Arthas Chapter 2

Chapter 2
The Unforgettable
Discovery

Arthas woke up the next morning, in a chair, again. His back ached from the hard surfaces he had laid on throughout yesterday and the day before. He felt somewhat colder; probably because the fire was out, and the wood was now a pile of ash. The glass from the liquor bottle was still there, but was incredibly warped by the fire. He could smell something coming from the kitchen. He heard something being fried. He heard the sizzling of something, but he could not recall the smell.
Arthas did not feel comfortable in his clothes. They felt crusty and encrusted with dirt. Arthas got up out of his chair and began walking towards the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes while walking, and yawned. He felt dizzy, but that was probably from getting up so quickly after waking up. The smell became stronger, and the sounds became louder. The kitchen was filled with smoke, but yet it was a bit cool. A window was open, and cold air came through it. Don’t tell me he’s ‘experimenting’ again. Arthas rolled his eyes. Magni had often tried to come up with a new food. A good recipe. A revolutionary food.
He heard coughing and heard the words, “So close...so close....”
Arthas made it into the kitchen to find where the source of the smoke was. It was Magni, working on something on the grill. He saw round circles on the small, simple grill that Magni had made himself, but since the smoke was a bit thick, he couldn’t see what they were.
“Good... ‘cough’...morning Dad.” He said.
Magni’s head turned to him and he waved at Arthas. “Mornin’.” He grabbed a circular disk with a handle and scooped the circles up, then flipped them over.
While Magni was doing whatever he was doing, Arthas sat down at the table, waiting for him to be done. Arthas thought of asking him what he was doing, but Arthas knew he would mess him up. He twiddled his thumbs, waiting. He heard the scraping of metal, and the sound of something sizzling. Arthas also heard something being taken off a hard surface and the sound of something sort of rattling. The smoke soon became accustomed to Arthas, and it did not bother him. The light from the one window lit the room, for it was a bright, white morning. White! It suddenly hit him. He jumped out of his seat and looked out the window. He flinched when the sudden burst of light went into his eyes, but he recovered, just like every person does. His face was cold all of a sudden, and very small things touched his face. “Snow.” It was winter, but it was so sudden. Just because it is winter doesn’t mean it snows the minute it starts. Or does it. He wondered. Every winter Arthas had been through, it had snowed spontaneously, but never snowed the minute it started. This was not out of the ordinary, but in another way it was. It was such a strange coincidence. He shivered from the cold, and immediately sat back down in his seat. The room was alot warmer, of course, and the smoke was thinning.
“Almost....there.....” He heard Magni growl faintly as if he were trying to moved something big and saying something at the same time. There was one final sound; It was the sound of things plopping onto a plate.
Arthas turned his head and saw Magni holding a saucer and waving his hand through the smoke.
“Perfection!” He said, clearing the smoke. Spiced wolf meat was set down on the table. A good amount of seasoning was spread around each piece of meat.
“This is great! It must have cost you a fortune!” Arthas said, taking the dinner knife out of Magni’s hand.
Magni sat down. “So, are you going to hunt today?” He asked.
“Hunting?” Arthas must’ve mistaken what he said. “Did you say, hunting?”
“Yes. Of course.” Magni sliced a piece for himself and ate it quickly. “Hunting. Today, you’re going hunting right?” He asked him.
“No! Absolutely not!” He said loudly, trying not to yell. “Why on Darwynn would I? It’s snowing out there!” He cried out, taking a bite.
Magni pointed a finger at Arthas. “Don’t yell at me!” He bellowed. Arthas became silent. “Why not? Just because it’s snowing doesn’t mean you can’t. I used to have to hunt all the time, no matter the weather, with the exception of a deadly storm.” He said.
“It’s too cold!” Arthas protested.
“That’s where coats come in.” Magni took another bite, then got up and closed the window. He locked the windows tight, and walked in and out of the room with cloths. While doing this he talked. “Arthas, this is very cold weather. I know. But I’ve had to live through this hardship. Back then, I had to get food for my family. Especially during winter. We could never save food, so we had to get it every time.” Magni sliced himself half of a piece of meat.
Arthas swallowed what he had in his mouth. “Alright. I’ll go. But you owe me.” He pointed a finger at Magni and chewed on a huge chunk of meat. “It’s almost a blizzard.”
