Go For Stories

The path, while narrow, was flat and easy going. V’esen had no trouble getting out of the castle, as nobody questioned that he could be an exact duplicate of their commander. Why would they? V’esen resisted the urge to whistle to himself as he walked along. Yes, there were more questions for him to answer now, but he was alive. It was odd; through all of the missions he had done until now, he had never once felt truly in danger. This time, however, he had accepted his own demise as fact. So when it didn’t happen, not even the presence of a mysterious double could bring his spirits down.

He was making good time and had travelled well out of view of the castle by the time he heard the shouts of running soldiers. They had finally found one of the bodies that he had left strewn about the place. He took off at a run. The path was still quite narrow, but the undergrowth either side of him had thinned out. If he needed to, he could duck to the side and hide in there. However, for now, leaving the path was not a wise move; it would still slow him down and he would make a lot of noise doing so.

The sound of the soldiers grew louder. He pressed forward, putting all of his energy into the run. Even so, the soldiers gained ground. He ducked into the forest at a point where the shrubs grew sparse and he hid behind a tree; not a moment too soon. The soldiers ran straight past the instant he was behind cover. He allowed himself to breathe and he poked his head out from behind the tree. One of the soldiers had hung back and peered down his escape route. V’esen slammed his back against the tree again and waited. He could hear the soldier shout.

“Here! I heard something!”

It wasn’t long before the other soldiers came back to see what their companion was shouting about. They had a muttered conversation that V’esen couldn’t understand before they headed into the woods, looking for the source of the noise. V’esen weighed up his options. He could either stay where he was, run, or try to climb the tree without being seen. None of the options seemed reasonable to him, but he was in no position to be making reasonable choices. He opted to stay where he was and hope against hope that he wasn’t spotted. If he was, he would fight his way out, or at least he would try. In the close trees, it would be difficult to maneuver around the soldiers and his chances were slim at best.

He pressed himself closer against the tree as the soldiers neared. He closed his eyes and thought only of blending into the wood. A strange creaking noise came from behind him. His eyes flickered open and he stared ahead, watching for the soldiers. They appeared and his muscles tensed, ready to spring into action. The soldiers stopped and one turned directly towards him. V’esen reached for his knife, but his hand was trapped. His heart jumped. They had him.

The soldier stared right at him, but didn’t react. V’esen kept his heart still, waiting for a mistake that would give him an opening to exploit. The man gazed at him with ferocious intent. V’esen held his breath. He didn’t know what the soldier was up to, but he genuinely didn’t seem to be able to see V’esen. Another soldier arrived to talk to the first.

“What have you found?” he asked.

“Have a look at this tree, Horm.” the first responded.

Horm turned to look at V’esen. He leaned right in so his face was almost against V’esen’s. He squinted, then laughed, standing back from the tree.

“Ha! It looks like it has a face.” They both chuckled and walked away shaking their heads.

‘What in Wind’s name just happened?’ thought V’esen, listening to the soldiers as they receded into the forest.

When he thought he was safe, he moved his head. It felt like it was glued to the tree with sap, but he strained and managed to look down at his body. His eyes grew wide; his body wasn’t there. Instead, the trunk of the tree widened where his chest should be. He wriggled his hands and saw two lumps of the tree wriggle. With an almighty heave, he was able to pull himself off the trunk and he looked back at the tree.

It was just an ordinary tree. He looked down at his hands and legs. They were ordinary hands and legs.

“Huh,” he said to himself. “Isn’t that something?”

Somehow he had picked up the camouflage ability from the soldiers, perhaps through simple contact. Either that or killing his double had transferred the power to him. This is why the soldiers lost their ability. Not because their commander could no longer give it to them, but because V’esen now kept it from them.

He leaned back against the tree and focussed on being one with it once more. It took a few moments but this time he could feel the creaking through his entire body. He looked down at the trunk once more and, sure enough, his body was no longer his own. He smiled to himself. This would be handy in the fight against the Earl. He separated from the tree and ran off towards his village as fast as he could go. Nothing would keep him from returning tonight.