The Secret World

"I know, I know. I won't let us starve though, Kaeli. You just gotta trust me. Those people were all evil, I'm telling you. They would have taken advantage of you and then...possibly tried to kill me. And the Demons won't be able to follow us if we get as far away as possible, and if they do....that is something we will have to deal with when the time comes."

Sean was still happy he got a chance to fry a couple of the guards, but he almost wished he could have stayed to kill more of them. He shrugged it off though and silently hoped that the Demons would finish them off.

From where they stood, they had a decent layout of the surrounding area. However, this did little to help them as it was barren and free of civilization as far as the eye could see in every direction. Sean wished, for a moment, that he had the elf vision like Legolas in Lord of the Rings.

He kicked at some dirt on the ground and discovered a bit of metal underneath. Using his toe, Sean brushed away stray bits of dirt and debris. Lying just underneath where they were standing was a rail road track. Sean got a jolt of renewed hop in his chest, he grabbed Kaeli by the arm and pulled her over to where he was.

"Look! Tracks! We can follow them and eventually we'll wind up somewhere!"

He looked around for the horse, but it had ran off. It was gone.

"The horse is gone...I guess we'll have to walk it." He took Kaeli's hand "C'mon, let's go"

View attachment 5377They walked, following the tracks. Sometimes the tracks were completely buried under the earth, but other times they were exposed. Sean could see that they were very simular to the train tracks he was used to seeing on earth. After several hours of walking it began to grow dark. The air cooled way down, and a deep fog rolled in. Everything was dark and spooky, lonely and barren. By this time the tracks were completely exposed, and as a shiver ran up Sean's spine..he almost wished they would have stayed back at the castle.
 
"If you say so, Sean..." Kaeli answered, doubtfully. She could barely make out the tracks to tell if they were animal or human! But with caution, she went along with Sean, following the trail. It was better than doing nothing. Perhaps they'd run into someone who could help them? She certainly hoped so. She felt scared, and wary of this place now. It had been nice in the palace, but since the guards were going to probably turn them into prisoners, it was probably for the best that they'd left! She held tightly to Sean's hand, using a little more of her magic and creating a bright blue sphere of light for them to see by. If anyone was chasing them, she would snuf it out and purposely make it too dark for their trackers to see. But it seemed they had nothing to worry about. . .

For now.
 
They walked down the dark and lonely tracks. They were embedded in the ground from years of dormant existence and reminded Sean a little of the abandoned tracks behind the old bowling ally by his house. Every so often back on earth, mostly during winter, the cops would find some poor homeless dude frozen to death. Sean shivered, partially because it was getting colder, and partially because he realized that they were gone from their home...maybe forever.

He wrapped his arm around Kaeli as they walked "I'm sorry, Kaeli. I know I seemed hot headed sometimes, but it's the only way I know to deal with things." He kissed her on the cheek, steam rising from his mouth. It was getting cold.

They moved along, slowly as the temperature continued to drop. Another hour past, then another. Finally they came to the shore of a huge lake. It was one of those lakes, like the great lakes, that stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. An old wooden sign stood up on the shore., next to a small row boat.

Passage to Glenbrook

The sign read.

"Should we go?" Asked Sean, already loosening the rope that tied the small boat to land.
 
Kaeli had been warm starting out on their journey. But gradually, she felt colder as time went by. She got sick easily, which would be a major problem if they still hadn't found anywhere stable to live. She wound her arm around Sean's waist, shivering just a bit as his warm kiss lingered on her cheek. "I know Sean.. but we'll be okay... And yes, we should go to Glenbrook. It might be better than where we were." She eyed that row-boat with suspicion however!

"We'll just be careful on the water..." She added, mostly to herself. Reluctantly, and carefully, she got in the rowboat and sat down, trying to see where this huge dark lake would lead!
 
As the boat gently bobbed in the clear water, Sean manned one of the oars and guided them across the dark waters. It was so dark, in fact, that he was forced to ignite some fire to light their way. All around them was dark water, yet at the same time it was crystal clear.

'..Like glass." Sean thought aloud

Time seemed to stand still on this strange lake in the middle of the night. It made Sean a little nervous, although he would never express this to Kaeli. He was very selfless in that sense. No matter what he would put her before him.

