mitrax extended the orb to Meila, who rubbed her temple for a moment before shaking her head, gently pushing Mitrax's large, scaly hands back.

"It's alright. I have a feeling you'd make better use of it than I, anyway."

Mitrax nodded in response, his horns catching the soft light.

"Ain't gotta tell me twice," he said as he shoved the orb into his bag, before throwing it over his shoulder again.

With a soft click, Artuck managed to get the lock open, and Artuck took the lock and simply dropped it to the ground, a loud clang accompanying it.

"Let's see what's in this one," Artuck announced as he opened the box. Similar to before, this box had a blue, velvety fabric lining the inside, but in this box there was nothing. There was an indention of where a small dagger should have been, but it was no longer there.

"Where did you find these, Meila?"

Artuck asked as he handed her back the empty box, to which she took and simply threw over her shoulder, the box thudding as it hit the stone floor.

"It was way over there, past a couple of simple puzzles and a riddle. They were sitting on some pedestal, and when I grabbed the boxes, all of the torches went out, so I was forced to make my own, which is the torch we are now using for light."

Meila pointed into the darkness as she spoke, and Artuck looked in that direction. He couldn't see much of anything, but he could hear the faint patter of water dripping from the ceiling, it echoing through the chamber the same way their voices had.

"Well, then. No point in lingering around if this place is already empty, right?"

With that, Artuck turned on his heel and began walking away, back up the steps. A moment later, he heard more footsteps as the others followed him. As he reached the top, he once again saw the room full of books, and the random well off to the one side, where a shivering Flim stood, holding a small, wooden chest, dripping wet.

"You alright, Flim?" 

Artuck asked as he jogged over to Flim, and he took the box from him. Instantly, Artuck yelped in pain as he dropped the box, it clattering against the stone ground, and Artuck fell onto his knees.

Holy gods that was cold. How long has Flim been standing here just simply holding this?

"Uhh, hey Artuck? Flim isn't moving." 

Mitrax picked up the box with cloths draped over his hands as he spoke. Artuck looked up and saw Mitrax was right. There he was, Flim, unmoved, his features frozen in place. From the gentle waving of his hair, to the points of his ears, to the folds of his clothes, to the frightened features on his face. Nothing had moved, and nothing was moving.

Artuck stood, and walked up to Flim, and placed his hand on Flim's cheek, instantly recoiling.

Gods, he's cold too. What happened to him?

"Hold on," Cruu said confidently as he walked up.

"Let Cruu try something."

Cruu punched the frozen Flim, the noise of the impact echoing in the chamber, but Flim remained unmoved.

"Holy Tjornne, he's freezing!"

Cruu simply took a few steps back, cradling his fist, blowing on it in an attempt to warm it up.

Artuck turned towards Mitrax, who handed Cruu a small candle, and lit it.

"Any ideas, Mitrax?"

Mitrax looked at Artuck and shrugged while shaking his head. Meila snapped her fingers, and her expression lit up.

"I have an idea. I'm gonna need you guys to scoot back, though. I have no idea if this'll actually work."

Artuck took a step back, and waved his hand towards Flim, ushering Meila to try.

She stepped forward, looked around, and simply touched the moss on the ground. Artuck watched as the moss began to grow around Flim's frozen body, and without turning around, Meila stuck out a hand towards Mitrax.

"Candle."

Mitrax obliged, placing an already lit candle in Meila's hand, to which she took the candle and lit the moss on fire. She then took a step back as the fire began to spread to the rest of the moss, and Artuck saw Flim's body fall to the ground, landing on all fours, sputtering as the flames were around him.

"Quick! Put it out!"

Artuck dashed forward, falling to his knees in front of him, water canteen in hand. He emptied it on the burning moss, and as the fire died, he saw Flim push off the moss and look around at everyone, ending on Meila.

"Th-th-they took it, Artuck. The contents of the box. They took it. They–"

"Who?" 

Artuck said, cautiously placing his hands on Flim's shoulders, which were cool, but no longer freezing.

"M-Malrik. He came by while y-you guys were down there, a-and stole the box I'd just fished out of the f-frozen well. H-he then called for Haldore, who just… appeared. He th-then cast a spell on m-me, freezing me i-in place. Next thing I know, I'm on fire. I-ironic, isn't it?" 

Flim haphazardly chuckled to himself and he finished removing the moss, and shivered.

