Olivia's room
Inside this room are several pieces of well-worn furniture, inherited from past occupants: a bed, a long, squat dresser with a slice of mirror hung above it, and a small desk and chair. The rest of the room is decorated in what can best be described as "controlled chaos." Canvases cover most of the wall space, on which have been glued odd assortments of buttons, twine, bits of colored cloth, autumn leaves, pebbles of varying sizes, etc. Some of this "art" represents recognizable figures but most are unlike anything ever seen before. Overflowing bags stuffed with cloth scraps sit near the doorway, while more cloth, bobbins of thread, yarn, and ribbons cover the surface of the desk. Located next the bed is something that might be a nightstand (judging from the trinkets resting on it), but it too is built from a mish-mash of smaller elements, twisting around and around like a corkscrew and then widening and flattening at the top.
Olivia spent much of the day working in the weavers guild. A large order of cloth came in and required all apprentices to work overtime. So, she missed her date with Djivan and ended up dragging herself home and fell into bed. Sleep came quickly and welcomely for the Skeek. Unfortunately, it was short lived as in the darkness, she's awakened by a knock at her door.
Olivia groans and cracks open one eyelid. "Go away," she says very distinctly, before rolling over and trying to go back to sleep.
The knocking returns. "No, I no' go away. Vou didn' show an I be worried," comes the familiar voice of Djivan.
Olivia now opens both eyelids, although with a bit of effort. "Urrrrgh… sorryaboutthatgimmeasec," she says all in a single flow of words. Then she heaves herself out of bed, groans again, and puts on a robe. She shuffles to the door and opens it for the Skreek.
Djivan slips inside with a small candle. Quickly, he closes the door. "So, vhat happen? Vou look awful," the Skreek notes.
Olivia yawns hugely and leans against the wall by the door. "Sorry I missed our date. Large order came in today and my aunt has been working all the apprentices like pack animals. Was too tired to make it. Forgive me?"
Djivan sniffs and looks away. I don' know. I be stuck playin' cards wit de otters for hours vhile waitin'. Vhy, I had to take dem for everyt'ing dey had I was so bored," the Skreek says, sounding mock hurt.
Olivia gives the Skreek a smile despite her fatigue. "Poor sweetheart! I must give you such a hard time! To force all of those gambling otters on you must've been more than you could bear… "
"Vou tellin' me. Vould vou want to see a bunch o' naked otters after vou won dere pants?" Djivan comments, grinning slightly.
Olivia grimaces and wrinkles her nose. "Not particularly, no. Particularly Emmett, no matter what the other girls might think of him… "
"So dere. It vas awful," Djivan laments. "I much prefer naked Skeeks, vou know?" he says with a wink.
Olivia kisses Djivan quickly on the cheek. "Well, I'm not really up to anything, er, energetic tonight, perhaps that can wait until tomorrow?" As if to underscore this point, she gives another huge, involuntary yawn.
"Oh, I didn' mean tonigh' I just saying in general," the Skreek says. He hugs the tired Olivia and says, "Sorry vou had such a terrible day."
Olivia hugs back and leans heavily on the gypsy, murmuring sleepily, "Eh, not terrible, just terribly busy. Nothing a good night of sleep won't cure." Then she says gently, "Want to cuddle up with me for a while? Might not be exciting, but at least it'll be relaxing."
"Aye, dat be fine," Djivan says and picks up Olivia. He grins in his usual playful manner and adds, "Back to bed for vou." The Skreek then leans in and kisses Olivia's forehead and eyelids, causing her to close them briefly. "After all, it is time for my bride to come home," comes a voice Olivia had tried for months to forget. A raspy, high pitched voice, full of venom. A wash of hot air flows over the Skeek.
Olivia's whole body jerks violently and her eyes fly open wide. "Wh-what was that?" she gasps.
