Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 7: Downtime

Chapter 1

Aaand here we are, episode 7! Kind of a short one to start us off, but fun to write nonetheless. The little surprise at the end was actually something I initially considered making into a cliffhanger at the end of episode 6, but I decided to just wait and start the new episode with it instead. Enjoy!

-Llox

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When Lykou and Kuna exited the portal, they both tensed up and braced themselves for danger, just in case. As they looked around, it soon became apparent that none was forthcoming, and they both stopped holding their breath. “Thank FUCK,” Kuna said, leaning on his walking stick. “I never thought I’d be so relieved to see a boring, normal-looking forest.”

“I’ll second that,” Lykou agreed, even as he continued searching their surroundings, just to be sure.

The air was slightly warmer than it had been in Kryckwood, just enough to make it more comfortable. The various trees had branches filled with leaves, though some were starting to change color, which looked fairly picturesque in the late afternoon sun. The underbrush was somewhat patchy, but there was definitely more of it than in the Kryck. A few squirrels darted through the trees. Some birds were singing in the treetops, with the sound of a waterfall in the distance as extra background noise. The sky, from what they could see through the gaps in the canopy, was bright and sunny, with a few thin, wispy clouds scattered around. All in all, it was a welcome return to normalcy compared to their recent adventures.

After making sure things looked clear, the konuul turned back to his companion. “Hey, lets go find that waterfall I’m hearing. Need to refill anyway, and maybe there will be a decent camping spot near it. We can recast your spell thing there.”

Kuna nodded after taking a quick sip from his own water jug. “Sure. I’ve got some left in the meantime if you need it, though.”

“I’m fine for now, but thanks,” Lykou said as they set out. They walked in silence for a short time, still processing their recent adventures. “...I don’t get it, Ku. What’d that Wodryck guy mean? How were we just in some old ‘story’?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea,” the sereva replied. “Obviously, it all really happened. You’ve still got that axe, I’ve still got this walking stick, plus a lingering sore spot on my shoulder…”

“Still tender huh?”

“Yeah, just a bit. Hopefully it’ll be fully back to normal in a day or two,” Kuna said, then sighed. “I dunno, that whole little… ‘adventure’ was a total nightmare. All I know is I hope we never set foot in anything like Kryckwood again.”

“Fuck, I hope not either,” Lykou agreed. “It’d be great if we could just kind of take things easy for a while.”

“I’m starting to think that won’t happen until we finally reach Lakefire at this rate,” Kuna grumbled with a frown.

“Hey, try to think positive,” Lykou said with an uncertain smile, glancing around warily. “At least this place looks promising.”

“Yeah,” Kuna said. “So far, anyway. Don’t forget how nice the islands seemed at first.”

“And they were!” Lykou retorted. “You know… minus the insane demonic guy and all the people he tricked, who… wanted to… kill us…”

“Mhmm,” Kuna responded, shooting him a flat look. “Not to mention forcibly separated us.”

“Right… but hey, it turned out alright in the end, and we made some good friends!” Lykou insisted. “And hey, what about Clovaria? Other than the bandits, that was pretty nice.”

“True, true,” the sereva conceded. “But I get the feeling most places are at least going to throw something at us.”

Lykou sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right…”

Feeling a little guilty about being a wet blanket, Kuna wrapped an arm around him. “But hey, at least we know we can handle whatever we encounter together, right?”

The konuul perked back up and returned the embrace. “Damn right. You, me, and the power of friendship,” he said with a cheesy grin, then suddenly hoisted the weapon in his other hand up. “And this neat axe I found. Think I should name it ‘friendship’ for good measure, too?”

Kuna snorted and snickered a bit, nudging him playfully. “You fucking goofball.”

It didn’t take long for them to find the waterfall. A small river met a series of rocky cliffs and went cascading down them into large pool at the bottom, where it continued winding its way through a densely-forested valley between several small, yet steep mountains. Fortunately, they found a smoother slope not far away that let them safely get to the bottom. Once they got down to the base, they found a fair-sized overhang with solid rock and dirt on two sides, and a slightly less turbulent tributary for the river near the third side.

That meant that Kuna could use his magic to set up an organic wall along the remaining side for protection, once they settled in. Once they set their things down and topped off their water containers, he started at least the beginnings of it while Lykou went around, collecting firewood. He came back much faster than usual, somewhat excited, with an armful of thicker logs, and some kindling held in his hands, pockets, and mouth.

