Trapped Journey

It took me by surprise to know that Aela wanted to accompany us on this journey. She watched me brew some of the potions we needed in continuing this expedition of ours and she didn't hesitate to lend a hand. It turns out that she looks up to Mother –or the fictional persona of her– while she's growing up. She finds the stories about her empowering and awe-inspiring despite her being painted as the villain in most of those tales. She understands that Mother is somehow a victim of the townspeople's narrow-minded thinking.

          "Are you sure you want to tag along? You know it's dangerous." I just avoided being slapped by some lone branch dangling eerily close to the ground. I offer my arm to her to assist her from jumping down a mossy log. It's the height of noon but thanks to these humungous trees, we're shielded from direct scorching of the sun.

          "I'm sure. You may be very capable on your own but you need me." Grinning, she proudly flicks her head upward to tame her hair back. "Besides, I know the layout of the entire island more than you do. Those maps you have are so outdated." Her white tunic glistens as the lingering rays of the sun embrace it. She sports a leather vest over her white tunic and matching leather pants. On top of that, she also wears knee, elbow, and shoulder pads for protection. Also, she didn't forget to bring her sharpest arrows and sturdiest bow. She's a hunter alright. "You're speech about finding Straus sparked something in me. If ever we were successful in finding him, I want me to be the first person he sees."

          "Fair enough." The right corner of my lips curves up. This woman has guts and I commend her for that. "How much longer should we trek before we can get to the town anyway?"

          "Basing on the time we left the cabin and the humidity level of the forest, we'll get to Hiraya minutes after the sun sets or probably an hour if we walk more cautiously." She waves an arrow in front of her to ward off some loose greens on her way.

          "By cautiously, what do you mean?" I trace some of the stitches along my green tunic. She did a great job sewing it last night given the amount of damage she and Masid did to it.

          "Those pirates have set some traps throughout the forest most likely to catch some small animals for food like rabbits, boars, fox, and the likes. I set my own traps too but I know were all those are so we're safe from them. Just in case you see anything out of the ordinary, let me know. I can tell if it's a trap and if it is, I can tell if it's mine or not." She skips from one rock to another. She seems to be enjoying this. I am enjoying how she's enjoying it.

          "Well, that's one more thing to worry about." I look at Masid to confirm if he got that and it appears that he did. He's already looking at me then stirs his head back to the tracks.

          "I let you have her join us but that doesn't mean I trust that looney. I'll keep an eye on her." Masid whispers into my thoughts. His sternness in his claims doesn't give room for argument. I brush it off.

          "In a while, we'll pass a stream. If you plan to replenish or fill-up your jugs, you can do so there."

          "Awesome! I'm parched."

          We've gone past the stream Aela was talking about and it was refreshing. I wanted to take a good soak but given the fact we're not actually here to take a stroll, I made myself control my urges to stay and relax. The sun is slowly but surely dropping into the horizon making the skies swallowed by purple and blue hues. Any moment now, it will be replaced by yellow, orange, and red ones. The forest is becoming more challenging to traverse by the minute. I instinctively conjured flames to illuminate our path, taking the lead so Masid and Aela are tailing me from behind. I can feel my familiar's scuffs indicating that he doesn't really approve of that notion but he didn't have a choice.

          "Can you tell her to stop smiling at me? It's creepy." Masid's heavy footsteps echo from behind.

          I try my best to not let out a chuckle. "Aela," I start, so her attention will be on me. "You're always here, huh?" I ask, realizing that everything is going very well. If it's just me and Masid, we are mostly covered in unnecessary wounds now because we don't know where to go or which path to take.

          "I am. As I said, this forest is my hunting grounds as well. I know every nooks and crannies here. You will never get lost as long as you're with me. This is practically where I was born, grew up, and eventually will draw my last breath." She pokes the tip of her arrow into my flame so she can have her own light. I find her statement somewhat dark but I will not question her.

          Suddenly, I feel Masid tense from behind. I stop from walking and so is Aela. We pan our gazes at Masid and it's evident that he's sensing something. I can feel the muscles in his body stiffening as he assesses the situation. I know this stance. We're in danger. Something. Is. Coming. I suppress the panic building from my guts to my throat, scan the area, and assess the situation myself. Aela picked up the eerie sensation and became high alert as well. She readies her bow and arrow to strike if anything comes our way. I throw the ball of fire to the ground so it can still illuminate our immediate area, and then I place my hands on the hilts of the daggers resting on the sides of my hips.

          The leaves from the trees stopped dancing indicating that the steady wind stream stopped passing by. It's eerily quiet all of a sudden. The chorus of the crickets I expect to make fills the impending night sky isn't coming. The chirps of wild birds are silent –or silenced. I can't tell. The flame is dying, our vision will be obstructed, and our sights need to adjust to the dimly lit forest. If something is coming for us, we have to be prepared. The only thing I can hear are our hearts beating irregularly and an odd whistling echo coming in close from a distance. It's coming at Aela fast.

