The Witch of Storn

Chapter 28

The first step was to ensure the harvester was well protected against the tree. Zaria did this by kneeling in a circle of runes she had drawn out in the earth and then painting a symbol onto her palms and chanting lowly. When she was finished she got to her feet and erased a part of the circle with the tip of one foot.

“Is that it?” Rey didn’t remember much of her time in Cardinalis but she was certain casting spells was always accompanied by glowing runes and wind that came out of nowhere.

Zaria only glanced her way before turning back to her basket. She took out a small knife and began drawing symbols on it with the same paste.

Over her shoulder she said to Rey, “Witchcraft and wizardry are different from thaumaturgy. We do not need flashy effects to tell us when our spells have worked.”

Zaria’s voice was colder than she had ever heard it. Did she have something against mages?

She shook off the thought and watched Zaria proceed to the next step of harvesting whatever it was she needed: reaching into the tree.

“Remember,” Zaria whispered as they approached the Sif, “if my arm goes in past the elbow pull me back immediately, do you understand?”

“I will,” Rey whispered back. At last they got to the tree. Zaria took in a deep breath and plunged her arm into one of the openings at the level of her chest, her other hand braced against the trunk. Like she had said, only her forearm entered the hole, leaving the rest of her upper limb free. Rey stood there for what felt like hours; watching Zaria feel around in the darkness for her goal, her face twisted in concentration and what seemed to be pain at times. Once she grabbed hold of something; Rey could tell from the way her arm and shoulder went taut. She pushed against the trunk to pull it out but her hand came out empty. Zaria tried again and again until finally she sported a look of victory.

Rey stood on tiptoe, peering over Zaria’s shoulder.

“Did you get it?” she didn’t receive an answer, so she tried again, “well? Did you?”

Zaria raised the shoulder Rey’s chin rested on sharply, making the girl back away with a hand cradling her chin and a muted “Ouch”. She grunted and pulled as she stepped away from the tree, using her free arm to support her hand and bracing one foot against the tree. Rey hovered around her, peeking over her shoulder at intervals. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing; even though she felt like she should be doing something she refrained from taking any actions until she was sure she was actually needed. It would be tragic if she somehow bungled the procedure and got Zaria killed consequently. Rey would starve to death in a few days even if she was lucky to make it back to Zaria’s house in one piece. The thought of dying again made her take some steps back, giving Zaria ample space to do what she was doing.

The older woman was putting up a fierce fight, but the Sif wasn’t budging one inch. What was so important that the tree wouldn’t let it go without a bitter battle? Rey shook her head. She was ripped from her thoughts by Zaria’s shout.

“Rhaenar! Help!”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what exactly Zaria needed help with. Then she saw the way Zaria’s foot on the ground was sliding towards the tree in spite of the way the woman strained and she sprung into action.

Darting towards the basket off to one side, she fished out the pebble Zaria had pointed out to her earlier. It was gray and smooth all over except at one part, where deep grooves were carved into its surface, forming a sigil. She had no idea what it did; she knew it did something, however. She had had to stop herself from dropping it when she picked it up the first time, unprepared for the shock that zapped up her arm. Zaria had laughed and explained that most magical items gave similar reactions, depending on how powerful they were. Now Rey felt only a little pain as she grasped it and moved around Zaria, trying to find a perfect position.

“Anytime now, Rhaenar!”

Rey noticed that Zaria was being pulled towards the tree. She abandoned all thoughts of a perfect throw and just threw the stone towards the tree, praying it would land in one of the numerous holes like she intended.

It flew in a graceful arc towards the tree, struck the lip of one of the holes and then fell to the ground, in between one of the Sif’s roots where it disappeared from view.

“No!”

Rey ran to the tree to see if she could get the stone back but Zaria shouted to stay where she was. Rey was about to apologise and ask if there was something else she could do, but then she noticed Zaria return her leg that had been supporting her against the tree to the ground. She looked rather relaxed for someone who had been in a fight with a carnivorous tree a few moments before.

“Uh, Zaria?”

