Meryn brought the bell closer to her face to study the engraving, furrowing her brows in concentration. These odd runes again… She turned the bell back over to inspect the name. She wasn't great at reading, but she recognized these two names, at least. Two of her clients in Enn had been Oliver Heinbert and Felix Locke, so the letters were familiar enough. That is, they were when she could concentrate through the pounding in her head.

Oliver Locke

Who was this? Why was his name engraved on this bell? What was the rune? Once again, questions spun around her head. Spook was a wealth of information, she knew… but whether or not he'd be very forthcoming with answers was another matter. Irritation blended with embarrassment as she thought back to how blithely Spook had dismissed her. Well, she'd gotten by this far in life without anyone else's help. She could manage on her own. Then again, the pain pulsing through her body reminded her that was sometimes a messy way to do things. She winced as she readjusted the pressure her hand was putting on her bleeding side.

Meryn carefully placed the bell in a pocket deep in her bag, grabbing a couple pieces of paper closest to her and slipping them in, too. She was still doing her best to ignore the people around her – Emma in particular. She'd gone to the botanist in the past with worse injuries than this. But this was probably the first time Emma had actually seen how Meryn managed to rough herself up. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see the other girl's reaction.

She glanced up when a shadow fell over her, only to look away when she saw who it was, fighting very hard not to roll her eyes. Her clothes were still damp. Meryn tossed another piece of dried meat – seasoned with her own blood, she noted with a grimace – at the felidrake laying across from her. It'd finished chewing the first piece and now with nothing to focus on, its eyes were staring dully into space, half lidded. It was kind of funny, in a pitiful way. Meryn watched with a raised eyebrow as it seemed to register the food in front of it. It forced its jaw open and its tongue lolled out to the meat as the militiaman above her spoke.

Giving a little sigh to herself – and instantly regretting it as the pain in her side intensified – she finally looked back up at Alex. He was apologizing. And she had rattailed him in the face.

Instead of reacting to his question or his apology, she grabbed a piece of paper near her. It was split cleanly in half like all the others were, straight through the odd circular marking on it. Meryn didn't quite trust herself enough to stand yet. Instead she held it up to Alex with her free hand for him to inspect, though she couldn't reach up very far without pulling on her side.

@jordy0403

Meryn ignored my question and apology, instead simply holding out a piece of paper, cleanly cut in half. Taking it, I saw a small circle. "Eh, interesting, but still, are you okay?" I ask, sitting down beside her and the felidrake. "And please answer me this time." I say. Noticing that she didn't have any kind of bindings over where the cage had stuck into her, I rummaged in my bag, brought out a spare shirt, and tore it into several long strips. I offered them to her.

'Eh, interesting'?

That's the response she got? This thing had practically blown her out of the tree, and he treated it as though he'd just found a new hole in his cloak. Meryn was about to snatch the paper back when Alex sat down beside her. What he said next surprised her even more though. Was that… actual concern? When she brushed off people's questions about her wellbeing, they usually just rolled their eyes in exasperation. There was something oddly earnest about him, though. Her eyes widened a bit when he pulled out a shirt and tore it into strips. She blinked at the offering for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Then Meryn snapped back to herself. Reaching up with her clean hand, she pinched the cloth between two fingers and held it up in front of her face, inspecting it. Then, with humor in her eyes, she brought it closer and took a sniff. Her face scrunched up in mock disgust and she held it back away from her. Then she shrugged her shoulders and pressed it against her side. The blood had slowed and was already drying, but this would still help.

Meryn peeled her other hand, sticky with blood, away from her side. Then she looked back at Alex and held her crimson-spattered hand up with the tips of her thumb and pointer finger touching in an 'OK' sign. She gave a little smile and dipped her head in a nod.

@jordy0403

@Takashi
The mangy felidrake rowled in its throat and paced in circles. It sat down haughtily, licked its paw in a futile attempt to appear unconcerned, tried to stretch its wings but only hit the bars of the cage. If a glare could kill, the yellow glower this cat gave Telio would have been a long and torturous murder. It snarled and licked its fangs, claws twitching for the chance at the artist's face. The moment he let his guard down, those claws might just find their way between the bars and into whatever flesh was closest. Telio had used this felidrake's insecurities against it, and it would never forgive him.

---

@jordy0403@c3p-0h@Skittles@Diggerton
Spook had been lazing against a rock, watching a hummingbird flitter around one of the dangling silver bells, waiting for the retrieval of the last of the felidrakes -- but the glassy eyes of his mask caught the bright red of blood.

Slowly he crawled to his feet, smacked the dust from his coat haphazardly, and approached the small group that had formed around the injuries. The Traveller knelt near them, and he held out a wide, palm-sized jar to whomever would take it. The jar was half-full of a pale blue paste that had obviously been used and refilled quite a lot in the past.

"Try this," he said with a hidden smile. "It's blueflower salve, the best among Travellers." Once someone had taken the jar, he reached in his bag again and retrieved a weathered, crumpled journal.

"Now is later, isn't it?" Spook had turned to the first blank page and was drawing a pencil sketch, but he was apparently speaking to Emma. "Most of the people who live outside city walls are the Temple Magi and the Travellers, but sometimes you'll find rough villages on the forest outskirts. Sometimes they're even friendly."

He tapped the end of his pencil against his mask, then pulled out the page and handed it to Emma. It was a drawing of an exotic flower with spiked petals and looping filaments. "That's the blueflower that makes the salve," he explained with a grin, as if she had asked. "It's fairly common this time of year, if you can get to it before other Travellers do."

