A Near-Death Experience!

AFTER the Excellence docked in port Swaphan, they disembarked. Ryan asked captain Jax if he could wait for them while they went into town, he replied with his cryptic barking which Ryan guessed was a yes.

They walked through the town. There were hundreds of ships at port, all importing and exporting different goods; from vehicles, to tools, to animals, to clothing.

Christie knew that this place was one of the largest trade hubs for necreans, the massive harbor saw dozens of ships daily and the floating islands were always abuzz with airships from parts unknown.

With Christie in the lead, they wandered around, thought she still refused to tell them where they were going.

After a few hours of wandering the town, and getting to know all the interesting people. Necreans looked almost human, most could pass as human with wild and unusual hair or eye color, but there were some that looked vastly different, with animalistic features, or some that were of abnormal stature. They all mingled about in the busy marketplace.

"We've been walking for hours." Ryan complained, "And we're still no less clueless than when we got here."

"I think we need to ask for directions." Christie said finally

Ryan glared at her, "I recall suggesting that, two hours ago."

They stopped at a bar,

"Christie, are you sure we should go in there?" Jasmine asked

"It'll be alright," Christie said, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Ryan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

They walked into the bar, it was a lively place with people drinking, laughing and playing card games. Someone was playing a piano in the back and there was the overwhelming stench of alcohol. It was like a saloon from an old western movie. As they passed, some of the patrons looked up from what they were doing and glared at them. There was a lot of muttering under breath.

"Crow," someone mutter amidst the din.

"Uh… what's with the weird name?" Ryan asked, "I've heard it before."

"Argus isn't well liked by everyone, we're a global authority after all." Jasmine explained, "a lot of necreans see rangers as the lapdogs of Argus, bringers of misfortune, hence the slur, crows."

Christie led the others to the counter, where some of the patrons cleared out of the way under Jasmines intense glare. The bartender glared at them, "You kiddies sure you're old enough to be here? Get out."

"Um… we're actually here to buy something." Christie said mustering as much courage and confidence as she could. She dropped a few glowing coins onto the counter.

"Like I said; you're too young to drink here. And since that's all I sell here, you've no business here, crows. Get out, I won't ask nicely a third time." The bartender sneered, eyeing the coins.

"Hey, give her a chance first, you old geezer." Ryan said, not liking the old man's' tone.

"What? Is she your little girlfriend?" a patron next to them mocked.

Christie's cheeks flushed bright red, she exhaled and spoke again, "We're looking for a gyspen."

All activity around them stopped instantly, even the music. All eyes were on them.

"Now you listen here," the bartender glowered, "ain't nobody here who would go dealing with something like a gyspen. Whatever it is you're after, give up on it, that's the only help you'll get here, now leave."

Ryan was about to protest, when Jasmine stood up, "Understood." She looked at the others, "let's go."

"But-" Ryan began

"She's right, there's nothing here." Christie urged, gathering her coins.

After they left, they started walking away when someone from the bar ran out, "Wait. Wait." He said. He was a scrawny excuse for a man with green skin and yellow hair. He caught up with them, breathing hard, "The… gyspen! There's one on the far side of town, in the house of the swamp."

Jasmine looked at him, "Thank you."

"You said you'd pay?" he demanded, sticking his hand out,

"Here," Christie said, tossing two glowing coins his way

"You kids… just be careful, okay? Those gyspen are dangerous, especially since the war."

"What war?" Ryan asked

He looked around cautiously, "I shouldn't say much, just… be careful." He ran off.

"So," Ryan said, "We have where to go. But Christie, why do we need to see this gypsy?"

"Gyspen, not gypsy," Jasmine corrected, "there's a difference."

"What is a gyspen thought?" Ryan asked

"They're often called the void-touched," Christie said, "they're similar to magi, but their powers are… different from ours. They toe the line of forbidden magik used by the Court of Nyx, but they're generally complaint with the Treaty. They're relatively harmless… I think."

"Very relatively," Jasmine growled, "they're just as likely to hex us as they are to help us."

Simon gulped, "I rally hope it's the latter,"

And with that, they set off for the swamp.

