“…in the midst of this horror…”
The words sounded distant. They were audible, but only slightly louder than a whisper.
“…the lecherous law keeper…”
Aadi tried to focus on the words, but he wasn’t sure if he was successful. Everything seemed murky, but he could make out the shapes of the law keeper and his thugs. He discerned the distressed lady, Aaron’s wife, on the ground in front of the law keeper.
“…Aaron Flint returned home.”
He heard the voice speak again and recognized it as Ember’s. He tried calling out to the stone, but his mouth didn’t open. He saw the law keeper grab Flint’s wife’s arm and tried to move towards her, in vain. His body refused to comply. In fact, he didn’t feel his muscles or limbs at all. He could neither move, nor speak. “Am I dreaming?” he thought.
“The woodcutter saw the dreadful scene in front of his house and immediately became enraged,” Aadi heard Ember say. He tried to call out to the stone once more, but his efforts were futile. It was as if Ember was speaking to itself. He wasn’t sure the stone even realised that he was listening. “He rushed towards the law keeper and grabbed him by his shoulders. The evil man, with his hands on the good woman, reacted sluggishly and was thrown to the ground with righteous fury. His coterie was slow to react, too and Aaron sped past them to his wife’s side. He lifted her right off the ground and dashed into their house.” Aadi watched these events unfold before his eyes, a mere spectator to what appeared to be Ember’s memories.
“The law keeper rose to his feet, furious. He signalled his thugs to barge into the house and they obeyed. However, the woodcutter had built his home with his own two hands. The wood he had felled and shaped into its constituent parts was sturdy indeed. The thugs rammed the house’s front door with their shoulders. It didn’t give way. They backed away from it and rammed it once again, to no avail. Suddenly, the door swung open and the thug closest to it had his face kicked squarely by Flint! As his comrade reeled back with his hand on his head, the second goon tried to rush through the opening in the doorway. Flint promptly slammed the door shut and it struck the goon’s forehead. The law keeper cursed as his coterie staggered and marched towards the door,” Ember said.
Aadi had an ominous feeling as the law keeper closed in on the door. He wanted to assist the family, even if it was Aaron Flint’s. It didn’t matter that he was fighting that gauntleted warrior in the waking world. Right now, in front of his very eyes, Aaron’s family was in danger. However, Aadi couldn’t do anything about it. He was an observer and nothing more to the events unfolding before him. Try as he might, he was powerless in this dream. Whether it was Ember’s or his, he couldn’t say. The law keeper reached the door and drew his baton, which looked more like a mace. Without further ado, he bashed the door with his weapon. Time and again, his blows struck it and the wood chipped and broke under his rage. The law keeper didn’t let up though, not until his mace pierced the door and blew a sizeable chunk off it.
“Shouting a cry of victory, the law keeper urged his thugs forward and they rushed to open the door,” Ember continued, “Aaron’s axe met them as their hands approached the door handle. Its blade whipped through the gap in the broken door. The two goons withdrew their hands in the nick of time, avoiding it and the axe-head lodged in the wood with a resounding thock. Aaron made to withdraw the axe, but found its blade stuck in the door!” As Aadi saw these events play out, panic set in and he redoubled his efforts to move towards the house and Flint’s family. Try as he might, however, he couldn’t budge. He was forever stuck in place, unable to assist and seemingly fated to watch in silence.
“One of the law keeper’s thugs took that opportunity to bash the door open with his shoulder. As the stout wood collapsed, the other thug followed his associate in. The good woman screamed in fright. The law keeper wasn’t far behind, eager to exact a heavy price from the woodcutter for interrupting his concupiscence,” Ember said, “The woodcutter lunged for the nearest thug and struck a mighty blow. Mortal though he might have been, he still had a strong punch and it made the thug reel. His companion was close behind him, though and he retaliated with a punch of his own. Aaron staggered and braced himself against a nearby table, but he wasn’t quick enough to recover.”
Aadi watched as the two thugs closed on Flint and rained blow after blow on him. The moment they finished their barrage and stepped back to catch their breath, the law keeper’s mace thrust through the gap between them and struck the woodcutter’s chest! With a groan, Aaron’s knees buckled and as he fell face forward, the law keeper swung his mace at his head. Aadi winced at the audible crunch as the mace connected with the woodcutter’s head! Flint struck the ground head-first and his wife shrieked in horrified shock. “The law keeper guffawed and turned to stare at her with eager eyes. Thumping one foot in front of the other, he advanced towards his helpless prey,” Ember continued in a dispassionate tone, like a narrator staying aloof from a tragic story.
“At least he thought she was helpless,” Ember said, “but the good woman proved to be cut from the same cloth as her husband. Despite her terror and sorrow, she managed to grab hold of an iron pan with one hand. As the law keeper neared, she swung the pan with all her might and struck the lecherous man’s face. He whipped around from the force of that blow and almost lost his footing. The good woman screamed again, this time in raw fury directed at the law keeper! The evil man hesitated for just a moment, but one of his goons stepped towards her. He struck her a stunning blow and she fell on the floor.”
Aadi felt the woman’s fear and loss himself. He tried desperately to save her. He mustered all the strength he could and willed his arms and legs to move. Although his efforts were in vain, he tried again and again. As he saw the law keeper advance towards Flint’s wife once more, he tried to yell out. This time, finally, Aadi felt his jaw move. His shoulders heaved and he sat up. He heard himself roar angrily and his eyes snapped open! All around him was nothing but a dimly lit cave, illuminated by the occasional sun ray that penetrated this far beneath the surface. Gone was the woodcutter, his family, the law keeper, the thugs, and the house.
“Aadi?” he heard Ember’s voice and looked down at his right palm. The magic stone lay there, glowing a fairly bright blue. Its hue shifted to a pretty pink every so often. “You’re awake. Do you feel better?” asked Ember. Aadi stared at the stone for several minutes and it asked again, “What’s wrong?” “Where’s the woman,” asked Aadi, “and where is that law keeper?” “What do you mean?” asked Ember, confused. Aadi glanced at his surroundings and replied, “Just a moment ago, in front of me was Flint’s house. The law keeper and his goons broke into it. They killed Aaron Flint’s daughter and beat him to the ground.”
“The law keeper was about to attack his wife, when she fought back. One of the goons struck her to the floor,” continued Aadi, “The law keeper moved towards her again and then…” “And then what?” asked Ember, clearly surprised. Aadi hesitated. He was confused, too. He was sure that he had witnessed Aaron Flint’s family being attacked by that corrupt law keeper. That scene was fresh in his mind, as if he had been there himself. But now, where was he? What had happened? “I am not sure,” he replied to the stone, “I know what I saw. It was as if I was there that day, when the law keeper visited Flint’s house.” After a moment, Aadi repeated, “I am not sure.”
Ember didn’t say anything for a minute, letting Aadi regain his bearings. As he slowly rose to his feet and stretched, he said, “I tried to help them.” Ember remained silent and Aadi continued, “I tried the best I could, but I couldn’t move one whit; not until it was too late.” “There’s nothing you could have done,” said Ember. Aadi shook his head, saying, “I don’t believe that. I was able to move at the very end. If I had tried harder earlier…” “There’s nothing you could have done,” repeated Ember firmly. Aadi was surprised at the stone’s insistence and asked, “What do you mean?” “What you saw shouldn’t have been possible without my awareness; at least not this soon,” said Ember, a bit of wonder seemingly creeping into its voice, “That was my memory, Aadi, of The Unflinching.”