Later, after finishing breakfast, Magni put on his winter clothes and said right before he walked out the door, “Good luck.”
“Luck hasn’t done me any good.” Arthas replied with a wisecrack tone. He switched his clothes out, and put on some new ones. These ones were for winter, including the boots. The gloves were of thick cow leather, and the clothes such as the pants and shirt were medium in thickness. His boots were thick, and went halfway up his shin. He wore a long scarf around his neck and mouth. He also had several other layers of clothes on following the first set of clothes. The majority of these extra clothes were old clothes in which he had grown out of over the years. But he made use of each of them.
He walked into his room and found it just how he left it. His bed was not made, his creations from the forge untouched, and so on. His bow was hanging up on the wall. It was a well-crafted bow made of mahogany, quite expensive if he were to sell it. His name was carved into it, and the string of the bow had never broken on him. His quiver was hanging right beside it. Its interior was wood, and exterior was of thick, brown leather that was bolted onto it. Inside, his arrows which he had used many times were still there.
“Well, here I go.” He put on his hand-stitched fur coat which he had gotten from Magni as a hand-me-down, and then slung his quiver over his back. He walked outside, and a cold wind exploded in his face. He turned around, closed the door, and locked it tight. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He said to himself. But it is necessary if I don’t want to starve. He thought.
He walked towards the woods, which led into the Olik Hills, where most people do not go. Why? He didn’t know, and he didn’t think he’d want to. Lots of game were in the woods, but Arthas was not sure if there was any at the time, since there was so much snow.
The trees were like towers, tall and wide. The canopy was a big white roof, and snow fell from it. Frost covered leaves hung from the trees and scattered over the ground. He walked through the woods, looking for any game. There was no success for the next hour, and that hour went ever so slow. Arthas didn’t know where he was. He was an hour’s walk into the woods. He had never gone this far and got lost! Ever! And to make things worse, everything looked the same! Where am I? Why did I walk so far without paying attention! I should have come up with a good reason why I shouldn’t go hunting! So many thoughts rushed in his head, becoming a sea of notions.
Suddenly, he heard something move. He swerved around in a complete circle checking the area. Nothing. He heard something move again, and he turned around again. Still nothing. Then, when it was heard for the third time, it angered him, and he looked in all directions. While looking down, he found a rabbit. A white rabbit; almost invisible because of the heavy snow. He quickly set an arrow in place and pulled the string back. He held it there for a few seconds, until a thought interrupted his movements. It was a rabbit. It wasn’t worth it. I would rather starve than kill something that cannot fight back. Honor comes first. He nodded to himself, and put the bow down. “Go now, my friend, for I will spare you your death.” Arthas said to the rabbit. The rabbit hopped along, and out of sight. Arthas once was an honor less brat when he was little, until his own self-taught morals came. Honor had lately always come first. He could not kill without honor. Killing the helpless was terrible to him.
He sat down and thought about his surroundings. The trees were scattered closely together. Where Arthas sat there were two trees beside him. It was a thick forest. “A buck or something has to come. I cannot kill a helpless little creature, so please give me something.” He said. Arthas didn’t know who he was talking to, but he didn’t care who was listening. He calmed himself, and his senses became a little sharper. The cold wind didn’t disturb him.
Suddenly, he heard something move. He stayed where he was, but his eyes darted in all directions. It did not take him long until he saw a branch that was far away, was moving a bit. A branch? He thought to himself. The sat there, staring at the branch until it moved forward. The color brown was seen behind the branch, and at that moment he realized it was no branch. It was an antler! Slowly, he stood up, and set his arrow in position. When he took a step, he stepped on a twig. The sound of it snapping made the buck canter. Arthas began running after it, swiftly sidestepping whenever a tree was in his way. The buck kept itself at a constantly fast pace.
They were racing through the forest, and so was Arthas’s mind. He had to catch it. He had to! He didn’t want to face starvation, nor the mighty power of Magni’s voice. They also couldn’t buy from the butcher because he had just lately broke his wrist from an unfortunate incident in the shop.
Arthas often ran into dead bushes and small twigs on trees that he broke off while running through. All this noise I’m making while chasing it isn’t working. He grasped the idea. Later, it became more of a hide-and-seek game. Arthas often hid behind the trees and bushes, trying to ambush the buck, and the buck was out of sight every once in a while. Stealth was the key, and Arthas did not use it often when he was hunting on other days.