… )]≥( …

It took about an hour to get a rid e to the swamp. From the edge of the swamp, they would be going at it on foot because their ride refused to set foot in that cursed place.

Jasmine paid the driver and he sped off in a hurry to leave, and they continued into the swamp.

It was a short walk through the swamp, and within no time, they were at a lake. By the lake was a wooden cabin, it was two stories high and decorated with bones, bones lining the roof, bones stuck in the ground leading in a line to the front door, bone wind chimes.

"Well this looks encouraging." Ryan said as they approached.

They opened the door and a bell chimed.

"Welcome visitors," Said a sweet voice, "To Madame Limbo's Cabin of Mysteries."

From the stairs, a woman walked down. She looked in her forties, with bronze skin, black hair done into braids and tied in a ponytail, she had dark eyes and wore heavy makeup. She wore a sleeveless black dress with a low V-neck that revealed a little too much. Around her hands were bracelets and bangles. Around her neck was a skull necklace that settled right between her cleavage. 

When she saw Ryan, she stopped, "Ah! You come from power." She said moving close to Ryan, invading his personal space, "So much darkness lies within you, what a dangerous child. Death follows you like a shadow."

"Madame Limbo." Christie said, when Madame Limbo looked at her, her face darkened,

"What, child?" she scowled distastefully,

"We've come to ask for your help translating something."

"What is it?"

Ryan pulled the skull out of his backpack and showed it to her.

She took a step back and muttered something in a strange language to herself rapidly.

Then she did something that looked like a Vulcan peace hand gesture over her heart, like some kind of ward against evil.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded

"Doesn't matter," Ryan said, "Can you help translate it?"

"No child, I cannot." She said, "That is written in the language of the dead, it's secrets are hidden from living eyes. There is nothing I, or anyone, can do to translate it."

"Oh," Simon said, "Well, that was a waste of time." 

"But isn't there something else I can do for you?" Madame Limbo said smiling at Ryan, "I could contact someone from beyond the grave, I could help you see the see the real you that lies within, or…" she smiled at Ryan and Simon, "I also have other talents."

"Um… no thanks", Ryan said

"Madame Limbo," Jasmine said, "So there isn't any way we could get this message translated?"

"No."

Jasmine reached into her satchel and brought out a small pouch, she opened it, revealing a bunch of glowing gold coins, "How about now?"

Madame Limbos' eyes widened, "There is… a way," she said, "But it is very dangerous."

"Perfect.", Simon muttered, "because everything else these past week had been a cake walk."

She led them down a set of stairs to a basement, the room was surrounded by candles on the floor, on tables even on top of shelves.

"As a gyspen, I often commune with the spirits beyond," she explained, "I can arrange an audience with the lord of death herself. Only there may you find the answers you seek."

"Death is a chick?" Ryan asked, "An actual grim reaper girl? Wow; all those fanfics I read were right."

"Yes, but according to the myth, Death and the Grim Reaper are two very different entities." Christie pointed out, "How can we meet her?"

"Unfortunately, there is only one way for you to meet the Queen of the Underworld."

"We have to be dead, don't we?" Simon asked

"Whoa, we've been trying very hard not to do that." Ryan said

"Only the dead can hold and audience with the lord of the dead." Madame Limbo said, "but, there is a way around that."

"So, what is it?"

She held up a vial with a putrid purple liquid, "You will need to drink this, it will weaken the bond between your ethereal and physical bodies. In this room, you will be in a transient state of half-death."

"A near-death experience." Jasmine said, "But how do we stop it from becoming permanent."

"Your soul may be unbound from your body, but your magik still strongly tethers the two, so it can be possible to pull you back from the underworld."

"Is that safe?" Simon said taking one of the vials,

"Of course not, it's a poison of my own making.", she said, "there's a very real risk of death."

"Well, we came all this way," Ryan said as he downed the vial, then gagged, "it tastes like dirty underwear and stinky feet, and… a hint of cinnamon? How does that make it even worse?"

Madame Limbo put glowing purple diamond necklaces around their necks, as they each drank a vial, "when the gem glows it means your spirit tethers are weakening and you must break the gem or you will stay there, forever."

