Vesso – One Last Task for a Friend

February 24, 2023
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Bonus Scene
Vesso – One Last Task for a Friend

 

 

He leaned forward, bracing himself on the handle as he wiped a streak of perspiration from his eyebrows.  He had been at work for hours, first digging a pit, and then filling it once more.

Vesso looked into the distance, the horizon looking just as beautiful as the first time he’d returned from the Living Dungeon.  There was temperance in that attractive sight, however, for he had a grim task ahead of him, and one that he could not share with anyone else.

As he blew out a huge sigh, he set to work on the next phase of his undertaking.

After stealing a shovel from behind a house, far on the opposite side of the hill, the half-elf lugged a series of large, attractive stones up to the top, where a tree offered some shade alongside the breathtaking vista.

The collection of trips reminded Vesso that while the escape from the dungeon had given him renewed life—and a chance to forge his own destiny once more—there were some gifts that had been left behind as well.  While he was trapped there, for far less time than some of the others, he knew, he had an abundance of stamina.

There, on the hill, he knew he was nearly depleted.

He shook his head.  There was only a short while longer to go.

As Vesso grabbed one of the rocks and turned about, he thought he saw the outline of Nyrshia’s tunnel.  It was just a trick of his weary mind, though.  He hadn’t seen it once he’d arrived atop the hill, the same place the entrance to the dungeon was found before he’d been trapped there.  He wondered, at the time, if it was a tomb that had been fashioned beneath the hill, but even returning there, thanks to the Keeper of the Void’s magic, he saw that the entrance was gone as well.

As he grew fatigued, he wondered if it was all a dream.

But then he remembered his task—what he came back from the dungeon with—and knew that it was not something he could ignore or soon forget.

A short while longer, he had nearly all the stones in place, encircling the mound of dirt that he’d fashioned.  For some reason, he had not considered that there would be more dirt left atop the grave once he was done.  Though he’d dug his pit deep, there was still one more sign that someone lay below, even if their life force had not traveled there with the body.

Vesso took the last stone off of the blue cape, a bit of finery that he had considered taking as a keepsake.  Instead, he planned on using it for a bit more sentiment, giving Alexander’s burial a more personal touch.  A bit of a breeze sent the fabric billowing off the grass a bit, allowing the half-elf easier access to grab it once he returned.

He tied it to the handle of the shovel and forced the spade into the ground at the head of the mound, the side facing the wide open far beyond.  He knew that the marker would not survive atop the hill for long, but he felt his short-lived companion needed a better form of remembrance than an unmarked grave.

Blowing out one final sigh, Vesso fell to his backside beside the grave, looking off in that direction as well.  He wiped another bead of sweat off his brow before it could blur his vision.

“I know she told us you wouldn’t be here, but I hope this gives you some peace,” the half-elf said.

A fiercer gust of wind blew atop the hill then, nearly knocking the sitting trapper off his backside.  He placed his hand upon one of the stones, keeping himself steady.

The cape came loose, and though Vesso heard no sort of distress in the fabric, he wondered if it had ripped.  He knew he’d tied the knot tight.

Still, the cape took to the air, blowing high into the open space beyond the hill.

Though a feeling of distress grabbed hold of him at first, Vesso could only chuckle at the sight of Alexander’s cape fleeing from his resting place.

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Michael DeAngelo

Michael is the creator of the Tellest brand of fantasy novels and stories. He is actively seeking to expand the world of Tellest to be accessible to everyone.