SepticGentleman — Roleplayer Guild

"I am done fighting. I have accepted this place. All that it was, is, and shall become. All the stranges, new and old. I will feign understanding no longer. I am part of this land. I am under its charge. And I am truly free."

Theresa ot an Bol'hjar, Benedict Kaspin

The morning came soon. At least, what could be sensed as a morning.

Theresa's eyes quivered as she arose from her slumber, lifting her head up, some dry leaves falling from her hair as it'd spread out during her slumber. She shook her head, and then looked over at Ben. He'd already woken up.

"Hey." Theresa said, minding not to wake Piper. Or, who she assumed to be Piper.

"Hey." Ben replied, motioning his head towards the sleeping figure. "Piper's gone. He came in after she left like nothing was wrong."

"What?" Theresa replied, looking at the newcomer. Definitely wasn't a Piper, looked like a young man. This must have been the "Chumi" individual she spoke of earlier. How did he manage to find this place in the middle of the night? It was probably some magic nonsense that Theresa wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of.

"I stayed up for a good while. Watched him. He didn't steal anything, far as I know. Piper never came back either." He said. Theresa did a quick check of her belongings. Cloak, check. Sword, still sheathed. Shield, present. Satchel, light as it was before. Crossbow... still broken, and still in Ben's possession.

"Nothing off me." Theresa said.

"Me neither. But I say we leave before he wakes up, or Piper comes back. Get a move on to the next town, if we can find it."

Theresa turned her head towards the sleeping Chumi. It did seem rude to leave unannounced, but Chumi had entered unannounced, so the two made up for each other. Theresa nodded, and she and Ben turned to exit the cavern as quietly as possible. The thumping of the saurian's footsteps on the dirt and leaves below probably did wake Chumi, but he was still faking sleep if that were the case.

Theresa noticed something as they left.

"Did... did we move further into the cave, somehow?"

They did. Somehow. The spot they were in seemed further into the cave than it was yesterday. Further as in, the cave had grown, not that they had moved. Something wasn't quite right.

"What is this?" Ben asked, ducking his head beneath the dirty cavern ceiling, which quickly turned to solid rock. The two reached the cave's mouth and... something was definitely different.

They were standing in a clearing, surrounded by a tall rock perimeter, with a gaping hole up top letting the light of day pass through. Seemed a little cloudy still, with light raindrops falling from the rocks and vegetation above. A distance away, very much unaware of her new location, was Piper sleeping on a wet bed of rock, right underneath the raindrops.

"Let's not disturb her either." Theresa said.

"Hmph."

They stepped around the clearing, sticking to the cavern wall, leaving Piper to rest easy. There was another passageway, a tunnel leading forward. They crept into it and stepped across the dirt and stone. There was light at the end. Light brighter than the sky above Piper. Not the same light, not at all.

They exited the tunnel, and what a sight they stood before.

A pit. A rocky pit, like a massive version of the area Piper was sleeping in. The floor of the pit was't more dirt and rock, but rather an open courtyard of cut, even stones, expertly placed. All around them were rocks, moss, and... doors. Actual doors, littered around the perimeter, tucking into frames amidst the vegetation. And more tunnels, leading to places unknown. Above them, above the open crevice, was a clear sky of blue. Birds could be heard chirping far away from this place.

"Where... are we?" Theresa asked.

"You're asking me..." Ben replied.

"When you should be asking me!"

The duo turned. Beside the tunnel they'd just exited, on a moss-ridden rock sat a man. He had a flat face, grey, wrinkly skin, long white hair, and eyes of no color besides black. He wore large, circular glasses and a straw hat with a ridiculously wide brim. He was dressed in simple green coat with a darker garb, with beige trousers and sandals on his legs and feet. Looked something of a farmer, or a gardener perhaps.

He outstretched his hands, and kept up a smile on his wrinkly face. "Welcome." He said, in a kind, elderly voice. His supposed age didn't stop him from dismounting his rock and stepping towards the duo.

Theresa took a moment to gather her thoughts, before she calmly asked, "And who are you?"

"Well..." The man replied, "If you like to be formal, you may call me the Keeper. But friends and acquaintances call me Julian, or Jules. Any's fine by me."

