The thief, the librarian, and the lady arrive on the welcoming arch with six lights, entering the first trail of adventure by a cliff. Ground pillars claw through the sky, with endless stairs towards the unknown and windows for the unseen.
"Here it is. Welcome to our first stop, Lune gate." Linda opens the gate with her hands.
"Once dwelled by a village, now they migrate higher and leave nature to take over the ground. What remains now is only a temple and an abandoned warehouse."
"It was guarded with a strict challenge to prevent outsider from entering this town..."
Guarded from an enormous gap between two cliffs the size of a town's field, the three were nowhere from reaching that distance. Even a floating stone could not sustain the librarian's body, and too many jumps beyond her reach. It was an impossible trial, and the three were left hopeless. But the librarian persisted, knowing there was a way.
"Aww, that's too far! I don't think we can reach it!" Charger threw a pebble to check the distance.
"Now, please—you still have time to reconsider moving from this place to up and abandon this mission immediately before anyone gets hurt—" Linda prepares to walk away.
"Get off! I'm jumping through!" Eve intervenes.
The librarian raised her staff and pointed towards the front, turning the void in her ground with icy plain from her to the end. The bridge froze alongside the floating pebbles, and the cliff was now easy to enter for her to pass swiftly before the others. From the end, she had waved for them, arriving in the village with a warm entry.
"Come on, you two! The village's here!" Eve yelled.
"Wow! And here I thought I would've gone with flying. Alright, I'll go first!" Charger jumps out.
"Eugh..." Linda grunted with an irritated face.
The thief and the lady walked through the thin ice, heading toward the village safely with a slippery sense. They thanked the brave librarian for easing themselves from unnecessary tiredness. The thief walked forward with his gold while the lady walked forward with air.
From grounds afloat, there was no more water for the librarian to wet herself upon. Only the tallest, largest, and oldest forms of houses can be found here. Yet they are all still a ruin, incomplete, and a mess to witness. Those who lived here didn't even know about doors, making it easy for the librarian to enter through a temple.
"What is this place?" Eve wandered.
"It's not a big town, human. Few of this wreckage means nothing but a waste of time..." Linda stepped onto a chained cage.
"Crafted to be a perfect house until it serves no purposes for hundreds of years passing any Elysian here."
*Prang* The cage fell a few inches before Eve.
"Woah! Eve!" Charger rushes to her aid.
"I'm okay."
"Forgive...me..." Linda gritted her teeth.
It was not a sturdy place, but the librarian faced a few challenges to pass the stone temple. From reaching tiny gaps and jumping between pillars and cages to climbing her way to the higher floor—every step was more fragile and dangerous than before.
"Are you sure we need to climb all this up to reach the village? Don't realize how unnecessary that sound to me!"
"If you wanted to, you can just jump and leave this place! Not that I'm forcing you!" Linda jumps from platform to platform quickly.
"No, thanks! I'm fine! I'm going up the hill! Right, Charger?" Eve struggled to bridge herself with her body from one platform to another.
"Yeah!"
With every stone she steps, a new story unfolds from the walls and its remnants. These cages are not just a decoration, nor were they made to confine anything. They were a passage meant to be elevated like an elevator. She can feel the remnants of starlings that had been here, going up and down everyday.
But the librarian was so captivated by the beauty of the relic that she paid no attention to her surroundings. By her right foot, which landed too close to the edge, she inadvertently pushed herself away from the ground, and the ground was compelled to another. She fell but landed safely by grasping towards a floating stone, nearly to her demise.
"Hah! Uh oh..." Eve grasped.
"Eve!!"
The trial unveils. Cages, stones, and floors are jostling toward one another, flinging shrapnel and traps due to a collision. The librarian holds steady on the chain and climbs high while the thief and the lady search for a roof and a way to follow. It was a disaster, trapping the librarian in an inescapable gaze to the ceiling and a rumbling from the ground.
"Aah! My staff!" Eve slipped it out of her hand.
"What did you do??" Linda glances with horror.
"I was trying to climb! The trial hates me!"
"Surely you know why!" Charger climbs towards gaps with his extendable arms.
"What does that supposed to mean?"
Everything began to fall from the sky like a meteorite casting the mortals into hell. Dust spreads from the bottom and rises towards the librarian and her companion on the way to the escape above. The lady made it first because of her experience, while the thief and the librarian are fighting against the time.
*Thought* "Oh, Esil. I think I could left them here. Maybe they'll die from the height!" Linda whispers to herself.
"Linda! Linda! Help us!!" Charger yelled.
"Uhm, I'm trying! I'll see if I can do something!"
