Told ya
Last we saw of Petra, she and the rest of the Clarion crew had made it through Ri-Shung and met the Seer, who, upon seeing Petra, said she'd been waiting for them.
That was chapter 6, btw, and I'll recap the others when I get there
Some of this is edited, some isn't
Big surprise, right?
Hhhnnnnn
I was feeling significantly less stressed about this chapter, though, and that's always good
Big shoutout to @AwesomeYay99 for boosting my morale about this whole thing 💙
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"W-waiting for me? How?" Petra asked, taken off-guard. Kiah elbowed her. "She knows everything, remember?"
Oh. Right. Petra thought. The Seer smiled gently at her. "You're not the first to respond like that. I know I really shouldn't flaunt my abilities, but I'm afraid I forget sometimes."
Petra took a step closer to the woman, briefly wondering if she could see through those foggy white eyes. "If it's true you know everything that happens in Clarion...do you know what happened to me? How I got here?"
The Seer nodded once, her light expression slipping away. "I don't know the full story, but I can guess. You were attacked by a horrible creature, the likes of which this world has not seen for centuries. I'm not sure how you encountered such a monster, but it followed you after you were brought here by an ancient, unknown power, probably another monster like the first."
"So...the thing that killed the Nelet man...it's here because of me?" Petra asked quietly. Someone's dead, because I'm here?
Glancing away from her, the Seer hesitantly said, "Yes, I'm afraid so."
Evan reached over and gently touched her shoulder. Petra startled slightly; she'd almost forgotten the Seer's guards were still there. "It's not your fault. You didn't come here of your own free will, you couldn't have controlled what was following you." He told her earnestly, diamond eyes tilted sympathetically.
She didn't bother to shake him off, but she did say, "But it did come here for me, so I should have to deal with it. Do you know where it is? What it is?" she asked the Seer.
The tall woman shook her head. "No. I believe it's lurking in some of the deeper tunnels under Clarion, but I'm not sure where. My abilities are, more often than not, unhelpful when it comes to specifics. So, no, Kiah, I do not truly know everything."
Kiah jumped at being referred to by name, then squinted at the Seer with an extraordinarily suspicious expression. "If you're not good with specifics, how'd you know our names?"
"Ah. Sorry, I was unclear. My abilities aren't good with searching for specifics, though I can get specific information, like names, without trying." The Seer explained with a kind smile, though it vanished when she looked at Petra again. "I don't think you'll like to hear it, but you can't stay here, Petra. You must go back to Beacontown. There's trouble brewing, and you need to take care of it."
"What? No! I can't leave, not with a monster I brought running around under Clarion! It's here because of me, I should be the one to deal with it!" She objected.
The Seer was already shaking her head. "You will have your chance, trust me. Things will only get worse for you if you remain in the city."
"What about us?" Jay asked. "Is Clarion really on the brink of war? What's gonna happen if the city turns chaotic? More chaotic, I mean."
The Seer sighed, looking sad. "Yes. It appears the already-fragile peace is crumbling, and I'm not sure if there's a way to prevent it. Clarion has always been dangerous, but it will be even more so in a matter of days. Go back to Sidra, you three. Yes, Jay, you too. I normally would argue that it's just as valid as the other districts, but in this case, you're lucky it's considered more insignificant."
"But...This is my responsibility." Petra argued, feeling the familiar sense of stubbornness set in. The Seer's sad white gaze was turned on her. "Petra, soon the entire world will be your responsibility. The issues in Clarion may have been started by the creature, but they will not be resolved by you remaining here. You need to go home. Your friends will be there soon, and then a new mission will begin for you. You will get a chance to deal with this monster, but no good will come of being obstinate."
Petra clenched her fists, exhaling as much of her frustration as she could. "Fine. If you really think that's best..." she begrudgingly agreed. The dark woman nodded. "It is. Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?"
The redhead paused. In a very uncertain tone, she asked, "In this 'new mission', which I'm assuming has something to do with the monsters...do we succeed?" What she wanted to ask was 'how many people die', but didn't quite have the courage.
"I'm afraid I don't know. My power does not extend far from my location, and this quest will take you all over this world. When you return to Clarion, you are triumphant, but that is all I know."
"Thank you." Petra said, bobbing her head in acknowledgement.
Turning her head to address the two guards, the Seer commanded, "Evan, Rika, please escort the Sidrans and Petra back to the tunnels. Amelia, Crash, Midnight, thank you for guiding them through Ri-Shung. I can see you've had your grievances with these ones in the past, so I applaud you for looking past that. Find somewhere safe to stay- our district will be getting a bit more exciting in the coming days."
"And by exciting, you mean anarchic." Midnight muttered as Rika began leading the way back down the tower. Petra let the others go first, trying to decide whether or not to ask one more question. Evan was the last one to descend, waiting for her.
