Wardenheart

Gateway

A dark feeling of foreboding closed in like four walls that sought to crush me without mercy. I felt constricted, paranoid as we left the shop. Somehow the shopkeeper's words had put me in a state of mind that disturbed me greatly. His words had a horror behind them. As if he was frightened of the very idea of this Collapse.

Outside, in the street, rain had begun to fall. It was gentle, like the caress of a lover, but I could not shake the feeling that I was making a mistake. I owed these people my life, and I felt I could not tear through the fog of my consciousness to know whether or not this bad feeling came from the guilt of mistrusting them, or from dread of the mission I was about to undertake.

It did not help that Hark, a kid with great ambition, seemed extremely invested in taking a place called the greenhouse, a place that was, apparently, only meant to be spoken of in whispered tones when in polite company.

I wanted to know these people, to respect them. They had risked life and limb to save me, and whatever purpose it was for, whether to use me as some sort of scout, as some sort of warrior, it was important to not forget their charity. Few people had ever willingly saved my life in the past, one of those being Margo, so I knew the value that friends like that had.

I glanced around at the people of this city who either rode down its dirt streets on horseback or walked along its stone sidewalks. It seemed to be a rather varied mix of peoples, most of them dressed in armor, swords and shields on their backs. I had a growing suspicion that the population of this city was taken forcibly to this new realm from the city when the spell was cast. Most of them were probably nothing comparable to warriors five years ago back in the old realm, most of them were probably traders, coming to the city for the great Festival of Gold, which was perhaps the most profitable time of any merchant's year. Now, they had to be hardened against a new world, to adapt and become greater than before.

Still, it was clear not all had given up mercantile as a profession. The shopkeeper was a clear example of that, along with the many carts of supplies driven by horses down the streets. I wondered if society was, much to my chagrin, returning to normal quite quickly. The last thing we needed were more people like Somatis Peregride.

As we continued to walk, I looked at my three new companions, and though the nerves seemed to get to me a little as I wracked my brain for an appropriate way to broach the subject of what exactly they wanted me to do (as that seemed to be a sensitive topic), I simply steeled myself and asked outright.

"So what is it I am supposed to be doing, exactly?" I asked them. "I have a sword, but no mission. No target."

Jolly turned around to face me and smiled.

"Just a li'l bit further 'til we reach the wall. Then you'll know."

It was clear from the way that interaction went that they were intentionally, and obviously, trying to conceal the true nature of my mission from me. To what end, I was unaware, but I readied myself to run or fight if necessary. Who knew, exactly, what these people had in store for some new, disoriented wretch like me, who until a few hours ago, did not even own any clothing, or a place to sleep, much less a sword. Again, these thoughts brought pangs of guilt over whether or not I should trust these people.

"We're here, scrag. Welcome to the Collapse." Jolly said proudly.

I looked ahead of me, trying to find it, when all I saw was another city wall. A feeling of confusion swept through my mind as I strained my eyes to try and find it.

"Where?" I asked, looking around. All I saw were buildings on this street, one of them had a sign hanging above it that said 'Jarek's Place', in infuriatingly small lettering, but that was by far the most interesting sight.

"C'mon, scrag, let's go!" Jolly said, waving me over. I followed the group as they continued forward, and then, without warning, everything changed.

The sky turned a startling, but depressing shade of unnatural blue-gray, and I could sense magic at work. A low rumbling noise, along with an odd feeling in the air, that was most definitely the arcane arts at play. But who could have done it in this world? The most shocking thing, however, was the large gate, covered in odd writing, that had just appeared in the side of the wall. On it was the same symbol that was on my hand, two diagonal lines with a circle above. In fact, it seemed just the right size for my hand to match up to it.

"Do you see it yet? The barrier's meant to block it off, does a pretty good job, eh?" Jolly said. "This is where you'll be spending a lot of time, scrag. Learn to love it."

"What..." I began, lost for words. "Is this place?"

"Actually, that's a great question, Theris!" Hark said, piping up at last. "There are lots of theories, most of them being that this world is well, actually, sort of collapsing in on itself. Some people don't think it was meant to last this long as a reality or realm, and is just dying. Thing is, based on what kinds of things are in there, I personally believe that the Collapse is a sort of... confluence of worlds, all smashed together in to one very strange mixture."

"Enough theory, Hark." Thelma said. "Time t' work. Place yer hand on the door symbol and we'll get on with this. Maybe even be home fer supper."

Everything visually, in this otherworldly light, was of a sort of depressing nature. As if a feeling of doom was meant to be bearing down on me. But seeing the smiles of Thelma, Jolly, and Hark, seeing the confidence on their faces as they faced this anomaly with peace, it gave me the strength to press on, and place my newly marked hand against the symbol on the door.

And then, without warning, I was no longer myself.