In a room, buried far underground, lay a slumbering form.

A young woman, appearing to sleep, in reality, is experiencing a very odd circumstance. Not but a couple of days beforehand, with naught a warning, she fell unconscious. For the last couple of days, she has remained in this unresponsive and near comatose state.

Outside her room, two individuals speak in hushed but stressed tones.

“It’s been four fucking days! Days! Any longer and she’ll be dead for sure.”

The older man is pacing, wearing thin his already worn boots. His counterpart, appearance hidden by a long-hooded cloak, holds a far calmer stature. An aged voice slipping out of the hood attempts to soothe the man.

“Calm down, Jerald. She’ll be fine. We both knew something like this could happen. She’ll pull through.”

With a snarl, Jerald turns to his associate.

“You don’t know that! Neither of us did! There’s a reason kids rarely get a Class before they’re of age!”

Not flinching under his burning rage, the cloaked figure puts their hand on Jerald’s shoulder. Only for Jerald to shake their hand away. Leaving their hand in the air for a moment, there is a noticeable chill that fills the hallway as they retract their arm.

“You knew the risks, and so did she. It's far too late to start second-guessing, isn’t it?”

Even as he was unable to see their face under the hood, it's not too long before Jerald breaks eye contact first. Unwilling to let the matter die, they step forward, invading Jerald’s personal space. Backpaddling, Jerald eventually runs out of room to spare and finds his back against a wall.

“You came to me, remember? You were the one that came begging and pleading for help. You don’t get to blame anyone else for the choices you made. Is that clear?”

Jerald can only nod, fear gripping his heart. Stepping back, the hooded figure lets Jerald mentally recover as they draw a sigil on the door. The symbol softly glows a soft near-invisible blue as the figure reaches under their cloak. Jerald can only watch with equal measures of suspicion and curiosity as the hooded individual pulls a thin thread with a tiny bell on one end.

“This is a spell meant to keep an eye on our mutual friend. It’s a silent alarm that will go off if anyone besides you or I enter this room. I’ll come as quickly as I can, but I make no promises for her safety. So, it is in your best interest to keep an eye on her while I’m away.”

While preemptively answering his question, the hooded figure connected the string from the sigil to the top of the door frame. As soon as they were done, they whispered the spells name and waved their hands. The sigil pulsed with energy, it's blue glow lighting up the hallway for a moment. As the light dimmed, the sigil and string faded into nothingness.

Dumbstruck, Jerald could only stare at the door. When their words finally sunk in, he turned his head to the hooded individual in confusion.

“Away? What do you mean by away?”

The hooded figure turned and walked down the hallway as they answered.

“Exactly what I said. I have to get some insurance in case things get worse before they get better. I should be back before she wakes up. On the chance that she doesn’t wake up... Well, someone will need to be around to clean up the mess. And that’s something I’m not good at, unfortunately.”

Before they turned a corner and were out of sight, the hooded individual turned to face Jared. An ominous shine comes from beneath the hood, and it only took a second for Jared to realize he was looking at their eyes. Their light blue filled Jerald with fear, almost as much as their next few words did. With more ice in their voice than before, Jared felt his spine shiver and his breathing stop.

“Don’t fuck up. Or there’ll be hell to pay.”

And with that, they vanished into the darkness. Their warning made abundantly clear.

And Jerald? Well, the fear of being caught was the only reason he didn’t fall apart right then and there. Even as weak at the knees he was, he still had other responsibilities. Taking a moment to collect himself, and ensure he had not shat himself, Jerald locked the door next to him.

Even with magic, and the room being in an off the beaten path location, it paid to take every precaution. Brushing his hand were the sigil and string definitely should be Jerald confirmed what he suspected. Not even a hint of the alarm system was present. Not to him at least.

Walking away, Jerald could only pray to the Gods things didn’t turn for the worse. Anyone who knew Jerald knew he was truly desperate if he was praying after all this time. Understandable though, because if things didn’t go well, he’d be done for. Him and the girl.

The worst part was, he had little faith in the two people that held his life in their hands. One was at death’s door and the other was a murderous criminal. And said criminal was knowledgeable in the arcane arts. A genuinely vile craft that only the most monstrous knew of in these parts.

Jerald could only imagine the horrors they could bring upon him. And they were likely to be worse than anything he could dream of.

Thinking about his coconspirator, a thought struck Jerald. It came at enough of a shock, he stopped in his tracts. He looked back at the direction he was coming from. Aw and a touch of dread painting his spoken thought.

“Isn’t that way a dead end?”

He spent the rest of the day filled with paranoia and unease.