As days passed, William found their rations were beginning to run short. Massacre was kept well-fed by a steady diet of anything that grew, but he had to share his food with Kiyora. The day's heat became unbearable beneath the trees. Their mouths were often parched. He hoped Felix was doing better than he was. Maybe he had reached the dwarves and found the help of one kind or another.

Though if any help was coming, it seemed likely by this point that they were heading away from it. The thought was not comforting, and William tried to pay attention to anything else. Kiyora's hair seemed to stay dry and matted. His hair would have to be washed when all this was over, but hers was fine.

Oh, and his eye was still hurting. The pain of it kept flaring up, and William became increasingly anxious to find a mirror so he could see how bad it was. He only hoped there was a healer who could fix it.

Finally, he was distracted from all this when they came out of the underbrush. They found themselves in a tranquil wood, with sunlight shimmering through the trees. Not a bird was chirping. The colors around them were very vibrant, but William could not see any animals around.

"This place..." said William, "does it seem dead to you?"

Massacre hissed with its dragon head.

"Massacre says you worry too much," said Kiyora.

"And you don't worry enough," said William. "How can you remain so detached?"

"It's just a dream," she said with a shrug.

William didn't even bother responding to that one. As they made their way, they came onto a path, and following it, they found a carriage. Its front wheels were in pieces, and no ox was attached. Then, a little further on, they saw a manor. It looked like a pleasant place. It had glass windows and white curtains, designed with many images.

"Do you want to see if anyone is home?" asked Kiyora.

"I..." William paused, thinking. "Yes, though we should be on our guard. Massacre, Kiyora, stay here and wait for me."

"I'm going as well," said Kiyora. "This looks interesting. And Massacre should come too."

"I don't want to startle the residents," said William. "Anyway, Massacre wouldn't fit through the door."

"Fine," said Kiyora. "Massacre, could you stay here awhile."

Massacre seemed to be grumbling as she lay down on her haunches. She lay her lion and dragon heads down on the ground while her goat head began to munch on a bush. William reflected that they were actually in far more danger than Massacre. Two teenagers would be a far more attractive target than an illusion.

As they approached the door, which was painted black, William saw that it was ajar. There was an eerie feeling about the whole thing. William kept glancing at the windows. He half expected to see something evil looking down on them. Yet there was nothing, and soon they stood before the door. Kiyora shifted uneasily.

William reached forward and knocked. There was no answer. He hit again, and still, no one came. Finally, he put one hand on the door and pushed it open. Within was a great entry hall illuminated only by light shooting through the windows. There was a set of stairs leading up to the upper floor. On either side were doors.

"Which way?" asked Kiyora.

William tried to conceal the fear he felt. This place was strange, and he was tempted to turn and head back. Yet simultaneously, he was curious to see what or who lived here. What was a place like this doing out in the middle of Seathorius?

"Let's try one of the side rooms," he said. "Left for a start."

They went left and found the door closed but unlocked. Opening it, they went through and found themselves in the midst of what appeared to be a dining room. There was a long table set with decorative plates. It was as though the house's owner was awaiting some magnificent feast. The seats had silk cushions. The delicate curtains by the windows let in only small beams of light.

"Look at this..." he said, "whoever lives here must be very rich indeed."

"Do you think anyone is home?" asked Kiyora.

William ran a finger along one of the plates and found dust. The surface of the wood was smoothly carved, and it was of fine material. "No. No, I don't think anyone has been here very long. Don't you feel it? Something in the air; I can't imagine anyone living here?"

"Eh, I'm not feeling it," said Kiyora. "Maybe they're just out."

"Even if the master of the house is on a long journey," said William. "There ought to have been someone here this whole time."

"What makes you think they're rich anyway?" asked Kiyora. "They might not have any servants."

"Kiyora, don't you know anything?" asked William. "This place is a mansion! They have glass windows. Glass windows! Even in Carn Gable, we don't have any of those except the chapel! And what is this place doing here anyway?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kiyora.

"Does Seathorius strike you as a very safe place?" asked William. "No one this rich has any business being in Seathorius. Especially in building this indefensible house."

"I dunno, maybe it's magic," said Kiyora.

"Magic doesn't work like that!" said William.

"Well, how does it work?" asked Kiyora.

William sighed. "Well, magic is gained by bargaining with a god, demon, or spirit. You do them some service or agree to further their interests in exchange for power.

"Having a house like this could be attained with magic. But just saying 'magic' does not answer the question."

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" asked Kiyora.

"Because nothing about this makes any sense!" said William. "If the master and servants both abandoned this place, it ought to have been looted!"

"Yeah, you know, where I'm from, we have a word for something that defies explanation," said Kiyora. She made her way over to the window. "We call it magic."

"Well then, we have very different meanings for the same word-" began William.

Then Kiyora shrieked in horror and staggered back to fall against the table. Her face was pale as death, and she was shaking. William went to her side and helped her stand.

"What happened?" asked William. "What did you see?"

"I... I don't know," said Kiyora. "I was looking out the window, and then I saw... I saw something. I couldn't see his face, but... he was horrible."

