- Mmm are you the owners of this castle?
The newcomers are as wary as the ones sitting around the table.
The three stay behind the treshold not daring to take half a step more.
In a stalemate, Purple-belly being a good diplomat is the first to talk.
- No we aren't.
New silence.
Dust relax his hold on his knife seeing the strangers as lost as they are.
The potatoes man seem ill at ease. His physic is something to behold but as he switch his position from one feet to the other he appear to be quite harmless.
The only women of the three takes the initiative to enter the room. She has the same size as Dust but she is so slim that at first glance she seems to be towering over the others standings.
Behind her the feature of the third man is more visible.
He is handsome, brown hair pulled back leaving his forehead free of any strands. Who give the impression to be as soft as silk. Full lips, straight nose and dark eyes who can't hide his worry.
The voice of the woman is like the bell of a church ringing.
Powerful, clear and pure.
-How can we go out?
The middle- aged man open his lips who has become even darker with the wine while spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
-We don't know either.
Pony shift in her seat, as if she has too much energy for her to contain. Curiosity all over her face.
- Do you happen to have lost your memories too?
The women nod, potatoe man give a small "yes" and the handsome one in the back glance at everything and at everyone in the room.
Dust take back his gaze letting go for the moment of his lantern. He drink a bit of wine even if he dislikes it just to parch his dry throat.
The bold girl shot another question in their direction.
- Do you come from the mine?
While the charismatic woman doesn't show any abnormal expression like the Handsome one Potatoes has his confusion all over his face.
Dust directly assume that the man is bad at hiding facts.
Potatoes answers.
-No?
Purple-belly give them another of his polite smile.
- Well, why not take a seat with us to get acquainted? No point in standing.
Between Purple-belly and Pony Dust can see the old man frowning and pursing his lips.
Appearing quite displeased by the offer given by the middle-aged man.
However he doesn't express his disapproval verbally.
At this point Dust shift his attention from the newcomers to his plate.
Anyway he doubt that the they know more than them what is going on. They seem as lost as everyone else.
Eating one asparagus the boy see at his right Princess making an gesture of invitation to the two.
-Come. Come sit with me there is a lot of place.
They sit and eat like everyone else.
They say that they had a common dream, that they woke up in shabby bed lined in rows with swords in hand. The swords were so heavy that only Potatoes could lift one of this weapon. When they left the house they realised that they were in a burning Middle-Age city.
They say that knights without head roamed the city and tried to kill them.
They say they were 13 at first but now they are only 3.
When they reached the gate of the city they fainted.
And woke up here.
As they keep talking, the girl with the longer dress; Charismatic relax more and more. Dust can see that she has a gentle nature. She appear to feel guilty for those who didn't make it.
Potatoes add details to the story. Becoming more and more talkative. Apparently he tried with Charismatic to protect the others from the monsters but didn't succeed.
Handsome on the other hand was separated for the rest of the group and was hiding in some kind of barrel when suddenly he fainted and was brought here like the other two.
He speak carefully and in a slow kind of way. He doesn't hide the fact that he didn't help anyone nor that he cared.
Quite honest.
As the discussion go to the mine and their "adventure" Dust start to feel tired.
And the boy find this quite strange.
Tired? i just woke up from bed.
Looking at his clean plate some anxiety start to sink in.
He can't put the blame on the alchool for his sudden burst of tiredness. He didn't drink that much only one or two sip.
Hearing a yawn Dust turn his head to see Two.
Two behind his glasses squint at his plate.
He has also finished his meal.
No. Shit.
This time he doesn't think much about it before attracting the attention of Suspicious with a light tap on his arm.
In a low voice, his words naturally roll out of his mouth to ask him.
-Do you feel tired too?
Suspicious nod. His blues veins under his eyes more pronounced when his face bear a serious expression. He seems to have the same thoughts as the boy.
Dust can't help it.
Adrenaline rush in his arteries under his suspicions. He raise from his seat with his lantern in his hand.
From a second his fatigue recedes like a sea at low tide.
Opening his mouth he hesitates under the gaze of everyone else.
His sudden move has attracted too much attention.
He can't find in himself to talk to so many persons at the same time. And what if he is wrong? Maybe he is just panicking for nothing. Maybe…
His eyelids feel heavy.
Dust watch as the old man already take a nap on his seat.
Finally not willing to lose another teammate Dust bends to whisper in the ear of Suspicious.
- I think it will be better if we go in a bedroom all together and barricade the door with a furniture or something like that. It will prevent us to be moved out somewhere else when we sleep.
The blue eyes give a cursory glance around the table. Full lips drawn in a displaesed arc.
He put down his towel without further ado and like Dust rise from his seat.
Fortunately, Suspicious is worthy of his effort. Dust congratulates himself to not have chosen a pig teammate.
Without asking him why he doesn't want to talk about his idea himself he open his mouth with calm.
In a few words he convinces the other to follow the idea of Dust and they all climb the stairs to rest in one of the numerous bedroom.
Everybody can feel the sudden unatural fatigue quite worrisome.
Potatoes carries the older man who couldn't be woken up no matter how much noises they made and block the door with a heavy cabinet.
Directly after this the boy feel all his energy being drained from him and he fall like a puppet with his strings cuts on the floor. Soon others fall asleep like him.
Another nightmare await them.