"Miss Seer..." Petra started. The Seer didn't say anything, just inclined her head slightly.
"Do any of us...does anyone die on our 'new mission?" She asked.
The Seer's silence was more confirmation than her small nod.
"How many? Who?" Petra asked, her mouth suddenly dry.
There was a significant pause. "To tell you would be to change it, and that I cannot do."
With that, the Seer turned away, gazing back out over the city without another word. Evan motioned for Petra to follow him down the tower, and she did so, thinking of the Seer's last statement the whole way.
She wished she hadn't had the guts to ask it after all.
The entire trip back to the tunnels and to Sidra, all she could think about was what the Seer had said. Petra had seen death. She'd broken-heartedly watched the life leave her best friend's eyes. She'd killed others, even. She was no stranger to the loss of life.
But now she knew it was coming. And this time, there would be no second chances.
It didn't take long for her to gather her few belongings and say her goodbyes. Twill, Kiah, and Jay encouraged her to leave as soon as possible, reminding her what a long way Clarion was from Beacontown. She'd bid them good luck at the city gates, wrapping them each in a grateful hug and thanking the younger girls again for taking care of her. Petra would miss them, for sure, but now she knew that she'd be returning sometime in the future.
And she had more important matters to think of now.
Though she started out on foot, Petra managed to find a friendly wild horse, and tamed it with some wheat she had in her inventory. She wasn't the best bareback rider, but with a makeshift bridle fashioned out of a length of lead, she would manage.
Turning her temporary steed towards Beacontown, she set off, the light from the sinking sun illuminating red the path towards home.
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Ffffffff words
Last time we checked in with Olivia (also chapter six if you feel the need to reread), she and several other Husks went on a temple raid, and Olivia found a little notebook that turned out to be research on the imprisoned monsters, written by none other than Salem.
It literally took me three days to figure out how to start this and I'm still not happy with what I decided on hnnn
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Nether Banished
Appearance- semi-human floating maroon torso with magma constantly pouring from it, has extendable arms attached by lava streams, red and orange eyes
Attacks- fights with its arms mainly. Can use them like fiery projectiles, have reason to believe they can expand in size?
Fights like a boxer, leaves opponent with terrible burns
Danger level- HIGH. Equal intelligence with the more humanoid demons, though it appears more monstrous. Probably smarter than Wellwisher, but less than the Endergaunt. Strategic in its attacks, it shows no mercy and is a truly deadly enemy.
Olivia closed the little brown notebook again, having read the same entry over and over in the last day. She'd known instantly that this 'Nether Banished' was what had attacked her, as soon as she read the description. Her memory of the attack was still frustratingly blank, but this was too big of a coincidence.
According to Salem's notes, eight demons- real, actual demons- had been imprisoned in a magically-secured underground prison, long before she and the rest of the Old Builders had begun exploring the Portal Network. She did not seem to know how they had been imprisoned, but wrote of a human 'guardian' that lived near the prison and made sure people stayed away from it, on the one-in-a-million chance that one day there would be someone who knew how to open it. This guardian had apparently told her about all of the monsters, what they looked like, how they fought, etc, but the journal had not mentioned how Salem had discovered this, or how she convinced the guardian to tell her such secrets.
It all seemed very fishy.
What was more, not all of the journal seemed to be there. It was a very small book, ancient-looking yellow paper bound hurriedly and secured inside a leather casing by a small buckle. But the pages about the demons did not fill the entire book- Olivia suspected that there had once been a bit more to the journal that had been removed.
At Coral's urging, Olivia had confessed to Orinn about keeping the journal and explained what was in it. He hadn't been pleased that she'd kept something from the temple, but understood her motives and agreed that in this case, it was alright.
Orinn had already known who Salem was, judging by the wary expression he assumed when her name was first brought up. Olivia didn't know if the former Old Builder had been connected to the Husks in any way, but decided she didn't want to ask.
Now, Olivia had a goal. When she finally managed to find her friends, they would go to where the prison had been and hopefully find the current guardian, assuming they had survived the prison being opened. She guessed that they had- the newly-freed fiends had seemed much more interested in her and the rest of the Order than they would've been if there was another target.
The only problem left was that she couldn't leave for Beacontown yet, not until the Husks finished negotiations with the Withers. This other bandit tribe had a large stretch of territory between the Husks' base and her road to home, which couldn't be crossed until they reached an agreement.
According to Coral, the Withers were a very powerful tribe- not quite as substantial as the Husks, but still a force to be reckoned with. Had it been a smaller tribe, they could sneak through, but Orinn was not willing to risk angering this particular group.
Luckily for Olivia, negotiations had already been going on before she had arrived in the Khaol. Alliances between the bandit tribes had always been shaky ground, and these two still weren't yet sure they could trust each other. Supposedly, the meeting today should be one of the last ones.
