A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 13

"Wyn!" Laurentius shook his drunkenness in a second and rushed to meet Alaric and the little bundle he was holding.

"Wyn is fine, she's just sleeping -- she... Laurentius, could you hold her by the fire for a minute? Keep her warm. And drink some water," Alaric instructed. "Jo, come with me, please," his face was completely wet with tears, the little droplets over his short five-day beard glistened in the dark. He was trying to hold back his emotions. What had happened in the tent? Where was Gerard? She didn't have enough mental strength to imagine, not in that state.

Alaric walked her to the tent, then opened the entrance to let her in. He didn't look inside. And Jo could understand why: Gerard laid in the middle of a puddle of fresh blood, still warm, judging by the steam rising from it. A thin black arrow pierced his chest through and through, close to the heart. He hadn't had a chance. Jo kneeled by Gerard, then traced the sign she saw him do for Ulfric back in Lake Silverstone. She didn't quite know what she was doing, but it was the least she could do for the man.

She stepped out of the tent, then hugged Alaric without giving him a chance to refuse. The young knight remained limp for a moment, then hugged her back so tight he almost left her out of breath. He whimpered, silently, on her shoulder. A warm tear rolled down her cheek as well. Then another.

When Alaric calmed down, she ushered him to a spot by the fire. Laurentius was making some tea, maybe to keep himself busy. The mage didn't say a mocking word to Alaric, even though it was clear he had been crying. He wasn't that bad after all. Wyn was still asleep, tossing softly in the warmth of Gerard's cape. They'd have to deal with telling her about what happened in the morning... she wasn't looking forward to it.

"I don't understand," Laurentius paced around the fire, holding his chin after they'd told him about Gerard's demise. "I placed every single ward I could think of, as I always do: against animals, sound concealing, light concealing, arrow deflector, misdirection..." he pulled his hair dramatically. "After Wyn's little ambush, I spared no expense-- sort of speak-- or do you think our journey has remained peaceful so far out of sheer luck?"

"You clearly missed something," Alaric stood in front of him, cutting his pacing short. The young knight looked angry, pained. "He's dead because of you," he shoved him with enough force to make Laurentius take a step back. Alaric looked like he regretted it a second later, he probably knew he wasn't been reasonable.

"Thanks for stating the obvious. I don't think I was kicking myself enough for it, it's so kind of you to..." Jo interrupted the mage, putting herself between the two men.

"Enough of that," she tried to sound clear and sure, a hard feat considering she felt like she was neither of those. "Gerard is dead, there's nothing we can do now. We need to collect ourselves, and figure out what happened to the wards: whoever did that to Gerard might choose to come back for us. We need to fix this."

"I can't do this," Alaric stepped away from the fire, then punched a tree so hard he left nothing but a naked hole where his fist connected with the bark. Jo gulped. They needed to calm him down, he was no use to any of them in that state... he might even end up hurting himself. She decided the best course of action, for the moment, was to leave him alone for a while.

Alaric kneeled heavily on the forest's floor, leaning his head on the tree. his shoulders were shaking, he was crying again. He had been very close to Gerard, she couldn't imagine what he was going through. She tried to remember the day she was told her parents were dead, she must've felt devastated... a strong tug inside her head made her desist. Maybe that time it was the firebreath. She let go of it.

"Laurentius," she stood closer to the haunted-looking mage. "What's your theory?"

"The wards malfunctioned, somehow," he was looking intently at the fire. "I've been thinking: what's different? You need to consider the variables, you see," he pinched his nose. "I feel that the magic in these parts is highly unstable: I can actually feel it, like a prickling in the back of my neck. I think-- and this is just a hypothesis-- there's too much magic in the air, and that magic interfered with my spells... like when you add water to a full pot: some of the water will overflow."