The lady quickly searched for help, with a face of hurry and never to be seen again while the two held their ground for survival. Holding tight to the chains and grasping at their chest, their time was growing thin, just like their ground.
The dust reached the librarian's legs, and she felt nothing but a wind gushing through her shoes. Cages fell to the ground, one by one, and with the loudest shattering ever to be heard. Yet the librarian was trapped without a way out. Only the chain to the ceiling could help her from going up—now it's already up.
"Charger, I can't hold it anymore! Do something!" Eve stops and shivers.
"Augh! My hands are stuck! Stuck!" Charger yelled.
"Do you think we can fall down and hope nothing bad happened?"
"Don't you see the dust? It's rising! It's all ruins waiting for us!"
"Maybe, but if I were you, I would've been luckier to fall as a giant than a dwarf getting that ice wand anytime!"
"What?? I'm closer to death before you!"
The bridge is below her feet, but there is no path to jump—everything falls and shatters. The thief is trapped between two creaks and nearly a shrapnel to hit. The tower is now an empty ground scattered with thick clouds of dust, and the ground is nowhere to be seen.
With all hopes gone, only a growing dust and fading light are left on the tower with the librarian. The eerie silence mixed with the clanking is a terrifying moment that could only be disrupted by the tin within the thief's arms. But no matter what they awaited, there was nothing to do but let the dust submerge them in a scent of death.
"Well if we don't jump anytime, we couldn't go anywhere! And your wand is down there!" Charger struggles his way out by removing creaks.
"I don't believe you! You left me when I was at the cave. How can I trusted you?"
"How should I know where you go? I'm all on the tavern and it's you who come out yourself!"
"Don't make this about me!"
*Creak* The elevator's chain before Eve is loosened from the ceiling
"Uh oh..."
The librarian makes a blind jump to the ground, embracing the dust and the unknown together with the thief. But to have a flower bed under your foot when you landed is a dream far beyond their founding. As they fell, what she met first was a ground full of rocks across the grasses.
"Aah!!" Eve and Charger landed.
"Aaagh!!"
*Crack*
The ground is as sharp as a trap, breaking her bones as she fell with grace and dust in her way—a deception in her faith. The thief, crawling with a dent on his head, appears clearly from the clouds of dust, searching for his gold nuggets, which scatter against his will.
"Uhm? No, no, no, no!!" He yelled.
"Why is it gone? Not now!"
The dust covers through sharp rocks and rubbles, blinding the librarian to the surface. The librarian stood in a struggle, rubbing off her rocky arms and shattered ice mixed on the ground before looking around her surroundings and finding herself trapped between ruins.
"Charger! This is your fault!!"
"How?? We fell into the ground!" Charger grasps the gold from creaks.
"You're the one who dropped us together from here! You said we won't be hurt!"
"I said we MAY won't be! Beside, you should've jumped before it falls onto us!"
"Oh, for fuck sake! You can't even take responsibility like a man!"
"Here you go. Now go get us up!" Charger threw the staff over to her face.
"Wow, thanks a lot, Charger." She quipped.
The two traverse the uneven terrain using the rubbles, carefully grasping for the strongest and largest platform on their way to the surface with a wounded limb. The librarian resisted the pain while the thief couldn't bear his dented face. Her eyes were perched on the light across the light coming from the doorway while the thief leeched into her like a hooked fish on a reel.
"Ouch...my arms...ouch...my legs...ouch...my face..." Eve wailed while climbing on a steep rock with her wand.
"It also hurts you know, Eve? But you didn't need to let it out!" Charger mumbled.
"It hurts so much and I had to! This is all your fault, Charger!"
Across the tower, there's only a silence. The lady couldn't hear anything from the inside than a dissipated dust and heavy wind from the east. She was terrified of the outcome, fearing the only possibilities that happened. The tower had fallen into a shattering remnant, and dust scattered to the air but not a single trace of the librarian.
"They're gone? For goodness sake..." Linda uttered with a displeased yet relieved tone.
"Oh, well. I'll miss them for being around a second with me."
"I was hoping to set up deadlier trap above, but I guess humans are not always the strong one to live."
"Well, time to get me some ale before—"
*Crack* A hand reaches out of a ledge.
But just as the lady was about to be lost in her mind, the librarian appeared from the wreckage with little bruises and raised her will once more. The surface was never brighter, and the thief walked out resolutely with his new face. It was as if the sun shone brighter for them.
"You're still alive??—I mean, you're okay?" Linda put up a face.
