Reaching Reskal

On the next day, when they set out to continue their journey to Reskal, the departure date over Lily's head was still there.

Ryon wasn't worried, he was fidgeting. He didn't know what would happen, how it would happen or what he could do to prevent it, but he knew that the departure date was the approximate date they would reach Reskal on. So, something there posed a threat to Lily. And that was enough to make a Death Spirit's skin crawl.

„You know", he started. „Maybe we shouldn't go to Reskal after all."

Lily turned to him with a surprised look. „What? Why not?", she asked startled.

„Ah, Reskal is not such a fun town anyway, you know", Ryon said.

„Well", Lily countered. „We're not going there for fun, so we will be alright I'm sure."

„No, we will not!", he exclaimed and immediately regretted his outburst.

Now Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. „What is it with Reskal? Why are you so jumpy all morning?"

„I'm not jumpy", Ryon said. „I just don't wanna go to Reskal is all."

„But you suggested it in the first place."

„I know I did, but…", Ryon's voice trailed off. He didn't know how to explain his problem without giving away what he knew. For it was one of the most important rules of Ookubi that no matter what, a Ookubi must never tell a person their departure date, or actively save them from their immediate doom.

„Do you have unfinished business in Reskal?", Lily suddenly asked and interrupted his thoughts.

„What?", Ryon asked.

„Is there someone in Reskal you would rather avoid because you owe them something? Or did you cheat on them? Betray them?" There was a glimmer of wary curiosity in her eyes and as he watched it sparkle, it turned into a bright idea inside his head.

„You know… Actually, yes. There is someone I would rather avoid… But it's been a long time, and I don't know what he might look like now. So he could be anyone anywhere", he said.

„What did you do to him?"

„Ah, you know, the usual stuff you get chased after for", he said slowly.

„… Do you even remember?", Lily asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Ryon chuckled embarrassed. „Well…"

„Okay, listen", Lily said. „If you can tell me what happened, I promise I'll protect you from them."

„You protect me?", Ryon almost choked on a laugh, but it was a bitter one and it tasted like bile in the back of his throat.

Lily cast a sour glance at him. „Yes. Because we have to go to Reskal. There is no other town around. You said so yourself!"

„Yes, I know…", he sighed. „Alright. Just give me a second to gather what I still remember from that night."

Lily nodded and Ryon waited for her to calm down again, while he tried to come up with a likely story.

When he was ready to begin, he looked at Lily and saw that she was ready to listen.

This was how they spent the rest of the day: Him talking, with Lily listening to his made-up story. They continued their way to Reskal even though Ryon was growing more and more uneasy with every mile they conquered. He tried to make his story as scary as possible to sway Lily to go somewhere else instead, but to no avail. No matter what he told her, she seemed unfazed. In the end, he was helpless. He couldn't convince Lily not to go to Reskal because there was no alternative.

***

Two days after the departure date had appeared over Lily's head, they reached the end of forest. What stretched out before them now was a wide-open area. And barely visible against the horizon was a bunch of dark cubicles.

„That must be Reskal", Lily pointed towards the cubicles. „Finally!"

And when Ryon didn't say anything she just ignored him and went on herself. She knew by now that he would follow anyway. For now, her eyes and her attention were fixated on those little cubicles that promised warm bread, hot drinks - and most importantly: real beds!

With any luck they could be housed there by late afternoon.

***

„Is this a joke?", Lily asked incredulous. „You are joking right?"

She turned around to Ryon. He was chuckling. It was an awful sound, but she hoped it meant that this really was a joke. No one ever leaves Reskal… They had reached the cubicles by afternoon, just as she had estimated, but what they found were not houses, or streets or people. No alive ones, that is… Lily thought bitterly. Stretching out before them were neat rows of tombstones. A graveyard had been, what she had mistaken for the promised civilization.

„ … Is this a silent message to just kill myself and ‚join the people of Reskal?'", she asked Ryon with narrowed eyes. But to her surprise, as soon as she said that, the chuckle in his throat died.

„No", Ryon answered flatly. „We just arrived from the wrong side of the town." Then, when her features softened, he added. „We should reach the town by dusk fall."

Instead of answering, Lily just nodded and continued her march. She could only do so much as to suppress a groan at the thought of two more hours of walking until they reached the actual town, but at least, there really was a town and it was not all a joke. Merely a mistake, she thought. But whose, she couldn't tell - and it didn't really matter. What had her worried a little was Ryon's reaction to her suggested suicide, even if it had only been a joke of her own. Was he really worried for her? Well, they didn't know each other for that long. It was possible that he simply couldn't decide whether she had said it in earnest or not. Then again, being a Ookubi, he had probably heard enough people say similar things, to be cautious of the credibility.

***

They didn't make it by dusk.

The light faded quickly at this time of the year and Lily was glad to be out of the woods by now. She wouldn't have liked to run into trees cloaked by the darkness.

She was much happier to be out in the open plains with nothing to run into. But the happiest she had been in what seemed like forever was, when they saw the lights of the town. Finally… she thought with relief. This time for real! And despite her aching legs she hastened her steps again.

Ryon floated behind her without a sound, but when the first beams of a lighted window touched her feet, he hesitated. Startled, Lily turned to him. „What's the matter, Ryon? Are you suddenly shy?", she asked him. And indeed, he did look uncomfortable.

„I'm… I'm just not sure how people will react to me…", he muttered.

So he really was being self-conscious. How curious… But she couldn't let him suffer, so she said:

„Alright then. Stay out of sight. I'll call you, when I've found a suitable tavern to spend the night in."