Olivia is in the arms of Valicross. The sickly yellow eyes of the Skreek glare down at her and he smiles a malevolent, rotting, grin. "Welcome home, lover," he rasps. Around her the room is gone. They are amidst the ruins of Stonebarrow. The buildings smolder softly. The scent of rot is strong and extremely close. And, Olivia can feel that she's wearing a long dress.
Olivia gives a shriek of absolute terror and slams her hands into the necromancer's chest, pushing with all her might, trying to free herself from his grip. "No!" she says furiously, shaking her head as she pushes, "You're dead. Amelia killed you. And you can't come back from that box we put you in… this just can't be happening!"
When Olivia's hands slam into Valicross' chest, she realizes where the smell of rot is coming from. Olivia's own hands are rotting. They are covered in the tattered remains of a wedding dress. She can even see the bones in her hands. The Skreek releases her and the Skeek lands hard on the ground. "Still fighting, lover?" he rasps malevolently. "Even dead you continue to resist. It's very charming."
Olivia groans as she hits the ground, then wobbles to her knees. For a few moments, all she can do is stare at her own rotting hands. Then she clenches them into fists, watching the bones move beneath the flesh. "I'm not dead, you didn't get the chance to kill me," she says defiantly. "If by some miracle you managed to live, this has to be one of your tricks. You're in my dreams again, it can be the only explanation!"
Her hands creak and the old flesh tears. The Skreek merely looks amused by all of this and holds out a mirror so she can see her face. One ear is completely gone and the rest is dry and tattered. "You look dead to me, lover," the Skreek rasps.
Olivia pushes herself unsteadily to her feet. "I don't believe you," she says, taking a few steps backward, away from him. "You manipulated my dreams before to make me see what you wanted me to see. You're just doing it again!" Then she puts one incomplete hand up to her forehead. How do I wake up from this??
The Skreek doesn't seem to hear it, but Olivia just barely hears something in the distance. A voice calling out, "Where are you?"
Olivia tears her attention away from the necromancer to focus on this new voice. Who is this now?
"Denial doesn't change reality," the Skreek sneers. "I didn't make this place. You did."
Inside Zahnrad's Cabin.
The inside is no more normal than the outside. The inside is much like that of an airship cabin, complete with hammock bed. One wall is lined with a bookcase that's crammed full of documents as well as books on mechanics and machines it's also apparently all in alphabetical order. A chest to the side is piled high with various gears, sprockets, springs, bars, and un-named thingies. A drafting table sits in the corner, with a design of a complex new waterwheel with some sort of strange, multi-geared connection to the power axle. However, along the edges of the plans are doodles of various airship designs, propellers, and wing-types. There is also a small stack of papers sitting on a side table with sketches of Eeee wings and various notes. On the edge is written 'Wing Structure. Subject: Reisender, Alptraum. Male Eeee."
And another day comes to a close. Amelia obtained a guide for the ceremony and had to spend the afternoon in the Blacktail orchard. She returned to Zahn's place and he wasn't home yet from working. Exhausted, the Kadie went to sleep. The night seems to pass uneventfully and then light filtering through a curtain slides across her face, waking her. A new day is dawning…
Amy yawns and stretches, then turns to see if Zahn is already awake…
Curiously, there's no sign of Zahn: his side of the bed looks like it hasn't been touched at all.
"Did that goof stay up all night again?" Amy mutters. She gets out of bed, does her morning exercises, then combs her fur (her winter coat finally thinning out) and gets dressed. "I hate locking up. Why couldn't Zahn have made a single button to enable all the traps? I'd better go check on him."
As Zahn would probably say, complex is more fun. As she's getting dressed, something starts nagging at the Kadie: it's really quiet.
Opening the shutters, Amelia checks to see how high the sun is. Did she oversleep and miss all the morning activity?
The shutters creak loudly as they're pulled open. The window itself is covered with grime on the outside, making it hard to see out. Curious. Zahn usually keeps them clean and the hinges oiled.
Chewing on her lip, Amelia has to wonder if this is part of the initiation ceremony, then shakes her head and goes to open the door, determined to find out what's going on.