          "Aela!" I rush towards her, realizing that she's about to get hit by an incoming arrow shot from deep within the woods. From its trajectory, it'll pierce through her head from behind. "Watch ou–"

          She's already crouched down before I can finish my warning, letting the arrow hit the tree nearby. Relieved, I grab her by the shoulders and scan her to check if she's injured somehow but she's all good. Her face is covered by an expression I only saw her use for the first time. She's in her hunter mode. She grabs my hand and removes them from her shoulder then quickly ducks back to the ground, searching for something. It's like she lost something important and she's desperate to find it.

          "That's a trap and it's not mine. Did you notice something odd before that was triggered?" She continues to brush through the ground, sniffs the air, and squints her eyes to see clearly in the distance.

          "There's some kind of a rope on the way here. It looks like it's purposely hidden from sight." Masid says, resting a paw on the spot where I was just standing before we sense the arrow.

          "I think I caused it. Look there." I point out the rope to Aela.

          "Clever, pirates." She grins. "We must go. This is a chain trap. That arrow will not be the only one coming our way."

          "Here we go again." I can sense Masid rolling his eyes.

          "Go!" She beckons, pushing her way in front. "If don't want to die, we must go. Now. I'll lead the way." She extends her arms holding an arrow that's still ablaze from earlier to light the path.

          Chain traps are the pirates' ultimate contraptions apparently, but as Aela confirms, it's just a combination of three or more different traps in one. The trap varies in type so the challenge of it is its anonymity. We may just be shot by a single arrow at first but no one can tell what's coming next. She shares that she witnessed different traps the pirates have set throughout the years so we shouldn't stick around and find out the rest of it. It's best to leave immediately and try our best to not trigger any other traps.

          "Stop!" She suddenly announces, holding her hand out to gesture for us to do so. "Do you see this string here?" I see nothing. "Don't touch it. If you do, an enormous log will swing our way and gift us a few broken bones." She put her flaming arrow closer to it, closer to her face. I see it now. It's so thin as if it's made of hair.

          "These pirate traps mean serious business." A drop of sweat courses from my forehead down to my temple. "It's a good thing you noticed that. How did you know about it anyway?"

          "It's my trap." She proudly confirms, smiling from ear to ear, placing loose strands of her red hair behind her right ear. "Actually, more like I hijacked it from the pirates so technically, it's theirs but I did some tweaking so it's mine now."

          "You're scarier than them. It's a good thing we're friends." I genuinely am relieved knowing that this woman is on my side. I don't want to make her my enemy. As she says, she knows more about this forest –the entire island– than me. One misstep and I'm a goner for sure.

          "Right. Friends." She crouches underneath the almost invisible string to get past it and me and Masid follow her.

          I finally see faint silhouettes of structures from afar. Is that really it? Is that finally the town of Hiraya? I can't stop myself from smiling. It's like all the exhaustion inside me was sucked out making me feel light on my feet. I'm finally here. All my questions will finally be answered. Hopefully. But before I rush into town, Aela grabs me tightly by my arm, stopping me from coming in any closer. The tension in her eyes speaks volumes and I immediately understood her intentions. She's just being careful. We don't know what lurks inside town especially since the moon is on its way to claim its throne in the sky.

          "We must spend the night out here first. We don't know what's in there. I know the pirates have set sail a month or so ago but it won't hurt to be sure, right?" She slightly squeezes her hand which currently is holding my arm. I feel my knees melting.

          "That does make sense." I agree, Masid chuffs from nearby. "Another night of caution won't hurt." I tell Aela but looking straight at Masid. He must know I'm actually telling that to him.

          "Great! I'll set up camp. I'll ask you to make fire later." She places our stuff on the ground and starts to sort things out.

          "This woman is a hindrance. If she wants to stay, let her. We'll go on ahead without her." His raspy tone became raspier, possibly his irritation is reaching its limits. 

          "No, listen to me!" My voice sounds more imposing than I intended.

          "Excuse me?" Aela quickly looks back at me, an eyebrow raised.

          My face reddens from embarrassment. "Sorry. It's not you. I'm just hyping myself up. You know, nerves and all. It's my first time going into town after all these years." I offer a smile which I hope doesn't come out as awkward.

          "I see." She giggles. "I get it. Go hype yourself up more. You'll need it." She beams her beautiful smile at me like Mother always does. My heart aches by the thought of her but I must head on.

          "I'll just walk around to see if there are any traps and if there are, I'll try to dismantle them so we won't accidentally set them off." I suggest and she nods in agreement. I look straight at Masid, gesturing for him to follow me. We have serious talking to do.

          "Oh, Saints." Masid murmurs.