Try not to stop thinking. Try not to stop thinking. Try not to stop thinking. Easier said than done when you don’t exist…or you do but…well…sufficient to say, it was a confusing ability, and not one Trenton fully understood. All around him there was…nothing. He was nothing. He couldn’t see, feel, or hear anything, almost like there was nothing there at all. Even his own body was lost to him. He was naught but dim consciousness floating endlessly through nothingness, which would be peaceful if not for the one last command he’d been given–try not to stop thinking. It was an ominous threat, but one he had a mind still to heed, somehow.

Eternity passed and went, chipper and cheery, waving goodbye forever. Then, the next eternity passed, this one somehow even longer than the first. His goodbye was sadder, too. He trudged wearily to the door, tears in either eye. And then the third eternity came, if you’d believe it, worse than the other two by far. But mister three wouldn’t get his time in the spotlight as the moment he burst through the proverbial door, they were gone, returned instantly to the material world once again without so much as a farewell.

Were it not for the sudden return of feeling in his limbs, sinking in his gut, and sting of frigid air against his skin, Trenton might not have even noticed at all. After all, below him there was nothing, or at least the best approximation of it. It was difficult to see the full extent of the damage, fresh moonlight just yawning across the land, but he could also feel that something was horribly wrong, a massive hole in his chest, empty, hewed.

The last thing he’d seen was Avar torn and breaking, consumed by some great darkness from below. But now, it was all gone. Where once a great mountain had stood, boldly piercing the heavens, as mountains are wont to do, there was now an unfathomable circular pit leading directly down into the earth, its fringes only barely visible on the horizon because of the great height they viewed it from. Oh, and one more, minor, unimportant, detail. They were falling, very, very fast.

“I don’t suppose any of you know how to fly!?” Sodrue shouted from slightly below Trenton, flipping himself around to look calmly up at Trenton, who clung desperately to Millie and Evai’s flailing bodies. Guess they weren’t fond of falling terminal velocity towards the endless void.

“No! Garrotes still unconscious!” Trenton shouted back, doing his best to nod over at Wimbleton as Millie and Evai’s panic turned him end over end through the air.

“Hold on, I’ve got something for this!” Wimbleton shouted, blatantly throwing the unconscious Kiva, Garrote, and Karfice out into the open air to allow himself to start digging through his deep pocket, the portal of which followed, locked to him, as they fell.

“DON’T JUST THROW THEM!!!” Trenton shouted, Millie finally managing to wriggle free from his grasp. Even chained, she was a slippery little devil.

Now out in the open, limps flapping freely every which way, Karfice began to stir, subconsciously stabilizing himself as he woke, “Hmm? What’s…” he stopped, staring straight down into the gaping pit below him, considering, remarkably calmly, their current circumstance. “...mountains gone?”

“Mountains gone,” Sodrue replied, nodding sadly.

“Huh.”

“Oh, oh! Here it is! I…” Wimbleton said, pulling out a massive wooden crate. Immediately he dropped the awkward structure, the lid flying off and dozens of loose bricks spilling out into the air. “Why…why did I even have that? What was that for?” Wimbleton shook his head. “Nevermind. I’m sure it’s in here somewhere, just…give me a second,” he said, returning his focus back to the portal.

“Take your time,” Karfice yawned, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eye.

“Do not take your time!” Trenton yelled, kicking the loose bricks away from himself and their unconscious compatriots. Off to his side, Millie giggled, spreading her arms wide and twisting every which way, twirling through the air like a little fairy on vacation. At least someone was having a good time.

“Ah, I got it! It was just behind the box of bricks. I should have guessed,” Wimbleton said, pulling out a small round device which hummed with arcane energy.

He fiddled with the strange device for a moment, curling around the creation like it was his first born. Little by little, the metallic orb expanded, various sections pulling out from the center to reveal a small, glowing white core powering the whole device. Then, when it could open no more, he dug his hands into the device's center, white light exploding all around them.

The effect was minimal at first, a slight tug against his clothes, but it quickly took full effect, lurching all persons within the vicinity to a standstill midair. It felt odd, almost like he was laying on a bed of pure air, every little shift and sway supported fully by the orb's magic. Luckily, the other random objects that had fallen with them didn’t have the same luxury, plummeting off into the abyss below.

Wimbleton gasped suddenly, twisting to look down at the fading mass of bricks spiraling ever downwards, “I just remembered what the bricks were for…dammit. Where am I going to get more at this hour?”

“Such a shame, the nearest convenience stores are bound to be closed. If only it weren’t so late,” Karfice mocked, raising his brow at Wimbleton.

“You would be surprised the places I’ve found traders. Did you know you can just stop caravans and ‘barter’ for their goods? There's nothing stopping you.”

“How many caravans have you robbed-”

“A lot.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Sodure looked over at Wimbleton, or at least as much as he could with how backwards he’d been turned in the fall, “Can you take us to land? As nice as this is, it’s not much better than falling.”

“Hmmm,” Wimbleton scratched his head, squinting at the mysterious contraption in his hands. “Well…maybe? I made this a really long time ago, so…” he flipped it over, “...I don’t really remember what it does. You-you’re gonna have to give me a moment.”

“Hehe,” Millie snickered, floating vaguely over towards Trenton. She pushed against his chest, using him as a springboard to fly through the air, laughing as she went. “I’m a birdie!!!” She shouted, holding arms out to either side.

“Don’t fly too high, Icarus. The magic’s radius won’t extend out forever,” Trenton called out, noticing the gentle snowfall adorning the air around them now that he wasn’t falling to his death…again.

“Hmmmm, but I don’t wanna!” Millie pouted, crossing her arms and turning her momentum into an endless front flip.

