HYDE'S POINT OF VIEW.
Treya throws the cloak over me;
"In the city, we're kind of infamous...so it's important to cover yourself up properly"
-This is the first time in days that I'm stepping out of this house-
Treya regards me as I put the cloak on,
"No matter what you do, stick to me or Faria..." She blurts while folding her arms.
She reaches up to my head and pulls the hood attached to the cloak over it;
-Again with this physical contact that gives me mini heart attacks-
"And above all; DO NOT GET LOST" she mutters while dragging me out of the room.
We walk through the winding passages in silence;
-Come to think of it, I still haven't been able to singularly make my way around here, somehow the internal framework is complex enough for me to be unable to find my way around here due to the multiple rooms and winding passages-
Faria, Clot and Skunk are already prepped up by the time we reach the sitting room.
-I barely even recognise them at first due to the heavy concealment attire they are also clad in, as well as the grotesque masks they are wearing-
Faria pushes a wooden mask to me;
"Put this on; now listen up...we slip in and we slip out today is going to be a really busy market day so it'll allow us to go around and grab what we need to grab slickly, there WILL be guards parading the market so we have to be real careful, no distractions, and don't for any reason interact with anybody...we need food so just get as much as you can, Treya will be making us special bags that are literally hidden in our shadows, and you can store about anything in any size in these sacks...any questions?"
Faria's voice is authoritative and straight-to-point and Treya works on weaving out something from our shadows, 'literally'.
"I have a question, are we allowed to use our abilities?" Skunk asks smugly.
Faria's face tenses;
"Absolutely not, do nothing to drag attention to yourself"
Clot just stays cowered in a corner, whimpering.
"I'm through Faria" Treya calls out, Faria nods;
"Let's go then"
HYDE'S POINT OF VIEW END.
RAVE'S POINT OF VIEW.
The level of utter agony coursing through my body can not be simply explained.
I cling to the surface of the precipice for dear life, as I try to breathe properly.
Cold sweat streams my face and body, my palms are injured raw, the blood is mixed with sweat giving a clammy, sticky sensation.
My muscles ache and my bones creak;
-The sweat enters into my eyes, disturbing my sight and unallowing me to continue climbing-
Meanwhile, Mr Hooded One stands at the top of the hill, his arms folded, his gaze steady on the horizon.
-Thank God he can't see my struggling-
"It's taking you an entire lifetime to get a move-on Rave" he comments still without looking down.
-Profanities-
I bite my lower lip as I strain to reach up, the way my body aches makes my humanity tell me to simply stop trying to kill myself.
Still, I lift my foot in absolute difficulty, my breath coming out in an even more jagged manner,
-I can't let something like this put me down-
I pull myself up, grabbing the nearest potrusion I see on the stone with everything I have in me.
"Or you could just...give up?" he sneers.
I groan, as I power through, clambering with every ounce of strength I can possibly muster.
He chuckles as I drag myself up - finally.
"Ho...how did you possibly climb with such speed, you must have used your..." I stop for breath;
He snickers, as he walks up to my body sprawled on the ground.
"Nah, I didn't use my abilities... I've simply climbed up this mountain enough times to do it with zero difficulty...and good news..." he rasps while crouching down to me;
"What?" I wheeze;
He lets out his foot into my side, viciously kicking me back all the way to the foot of the hill.
I land on the floor with a massive thud, and if not for the grassy bed below, I probably would have broken a couple of bones.
I glare up at him;
"The good news is that you'll ALSO be able to climb with zero effort as long as you climb this hill a hundred times...you have until sunset" he chimes.
I grit my teeth as I reach up to grasp the jagged surface once more;
-Giving up is not an option-
RAVE'S POINT OF VIEW END.
HYDE'S POINT OF VIEW.
I cannot believe my eyes, but no matter how much I try to convince myself that my mind is playing tricks on me, all appearances point towards reality.
-I could never have imagined that this house was built on a body of water all along-
But the feel of water, seeping into my feet through my sandals as we walk through the rather shallow waters into a forest area; serves as proof.
