Odds Ever in Our Favour--Writing Games Entry Book

3. ...and the Wandering Witch (TA)

That night, I dreamed of a village.

It was strange, how normal dreams have never reached the peak of confusion, and yet tonight my dreams brought me such a puzzling image. Though my eyes were closed, my vision was sharp. Under the light of a full white moon I saw, with my own eyes, a charming little town near the valley where we landed just yesterday, with people chatting like old friends and stars twinkling in the skies like diamonds embedded deep in indigo-coloured velvet too far to be reached. Fires crackled merrily over several fire pits made of stone and wood, and somewhere in the distance I could hear faint chanting, like a warrior anthem of a sort.

As I slowly approached the town on quiet footsteps, several people gazed at me in wonder, big smiles cracked upon their glowing faces as they cheered at my presence. It was hard to deny the kindness that shone in everyone's eyes, further illuminated by the firelight. It was in this little town where everyone was willing to accept each other for who they were, regardless of the past, regardless of the previous burdens one sloughed through. And seeing that made me want to stay in this village, get to know their people, relieve myself of the guilt that had haunted me for years on end...for some reason I couldn't place, I felt like I truly belonged with them. The sense of comfort instantly arose within my chest, but alas, that was short-lived.

"Tamara, lèves-toi! Lèves-toi!"

As soon as I heard someone hiss through my subconscious, the vision faded away and I blearily forced my eyes open. It took me a while to see that Ahri, along with the Bellamont sisters, were crouching over me with worried expressions etched on their faces.

"Agh," I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I sat up. "What's going on? Qu'est-ce qui se passe?"

"Il y a un cas d'urgence," Adrienne explained. "We have to go outside. Faraji called on us, and it's urgent."

"We can't be late," Aimée added, glancing out of the tent anxiously. "Come on, Tamara."

I nodded as I tied my hair back into a ponytail, and after retrieving my wand we exited our tent into the humid night, where cicadas were still chirping and fireflies floated around, their lights dancing in the night sky. I cringed as I felt a fine layer of sweat emerge by the base of my neck, but I knew better than to complain. After all, when one was in the middle Americas, close to the equator, these would be the temperatures they'd bear, and eventually I would have to get accustomed to it too the longer the expedition lasted.

The rest of the students, some yawning groggily and others grumbling incoherently, slowly emerged from their school tents. I squinted at the number of students that remained—it didn't seem like there were a lot of us left. Perhaps some of us did leave after facing the horrible truth about ourselves. Thank goodness I didn't choose to back down after what I saw.

Once everyone was present, Faraji—a tall and kind expert who practically exudes friendliness to everyone around him—approached us with a serious look in his eyes.

"Students," he said gravely. "We have warned you that there would be dangers lurking about on the Yucatan Peninsula—and right now one of our experts, Cerise Chevalier, had just fallen prey to these dangers. This is a very serious matter. If we don't save her, the consequences would be bad."

It was then when I noticed the mist gathering just a few feet behind him. How could I not have seen it before? It was so thick and white, unlike any kind of fog I've ever seen before. And maybe my eyes were tricking me, but it looked like it was...glittering.

Glittering mist? That seemed abnormal. And Madame Chevalier's disappearance...that was abnormal too. Would this strange magic also account for the dream I just had? A strange combination of doubt and suspicion instantly arose within me, and I frowned. Something must be going on here that was messing with us.