---

@Crimson Raven@DFTBA
Meanwhile, a tremendous screeching and howling came from the direction of Kelsior and Andica and the bagged tangled mess of felidrakes. Fur flew everywhere in the tumultuous chaos of wings and fur and teeth and claws and blood. Andica managed to get one confused critter into a cage without much hassle, but the second one spread its wings too wide for the cage opening and struggled in a manic hissing frenzy. It was already scratched up and bloody from being trapped among its fellow scared felidrakes, and now it was crazed for something to kill.

As soon as it was out of Kelsior's makeshift bag, it clung to the edge of the cage, wings wide and flapping. With a poof it was gone, and Andica would hear the telltale pop right behind her. The felidrake was clinging to her back with its claws, still flapping furiously and yowling.

The remaining felidrake in Kelsior's bag had gone quiet, scared and bloody and panting, curled up as small as it possibly could.

---

@Jay Kalton@hoppiholla391
All the felidrakes had gradually disappeared to be captured elsewhere, leaving the temple ruin empty except for the one creature hiding inside the broken statue.

The chorus of whistling eventually went quiet, and all the two women could hear was the ambience of the forest and the distant screeching of felidrakes being caught below.

---

Spook returned to the site of the magic circle and looked around lazily. "Bring them all in," he called to the cityfolk. "The whole litter is coming with us."

He waited for the cityfolk to gather round, and he studied them with a tipped head and gloved hands in his pockets.

"I'll need some volunteers," he said with a grin, and he stepped back away from the magic circle on the ground. "Sit down and touch the edge of the circle. You're going to do magic today."

Spook walked slowly around the circle, waiting for whomever would take him up on the opportunity. Off to the side, the caged felidrakes meowed and fussed.

"Think of something you want more than anything in the world," he instructed the volunteers. "Or someone or something you love with all your heart. Think of something that takes your breath away and makes your heart clench." He waited a moment, still walking slowly around the circle, watching each person carefully. "The power of magic is in Dreams," he said quietly, so as not to disturb their imagination. "The stronger the Dream, the more powerful the magic."

It was time to see who among them would have a natural knack for magic.

Chuckling to myself when Meryn sniffed one of the strips, pretending that it smelt, which it didn't, all my clothes were clean except for the ones I was wearing. Spook came over and offered some 'blueflower salve', whatever that was. After that, he went over to a circle on the ground, which I think I remember seeing him draw at some point, and talked about how we needed to focus on something we love or takes our breath away, to do 'magic'. Maybe he was right, maybe he wasn't, but, why not give it a go? After all, I did come out here for adventure. Offering Meryn a hand up, I then went over to the circle and put my hand on the edge, thinking about adventure for a second, then stopping, thinking instead of Enn. It may have been pretty boring, but it was home, I guess, that's all that really mattered in the end.

@c3p-0h (I continued after offering Meryn a hand up just to get into the circle, the same will happen no matter what Meryn chooses, unless she knocks me unconscious or stabs me :) But I really hope that doesn't happen, it would be unfortunate to say the least)

Telio was moderately amused by the vindictive looks his felidrake was giving him. He chuckled as he set the cage down next to all the others that had been collected and said to it, "Well I'll never let my guard down if you look ready to claw my eyes out. May our paths never cross again then." With that he turned his attention to spook and the enormous magic circle he had drawn. It was a fascinating construct, with layers of simple geometry coming together elegantly to create a complex masterpiece. He reached for his art supplies to make a sketch of the fascinating construct, thinking little of the consequences of reproducing such an array, but Spook had other plans.

He asked the group for volunteers who wanted to do magic. Normal, everyday people doing magic! Telio had always thought that magic was something that sages in secluded valleys studied for hundreds of years before they could bend reality to their will. It was hard to believe that a simple city folk like himself would be able to do it just like that. Then again... he looked at the pile of caged felidrakes that seemed to have no problem using their magic to zip about. "Well, I's certainly hard to pass up an opportunity like this," Telio said, and then he took a seat at the circle.

Telio listened to Spook's instructions and thought about it carefully before he attempted to begin. What took his breath away? What had he always dreamed about. He imagined himself as a child again, sitting atop the city walls with his binoculars. The farthest point he could see was the end of everything he knew. It was the edge of his map. Then he imagined himself standing at that farthest point and donning his binoculars once again. What would he see this time? Certainly not the baroness, but an entire world of sights he could only imagine. Mushrooms towering taller than the tallest trees in Enn! The paper stretched to accommodate the new lines of the map. Walls of ice and mountains of fire sitting right next to each other in harmony! Just one map wouldn't do; he would need topographies, climate maps, illustrations... A creature with 27 eyes and 54 mouths that likes to drink tea harvested from a tree with bacon for bark! The lines were drawn, colors danced across the pages, and Telio finally stood at the edge of the world. Teetering on the edge of all that anyone who ever lived knew, Telio took out his binoculars and looked beyond anyone's imagination. That sight that neither he nor any mortal being could ever dream of seeing was what made his heart clench.

"I take it back," Lily grumbled as she carefully picked her way down the temple stairs. "You are not cute, you are not enchanting, you are a rotten beast and I hate you." She was bleeding from a few shallow scratches across her hands and thighs, but nothing that wouldn't heal up within the day—she'd managed to maneuver the drake mostly into the cage before it really woke up, so at least she hadn't had to deal with teleporting too, but it was still quite the trial.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, she set the cage down with the others (as much as she wanted to set it down sharply and get the little monster back, she couldn't make herself) ad dusted her hands off. She frowned in concern at the little group clustered around Meryn and her wounds, but when Spook dropped his next bombshell, her attention was entirely diverted.

