Short Story
The Lantern Collector
A stormy night, a campfire, and one of Caladir’s unsettling tales… but is it really just a story?
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“They say some people don’t die, they just… fade.”Caladir’s voice carried slowly across the crackle of the campfire. He always knew how to get people to listen, without wasting many words. The flames contoured his deep-purple horns in gold. Even Squeaky, curled up on his shoulder, only his squirrel tail twitching, seemed unusually still.Faint thunder rumbled in the distance, while the reeds beside the narrow stream next to their camp, shivered in the wind.Fiora groaned, throwing a pinecone at him. “Nooo, not another creepy story, Cal! It's late and I wanna be inside my tent before this storm hits!”“That's exactly why it’s the best time,” Cal said smoothly, ignoring her plea. “A night like this begs for stories about things that awaken, while the rest of us sleep.”Thessa, the seasoned Vitalyst healer, sipped her usual strong herb tea, leaned on a stack of wooden travel boxes. “A good bedtime story never harmed anyone,” she huffed with a smile and slightly lifted her cup. “Go on, then.”Nelvian sat entirely still, her pointy ears pricked toward Cal, her black and white bangs gently framing her face, anticipating the story he was about to tell.Cal leaned forward. Each shift of his smirk made Nel feel oddly nervous, something she definitely didn’t want the others to notice, especially not him.“Ever heard of Karesh, the Lantern Collector?”No one answered. Fio made a face and shook her head.“Exactly. Because the ones who see him usually don’t live long enough to tell. But lucky for you, I’ve heard enough rumors.”Nelvian, tucked into her brown cloak with firelight warming her freckled cheeks, followed every flicker of flame as though they carried his words. Her hands folded in her lap, pressed tighter the longer Cal let the silence stretch.“They say Karesh was once a man, a Netherling of course, born near the caves of Vadran. He was a miner, who spent his life digging out Voidcrystals from the tunnels, carrying only an old rusty lantern to light the dark. There's nothing strange in that, except one stormy night, he dug too far and found a narrow passage where no light could reach. Perfect conditions for voidcrystals to thrive, but dangerous... The other miners quickly turned back, but Karesh didn’t. So even as the caves slowly flooded from the rain, he pressed on.”The wood popped, throwing sparks into the air that glinted in Cal's dark eyes. Nel’s fingers twitched as though she wanted to catch them, to hold onto every spark the way she was clinging to his words.“When he came out again, after others already believed him dead, they immediately noticed his lantern seemed strange. No longer did it emit light, it devoured it. Every flame nearby was snuffed out, seemingly trapped behind its murky glass, now filled with a strange, unnatural liquid.
They say Karesh wasn’t quite himself anymore either. Hidden inside the mines, he began mumbling to his lantern constantly, and whenever he spoke, his voice echoed strangely hollow, like someone else simultaneously whispered through it. With every day that passed, his skin turned more grey, inky veins pulsing beneath as if trying to escape, and if a ray of sun touched his skin, he squealed out in pain. His long black hair thinned out, his eyes developed a faint silver glow, and when he walked past, you could smell the foulness of rotting flesh. He’d stopped being a man and became… something else.”
Fio shuddered and slid closer to Nel, grabbing her arm. The sudden touch jolted through Nel, stiffening her shoulders and tail, but she didn't pull away. Fio’s fingers dug in deeper, clinging for comfort, and Nel forced her own hand to stay steady beneath it.“Miners are a superstitious bunch,” Cal continued, “So it's no surprise they soon forced him to leave. After that, he wandered from village to village… but only during stormy nights.”Thunder rolled again, and everyone flinched, except Cal. A gust of wind caused the tents to flutter.“Always the same bargain: If he saw lights through your window, he'd come knocking at your door, snuff out all your lights, then demand you to relight a single lantern for him. Many laughed at the idea... until they realized what was truly at stake. Because the moment it burned, it held the spark of someone nearby. And the person who lit it decided whose life would be the one collected. A single night would stretch endlessly, until the cruel choice was made. Once done, Karesh’s lantern briefly flickered, as if confirming its satisfaction. He'd take the new lantern, attach it to his growing collection dangling on an old metal stick behind his back, only then vanishing back into the stormy night. And it held true every time, at least one person would die before dawn.”Cal’s voice lowered. Nel leaned in without even realizing.“Some said it was mercy, insisting he only appeared if there were old, weak, or sickly people present. That he helped the dying let go, carrying their spark into the endless night, so it wouldn’t cling on and drag them back into pain for another day.