"Are you still hiding in here? Seriously?"
Olivia startled slightly at the sound of Sapphire's voice. The younger girl was peering into their shared room, her long lavender hair falling in her face as she leaned in.
"I'm not hiding, but yeah. What else am I supposed to be doing?"
Sapphire came all the way into the room, propping one hand on her hip. "Listening in on the negotiations, duh! Technically, only a few of the most trusted members are supposed to hear the conferences, but like half the tribe ends up doing it anyway. Coral counts as one of his 'trusted' people, the lucky little snot."
"Does Orinn know that you guys listen in?" Olivia asked. She knew that the negotiations took place in the main Hall, which was not even remotely sound-proof, but doubted Orinn would allow 'like half the tribe' to be close enough to hear the proceedings.
Sapphire shrugged. "Yeah. He's pretty much fine with it. If he wanted us to stop, he'd tell us. Of course, if he catches someone blatantly eavesdropping, he'll scold them for a while and then send them away, but he's never done anything about us so long as we stay out of sight. Melody, Asia, and I were all listening together before I decided to come get you."
Setting the notebook aside, Olivia admitted, "I didn't really think bandit negotiations would be an entertaining thing."
"How many bandit negotiations have you been present for?" Sapphire challenged, adjusting her gold scarf. "Things are always entertaining when it comes to Orinn out-logic-ing leaders of other tribes. And there's only so much you can learn from rereading that little notebook again and again."
Olivia got to her feet with an only slightly resigned sigh. "Well, you're not wrong."
She was only a few steps behind Sapphire as the younger girl bounded enthusiastically up the stone passage, towards the surface. "It's nearly over, I think. Orinn and Evenda are both pretty straightforward people, so they didn't want to make this drag on too long."
Upon emerging from the tunnel, Olivia was surprised to see it was already evening. She'd spent most of the day underground, helping organize resources and weapons, and reading the little journal on her free time. She'd known the group of Withers had arrived late in the day, but hadn't realized how much time had passed.
Sapphire led her around the back of the Hall, purposely avoiding the front of the open-air building. The Hall was a large square structure, supported by thick sandstone pillars and decorated on the outside with red sandstone and patterns of glazed terracotta blocks. The interior was only one tall story, though the roof had several levels and extended farther than the main part of the building did, to supply as much shade as possible.
Leaning against one of the outermost pillars was a tall ladder, which Sapphire gracefully ascended. Olivia quickly followed her, stepping onto the sandstone slabs that made up the roof. The windows looking into the interior of the Hall were not made of glass; rather, they were simply gaps in the wall covered up by oak fences. Leaning against one of these and peering in was Melody and Asia, the brown-skinned, copper-haired girl who'd been so enthusiastic about the raid only the day before.
Sapphire gestured for her to come over to the window next to them. Crouching down so as to see in one of the lower gaps in the fence, Olivia gazed into the Hall.
Orinn was standing in the near-center of the room, in front of a woman who was presumably the leader of the Withers. She was slightly taller than him, also desert-sun tanned, and had messy, short, dark hair. Olivia couldn't see her expression from this angle, but she looked stern.
"What did you say her name was?" Olivia whispered to Sapphire.
"Evenda Piri. Only been leader of the Withers for a few weeks. The previous leader was a lot more dangerous and untrustworthy, which is why we're all relieved he was replaced. We're not yet sure what kinda leader Evenda's gonna be, but so far she seems alright." Sapphire replied.
From nearby, Asia murmured, "Rumour has it she's sweet on Orinn, though we all know he's still not over Caite."
"Caite?" Olivia echoed.
"Orinn's wife, Coral's mom. None of us ever got to meet her, but she was supposedly an amazing person. She was from a different world in the Network, but there was an accident here and our portal was destroyed, which stopped all travel between our two worlds. To rebuild it would require getting two prismarine brick blocks, and since we're so far from the ocean, that's not gonna happen any time soon." Melody informed her in an undertone.
"Not to mention getting a portal key. Supposedly, the original portal had been around for as long as there's been bandits in the Khaol, and no one's really sure where it came from." Asia added. Olivia nodded mutely, her eyes on the conversing group below. Behind Orinn, she could see Coral's gold ponytail, standing next to an unfamiliar brown-haired man and a young woman with long wavy purple-tinted black hair. She seemed to be the youngest in the group, and was the only one Olivia recognized.
The tall dark-haired woman had her own delegation of bandits as well. Just slightly behind Evenda was a small group of people, each of them wearing a distinct black vest with a silver Wither skull stitched on the left side. Their stances were not aggressive, in fact, many of them looked rather relaxed.
