It wasn't long before Raine and Vinny were watching the crackle of their fire they had crafted. Vinny had brought to logs earlier to use as seats. Raine began to cook some of her rations that she had been saving.
"Lady Raine, may I play some music for us?" Vinny asked politely. Raine chuckled at the request. "I'm not a lady, I don't own any land." She smiled."But go ahead." She nodded.
Vinny grinned and pulled out his gittern, it's small body replicated a guitar but sounded like a lute. He began to strum his fingers on the strings and began to sing softly.
When I get back home
I hope the sun will shine on me
When I get back home
I hope to leave and finally be free.
I want to roll around in the grass
I wanna run and climb trees.
I wanna play till the sun ain't there.
I wanna be home and be free.
To be free
I wanna be free
To be free
I wanna be free
I want to wear whatever I want.
I wanna change my look.
I wanna be able to style my hair
I want to write a book
To be free is a quest for me
Oh, I want to be free
To sleep peacefully is
The goal for me
To be free
I wanna be free
To be free
I wanna be free
(Slowly)
I wanna be free...
Vinny took a deep breath and concluded his song. Raine was not surprised with the message behind the song. "I'm sorry you feel that way." She frowned. She knew life could be very difficult in Barovia.
"It's alright," Vinny smiled. "I wrote that song when I was a boy." He shrugged and put his gittern away. Raine frowned she couldn't stop thinking about her friend. 'No, I will not think about her! The one that remains unnamed!' She thought.
"Alright, well, if you want to keep watch, I'll rest up, and you can wake me up in a few hours for the next shift." Raine yawned as she stretched her arms out. She stood up from the log she was sitting on and found a relatively flat area. "Sure, of course!" Vinny smiled.
Raine nodded wearily and laid on the ground. She liked to lay flat on her back with her hands connected on her stomach. It was most comfortable for her.
Vinny stared around, feeling rather bored without someone to talk to. He stared into the crackling fire deep in thought.
'I must keep an eye on her. She seems as though she's dangerous. Like a starving dog, ready to strike!' Vinny nodded at his conclusion.
* * *
Raine tossed in and turned in her sleep as a range of images flashed through her mind.
"I know how to turn off that sword..." a deep voice grinned as they grabbed the dark figure by the throat...
"He's dead!" A shaky voice cried out. "And we're next..."
"You will not stop me from reaching my love!" The voice threatened and took a dagger plunging into the mysterious characters' breasts, bringing a splatter of blood on removal...
Raine's eyes shot open fast, with a gasp as she woke. Beads of sweat dripped down her face, and she quickly pulled her collar down just enough to see no injury by her heart. She sighed a breath of relief and laid back down, catching her breath. 'What the hell was that?' Her mind racing.
Once she was calmned down enough, she stood upwards and noticed the fire had been reduced to charcoal and smoke. Vinny was nowhere in sight. "Where would he have gone?" She whispered to herself. Raine then carefully stood up and dusted herself off, taking a moment to realize how cold it had gotten within the last couple of hours.
Raine shivered in the cold and looked around. She began to walk around, investigating where Vinny could have gone. A dark figure then caught her eye. She pulled out her dagger and hunched low to the ground.
The figure seemed to be minding its own business and wasn't aware of Raine's presence. Raine crept up close to it, and last second lunged at the creature with the intent to hurt. The hooded turned around on instinct and grabbed her wrist before she could stab them, and he took his other hand and lifted her up by her neck.
Raine stared in suprised and began to grumble, struggle to breathe. The cloaked figure smiled at her as she shrugged. Raine dropped her dagger and used her other hand to grip onto his forearm. Raine stared at him in fear, eye wide, when she finally registered his face.
His eyes pierced into hers, and his sharp fangs looked ready to strike. Raine whimpered in pain, but the pain turned to anger. 'No! Now is NOT the time to die!' Raine took the chance and swung her leg up and kicked the man as hard as he could in the chest. The man then dropped Raine in pain and stumbled back a bit.
Raine quickly picked up her previously dropped dagger and began to swing once again, this time the man grabbed her wrist and shouted. "RAINE!" A familiar voice cried out. His eyes widened. "Raine! It's me!!" He cried out in fear.
Raine's force softened and she shook her head to clear her mind, and blinked a few times. She then took a few small steps back and dropped the dagger in her hand. "V-vinny?" She stuttered.
"Yes!" He nodded scared and confused.
"B-but I thought you were...were Strahd!" She mumbled.
"I was trying to get firewood when you attacked me! You're eyes were all red and glazed over!" Vinny explained in a rush.
Raine stared at the ground confused trying to recollect her thoughts, but couldn't. "I woke up and you were gone..." She murmured. She didn't understand,
'it felt so...Real, but it was real wasn't it?'
Raine fought with herself for a moment.
Vinny frowned. "Maybe we should head back to the site and you get some more rest?" He suggested. Raine felt compelled and nodded. "Yeah, that would probably be best". She whispered still staring at the ground. "Come on, let's go." Vinny smiled and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the campsite.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
The Raine of Strahd
काल्पनिकRaine, an adventurer looking to avenge her friend, finds herself helping another party of adventurers survive the challenges of Barovia, but will she and her friends prevail? Or will they be trapped forever in a purgatory of challenges and monsters...