Magic. Just think of it.

Lily grinned excitedly before she could stop herself, but quickly suppressed it into a mysterious smile, the kind that had often enticed customers to her side. She strode forward confidently and sat gracefully, folding her legs and placing her palm firmly on the edge of the strange design Spook had drawn.

"Certainly not an opportunity you see every day," she said with a wink to the artist sitting next to her. She quieted quickly, though, as Spook gave his instructions—think of something you want more than anything in the world.

More than anything.

Lily's eyes closed and the image popped into her head all but instantly. It was one dream that had sustained her for many, many years—through good times and bad, through crossing lines she had never meant to cross. Some of the women in her profession had scoffed, saying that dreams were useless—you just had to buckle down and get through the day, do what must be done. Privately, Lily begged to differ. To do what must be done, dreams were vital.

Every time she thought of it, the picture grew more and more detailed. She could smell the spice of the fireplace, feel the warmth upon her skin; hear her father's belly laugh as one of her sisters finished a joke. She didn't need to open her eyes to see the feast before her—she could smell it clear as day, the kind of bounty they had never been able to afford, meats and sweets and braided bread and fresh fruit with no mold or spots. Father would be serving the girls first; Ara would be pouring the cider; Ilinda and Eola would be sneaking candies when they weren't supposed to and father pretended he couldn't see. There was a feast on the table, there was no more work to do, and she couldn't see it but she knew the coffers were full of gold, stray coins scattered across the table. Lily could imagine every detail—the grain of the wood on the table, the glow of the fire on Eola's strawberry hair, the sparkle of the fine jewelry and fabrics everyone wore. The only thing that was hazy was the woman at the head of the table—the face of her mother, who she had last seen when she was two years old—but the lack of detail was made up for by a raw mixture of love and grief. There was impression of bright red hair like her own, laughing blue eyes, and a wide smile with a helter-skelter twist. The one thing she could see clearly was the look of love between her mother and her father.

It was the oldest dream Lily had—and the one she had clung to most tightly.

Lux shook her head when Emma asked about her scratch. It stung a bit more than she thought it would, and she winced when Emma lightly touched it, but the pain was more than manageable. She'd gone through worse skulking about in the strangest places in town. Like the time she crawled into a perfectly Lux-shaped hole underneath the baker's shop; she got a small but deep scar on her back where a loose nail had dug into her. Or when she squeezed her way through a narrow not-really-alleyway and got stuck there when the decrepit walls caved in. A bunch of the town's construction workers had to hammer away at the stone walls until they made a whole big enough for her to escape from. Ouch, did she get a lot of bruises from that. And a lot of lectures, too. That hurt a lot more.

But really, the main reason was this: "No, no, leave it like that! It looks like a battle scar, doesn't it? Lux versus the fearsome felidrake!"

It would make for a wonderful story for her brother, and maybe even her other friends back at home. As long as she exaggerated the size of the fearsome felidrake, make it dragon-sized instead of cat-sized.

Emma let her know then that she'd already caught one—of course Emms did, and probably without much effort to boot! She really needed to take a page from Emma's handy how-to-get-things-done-with-ease-(and-style) journal. There was nothing that botanist couldn't do! Lux figured Emma could help with her cheeky felidrake nemesis, but before she had a chance to ask, some rustling caught her ever-alert ears (sharpened by years of nosiness and gossiping).

It was that popping sound that the felidrakes made when teleporting.

Lux looked up and around the suspect tree. From her brief observations, the felidrakes didn't just leave aural traces of their 'before' locations, but some very faint visuals as well. It was like an afterimage, there longer than it was supposed to be. They were hard to spy, but if she were to look for it as soon as the popping sounded, she knew she would find it. Lux looked for one now and followed what she thought was the trail up, up, up, where Meryn just teleported.

Where Meryn just teleported. She knew it.

Lux would have been a lot more excited if Meryn wasn't currently hurtling downward at a pace that surely meant no good. Whether she had teleported through her own magical abilities (very, very likely) or through some accidental accompaniment of a felidrake (also very, very likely, but not as much fun), some miscalculations must have been made.

"Emms, look!"

Lux scrambled forward, arms outreached, ready to catch the falling—teleporting!—delivery girl even though she probably couldn't handle her weight, only to gracefully fall flat on her face. In her haste, she had tripped over her own feet and went skidding across the ground, to the side and farther away from where she wanted to go. There was second-delay in her cognition, and she only realized she was no longer moving forward (and downward instead) when a fallen Meryn perfectly aligned in her line of sight. She had crashed landed unto her iron cage, breaking it into pieces, and Lux caught only air and some dirt on her face.

The thudding sound that resounded after Meryn fell made Lux shriek in empathetic pain. Ow, ow, ow. She'd observed the roof-hopping girl long enough to know she can handle a fall, but still. Ow, ow, ow. Lux quickly dusted herself off, ignoring the few extra scratches she got because they were nothing compared to the literal holes in Meryn's body, and rushed back to Emma. She all but yanked the botanist, who was no doubt getting her healing stuff, toward stubborn, teleporting Meryn who still bothered with the felidrake even though she literally had holes in her body.

"Go do your magic on her, Emm. I bet she'll be teleporting again in no time!" Lux said as she led the way. Meryn seemed well enough to move and interact with that guard guy who caused the commotion earlier this morning, but Lux wouldn't be certain that she was better until amazing Emma did her thing.

