Before any of this happened you had a brother and a sister. That was the last thing you knew for certain. And parents... a mother and a father. That was life. It seems it was just yesterday when life was of joy and you had everything you needed. It was just a moment ago that you were content in the air that you breathe. But something around you has gone terribly wrong. The good winds have vanished, and the light smiles they carried have left you with the hovering dark frowns of the clouds.
There's a lack in the air; something gone missing.
Clenching bars, you gaze from outside your gates like a prisoner looking into his cell, wanting back in... Sadly looking into the dark, gloomy property that was your home, up at the blackened windows and balconies three stories high, then down at your feet, at the soft leather moccasins cowering in the grass. You fade into thought, and contemplate... trying to grasp what's happened. Ever so slowly you raise your eyes to the gates and realize you've blinked.
The last time you blinked you saw your sister... the time before you saw your brother. And just three blinks ago you had both parents. That's how quickly you find yourself here, under the big, dark cloud. But one more thought looms before you; you'll be the last to go missing if you don't leave quickly. You've got to run, or join the fate of those who vanished.
-
You look from behind a bush at your front gates. You're just outside your house, and there are many guards and officials around investigating, looking for you and your sister. They think you've both been killed, and you don't want them to see you.
You eavesdrop by the mansion gates on a conversation between two guards and hear them say that they didn't find your sister's body. In fact, none of your family members' bodies were ever found; the killer took them all.
Whoever did this took your sister away, alive. You don't know about anyone else, but at least you know this.
But that's all for now. You'll need to sneak past the guards and into the mansion after dark when the authorities have left, and get a blanket and some dark clothes. You'll need to pack some outdoor gear, get alot of money, and take your brother's sword, too.
Then sneak out of the property and into the city and see if you can get something to eat. Find a quiet spot to sleep and set up there. You're sleeping in the cold tonight... it's been a rough day.
- You wake up in your dark, quiet spot in town early in the morning and eat one of your loaves. You put on a dark grey, almost black cloak and wrap up in it, and fasten your belt. You pull your hood up and to the sides of your face so that nobody can see who you are. You look like a cross between a monk and the grimm reaper. You put your arms inside your cloak and emerge into the morning marketplace, blending into the crowds of shoppers.
Today you want to go back to your property and see what else you can learn. You stroll cautiously through the busy marketplace, trying not to look suspicious. You leave the market area and go onto a dirt road through a grove of trees, where people are taking walks. An old couple passes by, and the man says "Good day." You slow down and look at him through your hood, but say nothing, and keep walking.
Looking across the lake to the left of the market, that's on your right, is your beautiful nieghborhood. Built among big oak trees and leafy roads, lined with old metal fences and gates,... but this morning it appears to be the home of death itself. Maybe recent events cloud your image of the place, but it appears to be dead, if you can call a place that; it's the bare autumn trees, the paths covered with leaves, the spiked gates that resemble that of a graveyard... seeing this, you feel a desire for spring to come, and the sun to come out. But now, you must go back... back to the place you grew up, and dig for an explanation; a reason... the reason WHY your life is suddenly so empty.
Finally you see the front gates of your graveyard... mansion. And next to them, the gates of your nieghbors' mansions. There is a group of guards talking at your gates, and you don't want them to see you. It looks like the authorities are back this morning, investigating and talking with one another as they always do for what seems like all day... too bad telling each other what they found won't solve this one.
There's a way to get into your house through your nieghbor's wine cellar. You have some friends there, and maybe you want to say hi to them, too... but maybe not.
If you sneak into your nieghbor's house, you know that the wine cellar connects to yours. Your family and theirs made wine together, so they extended the cellars to connect for easier wine transfer and more storage space. You also know of several other ways into the house. You should choose one, then get inside without being seen.
... You make your way into the house from a side door, into the kitchen, then the cellar. You step down into the dark cellar cautiously, and sneak to the far side, carefully holding onto things and keeping your hands on the walls. When you touch your door on the other side, you press your ear against it and listen for people in your kitchen. You hear the authorities talking... You listen in, and also hear clanging glasses. What are they doing? Are they drinking your wine? Oh yeah, your family is dead and nobody lives here anymore. You're dead too, remember? That's why you can't let them see you.
You wait a minute until you're sure they've left the kitchen. ... After a minute you hear them walk away, and it quiets down. You very quietly and slowly open the cellar doors and step into the same kitchen you remember so well, still smelling heavenly like bread and pastries. You sneak into the hall, find the stairs, and go upstairs to the third floor.
First you go into your room and look around. Most of your stuff is still there, as is alot of the guards' equipment. You walk over to a big sack full of guards' stuff, and help yourself to some of it; besides, they won't think it was you.
In one corner of the room are the dual french doors opening onto the balcony that lines the side of the 4th floor rooftop, and connects to your sister's room's identical doors. Same doors, same room, but different furniture. Your brother's room is right behind yours. There are two bedrooms on each of the east and west wings. Yours is in the north-west, your brother's in the south-west, your sister's in the north-east, and the guest's in the south-east.
You go out onto the balcony and lean on the rails looking over the normally beautiful, gray property. Memories pass your mind, and you try to keep a straight face. Then you look down and wonder how on earth the killer could have jumped such a distance.
The night it happened you heard your sister scream and you ran out onto the balcony, and just barely saw a dark figure leap off the rails. And it wasn't kidding around either; at the angle you saw it, it must have been running, jumped onto the rail, then leapt off like a hurdle jumper. Your sister was in it's grasp; you heard her moaning and screaming as if having her mouth covered. You strained your hardest, in tears, to look over the balcony and try to see her, but it had already cleared the fences.
After recalling this, you turn to her room with watery eyes. Wait, there's a guard in there. He walks out, and after a moment you enter. You walk in very slowly and quietly, then stop and take a look around. Everything looks neat, except her blankets where she was when- wait a minute: a drawer is pulled out and there's stuff scattered on the floor. Is THAT what that stupid guard was doing? After putting it back in order, you stand up and look around again.
Well, let's see; Mmmm... you don't see anything interesting. You walk over to her bed and pull down the rest of her blanket. Those authorities in the kitchen said she was attacked and killed in bed. Uh-huh, but they never found her body. How should they know she was killed? You sit down on her bed and look carefully. Her sheets are white, and her blanket peach. There isn't a drop of blood. You walk out between the bed and the balcony door looking at the ground. All the way out to the rail. There still isn't any blood. You go back to the bed and sit down and sigh.
Oh,... here's a tiny rip in the sheet. But maybe this was already here. You start playing with it, and look at it. No idea. You wonder how this could have been made if it's from the other night. No idea, still. You bend over and sniff it. That's funny; this little rip in the sheets smells funny. You smell it again, and around it; the rip alone doesn't smell like anything familiar. It smells bad. Almost like a dirty animal, but different.
There probably isn't much more you can- wait... you wonder if the floor smells like it too. You get up quickly and go smell the floor by the bed. Uh-oh. The floor smells too. You follow it, and it smells all the way out to the balcony. You stand up and walk out to the rail, in that one spot. The rail smells...
So the killer stinks. But this fact is disturbing; your heart aches at the thoughts of what such a filthy, rotten thing would want with people. What did it do to your family? Could it be using them in some sort of ritual? Torture? Slavery? Food?
- You're at your mansion's gates on the night of the Gora. There are a few guards looking around the property for crime evidence, and a few detectives in the house, but overall, not that many people today.
This evening the moon is large, and the night sounds coming from the outer woods fill the air. It sounds like a pack of wild beasts are nearby. On nights like these, all the people in your nieghborhood like to gather together at one of the houses for the fear of the night. Nobody likes being home alone when the creatures from beyond are howling like this, so they distract themselves by meeting with good food and entertainment. There is no calendar for these Gora nights, so when the first sounds are heard everybody routinely collects some wines, and goes to the party. The hosts too setup the party at the first sign of wild beasts.
It's nights like these when people's pets go missing, and nights like these that dead animals are found by the lake. You can't live here too long before you start hearing about the legendary beyond and it's wildlife. For the people around here, the missing animals and word of mouth are reason enough to stay away.
But you'd think sooner or later someone would muster the courage to wipe these animals out. Or maybe get together with local warriors and rid the land of the monsters, and free the night. To a stranger from a foreign land it would be the reasonable thing to do. "Cleanse the Land, Free the Night" is everyone's favorite story. But it's this same story that thwarts the minds of the people. It's the tale of Nirv, the hero who set out to destroy all monsters and set the night free, a looong time ago. He left home to solve the mysteries that bound the land, defeat the foes who guarded it, and stop whatever made it all happen. Well, he never quite made it in the story. If you ventured out into the forest at night, you'd most likely agree.
The nights of the Gora are the most vivid reminders that there's reason for the stories. Every time they came, the peoples' focus went to the legendary beyond, and what it contained. But now it's a festive occasion, simply so that the people don't have to think about it, and hear the animal noises. In fact, the people have come to enjoy these nights simply because of the good, lengthy parties. The only bad omen the Goras bring is that some will lose pets this night. It's always around the Goras that people return home to find no pet. It's just the risk inherent, that if you didn't know where your cat was when you left, you may not find her when you get back. But the night of the Gora has grown into a much bigger matter for you. It's not just a cat or dog that you have to worry about not finding...
The heart-aching part is that it was always around the Gora that the killer struck. You have a particularly healthy fear of these nights because of the thought of the killer coming in with the tide of the loud beasts. It's all too painful to know that the Gora are outside when you find your sister kidnapped by something that's not a Gora, yet flees into the midst of them. Something, perhaps, that travels with them... or herds them... or feeds them... or knows them... whatever it is that brings it on these nights, it worsens the thought all too much that the enemy isn't even human.
Looking through the gates, you see an old dog house by the side of the mansion. That's where your old dog used to sleep. Slept there, that is, until one night on the Gora several years ago she was eaten by an animal passing through the yard. All you ever found of your beloved dog was a pile of fur.
You just stand at the gates behind a brick pillar, leaning into it's side, watching the guards and authorities. The lake is behind you, only a short walk from your front gates, where the woods begin. The screeching and howling seems to be coming from the direction of the lake. But you don't notice. You're just calmly watching the guards, with your arms crossed, leaning on the pillar. They chatter and chatter, standing in a circle under the sky. Several trees also reeeach over the yard from beyond the gates, shading them from the moon. Two other guards look on from the porch, standing beside a big brazier [a large, warming torch], just listening to the sounds in the air.
Whenever a particularly loud sound is heard, the guards stop and look up toward the sky, then get back to talking. You just glance up, not moving your head, then back at the guards, patiently waiting for them to wrap things up... or are they going to stay there all night? Just then a loud screech is heard closer than the rest, and the guards all rush to the front porch and gather again. You too are startled, and quickly look around for the quickest way into the yard; it sounded very close.
...you just thought you heard something behind you, and you hurriedly climb the brick pillar to jump into the yard. You pull youself up to the top, and without looking down, jump off onto the grass in your yard. Now in the protection of the yard, you lay low in the grass and curl yourself into a ball. You lay sideways and cover yourself with your black cloak completely so that the guards won't see you in the dark.
You made a thud when you landed, so a few of them turned from their conversation and are looking in your direction.
"Did you hear that?"
"I heard it."
"Me too."
"Uhhh, something's over there... see, by the fence."
"Yeah-"
"...let's go inside, hurry!"
"Wait! The Lt. said don't go inside unless you have detective work."
"So? It's not safe out here! Let's go in!"
"C'mon!" the guards say as they rush into the house.
Your eyes peering from just under the edge of the cloak scan around the sides of the porch. The torches on the front porch light the area well enough to be able to see anyone out here, so you look from beneath your cloak to make sure nobody is still around. You check the windows, and... they're all huddled at the window, looking in your direction. You quickly lower the cloak so your eyes don't show. You patiently wait a few minutes,...
After a good wait you look up and see that nobody's at the windows anymore. You very quickly jump up and run to the side of the house and hide right under the large windows.
You notice the lights go on inside the living room above you, because light is flooding out the window and lighting the yard by you. You listen in... it sounds like the guards are more at ease now, and helping themselves to some food. The sound of the plates and glasses and laughter cheer you a bit. And the thought of a warm comfortable interior with people you would feel safe with to be with on a night like this make you wish you were at the Gora Party you would have normally been at right now.
But don't feel too good for the guards enjoying themselves right now... you have some searching to do in the living room. And how are you going to do that with all those guards in there? You don't want to, but maybe you'll just have to scare them up the stairs.
From your spot under the window you get an idea how to get them all upstairs. You carefully reach up, and start tapping on the glass softly. There is a thin white segmented curtain, so they won't see your hand, unless they part one of the strands. You tap once, then tap again. Then tap a few times... they don't seem hear it.
You pull your hand down, and collect some boldness. You put your hand up again, and this time bang on the window hard, then again, then start tapping your fingernails on it, and hitting softly. You hear a guard yell, and hear some chairs banging on the floor. They thump around a bit, and you can hear all their footsteps on the wood floor. You keep tapping your fingernails on the glass, and give it one last hit. Now you rub your hand along the window to make it sound like an animal is pressing on it.
You hear more shouts, and a lot of pounding footsteps... it sounds like they're running upstairs. When you can tell that they are all on the second floor, you get up and back a few steps away from the window.
They might come down and check on the bottom floor once in a while, so you need to give them a final scare to make sure they think something's down here, and not to come down.
You look for a rock, and find one. You wind up, then throw the rock through the window. The glass crashes and bursts inward, startling you, and you look up to make sure there isn't anybody looking at you from the second floor windows. There isn't, but any time now there will be, so you go to the window to get in. Hmm.. there are too many shards sticking out of the glass frame. You pick up a metal rod that's leaning on the house, and break open the rest of the window. More noise is heard upstairs. You climb in, and begin your search.
This time you're looking for any evidence that the local authorities have found concerning the murders. There should be some down here where all the guards were staying. Begin looking...
With all the guards upstairs, it's easier, but you're still tense. They could come down any time, if they gain enough courage, and if they remember that they're carrying swords and shields.
...but all goes smoothly. You find a folder full of papers and slip out the window you came in when you're done. And at the window you leave a little piece of paper, just to be mysterious and for fun. Mission accomplished; time to go back to town and try to sleep.
-
You go back to town and find a place to sit while watching the crowds of people go by doing their business. You find a water fountain by a concrete wall and sit on the edge. You look around from under your hood for anything of interest, not really knowing what to do.
You start thinking: let's see... the killer stinks. I've never known anyone that stinks like that, and I've never smelled that before. Let's see... I wonder where he could have taken her. I wonder if the local guards know anything about someone that smells. Hmm, that's it. I wonder if I could somehow find any clues in the guard station. I wonder if I could get in. No, maybe I'll just ask a guard around here some questions. Then if that doesn't work, I'll think about breaking into the guard station if I want to risk living in prison.
So you get up, then sit back down deciding to just wait for a guard to pass. You pull your hood further onto your face to prevent anyone from recognizing you, and look around. A few minutes later a guard passes by. You get up and run over to him saying, "Excuse me, but can I talk to you a minute?"
The guard turns and looks at you and says, "Sure. What is it?"
"Well, it's about the murders at Dr. Peters' place. I think I may know something. But, I don't want to waste your time, so first could you tell me what you know about who did it?"
"Ah, yes. Dr. Peters... good man. Well, I suppose so far we know almost nothing. Anything you know will help. Why don't you tell me?"
"Well, it won't make any sense unless I know what you know first. It's complicated."
"Alright. Well, all we know is that whoever did it was awfully sneaky and didn't leave any evidence this time. Just took the bodies and disappeared. We found no clues, which is unusual."
"Well, just a note: tell someone to go in the girl's room and see if the floor or anything smells like a dirty animal."
"A dirty animal? What are you saying? That an animal attacked them? Ha! Nonsense! Rubbish!"
"What? That's not what I meant. Just do it. The dirt by the house smells bad in some places. And they had no dog. I was looking around there yesterday just out of curiosity."
"Smelly dirt? Could be anything! You were probably smelling rat's droppings! Ha! Nonsense! Rubbish! Inconcievable! I don't know why I'm talking to you. You don't really know anything about this, do you? You're just an annoying young gossip seeker! Ha! Rob-hob-hogger!"
"WHAT?! NO! I mean, I said I know something about the killer! Do you want to know it or not?"
"Don't bribe me. I'm not in the mood to pander to your ignorant curiosity. Now scoot along before I have you cited for trespassing onto their property sniffing the dirt."
"Ok. Good luck solving this. Well, you can handle it. But I hope he doesn't find your address in the girl's address book that's missing from her dresser. I'm sure he'd like the address of the one who's trying to stop him. Good-day sir. Sorry for bothering you."
"WHAT?! BLEMISHES!! Wait young man, I must know something!"
"Leave me alone."
"NO! Listen! Tell me what you know and I'll have you released for trespassing!"
"Only if you listen..."
"Will do. I promise it by the hand of Honesty and Justice that drives me."
"Okay. Then finish telling me what you know. For an example here... uhh,.. do you know what direction the killer went? Any out-door witnesses?"
A big, bald headed guard, the Chief of Guards, walks by and hears him make that promise. Curious, he comes over and stands beside him, listening quietly with his hands behind his back. The other guard, obviously nervous, speaks;
"Yes. An old man and his missus recalled hearing a wild animal running behind them in the bushes not far from the property. I don't know what they were doing taking a walk at that time. All seniors should be indoors past midnight bell. They should be cited!!"
"-A wild animal?"
"Yes. But that's nonsense. It was the killer carrying the girl. Old fools... they should have their ears checked!"
"It was carrying her? How do you know?"
"The maddame' said she could hear a female screaming as if her mouth were covered, but then the man said that that was nonsense, and she agreed! Lousy old folks... Was it an animal or a young couple running away to from their parents like little love birds about to embark to the Legendary Beyond?! Blast them! All of them!"
"(gasp)... they heard her trying to scream? They... they did? (choke) They did?" you say, almost starting to crying.
"By Jones they did! Old fools. They couldn't tell the difference between a crying baby and a churchbell! Blast them all!!"
The Chief of Guards listens quietly, looking at you without expression... well, you can't see his mouth. He wears a thick pad that comes over his collar and covers the bottom of his face. He's probably making out that you knew the girl by your reactions. He seems like a wise, thoughtful man. He always has.
"... uh, which way... (gak*) ...which way did they say it... went?(choke)"
"Damn, I don't know! You can never tell when those two bastards tell you things! It's like one minute it's one way, and the next it's the other! Bah! Simply ridiculous!"
"Well, which way DID they say...?"
"They said it went straight across the Lake Gardens path they were on heading for the... okay, you see between the banana guy and that fruit stall?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, now look out into the field, and the road, and the lake over on the right... and to the left is the path they were on, and it was headed straight away from here, where I'm pointing, right in that direction, headed deep into the woods I guess. But you never know with the imbeciles. Why, for all you know-"
"-Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you look in that direction? Did any scouts take a look?"
"Nah. There's nothing out there past this field, then the picnic field in the woods, then there's nothing. Just trees. Not worth looking for something you won't find."
"Yeah, I know."
"But I'll tell you what... see to the right of the field here is the road to the estate neighborhood where all them rich people live. So the killer must have come right down along that path, then onto the path on the side of the lake, then cut into the forest. If one ventured out into the woods at night from there, they say you can see strange things afoot. That's why I don't know WHAT the hell them old fools do walking out there at night. And them cabin people... it's like nothin' scares em'. I'm sure one could find out who this killer is if one really made a habit of learning about the Legendary Beyond and it's inhabitants."
"Yeah..."
"I'll tell you what I think. I think t'damn killer is one of them legends that stalks around at night. That's why all the people he's ever killed, he's done some crazy bull-onion like break down doors, kick up carpets, shred curtains, all kinds ogd stuff. ...take a horse's head off, it even shoved a dog down some cow's throat... And some amazing bull-onion too, like jump over gates in one hop, jump off roofs, smash a cellar door open, hang a guy 40 feet up on a chandelier, jump out of a tree onto somebody,... all this freakidy bull-onion, and people have SEEN him do this!"
"Oh, horse..." you say softly, feeling sick to what you're up against, "...no way."
"Yes way, I'm afraid."
"You said people have seen him do this? What does he look like?"
"Ha! I have already told you what I really know about him: NOTHING! People have seen him do this, but they have not actually seen his person, you see? They have just seen his shadow, or his shape!"
"Okay. What's his shape? And what did his shadow look like?"
"I honestly could not tell you. I don't know. Niether do the witnesses. They didn't see enough of him to really know. But some have suggested that he be a creature from the Legendary Beyond too. One of them things you see by the lake at night. But I think NOT! I think them creatures mind their own business! We have never had complaints, just scared people who cannot control the speed at which their mouths speak."
"I thought you said it's something from the Legendary Beyond."
"Aye, I did, but I did not mean an animal. The animals mind their business. Even the the Goras do not actually bother people. I think this character might be a... don't laugh,.. possibly a mutant legend, kind of like I said. Maybe the one described in the ancient book of legendary wildlife. Havn't you seen any of these creatures?"
"Not really. I've never seen anything amazing out there. But I never really go out there at night."
"Really. That's fascinating. Because you seem like the kind of stranger who would like to be in a place like that on his travels."
"Oh, no, I'm just a quiet local who doesn't... uh, well, you know. I'm just a quiet local, I,.. um."
"Hmm, indeed."
"Yep. Well, thanks a lot for all of your help. I guess I'll be on my way."
"Not so fast; your turn to tell me what you know about this killer."
"Oh. Sorry, I forgot..."
"Indeed."
"Well, from what I've heard you say, I can say little you don't already know or havn't already assumed."
"Yes.. what is it?"
"Look, don't ask how I know, but be sure that I know it."
" ..."
The Chief of Guards raises an eyebrow.
"The girl's bed sheet and floor smells like a dirty animal."
" ..."
He raises the other eyebrow.
"I think you can be sure the killer is a creature from somewhere out there."
"And not a man?"
"Not a man."
"Understood... hmm.. Say,.. How do you know her bed smells this way?"
The Chief looks at him with an annoyed look.
"I said don't ask."
"Ah, of course."
"That's it for now, sir. Thank you. And before I go, I want to tell you something..."
"Yes?"
"But first I'll need your word sworn by honesty and dignity or whatever that you won't speak a word of it to anyone."
"... Okay," he looks at the Chief of Guards nervously for approval, and he nods, "I swear by my heart, that by Honesty and Justice, Grace and Virtue I won't speak a word of it to any being other than myself or my superiors."
"Okay. Listen... "
" ..."
Pulling down your hood and clenching your fist at your side, you say, "I'm leaving to find the murderer who killed my family. When I find him, I'm gonna beat him to the dirt and bury that... bick with my fist for what he did to me. He killed my dad, my mom, my brother and my sister... So I'm gonna kill that smicken beast.
"I think they're all probably dead, but I think my sister might still be alive. I guess I live by this; that she might be alive. If not, then I'm gonna pound him harder. After that, may... God help me live on.
"But you guys, don't stop me. Okay? I'm gonna be breaking into some places to find this guy if I have to. I won't steal anything or break anything, so it won't really matter. But you'll when it's me because nothing will be misplaced, and I'll leave a little paper that says it was me."
The Chief is a bit surprised, but takes it in stride. The other guy is dumbfounded...
"Chei vennet?" you ask looking at the Chief of Guards. He calmy nods, and you nod back, then put your hood back on, and disappear into the crowds.
The next morning you wake up very early in your spot. The town square is almost empty, and a cold fog has desceneded into the area. You can barely see out to the lake, past a few people and some stands. The only people here are shop owners getting ready to open up, who hurriedly pass back and forth carrying things and talking with one another. They seem like joyful people, who enjoy getting up at dawn to set up shop. It must also be nice to know all the other shop owners, like these guys do, and be able to swap with them and talk every morning before the town wakes up and comes in for breakfast, then work.
You adjust your cloak and hood, then go sit on the side of the water fountain that isn't running. When it is on, it just sprays a small stream into the water where there are lots of fish. It lines the side of a building, and the whole fountain's side is like a bench to sit and feed the fish.
You look out into the field, and back down at the fish. You pick some bread crumbs and drop them in the water, and watch as the fish swarm to the surface to eat them.
Though you try to distract yourself with these little pleasures like feeding the fish, you know that time is running out. Sooner or later... Sooner, you're going to have to find the killer before it's too late for your sister. That is, if she isn't alrea-...
But a hopefull thought enters your mind. "What if my whole family is still alive? I mean, if my sis might still be, then so might everyone! Well, yeah, but it actually does sound like this thing is a real killer. After what that guy said about how it killed that those people and jumped out of a tree, and did stuff like that... Well, maybe there's another reason for it getting my whole family. And maybe everyone is really alright. Or... maybe they're just waiting to die or something. (gasp), maybe since it's trying to get my WHOLE family, it's keeping them alive until it has me!
"Yeah, well, maybe. I dunno. But for now, I gotta boogie before it's really too late. But I think it's already too late. Oh well. I dunno until I find out. I just don't know yet. And I dont want to delay, then find out I was just barely too late."
You try to quickly think where to start today. You decide to take a walk along the lake, and go to the picnic field, and explore the woods and talk to people for any clues at all.
--You leave your spot by the fish, and walk out into the town square, that's more like cirlce. You reach the far side where it just ends and becomes grass, and keep going toward the lakeside. You pass over the small field of grass, and onto the nice Lake Gardens path. You talk to everyone you meet, never showing your face, asking questions. Some people know little things here and there about some nighttime creatures, but nothing useful. You leave the path and go to the picnic fields where many people are picnicing, and see who you can talk to. One man has heard of a path further in the woods that just starts suddenly in the middle of nowhere and seems to lead to nowhere. Rumor has it that the creatures come to the lake every night from that path. But he heard this in the local pub, so who knows where this story came from. You asked him, but he doesn't know where it starts, or where you might find it. He suggests trying a man called "Jahola," a local criminal who supposedly has a smuggling route out there somewhere.
You have heard of Jahola, but he definitely is NOT the kind of guy you want to just walk up to and ask where his smuggling route is... Let alone this mysterious path.
So, since it is your only real lead right now as to where you might find this killer, or at least some clues, you decide to spend some time trying to locate this path, and find out where it leads. But in order to do this, you'll have to break into Jahola's home looking for a map or notes. Ah, but that's okay. You already decided you can steal from criminals who have stolen from others.
That night you go after Jahola's house after asking a drunk guy where he lives. He pointed you down a road that goes into the shallow hills behind town, in a quiet neighborhood. You've just arrived at his front gate, after casually walking down the road sometime around midnight... It seems he might not be home, because all the small torches are out. Only one big one in the front yard is lit. You hop the fence and sneak over to a window. You look inside and see that he has some decorative candles lit, so he could be home.
You walk over to another window, and easily slide it open. This guy isn't too careful. You hoist onto the ledge and pull yourself through the window, head first. You struggle to pull one leg through under teh wieght of your body, then the other. With a thud, you drop down onto the carpet. You quickly remember what your brother always told you: "Never get into something you can't get out of." So you're going to know how to get out. You look through the window around the yard for ways out. There appears to be a back gate behind the house with no lock leading into a grove of trees. Oh, and there also appear to be two large dogs sleeping on a blanket in the grass. You look back at the window you came in, and think about how quickly you could get out. Hmm, it would take a while to pull youself up onto it, so you carefully pull a chair over to it, so you can very quickly hop back out. And the dogs probably won't hear you getting out, so it should be okay now. You unlock the back door too, just in case you can't get out the window. If you need the back door, you're gonna have to face those dogs, and dash out the back gate. Hmmm, yes.. those dogs. You're gonna need a stick or a knife if you face them. You walk over to the table in that room, and pull a big kitchen knife out of a tray, and slide it in your belt. That's when you remember that you have your brother's sword. Or more like a big, double-edged machette. You pull it out and hold it, and suddenly feel a lot safer. ...can't believe I forgot about the sword, you think... Even getting it through the window...
Now you're ready. You really have no idea what you'll find, but anything is good for now. You look carefully around the dining area for anything. Well, there are lots of things, but nothing of interest. Just out of curiosity you lift a small rug. Ah-hah! Some money! Jahola's been stashing money in his own home. I guess it does pay to be prepared. But not prepared for THIS; a fellow thief robbing his hidden stashes of money! Ha-ha-haaa! Sucker!
Oh! Inside the grandfather-clock! More hidden money! Hidden? Not anymore!
Ok, you're having too much fun. You have to be more careful when you walk on the floor. It creaks.
You go from room to room picking up random valuables, but find no notes or maps yet. However, you decide to only take hidden things. Take nothing at all that he'll notice is missing. Leave everything in place, and put everything back where you found it.
You come out of the kitchen, and see the stairs just off the center of the hallway. Ah, he must have his secret papers or whatever in one of the bedrooms. You slowly and carefully go up the curving staircase.
You emerge in the hallway on the second floor, hearing snoring, and being careful not to knock over this coat and hat hanger. It sounds like Jahola is home, asleep. You quietly enter and comb out the bedrooms and bathrooms, then very slowly and silently enter his bedroom.
The door creaks a bit, and he shifts in his sleep. You very slowly and quietly creep over to his open drawers and closets, looking for anything. Nothing. You get on your knees, and peek under his bed... Ah! Some folded papers. You grab the junkiest looking one and slowly, slowly unfold it. A map! It's a map of the city. It's originally a city map you pick up at the guard station or city hall, but there's alot of pen writing on it, and additions to the forest area. Seeing this, you fold it up and put it in a pouch on your belt. You reach into the same pouch and pull out a small piece of paper that says 'It was me' on it, and put it where the map was.
Now to get out, you quietly leave his room, and head for the stairs. You put your foot on the first step, and your hand on the wall. Just as you step down onto the second step, you feel a tug on your cloak. You look to your side, and freeze, stunned for a second as you see something pass right in front of your face. BANG!, the coat hanger crashes down on the stairs and tumbles all the down to the first floor.
You quickly look back, and hear "HEY! Who the hell is in here?!" Just as his door opens, you start running down the stairs. "What the?! HEY! YOU!!" he yells running after you. You run back to the dining room... no time to go out the window. You break for the back door, and burst through it, with Jahola right behind you swinging a big stick. The dogs jump up barking, and tear after you. You're running as fast as you can toward that back gate, trying to draw your sword from the pouch that's thrashing back and forth on your leg.
You slam into the gate, desperately trying to get it open and draw your sword at the same time. With one hand you wriggle the hatch, trying to force it open, but know that you probably won't get out with the dogs just 10 feet away, running and barking like they're going to eat you alive. With the other hand, you desperatly try to get your sword out, that won't come out for some reason. Suddenly it releases, and you hit yourself in the face with the handle. You're stunned for a second, and quickly swing around towards the dogs and the man with the stick.
The first dog is just about to bite into your leg, when your sword hits it in the side of the face. The dog yelps and backs a little bit, while you try to pull youself free from the gate, where your cloak is caught on the bottom. You pull vigorously, trying to get free while the second dog tries to attack. This dog you were ready for, but your sword is upside down in your hand, and you accidently drop it. The dog arrives, mouth gaping, and you slam your fist into it's head, then again, and again until you hear a crack.
The dog drops dead, and now Jahola is about to get to you. You pick up your sword, turn to the side facing the other end of the yard where you entered, and give all your effort to run, and try to tear your cloak free from the gate.
You surge forward, hear your cloak tearing, and just as it finally pulls free, you hear a "whiff" by your head. The sudden release of your cloak sends you tumbling to the ground, and you get up in a instant, heading toward to stack of logs by the fence that you used to get in, with Jahola right behind you. You run up the logs, and leap over the fence, down to the grass below. You land hard and roll a few times, then get up and run.
You're exhausted and panicked, and running very fast, hardly looking back.
That was too close. Way too close.
You'll have to see to it that that never happens again.
As you near the town jogging now, exhausted, you start thinking that the map had well better be worth it.
You slow down as you get to the market area, and stop. You bend over, and put your hands on your knees, and breath hard.
As you do this, a night watchman that saw you run into town runs over to you and says, "Are you alright young lad?"
Without standing up, with your hands still on your knees, you say, "No. Could you get me some water?"
"By Jones, what happened to you? You're all torn up!"
"I was chased by a.. (pant, pant, pant), man with a stick. Jahola. (huff, puff)"
"Whoa! Jahola?! Where?"
"...(huff, puff) the house at the avocado grove. (pant, pant, pant) He lives there."
"He does? What in heavens name were you doing there?"
"Nothing... just walking by and he attacked me. (huff, puff, huff)"
"I'm gonna to report this! We're gonna to get him and pound his onion!"
He ran away to the guard posts, and collected a crowd of officers. They gathered in the square, and didn't find you... you went to your spot at the fountain where they couldn't see in the dark, and just watched them. Minutes later, they quietly and quickly left in the direction you had come.
Quiet some time later, you were almost asleep in the wee hours of the morning, when all was still pitch black, and you saw them return with a Jahola chained up.
The whole group walked right by you on the way to the Chief of Guard's house, and didn't see you. Most of them were carrying boxes and things that they found at Jahola's house. You recognized some items they had.
You also noticed that a guard in the back of the group was walking slowly, just looking at a little piece of paper in his hand.
Mission accomplished. You have the map, and the Chief of Guards is about to find out that a wanted criminal was just captured. And he'll know why, because of a little piece of paper that says who it was. Why, it was me.
-- The next morning you wake up to the sound of the market crowds. You go get a much needed drink, then walk out to the field just out of town. From the field, you see the woods ahead of you, and the lake to the right. Behind you, just 300 yards away, is the town square that opens right into the field.
You sit down, and enjoy the cool morning air. Above you, the clouds haven't parted yet. But as you look at them, you see how thick these are. These could be rain clouds. If they are, well, maybe later wouldn't be such a good time to go look in the woods for this path. Or would it? In the rain, there are likely to not be any people or creatures out to bother you. You really don't want anyone following you.
You stand up and pull out the map, after looking around to make sure nobody's looking. Hmmm, yeeees. It says here to head out past the west side of the lake; okay, you're there, and follow the lake path a little ways, then... that's wierd: there's a tiny symbol drawn on the map of two stick figures on the lake path with horns. ...wonder what that means.
Then there's another drawn path coming off the lake path on the north side, heading north, then northwest, west of the picnicing field.
Well, for now you'll follow the path to the north side, and on the way see why there's an icon with two horned things on it.
You look behind you at the town, then at the lake, and start walking. You fold the map, and put it in your belt pouch. On the lake, you see ducks and geese floating about, and hear frogs and birds. You can also hear the steady rumble of the market, and horse's hooves.
Now you go onto the path, and try to walk casually. Today there are several couples, and various people all taking walks, but not that many. Every once in a while you pass someone.
You walk more slowly and cautiously as you near the area with that symbol on the map. You stop, and look around... nothing unusual. Some ducks. An old couple walking. And... two squirrels. You eye these squirrels suspiciously. They seem to be minding their own business, but who knows WHAT they're really doing so close to each other by that hole like that. You lower your body so that you're almost crouching, and look carefully... one of them suddenly turns it's head to you, and you get very tense in surprise. Then the other... You start moving your arms steadily, ready for anything,... "You okay-" "AH!!!" you yell in surprise and jump back. "GOODNESS!" says the old lady. "Are you okay, young man?" says the old man, trying again.
Catching your breath, you say, "Yeah. I'm fine. You scared me."
"Indeed... What are you doing?"
"I was just, uhh.. looking at these squirrels," you say glancing back at the hole, then realizing they're gone.
"Is that how you look at squirrels? Like you're going to pounce on them or something? Heh-heh-heh."
"..............huh? Sorry, what?"
"I said, you looked like you're afraid of them. Like one was gonna bite you."
"I did? Oh. Uhh,.. did those squirrels look funny to you?"
"Not at all. Why?"
Then you remember something, "HEY! Some, some guy told me about you! He said you heard an animal behind you the night Dr.Peter's girl was killed! Yeah, it must have been you!"
The wife answered, "Ah yes! It was us. We walk continually out here. This is our favorite spot." The man smiled and nodded.
"But..." the woman says curiously, "Why did you ask if the sqirrels looked funny?"
"Just wondering," these people look like decent people, and maybe they can help, "I was just wondering because you see, I have this map here, let me show you," you open it up, "that has this thing right here saying there are two thingies with horns here."
The man and his wife lean closer to see it. Then the man looks up at you without expression, and stares at you... His wife looks at him then tightens her lips, and jabs him in the side.
"Uh, yeah! Yeah! Those squirrels looked quite,..." his wife looked at him concerned, "...quite..." then he says in a slow, low voice, "...odd."
Hearing this nonsense, you take a step back and look at them. They are standing still as a stone, looking back at you without any expression. Then, like a hammer, this memory hits you. You remember the chief of police saying, "...can never tell when those old bastards tell you things! It's like one minute it's one way, and the next it's the other!"
You slowly take another step back, and look at them. They havn't moved a muscle, and stand there like statues. They just look at you as an unseen horror consumes you. The man starts shaking very lightly, and the skin on his face shifts. He shakes more quickly, and suddenly you notice his eyes have darkened and are changing shape...
That's enough! You turn and run in sheer terror as fast as you can back to the city. Behind you, you hear a loud, beastly moan.
You shoot into the market, terrified, and grab onto the nearest person for safety. "Hey! What are you-?" "AHHHHHH!!!" you yell, grabbing onto this lady very tight.
Her husband pulls you off and holds you out in front of him, ready to punch you, until he sees your horrified face, that's not even paying attention to him.
"NO! Don't hurt him!" the lady yells, "He's very frightened of something!"
The man drops you, and catching your breath, you try to calm yourself down as a small group of people gathers around, looking at you lying on the ground.
People start asking you what's the matter, but you just look past them at the sky. You say softly to them, "I saw something."
"What?" The woman asks.
"Wierd people." you say as people start murmering amongst themselves, looking at each other.
People start asking you questions as you get up and start to walk away, but you don't say anything. A growing crowd is starting to follow you as you get up. You listen, but don't answer. Instead you turn, and they are all silent as you say, "Who has seen the old couple who always walk by the lake?"
They all nod, and say "here" or "I have."
Then they are silent again as you ask, "Who are they? Who knows them?"
They start looking at each other silently, but nobody speaks.
You say, "Then nobody knows them," and walk away.
Several days later, at the end of a long week, you wake up to the sound of chirping birds and early-morning shopkeepers setting up their shops and stands. You like this early morning environment, just at dawn, when everything is crisp and cool, and the air is filled with freshness.
The last of the crickets are still chirping, and the dew has settled into little droplets hanging from the edges of rooftops, and branches of trees. The grass is wet and cold, but you're warm and bundled in your dark blanket looking out on the marketplace. As you gaze out, you try to notice the individual people walking into town on the dirt road with their humble supplies of goods, as they prepare for the day's earnings.
But stop enjoying the simple things for a moment. Look into the woods behind the dirt road... a young looking girl wrapped in cloaks is running onto the dirt path. She is heading for town, and holding something... probably a woven basket. She runs awkwardly and appears to be exhausted the way she struggles. She stopped to bend over and catch her breath on the path, as if it's the first rest she's gotten in a while. She's rubbing her back with one hand as if it's hurt, and holding an empty basket with another. After a moment, she continues quickly down the path toward the market.
The random merchants and shop-keepers seem to ignore her as she hurries past them. The sight of her somehow makes you feel pity... she looks scared, the way she has been glancing behind her.
She ran onto the pavement of the square then stops and turns around. She puts her hand on her forehead like a salute, to see further. She leans in the direction she is looking, and, probably not seeing anything, turns back around and starts glancing about for something.
She starts slowly walking down the quiet square... she turns her covered head and seems to look at you. She is probably wondering why your head too is covered.
She looks around again, then, as if remembering something, suddenly starts running through the square toward the areas behind you; the areas deeper in town.
Curious, you get up and run onto the path where you can see her and stand against a wall, not to look suspicious. She is still running, and turns and sees you... she does not stop running, and soon is out of sight behind the buildings.
- - - - - -
That night, after some more missions, you are back at your observation spot at the water fountain and fish pool. This evening you have some new boldness after some successful missions, and a lot of energy after some time of rest in the latter part of the day.
After buying some expensive food with the money you stole, you sit in your spot looking out across the grassy field into the woods thinking about things... planning some, reflecting on the events of the evening; sneaking into estates,...
Now it's getting dark, and shops are getting ready for night business. The city's people have come out to socialize in the torchlit square, and you again see the girl, in the marketplace this time. She is walking toward the road to the woods holding a basket full of bread and will probably start running any time...
You jump up and start walking quickly toward her, but weaving in and out of the groups of people so she won't see you. She is still walking when you get right next to her, standing behind a big man...
You want to follow her this time, to see where on earth she's going with a basket of bread at this time, in the dark, out in the woods, just nights before the next Gora; when the loud beasts come to the lake to drink and eat. Just where does she think she's going at a time like this?
Very suddenly she starts running. You quickly run to the side of the path she is on, behind the bushes and trees where she can't see you. She runs and you run behind her to the side.
Soon she's comes to the beginning of the path by the lake,.. and stops. You stop too, and quietly crouch down. What is she doing? She is slowly leaning over looking around very carefully as if not to get anyone's attention. ...wonder why.
Suddenly she gasps loudly and starts running very fast. It startles you and you jump up and look in the direction she looked when she shrieked... what the? That old couple. Either your eyes greatly decieve you or they are running... yes, running toward you from about 100 yards away. Even wierder, they seem to be... uh, galloping after her. They're doing like a run-jump, almost like skipping, but with their arms out like lemurs and their backs hunched over.
This scares you too, and you start running very quickly after her. But this time you don't care if she sees you. As again the old people scare you, and you want to be close to someone... and looking behind you, you see they are still after you.. or her.
She looks behind her and sees you running after her. She panics more and runs more frantically, then drops a loaf of bread... you come to it, and quickly scoop it up, and keep running.
You look back again and see that the old couple, left far behind, have stopped running after her. But you keep running after the girl who hasn't stopped running. She is starting to really get tired now. You can see her arms start to lower with each step, and her steps get slower and heavier. You are gaining, and aren't tired yet, but then she trips on a tree root and crashes to the ground, spilling out all the loaves...
You run up to her and grab her arm to help her up and say, "Are you alright? Here, you dropped this." She lifts her face quickly off the ground and looks up, then jumps to her feet and tries to pull away. "Hey, what's wrong? Wha..?" She looks scared and tries to pull free, but you won't let go of her arm. At least not yet... not till you get some answers.
Still holding her tight, you say as if casually, "You need help picking those up?"
She stops struggling, and looks at you for a moment breathing heavily. "You okay?" you ask again.
She says sounding curious "You... (huff, puff, huff) You... (huff) aren't a... a... (puff) one of them? A... ?" "What? I'm a what?" "You. A... umm, thingy?" "I don't understand. And where are you taking that bread at a time like this? Who are you, anyway?"
"No, me first. Who are YOU? And what on earth are YOU doing following me through a place like this?"
"Well, I couldn't help but notice you taking a basket of bread back and forth from the city at the worst possible times through the danger of the woods, and..."
"So? I got my reasons, okay?"
"Okay... but I have reasons too for following you out here."
"Yeah? Name one. What, were you trying to rape me?"
"Well, let's see... maybe you could tell ME why I thought I should follow you out here."
"What do you mean?"
"You know... those people."
"Oh, you mean... you mean, them?"
"Yeah, who is them? Who are them? Who are they?"
"They're just, uhh. Why?"
"Ah! See?! I've seen them before! They aren't normal. Did you see how they ran? They ran like... like a... like a kangaroo with a broken leg. And..."
"I still think you were trying to rape me... till you saw them."
"I, Was, NOT!"
"Okay. So just tell me exactly why you're following me out here tonight?"
"Okay... I have some buisness in the woods. I'm looking for, uhh, someone. And I've been very curious about all the wierd things out here. Like,... them. Don't ask why, but time is running out for me. Maybe I'm aleady too late. I'm,.." and saying bitterly, with a tremor in your voice, "I'm... desperate now."
Hearing that, she says more gently, "Too late for what?"
"Nothing. It's... " and bitterly again, "It's personal, or uhh... it's about my family. Could you... please help me a little?"
"Umm.. o, okay... I guess. What is it?"
"Do you know anything about this guy... I uh, haven't actually seen him before, but he's like... he can jump real far, and he's really strong, and... uhh, he's probably real dangerous?"
She looks down, and ponders a moment, "I,.. I don't think so. Sorry. Why?"
"Wait, what ARE you doing out here with this bread? You still havn't told me."
"Oh,... I guess that's personal too. It's kind of about MY family."
"Well, I would say you're family is putting you at great risk sending you out with bread at night."
"They didn't actually SEND me out here, okay? I said it's personal."
"Oh, sorry, I..."
"I don't even know why I'm TALKING to you! I'm in a hurry to get this to my family before*... goodbye." And she starts running.
You yell to her quickly, "Wait! Stop!" She stops and turns, and you say "I thought there were no houses past here. Where does your family live?"
She is silent, then says weakly, "I... don't know."
You are silent and think for a moment, confused... "Well, would you like me to help you find them?"
She says softly, walking back over to you, "No. Sorry. You can't. You just can't... it's dangerous. It's no good risking you too."
You think a moment at the irony, then say "Look, I think it will help both of us. Because I also can't find my family. And it's been dangerous looking for them too."