But others swore he was a ghoul, feeding off their deaths, simply to prevent his own fading, by stealing what wasn't his.
In the end, it didn’t matter which story you believed. The warning was always the same: If you’re not prepared to give a lantern, a life, to Karesh, you better keep every light out on a stormy night. Because if you don’t…”Cal stretched closer to the fire, casting harsh shadows on his face, and Nel could feel her pulse rising.“…he’ll come looking for yours!”Fio threw up her arms in an animated fashion, causing her short white curls to bounce up in sync. “Nope! No thanks! Done listening!”She turned toward the nearby woods, as if half-expecting to see the Lantern Collector creeping out. Nel couldn't help but to smother a grin with the edge of her sleeve, while Thessa clearly enjoyed watching the banter.Cal chuffed, and angled toward Fio, who stood fixated on the tree line.“Oh, don’t worry. They say you can easily tell Karesh is near. When every light flickers at once and the storm is almost there…" Lightning struck in the distance. “…And then, when the night seems to swallow even the moon and the stars...”Squeaky twitched on his shoulder while Cal’s fingers flicked, flaring purple for a heartbeat, and then Squeaky shimmered into something else, a miniature of what one could imagine Karesh to look like. Well, maybe minus the fluffy tail.Nel bit her lip to choke back an unexpected giggle, knowing what came next.“…He taps you on the shoulder and asks, Do you have a lantern to spare?”Squeaky, as mini Karesh, leapt onto Fio’s shoulder. Fio shrieked with a sound so high-pitched it made even Squeaky look offended.“Squeee-Uuugh!!... Argh, Cal! Squeaky! You two are insufferable!”Cal doubled over laughing, patting mini Karesh’s head until Squeaky returned to himself. Nel let out the laugh she had been holding back.“I, um... I really... liked your story, Cal. It’s like you have this natural talent to bring them to life...”The firelight briefly revealed a red flush on Cal’s cheeks.“Guess it’s only natural, as an Illusionist and all that,” he replied with a tone so smug it almost made her regret saying it. Almost.Fio rolled her eyes and scoffed.“Nelvian, no way! I thought you were on my side! Don’t encourage him, or I'll never see the end of it!”Nel cautiously shrugged, her lips forming another timid smile she quickly hid behind her sleeve.“Alright, alright. If you’re trying to keep everyone awake through the storm, you’ve done a fine job,” Thessa said, amused. “You tell it like that and even I might start checking twice if the fire's out tonight.”
Later that night, when the rain had drenched the fire and everyone at camp had already drifted into dreams, a loud thunder jarred Nelvian awake from a restless sleep. But instead of trying to fall back asleep, which barely worked for her anyway, she quietly slipped out from under her blankets, putting her hood up, and began wandering along the edge of the stream.She treasured the open sky, the fresh air, even when it rained. But something suddenly seemed wrong. The reeds should have rattled much louder and the rain should have drummed much harder on the water. Instead, it all seemed weirdly muted, so much, that she could clearly hear her own breath.A cold breeze unexpectedly brushed her neck, giving her intense goosebumps, and out of instinct she raised her head, her ears sharpened to the stillness, while carefully scanning the area.Then, across the stream, where the reeds were high and thick, she could swear she saw two small silver eyes piercing right back at her.
Her chest and throat tightened, when out of nowhere: Clink. The sound of rusty metal against glass, carried across by the wind, accompanied by a sickly sweet smell.Her nails digging into her palms, Nel ran as fast as she could, as the silver eyes slipped back into the reeds. Mud caked to her boots and cloak while she stumbled back into camp. Soaked by rain, she quickly stripped herself of the clingy fabric and collapsed into her blankets, pulling them to her chin, her chest thudding louder than even the storm outside.But the camp was completely dark. And according to Cal’s story, the Lantern Collector was only a threat if the lights were on. So that means... she was safe. Right?When nothing else happened after a few more moments, Nel began to feel more and more ridiculous. She knew it was only a tale. Meaning whatever she saw, probably had a simple explanation. Surely.The thunder filled her ears and slowly drowned out the frightening thoughts, allowing her to finally close her eyes.Then, suddenly: Clink.Her eyes flew open. Glass against metal, even clearer now, despite the storm. No doubt. It was distant, but real.Was Karesh truly just a story, or had the Lantern Collector paid them a visit, to check whether anyone had left their lights burning?She curled even deeper beneath her sheets, her heart racing and only comforted by one thought: At least the fire had gone out.Because if Karesh had asked her to light a lantern... who could she possibly choose?
