Threads of Pale Flame

    Sean followed the staircase up, until it ended in another hatch. Blue light spilled through the cracks around it, along with voices. Flick’s shouts, Corvane’s angry caws, and the taunting laughter of children.

    He fumbled against the hatch stone with his free hand, pushing it in with enough force to make the door fly open rather than slide. From his position behind the sarcophagi, the torch’s light licked out into the burial chamber and onto the ongoing conflict.

    The wisps, in their fireball forms, were dive-bombing Flick. The woman had wrenched free a loose spike from the broken floor and was using it as a spear to fend them off. Based on the burns her clothes were sporting and the wildness in her eyes, it didn’t seem to be having much effect.

    Corvane, on the other hand, did seem to inspire some fear in the wisps. As he closed with one of Flick’s tormentors, the mote of blue flame shied away from his talons. The raven lacked the wisps’ agility, however, and it easily avoided him to resume its attack.

    Sean charged into the fray. He pulled his hatchet from his belt and brandished his torch ahead of him. One of the wisps veered off from its run on Flick, giggling as it strafed towards its new victim.

    He lashed out with his torch, the orange flames merging with the cold blue fire of the wisp. The creature shrieked, its child’s voice turning into something distinctly inhuman, and dispersed.

    “I got one!” He shouted over to Flick. He moved to help her with the other wisp when he felt a burning sensation at his thigh.

    The same wisp, now reformed as if nothing had happened, shot upward from branding his leg and through his shoulder. It scorched Sean’s flesh in a trail up his side. The pain forced him to drop the torch, the flame guttering as it impacted the damp stone floor.

    So sorry, just a little prank. A young girl’s voice echoed in his mind as it came at him once more.

     Blue flames quickly filled his vision, the wisp making a move towards his head. Sean instinctively brought his hatchet up to shield himself, knowing that it wouldn’t be an impediment to the malevolent creature. It was a surprise to him when, instead of his eyes being burned, the creature snarled and passed through his side.

    The burn was painful but this time he’d been expecting much worse, so he managed to keep ahold of his weapon. The dull grey of the iron head sitting squarely in front of his face gave him an idea.

    “Corvane!” He shouted. “Are the wisps still trailing those threads?”

    “They are, Successor.” The raven replied, chasing the wisp harrying Sean off for a heartbeat.

    “Show me where they lead!”

    The raven turned in the air and beat towards one of the sarcophagi. Sean followed, flailing with his hatchet in an effort to keep the wisp trailing him away. He grimaced as he heard Flick yelp behind him in pain now that Corvane was no longer giving her cover.

    If the sarcophagus had a lid at some point, it was gone now. The sight within the engraved stone box made Sean shiver. Embraced by the stiff cold arms of an ancient corpse was a young girl, no more than ten, with her mother’s red hair mixing with the lank grey tresses of her captor. She was unmarked, but her skin was ashen and her sleep clearly troubled.

    “The thread terminates here.” The raven landed on the corpse’s withered skull.

    Sean swung his hatchet hard where Corvane had directed just as the wisp behind him passed through his chest. The weapon crushed through the brittle bone and clanged loudly against the stone beneath, momentarily drowning out Sean’s cry of pain. That cry was soon matched by an unearthly screech that filled the air as the skeleton burst into cold blue-white flame.

    Before he slumped against the side of the sarcophagus in pain, Sean pulled the girl up and away from the fire. The hatchet was forgotten and he didn’t even notice Flick run up and take it from him. Guided by Corvane to finish their task, she quickly elicited another scream as she exorcised the second wisp.

    Sean sat there, panting, with the still sleeping girl in his arms. He was surprised, more than anything, that they’d managed to actually rescue the siblings. He’d assumed the worst when they’d started into the crypt, but it had all worked out. The relief he felt at that mixed with pride in their success to dull the ache in his chest as Flick flumped down next to him.

    “Well look at you, lad, you’re a proper knight now.” She said, her voice tired. “You’ve even rescued your first damsel.”

    “I did indeed.” Sean replied. “And I managed to save a little girl too, while I was at it.”

    That drew a pained chuckle out of Flick. “I’d give you a right good wallop, but my hands are full at the moment.”

    “Probably for the best.”

    The woman looked at him. “That was a bit of a tight spot for a while there. How did you know what to do?”

    “Where I’m from, there are a lot of stories about spirits that are vulnerable to iron. That’s all they are though, stories – there aren’t any wisps running around that I’ve ever heard of, so I wasn’t sure it would work.”

    Sean rolled his shoulder, wincing as the burned skin flaked off to reveal pink flesh beneath the hole in his shirt. “It seems to have done the trick though. I guess that means I should keep my hatchet handy in the future.”

    Corvane landed on Sean’s shoulder. He could see the raven eyeing a spot on his head.

    “You’re bleeding,” The raven observed. There was no elaboration.

    “Seems to be the order of the day.” Sean replied. “First Flick’s shortcut, then a fall, and now a burn or two.”

    Corvane sat silently for a moment. “Successor,” he began, “While I stand by my opinion that you risked yourself unnecessarily, I applaud the result. This outcome will place you in good stead with the people of Greenbough.

    “Thanks, Corvane, I couldn’t have done it without you and Flick.” He paused. “Is it weird that I’m actually really hungry right now?”

    “Nay, lad.” Flick said with a smirk. “It’s a normal state of affairs after a long day of heroism.”

    Sean gave her a smile in return, standing carefully. “Is that so? Well then, how about we go see if heroes eat for free?”