Shifters

A Glimpse Into The Past

An awkward silence ensued after the shadowy entity's last words as though something else had garnered its attention. Before Josh could say anything however, his surroundings just changed, just as it had during his visit to the Devourers of Knowledge.

"What is this?" he asked, searching for the dark being's presence.

Rather than the dark room he'd been residing in since his conversation began, he now stood in a dungeon's cell much like the one he'd first entered. In fact, if he'd not been mistaken, the placement of the barrels as well as the position of the heavy door seemed to be almost identical. The only difference between the two would be that this, despite it being a clear depiction of a cell, felt much cleaner and brighter than its counterpart. Just as with his previous encounter with the Devourers, Josh couldn't move but only witness as events unfolded around him.

'Wait a second,' Josh thought to himself, 'Since it's still within his domain, shouldn't that work?'

Not wanting to waste another minute in thought, Josh silently willed himself to be able to move. To his immediate but welcomed surprise, his exerting of willpower over his body had indeed produced the desired effect. With the restoration of his mobility in full swing, Josh walked about the cell, vigorously exercising what felt like extremely sore limbs.

Coming to a halt after a few more minutes, Josh glanced around the room as he thought, 'What exactly did it want me to see?'

'Maybe it's outside,' Josh thought, peaking outside the cell through the iron bars.

Hand stretching for the door's handle, Josh hesitated for a moment as he wondered, 'Is this really a good idea?'

Although he held some measure of certainty that those within this time period wouldn't be able to see him, Josh still held some reservations. After debating it for a few more rounds in his head, he soon came to the realization that staying at his current position would yield him no new information. Left with no other option but to proceed, Josh yanked the door open only to be met with a well lit corridor. Lining it were several cell doors, all well lit with torches, stretching as far as the eye could see much like the one he'd previously strolled through. Provided with this new development, Josh was almost certain that this was in fact the exact dungeon he'd been in earlier, with the only difference being its time period. Skipping past the cells at a greater pace than he'd done prior, Josh soon arrived at Joana's current cell door. Unable to see through it, he pushed with all his might against the heavy wooden door. To his surprise however, rather than the unlocked door he expected to encounter, he was met with a sturdily locked cell.

'Makes sense,' he muttered inwardly, 'Joana's incarceration probably happened long after this!'

Deciding to ignore the door, Josh looked on ahead as he momentarily considered pushing ahead into new territory.

"What's there to be afraid of," Josh said, reasoning with himself, "It's not like anyone can see me anyways so there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

With the way forward being the only way to progress, Josh cast aside any inhibitions as he stepped onto the untraversed path. Unsure of where the passageway would lead him, he wandered down its unknown halls, passing a lit torch every few steps. Just as he thought he'd never come to the end of the dungeon, a sudden lurch came from up ahead, followed by the faint whispers of voices.

"Why has the Chief so on edge lately," came a rough voice, seemingly from the other end of the corridor.

"Well put yourself in his shoes," said another voice, this one more feminine in nature, "Not only did he migrate our entire tribe to an unknown castle a short walk away from the Southern Clan but he also did so without any advanced preparations whatsoever. With winter slowly creeping up on us, it's no wonder that he's not in his right mind, don't you think?"