Katelyn, Aphmau and I follow Garroth to a place Garroth and I know well, it's a less guarded area of O'Khasis. We arrive at a house that look abandoned, cause it is.
"Garroth, are you sure about this?" Aphmau asks. "Don't you know if there's another way out of O'Khasis."
"Unless you want to ask some of the Tu'La guards if we can use the front gate, there really isn't another option. We'll have to stay here until nightfall." Garroth explains.
"If there really isn't another way, wait- How do you know that this house is safe?" Aphmau questions. "What if someone is living there?"
"Don't worry, we should be fine. No one should be there. It's always been abandoned." Garroth says.
In the background we can hear glass break.
"Well I hope you're right. Cause if anybody lives here they are not going to be very happy with us now." Katelyn says.
"Katelyn! We have to be quiet. What if someone hears us?!"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm breaking it as quietly as I can." Katelyn says in reply to Aphmau.
Aphmau scoffs.
"It looks a lot like vandalism." Garroth says.
"You could call it that too." Katelyn replies.
"There was a key to get us in, you know. You didn't HAVE to break the window." Garroth retorts.
"Well, it's a little late for that now." Katelyn says.
"You think, Katelyn?" I question.
Aphmau and I snicker.
"You should have said something before I made a new door for this house." Katelyn says. "Come on. What are we waiting for?"
"Well, shall we?" Aphmau asks.
"Yeah." Garroth replies.
"Let's use Katelyn's new 'door'." I laugh.
We walk along the edge of the roof and make it to the window, we climb into the house and spread out, having a look around.
"See, sometimes punching things CAN be the answer." Katelyn says.
"You've uh... Got some glass in your hand there, Katelyn."
"PFFT! Details."
"I can try to heal it if you'd like?" Aphmau suggests.
"It's just a scratch, I'd rather you save your power for something not as trivial." Katelyn replies. "Hm... I thought this place would be fancier. You know, since it's owned by your family and everything."
"I never said this house was owned by my family." Garroth says. "In any case, it's not... Vylad and I would use this house whenever we needed to get away from everything. All the rules and responsibilities. We used this house to escape it all..."
"I remember the first time I came here... It was also the last time I was in O'Khasis with you... Before I joined the Jury." I mutter the last part.
"And you're sure we'll be safe here? Does anybody else know about this place?"
"Everyone that knows about this place is either here... or gone..." Garroth says.
"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Aphmau asks.
"Heh. Yeah. Sorry. This place brings back memories. Just got caught up in them." Garroth says.
"This place may not look it, but it's safe. Trust me. We're in a secluded part of town, we'll be able to hear and sentries patrolling around here, and as long as we don't cause any commotion..." I explain.
"Haha... Katelyn!" Aphmau says.
"What? I'm not sorry for anything." Katelyn replies. "Look, it's been a long night and I'm tired."
"There are beds upstairs. Feel free to use one of those if you like." Garroth says.
"Don't have to tell me twice." Katelyn says.
"I haven't sleep since Garroth came back so, I'm also gonna go sleep." I say trying to avoid the name Aaron.
Katelyn and I both head upstairs and find a bed each to sleep on.
~~~~~~//~~~~~~
To Anna's left is where Aphmau slept and to her left is where Katelyn slept, on the other side of Aphmau's bed lays Garroth, who is the only one still asleep. Aphmau and Katelyn are downstairs.
Sweat drips down my face as I burst awake from my sleep. My breath is heavy and my heart is pounding. I haven't had a nightmare in... over 20 years... Why am I having one now?
"Aaron..." I mutter, sitting up from my bed.
Moments later, Garroth reenacts the same scene I just performed, as if he also had a nightmare.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"Yea... I just..."
"Had a nightmare?" I ask.
"Yeah..." Garroth replies.
"About what?"
"The moments after I returned from the Irene dimension... When Aaron killed Zane..."
"Uh-" I loose my breath for a moment.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Garroth says."
"No, it's fine... Do you know why you had that dream? Because... I had the same dream..."
"How could you have that dream? You weren't even there..."
"Actually... I was... I was at the portal, looking for Aaron and... I saw the whole event. Only... My dream was from your perspective... Once Zane died... Something resembling what Hyria once described to me..." I stammer.
"Yeah... Same... Do you think this dream has any meaning?" Garroth asks.
"Yes. I know it does."
"What was that thing?"
"I have an idea but I don't want to lead you astray so... I'm not going to say unless I know for sure." I reply. "You should talk to Aphmau about this... I'll be down in a little while."
"Alright." Garroth says, he wipes away the sweat and heads downstairs.
"I... Uhh... I don't feel so well right now... Everyone's probably hungry... I'm not sure if there would even be any food in this place... It's been abandoned for 20 years..." I mutter to myself. I should probably head back downstairs. I get up off my bed and walk towards the stairs, but fall, after gaining a dizzy spell. "Gah!"
After a few minutes, I regain my composure and stand up, feeling a little nauseous. As I walk closer to the stair I can hear Garroth talking. I walk downstairs to be able to hear what he is saying better. I openly walk out into the 'kitchen / dinning' area so they don't catch me potentially eaves dropping with out them knowing.
"In any case, what's our next course of action?" Garroth asks.
They're talking strategy... At least this isn't a personal conversation, so it doesn't matter if I listen in or not.
