" Sen stop… you're gonna overdo it… "
" What's happening to his hair?... His arcane power… is… is increasing."
" Stay away from him… he's dangerous in that state… "
" What are you talking about… Orin? "
The screams muted as the scene shifted in a white brilliance.
" This way you two… the show's about to start. " A familiar voice beckoned.
The scene was foggy, his footsteps disappearing behind him. The fog in front of him shifted with the female figures walking ahead of him. The air was thick in the fog. Every single breath moist than the last.
It was also thick with something else… arcane.
" Sen, Liora snap out of it. " a voice called and with it came two successive finger snaps.
His eyes flurried open. They darted across the fog filled plane trying to make sense of it. The light under the fog was dim but to his eyes it stung with every blink.
" Where am I ? " he murmured under his breath.
He could see some flashes whoosh by in his head. A guild… a forest… some creatures with red claws… a village... New…
" What are this random pictures… No they're memories. But when did I… "
" Sen, " the voice called out.
He raised his head and a gentle familiar face came into view. At first it was blurry and he couldn't make it out perfectly… then the realization came.
" Mrs Ludge!? "he thought surprised.
" Hurry up Sen… something's wrong with Liora. " she said pulling him by his grey robe.
Sen couldn't speak, he just followed.
Some few steps away a girl stood, eyes closed and her fingers roughly passing through her wood brown hair. She looked like she was in pain. But not physically. Something in her head was irritating her and she was trying to etch it out with her fingers.
" Carry her Sen… we need to get out of the fog. "
He didn't know why but he trusted her. More so he trusted her familiar voice.
With no second to lose Sen scooped Liora into his arms and followed the girl.
A while later they were in front of tall wooden ladder that led past the fog's height span. It looked like a watch tower lined up close to a column of tall wooden stakes.
The girl in front of him shot up the ladder heading to the top. Liora in his hands wasn't looking too good. The strength in her hands had died out leaving her to only writhe and turn in his hands.
As he scaled his way up the ladder the scene gradually lost focus. Like something or someone else was slowly taking over. He was on the last step to the platform. Liora was safe in the other girl's arms and was calling out her name trying to wake her.
He got onto the platform, his sight nothing but black and white. He moved and supported himself to one of the pillars holding up the thatch roof of the guard post. Then suddenly everything went black.
Pitch black.
***
He sighed as his head slowly rose from the fluffy white pillow it was resting on. His body had became stiff from yesterday's work and it wasn't looking forward to today's gruesome lineup. He rose from the bed and stretched his aching body, releasing some of the heavy tension that had welled up in his body.
His room was simple. It had a single wooden bed with white sheets that he never made but always found them folded. To its side a single drawer with only two rows of cabinets… each empty. And last but not least was the single window covered by two thin curtains.
This had been his home ever since he had woken up. In normal times it would have been to him a prison but he didn't have enough information to conclude to that because he himself didn't know how he had gotten there.
His mornings were stale but one thing made them bearable. He would wake up from that single dream and then stretch before hitting the showers. Then as he stepped out of them he always knew that he were he would find her. Her brown hair and blue eyes had became something he was hoping to see every morning.
She stood in her usual place, near the window barely perturbed by the flatter of the curtains. Her eyes always seemed preoccupied by the ferrying and carts hosted on a nearby ware house. But that didn't stop his face from reddening as he changed into his clothes. She always just stood there and as if like magic turn exactly when he had buttoned his last button.
" Any changes? " she asked turning from the window.
" No, none...but there a name " Sen answered.
" Go on. " She commanded.
" Or… Orin was it. "
Sen noticed as slight twitch on her finger.
" Does she know him? " he wondered.
" What was this Orin guy doing? " she asked.
" Shouting mostly. It was quite annoying. " Sen answered.
" Details please. "
Sen sighed.
" He was shouting something about overdoing it. That I should stop. "
" Stop what? " she asked.
" I couldn't tell. It was pitch black and the only thing I could see was a silver shimmer here and there. "
" Anything else? "
" Just the usual. Forest then to the village and then it all stops at the fog. "
Her eyes lingered on him for a few moments. They were flat and suspicious.
" Okay then, if there are any changes make sure you notify me. " she said as she walked out.
This had been the exciting play he had grown to love in the past few days. At first she was gentle helping him and bringing him a fresh pair of clothes each day. But as time passed her demeanor changed to this investigatory character that only conversed in questions. It had grown from the simple nurturing words to a tense word game… something he had lacked for a while during his time with that ale head.
It was either that or the ecstasy of seeing a familiar face once in a while that got him excited to meet Lisa every morning.
" Sure I will… "
Lisa noticed a slight hesitation in his tongue. Like he was trying to say something but stopped.
" Now hurry up and get to work. " she said as she walked out of the room.
Her footsteps slowly faded as she walked farther and farther into the corridor. Sen slipped on his grey robe before walking out the door. There was something he had wished to ask her but had chickened out in the end. He sighed as he opened the door.
" Ill try again tomorrow. " he said as he walked out of the door.
***
" Did he tell you anything new today? "
" Yes, he mentioned a name… Orin. " Lisa answered.
" Orin… so that was his name. " lady Belhe thought.
" There was also something else, " Lisa added.
" What? " Lady Belhe asked shifting towards Lisa.
The two were in her office. Not much had changed in the past few days other than their clothing. And in those few days they had met there where Lisa briefed lady Belhe of Sen's status.
" I think he remembers more than he lets on, "
" Why is that? " lady Belhe asked.
" It's been almost two weeks since he first woke up. On the first few days the haze in his eyes was evident. He could barely talk to anyone other than me or you let alone recognize them. His speech was limited, no hidden meaning in his words, no emotions or anything personal opinions at that. "
" But today was different. "
" I can't tell if it was intentional or a slip but his mannerism changed. He associated the name with annoying… something I could tell was personal. "
" So he's been faking. "
" Maybe but it's hard to tell when he started to. It could have been a lot sooner or from the very beginning. "
Lady Belhe remained quiet. She was in deep though planning their next few moves to an end goal that Lisa vaguely understood.
" You think he's buying time? " she asked.
" Possibly. When he woke up he didn't seem to know where he was and apart from the few flashes he shared he was having had no recollection of how he got to Laptove. He might be collecting more information before acting but as of now I can't tell what his plan might be. "
" Where is he currently stationed? " lady Belhe asked.
" The shipping dock down the street. " Lisa answered.
" I need you to have him relocated… to the branch restaurant in the west side of Laptove. "
" Yes, but if I may ask why milady? "
Lady Belhe sank deeper into her chair.
" The current Sen is different from the gullible white page boy we met before. I just need to see why his eyes lie and gauge whether he is useful to me or not. "
She answered before dismissing Lisa.