The prisoners slept.
        It was a rare occasion that Aerin would enter the world of Dreaming, not that she would want to. It seemed to be yet another trait that only she and her sister shared. In the distant corners of her memory, Aerin remember someone telling her that no matter what others would say, their Dreams would always be meant for a purpose. Humans often used them for pleasure, to escape from their own pathetic reality into a life that they cannot live. They remember these and treasure them; the line between reality and fantasy becomes blurred and they eventually cease to exist. The only reason that Aerin and Kyri slept was for the Dreams and the essence of the Dreams themselves. Dreams of the past and of the future; everything came to life.

        Aerin stood in darkness, the mist engulfing her senses. The atmosphere was familiar. It was a path that she often walked upon and even though it seemed empty and dark, she knew every course that branched off it, every dip and turn in it as she walked along.

/It always happened like this/
        "Sister, come see! Oh, come look?"
        A figure runs up. "What is it?"
        "He's saying something! See, he understands us..."
        Her companion shoots a quizzical glance in her direction. She sighs. "Yes...but will he always be here, do you wonder?"
        "I...."

/Silence/
        She is alone again.
        "Tiw?" The girl turns, her dark eyes sad and wishful, "Are you really...here?"
        Wind howls.
        "I want to...fly with you..."
        She's walking by the ancient tree, tracing the runes into the freshly fallen snow.

/Walking through a town/
        People stare, murmur wards against evil. They pull their children close.

/Does anyone understand?/

/Do...I understand?/
        Then, a new scene. Aerin had never seen this one before.
        A tall girl is standing on a cliff. Her long brown hair is plastered against her skin, wet from the raging storm. She stares into the sea. The crashing waves are dark with hate, heaving the phosphorescent plankton into the air.
        Quickly, she turns, her skirts heavy with rain and whipping around her legs.
        "If only..." she sighs, "...I could be with you...once more."
        Throwing a look filled with longing and despair back at the water, she runs away...but from what?

        Aerin awoke. Her skin was cold and dry, not clammy like that of a normal dreamer encountering strange dreams. Her eyes darted around the cell. Kyri was asleep, not dreaming, she assumed. Karum... yes, he was asleep. She tried not to imagine what was going through his mind. And Tiw was awake. Did he ever sleep? Ever since they had met, he was always awake. Aerin yawned slightly and reached for her scimitar. Her scimitar, dammit! The guards had taken it. Wait...what was that? In the corner, there was a pile of rags and straw. As she squinted at it, she noted a faint blue gleam coming from beneath it. Careful not to disturb her companions, she crept up to the bundle. The light was brighter now. Aerin plunged her hand into the bundle and immediately drew back. Intense pain sliced through her hand. She could feel the blood pulsing out of the open wound but brought her hand back to the bundle, this time with more caution. After feeling around for a couple of seconds, she felt the comforting shape of her scimitar's hilt. Carefully, she ran her fingers over the engraved runes: Teiwaz, Inguz, Wunjo, Teiwaz, Ehwaz, Laguz, Raido, Ansuz, Mannaz, Uhrez, Nauthiz, Dagaz. They were all there. Even though these runes were set in the hilt, forever guarding its power, Aerin always found it comforting to feel them. She thrust her weapon into the scabbard and crawled back to her bed of straw. It was quite uncomfortable to be wedged into a damp corner, especially when your hand is bleeding. Very uncomfortable. Aerin closed her eyes and began to Dream.

        Again she saw the girl from the cliff, this time running along a road. The girl stopped. Aerin blinked slowly. Can she see me? She thought. Her right hand flew to the scimitar on her back.
        "What are you doing?" she tried to yell, but her voice came out in a hoarse whisper.
        The tall girl stared at Aerin, her startling green eyes fixated in her. The travelers around her did not stop and stare at this strange silver-haired standing in the middle of the road. Some tipped their hats to the tall girl, but none acknowledged Aerin's existence.
        Aerin laughed nervously. Heh, of course. This is a Dream...no wonder people can't see me. I'm just an observer. But then...how can this Human see me?
        The girl spoke. "Who are you, may I ask? What are you doing here?" Her voice had a melodic tone to it, as if each word had been carefully though out, its enunciation perfect. What an odd girl, she thought.
        "In here...?" Aerin paused, but her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

