ZADOK “She’s right, you stubborn human! Are you trying to kill yourself?” My wolf, Kir, said in my head. I mentally rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness. “Stay out of this, Kir. I have no time for your side talks.” I replied to him through my mind, and he snickered. Rude. “I don’t know, okay?!” Ithra threw her hands in the air. “All I know is that I am cold, and you are in no position to get us through this Valley.” “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” I asked, tired of the arguments. “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s get going.” I walked through the snow and felt my bones shake from their marrow. I clenched my teeth, feeling partially numb in my feet. Shit. The map depicts the journey through the Cold Valley as a short one. I’d heard a lot of people died in this particular valley, and for a while, I wondered why and what monster lived in this part of the forest to warrant such a high death rate. There was no monster at all. The monster that killed many travellers
ZADOK I felt my body weaken, and I felt at the brink of death. “What are you doing?” I asked Kir, panicking within me. “Since you have refused to submit to me, I will show you how weak you are without my help.” My body felt like chards of ice were pricking my skin. It felt like the cold increased - so much that I fell to my knees. My legs couldn’t carry me anymore. “What is wrong with you?!” I heard Ithra’s panicked voice from afar off. I could barely keep my eyes open. My insides were freezing, and every single organ was failing. It felt like I was in a cold room. Every single fluid in my body was dried, dead. My heartbeat slowed, and I could taste death. “Can you see how weak you are against me?” Kir asked. I heard the anger in his tone. I didn’t answer. I didn’t speak. It hurt too much. Was this what Ithra was going through all this while? How was she surviving? “Remember this the next time you choose to disregard me,” He growled. “You are as weak as a human without
ZADOKThe ride with Ithra was joyous and filled with hearty laughter. Despite being relegated to the back of the fun, I derived joy seeing her lay freely in Kir’s fur as he took us through the cold Valley. At some point, I felt stupid for not allowing Kir to take the reins earlier. He was more suited to take us through the Cold Valley than I will ever be. “I see you are getting wiser, human.” Kir’s voice intruded my thoughts, and I tried not to be offended. “I didn’t realise you were paying attention.” I said bitterly, “Last I checked, you shut me off without a care.” “Jealous?”I near damned coughed blood at the audacity of this wolf. “Jealous?!” I said incredulously, “What in the world am I supposed to be jealous about, Kir?” “Me.” He said it so casually that I felt like smacking his head. “We are the same person, so it’s not feasible,” I said before Kir, feeling a sense of accomplishment afterwards. “Good to know you’re learning.” He said, and once again, put up the mental
ZADOKThe ghoul threshed till it was a few feet away from me. Ithra’s face was red from holding her breath for so long. I couldn’t describe how I felt the more it came close to me with its deathly cold aura. Just when I thought it was all over, the other ghoul exclaimed. “I hear it! It certainly came from this way.” It said, sniffing the air. “It’s a bear!”The ghoul stood away from me and said, “Who cares about a bear when you can find something more profitable.” It sneered, “I’m close to finding what it is. I can feel it right underneath my nose.” My heart seized at its comment because we were right under his nose. “If you are not interested in partnering with me, just say so. Enough of your stupid acts. Are you trying to get on my nerves?” The other one said, sounding offended. I heard a tired sigh, “But I feel there is something here. Please give me a few minutes before we go after the bear?” It asked, shocking me with the sincerity in its tone. “I will not give up another k
ITHRAI couldn’t believe my eyes. Golden coins, sparkling jewels, mirrors, and other priced artefacts simmered in their millions. A hidden treasure cave! “Calm down,” Zadok said, “Remember, we don’t touch anything.” He swallowed, “We will be fine if we don’t touch anything.” He repeated, but my jaws were on the floor, and I didn’t think they were coming up soon. “How did this get here?” I asked the question that plagued my mind. “Just how many years has it been hidden here?” “I don’t know. Perhaps a thousand years?” He suggested, sounding perplexed. “Who knew there was something good in this forest? No wonder people risked their lives to come here.” Zadok took a step forward, and I followed him. “I don’t think there are any records of this place in the dark forest. There would be more people seeking to try their luck at wealth assuming there was such information.” I stopped by a treasure chest sitting on a rock, “It feels so unreal.” I said, eyeing the glittering contents. “Wha
ZADOKI watched in horror as the dragon took Ithra farther and farther away from me. “Wait! Please! Don’t kill her!” I screamed with all my might. Praying that the dragon heard and reconsidered its decision - All to no avail. Instead, the dragon took her up to the roof of the cave and threw her into what seemed like a reef at the top of the rocks. “Not yet.” I heard the cackle of the dragon. “Sometimes, it gets lonely over here. I mean, it’s once in a thousand years before I can meet visitors in the dark forest.” he snickered, “And that’s not because there haven’t been a lot of them, but because they weren’t lucky enough to get here.” The dragon descended and sat proudly on the mountain of treasures. “So you can imagine my surprise when I saw two suspecting individuals threading my territory with every plan of crossing over without saying hi.” “Let her go,” I growled, not in the mood for his story time. The dragon hissed, “I’ll be careful if I were you. Because even if you haven’
ZADOK “Leave me alone!” The Sirion screeched as I dragged it to the entrance of the cave. “Wrong answer,” I said, brimming with anger. “You are going to tell me how to get back into this cave and rescue my partner from that dragon, or I swear it, you will breathe your last today.” The Sirion struggled from my hold to no avail. One thing about the Sirion was that it was powerless against people. Its power lies in its knowledge and ability to transform into anything. It was a very rare being that used its knowledge to preserve its life in dire situations. Everyone needed a Sirion at some point due to its rareness and wisdom. People tended to keep it hostage and force it to serve their purposes. Over time, things changed, and for a mysterious reason, The Sirions received the ability to escape from the hands of their captor after answering a question as decided by the captor. “You already know the truth. There’s no going back in the dark forest, Just going forward.” It snapped.
ZADOK“No! Please don’t take me there! I only just escaped!” The goblin cried as I dragged him towards the cave, carrying his bag at my back.“I don’t care. I need to get my partner, and if catching a jewellery thief will get the desired result, then so be it.” “The dragon doesn’t care about this. I got it out a few decades ago. He has long forgotten about it!” The goblin explained, but I didn’t care. “Let’s find out then.” I dragged the goblin to the front of the closed entrance, holding him down tightly. I stood till I realised I didn’t know what to do.“I told you,” The goblin said, “I hold no value to him, neither do my possessions. Let me go already.” I stayed silent, looking at the closed door, waiting for some miracle to enable me to trade the goblin - All to no avail. My shoulders sank, and I contemplated if the goblin wasn’t valuable enough to recover my Ithra. Just when I thought it was over, a rumble rocked the cave, and slowly, the rocks that blocked the entrance roll