"Well, I think we should stake out at Zane's house." Aphmau says.
"...Go to Zane's house again? But... I thought you said there was no more information for us back there." Garroth replies.
"There isn't, but were not looking at any of Zane's notes. At least, not the ones back at his house. I think we should follow the researchers. Remember what those guards were talking about anything the researchers find they report to whomever is in charge here. Maybe we can get some information from there." Aphmau suggest.
"It sounds risky, but you're right. I don't think we have much choice. It's our only lead at the moment." Katelyn says.
"Those researchers found something... They know about this new relic that Ivy has. Maybe we can learn more about it or at least try to take an advantage over Ivy, should we run into her again." Aphmau explains.
"I still can't believe she has a relic with her! Where in the name of Irene did she get one?!" Katelyn questions. "And how did she even know about them!? Raagh!"
"Is something the matter with Katelyn?" Garroth asks.
"She's hungry." Aphmau replies.
"I just want some darn breakfast!" Katelyn says.
Wow... For once I agree with Ivy... Katelyn has become soft.
"I see..." Garroth mutters.
"Katelyn, I have this apple-"
"THAT'S YOUR APPLE!" Katelyn replies to Aphmau.
"Don't say I didn't offer you anything, then." Aphmau smirks. "But, if you get anymore angry, I'll have to force you to eat this."
"I'd like to see you try, shorty." Katelyn says.
"Hey! Don't under-estimate me." Aphmau says, laughing at her pun.
I join in on the laughing while the other two shake their heads disapproving of her jokes.
"I love puns~" I smile.
"What?" Aphmau questions. "In any case, let's rest until nightfall. Honestly, going out during daylight is asking for trouble."
~~~~~~//~~~~~~
We run through the town, avoiding the guards and using the darkness and alleys to our advantage. We decide to hide under a bridge to catch our breath.
"Okay, well, everything seems normal and it's pretty quiet. Nobody seems to notice that we're here. Now seems like a good time as any to get started so from here-"
"Aphmau?" Garroth questions. "I wanted to ask..."
"Yes?" Aphmau replies.
"For getting my mother out of jail... How should we go about it? Do any of you have any thoughts? I was thinking that I'd scope out the jail for any-"
"Hold on, Garroth." Aphmau says.
"Hm?"
"Katelyn and I were talking earlier and you're going to come with me. Right, Katelyn?" Aphmau says.
"You're the wildcard here Garroth, so we're not going to take any chances." Katelyn says.
"What?"
"You want to talk Miss I'm Hungry." Aphmau says.
"Quiet you." Katelyn replies.
"What Katelyn is trying to say is that this is too personal for you. It's too close to home. Literally." Aphmau laughs at the end. "I know you care about your mother and you want to help but that's not the only reason we're here, you ran off on us once already and honestly we can't afford to take any chances."
"You bring up a good point... I suppose I've done myself no favors... But, what about Anna?" Garroth says.
"Anna is going with, Katelyn. Even though she ran off on us with you, Anna knows the difference between stupid and reckless..." Aphmau says.
"I've had my fair share of experiences with both... And this is both stupid and reckless." I mutter.
"I understand. What do you need me to do?" Garroth asks.
"You'll be coming with me to Zane's house so we can get more information on the relics. See who they're reporting to. Katelyn."
"Anna and I will see if there's a way to get Lady Ro'Meave out of jail." Katelyn explains.
"Please do." Garroth says. "The sooner we can do that, the better."
"But remember, we don't want to cause a ruckus, at all." Aphmau says.
"I take it that means no-" Katelyn starts.
"No breaking windows and no punching things." Aphmau cuts her off.
"Ugh... I'll TRY." Katelyn says, struggling to get through the sentence.
Aphmau laughs. "I'm counting on you, Katelyn. Now, let's try to meet back here in a couple of hours."
"Okay, see you in a few." I say as we part ways. Katelyn and I going up the stairs on our left, leaving Garroth and Aphmau under the bridge.
~~~~~~//~~~~~~
"You're the worst suto-thief I've ever met! Even Amber is better than you!!" I yell, as Katelyn and I run away from the Tu'La guards who are chasing us. "I swear to Irene if you get us caught..."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Katelyn yells.
I face palm as we run into an alley.
"Well! Funny running into you here!" Katelyn says, looking at Aphmau and Garroth.
"What happened?!" Garroth questions.
"We may-"
"We?" I cut Katelyn off, slightly furious.
"I may have... Underestimated some factors during my investigation." Katelyn replies.
"Tsk."
"It sounds like you messed up!" Garroth says.
"Now isn't the time for this, guys." Aphmau says. "Anna, Garroth, I'm sorry, but we have to leave."
"What?! But we can't, my mo-" Garroth starts.
"It's not safe for us, anymore. We have to go." Aphmau says. "We'll come back for her later."
"I understand." I say, slightly disappointed.
"I think they might have gone this way, bro!" A deep voice announces from nearby.
"Garroth, I'm so sorry but if we don't go now, we might never have a chance to get her out again." Aphmau says. "We have to go... Please! You can trust me."
"I-" Garroth sighs. "Right. Let's go."
"C'mon." Aphmau says, leading us to the not so secret anymore, secret entrance to O'Khasis.
~~~~~~//~~~~~~
End ~ Thanks for Reading!