“The axe is GREAT for getting firewood,” the canid proudly announced after spitting out the kindling and set the wood down, then started setting up a firepit.

Kuna smirked and rolled his eyes a little. “Pretty sure that’s what axes are for,” he pointed out. “At least originally. The whole ‘weapon’ thing probably came later.”

Lykou poked his tongue out at him playfully, then continued getting their fire started. “Yeah well, this one works really well.”

“I bet,” the sereva responded as he finished setting up the wall, then dismissed his magic and began digging out some dinner. “Hmm… how are you doing on your food supply? If this forest is as normal as it looks, I might keep an eye out for things that look edible while we’re hiking tomorrow.”

Lykou checked his own bag and shrugged. “Pretty good for now. For the most part, I didn’t eat as much back in Kryckwood, what with all the… well, everything,” he said with a small shudder. After a moment, he plucked out some salted meat and licked his chops. “...with that in mind though, I think I’ll definitely indulge a bit tonight.”

“Want me to grow you some charnops?” Kuna suggested.

The canid arched a brow as he munched on his snack. “Uh, you got the energy? You just put that barrier up and after everything else, I figured you’d be pretty beat.”

Kuna shrugged. “Yeah, I honestly am, but I can manage a charnop or two.”

Lykou smiled. “That’s sweet, but I think I’ll be fine for now.”

“Mmkay, just lemme know if you change your mind.”

“Will do.”

The two dug into their food and relaxed by the fire, relieved to have a moment of normalcy compared to the previous few days. Once they finished eating, they began setting up their sleeping area. Kuna was already yawning and more than ready for sleep, and Lykou was pretty close behind. “Hmm… I need to patch this thing up soon,” the sereva commented, noting the rough shape of their bed mat. “Our clothes could use some stitches soon, too.”

“Well, next time we stop to take a resupply day, you can work on that while I hunt,” Lykou suggested, then yawned and stretched. “Right now, though, all that matters is that it’s soft enough to sleep on.”

“I’ll second that one,” Kuna agreed.

“There you two are!” a familiar voice startled them, as Zyn appeared behind them.

“Gah!” Kuna yelped. Both he and Lykou jumped at the sudden appearance, causing Kuna to nearly bump his head on the overhang they’d set up under. Lykou wasn’t as lucky and winced, rubbing his head afterward.

“Shit, Zyn, can’t you ever just walk up like normal?” Lykou groaned, flopping down next to Kuna. “Especially after these last few days…”

“Well, you kind of put a little wall up in the way,” Zyn retorted. “...but on that note-” He suddenly teleported over behind them, wrapping his arms around them. “It’s good to see you two! I was starting to get worried!”

“Gck! Not so tight!” Kuna said, wincing a bit.

“Yeah, especially his shoulder,” Lykou agreed. “He’s still a bit tender.”

Zyn arched a brow and looked over at the sereva, loosening his grip a bit. “Really? So what all happened back in that ‘Kryckwood’ place?”

Kuna shivered. “We’re still not sure of everything ourselves. Let’s just say it was a living nightmare.”

“Yeah, and we’re both exhausted and trying to unwind our nerves,” Lykou added. “So please, even more than usual, go easy on all the showy shit, alright?”

“Damn, sure,” Zyn said with a concerned look, then moved around to sit in front of them without teleporting. “So tell me about it.”

Lykou and Kuna both proceeded to tell him about their harrowing adventure in the Kryck. The jarzin scratched his head a bit at some points, but otherwise even he seemed fairly amazed and impressed. “Damn… how had I not heard of that place before?” he wondered aloud. “I’m glad you two got out of there alive. Rare enough for a mortal to meet a single ghoul and live, let alone a whole bunch- to say nothing of a wraith or a hostile revenant.”

“To be fair, he was only hostile because magic basically forced him to be,” Lykou pointed out.

Kuna frowned. “Magic he used on himself, though, remember? And he wasn’t exactly reliable on keeping his word.”

“And that… ‘Algrytha’ character… as old and powerful as she apparently was, you’d think I might’ve heard of her at some point, but it doesn’t ring a bell,” Zyn said, scratching his chin.

“Apparently she sometimes went by ‘Dark Aggy’?” Lykou said. “Although we don’t even know what to believe anymore. What that Wodryck guy said at the end really threw us off, especially after how different things looked after we took out the wraith…”

Zyn thought for a minute, then shook his head. “Sorry guys, maybe an older jarzin, especially Ink, might be able to tell you more, but I have to admit you’ve stumped me. Sounds pretty terrifying though. Oh, you said you got some kind of magic axe out of it?”

