Page 1 of An Arrow to the Heart

CHAPTER ONE

-Sylvie-

The heavy lengths of Sylvie’s linen oat-coloured dress were now a putrid muddy brown and slick with algae from the stagnant water. The weight of the sodden fabric clung to her legs as she stood thigh high in something that closely resembled shit, the damned heaven forsaken place certainly stank like it, the heat of the summer’s day only making it worse. Sylvie could only presume that the bog was made up of a mix of remains and worse, she shuddered at the thought of what lay in the murky depths below.

It was positively rancid.

Nonetheless, putting one foot before the other she carried on, trudging through the slush.

Come on, where are you?

Her feet squelched with each step, as water oozed through the leather of her boots or at least, she silently prayed that it was just that, water, despite knowing it definitely wasn't. Sylvie swallowed hard, forcing the thought out. Her lips were pinched shut as she trained her eyes, scanning the muddy brown waters before she gleefully proclaimed, “I see it!”

Turns out the travelling merchant hadn’t lied after all, for she had begun to worry that she’d been covered in shit for nought, but no, indeed there it was. Sylvie let out a sigh, the smile on her face growing as she uttered her thanks to the Gods.

It stood out like a jewel in a sea of dung. The chestnut chest. A delicately gilded tapestry of gold leaves and vines adorned its surface catching the midday sun, making it just about visible as it sat there in its throne of debris. The wooden chest was compiled of warm browns utterly different from the cool browns of the swamp, with a hint of reddish undertones.

The merchant had told her the tall tale of how a lone harpy lunged at their caravans from the mountains above, clawing and slashing at them with brutal force. Mercifully though the harpy hadn’t managed to snare them with its song and they had been able to chase the beast away. They had gotten away unscathed but they had lost one of their supply wagons down the cliffside, into the putrid bog. It was at this point the merchants had accepted their losses and moved on. However, Sylvie knew this was an opportunity not to be missed, for similarly to the harpy, she knew the kind of goods the travelling merchants dealt in. One folk’s loss would be another’s treasure.

The chest must have gotten snagged in the old roots of the long dead willow on its fall from the cliffside. She had hoped this may have been the case when she heard the merchant’s recount.

“Well, hurry up and get it!” Valeska called out coughing whilst swatting at the air where she stood at the edge of the bog, waiting with a displeased look on her face. “The sooner I can get out of here and never return the better,” she continued, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Yes, yes.” Sylvie muttered, more to herself than her friend, for she was in her own world, and she was on a mission. Not that she hadn’t appreciated Valeska’s offer to accompany her, just that she wasn’t taking a stroll in a bog for leisure, she needed to get what she came for. She had just about managed to pick up the sturdy little wooden box and place it in her satchel when an eerie shrill bird-like cry stilled her.

Sylvie’s eyes widened, as something rose from the depths of the putrid bog.

“Oh holy mother,” Sylvie’s words were barely a whisper, her lips trembling as she began slowly and carefully to walk backwards. Willing her racing heart to slow, she noticed that while she had clearly startled this thing, it didn’t seem to know exactly where she was. No wonder she thought, given that gelatinous muck from the depths of the bog clung to the creature, whispering of decay and neglect. It let out another shrill shriek, akin to what Sylvie imagined a dying bird might sound like, clearly in search of her.

A shiver ran through Sylvie, now that she had what she came for she was ready to get out of there faster than the Gods would allow. The creature hadn’t managed to locate her yet, she supposed the fact that she was covered in the same sludgy mess as it was made it difficult for the creature to pick her out. “Okay good,” she told herself, with only a few steps until the edge of the bog.

“Oh thank the heavens. Are you finally done here? Did you fi…” Valeska’s words were interrupted when she noticed the creature stalking in the bog, a trail of slippery residue of nature’s unsavoury embrace in its wake. Her face turned ashen and she let out an ear pinching scream before Sylvie could stop her and the creature turned to face their direction. The creature stilled only for a second, cocking its faceless head sideways, glaring directly at them, before it launched into action. The sludgy waters rippled from the creature as it began to move toward them, screeching its eerie song once more.

“Run!” Sylvie commanded Valeska as she made haste to get out of the rancid bog waters. Finally at the bog’s edge, she gathered the weighted water-logged lengths of her skirts and ran too. She hurried after her friend, following the flow Valeska’s sage-green flowing locks like a beacon in the dark. Upon reaching Valeska, she turned to notice the creature halted at the edge of the bog.

“Looks like it can’t get out,” she panted between words, collapsing on the grass, her legs burned and her chest ached. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d ran so fast.

“Thank the holy earthmother!” Valeska proclaimed as she let out a deep breath. “I’m not sure I would have been able to run much further.”

Sylvie threw her friend an apologetic look that quickly turned to a grin as she reached for her satchel.

“Please tell me you got what you were after,” Valeska said closing her eyes and sighing.

“As if I’d ever fail,” Sylvie said wiping the sludge off the chest as best she could on the grass and she slowly opened the sliding lock to reveal its contents.

“Just as promised,” she said, smiling ear to ear.

“There better be rare rubies or sapphires in there,” Valeska chirped, trying to get a look at the box’s contents.

“Better, much better and much rarer,” Sylvie declared as she carefully took a handful of the tiny, clawed spikes in her hand.

Valeska’s face went glum as she looked into the palm of Sylvie’s hand, and she asked somewhat dubiously, “what are they?”

“Hagraven claws. A whole jar’s worth.”

“Oh for fucks sake Vie, all that for some fingernails.”

Sylvie chuckled as she carefully placed the Hagraven claws back in the chest and placed it securely back in her satchel. “Would you prefer I battle actual Hagravens instead my dear friend?”