The night was frigid and cold, the air crisp and harsh. A light, glistening snow settled gently on the ground. Night had cloaked the world in her seductive blackness, and the stars shone brightly over the sleeping land. Along the lanes, which were frozen and icy, were lamp posts made of thin old glass and greening copper. The light of the candles, lit inside their precious glass cases, flickered over the slick cobblestone streets in a perturbed spontaneity, following the same unpredictable pattern that all fire did.
Along the lanes, with careful footing so they didn't risk slipping on the ice-crested roads, two young men walked. Their paces were quickened and rushed, despite obvious efforts they made to appear casual to those who might be watching. But even with their attempts at causality, it was obvious something was happening. Even just the way they spoke to each other in fierce whispers, heavily laced with agitation and excitement, gave them away. It was obvious they had just found something-something momentous.
They continued to walk, in their quick but careful paces. Down the road they went, so distracted by their discovery they barely noticed when they came upon the Theatre, the old building made of collapsing marble pillars and old onyx floors. There, around the theatre, beggars were highly notorious.
With a small shock, one of the men looked up-quickly scared and panicked as he suddenly noticed a beggar standing on the theatre steps, staring at them with a gaze that weighed a thousand pounds. The other man noticed his fear, and quickly inquired as to why he was panicked.
"Apologies, Matthew." The first man replied, voice slightly shaky. The man had startled him, yes, but he also felt something more. "I just didn't see the beggar standing there when we approached. He just frightened me a bit, but…I just feel rather on edge with um, our recent…affairs. Perhaps we shall take a different path? Going through Theatre town…"
At this Mattew scoffed, brushing off the other man's unease. Theatre was a run down place of makeshift tents, littered with the poor. It was just like the theatre itself, standing high and broken in the starlight. "You worry too much, Barth. No one knows anything; they are only beggars. What could they ever do?"
I do suppose I have some…irrational fears." Barth admitted, deciding not to argue with Mattew further. But even then, he could still feel the beggar's eyes on the back of his head. He had such a twisted look on his face, such a glimmer in his eye. It was an expression he couldn't pin, somewhere between a look of deep suspicion…and a look of already knowing.
They continued deep into Theatre town, Barth trying hard to ignore the pressure, growing and rising tensely in his stomach. Oh, how badly did he want to turn back and go the other path-the safer path, where the promise of safety was so much more secure and alive. But Mattew wouldn't let them-not if Barth stood like a statue for a million long years, refusing to go forward.
They walked further and further, deeper into the rundown place. The beggar man's gaze followed them like a hawk, even when they had reared the Theatre entirely.
The road ahead was completely blanketed in an empty inky blackness, the two men barely able to make out the shapes of makeshift houses and tents in the starlight, awaiting their eyes to adjust. It was a new moon, and there were no lunar rays to guide them further., no lampposts lining the paths.
"This does seem a little sketchy," Matthew decided, stopping for a second as he waited for his eyes to hopefully adjust more to the darkness. Barth's heart soared for a second, hoping and praying to the Eeverspirit's that Mattew would turn them back-but he didn't. "Whatever, let's keep moving. We need to get home." Matthew stepped into the darkness, and Barth reluctantly followed. He didn't doubt himself, or Mattew, when it came to what they were capable of. But…he had a feeling that if they were to face something, their abilities wouldn't be enough.
Barth looked back once more to see if the beggar was following him, and when he looked back the stairs were empty.
"Ah! Look at that mate, he's gone. Nothing to fret! Now let's continue, yes?" Matthew said. He looked back as well, and took the beggar's absence as a sign of reassurance. But Barth didn't like it-the beggars probably knew the Theatre town like the back of they're hands. For all he knew, the beggar could be following them-possibly even more than one.
"Yeah, uh, sure. Nothing to fret…" Barth murmured in agreement. Mattew gave him a pat on the back and flashed a satisfied smile, and they both turned around. But as they turned around, they realized the stars were blocked, and the barely-visible silhouette's of the Theatre town houses were gone from view. Something-or someone-was standing before him.
He was at least eight feet tall, huge and muscular. His right arm was covered in a tattoo, though it was impossible to make out what it was a tattoo of. Even without him standing over them his presence seemed strong, like it would be impossible to ignore him when he stepped into a room.
"What the…" Barth asked, and at that immediate second hands shot out from behind the two and clamped down over their mouths. The hands were holding white clothes, which smelled sickly sweet, like fruit and chemicals. Barth's knees buckled and he began to fall, though the person behind him caught him and lowered him with minimum injury. Mattew himself fell to the ground just a few seconds after.
They're vision began to blur and darken around the edges, and Barth's ears began ringing. They remained in this state for a few minutes, slowly falling deeper and deeper into the blackness that already surrounded them.
FOr just a second, Barth entered a dream-like state. Reality stopped making sense, images danced before his eyes-
And he was finally overcome with the seductive song of darkness.