"Our main problem is with the Axefalls." Evenda was saying. Her voice was high-pitched but not shrill, and easily carried up to where Olivia was sitting. "You know they're just to the west of us, and they're ridiculously aggressive despite not being a large tribe. I agree that a path through our territory would be beneficial to both of us, but currently we are in more need of defense than trade."
"I don't understand how the Axefalls are giving you so much trouble." Said the woman with the purple-tinted hair. "In our past experiences with them, they may have been aggressive, but they've lacked the skill to cause any major damage."
"They want our territory. They have a rather small stretch of land, and they think we have more than our fair share. All their squabbles with you have been more out of spite than anything, but they have a legitimate reason to come after us. We would be willing to open negotiations with them as well, but they refuse to trust us. It's a conundrum."
"Their leader is still that Colin fellow, right?" Orinn asked, though Olivia suspected it was not a guess. "He's egotistical. He thinks he has the 'right' to do whatever he pleases, no matter how despicable it may be."
Evenda nodded bitterly. "Yes...he's as unmanageable as they come."
"He needs to be taken down a notch or two. If he goes down, so does the attitude of the Axefalls." Orinn said. He crossed his arms calmly, lifting his head towards her. "I will make you a proposition. If you officially grant us safe passage through your territory, I will personally organize an attack on the Axefalls. Blindside them, cripple their defenses, leave behind an array of injuries and damage, render them powerless for as long as possible. Show them that the Withers are not to be pushed around. Some of them may attempt to seek revenge, but what further harm could they do with both our forces combined against them?"
The leader of the Withers began to laugh, slowly and quietly. "You really are as devious as they say."
"That's a high compliment around here, Evenda." Orinn pointed out.
Evenda bobbed her head, making a few strands of her short dark hair fall in her face. She brushed them away from her eyes, saying, "Alright, then. I believe that is a fair trade. We set up a safe route for you to leave the Khaol, you assist us with a troublesome enemy."
She reached out, and Orinn shook her hand firmly.
Then Coral said, "Would it be possible for someone to travel through your territory even before the road was officially set up? We have someone here who has urgent business outside the desert, but we didn't want to trespass on your domain to take them there."
Evenda shrugged. "Sure. I can arrange an escort as early as tomorrow."
"Excellent. Thanks." Coral grinned.
One of the other Withers said something else, but Olivia had tuned out. She could go home tomorrow. Back to Beacontown, and straight into the mystery of the monsters. Tomorrow. She couldn't believe the fortuitous timing.
After a few more brief formalities, Evenda and her group left, heading out of the gate and leaving a cloud of kicked-up sand behind them as their horses took them back north. After they had gone, Orinn lifted his head towards the high ceiling.
"Alright, you lot. Don't think I'm unaware you're up there. Get down here, and attend to your nighttime duties."
He didn't seem cross. On the contrary, he sounded rather amused. Olivia went with Melody and Asia as they scrambled down the ladder, then waited for Sapphire at the bottom. While the other girls headed back to the tunnels, Olivia went into the Hall, seeking out Orinn and Coral.
"I figured you would be one of the ones up there. Melody and Sapphire never miss a chance to get inside information on what's going on." Orinn said.
"Yeah, Sapphire dragged me along." Olivia told him, then blurted out, "Could I really start back to Beacontown tomorrow?"
The blonde man nodded. "Indeed you can. I know you've been anxious to get home, especially now that you have a lead on what did this to you. I can even provide you with a horse, if you want, since it'll be a rather long journey."
Olivia exhaled a sigh of relief. "That would be great. I appreciate all you've done for me, but you're right, I need to get back."
"I'd be happy to take you to the edge of the Khaol, if I'm not needed for anything tomorrow." Coral added, with a glance up at her father. Orinn gave another brisk nod. "Sure. In the meantime, get some rest. You can prepare to leave first thing in the morning."
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Another section finished at 2AM, another lame ending
What a shocker
This next part is brought to you by my intense enjoyment of describing things and my memories of visiting Salisbury Cathedral
I don't think I need to do a recap of this one...? You'll see
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Crumbling stone-brick walls. Shattered stained glass, covering the floor in an unknowable pattern. Rain pounding the faded gravestones outside, the torrent made especially loud by the lack of covering on the windows.
Aiden found himself in a massive, ancient cathedral, a place long-forgotten by mankind and left to fall under the press of time. There didn't appear to be another living soul inside the building, save for the bats and maybe a few birds roosting high up in the ceiling.
The only noise was his own feet gently tapping on the cobbled floor and the great deluge of rain outside. His footsteps were slightly muted by the moss and small plants that had grown up between the stones of the floor, mixing structure with nature in a subtly beautiful way.
The cathedral was unlit by anything except the dim light from outside, stormclouds colouring the sky grey. Shadows wreathed the high ceiling, hiding whatever may be lurking all the way up there.