"I was trying to help you two but I couldn't find any help out here!"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
The lady was relieved that these two had made it safely without her—her heart couldn't even beat any faster than before. The challenging tower is no more, and the three are ready to swerve the wind again. But her eyes would never change from that moment again.
"Thanks, Linda. But I think we've already got our way out here." Eve headed past her with Charger. A smile was put on their faces as they felt an excitement they'd never felt.
"Hrgh..." She walked off without a word.
"What was that?"
Safe and unharmed, the three made their way from the broken tower into a long lane across a stone bridge. Everyone was relieved and excited, except the lady who seemed to avoid looking out for the two. She didn't even want to talk with them because of how worried she was. But she kept reaching until the two were heading past a large tree.
They appeared on the bridge, where the trees shrouded the light, and only a piece of the sun could penetrate through the leaves. But they were still far from a village, and the stone rails were going nowhere from the forest. Birds and animals were singing, but not in a beautiful way.
There was a small park at the entrance, covering pale grasses and round houses like a bunker. Not a single soul was found, but there were thousands of wood piling inside with an empty lantern on a window—warm in an unlit space. It brought an unusual feeling between comfort and alienation.
The librarian entered the warehouse, looking around the woods with awe. The texture and the ages carved from the bark are something of a time's work. She could hold tens of these woods with only her grip—it's like grabbing nuts from a squirrel's house. The starlings must have forgotten their winter's ration.
The thief couldn't be bothered by them. Woods is no closer to gold or tins, so he was quickly turned with the offer. His bones couldn't feel the warmth inside the woods, and it was too dark for him to see past through the unlit room. Yet the lantern fascinates him more by the metals.
"Whoa, look at this wood, Charger. We can make a campfire tonight with this!" Eve grabbed a few into her bag.
"Pfft! Why waste those woods when you can make them into an art, Eve?" Charger carved a figure from the woods.
"Tch, thought you didn't like woods?"
"When did I say that? Besides, carving is much easier with woods than tins."
"I'll take that lantern." Charger grabs.
They had more than enough resources in their hands to survive the night, yet the trees and rocks creeped out the thief for the long darkness. Everything comes out of the forest at night with a howl and a mysterious eerie. The librarian could not push further and decided to use these woods to make a rest.
"Oh, no! The forest is thicker than I imagined!" Charger seeks with his binoculars.
"I guess we should make a rest here, Linda. Is it okay?" Eve checked after Linda.
"Yeah, do whatever you want...*you may die here too*..." She walks off disappointed to the forest.
"What was that?"
"Come on, Eve! We can use this warehouse as a stay!"
The thief agreed and helped her build a campfire within the warehouse with the piece of wood they'd found while the lady was going out to stroll for fruits and stuff. Tonight was a perfect night for the librarian since she left the castle for an adventure.
They made a small pyre to warm their foot, waiting for the lady to return with their fruits and meats for the night. The warehouse is comfortable enough as a shelter from the outside, and there is enough room for the librarian to spread herself for a sleep. The night is only between the librarian and the thief.
The Tin Man glanced in despair as his cold metal bones were unaffected by the campfire's warmth. He tried rubbing his body with a block of wood, but he couldn't feel anything more than a stiff, loosened arm by the heat that only lubricated his alloys.
"Phew, I hope Linda returned with the fruits! I'm so hungry right now!"
"Yeah, she better be." Eve mumbled with a squinted eye. She pulls a long cloth from her bag to make a bed, ready to sleep again.
"You can have the fruit if you wanted to."
The forest is more dangerous than they imagined, and the lady bravely leaves in search of more edibles in the tree. One could imagine the harshness she would face alone in the cold night while the two were comforting themselves in the warmth of a tree. Yet she hadn't returned for long, and the two were worried.
"I'm bored, Eve. Don't we have anything else to do while waiting for the night?" Charger taps her body from the back.
"We've already got our bones broken thanks to you!"
"Aw, come on! Don't be a lame rock, Eve! If at least, we should play a game!"
"What kind of game we can play here? Tic-tac-toe?"
"Well, why don't you use your paper and make something useful out of it?" Charger rips out a page from her book.
"Fine!! Stop ripping them out, then!"
The librarian thought for a second—this night couldn't be too rushed in such a beautiful place. While waiting for the lady to return from her hunt, she decided to make fun of it with her papers to share with the thief. While the campfire is warm, she sets a riddle that could comfort her mind.
She grasped six pages of paper from her book and folded them into a message scattered on her carpet. They are written with words that can only be read by opening the wrap, making it a mystery for the thief to watch out while holding his gold.
When the librarian's done, the lady had returned empty-handed from her journey to the wilderness—such creatures from the trees were merciless, leaving her a mark to fear. She appears tattered, with a few wet stain on her clothes but barely wounded by any sign. Her face was frozen but no more within the warmth of the campfire.