The door creaks open as well. Outside is … overgrowth. The branches haven't been trimmed back for what looks like years. The ropes on the walkway outside are frayed and darkened from age. Again, silence, save for some wind in the leaves, greets the Kadie.
Amy closes her eyes and concentrates on her breathing, thinking to herself, "Okay, this must be an after-affect of the spell and I'm seeing a possible future. It isn't real!" She opens her eyes again, and starts to make her way carefully to the elevator.
The old wood beneath her feet creaks ominously as she makes her way down to the main elevator. Aside from a line from the elevator to the walkway to Zahn's cabin, dust and leaves cover everything. The place looks like it hasn't been used for years.
The Kadie eyes the elevator, and decides against trying to use it. Instead, she looks for a regular ladder, figuring the Wingnuts would have hidden it under a trapdoor or something.
That takes quite a bit of time to find. Amelia ends up having to clear away much of the debris on the platform before she locates the emergency ladder down.
Once down, the girl heads for the dam itself. "Okay, this is a future when the Wingnut Clan is… gone," she says to herself. "But someone still has to be maintaining the dam… "
That would make sense, except as Amelia fights her way through the underbrush she sees a broken and collapsing dam in the distance. Water flows through a large break in one side and the walkway is all but collapsed. Only a few pieces hang from tattered ropes.
The sight chills Amy, and she has to close her eyes and calm down again. She then forces herself to look away, downstream, to see if the near bridge has been washed away as well.
The bridge is gone. Something goes snap beneath the Kadie's feet.
Amy looks down while hopping back a few steps, to see what she stepped on.
A pale white 'stick' lays in the underbrush. Much of it is obscured.
Glad that she hasn't eaten breakfast, Amy kneels down to clear away the underbrush and expose the object.
With a bit of work, Amelia clears away the leaves from the remains of a Kadie. Judging by the size of the skeleton, whoever it was, was an adult. The scraps of clothing seem to imply a male, at that. The back of the rib cage has gashes that sheared completely through the bone.
"Murdered," Amy mutters, unsure of the weapon responsible… either a heavy blade of some kind, or metal-coated claws. The image that comes to mind is of the skeletal arm found in Dr. Pike's dungeon. She stands up, and grimly starts off towards the town itself.
It takes considerable time to force her way through the underbrush. As she goes, she can't help but feel like she's being followed. Whatever it is, it's not obvious. Only a rustle of leaves or a snap of a twig behind her gives away anything.
Amelia forces herself to move faster, deciding to keep close to the river bank so she can see more clearly.
Whatever is behind the Kadie keeps the same distance from her, regardless of how fast she moves. Up ahead Amelia can see the ruins of burned out buildings and roads which are slowly being overgrown by weeds.
Feeling desperate now, Amy checks the buildings for any signs of life or clues as to what happened.
The town is vacant. There is nothing but burned-out shells of houses and the skeletal remains of the inhabitants. It's also unfortunate, but Amelia recognizes some of the remains too from the clothing. Militia members. Some are even family. Everything is dead and gone. Out of the corner of Amelia's eyes, she sees a ripple of a form dart through the edges of the forest.
Grabbing up a mostly-intact halberd from a fallen militiaman, Amy heads for the forest, determined to track down whatever it is that's been following her.
As Amelia darts towards the forest, she faintly hears a voice call out, "I am not dead!"
Stopping in her tracks, Amy tries to orient on the voice. "Where are you?" she calls out.
Deciding that the voice came from the Weaver's area, Amelia abandons her chase and runs back towards town.
The remains of the town pass by quickly. Behind her, she can still hear something following her … but as always it keeps some distance. Up ahead she sees a Skeek in a tattered wedding dress; a dead Skeek by all appearances. The flesh rotting and brittle. Then recognition hits Amelia; it's Olivia. The corpse is standing defiantly against … no, it couldn't be. Valicross!