Despite the broken-down state, the dimness, and the rain, the whole scene somehow felt peaceful instead of ominous. Aiden wasn't sure why this was. Ordinarily, encountering something like this would, at the very least, give him an uneasy prickle at the back of his neck, but he felt remarkably calm.
Then it dawned on him.
This was a dream.
With that realization came a strange feeling, an impression that he was no longer alone. But again, it was a comforting sense, not a threatening one.
Straining his ears, Aiden realized he could hear the faint echo of singing, a far-off tune that sounded like someone playing a stringed instrument of some sort. Stepping carefully so as not to make any noise, he started towards it.
The ruined cathedral was huge. A massively long corridor made up the most of it, with smaller, but still gigantic, wings leading off to the sides. The place was brimming with secrets, every nook and corner a story aching to be told.
It took a long time for him to even determine which direction the sound was coming from, distorted by the rain and the echoes of the structure. Eventually, he discovered a small, significantly overgrown wing, slightly better-lit than most of the building. One of the panes was still fully intact, and in the window seat below it sat a young woman playing a mandolin.
Oak-brown hair shadowed her face, hiding her eyes as she sang melancholy words of shadows and emptiness, fire and blame and wild youth. The pattering sound of the rain stole some of the words, but the feeling of the song persisted.
Aiden couldn't place the girl. She was slender and compact, with small, slightly pointed ears. Her brunette locks were dyed blue from her shoulders down, and a multicoloured skirt pooled on the seat beside her.
She seemed perfectly at home here, in the shadows and the stones and the shower of rain outside. Lifting her head to look out the window again, the girl caught sight of Aiden standing nearby, and the song faded away on her lips.
"Well there you are. Certainly took you long enough to find me." She observed, standing up on bare feet and setting the instrument down where she had been sitting.
"Where am I? What kind of dream is this?" he asked. He didn't want to ask 'who are you', because he had a feeling he knew this girl, despite nothing immediately coming to mind.
The girl replied with a small smile that bordered on patronizing. "You don't remember who I am, do you?"
Aiden started to shake his head, then paused. "You're one of the Authors." He realized. "Um...Rhea...Rochelle...Rush! You're Rush! The one with the, um ..." He'd been successful in recalling her name, but didn't know her power.
"The one with the ability to control dreams." She answered, looking pleased he recognized her.
"Aaahh. That explains it." He looked around the cathedral again. It certainly didn't feel like a dream, with all the details and consistency and gentle noise. "You must have one hell of an imagination." He commented.
Rush let out a small 'ha!' of laughter. "You have no idea."
"So what can I do for you? What made you decide to grace my dreams with your presence?" He asked, bordering on sarcasm. She looked up at him, tipping her head slightly. A look of intense severity took over her expression.
"I needed to get a message to you. Something bad happened. Really bad. And it's gonna get worse."
Aiden stiffened. "The monsters that attacked Lukas...how do you know about those?"
Rush did a double take. "Yes, the mons- wait, WHAT? You know where Lukas is?!"
"Yeah, he's in Terracity, with us. He and the rest of the Order were attacked by something awful." Aiden explained. Rush just stared at him for a few moments, then turned away and muttered, "I'll bet she knew the whole time, the little rat. Rrrrr."
Glancing back over at him, Rush said, "You guys need to go back to Beacontown. The rest of the Authors and Jesse will be there tomorrow. I can't believe what a coincidence it is that Lukas is with you was well, I thought she just meant we would need your help."
"She?" Aiden echoed. Rush gave a small, knowing smile. "A semi-helpful ghost."
"So, why couldn't you have just dream-visited Lukas?" Aiden asked curiously. With a small sigh, Rush explained, "My power is mainly location-based, and until now, I didn't know where he was. Same goes for the rest of the Order members, though Jesse believes they'll all find their way back to Beacontown on their own."
"Wait. You didn't say how you managed to encounter Jesse." He pointed out.
"Same way I'm assuming you found Lukas. One of the monsters teleported her to our world."
"But..." Aiden hesitated, scowling thoughtfully. "Did she still remember what happened to them?"
Rush gave him a curious look. "Yes. Why?"
"Lukas didn't. He had no idea how he'd gotten so badly hurt that night. It's fixed now, but I don't see how..."
Rush pressed her thumb against her chin, looking thoughtful. "That's...strange. I hope..."
Neither of them was sure how to react to this irregularity. The shadows along the walls seemed to grow longer, darker as though they were reaching out towards the dreamers.
"What's going to happen, when we all get back to Beacontown? We're gonna have to take down these monsters, aren't we?" Aiden asked softly. Rush lifted her head again.
"Pretty much. There's still some missing pieces, things we don't know. Once everyone reconvenes, we'll be able to figure out what we do know and how to deal with what we don't. This will be different than the crevice quest. We'll be more prepared, we'll know what we're walking into."
