Beyond the Rabbit Hole

In the Footsteps of Dread

After the innkeeper led Alberic upstairs to his room, Morgyn went back outside. I hope they didn't leave the village to look for me. He looked up at the night sky.

One of the moons had a slight golden tint to it. Even though it was currently a crescent, it was still visibly larger than the other two. The second biggest one shined of blue and silver – it looked the most normal of the three. The smallest of the three wasn't necessarily the smallest, but it was the hardest to see. An eerie crimson glow outlined the black circle like a hole in the sky.

"Morgyn?" A soft voice emerged from the darkness.

Morgyn looked down and saw Alyss and Benard approaching him with relieved looks on their faces.

"What happened to you?" Benard sighed. "We've been looking for you for hours. Who knew how difficult it would be to find one man in a small town like this."

"Well, I'm glad we finally found you!" Alyss ran up to him. She dramatically looked him over. "Not that I don't appreciate the view, but what happened to your shirt?" Alyss chuckled.

"I gave it away." Morgyn replied without a change to his expression.

"Why would you do that?" Benard raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he didn't have a home and needed a lot of help." Morgyn scratched the back of his head. "So I gave him some money to stay here too."

"You gave- why? Why would. . . ugh." Benard pinched his forehead and took a deep breath. "That was all the money Commander Rendhal gave you guys for the journey." He shook his head. "How much did you give him, anyways?"

Morgyn averted his eyes for a moment. After a short pause, he finally said "All of it."

With his mouth agape, a bead of sweat trickled down Benard's cheek.

Alyss burst out laughing and reached up to pat Morgyn on the shoulder. "You haven't changed at all!"

"Why. . ." Benard's breath grew heavy. "How can. . . How can you just laugh that off? Do you not understand the position this puts us in?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Alyss shrugged. "So that's what you've been up to. I got to try alcohol for the first time while we were asking around."

"Ah, that's right." Morgyn said. "I did find out something about Ina."

"You did?" Alyss smiled.

Benard sighed. "Well, at least you got something out of the exchange. So, what is it?"

"Well. . ." Morgyn's gaze shifted toward the ground for a moment. "Apparently, she was kidnapped by a "demon." The way the man described it though, it sounded like the warriors with 'extraordinary power' that you told me about before we left." He looked back up at Alyss.

"Warriors with extraordinary power?" Benard asked.

"Rendhal told me about warriors with extraordinary power that came about with the Dread Flood." Alyss said as she turned back toward Benard.

"I see. . . Wait." Benard's brow furrowed as he lunged forward and grabbed Morgyn's shoulders. "Are you saying she was kidnapped by a dreadknight?!"

"Dreadknight?"

Benard took a deep breath and let go of Morgyn. "No, there's just no way." He shook his head. "Why would a dreadknight kidnap a random girl all the way out here – it just doesn't make sense."

"I can't say whether or not he saw a dreadknight, but he wasn't lying about what he did see." Morgyn said with certainty.

Alyss nodded. "If Morgyn says he was telling the truth, then I believe it."