Whispers of the Mountain - Act 5

Enne walked in the dead of night; the unrelenting blizzard steadily blocked their exits. She descended the stairwell, glimpsing what little light remained retreated from the shadows. Once more, the single whisper guided her to the unknown. She wasn’t frightened by its sad tone. Another gust rattled the panels outside, overcoming the faint voice before it fell silent.

“Where did you go?” she whispered into the darkness.

There was no response. Enne summoned a small fireball as she fixated on the origins of the voice. It spoke once more once she reached the very bottom; This time, it was clearer than before. A child’s frightened voice whimpered beyond the door. Enne reached over, her hand trembling as it inched over.

“Please—” the young boy’s voice became more apparent.

Enne stopped.

She wasn’t sure whether she should open the door. Something wasn’t right. Her breath lingered in the frigid air. Why was it so much colder here than it was outside? Her ears perked to the sound of footsteps behind her.

“Please—save him.” The voice muttered as though losing its strength.

“Save... Who?” Enne asked, turning over to see the source.

Her eyes widened in horror. The orb she held revealed a lanky figure shambling toward her. Enne took a few steps back until her back pressed against the door. The rotting corpse of a young boy stood before her. His skin was pale and bloated beneath his tattered clothes. His lower abdomen was carved out with dangling organs he held close. While his other eye had decomposed, the other looked directly at her.

“Save my father,” he said.

Enne awoke in a cold sweat, immediately fighting back her tears.

The wind intensified by shrieks and distorted cries. The sudden shift came with a crash from behind the slumbering couple. Soon after, the wanderer awoke startled by the violent weather. Before he could move, Enne pressed against him, keeping her finger over his parched lips. Her gray eyes remained on his while her shifting ears picked up sounds in the chaotic weather.

Heavy footsteps followed the low-rumbling snarls of a creature unbeknownst to them.

A sudden slam against the barred door knocked over the furniture and fixtures. The creature sought warmth from the blistering cold as the snow blew into the lounge area. The wanderer listened to its indiscernible growls. It wasn’t from any animal he’d encountered. Enne didn’t dare look over the relative cover of the couch while it shambled about. It let out an ear-piercing screech as it stumbled closer to the warmth of the light. Laced within its distorted cries was sorrow. Enne and Alejandro glimpsed the brightly-lit fireplace.

Not good, not good, the wanderer’s heart raced.

“Aren’t they supposed to be afraid of fire?” He whispered into her ear.

“Perhaps it knows we’re here,” she smiled.

“Why the hell are you smiling?”

Enne drew fire at the tip of her fingers and flung it at the lumbering beast. It thrashed about when the flames engulfed part of its body. It bellowed an angry howl. The lanky humanoid figure stood as high as the bar’s 10-foot ceiling. The fireplace revealed its sunken orange eyes; It let out another ear-piercing shriek from its disjointed overbite. It saw Enne and Alejandro looking over the couch from where it stood. The fire began to spread throughout the bar, to Enne’s audible dismay.

“T—that wasn’t part of the plan!” Enne took a few steps away from the couch.

“What do you think was going to happen?” Alejandro muttered.

The wanderer looked over as it stammered forward. He had never encountered one in his centuries of travel. He always thought them to be twisted fables of greed and hunger. The description was as clear as the illuminating flames showed. Its emaciated body inched closer. Enne dashed with a glowing chair leg while the wanderer remained captivated by the beast’s empty gaze.

Enne sprung from the top of the couch and readied a swing from her meager weapon. The flames surged throughout the chair leg, transforming it into a large, flaming claymore. The heavy blade struck into the beast with enough force to knock it back. Enne followed up with a swift sweep as she swung her weapon with a single hand. The seamless combination cut deeply into the wendigo. Somehow, it remained unphased. She stood in awe, keeping a distance as it staggered forward.

“Aw, hell,” Enne gasped.

“Fire, En,” Alejandro called her attention. “We need to set it on fire!”

The wendigo fixated on the wanderer as he charged a fireball from his palm. The wanderer was surprised by its sudden speed as it ignored Enne and went for him. Alejandro closed his eyes when its blood-stained jaws drew near. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see his companion hold off the creature. Enne trembled as she looked over.

“C’mon, now’s your chance,” she said. “We can envelop it with fire.”

Alejandro fired off a shot after Enne shattered the wendigo’s open jaws with a headbutt. It clutched its jaw while she followed up with her own orb. She shot it simultaneously with the wanderer’s second shot. The matted fur caught on fire, sealing its fate. The rest of the lodge had already become a searing hellscape. Their haven was compromised.

They grabbed as many of their belongings as they could. The entrance collapsed in their escape into the storm. Black smoke drifted into the wind while the lodge fell apart. Enne held the wanderer close as she thought about their deed.

The whisper echoed, though Enne was the only one to hear it. She recalled what the child had said to her. Alejandro noticed her distress as she let him go. He watched as she walked toward the burning building.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

“I’ll be back,” she replied. “There’s something I have to do.”