She looks hard at you, though you can't see her face through her hood. She cannot see yours either, but asks, "Who are you?"
As she says this, an odd roar-like sound is heard in the distance, from the direction she was running. She quickly looks in that direction, and says softly, "(gasp), it's close!"
"What? Close? What is it?"
She quickly turns to you and grabs your hands and pleads, "Can you take me with you back to town?" "Yeah,*" "Okay, thanks. Quick! Let's hurry!" She says as she pulls you and starts running back.
You yell while running, "What about the old people?" she yells back, "Don't worry about them! That thing is what you wanna worry about!"
"Well what IS it?!"
"No time now! I'll tell you when we get back!"
- You two run hard back into town and stop at your spot, then crash down exhausted. It's dark now, and people are out in the market socializing over coffee.
Still breathing hard, you say "Okay,... wha.. what was that? Why did we run?"
"I...(huff, puff) I dunno what it is. I, uh (huff, huff)... always hide from it. It tried to kill me. It kills people."
"Really?! By any chance, does it ever come into town?"
"What do you mean? Why?"
"Im just wondering... Maybe I've seen it before."
"You HAVE? Where?"
"I said MAYBE, but I don't know. Does it?"
"I dont know... why do you ask? What did you see?"
"......nothing. I just saw something at my house once."
"Oh. Your house? Why aren't you at your house?"
"That's what I'de like to know."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. I don't want to talk about it. I dont tell anyone."
"Oh."
"Look, let's not talk about it anymore... I don't want to think about these things anymore. I'm trying to forget."
"Stop. You're worrying me... you sound all hurt about it."
"Im AM all hurt about it!"
"Oh... Im sorry."
There is silence for a moment. ...you look up and ask, "Where are you going to stay tonight? You can't go back to the woods."
"OH! (gasp!) I forgot... I have to go back right now!"
"What?! Are you crazy? You'll be killed!"
"Don't worry about me... you stay here. And I MEAN it now! Don't follow me!"
"BUT YOU'LL BE KILLED!"
"NO! It comes out at night and wanders, then comes back in at dawn. I can make it."
You are silent and look at her in amazement, then say slowly and softly, "Then it comes back IN? You know where it lives? You even know it's patterns or if you'll survive?"
"YES, OKAY?! I have to go now!"
"What's going on here? How is this?!"
"I can't tell you!! I have to GO NOW!!! BYE!"
She quickly turned to run, but you grabbed onto her sleeve in the usual spot; an old habit from grabbing your brother's sleeve. She turned and yanked free, then started running hard toward the woods. You followed as far as the edge of the grass, then stopped and yelled "COME SEE ME WHEN YOU GET BACK!"
After a second of listening, you hear a faint reply, "Okay!"
-
Late that night you break into the museum of native wildlife to look through their archives of creatures; archives that are never on display. A while after midnight the girl arrives in the marketplace, and goes to your spot. She reads a paper that you left her that says, "Go to the museum. Knock."
A short while later you are on a bench in the museum looking through sketches of wildlife, and are amazed at the variety of wild animals you have never seen or heard of before. Most aren't even talked about in school... and some don't even look like animals at all. ...then you hear a soft "tap, tap" on the glass of the side door. You say softly, but loud enough, "Come in."
The door rattles back and forth, and doesn't open. You get up and go to the door to unlock it... and let her in.
"Hey," she whispers. "Hi. Glad you decided to show."
"Why are you in here?," she says very softly, "You could get caught."
"It's okay. I do it all the time," you say walking her to the bench you were at.
You both sit down, and you position a large sketch-book across her lap and yours, each one of you holding one side.
Always softly, you say, "Tonight I've been looking through these at all the different things found around here. Stuff I've never seen or heard of."
"Oh," she whispers, "What did you find?"
"Well, nothing that helps, since I don't know what you've seen. I called you here tonight to look through these books with me and show me if they have what you've seen."
"Okay. Let's see."
She turns the page and is silent... then turns again several times, then points to one, "There. I've seen some of these around in the morning. They eat grass, and are afraid of people. ...They're wierd."
You look at the bottom corner of the page and read softly, "They have a name. It says here, Ten-tura: A small herbivore observed in the late night and early mornings. Then the artist's signature."
"Tentura. Hmm..."
You look at her a moment and ask softly, "By the way... why do you keep your head covered? Even here, tonight? I can't see what you look like."
"Well, I was going to ask you the same."
"Because I don't want anyone knowing who I am... Why do you?"
"The same. I don't want people asking me anything or talking to me. I dont want people to recognize me now."
"Recognize you from where? Who are you, anyway?"
"If I could tell you, I wouldn't be covered right now, now would I?"
"Well, I guess."
"And why do YOU do it?"
"Because I don't want people recognizing me either. Nobody can know who I am. Same as you I guess, but I'm getting awfully suspicious of you. You have all the same reasons as me. Or so you say. And you also can't find your family, but won't tell me why."
"Okay. I still can't walk about it... so let's just forget about that. ...let's just talk about these things in the book, okay?"
"Okay, okay. Sorry. ...here, turn your page."
"Okay,... Look here," she says "See this giraffey thing? I saw one in the woods one night. It spooked the heck out of me. I almost peed mt pants it was so... *ga, sorry." "And?" "I was so scared... it just stood there and like... walked in slow motion. It was looking right at me, and its eyes were big. Then it... stretched out its neck and pointed it,... RIGHT at me..."
"What did you do?"
"I grabbed onto a tree and held real tight... and I was so scared and I couldn't do anything and I was cryin'... and squeezing the tree so hard... and it just walked away. And I sat down cryin' holding onto the tree, crying on it... it scared me so bad... "
"Dang. I'm sorry... sounds awful. Well, look. It says down here something about it... Zagette (zuh-GET): a large, long-necked nocturnal herbivore. Very social, curious... interest in humans. Often friendly, shy, feedable... it sounds nice now that we read about it."
"It guess it was. But I hope I NEVER EVER see it again."
She turns the page again, and looks at some others, then turns another page...
"I wonder if they have the old people in here" you say. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're in here classifyed as walking corpses, the old scum."
"You really hold a grudge against them... "
"I do now. The Chief of Guards told me he hates them. He said they always change their story, and are dumb, forgetful imbeciles who can't find anything better to do than walk around the lake."
"...and chase girls. Every time. Let's see if they're in here... you never know."
"What?"
"Nothing, sorry."
"Mmm. And he said they tell the police lies, and blah blah blah, and he hates them, and so do I, and they're stupid, and I wish I could kill them, and they're dumb, idotic weasels, and yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they're in here as another species, those miserable fools."
"He he he,... you remind me of my brother. The way you talk."
"Why? What's he like?"
"He's like you, duh. Except... (sigh). Well, you even sound like him."
"Well, if his name is Revin..."
She slowly turns another page.
"Wow." you say, looking at the page... "Look at this thing."
On this page there is a sketch showing a muscular man-like creature hiding behind some bushes. It doesn't show it's face, and the only thing you can really see other than it's wearing a small hood on it's head and little else; some belts, a loin cloth... is that it's arms are a little long, and have torn flaps of skin underneath them.
Amazed, you read aloud the text in the corner of the page, "Alleged man of myth. Highly dangerous carnivore - (cannibal?) 6-8ft standing..."
You look to see her reaction, or as best you can anyway, but she is staring down at her page, daydreaming about something.
"Hey, wake up... look."
"Huh? Oh, sorry... Oh!"
"What's on your mind?"
"Hmm? Mmmmm, nuh- nothing."
"Could I get some kind of small answer this time?"
"... ...I want to, I want to! But Im afraid of what might happen if I tell you. I'm sorry, I just can't. I wish I could but I can't."
"What? What are you saying?"
She puts her hand gently on yours and holds on... "Please try to understand. I cannot tell you these things now. Bad things could happen if I do... Terrible things. I really want to tell you everything, but I can't. It hurts to have to tell you this. It hurts really bad."
She slides the book onto your lap, and slowly stands up. ...then says softly, "Goodnight." and very slowly and quietly starts to walk away.
Looking thoughtfully at her you say softly, "Listen," she stops and stands still, facing away from you, " ...I have to warn you. You see, it seems you are on top of me now. You know something I don't. You seem to know exactly what I'm talking about..."
"I can say only this to relieve you," she interupts, "...Look down at that page. Get a good look at it. I think that's who you have been searching for."
You look at the page in disbelief. Then back up at her, "It is this sense of irony... that is killing me. Everything I do you seem to be doing too. And yet you will not tell me who you are, or what it is you do out there. So it's hard... All I'm saying now, is be warned: I can hardly take this anymore... dont be surprised if one of these days I tear your hood off to see who you are."
"But please, Revin. Don't be troubled by this.-"
"-And you say I remind you of your brother... And now you are sounding like my sister. But let me tell you what... you better not say you're her. My sister is dead. As is the rest of my family. They're all dead."
"No Revin! They live!"
"No! They're dead."
"Please! Believe me, brother! They live!"
"Dont call me that!"
"Look! Look at the page before you! He did it... But they are all still alive in his keep!"
"No..."
"Yes. And on the night he did it to me..." there is a long pause, "...he took me to the balcony, and I saw you. And I was so sad... because I thought it was the last time I'd see you."
"Nooo... stop-"
"And he jumped... and landing, it almost broke my back. But I could still see you looking down, trying to see me. I knew you thought the same thing I did; I knew you thought that was the last time we'd see each other."
With tears rolling down your face now, "No..."
She sits down beside you, and runs her hand across your back, and rests it on your shoulder... just the way your sister always did. "I was carried past the lake..." she begins to tell you gently, like a story, trying to make it easy for you, "and carried past the old people, who hissed at it. I was carried a long way into the woods, out to a hole in the ground, with a torch right above it.
"But before it took me into it's hole it dropped me, and started looking around real fast like an animal, and sniffing alot. Then another just like it jumped out and attacked it, and I got hurt. I got up quickly and ran, thinking of you. You were all I had left, brother! To me, everyone else was dead."
You slowly turn and look at her face, through the hood. It's hard to tell,.. but her voice sounds kind of...
"I turned to see if they were following me, but they were still fighting each other, like crazy.-"
You shake your head very slowly.
She slowly nods back, and grabs the bottom of her shirt with her free hand. She whispers, "You wanna see?"
You nod, and she pulls up her shirt showing a long scar on her stomach, running up the side, "I was cut when they started fighting. They both landed by me, and one of them accidently kicked me in the stomach.
"So as they were fighting I tried to run back here, but my stomach and my back hurt so bad I could hardly run."
Now you just listen...
"I rested, but went back as soon as I could because I heard voices coming from inside. I called in, and it was mom! And dad! And Jeremy! They were all in there! They said to come in quickly, that it was safe, so I did. And inside... inside it's all a dungeon. It's lit by torches, and well kept, like a prison. And there are cells in there, too. Mom and Dad share one, and Jeremy has his own... but they have no doors, and no locks. Just bars. And there are empty cells with dead people... I mean bones. That thing just leaves them in there to die.
"So I went back to town every day to get bread for them to eat... and also for a monster that mom befriended that's also in a cell. The poor thing had it's legs broken off. And there's a pond by the hole that has fresh water.
"I guess they're all just stuck in there... till I find out how to open the cells. Then, maybe I can open it, but until then I just bring them the bread and water."
You dont say anything... just stare at the floor.
She puts her other hand on your shoulder and says softly, "This is what happened."
She squeezes your shoulders and massages them for a moment, and you close your eyes. Yes, she would do this too. After a minute of this she stops, and you feel a gentle kiss on your cheeks. She slowly stands up and says, almost whispering, "I'm going back to town."
You look up and ask, "Why?"
"To sleep. You can stay here and think about it."
" ..." you just watch her.
She turns to walk away, but remembers that you aren't all sunshine right now. She turns back to you and asks, "Are you okay?"
You just stare a moment, "I will be."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry too," she looks down a second, "You just need to think about it and rest some. Go back to your spot in town soon, before the museum people get here. Okay?"
"(sigh), okay. Where will you be?"
"I'll be there."
You manage to smile. "Okay."
"Goodnight. I love you."
"...Goodnight. Love you too."
"May your holy Angel protect you," she says as she turns and walks away.
...your mom would say this every night when you went to bed. It's reassuring to hear this now, from her; forgot you had one?
-
The next morning you wake up in your usual spot all wrapped up in blankets... you turn and look up at the sky and blink, letting yourself wake up. You look back down at your blankets and pull them back up. Then you're startled when, looking to your side, you see your sister's long hair spread across a blanket. ...then relaxed again when you remember that she's here.
Glancing down you think, and absorb this information: the fact that, yes, she is actually here. Right here.
And you think happily; Really? Could it be? Why, yes! It is! I cant believe it! She's here, Alive! They're ALL alive!!! ALL OF THEM!
You look back at her and gently lift the blanket off her face just to reasure you it's really her... yes, it's the face you know so well; then softly put it back down making sure not to wake her.
You carefully get up and put the blankets you were using over her, then walk out into the marketplace. Walking around, you think... you think about what you just found out. You think about your family. You wonder how you can get them back. You wonder about the killer... and the old people, and the creatures out there.
Absorbing all this, you walk around slowly in the early morning light through groups of shop owners and workers all getting ready to open up shop. You stop and turn facing the woods and stand still with your arms crossed. You look deep into the woods... though you cannot see through the tress, you look far into the woods with your mind. You squint your eyes, and raise your chin a bit... you cross your arms tighter, and adjust your feet... glaring into the woods as if to intimidate what lies within.
You slowly close your eyes... and let your imagination take you further into the woods... all the way to the creature's hole as it goes in, for daybreak has come. But you stop it before it enters, and it turns and looks up and around wondering what the disturbance was. And you tell it sternly with your mind, "You're going down."
You open your eyes and turn around, facing the shops and keepers who prepare them. Now you feel like you're not alone... you feel like your whole family came back to life after several weeks thinking they were dead. And you feel comforted knowing that your sister is near after being alone and isolated for a long time.
Feeling better, you walk into the marketplace, in the midst of all the shopkeepers walking back and forth doing things. You go over to one shop that serves hot milk and drinks and ask the owner, "Are you open yet?"
"Nay, not really. But what can I get for you?"
"How about a large hot milk with honey?"
"Ah, yes. Splendid. I'll have it ready momentarily."
"Okay, thank you. By the way, how big is your "large" size? Is it enough for two? ... Oh, good. That'll be plenty."
"I'll call you when it's ready."
"Okay."
So you walk away and stand around for a few minutes while the man prepares it in his booth.
"Young man! It is done."
Walking over you say, "How much will it be?"
"25 bits."
You hand him the money and walk away with your large hot milk with honey. It's hot sides warm your hands in the cold morning air, so you grip it tightly and take small sips. Your warm mittens help with the warming. Without them the sides of the cup would be too hot.
...you walk around sipping at it slowly for a while... until half of it is gone. Then you slowly walk it back to your "spot" where your sister is sleeping. Slowly, so that time will go by quicker and she'll wake up sooner. But you know she probably won't wake up for quite a while still. It's only past dawn and she got to sleep hours past midnight after a whole night of running into and back from the woods. Coming to think of it, it was only a few hours ago that you two got to sleep.
And you're already up and about... you sleep lightly when alot is on your mind. But not her. Seems like she'll never wake up. But again, it IS only dawn and she DID have a much rougher day than you did yesterday, not to mention getting to sleep so late and everything.
But now you just stand there looking at her trying to decide if you should just wake her up or what. What on earth are you going to all morning until she wakes up? ...but then have some pity and think that she had better sleep well if she's going to go back to the woods tonight... and every night.
You just sit down at her head and set the milk down in front of you, right by her head. It clangs when it touches the ground and she shuffles a little bit... you get hopeful for a second, but she stops.
"Heyyy," she says smiling suddenly with her eyes closed and hardly moving her lips.
"Wha? Are you awake?"
"uhh-huhh" she says sounding half asleep with her eyes still closed. And never opening them, she continues...
"Good morning."
"Good morning. I was wondering when you'd wake up."
"Hmmm,..." she moans, "What time is it?"
"Uh, dawn."
"Good night."
"Heh, too late now," you laugh, "Now you gotta get up or I'll make you."
"Mmm-hm-hm-hm," she laughs with her lips closed, "What's the rush?" she says finally opening her eyes, and looking up at your face that's almost directly above hers.
"The rush is, that... uhh, that,... well, first of all I got you hot milk and it'll get cold, and second, I want you to get up so we can catch up on what's been going on."
"Oh, you got me hot milk? With honey?"
"Yeah."
"Aww, how sweet. Thank you."
"But you can't have any unless you get up. So come on, it's very nice out at this time."
"Yeah but, but... do I have to? I want to drink it here in bed and-"
"Ye-e-e-s, you have to. Now get up, I'll help you."
- - A while later, that morning while you two were talking...
"...but how did you provide fresh loaves for them every day?"
"I have to work for the money to buy the bread. I work by day and bring them bread and water at night."
"What? You poor girl had to go to work for it?"
"Yes. I got jobs tending cats and gardening at an estate."
"Cats? You're allergic to cats!"
"I know. But I love cats and it was the only other job I could find to make enough for four loaves every day," she said sadly, "...and... I'm so glad I found you because yesterday was the last I could afford the loaves. I'm no longer needed tending the cats, and the estate's gardener just got back from somewhere to continue working full time. I didn't even have enough yesterday, but I begged and the man let me have them just that once. I didn't know what I was going to do after that. "
"You righteous dove... you should have stolen the loaves every day. You didn't have to go to work like that, you know."
"You un-righteuos hawk, I'm going to leave the stealing to you and your brother... What if I got caught stealing? Then who would feed mom, dad, and Jeremy?"
"I get your point. And... to be honest, I'm impressed you did all that for them... Thanks. I don't know if I would have done the same."
"Thanks for feeling that way, Revin... but I have to tell you something."
"Uh-huh."
"...Why you can't go with me tonight."
"What? Why not?!"
"Just listen. It's along that line of 'You dont know if you would have done the same.'"
"No, I didn't mean it like that, I meant-"
"Just listen, please. I don't mean it like that either. ...I mean, I have a different approach to doing things. It just seems to me that you, you and your brother, would handle this with violence and make your chief goal to kill the thing..."
"No I wouldn't."
"Yes you would, you told me last night. You didn't say you were searching for your family, you said you were looking for 'IT'."
"That's because I thought they were dead, remember?"
"Oh... yeah."
" ..."
"But still... You have the tendency to just get into fights with things much bigger than you are... and every time I have to come get you off your back and nurture you just until you're on your back again."
"What are you saying?"
"That you'll certainly tangle with that thing once you see what it's done to them."
"Why? What did it do?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? How nothing?"
"I mean EVERYTHING!" she says getting emotional, "It just LEAVES them there to die, and for NO reason! And there are places in there where people have been killed in strange ways, and many empty cells with just bones! It even kills other monsters in there! Just for fun, or something! Jeremy said the other night it dragged in a big monster like itself, and heard it screaming for hours and hours and hours into the night, until finally it just stopped. OOH, I hate to think about that. (sniff) I try not to think about it,... but to think how close our own family members are to being killed like that, (sniff)... it's, it's... ohhhhhh." she says starting to cry.
Comforting her, you just think bad thoughts of what must go on in there... but almost on queue, looking up from your shoulder she says tearfully, "Don't think about it, brother."
" ..."
A minute goes by in silence.
...and she says in a soft voice, still leaning on you, "I wonder where it all comes from."
" ..."
"How they got here, and why. ...I wonder."
You think a moment, "...I wonder why nobody ever goes out farther than the edge of the woods, except-"
"I don't know."
"Nobody goes out that far, except Jahola."
"Hmm?"
"Some smuggler. He's in jail."
"He goes out there? Where does he go?"
"I don't know. But I stole a map he made, and it shows a path that goes far... then it stops and he circled a big area at the end of the path. But that's it. Just a big empty circle. Like the size of a small town."
"Oh," she says with a sense of urgency, "what direction would you say that is?"
" ..., looking from here, probably just straight out in the woods. If there were no trees, you could almost see that area from on top of a hill. But the forest is all ups and downs."
"Because you know, when I'm out there at night I see things going in that direction. I've looked around in the woods. I've looked on all three sides of the lake, and the only place I've seen anything is... imagine a 'zone' going from the lake straight out into woods, past the hole where mom dad and Jeremy are, and to that 'circled area.' It's like the only place anything ever is, is right in between the lake and that area. Like they're going back and forth, from the 'area' to the lake, from the lake to the 'area.' You see what I mean?"
"I think so. So you only see things that are between us and the hole."
"Yeah, exactly. And so the only way I can avoid being attacked by anything is to go way around and make a half-circle. ...it takes so long."
"But remember that night I followed you out there? You were going straight through."
"Well see, it's safer to go in that big half circle, but I don't. I tried it once and it takes hours longer and makes me tired. I was scared to death I wouldn't make it there in time before that thing went back in."
"...I'm worried about you going out there."
"So am I." she laughs, sadly fearful.
"You know that one of these nights you'll have to take me out with you... to see them."
"Yes. One of these nights."
"You know how long it's been since I-"
"Yes. I know."
Coming to tears you plead weakly, "Tonight?" shutting your eyes and clenching your teeth, you quietly cry. ...and she puts her arms around you.
"No, brother. I cannot. I'm so sorry, but I just can't."
"..."
"Please try to understand that it's for the better."
...there's only silent sobbing and eyes shut tight with tears streaming out of them onto red cheaks and stretched lips, frowning, showing clenched teeth.
"Not tonight." she says very softly and sadly, and whispers again, "Just not tonight."
That night you see her off to tend your family. ...after getting good bread for her to take, and making sure she ate a lot so she'd have enough energy.
At dark you walk her out of the market, and past the dark grassy field, onto the edge of the path by the lake. Your faces are lit by the soft reflections of lamps across the lake. You two stop and quietly look out to the houses on the other side; the mansions that were your nieghbors', your friends', and your own. The lamps softly flicker on the water, and shine in your eyes. You two just stand there silently, each with an arm through the other's, remembering past times. ...the memories bring sadness, and makes her press herself against you.
After a long moment of silence, you look down at the top of her head, covered in a dark hood, and her hair flowing out from under a red scarf wrapped around her neck, and drifting onto her back that's covered in a dark red wool coat. She's looking little dark riding hood, with her hood, coat, and basket, but if not alot prettier.
You put your hand with mittens slowly around her head... you shift your gaze to her head, and notice something above move slightly, far away. You look up and focus your eyes onto the lake path further away... and see something shifting in the reflections of the lake.
You whisper very softly and slowly into her ear, "I think... you should go now."
You put your hand on her head and turn it slowly in the direction you saw it. She sees as the figure of the old couple appears, and says softly, "Oh." She turns her head back to you and whispers, "Okay, I'll see you later tonight."
She kisses you bye, then quickly moves off the path heads into the deep forest.
You feel a coldness in your throat and chest; a coldness of being alone and needing the warmth that only one's presence can give. You cross your arms and sigh, looking in the direction she ran, wishing she hadn't gone.
You then look menacingly back down the path at the two things, only turning your head to them, as if to show them that they aren't enough of a concern to face them entirely. ...when she left, they slowed down and have stopped about 100 yards away. They stand there hunched over, looking disoriented, as thought disappointed she got away. They look about in different directions with quick head movements, as if wondering what to do. Though they look like people, they're body movements and posture is like that of an ape-man, with a bent back.
The 'female' one has it's back to you, and the other is standing facing the lake behind you. Though they pretend to ignore you, they are clearly aware of your cold glare watching them.
As you stare at them, memories pass of the years you've seen them by the lake only as an average elderly couple. You realizingly remember at least several times you walked by them and said "Hi," and they said Hi back. You notice that you have no memory of ever seeing them anywhere BUT the lake... on the far side.
You then remember the night very recently you showed them Jahola's map, and the one started changing as you stared at him... then you ran away. You then squint your eyes and turn your whole body facing them, and lean your head forward, looking hard at him.
Suddenly alarmed at your piercing gaze, they whip around facing you, and like frightened cats look left and right very quickly and at you, looking tense and scared, with their hands tight and fingers fully extended.
You look at the man with the image of him you saw that night. He suddenly raises his hands to his head and starts thrashing about violently. His legs curl him into a squatting position, and he sticks out his chest and arms and looks up with a big strain in his face, as if silently screaming into the sky. ...and the skin on his face curls and twists and rots, and his eyes extend and blacken. His scalp peels off leaving gorn skin sticking out of his head. Still straining his face into the sky with his arms flexed outward, his legs straighten and he slowly stands up, as the morphing flesh travels down his neck and consumes the rest of his body. He now stands calmly as a zombie with big, black eyes looking at you. The woman now convulses as you look at her, and in a few seconds her skin all at once morphs to resemble the man's rot... her eyes too, large and black.
Then you hear the cry of a young girl, "Tobi-i-i! Where aaaaare you, boy? To-o-o-o-bi!! Here, puppy!"
The two things look behind them in the direction the call came. "Tooooobiii! Where aaare youuu?" They look back at you, as you shift and unfold your arms, holding them out to your sides nervously, ready to move.
The calls keep coming closer, and nobody moves. You can see a torchlight approaching further down the path, heading straight for them, but you keep your cool.
You then recognize the voice as that of a one of your nieghbors; a nice little girl who lived by you, named Kara - a little six year old who admired you and your brother.
She approaches the things, and they quickly straighten their posture, and the shorter one holds onto the male's arm, they way they did as they walked. She emerges from behind some bushes and comes out right in front of them...
"To-!... Oh, hello. Have you seen my Tobi? He's about this big, and he's brown with short hair."
The male answers sounding very casual, like a human, "Why no, I haven't." And the female adds, "But we'll certainly keep an eye out for him, won't we dear?"
Hearing this, you look on with disbelief and mumble softly, "Whaaa?" You think, Doesn't she see that they're monsters?
She answers them, "Thank you. Please do, I would much appreciate it."
The male begins to say, "Of course w-" when you yell out, "Kara!!"
She turns in your direction puzzled, trying to see you in the dark. "Hello? Jeremy??" The things too turn to you with an annoyed look.
"Kara! Come here, QUICK!"
The things look at each other uneasily, not knowing what to do.
"Revin?? Is that you?!" she says excitedly, hurrying toward you.
As she approaches with her lamp she recognizes you, "REVIN!! Oh, Revin!! It's you! It's you!!" she says as she arrives in your outstretched arms, hugging you as hard as she can. "Oh Kara, I missed you so much!" you say lifting her off her feet.
"Revin, you're alive! Everyone thinks you're dead! Everyone on the street, they're all so sad, Revin!"
Putting her down, you hold on to her shoulders and tell her seriously, "Kara, I care about you so much,... can you keep a big secret? You promise not to tell anyone?"
"I promise, Revin. I won't tell, cross my heart."
"Okay Kara, listen. I'm still alive... Tessa and Jeremy are still alive too."
"*gasp*, they are?" she asks amazed.
"Yeah. Infact, Tessa was here just a little bit ago. And my mommy and daddy are alive too. But you can't tell. And Kara, listen. Do you believe in monsters?"
"No. My mommy says there's no such thing as monsters."
"That's good. There's no such thing as monsters like "boogie mans" or closet monsters. But there's different kinds of monsters that're real. More like animals. One took mom, dad, and Jeremy."
"It did? What is it?"
"Umm... There are some monsters here right now looking at us."
She's startled and says, "There are?? Where?"
"Look over there." you say pointing to the old couple, who are looking on.
She presses herself against you, scared, and holds your arm as she turns around and looks. ...she asks again, "Where?"
"You don't see them? You don't see those two standing there on the path?"
"You mean that man and that lady?" she says confused.
You are silent a moment as it's confirmed that she sees them only as the old couple.
You put your head over her shoulder and extend your arm pointing at them, talking softly into her ear. "Look at that man. Look carefully at his face."
Seeing you pointing at him, the thing stiffens and stands uneasy, glancing at the other as if to say "help me!"
"Keep looking at him until he turns into a monster. His skin will get gross, and his eyes will get big... look, it should happen in a second."
She looks for a moment, as it continues it's nervouse movements... she notices an odd change in behavior; she's never seen an old man swinging his arms like that, and turning his head so quick. Then she freezes, and gasps... she holds tight and squeezes against you. You can tell she's seeing it now. You look at her face to see her reaction; she looks terrifyed with her eyes wide open and mouth open slightly.
You say, "Now look at she other one."
She does,... after a few seconds she looks back at you speechless.
"Don't be afraid of those. They won't do anything unless you get too close."
"O, okay." she says softly, looking back at them.
"You better go back home now. But can you just do me one favor, Kara?"
"Yes, Revin." she says nervously turning back to you, very aware of what's behind her.
"Remember, don't tell anyone... next time you see him, can you tell Father Leo that we're alive, and please pray for us? And tell him everything I told you."
"Okay. I will." she says, then looks behind her at the things, and back at you with a scared face.
"You go now, be a brave girl, and don't you worry about your Tobi."
"Okay Revin. But... but I wanna stay here and be with you." she says hugging you one last time before she goes. "I know, I want to stay with you too, but it's better this way. ...Bye now. Love you."
"Bye Revin." she says sadly, and runs off in the direction of town... not the neighborhood.
You watch her run toward the town square till she disappears behind the trees, then turn and look at the two things. They just stand there looking at you. You calmly look at them, feeling less fear and more secure knowing that they won't try to approach you. They too appear more relaxed and turn their heads slowly now, looking around casually.
You slowly sit down on the ground, leaning your chin on your knees, with your feet together in front of you, and your arms around your legs, facing out into the woods. You tilt your head and look at them, relaxing your left cheek on your knees.
You turn your eyes up, looking at the dark sky. The air is silent, but you hear the faint chirping of crickets as a very soft cold breeze nudges the leaves of the tallest trees. The sky is covered in low, patchy gray clouds that slowly drift toward town. A half-moon lights them with a corona around it, meaning rain is probably on the way.
...To your right you hear a shuffling in the bushes and look down. You look at the two things who also heard it and are alerted, looking into the bushes and trees off the path, in between them and you.
The cold wind shifts, bringing the trees to life. It swoops onto a handful of leaves on the path, swirls them around, then curls them into the air, letting them drop softly back down... and it's silent again.
After a short dead silence, you suddenly hear snapping twigs, and quickly jump to your feet, still crouching. You check the things' reaction, basing your wariness on theirs; they are clearly alarmed, standing erect and leaning their heads in the direction of the sounds, twitching nervously.
You hold perfectly still, with one knee and both hands on the ground, afraid as... something is about to step onto path in between you and the old couple.
From the dark, through some bushes emerges a small dark figure.... It steps onto the path and stops; standing about 4 and a half feet high, with the shape of a skinny young boy, and hairy all over like a monkey... but no face.
The old couple jump and whoop at it and it jumps back and keeps away. The old couple keep their distance too, and hiss at it furiously.
It stands still and 'looks' at them a moment, as if to say "what's your problem?"
It casually turns around, then notices you for the first time. It stands there and "looks" at you a moment; even leans toward you as if trying to recognize you at a distance... you wonder if it can even see. It seems to be trying to figure out if you're anything.
Suddenly it jumps in surprise, like you scared it. It starts walking backward as though you were approaching it, ignoring the old couple who have quieted down. Then it whips around and runs off the path frantically.
You hear it running in the bushes, then a thud, and swaying branches as it crashes into a tree, then more running,... and another thud,... till you can't hear it anymore.
A few minutes later, after you're sure it's gone, you sit back down in your previous position, looking at 'them'. The old couple too are relaxed again.
The faceless thing is of no real concern to you, and you quickly forget about it... you just look at the old couple who stand there calmly looking about, while you try to imagine what's happening right now down in the killer's dungeon. You wonder what your sister and family are talking about.
You quietly think, while making sure you don't doze off... many thoughts are in your mind; too many for you to be able to fall asleep, so you decide to wait out here for your sister to return. You also want to wait because the old couple are still out; they seem to be waiting too.
...it comes to your attention that yes, she said there's a monster down there in a cell that your mom befriended. You thoughtfully lift your head and stare at the path, then put it back down on your knees. You wonder where it came from, and why it's locked up in that dungeon. What would a monster want with another monster in a cell? What would it want with ordinary people it doesn't know? That thought angers you a bit... and confuses you. How dumb, you think. The stupid thing has nothing better to do than terrorize people and other monsters.
That's when you think that there's got to be something behind all this. Something must be driving these creatures to behave thus.
The old couple; No ordinary creatures can cloak their appearance the way they can. You also wonder why they walk the far side of the lake. And it's odd that they bother your sister who goes into the woods, and not you, who doesn't.
They must be hiding something... there must be something out there they don't want anyone to see.
Some hours go by in the silence of the night. It's about 2 hours past midnight now, and the old couple remain standing with closed eyes and drooping heads, looking asleep.
You shift your head and put your chin on your knees, looking straight ahead of you into the woods. You try to quiet your mind, and just relax in the silence.
You hear movement in the trees, and come to attention looking around and ahead of you. You hear a crash in the brush about 50 yards ahead and glance at the old couple real quick, but they aren't there. You jump to your feet, and now you hear running... coming right to you from the trees ahead. The old couple must be trying to get you. You start moving backward, still facing the sound, turning your body sideways ready to run hard.
As the sound tears through the last bush, you're just ready to bolt when your sister flies onto the path and yelling "AHHH!!" as she nearly crashes into you, but recognizes you. You immediately take her side and run about 50 feet, until she stops you on the path, and turns around halfway looking behind her, waiting for something to appear. Then they do; the two things gallop onto the path and come after her, and the two of you start running quickly down the path.
When you've left them about 100 feet behind, she slows down and says breathing heavily, "Stop, (huff-huff)."
You stop and pull to her side and ask "What is it?"
Looking back up the path, you see that they've slowed to a stop too and are swaying tiredly.
"You can see that spot well from here," she says thoughtfully, squinting her eyes under her hood that she's pulled back on her head. She's leaning forward a bit, tilting her head to the side, as if trying to see something.
Finally you answer, "So?"
"I'm trying to see if something else comes onto the path; something that followed me back," she says weakly, with a tremor in her voice.
"What? What did?"
"I don't know. I didn't see it. I only heard it. It was big, and chased me the whole way."
You look at her face concerned, checking her expression to see how she felt about just being chased through the woods. Her face is very pale and white, and you hear her lightly wheezing as she breathes. You lift her arm and pull up her sleeve, and wrap her hand with both of yours checking their warmpth. Her hands are freezing and white, and you think that she must have run the whole way back with the feezing air on her face.
You ask softly, "How do you feel?"
She takes her eyes off the path and turns her head to you and says, almost crying, "Not good."
"Sick?"
"Yeah. Everything."
"Are you cold?"
"Yes, but... that's not it... This is too much for me. It's just too much. Everything that's happened, and going out there every night and almost dying, and mom, dad, and Jeremy, it's just awful Revin, it's awful!" She looks back.
You silently sympathize with her, wrapping her in your cloak and rubbing it up and down, trying to make some warmth.
"Hold me." she says very softly, sounding like she may be crying.
You look up hearing the old couple hissing at something that has stopped in the bushes. Everyone freezes looking into the dark... waiting for something to come out...
...but it doesn't. It stays in the bushes.
"Let's go back to town, and we'll warm up there." you whisper, and you two quietly run away, leaving the old couple to deal with whatever's there.
- Back in town - after you've been resting a while, that same night.
Tessa is wrapped up in blankets leaning up against a brick wall that supports some pottery... while you're sitting on it, looking across the silent square into the woods.
She says softly, looking like she's daydreaming, "Tonight something ran through the dungeon."
You come to,.. "Huh?"
"Something ran by me when I was talking to Jeremy."
"What did? The killer?" you ask nervously.
"No. A small monkey-like thing."
Thinking about what you saw earlier, you ask, "Did it have a face?"
"A face? I don't know, I didn't see it. Why?"
"Because while I was waiting for you, a monkey-like thing with no face came, then ran away when it saw me."
"Oh. I didn't see it, but Jeremy did. He said it ran right by me, and I turned and only saw a blur of it just barely as it rounded a corner."
Your eyes widen as you think..., "I wonder if it went to tell the killer that it saw me."
She is silent.
"Who followed you back?"
"I couldn't tell, but it was much bigger than the monkey thing. It could have been...him. The killer."
"You know what?" you say sounding scared.
"What?" she looks up at you.
"I think the killer was there while you were. Because the faceless thing went through there to tell him."
"But... it might not have been. I don't know exactly what followed me."
"Uh-huh."
For some reason she says, "You know, that place really scares me."
She looks at you, and you at her. "Funny noises come from the walls. Like... like there's something in them."
You catch on and ask, "Do they move?"
"No. They're just... kind of noisy, and seem unstable... they seem to shift like there are maggots in them or something. But they don't really move."
"That's wierd."
"...the floor too."
You are silent.
"I don't actually see them move or anything. It just seems that way, you know?"
"I think so. You mean you can just feel it, right?"
"Yes. Well, sorry, it's more like... it's like a constant hiss and crackle, that you can't quite place. More like an odd presence, not really moving. You know the feeling, the sound, when it's quiet and someone's near? The air just changes... and you know by the hissing silence that someone's there. Do you know, Revin?"
"Yes. Very."
"So I just look at the walls. Because that's what I think it is. Silly though.. it may just be because whenever I'm there, I'm scared. My, I don't even touch the walls-I'm afraid to touch anything... I just.. keep my hands to myself."
She gestures by rubbing her hands on her thighs, and looking around uneasily, as if imagining the disgust before her. She stops, and looks at you with the hopeless face that pleads for help... hoping you can somehow save her from this torment.
Your face melts til it's like hers, and you say sweetly with your expression, "I love you too much for this to happen to you."
You look at her, and her eyes slowly drop,... You ask her softly with your lips, "Sis... how much longer can you handle this?"
She's quiet a minute, "I don't know... but it doesn't matter. I have to handle it."
"What if something happens to you?" you pause, "I'll have to go after you."
"No, Revin," she almost mumbles, "don't worry about me."
"Don't worry about you?" you look at her surprised, "Do you really think I'm going to not worry?"
Even though you're being serious about it, she looks at you and smiles, loved that you said that. "It's not only you, sis, it's everybody that'll be in danger of dying."
She doesn't answer, but smiles a little. She looks down and thinks about it a second... "I'm scared to death to go, but I have to eventually. I can't do anything about it." She begins to frown. Her eyebrows lower. She stares out into the market, "I... I hate this whole thing. Why does it have to be like this? Why don't we know how to free them? And why us?"
You look at her a little surprised, but follwing what she said, "Don't you worry; They'll be free soon."
"Yeah but.. how do you know?"
"Just don't worry. It won't always be like this. If we do die, there's always Heaven to look forward to. Even if the worst do us temporary part, we'll all live happily ever after together again."
"Yes... I know. Thank you Revin," she looks up and manages to smile at you.
You are silent... and begin to smile back.
She looks up at the stars and her smile widens. She ponders the wonderful security that lies behind all the danger, the true final outcome, then looks back down and slowly closes her eyes. Her smile fades away, till there's nothing left but a sleepy look. She says softly, "I'de like to try to sleep now, I'm so tired. You should too."
You quietly hop down the wall.
- The next night a terrible mood has consumed you. Seeing you so disturbed, your sister has quietly slipped away... the way she always does when you or your brother get like this. But she is confused; nothing has made you this way that she can see. She was away all day, then came back and you were violent. But strangely. Your face and voice appeared calm, but you would just pick up something, squeeze it, then smack it away. She asked why you did that, and you said, "Oh, shut up." and whacked a goblet onto the ground with the back of your hand. She didn't say anything, even open her mouth, and walked away...
She doesn't know that all day you've been thinking about braving the catacombs under the city and going on a rampage down there and destroying everything. But why? A strange and strong will has come over you inexplicably, and given you the burning desire to face your fears head-on and destroy them. And the only way you've been able to muster up enough courage has been to enrage yourself to point of going berzerk.
Contessa has been sitting nearby, doing something with her clothes and basket, but fully alert to your presence... and worried. She has no idea.
It got dark about an hour ago, and is not time for her to go yet. But you're about to... and you don't even know why.
You've fastened your belt and tucked items into it, pulled up your hood, adjusted your cloak, and equipped a sword.
You walk out into the open, looking like you're in a hurry... right past your sister, and you say firmly without ever stopping or even looking down, "Stay here."
She looks up from what she's doing, surprised, then turns to see what on earth you think you're doing.
She jumps up and runs over to you, grabbing your arm and pulling you to face her.
You turn and glare, and she says, "Just what do you think you're doing, brother?" with her eyes wide open, looking very confused. "What are you doing with that sword?"
"Going to put some zombies back in their graves." you say, and push through her and keep walking.
She catches her balance and stops you again, this time looking very worried, thinking something is obviously wrong. "Stop! Where are you going, and don't you push your sister around like that!"
Without even looking, you say, "Fine." and kick her off the side of the path, onto the grass.
This time she doesn't get up... and you don't stop or look back. ...just keep walking toward City Hall, the sound of her crying fading as you leave her far behind.
At the front gates, you see two guards standing at the sides of the front double-doors. You jump the tall gate, pick up a big stick, and walk right up to them.
One says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are YOU going?" as they approach you. You pull the stick out from behind your back and smack him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground off to the side. The other yells, "Hey!" and draws his sword, but without ever stopping or slowing, you kick him in the stomach, and as he bends over, push his head to the ground... and casually walk to the door. You throw the doors open, making them bang, and drop your stick.
You walk over to a torch on the wall and break it down, then stroll over to the mayor's desk surrounded by tall windows in a big half-circle. You hang the torch over it and see a single paper on it... it says: "Due to recent events, the Mayor's family is no longer available for tea past dusk. Consult the Chief of Guards to make an appointment."
You look up and see a wanted poster on the wall with no picture, but a reward and tag saying, "Wanted Killer: wanted for murder and threats against the Mayor's family."
You turn and try to find the basement.
In this dark room full of storage and spider webs is a staircase leading about 30 feet down to an old iron door entering the catacombs. You hold the torch high, and ever so slowly progress down the stairs to the door. On it is a little plaque full of dust that says, "Catacombs." Right under that is a little piece of paper stuck to the wall that says "Danger!"
Something on the ground catches your eye, and you look down to see a key sitting at the base of the door with dried blood around it. You pick it up thoughtfully, and unlock the door.
You push the noisy, screechy door open, and you're immediately rushed by the strong smell of dirt. You move the torch to the side so that no light shines into the door... it's pitch black. There isn't a single light on in there. You put the torch in front of you and draw your sword... and step in.
This first step is when the real fear hits. It's pitch black, minus your light, and who knows what's in here, and you could even get lost, and... but you take another step.
Very slowly you take your third step. Then you stop and think how you'd know the way back. You step back through the door, and see an unlit torch inside by the door, over the steps, so you light it using yours.
Then back in.. one step at a time. Who knows how expansive this place is. Who knows, but that noisy iron door must've rung through the whole underground when it opened. You step some more, and some more. About 30 feet down you stop, your heart beating wildly now, and look back. The torch back there lights the whole passage... and casts a long shadow of you to the other end. You turn and keep walking.
Up here there are some little inlets to the left and right that go about 10 feet into dead-ends. These tiny passages are built with what look like adobe or mud, and are only 4 feet wide and 7 feet high.
You poke the wall with your sword and crusty dirt falls off. You keep walking about 50 feet out, almost to the end where it breaks off into a T leading in other directions - you then hear a loud moan in the distance; just what you've been waiting to hear.
You pull your sword up, and raise the torch so you can see clearly. It sounded far away, but you want to be ready. You can't wait... your heart is pounding. You just want to get it over with! You lean forward and scream ravingly into the passages, your spine tingling... several responses come back as hisses and groans.
Something in front of you suddenly changes. You look down as you catch movement at your shadow. There's a third arm under your sword. Your eyes pop open and your heart wallops. You swing around,... halfway between you and the door some things have come out from the passages on the on the sides, and are standing still side by side. You're frozen, and hear your heart pounding in your ears.
You can't see their faces.. only the sillouettes of two beings slumped slightly, not moving. Behind you, in the direction you were heading, you hear something dragging on the ground around the corner - probably another one, about to round this corner.
You turn back to face the two. You feel the tension growing as you feel surrounded by horrors that slowly close in on you from every direction. You hear a few more sounds from various directions. Now you hear dragging and moaning sounds everywhere. If you don't do something now, you'll forever be in torment.
You take up a boxer's stance with your sword, and start bouncing, ready to charge and fight. You yell, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" and charge the two beings, running with your sword before you...
You arrive, and smash it down on the one on the left; it breaks through the shoulders and into the chest, and you pull it out and beat it on the head repeatedly as it slumps backward trying to catch it's balance. You stab it in the groin, and kick it in the stomach and it flies back onto the ground. The other raises it's arms and hisses as you near it, and fearlessly steps forward trying to grab hold of you. You jump back, then forward and slash at it's head, pounding on it's skull (that's showing through), hitting it on the head again and again as it wobbles and quivers and throws it's arms and head around, recieving the beating. You bash at the sides of it's head, again and again with your sharp, thin blade, breaking it's head open... you finish it with three quick thrusts in the neck, then behead it, all the way into it's chest.
It's still standing though, and thrashing about wildly at the walls that it thinks are you. You think quickly about what's keeping it standing, then stab at it's hips, trying to tear it's tendons. You stab and cut into it's hips, breaking everything inside it's pelvis... stabbing constantly into the top of it's legs till you hear a snap and it collapses to the ground, both hips shattered. You turn around and face the dark end of the pass where your heavily breathing shadow is cast, waiting for whatever's there to show itself.