Spook got to Meryn the same time they did and handed over some Traveller medicine that made Lux super curious, then guilty because there were more important matters at hand. She waited until Emma took it and applied it to Meryn, straining to keep her attention on the injured girl that needed attention instead of the masked Traveller talking about temples and magis.

^{@Diggerton@c3p-0h}

Emma pondered Spook's word. She'd like the opportunity to visit one of these villages, but she was sure Spook had other plans at the moment. For the time being she accepted the blue salve and the drawing. It would make a good start for her book, she thought to herself, examining the illustration closely. She made a mental note to keep a lookout for the blueflower, excited for a chance to examine it for herself. For now, though, Emma returned her attention to Lux, who had refused treatment, proclaiming herself proud of her battle scar. Emma smiled at the girl, who's attention had suddenly been taken elsewhere. Emma followed her gaze, but didn't catch the Meryn's 'afterimage'.

What Emma did notice, however, was Meryn rapidly falling to meet the ground. Lux called out, comically attempting to catch the delivery girl and comically failing to boot. She saw Meryn crash into the cage, splinters of metal piercing her back. As the delivery girl recovered Emma also noticed Meryn doing her best to ignore her.

Emma and Meryn always had an understanding. Meryn would help deliver medicine and Emma would patch her up and, of course, pay her whether she wanted it or not. Only now it seemed that Meryn was doing her best to avoid treatment. Whether she was trying to avoid Emma chastising her or if she felt their deal would not extend beyond the walls of Enn she was not sure, but Emma was already digging through her backpack to retrieve her medical supplies. In the meantime it looked as if Meryn and another man she did not recognize were already attempting to deal with her wounds themselves.

Emma quickly rushed over, bandages and Spook's blue salve in hand. She knelt down next to the girl, who was still flat on her ass after her fall. "Meryn, you know if you're hurt you can always ask me for help," Emma said, smiling at the delivery girl, "Although I do wish you would be more careful." Spook, by now, was briefing the rest of the group on the next step of their mission, but Emma was more concerned with Meryn.

She began to work, moving Meryn's hand and her improvised rags from the wound. Emma examined the puncture marks. "Not the worst I've seen from you. You know, Meryn, really, you're my friend, if you need help don't hesitate to ask." Emma opened up Spook's jar of blue goop, scooping some out with her finger. She took a moment to examine the pasty salve, taking a cautious sniff of it. It smelt like a salve. What else did she expect? The bleeding had already mostly stopped, so that wasn't a big concern for Emma. She gingerly spread the salve over Meryn's wounds, then grabbed a bandage. She peeled off the paper backing. One of the perks of being an affluent healer was access to adhesive bandages, a relatively new invention in Enn. She placed the bandage over the wound. For now her work was done. "Alright, Meryn, we're all done." Emma said, smiling.

Now she was addressing both Emma and Lux, "Let's go see what Spook and the others are going now, looks kinda fun." She said, turning her attention towards the main group. Spook spoke of magic, and instructed them on how to work the magical circle. This was certainly not an opportunity she could pass up. Emma turned to the pair, grinning, "We should definitely get in on this."

Emma cautiously walked towards the magic circle. She wasn't exactly scared, but she certainly didn't know what to expect from a magic circle. She followed Spook's instructions, sitting and touching the edge of the circle.

She let her mind wander.

Suddenly, the image came to her head. She could see her family. Her father, her mother, her siblings, but not only them. She also saw all the other people that she held close to her heart: The one she had always loved and respected as her own grandfather, her master, Forivel. Her friends she had always regarded as a sister, Lux. Beside them was Lux's brother, and all of her friends in Enn and all of those that had come beyond the wall with Spook. She liked the idea of Spook being there as well, even though she did not know the Traveler well.

Everyone looked really happy in her mind's eye.
@Mokley @Skittles @c3p-0h

Meryn wanted to retreat under her hood – only to remember she wasn't currently wearing it – at the sight of all the people crowding around her. Her cheeks warmed and she didn't know what to do with all of the attention. Spook was there shoving some salve at her, the silver-haired girl was staring at her with that odd look again, Emma was already pushing her hand out of the way to get at the wounds, and Alex was just sitting there, watching it all. Meryn raised an eyebrow at the silver girl's words. Meryn had no interest in teleporting again anytime soon. She glanced back at the felidrake, which had finished its second piece of meat. It didn't seem to be in the mood either. What Emma said next though made Meryn pause and snap her head up to look at her.

She'd called Meryn her friend.

Was that true? She supposed the botanist probably came closest of anyone she knew if only because she spent the most time with her. But… friends? The word left an odd feeling in her stomach, and Meryn looked to the ground.

Soon enough Emma was finished treating her and everyone was making their way towards the circle Spook had drawn on the forest floor. Meryn only glanced up again when she didn't feel the shadow standing over her move. It was Alex, an arm extended down to her. Meryn looked away, the odd feeling returning. Her eyes found the felidrake. It was staring back at her with its lazy expression. Ignoring Alex, she reached forward slowly with her blood stained fingers. The felidrake sniffed her a bit before licking at the blood, and she took that as the ok. Gingerly, she scooped it up and dropped it into her open bag, listening to the bell inside jingle at the movement.

She winced as she pushed herself up, one hand pressing on the bandage while the other helped to support her bag strap (she was proud to note she'd only swayed a couple times and the pounding in her head barely got any worse when she stood). Meryn spared Alex a glance as she walked forward, making her way to where the group was gathering. Waiting at the back of the group, she watched the Traveller as he made his explanation.

