“Oh hey ho and there he goes,

The mighty elf with nary a string,

Oh hey ho and there he comes,

King Edelin rides up with a ring.

Oh hey ho and there they blow,

Every man and elf all laid low,

Oh hey ho and there they sow,

The hundreds buried in the snow.

Oh hey ho the good folks rise,

And on this merry day we sing,

Oh hey ho the best all sleep,

All because of the saint damned ring.

Oh hey ho the bards do tell,

Of many who fought in the fell,

Oh hey ho the Mistveil knell,

And remember those in the dell.”

- Translated Verse of ‘The Mistcursed Wanderer’ Abenstadt Bard’s College Archives (Carradorian folk song borrowed from a traditional North Traxian melody)

Riza had fallen asleep halfway through, her emotions finally overtook her rambling and with a small yawn her head lolled backwards onto Sophie’s shoulder. Though Sophie was loath to admit it, she had only understood about half of what the agitated cat had said.

Their party, Hammer Jump, had Valryx the drake as their leader. A level headed idiot not unlike Thulgrim, his sense of pride and honor well respected but also what led the party to their doomed last stand. Gregor and Jutta functioned as the shield and duelist of the party and were due to be married soon, before everything went wrong anyways. Fuck, Sophie had thought at the time, she couldn’t imagine how the man had felt when she watched him struggle. Knowing this now just made her feel even worse for being frozen in fear till the very end. As for Kelli, Sophie felt her heart drop as she imagined losing Eva the way that Riza had and almost fell into her own depressed murmur before the cat had fallen asleep, her gently purrs dragging Sophie out of her stupor.

Soft, she absently thought as she pet the sleeping girl. It was but a temporary comfort but appreciated nonetheless, a fine silky feeling that reminded her of home back in Eva’s room. But was it home? She knew on some levels it was, they were not just childhood friends but partners in crime, yet a part of her wondered what else was there, what else was there in the part of her life that she couldn’t remember.

No matter how hard she wracked her brain she couldn’t seem to bring out any scenes or moments in her mind. It was like a shadow that blanketed itself over anything before she met Eva, it was almost like something…deliberately hid some memories?

Her eyes widened in fear, what the hells was that? Sophie’s gaze jumped all across the wagon, her hands frozen mid stroke as she searched for the intruder. The voice was a monstrous growl, a deep yawning echo that boomed next to her ears. But try as she might, she could see nothing but equipment boxes, the cat girl, and the faint sounds of marching and plodding of the wagon.

“Who-who’s there?” She whispered out loud, but not a soul responded.

Her arms involuntarily tightened on the sleeping cat in fear, like a warrior gripping a shield as he readied for the next blow. She felt the hairs on her neck stand stiff and shivered, the unearthly chill had returned in force. The temperature around her dropped as she desperately pulled the cat closer.

So…cold…

She debated shouting out loud and asking if anything strange happened outside, if anyone could just quickly flip open the wagon flap and say anything. But as the cart rumbled along forest roads, bumping up and down ever so slightly as the footsteps surrounded it, she could only release raspy gasps of air as no words escaped. What’s wrong with me, why can’t I say anything. Her throat dried up as the sense of dread loomed over her, worming its way into every facet of her body, the shivering from cold now indistinguishable from fear. Why… Why?

Her face paled as an entity materialized itself in front of her. An ethereal shimmer cloaked the figure in a hazy blur as a mass of dark limbs splayed themselves in a haphazard mess, ignoring all known sense as they rested inside boxes, wood and even through hapless Riza. Among the mess a large pupil opened itself to gaze back at her, its veiny, scaly and alien proportions defied all known explanations as Sophie could practically feel the liquid ooze forth from its opening. By…by the saints above, Goddess Astralis, Tesadus, Gratiax, Caelinor, Stellesia, anyone please help.

Drip by drip, with every sickening squelch it grew closer and closer until Sophie swore that the outer membrane practically caressed her nose with a slimy cold, uncaring that its entire mass sat both on top and within the cat.