Then it does... a HUGE one rounds the corner, with it's shoulders almost TO the roof, and head hung below them. It's whole right side under it's ribs is missing, making it an awkward and nightmarish sight.
At first scared to death of it, you raise your stance charge up to it yelling and breathig hard, and stab it right in the neck before it can fully raise it's long, thick arms to you.
It staggers, and scrapes it's missing side into the wall, as you shake your sword around furiously inside it's neck, tearing it up. ...Finally, it's head falls onto it's back, and dangles there. You see it, because in the confusion it turns around, waving it's arms around, bumping into the walls. With it's back turned, you line your sword up to it's spine real quick then thrust... your sword slips to the side, stabbing it's other side, so you pull it out and take swings at it's spine that's sticking out into it's stomach. It snaps inward making a big "crack!", and it collapses, still moving about, slower and slower till it stops.
You stand with your feet spread, breathing hard, bouncing like a boxer, looking around to see if there are more.
...there aren't. And instead of turning around and leaving, like you should, you run with your torch up and sword straight out, to the end of the pass, and turn right, into the darkness and run... you'll just run and run until you bump into something.
After some distance, you still don't see or hear anything. Then you hear what sounds like a woman - what sounds like an agonizing groan of pain. Surely it's a zombie, but it sounds so human... you call out, "Hello?!"
You're surprised when you hear, "Uh?! Hello? Help! Help us! Pleeease!!" ...you listen carefully, and a steady uprising of other agonized voices arise and resound through the passages. It sounds like many people calling for, pleading for help, and mercy, and to be set free.
You start running in the direction of the voices, then slow down as you wonder if it's the voices of the dead. You jog now, looking to your left and right every time you come to a cross-section. You keep going in the direction of the voices... there's a pass coming off this one to the right
that sounds louder than the others, so you follow it. You come to a four-way cross, then stop; down one of them the voices are even closer, and a light shines into it.
You run now toward the light shining on the wall. You arrive, and look... it's cast on the wall with a tic-tac-toe shadow running through it, like bars. You look to your right, and down a short way there's a metal door... with four bars crossed over a little window. You slowly walk up to it, and look in.
You can't see anything, just more catacomb wall,... but chains on the wall, and some wooden chairs. Oh, under the door there's a table with some papers and utensils on it and... and an apple that looks very fresh.
You notice that on the wall right next to you is a little metal plate with an inscrption on it. It says:
"Catacombs. Danger! Do not enter.
South Starvation Cells: East Gate Prison.
Have a nice day."
Then you realize where you are; this is a wing of the prison beneath the main Guard Station by City Hall. The starvation bunker is attached to the catacombs, probably for easy disposal of the bodies.
...the voices are coming from in here. It sounds like three people in here, all left to die.
You grab the handle and fiddle with it, but it's locked. You feel the urge to quickly get out of here, as faster and faster you're coming to your normal self. You back up, put your sword in front of you, turn and run...
You're scared as for a moment you can't remember which way you came, but looking down you see that you've left strong footprints. Looking at them, you run as fast as you can go without tripping back down the passages.
At several points, zombie prints cross yours, so you're very alert to them, but you don't see any.
As you progress, you again see the light from the path you came from, and turn onto it. On the ground are the bodies you ruined, and ahead is a new one standing up, facing away from you.
You don't even stop; you run right up to it, drive your sword into it's spine and slam into it with your shoulder, throwing it to the ground, smack on it's face with your sword still in it, crashing through it's insides. You yank your sword out, jump into the door, pull it screeching closed, lock it, and spit a mouthful of saliva onto the torch you lit by the door, putting it out.
You run up the 30 feet of stairs into the open, and jog out of breath into the now-lit room with the mayor's desk.
There are two guards in there, standing, watching you almost dragging your feet into the light, with your sword hanging down, coughing and your cheeks red, forehead sweaty.
You see them, but just don't even care anymore... you hang over with your hands on your knees, coughing and breathing hard, sweating...
"What the?" one of them says.
"Were you in the catacombs? ...You look like you seen a ghost."
Without looking at them you say, "uh-huh. *cough*, go see the ones I killed... *cough*."
"What?! No way!" they look at each other amazed.
You realize that they'll probably question you, and bring you up with the mayor for one reason or another... so you slowly get up, looking very slow on purpose, then jump to your feet and bolt out into another big room, and out the double-doors.
As you run through them, you crash into another guard, and the two of you tumble down several steps, rolling onto the concrete... on the way down you scrape your hip on one of the steps, and cut the side of your forehead as you hit the ground and skid. You put your scraped, stinging hands on the ground and push up - the guard looks hurt pretty bad - and jump up and run out into the grass, and on the sidewalk.
Running down a dark lane lined by big oak trees, you look back and see that nobody's following. You slow to a jog as slowly the pains begin to grow...
- It's now about three hours past dark (about 9:00), and you see that your sister hasn't left yet. Limping a little on your hip, you jog into the open where she's sitting on the ground...
She looks up, then looks back down trying not to make eye contact. She shows no emotion, but hints with her body language that her feelings are hurt.
But she looks up again, because she's wondering what happened to your forehead. You arrive and stop in front her, kind of the off to the side, touching the palms of your hands and pulling your shirt up to look at your hip.
She sees you all beat up and limping, and asks very softly, "What happened?"
You twist to look at your elbow, "Hmm?"
"You're all beat up. What happened?" she asks still softly, almost unheard.
"Oh, I went to the catacombs and beat up a bunch of zombies."
...you look at her, and she's staring at your knees.
"No, I mean really."
You pull out your bloodied sword and drop it in front of her, then lift your foot and slap your sock making dust come off it, also making visible blood on the bottom of your shoe.
She sees it all in disbelief, but doesn't say anything after that as you resume checking your wounds.
After a moment she puts it behind her and looks up at your face. You meet her eyes, and she says softly still, "On your way to go kill zombies in the catacombs... " she pauses, " ...you know what you did to me?"
You raise your eyebrows as if to say 'what.'
"I was walking beside you, and you pushed into me... you just, just SHOVED me out of the way like I'm nothing. I was asking you what you were doing, and that's no way to... answer."
You dont say anything... and she stands up uneasily, off balance because her side hurts.
"Then when I tried to stop you again, politely, you kicked me! You just kicked me right in the side and threw me to the ground! That's not how you treat your sister! That hurt me! It really hurt!"
Your shoulders slowly drop as you think about what you did, and what to say... "I, I.. I'm sorry, Tessa. I'm really sorry," you say as you put your hurt hands on her shoulders. You squint when they touch, because it stings, but you hold on anyway, "I don't know what... why... um, I'm sorry, sis.. I'm sorry." You see her face, her face ready to cry; her bottom lip trembling against the other, and a tear on her cheek; a confused tear that wonders why it has come out...
This curious tears looks around, unable to recall it's purpose. But a short pause is all it takes before it remembers who it is. "Oh, yes. I'm a tear." And it slides, obediently, all the way down Tessa's cheek. Never questioning, never stopping... Only being what it is, and fulfilling for a girl what she sent it out to do.
It empties her of old feelings so she can refresh, and renew. When she cries, she releases herself, like an Oak Tree that drops it's leaves, to refresh and renew for the next season. Like a tree, she must shed, or leave her thoughts of old... lest she becomes like the haters, who carry their year's old leaves of burden with them, like sacks of burden on their backs.
Many vast lands of trees of men have died, but never dropped their leaves, corrupting and rotting, and forever dwelling on the old. Never forgiving, never forgetting, never renewing, never cleansing... never crying, for shame of exposing their true selves; their bare branches, so thin, so frail; But never showing... no, only wearing, and keeping the masks of their old. They are far too proud to renew. "Why renew, when there is nothing wrong with me?" No, they say they don't have to.
But the One Who Knows can expose them, and expose them he will, but if only to show them the better way: The light and easy way of no burdens, and the difference between the fires of pride that burn the mind, and the comforts of humility that feather it.
It's so fortunate then that one day all will be revealed. On that day there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, as finally, finally... the mountains of tears of the many will be released, and NUMEROUS they will be. But the humble, the loving, will cry but a moment's tears, as they are fresh as dew. They already cry the casual tears of life and pain, that come and go as do the seasons, and love with no masks a soothing love that all need, and none have.
But all this only for one as Tessa. The proud will die out their days building an image of something they are not. When judgement comes, they'll cry rain, like an old dead tree being shaken. All this... eternally fortunate... for one who can love.
Tessa steps in and hugs you, silently, not crying... but almost. You can see over her head and shoulder the forest; you notice that after everything previous, she feels so warm, body and soul... so soothing after the fight with death; the fight that almost made you one of them.
Her cheeks on your neck feel so hot; maybe because the air's so cold, maybe because she's emotional. After that you feel terrible... You feel like you were empty and are now being filled in this embrace. You feel like you've been leaking all night, in fear: The longer you dwell in it, the emptier you feel; the more the fear, the more your peace drains. And tonight was fear's night out. You feel sick.
It's so nice to be here right now... taking it all in. Such a fulfilling way to fill the void of emptiness and pain. The poor heart that is never filled with it's essence, finally and ultra-desperately sucking in the love, as though it's the last time it's ever going to get it. Taking in an embrace with your name on it, one Tessa selflessly made and gave for you only, as though it were the first time, and the last time. ...because you're going to need it.
Such is the pain and desire of those who don't have love. Such it is with ALL.
What's coming next was your doing; you brought it upon yourself. You kicked her hip, and now she's whispering in your ear that you're going to have to go instead of her tonight.
This is bittersweet news. You've been wanting to go, but this is NOT the time. This night in fear isn't over yet... It's not going to let you off that easy. Just when you were needing nothing less than Tessa's sweet company; at LEAST being around people... (sigh), you feel like you're going to die. She slowly lets go and steps back, holding your stinging hands... her hair trailing off your shoulders. The night has only begun.
"...when you get there - remember to be quiet - you'll find a hole in the ground that's lit up inside next to some bushes and a big, wide tree. Make sure it's safe, then take the basket and jug with water inside, and give it to them. They'll ask where I am, so just say I'm fine, I hurt my hip or something, and will see them soon. Oh, and don't forget about Bison."
"Who's Bison?"
"He's the other monster that's locked up down there. He needs alot of water; he's big. If you see anything, or think the killer is near, you can hide in a crevice to the... left of Jeremy's cell. Stay in the shadow. Oh, and don't be afraid to talk to Bison. He's nice once you get to know him."
"What if a faceless thing sees me and goes in there?"
"I don't know. It's never happened to me before. If it does, just be quick."
"Anything else?"
"I don't think so. It's pretty simple. Just remember that there are lots of wierd things you might see along the way. Don't be afraid of any of them; they don't do anything."
"What about the old couple?"
"Hmm? I dunno. You can just outrun them, I guess."
"Uh, Tessa? Did you notice, I've been feeling a bit.. mad today. Who knows, I could get crazy again and go fight everything in there."
"Heh-heh, yeah. So, what do you want me to do about it?"
"I want you to go find Father Leo while I'm gone, and let him know what happened earlier. He'll pray for me or something, 'cuz I don't wanna die."
"Oh, you won't die. But.. I'll go tell him for you."
"Thanks."
"Uh-huh." She looks down at your feet, and hers. She slowly looks back up at you and sighs, then smiles. "You should go now. If you wait any longer, you might bump into the killer on your way out."
"Okay..." You look up into the starry sky and take a deep breath. "Bye. *kiss." You turn and quietly run out into the field in front of the market, and into the woods. Tessa turns and waves, smiling, but you never look back. Her smile slowly fades, and she stops waving, still holding her hand up wishing you'd see. When you've disappeared into the darkness, she sits back down and crosses her legs and leans her chin on her hand, watching. After a while she sighs and closes her eyes, thinking about everything that happened today...
- You arrive on the path by the lake and stop. You check your left and right and - and on the right the old couple see you and are running this way.
You wonder how they'll respond if they see that it's you and not your sister, so you draw your sword and drop your hood. When they recognize you, they immediately stop. Then come again, but just walking cautiously.
You adjust your hood strap on your neck, leaving the hood on your back, then keep running out into the woods, off the path.
You can't run as fast as you'd like because your left hand is holding a wide, but shallow basket with loaves and a jug in it. But fast enough.
On your way you notice several creatures. You never got a good look at any though, because it's too dark and they usually run away.
Running through the dark, you pass through a small clearing. Looking up you see a clear, beautiful sky filled with millions of stars... then nothing as the branches of trees cover them again. All over the place, the moon is shining through the trees leaving soft blue spots on the ground. Occasionally there's a whole pool of blue, under gaps in the trees. It's a dalmation wonderland.
You decide to stop on top of a small raised area to look around and make sure the coast is clear, and catch your breath.
You get up on top and crouch down behind a fallen tree and look ahead. It's a quiet night out there under the trees, and minus the moonlit spots you can hardly see anything where it gets darker. Then you look behind you.... hmm... don't see anything. Checking both sides... nothing.
Your sister said that you'll find the hole by following a huge rock that you can see for miles around. You see it striaght ahead of you. You scan and catch a similar sight directly to your right.There's a massive tree stump about a half mile away that looms above the treetops. A huge sillouette against the starry, dark blue sky... a tree stump from a tree that must've been a mile high when it stood. Wow. It's always been there and you've never seen it.
You look back at the rock, and jump over the fallen tree, and start running toward it now that you can see it.
- About 5 minutes later you're getting tired, and it doesn't look like it's getting any closer... when you see a light.
A small clearing about 100 yards to your left. There's something yellow on the ground; it must be the hole.
You crouch down and look around. ALL around. Standing hunched over, you carefully and quietly sneak over there.
You stop at the last bush before the clearing, and get on one knee, peering through it. You see if you can hear anything, or see anything around. ... nothing.
You look at your stuff and make sure you have everything. Oh, forgot to get some water. There should be a little pond in the direction of the giant stump, behind you. You look bahind you and see it right away, and quietly go over to it. It's a lot closer than you thought; you can see it from the hole.
You go to the pond, but before stepping into the open you see an animal or something drinking from it. It's a four-legged something with no fur. You pick up a rock, and throw it in the pond right in front of it. It hits the water and makes a big, loud splash, and the thing jumps and kicks in a wild frenzy and runs away in hurry, thrashing through the bushes, startled out of it's mind.
You smugly walk up to the water and dunk the jug in it, then hold it in the other hand, laughing quietly to yourself about how badly you scared that thing.
Arriving back at that bush with both your arms full, you again survey the area. Along the sides of this clearing, about 20 meters diameter, the ground is broken away and tree roots come out, making this clearing look like the whole thing was dug out or something. There's grass everywhere, and it all looks natural and smooth, but on some sides you see a wall of dirt and roots. Above the wall is flat and normal as if this area is simply sunken in.
You stand up straight and very slowly start walking to the hole in the middle of the clearing. You wonder where the light is coming from inside the hole. Just a few steps away you slow down. ...and take one step. Then another, lifting your chin to see what's down there. One more step and you can see all the way down.
Looking down the hole, you're kind of dissapointed, but relieved. It just goes down about four feet, then drops off the side to the ground, about eight feet down. You crouch down and stick your face above the hole looking down, trying to hear anything.
You try to say hello quietly... but all that comes out is a creaky, "hhl?"
You listen for a response. You hear something. It sounds like someone saying, "What?"
Your heart starts thumping in your ears; it's probably your mom, dad, or brother that you haven't seen in so long. You look around to make sure nobody's watching, then put your legs down the hole.
You set the basket and jug down, and put your hands on the edge to hoist yourself down, till your feet are on the ledge below. Your head sticks out, so you pull the basket and jug down and crouch down, then lower yourself another step until your on the ground, eight feet down.
You find yourself standing still, beneath the opening holding the basket and jug, looking down the passage. Fear is everywhere. You have no idea what lurks in this place. You remember your sister saying that there are skeletons and strange noises in hear. Your spine shivers thinking about seeing people who have died in here. For the moment you have forgotten about your family that's in here somewhere, as all the bad thoughts have waited till now to come out. Here you are in worst place in the world all by yourself in the presence of death with a basket of bread and water. Right about now you'd like to turn around, jump right out of the hole, and run about a thousand miles till you arrive in the next continent.
But here you are just standing here, looking blankly down the narrow rock-walled passage lit by torches on the walls... looking at the end where it turns right. You come to, trying to block out the thoughts, and start walking forward.
You're relieved and not at the same time: it's brighter in here than you expected, which is good... but a tidy little dungeon like this is the worst place to bump into the monster. You'd expected it to be a big, airy cave with plenty of space to run and hide. But if the killer came back to a place like this, there'd be no avoiding it. You'd cross paths no matter what.
These thoughts cross your mind briefly, but powerfully. You'd draw your sword, but your hands are full. Every worst-case scenario crosses your mind, but you're relieved to remember that Tessa's never seen the thing here once.
This passage is rather short, too. It's only 12 feet long, before you turn right. You're nearing that turn now. Your eyes are wide open, and you're very tense. You're scared to death to walk that turn; you just KNOW there's gonna be something there waiting for you. Something big and scary. Something that's gonna tear you to pieces as soon as you look. Just as you peek around the corner it's going to jump out and grab you and eat you alive.
Nonsese. You press yourself against the wall, and throw a tiny stick into the passage. ... nothing. You turn your head and put just one eye by the corner... and look:
Just as you suspected... you see about five more feet of passage, then a left turn into a brighter passage with bars on the sides, another five feet, another left turn with bars, but 15 feet away at the end, in a dead end where no light shines, you can barely make out a big monster watching from behind the bars. You see the silloutte of it's head and shoulders, a glint on it's eyes, about as high as your shoulders.
The side of your head and one eye is showing... your hood shades your face, making it unseen except for two white highlights on your wide-open eyes, scared to death looking at the shape.
You wonder how your sister did it... Came through here right in front of that thing every night. But you remember that she didn't say anything about a monster being first thing inside.
Looking at it's glinted eyes carefully, you notice that they aren't exactly looking at you. It seems to be looking at the ground in front of you, maybe at the stick you threw. Either way, you can't stand here hiding from it all night. You decide to make your presence known. Of course, discreetly.
You stick your arm out to your side, and just hold it there. The monster's eyes dart up, and it raises it's head and sees you now. You can tell it's not looking at your hand though; it's looking at you.
You pull your arm back in slowly,... it keeps staring at you, and you try to decide what to do.
But while deciding- "What's wrong?" it says in an odd, deep voice.
You're taken aback, and your mind blanks. You say softly and nervously, "Wha, what?"
"He's not here."
You lean out into the passage with one foot, holding the wall with one hand thinking this might be Bison. "Who's not here?"
"The Desmodus."
You step out all the way now and take a cautious step forward, running your hands against the wall for support. "Who?"
He pauses, then says, "What happened to your voice? Did you get hurt, or see him?"
"I'm not Contessa."
"Then you're her brother. Revin."
Whoa. "How do you know?" You hear someone gasp somewhere behind Bison.
"Your sister told me."
"Oh. Um, are you Bison?"
"Yes."
"Hello. I, uh, brought you some food and water. You'd-"
"Your family first."
"... Okay. Where do I find them?"
"To your left."
"... Okay."
You walk a few steps forward, then turn and look left. There's about 15 feet of passage lined with cells, then a right and left turn at the end.
Just before you step into that area, Bison says, "Not that one." So you walk closer to him, and look down the second passage; the one lining his cell. It looks similar, but longer, and further down it becomes rocky on the sides with boulder-like walls that stick out, and even some doors even further down in the dark. About 15 feet down though, there're the left and right turns. You slowly start walking... you look into the first cell on the right. It's empty, with rock walls and a slightly lumpy, solid dirt floor. The one to your left looks the same - they all look about the same, but it has a few bones in it and a little broken cup on the ground.
As you approach the left and right turns, you hear from around the corner on your right the weak voice of your brother. He says softly, sounding sleepy, "Heyyy, Tessa."
You have a big smile on your face, and say, "It's, it's Revin." and turn around the corner, drop the basket and embrace through the bars, almost in tears.
"Hey, Revin!! I haven't seen you forever!" he says squeezing you and you him.
"Jeremy! Man, was beginning to think I'de NEVER see you!"
"How are you, man?"
"Oh, I'm great! Gonna try to bail you out, but-"
He draws back. "Wait a minute. Where's Tessa?!"
"Don't worry, she's fine. She got hurt so I came instead."
"Hurt? What happened?"
"She hurt her hip so she couldn't run. She's fine."
"Oh, good." he says relieved, hugging you again.
In the next few minutes, the two of you talk and catch up, and eat, and drink, till he says to go say hi to mom and dad.
You say okay, and get up slowly and stretch. Facing Jeremy, you came from the right. He points you left and says they're a little ways down the way, then make a right and they're at the end. "They're both together in the cell at the end, right behind Grimm Bison. It's like a loop, but their's and Bison's cell cuts it off." "Okay."
Love has replaced a lot of fear, and now you don't think about anything but mom and dad that you're going to see. Had you not talked to Jeremy, you'd still be tense and scared to death.
Hurrying now, you turn right and your mother sees you.
"Oh my, Revin!! Oh, my baby! Revin! Come here!"
You run up to the bars and hug, and you father too who yells, "Revin! Oh, my son!"
"Oh, my baby! I love you!" your mom says, squeezing you and kissing you.
After a few minutes of this, you back up exhausted, and with tears on your cheeks. At the back right corner of their cell there are bars, and you see Grimm Bison on the other side, looking away, minding his business.
You catch your breath and sit down, leaning back on one hand, and push the basket and jug over to them with your foot. They pull it in, but set it aside, behind them... and just sit in each other's arms looking at you silently, with smiles on their faces. You smile back and look away, embarrassed. Your mom says to you, "Why don't you go give your lonely brother some company," then she turns her head and says, "Bison? How much time does he have."
Without turning his head, he says, "The Desmodus will arrive in twenty minutes. There is little time."
"Yes, go spend some time with your brother, Revin. Your father and I have each other, but poor Jeremy is always alone except when Tessa comes and spends some time with him."
"Okay." you say as you stand up, and pick up the basket and jug. "I guess I'll see you, uhh, soon maybe. Bye. I love you."
They say bye too, and you walk back around the corner. You stop at Jeremy's cell, and turn around and look down the tunnel where the doors are. There are three on the sides; two on the left, and one on the right, all spaced out, and a t-junction at the end.
You ask Jeremy, "Where does the killer go when he's here?"
"He goes all the way to the end and makes a right."
"What's in there?"
"I don't know. But that's where he drags the monsters in. Then I hear them screaming all night and I can't sleep and it drives me crazy. But even when he doesn't have anything, that's where he goes. It's quiet those nights."
"Oh. What about the other doors?"
"I don't know. I've never seen him go in any of those."
"Any idea how to get out of these?"
"Nope. But I bet you could find something in one of those doors. Listen, I've been thinking..."
"Uh-huh."
"I bet that if we somehow setup for someone or something to be captured, I could see how the Desmodus gets the cells open."
"Oh! Yeah. ...or, I could just go in there and see."
"No, don't. You might get killed."
"Hmm?"
"Strange noises come from over there. I just wouldn't do it."
"...okay."
"But listen. I have something figured out. It's a huge risk, and I'm not sure I'de even want to risk it, but listen."
"Okay."
"I havn't told Tessa though. Don't tell her!"
"Okay, I won't. What is it?" you ask very interested.
"There are two of you free, right? You and Tessa."
"Uh-huh."
"We need one of you to let yourself be caught. The stronger one, you, need to be able to watch what the Desmodus does to open the cell, incase it's not one of those doors and I can't see it."
"Whoa, wait, wait-"
"No, just listen. It's good; it's just a thought. So Tessa can let herself be caught by the hole. She'll be scared to death, so you can put her to sleep or something."
"To sleep? Sing to her?"
"No, get something from a medecine shop or something."
"Oh."
"So she'll be brought down here, you watch where he goes and what he does to put her in a cell... AND, if you're feeling really lucky, you might even jump out and stab him in the back when he's carrying her."
You're silent.
"So, that would be it. You go open all the cells, and we're all free."
"It sounds okay, but there's no way Tessa would agree to that, and if something goes wrong, we're all dead."
"Yeah. That's why it's just a thought. But remember that incase we're ever forced to do it. Because sooner or later we're gonna have to get out of here. You can't live forever in this place... on minimal rations, always in the dark, and never moving. You'll go crazy and die."
"Yeah. But I'm sure an opportunity will present itself sooner or later."
"No it won't, I'm coming to believe. In a God-forsaken place like this, there is no opportunity. Have you seen the bones? The only opportunity we have may lie in Tessa letting herself being captured."
"But what if that doesn't happen?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if he walks by here, and takes her all the way back into that door. Then she'll be the one screaming all night."
"(sigh), yes, I thought about that. It was that thought alone that made me say the whole thing was just a thought, or else I would have told her anyway and made her bring you down here sooner to do it. It's not hard to convince her when you say all of us will die if she doesn't. I could say I'm dying of weakness or something and she'd do it."
"Yes, she would, wouldn't she?"
"Yeah. She's such a good girl." he pauses, "But uh, you better get going pretty quick here. The Desmodus should be back real soon."
"Oh, shoot!" you say jumping up quickly.
Saying goodbye, you grab the the basket and jug and start running back the way you came in.
You run out in front of Bison, then stop, remembering. You turn around and hand him the jug, that has almost a gallon of water still in it.
He takes it by the handle, and drinks the whole thing in one gulp. He hands it back to you and says, "Thank you, young one. Here, you better run now. Don't stop for anything, just run."
"Okay, bye." You say very alarmed, scrambling up the step, and sticking your head out of the hole.
You look around in every direction... you don't see anything. You toss the basket and jug up, then hoist and pull yourself up, put one foot on the side, and push, raising yourself out of the hole. You grab the basket and jug, and start running frantically; you don't want to be here when the Desmodus arrives.
Running as fast as you can, you run through the brush and trees, over the grass, never stopping or looking back. Normally you would have looked back, but you're afraid that if you do you'll see it running after you and have a heart attack.
So you just run as fast as you can, your heart pounding and legs kicking up high, your left hand holding both the basket and the jug.
You hear your feet thrashing through the leaves, "ksh! ksh! ksh!" and your hood falls on your back, hanging by it's hooks.
Your left hand occupied, your right hand does the pumping, thrusting back and forth, steadying your body and powering your run. You feel yourself going so fast, you'd wonder how anything could keep up.
You jump over a bush and come through a small grassy clearing where something is grazing. A dog-sized thing is eating grass, then darts away when it sees you, running straight away from you. You have so much adrenaline and speed that you're running right behind it and see it's back legs kicking hard, making dirt and leaves go flying. You try to run even harder and catch up to it, and do... you get closer and closer, and it looks behind and sees you, and tears left through a bush, then trips and tumbles into a tree, and WHACK!... goes limp.
Slightly amused, you keep going as fast as you can. You see a nice, wide tree trunk ahead of you and think it's a good spot to stop and look behind you. So you run to it, grab onto it with your free hand, and spin yourself around... looking everywhere, checking if anything's following.
No, nothing's there. But you have this energy, so you start running again, quickly, before you let yourself get tired standing there.
About five minutes later you've slowed to a fast jog and are not afraid anymore. Up ahead you see the lake sparkling in the moonlight, so you pick up the pace.
As you approach you see the old couple up ahead standing on the path you're supposed to take, facing the lake. They're just standing there, not moving.
You try to make your steps quieter, and draw your sword with your right hand. You come through the last bush, and onto the path and SMACK!, slash the bigger one across the back, sending him to the ground while the other one jumps and looks at him, dazed and confused and not knowing what to do. You pass them by, leaving the old man one with a really sore back.
About a hundred yards further, you turn and look and they're both standing, facing away from you, the smaller one holding the hurt one's arm while she looks at his back, and he standing there with one hand on his lower back, rocking back in forth clearly in pain... which is good, so you smile.
And run into the square.
-Arriving in your area you see Tessa up ahead sitting with her legs crossed on the ground leaning her chin on one hand, apparently not doing anything; just waiting.
When she sees you she jumps up and runs over to you, and you meet hugging, lifting her feet off the ground. You spin her in a circle, and set her down and she says happily, "Wow, you look like going out there is fun!"
"I got to see them! All of them!" You say holding onto her hands, and moving with her in a kind of dance, just kind of drifting around on the pavement and spinning cirlces. "La-la leeee, la-la loooo! Da-da deeee, da-da doooo!" "Ooooh!" she says being dipped; her hair touching the ground.
She stands up straight laughing, straightening herself out. "So what happened?"
"Nothing. I went there, saw em' all and came back!"
"No problems? Everything went well?"
"Yep."
"Goody. How were they all?"
"Fine."
"And Bison? Everything was okay? You didn't have trouble with anything? Didn't fight anything?"
"Nope. All good!"
She leans on her hip, looking relieved and smiling. "I told Father Leo. He said Kara told him earlier, and you've been in his intentions for a while now. All of us."
"Good."
"You wanna come to bed now? It's four hours past midnight."
"Sure."
"Ok, let's go sunshine. And don't tickle. It's torture, you know that; Jeremy's tickled you before."
"Sure, I won't tickle you in bed."
"Good, so you won't- AHHHH! HA-HA-ha-ha!"
"But I didn't say anything about here!"
"Ahhhh! Ahhh-Ha-ha-ha! Stop! Stop! Ahh-ha-ha!" she says wiggling and squirming. After a good tickling you let her go.
She goes to bed and kicks you under the covers. Right in the stomach. You sleep that night rolled up like a caterpillar - but no hard feelings, because you didn't quite keep what you said about no tickling in bed either. The excuse was, 'you call this a bed?'
Oh well. Today ended way better than it could have... way better.
Duty calls. There's crime in the city, and curiosity wants you dead. But one thing at a time; curiosity wants you dead.
You see, one of the city's rich folks has allegedly married more than once; a crime. It wouldn't normally be a problem, but he never filed for a divorce. No, it's worse than that. He simply has more than one wife. But that's not the worst. He has 8 wives. And to top it all off, they have dissapeared one at a time from his estate. And now for the grand finale, this guy is a top watch officer.
He has close ties with the Chief of Guards and the Mayor, and no attempts have been made to arrest or investigate. You happened upon all this information when browsing at the hunt & game shop for arrows.
While handling and feeling several types of arrows and knives, you overheard two off-duty guards talking about it while having their swords sharpened. You weren't supposed to hear them, but too bad; you did. They were in a quiet corner of the store talking softly to one another, and you could hear them well from your spot across the aisle, bent over where they couldn't see you.
You dropped an arrowhead and crouched down to pick it up when you heard someone say, "Shhh!" Thinking they were talking to you, you looked around but didn't see anyone near you. You heard the same person, who's feet you saw under the shelf along with someone else's, say, "Keep it a secret. There's been some ruckus at the Ferguson Estate about his wives. Don't tell ANYONE or we could both be... snipped."
That's when curiosity said, "Boy, do I have a deal for you. listen to this:"
The other guy said, "Oh, yes, I'm scheduled to go on watch there for a month starting next week. Tell me, what's going on? Another guy said something about it, but I didn't understand."
"Okay, listen. I patrol there every night, so I know pretty much what happens outside. But I never go inside; I'm not ranked enough. But listen, we have our quarters in the guest facilities, and my buddy and I, we hear what's going on when they play with cards and get drunk. We listen from the attic through a crack in the floorboards while they gamble and drink, and once in a while some touchy information slips out and they get chatting about it. They do it whenever they get drunk. I heard the guys say that every month there's a new wife and one less. He gets a wife every month without even getting married, then when that one dissapears a new one shows up."
"What happens to them?"
"No idea. But some of them say there's a secret door in the basement that only Fergusen knows how to open."
"If he's the only one who can open it, how do they know it's even there?"
"They say the bricks aren't sealed there, and it sounds hollow. You can stick a knife all the way through the cracks."
"What do you think he's got in there?"
"I don't know. Some of the others have suggested a dungeon or whore-house."
"Yeah, right. A dungeon maybe."
"But what kind of dungeon is accessed by just one man? He's occupied all day every day, and we know when he sleeps. He doesn't even go down there, only servants."
"So just how do you know that he can open it then?"
"Good point."
"If you ask me, it's just a spot they didn't seal. Maybe for pipes or something."
"Maybe, but what about all his disappearing wives? His place is patrolled twenty-four hours, and nobody saw any of them ever leaving. Whenever anyone leaves or enters the house, it's written down. We checked the logs, and they aren't logged as ever leaving. So they MUST still be in the vacinity. The question is, are they dead or alive?"
"Hmm. If you ask me, I'de say dead."
"What? Why such a hasty decision?"
"Because they're good as dead anyway if they're locked up in the basement. Especially if nobody ever goes down there but the servants. Well, mmm, maybe the servants could bring food down there."
"Maybe. But I sure wish we could go down there and see for ourselves. What a rotten situation though! Possible capital crime, and we'll be killed if we dare bring it up! Sickening!"
"Yes. Ridiculous. It'd make my day if somebody did it though. You know, pay someone... a spy... to go find out what's happening."
"That'd be nice. But look, there's Charles. We'd better not talk about it anymore if we know what's good for us. I'll see you next week at the estate, John, my good man."
"Aye. Indeed, we'll talk about it then, Henry. Goodday."
"Goodday."
You stay crouched down, and try to not let them see you as they walk out of that aisle. ...when they're further away, you stand up looking down at the arrowhead trying to look very interested in it.
You quickly walk away from there, buy some arrows, and leave.
Later that night you go back to your spot and find Tessa sitting on the edge of the koi pond, with her bare feet in the water, working on something. You approach and sit beside her, but facing the other way to not get your feet wet. She's sewing something, never looking up and says, "Hello."
"Hi there."
"What's your name?"
"Uh, George. What's yers'?"
"I'm Katherine Koncita Leone Noleson."
"What?"
"Hmm?"
"That's not your name."
"Right, George."
"Heh, well anyway, I was down at the weapon smith's."
"And?"
"Uh, what are you making?"
"Hmm? Something for you."
"Really? What is it? A piece of cloth with straps?"
"Oh, nevermind. It's for me; a fancy napkin. How'bout it, eh?"
"No, sorry. What is it?"
"It's a facemask."
"What for?"
"To cover your face."
"Huh?"
"Watch. You hook these straps to the back of you hood, right... here. See? Then pull it up over your nose, and wallah!, you're completely hidden in the dark. No more white spot sticking out for people to see."
"Ahh, nice. I could try it out tonight."
"Tonight? My hip is better. I can go tonight."
"No, I mean somewhere else."
"What? Where?"
"I-i-i-i, was at the weapon smith's, and I heard some guards talking."
"Uh-huh?"
"I overheard them saying that at some top guard's mansion the guy has a bunch of wives that keep disappearing in the basement, and I'm gonna go find out why."
"What?! No! Don't be silly, Revin! They'll take care of it themselves!" she says suddenly upset, turning to you fully.
"No, that's why I have to go."
"Why?"
"Because they said they'll be killed if they get caught talking about it. So nobody's doing anything about it."
"Revin, look. NO! NO, NO, NO!"
"Tessa, look. YES! YES! YES!-"
"-NO!!"
"Why? What is it?"
"Revin... you really think I'm going to just sit here and say Okay, go break into someone's mansion where you'll be killed if they see you, it's alright with me; you think I'm going to say that?"
"No."
"Well then?"
"But I didn't ask you whether or not you thought it was a good idea."
"Re-e-vin-n-n." she says tilting her head and rolling her eyes.
"(sigh)."
"Please, just don't do it. It's too risky. You know they'll kill you if they catch you."
"But what about all those women?"
"I'm sure a solution will present itself."
"That solution could be me going and finding them."
"I doubt it."
"Anyway, I want to go."
She pauses, and looks at the fish in the water for some time... she says very calmly and softly, "What am I going to tell mom, dad, and Jeremy when they put you to death?"
You're taken aback by this, and you think about how they'd feel if you died. Then you think how you'd feel living in a starvation bunker, then being hanged or bled to death.
She says, "If you really think this guy's guilty you should just kill him quietly from far."
"What? I thought you hated killing."
"But I'de rather a murderer die for what he's done than my brother."
"Uh.."
"I'm kidding, of course."
You don't say anything.
"Don't you see, I just don't want anything to happen to you. How else can I say it? I just want you alive and well."
"Thank you for feeling that way, but I really think I should do this."
She doesn't respond. She's coming to tears now, feeling that you just don't get it. And heck, you don't. She feels like you're dying right here, right now. Trying to feel what it's like to know your about to lose someone you love...
Very softly, fighting tears, looking down into the water she says, "Then go. ...I'm sorry if to the last I didn't try hard enough. What more could I do? The only thing left is to try and restrain you, hold you with my hands and not let you go... but if you really want to go that bad, I just have to let you go. Okay?"
You think, and see her face and how she feels.
"Are you, (sniff), are you going?"
"(sigh), I don't know anymore."
"Revin?"
"Yes?"
"What does violence solve peacefully?"
"Who said I'm going to be violent?"
"I know how you and your brother did it; tying up people, knocking people out, beating them up."
"Mmm. But what do you mean by 'what does violence solve peacefully?'"
"You think you're going to waltz into a guarded mansion without violence? Listen, violence is never just 'one way.' You hurt someone, and someone's gonna get hurt for it. Either they see you and hurt you, kill you, or they don't see you and a bunch of innocent guards get put to death. Don't think they won't punish someone if you go through with this. They're gonna let it out on somebody."
"Uh-huh."
"Imagine if someone else did that, and you were killed for it. Or me. Or someone else. That's how you'd be damaging another family."
"..."
"If you want to use peace for a peaceful solution, go put a note in the suggestion box at city hall. No harm can be done."
"A... note in the... ...city hall."
"Do you see what I mean?"
"...yes. Yes I,..."
"Revin?"
"Yes?"
"You can solve anything and everything peacefully if you use it. Not enough people use peace, so there's an abundance of it available; use it anywhere and any time. Violence is met with violence, anger is met with anger, and peace is met with peace. That's what Father Leo told me."
"Is that what he said?"
"Yes. He said in this crisis we're going through, we may be tempted to use violence. But he said whenever we're tempted to use violence, use peace and all will be made right for us. He said that means fighting people, monsters... and you know what he said?"
"What?"
"He said... even... Even if we face the killer head on, do not fight it. Because it will respond by fighting, and will win. I asked him what do we do though if we face it, do we say hi to it or something, you know, shake it's hand and give it a hug? What?"
"What'd he say?"
"He said yes, and also a kiss."
"... no way."
"That's what he said."
"So if you bump into it, are you going to say hi and give it a hug and a kiss?"
"No, if it touches me I'm gonna be ready to jump straight to heaven, he-he-he."
"Heh-heh-heh, I mean seriously."
"I don't know. I guess I'll see when the time comes, if it comes. What about you?"
"I'm tempted to pull out my sword and stab it."
"Yeah, but really. If it jumped out and stood in front of you right now, what would you do?"
"I'de... ummm, maybe I'de... yeah, I'd stab it."
"Uh-huh. But I don't think Father Leo would say that if he didn't mean it. Because he knows it's very possible and wouldn't want us to do something that might get us killed. Mom said God speaks through him when he says stuff like that. Maybe I'd try and do what he says. Gosh, I don't carry any weapons; there isn't much I could do besides."
"I don't know, I wouldn't step into that hole without my sword if my life depended on it."
"According to Father Leo, it does."
"Dang. Maybe you should just go instead of me then."
"You want me to do you a favor and relieve you of that sword?"
You look down thoughtfully and remember all the times you've had to use us it... "No thanks, I'll hang onto it."
"Whatever you say."
"(sigh), I don't want to talk about it any more. When are you going? I got the bread."
"In a minute. But first try on this facemask."
- You now have a choice: go to the mansion when she leaves, or put a note in the suggestion box at City Hall. If you choose to put a note in the suggestion box and it doesn't help, then going to the Ferguson Estate will be put on your Missions Todo list.
[] Okay, time for a story update. A lot happened before any of this, and a lot is not talked about. Everything that happened before is called the pre story; the Pre-Faceless story.
"Faceless" is the code name of the story. It defines which part of the story it tells. The story goes back thousands of years before in the "Eden" story - the Eden part of the story. For instance, in the Eden story the Redwood tower is a tall tree stump. In the Faceless story, the Redwood tower is just a small stump. In the Pre-Eden story though, it was a full tree; about a mile high.
The Desmodus go all the way back to the Eden story, when the land was young and the Redwood Tower stood. It was back then that they were tranformed into the appearance of their souls, resembling bats. They were sent out into the land to live indefinitely, and spend their days trying to gain acceptance of people. But they could not do it, and many gave up trying. Hating the good altogether, and hating each other, they went their ways to the seven corners of the land.
A long time ago, they were the seven who guarded an evil king who built an empire on the backs of the good, making them serve the evil. The guards were totally merciless and tortured the good people to death. They would fight unarmed slaves to entertain the king, then torture them till they died for the whole court to see and laugh. Seeing this, God sent his Angel to test them.
Every one of them failed, so the Angel of God said to each of them that they would become the monsters that they were.
They would remain that way either till they were destroyed, or till someone loved them despite their evilness. Then and only then, if they could be loved, they would return to their normal selves and be forgiven.
After a long time of being hunted and maligned, they went into hiding, living underground for thousands of years. Those thousands of years in total isolation have tortured their minds, them still being humans stuck in their bodies. So much to the point that one of the remaining Desmodus finally left in a serious search for someone who could accept him for the way he was and set him free. But having so little love and mercy himself, and not knowing how to be friendly, he would end up panicking, then capturing and keeping them in his dungeon till they died.
Seeing that it was so difficult to get humans to accept or befriend him, he tried monsters to see if they could love someone like them, but to no avail. They too ended up in his dungeon.
...
Time to recollect some thoughts.
You may have noticed that Revin and Contessa get along quite well. (I'll talk about this because some people say 'waiiiit a minute' when siblings get along so well. Yes, I did; I dared say siblings can get along... it's true.) That's because this is the past, back in the days when siblings actually got along well (believe it or not. once upon a time they did) I like to emphasize this, because life would be so much better if every sibling in the world was Contessa. See, your brothers and sisters are yours for life. You're stuck with each other, so make the best of it. That's what they did in the past, and they were very happy with each other back then. Heck, in some places they'd even marry each other, (but not here).
WE live in a day and age where someone can take you to the Chief of Guards if you say siblings can get along well, and sue your socks off. Now, we have to remember that some people like Revin and Contessa can't afford socks to begin with. So, for the sake of poor people like them, I have to speak about how well they get along and why, as to thwart evildoers with briefcases who may take me to their Chief of Guards and say that they want my money because I described those two.
We also live in a day and age (and country) where people openly complain about how easy and stupid it is to file a lawsuit (and win) until they find an opportunity of their own; then, as I've observed, they'll toss everything they've ever said aside and go to the Chief of Guards and file the lawsuit, no matter how ridiculous or inhumane it is, and try to make some un-earned money.
It would please many inhabitants to have the Almighty send his Angel to test people like this. Or, perhaps to test us all. Get everyone who hates unfair or mean lawsuits to openly admit it, then provide a situation where they can really sue Revin and Contessa's socks off and see what they do. Will they hold to their hearts, or bedevil themselves and file the stinkin' lawsuit to make easy money.
...there are more and more Revins and Contessas every day, forced to give up their lives and their families because of idiots... merciless idiots who realistically don't stand much chance when facing their eternity.
When you die, you see every Revin and Contessa you've ever thrown onto the street, so to speak, and weigh your chances for a good eternity. Too many Revins and Contessas can tip your scale and send you to the underworld. Not too many won't weigh down your balloon.
Desmodus. And reds... I wonder what you'd see in the mirror. Do you look in the mirror and see an awesome person who's worthy of treating himself well, or do you see a pathetic, hurt fool who needs shelter from the world? Or are you one of the few, the rare, the humble... who see only who they are, and nobody unreal; no inflatable god, no deflated fool... only who they are.
Every morning Tessa looks in the mirror and smiles, humming to herself, trying to think of how she can better love today. Not love 'someone,' not be loved... simply, how can I better choose love and choose TO love in every situation and thing I do.
Revin begins the morning by looking in the mirror, silently, with a stone-cold face, thinking how he can better make himself feel good and satisfy everything he wants.
Jeremy begins similarly, by stroking his long hair, and thinking simply, Oh, I'm so awesome. How can the world better serve me. How should everyone conform better to me today. How should my parents more accept me for who I am, and not who they think I should be.
Back to Tessa, she thinks "How can I please my parents? How can I please my brothers? I want to do good things for them and be loving to all of them. Here I come, God. Catch me if you can. He-he-he."
= Back to the story: Read slowly and re-read if you have to - imagine the scenes in your head before you read into them, because things often move at the speed that they move.
Always on the lookout for trouble, you read the Week's Events Calendar in the front room of City Hall. But this time you're in City Hall during visiting hours, so your hood is down, and nobody suspects anything.
You just dropped the note in the suggestion box and are strolling around now looking at things. This is a very nice place. In this room there are some people talking on big white couches, with gold trim and everything, while drinking tea and looking very fancy.
Back to the events calendar; ah, here's trouble. Let's go join it.
