Chapter 17: Liam's POV

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During the original first period of shock we just hung there in silence, trying to process what had just occurred. Then, as if all four of us came to our senses at once, all hell broke loose.

"Ow, that's my leg!" "No, this is my arm!" "You're hurting me!" "Stop, that tickles!" "Amber, get your spikes off of me!" "Where's my tail?!"

I had ended up unfortunately on the bottom of the dog pile, but fortunately on my stomach, my face facing the ground. Once we all registered that we had been caught up in a huge net, most likely hanging from a tree, we all began to fight for control of our limbs.

"Everyone calm down!" I yell, but to no avail. "For goddesses sake…" I mutter to myself as my cheek gets smashed farther into the rough rope of the netting.

Suddenly, movement catches my eye. I stare down, trying to get a good look at it. I squint but it's hard to see anything with the shaking of my friends above me. Then, I see him. He walks toward our sack of bumbling idiots with calmness and clarity.

"Shh! Shh! Shut up, shut up!" I whisper harshly at the pile of my comrades. At hearing my tone of voice they begin to quiet down. I watch him, staring him down as he moves to stand a few feet from under us. He never raises his head, but he raises his hand towards us, lazily swiping it through the air. I scrunch my face up in confusion until I'm no longer in the net.

In the blink of an eye I'm hovering an inch above the ground, right at the man's feet. I stare at the lush, green grass in front of my face, unable to process what just happened. Then I suddenly dropped, falling straight into my nose. I grunt as I attempt to stand, realizing how sick I feel. I close my mouth tight, trying to keep myself from throwing up. It does work.

Once the contents of my stomach are settled a few feet away, I try to find my footing. I'm shaky and unstable, my head swimming and the earth seeming to spin around me. I glance up at my friends, three pairs of eyes looking down at me. Kate is now at the bottom on her back, Reid laying on his stomach over her legs, and Amber draped over the both of them. I focus back on the man, trying to get a good look at him.

In truth, it's hard. One minute he seemed to be a man, the. You would blink, and his face would morph into that of a woman's. Then an old lady, then a teenager, then a middle aged man. It happened so gradually you almost couldn't notice it. But everything you tried to focus on one part of his face, another part would change. He (is he even a he?) Would be one person, yet another at the exact same time. His height, build, face and weight changing yet staying the same. I decide to stop focusing so hard when my head is already spinning.

"Who- what- how did you…?" I start.

"Eat this." Their voice changes with every passing face, but it stays the same still. This person is too confusing for my small mind. "A person's first teleportation can make you feel sick. This helps." In the person's outstretched hand is what looks like a piece of jerky. I take it, and cautiously take a bit off the corner. It tastes like nothing, but rather gives off feeling. A feeling of warmth, home, belonging. I eat the rest.

"Come." The person turns and begins walking into the forest. I glance back at my friends, their eyes wide, not knowing what to say. Kate's eyes tell me, "don't go! He's dangerous!" Reid's eyes tell me, "be careful. Don't get hurt." And Amber's say "do it!"

"Are you coming? Unless you don't wish to get your map back…" the person looks over their shoulder, and waves a piece of parchment over their shoulder. I hurry to follow.

They take me deep into the forest, the trees growing larger, the gaps in between them bigger. I stare in wonder at the canopy, the intertwining leaves an impossible height away. I run my hand along a stretch of bark, the trunk thicker around than a school bus. Eventually, I take notice of a building sitting on the side of one of the great trees. I feel like an ant among giants. The person leads me to the building, the house obviously having been made crudely.

They lead me up a series of boards sticking out of the side of the vast bark. They are positioned so every step I take is a step up. I unsteadily, and cautiously, make my way up towards what I assume is my guide's house. Once we reach the building, I'm able to take it in. The main area of which I stand on is a large patio-like place, open and flat. Various tables and shelves are pushed against the waist-high railing. Two individual roofed areas are on the two sides across from me. One's door is open, revealing what looks to be a store room. The other door is firmly closed.

The person moves about the area, pointing to a small tree stump in the corner. I move to sit on it. I watch in wonder as they take potions and bottles, random plants and herbs, mixing and mushing and cutting. They flip through countless books, reading and muttering under their breath.