How…peculiar

It groaned in low distorted baritone, and Sophie could see the world around it tremble in reverence. Scattered splotches of light and sound exploded all around her. Scenes beautiful and fair, of idyllic meadows and clear blue skies. To scenes of horror and devastation, the town of her nightmares, the church, the slaughtered people. And visions of time immemorial, dark and uncaring, neither cruel nor kind, just existence as plants, trees, planets and stars grew, withered and died only to be reborn.

So thoust do see

It chuckled, or at least what Sophie thought was a chuckle before her thoughts quickly filled back up with terror. It blinked and at once seemed to still, the rocking of the cart slowed, the cat’s fur wiggled just barely upon contact, holding its position.

A forgetful sort it seems

Wrapped up in the horror, Sophie barely felt the creature's appendages coil around her. But unlike her nightmares, there was no tugging or pulling. Instead a gentle caress like a doting grandparent holding their child’s child. A girl playing with her treasured dolls, or herself with every book Eva ever gave her.

One now understands, one has long slept and one sleeps no more

Sophie shivered uncontrollable as it trilled, her body burning at every syllable, every noise that was uttered. Like a thousand needles pricking a thousand cuts with salt sprinkled over, she bit back a scream and looked forward in morbid fascination.

As if sensing something unspoken, it leaned, fell backwards in a gaggle of its own appendages and blinked at her with what she assumed was curiosity.

Many you shall meet, many more you shall guide, but fate, fate has been severed and unbound. Remember!

Slow but methodical, its inhumane voice turned into a roar at the end and Sophie clutched her head as it threatened to burst. She saw visions of the estate, but not the estate yet just as decadent. A chair, a tower. A bed.

Curious?

It asked, its horrific voice suddenly calm and collected.

Sophie teared up and whimpered as her brain felt as if it was being torn into a million shreds, but she nodded anyway.

Seeker of knowledge, kindred of the scribes, thou shall seek the stolen dawn, the light of the heavens that fades! Towers of eternity!

She saw it, the brilliant marbled tower that pierced through all horrors, the blue crystal sitting proudly at its mantle, colour fading but resilient nonetheless.

There at the precipice, truth awaits a reader, a sage that will…comprehend. To burn the fire of heroism once again.

It paused, and Sophie was taken aback by the lack of pain, visions or terror. The quietness grew ever more uneasy as it blinked once more. After what felt like an eternity between her hands reaching the hems of her shirt and actually being able to grip them, it spoke once more.

Dormant one has become, one finds this most enjoyable

It laughed, it fucking laughs Sophie thought as a horrified expression took over her face. The creature jovially blinked and Sophie could feel her sanity dissolving into nothingness. What the hells is happening, what the hells do I do? Uncaring of her thoughts, it continued the fire burning her mind once more.

Seek the God Touched, find the stolen dawn and breathe truth once more! Secrets you shall learn, secrets you shall be. Shadows will be cast, the world to be wreathed in darkness. A race for salvation. But now, remember!

Sophie let loose a silent scream as the creature embraced her, wrapping her in her entirety as its tentacled appendages darted all around the wagon, ripping her into a void of its making. The familiar sensation of strange viscous liquid overwhelmed her as a set of small voices echoed through the void.

“Hmm how about Saphye, how’s that sound?”

“I think that’s a lovely blend. It fits perfectly”

Huh?

The voices then warped, slightly wiser, slightly older.

“But do you think…”

“No they never will, but we can only try.”

“But what about…”

“Does it matter?”

“Hah, you’re so exhausting sometimes, but fine.”

“Then let’s show our little Saphye to the world shall we.”

Wait, was that…Mom...Dad?

Then screams, shouts, cries.

“Kill her too.”

Remember?

And then, nothing.

“...like I said, elves are fucking twats but I think this one’s just defective.” A gruff voice startled her back to consciousness.

“I know I said save the fighting for the road but this is no joke.” A smooth voice followed up.

“Well we need to fix her up somehow.” Gruff barked back, "I'm not lugging that over my shoulder."