But that's trouble, Tessa says! You're always looking for trouble, to do what? Go join trouble and take some with you. Your intent is to find trouble and get rid of him. But Tessa knows better than that, and tries to tell you that whenever you look for trouble, he finds you. Now that's how it is. Nobody finds trouble, trouble finds them. Because every time you find youself in a mansion running from guards, you're in trouble! Even when you think you're the one looking for trouble, you've really just ventured into his territory. See, when you're not on his territory you don't find anything no matter how hard you look. But you always find trouble when you look for it, because you've really just entered his territory, and he's always at home.
What IS trouble? Trouble is anything or anybody trying to trouble you in some way. So WHO is trouble? When you're in a mansion, trouble is all the guards. And you know it, too. Because they're always looking for you. See, you don't look for trouble in your right mind. But if you can see trouble, trouble can see you.
Who goes looking for guards? Well, you can figure out an escape if you know where they all are. Curiosity must've killed many cats... because you always go looking for trouble, to find out how to get out of it. If there's no trouble, there's no getting out of it. And that's how it should be!
But noooo! Always gotta' know where trouble is, so we can get out of it. And you learn from experience: go provoke trouble to figure out how he works and what he does. Throw a rock at a guard with a rocket launcher to see how dangerous that thing on his shoulder is. THEN you'll know how much to avoid them.
Trouble likes that. He always looks good at first, from behind. Then he turns his ugly face. Because from behind he's "maybe" and from the front he's just trouble. When you see from behind you can't see his face, so you don't know if it's trouble. It could be Benevolence. That's the catch.
You gotta find out who it is you're dealing with. But here, at this mansion, there's little chance of finding Benevolence. Because trouble lives here. Benevolence is almost NEVER at trouble's house - you go show your face to every single person in this mansion, and you're gonna get a negative response from all of them; There's gonna be trouble. The only time Benevolence is here is when trouble kidnaps her or forces her to be here. That's when you find a prisoner or slave at the mansion who's willing to help; someone that hates trouble and doesn't want to be here in the first place.
When a guard is approaching from straight ahead, you don't stick your head out to see if it's someone you know.
When you're approaching guards that are facing you in the dark, you don't get close enough to see what kind of guards they are; swordsmen or archers. You stay away! Because if you're so close to trouble that you can see what kind of trouble he is, then he can recognize you too! He'll say, "Ha-haaa! C'mere Benevolence! Let me convert you a little."
If you can, you avoid trouble. Killing trouble is really just making more trouble. Because trouble thrives on troublesome things like death and violence. See, if you're a criminal, and you've already killed some trouble, then killing one more won't be so bad; because you're already in serious trouble, and it doesn't get much more troublesome than that. But if you're troublefree and you kill someone, then go to "really in trouble!", it's a big jump; one you don't wanna take.
Right now, sneaking into this mansion, you have no trouble. So keep it that way; don't kill anybody! Plus, you'll be in trouble with your sister if she finds out. And further, you go up to see Saint Peter and you've made yourself trouble by killing someone, he'll say no trouble up here. So now that you're being called trouble, the person you killed was Benevolence. See? You depleted goodness by killing him. Heaven is the place of goodness, and you've made trouble by dissipating it. Those kinds of people aren't allowed up here. So don't kill anyone, even if your life depends on it, because gaining your life may be obtaining your death. Forever.
* You're entering the gates of a mansion you read about in the events calendar...
It said that this was the place that was searched a few days ago for evidence of poor treatment of servants. However, they asked the servants how they were treated and they said 'fine,' so they left.
This place is a huge mansion complete with guard quarters, guest quarters, servant quarters, pools and spas, and connected to a private sewer. A very nice place.
Now, normally you would have accepted what the servants told investigators, except for a huge problem with the report. They only asked three servants how they were treated. A mansion like this, with servant quarters as big as they are, would have wayyyyy more than three servants. Who cooks? Who cleans the pools? Who gardens? There are huge gardens here; it would take a whole team of gardeners to take care of this place. And a hedge maze, nicely trimmed, with something in the middle.
Yeah, that's odd. You can see from here the top of something way back in the hedge maze on the other side of the property lit by a torch.
Anyway, your theory is that there are probably a lot more servants locked up somewhere because of inspections, and that they only let out the best three and threatened them, making them say they were just fine. They could have said they were treated bad anyway, and been released by the investigators that very day, but they probably had family held hostage wherever they're locked up. All in theory.
You crouch down just inside the black iron gates, crawling slowly behind a row of bushes. To your right is the pavement that leads to the house, coming from the gates. You're making your way through the fog, heading for the left side of the mansion. To the left side of the house, because nobody uses the front door to break in. Plus, at the front door - big double doors with pillars in front of them - there are three guards standing there facing this way. You can barely see them through this heavy fog. But out here, the fog is your advantage. You can sneak around easier out here since the fog is so dense. But don't get careless because of it; just remember that if you can see them, they can see you.
You crawl on the cold, damp grass behind some bushes toward the side of the mansion. Your plan is to get through a side or back door, then find your way to the basement. These huge places always have something in the basements, because they're so big. Also, if it were anywhere else besides the basement, the investigators would have discovered it. Most likely they have a wine cellar in the basement, hence the vineyards behind the mansion, so the investigators took a quick look, then moved on.
You're approaching the side. You see a door with two guards at it on a part of the house that extrudes out into this grassy area lined with flowers, plants and small trees. You have a choice to make: either throw a rock or something past them to have them leave the door and investigate, or go bonk them on the heads and knock them unconscious. Trouble is, they'll hear you bonking the other guy since they're wearing helmets, so you decide to throw a rock.
Looking down, there are rocks under all these flower bushes. You pick one up and look at the guards. They are about 20 yards away, ahead of you, looking straight ahead, toward your left. To see you, they have to turn their heads left. They're in the dark with no lights around them. Behind them, to their right, is an old wooden barrel sitting against a tree. If you can hit that with a rock, hopefully they'll leave the door and look around.
So you throw it, and... OOPS! it hit the side of the house, on your side! Never even got past them. They jump up and start looking around and coming on this side! You drop on your stomach behind the bushes in the dark, and are probably well hidden. Just pray that they don't come looking in the bushes. Infact, scoot under the bushes so if they peek over they won't see you lying there. Be careful; there are rocks on the ground that make noise. You lay down quietly, and watch them from under the bush.
One of them says, "Was that you, Wes?"
The other yells to the guards at the front door, "Stop fooling around over there!"
The other guards turn and look at them, confused. "What?"
"Did you throw something?"
They look at each other, "No." "No." "No."
"Yes you did, stop foolin'."
"No we-" then another guard opens the front door and says, "Shut up! The boss is asleep! Stop yelling!" then pulls his head back in and closes it.
All the guards go back to their positions, a little disoriented. The two over here mumble to each other as they round the corner heading back to the door. They stand again at the sides of it.
Now, you can't throw anything again. If you do, they'll go looking for you, knowing it's not a guard. But, if you feel like chancing it, you can throw a rock at the guards at the front door, and maybe they'll blame these guards.
So you carefully pull out from under the bush, make sure the guards aren't looking, get on your knees and throw a rock as hard as you can at the guards on the front porch. Then quickly, before it even hits, get back on the ground and scoot under the bush.
*TINK!,... tink, tink, tink* It bounces around the porch. The three turn around and look at it, then all three face this side of the house. One says, "HEY!!!" really loud, sounding mad.
You're startled... maybe they see you.
These two guards step out to see what they want.
"Quit throwing stuff over there!" he yells.
"Who, us?!" They yell back, "We didn't do anything!"
"We saw you! We saw him, didn't we?" He asks his buddies, "See?! We saw you! Stop lying!"
"What?!! How can you, we didn't do anything!"
The door flies open, and the guard says sounding extremely aggravated, "YOU!! Stop making that NOISE!!! The boss is SLEEPING!!"
Though you can't see their faces very well, they must be blinking a lot; staring and blinking at the closed door. These two guards walk back to their spots again, but this time their mumbling to each other sounds like they're mad.
Well, it doesn't look like you'll be able to get through this door. You'll have to go around to the back, look for a door or cellar, or look in the hedge maze.
You pull out from under the bush, and look ahead of you. This row of bushes goes all the way into a dark garden area; kind of like a [Japanese garden], but with high vine walls, a swinging bench, flowers and jungle plants. It's closed in on most sides, hence the vines and all, so you'll be well hidden in there, as long as you stay on the neat grass paths, because thrashing through the bushes will make a lot of noise.
Almost on your stomach, you start crawling toward it. You walk on your knees, but like a lizard with your legs and arms out to your sides, moving one leg and opposite side arm at the same time, then alternating, scooting on your knees and elbows. You crawl until you arrive at the 'entrance' of the garden, and crawl through it until you can stand up without being seen.
You get to the swinging bench hanging from chains that have vines wrapped around them, and stand up slowly, looking all around you making sure nobody's around. To your right is the bench and vine wall that seperates you from the guards. To your left are more jungle plants and flowers, and two passages through vine tunnels, one on each side corner.
You walk into the vine tunnel on the right corner, and quietly and carefully pull out your knife. - You packed a small, 12 inch machette tonight, first of all to not kill anyone, second of all because swords are a heavy, uncomfortable burden in quiet night missions like this. - You hold it in front of you and swing it slowly back and forth incase there are any spiders. :)
At the end of the tunnel there are more gardens and a fish pond in the middle of the garden square. There are two torches on sticks lighting the sides of the pond, and benches on all four corners of the square. There's another vine tunnel in the corner opposite to you. You walk over and jog through it.
Whoa, it empties right into the tall hedge maze. You weren't planning on going straight to the hedge maze, but you might as well look around and find that thing in the middle while you're here. Hope it's not a doghouse. Strange, there's some mechanical equipment here... a brick post about four feet tall with some gears and stuff on it, and... Oh, there's a plaque on the front of it.
It says, "The Drift Maze - In Memory of the Drift Master, Elmaia" (el-MY uh) Under that a poem is engraved. It says:
"Only one posessing a spirit so stark can unlock the secrets, the secrets of the dark.
Thirty seconds will count as you run through the mist, but in thirty seconds amount, death you'll have kissed.
So pull the lever and run like hell, and find the doors before you hear the bell."
Hmm. Sounds like some kind of test. Well, your spirit isn't so stark, and it says if you don't make it you'll kiss death. In other words, die. Wierd though.
How is it going to kill you if you don't make it? Doghouse? He-he-he. Anyway, you don't feel like dying right now, so you turn around and walk back into the vine tunnel. You figure if whatever's in the hedge maze is important, you'll see it from the top floor windows once you're in the house. Either that, or you'll find a paper or something talking about it inside. So if it is important maybe you'll come back. Or maybe you'll do something clever like pull the lever and run away. No, not now. If it's complex enough to get you killed, it's complex enough to make sure you get killed.
So you walk past the little pond and the benches in the torch light, then crouch down by the 'door'. There are white wooden arches with vines on them making little doorways into the different sections of the gardens. (Vine Arches, not to be confused with Vine Tunnels) On one knee, you hold the side of it where there are no vines, and look into the yard, trying to figure out how to get into the back without being seen.
There are several rows of bushes ahead of you, and they stop about 30 yards away, then there's grass in an area about 40 feet around, and in the middle the door with the two guards, at the end of one wing of the house; the west wing, that sticks out of the mansion's side, looking like it houses a wide hallway or something coming out to the door.
If you crawl behind the last row of bushes, it goes in a big half-circle around the door, and empties into the back area. You get on both knees, then drop to your hands, and start crawling toward it, to the left... following it around in a big circle, with the guards and doors in the middle. Being very quiet, you slowly crawl by bush after bush, approaching the end of the row now, passing more and more bushes. You can see another garden entrance from here. But in front of you, facing the back area now, is a big marble patio lined with beautiful plants and torches with two pools in the middle; a big one, and a little one. The little one must be heated because there's steam rising from it. Some of these mansions have heated pools. They have pipes going through furnaces beneath the pools in the basements that are run by servants.
You keep crawling through the grass, and into this other garden area that looks similar to the last one. Surrounding this garden are high brick walls covered with plants and vines, except where the doors are. You stand up when you can no longer be seen, and follow it to the right, till you've arrived behind the patio. You see the back doors, unguarded, from behind a 'vine arch.'
You put your head through the vine arch and check left and right for guards... there's nobody back here. You stoop over and sneak toward the door, in between the doors, making sure you don't make any noise at all, because there are windows above here on the second floor.
You get to the door and very slowly hold the doorknob, and try to turn it. It's locked. To your left, facing you is another door, a smaller door that might be a servant's door, because it doesn't have a handle; probably so they can kick it open while they're holding plates. You tip-toe over to it, and push... it opens.
You silently and slowly creep inside, letting it close behind you without making any sound. It's a kitchen, mostly dark, with a stove that has glowing embers in it, and it smells like food. You walk to the door furthest in, and push it open just an inch so that you can stick your eye through and look. There's a candle-lit dining room with a big table, and french doors on two sides of the huge, long table. You close the door and go to another without a handle that probably leads to a pantry. It does, and you walk through, the scent of grain reaching your nose, and wheat. There are two doors facing into the house in here, both on the same wall, both only curtains. You put your eye on the side of the first one and look. It looks like a hallway. And it's lit dimly by a gas lamp on the wall, and nobody's here.
You cautiously walk through the curtain and emerge in the hallway. On the walls are big beams, like square pillars, sticking out of them, lined with beautiful engraved wood, and bordered with patterns and such, and the 7 foot wide hallway is lined with busts of people, some little statues, and carpeted with a very soft, nice red carpet with designs and patterns in it. The carpet runs through the middle, and is beside by a marble floor on it's sides that you want to stay off of so you don't make noise.
The hallway is long, and lined with several doors, and in two places even becomes other rooms. Way down at the end you see a small curved staircase, preceeded by more decorated glass doors, going to the second floor.
You lean against the wall, hiding behind a wooden pillar making your observations down the hallway. But behind you, from the direction you came, the hallway goes right into a kitchen; a kitchen out in the open, connected to the dining room.
You set eyes on the nearest door, and head for it. You carefully shake the handle, and turn it, and it opens. You step into a luxurious office. Inside is a desk on the left wall facing in, a fireplace on the far side, and a couch on the right. It's well decorated with paintings and little statues all over, and a beautiful rug layed out in the middle.
The thing that catches your eye is a single paper on the desk, with a painted rock holding it down. You close the door, then pick it up and read it. It looks like a reminder someone put on the desk. It says: Tell Claire she keeps leaving the windows open upstairs. It's freezing at night, and the lord keeps blaming the butler! -Sincerely Annoyed, Watchman Quent
Oh, there's one paper in the trash by the desk. You unwrinkle it and look at it. It says: George, there are some investigators coming tommorow morning to look into the mistreated slaves, I mean servants. Har! Har! Har! Ah, you're killing me George! Anyway, ask the lord what he wants to do about it then let me know. Suggest that I lock up the disgruntled servants till the investigators leave. Either way, my men will be ready by tommorow morning if you get this to the lord right away. Don't delay, or it'll be your head on the mantlepiece.
Oh, and when you bring the lord his bedtime snack tonight, tell me if you see he's written anything new on his desk. And tell me if it looks anything like a paycheck. My boys need their money so they can eat. He's got lots of papers he writes and diary stuff there, so don't confuse it with them. It's gonna have lots of lines on it. Does he give you pay? Anyway, you should know what it looks like. And Goerge, remember... we're desperate down here. Don't make us wait too long.
Lt. Watchman Moe
Hmm, this note is good evidence. You fold it and put it in your belt pouch. So, the guards know all about this mistreating the servants? And it seems like they're all for it. Wierd that none of them would mind or do anything about it. What they're doing is against their oath.
Also, the note said that the guy keeps a diary and writes stuff. Maybe you can learn what he's done to the servants, or maybe even find out about that thing outside in the hedge maze! Hmmmmm, yeeeees. You can feel the excitement growing. Just down the hall - forget the other doors - just down the hall are the stairs that go to the second floor, and to Hammond's bedroom. Getting into his room might be difficult, but inside could be the answers to two questions. Besides, it's like an hour past midnight and he's sound asleep.
You don't see anything else interesting in here, and the desk has no drawers. It's just a table. You open the door, peek through, then step out into the hallway again. Facing right, you see the stairs. Getting to them safely depends on whether or not there are any guards or servants in the rooms before it that the hall passes by.
About 20 feet ahead the hall opens into the first room, a medium sized one, then goes back into a hallway for another 20 feet, then a small room, and ends in an outlet with the glass doors and the curved stairs. You walk to the beginning of the first room, that has a light on, and press yourself against the wall. You have to do this right. You look to your left, back at the curtains you came through just to be sure they're still there incase you get chased and need an exit.
Never forget about your exits. If you're seen, you need to know immediately how to get out. Speaking of which... you lower your head and think. There's a problem. If you DO get chased, chased outside, there's no way to climb back over the huge gates with guards on your tail. Those gates take a while to get over, and you don't think there are any other ways out. The whole property is probably fenced. ... ... maybe, uhh... well, you've gone this far... okay, if you're chased out, the only chance you have is go straight to the hedge maze, pull the lever when some guards are in with you, and base your next move on their reaction. In other words, if they panick, you panick. If they don't care, go through the maze and find the end.
That's bleak, but you decide to just be extra careful and not be seen in the first place. So you peek into the first room, see nobody, and run across on the quiet carpet to the other side, where the hall picks up again. You quietly tip-toe through here, til' you get to the next open area. It's clear, so you walk this time through the room. Here are the glass windows. They lead to an indoor bath room and garden. Mmm, nice, but here are the stairs. They're wooden, so they might make noise.
You step on the first one, then the next, and they aren't making any noise. You walk up them - they go in almost a half-circle - and find yourself in a dimly lit carpeted hallway with statues in slots in the walls, and nice furniture. Wow, even a hallway fireplace with embers in it.
Uh-oh. There's a guard at the far end of the hallway, at a T-junction, facing away from you. You hope Hammond's room isn't in that direction. ... ahh, relief. There are two double-doors by you, across from the stairs, that say "Lord Jean Hammond" on them. But how are you going to open them without getting that guard's attention?
You sneak over to a marble stand with a bust on it, and crouch down behind it. You see a clock on the wall that says it'll be three hours past midnight in a few minutes. Well, it's not as early in the night as you thought. But as you think this, a guard comes from the T-junction over to this guard and stops to talk, and you can hear them. It's a female guard... she says in her normal voice,
"You need a break, tough guy? It'll be my shift in a minute."
"Yes, please. Thanks," he says sounding exhausted.
"Uh-huh. Why don't you go back to quarters? You need some sleep; you look dead tired," she says putting a hand on his shoulder sympathetically, leaning the other on her hip.
"Mmmmmm..." he moans tiredly, "I don't think I'll make it. I'll probably collapse on a couch or something," he says swaying side to side.
"Oh, I don't recommend it. If the lord sees you on one of his couches you'll be out of a job."
"Yeah. Rodney," he says standing up straighter, trying to keep himeself awake.
"Who?" she says putting both hands on her hips.
"Rodney. You weren't here then. He fell asleep on the floor and got hanged."
"Hanged?! Did he really?"
"Yes. It was awful. Then they threw him in the crypt."
"Yikes. ...wait a minute. What crypt?"
"The Hammond family crypt. They didn't even bury him. They didn't want to go down there for some reason, so they threw him in and closed it."
"That's nasty. Why didn't they want to go in?"
"Beats me. Must have something to do with that grim plaque at the hedge maze."
"Mmm."
"But that's not what bothers me."
"What does?"
"Those servants. You know?"
"Yeah. Shhh. What about them?" she says softly.
He looks to his sides, "Have you been down there?"
"No."
He whispers, "I have. They have em' locked up. Strange they haven't let them out yet, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I've been wondering why."
"Well, I'll tell you what Marley said if you can keep a secret."
"Yeah. What did he say?"
"He overheard Lord Hammond having dinner with his, you know, those men he calls his "colleagues"?"
"Uh-huh. *Tsk. They have nothing in common."
"I know. He heard them talking about a, a ritual that they do every so often. They're planning something a few nights from now. He didn't hear exactly, but something to do with the locked up servants. And, wierdest of all, something to do with his crypt."
She's quiet a moment, then says, "I, uh,... hmm!"
"Exactly."
"Who, who were those people?" she says tilting her head in interest.
"Skett Drifters. One of them was called El Jr."
"Drifters? Here?"
"Yeah. Strange, isn't it?"
"Yes. El Jr.?"
"Uh-huh."
"Would that be, Elmaia Jr.?"
"Elmaia?! Eh, hmm... I hadn't thought of that. But could it be?" he says scratching the back of his neck.
"Scary to think so," she says crossing her arms and looking behind her.
"I think it is! His son. Here," he says leaning back.
"Elmaia's that famous Necrothedge."
"Yes. But don't you mean Necromancer?"
"No, he doesn't talk to the dead. He uh, awakens them."
"Ah. I didn't know there was a difference."
"My brother taught me all about them when I was younger, and I've been afraid of the dark since. He told me that the Sketts have awakened entire cemeteries in the past, like the one in Fallway back in the days of King Gevarian. But the Skett Drifters are more discreet about it. That's why they're still around. Well, one or two of them anyway."
"Wow. Now I'll bet you a paycheck that they've got an undead in the crypt. No, two paychecks."
"I don't bet, but I think you're right."
"And... Whoa!" he says realizing something.
"The servants!" she whispers loudly.
"What are we gonna do? We can't let them... uh,-"
"Can we sneak into the basement and let em' out? Any chance?"
"No sneaking! We're guards. We can just walk in, and walk them out. We'll say we're taking them to a private area."
"Okay, good. Then we'll ditch this place and tell the mayor."
"Yeah... Then what?"
"Then go start a new life somewhere else!" she smiles brightly. His eyes light up and he turns to face her fully.
"We'll rob Hammond dry, then move into a big mansion and get married, and have children! Okay?" she says holding onto his hands, almost jumping up and down.
He's dumbfounded for a minute, then comes to and says happily, "Okay, yes! Let's do it!"
"Let's go!"
They hold hands and run in your direction, heading for the stairs. Just as they pass you, the guy sees you crouched on the ground behind the bust stand, and he stops at the stairs... She says to him, "C'mon!" and keeps going, but stops at the extent of his arm and waits for him.
He reaches into his belt for something, "Right. The heck with this place," he throws you a keyring, "You gonna sack the place? Do me a favor and slug Hammond for me. And there's a hole under the fence by the well, incase you need a quick exit."
Surprised, you say, "Yeah, thanks. ...no, wait!"
They stop and step back up, "What is it?"
"I'm actually here to free the servants."
"You some kinda' spy or something?" he says suspiciously.
"No. A kid," you say pulling down your hood, "I have to get some papers from Hammond's bedroom, then I'm trying to find the basement."
"Hmm. Tell you what; we'll go outside and signal the Chief of Guards, and then make a break for it. We'll bump into his squad and brief him on the road, and you wave him in."
"Okay. But I need the papers."
The lady-guard says, "In there," pointing to the double-doors, "We'll cover you."
You jump up and put a key into the lock. She says, "The gold one."
You find the gold key and open the door. Surprisingly, the wooden door opens smoothly and quietly, probably a change made by Hammond to not wake him up whenever he's checked on at night.
You walk in quickly, quietly, and smoothly, your cape lifting as you drift over to the nearest table. You see a lot of papers scattered about, and looking up, see that Hammond is asleep, snoring away in a huge bed wearing a silly nightcap.
You shuffle through the papers, then scoot them all into a pile. You take them all and adjust them, making a neat stack. You slide them into an envelope on the table, and walk out with them, and they close the door behind you... But he stops you and reaches into a case on the wall and pulls a sword down. He says, "Take this. You may need it."
They lead you back down the stairs, and into the hallway. The man stops and says, "Act casual." Then keeps leading you two through the first living room; a large, decorated, carpeted room, and over to a huge door.
He opens it and steps out onto the front porch, in front of all the guards there. One of them immediately greets, "Captain, Brook and his mate over there are throwing rocks at us."
Ignoring his complaint, he answers looking around the porch walls, looking for something, "Send the signal to the nearest watch. Hammond's a Skett, and we're taking him down. He's gonna make tombstone out of the servants."
Hearing this, he pulls his head back and has an appalled look on his face, "Good broth!" The guards all lose their stance, and look at each other. One of them goes to a box on the wall by the door and opens it. It's connected to a pipe that goes to the ceiling, and out the roof. Inside is a small rocket mounted on the bottom of the tube, and a lever. He pulls it hard several times, and each time it makes sparks fly at the rocket fuse until it lights. The rocket "voomps" into the pipe and flies up to the ceiling, then shoots out the opening on the roof.
- At the guard station by city hall, the soldiers on night watch survey the area from atop the roof. In the distance a bright red flare burns into the sky, leaving a glowing trail sprayed out of the rocket. It makes a "TtSHHHHHHHHhhhhh!!" sound, and alerts all the guards on watch. They yell things and pull an alarm, and an entire squad rushes out the doors, lead by the Chief of Guards running in the direction of the flare. A guard looks over the rails on the roof and yells down to them, "Hammond Estate!"
- The guards on the porch pull together and talk, except one of them, as guards from all over the property rush out to see what's happening and take up emergency posts. The one guard stays in his spot with a cold, nervous look on his face. He says softly, "Of course he's a Skett." The others turn to face him. "Most of us ARE Sketts, you know. The full-timers here, we're mostly Drifters," drawing his sword, "You newbies know nothing about it," he's wide-eyed, with a strange smile coming over his face, staring at you guys with his head facing up and slightly away, making his face scary, "And now you have to watch us make reds out of the guards who are on their way now. And you too... you won't survive this," he says shaking his head, "It's going to be a dark night."
His sword trembles in his hands, the tip wavering rapidly. Looking around, your group sees the other guards closing in slowly, their swords drawn. Some of them don't know what's happening. The clean ones think they're closing in on crooks; that's why everyone's moving in with their swords, so they go along.
Your group slowly starts backing to the open doors. The Captain mumbles under his breath, "Boy, I hope they send a big group."
As he says that, the guards arrive at the front gates and break them open, smashing the locks and streaming in, about 20 of them.
The lady-guard yells, "Help! They're all Sketts! All of them!"
The Skett guards try to act surprised, like they don't know what she's talking about, but one of them by the gates gets nervous and attacks the group, blowing their cover.
The group all draws their weapons, and you draw yours. The Chief of Guards yells pointing his huge sword in the air, "Diiieeeeee!"
The 20 burst forward, beating the rest to the ground, fighting them sword to sword and killing them, mercilessly. The Skett guards turn and attack, rushing at them from the three sides. The clean ones turn on the Sketts from behind. As they rush in, you can see that the Chief of Guards has the advantage; with all the Skett guards coming at his group a few at a time, they can take them down in fewer numbers.
You watch the Chief carefully through the rising of noise and violence, trying desperately to see that he isn't killed, your heart pounding as he fights each guy and drops him. Someone approaches, and he waits half a second for him - your group isn't fighting yet, but taking the individual Sketts who approach - you look back up at the Chief; he already killed the guy. Another two take on the Chief side by side. He jumps into them both with a big swing that they block; they're blocking swords and hands smashing back into them as he rams them, his shoulder pads hammering into both their faces. One falls over in a daze and the other trips back a few feet, trying not to fall, and dropping his sword as he fights for his balance. The Chief stomps on the one guy's face, using the step to reach the other's chest with the tip of his sword. The guard drops backward, limp, and the Chief quickly pulls the sword in and cuts the neck of the guy he's standing on.
Another charges him from the left, his sword raised high, trying to come down on the Chief's head. He grabs his sword, still in the guy's neck, with both hands, and with all his might streaks it in an upward swing as the guy arrives, driving it against his sword like a log, sending it in a big rainbow arc the other way, and finally both swords crashing into the dirt on the other side. The guard is bent over with his arms outstretched, grasping the sword stuck in the ground under the Chief's weight. The Chief lifts his right foot and stomps on the sword, dropping the guard to the ground with it, then steps on his neck with his left foot, and brutally kicks his head with the right, snapping his neck. He looks up, left and right, ready for more. His men support his sides and they move forward, pressuring the rest toward the house.
Your group slowly ducks inside, and more guards come at you from down the stairs and through the hallway. One of the guards by you is attacked and goes down, stabbed in the stomach several times; But the sword is stuck in his armored vest, and you jump to his side and swing at the Skett, gashing him across the shoulders and back. He lets go of the stuck sword, and you step forward and side-kick him in the stomach, sending him to the ground, where another guard finishes him
You look around quickly, seeing if anybody needs help fighting, and you pull up your hood. Ahead of you is one of your guards in a sword fight, both guys fighting parallel to you. Well, there's no way you're jumping into the middle of those swinging blades, so you think quickly of a way to foil the Skett. Beside you, on a little stand is a nice looking clay pot. You grab it with your right hand and sidestep until your guard is totally out of the way. You draw back and hurl it into the Skett, breaking it across his right shoulder pad and into his face. He's stunned, and that's all your guard needs to stab him. He drops with a thud, his helmet hitting the marble floor, and your guard turns around with a surprised, smiley look and says, "Wow. Thanks!" You smile back, showing teeth, then look for something else.
You yank a big painting down from the wall and look for someone to bash with it. Behind you, facing away, a Skett is fighting one of your guards, and is driving your guy back. You raise the painting high, then bring it down over his head, locking his arms as his sides. Your guard lunges at him, and you see the sword come out his back toward your hands on the picture frame. You pull it off him and re-use.
The girl is fighting someone, and you throw the picture frame hard like a frisby at the Skett, and it crashes into his arms and head and breaks apart, dropping him backward, then to a knee. She brings it down hard, and you turn away, not wanting to see his head smash under the sword.
You pick up another vase and hurl it at another guard, breaking it across his chest... and in the second he takes to turn his head and close his eyes, he is stabbed and drops.
The fight stops when all the Sketts in the area are dead. The guards, the non-Skett guards and the group that came pull together and head for the basement, lead by the Chief of Guards. But the guy and the girl guard take their hands, drag a safe out of the wall, mumble something to the Chief of Guards, and run out the front gates, out to restart their lives and live happily...
The group of now thirty storms through the house, with no appearance by Hammond yet, to the kitchen and into the cellar.
You follow closely as they noisily make their way through a large, long cellar, sloping downward to a hidden door, that a guard opens. The Chief of Guards gives orders for about 10 of them to guard the kitchen and the cellar, while the rest go in behind him.
You squeeze up toward the front as they enter a small dungeon area, about 30 feet in diameter, with several cages or cells lining the sides of the torchlit room, with the servants in them. But standing at the front of one cell is a Skett guard holding a lady servant hostage with a big knife to her neck.
The group piles in, and stands at the back side of the room, several of them drawing their bows. About ten more are sent out of the room, probably to secure the entrance. You lean against a crate, unnoticed, observing the situation.
The Skett guard is sweating and says, holding the knife to the girls neck, with tears on her cheeks, but quiet, "Don't come any closer or I'll kill her."
The Chief of Guards says loudly, "So? I don't care, do it."
"No, I'm serious. If you don't leave, she's going to die."
"Fine. Kill her, so we can skin you right now. Leave her, and you live."
He starts to shiver and shake more violently, sweating heavily, his lips shaking, trying to make up his mind, "I... I... m'sorry... dont kill me'...don't kill me'... please dont kill me... please, I... I.. please dont kill me..."
"Sure. Hand over the girl."
He drops the knife, and pushes her towards the Chief, shaking more than ever. She arrives, and cries, holding onto the nearest guard, looking into the cells with other servants, saying, "Honey. Free him... Free them (sniff)," pointing to probably her husband or brother.
The scared guard drops to the ground on his knees, clenching his teeth and eyes. The others rush onto him, pull him to his feet and arrest him. Surprisingly, they didn't beat the blood out of him, but rather calmly bound him. He'll probably be locked away for many years, or killed for being a Skett Drifter.
Another guard calmly unlocks the cells and lets the servants out. There's alot of happiness and hugging as everybody walks out and back into the cellar. On the way through the cellar the Chief of Guards says cheerily, "There's a new life waiting for all you! How'bout a mountain resort off Hammond's money for you all?"
The servants all cheer, and guards along with them, happy for them. The group reaches the end of the cellar, noisily, cheerily,... but the Chief of Guards stops at the door before opening it into the kitchen. He turns his head slowly around, and faces the halted, hushed group showing deep concern on his face, his eyes squinting, mouth slightly open, "Where did the others go?"
He sees the answer on a dark wall in the back. You turn and see a ravaged body smeared across the ground and up onto the wall, most of it missing. You whisper to yourself, "A zombie."
The Chief of Guards looks at you, "What did you say?"
"They must have,... they must have opened up the crypt! Be careful, they could be anywhere!"
Then you see why the Chief of Guards stopped. Aside from there not being anybody left in here, the door he was about to open is bloodied and gashed deep into the wood, with skin stretched across the indents. This is not the work of guards. Then the stench of a dead animal reaches your nose...
The Chief of Guards draws his big sword, and pulls his helmet up from a strap on his back. The other guards do the same. He opens the door slowly and peeks through... then opens it all the way and motions for everyone to follow him. The group cautiously and quietly walks through the kitchen, then through the swinging door in the dining room that empties into the entrance room. There are several guards at each of the doors and windows, guarding them. The Chief of Guards says, "What happened?"
A guard behind a short, white curtain, looking out the window says, "We don't know. We were dumping the bodies outside and we heard something happening in the cellar." another guard fills in, "We checked and they're all dead, then something ran out into the kitchen and through the window into the back area."
"What was it?" asks the Chief.
"I don't know," says the guard at the window, "But I can see it from here. Two of them. They're running like maniacs in circles around the house."
Several other guards, and the Chief of Guards push the curtain aside and look out into the yard. You can see too, and you see that there isn't anybody left alive outside. The Chief of Guards turns and tells the servants, "Everyone upstairs! Move!" Then, to your surprise, you see what looks like the old couple run by the window, first one, then another from the opposite direction. You run up to the window they're at, French windows that start a few feet from the ground, and look. Here comes one, running... these are different from the old couple; they run a heck of a lot faster, are taller, redder, and a lot meaner looking. They also have that strange galloping stride, but they do it so fast it looks natural.
Then you hear a scream and shattering glass at the other window behind you. You whip around and see a guard's feet being pulled up behind the curtain, through the window. ...You hear a tear, then several seconds of nothing, and a thud.
The Chief of Guards walk past you, followed by two others, toward the other window. They all raise their swords, and the Chief swings and slices the top of the curtain, and it drops. Standing a few feet from the window is a zombie, hunched over the guard's body, back slightly turned away, looking at them. They ready their swords, and the zombie slowly turns and faces them. It raises it's hands and opens its mouth, as if to scare them, and takes a few stalking steps, then lunges forward, screaming, crashing through the windows. It bursts through, smacking the wooden borders on the way, and tumbling over the bottom sill. It's quickly met by swords, cutting into it, breaking it, and beating it across the front... it collapses and has it's back smashed into by swords, and pillaged until it cannot move anymore. It's down, it's head trashed, and body twisted into a pile of gorn ligaments.
The Chief of Guards drives his sword into it, lifts it, and dumps it out the window. He says to the others, "Alright, that wasn't so tough. Let's go get the other one." Another guard asks, "How many are there?" And is answered.
"We only saw two," he doesn't take his eyes off the yard, "but I don't know where the second went."
Movement can be heard upstairs. A guard says softly to another, "Hammond slept through all this?" There are about 7 guards down here, all looking through three windows on two sides of the room. You're quietly with three of them and the Chief of Guards at one, looking into the yard. A guard by you says, "I hope it didn't get out." Another at another window, apparently hearing him says, "No, the place is closed in." Another by you asks, "What I'de like to know is where they come from." "Hammond has a crypt in the hedge maze. And he's a Skett. Someone probably let them out when you guys arrived." There is silence for a moment. Someone says softly, "Where could it be?" "Is it hiding?" "Maybe it's munching on someone." "Watch, it's gonna ambush as soon as we open the door."
The Chief of Guards has remained silent. Always looking out the window, he says thoughtfully, "How smart are they?" He must be talking to you. Maybe your hood suggests you would know... because you do.
"Pretty smart," you say, also looking out the window.
"What do you suggest the other one is doing?"
"Hiding. Probably waiting for us to go outside."
"They're that intelligent?"
"Oh, I wouldn't underestimate them." you say, knowing what the old couple are capable of...
"Shall we go outside and search for it?"
"No, I'de wait a little longer."
A guard by you asks, "How'd they get in the cellar? You think it's in there?" Another answers, "No. One came through the kitchen door on the patio, and got in. There's no other entrance."
There is the further sound of shuffling upstairs. The Chief of Guards tells one of them to go check on them, and he goes. Another says, "There are some wood floors upstairs. Noisy."
When he's gone, it's quiet again. A guard says, "I wonder if we could see better from up there." The Chief says to him, "Hmm. Go find out. See if they've seen it."
He leaves in a hurry. Several minutes of silence go by. A few minutes later the first guard arrives, walking calmly over to his window. "They're fine. They're all hudled in a living room, having drinks."
You look down at the wooden floor... the neat patterned tiles, and the big rug thrown across the middle. You wonder about your sister. Wonder if she's looking for you. Hope she's sleeping... but she probably isn't and won't until you get back. Hope she stays put though. Here, here at the mansion, at the windows with the other guards, looking into the yard lit by torches... here there is a sense of danger. You can feel it in the air. The feeling of something not right,... of something hiding. We're looking for a red, and we can't find it. But it's here.
You step away from the window and look down the long hall. The guard is coming, running. The other guards get up too, and look. He arrives, breathing hard, and says, trying to say it calmly, "It's in a tree. It's trying to get in the window!"
The Chief says, "Okay, you two," pointing to the two with bows and arrows, "You go with him to the window upstairs and get ready to shoot it down. Arm yourselves incase it gets in. The rest of us, we're gonna wait under the tree for you to knock it down."
The three run down the hall, while you and the group go out the front door. The two doors push open and you rush into the cold air. The fog is less, but dense, and the group stops and looks around, not sure which tree that was. One of them heads left, and says, "It's gotta be this one over here, on that side of the house." The group follows, and you stay close behind.
On the side of the house is a tall, straight tree. It's shaped like a pine tree, but has leaves and flat branches that go straight out... one of them to a window. Ah, there it is. Way up there you see it, with it's arms around the trunk, trying to get up. The group pauses, looks at it, then hustles over to the base of the tree under it, but about ten feet away giving it room to fall. They raise their swords and get ready.
The window opens, and the two archers ready their shots. One asks the Chief, "Ready?" "Yeah."
They shoot, and two arrows stick in it's back, and it studders and almost loses it's balance, trying to get it's arm on it's back. It's turns it's head left and right, trying to see it's back, but not making any sound. They fire two more in it's back, one hitting the shoulder. It makes a sound like a tired baby, only in a monster tone and sounding very weak. They shoot again, one arrow going into it's head, and the other hitting the tree right by it's head. It goes limp, and drops. It hits a few branches falling down the tree, hits the last branch, then falls ten feet in freefall and hits the ground,... limp. The guards are instantly upon it, four of them, standing all around it, beating it furiously like loggers hacking down a stump.
Finally they stop, pull a few steps back, and look... Just a pile of mush. Ground beef. Slosh. Compost. Whatever you want to call it.
They take a few minutes to walk away, and come gather around you. They're still looking at it, and talking about the situation. "How do we dispose of this?" "Just bury it." "So, is this place gonna be auctioned?"
The Chief of Guards says, "Well, gotta get investigators down here tommorow morning, tape up the place, tear down the gardens, tear down the crypt, empty the pools, dig up the lawns, claim bodies, talk to writers, then go in and read notes, take fingerprints, get the families of the guards and servants here, box up the goods, ship it, search dogs, pigs, execute Hammond, have a funeral, meet with the mayor, call some priests, then exorcize the damn place. The next family will be glad we did."
One guard, then another says sarcastically, "Here, here."
"Well, let's pack up, get our stuff, get Hammond outa' bed, and leave. I need a coffee." The other guards sigh, and stretch. You take it that they aren't going to sleep yet. It's going to be an all-nighter for them. Well, at least they can get their coffee and break rooms back at headquarters. And as for you, time to go back and get some sleep... and let Tessa know you're okay. And possibly get a good talking to. He-he-he.
You adjust your hood and ask the nearest guard, "Can you open the gate for me?" "Sure, kid."
The Chief of Guards turns to you, walking still, "Good luck. Thanks for your help."
"No problem."
"Where're you headed to, kid?"
"Back home. To my one sister...."
"Good, you found her."
"Hmm?"
"Nothin'. Good luck, Peters."
"Ah, you remember."
"Sure. You knew all about them reds, thats how I knew. We see you from the tower heading out there every night, right past the old people... like they don't bother you. Heh, heh, heh. You run though."
"Ya'that's not me. It's my sister."
"Ah. Brave one." You arrive at the gate, and he keeps walking with the rest. He says, "Good luck, Peters. Be safe."
"You too. Bye." and you leave the gates, walking quietly down the tiled rock path under the dark, green trees hanging overhead. The lights of the neighborhood houses light your way, and give you a sense of warmth after,.. after a dark night.
You glance back at the gates behind you. They've all gone inside, and your spine tingles as you feel alone again. You look up to the sky at the end of the row of trees. The stars are dim glowing balls through the fog, but beautiful none the less. You can see the fog flowing gently, and your breath in the light. A firey porch light shines across a fence, sending beams of light through the fog onto the ground before you, giving you a surreal carpeting of riveted light to walk through, shifting with the fire.
You pass several houses.
Your figure casts it's own streaks of shadow through the mist, as you pass under a lightpost with a gaslamp. Your hands wrapped up under your clothes, you hold them tighter against your body, trying to generate some warmth. You see a cat walk by, and slink under the fence and walk across the lit lawn into and into the darkness. You notice a lit top floor bedroom that lights the yard below... with a girl in the windowsill, resting her cheek against her crossed arms, watching you.
Her night gown and hair tremble in the breeze. Maybe she can't sleep; it's so late. Maybe something's on her mind, or the flare woke her up. Either way, it makes you conscious of your appearance. You drop your hood onto your shoulders with a quick stroke of your hand, showing your young age. You don't look at her, but you see her. She lifts her head slightly, as if surprised that you're so young, and rests it back down on her other cheek.
You remember how Tessa would do that; when you and Jeremy would be out long nights, she'd sit at the windowsill, waiting... never able to sleep until she saw your safe return. - Waiting hours into those endless nights when you'd visit danger, hoping you'd make it back.
You reach the end of that yard, and she slowly passes out of view. You continue past other houses, walking through this quiet neighborhood in the fog. The lights from the houses all around, illuminating the yards and street, remind you of your street, and make you homesick. Yours was more spaced out, with houses three or four stories, not two, and not quite as lit up. But this neighborhood feels a lot warmer, closer... you imagine the people here do a lot together. (sigh), if only you could be back home now, the way it used to be... when things were good. The neighborhood would have get-togethers and parties, at least once a month, plus every Gora. All the youth would school together, the teens at one house, the kids at another. All the mothers would get together every Saturday and cook for their families, and put a cow in the barbeque pit for Sunday dinner, letting it cook overnight. Then they'd converse till' they're husbands got back from their Saturday get-together.
'Miss all that... Well, the sooner you free your family, the sooner that life will come back to you. There is one advantage... no homework! Ha-haaa! Well, I guess you even miss that. You'd do homework every night with Jeremy and Tessa, sharing a desk in the study, or sprawled across the furniture in Tessa's room when it was reading. Her room was the most comfortable, especially for reading. She had all the relaxing furniture. Even her carpet was the softest in the house, plus a lambskin thrown out in the middle... good for sleeping on in the summer time, which is what always happened on the long homework nights.
Looking ahead, you see the town. This street empties out into your area in town, by some shops and the Koi pond. You can see your spot from here, right by the pond. Normally you'd expect to see Tessa sitting on the side of the Koi pond, like a bench. It's nice and broad, intended for sitting on and putting your feet in the water while you feed the fish. Ah, there she is. She's sitting on it Indian style, with the her legs crossed, facing away from the water. She's leaning her chin on her hand and looking at the ground, thinking.
As you get nearer, she glances up and watches as you approach. You pass beside her and hop up on the wall. Her expression hasn't changed, and she hasn't said anything. She just looks at you, leaning on her chin, as if studying you. You smile as if taking a picture, trying to get some reaction, and put an arm around her. You lean your head against hers, and say in a silly high-pitched voice, "Hi Tessa."
She looks at you again, but doesn't say anything. Okay, you recognize this attitude; this is what she does after you've made her worry to death for nothing, and she wants you to do all the talking. She feels offended, and wants an apology and basically won't say anything till' you've admitted your mistake. She's been up for hours after trekking into the woods, dead tired and wanting to sleep but not able to.
So you apologize, "(sigh), Yes, I know... I'm sorry. I uh, got held up. I would'a been back in time, but something happened, an'..."
She just looks at you. You put your other arm around her, and hug... she won't listen to just words.
"(sigh), I'm sorry, Tessa."
She sniffs,... leans into you, and closes her eyes. It's that feeling of waiting for someone to pick you up for hours, and them never showing, and all the while building up emotions to yell at them when they finally come, "Why weren't you there when I told you, you said be on time, I was, I've been waiting for three hours, looking all over for you, I was right where you told me, I called five times and nobody picked up, why can't you ever be on time when it really counts..." ...then instead of getting bitterness an anger, getting a loving apology.