"You're a sorcerer." I say with astonishment. My host only grunts in response. "We had one on the council but she wasn't as…" I trail off.

"Powerful?" The sorcerer finishes for me. "Yeah I know. I've had time to practice. Anyway, here's your map." As they rush by, a parchment falls out of their cloak, landing by my feet. I quickly snatch it up.

"Um, well, if that's all then I should be going-" I move to stand up but falter as a hand grabs my arm.

"Not yet." The constantly changing eyes of my host bore into me. "It's not time yet. If you leave now…bad things. Very bad things." Then, they're off again. I slowly lower myself back down onto the stump.

"Hey," a whisper floats into my ear. I jump, looking to the tree on my left. A squirrel clings to the bark looking at me.

"Hi…?" I raise a hand awkwardly. The squirrel breathes heavy, its eyes darting about, its nose quivering, its tail flicking.

"Bad bad bad bad. Very bad. Future bad. You bad luck. Bad bad luck." I unconsciously rub one of my bandaged cuts.

"W-what?" And then the squirrel was off, skittering away. Of course it was in my sights for a while, the tree so big it's curve took many leaps and bounds for the squirrel to even start to disappear. I look back to spot the sorcerer standing near the shit door.

"Liam Emmerson." I sit straighter, now and high alert that they know my name. I feel the familiar feeling begin to bloom in my chest. "The future of your quest will be hard. But you already knew that of course. You must be careful. Never underestimate anything, for one of you will never live to see the queen rise again." Immediately my stomach drops to the ground. I clench my fist as anxiety blossoms in my entire body, making my limbs go weak.

No, no, no, no. That can't happen. It won't. I won't let it.

I look up as the sorcerer makes their way towards me. They produce a knife from their cloak. I tense, but relax after seeing that they're offering it to me, not threatening me. I take it gently.

"Take it. It's yours." 

"Are you giving this to me to protect myself? To defend myself against the evils of this world? So I can go on to save those who-" they cut me off.

"It's to cut your friends loose. Bon voyage!" And then they were gone.

In a daze I make my way back from where I had come. Somehow I found my way back to friends, though how I did I didn't know. As I draw near I hear them call out in relief at seeing me.

I somehow get them loose, though there were a lot of grunts and yells of pain on the way down. We decided it would be best to camp right there, due to the steadily lowering sun. As soon as we got settled around the campfire, I told them what had happened with the sorcerer.

"What? One of us won't…one of us is going to die?" Reid chokes out, his voice constricting.

"We can't trust the words of a stranger." Kate forces out through clenched teeth.

"Well we can't exactly dismiss them either." Amber offers.

"Look, guys." I lean forward, the air around the camp growing thick and heavy. "I think you all know how dangerous this quest is becoming. I'm just starting to realize it myself. This is a lot more serious than we originally anticipated. This isn't what you signed up for. Now if any of you want to back out, I understand. But now would be the time to-" Im unable to finish my sentence.

"No." Kate says curtly, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere either." Reid says in a small voice.

"You still need a ride, don't ya?" Amber pushes me playfully with her tail.

"We signed up to help you. That's what we're gonna do." Kate says, leveling her gaze on me. Reid and Amber nod. I try not to let tears form but it's hard.

"Thank you guys. So much. I couldn't do this without you. And I'm going to be better. I'm going to be more careful and take this quest more seriously." I tell them. My heart swells with pride. What did I do to deserve friends so amazing?

"Welp, I don't know about you guys but I'm craving some sleep. Nothing like a heartfelt moment and a looming death omen to put you right to sleep!" Amber announces, laying her head down. The rest of us laugh, moving to make our own sleeping arrangements.

I lay down, looking up at the thick canopy. I don't care what happens, what we face or who we fight. I will not let anything happen to my friends. I made that mistake before. Never again. I'm no longer going to be the naive pushover. I'm acting King. So I need to start behaving like one. I let my eyes flutter closed as I drift off into my dreams.

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Word count: 1854

SoooOooOoo how'd we like it? Theories? Thoughts on characters? The "looming death omen"???? I love to hear them as always!!!

(Sorry for the delay)

Cya lovelies next week!