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No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 1:14 AM

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"Where do you think it's taking us?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know."

A young man and a Gyrraptor picked their way through the mountain woods, following a light. This was usually the kind of thing that gets a plucky adventurer killed. Mercury had pointed it out, even. They'd read enough books. It was why they were out on this adventure in the first place, really.

But how many witch lights spoke to them? That generally didn't happen. Though sometimes it did, because it wasn't swamp gas but an actual witch, in which case they were probably in real big trouble.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 1:15 AM

But if it was a witch, they were probably in trouble whether they did as the witch instructed or not, and whatever was behind the witch-light seemed pretty well bent on harassing them, which was why they were in this mess in the first place. So really, there was nothing to do but to follow. This was probably why Mercury wasn't raising as much of a fuss as she otherwise would have, all things considered.

It had been quite the night.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 1:17 AM

"How much farther?" Mercury hissed, in what was probably meant to be a whisper. Impatience and her size made it too audible to serve the purpose she'd intended, but Li wasn't about to point that out.

He could see where she was coming from. The witch-light wasn't cutting them any slack, that was for sure. The path it drew them on was just barely extant, in places no more than deer-trails. Actually, the deer trails were probably the most walkable aspect of it.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 1:20 AM

It didn't help that the mountains--- foothills, really, by this point--- often crested into a blade-like, jagged peak. The light picked its way across these bits of high ground, which quickly became an exercise in false hope. Every hill they crested seemed like it might be the end, only for them to find the light drawing them still further, and into another inevitable uphill climb. Even Mercury was panting with exertion, and Li had long since dismounted so as not to tire her even more.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 1:22 AM

He was faring much worse himself, panting and heaving. He was no slouch in terms of fitness, but the pace itself was a quick one, and this kind of relentless abuse wasn't something he experienced often. One of the bigger benefits of travelling by yourself was that you got to set your own pace.

If the witch-light heard Mercury's question, it didn't bother to answer. Li could only shake his head. He had no answers himself, and as such, was electing to save his breath.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 5:27 PM

But he might have spoken--- or thought--- too soon. There was a whispered voice, papery and not unlike wind, that said, "Soon." It wasn't much, and maybe it was only giving them false hope, but Li and Mercury quickened their pace all the same. There was really nothing like a light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel to offer you a last burst of strength.

They slogged uphill, to the top of one last small peak, and then they saw it: the shrine.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 5:29 PM

It wasn't much of a shrine. It wasn't much of anything, really. The paint was faded, and in the dark, it almost looked like a part of the surrounding wood. There were no paths leading to it past the gate, excepting the one they were currently taking, and theirs was not much of a path in itself.

But it was the only thing of note, and as soon as they laid eyes on it, Li and Mercury knew, somehow, that this was their destination.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 5:31 PM

It might have had something to do with the way the witch-light stopped. But then again, maybe it didn't. They weren't really looking at the witch-light anymore, now that they had seen the shrine.

"The mountain guardian," said Li between breaths, his eyes wide with surprise and remembrance. The people in the village had mentioned something like that. At the time he wasn't sure how much he believed them, and Mercury had been openly skeptical, but this had to have been what they'd meant by it.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 5:33 PM

As if guessing his thoughts--- which wasn't hard, given the context--- Mercury said, "So it was real." There was a moment in which both of them were silent, the revelation sinking in, before Mercury hissed and lashed her tail with sudden, growing fury. "Then this was the guy responsible for stealing our stuff! Give it back, you thief!" With a cry, she launched herself down the slope towards the temple. Li called out to her in an attempt to stop her, but to no avail.
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Re: No One Comes Home Anymore [self]

Postby crow » 06/17/2017 5:42 PM

He gave himself just a moment to sigh at the prospect of having to start running again just as he'd finally managed to stop, then launched himself after Mercury. If the mountain guardian was real--- as it very clearly was now--- and it had been stealing their stuff without their noticing, then he didn't think she was going to have a good time trying to fight it. If it wasn't real, and this was just some shrine, possibly occupied by a witch, then Mercury was barking up the wrong tree.
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