CHAPTER 17: HELLHORN

Norrin cursed the sky. He cursed the ground. He cursed the rocks. He cursed the trees. Most of all he cursed himself for having hope and believing the worst was behind him. He paced the ground in disbelief at what his life had become. Nassima looked on in confusion. She could feel through their bond his extreme frustration but had no idea what was bothering him. In her eyes they accomplished the impossible.

“I thought you would be happy to be free of that labyrinth. You won great victories against unimaginable foes. You should be triumphant!” She stated.

Norrin turned to her with an incredulous look on his face. “Triumphant!?” he snapped. “How is this a triumph? Do you even know where we are now!? This is Mount Hellhorn! The dead center of godsdamn Doomswood Forest!” he said, as he pointed at the dark crooked mountain above them in fear and anger.

Nassima scanned the ominous mountain. It was rough and jagged with black rocky slopes, and a crooked peak sitting high into the sky, and was shaped similar to a bull’s horn jutting from the earth, thus explaining its moniker. The summit of the mountain was covered in dreary storm clouds from which red bolts of lightning flashed, to complete the sinister scene. She then turned away from the mountain to survey the rest of the surrounding landscape. A dense black forest encompassed by a dreary fog was before them and stretched until the horizon. She understood Norrin’s anguish, Mount Hellhorn was an ominous sight, and the surrounding forest was source of fear for mortal men. But she did not understand why he was taking out his anguish on her.

“I can’t believe I escaped that damned labyrinth only to wind up in the heart of the forest of death! A place no one has ever crossed, most likely because it is crawling with nasties like our friend back there!” he bellowed as he motioned toward the carcass of the dead scorpinock.

Norrin sat down on top of boulder and continued to shake his head in disbelief.

“Actually, you are right Nassima, this is quite an accomplishment,” Norrin said, the sarcasm in his voice evident, “no man has ever stepped foot on Hellhorn! I am the first!”

Nassima was not amused by his sarcasm and did not appreciate his attitude. “Yes, I am well aware of where we are. But can’t you see we are free! Nothing else matters at this point,” she said. “Look here, there is a path leading into the forest. It is in place here for a reason. We should follow it down.”

Norrin looked in the direction she pointed out. Sure enough, there was what seemed to be a pathway, going into the forest below. But this did not make him feel any better.

“That pathway leads to death. One does not simply walk into Doomswood for an afternoon stroll. Did you not hear me? All men who have stepped foot in this forest have never returned!”

Nassima felt that Norrin had lost his cool. The trial of the labyrinth and the battle with the scorpinock took a physical and mental toll on him. Even worst to her, he felt that Nassima, who was in spirit form and did not face any harm, did not understand the seriousness of the situation.

“Then what is the alternative?” Nassima snapped back at him. “You sit here on this damned mountain, wallowing in your misfortune?” She hovered above Norrin’s seated position with her arms crossed and glared at him in annoyance. Norrin responded with silence.

Nassima’s emotions were torn between her anger and frustration, and Norrin’s despondence. “I am fully aware of the danger you are in! I understand the dangers that lurk in that dark forest more than you know. I am genuinely concerned for your safety and not just because my life depends on yours! But right now, you are acting like a stubborn child!” She snapped at him before changing her tone. “Listen, I have asked you to face difficulty after difficultly, and you have met those challenges head on. By taking on my quest, you have not chosen an easy road. The truth is that there are many more difficulties ahead of us. But I believe you can overcome them, like you have overcome every obstacle you had across your entire life. Every challenge you had made you stronger, and you grow stronger still. All the battles you fought, even the ones you lost, have been lessons. A warrior learns from those lessons and continues the fight till the end. You are a warrior, even if you don’t believe yet. But now you have a choice; You can sit here and embrace your misery, or you can continue on, learning and growing to be better.”

Nassima concluded her lecture and vanished from his sight.

Norrin held his head down as he heeded Nassima’s speech, and let the words sink in. It was similar to a speech his Chasemaster, Waller Byron, gave when he started his training as a Chaser.

Waller was a wily, old silver fox who despite his years, could run circles around many of the younger apprentices. “Every monster encounter you survive, is a lesson about yourself.” He would say to Norrin and the other Chaser neophytes. “After each encounter I want you to relive the moment in your head, and figure out what you did wrong, and more importantly, what you did right.”

“A Chaser does not very often learn from their mistakes, because mistakes in this line of work are usually fatal,” he told them. “But recollecting and recording your small victories will help prepare you for the next encounter.”

Norrin had eighty-three missions under his belt, and it all began to feel like they were preparing him for this moment. This was his new destiny it seemed, and he had no choice but to face it head on. After a while of considering this, he stood up and brushed himself off.

“Nassima?” He called out, but she did not answer.

“Nassima, I apologize. I shouldn’t take my frustrations out on you. You are right, and I feel terrible for letting you think I have given up hope. I am just tired, which I know is not an excuse to act the way I did. But know I will never give up. The Chaser's mantra goes; every journey is a noble journey, even the one where our life ends, so we will continue on our path to death, and then a new journey will begin. I promise I will continue this mission till the end. It is the covenant of the Chasers.”

Feeling the sincerity in those words Nassima decided to reappear. Norrin smiled, thankful for her grace. When he first encountered her, he believed her to be the cold, ruthless warrior-goddess from the myths that had been told. Now he came to see Nassima as a caring and understanding being, who just happened to have god-like abilities. He underestimated her heart, and now that he was starting to know who she really was, the last thing he wanted to do was let her down. She gave him a knowing glance, and he steeled himself to enter the woods.