Fairyfly II - 5. Ultimatum

Struggling to open his bleary eyes, Rulf could feel his head throbbing. It was as if he had just had the worst sleep of his life - no wonder, as he was lying on the cold, hard floor. Feeling tired and uncomfortable, he somehow managed to get up. As he finally took in his surroundings, the Lykos realized he had no idea where he was. Other than the strange, dimly lit room in front of him, the first thing he noticed was a set of iron bars separating him from the rest of the chamber. He was locked!

“Let me out!” he shouted as he grabbed the bars and rattled them with all his might. It was of no use - they would barely budge no matter how hard he shook them. The instinct to panic was growing stronger, but Rulf decided it would do him no good. He had to stay calm.

Finally, his brain started picking up the pieces, with memories of that afternoon coming back to him in fragments. He remembered talking to Bess, walking home, and then… There was a voice, and suddenly everything went black. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall who knocked him out.

“Fuck!” he muttered, grabbing the bars again and giving them a shake. The lock seemed too sturdy, it would probably be impossible to break even if he could shift. “Help! Is anyone here?!”

Suddenly, there was a groan coming from the other end of the room, causing Rulf to freeze. He was not alone. Pressing his face against the bars, he could finally see a mop of grey hair peaking above an armchair that was turned away from him, facing the fireplace.

“Who’s there?” the Lykos asked. “Where are we?”

“Ugh, shut up, you animal,” the grumpy, tired voice called out. Rulf observed with apprehension as the figure stood up from the armchair and turned around. Even though he had clearly lost weight since the last time Rulf had seen him, the black fabric tied around his eyes left no doubt as to who it was.

“Did you have to fucking wake me up?” Norius grumbled as he slowly moved across the room, his hands stretched out in front of him. Once he found his way to the table, he sat down at one of the chairs. Grabbing a bottle of ale, he took a large swig, some of the liquid dripping down his chin and tunic.

“Norius,” Rulf muttered, hatred for the old king burning inside him like fire. “What the hell are you doing here? What do you want from me?”

“Ah, that was good,” the older man let out a sigh, slamming the bottle back on the table. “I don’t want anything from you. What I want is for your bloody sorcerer to undo what he did to me! I know it was him. Whatever kind of cursed magic trick he did on me, I want it gone! And if he doesn’t cooperate, well… I’m sure you know it’s not going to be fun for you.”

“Go to hell,” the Lykos growled, eyeing Norius with disgust. If he were free, he knew there was no way he would be able to control himself. He would tear the old man’s head off.

“Oh I’ve been to hell. Blinded, locked in that dusty cell for… for Gods know how long. If that’s not hell, I don’t know what is.”

“And you deserved every second of it,” Rulf scoffed. “When I get out of here-”

The sound of the door unlocking startled both men, causing them to turn towards the source of the noice.

“You’re both awake. At least you didn’t kill each other,” Quinn observed as he walked in, closing the door behind him and locking it once again.

“Not for lack of desire,” Norius replied.

Rulf’s eyes went wide as he observed his captor. He was tall, wearing a plain brown robe. Unfortunately, his face was covered with a mask. The Lykos smelled him as he approached, but once again, couldn’t remember where he had met him before.

“I’m sure our king here has told you why you’re here,” Quinn spoke matter-of-factly as he approached the cell where Rulf was locked up. “As long as Esthor does what we tell him to, you have no reason to worry. Once everything’s done, you’ll be free to go on your merry way, alright?”

“You do know Esthor can kill you in a matter of seconds?” Rulf provoked the man, but all Quinn did was let out a soft chuckle and cast a glance over at him.

“Not if he wants to see you alive. You see, I don’t particularly care about you either way,” the guard spoke, pulling out one of the blades he had hidden on his body. “But if the sorcerer tries to trick me, I won’t hesitate to slice your throat. Got it?”

Rulf looked away as he sat back down on the floor, not bothering to answer.

“GOT IT?!” Quinn screamed, getting his attention. A brief ‘yes’ was all the Lykos muttered in response.

“Good,” the guard replied, satisfied. He then turned away, joining Norius at the table. “I’m meeting him tonight. If all goes well, you’ll have your sight back by tomorrow.”

“It’s about fucking time,” the king replied.