Amy stops dead, and stares in disbelief. "He's gone. Valicross is gone," she declares. This isn't some possible future, the realizes. It's what would have happened if the necromancer hadn't been stopped…
Olivia snaps her focus back to the Skreek just long enough to say, "Why would I make such a place? I don't want Stonebarrow obliterated like this!" Then she looks all around the ruins, trying to find where Amelia's voice is coming from. She even manages to say out loud, "Amelia? Is that you? I can barely hear you… "
Behind Valicross, in the distance, Olivia sees the form of Amelia running like mad towards them.
Olivia raises one disfigured arm to wave to her friend… hoping all the while that it won't suddenly fall off! "Look out!" she shrieks. "Valicross is here, with me! I don't know how!"
"It's all just a vision," Amy insists to Olivia. "It's Natasha's spell acting up again!" She begins marching towards the pair.
"No? What people want, and what they expect are two different things," the necromancer rasps gleefully to the zombie Olivia. "You expected it to end. You expected it to all fail. And now you still expect the worst. You made this place." The Skreek starts walking towards her. "Do you deny everything you feel in your heart? You pretend to be so brave and you're not. You're nothing."
Between Amelia's sudden appearance and the necromancer's words, things make sense all at once to the Skeek. She stops trying to run away from him, holding her ground instead. But she lowers her head as she says, "No, I don't deny it. It's true – I'm not brave. I do feel fear and I guess I do expect the worst… but I do what needs to be done anyway! So I'm not quite the nothing that you believe I am."
Amelia clutches her recovered weapon, and grinds her teeth. "I'm not a mage. I need my fear and my emotions," she says. "Maybe this place is my doing because of that, as well."
"Do you now? Come now, little Skeek, run from me," the Skreek rasps and comes within inches of her. "You don't have it in you to stand up to me. I own you."
Coming closer, Amy holds out the halberd, saying, "Here, take it Olivia."
Valicross never even seems to notice Amelia. His sickly eyes are centered on the Skeek.
Olivia starts trembling all over at the necromancer's closeness but her expression is resolute. Without taking her eyes from him, she reaches out a hand and closes it around the halberd.
When Olivia's hand closes around the halberd, Valicross becomes aware of it. "What are you going to do with that? Come now, do you really think your childish toys mean anything to me?" Valicross rasps. His hand comes up and cups her jaw, "Time to come with me, little one."
"You can do it, Olivia," Amy says quietly. "Cut his head off, stab him through the heart… it only matters that you act on your own."
Olivia swings the weapon back, aiming its blade directly at what she hopes is his heart. "NO!" she says again, and thrusts it forward with all of her strength behind the blow.
The halberd lands true. Instead of blood cracks ripple through the form of Valicross and white light spills out as if from a shattered mirror. And then the creature disappears in a burst of light and the sound of shattering glass. Gone too is the rotted visage of Olivia; the Skeek is back to her normal self and the smell of rot is gone.
Olivia stabs the wooden end of the halberd into the ground and leans on it for support. She rests her forehead against her now whole hands and says gratefully to her friend, "Thank you, Amy. Thank you."
"You didn't really need me," Amy says, then sits down on the cobbles. "That was the point, I think. You don't need someone to protect you, because you aren't helpless."
Olivia smiles just a little at that, then goes over to sit by Amelia after handing the halberd back. "No, I suppose not. But the necromancer - or whatever he was – was right about one thing. I do often fear the worst. It's just that a lot of the worst has happened to me, so I guess I've learned to look for it constantly."
Amy nods, running her hands over the length of the weapon. Finally she says, "I need your help, Olivia, if we're going to get out of here."
Olivia looks over at her friend curiously. "You have an idea of how to do that? If so, enlighten me, please. I don't think I want either of us to be trapped in here with our worst fears forever!"
"It may sound a bit strange," Amy admits, and sets the weapon aside. "But… I need you to blindfold me, and bind all my limbs. Probably gag me, too."
A concerned expression passes over the Skeek's face. "Um… if you really need me to, I will. But… why?"
