The Soothsayer - North

No hide nor vest could hide his crackling flames. Everything Eilert touched burnt to ashes. There was no way he could travel undetected.

The roaring human fireball.

Eilert knew he needed help. And the best option he could come up with was to seek aid from a medicine man from the Northern hills whom was known for curing many strange diseases. Maybe the medicine man could help him. For two days, Eilert travelled north. To avoid attention, he traveled in the ways of swamps and uncleared forestation. But still he had this nagging feeling that someone was following him. That feeling got stronger and Eilert wondered if the authority was tracking him down. He knew he had better be faster.

On the third day, Eilert met an old man on a donkey. The old man was smoking his pipe away, unfazed by the sight of the human torch. Encouraged, Eilert asked if the old man know where the medicine man lived. The old man nodded and pointed to the Northern hills.

'I'm going there as well. I could use a companion.' The old man offered.

So with the old man riding on his donkey, Eilert trotted aside. They spoke about Eilert's condition, his conviction of the coming Apocalypse and many idle things that two person could imagine during the long march.

Up in the Northern hills, they came to a cottage made of sticks. There the old man tied his donkey in the barn and fed water to the tired animal. The old man sat Eilert down on the ground and offered him some food.

Eilert tried eating it, but everything burnt to ashes upon touch.

'I see.' The old man said as he sat down with Eilert.

'Is this your residence?' Asked Eilert.

'This is the place in where you seek.' Said the old man, 'But I don't think I'm the person whom you could depend on.'

'You mean...' Asked Eilert.

'I'm the medicine man of the Northern hills, and I can't help you.' Said the old man.

'What is going to happen to me then? Who can help me?' Seek Eilert.

'The way I see it, this might be the best thing that ever happen to you, or at least for me.' Said the old man puffing away his pipe.

Eilert asked him what he meant by that.

'Where's the joy in going through an entire livelihood of nothingness when compared to a minute of fulfilment? A minute of dreams that come true? A minute of utter happiness?' said the old man of the North.

'Close your eyes, what can you see?' The old man asked.

Eilert did and saw again the wisps of smoke in place of the old man.

'That I supposed is the essence of dream.' Offered the old man, 'Now please shake my hand.'

'But I'll kill you!' Exclaimed Eilert.

'That's the intention, lad. And after this, look back to where you came from.'

They shook hands and the old medicine man engulfed in flickering tongues of pinkish flames.

The old man smiled to his invisible visions, 'Gjerta, I missed you so much!'

And the old man died.

Eilert got up and looked to where he came from. There was a trail of people, a dozen of them. They looked very sick with leprosy. They came to Eilert and asked if he was the medicine man.

Eilert closed his eyes and saw that there were wisps of tangling smokes.

'What do you want?' Eilert asked.

'We seek an end to our suffering.'



To be continued...