I look through the door to the jungle. It looked dense, like the deeper parts of Dajenu. Everything as expected was purple, but there were vines and trees of varying purple, almost as if the purple was different to accomodate the lack of other colours. In fact, I thought I could maybe hear the call of birds, but that’s extremely unlikely.
I glance at Taegan and Shankhe. “Taegan? Shankhe?” I ask, as they both stare at the forest. Finally snapping out of it, Taegan adjusts the straps on his shoulder from the dimensional bag and replies. “Yeah?” Shankhe as well is shocked, and a bit happy that we’ve finished the trial rooms. Suddenly as we do this the tokens are pulled from the bag, floating out as they come in front of us, merging together in a flash of light. What's left is a singular token, one with three dots on it. There’s a yellow dot, a blue dot and a red dot, with a trophy on top of the dots.
I reach out and grasp the token in my hand, feeling the wood. The dots didn’t feel different to the wood, and I was confused as to what they were, maybe representations of ourselves for clearing it? Who knew? Well, I suppose the maker of this place did, but that was beside the point. I started putting the token away, just as through the bushes came a leprechaun. I blinked, surprised to see a face that wasn’t mine, Taegan’s, or Shankhe’s but not just that. Leprechauns were notoriously known for being from the feet of Jesva-as the entire world's continents are like a dragon laid on this world and over time dirt sunk into the bones and created continents, which was entirely how the world was made-quick history fact. He had pale skin, way more than my own, and flaming red hair that matched a bright smile, only that smile morphed into something of wariness, almost borderline hostility for a fraction of a second, before quickly resuming his smile, like he had figured something out after looking us over.
It was almost offending to how quickly he assumed we weren’t any trouble, even while I held a halberd with clear knowledge on how to use it. Taegan gripped one of his Jambiyas, and Shankhe his katana, both of their identical gazes landing with suspicion on the man. The leprechaun put up his hands, his green suit standing out in the purple forest, and it was almost a relief of seeing another colour that i almost just relaxed. But, this wasn’t back home where everyone was nice and kind. No, this was a dangerous labyrinth, and it would be wise to be cautious.
“Let down your guard.” Said the man, in a friendly tone, taking a step back. “I mean no harm.” Skepticism came off like waves from both of Taegan and Shankhe, and Taegan, almost like it was instinctive, came and put himself slightly in front of me and Shankhe, us both stepping behind him, like his presence was a comforting barrier from anything the world threw at us. I shake my head, clearing my thoughts. “Are there more of you?” Asked Taegan.
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Khaliff (pronounced ck-all-leaf) stared at the people before him. They were practically teenagers, and by the standards of where he lived, which was the Futon isles, also known as the dragon’s toes they were. Probably. Of course, he didn’t know their ages.
He debated answering the kid’s question, but started to look them over first. The one in front, presumably the leader, looked tired, and as Khaliff noticed the tight grip he had on his daggers at his side, definitely trained. Or had years of experience, as the boy's stance was confident yet cautious. Ready to attack at the mere movement towards a weapon to hurt them. He had a fabric desert mask, and sand coloured longish hair. The top orange while the tips faded into a more yellow as it was almost at his shoulders, clearly having not been cut in a long time. His face was hardened, and Khaliff noticed how similar it was to the other boy. He looked at him.
Dark blue hair at the top and light blue down the bottom, about the same length as the leader. Yellow eyes that reminded Khaliff of the beach, but also of the light tips of his assumable brother's hair and a hand gripped on the katana at the kid's waist. No desert mask though. Just as his attention was to flicker to the girl, he noticed something. The desert boy’s hair had moved aside, revealing pointed ears. Khaliff stood there for a second, trying to decipher the species. Not fairy, there are no wings to prove that. Not elf, their ears aren’t short. Maybe a halfling? He internally shook his head as he looked over the girl. He’ll figure it out later.
She had golden hair that was quite pretty, cute ruby eyes and a halberd beside her that was gripped with such confidence looking like she clearly knew how to use the thing. A human definitely as he saw her ears when she moved her untied hair behind her ears. He then glanced over them all, and saw how thin they were-like they hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. Fora would love to take care of them. Overall, they all looked like tired, hurt kids that hadn’t a soul but each other to rely on, and just wanted to escape this hell. And so, deciding that they weren’t dangerous, Khaliff answered their question. “Yes.” He answered, except was still cautious to not answer wrongly, as that would end in him dead from the defensive look that was sent his way from the leader, the desert boy. “There are two factions.”
Of course, they all perked up at that. Well, the two back people. Not their leader. Khaliff got the feeling he was more careful than the others. “What are the factions, and which one are you apart of?” The leader asks, still overly cautious. “I’m part of the Freedom faction, which is a group working towards getting out of this place, and the other faction is the Corruption faction, although everyone just calls them the cultists.” Khaliff said, trying to fill these kids in and be friendly with them, at least enough for them to let down their boundaries so that he could take them back to Fora. She was so much better than him in letting kids know they were safe. He internally sighed as the kids processed the information he gave.
