Shadow stopped as soon as she felt the woman's hand leave her wrist, reality reestablishing itself in an instant. She was told not to follow strangers. While wondering if she could help the monk up, the woman leapt to her feet and spoke to the others in the oasis. With a shock, she realized that they were, as a matter of fact, in an oasis. She watched the strangers without a care, like someone who was watching from the sidelines. She hadn't been quite right since.......*pause*......but somehow, she couldn't be bothered to fix herself. She didn't seem to care about anything any more, but at least the fact didn't bother her.
Neohmi nearly called out Grimmerly when she finally noticed the third stranger who came from the other direction. Like her, the man was greedy with the pond water and she couldn't blame him. Seeing that the man appeared harmless, she let her shoulders relax.
"Sorry, I've been walking all day and was about to collapse when I found this place. My name is Dante I used to be a merchant. Before I was sent...here."
She stood up to address the new stranger. "Here?" she asked. "You were sent here? By whom? I..."...don't remember, she wanted to say, but it was as if her body was transported somewhere else. She became momentarily cold. No longer in the desert, she found herself in a dark place where the air was eerie. She saw only raindrops crashing on hard wood and felt a grim resignation. Something was ending.
"Ho there! Might I inquire as to who you are?"
Neohmi snapped back from her trance to find the other pair of strangers had gotten within earshot of her without her noticing. One was a bald woman in robes while the other was but a child. Both looked terrible. In fact, all of them looked downright awful. Suddenly, she was too exhausted to be annoyed.
The flashback left a small, painful ringing in her head, so her eyes furrowed when she replied, "Neohmi, a doll maker. That man over there claims to be Dante the merchant. And this one right here..." She gave an amused, questioning look back at the hooded figure she recently saved. "Well, we haven't got to that part yet. What is your name?"