Zaria waved her away with the hand that wasn’t holding on to whatever it was she was taking from the tree.

“It’s fine. See? It has stopped struggling.”

It had. Rey turned a confused face to Zaria, who just chuckled and with one hand pulled. A stick-like object appeared in her hand right after. Rey approached Zaria to get a closer look. It was indeed a stick, to be precise; it was a branch; only this branch had tiny roots emerging from one end. And...it was...wriggling?

Rey made a face and took several steps away from Zaria and her stick. The woman just shook her head at Rey and carried the stick over to her basket. She bent a little to grab the handle of the basket, shaking off the napkin which half covered the basket and put the stick into the basket. She picked up the napkin from the floor. Then she went towards the tree. Rey wanted to ask what she was doing but thought better of it. After all, Zaria seemed to know what she was doing.

When she reached the Sif Zaria crouched near the roots, staring at them. Was she looking for the pebble? The woman must have found what she was searching for, as she thrust her free hand into the space between two large roots and got to her feet the next second. Rey had been correct; the now dirty stone was held up in Zaria’s hand.

“Are we done?”

Zaria nodded, busy with her basket. Rey breathed out a sigh of relief. Her back was killing her, and she wanted nothing more than to be sprawled across her bed.

At last Zaria looked up from her basket.

“We can go now.”

Rey almost wept with joy, but she settled for a grumpy “Finally!” turning around and making her way out of the clearing, stick in hand and hobbling along. She went on for a while but stopped. She could only hear one set of footsteps.

She looked back. Zaria was still standing where Rey had left her. Rey didn’t like the smile on her face.

“What? Aren’t you coming along?”

Zaria’s smile just grew wider. The woman pointed in the direction opposite to Rey.

“It’s that way, dearie.”

Rey grumbled all the way home, incensed by the ringing laughter that followed her.

As soon as they got back to the house Zaria went to work. Rey hovered uncertainly by the staircase, wondering whether to go up to her waiting bed like she had planned or stay and watch Zaria do whatever it was she was going to do. The decision was made for her.

“Come over here and help me,” Zaria said. Rey obeyed without hesitation. Zaria was seated on one of the aged wooden stools littered around the house, with another stool placed in front of her. The stool before Zaria held the object they had gone to so much trouble to obtain. It laid on a white square of cloth which covered the top of the stool completely. Rey stared at the stick. Anyone who passed by and saw it would think it was just a regular tree branch. She knew better though.

“So what now?”

Zaria pointed to her left without looking up from the book in her lap; Rey’s eyes followed her finger. She examined the area Zaria had gestured to. It was the southern wall of the room, the house itself facing east (Rey only knew this because Zaria had berated her for not knowing which way was north during one of their nightly sessions). She glanced at Zaria, still occupied with her book, and looked back at the wall. There was nothing there; to be precise; there was nothing there that she could confidently claim was useful. All that was in that area was the window, some stools, a carpet on the floor and some potted plants in the window.

She turned back to Zaria. “I don’t understand…?”

Zaria heaved a sigh and finally looked up from her book.

“What is it?”

Rey rolled her eyes at the woman. Why was she being so grumpy? If there was anyone who should be irritated it definitely wasn’t Zaria.

“You pointed but what exactly do you want me to do?”

Zaria’s face contorted into The Look, that dreadful mix of irritation, annoyance and anger that never failed in its mission to terrify whoever it was aimed at, whoever being Rey in this case. Rey shifted a little but held her ground. She wasn’t clairvoyant, like Zaria had said some time ago. She shouldn’t be expected to know what Zaria was thinking just by looking at her.

Zaria sighed in that long-suffering way she had. “The stool, Rhaenar. Get a stool and come sit. I don’t think your aged bones can bear to stand for long.”

Rey scowled at the jab but did as she was told, finally understanding what she was supposed to do. As directed she grabbed a stool and carried it over to Zaria, sitting across from the woman. She sat there for a while, bored out of her mind as Zaria perused the book in front of her. Her eyes wandered the room, searching for something to occupy her attention until Zaria was ready to start her task. Unfortunately Rey had spent so much time in the room that even with her eyes closed she could point out every feature of the room, from the various windows to the plants scattered around the room to the herbs hanging from the beams in the ceiling. Her eyes closed slowly, the serenity lulling her to sleep—

Rey jolted back in to awareness at the loud sound of a book snapping shut.

