to Walk on Water || NaNoWriMo 2023

Chapter 5 | The Lighthouse

"So, that were all the craftsmen inside the village. There are a few farms further away and some lumberjacks inside the forest that come here from time to time. But you will most likely not meet them in the near future."

They had walked through the entire village, and stopped by every house so Jonas could tell him something about the inhabitants. Almost all of that was gossip, that would sometimes date back as far as a hundred years. It truly was a gift to remember everything so effortlessly for him.

And now they were finally walking the path to the lighthouse.

It was beautiful. Though most humans wouldn't think about it like that. They would think it was an eerie place that should be avoided at all costs. It was only natural for non-magical creatures to avoid all places surrounded by magic. That was the best defence mechanism in the world.

The trees surrounded the path in every direction. And with the constant turning, it was effectively impossible to see the village after walking only a few metres. Though if that was all, most humans around this side of the world wouldn't think too much of it. Places like that were quite a common occurrence here.

So that wasn't the reason why Jonas almost immediately stopped talking when they left the town. It had more to do with the tree branches, they appeared to be everywhere; and even though your brain knew they were unable to move, you would think they were approaching you. Trying to capture you, and drag you into the depths of the forest. Never to be seen again.

But these weren't that uncommon either. People disappearing like he had, and never to be seen again, which luckily didn't include him, happened from time to time.

It had mostly to do with the fact that it was dark. Barely any light could fall on the path, because of the branches.

Over the years the trees had grown till the top parts were touching, entwined. After that, the trees from both sides of the path became one. Intertwining at every opportunity, till it was impossible to tell one tree apart from the next.

Now they had formed an impenetrable arc that reached from the beginning till the end of the road. Though there were still some parts where light was able to touch the forest floor, it did absolutely nothing to erase the eerie feeling the surroundings gave.

Fortunately for Jonas did the forest know not to mess with an ancient warlock, and it stayed out of their way.

After an awkward walk of around thirty minutes they left the forest and reached the dunes. Now that the oppressive feeling of the surrounding forest had disappeared Jonas was again more than willing to fill the silence with mindless chatter.

"So... I did read your name on the form that the committee sent. But..." He trailed for a second time. Clearly unwilling to ask the obvious question he had.

"Hiem, you can call me Hiem." The short answer was the push Jonas apparently needed to really start talking.

Though the warlock didn't really listen.

"Well Heim, that's a beautiful name. Hopefully you can make it a reality here with your daughter. For that you'll need something or someone else. And—"

The warlock had since long stopped listening. If he wanted to preserve his sanity in this remote place, that was a skill he would need to cultivate once again. Because it had become clear that Jonas wouldn't leave him alone in the foreseeable future. He was already missing the quietness he had had during his lone journey. Though it was a lot safer to just endure the rambling sound.

And now that they had reached the lighthouse, he could finally calculate how long it would take to turn the ruin into a livable environment.

You couldn't see through the tower so that was a relief, but the roof of the house was gone. And if the smell was any indication, then there was wildlife living in it.