Death of the Author

Nothing can be done from this point. All hope is gone. Madness is here. I tried, I tried, I tried. I’m a bad girl. I’m a stupid girl. I failed. Because I was dumb. Why, Why, Why? How could this happen? Nothing can stop the show that has begun. The Maestro will conduct his tune of madness once more. Stupid girl. Stupid me.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

The boat hit the shore, and the skeleton jumped out of it, landing gracefully on his feet.

“Did you rescue us? Are you a friend or a foe?” Lady Scarlet asked as she got to her feet.

The Skeleton looked over the entire group before lifting his blade.

“Not so fast. I am the Journeyman. I am a friend, but one. But should any of you move, I’ll kill you on the spot.

“What do you mean?” Mr. Jason asked.

“I will assist you all, but first, I must ensure that the laughing man is not here.”

The laughing man? I don’t know much about laughing men, but whoever they are, they seem to be happy if they are laughing.

“What are you on about? Who is the laughing man?” Mr. Ren asked.

“It is one of many names I use to describe this deceiver. The most fearsome thing in the rift. He is but a trickster. Hiding amongst others brings them misfortune and eventually death. Since you were fighting that beast just before, the chances are, he is already amongst the lot of you.”

“Why should we trust you?” Mr. Jason asked.

“You don’t have to trust me, but until I can confirm your identity, you will be treated the same as I would him. Which means I will not hold back.”

“How do we prove our identity?” Mrs Dinklebottom asked.

“I need you all to move to a single location. Please all move closer to the woman with the red hair.” The Journeyman instructed.

We all moved towards lady scarlet as the Journeyman instructed. If he were strong enough to take down that big creature, he would certainly be able to take us down if we resisted. Even if Lady Scarlet, Mr. Ren and Mr. Jason all teamed up, I’m not sure they could defeat Mr Journeyman.

“Now, then, I need you to answer a series of questions. Firstly, please tell me where you all met.”

“Well, the kid I picked up in a mansion…” Mr Ren began but was abruptly cut off.

“My apologies. Let me reframe the question. Did you all know each other prior to entering the Chaos Lands?” Mr. Journeyman clarified.

“Yes, we all entered from the same place.” Lady Scarlet responded.

“Did you all enter at the same time?”

“We entered in two groups. The three of us entered together.” Lady Scarlet motioned at Mr. Ren and me. She continued, “These two entered as a separate group.”

“I see. So, there are already two separate groups. Please now separate them into two groups for me based on when you entered.”

Mr. Ren and Lady Scarlet walked a short distance away from Mr. Jason and Mrs. Dinklebottom. I followed, carrying Buddy.

“Excellent. Now I can trust one group and guarantee they will be safe and receive my support.”

“If you will trust one group, then can you trust the words that we all know each other.” Lady Scarlet asked.

“Oh dear me, I wish I could, but the laughing man is ever the trickster, and so even if you think you know someone, you truly can never know.” The Journeyman did a small dance and swung his sword about in a flamboyant manner.

“Now what?” Mr. Ren asked.

“Excellent, now then, for both groups, at any time…” He trailed off before continuing with a small laugh. “Oh my. I guess time is a bad word to use. At any point, has anyone in your group separated from the other or others in the group?”

“This is ridiculous,” Mr. Jason frustratedly argued. “We have had to hunt monsters, so of course there have been times when people were not in our sight.”

“Oh yes, I forget the difficulties of being in a party. There's no sleep for the wicked; the laughing man knows all too well. Is the same for your party?”

“Your ramblings make it confusing what you are asking of us, but I can assure you, other than sleeping, none of our group has been out of sight for any period of time.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Can you trust us now?” Mrs Dinklebottom asked.

“Hmmm, I have one more question. Has anyone who entered with you perished along the way? Or have you met with misfortune in some manner”

“Yes, we lost plenty along the way. I lost my dear husband.” Mrs Dinklebottom added.

“Oh my, I apologise for your loss. I hope the same has not felled your party. Have you lost anyone, child?”

“We entered just the four of us,” I replied to the Journeyman.

“I see. You have a lovely little companion there, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mr. Journeyman, his name is Buddy,” I responded.

“I see. Well, then, I’m convinced by what I have heard.” He smiled and put away his blade.

Mr. Journeyman may have looked scary, but he seemed like a nice person. He called Buddy lovely, which meant he was a nice person.

The others also looked somewhat relieved that Mr. Journeyman did not seem to want to hurt any of us.

Suddenly, he swung his arm out, and a knife he had been concealing in his outfit shot past Mr Jason and Mrs. Dinklebottom.

“Why did you throw that at them?” Lady Scarlet screamed as she reached for her blade. Mr. Ren did the same.

“Did you think your disguise would fool me? Get away from her orange spikes. That is not the person you think it is. In fact, person may not be the right word at all.”

“What do you mean? Of course, we would know Mrs. Dinklebottom if we saw…” Mr. Jason was cut off as a pale white hand pierced his stomach. Blood spurted from his mouth, his eyes growing cloudy and lifeless.

“~KeKeKeKe~”

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

End Chapter 18

Goodbye Orange. 

The Orange is no longer good. The Orange has rotted.