About twenty minutes into chasing the deer, Arthas was led to a large group of deer. “This is turning out to be a good day.” He said quietly.
For the rest of the day he followed the deer, but not even once did he have a perfect chance. They moved too much, and Arthas couldn’t shoot them at night, since he would most likely wake them up while moving near them.
Arthas made camp a good distance away from them. Arthas gathered firewood and some stones to keep the fire from spreading. The snow had stopped falling, and no winds blew. It was a calm night, and it was a perfect time to light a fire. He began trying to create a few sparks from the flint he had with him, and eventually, he succeeded. The firewood he had was a bit wet, but they were dry after they were exposed to fire. The fire blazed well, and it was almost as high as his chest when he was sitting down. It melted the snow from about a foot radius. When he made his resting place, he laid down in it, and tried to go to sleep. Before he fell asleep, he noticed that the fire was so hot, that a stone that surrounded it began to glow a dim red color. This caught Arthas’s attention, but he was too tired to get up and probe over it. The glow seemed to be coming from inside the rock, like it was hollow or something.
“Strange but not important. At least for right now, I guess.” He yawned, and closed his eyes. The cold kept him awake for a few minutes, but then Arthas found a comfortable position and slept.
The next morning he woke up to the sound of hooves beating against the ground. The deer were already moving! He quickly grabbed his bow and quiver, but something stopped him before he began to run. It was the stone that glowed the night before. It had a crack in it. A very long crack that had not been there before. “This is a little unusual.” He took the stone and examined it. It was a little bit bigger than his hand, and the rock was colored like any other. He took the stone and dropped it into his sack which hung from his belt.
There was no snow falling that morning, but the cold air stayed. Arthas caught up to the deer, and began his hunt.
Later that day the deer stopped and grazed in a glade. Perfect! Arthas put the arrow onto the string of the bow and pulled it back as far as he could. Arthas was hiding behind a tree outside the glade, and previously was waiting for the right moment. He aimed the arrow at a fawn, and then made sure that none of the deer saw him. “Yes.” He let the arrow go, and it hit its target in the neck right below the jaw.
The fawn dropped to the ground with a cry, and the other deer panicked. They scrambled away from Arthas, and were out of sight in no time.
Arthas walked up to the corpse, with blood that stained the snow. “Yes! I did it!” He cried out in laughter. He picked up the corpse by the legs, and let the blood drain out of the corpse. The fawn was heavy, but was only about four feet tall on its hind legs. “Magni will be so happy when I walk in with this!” He smiled, and walked back the way he came by reading the marks he left behind on trees. His legs were scratched all over, and his arms itched. His muscles were a little numb from the cold, and he couldn’t feel his face. His hands burned from the cold snow, and his boots were wet inside and out.
The fawn soon became a simple burden, and he was able to walk normal. The fawn swung side to side and hit his back every once in a while.
He still wondered about the stone, though. Why did it glow last night? Why does it have a crack in it? Is this a stone? All these thoughts and questions flooded his head. He almost skipped a mark while thinking about the rock! This was distracting him from his goal to get home.
It was getting very dark by the time he reached a fallen tree he had seen the day before after spending an hour searching for game. “Time to make camp.” He said, and set the fawn down at his chosen site. He gathered firewood and other stones, but before he lit the fire, something stopped him. “The stone.” If fire changed it last night, it should glow tonight. The same should go for the crack. It should crack even wider or should be damaged somehow.
The threw the stone into the firewood and then lit the fire. After that, he put the fawn over the fallen tree and let the blood still flow out. He checked on the rock, but he couldn’t see it, for it was in the middle of a fire. Its glowing would’ve blended in with the flames.
He made his resting place, and slept near the fire. This time, he curled up and tried to keep himself as warm as he could. His scarf was wrapped around his mouth and neck, while his body was wrapped in his blanket.
The next morning, Arthas woke up to find the fire in ashes, but the ashes had been frozen. He had slept through an ice storm! He also found his body covered with frost, which he shook off almost instantly. Frost filled his hair too. The warmth of his body from the inside had melted it, making him so sodden and shivering. His teeth chattered as he rubbed his hands together and all over his body. “T-time to check that r-rock.” Arthas checked through the ashes and found the stone, which had been thinner and smoother than before. The stone had a shape now, which was like an oval. One end was a bit shorter, while the other had a long, round tip. It was smooth like a rock by a lake or pond, other than before, where it was rough like a rock from a lifeless mountain. “This is no regular stone.” He said, grabbing the stone with his numb hand and placing it in his pocket. Arthas walked over to the fawn, which was covered with frost, and picked it up. The blood was all gone, and the frost had kept the fawn fresh. “This is g-great!” Arthas chattered. He was so, so cold.
