News Of A Festival

We found ourselves back in the dense, moldy aisles of Seraphil after witnessing something truly disgusting. My stomach churned at the gruesome thoughts: the sounds of viscera moving, and the subtle scent of death that wafted our way. I had thought that I was beginning to get use to this unsightly place, but after viewing the way the people of this place are fed, it stirred something inside me. I could not stand the thought of these people clawing at raw scraps for whatever reason. As my mind spiraled downward on the vile matter, a small chill grazed my cheek, distracting me from spiraling any further. It was the beginning of a new draft.

Tradaeya continued onward seemingly following the breeze's resistance with every turn. The alleys we threaded were barren of most details I have seen along other buildings. Many of the passages were empty other than the occasional corpse lying about. Eventually, the barren walls slowly regained their details, and the small alleys suddenly became a wide street. The abundance of overhead coverage followed suite, allowing for a view of the pitch black sky in between its edges. As we followed the uneven brick road, the flat level began to incline slightly once again. The street we followed, suddenly opened up and revealing to us yet another town square, only much bigger. The left side of the square opened up to the main road in the same manner as the last, making me realize that Tradaeya clearly knew this place inside and out, never straying too far from the main road. As I stared straight ahead, I saw various monuments throughout the square, either worn beyond recognition or completely toppled over. Behind them were several spaced out trees, creating a sparse forest. From this distance they were somewhat normal, but I could tell something was off. They had lush, unnaturally round, orange-ish crowns. I was about to ask about them before we got distracted.

Tradaeya began making her way toward one of the monuments and I followed. We stood before the dull pedestal, the statue that once stood on it now at our feet and in pieces. The engravings on the pedestal were barely present anymore, yet still legible.

It read: "For king Lanyiaric. May the sky bless him and may the dragons fall before him."

I looked down toward my feet at the ashy gray fragments of the once great king. To think this statue once respected the image of a great king, yet now it lays here crumbling to dust. As I looked at the rough edges of the statue's fractures, Tradaeya began chuckling to herself.

"How ironic, a king known for his radiance and service to this kingdom, now completely silent, or perhaps dead in his castle. It's almost as if this statue is telling the same story." She took the words from my mouth.

With that we continued onto the next monument, only its bottom half still attached to the pedestal, and its upper half now in pieces on the ground. This time, the text was far too worn to read. Trying hard enough, all I could make out was "harbingers." I looked at Tradaeya for input.

"From my research, the king had oracles known as harbingers. They communed directly with their god and assisted the king based on the divine words given to them." She paused. "Perhaps this statue pays respect to their duties."

We continued on, closing in the strange looking trees. The clarity of our distance now made it clear that these things are not trees. They had dark trunks similar to trees, except where trees would normally branch out, there were large, dark orange bulbs atop each crown. Their heights were two to three times mine, only including their trunks. We got closer and closer, and soon, I would come to realize that this was something I may have already encountered.

We stood at the base of one of these 'trees,' its non-treelike aspects now very apparent. The base of the trunk had a similar overall shape to a tree, excepted sharp fragments splintered outward. The grains followed a diagonal motion up the trunk, indicating that it grew in a spiral formation. The spiraling motif continued upward until blossoming outward into a small crown that was shaped like a flower or maybe a bowl. The entire trunk looked almost like a tornado in the way it was formed. Sitting atop the small crown was something that removed any doubt in my mind that this was not a tree. Rested in the bowl, held up by jagged spiraling petals was a giant ball, or maybe an egg. The egg shape was roughly the same height as the trunk, and its width was slightly shorter. Its color was a dull orange with black and purplish vein-like patterns scattered under its surface. It looked smooth and though it was out of my reach, I could tell its feeling was soft like skin. Thin black vines overlaid some of the shape's sections, looking like a spider web had covered it. I stared at it, and the longer I did so, I could have sworn I saw something with in it.

It was clear to me what this thing was. I had seen it once, but now it was before me in its complete form. The trunk of this thing and the strange stumps I had seen in the forest look eerily similar, but I was fairly certain that they were one in the same. I looked to Tradaeya for answers, to which she shrugged at me. My trust in her is high, but I guess she could not know it all.

We walked forward into the the forest made up of these 'trees,' Tradaeya still taking the lead as if this was not the climactic mystery she intended to show me. After walking past several of these things we found a a frail person bowing on all fours before one. We checked our surrounds and found no one else in sight. I approached them before Tradaeya could, hoping to get something out of it.

"Hey... what are you doing?" I asked sternly.

"Wah! Oh my, thou surprised me." She laughed nervously in an old, yet comforting tone.

She looked the same as the rest of the other townsfolk. Gray wrinkly skin, raggedy clothes that barely provided coverage, and a stains around her mouth. She clutched a dark organ in her hands, perhaps a piece of a dragon she had brought with her.

"Does thou knowest not? The festival is nigh, and soon will be my time as well!" She said excitedly, yet sounded as though she had trouble speaking. "My, ye seems to have partaken not. I could gift this to ye if ye like. As I've said, the festival and my time are nigh." She said, attempting to hand us the slimy organ with her frail arm.

"Thanks, but I have food." I said, realizing my hunger. I took a piece of dried meat from my bag and began to eat as a way to show my disinterest for the raw meat she offered. "So what is this festival?" I asked.

"Bah! Why should I tell ye, ones who have no appreciation for the very thing that gives us life!" The old lady said while biting a piece of the raw meat. "Begone now, ye unblessed! Ye disturbs the peace with thy shameless presence! I will be reborn ye hear! Reborn!" The lady struggled to get louder.

"This ones got an attitude." Tradaeya said while approaching her. Suddenly, she kicked her, toppling her over and forcing the organ out of her clutches. She screamed, or at least attempted one in her weak voice, as Tradaeya sent her boot flying into her stomach, over and over again.

"Whatever thee doest here is of holiness not, for I have faced true holiness myself!" She said before finally stopping her fury.

I stared blankly, confused and in fear as to what had transpired. The old lady whimpered, shaking on the cold bricks. "Ye will see soon, the beauty that will become of us." The lady said under her breath. "Curse that king and his rot veils. Ye must be with them."

Tradaeya ignored her and faced me, her cold gray eye staring back at me, making an expression that said "let's go." I did not like that lady's attitude either, but seeing the way Tradaeya reacted, there was clearly something she knew that she was hiding from me. My thoughts led to distrust, and soon I began to question if I should really trust her. Still, it is not like I have nothing to hide as well. I was beginning to trust her enough to possibly tell her of my situation: that I was from another world. Now, I do not think I can. Would telling her indicate that I was on a certain side I had no idea of? It frightened me, yet I still followed her, realizing that she was my only lead in this forsaken place.