Halloween I.F. – “Going Dark” – Day 17

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Fern wished deeply that their podcast was one of those paranormal ones, rather than about real, if weird, historical events. They would have so much more research under their belt about various wards and what kind of things were supposed to be good if they’d spent their time on that instead. Their family had said their podcast was a waste of time, and they really resented that the comment might have been right.

On the other hand, they could always pivot later. Wouldn’t help them now, but this sort of thing would make great material. Sure, everyone would think it was made up for clicks… Fern absently dug their phone out, turning on their recording app, and put it back in their pocket with the mic sticking out. They just didn’t have enough hands to carry it.

A recording would mean that they’d be able to review this later, one way or another. Whether or not it served as content, it would be good to be able to review it; too many things had happened already where they hadn’t been able to fully remember the details of an earlier thing they did or interaction they had. Better to have a record of it. 

The spike seemed to be getting heavier still, so they took a step back; immediately, the pressure lessened, so they did it again. They stared down at the bulge it made in their pocket..

Okay. First things first. They wanted to get the note to the tree, but also didn’t want to take too many risks. They didn’t want to put the spike somewhere they might lose it, but leaving it in the house was also a risk. Given what Bannick had said—and again assuming that was even true—maybe the fourth entity had been the one who originally put the spike in the tree as some kind of form of control. They didn’t want to leave the spike behind if so.

“Hi,” they said aloud, staring at the tree. They could have sworn the tree itself shifted a little in response. “I, uh, brought a note. I want to give it to you as outreach…? And I understand you don’t want the spike near you, and I respect that, but I also have to keep myself safe. So, I’m going to throw this note to you, okay?”

Not taking their eyes off the tree, they ducked down to grab a small stick. They didn’t have great paper airplane skills—they could fold one but not usually get it to its destination—and they didn’t have any string, but the stick itself was narrow enough that, when they folded the note into a long strip, they could wrap the note around the stick itself in a tied half-knot.

Once they were sure it wasn’t going to fall off, they gave it a careful, underhanded toss, aiming specifically for that hand-like branch but just sort of generally aiming toward the tree body itself.

Something… something caught it. Fern couldn’t quite see, but the tree shifted as if in the breeze, and the note was suddenly in the …hand? They squinted, feeling like they were missing something, even as they watched the note seem to unfold itself and hang in the air.

An expectant silence followed, and Fern again felt like they were missing something, that there was something there they just couldn’t quite hear, like they were straining to pick up a noise that wasn’t quite there.

Slowly, very carefully, they ducked down and put the spike on the ground next to them, still close enough that if the tree entity charged them or something they could put their foot on it and be ‘touching’ it again.

As soon as their fingers left it, as they rose from their crouch, they realized there had been a shape in the shadows of the tree they hadn’t seen before. The shape was still camouflaged, the details hard to make out, but… 

The entity’s skin was the same color as the tree’s bark, that ashy brown, though smooth, and long pine-needle hair tumbled from their head in waves around their body. Their eyes were a bright, almost searing green, the only part of the spirit that Fern could see clearly. Nevertheless, Fern stood almost dumbstruck, staring at the entity.

“So you come to treat with me,” the spirit said archly; their voice was familiar.

“You’re Aris.”

“So I have been called, in lieu of a name I will not give and cannot offer,” Aris said. They snorted softly. “Yes, you may use Aris, as that beast too does. You do not smell of him. Perhaps you’ve still yet stayed out of his clutches.”

There was an odd, almost hypnotic rhythm to Aris’s flow of speech, not quite the emphasis or sentence structure that Fern would expect. They wet their lips nervously. “Well, Aris, what do you think?”

“Of the note, I suppose, though you were not clear.” Aris considered it. They still hadn’t emerged from the shadow of the tree’s branches, crouched there. “Allow myself to offer you my hospitality.”

“What does that entail…?” Fern asked.

“We go to a place that’s mine alone,” Aris said. Those spark-bright eyes glanced down at the beer and back up, and their voice was amused when they spoke next. “I enjoy the refreshments you have offered. I offer the same to you. We talk to one another as equals might. Become both the known and the knowing of each other. Yet: you may not bring the spike with you.”

Fern nodded slowly. “I just need to be cautious. You understand. I’m a little human and in over my head, right…?”

“Oh, you are indeed, but so many heads have fallen below!” Aris said. “But who do you think that spike is for? Iron is a deterrent only to so many. There was no spike in the mirror, I’m sure you’ve clearly seen.”

“And if I walk away from it toward you,” Fern said slowly, “you’re going to take me to a secondary location?”

“There is nothing secondary about it,” Aris assured Fern. “In either sense. You will go nowhere and remain here, but you will be somewhere other than here, a place of my own.”

“A place where I will be… fully in your power?” Fern prompted.

“Just so! A show of trust. And yet, if you wish to ally with no trust…” Aris let out a sigh, heavy, almost part of the rhythm of their speech. “Then I shall consider what that means. I will think upon it, as you return home, safe and protected. In truth, there’s little I can do against you while you wield that, and much I could gain from an alliance regardless even if you trusted me not. So I would needs consider what suits me best from an alliance where you hold yourself so far apart.”

Still Fern hesitated. If they were understanding Aris correctly, it sounded like they had two options.

Option one: They could, as a show of trust, leave the spike behind and go somewhere with Aris so they could discuss things one on one. This still wasn’t a promised alliance, but it sounded like Aris was saying it would redefine their relationship from possibly antagonistic to at least that of guest and host. Fern didn’t know what this would all entail, but they knew enough of history to know that a hospitality bond was something not to be taken lightly. In ancient Greece, it had been called xenia. Not that Aris seemed to be Greek. 

Option two: They could firmly insist that they stay near the spike as protection from Aris’s possible threat to them, explaining again that they needed to balance their kindness with their safety. It sounded like this wouldn’t ruin their chances of allying, since Aris still needed something out of Fern, but that Aris might return Fern’s lack of trust. Though, this option might also give them more time back this afternoon, since they wouldn’t be running off to some preternatural sitting room.

So which should they do?

[Comment below with a suggestion for Fern.]

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