"There's something out there stalking me," Amelia explains. "It's my fear – to be completely helpless and unable to defend myself. Because… because I never really believed that there'd be anyone to protect me. But you're here, and you can protect me. I just have to trust you."
There's a short silence as Olivia's eyes search her friend's face, as if trying to decipher the answer to some puzzle. Then, at last, she nods. "All right," she says. "Then I'll need rope, and bandannas to blindfold and gag you with. How did your halberd appear here? Did you wish for it to appear, or something like that?"
"No, I just found it next to a dead militiaman," Amy explains. "All of the other weapons were in worse shape."
Olivia nods again and stands. Her eyes scan the landscape. "Well then, I'll just look around for something that might work," she says, and begins searching nearby. "I'll tear up my clothes as a last resort, I suppose!"
Inside the nearby buildings are the long dead remains of more townspeople. Their clothing is tattered but some of it could be serviceable as makeshift rope.
"Thanks, Olivia," Amy says, trying not to sound nervous. "I don't know what's out there. Might even be my own dark nature. But it will probably have red fur, whatever it is."
Olivia kneels down by the dead and starts removing their torn clothes, fashioning what she finds into thin ropes for arms and legs. Then she takes a few of the cleaner tatters for a blindfold and gag. She shudders a bit as she works, but in a few minutes she's done. Before she returns, however, she picks up a few small whittling knives that she finds on the floor of one of the rooms. "Just in case Amy's halberd isn't all I need," she mutters to herself as she walks back.
Olivia lays everything she's found down in front of Amelia. "Ready?" she asks quietly.
Amy takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly through her nose. Then she nods to the Skeek.
Olivia takes the blindfold and starts towards Amelia… but just before she drapes it over her eyes, she gives her friend a sisterly kiss on the forehead before she settles it into places and knots it at the back of Amelia's head.
A bloodcurdling cry cuts through the silence of the dead town. Then the crash of a tree falling in the nearby forest.
The Kadie tenses up, but doesn't move – except for her tail, which twitches in agitation.
Olivia tries her best to ignore the eerie sounds as she picks up the gag. "Open your mouth, Amy, the gag is next," she says as calmly as she can.
Amy does so, her breathing becoming more rapid.
A rush of wind passes over the two and out of the corner of Olivia's eyes she can see something darting from building to building. This time a high-pitched, manic chittering fills the air.
Olivia gently but firmly pushes a knotted wad of material into her friend's mouth and secures that behind her neck. Then she slowly guides Amy into a lying position on her side and ties her hands behind her back, then secures her legs at the ankles. After all this is done, she breathes in slowly and gets to her feet, Amy's halberd now in hand.
Once bound, Amelia begins to breath even faster. Her tail thumps against the ground as she starts to feel panic.
Something rushing past and brushing against Amelia's back probably doesn't do much to help that feeling. Olivia sees it and whatever it is, it moves fast. Not only that, it seems to be transparent such that all that can be seen is a distorted outline.
Olivia just forces herself to move fast as well and swings out with the halberd like a bat, hoping to knock whatever it is off its feet for a much easier target.
Amelia starts to squirm, trying to push herself away from the contact.
The sweep connects so cleanly it's as if Olivia has done this for years. The howl of a wounded animal fills the air and goes rolling across the dirt. Growling, the figure pushes up to a crouch and the translucence flows away from it like water. Several feet away crouches a blood red … Kadie? Or rather; a mutated version of Amelia herself. Glistening metal spikes jut from her spine like that of some sort of monster. Her hands are unusually large and tipped with nasty looking talons. It starts to slowly circle the pair.
Olivia turns with the beast, fighting down her own fear and letting a surge of protectiveness flood over her instead. "She's my friend," she tells the creature quietly. "I'm not going to let you have her." She watches the blood-red thing sharply for any other signs of imminent attack and tightens her grip on the halberd.
"This doesn't concern you," it hisses at Olivia. "Put down the weapon and you may leave unharmed. She … has to answer for all of this," it says and waves it's hands towards the dead town. "She wasn't good enough to protect them. She let them all down and must pay the price."
