"So where are we going?" I asked, dashing around the group.
"Igädnrél." Sara answered.
"Egod and rail?" I questioned, butchering the pronunciation.
"I-gäd-nrél" She repeated, slower this time.
"Igädnrél?"
"yep"
"And where is that?"
The group faltered with nearly everyone turning to look at me.
"What? Should I know it?" Looking around they all had an expression of shock.
"How are you alive kid?" Clair asked, breaking the silence she had kept for the entire time.
"What do you mean?" I asked, why wouldn't I be able to survive.
"You used a class change token in the forest of the roses, you don't conserve energy, and your a 5 foot 2 stick."
For the first time it dawned on me that everyone in the group was taller than me, and not by a short amount either, at least 3 inches.
"I don't get out much?" I reasoned, tredding lightly with what I said.
"As if, no one lives near here." Sara butted in.
"Why ever not?" This place seemed like an easy place to build with incredibly defendable terrain, if you ignored the trees and white sticks.
"Those sticks, they aren't sticks."
With that she turned of and started to walk ahead. Picking up one of the not-sticks I looked at, only to drop it in horror.
"Bone." I got out, disgust and fear covering all aspects of my self.
"Yup." Toby said, reaching out and pulling me over a fallen log.
"How?" I managed to get out.
"Do you know about the fall of the french?" Charles asked, looking around for any beast in this area.
"Yeah, two figures appeared in the sky, summoning giant orbs of ice and fire. Blood was said to flow towards them." I shuddered at the mental image.
"These are the people whose blood was drawn towards the two. Blood, flesh, it's all gone." Charles said, as he stabbed a 60 centimetre bug and tossed its corpse into a bag no bigger than his fist.
"Oh." I said, because what else are you supposed to respond with.
As we made the near hour long journey, we continued to make idle conversations, though I think they wanted to distract me from the explanation.
**********************************************
When we finally drew near the small town, maybe village would be a better term, anyway, we ran into a group of beggars. Dressed in rags, they smelt of rot and decay. Large swatches of green and purple could be seen on their backs, faces, and arms, in the centre of the areas punctures wounds could be seen dripping slight amounts of blood. Groans of pain could be heard before they could be seen
"Poor bastards." Toby muttered to me. "They've been bitten by a baby basilisk, it's a fate that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy"
As we drew closer they started walking down the path we went, a hint of steel visible underneath their clothes. As they reached us one bumped into charles and burst into apologies riddled with groans of pain. Once that ordeal was done they waddled down the path, noises only gone when we entered the town.
The group walked down the road as if they had walked it a thousand times. Slowly approaching a tall building Charles began to search through his bag, a panicked look on his face.
"What happened?" James asked, a worried expression also shown.
"I can't find The Bag."
"Aren't you looking through it?" I asked.
"No, we're talking about a bag of storage, not a regular bag." Sara said.
"Oh." I said, a blush of embarrassment covering my face.
"Where can we stay?" Jeff asked Claire.
"We can hope Ivy trusts us to pay her back." Claire said with a hopeless shrug.
Sighing the group continued into the building, walking to a desk with a woman behind it.
"Claire! What can I do for you." She asked, a smile on her face.
"Ivy, we need a room." Clair said, hugging Ivy and blushing, only to turn angry when she saw Toby mouth 'Kinda gay'
"That'll be the usually fee then." She said withdrawing to behind her desk.
"About that..." Claire turned red and looked around, "We kind of got robbed."
Ivy burst out laughing "Are you serious?"
"Can we pay you back after?" Sara said.
"No can do. Rules are rules. Sorry." A tough look appeared on her face.
"But we need someplace to stay, and we have a newbie."
"Doesn't change a thing."
"Would these work?" I asked, placing a few small dark blue crystals onto the desk.
"You would be the newbie." Ivy said, a strange look on her face.
"That would indeed be me." I said, shaking my head slightly. I could feel a slight pain in the back if my head
"Sure thing. Wait." She paused and looked at me, greed in her eyes. "Where did you get these?"
"Here and there." I said, shaking my head, the pain growing greater.
She said something I couldn't make out and the pain grew till I could bearly think. A series of images flashed in my head and I saw a face similar to Ivy's, only more masculine and younger.
"Alex law." I muttered, and Ivy turned so fast I thought her hair would blind Claire.
"What did you say?" Her ordinarily polite voice was riddles with anger.
"KEFS." I said, louder.
She seemed like she saw a ghost. "How do you know?"
Shaking my head rapidly my eyes cleared, "Did I say something?" I asked.
"Nothing." She said.
Picking up all but one I followed the others up the stairs into a corridor, then up another flight of stairs, and another corridor, rinse repeat till we were 5 floors up. Walking into a massive room, I was really shocked. For some reason only two beds were found, a twin, and one big enough for at least 15 people. Nearly everyone collapsed onto it, with a few people checking over weapons and armour, while I sat on the smaller bed.
"Isn't that illegal and wrong?" I asked, shocking every one.
"What?' They asked
I lent forward and whispered "Polygamy."
My comment was met with laughter by everyone. "We just walked through the wastelands of france, what are the government going to do."
"It doesn't change the fact its wrong." I said doubling down, after all I was correct, right?
"Why is it wrong?" They asked
"Because a relationship should be between one man, and one woman." Why where they all staring at me like that?
"Who taught you that?" Claire asked, stopping checking her blade for damage.
"The facility." I murmured to quietly for them to hear.
"What was that?" Shs asked kindly.
"The facility." I said loud enough for it to be heard.
"What else did the facility tell you?" She asked.
"Why?" I questioned, pulling the blanket aroumd me.
"We just want to know." Sara said, placing her staff down.
"Trans people aren't real, only two genders exist, and the fact your worth is determined by what you can do for them." Finishing that I wrapped the blanket around myself and started humming an unfamiliar tune that some how came as easily as someone who had sang it for a life time.
I could hear them arguing quietly as I slowly fell into the abyss that is sleep, only to be plagued with dreams of bones, disease, and an unfamiliar grinning face.