"What are you two doing here?" Linda stops.
"We were playing to rid the boredom of the night. Wanna join?"
"No, thank you. I'd have much more fun sleeping than wasting my time on the heat..."
"Aw, come on! It would be better if we all play together! Besides, it's not like you've had anything to brought us from the forest, so..." Charger slides into her.
"I never said I'll bring anything from the forest?"
"Come on, Linda! If you don't play, then you can sleep! Have fun hearing our scream at night as we having too much fun over here!" Charger taunted her.
"Fine. But only for a few game then we'll sleep, okay?" Linda was irritated, with her eyes closed and her antennae twitching.
"Yeah!"
The librarian invited her to a game between truth and lie. The lady and the thief sat on a campfire, watching the crumpled papers scattering on a bowl as she shuffled them furiously.
"Alright, here's the rule. Three of us can only pick one crumpled paper. Each paper consist of either truth or lie, and you must state one thing about yourself—either with honesty or lies."
"Two, we swap the paper in a clockwise. That's where the first player asks the next one about a question."
"Third, we share a second statement."
"Four, we swap and does the same."
"Last but not least, we did this five times...Got it? I won't repeat it."
"Yeah!" Charger excited.
"Okay," Linda mumbled indifferently.
The librarian was direct even with lies, calmly uttering one statement, knowing how little others would be against it. The lies were woven so well that she didn't hear a sigh of doubt.
The thief was a clever man, knowing how to stir his lies well that he almost made the librarian a fool, but the lady was convinced of his lies.
The lady has nothing to hide yet so shallow she was that she has no truth to spout from herself. The thief suspected her as a liar, and the librarian thought of her as a truth-maker.
[Round 1]
"I am left-handed," Eve mumbled, wrapping the paper back into a crumple.
"I love wood as much as I love tins." Charger uttered.
"I...am a...snail?" Linda grasps her paper.
"Wrong. Try again! It can't be an obvious one, Linda."
"Yeah! Don't you have something else to share other than a look?" Charger comforts her.
"Alright—I lived around the lowland of this town." Linda blinks.
[Round 2]
The librarian, the lady, and the thief swapped their paper clockwise. With their papers swapped, each player knew the secret from the one before them. Now it started again with the librarian asking the question, then the thief and the lady. There was merely a tension from this question.
*Eve's turn* "Charger, do you prefer wood or tin?"
"Pfft, obviously a wood!" Charger winked at Linda.
"Really? It sounds like you are lying to me..." Eve teases.
"Come on, Eve! You never seen me with a wood before? I love it so much I could even hold it anywhere right now!"
*Thought* "This is boring..." Linda mumbled.
*Thought* "What did I expect from such a little game of a human? I can pass this night through and think about scheming a murder for her first. But how can I do so?"
*Charger's turn* "Linda, do you have a job above the lowland?"
"Yeah, I—W-what?" She frozes.
But when the thief takes turns questioning the lady, she is silent as stone. Her eyes were perched at the librarian's hand holding the paper of truth from a crumple, while she was pondering at her innocent face as if she was seeing a beast inside of her.
"Linda? Linda? Hello?" Charger taps her face.
"I...don't have a job above lowland. I live in lowland and worked only around here."
"Really? But I thought—" Eve opens her crumpled paper.
"I only wander around Bellflower sometimes! I never take a job above! At all!" Linda intervenes.
The lady spoke the truth hastily, although the thief and the librarian ignored how casual the conversation was. As soon as the lady finished her words, she immediately sat on the mat and imagined the dark corner of the warehouse with a relieved face.
*Thought* "By the Esil's scale, why didn't I think of this?"
*Thought* "Is it going to be like this until tonight? Are they going to unveil my plan from just a game?"
*Thought* "I can't let this happen. I can't. I must stop them at all cost."
*Thought* "I have to get this night through without spoiling any gloos from my bio-sac. I know I can do it..."
*Thought* "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!"
What an attention-seeking one. The lady made silence for minutes at the truth she couldn't bear to risk. Yet the librarian felt her answer was clearly off for such a tone coming out of her. There was a tone of lie written under her tongue, and she could tell that.
"Wow, looks like someone is having fun." Charger mumbled happily.
"This game really was that fun, isn't it?"
"Yep. I guess so..." Eve stared at Linda with concern. Her gut didn't have a good feeling with Linda.
Yet the game must continue, even if the lady was a shock. Today, the moon had swing by the center and now it is another day for the librarian. But it is not yet a new round.