Magic. Real magic. They were actually being given the chance. Spook had all of her attention as he spoke, and her eyebrows pushed ever so slightly together. What she dreamed of. What she loved. What took her breath away. Meryn looked to the side, the corner of her mouth quirking up in a quiet joke. Crashing to the ground had certainly taken her breath away.

What she loved was simple. She loved the feeling of flying through the city. She loved dancing through the air and over rooftops, untouchable and unstoppable. She loved climbing to the highest peak she could find and watching the sunset cast fiery shadows over the city.

But what did she dream of? Most of the time she tried not to think of it, if only because it was a hopeless dream. And in rare moments when it seemed attainable, she only managed to self-sabotage.

Her mind wandered back to the gates of Enn, when Alex had dumped that water on her. Honestly, she'd almost been relieved. He'd given her an excuse to withdraw, to not try with them. And then Meryn thought of Spook, and how at the first sign of not being taken seriously, she'd abandoned that attempt. She'd climbed up the tree almost out of spite, she was so eager.

She'd never been able to connect with anyone before. At first it was because of what an easy target she was to the other street kids. Then it was because of the way the rest of the town preferred to pretend she didn't exist. No one had the patience to bother communicating with her, not really. She'd grown up mute and illiterate, and while she'd learned to get her point across, her methods seemed so inefficient. When she became the town's most trusted delivery system, it was just another costume people put on her so they didn't need to know her.

The odd girl who darts through the sky. The quiet messenger. To be studied and gossiped about and theorized about and used, but never known. Something mysterious or pitiable or dirty, but never quite human enough. A target, a street rat, a messenger, a patient, a curiosity, label after label. Never her. Never Meryn, not really. She wanted to snort at that, because even that was a farce. Meryn wasn't even her name, just something some stranger had given her as payment for her first job.

She wanted to tell someone what it felt like to fly. She wanted to compliment someone's eyes, or tell them how she got every scar on her body. When she was angry, she wanted someone to know without having to guess. She wanted to argue and joke and rant. She wanted to unleash every thought echoing in her mind, no matter how arbitrary or complicated.

The answer to Spook's request circled over and over in her mind: Meryn wanted to be understood.

But somehow whenever it seemed like someone might come close… when had shutting down become so easy? Emma had called Meryn her friend. Alex had offered her help and consideration. How did she treat them in return?

She wondered if her parents would've understood her.

Meryn pressed her lips together and her grip on her strap tightened until her knuckles were white. She wasn't afraid of falling. She wasn't. She had a reputation as one of the most fearless (insane?) people in Enn. But the thought of giving someone the chance only to be brushed off or misunderstood again – she was sprinting towards a ledge, only to skid to a stop inches before a jump, wobbling as she tried desperately not to fall over the side. Because if her feet never left the ground, she couldn't fall, could she?

But then, this wasn't anything at all like running. When she ran and jumped and climbed, there was no understanding. There was just being. She didn't need anyone to run. Maybe that was why she liked it so much.

She watched as person after person stepped forward and placed their hands on the circle. She wondered what dreams they had. Spook had only asked for a few volunteers, right? They weren't all expected to step forward. He probably didn't want them all to try at once. She'd try the next one. Her dream, such a laughable thing, probably wouldn't work well with the magic anyway. She ignored the voice in her head whispering excuses.

Meryn waited at the back, watching as the volunteers placed their hands on the circle and leaped into the unknown.

Spook stood at the back, across the circle from Meryn, hands in his pockets. It was uncertain where, exactly, he was looking. The mask gave him that advantage.

Alexander placed his hand on the circle. Nothing happened.

Telio placed his hand on the circle. Nothing happened.

Lily placed her hand on the circle. Nothing happened.

Emma placed her hand on the circle. Nothing happened.

Somewhere, a hawk screeched. Off to the side, the felidrakes popped and poofed and meowed and rattled their cages. A breeze rustled in the trees. A chorus of whistling rose up out of the ruined Temple behind them.

Nothing happ--

BOOM

Violet light flashed, blinding.

When the light dimmed and everyone could see again, they would find a deep, dark hole gaping wide at the center of the magic circle.

Deep within the void, lightning sparked and sizzled. Winds howled. Waves seethed and crashed -- but all they could see was a thick, inky darkness that stretched on forever down, down, into oblivion. There was no doubt that falling into such an abyss would be a fate worse than death.

Their collective Dreams had opened a portal to a place of nightmares.

Something moved in the darkness.

"Looks like it's unstable," Spook mentioned in good humor.

Something scaly poked out of the portal they had created. It stared over the edge with beady glinting eyes, and flicked a black forked tongue. It was a hundred times bigger than a snake should be.

A second giant snake-head appeared -- and another. The three enormous snakes rose quickly out of the portal; a clawed foot scrabbled up onto the ground, clambering with difficulty up out of the abyss, revealing that the three snakes were connected to the same body.



Spook was entirely unphased. "Don't let go of the circle," he reminded them, like a kindergarten teacher instructing his students. He tipped his head up and beckoned to Lux, Meryn and Kelsier.

Even as he gestured them closer, the snake-beast climbed farther into the ground, struggling. One head hissed at Lily, another bared its fangs at Telio, and the third snapped its razorblade jaws at Emma.

Oh man, a three headed snake lizard thing? What am I supposed to do? Spook said to stay in the circle, but he did seem kinda laid back. But would he seriously want us to get hurt? If anything, it would hurt his reputation I'd say, so no, I don't think so. But still... I'll do what he says for now, but if it starts to attack, I've got my weapons and shield on me. Man... I wanted adventure, but still, a Trilizake? (That's what I had decided to call it) That seems a little to much.