“She makes a good point,” Karfice said, bumping softly into Trenton’s shoulder.

“You’re not helping,” Trenton mumbled.

“Sorry,” Karfice said. “I’ll just…a moment…” he closed his eye, breathing softer than before.

Whatever, she’d be fine. It wasn’t like she could go very far without access to the ground. Trenton turned his attention to the rest of the group. Karfirce, Millie, Wimbleton, and Sodrue were completely fine, hardly a scratch between the lot of them, and Leo was bandaged too heavily to tell. Kiva, however, looked ill, a thick sweat gathering rapidly on her brow, which convulsed at odd intervals. But other than that, physically, she was stable enough, her wounds from her battle mostly patched. And Garrote was even worse.

Not only was he missing both arms, one of which had been very hastily bandaged up–a temporary solution until they got out of the mines–but his body was torn all over, thick gashes and grooves cut into his skin, exposed bones, flesh which had been rubbed down to muscle and nerve. Trenton had used the portable healing center and energy storages they picked up back in Wyrm’s Perch to tide him over well enough, as well as some spare healing clay Walibeld had lent him, but it wouldn’t last forever. Him and Kiva would both need emergency healing when they landed.

In his arms, Trenton felt a slight quiver. He’d nearly forgotten, but this entire time he’d been holding Evai, clutching her close to his chest to protect her. She wept silently in his comforting grasp, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide herself from the world.

“It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay,” Trenton whispered into her ear, holding her a little tighter.

“D-Dwimir was still h-home. Gods…” she sniffled.

“I wouldn’t count him gone yet. Whatever that thing was, it pulled you two out of that orb in its chest. He might not be dead. We might be able to save him,” Trenton comforted, recalling the strange magic.

Evai looked up at him, a meager smile dotting her somber expression, “...really? Yeah…yeah…you’re right. He’s a strong man. He’ll be alright,” she managed, sniffing a loose trail of snot back into her nose while wiping away her tears. She laid her head against Trenton’s chest, closing her eyes and letting the tears freely flow, this time with just a hint of hope gleaming somewhere within her soul.

“Looks like we’re going to be here for a little while,” Sodrue said, finally floating over to speak with their little group, Kiva, Leo, and Garrote in hand.

Trenton glanced over at Wimbleton, who was no longer even holding the orb, insteading letting it float freely in front of him as he crossed his arms and stared at it, “Yeah, guess so.”

Sometime in the chaos, Sodrue’s hood had been pulled back, revealing his rather handsome complexion, albeit somewhat aged, a human in his late 40’s or so. On top of his golden, wavy hair which fell to his shoulders and chiseled jaw and cheeks, his eyes were remarkable, two glowing green orbs–each with 3 ticking clock hands inside of them. He smiled, sending a wave of soft wrinkles across his face.

“I was told about everything that’s been going on with you. Quite the ordeal you’ve found yourself in. Luckily, I’m heading to Korak, to meet up with the 5th guardian, so I’ll be traveling with you for some time. That is where you’re headed, correct?” Sodrue asked.

Trenton considered it for a moment, “Well, the Academy is our main goal, but we did make a promise to someone that we’d deliver something for them to Korak,. Taking a detour is risky, but I trust in your ability.”

“I’m glad. I can’t say there’s no risk, given the multitude of enemies that could show, but I’ll do what I can. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve in case things turn bad, so try to relax.”

Evai sniffled again, “Korak,? I’ve got a friend there that I could stay with, actually. Please, could you help me get there? I’d be lost traveling alone.”

“Of course. You’ll have safe passage,” Trenton assured her.

“Thank you…thank you,” she said, slowly zoning out again.

Trenton looked up at Sodrue, a thought suddenly striking him, “Raligoth…he was still in the tower.”

“Raligoth!? The god!?” Sodrue exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

“No, just…a severed head with the same name,” Trenton said, realizing just how terribly odd it sounded, now saying it out loud.

“Oh! Right! I almost forgot! I was told you had a head with you, just not the name,” Sodrue said, rifling through his deep pocket for a moment before pulling out Raligoth and a beautiful golden ring. The second he touched air, Raligoth gasped.

“Oh, finally. Thought I was going to suffocate in there,” Raligoth said.

“You don't have lungs,” Sodrue noted.

“Yeah, well, still feels like I’m being suffocated,” Raligoth mumbled, only a little bitter as he turned his attention to Trenton. “Are you alright lad? I wanted to help you, really I did, but I couldn’t really…move, or do anything for that matter. Then those soldiers came back and gave me that ring saying it was a gift for you, but they wouldn’t answer any of my questions. And then a bird took Kiva and Karfice through the same hole you made in the wall-really, what was happening? I’m a little out of the loop.”

Trenton sighed, “Long day. I’ll explain another time,” he said, grabbing the ring from Sodrue and slipping it onto his right hand.

At first it was far too loose, a ring designed for someone easily twice his size, but then it snapped shut, fitting comfortably to form his finger. It was fairly simple in design, a golden band with unfamiliar runes and black engravings, stylish, if not unique.

“It was a good thing I thought to stop by the tower, luck mostly. I didn’t know exactly where you were in the city, so it took some time searching. I would’ve left him there, too, had he not talked my ear off for it,” Sodrue chuckled.

“Cause the least you could do is help a fella out. But that’s besides the point. Could someone explain to me why it’s so cold all of a sudden? I don’t recall Avar having wind,” Raligoth asked. Oh, that’s right. He didn’t have eyes. From his perspective, pretty much nothing has changed.

“Mountains gone,” Trenton said.

“Mountains gone,” Sodrue chimed in.

“Mountains gone,” Karfice added, shaking himself from his stupor to mess with the blind decapitated head.

“...what?”