|
"Restless Nights" Lorelai walked into her room at the inn. It was probably going to be her last night in Muse, and it wasn’t likely she would be able to come back. Rumors were already spreading about a lockdown on muse, and the Jowston-Highland tensions were at an all time high. War was near; she could feel it in her soul. She looked out the window at the city. It was so busy even this late at night. She shut the window and climbed into bed hoping she could have a decent night’s rest. Closing her eyes, she thought, just once, please just once. But just like always, the dream returned. She was in the flaming village surrounded by chaos and bloodshed. The four monsters were laughing it up as usual, but this time it would be different. Grabbing a piece of scrap wood, she charged at the foursome, swinging. Taking a huge swing at one, she broke the piece of wood over the head of the first man. Then she looked up in horror. A bright yellow cape, a green jerkin, and that face made of stone. It was Humphrey! She spun but she was already surrounded. Another man, dressed in blue, pointed at her with his right hand. Thunder raced through the air, and she barely dodged the lightning strike. If that was Flik, then the other two must be… The next thing she felt was a hard shot to the head. Falling to her knees she looked up to see Young Master McDohl, with Viktor right behind him. This was wrong, so very wrong! She leapt up and ran past the duo. Running as fast as she could, she had no time to notice the debris littering the street. She tripped and fell face first, momentarily stunning her. She heard some soft footsteps nearby and a familiar voice. “Turn around.” She spun around knowing why the voice was familiar. She looked up to see her own reflection, brandishing a crossbow. A smile played across the mock Lorelai’s lips as she spoke. “Death to the Empire!” The arrow flew straight and true, and buried itself into her chest. The pain was immediate, followed by the flow of blood. Looking down at the arrow in her heart and hearing her own voice laughing at her misery, Lorelai could not resist the urge to scream. She awoke with a scream piercing the air; slightly embarrassed to see it was her own. She slipped out of the bed and into her robe. She knew she had woke up the entire inn, she was startled that she could produce such a blood curdling shriek. She made her way out of the room, and crossed the hall towards Yori’s room. She knocked on the door, only to have it swing open. There was no sign of Yori; he must have left already. Good, she thought. He was safer that way. As she left to return to her own room she saw Zareth in the hall. “Nightmares?” She wasn’t sure but she could have sworn that she saw a smile on Zareth’s face as he spoke. “Nonsense. The silly twit in the room next to mine screamed for some ungodly reason. Maybe you should ask her what’s the matter. I’m going back to sleep.” She entered the room and shut the door before he could say a word. Then looking at the bed she realized her sleeping was done for the night. Zareth walked back to his room. Maybe monsters do have a conscience. He shrugged the thought off and entered his room, which was pitch black. The darkness called out to him, just like it always had since he had gotten the rune. “You will take her to the place as arranged?” “Of course. I get to kill her then, right?” Zareth could not get used to these conversations with nothing. “Shortly afterwards. Expect company.” “Bad or good?” “Bad for her, good for us.” With that statement the darkness lifted and he returned to his bed. Earlier that night outside the tavern… Yori found the boy, trying to pick up another girl. Was that all he thought about? He walked toward the pair and realized the girl was slightly annoyed. He wouldn’t be interrupting anything. “Excuse me, are you Sheena?” Sheena spun around and recognized Yori from earlier that night. “Yeah what do you want?” The girl took this opportunity to leave, as quickly as she could. Sheena noticed this and glared back at Yori. “It better be important.” “I need you to help me follow Lorelai and Zareth. I don’t trust him.” Sheena’s eyes opened wide. “You mean the Dark Knight you two were sitting with?!?!” He began to laugh loudly. Noticing the fact that Yori was giving him the evil eye, he calmed down quickly. “But seriously, I have to head for Matilda shortly.” Yori spoke up. “I can pay you!” Normally Sheena wouldn’t work for pay; he wasn’t a mercenary after all. But his last allowance trip to Gregminster had been cut short by some large explosion, and he wasn’t sure his father would be in a giving mood. “How much?” Yori fished around in his pockets and pulled out a handful of potch. “107 potch?” He could tell by the frown on Sheena’s face that it wasn’t enough. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He ran up the stairs to his room and grabbed his sack of belongings. If he hurried he could make it to the shop before they closed. He raced across town as fast as he could, barely reaching the store in time. He dumped the contents of the bag on the counter. “How much can I get for this?” “Geez, kid it’s almost closing time.” He saw the look of urgency on Yori’s face. “Ah well, let’s see.” The storeowner analyzed the items on his counter. It was mostly useless junk, but he could see the need on Yori’s face. “1500 potch for it all.” “Including the clothes!?!?” Yori kicked himself mentally he knew he forgot to pull some thing out of the sack. The clerk nodded. Yori agreed and took the potch, and then ran back to the tavern to find Sheena still waiting. “How much you got now?” Sheena was beginning to worry; the kid couldn’t have much. “1500.” That was good enough for Sheena. It should last me about a week he thought as he nodded his head in agreement. Yori gave Sheena the money with a frown on his face. He had made it on 100 potch before; he could do it again. About this time they heard a scream that echoed out into the street. They ran into the inn, but the innkeeper informed them that some one had simply had a nightmare. Yori breathed a sigh of relief. Him and Sheena parted ways toward there separate rooms. He noticed his door was opened but knew nothing could be missing. After all, he had just practically sold his entire life. Far away, in North Window, Neclord surveyed the damage done by his recent assailants. Sierra and that red headed monstrosity had ripped through his best group of his zombies, and that accursed brat McDohl had made a mockery of the survivors. If the three returned at the same time, or worse yet brought others, it could prove to be bothersome. He was simply going to have to find better help. “Ask and ye shall receive, Dark one.” Neclord was not startled by the voice, but he was intrigued. If he could only determine where the voice came from. “And how may that come about, oh mysterious voice?” A shadow slid across the floor into the center of the room and slowly transformed into a three-dimensional form. “Follow my directions carefully, and we will make your zombies the most fearsome force in the world. All we need is for you to use your rune for something.” “For what, may I ask?” “We need your rune’s assistance in controlling the energies we will be using. All you need to do is prepare a proper storage container.” Neclord smiled. This was absolutely perfect. “And then what?” “You will find two travelers going west from muse tomorrow. Follow them and it should all be clear.” The shade disappeared at the end of this statement. Neclord quickly set into motion creating the strongest magical container he could. If this worked, he would have nothing to fear from Sierra or her mortal allies.
| ||||