She turns on her back, and lays on the wall with her head on year lap, looking up at you.
"(sniff), hi Revin." she says smiling.
"Hi Tessa." you say smiling back.
"Where did you go? (sniff)"
"Well, let's see," you say playing with her hair. You look up and squint, "I was at the Hammond Estate. They have some," you look back down at her, "they have some bad stuff happening there. So, let's see, I talked to a guard there, he signalled the Chief of Guards, and he came. Then,... well, when he got there with his group, there was some fighting; but he won and they arrested Hammond. They're cleaning out the place now."
You look down at her and smile. She just looks back, and after a moment says softly, "I saw the flare."
You don't say anything. She reaches up and gently pulls your hood down. She looks at you intently, squinting her eyes. You're quiet... listening.
"Revin?"
"Hmm?"
"We have to get Mom, Dad, and Jeremy out," she pauses, reaching her hand up to your head. She clenches some hair between two fingers, pulling it down over your eyes. She runs her fingers through it, "They can't stay there forever. It's torture."
You say, as if casually, "How hard can it be to hide and jump out at the Creese and stab him?"
She says, sounding as if she's told you a million times, "Reviiiin." She pauses and sighs, "Why don't you get the Chief of Guards to come with us?"
"And attack it?"
"Yeah. We can't do it all by ourselves," she says softly, playing with your hair, "We could get hurt."
"Well, maybe. I can talk to him... maybe I'll follow him to a job and talk to him there."
"Revin, do it soon, okay? Jeremy is having a hard time all by himself. He needs me more and more to keep him company, but I can only be there a short time. Okay?"
"(sigh), okay."
She's using both hands playing with your hair now... girls.
"I'll follow him around, and talk to him at the right time."
"When's that?"
"Usually when he finishes up with what he's doing."
She doesn't say anything. You look up and around... she stops playing with your hair. You look at her, wondering why her hands are still in your face. She has them to the sides so she can see your eyes.
She asks, sounding concerned, "Are you okay, Revin?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have that look in your eyes. You seem disturbed."
You just raise your eyebrows.
"Did you see anything unsettling tonight?"
"Mmmmmm. Maybe. Uh, yeah. I did."
"Let me guess," she says sarcastically, "You saw someone killed."
"Yeah, that too. Several people. There was a big fight when the Chief of Guards got there."
"Oh."
"Lotsa' people were stabbed, some were cut, some had'"
She motions with her hand to stop, and squints her eyes, "I don't wanna' hear about it," she thinks... "But what's bothering you?"
"Well, I saw some disturbing things there. There were zombies there."
"What?"
"Yeah. There were several around there. I... I saw saw someone (*swallow), get pulled out of a window by one, and killed. He was behind a curtain, so I just saw his feet lifting up, and a lot of noise."
"That's awful. But where, where do they come from?"
"Oh. The owner of the house was a Skett. And he had a crypt. And you know what that means; Sketts and crypts."
She says slowly, "I thought Sketts were extinct."
"He's a Skett Drifter. And probably the last of them. He has friends, but the Chief knows where they live now, so consider them dead."
"I thought all Sketts were extinct."
"That reminds me. I have to let the Chief of Guards know that the catacombs are filled with zombies. He probably knows."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"(sigh), Niether do I."
"But you wanna' chat?"
"Mmm, hmm."
She whispers with an airy voice, "Ookaaay." She flips your hair back on your head and strokes it down, then lets you know she's done playing with it by caressing your cheek with her hand. She sighs, and folds her arms.
She looks at you intently, a smile barely visible on her lips. She almost whispers, "There's this tree out in the woods."
"Uh-huh."
"It's huge. Giant. But all that's left is a stump."
"I've seen it."
"Have you been to it?"
"No, but I've seen it."
"Mmm."
"Why?"
"I want to go there with you."
"Now?"
"No. Some other time."
"Okay."
She smiles, showing her white teeth.
"Why do you want to see it?"
"Because, it's amazing. It must have been half a mile high when it stood. No tree is that big."
"I wonder..."
"Hmm?"
"I wonder if there was ever a time when all the trees here were that big."
"I don't know. But I bet that tree has a story. There are no others like it. None that are even just stumps."
"What do you think you'll find there?"
"I don't know. I just want to see it."
"Yeah."
"Why don't we go out there and find out if it's worth the trip?"
"I don't know..."
"You never know what we'll find."
"Like nothing?"
"Oh, come on. It'll be an adventure. And if we stumble across buried treasure, you'll be glad we came."
"How do you stumble on buried treasure?"
"Oh c'mon, spare me."
"But seriously, Tessa..."
"Cheap, cheap, cheap."
"No, seriously, it's just a tree. In the middle of nowhere."
"Revin," she holds your hand with both of hers, "I go out to take care of our mom, dad, and brother every single night. The least you could do is take me on a little trip through a relaxing, beautiful forest, to an interesting landmark. I really want to go!"
"Tessa..."
"(sighhhhh), okay, I was going to save it..."
"Hmm?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
"What?"
"You want to know the real reason I want to go out there?"
"Yeah."
"I want to go there with you, because tonight I was on the hill that's on the way, you know?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I stopped there to look around, and I saw this huge night bird flying over the trees. It flew right out to the giant tree stump."
"How big was it?"
"Mmm, about as big as a man. And white."
This gets your attention, "Really?"
"Isn't it funny? A big bird at a big tree. I want to go see it. Will you come with me?"
"Mmmm... Okay, (sigh)"
She smiles wide again, and you smile back.
"When?" you ask.
"Day after tommorow?"
"Okay," you smile again, and she looks very happy.
"Day after tommorow," she reminds you, and lifts herself up to a sitting position. She hugs you and leans on you, "Let's sleep. It'll be dawn in several hours." She kisses you on the cheek and leans her head on your shoulder for a moment.
...when she's done filling up she yawns, and stands up. She rubs her face, and takes your hands, pulling you up.
You look around and notice your stuff isn't there. She sees the look on your face, right about to ask a question, and says, "I moved our stuff to a better spot, hidden and in the grass, on this street you came down on."
"Oh," you say with anticipation that it'll be a nice spot. You didn't like this one anyway.
She leads you out the back of the square onto the road. She walks you through some lush bushes and trees off the side of the street, and into a nice, neat little grassy spot with all your blankets and stuff layed out neatly, looking like a little camping spot.
"Oh, this is nice."
"Yeah. It's so cozy and quiet here, and the grass is so soft to sleep on. You can also see the stars through these trees, and it's shaded by them in the day."
She takes her cloak and hood off, and gets under the covers. You get on your knees and take yours off, then slip in under the blanket on top of a nice, comfortable sheet padded by the soft grass. You're both looking up at the stars...
"Goodnight, Revin."
"Goodnight, Tessa."
*kiss*
You're fast asleep.
Dreams skip across your eyes, taunting you, scaring you. You wake up with a start, (*gasp!) seeing your sister over you, shaking you awake, "Wake up. You're dreaming."
You look around, your eyes wide open, breathing hard. Tessa is leaning on her elbow, her other hand on your shoulder, "It's okay. It was just a dream."
You rest your head back down, breathing hard, "I had a bad dream."
"Sing it to me," she says, meaning she really wants to hear it for your sake.
"I dreamt I was lost in a forest, and this dark horse with five big horns was trying to get me."
"Try not to think about it. Close your eyes, I'll massage your face." You close your eyes and try to cancel out the images of the horse reared up on it's hind feet in front of you in the dark. Tessa gently rubs your temples, and runs her fingers through your hair. You drift back into sleep,... and the dream ambushes you again.
In a flash of light you hear a terrible scream and the horse jumps out of the bushes and rears up on it's hind legs, hovering above you, showing five long, finger-like horns sticking straight out of every side of it's head, and glowing white eyes in it's shallow black face... It has four crab-like legs, and two mantis arms, extruding from under a horse-vest, like that of a jousting horse.
You fall down screaming, and it turns and disappears into the brush. You find yourself instantly up and running through the dark forest, aimlessly, trying to get away from it. It's following from the bushes around, but you can't tell where. Lightning flashes, and from your side it crosses in front of you, and stops, staring you down with it's glowing eyes, sunken back in a black abyssmal face, so dark, it seems to absorb light. You cower and cover your face with an arm, unable to look at the face, falling to your knees as it rears up again, looming above you though you cannot see it.
You cover your face in horror, and stoop over your knees. You begin to shake side to side, as if an earthquake. You pull your arm from your face, force open your fanatical eyes, and see above you Tessa, shaking you-
"Wake up, wake up. Bad dream, wake up."
"(gasp) Whoa! (huff, huff, huff)."
"Again?"
"Uh'-*gulp,* Uh-huh."
"Okay, don't fall asleep this time. Stay awake while I massage you."
You swollow again, still breathing hard.
She gets on her knees and sits on your stomach, and pulls your shirt off. She pulls her part of the blanket over her shoulders to keep herself warm and starts massaging your chest and neck. The blanket slides off her shoulders, and she pauses a second, but doesn't bother pulling it back up. She instead leaves her skin exposed to the freezing air.
"Don't think about it, Revin."
So you look at her, and try your hardest to clear your head, only thinking about her and anything else distracting. Wonder where she got that good idea; ah, she must have learned it in her Wiving class; a class she takes on how to be a good wife and mother. Seeing her, no bad images come in front of her. And being massaged feels good... it takes your attention. Especially when she rubs her hands in circular motions on the sides of your face. No evil can distract you from that.
...In time you grow tired again, your eyes close, and you dream no more.
- In the morning, you're the first awake. Poor Tessa hardly got to sleep at all. You turn your head and look up,... where are you? You're among trees, and bushes, and... oh, yeah. This is your new spot.
The sun is just rising, and the sky is pinkish orange. Birds are singing everywhere, and you hear roosters crowing in the distance. The soft clamor of the marketplace is heard; the shopkeepers preparing to open up for breakfast.
You lean on an elbow and push yourself up to a sitting position. Ah, the air is cold. You pull your blanket up to your shoulders in front of you, your back freezing in the biting cold air. You look at Tessa, who's completely covered in blankets, probably because of the cold. All you see are her hands holding the blanket over her head. Hmm, she might be awake since she is holding the blanket. You touch her hand to check... after a second her fingers flinch. You touch them again, and they flinch right away this time. And again, and this time both hands pull into the blanket.
Curious, you lift the blanket a little bit to see if she's awake... and she is. She pushes the blanket all the way down and stretches. "You're awake," you say, her arms all the way out in the freezing wet grass, her eyes shut, yawning.
She pulls her arms in and says, "Yup," she crosses her arms, and looks around. Too cold; she pulls the blanket back up to her neck.
You say, "What were, uhhh," and you gesture, wiggling your fingers.
"You're hands are like ice," she says, knowing exactly what you're talking about.
You touch your face with your hand, and see what she means. You reach over to her, "Lemme' see your hands," and she holds out her hand for you to feel. "They're warm."
She doesn't respond, but asks, "Are you hungry?"
You check your stomach... "Yeah, I'm starving. Are you?"
"Very."
"What'do you want?"
"How much money do you have?"
"Enough. What do you want?"
"How much is enough? What can I get?"
"Anything. Just name it. I have plenty of money."
"Well, how mouch money is that?"
"Enough to buy a horse. Now tell me what you want, or I'll get you a bag of oats."
"Where did you get enough money for a horse?"
You look at her impatiently... she's leaning on her elbows, looking at you, wondering where this money came from. "You know, when I follow the guards out on a raid?"
"Yeah?"
"Sometimes the guards leave the safes open and wander off."
"So you steal it?"
"Tessa, it's money that they take for themselves anyway once the guy's arrested. I leave them plenty. Sometimes they raid some really rich places, you know?"
She looks down, away from you. At least it's half-honest.
You ask, "So what do you want?"
"Soup?"
"Okay. You wanna' share one?"
She smiles and says mockingly, "Can't we afford two?"
"The Spoonhouse has big soups. Goood ones."
"Okay. We'll share one then. You like chicken and vegetable, so get one of those."
"Okay. They also have a new one I like called Duck n' Buck."
"What is it?"
"It's duck and deer."
"Oh. Umm, it's morning, so I don't want anything heavy. Just chicken soup?"
"Okay. You wanna' come?"
"Okay, sure. We can eat on the patio and watch the sun rise. The side over the pond, okay?" she says rising to her knees.
"Okay. Just get your cloak on."
"Hmm?"
"Your cloak. You can't come in that," you say pointing to her night gown... a silk gown that hangs from two straps on her shoulders, and goes down to her knees; an expensive gown she must've taken from the house.
"Oh," she says and begins to put it on over her gown, "I don't call it a cloak."
"I don't know what else to call it," you say standing up, adjusting yours.
"Umm. Just your clothes? Outfit, or something."
"It's all one piece. It's pants, a shirt, a cloak, a hood, all in one."
"Makes you look like a cultist."
"You wear one too," you protest.
"Then it makes me look a cultist," she smiles guiltily.
"Not without the hood. Only the hood makes you look like you're, uh... up to no good. Without it, you just look good. Like a fist fighter, or a warrior. I can wear a sword or knife in this if I put on my outdoors belt."
"Uh-huh," Tessa listens, adjusting her cloak behind her back. "Jeremy even made us a strap in the back to hold a bow. And you can keep arrows in a quiver if you strap it on the belt in the back. That's what we do."
"Oh," she smiles and looks at you, "and you know what I do with it?" she says tucking her hair under her hood.
"What?"
"Wear it."
"Heh, that's what it's for," you laugh, turning to adjust her hood on her back, which is part of the every morning routine.
"I would never carry a sword in this. Too uncomfortable."
"Uh-huh."
"And what would you carry a bow for? What do you shoot?"
"Windows, trees, bushes... we can use it to distract people, or we wrap a plastic bag with water around it, and put out torches."
"But you've never shot anybody, right?"
"Shot anyone? Not recently. No."
"What?"
"I said no."
She whips around, in your face, with a worried look on hers, "You've actually shot people before?"
You put a hand on her shoulder, "Tessa, only in self defense. And never an innocent person, don't worry. If we didn't, we could have been killed."
"Did they die?"
"I don't know."
She looks down, disturbed that her two brothers could have killed people before. She says softly, "I thought you told me you'd never hurt anyone for my sake?"
"Tessa, we did say that. And we haven't hurt anyone since. This was a long time ago."
"Oh... But Revin, you just can't take risks like that, you know? How can you make decisions like that? How can you have someone attacking you, and decide which one of you should live, and which one should die? That isn't your choice. You don't know their hearts."
"Tessa, I promised to never kill anyone. I promised you that. We both did. So I don't kill people at all, or even hurt them. So forget about it, please. It's over. I'm different now. You got me thinking, and I decided to not kill or hurt people not just because I promised you I wouldn't, but because I've decided not to."
She is quiet, and crouches down to adjust around her leg. You stand in front of her, just watching. She stands back up, just a few inches shorter than you, "Okay," she slowly comes to a smile, her hands on her hips, looking at you. She just stands, her legs slightly apart, hands on hips, lips closed, and smiling more and more. You smile back, a little confused. She grabs your hands and clasps them together and says cheerfully, "I forgot to say good morning. Good morning," and gives you a light kiss on the lips, then puts her hands on her hips, smiling.
You scratch your head, and just look at her, kind of confused... and ask, taking her hand, "Well, shall we go?"
"Yeah." She slips her arm around your back, and you turn, walking out into the open by the street.
- "It was good," you say to Tessa, sitting on the patio overlooking the beautiful pond. You both recline at the table; you leaning back, lifting the front of the chair off the ground with your hands on the back of your head, and her sitting straight, slightly forward, with her hands in her lap.
"Mmm, hmm. Hey, look at that frog," she says, looking at the pond below. You look, but you can't see it because the table is in the way. But that's okay; you've seen many frogs.
Every morning, you two eat, talk a while, then maybe go someplace in town, or do your own thing. You have plenty of time to think about things. One thing you wonder is, how does she stay so clean? You don't live in a house with beautiful bath gardens or spas anymore. You have to just wash yourself with soap when you can, usually at night when nobody's looking, or at someone's house while on a raid... yeah right, like you find time for that. But she's always visibly clean...
"How do you keep clean?"
"Hmm?"
"You're always so clean."
"Oh. I go to the bath house every day during lunch hour if I can."
The bath house is a large public bath facility; a very nice one at that, where people can come be naked and socialize at the same time.
"There? Nobody sees you?"
"Well, everyone does - wha'do you mean?"
"I mean, nobody recognizes you?"
"Oh, no. I keep to myself."
"Oh... But how can you-uu-uu, I mean..."
"Nobody knows who I am. Nor does anyone care, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"And how do you keep clean?"
"I don't. I hit the soap once in a while, whenever I can."
"You look clean to me."
"Well, I don't play in dirt," you laugh to yourself.
"Close enough," she pokes with a smile, so that you don't take it seriously.
You try to think of something nice to get back with, but she says, "You smell fine though. You must do something."
"Well, when I'm out on raids I get into rich people's bath stuff. Sometimes I take some with me. Like lotions. But I really would prefer a bath."
"Uh-huh. So why don't you come with me?"
You raise your eyebrows, and hope she answers something for you, but she doesn't. Instead she smiles wider and wider until she's on the verge of laughing, seeing you not answering like this.
"You know why," you smile softly, embarassed.
She giggles, "Revin, I don't care. I know you."
"Yeah but..." you try to think of some excuse.
"Revin, first of all you need a bath, second of all I'm your sister, and third of all nobody would recognize you."
You just look at her, trying to drop your smile.
She raises her eyebrows and juts her head forward as if to say 'well?'
You look down at the table, and back up... "The bath house, eh?"
She gives a quick, reassuring nod.
"You... you don't have a problem with it?"
She slowly shakes her head no.
"You don't have a problem? ... at all?"
"No, Revin. It's not a problem at all. You're my brother, you know?"
You lower your head, looking at her, and mumble just loud enough for her to hear, "Yeah right, as soon I take- drop my pants, you're gonna start laughing and everyone's gonna look and-"
She bursts out laughing, "Ah-hahaa! No Revin, no, I'm serious."
You laugh quietly, looking down at the table.
"Look, I don't even care if you don't wanna go. You're coming, okay? As soon as we're done here. You're gonna see how okay it is, then we'll go every single day after breakfast, okay?"
You sigh, "Okay... okay, okay."
She smiles showing her teeth, and you smile back, not showing them. You think she's probably right, that it'll be fine and you'll end up not caring and going with her every day. Finally you nod, slowly putting your will into it.
Tessa nods too, as if to say, 'okay. good.'
You lean back and lift the front of the chair off the ground again, putting your hands behind your head.
Tessa takes your bowl and slides it over to her and takes a look at it. "You didn't eat your carrots."
"What?"
"Your carrots. Never mind."
"Sorry mom."
The waiter walks by carrying someone else's plates, "Sir, please don't lean on the chairs like that."
"Oh, sorry," you say and *whump!, drop it back down.
"See, I told you," Tessa whispers loudly.
"What? No you didn't."
"Yeah, rememeber at the Gora party at the Garooson's, I told you don't lean back on the chairs or someone's gonna get mad."
You think a moment. You remember, but you're instantly taken by the memories of past times; the fun, the comfort, the parties, the neighbors... the food, everything.
Tessa sees you daydreaming, staring at your empty cup. She doesn't ask, but folds her arms on the table and puts her chin on them, just watching you. She hasn't been taken by the thoughts yet.
Finally she asks, "What's on your mind?"
"Hmm?"
"What're you thinking about?"
"Mmm."
"..."
You come to and look at her, "What did you say?"
She closes her eyes and laughs through her nose, "Hmm-hmm-hmm, I said what are you thinking about?"
"Oh," you look down again, "I was just remembering the party at the Garooson's."
"Mmm-hmm?" she says still watching you.
"It was fun," you say sadly.
"Yeah," she says, sharing your feelings.
You say softer, sadder, "It was fun."
She just watches you closely, squinting her eyes, feeling sorry for you.
You sigh.
"You know what I miss?"
You don't want to think on your own anymore. You put an elbow on the table and lean your chin on your hand, looking at her to hear what she has to say. "What do you miss?"
"My garden."
"Mmmm," you say understanding, remembering her beautiful enclosed garden that she kept herself.
"I miss it, Revin. I think it's died by now."
You just look at her, now squinting your eyes.
"If we ever go back... I want to re-plant. I want to start it over."
You give a rare, spontaneous compliment, "It was really nice."
She raises her eyebrows and looks at you, feeling very warmed. She smiles, and looks down saying embarrassed, gently, "How would you know, you never stayed there with me."
You think about this, with regret. You miss it all. You wish you had stayed down there with her, for her sake. Infact, you wish you had done everything right. Funny how you make the best of your intentions only when you can step back and clearly see yourself. It's taken a total seperation from your life to be able to view it unobstructed; and what do you see? You were wrong; you were self-centered; you were constantly trying to find your happiness in a short, meaningless life, ...even when it seemed obvious that the world was truly empty, and that only love conatined any true happiness.
Tessa watches you quietly, intently, seeing you obviously in deep thought.
It all makes sense now. What is this life? Of what use is it? If we were handed our lives for the saking of living our lives... for the sake of pleasing our bodies... for the sake of entertaining our minds... for the sake of living happily, of what use is it for eternity? Would you rather have others live for your sake? Please you, entertain you? Should have listened to Father Leo. He knew what he was talking about. He always said, didn't he?; he said, "Life is short, eternity is long. Which are you going to make the best of?"
Short life, Revin!, because it's all you know! It's all that's in your spaghetti; all that you can comprehend! What a fool I am. Making my top pursuit my happiness, because it's all I know. All I know is what I see with my eyes, hear with my ears... Why prepare for eternity with five senses that won't go with you? Oh, eternity is real; it's more real than this place. If eternity is a giant tree, our five senses are a tiny leaf; all we're given to comprehend with while in the proving grounds. Why have it all here? Why have it all now? We're in the proving grounds, here for a short time to choose our final destination, where the lives we were created for really begin... or end.
Why see God? Why do we need more signs? And why do we need them pumped into our spaghetti in order to take heed of an eternity? Perhaps it isn't enough to choose love over hate in this miserable place. We need more, we need proof. We seem to need the fruits of a nosy curiosity to get us moving.
And those who are already moving? Why is it that they see all the signs, but never us real people? Ever! Because if this IS just our proving ground, then showing a sign or a wonder would be a big spoiler. It wouldn't be a fair choice; love or hate. You're given everything you need to make a fair choice. Our Father won't force us to love him; He won't blow the top and show us the beatiful cake, or we'll naturally just choose the cake for the wrong reasons. If you were shown Heaven and shown Hell, what decision would you make? So you see why those who have already chosen get to see them? Pick your food first, taste it later.
...the fruits of talking to Tessa too much.
"I wish I'd stayed with you longer in your garden," you say softly, thoughtfully, apologetically.
Tessa just looks at you with emotion, then says coming to tears, "Oh, I would have loved it."
You say tearing up too, "I know. Sorry. I... I want to make it up to you."
"Oh, Revin," she says reaching across the table and taking your hand in hers, "When we go back... we will."
You smile, "Yeah... I'd love to. There's so much I want to fix. So many things I want to do over... You know?"
Tessa can't say a word, but just smiles, nodding, and biting her lip.
- It's late afternoon, early evening now, as you walk alone down a road toward a big guard-house. The road is lined with cozy looking houses, each with lights on inside, with plants and trees, small lawns, all neatly arranged on the sides of the street. Looking up, you see the sky is violet, preparing it's colors for the night. At the end of this road is the guard house, looking like a large three story home with a relatively flat roof for walking on, and lots of equipment and rooms extruding on top, like some telescopes, flare equipment, even furniture and a big barbeque... and rooms looking like large outhouses sitting on top, but of course very neat looking.
There's also a Trelock Tower, a strange geometric structure with wires coming out of it that connect to poles on the rooftop.(The Trelock is used mainly as a kind of [telegraph], sending coded surges of electricity through the wires to various locations throughout a city or town.)
You near the guard-house thinking about these things, and cross the front fence... the road turns left at the guard-house, heading up into the shallow hills, the same hills that hold the Hammond Estate. From town you can look up the slope of land, and see the Hammond Estate, though covered by trees. The road that ends at the Estate on one side, ends at the town square on the other; also being right by your spot.
The fence ends, and you turn onto the walkway leading to the front door. Walking up, you see people inside through the big windows. You step up onto the porch and wipe your feet, then push the screen door open and walk in.
This is the entrance room, a nice place with beautiful couches and chairs all about for guests to sit in, and a help desk, for people with appointments. You sit at a couch by yourself, and sink into it; it's so soft. This room is rather dimly lit, intended as a nice place to sit down with some coffee or tea and chat, or read a book. This floor is used for public relations, but the two floors above are guard quarters.
The lady at the help desk is talking to somebody, and there is a conversation going on between people at two couches on the left side of the room. You're just going to wait for the guards to leave on a nighttime raid, and follow. They don't raid like this very often; you came across a spare 'crime schedule' that the guards left sitting around, and it shows all the times and days of planned raids and crime busts. There is a raid highlighted for tonight that is scheduled to leave at the 9th Bell, when the town has quieted down and family time has set in. But you have no idea who or why they're raiding this time, so it should be intersting finding out.
Who is that outside? Is that Tessa? Why hasn't she left yet?
You get up and go outside, concerned... you meet under a street lamp on the street in front of the guard-house.
"Revin! There you are."
"Tessa, what are you doing? Why haven't you left?"
"I'm leaving in a minute. I just wanted to remind you-"
"Yes, I remember."
"-incase you fogot."
"I'll talk to him."
"Okay Revin. ...I'll see you way later."
"Bye Tessa."
"Take care. Be safe tonight."
"You too."
And she hurries away, back toward the lake.
You go back inside and sit down... two guards are in there now, talking. They're saying they saw movement at the raid site through the telescopes, and are going to leave early. You calmly get up and walk outside, and into the street... waiting. Sure enough, a yellow flare launches out of the guard house, meaning "emergency, let's go" and within moments a group of about 10 guards, lead by the Chief of Guards, shows up coming from City Hall. You walk to the side of the road and pull your hood over your head. Another 20 guards rush out of a big door on the side of the guard-house, and they're on their way.
They're in two groups, jogging toward you, following the street up into the hills. What you do is follow them, running through the trees and bushes where they can't see. They arrive and you make for the trees, getting a comfortable distance, and staying just to the side. Following close behind, more at their side, you can hear that they make a lot of noise, their swords clanging against their knee pads, and shoulder pads rubbing their breastplates. They aren't dressed up like knights, but they wear heavy clothes and pads around vital areas... they're arms and bottom half of their legs show, and some of them wear helmets. So they look rather comfortable in their outfits, if not a little weighed down.
About 300 yards up the street the Chief of Guards makes a right, leading them off the main road and onto a dirt road that heads to an isolated neigborhood. For some reason they slow to a quiet walk, as the Chief of Guards motions for them to do so. Maybe he wants them quiet so they can sneak up.
You hear some of them talking. You quietly creep up next to them and listen.
"They're lost, and trying to find their armies."
"We've got to ambush before they move out. They've taken prisoners as slaves."
"They'll be battle-hardened, and ready for a good fight."
"We could use a good fight."
"They don't know we're coming. Hopefully they won't be in gear."
"Why are we walking?"
"We don't want them to hear us and gear up."
"Or take any hostages. Those are local residents they've got."
"I don't know about you guys, but I just wanna return to my family when I'm done tonight. I'd rather these guys be pillaged and not stand a chance, you know? I don't wanna die."
"Right. My wife is waiting too. Hope we can catch these guys with their pants down."
"I've got a new baby girl. I can't wait to get back."
"Yeah, no break room for you family guys... bedroom maybe."
"Don't need a break room. You can have your coffee, darts and recliners... but when you gotta' wife, you gotta life."
"Aye, that's the spirit. The real night life."
"Night life? Hah, the only night life us singles get is goin' out here at night and piledriving these bastards."
"Yeah, that's fun too."
"I like it best when they try to fight back. Because then we get to beat the oysters out of them. Put some marks on our boots."
"Hey Roster, would you rather be home with your wife, or here if you had 20 suckers lined up and a mace?"
"Mmmm. At home with my wife. - Well, I'd rather come take the shots, chalk my boots, then run home."
"Here, here."
"Well, but seriously guys. Which one?"
"I don't actually care to kill people. I'd rather be home with a wife."
"Well, naturally we all would. But you have to admit, there are some advantages to being out here."
"Yeah."
"Some busts are pretty memorable. Stuff you recall at the dinner table."
"Not when you're a family man, you don't!"
"Hahaha! I can imagine eating dinner and saying, my day at work? well, we got to cut off people's heads last night, and stab them, then throw their bodies in a hole in the ground. I got to help bury. That was pretty fun."
"Hahaha! Oh, I can imagine!"
"Yeah, we get some pretty serious jobs, don't we? Some jobs are classic, like when we get to fight."
"Like Pearson was pretty fun, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, putting down his little bodyguards, then chasing him through the orchard."
"Or Vo'ch�."
"I remember that. He released all those dogs on us. That was great. What a blast."
"'Wish someone would put dogs on us again, that was so fun."
"Was anyone here when we chased that wagon through someone's front gates? The guy came out and ran in the house, a house he'd never been to before, and took the owner hostage? Then we put an arrow in his back through the window? Were any of you here?"
"No."
"Nuh-uh."
"It was a really good chase, and a bizarre end. We were talking about that one for a while."
"Then there was Hammond. You were all there."
"That was a good fight."
"Hammond's was scary though. 'Had those things running around outside."
"We lost some buddies at Hammond's."
"Me an' a few others, maybe it was you; remember we went upstairs to get Hammond, he was still sleeping, and when he woke up, he saw us, and like, spontaneuosly started chanting something-"
"-And I slammed his face with my gauntlet. Put him out."
"Yeah, well I didn't like Hammond's. We lost some that night."
"Yeah."
"Remember that boat we chased after on the lake?-"
"Oh, that was classic."
"That was hilarious."
"-Remember, we were racing em' out, and shooting em' with arrows. Finally the boat caught on fire and was sinking, and the stupid guy wouldn't get off. He kept standing on the tip of the boat yelling, I no give up, I no give up! I go down with ship! Go down with ship!-"
"What a nut."
"Then what happened?"
"-Well, like he said, he went down with ship."
"You guys didn't save him?"
"He didn't want to be saved. He kept swimming away, and those wierd glowing fish were eating him up."
"And finally he just went under."
"Yeah, he was still alive and everything though; had some nips and cuts on him-"
"Then he just went *voomp!* and got sucked under, and didn't come back up."
"He might have lost his energy suddenly and couldn't come back up."
"But it was so fast. He was making noise and everything, saying Get away! Get away! I take care of myself! I know what best! Go! Go! then he just, in midsentence, went under and vanished."
"I was wondering if it was a bigger fish that pulled him under."
"Yeah, right. People swim in the lake every day. It's perfectly safe. Just a lake."
"I think he killed himself on purpose, since he knew he couldn't escape."
"Why though? Why can't he just take his short term in prison; just a couple of months, then be set free like nothing happened?"
"I don't know. The guy was crazy; you heard him."
"Wait, I don't get it. What was so funny about that?"
"Just his standing on the boat and yelling that stuff as it was sinking. And setting his boat on fire was fun. You'd have to have been there."
"Yeah."
"Why were you after that guy, anyway?"
"Nobody's allowed to row out there at night."
"Ah, that's right."
In the distance you hear howling, and everybody looks up and around.
"Gora?"
"I don't think so."
"No, something else."
"What was that? I've never heard a howl like that before."
"Me neither."
"Let's see if we can hear it again."
"'Kay, shhh."
It's silent. You hear crickets chirping and the guards' footsteps and scraping gear. A minute of silence goes by. Then you hear another eerie howl. It's a long, slow, smooth howl, sounding very distant. Then another, a bit lower in pitch, interupted by another howl. It sounds like there are at least two of them.
One of the guards says gasping, "Oh my gosh, you know what that is?!"
"What?"
"What is it?"
"-That's a Creese! Chief, Creese! They're coming! But, they haven't even come in the last 40 years!-"
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute; What's a Creese?"
"Yeah, what are we talking about here?"
"-Well, I'm not too sure what they are, but they're scary as hell."
"What do you mean? What are they?"
"And what do you mean they haven't even come in the last 40 years?"
This gets your attention. The guards are all alerted, and wondering, as the howling continues softly in the distance.
"Well, legend has it...-"
"What? Legend?"
"-Bear with me; this is lore. I'll tell you all I know about it. Just listen."
"Okay. Yeah?"
"Legend says, lets see if I remember exactly: a long time ago it was decreed that every year authority ruled unjustly, the Tide of the Creese would sweep through the valley kingdom and inspect it's inhabitants. If ever they discovered a place of such evil as a death bunker, the entire population would be judged, and a mighty beast from the underworld would be unleashed on the people.
"Now, gentlemen, you see there is a problem.-"
"Yes?"
"What's that?"
"-The legend appears to be at least part true. The Creese come every long once in a while. The last time they came was when an army passed through these woods, carrying prisoners and slaves. See, that was an evil like a death bunker. Many of those prisoners were killed out here, or tortured to death. Whatever force drives the Creese sensed that, and they came that year. But they didn't find anything, because the army had passed through and left long since. But you hear them now?"
"Yes."
"They're coming. I haven't heard that sound since I was a boy. Of all of us here, the only other who's heard that sound is the Chief. I'm sure he remembers."
Everyone is silent, and looks at the Chief of Guards. He is a ways ahead of everyone, walking slowly and swaying side to side, obviously hearing and remembering these sounds. The group looks on in wonder.
You try to walk ahead of everyone, and catch up with the Chief of Guards. You pass behind him, crossing over, walking quickly up to his left side. You look up at his face, through your hood. He stands a bit over six feet. His helmet is under the crook of his right arm; his bald head shows. He has on a high, thick, protective collar that covers the sides of his mouth and his neck, and goes around his head; probably a neck and chin guard. He's looking at the ground, walking slowly, listening. You look back to the ground in front of you as you walk.
He notices you beside him, and says sounding glum, "Oh. Peters. I didn't know you showed up." He sounds troubled, talking so softly and looking distracted, his eyes trailing off into the distance.
You ignore what he said, and ask him uneasily, "Why are they coming back?"
He thinks a moment, looking far out, and answers slowly, "We must've done something wrong."
Something quickly comes to mind... you ponder on it a moment, and you hear the guards behind you talking. Looking up through the trees... looking dreamily into the darkness, you tell him revealingly, "You have a starvation bunker underground."
From the blank look on his face, you think his heart has just stopped. He nearly stops walking, and looks at you with his mouth slightly open, trying to say something. "You're right... How, how do you know?" He continues walking, looking at you. You notice the howling has stopped.
You look at the ground, then up at him, "I've seen it... I've been through the catacombs."
He is silent... doesn't know what to say.
So you just ask, "What will happen if the Creese find the bunkers?"
He concentrates, and shakes his head, "I don't know."
You look back down, "If I were you, I wouldn't want to find out."
He looks at you, "You're right, I don't."
Just your expression asks him, what are you going to do?
"I'm not sure what to do. Should I empty the bunkers, or hide it, or what?"
"How long till' the Creese arrive? And what are they?"
"I don't know. We might have a day or two. In the past, they've only come under the cover of storms, or strong winds."
"And what are they?"
"I'll tell you what. Go outside when those thunderheads arrive, and you'll see them."
You look into the dark horizon ahead of you. At first you don't see anything. Then you see a flash of lightning light up massive storm clouds covering the far side of the sky. But it is silent. It's so far away.
You're too nervous, and ask, "Are they dangerous?"
"I don't know."
You're tense, and shaking a tiny bit from the anxiety.
He stops walking, and holds a hand out in front of you motioning to stay here. All the guards come gather at your sides, and the Chief keeps walking slowly. He carefully draws his sword, and gets behind a tree. He very slowly puts his hand on the right side of the tree, and peers over the side. You can't see what he sees; the land in front of him slopes down about 20 feet, then slopes back up for about 100 yards, then into darkness that you can't see.
He sees something. It's so dark now, you can hardly make out anything but sillouettes. But you see him.
He turns his head back to the group, and gestures to you. He points to you, and motions with his hand, come here. You take a step forward, and the other guards go forward too. He turns his head again and shakes his hand at them, then points and motions to you again, meaning, not you, Him.
You quickly sneak up to him, not making any sound, and he puts you in front of him against the tree. He puts his hand in front of your head, and points his finger and whispers, "There."
Up ahead you see the body of a soldier lying on his face, all bloodied, with his sword beside him. Some movement further out catches your eye, and you look further up ahead. There's a campfire burning out, and more dead soldiers lying on the ground. It's a campsite. And you think, this was supposed to be the raid. But they've all bean killed.
You whisper, "Who did this?"
He points to the bushes on the sides of the camp.
You look at the bushes and your heart stops. There are many pairs of eyes looking at you, glinted by the fire. They're barely visible under hoods like your own, but they stand only about three feet off the ground, like dogs. A shiver runs down your spine. You cannot see anything but they're eyes under hoods, about at a dog's height.
Something moves out of the corner of your eye, and you look at the campfire. Something just ran across the camp site very rapidly and jumped into the bushes. It looked low to the ground, but you missed it.
The Chief of Guards puts a hand on your shoulder and slowly starts walking backward, and you follow.
Watching the eyes in the bushes, he backs away until they cannot be seen behind the sloping land. He says to you, "I think that answers your question," of are they dangerous.
A guard asks, whispering, "What was it?"
"Creese. Lots of them," he says breathing heavily, "They've killed off the entire campsite. No survivors. We have to get out of here."
The guard who had seen them before asks, "They're aggressive?"
He says looking behind him, "I don't think so," he thinks a moment, "I think they were attacked first."
The guard responds, "Either way, we gotta move."
"Yes. They're back there... in the bushes," He says sounding alarmed, "I sure hope they don't hold us accountable for this."
The other guards look at each other.
"Let's go. Quietly."
The whole group quietly turns around and heads in the opposite direction, you with them. Everyone keeps looking back, but nothing is seen. After a distance, the Chief of Guards leads everyone in a run.
The run is a frightening one. It's pitch black in the forest, and you're running with the bunch of guards, trying to get back to people as fast as you can, after witnessing something further behind you, a creature that had silenced a camp ground, and seen you there. To them, you guys must have looked like more of those enemies. Maybe they followed, and could be anywhere around you in the dark forest... following beside you... they could be anywhere. And that's the scariest part of running for your life with other men who had witnessed this. Not knowing if they followed, and thinking that in a few minutes, you might be one of those bodies laying on the ground, drained and dead.
Well, the whole group made it back down the mountain road, through the neighborhood, and to the guard-house.
The group piles up the stairs, but you stay behind and crash down on a couch, exhausted. Now's a time to think.
But first, DANG! Just when things were smoothing out! You were going to tell the Chief of Guards about what's been happening, and schedule a raid with him. Then you were gonna' go with Tessa tommorow to see the big night bird. Things were finally coming together! And now what?! Some stupid creatures are gonna come look for the underground bunkers, and if they find them, all hell's gonna break loose.
You ponder angrily, your face buried in a couch cushion, your angry eyes peering over onto the carpet. You have some hope though, as you think that it shouldn't be too hard to block off all entrances to the bunker, so that they couldn't possibly find it.
But what about the people inside? They're criminals; are they going to set them free? Or lock them in and abandon them? Because most of it is an ordinary prison; the depths, by the catacombs, are the only starvation bunkers.
Anyway, the whole ordeal upsets you. Tessa's not going to be happy about it either. And she says Jeremy's taking the biggest beating through all this. He's almost at the point where he just can't take it anymore. Tessa has to spend more and more time with him; time that's hard to give on a dangerous schedule like this one. This will probably just cause more delay, and who knows how long the Creese will be around. Hopefully it'll be quick, like a one-day thing.
Either way, all the peace has been drained out of you. You had some confidence in the way things were shaping up, and peace, after a long time, was setting in. But this new situation is junk. Anyway, all this bad thought is just getting to your head. Better go upstairs and find out what you can before they come; Tessa has to go out tommorow night, and she has to be informed and ready just incase of anything. If it's gonna be bad, you may have to go with her. If it'll be totally harmless, maybe she'll still be at peace about everything and want to go see that night bird with you.
You roll off the couch onto your knees, and stand up, your knees aching a bit. You walk sloppily over to the stairs, and climb them; the receptionist doesn't seem to mind.
You hear them talking, as you reach the top of the stairs. They're right in this room, this dimly lit room where they're all gathered at a big long table with papers all over it, the Chief of Guards at the head.
A few of them glance at you, then back at the Chief who stands up talking.
He briefly glances at you in mid-sentence, and motions things with his right hand as he talks; the other hand leaning on the back of his chair.
"...I don't care about the prisoners in starvation bunkers right now, I care about sealing it up until the Creese have passed."
"What about the regular prisoners? Could we have secret passages to keep them fed?"
"If there are any openings at all, they're sure to find it. It's gotta' be sealed up, totally. We'll put enough supplies down there to last several days, or however long it takes. We can seal up some privates to take care of the prisoners for a few days."
"They aren't gonna' like that."
"If they don't like it they can eat hooves. Too much is at stake here. We're not sure exactly what these things are capable of summoning."
"Sir. What?"
"Summoning. We don't know what they'll do if they find the bunkers."
"Are there any artifacts or transcripts in the museum that talk about it?"
"I don't know, but we don't have time for that. Besides, I don't think those things can read. Right now all we focus on is avoiding this, not finding out about it. We can do that later, Rogan."
"Is someone informing the mayor?"
"I sent a private. He'll be staying with some friends in the Lake South area."
"The mayor or the private?"
"The mayor."
"How do we tell the people?"
"The older ones have seen Creese before, we'll just tell them. Then they can tell the younger ones however they like."
"Any idea when they'll get here?"
"Look at those thunderheads," Everyone looks out the windows at the flashing horizon, "They'll arrive with the storm. I'm guessing, tommorow night. They'll be gone for the day, and back the next night if the storm persists, unless the day is dark enough for them."
"Why?"
"It seems they can't handle too much light..."
You get an idea and decide to ask something. You raise your hand when he finishes what he's said.
"Yes, Peters?"
"My sister goes out there every night. Is it safe to go out when they're here?"
"To be honest, I don't know. Last time they came nobody was harmed, but you saw what happened to that camp tonight. So,... (sigh), it depends on what they think of us now. If they think we're the enemies, I wouldn't go out there at all. And that goes for everybody. But I don't recall there being any by the lake last time they were here, so they might avoid where your sister's going altogether."
"There's another possibility, sir," you say.
"Yes?"
"Though the starvation bunkers are new, and probably the reason they've come,... I suggest there is a possibility they're after the dungeons where my family is being kept," everyone looks at you, "It depends on what they think is more evil," and you further your idea, "They may consider that the prisoners have recieved a just punishment." You pause, and look at their faces, stepping closer to the table, and into the light, "Whereas my family has done nothing, but has been left to die."
They're all struck by the thought.
The Chief of Guards ponders a moment. He looks up and says seriously, "That's a big possibility, Peters. Alright! Tonight, right now, we first seal up our prisons and put a big squad down there to take care of everyone. Then, tommorow morning, we plan a raid. The Creese will be busy arriving from the southwest. We'll slip into the woods north and make a raid. Peters, you and your sister come with us so that we do everything right. Infact, come with us now and we'll talk to your sister as soon as she gets back. Tommorow morning we'll put the local contractors to work sealing up the passages."
He walks hurriedly over to a desk and picks up a small stack of papers. He passes certain papers out to everybody at the table, and they begin a different meeting, this time making quick plans for the night and next day, drawing everything out, and writing instructions and notes.
After about 20 minutes, a group of civilian authorities arrives and trades places with all the guards, who then hurry downstairs and get ready to go to the Prison.
You follow down to the first floor, and stand by a couch, leaning on it's arm. A bright white flare is launched into the sky, and it explodes. This signals all the guards in the area, and wakes the off-duty ones. All the guards leave the guard-house and head for Range Prison - Located somewhere above the ancient Cave of Lebab (leh-bawb), the only known Geofernal cave.
The Cave of Lebab - Sometime during the reign of King Dravius I, thousands of slaves were ordered to begin digging a cave in an attempt to reach the underworld. The unheard-of evil desires of the king were to find the underworld, then lower convicted and just men into the Pit of Agony by a rope, and pull them out, repeating this for days, weeks or months, or until they died.
By the king's death, Dravius II had doubled the digging force in an attempt to reach the underworld within his lifetime.
Dravius II mysteriously died one night in his old age while touring the massive caves that had aquired the stench of acids.
His son, Dravius III doubled again the workforce, and moved a massive fully-functional prison deep in the caves, holding nearly 15,000 of the faithful, each annointed by evil as to never die of natural death. They were to wait and be killed.
Toward the end of Dravius III's life, several outbreaks of creatures deep in the caves resulted in many dead. The creatures weren't observed by any but those killed, but the King thought this was a sign that they were close. The bulk of the diggers were assigned to the main force, rather than expanding the width and size of the caves. Dravius was becoming impatient, and could no longer wait to see the underworld for himself and those plunged into it.