Lykou nodded and pointed to the weapon laying a few feet away, near their bags.

The jarzin looked over, then teleported next to it, standing once again. He looked at it for a moment, then gestured to it and looked at Lykou. “Mind if I…?”

“Sure,” Lykou said with a shrug. “Have at it.”

Zyn picked the weapon up and looked it over a bit more thoroughly. He whistled after a moment, seemingly fairly impressed with it. “Damn. Very nice… hey, at least you got this beauty out of your ordeal.”

“Any idea what it’s made of?” Lykou said. “The blade almost looks like bone, but it’s way too solid and sharp. And the weight’s off for that, I think.”

“I dunno, could be. The energies flowing through it are strange though,” Zyn replied. “Hmm… pearlescent edge, well-balanced… obviously Sylthean origin. Have you started attuning to it yet?”

“Welllll… maybe? Kinda?” Lykou said with an awkward grin.

Kuna smirked over at the konuul. “He’s still working on understanding the whole ‘meditation’ idea.”

Zyn chuckled. “Well hey, everyone has to start somewhere,” he said, then set the axe back down. “So you fought a bunch of undead- and apparently worked with one, maybe two. And saw a bunch of crazy monsters. And encountered alchemy for the first time. Hell of a way to spend two days, I gotta say.”

“Yeah… wait, shit!” Kuna replied, suddenly realizing something. He leaned over and pulled his bag close, then started digging around inside. A moment later, he gulped and slowly pulled out a small container and held it out warily. “...the last dose of that essence-sharing potion…”

“Right…” Lykou said, eyeing the thing anxiously. “She did say to be sure to drink all three…”

“That was before we found out she was lying about things,” Kuna pointed out. “And even then she said there might be… side-effects…”

“Yeahhhh…” Lykou looked over at Zyn after a moment. “What do you think?”

“Right, the whole… essence-sharing thing. You should be more careful not to let yourself get so low on that stuff, you know,” the jarzin said, gesturing to Kuna. He then turned his attention to the potion and crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. “...I’m honestly not sure what to tell you. Alchemy isn’t exactly something I’ve given much attention to. It seemed to work alright the first couple times, though, right?”

Kuna nodded slowly after a moment. “Yeah, I guess…”

“Well, probably safe enough, I’d imagine,” Zyn continued. “On the other hand, like you said, she turned out to be a bit… questionable in the end, at least. And it looks like you’re doing pretty well now anyway, other than just understandably wiped out.”

Lykou groaned and rubbed his head. “So do we drink it or not?”

“Up to you guys,” Zyn said, shrugging. “Tell you what, whatever choice you make, I’ll check back in on you two in the morning. If you’re real sick or something, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

Kuna stared at the potion for a moment, then sighed and shot the jarzin an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Zyn. I think we should skip it for now, though,” he said, tucking the container back into his bag. “I’m feeling a lot better already. If I suddenly feel worse tomorrow, we can probably just take it then.”

“Makes sense to me,” Lykou agreed, wrapping an arm around the sereva again. “Hey, with any luck, maybe your shoulder will be completely pain-free tomorrow morning.”

“Honestly, the fact that you’re as good as you are right now shows that it worked pretty well,” Zyn pointed out. “Ghoul venom is not a joke. Whatever ulterior motives she may have had, I’m glad you two met this... ‘Algrytha’ lady.”

“Yeah…” Kuna said, then yawned and stretched a bit. “Well, I’m beat. You gonna hang out here with us, Zyn?”

“Wish I could, but I wouldn’t want to risk Ink’s little… buddies finding me sitting here with you two, when all I’m supposed to be doing is keeping an occasional eye on you,” Zyn replied. “Granted, I don’t think they’re likely to pop by any time soon, but I still aught to be careful.”

Lykou shrugged, then yawned. “Well, that’s understandable. Thanks for stopping by though.”

“Oh, before you go… did you by any chance scout this area?” Kuna asked sleepily.

“Yeah, a bit- not a lot to say. No villages or anything nearby, no sign of any big nasty beasts. I didn’t scout very far ahead mind you, but at least within a day’s hike from here or so, it seems pretty safe,” Zyn said, then grinned. “I had to delay the scouting by a day or so after the last time we met, so I could do something else.”

“And… what would that be?” Kuna asked warily.

The jarzin just continued beaming, and turned his attention to the konuul. “Lykou, I have something important to tell you.”

“Oh?” Lykou replied curiously. “What is it?”