That was all she needed to say. He nodded and remained in the darker part of the street that the lights didn't reach. Lily, however, walked the bright streets with glee, as Reskal had been nothing like what she had imagined it to be, so far. Somehow, she had pictured it to be a dull, dried out town like those she had read about in the missionary reports that came in from across the big pond and had been compulsory literature back at the mansion. She had loathed those endless descriptions of concentrated boredom written by old sacking priests trying to purify a newborn society. Or at least, that's how she imagined missionaries.

But Reskal proved to be written on a completely different note. The night was chilly, but filled with warm, yellow light. Even though the sun had already kissed the horizon good-night, the townspeople were out on the streets going about their daily businesses like bargaining, bartering, working, returning home, and going to taverns. Delicious smells of fresh bread, hot drinks and spicy stews filled the air and Lily forgot all about being cautious as her stomach growled in anticipation.

For a while she wandered aimlessly about, trying to figure out what she should taste first and where the best tavern might be.

While she looked around, she discovered that this town was full of the strangest people and creatures. The majority of them were stout, dark-skinned people, smaller than she was. They had broad faces, sloping foreheads and flat craniums, protruding jaws and particular wide shoulders and hips. Their dark brown hair matched the colour of their eyes.

There were so many of them that Lily came to the conclusion, that these people must be the denisons that Ryon talked about.

Only once in her life had she seen a man look similar to them and it was odd to see so many people like that in one place.

A few people walked around with leashed animals unlike anything Lily had ever seen. They had the heads of dogs but were walking on their very muscular hindlegs on paws that boasted wicked sharp claws. Their forelimbs had degenerated into puny useless arms. When they walked, long stiff tails swayed behind them from side to side.

She even saw a family of scaly people with yellow eyes and slitted pupils. Whenever they laughed or talked, she could see their homodont rows of teeth.

Once a woman with white hair, startling violet eyes, bony fingers, and wicked fangs protruding from her mouth ran into a wealthy-looking man. He yelled at her for her lack of caution, she hissed at him. When he moved on, she held a pouch of money where before she had none.

Away from the main circus, in a dimly lit corner of the market, a dubious looking old hag sold what Ryon had referred to as a rat-bat grilled on a stick turning over hot coals.

As Lily watched all those people with bewilderment, she realized that no one else was looking at them twice.

All of this is normal to them!, she thought wildly.

During her search and, frankly, sight-seeing, she came across an odd building. As far as she could tell it was a pristine white spiraling tower with platforms near the peak that lacked handrails, glassless windows around the middle, and dark, coloured-glass windows near ground-level. It seemed to be the largest building in town. At first, Lily thought it must be an odd-looking town hall, but then she saw the broad steps leading up to the doors. Atop the stairs a denison man clad in a completely white attire spoke to a group of his people gathered on the stairs, looking up to him with wide eyes and admiring expressions on their faces. Each of the onlookers bore a lighted candle that seemed to highlight their eerie admiration further.

The man in white had his arms stretched outwards so that the wide sleeves of his robe made it almost look like he had wings on his back.

„Let yourself not be tricked by the tricksters. Let yourself not be led into darkness. Carry the Light and weaken the Darkness. Be virtuous and good at heart and soul, so that you won't be deceived by the deceiving thieves of Light and Hope. Destroyers of accomplishments and foul demons of hell!", the man in white called and his audience chanted his words after him.

Lily stood behind the crowd, frozen, as if roots had come out of the ground and grabbed her. She knew that tone of voice all too well and as always it made her feel queasy.

This is a service, she realized. But to whom?

„Great Visfer!", the man cried. „Mighty Visfer! Strongest of them all, Prince of Light, Heir to Power. Look upon us and grant us your protection. Cast your golden shine upon us so that no underworld creature may be able to sink its claws into our souls. Hear us, o Visfer, and bless us with your return!"

„Hear us and bless us with your return!", the crowd chanted.

Visfer? I've never heard of an entity like that. Not even from Commander Nagra who puts his trust in way to many deities, in my opinion, Lily thought.

When everyone was done chanting, the people began to climb the stairs, receiving blessings like „May the Keepers of Light watch over you and may they keep the Darkness at bay with the golden gift of our Mother" as they passed the speaker, and went inside the tower. Lily felt as if something blunt had hit her. When he says Darkness he mean us… me. Now she really wanted to get away from this tower as fast as she could. But just as soon as she'd thought that, the coloured-glass windows lit up almost all at once and countless illustrations flared up. Illustrations of pale-skinned, white-winged people slaying equally pale demons left and right.

Lily stared at them. Angels?

Then her eyes wandered further to the depicted demons. All of them shared the same traits: red eyes, their tails portrayed as writhing and hissing venomous snakes, horns sprouting from their temples, and all of them were displaying despicable demeanor. Some of them were stealing, some murdering, others were snatching children, enslaving those dark-skinned humans, seducing them or outright raping men and women. Bloody feasts and heartbreaking scenes shone at her from the colourful windows of this serene white tower that people viewed as a safe haven from demons, and she knew exactly what it was.

A warning, she thought dazed. But that's not what I am.

And then the realization hit her like a boulder. It's not the country that's the same. It's the people, who are just as hostile towards the unknown and the misunderstood as the people I know. I really am in another dimension, in Tiadar, but the people here, even though they look different, are exactly the same way like those that lived close to the mansion.

And then she thought: It's a good thing I don't look like a demon right now. And: But where can I go then?