Dravius III was poisoned by his eldest son, who didn't want to wait for his father's death, for he too was annointed as not to die naturally. Dravius III was nearly 180 years old, his son 70, and looking young.
The eldest son of very, very, very many sons, Drakus I (Drack-iss), was posessed and wicked, like his fathers previous, and constructed public facilities for soulless pleasures, and violent entertainment.
In likeness to these public pleasures, Drakus aquired hoardes of wives... ...wives who often fled him in terror, his shadow sometimes transforming, and him making strange noises in his sleep.
To further his wicked desires, at streets lamp he would have annointed faithful bound and setup in artistic manners, for the people to observe and laugh.
Finally, Drakus recieved word that a hole was found in the caves connected to the underworld. It was a creature-made hole, hidden in the cave-works. From it you could gaze down into the eternal abyss; a black and red nightmare of noise and movement.
Drakus hurried to the caves, drawn to the excitement of seeing what his great grandfathers could not.
He brought with him a team of officials and bodyguards, and shared with them the moment. He peered through, and was captivated by it's sheer terror; it's chaotic velocity, and it's pure, unrelenting devastation.
He came to, and demanded two test subjects. A little girl and her baby brother were brought to him, in their innocence.
But before he could cast them in, two large demons that were fighting crashed into the opening, spewing liquid embers and molten black blood on the men. In the heated fight, they very quickly moved on, tumbling back into the abyss. The men drew back to a point of safety, leaving the girl and her baby brother, ordering them to cast themselves in, or be tortured and killed.
The girl stood in the opening, holding onto her baby brother and looking down into the multitudes of demons and creatures treading on the lost souls. The little boy clung to her, trying to look away from the awful sight. She took a step closer, and stroked his head. With sad tears in her eyes, she said to him, "It's okay, baby brother. God will protect us."
As she slowly took another step closer with him, the Angel of God appeared before them, grabbed them each with an arm, and leaped upward, disappearing through the ceiling.
But Drakus didn't see the Angel. He thought they had disintegrated when they crossed the line.
He was enraged that he didn't see them fall in, and quickly ordered another test-subject to be lowered with a rope.
A grown man was brought to them, from the prison, and tied all over. Two guards walked out to the opening, and stood him up there, unable to move or walk. But as they turned, a demon again jumped into the opening, pounced on one of the guards, and hurried back out with him. The other guard ran to safety, but the bound man remained untouched.
This time Drakus was pleased that the guard didn't disintegrate, and ordered the man pushed in. The other bodyguards and soldiers began throwing blunted spears at him, in order to topple him over, off the edge. As he was hit repeatedly, he began screaming, scared to death and trying with all his might not to fall over.
When he finally fell over, the ropes he was bound to vanished in flames, and he tumbled headlong into Hell. An Angel from above spotted him falling, and dove like a swift hawk after him. Just before hitting the bottom, landing in hoardes of demons all reaching up trying to grab him, the Angel swooped over him, took his hand, and flew him out over the chaos and movement in the Pit of Agony. Everywhere demons were leaping up, trying to snatch him down, roaring and screaming at him.
The Angel pulled him up into the safety of his arms, and flew him up to the top of the large cave-roof, and vanished through it.
Drakus was greatly pleased. He returned to his palace to throw a banquet and celebrate four generations of waiting finally over.
But it was then that the Creese first appeared.
Being demons themselves, they were ordered by God to pass through the kingdom and reap the wicked. Leading them was The Terror, possibly one of the four horses of the Apocalypse.
When they came that first time, it was called the Harvest of Blood. A dark storm came over the kingdom. By the time it had passed, blood was spilt throughout the land.
The Terror personally went after Drakus, and took him to the depths of the cave, where it cast him in, then itself.
After the great Harvest of Blood, only the faithful remained. The Prisons were opened, the slaves were freed, and the population gathered around the palace, preparing to rebuild the kingdom.
But God commanded them to leave, for this land was doomed. He would lead them to a virgin country, untouched and worthy. There they would build a holy, prosperous kingdom.
The population gathered and the Creese were sent before them, riding a storm to clear the way.
When they left, the land was deserted. All signs that there ever was a kingdom vanished with the people. The caves were sealed. The forests returned. But the seven bodyguards of the king remained. And one small village, deep in the woods, was left untouched. These were escaped slaves who had forgotten the faith. Niether destroyed, nor lead away, they remained to rebuild their lives.
A small population moved to the lake, where resources were abundant, and began a new town. Generations later, they've nearly forgotten their past; absorbed in a good life, building a good city. But the city by the lake, and the city in the woods have forgotten each other. The creatures seperating them prevent communication.
This city by the lake has been rediscovering the God of their ancestors, and many have come back to Him. But what about the other? And why have the Creese returned?
The answers will try to reveal themselves...
- You've heard that prison dungeons are a terrifying place for prisoners. The main entrance has a sign above it that says, "Utom Sett" which means, Welcome to Hell - probably a pun since the Lebab Caves are somewhere far below. But in spite of the unfriendly entrance,... actually, On Top Of the unfriendly entrance, the dungeons themselves are more and more terrifying the deeper you go. Some empty cells purposely have skeletons inside, so the new prisoners can see them and really begin to dread the place. The guards are instructed to wear battle helmets that partially cover their faces, and make them look terrifying. Well, that's what you've heard...
You arrive at the prison, that's entirely underground. Guards are arriving from everywhere. There must be a hundred of them now that have heard the flares and come.
There are buildings all around, but this area is kind of a big green lawn, with a large, sloping dirt walkway that drifts downward becoming a slanted tunnel ten feet wide, that goes into a big prison door, looking more like a mine entrance. But it really looks more like a giant pipe removed from the ground that you walk down into...
After briefly talking to other guards, your group goes straight into the prison. And you see it; the sign above the big barred doors. Sure enough, "Utom Sett." Maybe everything else will turn out to be true, also... A rumble is heard and felt as you near. The big metal bars slide down into the ground, and the giant iron door rolls back into the walls. Your group steps in, right into a long sloping corridor that goes down about fifty yards into pitch blackness. You step forward, and look down into the dark tunnel. A sound like a bass ghost emanates from down there. Fear stems from the deep, dark tunnel,... and that bass ghost. You really don't want to go down there.
The group stops and hesitates for some reason, as if having never seen this place before. The Chief of Guards turns around and sighs, then starts walking down the tunnel. Everyone follows. ...if only we had a light.
Going deeper and deeper, you wonder when it's going to end. It's now pitch black, and much further than you thought. You can't see the ground. You have to hold on to the nearest guard, and can't even see him. You can't see anything. And no sign of light up ahead. All you hear are the srapes of feet on the hard dirt, and squeaking leather. The bass ghost has died down.
Gosh... imagine the prisoners who are led down this tunnel for the first time. Way to scare them to death. And you aren't even a prisoner...
Will this tunnel ever end?...
Finally, the group stops. But no light! What's happened?
Someone in the group knocks on something, and it sounds like knocking on an iron door. Everyone waits a minute, then you hear muffled footsteps approaching. Oh! Finally, light... light floods into your eyes as an iron door slides open from the right side, and you have to shield them. It's a dim, orange light from a torch, but bright in your eyes. The group walks in rather casually, everyone sighing and rubbing their eyes. You're the last one in, and pause a moment before entering to look further down. There's some light now, and you can see that the tunnel goes on...
The guard who opened the door patiently waits, and asks, "You know how far down it goes?" You look at him... "No." "Pretty far. Goes down into an abandoned mine."
You glance one more time, then step into the door that's closed behind you and locked. You find yourself in a room like you've always imagined a dungeon, with guard weapons arranged everywhere sitting in racks, and a table with cheap food on it in the center. It breaks off into two other rooms, where some guards go. The rest, led by the Chief, go into a lit passage in the left corner of this room.
You follow behind, and are led through several corridors, some armories, a kitchen, a recreation room, an actually nice "guards only" lounge, and then through some bunkers. Finally you come to what looks like a reception desk in a waiting room with a wood floor. The far side of the room is blocked off with big prison bars, and the sides have some other doors with signs on them. One says, "Restroom," and the other says, "Interrogation." The Chief of guards unlocks the bars, and slides them open.
He steps back and says, "Nathias, you and Magoy collect all the keepers and let them know what's going on. Everyone else, come with me; we've gotta relocate all the prisoners in the West End. Peters, you can do what you want." You just nod.
Everyone goes through the opened bars, and into a T-junction. Two of them go left, and the others go right. You follow those that go right. This turn is an L, so they turn left and are heading "forward" again... and it empties into the actual prison. You stop quickly, afraid, while the others keep running.
There are rows of cells everywhere, making a grid in this dungeon area. But you can't see into any of them, because you've just entered and haven't gone into any of the isles yet.
You try to think what to do... the Chief of Guards said you can do what you want, so maybe it'll be fine to just walk around and look at everybody - if they don't mind being looked at.
You pull up your hood, and cautiously step into the nearest aisle. There are cells lining both sides, with someone in each. To your left is an old man sitting against the wall on the hard dirt floor, just staring at his feet. You walk slowly, looking left and right. There are many cells... many people. The aisle is about 50 yards long.
You look into each cell you pass, and the people look back, silently. Most of them sit on the ground or on a chair, none doing anything. There isn't a lot in their cells; just one chair and a light. Nothing else. And so quiet... nothing at all the way the starvation bunkers sounded. You would think they'd at least taunt you or something, but maybe they'd get a beating for that.
You come to the end of the aisle, and round the corner coming back down the next one. Now this aisle is the last one on this side. It's less lit than the others, and there are some doors at the end here. Also, many cells here are empty, so this is probably where all the new prisoners go. The cells on the left are all empty, and dark. Some of them on the right, the ones that have lights on, have people inside.
Hmm? A guy jumps up, and comes over to the you and whispers excitedly through the bars, "You come to break us out? Here, I-"
"No," you say stepping back, sounding annoyed.
He's surprised, and at first doesn't say anything, but sits back down, cowering shakily. "Uh, please, I didn't mean it. Please don't punish me. I,..."
You ignore him and keep walking. The next guy says, "Hey, don't listen to that guy. He's a bad inmate... mmm-mmm! Always plotting to get out'a here, he his. But I don't support him, nope. Infact, if he tried to get out, I'd tell you guys right away."
This guy thinks you work here... he's trying to look good, and possibly get some time reduced. You ignore him and move on.
After a few people, at about the middle of the aisle, you come to a guy sitting in the chair in his cell. He's hunched over, and kind of reclined, his back crooked, looking very bored. But he looks familiar.
You stop and look at him... he barely lifts his eyes, then lowers them. But isn't that... that... Jahola? Wow, it is! Hah, what'd ya' know? He's here. He's... so skinny though. He was kinda' chubby.
You stare at him, thinking... he lifts his eyes again, and looks at you with a scowling face. He looks down, then does a double-take, looking up again as if recognizing you.
You look intently... very intently.
At that moment he convulses, and his skin wrinkles! He grabs his head and bends over, not making a sound. But you can hear this awful sound of his skin tearing and turning over on his bones. He shakes furiously, and stretches hard, putting his arms in the air, lifting his terrifying face into the light, his horrid mouth gaping open with skin strewn across it. The old couple! He's one of them!
It stops, and now it looks just like one of them, sitting hunched over in the chair. Your heart is pounding in your ears, and you try to recover. It looks at you and cries out in the same 'moaning-baby' voice as the other reds, "Ahhhhh! Thou art revealed!" You take a step back.
"Who art thou?" he asks slowly.
"Hmm?"
He says even slower, "Who, art, thou?"
You answer cautiously, "Nobody."
"Nay without a soul?" it says jeeringly.
"What?"
"A souuul. Does thou possess one?"
"Uh,... yes."
"Ahh, let me gaze upon it," it says looking at you and perking up.
It's expression slowly changes to one of awe. You uncomfortably shrug and take a small step back.
"What?" you ask nervously.
"Thou art cleaner than I,... but thou aren't pure."
You don't say anything. But what is he saying?
"Does thou understand?"
"Mmm, no."
"What are thine intentions?"
?, "Huh?"
"What does thou desire most in thy life?"
You think seriously... "I want my family back."
"Then that is why thou art unclean."
"What?"
"The intentions of thee are the cause of thy torments."
"Hmm? Why?"
"Because thou doesn't heed your eternity."
"What are you saying? That I shouldn't want my family back?!" you say getting agitated. And what is this thing, a priest?
"Does thou realize why thine loved ones suffer so? Thou possesses a weak soul; but thy soul is less barren than I, for thine loved ones suffer for thee and make repairation. Had they not, thou would not be more fortunate than I."
You don't say anything... you're taken aback by this...
"Does thou know what my soul looks like?"
"No."
"Thou art looking at it. Does thou want to see thy own?"
You're afraid to answer yes... but, but how can you not? You gulp, and slowly nod.
"Thou cannot gaze upon thyself; I'll explain thou to thee. Thou hast dark skin and blacketh of eyes, sleek vermin ears and most sinister of grins. Thou hast thin body and skinny rodent fingers, and wears upon thyself thine own cloak and hood, hiding the barren branches of fallen nature. But thou art fortunate to have household who suffers for thee or thou would look like I."
You feel sick... A sense of doom overshadows the place. If it's true...
"Thou must know these things for the sake of thine eternity. Thy flesh is short lived."
...
"Thou must depart from here now. A test awaits thee."
"Hmm?"
"Listen and take heed as me explaineth in brief. This land is cursed, by decree of the one who created me. In this land all who seek evil become evil, in body and soul. It is the doing of an ancient abomination. Ten followers of an evil king were tried and tested; seven failed. In the woods surrounding thee, the seven Desmods have livethed since the beginning. Each awaits freedom from their torments, but lest 2000 years passeth away, they shall be doomed forever. A sibling of thee... hath the Seven's fate in one hand, and the one's in the other."
"Mine?"
"Yesss. Know that the seven... must... be set free. They've suffered long."
"What about me?"
"Thy sibling must decide if Seven's tormets for two millenia outweigh thine own for eternity."
"For eternity?!" you shout, "Of course not!" But you think, knowing Tessa, it shouldn't be too hard a choice; of course she'll pick you.
"But One's eternity, or Seven's eternity?"
"uh-..." your eyes water, and your vision blurs. But you still think she'll surely save you.
"But do not despair! The Most High hath issued a test for thou. If thou passeth it, thy sibling may save the seven and thou will recieve the grace to save thyself. But if thou fails, thy sibling decides who is saved, and thou will have to work out the rest of thy days with fear and with trembling, for thou won't have further help."
"But I can still make it if I fail?"
"Yess. Thou hath a blessed sibling to assist thee."
"(sigh)."
" ...never forget this."
"And... what is the test?"
"Thy one sister will lead thee to it... Then thou shall find thyself alone, and lost. When the first Desmodus face appeareth thou shall travel alone in the direction it faceth. For when it spies thee, it shall gaze then into the horizon, watching thy path for thee to ensure nothing stopeth thee from finding it."
"How will I know when I get there?"
"Thou cannot miss it."
"..."
"Thou must depart from here now."
You turn your head and look down the long, dark prison isle. "Why are the Creese coming?"
"The Infernal Caves have been disturbed."
"..."
"When the Creese come, do... not... disturb them."
"Ok."
"...Fare well."
"Bye."
You turn and walk quickly down the aisle...
- You find your way back into the entrance room with the guard equipment. The guard that opened the door is still in here, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. You sit down a few feet away from him on the floor, crossing your legs... just going to wait for them to get back.
He looks at you, and smiles, "You want out?"
You look up at him, and pull your hood down, "No, I'm just waiting for the rest of them to get back."
"Mmm. I don't know how long they're going to be. You want me to open up and you can go out?"
"Heh, no." you say embarrassed, "I hate that tunnel in the dark, especially alone."
"Yeah, it takes some getting used to. But it's safe. I use it by myself every day now."
"Oh. Wow. Have you uh,.. have you been down in the mines?"
"Yeah, years ago when we built this place. That's where the bass-ghost comes from. Why?"
"Wait. What's a bass ghost?"
"It's nothing. It's a vibration that magnifies itself as it travels through the caves. There's a lot of metal and iron down there, making it louder, but we're not sure what makes it tick."
"Oh. Can you... can you hear it from in the mines?"
"Oh, yeah. The mines are vast."
"What's in them?"
"Lots of junk. Tons of old machinery. Old living quarters. Thousands of shafts and tunnels."
"Does anything still live down there?"
"Oh, yeah. It's infested with cave-dwelling things. That's why we couldn't stay down there. We kept being attacked by blood-sucking things. Some people dissapeared down there. Others were swarmed by insects and small flesh-eating creatures before our eyes. It was a disaster. We had to evacuate and seal it up, even before we started exploring. But we left a strong iron door incase we ever go back. And the bass ghost still comes in through a little screened window, and vents."
"..."
...Maybe you should tell them... ...if you told them the real reason the Creese are coming, they probably wouldn't believe you. But that's okay...
A guard walks into the room. Then another, and the Chief of Guards. He says to the door-keeper, "Alright, they're staying down here till' the Creese have passed. Rodney and his group are under your command. Get enough suppplies for five days down here, then we'll seal it up."
"Yes, sir." He opens the door, and everyone else in the room steps through and heads back up through the tunnel. You follow, wishing you could just stay down here rather than walk through that nightmare tunnel.
You put your hand on the shoulder pad of the nearest guard so you know where he is. You lean over and look up the tunnel... it's black. No light. The door probably isn't open.
The door screeches closed and slams, and it's silent. The sound of scraping footsteps and squeaky leather picks up as the walk begins. And,.. hmm. No bass ghost. Other than the group's walking, scraping sounds, it's perfectly quiet.
You're in back, still holding onto the guard's shoulder pad. You keep looking behind you, to make sure nothing's there. You can't see at all, but what if there's a bass-ghost? If there is one following you, it's going to get you first, because you're furthest behind the rest. You keep looking back. The echoes don't help, either. Stop it! Your mind flickers and flashes with fear... and you just keep looking back. Why's the bass-ghost so quiet right now? Shhh! Stop it. That's insane. But finally, you're sure there's a ghost following you, and you quiver, then push yourself into the guard you're holding onto. He doesn't say or do anything, but you recover after a second and try to pull to his side. Nonsense; there's no such thing as a bass-ghost. It's just what that sound is called... but where did it go? Why would a natural sound in the caves just stop? You don't know, but it's all you can think about on the long treck upward through the endless tunnel. But ridiculous...
The group stops. ... What's wrong?
You hear one of them fiddling with something, then a really loud metallic crank. You're startled, and look around in the black with your eyes peeled wide open. The ground starts to shake, and you hear a loud rumble. What's happening? Is this the big iron door already?
Suddenly a bright light splits the darkness, and everybody shields their eyes. The light widens, flooding the passage, and you look through your fingers, squinting hard... you see the darkness part and slide away, then the big iron bars. The noise and commotion of a crowd pours in. Yes, it's the main door already. Time flies when you're having fun.
You're relieved, and watch as the huge bars slide into the ground, and the rumbling and shaking stops. Everyone steps through. Just before you step, something catches your eye above the door... it's another sign. But this one says, "Macios un Tagare" (mahtch-ee-ose oohn tah-gah-dreh), which means, 'Thanks for Staying.' Heh, they really persist in making these prisoners miserable. ...and visitors.
Everyone wades into the light and rubs their eyes. That bright light... it wasn't really bright; It just seemed like it.
After everyones' eyes are mostly adjusted, you take the dirt path up to ground level, where there are now tons of guards and workers everywhere preparing to bury the entrance. You look around. Many large lights have been set up, making the area very bright (unlike the one shining into the iron door). You look up... ...the sky is covered with clouds. How much time do we have? They weren't expecting the clouds to arrive until tommorow.
You look down and around, at all the people. A sense of suspense is in the air... a hurriedness. You can feel it; Everyone is nervouse about something. You look at the Chief of Guards who has the slightest hint of a worried look on his face as he listens to a guard and a worker. Just hear the guard say, "They're gonna arrive much sooner than expected!" The other yells to him, trying to talk above the noise, "The storm caught us by surprise, and they've already been spotted coming in from the hills!"
The Chief of Guards yells, "How long?!"
"Any time!!" Then he hurries into the crowd.
The Chief of Guards quickly pushes his way through the crowds, trying to find somebody. Suddenly everything flashes white... and silence. The crowd quiets down, and everyone looks up. Then a big "BOOOOM!", and everyone ducks. The crowd quiets again, and looks back into the sky. A wind is picking up. ...murmers go through the crowd, and the noise gradually comes back as they realize it was lightning. They continue, if not a bit quieter, some of them occasionally looking up into the sky.
The Chief of Guards continues searching, and you keep him in sight. Finally he finds and whistles to somebody, who comes over to him quickly. Everything flashes again,... "BOOM!" Thunder booms so loud, everything shakes. You look up... ...nothing.
The Chief and the other guy are talking loud, shouting things to each other over the noise of the crowd, and showing each other things on papers. You hear someone shout, but you couldn't tell what he said. Someone is pointing up. You look up... you can't see anything; The sky is dark. The noise quickly goes back down, and everybody is looking at the sky. You keep looking hard.
Your neck is straining, trying to see into the sky, but it's just too dark. It's so quiet now you can hear the wind. You notice, and look down at everyone, then back up with watering eyes from the cold air blowing on them. You focus on the sky again. What was it?
Then there's another flash of light - and Creese fill the sky, streaking through it like meteors - then gone with the flash.
Everyone gasps and ducks, then turns back to the black sky. A shiver runs down your spine, and you keep looking, with heavily watered, stinging eyes now. You can't see them anymore; but they're there... lots of them.
Then someone rushes to the big lights, and turns them off. The area is suddenly all dark, and the illumated sky is visible now.
And you see them; dark sillouettes, silently sreaking across the sky and through the clouds. Your eyes slowly drift in the direction they're flying; They're dropping somewhere out in the woods, across the lake... they've skipped the town.
Everyone watches the spectacle for some minutes... the passing over in the sky.
The Chief of Guards nudges you and whispers, "Sorry, we can't raid that place now; they're out in the woods."
Not taking your eyes off the sky... you nod.
...
But what about Tessa?!
You quickly pull up your hood, and push out through the back of the crowd. You run as fast as you can across the field, past the lake, and through the woods.
Running fast, the wind is in your eyes, making them water. You jump and tear through the bushes and trees, searching always for Tessa who should be on her way back now.
You crash through some trees and skid to a stop after some ways, and shout, "Tessaaa!!" ... no answer. You keep running. You look up and see them, soaring above the trees, speeding with you, going the same direction, very fast. You pump faster, glancing up at them while looking for Tessa.
After some ways, you stop again. You're about to call, but you see the small hill ahead, so you'll call from there. You hurry toward it, and arriving, climb to the top.
You look around, and see the giant stump in the distance. You can hear a steady, soft "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" overhead, and see the sillouettes of the Creese streaking by. You look out in the direction she might be coming from, and shout as loud as you can, "Tessaaaaa!!" ... You wait a second, and hear a response; a distant, "Yeaaah!!" You call again, "Tessaaaaa!!" ... "Reviiinn!!"
She's far; you run hard down the hill in her direction. The trees all around you are hard to see, and you have to watch your steps through the bushes and tree roots. You pick up speed, and try to stay somewhat in the open where she can see you.
You pass a boulder, and a fallen tree, and jump over several more bushes. You hear her call, "Reviiin!" She sounds much closer.
"Tessa!" You answer, pushing through more trees. She sees you first, and runs over - ah, there she is, sh-* oomf! She crashes into to you and hugs tightly, briefly, then grasps your arms and gives you a quick kiss, as if missing you, and says, "Hi! What?! What's wrong?"
You slide your arms back, and hold her hands firmly, "Are you okay? You weren't attacked or anything?"
She looks up and says, "By those?" "Uh-huh." "No. What are those?"
"Creese. They're looking for some caves or something. We need to stay away."
She looks back at you, "I saw them all over the place when I left. They're heading way out there somewhere."
"Way out there? Okay, good. Let's go back now."
You let go of one hand, and hold the other and start to run with her. You take off back through the trees, running hard through the dark forset, but not as hard, so that she doesn't trip or get hurt trying to keep up...
As you run up the small hill she says, "Wha` wait, Revin- stop. Hold on." You stop at the top of the hill, both of you breathing hard. "What?"
"I don't wanna' go back to town right now."
"Huh?"
"Remember, we were supposed to go see the night bird tommorow night?"
"Yeah. Tommorow," you say reminding her disapprovingly.
"Well we can't tommorow," she says protesting, "It'll be raining tommorow."
"Aren't you tired?" you press.
"Not really. I can go," she says reassuringly.
"Look, Tessa..." Then you remember what was said. That she'd lead you, and... ...you don't like the thought at all. No, you don't want to go. But you HAVE to! Dang, why does it have to happen? (sigh), well you have to do it. You pause a moment, and look out to the giant tree stump wayyy out there.
"Revin?"
"Okay." You look down... ohhhh, you don't wanna go through with this.
Holding onto your hands she squints her eyes, looking up at your despairing face sympathetically, "If you don't want to..." she says softly, "we don't have to."
You look back up at her, "No. I want to," and try to smile.
She tries to smile too, trying to hide her guilt that she thinks you don't want to go.
You catch this, and try to cheer her up, "No, really Tessa. I want to go." You laugh a little, "I, hehe, I'm just acting like this 'cuz I,.. um," should you tell her?, "nevermind."
She's smiling a little, and raises an eyebrow as if to say, 'I don't get it.'
You shake your head, meaning 'forget it,' and look up and around... the sky is empty, and quiet. "Let's go." She puts her arm through yours, and leans on you. You both walk out in the direction of the distant stump.
- A lot closer to the stump, you can see it over the trees ahead of you. It's maybe three hundred yards away now.
But you have to 'go'... You stop her and say, "Hold on a minute. I have to use a bush. Wait here." "Okay."
You step through some bushes and behind a tree, out of view. You adjust your clothes, and go on the tree trunk... less noisy that way. ... When you're done, you re-adjust your clothes and step back out from behind the tree. You finish adjusting your beltline, and look up, fixing your hood- ...... Where is she?!
"Tessa?!" you call out, looking frantically, wondering how she could have disappeared so quickly and silently. You see some bushes, and run over to them looking for her. Nothing. There's a straight way going to the giant stump from here; maybe she's over there. Ah!, she probably saw the giant nightbird and followed, or maybe she's ducking down, hiding from it.
You call out in a loud whisper, "Tessa!" ...no answer. "Tessa!"
You run over to the stump. You arrive at the base and call again... ...no answer. You run all around it, looking and calling, not even interested in the huge stump. But this is the only recognizable landmark around. If she's lost... and you are too, you realize; must've gotten turned around going around the stump - if she's lost, she'll only think to come look at the stump.
...Mmm. Jahola said this would happen. He said you'd get lost like this, and- you hear a noise up at the top of the stump, about forty feet up. You hear a 'clunk,' and the sound of hollow wood, and scratches. "Tch... clunk, scritch,.. scritch"
You look up, and are startled; theres a giant bat looking at you from up there, peering over the edge. You look back at it, and it doesn't move... then it blinks and slowly lifts it's head and looks out over the trees.
Mmm. The night bird is a big bat. You're about to keep looking, but you remember; something about a 'Desmodus face' and going in the direction it faced. But what's a Desmodus? You turn and look up at it again. It's placid, looking intently out into the horizon... just like he said.
You look at it for a moment, then turn and begin running in the direction it's facing.
- You run and run, not fearing so much for the test, but rather for Tessa. What's happened to her?!
You go for a long run, and are finally too tired and have to stop. Breathing heavily, you look behind you at the giant stump that looks much further away now. You look ahead of you again. Where is this place? Well, he said you can't miss it. Oh! There's, uh, something ahead of these trees. You can see that the trees stop and there's some kind of clearing about a hundred yards ahead. You pick up your feet and continue running, going as fast as you can being so tired.
As you come through the last few trees and into the clearing, you're stopped by a sight that stuns you beyond your believing. The land suddenly drops a few thousand feet down a cliff into an illuminated black and red desert, expanding farther than the eye can see. But that's not what centers the scene. Just before you is a walkway that extrudes out over the cliff and up into an odd, rounded triangular door in the bottom of an extremely unusual biomechanical mast. The mast is held up by what looks like a big stem covered with thin, long thorns, and a huge spine or backbone meandering in and out of it. The walkway leading up to it looks like an interlaced bone platform with huge, long teeth coming up out of the sides making a kind of rail. It reaches the mast, then branches into two paths, each going into what looks like the eyes of a skull with doors in them. Where it branches, bones extrude from the inner sides of the path all pointing inward, looking like a skull's teeth. Above the 'eyes' looks like a huge biomechanical slug curled and twisted at the top, encircling a round, transparent orb filled with a fetal fluid.
[put a picture of it here]
[warning: this scenario contains a realistic scene about lust. You can skip to the next set of square brackets like this one.]
...
You're too stunned to think what to do. After just staring at it, you come to and very cautiously step up to it. You put your foot down on the first 'bone,' and it sinks a little. You slowly put the other foot down, and the bone sinks in another few inches. You carefully take another step, and another, till you've come suspended over the thousand foot cliff... just don't look down so you don't get dizzy.
You carefully and steadily walk out across the bones and giant teeth with your arms extended to your sides for balance, over the desert far below, feeling a strong, hot wind blow, and approaching the eyes of the skull. You come to the split in the path - maybe this will be a fateful choice - and decide to take the nearest door in the eye. You carefully step up to it, standing inside the eye. You don't see a handle - it's a strange biomechanical door, mostly organic... in the center is written, Lust. ?? Maybe it means that's what kind of test it is. ... you think a minute, looking at it. You wonder what the other door says. You carefully step back down around the 'skull's teeth' and inch up to the second door. This one says to Black Barren. ?? You have no idea what that means. But it doesn't sound very inviting. So you climb back down, and back up to the first door. You put your hand on it, and push a little. You hear a sound like parting slime, and the door tears in two. It slides inside the leathery wall, and folds of skin appear because the skin of the door doesn't go in with the flesh of it.
Inside looks like a strange, small, toothless mouth with glowing veins on the top and sides... and a throat in the back.
You step into it, onto the floor like a tongue,... unexpectedly, the door closes behind you. You're starled, and scared. But at least it's not pitch black; the glowing veins give it a soft orange and blue luminance. You turn and press on the door... it opens again. But you don't step out; You let it close.
What do- Suddenly the ground, the tongue, curls up over you and pushes you into the back, against the throat... the whole room squishes and shrinks, and you're squeezed into the throat. You gasp and try to grab onto something, but everything slips right off!... everything goes black and you feel yourself falling back and sliding through the slimy wet throat. You can't breath... all your muscles lock, and you're terrified stiff for a few seconds as you slide through the long passage.
Then you feel a soft 'thud,' and you find yourself sliding leveled out, horizontally - the chute ends, and you're dumped out onto a cushy, slippery floor, and sent sliding into the center of some chamber; an organic chamber...
You lie on the soft ground breathing hard, with your arms and legs fully extended, looking up at the ceiling. No distinct thought is in your head... but this room is kind of neat looking, with organic collumns starting at the ground and all meeting at one point on the ceiling, about 8 feet up. The room itself is dark, fleshy, and oval shaped; you were just dumped out of one end of the oval.
After catching your breath, you stand up and look around, shaken. Ahead of you some wires catch your attention. Actually hundreds of thick black wires bundled together hanging from the ceiling in a dark, shadowy corner.
You glance around, then back at them as they start to move. They travel through the ceiling and approach you, and you step back. It stops, and the mass of wires begins to rotate, as if to reveal something behind them.
You watch carefully as they turn, ready for anything. ... ! Except this! It's Tessa! She's bound and overtaken by wires, suspended in them, penetrated by them! She's naked and wet, crying, unable to speak; there's something wired in her mouth! Standing there, seeing her like this is painful... what kind of pain is she in? She's scared to death, unable to move, lying cradled in the wires, looking so helpless, so disgraced and used...
What kind of cruel joke is this?! Is supposed to be lust?! That's my sister!
Stricken and shaken, you don't know what to do... she can't talk, so you don't say anything. You jump up to help her out of this. She's suspended at about your shoulder height, her back to the floor, cradled like a baby... she watches with eager and tearful eyes as you grab hold of the wires in her body; big, black, leathery wires that you can fit your whole hand around. But they won't come out.
...this doesn't seem like something that's, uhh... ...maybe she's supposed to remain here till you finish the test...
You stop, and gently hold a wire that's penetrating her navel. You look at her face... there's big wire that goes into her mouth and becomes a breather. Her long, wet hair is pulled up above her head, clamped to a kind of suction cup. Her eyes are bloodshot from crying, but she's calm. You gently say to her, holding onto her hand that's wired at the tip of every finger, "Tessa, I'm sorry this happened. I didn't know this would happen to you. Uh, someone said that I'd be tested here, but maybe I should've told you about it. But I guess I can't get you out until I take the test. So I'm going to try to do it as fast as I can, okay? Can you... can you hold on? Hold on here?"
She nods sadly, holding your hand tighter. You tip-toe, leaning over to her face, and kiss her cheek, pressing your cheek against the breather. You take a step back, holding onto her hand. It's hard for you to leave her here. What a painful sight she is.
You look at her, and she begins to be lifted up toward the ceiling. You hold onto her hand, but reluctantly let go when you can't reach anymore. The ceiling opens, and she's pulled up into it, trying as hard as she can to see you... and it closes.
You're left alone in the room. You see another throat on the opposite side you entered. You walk over to it, and manually put your feet in. You sit down, and push yourself in. You put your hands over your eyes to protect them... this one's much better; because you're perfectly straight, it's a smooth ride this time. You level out, and are sent skidding across another floor. You open your eyes...
This room is similar, but different than the last one. It's a bit bigger, longer, and there are wires all over the walls and ceiling. You bring yourself to your knees, and slowly stand up.
About five feet in front of you on the ceiling, the wires begin descending... but they unfold neatly like an inverted flower. You notice two black melon-like things hanging from the underside of the wires, that looks like a biomechanical body. Whoa. It's a... person, spider thingy. And those melons are it's,.. breasts?
You're startled to hear a voice, and it lowers fully, revealing that it's a biomechanical woman, like a spider. She says warmly, "Oh! You're here!"
She has a strange but beautiful black face, with black lips and skin-color sripes and segments - she has smooth, shiny black-widow skin, two normal black arms, and no legs, but wires and organic machinery in place of them that connect to the ceiling.
She moves over to you and embraces you with a warm hug, and... soft kiss. "Did you make it here okay?" ...her lips were remarkably warm and soft. Be on your guard; this looks like a lust test. ... you remember what she said, and say softly, "Uh, yeah... but," you turn and point behind you, "My sister; she, she's-" "That wonderful girl; yes, she's fine," she says sounding very reassuring, with a big smile, "You're lucky to have a sister like that."
"Yeah, but... is she in pain?"
"Oh, not at all. I made sure she's alright," she nods, "Infact, I made her feel quite... sensual."
You squint your eyes, feeling a rage at this last statement. You hear your heart beat in your head and feel your chest burn. Before you say or do anything, she asks, "So what made you choose this door? You didn't like the other one?"
You think a second, "Uh, I don't know what the other door means."
"Oh, the Black Barren is the desert you see from outside. That door takes you all the way down to it. And this door takes you where we are now."
Well, you could've guessed that. But where are we now? "Where are we?"
"We're in the side of the cliff. Come on, I'll show you!" She takes your hand, and turns, leading you to the other end of the room. You go along...
The wall peels open, and you enter a light-colored, well lit room that somehow resembles a bedroom. It has windows and is lit as if the sun were shining through them, but from down below. There are wierd organic pieces of furniture along the sides, built into the floor and walls. Under the unshaped windows that are made of transparent tissue is a small, plush, slug-like bed that looks like it might fit her. The whole place is light pink and orange; very feminine, but black biomechanical ornaments and wires give it a sense of evilness.
She leads you to the windows and says, "See? The desert is out there."
You look through... What a sight; An impressive view of a black and red parched desert that extends to the horizon, and disappears in the haze. The 'sunlight' is coming from down in that huge desert, but the sky is still rather dark, and still night.
"So romantic, isn't it?"
You look at her suspiciously and try to bust her bubble, "It's a desert."
She raises an eyebrow, but smiles... "I'll be right back."
"Okay."
She turns and goes into another room, and you wait a minute, looking around. She isn't long at all; it seems she'd hardly left when she came back. The wall opens and she re-enters, but with human legs and more human features. She just changed her body parts, but she's still wired to the ceiling, and visibly biomechanical.
"Hmm." you say impressed, watching her step in front of you, and onto the mechanical slug bed.
She lies down on the bed, and fits herself comfortably into all the curves and corners, and leans back, leaning on an elbow, and resting her other hand on her hips. You can't help but notice that she seems naked, even in all that gadgetry.
Your heart starts beating harder, and you swallow... your blood temperature is rising; you can feel it.
"Aren't you burning in that?" she says pointing to your cloak, "Why don't you take it off?" ...she props up on the sloping back of the bed, and folds her hands behind her head.
Your conscience is getting weak... Knowing that it's all one piece, you take it off down to your waist and let it hang over your belt. She smiles seeing your body. ... But nothing happens - she doesn't say anything.
You're given plenty of time to look at her. And desire builds. You think how it would be so nice to cuddle up with her right now, as she lies like that, and... You can't even hear your conscience anymore. The last thing you heard was, "Don't do it; this is a test-" then you silenced it, not wanting to hear it right now.
She lowers her arms, and rests one on her stomach. The other she puts on her chest with her fingers at her neck. "Are you ready?" she says to your great relief and desire. But your conscience goes wild, "No way! Don't do it! You'll regre-" But you silence it quickly, trying as hard as you can to not remember that this could decide an eternity.
You say weakly... "Yeah."
"Okay. Follow me... We'll take this test." ...to your conscience's great relief.
She sits up and puts her feet on the floor, then stands up. As she does this, you can feel a great relief; as though you just avoided something terrible. It's hard... The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
She walks to the door that she previously went through, and motions for you to follow. You enter a dark purple room, like the one you saw Tessa in, but bigger, longer, and more slender and sleek.
She walks to the center, then turns and faces you. You stop, standing across from her. Some machinery and wires come down from the ceiling onto her. They attach themselves to her, and she waits for them to finish. When they've finished, she takes a step closer and stands about a foot from you.
"Okay. This is your test; What I'm going to do is give you one kiss. After that, you can do with me anything you want, and you're free to touch me any way you like. But you don't have to. You can also restrain yourself and do nothing. You decide what to do. Okay?"
"Okay."
She nods once, then steps forward and puts her hands on your shoulders... you look at her lips and prepare for them; you see them suddenly swell and become smooth and shiny. You kiss...
It lasts two seconds, and she slowly pulls her warm lips away from yours, leaving your heart pounding. She takes a step back... she's also breathing hard.
The space between you gives you a close view of her physique that pulls you in. Her not quite human, but seductively amplified body is very arousing; the gadgetry only makes it more interesting.
Forgetting entirely that you have two options, you step forward and embrace. You let your clothes drop... Your lips meet again, and you lock; your bodies press, and your legs wrap around behind hers. You grip tightly, and lively. She holds on with her full energy, and passionately responds to your every move.
In this storm of lust, she lifts off the ground and suspends you both in the air, but you're too absorbed and latched on too tightly to notice the difference.
All you see is her face in yours, kissing excitedly. Behind her you see the ceiling getting closer - you're raised all the way to the ceiling, and she is pressed up against it, but you don't dwell on it; you just feel a tremendous pleasure that runs through your nerves.
All around you machines lower and move beneath you, holding your back... she is pushed up several inches into the ceiling, and her arms and legs let go of you and extend to her sides, seeping too into the ceiling. Her skin shifts as if opening in the back... You feel a change inside of her; an emptiness, then filling again. ...but don't notice much...
Her arms come down and hold you again, and her legs again wrap around yours. You're drifting away from the ceiling... back toward the floor.
But the passion continues... moving rapidly, the two of you grope and squirm holding each other, going on...
You feel your sweaty back touch, then set into the soft, snail-skin floor. You're slowly pressed down under her, and pleasured in that way.
Lust-making on the ground, it continues in an intense flurry. You can feel her full weight on top of you, pulsating with your flow of movement. In the ecstasy she kisses evokingly with her lush lips, and lifts them in stride saying, "Mmmmm... You know, (slerch), you know why I do this? (smooch), MMMmm..."
"...(lch*, smooch) Why?"
"Because, (kiss), I can't love."
"Mmm... (smooch)..."
She reaches into another kiss, and you see the skin on her face stretch... it recoils, but then her face parts in the center. In a blank, you watch. You look down as you feel something wierd on your chest; Linear segments of skin starting from the center of her breasts seperate and begin to pull behind her back. But under them is a human breast.
You see her arms part and peel off, revealing a human's beneath. Above you the skin slides over new flesh, and reconstructs itself. Her legs, too. Finally, in puzzlement, you see her face peel back, and onto a head behind her. But the face revealed before you... the one you clench:
AHHHHHHH!!!!!
It's Tessa!!
Where the biomechanical woman just was now Tessa is in that exact position, while the woman looks on from above. She's left you lying with Tessa, and the full shame of what you've done is felt so bitterly by swapping one you lusted with one you love. But this time Tessa is free from bounds.
Nahhhhooo!! You desperately look into her crying, sobbing, but silent eyes for support in this torment, but find none.
Your skin and mind burns in regret, and you thrust your head back to screeeeamm! The ground tears beneath your head, and it's plunged into fetal fluid in the midst of huge veins and organs. You release a blood-boiling roar into the bowels of the cliff; a penetrating cry of despair, suffocated by the liquid, bubbling up at your neck, illustrating to Tessa what agony you're in.
With an effort, you surge your head back out, making a splash on Tessa, then set it back down, breathing and gasping, with your arms extended at your sides, and tears rolling down your face - Tessa's fall onto your heaving chest, as she tries to lift herself.
You squeeze your eyes in anguish, with a strong feeling of doom. But in a flash, you recieve a surge of hope as the memory returns to you that all is not lost, and that now you'll just be left with the opportunity to save yourself as a normal human being.
Yesss... yes... you're just normal now... just normal... normal... it's alright... it's okay... normal...
As if by divine intervention, your agony gradually leaves you and you're able to think clearly again. Your breathing slows a little, and you can feel the surge of hope that you're just alright now. You lie still, your arms extended, eyes closed, oblivious of your surroundings... just resting yourself...
Tessa notices the change, and calms down, just sitting there, watching you very sympathetically, feeling sorrier for your emotions now than for what you've done.
You slowly open your eyes with more peace now, and see her blushed, wet face. You just look at her, not knowing what to say... all you can think to say is, "I'm sorry," in a very weak voice.
On the verge of crying, she nods. She gets up and kneels beside you, then reaches out and takes both of your hands in hers, and holds them together. She watches you, just waiting.
You glance at the woman behind her who also looks on with a regretful face. You close your eyes and sigh, then open them and slowly get up.
Tessa stands up with you, and picks up your clothes and hands them to you. You shamefully take them and put them back on up to your waist. You look at Tessa who has none, and give her your top to cover herself. You tear the cloak off and hand it to her. She wraps and ties them around her waist and shoulders. She takes your hand and looks at the woman. She silently points to a corner of the room, and Tessa takes you to it.
The wall opens, and the two of you step into a tiny organic room with nothing in it. You look up; it's another throat. It closes, and the walls contract, squeezing you. Tessa is shoved into your back, and holds on tight. You press your arms against your side, over hers, and the slippery walls begin squeezing and pressing against your legs, but painlessly. Each pump pushes you higher and higher until you're sent tumbling out into the entrance room. You get up with haste and look around, making sure you're alright. You calm yourself, then take Tessa's hand again and step through the open door out onto the steps.
A strong wind catches your wet bodies, and begins to freeze. Tessa looks around as if she's never seen this place before, but all you look is down, making certain to keep your balance. You rather confidently lead her down the steps, and onto the path. The path is so high, and only a few feet across... she keeps close to you, and holds your hand tight. You let her go ahead, and help her each step till you've reached the end... she jumps the last step onto the dirt, and turns to wait for you. You step onto the dirt, then look back... you turn to her with remorse, as if apologizing for everything that just happened. She understands, and shakes her head meaning 'don't worry about it' then takes your hand and turns to the forest. Releasing everything you did, she slips her arm in yours, the way you were just a few hours ago,...
How she can forgive you like this is,... (sigh).
- You've past the giant stump. You stop, and look up into the cloudy sky... night sounds fill the air; you hear chirping crickets, night birds and bats, and strange animal sounds in the distance.
"What're you doing?" Tessa whispers.
"Seeing if there are any Creese."
She looks around and says "No."
You start heading forward, but Tessa stops you, looking frightened at something.
"What?" you ask looking at her, then ahead of you where she's looking.
She doesn't move, but her eyes lift and search the skyline, "Did you hear that?"
You listen a moment... "No. Wha-"
"-I heard screaming."
You look where she's looking and listen closely.
She points, as if hearing it again, "There. Far away, maybe close to the hole."
"You think... you think we should go?"
"I dont know. What's... uh, what could it..."
"Probably the Creese. They're probably... ..." you think...
"What? Probably what?"
"Going in... the hole." you say alarmed at the thought.
"(gasp)!"
"Let's go! Quick!"