~~

The shadows grew long as the northern wind started picking up, announcing a chilly spring night. After a long day of meeting with Queen Loreena and shopping for magic ingredients at the town market, Esthor was finally back home in the late afternoon. He dismounted his horse and led him back to the small stable behind his house.

“Sleep well, Ophiuchus,” the sorcerer gently stroked the animal’s neck before leaving and closing the stable door.

Once he entered the house, he was surprised to see there were no lights coming from any room. Rulf would usually be home by this hour. Even if he was upstairs working on his designs, he would leave some candles lit in the living room downstairs for when Esthor comes home.

“I’m back!” the young sorcerer called out, but there was no reply. After taking off his cape and hanging it on the wall, he lit a few candles with a wave of his scepter and walked into the room. After a quick glance around the place, his eyes fell on the wooden table near the window, where a piece of a parchment was left. He did not remember leaving it there that morning.

“What in the name of…” he muttered as he strode across the room toward the table. He grabbed the parchment, feeling his heartbeat rise and a black hole in his stomach open with every word he read.

“If you want to see your lykos alive, meet me at midnight. Edge of the forest, by the old mill. Alone, no tricks.”

As if frozen in time, Esthor stared at the threatening message written in strange handwriting for a few moments, before finally crumpling it up and hurling it across the room.

“Rulf…” he whispered, before falling onto a chair, staring blankly into the distance. It was as if time had stopped and the rest of the world had vanished, as his mind replayed every single moment he had spent with Rulf. From the moment they met, when he was blinded by Norius, to this very morning, when they woke up together. Every loving kiss, every caress, every night they spent playing like children in their animal forms, Esthor flying around between trees and Rulf relentlessly chasing after him.

If anything happened to his beloved, he would never forgive himself. He would have to do everything in his power to save him, that much he knew.

When he finally came to his senses, the sorcerer looked out the window. The sun had barely set, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He could not stand to sit around and do nothing.

Grabbing his cape and putting it on, he marched outside and back to the stables, letting his trusted horse out.

“Sorry, boy, no sleep for either of us tonight. Not until we get Rulf back,” he whispered as he mounted the animal and rode off in the direction of the forest. There was still a good several hours left before midnight, but it didn’t matter to Esthor. He would just wait there until whoever left him that note showed up.

Norius - it had to have been him. Esthor knew now that the king was free, he would try to get revenge against him, and likely against Loreena as well. The question was - who was helping him? Even if he wasn’t blinded, there was no way Norius would be able to escape the castle and abduct Rulf all on his own. No, he must have had some help.

Whoever it was, the young sorcerer was determined to deal with them once and for all.

~~

“Alright, you stay here,” Esthor said as he dismounted his horse and tied him to a tree near the edge of the Howling Forest. The vast woods used to be an unknown, scary place for him before he had met Rulf. But now, having spent so many hours there together, even during the night, the sorcerer came to enjoy it. There was something so freeing about unleashing your inner animal and enjoying nature, even if that animal was just a tiny flying insect.

Now, however, with Rulf in danger, Esthor once again saw the forest as a dark, ominous place where anything could happen.

He had arrived at his destination with hours to spare, but now came the hard part - waiting for whoever left him the note to appear.

The whole thing could be a trap, that was more than obvious, the sorcerer thought to himself as he looked around, standing hidden in the shadows of the trees. The area was completely abandoned, with no one in sight. The old, dilapidated mill stood nearby, unused for years, perhaps even decades. There were no other houses or buildings nearby. A single, narrow dirt path led from the mill to the town. That was probably where they would come from.

Getting impatient, Esthor decided to shift. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and in just a few moments he vanished, turning into a fairyfly. The small insect circled the area, his minuscule wings reflecting the light of the moon that shone in the clear night sky. The world suddenly seemed bigger, as it always did whenever he would shift. The wind seemed stronger, the cold pierced him even harder, but he relished it. It was a welcome distraction from the anxiety and anger he was feeling.

It was some time later that a hooded horseman finally appeared. He dismounted and left the horse by the mill, as he looked around to see if he had company. The fairyfly flew toward the stranger, trying to discern their identity, but to no avail. The darkness and the hooded robe were obscuring their features. Without hesitation, the insect flew a safe distance behind the stranger and shifted back.

“Where is Rulf?” Esthor asked, gripping his scepter tightly. He was ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.

Quinn turned quickly, clearly startled by the voice coming behind him.

