by J E Mueller
“Free us.” Ah, yes, good motivating speech.
“Instead of just flat out saying no, how about you all explain why I should. Clearly you are here for a heck of a lot of reasons. Probably all terrible. So why should I listen to the evil green light?”
At first it didn’t say anything. Likely talking amongst itself, but the wait was fine as I started to really search the room around me. Nothing was sticking out after several minutes though.
“Shouldn’t you have thought up a good story by now?” I called it out on it’s lack of reply.
“You wouldn’t understand,” a voice called unexpectedly.
“Your land hasn’t known magic in centuries,” another voice called.
Oh, now that was interesting. “Well, I understand magic enough now. So go for it. Let’s hear it, or I’m leaving. There should be no prep necessary for the truth.” Not wholly correct there, but these things really did know I was coming.
“We come from Ammenersy. A world far from here,” a voice started.
“We grew too strong for the world, our magic ripped it apart,” Another quickly followed. “We began looking for new homes. Many were too weak. We finally found a universe that could hold us.”
“Shaudrey…” a chorus of voices called.
“They didn’t like us there.”
“If not for us, many would have nothing. We built lives, helped cultures… they didn’t want us though. But we brought so much more magic to the land!”
“We helped the humans gain power over their choices.”
“Fair trades. More magic for more power.”
“Giving some magic helped us live, and their choices -good or bad- kept us fed. We needed their energies.”
“We didn’t control them. They made their own choices, and we were punished for giving them the strength to reach their goals.”
“Punished for nothing. We wanted to help.”
“We gave them strength. We gave them hope. All it took was a little extra magic.”
Silence echoed around me. Now this sounded like a great story, but it was all vague points. “You’re leaving out details. What was the last event that led to your entrapment?”
Somehow the silence was louder than before.
Several moments passed before a reply came. “We wanted to free the souls. They were trapped. Not as you are now, but in a world of blue gray, just waiting until the others could decide if they would be allowed to move on.” The words waiting and trapped echoed over and over for a moment before silence came once more.
“Some were helped quickly, but so many were trapped for years and centuries. All to the Creators’ delight. We moved to free them, to destroy the Creators so the souls could choose to cross or be with us.”
“One of us…” a low voice called softly.
Uh huh. “While I can see moving against the Creators might lead you to this predicament, I need to think on all of this.” I shook my head at the light. “There’s a lot to process here.” Not really, they were skipping too much to avoid being caught in a lie. I just knew it was time to get out. “I’ll talk more with you all later.” I headed for the passage and hoped this unexplored area would lead to the tunnel proper.
“We’re not done talking.”
“Save ussss.”
“You need to know what to do.”
“Free us.”
I paused to turn back to the gree light. “I don't need more information until I make a decision. If you are truly trapped here for no good reason, and you did so much to help all around you, clearly you understand the importance of clear thoughts and a sound mind. It’s best to never jump straight to action when so much is in play and at stake.” I had to hand it to myself for that speech.
I finally noticed a jewel near the glowing stone of olive green light. Of course the artifact was likely right in front of me. I took a step forward hesitantly, wondering if they could see me or just tell I was there.
The light even dimmed for a breath before the voices launched a new speech.
“It’s been so long.”
“You don’t understand what it’s like to be trapped here.”
“We cannot move. We cannot walk. So many of us trapped together.”
“There’s no room to go. So many other thoughts.”
“I can hear everyone always.”
“I just want freedom.”
For a moment I did feel bad, but pushed it out of my mind as I grabbed the jewel. It picked up easily, but I found myself stuck, hovering just above where the jewel was. I tried to will any part of my body to move, but nothing would budge.
Something grabbed hold of my leg and I could finally move again. As I turned to look and see what grabbed me, a wisp of purple light grabbed onto my arm. So much for being fully trapped and helpless.
“We need out now!” they called loudly. Variations in desperation and tone echoed the room as they started to chant ‘save us’.
I flicked my vision over and could see what looked like hundreds of small signatures of creatures. It was probably much less than that. The heat of the light around my arm and leg burned slightly.
“This does not look like something a good being would do,” I called angrily at them trying to pull myself free.
More lights shot out to wrap around me and pulled me closer. I tried summoning just an arrow but it passed through the light like it was, well light. These beings didn’t seem to be a part of how the standard magic around here worked. The Creators probably assumed they were locked up well enough and out of the way enough that it wouldn't matter.
I tiredly tried to fight against them, but it was no use. They brought me right in front of the light, pulled so tightly to the stone I could feel it cutting into my flesh.
“Now free us.”
I blinked several times at them. “I'm trapped so that is impossible, and I don’t know how so that’s doubly impossible. Not to mention I won’t be forced into this so that might be triply impossible.”
“Free us or your soul is ours.”
Well, that should have been expected. I didn’t know how they could consume my soul, but considering I knew nothing about their magic or how to escape that seemed to be within the realm of possibilities.
