Where the Wisp Witch Lives

Tree'd

It was still dark when the wisp’s call came for me. It was a haunting melody, barely audible from within my dreams. Inside me, my magic began to churn in response. The stories of the Will’-o’-the-Wisp were never first-hand accounts. The hypnotic whispers and movements were so compelling, victims would unknowingly walk into their deaths. I had only felt the full effects like this one other time. My magic gave me the innate ability to withstand their ancient power. Not enough to resist the pull to follow them, but enough to retain some autonomy. I was able to navigate safely last time, and they brought me to my home and my source of power. After that, my other interactions with them had been rather benign. They made a game of leading me to things and I enjoyed their playful company. I had spent enough time with them to consider myself an expert on Will-o’-the-Wisp’s. That didn't mean I was happy to see them now, under the circumstances.

“You and yours always have terrible timing,” I muttered grumpily. Already I could feel the need to move toward the wisp. My feet kept trying to shuffle away as I tried to wake up and collect my bearings. I gritted my teeth as I leaned down to grab my pack. It had been knocked over in the night and I quickly swept the few things that had spilled back toward the opening. A forked tongue attached to a small, black, serpentine head poked out. A snake had curled up inside at some point.

“Right, well… You’ve got to come along with me then,” I said stiffly. The snake seemed nonplussed as it disappeared back inside. I was nearly positive it wasn’t venomous and the wisp’s magic couldn’t be resisted for long. I stuffed what I could into the bag, mostly just praying I wouldn’t get bitten or hurt the snake, and then my feet were moving.

I found the Will’-o’-the-Wisp surrounded by darkness in the distance. It’s soft blue light barely illuminated the skeletal trees around it. Without a clear look at the sky, I couldn’t be sure, but I guessed I was supposed to be going north now. I didn’t notice the creek until my shoe splashed into it, but I still couldn’t stop walking toward the floating sphere. Every other step made a wet squelching sound. The song became louder, and the magic pulled at me harder as I got closer. Each step made it harder to keep my wits about me and not to just release myself to the will of the Wisps; to let myself blindly follow them to my fate. Just as I was about to reach out to touch it, it disappeared. Its song was silenced and the fog over my thoughts began to disappear. Then a blue dot appeared further along, the haunting melody started up once again and my feet were compelled to continue forward. This happened once more.

On the third time it disappeared and reappeared, I spotted it high on a tree branch above the forest floor. It was beyond the ward. Its light danced gracefully on the limb, swaying hypnotically. The wordless notes felt tangible as they floated to me and sank beneath my skin. My connection to the Wisp and this land was my only protection against the overwhelming power of the call. Without it, I would have been mindlessly drawn to whatever awaited me already. Crossing my ward would leave me laughably weak, at least magically. I started moving forward, though I wasn’t sure if it was by conscious choice. Even without the power of the wisp’s call, I probably wouldn’t have ignored the magic anyway. I hadn’t asked the Wisp to help me, but I felt hope that it would lead me to something as life-changing as the last time. For better or for worse, I trusted the Wisps. With my back straight and a determined mindset, I took my first step through the invisible boundary.

There was an immediate difference. The wisp and its song vanished, leaving an ominous, crushing silence behind. Besides the anxious thrum of magic beneath my skin, this side of the Taintedwood was still and silent. There were no signs of anything living. No insects making their usual racket, no owls judging me from their perches with their all-seeing eyes, and the trees seemed more skeletal than ever. Even the air felt thick with tension. It was almost suffocating. My heart sped up as a sliver of fear wound itself around my spine. The wisp had led me somewhere ripe for violence, and I wouldn’t be able to rely on my magic to defend myself.

I started back the way I had come. I saw no reason to play my part in what was coming at a disadvantage. Wisps had the reputation they did because they simply weren’t beings with corporeal bodies. The trick to following them was doing it while being clever enough to compensate for their routing. I barely took a step when I heard twigs cracking and what sounded like talking. Of course, the tree the wisp had been hovering in was blocking any view I may have had of what was coming. It was massive, its trunk was large enough for two horses to stand nose to tail, in any direction. Its branches were bare, but thick and healthy. They were densely packed, hopelessly tangled every which way, but they were sturdy looking all the way up. If I wanted to see anything, my best choice was going to be climbing. My curiosity always got the better of me, even when it made no good sense. Nan never let me forget that.

I scuttled up the tree as quickly as I could. The branches were deceptively hard to navigate, but once I started, I reached the branch I’d seen the Wisp on quicker than I had thought I would. The Wisp had picked a spot that was surprisingly advantageous. It was thick enough for me to sit comfortably on it and I could lean around the base of the tree to see what was behind without revealing much of myself. The other branches were like a cocoon that created a natural illusion. It would be very hard to see me if someone did not know where to look. I pressed myself tightly against the trunk, closed my eyes, and took a few calming breaths. Then I steadied myself against the wood and leaned around just far enough to search for the source of the sounds.

By now, the morning light was starting to filter through the trees. It shaded the world in a deeply shadowed grey, which made it a struggle to see much, but I could definitely hear some sort of animal alongside two distinct voices. One voice was much deeper than the other and the other set my teeth on edge even from this distance. Unfortunately, the deeper voice didn’t do much of the non-stop talking either. Is this what the wisp meant to lead me to? Eavesdropping on two lovers and their pet was not something I wanted to be doing right now. What fear I felt gave way to a wash of confusion. If these people were my fate, I would have been led directly to them. Why the f**k was I in a tree, outside my wards, and still without my horse? If I could turn back and pretend like this whole detour hadn’t happened, I would do it. I wouldn’t be able to climb down without alerting them of my presence though. At the very least, the creature I could hear snuffling around was getting closer, and surely it would hear me making a racket in the trees just like I could hear it in the undergrowth. I would have to wait for them to pass by before I could go anywhere.