“Did I not say no tricks?” he grunted in annoyance. “And lower that staff, I’m not here to battle you.”

“Tell me, where is Rulf?” the sorcerer asked again, his tone even angrier, as he pointed his scepter at the man he couldn’t recognize.

“He’s safe, for now. And if you want him to remain so, you’ll do as I say and lower that weapon,” Quinn repeated his order. “If anything should happen to me, my men will make sure you never see your wolf boy again. Do we understand each other?”

Clenching his jaw, Esthor lowered his hand and gave a slight nod. The stranger had all the power. “Yes.”

“Very well,” Quinn replied, satisfied the sorcerer was as reasonable as he expected him to be. “Let’s get straight to business, then, shall we? It’s about King Norius, but I’m sure you’ve already guessed as much.”

“Of course. What do you want then? And who are you?”

The guard let out a soft chuckle. “It doesn’t matter who I am. What I want you to do is remove that thing from Norius’ eyes. It was your handiwork, so undo it.”

“I… If I do it, you’ll release Rulf?” Esthor asked, in an attempt to stall. The only one who could remove the magic blindfold was Norius himself, but it seemed that neither this stranger nor the former king were aware of that. If Esthor was to tell them there was nothing he could do, what would they do with Rulf? He could not risk it, so playing along was the only option for the time being.

“Yes. I have nothing against you or the Lykos,” Quinn shrugged. “As soon as you do what I asked, he’s free to go - unharmed.”

“Fine, I’ll do it then. But I need to know Rulf is safe.”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it,” Quinn replied, unfazed. “Shall we, then? I’ll take you to Norius, you’ll do your little magic trick, and then I’ll tell you where to go to get your man.”

“So I’m just supposed to trust you?” Esthor asked, not budging. The stranger’s proposal was even worse than he had anticipated. He could be holding Rulf anywhere. Even if Esthor was able to remove the curse from Norius, there was no guarantee they would release Rulf.

“You don’t have a choice, do you?”

“I suppose not. But I’m afraid it’s not as simple as you thought. I have to prepare everything for the spell first. Get all the ingredients, incantations…”

“Fine,” the guard cut him off impatiently. “You have until tomorrow. Meet me here at sundown. Alone.”

“I’ll be here,” Esthor nodded, not feeling any easier. He was completely powerless. The situation was worse than he thought, but at least he had a whole day to figure out what to do.

And he knew just who to ask for help - his old master.

As soon as he returned home, Esthor rushed toward the large window facing the backyard, opening the curtains. It was after midnight, so he could not see outside, but that was not what he wanted anyway.

Bringing his face to the glass, he let out a breath, fogging the window. With a swipe of his hand, he cleaned the glass, calling his master’s name.

“Come on, where are you…” the sorcerer muttered as he walked almost mindlessly from one end of the room to another. He had not a moment to waste and he would not rest until Rulf was safe in his arms again.

Not a minute later, a strange glow began emanating from the window, and the face of his old master Khalgos appeared.

“You calling me at this hour cannot be good,” the old sorcerer yawned, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. His messy white hair was proof enough that he had been sleeping.

“It’s much worse than ‘not good’,” Esthor replied as he rushed toward the window, not even bothering to apologize for waking the other man. “Rulf’s been abducted. Whoever’s helping Norius took him, and they left me a message to meet them, so I did, and he said that I had-”

“Wait, wait, Esthor!” Khalgos shouted, interrupting the young man’s rambling. “Slow down. You went to meet them alone? Why didn’t you call me at once?”

“Because they said I had to come alone. I couldn’t risk them hurting Rulf. Master, if something happens to him…”

“Nothing will happen to him, we’ll make sure of it,” Khalgos was insistent. “Now, what did they tell you?”

“They want me to remove the old bastard’s blindfold, which, of course, I can’t!” Esthor said, exasperated. Barely stopping to take a breath, he explained everything that happened earlier that night.

“You did right,” the older man concluded. “Now we have a whole day ahead of us to come up with a plan. I shall look through all of my books and scrolls to see if there is something we might be missing. Perhaps there is a way to undo the curse that we do not know yet.”

“I doubt it, but alright, you do that. I’ll pack all of my tomes and head over straight away. We’ll work faster together,” Esthor replied.

“Good, you shouldn’t be alone at a time like this,” the master agreed. “We’ll figure something out, Esthor. I promise you that.”