song of the forest ♪ [OLD VERSION]

ꋊ꒐ꋊꏂ

ρ͢σ͢ѵ͢:
ꋬꇙ꒐ꁴꋬ

The guard must have had some sort of signaling system, because within seconds panels on either side of their immovable armor (which, now that I thought about it, looked bolted to the ground) were sliding back to allow people out.

Two identical humanoids stepped out of the wall, clad in simple brown slacks, loose white linen shirts, and scarlet masks that covered the lower half of their faces. Where their eyes should have been, there were dark holes. The Unseeing Eye. They were here– in fact, they'd probably taken over the entire city. It was worse than I thought.

They moved toward us with eerie silence and precision, stopping directly in front of us.

"You will now be searched. Remain still or you will face consequences."

Riven stiffened beside me. One of the masked people, movements precise and practiced, deftly separated our hands and pulled me to the wall, where they pushed my face against the cold inkstone.

The watch. I jerked back, sending the blind person stumbling backwards. I grabbed the one holding Riven by the arm. "Riven, get away from them."

He obliged, scrambling to the other wall. I turned to face the guards, ignoring the small commotion Riven was causing with the person in the armor. I turned back after one of the guards fell and saw Riven brandishing the open pocketwatch at the inanimate guard. In a second, one of the tunnels ground open. I sprinted head-on, screaming for Riven to go, but the idiot just stood there, waiting to see me get through safely. I grabbed his arm and yanked him in just as the panel started to slide shut again. We stood in pitch darkness for an extended moment that felt like eternity, catching our breath. Then a torch flickered on, and we ran.

The tunnel was a straight shot, but the jumping shadows and slightly uneven brickwork forced us to slow down after Riven tripped and almost faceplanted. When we finally reached the end of the tunnel, I could hear faint banging coming from the other end. As if the blind guards couldn't get back through. "There's a lever," Riven panted. "Permission to turn it, Commander?"

"Permission granted," I gasped. "These torches smoke a lot."

"I don't feel anything. You okay?"

I coughed. Choking on the smoke. "I'm fine."

Riven leaned on the lever with all his weight. "Almost there," he grunted. I half-fell, half leaned against the wall. The smoke from the torches smelled rotten, invading my senses.

"Got it!" I heard Riven's exclamation as if through a pillow. "Asiza, come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me the last few feet.

Riven dragged me to the side. My senses cleared when we were free of the intoxicating smell, but I was still foggy. "What's happening?" He asked, a note of panic making his voice higher than usual.

"I- I'm fine." I reached into my bag and pulled out the bottle of picràs, which would at least keep me alert. I didn't allow myself more than a sip, because that would make me incoherent later.

I rested against the wall for a minute, then pushed off, still slightly disoriented, and emerged from an alleyway into a dizzyingly long, open street. It was wider than any street I'd ever seen, with inkstone arches soaring high overhead. Nearly everything was black, except for a few bold shops that boasted muted yellow or red banners. I got chills when I read one of those banners.

Silktail Clinic: We Offer Blinding Services!

Below that, it listed at least eight gruesome methods and advertised their new anesthesia options. I felt sick– shuddered and looked away.