"As if you can." An assertive voice scoffed.

“Is she okay?” A sad soft voice chimed in.

Sophie blinked as the noises returned, her headache subsiding and her sight gradually piecing everything together. She could see the sky, the setting sun painting a brilliant orange across the air as oddly damp dirt tickled her spine. Next to her a horrific armoured dwarf ass stood besides her, but it meant she was back, she was alive.

On instinct she threw herself upwards and gave the figure a relieved hug, earning herself a few surprised gasps and a string of curses.

“What the seven fucking damned kobalds get the saint kobald licking ass hells off me!” Thulgrim exclaimed, throwing her off his armour as he jumped backwards.

“Sophie!” Riza cried in joy and threw herself at her, sending Sophie back down to the ground in a familiar position. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I would do that to you, I’m sorry I won’t ramble again, I promise.” She frantically pleaded, and Sophie could only give her a conciliatory pat on the head before she composed herself.

“Wasn’t you, I had a…nightmare.” She shuddered at the image, everything still vividly fresh in her mind. “You were fine, did nothing wrong, it’s okay.” She reassured Riza, earning a sympathetic look from the others.

“O-oh okay! Just let me know if I ever go too far.”

Sophie nodded and found herself wilting under the gaze of everyone else as Riza shifted off her.

“Uhm…”

Annalise arched an incredulous eyebrow as she shared a glance with Gil before turning her attention back to Sophie, “Umm? Is that all you have to say? You were practically catatonic for five minutes! Stiff as a corpse! Do you know how much of a heart attack you gave everyone?” The ranger demanded and Sophie shrunk back further in shame.

“Well she has been through quite a bit.” Gil chimed in, “Perhaps this sounds rude of me Sophie, but I feel that once we settle down after the guild debrief we should take you to a healer or to the church, if you don’t mind.” He added on, a kind but pitying look hung heavy on his brow.

Sophie nodded glumly in agreement.

Annalise sighed out loud and took a small annoyed breath of air before she ran her hands through her hair. “Listen Sophie, Gil’s right, we just want to make sure everything is alright, and I know we’re not as close or if you’ll even stick around for a while, but you can talk to us too okay? We worry about you too.” She finished and a small series of nods supported her, even Thulgrim begrudgingly dipped his head.

“So-sorry for worrying everyone. But it really was a…nightmare? It felt so real I…” Sophie began but found herself at a loss for words. How do you describe horror? The feeling of being peeled open inside out?

“It’s okay, take your time. As Anna says we might not exactly be the best of friends with you but we’ll be around to hear you out okay?” Gil flashed her a friendly smile and Sophie could feel her beating heart at least calm itself a little bit more.

A small clap drew everyone’s attention to the front of the wagon as Arnold grinned cheekily at everyone.

“Well I for one also care about our new friends Sophie and Riza but might I remind us all that perhaps such conversations are best had over food? In the city just up ahead? It would really suck if mistraptors or the dead caught us so close to the walls. Just saying I prefer snacking than being the snack you know? Er sorry Riza, I spoke without thinking.” His grin turning into one of sheepishness as he faced the cat before a smack on his head sent the man stumbling. "Guh!"

“He never thinks anyways, I apologize for his ill advised remarks.” Sara spoke on his behalf as she pulled him by his collar.

“It’s fine.” Riza whispered.

“He is right in that we won’t get much done out here, so let’s keep going shall we? Eichafen is just beyond this crest in the road. And conflicts are best settled over food.” Gil encouraged.

With a few grunts here and there everyone began falling back into position and Annalise reached out a hand to help her up.

Sophie grasped it and with a firm oomph stood up off the ground and found her gaze meeting the ranger’s. She watched as Annalise flashed through, relief, annoyance, worry, joy and mild anger in rapid succession and couldn’t help but chuckle, earning herself a silent admonishment from the girl.

“Sorry, I just think…uhm thanks.” Sophie added abashedly, "I really mean it."