"Keeper? Keeper of what?"

"This place." Julian said, stretching out his hands again and displaying the entirety of the room to the duo. "Folks around here like to call it... the Keeper's Junction."

That smile didn't drop a centimeter the whole time he spoke.

"I'm certain you have other questions, but if I may ask some myself? Tell me, what do you two visitors call this land?"

"The... the Continent."

"Ah, that one. Rightly common, but a little bland. Me, I prefer the more fantastic names, like the Lost Realm, the Forgotten Sprawl. But my absolute favorite? Hopeland."

"Guessing you know a thing or two about it then."

"More than you could guess, dear. Is there anything you'd like to know in particular?"

"I don't even know where to start."

"Then let me. The Continent, as you call it, is... a "land of the lost". When things lose their place in the world, when they fall out of history, forgotten... they fade into obscurity, yes? Well, the Continent IS that obscurity."

"What... does that mean?"

"It means everything you see here, in this land, was once a piece of history that is no longer known to the outside world. And as such, it ended up here."

"That's... amazing."

Theresa paused for a moment before she stepped forward and lifted her cloak away, showing her mark to Julian. "What about this?" She said, "These... tall, blue men with seashell heads, Vigils, they put them on us. I was told this was part of some kind of curse. That we can't leave. What do you know about that?"

"Ah... the Vigils' mark." Julian replied, his smile fading just a bit. "Well... here's the thing. Everything here lives in obscurity, yes? Well... what do you think happens when someone leaves and tells the outside world about them? Then the veil is gone. The obscurity means nothing anymore. And thanks to the "Continent's Curse"... that means the place, or people, or whatever lies in question... it disappears. Vanishes completely, no traces... no ghosts."

The duo was silent as he spoke.

"That's why the Vigils mark foreigners. That's why they don't allow you to leave. To keep every native thing here alive and safe."

Neither of them responded. There was a bout of silence before Julian spoke again.

"I'm sorry it sounds so dreadful. But that's just how it works here."

Theresa looked down at her feet. Ben lightly tapped her shoulder, and she looked up at him. The saurian gave her a reassuring nod, and she gave one back, pausing just for another moment before she spoke.

"Won't let that stop us from exploring." She said, smiling.

Julian returned a smile of his own. "That's the spirit. And besides, the Continent is a magnificent place to make a life for yourself. So much to explore, and quite a bit's available from this very spot."

"What do you mean?"

"The Junction is a meeting point of the Continent. All these doors and tunnels, they stretch across the very reality of the land, providing entrances and exits in a variety of locations. You can go from one end of the Continent to the opposite in just a brisk walk. Amazing, isn't it?"

"I'll say. But... how do we use it properly? We just woke up in a cave here, not the same place we went to sleep in. No idea how that happened."

"Oh, that's one of the tricks the Continent plays on you. Takes you from one spot and puts you in another. But me, I have a way of keeping it stable. Here..." He reached into his coat and pulled out two old, rusty metal keys. Ends were horribly worn, wouldn't fit into any door. He handed one to Theresa, and one to Ben. "These keys are special. If you have one on you, the Junction will be at your full disposal just about wherever you are. Walk through a cave or through a door, and you'll end up here if that's what you so wish."

"This just keeps getting better and better." Ben commented, looking at his key and smirking. Theresa eyed hers before pocketing it, and saying to Julian, "We never gave you our names. I'm Theresa."

"And I'm Ben."

"Theresa and Ben. Wonderful names." Julian replied, "You two seem like fine people. So much so that I hope to see you around often, so we can make ourselves friends. You're both welcome here whenever you like."

"Thank you." Theresa replied, nodding. "Do you mind if we stay here for just a short while? Get our bearings, decide where to go next?"

"But of course. If you..." Julian pointed to a higher alcove in the surrounding rocks. "Go up there, there's a cavern I keep clean for visitors to rest in. Like an inn, you could say. Well lit, beds, what have you. Make as much use of it as you like."

"Thank you, Julian." Theresa said, turning away.

"For everything." Ben added, joining Theresa.

Julian smiled, too turning away as they climbed up to the alcove.

@UrbanEvolution
@Empour
SepticGentleman Member

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