"Oh great," Ryan commented dryly, "there's also a time limit."

She lit the candles and they began to smoke, then left the basement. They sat in a circle as the smoke filled the room.

Ryan cleared all thoughts from his mind and his lungs filled with the humid air and little by little, he could feel a change in his surroundings.

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting in the ruins of a temple made of crumbling black stone. On the wall before them, was an odd emblem of a three-pointed star.

He got up and looked around, the others were with him, but they looked different, they had a ghostly translucent quality.

Jasmine pointed to the side of a temple, where a line of souls led into a dark cave. They joined the line with little resistance and entered the cave shortly after. The darkness was absolute and swallowed them whole, and then, Ryan felt the stone floor start to rock and creak, wind blew over him and he could hear running water. Around him, he could sense others. The darkness receded and they found they weren't in a cave anymore, they were on a boat, like a very old and rickety barge.

Around them were different people; a man in a business suit, a mother holding her baby, a bank robber, and much more, they all had the same ghostly appearance. Ryan and the others walked to the edge of the ship, the water was blood red and the waves were choppy. Above, the clouds were ash gray and hung low.

"Where are we?" Ryan asked

"The ferry of the dead." A voice whispered in all their ears

They all turned back to see a figure dressed in hooded robes behind them, in the darkness of the hood, only two glowing white lights that may have been eyes could be seen, "We are passing through the sea of spilled blood," it said, then it sighed "The sea gets higher every year."

"You're the Ferryman." Christie said,

"Please, call me Karl." It said with a slight chuckle in the voice.

"Why are you here talking to us?" Simon asked

"I can tell you're not truly dead, I can still smell the life clinging onto you, but that's none of my business. I'm just here to ferry souls to the Necropolis."

"The city of the dead?" Christie said

"To where?" Simon gaped

"To there." Karl pointed dead ahead. In the horizon was a mass of land and an arch. As they got closer, the sea turned into a river. Ryan could see that either bank was actually made of trash, littered with bits and pieces; a house, a sports car, dolls and toys, chairs and tables and so on.

"Those are the shores of the forgotten, the lost, and the never achieved. Dreams and aspirations that were never realized. Each soul must leave theirs behind from this point on."

At this point, Ryan noticed a few of the ghosts jump over the side of the barge and swim across the bloody water towards the banks.

"Not every soul is ready to abandon their mortal attachments." Karl said with an wistful lilt and an indifferent shrug

"But what about the Gate-man, your brother?" Christie asked, "According to the legends, he's supposed to be guarding the gates to the underworld. Where is he?"

"How do you know all this?" Simon asked

"I read a lot," Christie said with a shrug,

"My brother? Yes, he does guard the gates to the underworld… in a way."

As they got closer, they could see the arch clearly. It was massive, a hundred feet across. It was a massive construct of bleached white bones, a huge gate made of ribs blocked their path and at the top was a huge skull with glowing red eyes.

"That," Karl said, "is my brother."

"Wait," Christie said, "So the Gate-man is the gate to the underworld?"

Karl nodded

They stopped in front of the gates and the skull bent down to face them, its huge eye sockets shining red light at them like a spotlight on the barge.

"THE LIVING ARE NOT PERMITTED!" it bellowed like a bullhorn.

"Brother," Karl said, "The living cannot board my vessel, only these souls have made the voyage. Let me take them to the city."

"THERE ARE LIVING HERE, I CAN SMELL IT, BUT I CANNOT SEE THE LIVING, ONLY THE DEAD! PROCEED!"

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief; the Gate-man didn't seem too bright.

"do not count yourself lucky, Ryan Reins," Karl hissed in his ear, "my brother could not find you because death clings to you like a shadow. Whatever brought you here has not done you any great favor."

The rib gates opened up, and despite them being so close, their ship wasn't touched. Once the gates were open, they sailed through. Ryan noticed that although the current was the same, the waters had turned from blood red to smoky gray. Ryan looked back at the gates, right underneath them, was a line where the water changed color.

"Next stop," Karl said, "City of the dead."