Illusion of Fate
Chapter 2: Separation
The evening dusk now blanketed the heavens above, causing the village of Ordell below to become awash in a soothing, pale-orange light. The village was oddly unique in appearance, giving a feeling of both constriction and spaciousness at once in the width of the streets, which were themselves covered in the stereotypical cobblestones to be expected in a fantasy village such as this. The houses were all neatly clumped together in rows, slated tile roofs abound in a dull brown monotone and the walls themselves a dreary, drab grey – yet the dusk managed to make the scenery appear welcoming and relaxed, offering up an enchanting sight for sore and weary travellers.
The streets were near-empty now, the market day having since passed and with few stores left open was almost barren save for a soul or two. Suddenly turning a nearby corner was our intrepid party of three, whom had not long ago entered the village and were now fervently searching for an inn in which they could rest. So far, their efforts had turned up fruitless, and so Renee was in turn beginning to feel somewhat edged. Her face had now a frown etched upon it, her brow furrowing as she slowly started to become somewhat angsty – and Kyle perpetually whistling old folk songs to himself badly was doing little to aid in the matter.
“Do you have to keep whistling that annoying song?” she hissed, quickly turning her head to Kyle with a glare. Kyle halted in mid-whistle and looked at Renee.
“Not really, but I thought I could use some practice whistling-” he started, but Renee interrupted him.
“Well, now isn’t the time to do it! Why don’t you pay more attention to what we’re doing and look for an inn, instead of being of in your little daydream world, damn it!” she growled.
Lawrence quickly turned to face Renee, stopping in his tracks as he did so. “Now, Renee,” he began in a stern voice, “you don’t need to snap at Kyle like that. He was just messing about a little.”
Renee halted, spun around and had now redirected her piercing glare towards Lawrence, curving her mouth into a grimace as she did so.
“Well, he shouldn’t be. He’s always screwing around and acting foolish, when he should be helping us out more!” Renee said, a hint of frustration in her voice.
Lawrence simply sighed and said, “Look, it’s been a long day, and we’re all a bit worn out. Why don’t we all quietly look for an Inn, and we can talk about this more later,” in an attempt to redirect the subject.
It didn’t work.
“Well, you two can do that. I’m going elsewhere to find my lodgings!” Renee yelled, before she spun around and stormed off in a huff.
“Renee, I’m sorry-” Kyle began, but Lawrence interrupted him.
“Don’t worry, Kyle, it’s not your fault. She’s just a bit tired and stressed, that’s all. Leave her alone for a while to do her own thing, and she’ll soon calm down.”
Reassured, Kyle smiled and nodded before he and Lawrence continued once more searching for a respite of some kind.
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Reaching into the leather pouch strapped to his waist, Lawrence pulled out a handful of jingling silver coins and placed them onto the counter.
“Is this all right?” he asked.
The man behind the counter collected the coinage and dropped it into the small sack beside him, replying with a smile, “Certainly, sir. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
Bidding the innkeeper goodbye, Kyle and Lawrence departed of the inn and into the village streets once more, the orange glow now somewhat faded and the skies beginning to darken as nightfall slowly approached. After staring up at the sky for a few moments, Lawrence turned to face Kyle. The two decided to split up, agreeing to meet up again in the lobby of the inn once night had descended upon the village of Ordell. Lawrence handed a few silver coins to Kyle with which he could purchase something, before the two of them set off in opposite directions.
Kyle hummed quietly to himself, jingling the coins in his hand melodiously as walked alone through the street, now barren by this time of day. Sniffing the air, his lips contorted into a small grin as he felt the lingering odour of now long-sold delicatessen foods enter his nostrils, sending images of savoury snacks drifting into his mind. The thought reminded Kyle that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and the sweet scent of food long-gone was beginning to make him feel hungry and, in turn, slightly despondent.
As the odour began to fade, Kyle snapped back to reality to notice that he’d turned a wrong corner. The alley he had now entered loomed with dark and sinister presence, a forlorn atmosphere emanating from the long and winding alley – an atmosphere that pressured Kyle’s mind, feeling denser and denser as he began to step into the alley. Narrowing his eyes, he stared down the long alley to see that it seemed to stretch on for all eternity, the end in no plain sight. Gulping nervously, his eyes widened as he noticed that he had long since stopped jingling the coins in his hand merrily – yet they were still jingling quietly, for now his hands were beginning to shake and his breathing was starting to become more and more brief. The ominous atmosphere of the alley was in a way now almost crushing Kyle with its density, and so he decided the best course of action would be to leave. He spun around on his feet and readied himself for a hasty escape-
-when a large hand suddenly grabbed and covered his mouth. Before he could scream, he felt a large physical pressure on top of his head as another hand smacked him around the top of the head.
Then everything went black.