Charon’s eyes widened before he squinted, noticing the features and rembering who they belonged to.
"Erius?"
His roommate frowned, looking down at the blood dripping off his robes with disgust, but it felt different to Charon. Not that Erius couldn’t stand the blood itself, but only the fact that it dirtied his clothes.
"Where are we?"
Charon glanced from the swords to the corpses, noticing how savage the cuts were. Guts and organs were scattered about. One of the dogs was evenly bisected down the middle.
"The River Acheron, it’s a realm for undead souls."
Erius casually nodded, flinging his swords to get them a little cleaner.
"I rember you ntioning it before."
The man approached, his blades still unsheathed and held threateningly.
"So why don’t you do a favor and explain what the hell is going on?"
Gone was the usual smile Erius had; in its place was a firmness Charon had never seen before. The look in his eyes was not kindness, but purpose.
Erius was willing to kill Charon if he thought he was an enemy.
Charon backpeddled, raising his hands defensively.
"I don’t know! You aren’t even supposed to be here, the ritual was supposed to take !"
His words were erratic, but Erius responded only with calm calculation.
"You used an unsanctioned ritual in your room. When I heard it, I ca to investigate, and now I’m sucked to so alternate realm."
He stopped moving, staring at Charon with intensity.
"Who are you working for? The Church of Space? The Mind Mages? Or, perhaps, you’ve found yourself sympathetic to the Elves?"
Charon continued moving away, looking around frantically for so kind of escape. The groups Erius ntioned ant nothing to him, apart from the Elves, which only served to confuse him more.
Despite this, a part of his mind was calm, a little excited, even, to have a challenge.
’Legacy is built on challenges, not on stagnation.’
"None of those! The High Priest gave a book, and inside it was a ritual that told I could enter the River Acheron. I used it thinking I could co here and then leave, but now I’m stuck!"
If the words had any effect on Erius, he didn’t show it, instead raising his blades ever so slightly.
"If this is true, show the book. It should prove your innocence."
Happy to provide the evidence, even if it revealed one of his secrets, Charon jerked the vine around his back and hoisted the book over his shoulder, carefully extending it out.
"Here, take it. The ritual was on the third page."
Sheathing one of his swords, Erius took the book and gave it a quick glance before looking back at Charon. He then took a step back, followed by another, and another, until he built so distance.
Only then did he open it to the third page, studying the ritual for a few seconds before his eyes widened in shock.
"Where did you find this?"
Releasing a tense sigh of relief, Charon responded.
"The High Priest gave it to , like I told you. He ca to after I had received my elent, asked a riddle, and left that to."
A strange look passed Erius’ eyes, but it vanished quickly. With slow movents, he flipped his second sword and inserted it into the sheath at his belt, extending the book back to Charon.
"So you believe ?"
Erius scoffed, shaking his head and looking at the jungle surrounding them.
"I don’t have a choice. I can’t read the language, and your story is the only thing close to plausibility around here. The High Priest likes doing these things, ssing with the scales."
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Charon grabbed the book and put it back in his makeshift sling, giving Erius a sheepish smile.
"Why can’t you read the language anyway? It’s the normal tongue."
The corner of his roommate’s mouth tipped down, but it straightened quickly.
"The book is soul-bound. Only you and people bonded to you can read it. Only ancient books do that, and that’s one of the only reasons I can trust you."
Charon’s eyebrows raised.
"Why does it make you trust ?"
Erius walked by him, looking up at a tall tree a few miles away.
"Because no organization would give such a valuable book to soone as weak as you appear, and if you actually are strong enough to warrant such a relic, I’m a dead man anyway."
For reasons unknown, that made Charon chuckle.
With the danger gone, he allowed himself to relax. The adrenaline left his system, replaced with a strange discomfort in his back. It slowly grew before ballooning into a raging fire of agony.
Groaning with the sudden pain, he hunched over and weakly grabbed at his back. The wounds he sustained fighting the dogs felt worse than ever.
Erius, having turned to face Charon, moved closer with trepidation.
"Are you injured?"
A nod was the only response he received.
The man guided Charon to the ground, lifting his robe and inspecting the cuts.
"These aren’t looking good at all. We need to wrap them before they get infected. My father says it can kill you as fast as any predator."
Unable to focus through the pain, Charon barely noticed as sothing cool pressed against his back before moving to the cuts. The pressure made them hurt far more, his whole body shaking as his nervous system flared in protest.
Minutes passed before he settled down, the pain receding and being replaced with a dull ache.
Through it all, Erius stood over him, moving with purpose as he bandaged the wounds with a mixture of plants and cloth he tore from his own robe.
"Good, you managed to stay conscious. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to carry you."
His words were more emotional than before, a sign he was returning to his forr self. It wasn’t a complete shift, but it was a step in the right direction.
’Progress is progress. If Erius will trust again, or at least treat normally, then he can help find a way out of here.’
Although he doubted Erius would see it the sa way. Charon was glad that he wasn’t alone anymore. Surviving the River Acheron would be far easier with a skilled swordsman aiding him, not to ntion the magic knowledge he has.
’Until enough ti passes and he gets pissed off that we are missing school.’
That made the goal simple: escape before dawn. That gave Charon about eight hours to discover an exit.
"We need to reach the champion before more dogs co. I can handle a few at a ti, but a larger pack will kill us both."
Erius spoke quickly, pushing so more cloth scraps into his pocket and drawing one of his swords. With his free hand, he pulled Charon to his feet, giving him a once-over before nodding and beginning to half-walk, half-run through the tall grass.
"What’s a champion?"
Without stopping, Erius pointed above the canopy to a colossal tree in the distance.
It reached high into the clouds, with bark the color of ebony and leaves as black as coal. Twisting branches extended from its trunk, so huge they looked large despite being miles away.
It was so disturbing, Charon couldn’t help but be sarcastic.
’Of course we are going to the evil tree, why wouldn’t we? It’s not like this is a realm for the most powerful souls to walk the universe.’
The thought made him smile, even as his body ached.
Silence reigned as the two walked. Only the sounds of the jungle kept them company, sounds that Erius seed to be paying a lot of attention to.
Finally breaking the silence after what felt like hours, Erius held up a fist, stopping them both in their tracks.
Turning around, he motioned Charon closer and whispered in his ear.
"Do you hear that?"
Confused, Charon tried to hone in on what Erius was referencing.
Running water, chirping birds, and a howling wind were all he heard.
Erius saw his companion’s confused look and gave him an exasperated look.
"Listen to the water."
Taking the advice, Charon closed his eyes and ignored every sound but the water.
It was loud, thundering in a current sowhere to their left. It crashed and roared, like it was...
"A waterfall!"
Erius clamped a hand around his mouth, muffling any further outbursts.
"Quiet! Listen more, there’s sothing more."
Scrunching his forehead, Charon nodded and removed the hand, refocusing his efforts.
Sure enough, he heard another sound, faintly echoing in the sa direction as the water. It ca in intervals spaced only a second apart, a staccato rhythm. With each iteration, Charon felt he recognized it more and more, until it finally clicked.
"Is that... steel?"
Erius nodded, his expression grave.
"That’s steel striking steel."
Charon smiled widely, not noticing the fear on Erius’ face.
’That could an more people! They might know how to get out of here!’
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