Artuck helped Flim to his feet before turning around to face Meila, who was helping Cruu with his hand.

"What are you, Meila?"

She turned her head to Artuck before smiling.

"To be honest, I don't know. What I do know is that I've always been able to feel how the ground around me feels, and I've been able to control the plants that Alteran yields. Oh, and if I concentrate enough, I can even figure out what animals are saying. The people at Willspore call me a freak, but I know they're smart enough to figure out what I am. Or maybe I'm just something new that they haven't figured out yet?"

Artuck nodded as she spoke, and turned back towards Flim, who sat shivering in the corner.

"I can't believe it. I thought he was above that. Flim," Flim looked over at Artuck, a look of worry on Flim's face.

"Haldore used a spell on you he usually uses to torture. It's a curse, and we all need to take the antidote before we succumb to it, because this curse is able to be spread. I've witnessed him using it on those he captured back when I was really young. But that's besides the point, and I don't want to relive sad memories."

"Mitrax, Meila, you both are okay. For now. The only person that I know of that knows how to make the antidote for this curse is Himrol. Ironic that Willspore is where we're headed, and if you're right, Meila, Himrol should be there."

Meila enthusiastically began to walk away, humming happily the whole way. Artuck walked over to Cruu, and helped him to his feet. Flim began to follow behind Mitrax, who left after Meila.

A moment later, the group now stood back outside, the sun now beginning to set, a purple hue filling the sky, red and yellow at the horizon.

"Beautiful night for some adventuring, huh?" 

Meila said, excitedly. The group began to follow Meila as she walked away from the ruins, Flim and Cruu trudging in the back. As they walked, Mitrax turned towards Artuck and leaned in to whisper something.

"At least someone is optimistic." 

Mitrax chuckled before Artuck returned with a quip of his own.

"Or maybe a little too familiar with the plants."

Mitrax began to roar with laughter as they continued to follow Meila, who, without missing a beat, turned around to face Mitrax and Artuck.

"What's so funny?" 

She asked, curiously, her head cocked to the side. Mitrax waved a hand up and down at her.

"Oh, nothing you need to concern yourself with. It'd probably bum you out, anyway."

Meila shrugged before turning around.

"Fair enough."

Mitrax began to laugh again, his laughter echoing through the quiet, nighttime forestry. A few birds began to fly away from the treetops as the moon began to rise on the horizon.

"What a peculiar little group," Haldore said to no one in particular as he set the clear, crystalline orb back down on the orb's rests. 

He stood from the small table where the orb usually rests, and walked to the window, where he opened the curtains with a twirl of his fingers and folded them behind his back. 

The moon was rising, and the sun setting, two equal parts of a matching, beautiful display. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to ruin this beautiful tapestry.

As Haldore looked out among the fortress he'd labored for so long to build, he saw guards roaming the walls, and Malrik standing among them. He was instructing the guards on their duties for that night, which, if Haldore wasn't mistaken, was to spar with one another, so as to keep their skills sharp as Malrik's blades, and their minds sharper.

Haldore turned away from the window before arriving at the large, ornate bed he'd constructed for himself, to maximize comfort while minimizing the cost for comfort. Resting on the bed was a small, brightly lit red dagger, which he'd stolen from Flim just some twenty or so minutes ago. The look of terror on his face as his features petrified ignited a passion within him.

"If I am mistaken, I do believe Himrol is the sole owner of my antidote for that spell. And they'll be running to him, just to die another day. Ahh, but they'll lead me straight to him, where I can finally finish that war he started some three hundred years ago."

Haldore began to chuckle to himself as he picked up the dagger, admiring its bright, red color, finished off with a most beautiful black. Haldore began to think out loud as he looked at the dagger he himself had constructed when he was far younger.

"Let's see now, that's two of… six artifacts. Now I want to see this little game play out. The question is, should I help them along? Hmm… but of course; what kind of father would I be if I allowed my own son to die? And so soon on his ineffable journey. What a pity that would be. As easy as it would be to gather the artifacts myself, I must provide them with some glimmer of false hope. And I have just the idea."

Haldore set the dagger down on the small table, and with a wave of his hand, a cheap piece of leather appeared before him. He wrapped the dagger in the leather, before binding it with some cords he made appear. Nodding in approval of his own work, he walked back over to the bed, and sat down on the edge.

"And now… I wait… Ahh, this will be so easy."