Arthas walked out of the woods, and he noticed that the snow was already melting. A small amount of snow covered the ground, and the rest of it was damp. “F-finally, I’m out!” Arthas yelled. “Almost th-there.” He continued walking to his home, where he found Magni sitting at the front of the house, sitting in a chair, with a large, thick blanket around him.
“Arthas!” Magni cried out.
“DAD!!!” Arthas howled back, holding up the fawn.
“What’s that?” Magni yelled out.
“You’ll see.” Arthas’s voice echoed as he continued walking down the field.
When he made it to the house, Magni flung the door open with open arms, expecting a hug. Arthas tried his best to hold the fawn and hug Magni at the same time. “Looks like you were right. Well...somewhat right. It is possib” Arthas said.
“And you caught....” Magni asked with a smile on his face. His face was dirty, with most of it black. It was most likely from the forge, which was where he worked and spent almost all day at.
“A-a fawn. I dec-cided not to kill an adult, since it would be t-too heavy to carry. It was a l-long and hard trip, but it was w-worth it. This fawn is still g-good, and there isn’t any blood left in it. I f-found herd of deer while ch-chasing a buck, and from there on I hunted the herd. It took alot of p-patience, and alot of endurance, but I’m glad I’ve gotten here th-this early.”
Magni examined the fawn, and said, “That’s true Arthas. I’m impressed. What happened to you?” He scratched and tilted his head.
“It was snowing, as you already know, and I woke up this morning with frost on me here and there.” Arthas answered, acting out how it was while explaining it. The thought of the ice and snow made his hands burn. They were numb, and he was desperate to stick them in hot water. “Do you have any water boiling?” He asked frantically.
Magni smiled. “As a matter of fact I do. I boiled it over the fire and I have been saving it for you.”
“Thanks Dad.” Arthas felt a bit more comfortable. He had such a great adoptive father.
Magni stepped into the main room and came back with a large, deep black pot. Inside, the water was still bubbling. “You might want to wait. It’s a bit too hot.”
Then, it came back to Arthas’s head. The stone. Arthas quickly reached into his sack and held the stone in Magni’s face. His hands hurt from the numbness.
“What’s this?” He said eagerly, and took it from Arthas.
“It’s a rock that I found in the woods while hunting. It’s the strangest rock I’ve ever seen.” Arthas answered, and stood where he was. He wanted to throw it in another fire. He wanted to see what would happen if he did it again.
“What’s so special about this rock.” Magni rolled the rock in his hands. “It’s smoother than the average rock, but what’s that have to do with you having to bring it with you?”
Arthas grabbed the stone and said, “Here.” He took it from Magni. “Light a fire, and watch what happens.” Arthas gestured him to get the flint and tinder. Arthas sat down over by the fireplace, and took a good look at it. “So round and smooth.” This can’t be natural. I should probably take good care of this. Arthas bent down and lightly tapped the stone on the ground. It was hard, just like any other rock. But why did the stone built up on it go away while it touched fire? This stone was unique and was becoming important to him. Arthas was convinced that there was maybe a reason why he had this unusual rock.
Magni started the fire, and looked at Arthas. “Well?” He gestured him to do what he was going to do.
Arthas took at least a few moments until he came back into reality. “What? Oh, yes.” He slowly stood back up, stretching his back, and stepped close to the fire and tossed it in.
They did not have to wait long until results came. They gazed into the fire, and their eyes were filled with wonder or at least Arthas’s were. “What is this thing?” Magni gasped.
The stone began to glow red, and holes began burning through the stone’s smooth surface. Beneath those holes was something red, or was it just the glow. The glow soon became almost as bright as the sun, with the rays flowing wildly and rapidly. “It’s so bright!” Said Magni.
“Almost...” A flash of even brighter red light made him flinch. “Too bright!”