You grab her hand and run as fast as you can toward the hole where the Desmodus lives. Adrenaline kicks in. While running hard, the thought comes to you that you shouldn't go down in the hole if there are Creese down there. But what of the screaming? Who knows; you cancel the thoughts and put the energy into your legs - Tessa can hardly keep up.
After a distant run, you burst out of the trees and into the clearing where the hole is. Both of you stop instantly - you didn't think you'd arrived yet. You look all around you... you hear men yelling nearby.
You whisper to yourself, "Oh my gosh! Did they make the raid?"
Tessa hears you, "Raid? They're raiding?"
"I dunno. Come on!"
You lead her past the hole, through some trees, and into a larger clearing where there's fighting. You stop... it's too dark to see anything, but there are about a dozen guards here fighting someone or something.
You look to the nearest guard who's breathing heavily, and walking with his sword in front of him through the dark, panting in a terrified voice, "Where is it - Where is it - Where is it..."
You see another guard walking backwards, looking like he's seeing a ghost, shaking and trying to get himself to turn and run. Another sees what he sees and charges into the dark, yelling, "Ahhhhhhhhh!!" You hear a thud, and clanging armor, then nothing. After a second, you hear him scream again, "Ahhhh!!-*ck, choke,*" then several more thuds and hard hits against padding and armor, and finally long, slow tearing.
One of the guards yells to the others, "Fall back! Into the light! Quick! Quick!"
About ten of them rush past you and Tessa and toward the torch-lit area around the hole. You don't want to be here by yourself, so you and Tessa head back with them.
They've all gathered in a circle by the hole facing outward, very defensive and alert with their swords drawn, looking and waiting for the attack. A few of them are bleeding. You take Tessa to the side of the clearing furthest from where they just were, and crouch down in some bushes.
They see you, and one of them says, "Peters! Did you see the Chief?"
You yell back, "No!"
"He went looking for you, and hasn't come back!"
You think... "Looking for me?! Why?"
"You ran away from town. Didn't you come here?"
"No, I went somewhere else!"
"Smick!" he yells in frustration.
Another guard shouts in despair, "Where the bloody hell is the other group?! Those Desmodus are killing us!"
You crouch down as low to the ground as you can, keeping well hidden. You tug Tessa's shoulder so she'll do the same, and look back up at the guards who are very nervouse waiting for the Desmodus with their swords drawn and bodies hunched over like they're ready to fight. Wait... why did he say, "those Desmodus?"
Suddenly Tessa gives a quick whimper and grabs your arm, gesturing to your left. You look and flinch seeing the Desmodus crouched low in the bushes about ten yards away, parallel to you, slowly stalking the guards like a cat. Just as you're about to shout out to the guards, Tessa quivers again and points to your right. !!! There's another one stalking the same distance away. You look at it carefully, then at the other, afraid now to shout to the guards or make any noise at all.
Just then you hear crunching leaves right behind you, and you freeze, terrified. Tessa grabs your arm with both her hands and stares straight forward with her teeth clenched and eyes wide open, scared to death to look back. You can feel her trembling, holding your arm, and you dare not move your head to look back either.
Your spine tingles and your chest burns as you see a sleek, dark leg slowly pass by the right of your head and step down in front of you. It has brown, wrinkled, leathery skin, and human-like feet, with two big, black claws on it's only two toes. A loincloth brushes your hair and a Desmodus steps in front of you. You hold your breath...
Looking through the Desmodus' legs, you see a guard say without looking, "Peters, when you came over here, did you see any of our mates-" he looks at you, "WHOA!! There, there!!"
As he says this, the Desmodus lunges out into the open and pounces on him, followed by... four others, from all over the place! The guards are dead meat, and don't stand a chance as they're beaten to the ground and broken.
Tessa clenches her teeth and closes her eyes, then turns her head, unable to face even in that direction. You breathe heavily, seeing all these people being killed, your heart pounding in your head. The only thought in your mind is terror, thinking they're going to go after you next. There's no way you can run and survive.
Then you get an idea. ... You get two ideas. First, you could make a break for the hole and possibly get inside with Tessa. Then, maybe have a chance to survive, and try to free your family while you're at it. And second, Jahola said they can be freed by loving or accepting them, whatever that means. But if all else fails, you should be ready to give them a kiss or something... or, uh, tell Tessa about them since Jahola did seem to prophesy what would happen. ... Ugh! What are you thinking? Prophesy? What, go give them a big hug and a big kiss? What-EVER!!
You lean over to talk into Tessa's ear... "Okay, in a second, we're gonna' make a break for the hole, okay?"
Tessa flicks her face up at you with wide eyes, as if wondering what's gotten into you and whispers, shaking her head rapidly, "No."
You dare consider what Jahola said, and look up and about, trying to make yourself think that there's no way to survive out here. "Don't worry. Once we're inside we'll have a chance. There's no way we can stay out here."
She's shaking, "Revin, I, I..."
"Don't worry I said, Tessa! We're gonna be okay," you say comforting her, "I was told this would happen."
Losing fear almost completely, you take her hand and start to get up. Then seeing the Desmodus', the dead and dying guards, and the hole in the middle of them all, you sit back down.
Tessa whispers, "What?"
Feeling totally discouraged, you just stare at the Desmodus' who have settled down and are pacing around the bodies on all fours, checking and looking at them.
If you wait any longer, they would have settled down completely and there'd be no way to get by them.
You raise yourself higher onto your knees, and Tessa readies herself. You put a hand on Tessa's shoulder, to motion when to go. But just as you're ready, one of the darker Desmodus crouches down over the hole and sticks it's head in. You wait... The lightest colored one, the one who lives in the hole, sees it and stands, throwing it's arms in the air and screeches. The other jumps into a defensive position on all fours, arching it's back like a cat and showing it's teeth. The light one lunges at it, and in an instant they collide, grabbing each other's heads with their claws, biting and scratching furiously, rolling on the ground, and kicking at each other's stomachs.
You back down and watch. They stop squirming and lay still in each others grasp all torn and bleeding, holding each other with their claws sunk deep in their skin. They're both obviusly in pain, just sitting there clawing, one of them occasionally squirming in agony, trying not to let go.
Tessa has turned her head again, but you somehow can't look away. The other Desmodus' have backed away to the edge of the bushes and one of them turns and slinks away in the darkess. One by one the others do the same, till just the two are left lying in a painful knot, one of them trying to kick deeper into the other's stomach.
Ouch! The light one has his feet in the other's stomach and is trying to cut it open. The lighter one also has both hands dug into the other's head, forcing it down.
Then you come to, and think this is the time. You grab Tessa's hand again and get up cautiously. You sneak out into the open, not running as not to startle them, and walk right by their heads. The light one hardly looks up, and you drop your legs down into the hole, not taking your eyes off them.
When your feet have touched down, you stand up with your head and shoulders above the hole and help Tessa down. Then you both step down the second step and into the dungeon.
The atmosphere changes immediately... everything suddenly glows orange in torchlight and sounds echoey, with a soft bass ghost humming. Tessa leads you through the short first passage to the bend that opens out in front of Bison.
You step around the bend behind her, and you see the intimidating sillouette of Bison who asks, "What's happening?"
Tessa answers, "The Desmodus are fighting. And... a bunch of guards came, but they all got killed."
He says softly, looking down as if losing hope, "No." It's quiet, and he looks up and says, "One guard did come through here earlier. I don't know what he's found, but he hasn't come back."
You ask, "Was he killed?"
"No Desmodus came in after him."
Tessa adds, "Maybe he's trying to open the cells."
"If he is, let him know that there is no key. These bars go deep into the ground."
You ask, "How do you do it?"
"I don't know, but the Desmodus goes back into some corridors every time he opens the cells. If you find the guard, take him with you incase... well, if you don't find him, don't go back into the corridors unless you're sure it's safe."
"Okay," you say, and Tessa nods, and continues leading you.
First thing, you both run over to Jeremy and your parents, and tell them what's going on.
First you arrive at Jeremy, who's already well-informed.
"...yes, I know, I sent him into that passage right there to look for a way to open them, and I think he got hurt."
"Hurt?" "Hurt?," you and Tessa ask.
"Yeah, I heard him moaning and groaning. Didn't sound like he was hurt too bad, then I heard him taking off his armor. Be careful over there."
You turn to Tessa, "Okay, you go tell mom and dad real quick and I'm gonna look in that passage and see if I see him."
"Okay, be careful Revin!" she says, already running toward them.
You tell Jeremy, "Keep an eye on me. I'm just gonna peak, I'm not gonna go in; I'll be where you can see me. If anything happens, get Tessa."
"Okay. Go ahead."
You turn around and head for the torch-lit passage that cuts through the rock-wall. There are three iron doors on the sides of this passage, and one at the end, each door with a small barred window on top. None have door knobs. You cautiously walk to the first door on the left, and peek through the bars; it's dark in there, and you can't see much. It looks like a small room or something, with lots of stuff inside. But it doesn't look inviting or useful, so you go to the next one on the same wall, peeking behind you at Jeremy just to make sure.
This one's lit; you look around inside a small room full of machinery that softly hums. There are pipes, gauges, boxes and things, but nothing apparently important or interesting right now. You go to the last door, skipping the one on the right because it's dark. You peak through the window, and see rock wall a few feet ahead. This door goes into another hallway that's in a 'T.' You look back at Jeremy, to reassure yourself that he's still watching you. You place your hands carefully on the door, and press. It's a very heavy door, so you lean into it and push hard. It scrapes and marks the ground, and you stop when you can fit your head through. You press your cheek against the door and look down the left side of the hall. It goes about ten feet, then turns right. It's well lit where it turns. There are probably several torches around the corner. You press against the door again, and push it a few more inches until you can look around the other side of the door, down the right side of the hallway. It goes about 20 feet into the darkness, then ends at a big black iron door with a rounded top. It also has a barred window, but it's sealed off from the other side, and this one has a large handle and a rusty old lock. You just hope that's not where you have to go.
You pull your head back in, and Jeremy calls, "Is it safe?"
You turn and answer, "I don't know. I guess." As you say that Tessa rounds the corner by Jeremy and steps into the passage, stopping to watch you. You look at them, then turn to go through the door into the hallway.
You lean into the door and open it, and step in. You start heading left, away from the big iron door with the lock. You get to the turn, and peer down it. Hmm. It's better lit than anywhere else, and goes about 12 feet back, then breaks into a T junction. And... theres a helmet and some stuff on the ground. Even a sword. Maybe this is where the guard undressed before he continued on. But why would he leave his sword?
You carefully and slowly step into the light. You put your feet down gently, as not to make any noise as you pass under the first torch on the wall. Then you notice something, and stop; or you think you notice something. The wall ahead of you, uh,... maybe it... nevermind. It looks normal. But as you lift your foot to take a step, it doesn't move; it's stuck! You trip, and a massive pain shoots through your ankle. You hit the ground, and your foot still hasn't moved, and is bent forward. It hurts like crazy, and in a mad panick you try to lift yourself and pull it out! On your knees, trying to get up in a pushup position, you look under your stomach at your foot as you yank it out a few inches- Oh my gosh!!, there's a sick hand holding onto it, trying to pull you under! That's what happened to the guard! You jump up and start beating the hand with your fists, and trying to pry it off. You grab the helmet on the ground, and pound on it with it's sharp rim. Finally it lets go and recoils back into the ground. You scramble for the sword, and lift it in a ready position, looking at the ground. You step back and forth, as not to keep your feet still, and you see the dirt begin to shift. It makes a strange grinding, sloshing sound, that sounds really dry as you watch it slowly swirl... you see a raised spot moving toward you, and plunge at it with the sword, and stab it. Ah, it feels like you hit something soft! It jolts, and after a moment the swirling stops, and you pull the sword back out all covered with blood.
You quickly turn to hurry on through the hall, but stop dead in your tracks as you see the wall ahead of you again. ... A huge black eye has opened up on the dirt wall about seven feet ahead of you, and is staring at you. It's at least three feet long and two feet high, at about your shoulder's height. You cautiously step left, and it follows. You step right, and it follows. The whole eyes is pitch black, but you can see it's shape move to follow your movement. It doesn't blink. You raise your sword...
You lunge forward, and grit your teeth - gonna' stab it! But as you're about to reach it, it closes and your sword crashes into the hard, dry dirt. You stop and look around. You turn to look behind you and... there it is again, on the opposite side. You reach down and pick up a tiny pebble that your sword chipped off the wall, and draw your arm back. You throw it at the eye, and it hits! The eye sinks back into the wall a few inches and starts blinking real fast, then closes. Suddenly everything - the walls, the ground - everything starts shifting and moving, and you're afraid it's going to cave in. The dirt beneath your feet starts giving way and your feet sink down an inch, so you pick them up and hurry through the hallway, making the turn, and find yourself in front of a closed door. You stop and slide your sword under your belt, then face the door.
It's another iron door; regular sized, with a barred up window that's covered so you can't see through it. There's a handle... you press your thumb down on a tab to open it. So you do.
You carefully push the door open and a gust of hot wind rushes you. You stare and listen as soft, distant sounds fill the air. It opens into a large cave, with a lot of old machinery and metal things in it. There seems to be a lot of life in here, from all the strange far away animal sounds. But strange, that the place is dimly lit in a soft red, as if there's lava or something.
You just stand there, afraid to enter because of the sounds. Then you hear something peculiar; like the sound of a small girl whimpering, only higher pitched. You think a moment, and decide not to enter anyway... but it sounds so sad; what if? You decide the animals sound too far away, and the occasional whimper sounds very near. You step in, and are overtaken by the heat. You shield your face, and find yourself in a cave much larger than you thought. The ceiling is about 50 feet high, and the sides 30 feet side-to-side; but it goes back further than you can see from here. It's almost black other than the soft red glow, and you watch your step as not to make any noise. You turn to make sure you see the door that floods light onto your path, and keep walking. It sounds nearer.
You come to a large piece of rock that extrudes from the floor, and peer behind it at an area better lit by a distant light. !! A fairy! In small cage on a rock, there's a little fairy. It's holding onto the bars and crying. Poor thing! You just watch a moment, astounded; you didn't think there really was such thing as fairies. ...you ponder, 'but then again, if some of the cave paintings are true, why not all of them?'
-
Ow! Your arm catches on the side of a tree, and cuts it. "What?" Jeremy asks. "RR!, I cut my arm. On this tree." He stops and comes over to you. "Where?" "Here," you say pulling up your sleeve. "It's too dark, I can't see it. Try to wrap it in a piece of cloth." "No, it's okay. C'mon." Jeremy turns and keeps going ahead of you. You stay just behind him, watching your step as you move quietly through the trees. You stop as you come to a moonlit clearing, and see in the distance the sillouette of a huge rock amongst the tall trees. Jeremy whispers, "There it is."
He pulls you toward him and whispers in your ear, gesturing out above the clearing, "Now, we have to get through this clearing as quiet as we can. There are Bale Wolves around here, so we have to be real careful. I'll go first, and you stay ten feet behind me. We have to crouch through the grass so they can't see us, and always, ALWAYS keep one arm up in the air behind you, like this." He crouches down and holds his arm up, but behind him, to mimick a dog's raised tail. His hand grips the end of his long cloak sleeve, and he says, "Hold onto your sleeve like this, so it doesn't slip down and show your arm. So when they see us, they'll think we're wolves going through the field and won't attack us. Also, make sure you stay exactly ten feet behind me, because that's how they travel together. If we're too close or too far, they'll come over to investigate." "But do we have to run on just one arm?" "Yeah, we have to." "My arm already hurts," you protest. "Use the other one." "Okay, (sigh)." "And make sure your whole body is below the grass line, so they can't see you. Oh, and keep your hood on." You pull your hood on.
Jeremy steps ahead of you, and peers from behind a tree at the field, surrounded by forest. He scans it carefully for a long time, then whispers, "Okay." You sigh, and get down on your hands and knees. Jeremy looks back at you and whispers, "Not on your knees. Use your feet." You hop onto your feet, and lean on one hand. You grip your sleeve with the other, and stick it in the air behind you. ... You're gonna hate this. Jeremy waits till you're ready, and goes ahead into the grass. It's unsettling how he disappears into the grass like that. You muster your courage and begin galloping on your one hand and two feet.
You've already lost sight of him, as you enter the grass. The grass is too thick, and your head is too low; you try not to panick, and keep going. You frantically look up, trying to see him. Once in a while you get a quick glimpse of his hand, and see that you're generally the right distance away. There's just enough moonlight to see, and you push on through the grass.
Halfway through the field your arms are extremely tired and you try hard, biting your teeth, to keep going. You look up and note the distance remaining; about 300 more yards to the cave entrance. Jeremy has slowed down a bit, and you match his pace, trying to keep from stumbling. As you push through the grass, you start to notice something wrong with your arm. There's something tickling your raised arm just below the elbow. You try not to be distracted, but take a quick glance at it. Of course, the sleeve is in the way, and it's dark. What is it?! It feels like a slug or something! You clench your teeth and dare not stop. You prod on, feeling the soft gunk slowly sliding down your arm... and finally you can't take it.
You stop, and as fast as you can, pull down your sleeve and,... what's that?! About 20 feet behind you there's something just above the grass line. No, two things, and you can hear a soft rustling of grass. You slowly raise your head to get a better look, and- two wolves!! Your eyes pop open, and your heart thuds in your head; you jump up on your feet and take off after Jeremy yelling, "RUN!! Wolves!!!!" He flies out to your side and runs parellel to you, making a break for the cave. You look back and see the tails, one ahead of the other, chasing...
With the cave entrance in sight, about 50 yards ahead, you look back again and see that they haven't gained very much, but are only about fifteen feet behind. You can see one of their faces now; a black dog face with glaring orange eyes, baring teeth, looking ready to tear you to shreds. And suddenly a thought of doom comes over you; once you get inside, you're trapped!! You're dead! Dead meat!
You and Jeremy come tearing up to the tiny cave entrance in the rock, and throw yourselves into it. You recover on your back with your feet in the air, kicking frantically at the cave entrace to keep them away... but they're staying back. Both wolves have stopped silently a few feet from the entrace, and aren't moving. "Stop, stop! It's okay," Jeremy says, stopping your kicking legs with his hands. "They never come in here," he says grabbing onto your arms and lifting you to your feet. You recover, panting hard, and he says sounding apalled at something, "What the heck?!" "Huh?" you say almost breathless. He shows you his hand in the moonlight that streams in from the opening. It's all bloody from touching you. "What the heck is it? It's all over your sleeve!" He says pulling up our sleeve.
Oh. That's what it was. The cut on your arm has been bleeding like crazy, running down your arm and into your sleeve. "It's the cut," you manage to say, and add, "I think that's why those wolves followed us." "Must be," he says, digging into his belt. He pulls out two sticks with thick, black, oiled ends, and a little flint stick. He strikes it on the ground in front of one of the sticks, and it lights immediately. He uses it to light the other, and hands you one. Now you have light.
One of the wolves starts growling, and you both look. Jeremy picks up a rock and pelts it at the wolf, hitting it in the face. It yelps, and slinks away, and the other wolf follows. After a moment of watching, Jeremy turns to you and says, "Well, you ready to go?" You both turn and face the interior of the cave. You kind of sigh that sickening sigh of dread. Well, 'here it goes' you think. Into the depths of the dark, echoey, misty caves... at night, with two wolves waiting for you outside, and a bleeding arm.
In times like this you really, really want Contessa with you. Her nature is just so... supportive, soft and gentle; you crave someone just like her right about now. But not here. You simply want to run home, go to her room, and just see what she's doing. You know... start talking. What you always do after a stressful night out in the company of danger. Just be with Tessa, and maybe squeeze a massage out of her if she's willing. The motherhood class she takes is so good for you all; She mothers very well. See, with parents who aren't exactly ever available, and friends who, well, are "self-sighted," who else do you turn to? Maybe one day you'll have a really nice wife. Yeahhh... definitely someone from Tessa's mothering class. You smile pondering this, but your thoughts go back to your sister who's currently the only one available in this way; the only one you know who can rid you of stress and make you feel good and warm at the same time. *sigh. Well, the faster you finish here in this cave, the faster you can get home. Then maybe you'll just go fall asleep on the floor beside Tessa's bed, since she'll certainly be sound asleep. And you'll wake up early the next morning with Tessa shaking you awake, leaning over the side of the bed saying the same thing she says every time, "Out late again last night, Revin?," and you'll just smile, embarassed, and not saying anything, as she gets up and pulls her warm blanket over you so you can sleep in while she goes downstairs and makes breakfast.
This is what you want, as you enter this cave. This is what sinks your chest. This is what hurts and tightens your cold heart. And this is some of what this love offers; to warm you, take care of you, nurture you, and do it all... selflessly. All it asks is your consent. And yeah... right about now, you're willing. Oh, you need it. This longing, this emptiness; a void no man could fill in himself. No fun, no friend, no activity, nothing could fill this void. It would take a loving God to satisfy this need. Until then, we have men alone who can love in this way. Men that perhaps help us realize that this short, broken life isn't the one we're here for. I've heard it from the mountain that this is just our choice phase. We simply begin with this choice; life or death? We choose one, play it out for a short time, then fulfill our choice for the rest of eternity. The life we were created for hasn't begun yet; we're waiting for our quick test phase to end. And our choice at the moment of death is what's on our ticket. Sure, we choose life a couple time, and choose death a couple of others, but what counts I think is what's in our hand when we get there. But it's this whole idea... this whole thing that makes me think that the reason I never see this God of ours who loves us is because if we did, it wouldn't be a very fair choice, now would it? It seems only "holy" people ever see God, because they've probably already made the choice pretty strongly. If anyone else saw Him, I think that'd interrupt the choice and tip the scales. I think God would rather us choose on our own than hang a million dollars on string and say, "Come and get it." So that's what Tessa says; That's why God doesn't show himself to anybody except those who know him. I had to ask her, "And what about people who don't believe in God?" And Tessa wisely answered, as if she'd already given it lots of thought, "Because Revin, God is LOVE. If you love, and choose love, you subconsciously choose God and Life. It's like a desert man, someone far away from the ocean, saying "I don't believe in the ocean, but I believe in water, and I choose water." See? Most people are too far away from God to ever get to know him, but they have everything they need to choose Life. They have their water; they can love.
... I don't argue with Tessa. She knows everything. I mean, she's just so wise about everything. She's not clever, she's not an arrogant, stuck-up prick, but she's so wise. And when you combine that with being very soft and gentle, it would just be some kind sacrilege to argue with her. I feel like I'm arguing with goodness herself... I feel bad about it. So I don't.
- Jeremy leads the way through some very narrow passages, putting his torch before him to light the way. You stand behind, with your torch behind you, to light the rear. You get to a spot where you have to turn sideways and squeeze your stomach through. Somehow Jeremy finds the gut to say, "Heh. Fat people can't see the cave paintings." And somehow you laugh. In a time, place, and situation where nothing's funny, a little joke seems to tip the scale. From nowhere, Jeremy cracks another. "What does that painting say?" he says pointing at the blood you smeared all over the wall in the narrow passage. You laugh, "It says, 'Human sacrifices.'" "Hehe, I bet the next people that come here are gonna freak out when they see all that blood. I bet they won't come in." "Yeah, they'll think someone got killed in here." Suddenly a wave of doom comes into your thoughts, and you look at the blood, but remember quickly, 'Oh yeah. It's mine.' Jeremy sees you tremor, and asks, "You getting twitchy? Loosing blood?" "No,... no."
The two of you make more progress into the caves. There's more room to breathe after that one spot, and the floor levels out some, because of the ancient people who used to be here. They'd level out the floors to walk on and sleep on. Yeah, right; That's not what they'd do here. Jeremy seems to answer your thoughts, "There's a big circular depression in the floor over here," he says sounding like a scientist, "See Revin, here's where they sat in a big circle with their roast in the middle while they smoked their pipes, sniffed their, uh... feet, and did their voodoo on each other." You both start laughing, and you add, "That's why they were in a circle; they'd have voodoo contests, where they voodood each other out till one of them said 'mercy.'" Jeremy adds, laughing out loud, "And the winner got to say the bedtime story,... whatever it was got painted on the walls. Hahaha, that's where they got all that crap like fairies and dragons and whatever." You laugh, but add seriously, "Well, some of the paintings are true." "Yeah, but fairies? And dragons? You just gotta admit that some of this stuff was drawn while they were on their pipes." "Well, yeah... or on their feet. Hehehe."
You glance at some paintings as you pass. These particularly old ones tell of an ancient kingdom ruled by a mighty and glorious king who loved his people and was loved by all. A king who was good and righteous and had a warm heart of pure pleasure. A king called Dravius. So these paintings were made by his followers, whoever they were. Too bad the real righteous didn't have access to this cave; I think their take on Dravius would have been just a tad different. But these aren't what you're looking for; there are others that Jeremy wants to take a look at and try to translate. He has with him a little paper he made using a stolen chart that shows each letter translated. And the stolen chart, that he returned before anyone at the museum realized it wasn't there, also had a map of the caves and where all the known paintings are. Of particular interest tonight are some paintings marked on the chart as "fairly recent: no importance." Jeremy broke into the museum again to take another look at it, and realized he had overlooked these. So he excitely brought you to help find them and read them incase it's anything interesting. NO paintings are EVER marked as "no importance." There are totally useless paintings in here of animals and things, but they're all taken very seriously by the museum people. Something fairly recent and marked "no importance" must be something interesting that they're trying to hide.
Jeremy stops at a three-way divergance in the cave, and looks at them decisively. He points to the one on the left and says, "It must be this one. We've been down those two." You climb up onto some rocks and into the tunnel that gradually slopes upward and goes about 30 feet until it levels out again, but you can't see into that area until you climb some. You find yourself on one hand and two feet again, holding up the torch with your cut arm that has stopped bleeding, and climbing up through the rocky tunnel behind Jeremy.
You pull yourself up over the last few rocks, and gaze into the area before you. It's just more cave, but it's more spacious and goes back a bit, and the floor around here isn't level; it's all rocky. Jeremy leads you through this larger area until it branches, and he takes you through the left passage again. This one goes up even higher, and it empties into a dead end.
Jeremy stops and looks around. "It's a rather dead end."
"A rather dead end?" you ask, then glance back and forth at the dark walls.
"Yeah. Nothing."
It's a little round area about ten feet by ten feet, and Jeremy's about to turn back before you see something on the wall and say, "Wait. Over there." "Hmm?" You both go up and hold your torches to the wall, and sure enough there are writings and little figures scattered about it.
Jeremy notes right away, "It's readable!" You look at it, and see that it isn't in the old text. He reads one without using his chart, "I love my sweet beautiful Flara."
"What the heck?" you say with a sinking feeling, that you came all this way for nothing.
"I dunno. Here's another one. It says, 'I adore my handsome love, Mithan.'"
Under it is a signature in a heart, 'Mithan and Flarefome.' Jeremy reads it, "Mithan and Flarefoam? Flarafoam? Flar- Flara- Flare-" You study it a second and play with it under your breath, then say, "flair F uh me."
* "Flara? Flara? ...mmm, Flar- !! Flarefome??" "Yes, and I can't say how grateful I am that you're here! You found me!! Oh, *sob*!" says the little fairy, crying out loud now with a big smile. You don't even notice, kneeling down beside the cage, picking the lock with a little piece of wire. Flarefome? Wasn't her name written on the cave walls? And someone else's...
You play with the lock, and the little, skimpily dressed fairy reaches out and puts her hands on yours. You stop a moment and smile at her, then keep working the lock. Now she's silent and just watches you and sniffs, with a big smile on her face as if it's been the longest time ever in here.
"A thousand years in this little cage."
You stop dead, and just stare at her.
"It's been getting on my butt," she says rubbing her behind.
She watches you a moment, then leans over and waves her hand to see if you're there.
"Oh, sorry... ...I was just thinking."
"Yes?"
"About what you said. And also... I saw your name written in a cave."
"Oh, you did?!" she says perking up, her little dragonfly wings fluttering. "And Mithan's?"
"Uh, yeah. I think that's what it said."
"Oh!, do you know where he is?!"
You say softly, "No. I don't know who Mithan is."
"Oh, Mithan's my boy!..." She ponders a moment with a dreamy smile, "I do hope he made it alright. He,... he, *sob,* I messed up, and... and he fell. He become a Desmod, and I wanted to get free and save him before it was too late... And, and I have to know what happened to him." She starts mumbling, "As soon as I get out, I have to, uh-huh, and... and then, check there of course, and... okay."
You suddenly feel out of place, "Oh, well, I'm sure you're in a hurry..." and try to look absorbed in the lock.
She stops you, shaking her head and and her hand, is if to say 'No, no, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.' She has a very concerned look on her face, and drops to her knees, holding onto the bars.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she reaches out and pets your hand. You stop, and lean closer to her, and listen. "I'm, I'm Flarefome. I'm a boy's fairy. I'm kind of here because... I got caught by something called a Desmod when I should have been with my boy, helping him, a loooong time ago. But now I'm no man's fairy," she looks down, "There's no way Mithan can still be around. And I've been here all alone for a very, very, very long time. I actually don't know how long, but it feels like forever, so I guess it was another thousand years."
"Another?"
"Yes, the same Desmod kept me locked up for a thousand years before, too. Then my boy came and found me, and that's when I came to him. He chose me then as his companion on a quest to rid the entire Beyond of monsters. It got more complicated than that, but before I knew it, and before we went against the dragon, I found myself in this cage." ...all that sticks in your mind is the dragon, but you try to look thoughtful about it. You pause and look down, then at her and ask, "Dragon?" "Yes. The prime evil of the beyond is called the "dragon." I don't know what it is, but that's what it's called. I guess it is one."
You go back to picking the lock, both of you obviously thinking, and you begin to get interested. You have a strange hope in this fairy, and tell her suggestively, "You know, I'm on a quest too." She doesn't say anything, but perks up and listens very carefully, knowing what you're about to say.
"At the moment, my quest is to free my family who's locked up in this dungeon. Then I want to pursue the legend of..."
"You want me to be your fairy, and you my boy?" she says enthusiastically.
"I don't know. Can you?, because I think Mithan's still alive."
"What?! He is?! Where?!"
"Well, what's the difference between a Desmod and a Desmodus?"
"I don't know what a Desmodus is."
"They look like bats, with big eyes and-"
"Yeah, and a short snout, and big wings?"
"Wings? No, they look a more like a man. They just have these batlike features, you know?"
"They do? Do they have regular arms and legs?"
"Yeah, but with sharp claws."
"And big ears?"
"I don't know. I don't think so; they wear hoods."
"They do? Well, I don't think Mithan's around then. But strange that they look almost the same and are called almost the same. Are you sure there are no like... Desmodus with wings?"
You remember something, "I'm not sure, but I saw... I did see something like a Desmodus with really big ears down at the giant stump. My sister thought it was a night bird."
"A night bird? It must have wings then! And it has big ears?! And the Desmodus don't?"
"Right."
"*gasp,* we've got to go see! I thought for sure the Desmods' time was up! I thought surely they'd been thrown in the fire by now!"
You pick up a rock. "You mind if I pound on this lock?"
"Sure! Go ahead."
You smash the front of the cage, and it falls behind the rock and crashes on the ground.
"Whoa! Sorry!" you say hurrying to see if the little fairy is okay. She's gets up and brushes the dust off her, then looks up at you and says very dreamily, "It's okay. Looks like you got the cage open."
She just stands and looks at the front of the cage that's bent open. She seems to want you to take her out, the way she looks at you.
You slowly get on your knees and reach your hand into the cage, and very gently grip both her legs. She lovingly sits on the top of your hand as you carefully lift her out. You set her gently down on the palm of your left hand, and she stands up looking around, but mostly at you.
She looks at you flirtingly, and won't stop. You just smile.
Suddenly her wings flutter, and she begins to get bigger slowly. She doesn't take her eyes off you as she steps off your hand and gets bigger and bigger. You stand up and stand back as she grows right before you until she's just as big as Contessa. ** Whoa, whoa, whoa... **
You're dumbfounded, and look at her blinking a lot. She just became like a person; but with fairy wings.
She's still looking at you, and takes both your hands in hers the way Tessa does. "What's your name, boy?"
"Revin," you whisper.
"You're just who I prayed for. So do you want me to be your fairy, and you my boy?"
You blink out of a daze, and say, "Wait. Before we do anything..."
"Uh-huh?"
"I forgot, I have my family back there, and I have to save them. And my sister... if something hasn't already happened to her!!" you yell alarmed and turn to the door, your heart pounding suddenly.
"No, wait!" She says tugging on your arm desperately.
"What?" you say stopping.
"Whatever you do, wherever you go, can you please take me with you?" she takes your hands and says softly, "I can help."
You turn and look at her thoughtfully, and say, "Okay. Sorry. We WILL talk later, okay? But now, if you're coming, we have to be careful incase the Desmodus came back inside."
"Okay," she scoots up to your side, staying very close.
You step into the open iron door with her, and lead her slowly down the first passage. You stand quietly at the corner and peek around, being as careful as you can. It's clear, so you take her through to the area with the big black eye,... but it isn't there, and you say, "Don't keep your feet on the floor. It'll grab you and pull you under." "Okay." "You go first."
"No, I'm staying with you."
"What?"
"I'm staying right with you. I have to stay beside you and make sure you're okay. If it grabs you I have to pull you out."
"But what if it grabs you?"
"It's okay; I can get small."
"Okay. Let's go," she takes your hand tight, "One, two, three!"
You both run across without trouble, and round the bend. You recognize the door you came through, and enter.
There's Jeremy ahead, watching excitedly, gripping the bars with both hands. "What took you so long?"
"I found... I found a fairy!"
"What? Oh my gosh! Are you a-"
You finish for him, "-It's Flarefome!"
"No way!" he says with emotion.
"Yeah - Where's Tessa?"
Jeremy grips the bars with all his might, standing tense and says, "She went that way looking for you, and..." he says trembling, trying not to stumble, "The Desmodus went in after her."
Your heart quakes, and you yell furiously, "NOOOOOO!!!"
You turn around in a rage, draw your sword, and head for the hallways. Flarefoma puts her hands up, trying to stop you with a worried face, but you don't even notice, and slam into her, pushing her into the wall. She recovers and follows, grabbing your arms and shoulders from behind, desperately trying to stop you saying, "No! No! Stop, please! You don't want to get killed!"
You reach the T junction, and remember the corridor with the eye... that didn't have the eye a minute ago! Where was it?! Maybe it wasn't there because it got somebody.
You charge into the eye corridor, and jump into the center. Flarefome stands back as you begin tearing and slamming your sword into everything in the way, yelling, "DIEEEEE, YOU CURSED PIECE OF HORSESHIT!!! RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! DIE! DIEEEE!!!"
Flarefome grabs you from behind as everything starts swirling and shaking again, and yells, "REVIN!! Stop it! Stop it! It didn't get your sister!" With dirt falling from the ceiling, you yell back, "What?!"
"It didn't get her! We woulda' heard it!"
"I don't care!! It's gonna pay for this!!"
"What?!" she says as if that's the craziest thing she's ever heard.
She looks behind her, and sees the eye that's finally showed itself. Startled, she says, "There it is! Get it!" and gets out of the way.
You turn, ready to destroy, and stare at it with all your hatred. It glares back, and squints, and the walls growl.
Flarefome watches the showdown, but sees that nothing happens... she just sees you poised and ready, glaring at it, and it glaring back. Somehow you're just staring at it, wanting more and more every second to destroy...
Flarefome opens her mouth and marvels, remembering something. She's seen this before; this staring, this hatred... but never like this. Before, the watched one always vented it's rage on another. But this time the watched is venting on the watcher, and the violence cannot be unleashed on it's source.
* Flarefome knows now that she cannot dare distract Revin, or he'll unleash his fury and destroy her. But she also knows that he cannot remain here, as he is; stuck in a gaze, hating and hating... because he'll turn into a monster. ...and Flarefome can't stand any longer watching this. Any longer and you'll start; she can't let that happen again... no, not again.
She falls on her knees, feeling defeated and crying, not knowing what to do. She puts her hands on her eyes and says softly, "Pleeease, not again."
Suddenly a spine-chilling scream is heard from another corridor, and Revin jumps to.
* It sounds like Tessa! The instant you hear her, you take off toward the eye, but after Tessa. The eye closes right away, and you round the corner, running as hard as you can for the huge iron door straight ahead, that's now wide open.
You charge inside, and stop. You see the Desmodus tying Tessa up to a big, rusty pole amongst metal gadgets in an area stained with old, dried up blood.
You squeeze your fists and shake, clenching your teeth and your eyes, just hating the hell out of the Desmodus. "RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" you yell charging the Desmodus and crushing the sword squarely against it's already torn and bleeding back, just as it turns to face you.
It's thrown against Tessa, and tries to get up quickly, but you land another blow on it's shoulder, cutting into it. Tessa screams as you swing at it, almost hitting her each time, until finally it scrambles to it's feet, falling over, and throws itself to the wall furthest from you. It crouches and leans against the wall, covering it's head, and you swing again. You hit the wall above it's head, and it gets up and runs out as fast as it can.
You're about to give chase, but hear Tessa's whimpering and crying, and turn to her. You drop your sword, sweating and dripping, and head for Tessa. Flarefome watches.
You reach behind the rusty, bloody pole and untie the knot holding her hands. It comes undone, and she immediately throws her arms around you and squeezes, releasing a storm of tears as you hold her tight. Flarefome quietly ducks under you and unties her legs and feet, until her whole body is free, as she clings to you for support, crying and weeping, scared to death.
You just hold on, your eyes closed, loving... all your hatred, forgotten. Flarefome just watches happilly, relieved and glad that you're all okay.
After a minute Tessa recovers, and slowly lets go and steps back, holding your hands tight, the way she always does. She looks at you, and leans into you again, needing more. You look over her head and smile at Flarefome, who's just standing quietly and watching with her hands behind her back. She smiles back at you, and flicks her head at the wall, gesturing at something over there. You turn your head, and look... you glance up and down, trying to figure out what Flarefome was gesturing at. Then- ...you freeze, and stare. Your gentle rocking motion stops abruptly, and Tessa looks up to see what's the matter. She sees you staring at something wide-eyed. She looks, and gasps.
Flarefome just watches you two smilingly, wondering what you two must be thinking at such a sight. ...That's the prettiest bunch of levers you've ever seen.
* The Chief of Guards looks up and shouts, "Helloooo!!" He looks around and listens carefully. "Is anyone out there?!!"
He just watches the night sky through the sillouette of trees, straining and hoping for a response. He looks down, in one direction, then another... he has no clue which way is which. There are no stars to follow on a cloudy night like this, and the air smells like rain.
He's afraid to walk in any direction, lest he ventures further and further away, so he starts looking for a good spot under some trees to wait until morning. Just ahead he sees a nice raised grassy spot between two shady trees, just in front of some bushes. He sits down and takes off some of his gear, laying it in the grass beside him, then lays down on his side. He crosses his heavily dressed and padded arms, laying awake, thinking a bit as it begins to rain. Occasionally a big drop of water hits him from the trees above... but he soon falls asleep.
He dreams a dark dream; He slowly awakes seeing black... he lays on his side, seeing nothing... nothing... He strains to open his eyes, and they do, but still it is black. He turns and faces the sky, and heavy rain pelts his face. He shields his open, blind eyes from the rain and grimaces in pain.
He calms, and lies still with his hands on his face, freezing and soaking. He doesn't know what to do, and fears he may die of cold and blindness. In despair and grief he drops his hands from his face and lies still with a sense of defeat and hopelessness. He looks up, though seeing black, and whispers ever so softly, "Take me now."
He lies still... still... calm... motionless... In the silence, a faint presence approaches. Though he cannot see it or hear it, he senses someone is near. To his left.
He slowly, slowly... slowly turns his head to his left. ... He waits, quietly. He hears nothing but the rain,... then a gust of hot breath flows on his face, ever so gently.
He begins to hear breathing... getting louder and louder; Like that of a large horse. He's motionless, but scared wild inside. He hears a footstep in the mushy leaves... and another. It clomps down like a heavy hoof, and splashes mud. It steps closer and closer. Loud, splashing steps... every few seconds. Boosh! .... Boosh! ... Boosh! Whatever it is has arrived, and stops. The breathing is loud, right above his head. He cannot tell that it's a dream. He can take it no longer before he,... he's gonna', oh no! right now, DON'T! NO!!*
He shoots awake in a panick and looks to his left, above him, and all around him. ... There's nothing. Nothing... it must've been a dream, he thinks. He sits up, leaning on his elbow and rubbing between his eyes for a moment, trying to recover.
He lies back down and looks up, his heart still pounding in his head. He just thinks... and thinks... and thinks the night away, until, without knowing it, he's fallen asleep again.
This time he dreams he's in an open field. It's day, but swirling gray clouds darken the area and cast everything a shadow. He looks about him; he's in the center of a dead, parched, sunken-in field, and it rises into small hills all around him.
He hears a terrible voice scream in the distance, "You!" He turns and sees a monster's sillouette upon a hill pointing at him.
He hears another screech, "Watch out!" He whirls around and sees it on the near horizon, just as a third yells, "Take heed!"
He looks and sees it, but before another can surprise him, he looks at them one by one, turning in a full circle and seeing the hills. He's surrounded by seven sillouettes of monsters on the hills; he can't tell what they are, but he has a hunch...
He looks at one intently and it speaks, screaming in a horrible screechy voice,
"We're the seven Desmods of the valley," and he recognizes them, "guardians of the secret of Drakan. Pass this message over your right shoulder!"
Just then he jumps awake, and immediately sits up, thinking about what he just heard and saw in his dream. All he knows is that they said to pass the message over his right shoulder,... so he looks over it.
He sees just the bush that he was laying beside with his back to. But he shifts focus to what's behind it; ... could it be, a dirt path beginning in that spot?
He quickly jumps up and runs around the bush to the back, and into the pouring rain; and sure enough, a dirt path begins right here, going off into the direction his right shoulder faced.
Before he goes he hurries back to his spot to put on his armor and gear, then begins running the path. Running through the rain in the dark, following the strange path, he feels a mystical sense of hurriedness and wonder. Just as he thinks this, the path comes to an abrupt end at some large, thick bushes. His heart sinks, and he skids to a stop. He looks around... there's nothing. He thinks a moment, looking intently at the bushes ahead of him, and decides 'path or no path, I'm going in the direction it faced.' *
"They've made a break for it! Are you going behind them?!" Jeremy yells, bearing a sword.
You yell back, struggling with Bison's weight, trying to pull him out of the hole, "Not yet! (huh! * ungh!) First I have to check the guards and (uh!*) see if any others are still alive!"
"Here," he says coming over to help. He grabs Bison's other hand, "One, two, three, pull!"
Bison's lifted out of the hole, and you both fall backward onto the ground.
Bison gets up on his two hands and says in his intimidating deep voice, "Now check the wounded guards while I go find that bastard." He turns and lifts his gorilla nose into the air and starts sniffing.
Jeremy stands up and answers, "Right. I'll check over here, and you two check over there," he says pointing at two guards who survived.
The four scatter into the trees, but you just lie on the ground, pretending to be recovering from the fall.
You sit up a bit, leaning on an elbow and looking to your left shoulder, "Are you okay?" you whisper.
"Yeah, I'm fine," little Flarefome whispers in your ear from inside your hood, "Don't worry about me. I can hang on tight."
You get up carefully, and try to hurry to the trees behind the hole, where you were when you first saw the guards here.
You start looking around, and go to the nearest body. You crouch down and take a look... Flarefome can't look and softly groans in your ear, "Ohhh." There isn't much of a guard left here from the stomach up. Still, you put your fingers on his wrist and check his pulse. There's no pulse and it's cold. You stand up and go to the next guard. This one's lying on his face, his back opened. There's no way this one's alive either, but you check his wrist. It's cold... no pulse. You go to the next, who's legs are sticking out of a bush on the edge of this dark clearing. You crouch down at his feet and are about to reach for his leg when you hear the faintest sound in the bush somewhere.
You look up and scan. Flarefome whispers, "What?" but you don't answer. You just quiet her real quick with a, "Shh!"
You freeze perfectly still, and stop breathing. ... It's silent. But you know. Again you hear the tiniest, faintest sound, like a mere twig trying to snap under a foot.
The big bush is dark. Behind it is dark. But you look up just above the bush and...
Behind you the small torch above the hole casts a tiny light. It casts a little light not bright enough to show before you, but enough to put a glint in two Desmodus eyes.
You see them and quake inside; but freeze.
Hardly a second goes by, staring at them - an instant.
"RAHHHW!!!" it screeches, throwing you to the ground, beating you in the face with it's clawed hands.
Whump! Whump! Whump! It bashes your cheeks, sending blood into your eyes. Flarefome screams behind your ears, and you feel it's claws cutting your chest, tearing your cloak off and opening your skin up to it's tearing.
You feel a savage jerk at your belt, arching your back upward and dropping you back down. It stops, and you kick and squirm under it's weight trying to see what it's about to do. You furiously wipe one eye with your hand amongst the blood and screaming in your ear, and open it wide. Your vision is blurry, but you see it with your knife raised against you.
It holds your knife above your chest and draws it back-
Whack!
It's head whiplashes on it's chest, and the knife drops. Two monster hands take it's shoulders and yank it back, folding it at it's knees. It's Bison! He puts his two fists together, like a fist hammer, and crashes it down squarely on it's face. He beats it all over the place with his two hands, standing on his spine. It wiggles and squirms furiously, but can't get up in it's position.
