Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

The Trapped Spirit (II)

The new corrupted spirit was especially cruel. He had already tortured two of his brothers to death, little by little. He had made them suffer, and had enjoyed the pain inflicted.

"Who's next?" he asked mockingly.

While cowering inside their cages and trembling, the surviving spirits didn't even dare to look, and Pikshbxgro was one of them. They didn't have the courage to face their fears, they were too young, innocent, and inexperienced. Their only job had been to roam and play in the forest.

Suddenly, Pikshbxgro felt his cage move. He panicked and moved frantically to avoid being hit by the bars.

"Hahaha. It's so funny to watch you dance," the corrupted spirit ridiculed him. "You'll be next."

The young spirit didn't know what to do. In that situation, he wasn't even able to think, since panic had taken hold of him. All he understood was that his end was drawing near, a terribly cruel end.

Suddenly, noises were heard and his jailer released the prison, which kept floating where it was.

"Dammit. What's happening?" the jailer cursed.

Shortly after, the corrupted bear that was supposed to guard the entrance crashed heavily against the ground.

Immediately, from out of nowhere, a feline pounced on the bear. All the spirits had their eyes shining. It was the first time they had seen a living being in many weeks.

Several arrows hit the bear while it was fighting with the feline. Soon, it was subdued and disappeared.

The spirits smiled slightly when they saw its soul being released. They were also looking at the feline carefully.

The feline turned toward the entrance, and approached a blonde-haired, blue-eyed elf who emerged from the tunnel. Her silhouette was somewhat fuzzy, as she was a visitor, but much clearer than others they had encountered in the past. She was wielding a bow that looked incredibly beautiful to them. Not only it seemed to be made of plants, but it exuded a pleasant and warm energy, that of nature itself.

The corrupted spirit moved around her, outraged. He wanted to attack her, but didn't dare to approach. Not only was he incapable of harming a living being on his own, but the aura emanating from that bow, the armor, and the elf herself repelled him.

"There is something strange here," the elf said aloud.

It seemed that she could perceive the corrupted spirit, but not see it clearly. She frowned for a moment, before a column of white light surged around her, coming from a spell called Light Pillar.

The spell reached her and the feline, but didn't do them any harm. However, it wasn't the same for the unsuspecting corrupted spirit. The purifying power of that light was his nemesis, one of the few powers that could damage him and send him to nothingness.

He disappeared without a trace. He was unable to even curse the bad luck of being hit by an area spell when they couldn't even see him.

"What's this?" asked the elf after approaching Pikshbxgro's cell.

The elf could see the cell, but the interior was blurry, as she couldn't make out the spirit. She brought her hand closer in order to touch it, but was quick to withdraw it.

"It's very... unpleasant," she complained.

Then, she took up the dagger to inspect the bars of the small cage with it, but the weapon simply went through them.

She frowned again and looked at the feline. Then, she ran a hand over the dagger, so infusing it with an aura that was as pleasing to the spirit as that Light Pillar that had appeared earlier.

After that, she tried the bars again with the dagger, now with Purifying Touch, and the result was quite different. The bars were blurred when contacting the dagger, as they were being purified by it. Soon, one of the walls had disappeared.

Suddenly, the presence in the cage pounced on the elf, without her being able to clearly see what was happening. Yet, something was touching her, she could feel it, despite not being there physically, despite seeing it from a computer screen. She attributed it simply to being immersed in the game, without even giving it importance.

Little by little, the figure was outlined, as if it were a sketch that was being shaped. And it didn't take long for the elf to distinguish the silhouette of the spirit, which was crying in her embrace.

"Who're you?" she asked curiously.

"I'm Pikshbxgro," he replied, while looking at her with his transparent eyes.

"Hi Pikgro. I'm Goldmi. Do you know what's happening here?" she asked him.

"The bad guys locked us up. They want to do bad things to us. Omi, you have to break free my brothers. If you use the column of light, it'll be perfect. It doesn't hurt us."

The elf didn't hesitate, either because she trusted the spirit or because she understood it as a game's mission. She cast Light Pillar on the other cages, which disappeared. The presences that came out of there were barely visible to the elf, as she could only see Pikshbxgro.

They left the cave behind the elf, as they feared to meet other corrupted beings. And, when they reached the exit, they encountered a terrible scene.

The fairies the elf had come with were outside. They had defeated the other corrupted beings as soon as they had appeared. But, before falling, they had thrown a dark stone, from which emanated a substance that was damaging the forest.

They didn't have enough power to contain it, and the newly arrived spirits looked at it in anguish. Even Goldmi's Light Pillar was insufficient, as were her Nature Walls and other spells.

"Pikshbxgro can help Omi," Pikshbxgro offered suddenly.

The elf looked at him, and didn't hesitate to nod. The spirit came closer, and it was then that their souls became synchronized. She felt a communion with nature, a sensation that she would soon forget, but whose hazy memory would accompany her for a long time.

She joined the efforts of the fairies with the mighty forces of the jungle to combat that power that was threatening them. Those forces couldn't be fully invoked without the communion of a spirit and a being of flesh.

It wasn't easy. Many plants sacrificed themselves to stop and purify the threat, which, if ignored, could cause devastating damage. Finally, after being contained, several Light Pillars finished purifying the heart of that evil, so discovering a huge gem that had been stolen and corrupted long ago.

The elf didn't hesitate to return it to the fairies, despite its value. Due to that gesture, the fact of having obtained the recognition of a spirit, and having helped save the jungle, she was recognized as a Friend of Fairies.

And since fairies considered her as a sister ever since, and spirits consider themselves the children of fairies, she was soon called Aunt Omi.

That title didn't contribute anything, except for being able to see the spirits, especially Pikshbxgro, who appeared every time the elf walked near his area, in the game, either to play or simply to be with her.

When the visitors disappeared, the spirit felt a deep emptiness and sadness. He believed that he would never see her again. Until she appeared again, to save him and the "one-horns."