“Wha--? What’s going on?” she said groggily.

Zaria stared at her, unimpressed. “If you’re done with your beauty sleep I would like to begin.”

Rey wiped her eyes, blinking blearily. Surely she hadn’t been asleep for such a long time? There was no clock to answer the question for her, unfortunately, so she just blinked the sleep away from her eyes and sat up, watching as Zaria carried in a cauldron from the kitchen.

“What are we doing now?”

Zaria didn’t look up, focused on her task of taking various objects out of the cauldron which she had set down to the right of the stool that housed the Sif’s part.

“We are going to make Sif-lain extract.”

Rey furrowed her brows. She had understood everything except the ‘Sif-lain’ part.

“Sif-what?”

Zaria turned the cauldron over and shook it out, having emptied it before hand. A few particles fell out of it and she turned it over again, looking into it before putting it on the floor when she was satisfied.

“Sif-lain. I keep forgetting you don’t speak Stormne. Literally it means ‘Sif-tongue’.” She took out a square cloth from the pile next to the cauldron and wiped the inside of the cauldron with it.

“Oh. Wait – is that—" Rey pointed at the stick lying on its bed of white, “—a tongue?”

Zaria nodded. Rey stared at the stick, trying to reconcile it with what she knew of tongues. Finally she gave up and looked away from it, filing it away as one of those unfathomable things one always encountered in their lifetime.

“So what are we doing first?”

“Be patient, Rhaenar. This is not a process that should be rushed.”

Rey scoffed but ultimately said nothing. She just sat on her stool in silence, watching Zaria scurry about, picking up this, opening a book and closing it again, doing so much that Rey frankly tired of even looking at her. The alternative to watching Zaria was mind-numbing boredom though, so Rey chose to keep her eyes on her hostess.

At long last Zaria was ready, or at least, she seemed to be. Rey heaved a grateful sigh when the woman finally sat down on her stool, which Zaria ignored, just like she did with anything she deemed unworthy of her condescension.

The equipment was set all around them. It was time to begin.

“Are you ready?”

Rey sat up and nodded eagerly.

Zaria leaned forward, picking up the knife that had appeared next to the Sif-lain during the preparations. She placed it on her right palm with the blade pointing towards Rey and the handle flat against the skin of her palm. Then she stretched the arm with the knife towards Rey.

“Observe the runes on the blade. This is a special kind of blade, enchanted by a runesmith. This is the only blade you should be using when dealing with magical flora or fauna, as the case may be.”

“O-kay…? Why do I need to know all of this? It’s not like I’m going to be harvesting Sif-lain in the future or anything –”

“Just look at it!”

Rey huffed but obeyed, leaning forward and peering at the strange symbols carved into the metal of the blade. The sigils gave off a dull luster, resembling liquid mercury, especially in the way they seemed to flow into one another—

“Alright, that’s enough of looking,” Zaria said as she retracted her arm and grasped the handle. Rey straightened up on her stool, taking note of how Zaria now grasped the knife.

“Now we cut it up.”

Rey was taken aback. Was it that easy? Didn’t there need to be some kind of pre-processing ritual? Zaria smiled at her, probably reading meaning into the confused look on Rey’s face.

“There should be other steps before this one, but those are only for someone doing this for the first time. Things like having a ward around the area where the extraction is taking place or using an enchanted vessel for the extraction – all of that has been done already.”

Rey’s eyes widened. “I see…if you have everything already then why am I here?”

Zaria had a strange look on her face for an instant. It was as if she had been caught doing something she wasn’t proud of. Then the look phased away and her face was back to its usual lack of emotion.

“Like I told you, Sif and its organs should not be approached by oneself. It is best to have a partner or two, in case something goes wrong.”