BOOM

Meryn flinched back at the sudden burst of light, an arm coming up to shield her eyes. She squinted as her vision slowly returned – only to look on in horror at the monster crawling up from the ground. The sunlight glinting off its emerald scales rippled with every movement as it slithered up from the depths of whatever portal Spook had just had them open. Tar black tongues flicked in and out between blades of teeth. A clawed hand wrenched itself up and smashed down onto solid ground. The creature – whatever the hell it was – was climbing out.

Meryn's aches and pains, her worries, her very thoughts, all seemed to vanish in the face of the three headed monster. For the second time that day, her breath left her. She barely registered Spook, the conniving lunatic, beckoning her forward, along with Lux and the swordsman. Like hell she was doing anything that crackpot told her now. Had this been what he'd wanted them for? To summon some devil-spawn hydra?

Then the monster seemed to register the people who'd summoned it. Meryn didn't have time to think. All she registered was the way it hissed dangerously at Lily, how it snapped its deadly jaws at Emma. The next thing she knew, a sharp, high whistle rang through the air, and a bandage, sticky with drying blood and a blue salve, was flying at it. The bandage landed with a wet splat on the nose closest to Emma. Time seemed to freeze as the monster processed what exactly had just happened. Then the three heads all turned to Meryn.

And she fully grasped how much of an idiot she was.

The Emma-head breathed in a long drag, the bandage pulling around the outline of the razor thin nostril. Then it blew out, and the bandage flew to the ground. Meryn pressed her lips together and raised a single, crimson hand. It was trembling. Six golden eyes narrowed to slits at her. Tongues flicked in and out, tasting the air. The monster renewed its struggle to free itself from the portal, eyes still on her. Taking a step back, Meryn felt her head spin with so many thoughts, she couldn't keep track of them all (though the spinning could've been due to the shallow, frenzied way she was breathing). Most of her thoughts revolved around how incredibly stupid she was. Others were about how she wanted to drop Spook off a cliff, and the rest were centered on the rest of the people there. They'd be alright, right? Meryn had no idea how magic worked – if the people touching the circle could just stop touching it in the middle of the spell, or if there'd be some kind of blowback or damage to them. Was that why Spook hadn't done it himself? She was pretty sure even injured, she had the best chance of outmaneuvering this thing. And there were people with swords here, yeah? Could they hack it to pieces if she could distract it long enough?

Gods above and below, this had been a terrible move. She was probably dead already.

Meryn took another step back as the monster tore another leg free and slammed it onto the forest floor.

Telio had always wondered why the city of Enn had walls. There were never any threats from the wilderness or enemy armies to keep out. There were no bandits or marauders that he knew of, and any traveler that passed by was allowed entry upon asking for it. It seemed fruitless to build and maintain such an enormous structure that protected the city from a whole lot of nothing. However, when Telio saw that three-headed demon appear out of thin air, he understood, and he wished he was behind them.

The artist was immediately paralyzed with terror when the creature looked directly at him, baring its lethal fangs. Powered by dreams? No, this was a creature summoned from the depths of nightmares. When Telio peered past the edge of the world, he hadn't expected to find an abyss of abominations such as these. Then, the paralytic fear was overcome by his primal instinct to flee. His mind did not even process Spook's order to remain by the circle; with one pitiful yelp, Telio scrambled away from the creature and back into the temple ruins, praying that it was more of a lumbering brute than an efficient hunter.

He found a nice hiding spot between some bushes and statues that offered him some semblance of safety while he stopped to catch his breath. He clutched his head in trembling hands, and it was only after several heavy gasps that he realized that he was alive, and after sever more that he realized that nobody else had joined him. He dared a peak out from his hiding place, dreading a macabre sight of slaughtered friends, but it seemed the monster had not attacked just yet. It was still in the circle, but its eyes, all six of them, were on the woman from his team whose name he had not yet learned. He felt like a coward just sitting there watching, but what could he do? He was an artist; there was not a single item in his bag that could harm one scale on that beast's hide. He could only pray that the members of the city guard that had joined them would be enough to slay the beast.

Lily's mouth hung open as the...whatever the hell that was started to drag its way out of the circle. She was stunned beyond reacting, but when a forked tongue lashed out bare inches from her face, she lunged backwards, remembering at the last second to keep her hand pressed to the circle's edge. Only one thought was clear in her head beyond blind panic.

Spook, I am going to kill you.

She snapped back into awareness as something disgustingly wet and sticky red flew past to land on the head farthest from her. Lily's indigo eyes widened in utter confusion as she slowly traced the flight path from the equally baffled monster to Meryn. Meryn, standing alone and defenseless, as all three horrifying heads swiveled to stare directly at her.

The redhead barely registered Telio fleeing—smart man—but what she did register was the shudder that went through her palm, still pressed into the dirt. It was almost like a sucking sensation, pulling her deeper, as Telio's footsteps retreated into the woods at speed, but when the pull on her hand subsided, the energy she'd felt thrumming through her hand was somehow dimmer than before. The creature pulled a second leg out of the void, and Lily didn't have time to ponder the specifics as she yelled at the rest of the party without turning her head.

"Don't just stand there, do something!"