“Welll… first, I have to confess something. You probably haven’t noticed it missing from your bag, given everything you’ve been through, but I… borrowed one of your little ‘spirit charms’ when you weren’t looking,” Zyn admitted, though he grinned and crossed his arms as he said it. “Considering how you haven’t had any use for them, I figured you wouldn’t mind if one went missing.”

“What?? Why??” Lykou asked, a bit miffed. “They may not be practical, but they have sentimental value…”

“Yeah, he made those with Naira!” Kuna agreed, shooting a glare at the jarzin.

“Well, good thing it’s back in her hands now, then,” Zyn replied simply, savoring the sudden dramatic change in the boys’ expressions.

“W… what…?” Lykou asked quietly.

“It took a little while to track her down- my scrying skills could use more practice and I’m not exactly used to that area,” Zyn explained. “But… I found her.”

The konuul began shaking. “D… does that mean-”

“Woah, hey, don’t get too excited,” the jarzin continued, holding his hands up. “No, I can’t get you back there any faster. I have no control over the gates. And unfortunately I couldn’t stick around long enough to tell her much, because Chaiko was really watching that area like a hawk. But I introduced myself to her- you should’ve seen the look on her face by the way, especially when Chaiko did get a little too close, she-”

“Zyn!” Kuna snapped, then gestured with his head at the wide-eyed, emotional konuul next to him. “Focus, please?”

“Oh, right. So yeah, unfortunately, she doesn’t know much- except for one very important thing,” Zyn said, then pointed to the canid. “That you’re alive, and working on getting home. I left her the charm as a sign that I wasn’t just talking out of my ass, or that she wasn’t hallucinating.”

Kuna smiled and turned to the konuul, rubbing his back gently. “Well hey, that’s one less thing to worry about, right?” he said, then turned back to Zyn. “Th-”

Before the sereva could get another word out, a konuul-shaped projectile flew through the air and tackled the jarzin and lifted him into a bear-hug. “Thankyou, fucking THANK YOU,” Lykou said, clenching his eyes shut as tears leaked out of them. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou…”

Zyn’s eye twitched as he was clamped in the konuul’s embrace and lifted off the ground- not something he was used to by any means. “Gck… y… you’re… welcome,” he managed to croak out with what little air was left in his lungs, much to Kuna’s amusement. After a moment, he shut his eyes and suddenly the canid’s arms were forced apart as he used his grasp of life energy to reinforce his body and overpower the tight grip on it. “Eesh, good thing my ribs are harder to crack than most mortals.”

Suddenly self-aware of what he was doing, Lykou backed off and smiled sheepishly, blushing a bit as he rubbed his arm. “R-right, sorry,” he said, then straightened up. “Seriously though, I can’t thank you enough, Zyn. I’ve been… I keep think-”

“I know,” Zyn said, patting his shoulder. “And hey, I can’t do it too much, but I do plan to check back in on her again sometime when I think it’s safe to do so.” Suddenly he held up his hands defensively. “Nomoretacklingthoughplease.”

“That,” Lykou said, then paused to sniff and rub his eyes. “That really means a lot to me, Zyn. Just… thank you so much.”

“Yeah, that was seriously eating him up,” Kuna said as he stood up, then walked over and wrapped his arms around the konuul. “Even if he doesn’t always show it.”

“...yeah, yeah it was,” Lykou admitted as he tried to collect himself, then wrapped an arm around the sereva in return. “How… I know you said you weren’t there long, but how was she, could you tell?”

“Pretty freaked out when I showed up, and even moreso when Chaiko got a bit too close and I had to hide for a minute,” Zyn said, snickering. “At one point I thought she might faint, so I had to catch her.”

Kuna rolled his eyes a bit. “Yeah, and I’m sure your usual abundance of subtlety helped oh so much,” he quipped, but smirked as he said it. “Anything else?”

Zyn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, she was a bit far from the village, and looked like she’d been spending a lot of time out there. Not that it detracted from-” he said, his mind wandering slightly, then he quickly shook off the line of thought and cleared his throat, earning a quizzical look from Lykou and Kuna. “Anyway, from what I was able to pick out, I think she’s been out there trying to investigate what happened to you.”

Lykou frowned. “Oh, damn… she’s never been much of a hunter or anything. Whenever we camped out, I tended to do most of that, when necessary. I hope she’s doing alright.”

“Well, she didn’t look malnourished. Pretty... toned, if anything,” Zyn said, then shrugged. “And she wasn’t alone, at least when I was there. Three others were up the hill some way off, at what I assume was their campsite. Didn’t get an up-close look at them though. But they were definitely konuul.”

