A single flame danced above Kage's head, like a candle flame floating just below the ceiling. The light was too small to see her surroundings, a tiny glow in a sea of blackness, but she felt the warmth on her face.
Her breathing heavy in her ears, in the back of her mind was the realization that anything in the darkness around her would be able see her face from the glow. She slowly extended her hand into the cloud of shadow, when she froze.
A voice humming a simple tune whispered through the emptiness.
In a minor key, the tune would have been melancholy if not hummed with such a cheerful and upbeat voice.
The sound of heart heart drummed up to twice the speed in Kage's ears as her brain shut down, reverting to fight or flight. She ran straight into the blackness, eyes desperately searching for a wall, or a door, or anything.
The humming followed her wherever she ran, like the voice's owner was one step behind her.
BAM!
Kage had no time to stop herself. Her whole body slammed right into a cold stone wall. Body and face aching, she scrambled up. "A wall means a door!" Was the one thought that made it past the panic in her head. She took off again, hand tracing along the wall until - there!
A curved door handle on a thick wooden door.
She tried the handle, but it didn't budge. The tune was louder than a whisper now, was it getting closer? She tried the handle again, desperately pulling and pushing with all her strength.
"Where will you go?" The voice cut straight through her, freezing her in her tracks.
"Run. Run!" Her brain screamed, but her body wouldn't listen. She slowly turned around, pressing her body as close to the door as possible.
The figure loomed above her, dark clothes making him almost invisible in the darkness, but his light face and pushed back blond hair were dimly lit by a match held in his left hand.
"Where will you go? You don't belong in this world," he repeated.
Her hands reached out around her, desperate for a sliver of wood from the door, or a piece of stone from the wall, anything she could use as a weapon.
He laughed, "You know I'm more careful than that."
He moved with frightening speed. She was backed into the doorway, there was nowhere for her to escape. His hand grabbed her neck and easily shoved her up the wall.
"Wile-" she choked, trying to pry away his hand -
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She gasped awake, hand clutched to her neck.
The sky was beginning to lighten, a sign that the first rays of light would soon be creeping over the hills.
Kage gulped in the cool night air, holding her clenched fist to her heart as if that anchor would slow down its beating any faster. It had been a few nights since her last nightmare, and that thought gave her hope as the terror began to recede.
"Doesn't make it any better when it happens," she muttered. It reminded her of the seizure she'd had before.
The threads tangled around that light in the Space between Worlds - she focused, allowing herself to see her own thread. Unlike the people of this world or the Mythsians, hers floated up just above her, not attached to any world. Untethered an unanchored, a sign that she truly did not belong to this, or any other planet.
Only one person had been able to temporarily ground her to a world, not so long ago-
She shook her head, banishing the thought. She was the last person Kage would ever ask for help, so it was best to just not think about it.
She lay back down, trying to think of any possible explanation for what she'd seen.
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270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2t8vyDH88S
"So how do we approach this?" Shole asked.
The six of them peered over the hill towards the village below.
"There are soldiers around, I saw a few of them from up above," Halten said.
"But we need horses," Sephria said. "There's no way we'll make it to Mainspring without them."
"Sephria and Halten are too conspicuous," Artlem began,
"Me too," Bard said, "people tend to notice the seven-foot person with horns."
"So that leaves you, Kage, and myself," Shole said to Artlem.
"Do we have anything we can use to disguise ourselves?" Kage asked.
"Good point!" Shole said, then thought about it. "Maybe not? We have cloaks, but that might be it."
"Better than nothing," Artlem said.
"We should at least try to switch it up," Kage said. "Shole, your coat is pretty recognizable" She noted. The garment had probably once been wine red, but was a darker color now, apparently after years of use. Elbows and other spots it had been torn over the years were parched up with a similar material.
"Right..." Shole sighed, reluctantly removing it.
"My armour is a pretty dead giveaway too, I guess." Artlem said, removing it. "My people are the only ones who wear that kind." He looked around. "Anyone have something Kage can wear so she doesn't look like she's at a funeral?"
"I feel like I'm missing something," Shole rubbed his arms as they started off down towards the town.
"Do you always wear that coat?" Kage asked, feeling self-conscious about the muddy green scarf from Sephria she was wearing over her head.
He gave a small smile, "it was from my clan. It's the last thing I have from back then."
Kage wanted to ask more, but didn't know if it would be appropriate.
Shole met her eyes. "There was a conflict with Rhoringdall back when I was a kid. My family didn't make it, not many did. The last survivors scattered."
"I'm sorry." She said.
"It was a long time ago," he said, but his voice had a pained note behind it. "That was when Art's family took me in," he continued.
"Yeah, it was," Artlem joined in, lightly punching Shole in the arm. "Like getting a brother."
"Someone's got to keep you in check," Shole joked.
"You certainly tried."
"Best I could do with who I was working with."
The town had a weak-looking wall encompassing it, but a wall none the less, so their only option was to enter through one of the three roads.
"It's still a bad idea," Kage said, as they approached the north gate.
"And we still don't have another option," Artlem said.
"I know, I know," Kage said, and adjusted her scarf as if the flimsy disguise would protect her.
"We'll enter separately, Kage, you're getting supplies, Shole and I horses. And if anything goes down, we signal Halten like we agreed."
"Right."
Shole nodded. "Avoid notice, and we'll get in and out as fast as possible."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Kage forced a smile through her nervousness.
"You have an advantage," Artlem gave a half-smile, "if you were any more invisible, we would have lost you on the way."
"Thanks, I guess," Kage chuckled.
"Alright, let's do this!" Artlem stepped forward with Shole. Kage watched while they approached the open front gate.
The two of them looked around furtively, but entered quietly with no resistance.
Kage waited a few minutes, glancing around about every second. Finally, she decided enough time was past and made her way to the open gate.
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and then Add to home screen.