She spoke as if she were spitting the words out. Rey felt like something had gone wrong somewhere. She meant to ask, but Zaria barked orders and soon the moment was forgotten.

Zaria sliced the Sif-lain into tiny slivers. She then threw the cut up Sif-lain into the cauldron full of boiling water. After that the process was well, over. All that was left to do was check on the cauldron occasionally. If the water in it was almost dry, add more water. Unfortunately they couldn’t be too far from the cauldron, as it sometimes boiled in a moment and at other times it would take an hour to boil. Rey wad thoroughly sick of everything by the time the moon came out, shining through the open window of the room and casting a blue glow on everything.

Zaria got up then and walked to the center of the room. She bent a little to look into the cauldron. Rey held her breath as the woman inspected the contents of the cauldron, clutching her dress hard where it met her thighs. She let out a quiet whoop when Zaria announced at last that the extract was done, getting up from her seat with a liveliness unlike her attitude minutes before.

“So we’re done? Finally?”

She approached Zaria and looked into the cauldron too. The liquid seemed to be clear; she couldn’t really tell as it was dark. The moon wasn’t a lot of help with vision and Zaria refused to turn on the lights, giving the reason that the extra magic could interfere with the process if extraction.

“Yes.” Zaria shot her a small smile. She looked drained, compared to the exhaustion Rey felt. It was like she had used up every sing le bit of energy she could wring out of her body and even then had still taken more from the already dried up well.

“Are you well? You look like you need a week to sleep and recharge.”

Zaria waved off Rey’s concern. “I’m fine, don’t worry about it. I just need to finish this and then go to bed. You should too.”

Rey raised a brow at her, not that she could see it. “Are you sure? You don’t need me to stay here in case something goes wrong?”

Zaria shook her head. Rey shrugged and left without asking any more questions. Zaria must have been more tired than she had thought, especially since she had resorted to not speaking. Coming from the woman who thought nodding instead of giving a reply was crass, it really was worrying.

Rey paused, a foot already on the stairs. She turned back to bid Zaria good night but the words died on her tongue. Zaria crouched near the cauldron, shoulders shaking and her head buried in her hands. Was she crying? Rey chewed the inside of her cheek, turning back to the stairs and leaving immediately.

“Good night Zaria,” she said when she got to the top. There was a reply but it was muffled and she couldn’t decipher it. She looked at Zaria again; the woman was standing once more and was busying herself with the cauldron. Everything looked to be fine. Rey stood there for a moment and then made her way to her room, changing out of her sweat soaked clothes and throwing open the window to let in a welcome breeze.

She climbed into bed quickly. There was no sleep to be found though. Her mind whirred with thoughts and theories. Was Zaria feeling all right? Was she lonely? Why was she crying? Were things not going well for her? The questions bounced around her head, colliding with her cranium and each other. She found no answers unfortunately. There was little she knew of Zaria, especially since Rey did most of the talking for both people. It made her realize she needed to know more. How though? The question haunted her until she dropped into sleep, pinched awake at intervals by the bite of an insect. At last it got too much for her and she stumbled out of the bed to close the window, only to groan at the realization that without the breeze from the window the room would feel like the hottest furnace in hell.

It was not a very good night for Rey, and she woke up with her batteries recharged but feeling groggy. Breakfast was a simple porridge; nobody had the strength or will to make something more palatable. Rey showed Zaria the little bumps all over her skin where the bites had swollen up. Zaria revealed hers too, a bit sheepishly. She explained that the protection ward normally keeping the bugs out had been used up by the Sif-lain extraction, adding that she had forgotten to put it back the previous night. Rey said it was fine. They had both been exhausted. Luckily the bites were minor, only causing irritation. Apparently there were two wards around the house, a bigger one to stop the really powerful monsters and a smaller one for tiny nuisances.

That day was the laziest Rey had spent as Zaria's guest. All they did was sleep, wake up to eat and go back to sleep. Sometime during the day Zaria must have fixed the wards because Rey had a wonderful seep.

She came down the next morning to a scrumptious breakfast and some welcome news.

Soon they would be leaving for Stormness.