The Land Set Aflame

Chapter 29: The Kallaw

Chapter 29: The Kallaw

Only the faintest wisps of evidence remained of Kithana's passing now. Elementals obviously didn't leave many footprints in even the softest mud. But after a month of chasing, tracking and fighting elementals with the druids, Svenden knew what signs to look for. Faint scorch marks scored the ground on occasion, and the dry husks of grasses still sung lightly of the spirit's passing in Svenden's ears.

This is where she entered the Forest of Mellesh. He was sure of it.

Back on two legs again, Svenden stood at the edge of the forest, beside Leofric, looking at a phalanx of tall trees towering over the surrounding grasslands and filling the air with the thrum of fairy magic. The sun was dipping low towards the western horizon, and the shadows of the trees stretched well out over the hills.

"I've heard tales of fairy forests like this one," Leofric commented as he looked up in awe at the trees, "The moral of the story was always to stay away."

"I grew up around this one," Svenden said, "And I always did stay away. Mostly. Just remember that almost everything they say about fairies is mostly true: they enjoy playing pranks on humans, and they're all out to seduce you or trick you into something."

"Master Garrafey always said they were dangerous," Leofric nodded, "But they shouldn't want to kill us, right?"

"The fairies of Mellesh aren't evil," Svenden said, "Not with Callyndia's mother in charge. So they probably won't kill us, or hurt us badly. But we're not supposed to be in there, so they won't be very forgiving, either. Hopefully Callyndia was right about that kiss she gave me."

As they stepped past the first line of trees, Svenden could swear he felt that kiss tingling on his lips again.

But the woods were silent as they walked in. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought them no different from any other forest in autumn: dried, brown leaves crackling beneath their feet, and the late afternoon sunlight weaving its way among the dark fingers of tree limbs that spread out across the sky. There was a red squirrel nearby, chewing on an acorn, but no other signs of life.

Even in its autumnal dormancy, the Forest of Mellesh was a place of dramatic beauty and wonder. Svenden felt an almost compulsory reverence as he walked gingerly among the underbrush, careful not to step on anything that looked even remotely alive, his eyes scanning for the telltale scorch marks and his ears listening for the magical whispers of the elemental's passing.

The trail Kithana left was still surprisingly obvious. Even with fairy magic buzzing in his ears from every angle, and the distraction of constantly checking for a continued tingle on his lips, Svenden could easily sense the precise path Kithana had taken through the woods. It weaved among the trees for a mile or so, then went up, over a modest rise.

As soon as they crested the rise, the breath caught in Svenden's throat, and he stopped in his tracks. There, at the bottom of the rise, two shallow ravines met, and at their juncture was a circular patch of ground, perhaps ten paces across, where the vegetation was as green and vibrant as springtime, contrasting sharply with the surrounding autumnal browns and grays.

Kithana's trail went directly into that green patch.

"That's a kallaw!" Svenden whispered urgently, "She went right into a kallaw!"

Leofric looked confused for a moment. "Nothing bad happens when you enter a kallaw," he said, "Right?"

"Not unless the fairies see you do it," Svenden said, "Hopefully, we can just go around it, and we won't have to worry about it. But, there's got to be a fairy or two watching us, so let's make a big show about respecting the kallaw, okay?"

He began walking down the slope, making sure to give the kallaw a wide berth. As he walked, he began whispering respectful things to whatever spirits were watching, assuring them that he meant no harm or disrespect.

Svenden glanced back, and saw Leofric's eyes sweeping about without focusing on anything. He'd activated his magic sight again. "How many fairies do you think have been born on this very site?" the scholar wondered, "Perhaps a nymph was born here!"

"Maybe," Svenden said, "But nymphs are rare. There can't be more than a few dozen in the entire forest. But I'd guess there were some beast spirits or minor fairies born here. Twillies, or something."

They completed a half-circuit of the kallaw without incident, but Svenden wasn't able to pick up on Kithana's trail. With the dying light of evening, it would be an awful time to lose it. He continued walking around, completing a full circuit, with still no trace of a continued path beyond the kallaw.

So he began spiraling closer to the kallaw, ending up skirting the very edge of it before he was quite confident that Kithana's trail ended right at the kallaw.

"So, she entered the kallaw and just... disappeared?" Leofric asked, "Some sort of portal or gateway?"

"Weird fairy magic, I'm sure," Svenden said, sighing and examining the kallaw from outside the ring for any sort of clue. It was filled with colorful flowers and vibrant green undergrowth, an eerie echo of a beautiful springtime in the chill air of autumn.

As he looked, a finger of something white suddenly pushed its way out of the soil by his feet, rising to several inches tall and expanding into a pear-shaped mushroom of some sort. The two men exchanged a glance.

"This can't be a good sign," Svenden said.

As if on cue, the mushroom suddenly burst, and a cloud of spores spread into the air around them. The spores seemed to immediately assault Svenden's nose, filling his nostrils with a spicy tingle that made his eyes water and his vision blur. He felt a sudden wash of vertigo, and dropped to his hands and knees to regain his equilibrium.

It didn't work.

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Thanks for continuing to read my novel, "The Land Set Aflame"! What weird fairy magic is this? You'll have to wait for Chapter 30 for that answer.