Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Memories

The Hero Became a Mousegirl
Chapter 3: Memories

 

The hero’s party. That’s what others called the four who followed me into every battle. It frustrated me. Though they didn’t bear Eynhilda’s mark, they were each every bit the hero that I was. Without them, I would’ve died in battle long before reaching Stelryus’s lair.

Among them were Kaphis, a golem crafted by the greatest craftsmen to ever be born among the dwarves and elves. Elise, an unparalleled human sorceress. Had she survived the final battle, I knew she would’ve become grandmaster of the Arcane Academy. Bahram, a dwarf who seemed to vanish in any shadow he stepped within. And Mischa, Oracle of Eynhilda’s heavenly companion, Rosetheryn. Goddess of volcanoes and snow-capped mountains.

The five of us went deep behind enemy lines in the final days of the war. Hellbent on slaying Stelryus so that the dragon could spawn no more demons to send against us. We had no illusions of success. The only dragonslayers we knew lived in ancient legends the validity of which we couldn’t verify.

Hidden in the trees not far from the caverns where Stelryus resided without so much as a fire to keep us warm. We prepared for the battle, talking as if death was inevitable. We were ready to go out in a blaze of glory. All that mattered was that the dragon died alongside us.

It was at this moment that Elise decided to confess her love for me. If we were going to die anyway, she wanted to go without regrets. It forced me to confront my own, and I didn’t like the memories bubbling forth. Ones I’d long ago locked away.

I rejected her. I’d never laid with a woman and as much as I cared for Elise, I wasn’t ready to. Not as long as the dark melancholy I felt gripped so tightly at my heart.

Twelve hours later, Elise was dead. There wasn’t even a body left for us to bury when it was all over. Of the five of us, only Kaphis, Mischa, and I walked out of Stelryus’s lair.

Fighting back tears, I recalled all of this. Carefully narrating everything with as much detail as I could possibly muster. By the time I finished, Kaphis had lowered their club.

“Caelan, reborn as… a female child? If I did not know the gods had vanished from this world, I’d believe they were playing a prank on you.”

“My status says I’m nineteen,” I huffed. “I’m no child. So you believe me? You’re not about to turn me into a mouse puddle right?”

“It is a struggle to believe you. I can’t honestly say that I do, not wholeheartedly. But for now, I will act as if I do. That is as much as I can do for you, girl who might be Caelan.”

“That’s acceptable, golem who is definitely Kaphis,” I smiled. “So, can I take things? I really want that sword right there!”

“You wish to wield a sword that is as long as you are tall?” Kaphis asked, their tone exasperated. “Foolish. Even if you inherited Caelan’s strength such a weapon would be unwieldy in your hands.”

“Then, what do you recommend?”

Leaving their club standing upright Kaphis walked away only to return moments later. Carrying a sword small enough it appeared to be a dagger in their hands. “Try this, little Caelan.”

“I can accept ‘might be Caelan’,” I pouted, taking the sword. “But not ‘little Caelan’.”

“You are small enough that you may have to gaze up to make eye contact with human children. That makes you little by definition, Caelan.”

Shaking my head I sighed and drew the sword Kaphis had given me, taking a few practice swings. “I guess this is acceptable,” I sheathed the sword before hanging the scabbard across my back.

“If the Emperor heard you say his enchanted sword was merely acceptable. He would faint.”

“It’s enchanted, with what?”

“Fire if I recall. Though it was drained of power long before being stored here. You will have to find an enchanter to recharge it if you wish to use its power for yourself.”

“Got it,” I nodded. “Say, Kaphis. What are you doing here?”

“A century after your death, the empire was rocked by an event they called ‘The Night of Broken Vows’. This was when the gods retreat from the world, leaving mortals to their own devices. Oracles went mad, priests dealt with distraught parishioners desperate to know why their prayers were going unanswered.”