Aiden smiled, somewhat sadistically. "I didn't know you were such a good liar. I don't think it's ever possible to really know what we'll be getting into. There's always variables, and what we don't know can kill us."
Rush leveled a stern, unamused look at him. "Sure, but it sounds better when you don't flat-out say you think we're all gonna die again."
"I didn't say that."
"You were thinking it."
"No, I...how did you know?" he asked warily. She tossed her head haughtily, blue-brown hair settling around her shoulders. "My Dreamworld, my rules."
This earned her an even more suspicious look from the older boy. "It's not hard to guess, okay? Yeah, it's gonna be dangerous. That's exactly why I came to talk to you; we're gonna need all the help we can get." She said.
"Okay, I know. I'll tell the other Blazerods, and Lukas. We'll leave for Beacontown as soon as we can." Aiden told her.
"Good. I'll see you then." With that, the cathedral began to blur and smudge and melt away, sending Aiden back into his own realm of harmless dreams.
Rush returned to her window seat, gazing out at the rain and strumming mindless chords on her mandolin. She was glad it had been so easy to talk to him. She'd never tried to contact anyone that far away, other than the Authors, and dream-visiting them was different, since they also had the ability to influence the Dreamworld.
Closing her eyes, she let the sound of the rain fill her ears, chasing away her other thoughts. The steady noise and cold chill of her skin against the windowpane felt so real, despite that she already well knew it was just her imagination.
She knew she had to wake up soon, that there were things that needed to be done, but still she sat, holding onto the peace of a good dream.
It was, she was well aware, probably the last bit of solitude she would get for a while.
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Have we mentioned that I hate ending things because I do
Last we saw of Axel, he and most of the Woodland Mansion girls were setting out to find Oldtown, a super-creepy ruined village that's supposedly haunted. Lisa and Serena were both VERY against the whole idea, refusing to come along and insisting it was too dangerous, especially at dusk.
I don't know how to recap things forgive me
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The setting sun lit up the thick leaves of the dark oak forest with an eerie glow, sending macabre shadows dancing across the grassy ground as the group walked. Kenzie and Ivory were leading the way, since they were the only two who had been there before.
They'd headed off confidently, appearing to know exactly where to go. The various thick trees of the forest were difficult to navigate through, especially with the ever-waning light.
"There used to be a path to Oldtown, but it's all overgrown and hidden now." Ivory said, glancing back to look at Axel. "Since no one comes here anymore, there wasn't much point to it."
"It's technically not forbidden to go there, but it's discouraged. To completely forbid it would be to have to come up with a better reason than just 'it's dangerous'." Kat added.
"What are you guys gonna do if there actually is a ghost?" Axel asked. Ivory and Kenzie exchanged a look, then Kenzie said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"If we come to it." Ivory corrected. "There's not a ghost. There's literally nothing there except ruins and maybe a few animals."
Ducking under a low branch, Axel tried to guess how much the dark-haired girl believed her own words. If she really thought there was nothing there, he doubted she would've been so eager to go.
They were fairly deep in the forest, quite a ways from the Mansion and even farther from where the girls said the new Saffridge was. It was not night yet, but would be soon.
"Here we are!" Kenzie announced in an excited tone. Looking between a pair of oak trees, Axel laid eyes on the creepiest town he'd ever seen in his life.
The village was small, encircling a large clearing in the forest. Ruins of buildings were tucked amongst the trees, made of cobblestone and wood planks and covered by vines. Each of the structures were elegant and compact, or at least they seemed like they had been when they were fully intact. A large well stood in the center of the town, the cracked stone bricks it was formed of looking like they could fall apart at any second.
Tall grass and shrubbery and dark oak saplings and wildflowers had overtaken the ground, mixing with broken-down fences and shattered glass that had once been windows.
The entire place looked very empty, but it didn't feel empty. It felt exactly like the kind of place you would find a ghost.
"Holy shit. It's just as freaky as I hoped." Kat observed. She bounded across the overgrown town square, her feet making swish-swish sounds through the tall grass. She approached one of the partially-collapsed buildings, examining the vines hanging from it.
Ivory trailed after her, asking, "How long ago was this supposed to've happened?"
"I don't know. Doesn't seem long enough for the place to look like this." Kat replied.
She had a point. The ruin seemed more like the effect of a hundred or more years, not a handful of decades. Axel took a closer look at another building, trying to find hints of something that could've destroyed this place, other than time. But all the corrosion seemed natural.
Kenzie had managed to clamber up on top of a more well-preserved building, looking out at the forest. "The sun's about to go down. Are we staying, or being safe?"
"We probably shouldn't stay too long, just because monsters." Ivory pointed out.
"Then again, it'd be fun to hide out all night and give Lisa a heart attack when we finally come back." Kat said slyly.