At this point, Amy just curls up into a ball, wrapping her tail around herself and beginning to cry.
Olivia shakes her head and doesn't give an inch. "Such catastrophes don't happen through the actions of just one person," she replies. "Large events happen because a lot of little ones came before. So even if Amy was to blame for this destruction, which she's not, she wouldn't have been able to do it alone." The Skeek thinks back grimly on her own faults and says, "That's why I'm not moving. We're in this together."
The creature grins fangily. "Well, then you'll just die screaming like her lover did. He wouldn't back down, either," it says, then launches itself at Olivia, claws bared and howling.
Don't move… don't move! the Skeek demands of herself, crouching low and watching the beast fly towards her, then above her. She watches just long enough to catch a glimpse of the thing's furry stomach come hurtling closer, then she lunges in with all she's got with the point of the halberd's blade!
The weight of the creature, every insecurity and fear of Amelia's, slams down onto the halberd blade. The end of the pole slams into the ground and literally shatters into thousands of pieces. The creature itself also breaks apart into a spray of red mist and is then gone.
Amelia's form stops quaking, her tail uncurls, and her breathing starts to calm down.
The force of the blow knocks Olivia off her feet and for a few moments, all she can do is lie in the dirt and catch her breath. Eventually, her gasps cease and she takes out one of the whittling knives and goes to cut Amelia free.
"So… does this mean we're safe now?" Amelia wonders once she's ungagged. As soon as her limbs are free, she hugs Olivia! "Thank you!"
Olivia drops the knife, point first, into the ground, before hugging Amy back. "You're welcome! I really hope we're okay, now, anyway! Although I have a feeling that I'm going to be pretty exhausted once we finally get out of here… I might need some time to recover."
"You're as safe as you believe you are," comes an odd, disconnected voice from behind and above the two.
Olivia starts and turns, looking for the source of this new voice…
Amelia looks up, nearly jumping at the unexpected voice.
Up on one of the rooftops sits a translucent, blue-glowing young Kadie boy. His fur ripples and moves like he's floating in water. "You shouldn't be here," he says quietly.
Olivia looks quizzically at Amelia. "Do you know who this is?" she whispers.
Amy just stares, and says, "Stephen, is that you?"
Olivia's eyes grow wide and she gasps, "Stephen? Zahn's older brother, Stephen?"
The specter slides off the roof and lands soundlessly on the ground. "You remember me," he says quietly and walks over to the two. "I … thought I felt you. I followed the feeling."
Amelia goes over to the boy, and tries to touch him.
In this place, he feels solid. He has that same cold and wet feeling, though.
Ignoring the damp and cold, Amy scoops the boy up into a hug! "It's good to see you again!" she says.
The ghost literally squeaks at this, rather shocked by the sudden hug! "Uhm, who's your friend?" he asks and points towards Olivia.
Olivia gives a little smile and wave. "I'm Olivia," she introduces herself. "I'm a friend of your brother's, too. Just not his girlfriend," she says, eyes twinkling.
"How've you been, Stephen?" Amy asks. "And… uh… do you know how we can get out of here?"
"How is anyone who is, uhm, dead?" Stephen asks and shrugs slightly. "Most things are just a blur to me, echoes. How did you get here?"
"I think it's an after-affect of a spell that let us see the spirit world," Amy explains, and looks to Olivia to see if she agrees.
Olivia nods at this assessment. "We were told that the effects of the spell would linger for a few days, but I don't think either of us imagined that it would play on our own fears like this."
"Oh, uhm. I'm not sure how you leave," Stephen admits. "Sorry. Have you tried going to where that spell was cast?"
Olivia hmms and looks at Amelia. "Would we even recognize the place in all this chaos?" she asks.
"It wasn't too far into the woods," Amy says. "We should be able to find it. Have you seen anything odd around here lately, Stephen?"
Stephen shakes his head. "No. Just you two in this destroyed place," the ghost says.
