Bessie and Dragor found themselves standing in the center of the circle, surrounded by huge stone creatures. Panic filled their minds. This is not what they thought they had signed up for when they had gone over to Threye's side. Victory, conquest, blood lust is what they had become used to, and to be surrounded by huge stone creatures, coughing as the acrid smoke burnt their eyes is not something that they expected or knew how to deal with. Not even the last battle at The Land of Ice and Snow was this bad.
Leaning down, one of the stone creatures sniffed at them. The cold, black eyes peered into Bessie and Dragor's faces, and seemed to burn holes of fear into them.
After sniffing every part of their bodies, the creature straightened, laughed and said, "Fear is what I smell. They may be tasty, but if we are to eat them, then we should do so before fear shrivels them up altogether"
He spoke a strange tongue, yet amazingly the frightened pair understood every word the horrible creature spoke. Neither had the courage to move. They stood there, waiting to be knocked unconscious, and to be eaten like little roast rabbits.
"Oh God", thought Bessie. "At least I had Dragor in my last days..."
Dragor's mind was scrambled. Nothing that he had been taught by the Mrodics seemed to have prepared them for this. He was numb, but he fought his fear desparately, in order to be able to think clearly. He looked around, looking at the stony faces staring at them impassively. Fear gripped his throat, and dried the words that were forming in his mouth. He fought his instinct to give way to panic, and tried his best to stay focussed.
Finally, from some place deep inside him, a voice spoke. Somewhere in his fevered brain he recognised it as his voice.
"We've been sent here by Threye", the voice said.
As the voice spoke, the stone creatures seemed to freeze. There was no movement. Not a soul seemed to stir. Nothing happened for a very long time indeed.
Then, one of the figures moved. It has a glittering band around it's head, and the whites were slits in the sea of black that were it's eyes. The white pupils glowed with a strange fire.
The figure approached, gripped Dragor by the throat, and asked, "What does that treacherous, scheming person, whom you call Threye want? Are you his representatives, his missionaries? If so, why should'nt we kill you right now? Maybe, when we are done with you, we can send your ground bones back to Threye.."
"Please, give us a chance..." whispered Bessie, fear making her voice quake.
Elsewhere, the sound of the flute and the drumming awoke Jenna and Trix. They stirred uncomfortably. The seemed to be almost hypnotised by the sound of the drumming and the flute music. They looked at each other, nodded, and arose. They walked together, hand in hand, as if drawn by the music coming from the plains nearby. They looked at Percival, Basil and Thyme sleeping on the ground. They slept peacefully, not a single snore leaving their lips.
The sisters walked together, hand in hand. Drawn by the music, they seemed to be almost in a trance. Yet, at some level they knew exactly where they were going. Barefoot they walked, along the stony paths, yet felt no pain. Later, they would discover that their feet were neither scarred nor damaged in anyway by the walk on the stony paths.
They soon found themselves in the centre of the circle, yet they did not know how they got there without disturbing the dance, or the rhythm of the music.
Then suddenly, there was silence, and one of the hooded figures threw a powder into the fire. There was a flash and then there was smoke. The two sisters found themselves caught in the smoke, coughing, while the smoke burned their lungs. Snapped out of their semi trance, they stared in wonder at the hooded shapes that surrounded them.
Two of the figures walked towards them. They had shimmering, gold bands around their heads, and their eyes burned fire. As the figures approached, they flung off their hoods, and the two sisters found themselves looking at a bearded man, with black, shoulder length hair; and, a woman, with black hair streaming down her face. They were an incredibly handsome pair, pale to look at. The only colour in their faces, was the red colour of their eyes.
"Welco, Jenna and Trix", the man said. "We have expected you for some time. We think we know where you are headed, but this is not the time for you to approach the land of the Cyfarrwynds. You would die. Yet, we can possibly help you and your companions."
"Who.... who ... who are you?', asked Trix. Her voice shook with fear, and wonder. She quickly glanced at Jenna, who seemed to be in a trance.
"Never you mind who we are", said the woman. "There will be time enough for talk. Tell us, however, how come you came to be associated with such a strange bunch of companions. Words are not needed...."
Gripping Jenna's chin, she looked deep into her eyes. Jenna's third eye opened in reflex, to burn the woman. Yet, nothing happened, and the woman smiled.
"Your powers are weak yet", she said. "You need to regain your powers, and this is the place where you will be able to bringthem back to their full power. While you need to retain some of the characteristis of mercy that you have acquired, it is also necessary for you both to regain some of the cruelty that is an inherent part of your natures"
She looked deep into Jenna's eyes, and her red eyes seemed to bore deep into Jenna's soul. She smiled, and then did the same with Trix.
"Yes, there is hope yet", she said. "We can help you, so that you can help your companions. But, for now, you need to forget this night, and when you awaken in the morning next to your husbands, then we shall come and get you. "
The man and the woman blew into the faces of the sisters, who seemed to go into a swoon. They were swung by an invisible force, and when they woke up in the morning, they felt odd, changed. Yet no memory of the night remained with them. They both felt that they had had an odd dream, but could not remember anything..
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