View attachment 5796After about twenty five minutes, and again, it was hard to tell exactly how much time passed, a little village began to emerge, sitting on a moss covered shore. A large sign stood out that read 'GlennBrook'

"Well, I guess this is it. Hopefully those freaks won't bother us here....unless these people are nut jobs too, god....I hope not."

They got out of the little boat and walked into the village. It was pitch dark, middle of the night, but some of the houses had lights on.

"Maybe we can find an Inn or something?"
 
"An inn would be good, and I hope we don't have to run away forever. I'm getting so tired of everyone being against us." She sighed, leaning against him. She was so exhausted, she was shaking a little. She wouldn't have cared if they had to sleep on the ground! She wondered what happened to the guards they'd fled, and if the demons were still attacking, or if most of them had disappeared.

"What if we can't get back to Earth, Sean? What if we're stuck here and something worse happens to us?" She couldn't help her question. Things were just too damn scary to try to think on the bright side!
 
"If that happens..." Sean paused, thinking that they would have to find a way to start a life here, in this strange and foreign world. "Well, we will just have to learn to live here. After all, we were outcasts on earth, too. Our powers, we have to hide them there at least here they aren't out of the ordinary....well, maybe yours are, but..."

Sean stopped as a little man approached them. He wore a dark brown hood and green pants. Although eh wore a hood, he was not at all like those satanic fucks that wanted to kid nap Kaeli and do god knew what to her.

"You came across the river, I see" More of the little people began comming out of their homes to inspect the new comer. Sean thought that they weren't hostel, but curious. Sean nodded in response, at the same time putting an arm around Kaeli.

"We could use shelter for the night" Said Sean, feeling the man out as more of the little cloaked people approached. They appeared to be dresssed in different colors and some, Sean noticed, were female and children. He felt safer as none of them were armed.

The little man that was talking to them laughed as he pulled his hood back, revealing curly brown hair and a round face.

"Yes, indeed you will! The Quartering Winter is fast approaching. In a day this entire continent will be covered in ice and snow." He leaned back, hands on his knees, head thrown back laughing.

"Well, come inside then. We'll decide what to do with you." The man seemed to take no notice to their clothes, nor did he make any mention of Kaeli being a goddess. Sean was relieved.
 
Kaeli was just too shaken up to be relieved. Running from the palace, and then encountering these small, but-so-far- helpful people, just made her realize how vulnerable they both were, even with her magic, and Sean's fire. It made her uneasy about trusting anyone in this world, except for Sean, and she was oddly quiet.

She wanted to sleep more than anything else. She was so tired, her -bones- were exhausted, and she had bags under her eyes. It had been a long, scary adventure so far, and she just didn't know what else was going to happen. So when the guy started laughing, she hoped he wasn't evil, or that they were walking right into a trap!
 
Like clockwork, according to the little man's words, and just as soon as they ventured into his home, a violent wind erupted.

"Holt shit!" Sean exclaimed, grabbing Kaeli by the arm, not only to reassure her of safety, but also to steady himself. Just as he had done so, snow and vicious ice battered the window with amazing force. It was more brutal than anything Sean had ever seen, and he had spent the early spring in Florida one year in the midst of hurricane Ivan.

The little man must have saw Sean's actions, because he braced himself against a near by table and erupted into laughter.

"My, my boy! You really aren't from around here. Just wait until the storm reaches it's full force. You and your lady friend will be in for a bit of surprise!"

Sean regained his composure.

"Oh, well we have been walking all night, just a little tired"

"Well, well" Said the Little man " We have a nice room for you, and you are free to stay there the rest of the winter." He lit a candle next to the table. "My name is Tomlin." his face changed, lines formed over his eye brows to empathize question. "How exactly will you be paying? The winter may last a while, you know?"

Sean looked to Kaeli, unsure of how to answer as they had no money.
 
Kaeli held her breath even as Sean pulled her back from the windows! "How much is required?" Kaeli asked, suddenly knowing how to just create money of all kinds out of nothing but her thoughts -and a lot of magic-. She was still incredibly exhausted from fighting those demons, and running for such a long time.