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I look at Taegan, and my stomach rumbles. I was hungry. I sneak my hand into the dimensional bag, taking out a bag filled with cookies, despite the situation. In my defence, the biscuits were maybe the best thing we’d had for weeks, and on saying that, I bit down on the sweet goodness. The sugar fills my mouth, and I close my eyes to fully feel the ecstasy of eating the heavenly goods. Then, I remembered we were in the presence of the enemy, and both Taegan and Shankhe were staring at me, though both with different expectations. I hand Shankhe a biscuit, and we both munch down on them as Taegan turns to look back at the man, as if we were a lost cause.
“Rude.” I muttered, and I could physically see Taegan roll his eyes, even though he was facing away from me, his back turned. The man looked between us with visible confusion. Taegan hadn’t said a word, and yet I called him rude. That didn’t matter, because so long as Taegan and Shankhe understood, everything was fine.
“Will you join me in going to the settlement we have set up at the Freedom Faction?” Asked the man, and Taegan put his hands on his hips before saying. “Well, we probably need to know your name before we follow you to a place that could or could not be somewhere we are killed.” I got Taegans protectiveness and fear, I got it, all of us did, and I truly understood why we needed to know the man’s name. But all I want, right now, is a hot bath, a nice warm soup, and a soft bed to lay in so I can finally not have to sleep on the hard floor.
“My name is Khaliff.” Said the leprechaun, nodding his head. “Now will you follow me?” And we gladly did. With some nudging at Taegan, who turns out was going to go anyways, as he didn’t feel like Khaliff was as strong as us, or would threaten us.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
We followed Khaliff through the jungle, both me and Shankhe one step behind Taegan, a clear path having been etched by several feet walking on it as Khaliff walked with practiced precision, and as we reached the end of the forest, the grasslands was a open field, exposing the high walls with two knights standing guard out front. “Khaliff.” Call the knight on the left. “Introduce your friends.” They had spears by their sides, although they weren’t pointed at us, as if they didn’t see us as threats. “They’re newbies Terry, I’m taking them to Fora.” The knight on the left-Terry-left out a sigh, and started to open the giant door. The knight on the right quickly copied, and soon the doors were open enough for us to walk through.
As we walked in, everything hit me at once. The smells of street food, the sound of people laughing and walking by. I felt stares on my back, but I ignored it as I saw the houses and happy people. I was… jealous. I wished I could be the people who started here, and not where we did having to go through the trial rooms, not having enough food for lunches most days, and having barely enough food to survive.
Khaliff took us past the people, and to the middle of the settlement, where a big building sat. Like a castle, but it seemed to house a lot more people than a castle would. Khaliff led us through the halls, and we arrived on the other side of the castle where a simple cottage was. Khaliff walked up to the door and knocked. “Fora.” He called out, and a woman, looking about 30, opened the door. She had red hair, just like Khaliff, and was a leprechaun. She wore a green dress, and as soon as she saw us, ushered us in. “Come in, come in.” She encouraged us, and we walked in nervously after Khaliff.
The woman looked over us in almost a pitying way as she looked us over, before making her face blank, and walking up to us. “I’m Fora.” She says, stepping closer to us than Khaliff had, a mere two steps away, despite our hands gripped on our weapons still. “You?”
Taegan looks at the woman, carefully staring at her as if assessing her movements, before finally saying. “Taegan.” She nodded, acknowledging it, and turned to Shankhe. “Shankhe.” He says, and then I say my name. “Dalyva.” When we’re done, she once over’s us, seeing all our weapons and points to a weapons rack that has two clearly not used often swords on it, as they have dust on their scabbards. “You can put your weapons there and I’ll serve you dinner. Don’t worry about me having enough as well, I always make enough for heaps of people even when it’s just me and Khaliff.”
I walk over to the rack, and set my halberd down, my arms thanking me as they were getting tired. Shankhe seems reluctant to put his weapon there, as it's the first time-excluding when we slept and even then we were still close-that our weapons wouldn’t be in easy reach for us in over three weeks. I mean I don't know how long we’ve been here, since I haven’t tracked it, so I have no clue, but long enough. I might have even been a month? It seems like a long time, so I’m not questioning it.
Shankhe eventually put his weapon on the rack, but Taegan didn’t. Both of us understood, and we started to look at Fora as if wondering where to go. “Sit down on the rug and I’ll serve you dinner.” We look at the rug on the ground, and kneel on our knees, sitting on our shins. Khaliff sits opposite us, though he definitely noticed how Taegan didn’t put his weapon away, as he, before sitting down, had gone up to Fora and whispered something to her, though she waved it off dismissively. Fora came in soon after with five bowls expertly balanced on her forearms and hands. She passed one to me, and I took it gratefully, hungry and ready to eat. Grabbing a spoon from the box that Khaliff offered me. Both Taegan and Shankhe got their meals, and when Fora sat down, we started to eat.
I brought a spoonful up to my mouth, looking at it. It had chunks of meat and vegetables, and I blew on it, before depositing it into my mouth with a groan of absolute joy. It tasted heavenly. The flavouring was great, the meat just tasted awesome, and all of it together was almost overwhelming for my poor tongue that hadn’t tasted anything like this for ages.