Your secrets are here...follow...following the road...of silence.
        Both girls froze. Aerin's heart was beating wildly in her chest. Why was all this happening? How could this girl see her? What was that voice? None of this happened before. She looked around quickly, trying to find her beloved merlin. Where was he? Tiw? She hugged herself and sank to her knees. Aerin drew her scimitar. The runes were blazing, on fire with a blue flame. We are connected, Tiw and I...He'll come to me...if I bring him here. She leaned onto the edge of the blade and felt her blood, cold and dark seep into the cloth of her jacket. She lifted her head and through her dimming vision, could see the girl staring at her with her mouth parted slightly. I can feel his soul...he is coming to me...She breathed heavily.

In a dark cell, the vanishing cry of a merlin was heard.

        Aerin lurched forward, her numbing fingers letting go of the hilt, no clutching the body of a broken bird. The blood spread around the two silver figures and the light faded.

        It was bright out. In the pear trees of Maconner, the mockingbirds sang the stolen tunes of bards.
        "Now, you see here, young miss the only way that you can keep alla those barflies of ya is if you learn the art of self defense!" Matthias grinned at the young brunette.
        "Ohhh..." she breathed. "But however shall I learn? I'm just a poor little lass, with no one to help me..." she fluttered her dark eyelashes admiringly.
        "That's where the fun starts," Matthias winked at her, placing one muscular arm around her waist.
        "Ooh!" she exclaimed. "You're so strong... so hard..."
        "What the HELL are you doing to my daughter, you bastard?!" A short, balding man grabbed the young woman from Matthias' arms and lifted him up by the shirt (or at least tried to.)
        "I was uh... I mean, she was sayin' that..."
        The girl flung herself into the elderly man's arms. "Oh father! He was trying to... trying to hurt me! I was so scared... so very scared..." she trailed off.
        Matthias was dumbfounded. "Wha...?"
        "Now listen here, you womanizer, if I hear one more thing about you and your antics, I'm gonna send ya straight to hell, ya hear?"
        "Yes, but..."
        "WELL?!?"
        "Yes sir.." he said meekly. Matthias trudged back to the group. Why him? He hadn't done anything to the lady! Hell, she was the one trying to seduce him! Well, he thought, I guess that's what you have to go through if ya wanna make it big... he sighed.

        "No ma'am..." Yuzra sighed. "I don't need any potions of cold resistance. As I said before, I need some --"
        The saleswoman grinned at her through crooked teeth. "Ah yes, me dearie! An antidote of sorts? Cures them Silid bites just right, eh? Now, see, when I was a lass around your age, me brother'd always put those Silids in me bed! Bite me pretty bad, yes'm they gave ya a royal pain in th' arse..."
        Yuzra gave a quick smile and continued her search for the right potion. Scanning the shelves, she saw a small blue bottle resting against a sack of rice. She picked it up and looked for a label. Just as she was about to give up, she spotted a few almost incomprehensible markings at it's base. "Rocnal's Ether of -------" the rest was scratched out. Ah well. Sevena's a sorceress. She can handle it.
        "Ahm, madam, I've found was I want," she spoke hurriedly.
        "....and there it was! My little rag doll. Now, if it weren't fer- Oh! My dearie, whaddya say?" The woman apparently hadn't even noticed that Yuzra had stopped listening.
        "How much...?"
        "Oh, that! Erm... lesse... Heheheh... good ol' Rocnal... works like a charm. Tha's 75 gold crown, missie."
        Yuzra handed over the gold crowns and wandered back to base. This better work, she thought. Sevena's energy had been sapped out in one of her spells. Even though she wouldn't be able to bring their comrades back from the prison, she remembered a minor teleportation spell that would do the trick. The prisoners wouldn't have any time to collect their weapons during the breakout, so she had had to teleport them to them. It had been especially hard for Sevena since she didn't even know where the weapons were hidden. Yuzra couldn't even fathom how she had been able to pull it off.

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