But money made all worlds go round, it seemed to her, and she just wanted a safe place to rest. Somewhere she didn't have to fight, where Sean could relax a bit too, since she knew he was incredibly tense. A hot bath and maybe some good food would help revitalize both of them as well. She was very glad she wasn't alone on this weirdo planet, if she had been she didn't think she'd have lasted even this long.

"We can pay you, we both just need a good room, and maybe a meal or two." She produced the money required for staying at this Inn -all- winter. Apparently this planet ran on gold coins, which pilled up with a cloud of sparkling gold shimmers in her palms. She handed the 400 coins to the Innkeeper. "Will this be enough?" Kaeli asked, trying to hide the fact she was now feeling very ill. Damn she hated cold weather!
 
The inn keeper, Tomlin, took the money. Not acting overly enthusiastic about it. This may have been an adequate amount, either that or he was just a swindler that showed no emotion. It mattered not, really, thought Sean who could hear with each passing second as the storm outside battered the windows and doors. Tomlin must have seen his uneasiness again, because he laughed.

"Not to worry, boy. Our carpenters are the best in the world! They build our homes strong enough to tough through a 5 year blizzard, we had one of those., too. About 10 winters ago." He jingled the coins in his hand. "I'll show you to your rooms, and have a hot meal ready for you shortly after you get settled."

He led them upstairs to a nicly decorated room, it wasn't as big as the one at the castle, but still nice as a warm fire blazed in a large fireplace.
 
"Thanks," Kaeli said, feeling dizzy and rather unsteady on her feet, even as they walked to the room lead by Tomlin. The room was cozy, painted all blue, with a turquoise bed, a huge window that appeared sturdy enough to look out of and not get impaled by ice shards or strong gusts of wind.

She waited until Tomlin was gone, before sinking to the nearest couch. "Sean, I don't feel so good." She put her head in her hands, trying her best not to just pass out from exhaustion. Her temperature was also beginning to climb. Great, just what she didn't need! A cold!
 
Sean walked over to one of the two windows that stood as their only barrier to the outside world. Full dark had settled over the land, and even if it had been daytime, Sean figured he wouldn't have been able to see much at all. The howling wind, and battery of snow and ice was thunderous. Sean put his hand to the window and felt a sudden chill go through his entire body. It was that cold.

"Are you alright?" Sean rushed to Kaeli's side as she fell onto the couch. She looked pale, weak and tired. He rubbed her shoulder, before going over to the fire place and placing his hand in the embers. He released a flame from his finger tips that ignited the fire into a blazing roar. HE then put another couple logs on the top.

"There, that should go for a few hours."

He walked to a near by closet and pulled down a huge, thick comforter. He placed it over Kaeli and sat down on the floor, near the foot of the couch. He was not tired. His mind was wrought with worry and concern. Even though they had indeed made their way here safely, he wondered what dangers may lie ahead. Eventually they would get home, either that, or Sean would die trying.

There was a knock at the door, it was Tomlin with two trays of food for them.
 
"It feels like I'm getting sick..." She admitted to Sean with a sneeze following her words. She burrowed inside the blanket, and was relieved when Tomlin arrived with their trays of food. Steaming bowls of beef-and-vegie stew, even two large peices of buttered corn bread, and tall glasses of iced tea.

"That looks delicious," Kaeli said honestly, as her stomach rumbled. The pizza she and Sean had shared had seemed a lifetime ago!
 
"If you get sick, Kaeli, It's alright." Sean tried to make light of the situation "Cause we're not gonna be leaving here anytime soon!"

Sean grabbed a piece of the corn bread, and with crumbs dropping from his mouth as he chewed, stood by the window. Outside the wind continued to send sheets of snow at the house, it was like watching one of those disaster movies where everything gets destroyed. Sean could feel that the house was well built, just as Tomlin had said, it barely even creaked under the pressure of the storm.

"Man." Sean mused "I wonder how people stay inside for so long during these storms, It's only been a few hours and I already feel stir crazy, I mean..That little dude was saying their winters last years, sometimes....Holy shit."
 
Kaeli frowned. She didn't want to be sick, damnit! A sneeze stopped her from a sarcastic retort, followed by a rather nasty cough. She barely ate, due to frazzled nerves, and after a few bites of the delicious stew and cornbread, she actually gave the rest to Sean, before promptly passing out on the couch, too tired to make it to the bed!

