Three perpendicular halls intersect at the veil between worlds. Strange shapes and hidden dimensions fold into one another at this perplexing intersection. Though the walls of Estuary Castle appear strong and straight, within lies a tapestry of interwoven halls disproportionate to the structure. For every passage built by human hands, two more were discovered. Each passage that was discovered was covered in thick layers of dust and deterioration. Stranger than this, indecipherable words appeared to be written into the dust. The dust has long been wiped away, the unknown words forgotten, and the warning unheeded.

_______

Astrid felt nothing but deja vu. She had felt this nothingness before, she was sure, but she couldn’t remember when.

Her mind began turning, and she suddenly felt as though she was falling. She recognized this too, more vividly than the nothingness from ---

Without warning the nothingness around her became endless darkness, pervading every part of her. She felt empty, as she continued falling. This too she recognized.

*Maybe everything is so new that it feels like forever, and I only just think it’s happened before* she thought to herself. *What came before?*

Into the emptiness she tried to recall her life. Her memories felt like a different kind of emptiness, like her life was on the tip of her tongue. Her name was all she could remember, apart from fleeting images that disappeared if she tried to focus on them.

Then she heard a voice call out of the darkness, “Not this time!” he echoed.

The darkness was replaced by blinding light, and the feeling of falling was replaced by pain.

She felt the stone underneath her face. Her left arm landed on a much softer surface and was the only part of her body that didn’t ache.

“Oh, there’s four of them. That’s different.” a voice from in front of her said. “Huh, I guess we gotta take two trips.”

“Nah,” a rougher voice said. “Two of them look pretty light. I’ll get that one over there, and you can get-”

“If you think I can get the heavier of the two lighter ones, you’re out of your mind.” the first voice retorted. “I am fine with taking two trips, but if we’re just doing the one, then I get the lighter one.”

Astrid anticipated being picked up by one of these two voices, before another pair of voices at her head and her feet began talking.

By her head, “We aren’t gonna wait all day while you two bicker. Figure it out. In the meantime the rest of us are gonna get to work!”

By her feet, “bend wiv your legs, not your back! It’s 'ard enough carrying a person the right way, no need to make it ‘arder.”

They didn’t even bother to roll her onto her back before lifting her up. Astrid wanted to protest the painful and awkward way they were lifting her, but she felt paralyzed and groggy. Several minutes passed in silence. Astrid tried to move anything, even an eyelid, but nothing would budge.

The hands on her shoulders were strong, while the hands on her legs felt loose. Her head was angled above her ankles. She was terrified of what was happening, but the pain from being handled with such little care was impossible to ignore. All she could manage was a gentle sigh. It did not go unnoticed.

By her feet, “’Ey, Gerald, I think it’s already awake!”

“You sure?”

“You’re the one by ‘er ‘ead, didn’t you ‘ere ‘er sigh just now?”

“I was too busy doing all the work!”

“I’m doing work! It’s not my fault that you’re too stupid to just let your arms ‘ang!”

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Astrid felt her feet, which were angled down from her head, begin to lift much higher in the air.

At her feet, in a mocking tone while shaking Astrid’s now raised feet, “Oh look, I’m Gerald, and I think I’m doing all the work because I like to make my work ‘arder every chance I get! Look at my strong arms, putting in so much extra effort for no reason at all! Aren’t I the best?!”

Sighing, the person at her head gently set Astrid down. On her face, while her feet were still dangling high in the air.

“Grant” he said slowly and methodically, “I’m gonna wollop you. I’m gonna wollop you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. I’ll be careful not to knock you out, or make it even harder for your wimpy body to do what little work it can manage. But it will hurt.”

There was silence for a moment. Astrid’s feet lowered slightly, taking pressure off her face, before she was unceremoniously dragged across the floor.

“I was only joking Gerald. ‘ere, we gotta get going.”

“Grant, I will hit you in a few moments. While I’m giving you time to get ready, I want you to really think about what you’ve been saying to me. And I want you to realize, there’s nothing you can do to keep from reaping the rewards for your words.”

Astrid was dragged more quickly across the ground, in quick jerky movements as Grant dragged her backwards one step at a time.

“Stop kidding around, Gerald!” Grant cried out nervously. “You’re starting to sca-”

Astrid’s face had caught on a rug not too long ago, making the effort of being dragged limp across the floor slightly more comfortable. The rug that was pillowed under her head and shoulders did nothing to cushion her knees as they dropped to the stone floor when Gerald finally punched Grant in the face. Only two things brought Astrid relief. The first was realization that the jeans she was wearing seem to have protected her from getting a nasty gash on her leg, as she felt a jagged stone corner poking her right leg. The second, was that she could finally open her eyes.

Well, she could open one eye. A little. Alright, she could squint blindly and blearily out of her left eye.

Tan, grey, orange, red. She couldn’t see shapes yet, but she assumed she was seeing a wall, something on a wall, and maybe something else also on the wall? Also, probably the floor which was a grey blob next to a red blob she assumed was the rug under her head.

Grant and Gerald were scuffling. She could hear that clearly. For a moment she saw one bulbous brown blob pushing another smaller purple blob around.

Astrid began thinking about escape. Her body seemed to be too well at rest. Like all of her strength was missing. It felt similar to the times she had experienced sleep paralysis.

*wait, I can remember sleep paralysis? You know what, that doesn’t seem important right now. I’ll try and get my memories back later. Seems like a good sign though.*

Astrid pushed her memories out of her head, focusing instead on trying to convince her body that it was time to move. If she had actually been drugged, it probably wouldn’t have worked.

*Lift up, lift up, lift up!* she thought forcefully towards her left hand. *Wait, wait, wait... I think I remember that it’s easier to concentrate on doing something rather than just trying to move. Worth a shot.*

Hnggggggnngggpffft, she exerted her breath, trying to think desperately about touching the wall. The scuffle that was now behind her had reached what sounded like an ending. Gerald punching Grant with every final word. Astrid tried not to focus on what they were saying.

*It’s now or never,* she thought to herself. *Don’t think about touching it. Hit it. Hit the wall. Get angry. Get the blood pumping. Don’t think about how much it will hurt to hit the wall, just backhand it as hard as you-*

CRACK

And then she did it. Her elbow shot out with no warning, crunching her limp hand hard against the stone wall. It hurt, a lot.

But it was worth it.

Astrid felt the paralysis leave her body. This was a familiar feeling. Whenever she had sleep paralysis before, all she had to do was anything. Any little movement was enough to unlock everything else.

This didn’t suddenly make her grogginess or the weariness of her muscles go away. It wasn’t magic. But it was enough to get her moving.

“Did you hear that?” Gerald asked.

“afmufilsdf, huuuhhhh,” Grant answered, his swollen and bloody mouth unable to formulate a response.

“Right, have you learned your lesson?”

Astrid did not hear Grant reply.

“Fine, let’s get moving. Don’t want to get surprised down here.”

Astrid saw a flash of emerald light.

“You know, Gerald, you didn’t 'ave to go that far.”

“I think you mean, ‘thank you, Gerald, for healing me.’”

“... Thank you for 'ealing me... from the damage you inflicted!”

“Don’t even start. Not only did you start it, you didn’t even try to fight fair! I saw the ice in your fists! How long do you think it would have taken me to heal myself of frostbite!”

“You were terrifying me! All I wanted was to bicker a little, and maybe tussle. Next thing I know you’re talking about beating the daylights out of me. It was all I could do to keep from---”

Astrid moved her knee. She was trying to be sneaky, but they stopped talking as soon as she moved. They all sat there for a moment. Waiting.

Every person present held their breath.