Her other hand slammed into the ground before she had time to think of what might happen. For once in her life, she didn't worry about how she looked—she bared her teeth in a snarl, dug her previously-perfect nails into the dirt, and pressed down on the edge of the circle so hard her forearms trembled. Lily wasn't particularly strong, she wasn't particularly fast, and she was hopeless with a fancy sword, but if magic needed willpower? That she had in spades. And maybe there was a bitter edge to it, maybe in the darkest nights doing the darkest things all she had left was an ember of resentment to keep herself going, but gods dammit—she might not be able to call storms, but she could be a force of nature if she had to. She refused to bend, refused to break, and some jumped-up monstrosity of a garter snake was not going to push her over the edge.

Little by little, Lily's hands sunk into the dirt with the sheer pressure she was putting on them, and she refused to back away or give into the instinct that was screaming 'RUN, NOW, VERY FAST AND VERY FAR PLEASE.' She leaned her full weight on her hands, and then pushed even harder, her driving thought that she was not going to let some teenager get eaten alive if she had anything to do with it.

The beast faltered. The night-black circle slowly, painfully slowly contracted by a scant inch. She couldn't wonder if it would be enough. It had to be enough.

At the appearance of the Beast, Kelsier didn't freak out. He didn't flee, nor did he show any signs of fear. He would love to say that it was becuase he had nerves of steel and a will of iron, but that was not the case. He was so surprised and the thing was so fearsome, that the little part of his brain that would scream in fear just shut down. His mind was clear, yet foggy, it was like everything was going in slow motion, and happening to someone else and he was mearly a bystander. He noted that the thing was surprisingly fast, and it seems that its bite was the worst thing to look out for. Some irrelivant part of him wondered if the three heads ever got tangled. Another part realised he had a rock in one of hits boots that was bothering him. His next thought was, Getting killed by that thing would probably hurt. A moment later, though, sanity returned in a rush. His new friends were in danger. He was going to do whatever it took to get them out of this unharmed.

He stooped low to scoop up a fist-sized rock. He put his other and to his mouth and whistled, high and shrill. He threw the rock at one of its heads. "Hey, big, scaly, and ugly!" He shouted. His aim was dead on and he hit the middle head in the eye, mildly irritating it. It turned to this new prey, blocking the view of the right head, which hissed in annoyance and turned to see what the middle head was looking at. Well, two out of three isn't so bad. Kelsier though, mildly. Now, I gotta figure out how to survive. Kelsier shouted, his voice cutting through the confusion. "Anyone who can fight! Help me Llre it away from those in the circle!" One of the heads, the right head, bit at him and he jumped to the side to evade. The same head turned and persued him, its sinuous neck stretching. It bit at him again, but this time, he was ready. He drew his massive sword and brought it in a murderous two handed arc that ended at the top of the thing's head. His sword bounced off, leaving only a slight gash. The force of the blow momentarily stuned the head long enough for Kelsier to scramble out of biting range. That thing's hide is thick and strong. He observed, still mostly running on instinct. Gotta find a soft spot.

He now had its full attention from all three heads. It slivered forward, wary of Kelsier's blade but not dismayed. It would jerk a head forward in a darting motion, prompting Ferrin to feint a thrust toword it, but it would draw that head back and do the same with another. They appeared to be at a stalemate, but Ferrin was being driven back, step by step, and he knew that when that monster realised that the sword was not much of a threat, it would charge and that would be the end for him.

All hell broke loose... that was probably the best way to describe. Everyone collectively lost their heads and they couldn't really be blamed, and, unfortunately for Emma she found herself face to face with the head of a giant hydra snapping it's jaws at her.

'...'

Emma's head was empty, unfortunately. She was a botanist, not a monster slayer. The scariest creature she had ever seen was an angry alley cat, and the ferocious hydra was certainly a step up. Emma had liked to believe she would be brave in the face of danger.

It might have even been true if the first danger she saw wasn't a gigantic snake monster.

But for the moment she stood unmoving. One should not mistake her lack of motion for compliance with the masked madman who had bought this terrible creature into the previously peaceful forest. No, she was frozen with terror, muscles unwilling to move despite every panicked impulse that screamed 'run'.

And then everyone was in motion. Meryn's bandage sailed past Emma's head, landing on the nose of the hydra with a distinct splat, receiving the monsters attention. Someone ran, and they certainly could not be blamed for that. Yet another stepped forward to join in whatever form of demonic magic this was. Yet another still was facing the monster down with a sword.

Luckily Emma finally found her head.

I thought magic would be fun.

That was a mistake, it seemed. Spook's words now registered in her head. 'Don't let go of the circle.'

He wouldn't try to kill us, would he? Lure a couple of 'city-folk' into the forest for and get them to summon a monster from Hell for some kicks? You've got to be pretty insane to be a Traveler... but he didn't seem that bad... do I trust him?

She didn't, but it seemed wise in that moment to defer to the only person in the group that had any knowledge of magic. So she dug in and stared down the creature.

She hoped she wasn't making a fatal mistake and enabling a madman.

Everyone was either attacking the snake, getting attacked by the Trilizake, distracting the Trilizake, or, in Telio's case, running away from the Trilizake. Can't say I blame him. Instead of running though, I pulled out my pistol, and fired the loaded bullet through the eye hole of the head attacking Kelsier. It blinked at the worst time possible for me. Oh gods, I thought, holstering my pistol and bringing out my shield as that head turned towards me, hissing angrily. I am so dead. Why did I agree to this?

---

From over the heads of the whistling statues, Telio could see and hear the roaring, screaming, thrashing, almost comical chaos below. There was a knot of green scales and claws and teeth and arms and swords flailing; a pistol fired, and the forest shook as every living creature fled for higher ground, and still a couple of the trusting ones kept their hands to the circle despite the immediate danger of decapitation by snake bite. Spook stood by, hands in his pockets, idle.