The stone began to vibrate. Arthas stepped back; way back. Suddenly, the light stopped, and the stone shot out of the fire. Strangely, it shot out slower than what Arthas had expected. It had descended incredibly fast, and had rolled on the ground from then on. The stone had stopped rolling right in front of Arthas’s feet, and total silence swept the entire place. Nothing could be heard, not even the wind. Everything around them had suddenly stopped. Arthas had an eerie feeling that made him almost as still as a rock, but yet at the same time shudder.
Arthas clutched the stone, which was now colored. It was a dark red color, with black veins spread across it. It was flawlessly smooth, and it almost slipped from his fingers when he first grabbed it. It was still as big as it was before, only alot more detailed. The lights from the candles and sunlight reflected off the stone, and Arthas could see a faint reflection of his face. He tossed it from one hand to the other, testing its weight. “This is lighter than it looks.” He said, still tossing. Suddenly, the stone slipped out of his hand, which at the moment it did, alarmed Arthas. It hit the ground before he could reach out and catch it, thus Arthas’s heart jumped, even though he didn’t know why.
But strangely, when the stone hit the floor, it didn’t shatter, nor even crack. In fact, the stone made a dent into the wooden floor. A bit of hay was even thrown up. Arthas had cursed before, and he did it again when he picked it up. He didn’t curse in grief, whereas he did when he dropped it. He cursed in wonder, in astonishment. The stone didn’t have even a scratch nor any other type damage. It was just like it was before.
“Fascinating!” Magni gasped in amazement. “That rock of yours can’t be natural. It can’t be.” Magni’s mouth dropped.
Arthas’s eyes enlarged, for what he held in his hand was a stone unlike any other. It was about two pounds, incompatible with other rocks its size. “What is this thing? It is stronger than any rock its size I’ve seen, and it’s as smooth as silk. It’s red like a simple drop of blood, and the black veins that are on it make it look like marble!”
Magni stood beside Arthas and probed over the stone in his hands. “Unfortunately, it cannot be marble.” He said knowingly. “Marble does not make such deep dents in wood.” He stomped on the floor a few times, and not a dent was seen. The floor of their house was made of some strong wood which Magni had bought. “Not even my strongest stomp can damage this floor.”
Right at that moment, an idea came to Arthas. “Do you think it’s magic?” This question was the first one to ever mention the possibility of magic from Arthas.
The question seemed to have given Magni an abrupt explosion of reasons why it could be magic. The face was too recognizable. Arthas knew it too well. The silence, the mouth opened to a regular size, and the eyebrows that represented speculation. “It just might be, Arthas. It just might be.” Magni’s hand grasped Arthas’s shoulder, and nudged him.
Arthas looked at Magni. “Should we spread word about this?” His eyes turned to the stone, looking so mysterious and beautiful.
“I think not. Too much attention would be brought to our home. I think we should tell at least a few people, but they have to trustworthy enough to keep this unique secret.” Magni spoke wisely.
“Who should we tell then?” Arthas said so eagerly. How will we know if we tell the right person? He thought. Inside, he worried about it, but on the outside he showed no sign of doubt. Nobody came to his mind for the moment. Instead, he said, “Do you think we should throw the stone back into the fire?”
“Nay. Since it shot out of the fire that obviously means it needs no more fire.” Magni answered. “But that’s not important right now. What is important is that you go to town and find some one you can trust.” He shook Arthas’s shoulder.
“Aye.” Arthas nodded, and knelt to the spot where the stone had made impact. He felt on the dent, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, he found nothing. It was becoming quite ironic to Arthas. The stone was somewhat light, but yet it made a bigger dent than even the strongest metal would make. Not a single scratch was on it, nor any other type of harm.
“Shouldn’t you be going?” Magni broke his concentration.
Arthas blinked, and stood back up. “Right.” Something stopped him from moving. “What about me warming up?” He said, shivering and quickly setting the pot in front of a chair and putting his feet inside it.
While warming his feet, he began a conversation with Magni. “Hey, when’s the Festival going to happen?” He asked.
“Today!” Magni’s voice raised happily. “I was walking through town and saw them setting up for it. You should go there and try to find some people that you know from the previous years, and tell them about your rock.”
“Great! Excellent timing for it to come. I can’t believe I had come back on the same day the Festival is!” They continued to share ideas for the rest of the time while Arthas was heating up.
Later, Arthas walked to the door, and before he touched the knob, he turned around and uttered, “Take care of the fawn meat.” Arthas stepped out the door and closed it tightly behind him.