“Sounds good to me,” Brynn said. “There are five of us, I suggest we each take a two hour stint? That way, we’ll each get six solid hours of sleep.”
“I’ll go first,” Reggie said. “Who’s next?”
We worked it out so that Reggie would take first watch, then Brynn, then me—partially because I was an Elf and I could handle my sleep broken up better than the others, then Thornhold, and Ray would take the last watch. We coordinated times and then, with Reggie sitting by the campfire, the rest of us entered the tent and bedded down in our sleeping bags. All the walking and work that day took its toll and we barely said goodnight before all of us dropped into a deep slumber.
“Erenye? Wake up,”Brynn whispered, shaking my shoulder.
It was twelve-thirty, and I blinked, wanting to swat her away. But then I remember: it was my turn at watch. I quietly climbed out of my sleeping bag and slid on my boots and followed her outside. Shivering, I decided that I’d buy a cape when we reached the next town—something durable and warm.
“Has anything happened tonight?” I asked, accepting the mug of hot water she handed me. It helped warm me up and also served for hydration. We needed to remember to drink while we were on the road.
She shook her head. “No, it’s been quiet, although I always feel something’s watching me—ever since we took to the road.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “All right, go to bed and I’ll wake up Thornhold at two-thirty.”
She gratefully slid back into the tent as I settled on the log, using a stick to stir the fire. Brynn had stoked it well, so it would be another hour or so before I needed to feed it with more wood. Brynn had left a deck of cards by the log, and I slid down to sit on the ground so I could play solitaire by the campfire light. I shuffled the cards and began laying them out, trying to keep from dwelling on everything that had happened.
For about half an hour, all was quiet. But as I folded up the cards, bored and a little sleepy, I thought I heard something coming from the forest. I straightened, pulling out my sword as I looked around. For a moment, everything seemed to be normal, but then I thought I saw a faint glow from behind one of the trees.
“Goblins don’t glow,” I murmured to myself. Maybe it was just a lightning bug or some sort of insect? The glow seemed to be concentrated in the air, rather than near the ground. Curious, and a little bit worried, I stood, craning my neck as I tried to catch a glimpse of whatever it was.
The glow strengthened, and my stomach twisted…just a little. As I cautiously moved toward the light, it grew in intensity. Frowning, I inched closer. Then, without warning, a globe of light shot out from behind one of the barren oaks.
I jumped back, then froze. It wasn’t a creature—not any that I’d seen. No, I was facing a globe of pale pink light about six inches in diameter. I tilted my head, trying to remember all the game lore that I knew, but nothing came to mind.
The next moment, the pink orb was joined by several others—one green, one blue, and yellow one. They flashed, blinking on and off. It almost looked like they were talking, and I was so fascinated that I forgot to keep my guard up.
The next moment, one of the lights shot forward and bounced against me. I yelped as it jolted me, the current stinging me hard. The next moments, the other orbs camesailing toward me and before I knew what was happening, they were surrounding me, stinging me with long coils of light that protruded from each of them.
Andthatanswered whether they were dangerous.
I yelled for help, and then turned back to the lights. I didn’t know what they were, but I knew that I was in for a fight.
CHAPTER 29: WILL-O-THE-WISPS ARE DANGEROUS
I yelped so loud that,within seconds, Thornhold was outside the tent, eyes a little glazed, with his hammer ready. He hadn’t put on his armor, but was in trousers and a tunic, and his beard was waving in the breeze. He came running over toward me, with Reggie right behind.
They approached as another globe—a bigger one—approached me. It was a vivid purple, and it sent out a feeler toward me. I tried to jump to the side but it was so fast I couldn’t evade it. As the tendril of energy hit me, it felt like I’d stuck my finger in a light socket—one that was fully charged.
“Youch! Motherfu—” I jumped a second time as it tried to hit me again.
Thornhold swung his hammer at it, but the orb darted away like he was moving in slow motion.
“Corpse candles!” Reggie yelled. “You can’t fight them without a strong magical weapon, or magic itself. Get away from them—they can kill you if they’re strong enough!” He motioned for me to run in back of him, with Thornhold right on my heels.
Reggie stiffened, then ducked his head. By now, I could tell when he was gathering his energy. He was practically vibrating.
Meanwhile, Brynn and Ray had joined us, and Ray moved to the front, taking out his holy symbol. He began praying over it, and a translucent shield of energy began to form in front of us. He continued to whisper the incantation, strengthening the spell.
Reggie lifted his head, and his eyes were glowing. He held out his hands in front of him, fingers splayed. “Blades of Darkness!”
As his voice echoed through the area, circular blades—that looked like they were out of a circular saw—wheeled through towards the light. Black, they glowed around the edges with silver light. As they cut through the air, the corpse candles drew back and began to streak out of the area. One of the blades sliced through one of the orbs, which—while it reformed—it was a lot dimmer than before.
So they could be hurt, I thought. But wouldweaponswork against them? I raised my sword and launched myself at the nearest one, slashing through the air. As my blade touched the glowing light, there was a crackle. But I knew it wasn’t simply the metal that made contact. When I found the sword, I had the feeling it was magical in some way and this told me that I was right.
Ray increased his chanting, and I felt the wards around us strengthen. Emboldened by the protective energy produced by his spell, I moved closer to the dim corpse candle and slashed at it again. It vanished and I thought I heard a faint shriek, although I wasn’t sure if it was just in my mind or in actuality.
Reggie was gearing up for another round when Bryn waded in. She was trying to hit them with her sword, but it wasn’t having any effect, which only strengthened my feeling that only magic could affect them. One of the larger corpse candles sent a jarring bolt her way, and she stumbled back, cursing. A burnmark rose on her cheek. She was lucky. If the orb had hit her a couple inches higher, it could have blinded her.