Kenzie pointed at her, trying to hide a grin. "Mean. You are terrible and there's no way we're doing that."
Watching the three younger girls explore the wreckage of the town, Axel suddenly realized Iris was still standing by the edge of the forest. She hadn't moved since they'd first seen the town, hadn't said a word.
"Iris? Are you alright?" he asked.
She was silent for a few moments, face hidden by the shadow of her lavender hood. "There's something here." She murmured.
A chill raced down Axel's spine like an icy claw. "...What?" he asked, hoping he hadn't heard her correctly.
"We need to go. There's something here." She repeated, this time loud enough for the other girls to hear.
Kenzie took a handful of vines and swung herself down from her perch. "What kind of something?"
"I don't know. We need to get out of here." Iris said quietly. "I've got a really bad feeling about this place."
"Oh, come on. Don't be a wet blanket." Ivory admonished. The older girl shook her head. "I'm serious. I think there's something hiding here."
The last beams of sunlight were fading into the dusk, accentuating the dark corners of the dilapidated buildings. Axel was suddenly hit by a sick feeling of being watched, a foreboding intuition that they shouldn't be there.
"Shit. I think she's right. We shouldn't hang around." He muttered. Kat gave him a worried look. "Really?"
"Yeah. I don't...I'm not sure what's going on, but I think we should go back to the Mansion before anything happens."
Ivory sighed. "Fine, you're probably right." She headed towards the gap in the trees where Iris and Axel were standing, but as she passed the well, she suddenly leaped away from it and shrieked.
"What! Ivory, what happened?!" Kenzie exclaimed, running over to her. In her haste to get away from whatever she had seen in the well, Ivory had tripped over her own feet and sent herself sprawling. She allowed the other girl to help her up, babbling, "Th-there's something there, I saw, I saw...it was looking at me, I dunno what it was but there...it's...we need to go."
Kat approached the square well, peering curiously into the depths. "I don't see anything..."
"I'm telling you, there's something in there! I glanced at it as I was going by, and there was something RIGHT THERE! Looking at me!"
"Kat, I don't think you should..." Kenzie started, looking uncertain. Axel walked over to the water source as well, standing next to Kat. They were shortly joined by a somewhat hesitant Kenzie.
The well was only half full, and the water below was dark as liquid obsidian. He didn't see any movement, but Axel couldn't help but think that anything could be hiding down there.
Kat reached down and grabbed a pebble from the ground. Ivory saw her, and called, "Kat, NO. Please, let's just go!"
Ignoring her, the blonde girl dropped the stone into the well, where it landed with a quiet splash.
In the space of a heartbeat, pure silence reigned the village.
Then the well exploded.
Something large, dark, and ragged came shrieking out of the darkness below, sending the two girls and Axel stumbling away with gasps of fright.
"I TOLD YOU THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THERE, KAT!" Ivory bellowed. "I KNEW IT!"
"What the hell IS that?" Kenzie exclaimed.
"How the everloving fuck am I supposed to know?!" Kat shouted back. The whatever-it-was had launched itself high into the air, far above the ruined town. It seemed vaguely humanoid- at the very least, it seemed to have a human head and torso.
It hovered lower, seeming like it was watching them. Its skin had a distinctive greenish tint, and it wore a long, ragged dress that may have once been white. Its hair was a strange greyed shade of dull purple, and it was nearly as long as the hem of the creature's dress.
Based on the way the skirt and the ends of the sleeves hung loosely, it also appeared to have no hands or legs.
"It's real..." Iris whispered. "The Oldtown ghost is real."
The 'ghost' hovered above the ruins of the well for a few moments more, than tipped its head back to look at the sky and let out an ear-shattering scream. Axel clamped his hands over his ears, but it did little good. The sound wormed its way into his brain, making him feel like his entire skull was vibrating with the shrill cry.
Then the creature swooped towards them, aiming for Kat. The blonde girl yelped and dove out of the way, drawing her pair of enchanted iron swords. It went barreling past her, but then quickly righted itself, diving for her again.
"I TOLD YOU, YOU SHOULDN'T'VE THROWN THE STONE!" Ivory screeched at Kat. The younger girl snarled at her. "YEAH, I GOT THAT!"
"What do we do?!" Kenzie exclaimed, blue eyes wide and panicked. "How are we supposed to fight a ghost?!"
Axel retrieved his enchanted gold axe from his inventory. He usually relied on explosives and his own body as weapons, but was always sure to carry something else for emergencies. "That's not like any ghost I've ever heard of. We need to get out of here. Kenzie, Ivory, you two need to run. It looks like it's after Kat since she's the one who disturbed it."
Iris had also grabbed her weapon, an enchanted bow. "I can try to distract it."