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Fora looked at the kids Khaliff had taken in, and as she did, she noticed how the boy with the desert mask, Taegan, hadn’t started eating his meal. She waited a few concerned seconds, and then noticed, after Dalyva and Shankhe had started digging in and were almost finished, he started to eat. She frowned. He was clearly either used to waiting till they were done to ensure they were full before eating himself, or he had gotten used to it in his time here. Fora suspected it was the latter, which meant that they had had more than a day here, more than Khaliff had suspected anyways. From how they seemed extremely close as well just pointed to them all being together for a long time.
She finished her own bowl, and started to get up. “Anyone want seconds?” She gently asks. Instantly three heads look up at her eagerly, but also nervously. The other boy, Shankhe, put up his bowl, giving it to her. “Yes please.” The girl as well handed her bowl to Fora, and so did the last boy, after he finished his bowl. Fora walked up to the pot hanging over the fire as thoughts swirled in her head. How much had these poor kids been through? And what would they do here? She scooped some more soup into the bowls, and came back, giving them back their bowls.
All three dug in this time, Taegan reassured there was enough food for all of them. Once they had finished this time, Fora gathered their bowls and spoons, putting them in a pile near the pot. Once that was done, Khaliff stood up as Fora approached. “Do you all want to sleep together?” Asked Fora curiously. They look between each other, discussing quietly and Taegan responds after a moment. “We dont have to be.”
Fora nodded, and turned to Khaliff. “Khaliff, would you show the boys the spare room and then show them the bathing room?” Khaliff nodded, and Fora gestured for the girl to follow her as the two boys started to follow Khaliff. She didn’t fail to notice the couple of looks thrown around between them as they separated.
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I follow Fora nervously, occasionally swiping hair out of my face as she leads me through the hall and to a bedroom. Once we get in the room, I look around happily, and quickly take a step towards the bed, before stopping as I realise how dirty I am. Fora noticed, and smiled gently. “There’s a bathing room just for us girls over here.” She gestures to opposite Dalyva’s bedroom. “Here, come along.” Dalyva follows, and they walk into the room. It's a quite simplistic spring, but since I hadn’t had a proper bath since being here, it looked amazing. The water was tinted purple, but what wasn’t purple these days?
I pulled myself out of my head as Fora approached me, closer than she had been before. “Can I help you?” She asked, making sure I was okay. I nodded, and we quickly got undressed, before stepping into the warm water. Well, I tried to, but Fora grabbed my wrist. She pulled me over to where a bucket was, and we washed ourselves down, before then hopping in the spring.As soon as it touched my toes, I quickly got in, it felt too good to be true. I basked in the warmth for a few moments as Fora joined me. My hair got wet as well, but I didn’t think of the problems that would cause as I enjoyed the hot spring.
“So.” Asked Fora after a couple minutes of us soaking in the warmth. “How long have you been here?” I look up at her. “Us? About…..” I trail off, not really sure myself. “Maybe two or three weeks. Maybe a month?” She nodded. “That’s a long time for someone to be here without encountering anyone else.” She sat there for a moment, and I started to waver, the tiredness I had been feeling finally kicking me in the guts.
Fora noticed, and started to get out of the hot spring. She helped me out, dried me off, and gave me some pyjamas, which were way more comfier than sleeping in my clothes.
Fluffy. That was all I could think as I ran my fingers through the fabric. Fora smiled as she led me to my bed, and sat me down. I almost flopped right there from tiredness, but my hair was still wet. “Wait there a second.” Fora said, dashing out and so I waited. My eyes closed several times, trying to make me fall asleep, but I managed to hold on as Fora came back with a brush.
She started running it through my hair, pulling on my head occasionally, but really being careful as she got all the knots from my hair. I just sat there, enjoying the feeling of someone brushing my hair, and eventually, as she finished, started to dry my hair with some of her magic and a heat stone. It took a little while, a while when I almost fell asleep, but my hair was finally done. I ran a couple fingers through my silky goodness happily, and then fell back on the bed, inky blackness taking over as I fell asleep.
When I woke up, for a second I panicked, unsure as to when I had found a bed to sleep in, and had blankets over me, but then I remembered and fell back into the bed. The mattress was bouncy, and the pillow was better than my own. Not to mention the warm sheets and doona on top of me that I snuggled into, reluctant to get up until a familiar face peeked into my room. “Dalyva?” Asked Shankhe as his blue head popped around the corner. “Yeah Sha?” I ask, dragging my heavy head up so I can see him better. “Tae’s up first, and you’re last. Wanna get up for brekkie?”
I sigh, letting it out before pushing back the covers. I soon realise that i was also in a nightie, and not in my clothes, which prompted me to touch it, only to discover how fluffy and comforting it was and walking out with Shankhe, who also had pyjamas from Khaliff assumably, as it was some shorts and a top that i reached out and touched the top on his shoulder. Yep, it was fluffy.
We walked into the main room, and there stood Taegan, no weapons at his waist, his mask off, and bedazzled hair standing up like he just got up, even though his brother looks way more presentable and assumably got up later than Taegan from what he said. Finally, I could see Taegans eyes, which were a beautiful sea blue.
What did you think Taegan’s eye colour was?