Kaphis shook their head. “People thought it was the apocalypse, and they went mad. Savagery overtook the continent, and the empire crumbled. I saw streets run red with the blood of innocents and I could bear to see no more. So I came here. Locking myself within the treasury, treating it as my own makeshift crypt.”

“Do you know nothing of the world outside these walls?”

“I do not. I can only hope some semblance of order has returned.”

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“Well, I cannot make a plan until I know what the world beyond these walls looks like,” I noted turning toward the exit. “So I guess, I’ll be on my way. Will you come with me Kaphis? I’d feel better with you by my side.”

“I still owe Caelan many debts from the war I’d like to repay. So I will follow you if that is your desire.”

I smiled. “I’m glad to have you Kaphis. But I want you to consider all outstanding debts to be paid. If I died, then your debt died with me. I want you to travel alongside me as a friend. Not as someone looking to repay a debt to a long-dead hero.”

“Very well,” Kaphis replied, a smile in their tone. “I’ve stored all my worldly possessions within myself, I’m ready to leave when you are.”

Kaphis and I made idle chitchat about the state of the castle once we entered the library. They sealed the stone bookshelf shut, and then we made our way to the great hall.

Stopping for a moment to stair up the ruined staircase I’d descended earlier I turned to Kaphis. “What happened to my sword? Due to its enchantment, only one bearing the hero’s mark could have lifted it. But I did not see it in the audience chamber.”

“After you died the sword’s magic went inert. To my knowledge, it was buried alongside your body in the Field of Remembrance. Would you like to travel there?”

“Not unless we have need to,” I shivered. “The last thing I want to see is my own grave. It’s bone-chilling enough to know it exists.”

Kaphis chuckled before the two of us made our way out of the castle. Thanks to their strength the castle doors posed little obstacle to us. Allowing us to gaze at the castle walls for the first time in centuries.

I sucked in a breath and gazed wide-eyed at the ruined walls. Their once-imposing length now little more than piles of broken stone and rubble.

Thanks to my heightened agility climbing over the crumbling stone posed little challenge. Allowing me to quickly bound up and over the wall, waiting on the other side for Kaphis to slowly scale the rubble.

“Having difficulty?” I called.

“Your small form is a blessing for this kind of traversal,” Kaphis sighed. Clearing themself of the last of the wall’s remains. “However, I believe you will have difficulty with the next leg of our journey.”

Following Kaphis’s gaze, I turned to see the hillside which had once been well kept was now overgrown. Not even a shadow of the road which once led to the castle’s gates remained. “Ah, that will be annoying.”

“The trees have grown so large we cannot even see what remains of the city at the hill’s base,” Kaphis observed. “Shall I carry you?”

“What?” I felt my cheeks heating. “There are many small creatures who scurry about the underbrush. My size does not make this impossible.”

“Scurrying around will result in you arriving at the bottom with your clothing in tatters. Especially since it hangs off of you so loosely. It would be wise to accept my offer, tiny Caelan.”

Gazing at the overgrown bushes, tangling thorn-covered vines, and poisonous vegetation I sighed. Holding my arms out so that Kaphis could hook me underneath my armpits. “Carry me.”

Placing their hands under my arms, Kaphis knelt forward. Their face so close to my ears I’d have felt them breath if they did such a thing. “Say please,” My friend whispered. Hardly able to keep the mocking tone out of their voice.

Twisting free of their grasp I swirled my hands in the air. Coating my fingers in flame. “Nevermind. I’ll just burn my way to the bottom.”

“Wait! Caelan,” Kaphis held a hand out to stop me. “My apologies. It is so hard to see you as yourself. To me, it feels as if I am standing alongside your child.”

“Are you saying you’d treat my daughter like this?!”

“Teasing children is part of the fun of having them is it not?”

Chewing my lip I shook my hands, dismissing my flame. “I guess you have a point. Though I would like to believe any daughter of mine would’ve come out a bit taller, ya know?”

“Not if her mother was a mousekin. Your race is rare, but the few I’ve seen have been quite short.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled holding my arms up. “Carry me, please.”