William made his way over to the window and looked through. He saw nothing, only a garden surrounded by hedges of rosebushes. The trees outside were swaying, and he heard a bird call, shrill and screeching. Yet he could see nothing.

He turned back to Kiyora. "I can't see anything."

"I know I saw him," said Kiyora. "Can... can we get out of here? I don't like this house."

"All right," said William. "Let's go."

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They made their way to the front door and found the door closed. William halted and looked at Kiyora. Something was wrong. "Did you close the doors behind us?"

"No," said Kiyora. "No, I didn't."

William approached the door, feeling reluctant to touch the handle. A part of him, very dark, which he recognized from the Mirror of Laevian, told him to stop. It was too dangerous to go forward. His hair stood on end, and he realized he was terrified.

"Kiyora," said William. "I think we should go out one of the windows."

"Yeah," said Kiyora, "okay."

William began to scale the stairs, following a suggestion from the dark part of him. Kiyora followed behind, glancing back warily. "Will," said Kiyora.

"My name is William, not Will," said William.

"Why are we going up the stairs?" asked Kiyora. "It-"

"If we go out one of the windows, we're less likely to be seen by whatever is watching this place," said William. Finally, he reached the top of the stairs.

"Then why don't we go out one of the downstairs back doors?" said Kiyora.

"Because I didn't think of that, and there is no time," said William.

Making his way down the hall, he entered one of the doors. Within was a window-lit study with a fireplace within it. Bookcases were spilling with tomes, and the windows had translucent white curtains. William approached the window, feeling a lump in his throat.

As he did, time seemed to slow down. More than anything, he did not want to see what lay beyond that window, but he knew he had to look. His hair was standing on end; his hand was shaking. Mustering courage, he put his hand to his sword and peered through.

William saw a shadow cast over the front door, far longer than was natural. It was like that of a man, yet there was a horrific will behind it. He tried to work up the will to see where that shadow ended. His terror came to back him, and he stepped back.

"You saw him, didn't you?" asked Kiyora.

"Yes," said William. "Yes, I did. He is by the door."

"Let's go the other way then," said Kiyora. "Come on."

As she went for the door, William saw a book bound in black leather on one of the desks. It had no title, and there was nothing remarkable about it. Without knowing why, he snatched it up and shoved it into his pack, and then he followed after Kiyora. They made their way into another room and halted in sudden horror.

Painted on the walls of this empty room were many crude pictures. They were scrawled in what appeared to be blood, showing a slender and horrible figure. Images of trees and people chased by the constitution were all over the wall. William suddenly knew for sure that this place had been attacked before.

"He is Laughing; he is Laughing, he is Laughing, he is Laughing..." read the scrawled handwriting.

"Come on," said Kiyora, unlatching a window and throwing aside the curtains, "we need to go." Then, they heard the sound of a door opening. The sound of an axe cutting through a neck could not have been more horrifying. William looked up, feeling a primal terror as he heard footsteps scaling up the stairs. Drawing a rope, he tied it to a desk and hurled it over the side.

"Slide down!" he said. "Quickly!"

A shadow appeared in the hallway as whatever it was beginning to draw near. William slammed the door and locked it as Kiyora began scaling down. The latch started to turn. The door strained as the lock bent.

William ran to the rope and gripped it, scaling it down. Kiyora was almost down. A door opened beyond the threshold. They were moving too slowly! They would be caught and trapped! Kiyora reached the bottom and ran, and William followed her soon enough. They fled into the trees. Then, scrambling beneath the dense underbrush, they turned around. Looking back the way they had come, they saw Him, though his face was hidden by shadow. Only his hands could be seen.

Had he seen them? If he had, he made no sign of it.

Then he turned and walked away.

For a moment, they lay there, too terrified to move. William felt the sweat drip down his brow. He looked at Kiyora, who was crying and had her face in her hands.

"Kiyora," he said, "we need to move. He may have seen us. He must have seen us!"

"We... This is just a bad dream—a nightmare!" she said. "I'll wake up soon! I have to wake up!"

The dark part of his mind mused that she was hysterical and would be of no use. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me, Kiyora, that thing is still out there. We have to move now. Do you understand me? If we don't move, he'll kill us."

"Yes... yes, I get it," she said. "Let's go."

They scaled out the underbrush, and William led them away from the manor. They saw no sign of him or anything else, yet he felt they were being watched. He looked around. "What do you think happened to Massacre?" asked William.

"I'm sure she got away," said Kiyora. "I mean, she's got the body of a lion. They run fast. I'm sure she can escape."

And then there was a roar, and Massacre surged out of the trees. William pulled down Kiyora just in time before the chimera almost tore their heads off. She landed heavily and turned around, frothing at the mouth and wild-eyed. She approached, shaking. She was terrified and ravenous at once.

William and Kiyora scrambled out of the way just in time to avoid being burned by the flames, and they hid behind a tree. Kiyora looked at him in shock as Massacre snarled and roared.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Kiyora.