"Mind walking with us a bit then?" Amy asks the ghosts, as she starts towards the Milk Run River. "And do you remember your cousin Deirdre?"
"I don't have anywhere to be, so no, I don't mind," Stephen says and walks after Amelia. "Deirdre? Yes, I remember her well. She was a sweet girl. Why do you ask?"
Olivia follows after the other two and mutters under her breath, "She's not so sweet anymore… "
"Well, she misses you," Amy says. "Is there anything you'd like to say to her?"
"Oh, uhm. How did she react to, uhm, me dying?" Stephen asks.
"She took it very hard," Amelia notes, frowning a bit. "She's felt bitter about your brothers ever since, really. Deirdre really loved you."
Olivia narrows her eyes a little at this revelation, but says nothing.
"It wasn't their fault. It was mine," Stephen says quietly and looks down. "I didn't want to leave, I didn't want to die. Tell her I'm sorry."
Amelia nods, then asks, "Are you able to visit the living world anymore?"
"Haven't tried," the ghost admits. "Why?"
Thinking about her answer for a bit, Amy says, "Well, there's going to be a special ceremony soon. I'm being given honorary membership in the Wingnut Clan, like an apprentice would be. I thought you might like to watch, since your whole family will be there."
Stephen looks at Amelia quietly for a bit. "Wouldn't that cause problems?" he asks slowly, "I'm dead. I … don't want to cause any more problems."
Olivia mms softly behind the pair and chimes in, "If you just watch and enjoy, where's the harm?"
"Nobody has to see you," Amelia says. "We've watched… things… from the spirit world, so we know it's possible."
"I can't make any promises, but I'll try," the ghost says.
Olivia smiles. "Good enough for me."
"Thank you, Stephen," Amy says, smiling. She'd almost forgotten about their surroundings along the way, and pays attention to them again to see if the bridge over the Milk Run is still intact.
Enough of this bridge remains to cross over, thankfully. "It's weird to have friends who aren't dead," the ghost remarks quietly.
"Oh? Do you have friends on this side then?" Amelia asks, genuinely curious.
Olivia glances over at the Kadie boy and says curiously, "Yeah, I was just about to ask who your spirit friends were… if you don't mind telling us, that is."
"Oh, kind of, I guess. Met a couple who were killed back in the days of Lord Snapfish. Things are different here; things blur. Time isn't the same," Stephen says, failing at trying to explain.
"We've seen that," Amy notes, nodding. "I hope the spirits you know are nice ones."
Once over the bridge, Amy asks Olivia, "Ready to pass through the gypsy camp?"
"They seem nice, but a bit sad. The town guardian spirit is very nice, though," Stephen notes.
"I never did get to meet that one," Amy murmurs.
Olivia nods to Amy. "I think so… hopefully we won't see any spirit-images of living people that give us nasty shocks!"
"Not your fault. You weren't born at the right time, is all. You were supposed to have been the next witch, but, well, you were born earlier than expected and it affected your potential. Or so the spirit told me when I asked about you. The spirit was sorry it couldn't be you in the end," Stephen says quietly as they walk.
Amy quietly absorbs this information. "That's nice to know, actually," she finally says.
Up ahead, like everything else in this place, the campsite is a wasteland. Nothing remains of the gypsies in this place. Just ruins of a few old wagons.
Olivia sighs as she looks around. "Well, at least we won't run into anyone this way," she says at last.
"The clearing in the woods shouldn't be far now," Amy says, and holds onto Stephen's hand, just for the contact.
Up through the woods, the group can just barely make out what looks like a faint, glowing, door coming out of the ground.
"Maybe that's our exit?" Olivia asks, hurrying a bit ahead of the other two so she can check it out.
"It certainly looks promising," Amy says. "We got here through a door the first time."
Stephen looks a bit disappointed, but then nods. "Probably is," he says as the group enters the clearing. Before them stands a rippling gateway. Through it the group can see flashes of Stonebarrow, as they remember it. Not as a ruin.
