Chapter 2: Bitter Pill

When I woke up I was still in bed, and the moon was rising again. The mayor and Claire had left the room. The house was silent, except for the faint hollow sound of a wind chime coming in from the garden. It didn't sound exactly nice, but it gave me a feeling of homesickness anyway, we used to have one by the armory and it could be heard at night when the smiths weren't working. I started to notice other things; the house itself seemed darker than when I fell asleep, like the shadows were deeper, staring back at me in the moonlight; spiderwebs covered every corner and a layer of dust covered the bulk of the room, with exception of the bed and the worktable where the mayor had made the rune. I could feel a faint tingling from my hand where the rune had cut me, but I couldn't feel the rune in my hand anymore. I lifted my head from the pillow and looked down at my hand; I'd been bandaged while I was sleeping. I let my head fall back into the pillow with a little *whump* and closed my eyes to go back to sleep, not much else to do when lifting your head is the hardest thing you do all day.

"Good evening miss Alexandria." my eyes bolted open at the sound of Claire's voice and I made a little croaking sound. How elegant of me. She was standing behind me in the doorway so I could only barely see her, much less read her expression.

"You have a choice to make Alexandra, I can heal your body but you'll risk your mind in the process. You'll become part of Linchen and loose your connection to your "light" for as long as you're here. If you choose not to accept I wouldn't be able to offer you my hospitality anymore, but the mayor would take you in. He'll care for you and then send you on the great journey when you're ready." The great journey, huh? That sounded more like a ritual sacrifice than a hike and honestly the old man was creepy enough already with his blood magic that I didn't want to try either. It didn't sound too promising, but neither did loosing my connection to the light...

"Why haven't he already just taken me then?" I asked.

"He isn't here, he can't be. What you and your farther met was merely an illusion, one with might, but still." She said, "When you fell asleep I transported you here, to my house and he doesn't have any power that can reach in here."

"Okay... I eeeh, yeah." The house did look a bit different and if they both were mages I guess that explained it, I had more questions though. "So- if I left Linchen would I then be able to come back into the light?"

"As much as any from the outside world I'd imagine. But no one has escaped Linchen yet though."

"Why not? There weren't many guards or anything and the walls aren't that high." There was silence for a bit.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you are no longer in the Linchen you knew or even on the same plane anymore." she said with actual empathy. My brain stopped for a second.

"What." I didn't really believe anything of what I just heard, so I repeated with more feeling, "What?"

"The rune the mayor made transported you here, to Linchen, but it is not binding you here, this is not your home yet and if you died you'd probably return to your own afterlife. Maybe at least, I don't know." She paused a bit and continued. "You're like a demon being summoned to a plane that is not yours, you could be banished if you could find someone who knew how, but if I heal you you'll be home on both planes and you'd have to find another way."

"I'm no demon!" I spat at her with as much resentment I could muster. Surprisingly it wasn't a lot and I probably sounded more like a flustered kid than anything.

"Maybe not, but you are in an equal situation." she said and then after a moment of thought added, "you also need to make a deal to be able to stay."

"What... kind of deal?" I asked. "I haven't much to offer besides what my farther have already agreed to."

"Oh, but you do. If I heal you, you'll have to promise me to help me kill the mayor." She answered.

"Uhhh..." I said squinting my eyes suspiciously at nowhere in particular. "Why would you want to kill the mayor?" She was silent for a bit, maybe thinking of a good answer.

"I think that's what my creator would have wanted."

"Creator?" I asked, but she just continued.

"He was keen on protecting others and at hunting the great ones. They called him 'The Great Hunter'. The mayor is helping the great ones by sacrificing the minds of people who come here to them. It only seems... logical for me to continue his work. Will you choose to stay and get healed?" I thought about it all for a while until I reached a decision. Maybe a bit more than a while.

"I'll take the healing, thank you."

"I'm happy to hear it Alexandria." She said. I noticed that I liked hearing her say my name. "I'll bring the blood then." She finished and disappeared back out the door, leaving me wondering what I had gotten myself into.