YAAAAAy Chapter 2! Chapter 2: Ranger I follow the strange girl as she leaves Kalaber’s shop. I haven’t ever seen her in Farsia before, and that means she might be trouble. I’ve trailed her all the way to the gates before I realize that the bag she’s holding is full of potions. I’m sure now that she must be from Nonti. She’s stealing magic and bringing it to the Shadow. But as she leaves Farsia, I realize she’s not headed in the direction of Nonti or the Night Forest. She’s headed right into the middle of the forest. She stops in the middle of the path and opens the bag. I brace myself for a nightmare creature to appear or for her to speak the summoning spell, but all she does is take a potion out of the bag. I squint to see what color the potion is. It’s a blend of black and blue, the color of a simple sleeping potion. What would she do with a sleeping potion? I’m startled out of my thoughts when a sharp shout rings out. It takes me a minute to see that the shout came from her. She sighs and sits down on a nearby stump. “That little brat,” She growls as she tosses the bag of potions onto a patch of red grass. I grin from my place in the bushes. Kalaber must be smarter than he looks. The girl looks up at the yellow and pink sky and says “I’d better get back, it’s almost morning.” That confuses me, it’s almost night. The girl stands up, plucks the bag from its spot on the grass, and continues into the forest. I follow her, sticking to the bushes. Maybe she’s taking a different route through the forest? But that doesn’t explain her remark about the time of day. I’m still walking behind her when I slam into something and fall to the ground. Cursing, I pick myself up and glance at what I hit. It’s the girl. She’s also standing up, nursing one arm. “Were you following me?” She asks, and I have to admit, she’s smart. “No,” I lie. “I was just taking a walk.” “No one walks in this forest,” She says, testing out her arm. She lets out a hiss of pain when she tries to bend it. “You should get your arm looked at,” I say, trying to change the subject from my spying. “Yeah, I’ll do that,” She replies and walks in the opposite direction from Farsia. “Uh, Farsia is that way,” I tell her pointing toward the towering spires that peek out above the treetops. “I know,” She snaps. I take a step back, remembering her possible threat. She walks in the direction she started in, still taking care of her arm. “Where are you from?” I ask, following her down the stone path. “Why does it matter?” She counters and increases her pace down the path. “Are you from Nonti?” I wonder aloud, thinking that I’ll get an answer out of her this way. “No,” She answers simply. “And stop following me.” “So you’re from Farsia?” She whirls to face me, making me stop in my tracks. “Leave. Me. Alone.” “I’m just trying to help you,” I say, taking a step back. “Well,” She huffs. “I don’t need your help.” “Your arm says otherwise,” She sighs. “How would you help me?” “I could take you to my house,” I say. “I have medicine there that can help your arm.” “You think I’m dumb enough to fall for that?” She laughs. “Too bad I’m not” She walks quickly away from me. I don’t know why I care about this girl’s well-being. I don’t even know her name. But I feel like I should help her. I decide to follow her but to better conceal myself this time. I follow her through the forest, and soon she reaches a clearing. There’s a door in the middle. It’s white, and it has glowing runes painted on it. I knew it. She’s summoning something. She approaches the door and pulls it open. I lean forward to try to get a better look…and fall out of the bush I was hiding in. The girl squeaks in surprise and slams the door shut. “What are you doing here?” She exclaims as she runs to help me up. I wave away her hand and stand up on my own. “I could ask you the same thing.” She lets out a frustrated sigh and says “This is how I get home.” “What?” She glances toward the door. “I… I don’t live in the dream realm.” I’m speechless. That’s not possible. Connections with the human world were severed a very long time ago. “That’s not possible,” I say, repeating my thoughts. “Then how am I here?” I sit down in the red grass, my whole body shaking. This can’t be happening, not again. “What’s wrong” The girl’s sweet voice slices through my panic.
“W-what’s your n-name?” I ask, even my voice is shaky. “Eryn,” She replies. And I’m done. I feel my head hit the ground before I can comprehend what's happening. The last time a human with a dream name arrived in Farsia, there was no Nonti. The humans thought they could control us because we were just dreams. Fragments of human imaginations. We fought back and they were enraged. Somehow, they got a hold of black magic and used it to summon the nightmares. Now we have to live with the fear that if we leave Farsia, we might die, or worse, go through the changing. The changing is a horrible process that slowly turns you into a nightmare, from the outside in. Luckily, it's easy to diagnose. If only– “What’s wrong? Can I do anything? Do you need a doctor?” The girl- Eryn is peppering me with questions, disrupting my dark thoughts. “No, I’m fine,” I tell her trying to stand up. I stumble, and she immediately supports me with her shoulder. “Let’s get you to a doctor,” Eryn says, helping me along the path. “I can do it by my–” “No, you can’t” .~*~. It’s night by the time we reach the gates of Farsia. Most shops are closed, except for the medical wing. I give Eryn directions, and she helps me through the streets. When we reach the medical wing, I ask the receptionist for a doctor and she hurries out from behind the desk to help me. When she notices Eryn, she quickly takes me from her and tells her to wait outside. “Can she come with me?” I ask. Eryn and the receptionist look equally surprised, but Eryn follows me to the room we are directed to. “Do you know her?” I ask. Eryn looks away. “No,” She says quietly. “But she knows me.” “What do you mean?” I ask. I really should stop asking questions, I don’t normally do this. Usually, I just keep to myself in my cabin. I don’t interact with anyone else unless I go into the city for food. Suddenly, her voice cuts through my thoughts. “Everybody knows me, even if I don’t know them. It’s because I’m not from here.” “What?” I ask again. I’m still confused, about everything. I’ve never had this long of a conversation in my life. I want to know why I keep talking to this girl. Eryn sighs “You know that legend about the last human to come to the dream realm?” Of course I do, and I tell her. She looks away at my answer, “Everyone thinks I’m like them. That I’ll do something similar.” I can see her eyes starting to water, and I panic. “Um…well you are a human… uh…” I stutter, not sure what to do. Eryn hangs her head and can see small drips falling from her face. “You’re right. I shouldn’t even be here, but I have no friends except Kalaber.” I’ve never seen anyone cry before, and I just want it to stop. Normally, I wouldn’t care about anyone’s feelings, but I want Eryn to stop crying. Just then, the nurse saves me. “OK, we’re ready for you. Where are you hurt?” She asks with a plastic voice, and it’s obvious she's pretending for me. Something tells me things wouldn’t go the same if Eryn was here alone. Suddenly, I remember that Eryn’s arm is hurt. “I’m ok, just a few scrapes. But, her arm is injured.” I say gesturing at Eryn. I can’t miss the look of disgust on the nurse’s face as I speak. People really don’t like Eryn. The nurse's fake smile returns. “We’ll take care of it.” She says, fake kindness filling her voice, and leads me out of the room.