Storms like this one scared her, and the less she saw of that awful blizzard raging outside the window, the better off she'd be. Besides, she was sure she'd see plenty of that storm when she woke up.

All Kaeli wanted, was a chance to rest, recover from the cold, and be on their way again when the blizzard stopped. She considered her and Sean semi- fortunate that this blizzard hit. It gave them a chance to rest, and -thoroughly- decide on what they were going to do once their path was clear.
 
The storm raged outside as bucket sized sheets of snow battered the second story window. Sean was glad, on one hand, at least there was no way anyone could follow them here. No one in their right mind would travel through this kind of weather, at least he hoped. He still felt the same rage boiling up inside him at the thought of those fucks from the castle, but it was no where near as bad as before. Sean walked over the fire and tossed another log on, the fire crackled to life. It was beginning to heat up in the room and a light fog was building on the windows. He went over like a lame kind and wrote S+K with a heart around it.

"Hey look, Kaeli. Just like that time I got suspended for carving that into my desk back at school!" He laughed, sitting next to her on the bed. "Sorry you don't feel well is there anything I can do? Maybe in the morning we can get the fuck out of here, if you feel well enough and the storm has died down"
 
Kaeli wasn't too sure no one had followed them, but if they had, there'd be no way to trace them here, since the blizzard probably froze out any of their scent, and the snow buried their tracks. "Aw... I remember. And I'm okay, just.. not feeling so great." She coughed at the end of her sentence, but tried to sit up anyway. "I think that inn keeper might be right about how long winters last here, so we'll just have to keep the money flowing... and I guess ask if they have any medicines for colds."

She sneezed a few times, but admired Sean's carving initials on the window, before leaning against him for a moment or two, glad they finally had a chance to relax and get warm. If nothing else, they would be able to hide out here until the worst of the blizzard ended, then trudge aimlessly forward again, though all their actions had really gotten them no-where. With absolutely no one on this planet to trust.

It was ten times worse than Earth! At least there Sean and Kaeli -knew- why they were outcasts, but here, if she was 'the goddess' why the hell did everyone seem to hate her for it? So many questions just gave her headaches and she gave up asking them, knowing there wouldn't be any useful answers.
 
Sean smiled deeply at Kaeli, wrapping an arm around her. He imagined that she might have been a little angry at him, after all, it had been his fault that they had to flee the castle. She was a goddess there! And here, she was just another person, like him. He hopped that she would understand why he had done what he had to do. It was for her, for them.

He stared out at the snow covered land, and surrounding forest. Something caught his eye, something just past the treeline. Was it his imagination? No, he saw it again. It was orange and twinkling. Like a fire! But surely no one was crazy enough to have a fire out there? In the middle of the night? With snow coming down so heavy? He continued to watch it, no mentioning anything to Kaeli, not wanting to upset her with more potential frightening trouble.

The small Village of Glenbrook was bordered on one side by a lake, and on the other by a thick forest. The forest, the same one in which Sean noticed the twinkling orange light, was home to a band of what the locals called 'Snowwolves' but they wern't wolves, really, nor were they men. They wern't werewolves either. What they were is a breed of creature that only exists here, in the large forest that borders the northern side of Glenbrook. They are friendly, and known for their hospitality to the humans that occupy Glenbrook. However, when winter hits they change. Much in the same way werewolves change in the full moon. They become blood thirsty killers, wreaking havok on any they come across.

This is why Tomlin, the little man who had so quickly taken them in, did so. To leave them out there would be a death sentence.

Little did Tomlin know the Snow wolves were holding a ritual tonight, by a raging fire, in the falling snow. After that ritual was over they were going to attack the town of Glenbrook, killing everyone there.

Sean continued to watch the far off twinkling, still holding Kaeli.

"Well, maybe we should try to rest, hopefully this storm will blow over in the morning?"
 
"I hope so.. I guess sleep does sound good. I just have a bad feeling." She admitted, before going to take a bath, before getting ready for bed. Once she was on the soft mattress with the blankets up to her neck, she fell asleep rather quickly, but her dreams were not peaceful. This world was dangerous, and so far, their times of peace hadn't ever lasted longer than a day.

What would happen to them here?
 
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