Bison roars, and keeps pouding his fist on it's face. You're breathing hard, not yet noticing the pain, and get up hearing Flarefome also breathing hard in your ear.
Jeremy hurries to your side and gets down on his knees, helping you up and checking your wounds at the same time.
"Hurry! Over here!" he yells, leading you toward the light, trying to get you away from Bison and the Desmodus.
You kind of half-heartedly follow through the trees and into the open, then drop to the ground, laying down in a daze, your heart throbbing and hurting all over. You feel all wet, your blood soaking your clothes. The pain isn't very bad yet... you feel like such a wreck that you don't notice any particular feeling. You kind of feel alright, in a painful way.
Jeremy's on his knees again in front of you, looking at your face and chest. You look at him with awe, feeling terrible but feeling awesome that he's free and well, and that you survived.
You calm and fade, looking up into the dark sky and sinking back slowly. You lower your eyes and watch Jeremy as he checks your body and begins to wrap your arm and dab his cloak at your chest. You notice his long hair that keeps getting in his face. He stops to pull it back.
Hmm. He isn't really so thin; Tessa must've taken care of him well. And you notice that he's just the brother you've always remembered as you recall the last time he was on his knees when you were down.
-
"Awww-yeahhhh!" Jeremy coarsly whispers at the sight of the Rochester Palace.
[put a picture of it here]
You've just hopped a 15 foot high, white stucco wall surrounding the gigantic front lawn of the Rochester Palace. It's an impressive sight, looking across a dark, hundred yard rectangle lawn edged all around by trees planted 10 feet apart, right in front of the high wall. But the palace, the sight beheld, looking like a mansion's sillouette with glowing, lit windows dotted here and there, is what's awesome. But not so much the appearance; rather, what lies within: money... lots of it.
Jeremy leads you to the nearest tree, and the two of you hide behind it, looking out into the big yard, planning your entrance.
There's a walkway cutting the lawn in half, going from your right, where the main gate is, allll the way down to the front garden wall, then into the palace. There are two patrolling guards walking the path, each heading in opposite directions, and two more standing guard at the gate. This isn't going to be easy; those guards can see everything.
"How on earth are we gonna get past them?" you ask unneasily.
"Well, there are two ways we can do this," he says, sounding like he's already planned the whole thing out, "One, we can just keep on the outside, and hide behind the trees. We can gradually make our way to the palace."
"No," you protest, "They can see us too easily. We're wearing black, and the walls are white."
"Or," he continues, as if to say I haven't finished yet, "We can play it smart, and just walk down the path."
"What?"
"Look, there's no way two thieves are sneaking into a guarded palace. We have to look like we belong."
Okay, this isn't Jeremy. This is totally unrealistic. "No way! That's crazy! I'm not doing that!"
He starts laughing, "Trust me Revin, I spent a LOT of time planning this out. I did a lot of research on these people, and I've figured out a perfect way to do it. I even learned how to escape if we're caught."
This sounds better. "Okay," you think a moment, while he just watches your expression, waiting for you to get it, "but why don't you ever tell me these things?"
"Because then I wouldn't be able to get you to come."
"..."
"Just follow my lead. Pull your hood down, and put your hands in your cloak, like a monk. Now stand up nice and straight."
"Okay."
"Now walk in slow, swaying strides, like those monks."
You walk to the wall and back, looking like a very patient, peaceful monk, letting your cloak sway and swoop with your body.
"Okay, good. Now we're just gonna waltz up to the gate, and they'll let us go. Let me do the talking."
"Okay. There's just one thing though."
"What?"
"Monks don't wear black. And they have crosses. We're wearing black, we're really young, and what?, we're just going to waltz up to those guards from inside? How do we say we got in? Did the monks jump the fence?"
"Revin, don't worry. I'll show you. It's all under control," he smiles. He looks at the guards, daydreams a minute, and smiles some more.
"What?"
"Nothing. This is gonna be great," he looks at you, and sees you starting to smile too, "Let's go. Stand right next to me."
You stand beside him and sigh. He begins walking.
"Slowly, slowly. Be reaaaal relaxed."
The front gate is 20 feet ahead, and the guards haven't seen you yet.
Jeremy kicks the dirt on purpose, and whispers to you, "Be reaaal relaxed. Walk reaaal slow, and put on a cold, mean face."
The guard nearest to you hears Jeremy scrape the dirt again and casually turns and looks. He does a double take, and without looking behind him, reaches for the other guard saying, "Uh, Gabaal, Gabaal, over there,.. do you see something?"
The other guard is surprised, and says, "Yeah!"
The nearer one studies a second and says, "Are those what I think they are?"
The other doesn't say anything, but just watches.
As you approach, they slowly start taking steps backward.
Jeremy says in a kind of low, casual voice, "Good evening."
The guards stop, and take a moment to come to as the two of you step onto the neat stone path.
"Uh, good evening," the nearer one says, as the other comes over to his side. "Who are you? What are doing in here?" he says menacingly.
"I'm Wazoo, the Necrot, and this is my possessed brother, Hassus."
"What business do you have here?" he whips out a chart, "You aren't on the schedule."
"I'm here to see the Lady Vanita, and Necrots aren't ON schedules."
"If you were here to see the good Lady Vanita Galia, you'd be on our schedule!"
Jeremy is silent, and just scowls at him. He notices, and doesn't say anything. Jeremy speaks a bit lower, sounding annoyed, "Lady Vanita personally requested my presence, and gave me entrance to the side door. That's how we got in, my friend, and it's in that way that she doesn't want Sir Harrigan to know about our visit! Now will you give us escort to the front door, or shall we explain ourselves to the other two further down as well?"
The guy scowls back and says very meanly, clenching his teeth, but obviously afraid to fight, "There is no side door."
Jeremy lifts his head slightly, and puts on an arrogant look, "Not that you know about, anyway."
He's about to speak, but the other guard nudges him and talks to him softly, "Look, Norez, how else could they have gotten in? They couldn't hop a 15 foot wall. And if it's true, they're gonna have our heads... even if it isn't, it's not like they're gonna get inside. They have to be on schedule."
He looks at him and thinks a moment, then sighs and says, "Okay. Move along then. But we're not escorting you."
"Very well. I won't be in need of your protection." And the two of you turn and begin walking down the path, leaving them behind talking about it, as you approach the first guard. Well, that went pretty well.
About a hundred feet ahead is the first guard, who stops when he sees you, then slowly starts walking toward you. After a moment he picks up the pace and yells, "Hey!" but you two keep walking casually.
He arrives and says, "Halt! What're you doing?"
Jeremy answers, "We're here to see the Lady Vanita."
"What? It's two hours past midnight! Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Wazoo, the Necrot, and this is my... deadly, possessed brother, Zanther. We're in a hurry to see the Lady Vanita who requests our presence immediately."
He thinks a moment, then leans over and looks behind Jeremy at the two guards at the gate. The guards at the gate shrug 'I don't know,' and he looks back at Jeremy, then you, and says, "Okay. Move along."
Jeremy says sarcastically, "Thank you," and you two keep going.
The next guard is facing away, and you continue to walk very casually, actually starting to enjoy this. You bolden, and decide to try playing along.
The guard hears your footsteps and turns around. He steps to the side of the path to let you pass, but when you arrive he stops you.
"Stop."
Jeremy stops and answers, "Yes?"
"What is your business here? Why aren't you being escorted?"
"We're here to see the Lady Vanita who requests us in a hurry."
"What? Why aren't you being escorted?"
Jeremy looks at you, and you at him with a scowling face, "Because of my possessed brother, who's ready to tear you to pieces if you're near him for too long."
He thinks a moment, "Hmm? Who are you that Lady Vanita would want to see you wretches?"
"We're Necrots. I'm Wazoo, and this is my... deadly, possessed, bloodthirsty brother, Zanther."
You squint your eyes and push air through your throat to make a scary sound, and the guard takes a step back. Jeremy looks at you surprised and says, "Whoa. As you can see he's made some... mistakes in the past. Getting into the wrong things, if you know what I mean. If you don't want to have problems like us, I suggest you stay away."
The guard just looks at you wide-eyed, and says kind of stumbling, "Yeah I, I see what you mean. But uh... the front guards aren't gonna let you in for squat. I, I better go talk to them," and he hurries off toward the front door.
Jeremy says softly, "Nice one," and you laugh to yourself.
Up ahead is the big garden wall on both sides of the path, and behind it the palace walls running parallel, centered by the front door.
You watch the guard run past the walls, and up to the big double front doors where four guards gather around him to see what's up.
You keep your cool as you pass between the big garden walls, and into the long, dark garden area that's dimly lit by a few of the windows above, and nothing else.
All the guards turn and see the two of you, and they quickly move to the sides of the path and stand erect, as if you were a king passing through.
Jeremy keeps going, but says softly to you, "Uh-oh. Looks like we're going in."
You whisper back, "So?"
"The front door. There's gonna be some kind of reception. I was hoping to get in unnoticed."
You pass between the guards and the front door is pushed open by some servants. Jeremy stops and gestures to the one guard who informed the others, and says, "You. Come here."
He comes, "Yes?"
"I sense there are thieves prowling outside the gates, conspiring to get in."
The other guards drop their stances and look out toward the gate and walls.
Jeremy tells them all commandingly, "You should collect every guard on the property and comb the outside! They're trying to get in! Let no man stay behind!"
The door guards all turn and run to inform every other; two of them run inside to collect those inside.
Jeremy smiles a little.
You waltz inside...
It's dark in here, but there are servants here and there doing things. It's a very comfortable, big carpeted room with a large staircase in the center and chandelier. Just as you and Revin stop and look around a man dressed in a fine night gown hurries down the stairs and greets you. He quickly shakes your hand first, and you hear the guard behind you gasp. He glances at the guard, and you too turn and look at him for a second, then he shakes Jeremy's hand and says, "Greetings. I've awaken the good Lady Vanita and informed her of your arrival."
Jeremy casually says, "Good!" but nothing more. He looks at you, trying to hide his smile, but making sure you see it.
The guy quickly turns for the stairs, but stops and turns back and says, "I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced. Before I announce that you're ready to see her, I need your names."
"I'm Wazoo. This is my brother, Hassus."
"I'm Claudius, Lady Vanita's personal keeper and guardian," He turns for the stairs but stops again, and turns around with a smile on his face, "In other words, I'm her nanny. He-he-he."
You just look at Jeremy, and he smiles back at the guy and nods once, meaning, "I get it, but I don't feel like laughing."
He leads you two up the stairs in a hurry, but you walk very slowly and casually at Jeremy's side, never losing your monk posture. He waits for you at the top, then takes you down a hallway and to a nice door, but stops you and says, "Wait right here. I must see if she's ready," and he enters her room, closing the door softly behind him.
Jeremy just nods again, not smiling, and looking very serious. You're nervous, but figure that Jeremy can handle the conversation. But you decide here and now not to make any scary noises that'll make the lady scream... and you wonder how you'll make any money by doing this. Many different thoughts cross your mind as you wait for the guy to come back out, but you stop and decide to clear your head. You sigh, and calm yourself, and Jeremy sees you and does the same. You both ruffle your hands inside your cloaks and shrug your shoulders, preparing to go in.
That guy's taking forver. Jeremy says, "Pull your hood up," and you both do, then he steps up to the door and listens in, and you follow.
Then he takes the handle and just opens the door, and you follow him in, and stand to his side. The guy and Lady Vanita are just staring at you, with their hands still in the air as they were while they were talking; the guy standing by her bed, and her propped up in it, sitting against some pillows.
Jeremy looks at the guy sternly under his hood and says slowly in a cold voice, "Get out."
He slowly nods and moves toward the door, facing Jeremy all the time, and slinks out, carefully closing the door behind him.
You and Jeremy walk over to two plush chairs by her bed, and Jeremy sits down as the young Lady Vanita just watches, wide-eyed, lips closed. You follow, and sit down, glancing around the beautiful bedroom.
Jeremy pulls his arms out of his cloak and rests his elbows on the arms of the chair, folding his hands together by his mouth, looking very contemplative and relaxed.
You fold your arms on your chest, and stick your legs way out on the floor, looking eerily comfortable, yet disturbed.
You watch her a moment; she's a beautiful young woman, hardly as old as Jeremy, and probably a daughter in the family. Her parents were probably in the bedroom at the top of the stairs. Normally they'd have their royal children closer to them for ceremonial purposes, but the palace is a family thing; there's nothing royal about it, except in how rich they are and how they treat themselves.
Lady Vanita goes first, "You said I summoned you?"
Jeremy answers casually, "Yes. For a private meeting. You said to make sure your parents didn't find out. Do you recall?"
"No, I, I'm afraid I don't," she says sounding a bit fearful, holding onto her blanket with one hand.
"Hmm. Well, we have some serious things to talk about. About why you summoned us here."
"Yeah but... I don't think I... no, I never did. I don't even know who you are."
"Hmm. Then perhaps we were summoned by a friend of yours? I'm Wazoo, and this is... my brother, Hassus."
You nod, and Jeremy's relieved that you don't growl.
"But who are you? I mean... your dress is..."
"We're Necrots," she slowly shakes her head, "We've been... I guess a friend of yours recommends our services to you."
"Necrots? What kind of friend would...?"
"I assure you, we can be of help. I've already detected some foul... forces at work in your home. As I entered I noticed an unnatural tremor in the chandelier. You've got some foul forces in your home, where you don't even know it."
She looks down and thinks a moment, then back up, "You mean, um... What do you mean?"
"I mean demons," he puts bluntly.
She squints, and tilts her head slightly, "Like how? How does that work?"
"I'll show you," he leans forward and pulls his hood down, showing his youthfulness, "Think of your house as a magnet. Every time you do something... evil, or every time you get into evil things, or even read evil material, your household, items, and even the little things around you become like magnets to evil spirits who like to ruin you in any way possible."
She leans forward, getting interested, "And what are you going to do about it?"
Jeremy thinks a moment, and looks at you, "My brother has a way with demons. He can drive them out with wrath."
"So you're here to clean up my house?" she says getting excited, and she looks over her shoulder, then back at Jeremy, "Because you know, just the other night I saw something that was probably a demon outside. Can I tell you about it?"
Jeremy leans in a little closer, and says in a friendly voice, "Sure," making sure she can see him clearly and how young he is.
"Okay," she says excited, "Ohh, I'm scared just talking about it. Just thinking about it! Hold on, I'm going to get a coat. I'm pretty cold."
She gets out of bed, and you and Jeremy both note very vividly that she's in what has got to be her skimpiest night gown; either that, or that's just the way she dresses. She slides a big closet open and pulls out a thick fur coat and puts it on, then gets back in bed, sitting up against the pillows.
"Okay. I was going to say that just the other night I looked out my window and saw someone walking in the trees. It was funny though, because nobody ever goes back there at night. And the way he walked... and see, I was really scared seeing him. And I don't know why! I was scared just looking at him, walking through the trees like that. Then he suddenly turned and walked straight toward me, and disappeared as he went behind the wall. Sound like a demon?"
Jeremy smiles, and asks, "When, when was this?"
"Um, two, two days ago I think. Yeah, two nights ago."
Jeremy looks at you and smiles, and you notice him wiggling his thumb at himself, meaning, "That was me," and you smile back and barely nod.
"Um, yeah. Boy, if you can see them like that around here then you've got a serious manifestation."
"Oh. Yeah, that's not all... I hear them everywhere."
Jeremy raises his eyebrows.
"Like in the kitchen at night. I don't even go down there anymore; I send a servant. I used to hear noises down there, coming from the cellar. And in my dad's study. Once I was there at night and a book fell out all by itself. I got up and ran and ran, and threw myself on the first servant I could find. Hee-hee, that really scared me," she straightens up, "And in the hallways sometimes I see funny shaped shadows that are only there sometimes. And I always hear funny noises by the lounge. And one night I saw exactly what looked like an evil black goat outside by my window, looking at me. I saw it and was about to scream, then realized it was only the light in the hallway reflecting on the window. But it never reflected like that again; I checked. And... another time I was outside by where they keep the dogs, and I saw one dog off his chain hiding behind some bushes, just looking at me, and I turned to run because his teeth were showing and he was gonna attack me, but I looked back and I couldn't see it anymore. I had the guards and dog-keepers search the whole place, but they said every dog was accounted for. And another time I was in the bathroom, and I just KNEW there was something behind me while I was doing my hair, so I turned and looked, but there was nothing. That happens alot. I just KNOW something's right there, and I even know what it looks like, but I never see it. And even the servants are always complaining of the same thing. And the guards too. Sometimes they go out looking for something and they never find it. And a lot of the servants won't even go in the cellar anymore; they say there's something down there that keeps trying to get them. And NOBODY goes in crypt, ever. They didn't even bury my grandfather there, because they were too afraid to go inside. Something's in the crypt for sure; if you bang on the door you can hear it come up to the door. And also, one of the servants says he hears voices at night coming from the dining hall, only when it's dark," she looks at Jeremy as if waiting for him to say something, "So does it sound like we have demons?"
Jeremy's face is pale, and he stares at her with wide eyes.
She laughs, "Hehe, stupid question, right?"
Jeremy nods, and smiles, "Yeah, hehehe. You've got em' alright."
She daydreams a moment, and asks, "Any idea where they come from?"
Jeremy thinks a moment, and says seriously, honestly, based on what Contessa has told him, "Yeah. Well, like I said, when you have evil things in your house, or when you do evil things, you attract them like a magnet. So uh... Is there something particularly evil that goes on around here? Or is there evil stuff around?"
"Mmmmm," she thinks a moment, "Oh yeah," she looks down with a scowling face, "My idiot father sleeps with every woman that comes here it seems! But he doesn't do it around my mom; he does it in his meeting room where nobody's allowed, not even my mom. He says he's staying up to work with an expert. That imbecile."
"Well, there you go."
She looks up at him sadly and nods slowly. She glances down at the velvety white blankets, and looks up slowly, almost cautiously, "What... what do you think about that?"
Jeremy glances at the floor briefly, as if preparing bad news, and looks at her with his mouth slightly open,... a sad look in his eyes. "(sigh), sounds shitty enough."
She looks down again angrily, sharply, as if to think, 'You're right, and I knew you would say that.' She's obviously recalling hurtful memories, and says bitterly, "I'll say it is."
Jeremy says softly, "I'm sorry."
She slowly shakes her head, almost biting her lip, "It's okay," she looks down, "mom doesn't know." She looks back up at Jeremy, and asks uneasily again, "What do you think about that, uh,... sorry, I forgot your name."
"It's Jeremy," he smiles, "And this is Revin."
She smiles, and looks over at you... her smile widens, showing her white teeth. You feel warmed, and loved...
She looks down briefly and sighs, "Uh, oh yeah... Jeremy, what do you think about my father? You think he's causing demons to hang around here?" she looks around at the walls suspiciously.
Jeremy begins by nodding, thinking of what to say, "Yeah. Yes, certainly."
She mumbles, "That's what I thought."
"Uh... Demons are purely invitational. They can only hang around if someone or something is letting them. It's all about will. For example, if want something like a garden planted, you get a gardener to come help you. You do what you can, but a gardener would make it so much easier. So, if your father wants these certain things, he can do his part and get a little of it done, but he really wants it, so he's very open to any help he can get. If you decide to be evil in a certain way, you're just asking for the help of demons of that type. It makes it so much easier to get what you want, for a high price. A very high price, including everyone hating you for what you do and who you choose to be."
"I get it," she sighs, "Sounds just like him. He wants power, and he wants fame, and he's so proud and arrogant. He's so appalling, I hate him. He wasn't always like that," she looks down a second, squinting, and back up, "By high price you mostly mean long-term punishment, right?"
"Right. Most people are so blind. They choose to be evil and make themselves happy NOW, in this short, tiny life. It never works, anyway,"
She laughs out loud, "I know, I know! Hehehe. The scumbags are the unhappy ones. The GOOD ones are the happy ones. Always! Hehehe."
Jeremy laughs too, "Hehe, yeah, I know," he thinks a second, "I bet your father isn't happy."
She smiles and shakes her head, "No, he's farrrr from it. He's very misrable, and it shows. He's also mean to everybody," she looks around, as if checking to make sure nobody's listening, "Can I tell you a secret?" she smiles broadly and leans forward.
Jeremy leans forward too, "Yes. I'm listening," he says with meaning.
"I can't stand my father, or this place. It's boring, and too formal, and cold, and I have NO intention of living here for the rest of my life. So,..." she smiles kind of excitedly, "My brother and I aren't going to inherit the castle. Instead, in a few years, we're going to move to Fallwood. We're going to move into an ordinary house, and do our own cooking, and eventually have normal families. No more royal anything. No more taking two hours to get dressed for fancy dinners. And, we plan to live next door to each other after we each get married, hehehe."
Jeremy smiles wide with her, and even you can't help but brighten up your face.
Jeremy says very genuinely, "That's great. That'll be good for the kids, to have their cousins next door. And Fallwood is a beautiful city, very like our own."
"I know. I've seen it in a few paintings we have."
"Me too," Jeremy smiles.
She smiles back kind of dreamily, "You know," she pauses, and begins to frown, "I really want to stay around here, and not go to Fallwood. It's so nice, so cozy here. Everyone knows everyone, all the shops are friendly, the people help each other out. It's just that I want to be as far away from here as possible. (sigh)," she rubs her forehead, "You know?"
Jeremy nods, "I know, (sigh). I... I feel really bad for you," he looks at her with emotion, "You don't know how much."
"Aw," she says very touched, "Thank you, (sniff)."
Jeremy looks down, "I feel bad, because all I can do now is what I came here for," he looks up at her eager, attentive face, "Though I'm able to do so much normally, as a person, my hands are tied right now. And all I can do to help you is sit here,"
She nods sympathetically, "I know what you mean."
He looks down at the ground for a moment, then sighs and looks up helplessly, "I guess all we can do is finish telling me what goes on here."
"I feel bad too," she says, trying to help... trying to reach out, "It's funny how invisible bounds stop us from doing such simple things to relieve ourselves. For some reason or another, we just can't get away from it all. It's not like we can just leave and start a new life. Jeremy," she says pleading, leaning forward, almost crying, "I want to go with you. I don't care what kind of work you do, I just want to get out of here. (sigh), but like you said, all we can really do is sit here and dream."
Jeremy doesn't say anything for a moment, but slowly nods. He says weakly, "You're right. But it's only for a short time."
She manages a weak smile.
"When you're ready, you just come to town and look for me, okay? We're easy to find; our dad is a doctor, and everyone knows him. If you come, we'll even let you stay at our house as long as you need to. You can sleep with our sister, or in a guest room," Jeremy smiles brightly, and she too, even more brightly, "And when you're ready, we'll see you off to Fallwood. It'll be great; my mom is very open to guests who need help. It'll all go smoothly, and you'll work out fine."
She laughs a quick burst of delight, a quick burst, "Gosh... I'd love that... Yeah. There's just no way I'm staying here. Too much pain and evil here," she smiles at Jeremy a long moment, "Mmm, (sigh), and this house has a dark past. I'd love to escape it... hehe," some thought tickles her mind, "I, I think we should go back to talking about, you know..."
Jeremy nods, already smiling.
She looks down and nods one more time before looking back up at Jeremy to listen.
Jeremy understands, and asks, "You said this house has a dark past? I guess it also has old stuff, that's probably seen one too many things."
"Yeah, uh, lemme see... Aside from whatever's in the attic, which I've never seen before, my stupid father collects stuff. He's always collected things. All kinds of evil stuff, too."
"Hmm."
"He's got a whole collection of weapons that were used to kill people. And he has a few old gargoyles in the basement."
"Yeah, heh, both of those.
"Yeah, and gargoyles are demons," she pauses, "People have been killed here before, too."
Jeremy's eyebrows slowly raise.
"The basement used to have a dungeon, but they ceiled it up and buried it a few generations ago," she looks at Jeremy, squinting, "If you ask me, I have nothing to do with the family. I hate our past, and hate my ancestors; they're probably all in Hell anyway," she remembers a moment, "They were all power-hungry, heartless people. They have always been, and still are," she glances over her shoulder in disgust, probably in the direction of her father, "that's why this place is called a Palace, even though it isn't really. And that's why everyone who lives here is treated like a king, even though we're not royal or anything," she presses both hands on her face to relieve stress, and squeezes between her eyes. Poor girl. "(sigh), so we've probably got generations worth of demons here, and it shows. In particular, now that I think of it, my father had some old Skett stuff hidden in the basement. I don't know what he did with it."
"Skett stuff? Like what kind of stuff?"
"I don't know. I never saw it. I was just told that he had some Skett toys."
"Do you know who the Sketts were?"
"Uh-huh. Weren't they kind of like you?"
"Not really. The Sketts were Necrothedges. They dealt with dead people."
"And what do you do?"
"We deal with living people, like you."
"Like how? I mean, um..."
"Well see, we don't deal with actual death, or anything like it. We study things like the effects of evil, and try to avoid it. We also help people like you who want to get rid of it. Unfortunately, we don't always get out of harm's way in time."
She squints a little, kind of apologetically. She glances at your black cloaks, as if they were the result of evil. She smiles a little and nods, meaning 'that's okay. I still like you.'
Jeremy goes on, "And, here we are getting rid of all the demons in your house. The Sketts would be doing the opposite."
She laughs a little, "Yeah but... couldn't I just get a Priest to do that? I mean... hee-hee, I'd think you two would drag more in than take them out."
"Heh, it would seem. But you don't have to worry about that."
"I know," she smiles, showing that she didn't really mean what she said, "So you think you can do it? It would be nice to have this place clean... for the short time I'm here."
"I know... um... if you don't mind, we normally have a small fee. It's not fun to do what we do, or travel as far as we do on foot."
"Sure, sure. Gosh, you've come to the right place."
"Thanks. It's kind of embarrassing to ask, but we know people who have to eat. And not many people like our work, or like to help."
"I'll say," she looks down... and back up with a question in her eyes, "Uh, how does that work? The Priests... they use good, holy things and prayers to exorcise, but what do you do? I don't understand," she tilts her head a little.
"Well, we don't have any holy stuff or prayers. We just use wrath; no demon wants more pain. When you think of it, you might wonder why we don't do it the easy way and use holy stuff. But just look at my brother; he's messed up. We're like this because we made the terrible mistake of getting into this stuff in the first place. And we can't find the will to get out. People like us are addicted to evil, and we hate it. We want more than anything to be set free, but we can't. We can't find the will to, or the motivation. And my poor brother is dying. He's about to burn forever in the fires of hell, unless we can escape what we got into in the first place."
She doesn't say anything, but just looks at you. You look back wide-eyed, trying to look hopeless and lost, like you're screaming to her for help with your eyes. "Poor guys," she looks down, then back up, "Is... is there any way I can help?"
"I don't know," Jeremy says sadly and softly, "We're lost. ...for now. And there are many more of us out there, trying as hard as we can to hate and be evil... and hating every second of it. We want out, out like crazy, but we don't know where to turn. To some of us, being set free means going back to our pathetic lives. To others, it means rolling the dice... who knows what's in store. They're afraid. They don't want a repeat of the past, so they cling to what forces they can. It's terrible."
She sniffs, deeply sympathetic, "I know. I've seen some people like that around my father. And they hate everything, and are so... foul, but I can tell they're really just so hurt and... *sniff, and scared, and, and they just don't know what to do! It's like they're afraid of life... So they hide in what ways they can."
Jeremy just looks at her. "Yeah. We collect money to help them. It makes life seem less threatening when someone is helping you out and nudging you in the right direction. That's what we do on our jobs."
"Oh, I see," she smiles, "That's very nice. I wish I did that."
"Yeah. We usually collect the money, then clean up your house from the outside on our way out. It's easier that way, so we can make sure that ALL of them get out. ...including anything outside."
"(sniff), Okay." She gets out of bed and walks over to her closet. She slides a big wooden door open and pulls out a heavy box. She drags it on the carpet over to Jeremy and leaves it on the floor, then sits down on the carpet in front of you and Jeremy and opens the box. It's full of money, and gems... More than you've ever seen before.
"How much do you need? Any amount."
Jeremy picks a large number, "Wow, you have tons. But you've been quite friendly and sympathetic with us and," she laughs a little embarrassed, "we usually don't get much sympathy on our job. Is 30,000 bits a lot?"
"No. That's just fine," she pulls out thirty 1000 bit gold coins, and puts them in a sock, then hands it to Jeremy. "There." She still has hundreds of one-thousand bit coins, which makes you wonder what on earth rich people do with their money, when people need it sooo much, and get sooo much done.
"Thank you," Jeremy says softly. "You'll get a serious reward for this in Heaven."
"I know. An eternal one, right?" she asks softly, just wanting to hear it.
Jeremy almost whispers, "Right... Eternal. Just for this."
She looks down and smiles a little,... "Who am I to have all this?"
She reaches up to Jeremy and he calmly hands her back the sock. She takes a big handful of coins and things and puts a whole handful in it. She ties it for Jeremy, and hands it back to him and smiles wide... feeling like more money than she has. She says softly, looking at him dreamily, comfortably, "It's the least I can do."
You think, "How nice."
Jeremy also looks at her dreamily... but he's prudent, and has painfully learned how to end a nice moment. He says softly, "We should go... There are people who need this like it's their last hope."
She whispers, smiling at him, "Okay."
Jeremy gets up quietly, and you follow. He slowly makes for the door.
Vanita just sits on the floor, watching you two. "Wait," she says softly, "I forgot to tell you..."
You and Jeremy look.
"I'll pray for you," she smiles.
"Thank you," Jeremy says softly. "Bye."
She smiles more, and blinks slowly, "Bye."
Jeremy opens the door, and you both walk out. He looks back one more time, and pauses. "Oh, and..." he's quiet a moment.
"Hmm?"
"I just wanted to tell you... there's nothing wrong with us," he pauses...
"And your brother?" she asks, sounding concerned.
"He's fine," he smiles. And she.
Her eyebrows raise, and she says eagerly, "Oh, oh, uh,"
Jeremy finishes for her, "Right. Forget everything I said about Necrots. But everything else... everything else is true."
She smiles wide, her white teeth showing, "That's what I thought. And Jeremy," she says dreamily...
"Yes?"
"If I come, I don't want you to see me off to Fallwood," she looks down, and back up with a pleading face, "I want you to come with me."
Jeremy smiles and blinks slowly. He begins to turn, but turns back. With the hand that's holding the sock, he slowly bends down toward the floor, "I won't be needing this."
"No, no, it's yours, keep it..." she says quickly as Jeremy slowly closes the door with a smile. It chinks closed.
You sigh. Poor Jeremy... She's such a nice girl.
Jeremy looks at you, still smiling, and you smile back a little, then look around.
You look around at the decorations and things, wondering also if anyone is around, giving Jeremy a moment to collect his thoughts. He sighs, and rubs his face...
Nobody's around. You walk to the staircase, staying at Jeremy's side, and begin descending to the first floor. You both pull your hoods on.
Some servants see you, and rush to the front door and push it open. You step off the last steps and onto the carpet, and keep going. You walk through the front door that the servants are holding open and stop. There are no guards there. Jeremy wants to take a look around before continuing on.
He looks up into the sky and listens. You can hear yelling out in the trees beyond the property... very faint, distant yelling. And dogs. The guards are sweeping through the area, trying to find the thieves.
You step down to the path that leads to the gate, and begin walking. You pass through the garden walls, and out into the wide-open grass. You can hear shouts and dogs in every direction. You look out to the gate, and almost stop, thinking.
"Jeremy," you say softly.
"What?"
"How are we gonna get out?"
"Through the gate."
"No... they'll think we're the theives."
He stops almost completely,... "Uhhhh. I don't know. Try to stay in the open, so they think it's us."
"They have dogs."
You two walk in silence, trying to think... "Then I guess we'll just run."
You approach the gate... there's a guard there, looking through the bars out into the trees, seeing what's going on.
You arrive, and he turns and sees you. He thinks a moment, then walks to the gate's side and pulls a lever, and it slides open.
You and Jeremy cautiously step out into the darkness. The path becomes dirt, and you need to follow it without being seen.
Jeremy looks left and right, making sure nobody's there, and says, "Let's go! Quick!"
He begins running hard, and accidently leaves you behind, struggling to get your hands out of your cloak, and he stops to wait about twenty feet ahead, in near blackness. You get them out, and take off after him, and he stays ahead.
Right then, given no time to get away, you hear a dog erupt barking behind you. Your eyes pop open, and you clench your teeth, bursting into a run with all your might.
Bawr-rawr-rawr!, you hear the dog gaining, and feel a helpless sense of doom that you're about to be torn to shreds.
And YAH!, the dogs teeth snag into your leg, sending you tumbling onto your face and rolling in the leaves, right into a bush. Within a second the dog hurls itself into you, biting your shoulder and thrusting it's head back and forth, trying to take it off.
You're rolling in savage pain, trying to get free from under the dog, hoping and hoping that Jeremy didn't run off, all the while taking more bites along the arm and legs.
The dog stops a second and looks up, snarling at something, then *Whack!, Jeremy's foot slams into it's face as he throws himself into it. The dog is thrown across the ground, and Jeremy gets up in a hurry as it struggles to find it's feet, and he stomps on it's head, over and over, trying to kill it.
When he's done, he hurries to your side and gets down on his knees.
"Oh no. Oh no," he whispers over and over.
He puts his arms under your legs and shoulders and lifts you off the ground... and carries you all the way home.
-
You wake up under a light,... a lamp, looking up and squinting, trying to see who's face that is above you behind the glare.
Everything else is dark, and you have no idea where you are. You're sore all over, but okay... and very thirsty.
You blink and blink, trying to adjust to the light and rub your eyes, then realize that your left hand is wrapped in bandage cloth. You say in a light voice, sounding really tired, "Wha?"
Your vision slowly adjusts and Tessa's smiling face fades into view beside the bright, glaring lamp.
"Heyyyy," Tessa says softly, happily, as if she's glad to see you awake.
"Heyyyy," you say back.
You notice that her hands have been resting on your chest that's also bandaged and wrapped. She presses ever so lightly on your chest and it hurts. She leans over you a bit more and says, "You've been asleep for three days, Revin," and that's all she says, giving you plenty of room to digest this.
You look at the dark ceiling behind the lamp and think a moment, then almost whisper, "I have?"
She nods and says softly, holding onto your wrapped hand, "Uh-huhhh."
You try to look around but your neck hurts, and you grimace in pain and quickly straighten your neck. Tessa gasps slightly and quickly puts one hand on your neck and one on your forehead, and gently sets your head back. You squeeze your eyes in silent pain, and begin feeling other areas of your body that hurt as you move a little bit.
You try to relax, and just leave your eyes closed and ask, "Where are we?"
Tessa doesn't say anything at first, and you ask, "Hmm?"
You open your eyes and see a big smile on her face, and she says excitedly, "Guess!"
You try to look around without moving your head, but you don't see anything behind the bright light. You look upward, toward the tip of the bed, and see a wooden mast. It looks like... Tessa's, uh...
You quickly thrust your hand upon it and start feeling all around, then look at the lamp with meaning, trying to recognize it-
HOME!
You gasp and just leave your mouth open with a big smile, looking at Tessa's bright smiley face, and who's knees are bouncing off the side of the bed, she's so happy.
You whisper dreamily, "We're home."
"Yeahhh," Tessa whispers back.
You think a moment, then ask seriously, "What happened?"
She sighs and looks up a moment, then back at your eyes and says, "Well, the local guards raided the hole where mom and dad and Jeremy were, and-"
"Yeah, I know about all that. I was there."
"Oh."
"I mean what happened after that?"
"After what?"
"After I got hurt by that... stupid bitch."
"Oh, uh..." usually she'd protest, but she didn't seem to notice or mind this time, "Well, Jeremy brought you home and we called a doctor to come take a look at you since dad couldn't do it himself, so he bandaged you up and I wanted you in my room so I could take care of you while mom and dad got better and took care of the house and things, and... here you are."
You look at her and smile again, and she does too. You just can't believe you're home again.
"Did anything else happen?"
"Yeah, a couple things. We got the house back, thank God everything's still here. Umm, Jeremy's here, in his room doing something. Uhh, what else? Aunt Myla is here taking care of us and cooking with mom, dad's getting his doctor's office opened up again, aaand..."
"What about the guards?"
"Hmm?"
"A lot of them died," and you say very concerned, on the brink of tears, "Did they ever find the Chief of Guards?"
"I guess so. He's been here every day since you got hurt."
You're very relieved to hear this, then surprised, "He has? Why?"
"To see you."
You think a moment, "Oh."
She looks at you with meaning, trying to think what you're thinking.
"Did he come today?"
"Earlier, yes."
"What time is it?"
"Almost midnight... and we haven't had dinner yet."
"Why?"
"I dunno. Aunt Myla and mom are cooking. I guess they didn't find any food so they had to go get some."
You sniff the air, "What are we having?"
"I don't know. Are you hungry?"
"Not really. I'm really thirsty though."
"Oh. I'll go get you some water," she says and gets up, making for the door hurriedly. She opens it and stops, "Do you need anything else?"
"Umm... no. Oh, wait," you smile, "Get Jeremy,"
"Okay," she smiles back and lightly walks out, leaving the door slightly open. "Jeremy!"
You hear a faint, "What?"
"Your brother wants you."
You hear a thud, then Jeremy's footsteps fast approaching, and the door swings out and crashes against the wall.
"Hey!!" he yells excitedly, throwing his arms in the air as if happening upon a treasure chest, "You're alive!"
"He-he-he-he," you laugh, realizing how groggy and weak you are. And whoa, his hair is still long... it's pulled back in a pony-tail.
He approaches the bed, "You've been dead for three days!"
"What?"
"Just kidding. How are you feeling?"
"Uh, pretty good. It hurts like crazy when I move though."
"Oh. Darn, 'cuz I was gonna bounce on the bed."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding."
"Oh, hehe. Jeremy, your hair's still long."
He reaches behind his head and fondles his hair, "Yeah, I think I like it. It's a good hero's look, don't you think?"
You think, looking at him, "Yeah, it looks good on you."
He holds his hands out to his sides and spins a circle like an arrogant model, "Why thank you, thank you. Yes, I'll be available afterward for handshakes and tea. One at a time, please. Ladies, ladies, one at a time."
"One kidnapped princess at a time."
"Huh?"
"One kidnapped princess at a time."
"Yeah. Heh. Ladies and gentlemen, your knight in shining armor."
"Just ladies."
"Hehe, yeah. Ladies and beautiful ladies, your knight in shining armor is HERE."
"Hehe. We're sorry, but the real knight in shining armor is currently, uh, hurt, and can't make it to the stage."
"Who? You?"
"Yeah, hehehe. Our deepest apologies, but you'll have to make do with Jeremy here."
"SIR Jeremy. SIR Jeremy."
"You'll have to make do with my,... clumsy understudy. Because while HE was in jail, I was out slaying the dragon and getting my butt kicked."
"But that's only one view of what REALLY happened. Because you see, Sir Revin is sadly inexperienced and needed my help in slaying the dragon in the first place, of course. And unfortunetely for you, my... tasty, armor-lickin' ladies, I had been previously imprisoned by invading savages from I don't know where, when they unfairly and rudely snatched me from right off the crapper before a big battle. Needless to say, Sir Revin here was nowhere to be seen during the battle. He says it's because he,... couldn't find his shoes, supposedly."
"Well, my ladies; MY ladies, see, the rude savages TOOK my shoes so that I'd have to go fight the battle barefoot. Of course, THEY fight barefoot and so they thought we had an unfair advantage, because we didn't have to slosh in gunk of dead people while we fight. And my brother, having a sissy, weak stomach, couldn't hold it and ran off to use the savages' restroom."
"My ladies, my ladies. I mean, MY ladies. Is it fair that the savages prepare the battlefield by dumping rot on it? And is it fair that they charge two bits to use the crapper? My ladies, (sniiiiiff), my hardened,... overstudy here is a sick, un-gently man," he says seriously, making a face impersonating a rich snob, "How would you like to go to bed everynight with someone who's been around so much rot that it doesn't bother him-"
Images of zombies flash across your eyes, "-And would it be any surprise that he doesn't clean between his toes?"
You see Tessa approach from behind, carrying a tray, "Ladies, is this the kind of man you want to sleep with?"
Without stopping Tessa looks up at Jeremy's face with a surprised look, and ducks under his outstretched arms, like he's giving a speech.
"What on earth are you talking about?" she asks, sitting down on the bed, handing you the glass of water. You whisper thanks, and try to drink.
"Aw, nothing. Just pleasing our ladies."
She looks at him again surprised, "Huh?"
You start laughing under your breath, and say "Hmm" to get her attention, because you can't drink lying down.
"Oh," she turns to your assistance and starts trying to get you to a sitting position.
Jeremy sits back in an armchair by the foot of the bed and crosses his legs, facing you, and starts laughing because of how it sounds to Tessa.
He decides to persist, "Pleasing our ladies."
Tessa's pulling you up onto some pillows she raised, and stops, turning her head back to Jeremy and squints, "What?!"
Jeremy starts laughing out loud. "Hahaha! Don't you know?"
"No. I mean yes. I mean NO."
Jeremy bursts out laughing, and you try hard not to.
Tessa shakes her head a bit, then gets back to helping you up.
Jeremy doesn't know what to say; he can't find anything against her.
You have a thought, but no... NO! It's just a really bad memory... that drops your mood like a rock. And so unfortunately, it's a very recent one.
You look up at her face and see if she remembers, studying her expression as she adjusts the pillow behind your head. She does. Without stopping she barely lowers her head and looks down at your eager eyes and gently smiles,.. then looks back up.
You were expecting a painful look, or a look of disgust, but her face was quite reassuring; she smiled as if it wasn't a painful memory.
You speak very gently and she stops to listen, "We weren't talking about anything important. We were just making something up and joking."
She looks at you a moment, then says just as softly, smiling gently again, "Oh... Okay."
Jeremy senses the seriousness, and steps back into reality with a big sigh. He rubs his eyes, then pushes his hair back with both hands into a pony-tail. He reclines and says sounding tired, "The Chief of Guards came to see you today, Revin."
"Uh-huh. Tessa told me."
"Oh, you did?"
"Yeah," she answers, finishing propping you up and hands you your glass of water. You mumble thanks again and drink.
"Do you know why?"
Tessa answers for you, "To see how he's doing. They've gotten to know each other recently, with everything that's been going on."
"Oh, really?" He perks up, "Like how? What, what'd you do?"
You empty the cup and Tessa takes it from you, and answers for you, "Well, he's been accompanying the guards on raids, and going to some of their meetings, and making plans to save you guys."
"Wow."
"Yes, he's really the one who saved you guys."
You look up at Tessa and say comfortingly, "Awe, Tessa, you can't give me that much credit. Without you they would have died, and I would've had nobody left to save."
She smiles wide, and her eyes twinkle in the light.
You tell Jeremy, "When it first started, I didn't know Tessa was still alive. I didn't know that she was going every night to feed you guys. I was just doing stupid things like looking around town for clues. I even broke into one guy's house looking for a map of the forest. You know, that guy, Jahola."
Tessa sits with a hand in her lap, the other hand on your hip, listening. Jeremy sits up in his chair and leans forward to hear better.
"Anyway, I got a map, then nearly got myself killed running away," you start laughing, and Jeremy with you a little bit... not Tessa, "Hehehe, he had his dogs after me an' everything. I tried to go out the back gate, but it wouldn't open. Then, when I tried to run away my cloak caught on to it," you laugh hard now, and Jeremy picks up with you, "Heh, so I was beating his dogs, while trying to get free, and he was coming at me with a stick an' everything, hehehe," Tessa looks on with raised eyebrows and closed lips, "So finally, after knocking both of his dogs out, my cloak tore free and I hopped the fence, and ran back to town."
You look at them both. Tessa just looks quietly, while Jeremy leans forward more to hear. You smile.
"A guard saw me on the way back, and asked me what I was doing. I told him what happened, and said that I knew where Jahola lived, so he went and got more guards, and they went and got him that night... They threw him in jail. Way underground," You think a moment, "So that's when... that's when the Chief of Guards realized that I was helping them, I guess. I left them a paper saying it was me."
You think briefly about the Chief of Guards. ...and his men. Your memory suddenly jumps to scenes of death and guards lying on the ground. Just a few nights ago, many of his men were killed. You quickly forget everything else.
It's too bad... so bad... that men died to save your family. Even more people died a few nights ago than were saved.
You look at Tessa, who opens her mouth a bit seeing your hurt look, "Tessa?"
"Yes Revin?" she tilts her a head a bit, a scooches a little closer.
"Did the Chief of Guards say anything about his men?"
At first she doesn't say anything, as she realizes your pain, then says sounding concerned, "I, I don't think so Revin. Um," you squint your eyes, thinking about the poor Chief of Guards who must feel now like he's lost family members. Some of those guards have been his closest friends for decades.
You say sadly, "I feel so bad for him. He lost some of his best friends who are like his family... And he lost them trying to set us free, just so me an' Tessa wouldn't have to feel what he's feeling now. And the other guards too."
Tessa says gloomily, "And their families."
You close your eyes as you realize this terribly, *Groannnnnnn*, "I didn't think of them," you say with a moaning voice.
-
The story is almost finished.