Truthfully, it ticked me off more than it scared me.
It was like my stepfather, thinking we owed him the world because he was briefly married to our mother. Do this or else. It was not my cup of tea.
“I think not.” I gritted my teeth together in obvious fury as the bindings of light wrapped even more tightly around me.
The pain from the heat and constricting finally got to be too much and I couldn’t help but scream out. I was starting to doubt they could consume my soul, but they certainly had the power and the energy to kill me.
The intensity suddenly stopped and I was able to catch my breath. That's when I noticed the light wasn’t holding me anymore and someone, a tall being made of pure fire was now standing between me and the light.
Get going, Marella’s voice commanded.
I was not about to argue with her on this one. Still, was the fire creature actually Marella?
Yes, this is me in front of you. I can secure the way behind you. Idiot demons and angels forget that they aren’t almighty.
Good enough for me. I wasn’t going to question my escape route and started heading toward the unexplored part of the tunnel. Just another day with the weird magic world purgatory thing. No big deal. Just going to mosey my spirit-self somewhere safer and less chaotic. I felt like I was either losing my mind bit by bit or just fully accepting the madness of this horrorland.
I kept going without looking back, not doubting that Marella could handle things, but still concerned about the light. Finally I reached a dead end. My hands felt nothing but wall around me, and since we were far enough away from the evil light, I couldn’t see anything.
Finally, I tripped on something and the floor gave out under me, sending me sliding down quickly and dropping me
ungracefully into the tunnel below.
As I rubbed my sore bottom I took in my surroundings. I had no idea where in the tunnel I landed myself or how to get in touch with Asher. I glanced at the chunk of amber in my hands. Was this Key?
No new voice came to me, but none of the others chimed in either. Maybe they were distracted and reuniting? Either way, I needed to figure out my situation first, and pocketed the jewel away. I quickly remembered my vision and looked around. I could see someone to the far right of me and decided to chance getting up and calling out.
“Asher!” I yelled as loud as I dared. I summoned my bow when I heard running, just in case it wasn’t actually him.
Thankfully after a few moments, I could clearly see him. Relief spread on his face.
“You’re not hurt! I wasn’t sure you’d make it.” It hurt that he was right. I almost didn’t make it.
“I’ll be fine. Just some minor cuts and bruising. It was… more intense than I was expecting.”
“What happened?”
I frowned at the question and motioned for us to continue on back. “They have more than a little strength.” I explained exactly what happened, and with Marella too.
“I wonder how she could do that…” Asher was more concerned than grateful.
I could do that because they were my kind. I harnessed the magic they were using against you and linked onto that, pulling up a fragment of my true form. They were then surprised and cut off from the flow of magic and didn’t have time to figure a way around it before you were gone.
That was wonderfully impressive to me. I parroted it back to Asher who just grew more concerned.
“Why does a demon want to help?”
I could actually feel Marella being annoyed by this question. Maybe I don't really want to destroy every last place I come across. There is a way to balance things, even if most of my kind is terrible at it.
I shook my head at him. “She has her reasons. It’s not as if Marella is some brainless creature. She understands that destroying every realm is not a good thing. She wants balance. It’s just that most of her kind are greedy and terrible at holding themselves accountable.”
“If you think so.” He shook his head, choosing not to say anymore as we walked on. I could understand not trusting the demons, but Marella was known as a Creator, not her other status. Shouldn’t that have given her some credit? Instead of arguing, I focused on the area ahead. The last thing I wanted was to encounter a surprise nightwing, or worse, spiders.
Getting through the basement wasn’t that much trouble. There really weren’t that many spiders to navigate around. I could only guess that Benz, Melly, and the Watch just crushed their way through them all. I was grateful for missing that action, but now I wasn’t sure where to go next. I hesitated at the top of the stairs.
“I guess we should have figured out a meet up point.”
“Yes, I thought it wasn’t discussed since one was already in place.” Asher nodded. “I suppose the house is different though. There’s even different alliances often fighting each other for no reason.”
“Yep, I don’t get that last part either.” I opened the door and stepped out onto the first floor. “I think the best bet would be to head to the third floor since that is where we were meeting last.”
Asher nodded and as we started down the hall, we heard an ear shattering scream coming from the opposite direction. We stopped and turned toward the sound.
“Or I suppose we can investigate…” I mumbled heading cautiously to the noise. Asher didn’t say a word as he followed.
Quickly, we jogged down the hall and around the corner to find something I was not expecting. It was two people from the Silverwell that I remembered seeing several times in the common room fighting. Blood speckled both of their cheeks.
With staff and sword clashed, they turned to glance our way.
“Which side are you?” sword girl demanded.
Staff girl tried to free herself but to no use.
“What is even going on?” I demanded back.
“Are you for Clove or are you a traitor?” sword girl demanded.
I summoned my bow. “I’m pro-Creator if that’s what you’re asking.”