The ghost dove down again, making its piercing scream, and Ivory and Kenzie bolted for safety into the trees. Iris loosed an arrow at it, but it dodged easily and swerved towards her.
Axel intercepted it as it flew for the blue-haired girl. He threw the axe, imbedding it in the fiend's side. The wail somehow magnified, making the nearby trees shake from the intensity of the sound.
Huh. So it's not a ghost. Axel managed to realize. The creature wasn't bleeding, but it seemed hampered by the axe wound as it hovered in midair, turning its face between Iris and Kat as though trying to decide who to go for first.
Iris looked torn. Her stance clearly showed how badly she wanted to run, but she knew that escaping would only leave Kat and Axel at the mercy of the monster.
The creature attacked before she had a chance to decide. It swooped for Kat again, who slashed at it violently with her dual swords. They hardly seemed to affect it, and it circled around her tauntingly as she tried in vain to harm it.
It rose up again, but paused for no more than a moment before barreling towards the blonde girl. She shouted in fear and started to run, but it was right behind her. Axel glanced around for anything he could use for a weapon, but there was nothing to be found in the ruins.
"KAT, GET DOWN!" Iris hollered. Not hesitating a second, Kat threw herself to the ground, falling into a roll. Iris immediately shot an arrow at the creature, hitting it right in the throat.
Again, there was no blood, but the fiend shrieked in pain. It lunged for Iris, crashing into her and knocking her to the ground, still wailing. She cried out, crossing her arms in front of her face to shield herself.
Hovering above her, the creature extended one of its arms. Like Axel had suspected, the arm ended in nothing more than a stump, which it pressed to her exposed forearm. The girl screamed again, rolling away from the contact.
Kat had gotten back to her feet, and as the creature tried to go after Iris again, she swung one of her swords at it, connecting with its torso. The creature looked up at the sky and shrieked its loudest, the screech vibrating through the forest and making every hair stand on end.
Axel grabbed the youngest girl's arm. "Come on, run! If we go while it's distracted, it might not follow."
The three of them bolted through the forest, not looking back once. The creature's scream eventually ended, though no sounds of pursuit followed.
They ran until the Woodland Mansion was back in sight, every torch flaring, front doors wide open. The other four girls were all standing on the landing outside.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Lisa shouted as soon as she saw them. "I knew you shouldn't have gone!"
"I told you, Lisa! The Oldtown ghost, it's real!" Kenzie exclaimed. Axel shook his head. "That's no ghost. That's some kind of fuckin' demon. I don't know where the hell it came from, but that is definitely not a ghost."
"Are you guys alright?" Serena asked worriedly. "Oh Notch, when we heard the screaming..."
"We thought you were all dead." Lisa snapped.
Kat shook her head, still panting from their sprint for their lives. "Not dead. Tried our best, but we survived." She tugged her hat off and ran a hand through her hair.
"Whether or not that thing is the Oldtown ghost, I think it's safe to say we need to stay as far away from there as possible." Ivory said.
"Understatement of the year." Kenzie snapped. Then she looked at Iris, who, again, hadn't said anything. "What happened to you guys after we escaped? Are you all okay?"
"Yeah. It kept coming after me, Axel put an axe in its side, I think it almost killed Iris at some point-" Kat said, but Serena interrupted.
"Almost killed Iris?"
Iris shifted her weight uncomfortably, looking tense. Axel suddenly realized she was the only one who hadn't given verbal confirmation that she was unharmed. "Well, yeah. I managed to get an arrow in its throat, and it came after me. It knocked me down, and, well..." She paused for a second, messing with the sleeve of her hoodie.
"I lifted my arms to defend myself, and my sleeve slipped down. And it...it...it barely managed to touch me, but..."
"But what? What happened?" Kat demanded. In response, Iris rolled up her right sleeve, revealing a large black mark on the inside of her forearm.
Several of the girls gasped, and Serena drew away. "Iris..."
"I don't know what it did to me." She murmured anxiously.
Kenzie let out a deep breath. "Well." she remarked. "That certainly looks like a problem if I've ever seen one."
-----------------
Yes yes I know I'm terrible.
The Clarion crew will show up again later on, but unfortunately the Husks' reappearance will not be for a bit longer. Honestly they may not come in again until War of Wither's End but I'm not quite sure yet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next chapter, we're finally going to be seeing the rest of the Authors again! Aaaaah I'm really looking forward to being able to write them all, especially now that they have crazy powers wheeeee
(I'm sleepdrunk just ignore me)
In other news, this story is now longer than the entirety of Shattered Souls
Yes
The eight chapters of this are now longer than the twenty-seven chapters of Shattered Souls.
(though technically I suppose it's thirteen chapters bc of the prologue and the split first chapter, but sTILL)
Word count: 7,429 (oh dear god please kill me)