Annalise sighed once more and gave Sophie’s hair a gentle but firm ruffle. “Come on then, just a little bit more and we can chat over something more pleasant, like food or a fire. ”

Sophie gave her a joking nuzzle in return, something Eva often teased her for and was once again pleasantly surprised when the older girl accepted her without a second glance. It was like she emanated a small aura of comfort and Sophie could not help but be enraptured by it.

When no one ordered her back into the wagon, side by side was how the two carried on the rest of their trek in a comfortable silence. With Sophie casting an occasional glance back at the wagon, worried that perhaps the creature would make itself known once more, though it thankfully did not.

Riza thankfully was able to pull back from her despondent as she chatted away with Arnold, the man’s jovial attitude matching Riza’s own manic mood easily enough. Sara would occasionally remind the two that there were perhaps more concerns to life than whatever topic struck the two and would only earn herself sad sighing from the duo in return. More than once Sophie had caught Riza looking at her with a worried look that was best described as desperately sad. In turn Sophie had flashed reassuring and comforting smiles back at Riza, hopefully to assuage her fears and worries. At least, I think I smiled, oh by the saints do I smile weird?

But her existential crisis was quickly interrupted as she caught sight of the massive segment of the Highwall mountains towering over the horizon. Beneath it, shielded from the very heavens themselves stood the proud city of Eichafen, basking in the light of the fading sun. A city that defied the very land itself, a testament to the tenacity of humanity's will to tame the world.

Two sets of massive stone walls ringed the city twice over, separating it into two distinct areas, with guard towers dotted almost comically across every part of the wall. Beyond the outer wall a large wooden palisade, just as imposing in its own right, comprised the final layer of defence against the monsters of the Mistveil. Towers and townhouses dotted the spaces between the walls, covering the area in a sea of blue roof tiles atop faded white timber houses. In the final ring large manor houses stood almost defiantly against the encroachment of standardised housing, their sheer size and scale of the stone structures reminded her of the estate, excessively large and posh. In the middle of the last ring stood two particular structures that caught her eye, one of white marble and one even more comically large manor styled structure. A cathedral and the seat of the Lord Mayor no doubt.

Beyond the walls and along the roads lay a modest amount of farm land and pastures, crop fields and animals roaming about here and there. Stone brick farmhouses interrupted the multitude of fields as squat two story watch towers maintained an uneasy vigil on this outlying territory, one such checkpoint just up ahead. People milled about the area as numerous roads penetrated through the surrounding woods and allowed for the uninterrupted movement of people between here and the surrounding villages, provided no one got mauled along the way. It was also the first time that Sophie grew more aware of just how many wanderers might have passed by them whilst they traveled in the wagon, the growing crowds by the checkpoint offering almost an inn’s worth of people alone.

Striped dark green and brown tabards, banners and flags hung from soldiers and towers, some adorned by the twin goddesses of the forest, one represented as a human figure with antlers and the other with animal ears, looked strangely out of place worn on the intimidating figures. The crest of Grand Duke Walden, legend holds that they represent the first of the beast peoples that once roamed this land, how together they weaved great stores of magicks together to create this verdant and lush, before merging with Carrador into House Walden of the Northern Marches. Sophie recalled from some of her lessons back at the estate only to briefly shudder at the thought of just how far from home she was.

Sophie spared a look behind her and it was as if she had passed through a portal into another dimension entirely. Devoid of fog, calming, and almost no trace of the sense of oppression or chill that harried them in the forests of the Mistveil. Humanity’s bastion in the wilderness almost appeared as some fairytale land, plopped right in the middle of the harsh wilderness. If not for the presence of the occasional war camps filled with Carradorian soldiers one could mistake this place as a part of a peaceful idyllic forest, bustling with activity and not at all a bastion in some hell cursed forest.

But for Sophie it mattered little what happened to the world at large, what war they might be preparing for or what foul creature lurked beyond the woods, or even what she could find within the city. It mattered little because she was here, at Eichafen, civilisation, proper civilisation, and for the first time in a long week, she felt truly safe.