“Three?” Lykou asked, scratching his head. “Huh. I wonder who…”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Kuna said, grinning and nudging the canid lightly. “Why wouldn’t they send out search groups for Lakefire’s number one guy?”

Lykou blushed and rolled his eyes slightly. “But seriously… two months later, still?”

“You said it yourself, Ashers look out for each other no matter what,” Kuna reminded him. “Right?”

The canid folded his ears down and smiled. “Right…”

“I’ll see if I can find out more next time I’m there,” Zyn assured him, then peeked over the floral barrier Kuna had put up, and up at the night sky. “For now though, I should get going, and you two should get some sleep.” He turned back to them and put his hands on his hips. “Good seeing you two again. Sleep well and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Likewise, Zyn,” Kuna said, then yawned.

“Yeah, goodnight Zyn,” Lykou said, then stepped over and gave him another, gentler hug. “And thanks again…”

Zyn smiled and returned the hug, patting him lightly on the back. “Of course, Lykou,” he replied, then stepped back and gave a playful little salute before vanishing in a puff of dark blue mist.

Lykou and Kuna returned to their sleeping mat. The latter looked over his companion and gently took his hand. The canid was staring off into space with a happy, yet thoughtful look. “You alright?”

After a moment, the konuul slowly nodded, then turned to him and rubbed his eye again. “Better than alright,” he said, then sniffed and pulled the sereva into a warm embrace. “Someone back home knows I’m still alive, Ku. That… that’s such a huge relief…”

Kuna gave him a gentle squeeze. “I bet,” he replied, then grinned at the konuul as they laid down and pulled up the blanket. “Hey, maybe our luck is turning around. Great way to start a new section of the journey, at least.”

Lykou chuckled a bit. “Damn right it is,” he said, then yawned. “Well, goodnight Ku.”

“G’night Kou,” the sereva replied, cuddling up to him.

*****

The next morning, Kuna was the first to wake up. With the barrier up, relatively little light from the dawning sun made it in. He was groggy and felt like he needed to stretch a bit, so he got up and decided to get some fresh air and splash some water on his face from the stream. Luckily, he’d left a somewhat loose portion of the wall could be pulled back like a tent flap.

Ounce outside their shelter, he stretched and yawned. He blinked a few times in the early morning light, then rubbed his eyes. Something felt off, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Suddenly he winced as he bit the inside of his cheek. He’d done it on rare occasions before, for whatever reason- but this time it hurt a little more than usual and he was perplexed. As he rubbed his cheek, he realized something about his mouth itself felt slightly off in a way that he couldn’t describe.

Concerned, he knelt down by the stream and splashed some water in his face, then leaned over by one of the smaller nearby falls to get some water. After waking himself up a bit more that way, he reached up to inspect the inside of his mouth, then yelped when he felt his teeth. It was… sharper than he remembered. A lot pointier, too. Furrowing his brow, he looked around to try and find a relatively still patch of water. Eventually he spotted a puddle held in a divot in a large stony patch nearby and squinted at it to try and see his reflection. When he did, he let out a startled yell and stumbled over backwards.

The outburst awoke Lykou with a start. He jerked up and looked around, quickly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He, too, felt like something was off. But more importantly, he realized he was alone in the shelter, and he was pretty sure the sound that had awoken him sounded like Kuna’s voice. Wasting no time, he grabbed the axe and bolted to the exit- but something on his head snagged on the edge of the exit. He winced and stumbled back, trying to make sense of it. But just when he was about to reach up and inspect it, he heard Kuna call out again.

“What the SHIT?!”

Lykou shook his head and ducked a bit lower to hurry outside. When he did, he saw a total stranger standing outside, near the stream, looking distraught. Even more strange, it was a konuul- a slightly waifish one, but definitely a konuul nonetheless. He hadn’t seen any of his own kind in over two months. Under other circumstances, he would have been excited and curious, but for the moment, he had to find Kuna. “Hey! Who are you?? Where’s-”

“GAH!” the stranger yelped as he was startled by his sudden appearance. Except… the voice sounded all too familiar. “Who the f-… wait… Lykou?!”

Lykou’s jaw dropped. “K… Kuna? Is that… you??”

Kuna stared at him for a moment, his eye twitching. Then his expression turned flat as his gaze wandered up to the top of Lykou’s head, and he crossed his arms. “Oh, of course you would get a full rack.”