"Maybe I'll be able to come back and visit you again," Amy tells Stephen, and musses up the wet hair on his head.
Olivia hmms and wonders aloud, "That certainly looks like where we should go, but where exactly in Stonebarrow are we going to end up? I was in my room at the Weavers' when I came through. How about you, Amy?"
"I was asleep in Zahn's cabin," Amy says. "I just woke up here."
"Yeah, maybe," Stephen says but doesn't sound particularly confident about it. He lets go of Amelia's hand and steps away from them. "It's time you two returned to where you belong."
Olivia nods at this, then gives the boy another wave. "It was nice to meet you. I hope you can watch Amelia's induction ceremony later!"
"Don't forget about the ceremony," Amy urges the ghost, and gives him another hug, realizing she'll probably be soaking wet when she returns to the regular world.
"Oh, just … go," Stephen says after getting hugged again. He sighs and says with a smile, "You really don't belong here. Not yet. Go worry about the living, not those who are gone, okay?"
"Oh, believe me, she does that, all right!" Olivia teases her friend with a smile.
Stephen then thinks of something and says with a smile to Amelia, "I'll tell your mother you grew up to be a wonderful woman."
Amy pauses at that… "You've seen her here?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah, I have. Like I said, I asked about you," Stephen admits.
The Kadie girls wipes at her eyes, and says, "Thank you, Stephen. Again."
Stephen shrugs and waves. "Was always told by mom that who you help matters more than anything. It's how you leave a legacy," he says, then points at the doorway. "Now, shoo."
Olivia puts one arm fondly around her friend's shoulders and leads her to the door. "Let's go home, Amy," she says. "Farewell, Stephen."
"Right, good advice," Amy says, and steps through the door with Olivia.
A burst of light and sound, then Olivia's vision breaks into speckles. It takes some time for that to clear but when it does, she finds herself looking up at a worried Djivan. She's back in her own room. "Uhm, vou passed out," he says, sounding scared. He's still holding her.
Olivia blinks slowly a few times and looks around, just to really make sure that she's back in her proper world. Once satisfied, she turns her internal attention to her body. She's still very, very tired physically and rather drained emotionally now, too. Exhausted in mind, body, and spirit, she thinks wryly. Then she looks up at the Skreek and gives him a weary smile. "I guess I'm a lot more tired than I thought," she murmurs to him. "Sorry to scare you. I didn't… er, say anything while I was out, did I?"
"No, vou just vent limp for a couple minutes. Scared me," Djivan says as he carefully lays her into the bed.
Wow, not long at all. Felt like ages in the spirit world! Olivia slowly makes room for Djivan on the narrow bed, too, then settles into the blankets. "After I get some sleep, I'll see how I feel in the morning. If I'm getting sick or something, I'll just let my aunt know," she says casually.
"Okay, I be here," the Skreek says and slides in beside her. He wraps his arm around her affectionately, saying, "I look after vou in the mornin'."
Olivia draws together just enough energy to kiss the gypsy lingeringly on the mouth before resting her head against his chest. "I love you, you know," she murmurs sleepily.
Everything swirls and pitches when Amelia steps through the gateway. It feels like she lands with a hard thud on the ground and jerks, her eyes opening. It's dark and she's laying in bed. It's still nighttime. She can feel Zahnrad curled up against her back and one arm draped over her. Her movements seem to have awakened him and he asks sleepily, "Bad dream? You're all wet from sweating."
"Umm," Amy says. "Yeah, sort of. But it had some good points too," she adds.
"Got to beat up some nasty invading monster?" Zahnrad mumbles.
"Not this time, I let Olivia handle that," Amelia replies, wondering just how awake Zahn really is.
"All of us are there for you," Zahnrad mumbles. As to how aware he really is, who knows? He nuzzles lightly against the back of her neck and lightly hugs her. "Everything is fine."
Amelia smiles and cuddles up closer to Zahn, whispering, "Yeah… everything is fine… "