Here, in the remains of the temple, it was peaceful. The statues whistled in soothing harmony. The leaves above rustled in the soft breeze.

Telio would hear a soft tack tack tack of something small and metal tapping against stone.

"You have beautiful dreams."

The soft, feminine voice came from a small metallic bird. It stood glinting on a whistling statue's head, blinking at Telio with one eye turned toward him, and it bounced a little closer along the stones. A turnkey spun slowly on its back. A rune had been carved ornately into its chest -- like the rune on the tree they had encountered on the road, and like the runes written on Spook's arms.



"A person with beautiful dreams should never be afraid," the little bird said. "Not in a place where dreams are magic."

---

The beast had been on the verge of a strike upon Meryn -- enraged at the smear of blood on its nose -- when Kelsier initiated his own attack. Within moments, Kelsier alone had the monster's full attention and rage; in quick succession each head snapped against his skilled blade, flicking forward and back like a venomous spring. One head still reeled, cross-eyed from the guardsman's initial attack, and was slower and sloppier than the others. The rest of its body -- half of which still hung below the edge of the portal -- writhed and scraped to move closer, to catch Kelsier between blows, to snatch him in its fangs and rip him apart.

A shot rang out, and one of the heads jerked violently, crashing into the others, dripping black blood from an eyesocket. The head that had been shot fell to the ground and was limp and still. The remaining two heads divided their attention: one continued to fight Kelsier's sword while the other sped venomously toward Alexander with every intention of biting off his head. It crashed into his shield and pulled back for another blow.

Lily and Emma, in their concentration, could feel every detail of the power moving between them. Energy routed throughout the network of lines in intricate patterns; It was now clear to both of them where the power was lacking, and where the gaps and blocks were in the flow of energy. It was simple, with this knowledge, to direct their thoughts and work together: to balance the flow of dreams and bring stability to the circle.

Within the portal, the thunder stopped rolling. The lightning stopped flashing, and the wind stopped howling. An eerie silence followed, broken only by the hissing beast and the clang, clang of Kelsier's sword against the monster's snapping fangs.

The monster's lower half began to scrape, slide and sink backward.

Soon, its attacks could no longer reach Kelsier and Alexander. Its claws scrabbled against the weedy cobblestones, and the two heads hissed frightfully while the third dragged, bleeding, along the ground. As long as Lily and Emma maintained concentration, the beast was sucked farther and farther back into the hole it had come from, its necks flinging wildly in a desperate desire to stay aboveground -- until, all at once, the last of it was yanked into darkness, and the monster was gone.

Stillness. Silence. The forest held its breath.

At the center of the magic circle, the portal remained -- only now it simply looked like a black spot in the road, a hollow nothingness, as if in this particular spot nothing at all existed.

Spook whistled.

"You two have a knack for this, don't you?" he said to Lily and Emma as he ambled over to the pile of cages, where the felidrakes were shaking in silent fright. The Traveller picked up two of the cages, and these felidrakes began to yowl in terror as he carried them across to the center of the circle, to drop the cages into the portal one by one.

Meryn stood frozen, staring at the portal. That… that had been incredible. Terrifying, sure but… Lily and Emma… She looked at the two girls, a dazed sort of wonder in her eyes. And Alex and Kelsier… the sort of guts it took to actually challenge that thing. Meryn was getting dangerously close to a smile as she looked at the people she was traveling with. They really were something, weren't they? Who knew the humdrum life in Enn could give life to something that spectacular? Maybe magic lived out here beyond the wall, but she wasn't so sure it didn't thrive in Enn either. Once again, Meryn felt the thrill of sprinting at a precipice, ready to jump and not knowing what awaited her at the bottom. Except this time, she was running along side these people instead of above them.

But then their guide spoke up and the spell was broken. Eyes shooting to Spook, she was hit with the very strong desire to throw something at him. Like a knife. Or a felidrake. Was… was he not going to explain any of that? He was just going to put all their lives in jeopardy and then carry on like it was no big deal? She could only stare at him incredulously as he plopped the two felidrakes into the portal.

After another moment of being infuriated by Spook, she snorted and threw her arms up – only to remember the injury in her side. Flinching, she pressed her bloody hand against her side, hoping to keep the other clean for as long as she could. The wound had started bleeding again from the force with which she'd ripped the bandage off, and flaky brown blood mixed with fresh crimson and the sticky blue paste Spook had offered earlier. Giving a small huff, Meryn turned on her heel and started walking. Someone needed to let that man who'd run off know that it was safe to come out.

Honestly, Meryn didn't blame him. She didn't know how she'd have reacted to that monster showing up in her face. She'd been a safe distance away, and even then she'd been scared senseless. All she'd manage to do was piss it off and make it target her while she contemplated how stupid she was. Her earlier wonder and amazement was dying down. What the others had done was incredible. What she'd done… perhaps she wasn't running along side them after all. With a small sigh she kept walking, slipping a hand into her bag. She yanked it out when something sharp cut into her fingers. Pausing, she looked down to see a very shaken, very agitated felidrake. She'd forgotten it was there. No wonder her bag was so heavy. Meryn sucked the dot of blood off her finger and rolled her eyes. So much for keeping her hand clean. She started walking again, looking around.

Finally she spotted him, hiding among the whistling statues. Meryn picked up her pace and reached, touching his arm. But then she heard a tinny feminine voice over the whistling. Confused, she looked for the source. Only to freeze when she saw a small, mechanical bird. It was talking.

@takashi