Chapter 194: A Child’s Present

Alice and the girl stared at one another for minutes. Slowly, the girl calmed herself down until she could talk, but it didn’t ease her fear. Her body still trembled. "Who.... what are you?" With a whisper, she asked and tensed up when Alice opened her mouth.

Slamming a hand on her chest, Alice proudly smiled, "Alice." With a smile, she waited for the girl to say something back. When nothing came, Alice opened her eyes and looked at her, seeing the girl frozen in shock. With a deep sigh, Alice shrugged and leaned foward, making the girl lean back. "Anyway, whose this child you spoke of?"

"What?"

"The Child, the Old One." Alice huffed in annoyance. "You were speaking about it with the others you came with. So tell me already. Where can I find him?" The girl stared at Alice in utter confusion, her fear slowly being replaced by it.

"You’re." The girl paused and looked down at the ground. "You’re not the Child?"

"I’m Alice. I already told you that." Jumping up, she kicked the mud in annoyance. "The Child. Where is he?"

"In the Resting." The girl said with a terrified voice, not directed towards Alice but at the place itself. "Forgive me. Protect me. Lord Raven, please forgive and protect." Alice stared in confusion as the girl prayed for protection, her shaking voice finding a strange power as if she called out to her father for help.

"Lord Raven." Crouching down, Alice leaned in closer, breaking all personal space, and stared deep into the girl’s eyes. "Is he an Old One as well?"

"NO!" Screaming back, the girl quickly lowered her head and profusely apologised, "Lord Raven protects us. He shields us from the horrors." Simply thinking about Lord Raven made the girl more confident, finally stopping the shaking of her pupils when she met Alice’s gaze. "The world is IT’S, and we are permitted to live by IT."

"Oh." With excitement, Alice grabbed the girl’s shoulders. Underneath the fur of the animal she wore, Alice could feel her thin shoulders. "This IT. Is it an Old One as well? This is so cool."

Shaking in absolute terror, one she didn’t even show when she saw Alice, the girl lifted her hand, her finger digging deep into her grey hair as she breathed rapidly. "IT is beyond us all. The Eldest, we must honour and fear it. For it owns all." Alice’s smile grew wider, hearing about it.

’The power throughout the land. If this thing owns all, then maybe that’s what she means. Fascinating.’

"MALISA!" In the distance, a shout echoed throughout the forest. The girl jumped up and turned around, and Alice followed the source of the shout, seeing a few torches in the distance. Like a hare, the girl ran off towards the voice, crying, and quickly latched herself to the leg of the largest man in the group, the man comforting her before pulling her off his leg and hitting the back of her head.

Alice slowly walked foward and looked at the men. Much like the children, they had skin that was more grey than white, but were all much larger, made of pure muscle. Four held bows, two held a sword, and finally one in the group, an old man with white hair from age, had nothing; his hands placed behind his back, holding himself up straight.

"LORD GOODSON!" One of the men called out, seeing Alice, and raised a bow towards her. The rest quickly followed suit, pointing their weapons as the old man walked foward, his eyes incredibly calm. Raising one hand from behind his back after getting a good look at Alice, the rest of the group lowered their weapons.

"Those robes." Rubbing his long beard, he looked like a hardened scholar, his eyes full of wisdom with a deep calmness in them, yet his hands calloused and muscular, strange for a man his age. "You are a Magi child?"

"Yeah." Alice smiled, "I’m Alice and...." Looking around, even up into the trees, Alice couldn’t help but frown when she didn’t see Chesh. "My friend is somewhere; she likes to run off, though."

"I see. Unfortunately, I cannot spare resources to find her; however, did you come from the hut deeper in the forest?" Alice nodded, and quickly the old man looked behind him at the group.

"At daybreak, take a team and destroy the hut; make sure the door is completely destroyed." The team nodded, and the old man looked back at Alice. "Forgive me, young Magi, but these lands have rules. Magi are not allowed to be here, at least not without permission. Your arrival was not meant to happen unnoticed."

"Why?" The old man narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Because your kind brings danger with it. An endless greed for knowledge threatens to reveal the horrors of this land. However, we have no means to force you home. Come, it is dark, and the forest is not a place to be exploring at night." Signalling for the group, the old man forced the rest of the group to begin their return home. Turning around, the back of his white robes bore a coat of arms: one of five stick figures holding hands around a fire. Alice followed behind, staring at the man, occasionally peeking towards the rest of the group.

"You’re in charge here, right?" Alice asked, finally gathering her thoughts.

"Yes. Ludwig Goodson."

"The girl was saying some interesting things. The Old Ones. My teacher taught me a lesson on them, saying they were God-like beings. Tell me, what are they?"