A shriek pierced the roaring flames. The wendigo burst through the lodge’s faltering walls. It landed across from them, revealing its charred and bloodied body. The wanderer refrained from acting while she stepped forward. The beast towered over the half-elf.

“En?” The wanderer called. “Hey!”

Enne picked up a broken branch by her feet, infusing it with mana. It transformed into a fiery javelin after its mass increased. The wendigo charged with a grueling cry. She froze upon hearing the horrific sounds of lost souls it consumed. The child’s whisper sunk into her consciousness.

“Focus,” Alejandro yelled.

He summoned a sword at the beast, absorbing the embers into the blade. He pivoted against a tree stump to deliver an overhead strike. Instead of striking down the wanderer, it flinched to block its face. Alejandro scrambled away to create space between them. Enne observed their spar. Her hands trembled as she slowly postured a strike from her lance. She had to set them free.

Her chest didn’t feel as tight as it usually would. Now was her chance. Enne dashed toward them while the javelin glowed from a crimson red to a cold blue. The wendigo turned when she neared. In its sudden shift, the spear missed and pierced its lower abdomen. It let out its pained shriek as Enne continued driving it through the snow and into the burning building.

“Enne!” Alejandro shouted, running after her until the roof collapsed.

Enne had tumbled toward the stairwell, stricken with pain. She slumped onto her knees while the beast recovered. It snapped off the branch from its abdomen. The fire illuminated its menacing orange eyes as it paced toward her. She slipped away from its wall-crushing strike. Her body banged against the cold metal and wall before her tumbling descent. The doorway collapsed.

“Fuck,” Enne took a deep breath as she leaned against the wall. She looked toward the blocked doorway. “That won’t hold him.”

Debris flew around when it burst through. She quickly descended toward the level below as it jumped next to her. Enne ducked another strike when she slid under it. The corridors became too narrow in her desperate escape. She panted while scrambling through the darkness; Its distorted growls echoed as it hunted her. The fire illuminating the end of the hallway cast shadows on the hunched-over pursuer. The door was within reach. Enne heard the whisper again.

When she reached the doorknob, she felt its talons slash against her back. Its force slammed her through the door. Enne recovered from the tumble and felt warm blood ooze down her back. The window broke past the small door frame, and even then, it was too tall to fit the room. Without a second thought, Enne summoned a bright orb. It revealed everything in the derelict room, including the mummified remains of a child’s body. The wendigo stopped short of reaching Enne as it looked over toward the cadaver.

It began to whimper. It spoke incoherently while shambling toward it. Enne observed silently. It cried lowly as the flames spread throughout the nearby rooms. The beast clutched it close when it kneeled beside the cadaver. Its cry slowly became more human-like. Enne knew what she had to do as her hands reached a nearby object. Mana coursed through it, changing its properties. It looked over its shoulder but didn’t act when she stood behind it. She held a heated dagger.

Enne dealt the killing blow.

Blood splattered against the mummified remains. Its breathing became weak as it reached for the hot object that pierced its chest. It cried its distorted tune once more before it became the cries of a man. Slowly, he shed its monstrous form.

All that was left was the man’s charred body collapsed onto the cold ground. Enne listened to the struggling breath of the dying man as she kneeled over. Even when he collapsed, he held onto the remains of his child. The man’s eyes returned to normal, but his body was beyond saving. Enne quickly realized who the man was as he coughed up blood. She heard Alejandro’s voice call from beyond the flames.

“T—thank you,” the man said.

“Are you... The man who went missing?” she asked. “You killed them, didn’t you? Why?”

“I—I had no control,” he wheezed with every word. “A landslide covered our cabin. There was no way to get out. We were trapped. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want—to die.”

Enne closed her eyes to the disturbing thought.

“I need to answer for my sins,” he coughed more blood. “I’ve been stuck... In that body, for I don’t know how long.”

He began to cry.

“My son died from hunger... So I ate him. I killed their mother, my wife... In front of her. That’s the last thing she saw.”

Enne saw his finger point at the body.

“Enne,” the wanderer emerged. Tears rolled down her face as she acknowledged him. Alejandro bided his tongue when he walked over to see the wendigo’s true identity: a regular man who feared death. Neither could comfort him in his final moments. They watched him take his last breath. The roaring flames overlapped with Enne’s cry as the wanderer closed the eyes of a dead man. He looked toward his companion and wiped her tears in a silent gesture of solidarity. He noticed something clung to his waist, a strange necklace that stood against his ghastly body. He took it and inspected it. Enne leaned over to see.

“That matches the description from Robert,” she said as he handed it to her. “But why does he have it?”

“Like he said, he was trapped in that body,” he answered. “We did what we had to.”

“I know, I know... May he find peace.”

Alejandro rubbed the back of her shoulder, consoling her as she stood pitying the dead father. When they left, they watched the lodge’s slow collapse. The glowing flames revealed her dried tears. When she shifted her gaze at the wanderer, the whispers finally went away.