5 The Stalker

Solskin

I saw the smithy's eyes roll up into his head. He fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Xavier knelt down and pressed two fingers to his neck.

"He is just unconscious. Now, what should we do with him?" Xavier stood up sharply and gave the room one final glance.

"Well, we did just break into his house so we can't exactly say he is guilty of any crime. Any evidence of illegal activities will be discarded because of that." Mordred said plainly.

"True, but why would he attack us if he wasn't doing anything wrong?"

With that, Xavier walked toward the walls and gave every weapon a close inspection. I followed his example and examined the other side. I saw a plain longsword on the far side, but it reflected the dim light better than the others. I picked it up. It was well balanced and was noticeably heavier than my current sword. I gave it a few test swings and it felt smooth and comfortable.

I looked at Xavier who was jabbing at the air with a rapier. He looked pleased with the sword and attached its sheath to his belt. He started looking at the armour stands. I noticed something strange about his current armour. They were worn and covered with white scars. The scars were too shallow to be from a sword and some were tainted with flecks of green. Why would his armour be like that? For a recently retired veteran, his armour is way too damaged.

Mordred

Being the responsible man that I was, I stood outside and watched the street for any signs of danger. I saw a pair of guardsmen marching straight toward us. They wore high quality chain mail from head to toe. Their swords were drawn and their shields held over their arm. As the city lord, I knew they were there to fight someone. As any sane person would in my situation, I panicked and ran back inside hollering at the top of my lungs, "Run, the guards are here!"

Running in circles, I listed every single consequence of being caught by the guards in my head. I was promptly punched in the gut by Xavier, which forced me to stop screaming, told to shut up, and roughly shoved out a window. How rude. Solskin and Xavier quickly swung out of the window and crouched low. Following their example, I huddled flat against the wall and began beseeching God that I was too important to rot in jail. Xavier edged to the corner and peeked his head out. He remained motionless as my heart pounded so hard I was afraid it would burst out of my ribcage. I was certain the guards could hear it. I felt as if an eternity passed as I waited for Xavier to give the

OK. Then, Xavier crawled closer and whispered, "They are gone, but there is someone else watching us now. I will draw them away while you make toward the edge of town."

I conveyed the message to Solskin. Xavier swung back into the store and walked out the front door and back to the marketplace. I got up to leave, but Solskin pulled me back down and held me still. We waited for a few moments, then got up and walked toward the edge of town.

Persephone

I watched Xavier leave the blacksmith store and head back toward the marketplace. I was convinced that he was aware of my presence. I thought about going after him, but decided to investigate the commotion earlier. I walked inside the store examined everything. It was pitch black, with the only light source being the setting sun. I saw the smithy on the floor, unconscious. On the walls were weapons of no interest to me. I headed into the back room. Strangely, the sound of my footsteps changed. I looked down, casting light onto my staff. I made out a frame of red around a section of floorboard. After further tapping, I realized there was a trapdoor. Opening it up, a horrible stench assailed my nose. Inside was a fresh corpse, surrounded by a pool of blood.

"May you find your journey to Hades be swift and pleasant." I placed a coin in his mouth walked back to the blacksmith. I flipped him onto his back and noticed a black dagger tattooed to the back of his neck. He is from the Three Kings gang. Disgusted at the senseless loss of life, I pulled out my pocket watch and pointed it at the man. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock struck twelve. Gathering my divine energy, I touched the man's forehead.

"To the judges, murderer. Begone and to the Horkos."

Black chains coiled around him like a python and dragged him into a black void. I exited the store to see the other two, making their way out of town without Xavier. I should continue following them. I pulled up my hood and went after them.

Xavier

I entered the marketplace and bought a set of travel clothings, as my other clothing were worn to the point of rags. Conveniently, they sold bedrolls and tents as well. It was at this point I was sure the stalker wasn't behind me anymore. Their gaze was absent and I noticed no one suspicious near me. After changing, I went to meet up with the rest of the group.

I noticed her at the edge of town. She sat on a fence nearby Solskin and Mordred, pretending to rest. However, she kept glancing at them as if she was interested in their conversation. I slowed my pace to a casual stroll and walked toward the group. She looked up at me as I past and I saw a brief flash of recognition in her eyes. I continued the group and joined the conversation, carefully not telling the others about our stalker. We continued down the road and she followed silently. With my suspicions confirmed, I ended the current conversation, drew my sword, and pointed at her.

"Would you care to tell us why you are following us?"

She was shocked and took a few hesitant steps back.

"Well, the jig is up," she called back.

Picking up her pace, she caught up with us and threw off her hood. She had short, unkempt, curly brown hair that completely covered one side of her face. She looked deathly pale and from her side, hung a pocket watch. I kept my sword pointed at her. With her finger, she pushed my blade away from her face and stated, "Persephone Xenith. Apostle of Thanatos and servant to Hades. Who are you?"

Mordred stepped forward,

"Hello, my lady. I am Mordred Leporum of Shiria and the one with the golden mop is Solskin… What was it?"

"Brandrson."

"And the buzzkill over there is Xavier. I don't believe you told last a last name."

"Just Xavier," I replied curtly. "Why were you following us?"

"You seemed interesting. That is all. I have nothing better to do other than travel to the Capital, but it seems that you guys are heading there as well."

She stared at me. Her interest was directly focused at me, searching for some little detail on me that had spiked her interest. I glared back at her, and she dropped her gaze.

"Well, it seems we are all traveling toward the Capital, why don't you join us. More the merrier when it comes to traveling."

I ignored the rest of them and continued down the road as Mordred rambled on about the joys of traveling in a group.

Mordred

While I was projecting an aura of camaraderie for everyone to relax, being the great leader that I am, inwardly, my thoughts were racing. I need more information! Earlier, when I was consulting with my peers on the possibility of extra-dimensional travel, they said it was merely a theoretical topic, and there was no evidence. But I know it happened, I myself, am proof of that. But what proof do I have, other than my faulty memories? And yet, being dragged around by these… hooligans, while infuriating in some respects, makes me feel as if I'm closer than ever before to a breakthrough. It's connected: Xavier's odd spell and my own strangeness. I'll need more time to ponder the subject, I thought. With my Earth-gained knowledge of infinite dimensions, I knew there must be an Earth that was not ravaged by demons!