-I can swear that I never noticed this water all the times I came out to cut wood-
"Um...Treya, how come I never noticed the unique location of the house all this time?" I lean to Treya in a whisper.
She shrugs;
"It's all Lord Fenice... he built this house himself and apparently every single bit of the building was gotten from a piece of a beast... so it's pretty much enchanted, it moves on its own so probably it was always in land area anytime you came out"
-The surroundings did always seem different everytime I came out-
I turn to look at the house, awestruck;
-I wonder if all the rotted 'wood' is actually bones of a beast, more importantly... what exactly is about beasts that everyone in the Reformation keeps obsessing over?-
Treya doesn't seem like she'd like to be bothered again, so I keep my questions to myself.
We walk for quite a distance through the forest, before we reach a large clearing.
A little past this clearing, and we sight gigantic gates, heavily secured by countless armoured gruff men.
A lot of individuals are on a line, being thoroughly inspected before allowed in through the gates.
We join up the line of people.
-I am nervous about how uptight the security is, it'll be terrible if we got caught here, especially since we're not good people or anything-
A small commotion breaks up right in front of us as an apparent trader is caught trying to sneak in something;
"Are these charms I'm seeing?" someone, seemingly the Head of guards exclaims as he searches the trunk of goods an old man wants to enter with.
"No sir, I promise... they're just medicine, herbs and stuff, there's nothing like Magic here..." The old man is interrupted as the guard slams his fist into his face;
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" He roars as he begins to mercilessly beat down on the old man.
-I don't know a lot, but I know that nothing about this makes any sense; I clench my fists-
"It's your type that seeks to bewitch honourable Euphoran citizens... and let this serve as a warning to anybody else who may want to try to bring any charms here... Essence can only be upheld by a few" the guard rages as he continuously hits the old man.
-I am getting a bit worked up-
Faria suddenly holds me by the ear;
"Don't think any funny ideas, we slip in and out and that's the end, don't forget you can't do anything, since you're a coward"
Her words are brazen but true.
"That's enough now";
A soft voice cuts into the fuss.
The guards turn and bow as an exalted figure arrives the scene from inside the gates;
"Your Highness, you're visiting today?" The guard fumbles in his words as he lets go of the unconscious old man, instantly bowing down, with a nervous smile plastered.
-She is probably the neatest creature I've ever set my eyes on, absolutely majestic, standing tall with her cascading blonde hair and lengthy wear-
She groans and addresses someone from her entourage;
"Please ensure he gets appropriate medical attention"
The maid bows, and she turns to the guard;
"Kindly, let's be mindful of the way we treat fellow human beings"
The guard bows his head.
She walks away.
The guard groans in annoyance as he continues the search shabbily, soon it's our turn and our bodies are searched thoroughly.
-I'm glad it's all going smoothly-
"You'll have to lift up your hoods" another guard pronounces.
Faria shakes her head defiantly;
"We would, but it's against our sect"
The guards are taken aback by her words, they turn to the Head-Guard.
He shrugs;
"Damn any religion, we need to see your faces and that's that..." he blurts.
Faria snickers;
"Fine, but don't gag if what you see is unpleasant"
Something suddenly slaps across my face and by the time we simultaneously lift our hoods, the guards gasp in disgust.
"Yeah,yeah.. carry on" they hurry us along.
We enter through.
"What just happened?" Skunk asks trembling when we've passed a bit.
Faria laughs;
"We had Clot here put some of his legendary poison on our faces to morph our appearances at the last minute"
Clot grunts and shrugs;
-Did I even see him lift his hood up?-
"Wait, what?" Skunk half-screams.
"It's only a temporary thing so don't get so worked up" Treya asserts simply.
Skunk gives a huge sigh of relief;
"I can't have this gorgeous face getting ruined for any reason"
My attention turns to the surroundings, it's like we've stepped right into a bustling marketplace.
"Well...let the pilphering begin" Faria declares excitedly.
HYDE'S POINT OF VIEW END.