The girl with the sword shoved the other girl aside and charged at me. Quickly, I aimed and shot her in the shoulder, her sword just barely missing my arrow. The hit sent her off course enough to make her trip and fall back.
“What is going on?” I demanded once more, aiming another arrow at her. Asher stood quietly, ready with his sword.
“You fool. We’ll take over this world without your help.” Her eyes glowed an olive green.
That explained enough. Before she could stand I shot her between the eyes.
“Tha-thanks…” The girl with the staff sobbed as she stood properly. “I can’t find where the others went.”
“Are there more people possessed?” I asked her before adding, “What others?”
The girl halfway nodded and shrugged. “I don’t know what exactly happened… it was… We’re not safe here. We shouldn’t talk in the halls like this.”
I sighed, but felt pushing her wasn’t the right idea. “That’s fine. What’s your name and where is somewhere safe?”
“Kalynn, and I think they were moving to the other safe zone, but I don’t know where that is.”
“That’s actually easy enough. We’re halfway there.” I motioned for her to follow me. “I guess we can see if everyone’s there. Can you tell us what happened while we walk?”
Kalynn hesitated but after a few moments of silence and walking quickly she seemed to loosen up. “It was weird, and hard to believe…”
“We’re trapped in a world that shouldn’t exist after death, suddenly with magical abilities, and creatures that are straight from nightmares. I could honestly believe just about anything right now,” I freely admitted.
Kalynn gave a small laugh. “I mean, I guess you’re right there. Ummm…” She hesitated for a moment, banishing and summoning her staff as she thought. “I guess it was just surprise timing. Clove had called us all together for a meeting. We had all been so scattered lately, trying to work on training and different magics -really it’s been great. I thought we were all coming together more.”
Kaylynn shook her head tiredly for a moment before continuing. “And then Clove declared it was time for us to abandon the Creators, that they had doomed us all to rot here.”
She moved to be closer between Asher and myself as she continued. “At that moment, Mare walked in with Sans and a few others and I had never seen that look Clove gave her. She looked completely livid, and even went so far as declaring Mare a traitor who was working to give the Creators more power.”
I gave her a knowing look, not surprised that was how things went down. Encourage, Kylnn prattled on. “Mare didn’t stand for it, in fact, she just laughed. She admitted she was helping bring the Creators back so things would be less chaotic and terrible here. Mare even was bold enough to say it was because of Clove, they went missing in the first place.”
Kylnn paused and slowed her pace. We copied her, curious to see what she’d say next. “I wasn’t expecting Clove to take credit, but she did. She said she found a way to control the realm and any who opposed her would die.”
“Wow, that is a lot of nutty-ness,” I admitted. While I wasn’t surprised Clove owned up to it, I wasn’t expecting her to do so right off the bat.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen Clove. She’s certainly saltier than the sea now.” Asher clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “So, did everyone scatter next?”
“Clove called for those who wanted to survive and grow in power to come to her side while the rest of us would be marked for death” Kalynn continued. “Mare just laughed again and said whoever didn’t want to be a part of any of this, including Clove, were free to come with her. The group behind her helped us get going, but we had to split up, and that’s where I got lost.”
“Well, we misse
d more than I expected.” We stopped at the very trashed outer area of the Steel Oath secure zone. “Though, I’m not sure if it’s going to be safe here either.” I looked around the area for hints of who could have won.
“Do you think it’ll be okay to enter it?” Kalynn whispered.
There was really only one way to find out. I stared at the painting I knew would feel like thick and sticky jam. “I have no idea.” I shook my head making up my mind. “If it turns out not to be, Asher take her to the third floor and find the library. There’s a mean spirit guarding it, but if you say my name she’ll let you pass.”
That’s not a nice way to talk about Estella, Marella interrupted.
I would have rolled my eyes at her if I could. That particular spirit liked to rip off faces; of course, she was considered mean to most!
Asher frowned. “If you think that’s best. I’m certain we can manage.”
“With your skills, I’m sure you can,” I stated as I went ahead and crossed into the painting, hating every feeling of it.
On the other side things were a mess, but there was a group there. We all stared at one another, unsure what to do next.
“Is that… Remi?” I heard Gretta finally ask.
I hardly knew her, but I was glad to have now. This seemed like exactly the right place. “It is. Is this team Creator? Because I don’t think I can win this fight.”
The group’s tension faded as everyone started to laugh and quiet conversation began once more.
“Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story, but let me grab the others,” I replied as I headed back out of the painting.
To my surprise, as I exited the painting once more, Benz was there with the entirety of the others from the Watch, Melly included.
“We’re looking for anyone who could have gotten separated,” Benz said, calling me over.
I nodded. “Kalynn, everything is safe.” Kalynn breathed a sigh of relief and headed through the painting without further prompting.
“Gretta got things locked down?” Benz double checked with me.
“It seems like it. They all look ready for a fight,” I replied, hoping against all odds a fight wouldn’t come to them.