"Will it sate your curiosity?" The old man asked, making Alice rapidly nod. With a sigh, he rubbed his beard before placing his hands behind his back. Alice focused on him, and finally she noticed the strange feeling from within him. Much like the lands around, there was the same strange power inside of him, but it didn’t feel as corrupted. Reaching out, she touched him, and the old man quickly caught her hand and pulled it away.

"Do not touch without permission, child." Scoffing, he shook his head, "Always restless for knowledge, your kind."

"I feel power within you."

"I am a warden of these lands. I must have the power to protect the people from its horrors. Do not pry further and be satisfied with that alone." Alice clicked her tongue but nodded and stared, waiting for him to answer her initial question. Seeing she was still expecting, the old man stared ahead.

"The Old Ones are beings we must worship. We can only hope to please them. But one must understand that they are neither benevolent nor just. They are icons of worship for the fear of what they may do should we not. I do not know what a God means to the Magi, but for those beyond the mountains, the Gods are protectors and guides. For us, our Gods are to be pleased and respected, but always feared." Alice nodded, taking the information into her heart and chuckled.

"But she called me The Child. How can a Child be a God?"

"The girl is young and stupid. She does not understand that The Child is not its true name and disrespects it with a false label, but that ignorance is the fault of her teachers. The Child she speaks of is really The Creature wearing a child’s skin." The old man took a deep breath, and through the forest Alice saw the lights of civilisation, a large town surrounded by large walls, at its centre a great keep of grey stone. "I shall give you a place to rest tonight. Do not travel beyond the walls of the village without permission."

"Where am I?"

"Those beyond the mountain call it the Deadlands, the new name, but before that it was another. Opias. The origins of the name were lost, but it is believed to be the name of a person." Staring at the town, the Old man smiled, "As for the town. A Child’s Present."

"A Child’s Present. It doesn’t sound like a name for a town."

"Settlement names differ here. It is a Child Present because it is the present of safety for children to grow up." Stepping into the town, Alice looked around with wonder. It was different to the other places she had been; each building was made of the hard black wood of the forest. No two buildings were identical; rather, each one had soemthing to make it stand out from the others. It was all minor, be it the wooden pillars carved to have patterns, plants hanging before the doors, or being left utterly bare but made to be small and comfortable on the eyes.

The ground was paved, and mixed between houses and shops, the occasional artwork added to brighten the town. It was quaint and inviting, bustling with noise, unlike the silence beyond the wall.

Alice followed as the old man led them deeper into the town, and before long, a large gathering of people stood, forming a circle. "Wait here." Bringing her to the front of the group, Lord Goodson stepped into the centre of the circle where the group of children knelt; behind them, their parents stood, hanging their heads low in shame.

Lifitng a hand, another person walked over, handing the old man a black cane and a large knife. Lord Goodson looked around, taking the two things before speaking. "Before us, we have numerous criminals. Now, the fault of children is not entirely their own, as they do not know better, but age is not an excuse. We have laws for a reason, and to ignore them is to place not just oneself but all in danger." The old man turned to the children, "Lift your hands."

None of them dared to disobey and quickly did so. With a deep breath, the old man raised the cane and brought it down on the first right hand, making them cry out in anguish. Just when the child pulled his other hand back, a stern glare forced him to hold it out again. Hitting the other hand, he went one by one, hitting both hands of the children.

"Let this be a warning to you." Looking at the children, he softly said, with a caring tone, "I do not punish because I enjoy it, but because you are fools who need to understand that what awaits beyond is far worse. Stories are all based on reality, and the horrors whispered at night by your parents are real. Go, get it treated."

The children quickly got up, running off into the crowd, jumping into random adults, crying, and the adults soothing them. Not one person looked at the old man with disgust for his actions, instead nodding in approval. Dropping the cane, the old man lifted the sharp knife.

Going behind the first, he grabbed their hair and pulled it up. Taking the knife, he placed it as close to the scalp without touching it and began to cut until they had a large bald spot atop their head. Like with the children, he went down the line of men and women until the last was left partially bald. "You are teachers and protectors. Do not make this mistake again. Sleeves. Pull them up."

Each one carefully rolled their sleeves up. Kneeling by their side, the old man placed the tip of the knife on the first arm and cut a small tally into it, deep enough so it would scar, before finally adding a cut that was nearly impossible to get naturally so it couldn’t be mistaken for a random wound. Again, he did it for the remaining. "For many of you, that is your first mark. Avoid getting more. Go."

Walking back to Alice, the old man indicated for her to follow. Looking at the men and woman, she shrugged and happily followed behind.