"I don't know," said William. "But-"

There was an impact against the tree, and William looked to see Massacre tearing at the trunk. Her paws slashed grooves in the tree. Flames poured past the tree, burning it, and William felt the heat of the fire on his face.

Drawing out his harp, he began to play it. His fingers ran over it as quickly as he could. Gradually, the roars and snarls of Massacre died, and it calmed down. As the flames ceased, William came around the tree and continued to play it. Massacre backed away from him, growling in a warning.

William stayed where he was, continuing to play it. They continued to do so for a few minutes, and Massacre's body calmed her posture little by little. Finally, her eyes settled, and she made her way slowly forward and nuzzled William's hand. He petted her, scratching her behind the ears.

Kiyora came forward. "What happened, Massacre?"

Massacre made several sounds, and Kiyora listened. Then she looked at William. "She says that she saw that thing we were chased by earlier. Looking at it up close drove her mad, and she hated everything and everyone."

"Let's keep moving and hope we don't find out." William halted, for he saw a shadow looming over them. He drew his sword and whirled around. Yet it was only a tree branch emerging at an odd angle. Or was it?

The shadows around them were shifting and lengthening. He realized that twilight was coming on. Sheathing his sword, he looked at Kiyora. "We should keep moving. Whatever that thing was, I don't want to be around when it gets here."

"That thing..." said Kiyora, "I think it was Laughing Wraith."

"Don't you know?" asked William. "You've met him."

"I've never seen him directly before," said Kiyora. "Only his shadow. You don't understand; it is painful to look at him. Most people can't do it at all." She paused. "I've got an idea." She turned to one of the trees and put her hand on it. There was a strange blue glow surging around her for a moment. Then it faded, and she stepped back before looking at the tree. "Thank you."

"What did you do?" asked William.

"Oh, I asked the trees to shift and keep Laughing Wraith away from us," said Kiyora. "The ones in this place are much nicer. Also, I asked them to guide your friend Felix to us." She paused. "Hey, you can talk to trees, can't you?"

"No," said William. "I cannot." Shouldn't that have been obvious?

They made their way onwards; the shadows grew steadily longer around them. The horror of seeing Laughing Wraith began to wear off gradually. It was like the fear of a nightmare that is left behind as you fully wake up. Soon, it was as if they hadn't seen him at all. The light fell behind the trees in the distance and became freezing. Kiyora began to shiver, and William drew off his cloak and offered it to her.

"Here," he said, "it'll help keep you warm. Unfortunately, those clothes don't look good for much."

"Thanks," she said, pulling it around her. "It's strange; I haven't dreamed like this in years."

"What do you mean?" asked William.

"Well, originally, when I dreamed, I wasn't mighty at all," said Kiyora. "I could talk with trees and ask them for help and stuff. But I didn't have the same hold over them. In my first dream about Seathorius, I heard that an animal, a sheep, had gone missing.

"I asked the trees to help me and the shepherd find it, and I did. But little by little, things started to become less personal. I found I could command, not just ask. Everyone bowed and hailed my name when I appeared.

"I became a god in my dreams. I don't know what exactly that says about me."

"It says you have little understanding of reality," muttered William.

"Hey, you don't have to get snippy," said Kiyora.

"Well, I'm not a Nakmar," said William. "I don't like the idea that my entire world is nothing more than an illusion dreamed up by the gods. And I don't see any reason to believe it's true."

"Well, how can you know whether it's true?" asked Kiyora. "How can you know this place isn't all in my head?"

"Because I am aware of myself," said William.

"Right, okay," said Kiyora, "but maybe it is all in your mind? How can you know that reality is not a delusion conjured by your mind?"

"Because I can learn," said William. "Before I ever saw a chimera, I learned they existed from my mother. Before I met Felix, I had heard of Calishans. I have heard of many things which I have never seen."

"Well, how do you know you didn't invent all those things?" asked Kiyora. "How can you know that the world isn't just your delusions? Maybe what you call your mother is just a product of your insanity."

William tried to think of how to respond to that and, after a few minutes, had an idea. "Kiyora, try to imagine something that you have never seen before. It is something unlike anything you have ever experienced. That has no basis in anything, you know.

"Can you do it?"

Kiyora thought. "...No, I can't."

"Exactly," said William. "But there was a point in my life where I knew nothing. So, if there was nothing outside of myself, I ought to have continued to know nothing. After all, nothing existed for me to learn.

"If I were the source of all existence, how is it that I could have ever grown greater or changed? For surely, I would have already been the ultimate being."

"Well, what if you aren't the ultimate being?" asked Kiyora. "What if you are trapped in an illusion by some still greater power? He could be feeding you all the info."

"Info?" asked William.

"Um... knowledge, experience," said Kiyora. "Short for information."

"...I don't know," admitted William. "All I can say is that this place seems far too chaotic to be the product of one mind." He paused. "We should stop for the night. I'd instead not light a fire if it's all the same to you.

"He is still out there." He didn't like to say that thing's name.

"Yeah, okay," said Kiyora.

Not that William could light a fire.