Ayko burst into a giggling fit as the scattered monoliths disappeared behind him. The trees shied away from each other, their leaves parting to reveal the night sky while the river swelled, finding its voice again.
He and Hazelmere remained on the riverbank, Peppergrapes littering the ground with each step along the raging rapids. More Peppergrape trees sprang into view, a pair turning into a trio, which then turned into huddles that hung at their sides.
Their village’s familiar warmth caressed Ayko’s skin next, accompanied by the glow of lanterns flashing him between the cracks in the trees.
His face fell as he stepped closer. Embers licked the ground, and the smell of smoke burned his nostrils. Filling the air was a thick haze, nearly opaque and smelling of burning flesh.
“Elies!” Ayko blurted out. He raced towards the square silhouettes of Maywood’s cabins while ignoring Hazelmere’s calls. Chills ate him alive, and his breath caught in his throat while sweat soaked his skin.
“Yarrow!” Ayko called out, squinting to see through the smoke. He received no answer save for the crackling of flames.
The young man tumbled forward, his eyes swelling upon catching himself. Laying at his feet was a charred husk, its face twisted in agony and smoke leaking from its gaping mouth.
Hazelmere’s breathing grew closer until she placed her hands on his shoulders, the pair looking around.
Arrow tips littered the ground while a stream of blood trickled down the road. Petering flames licked at the cabins, charred black and erupting with smoke.
Ayko looked at Hazelmere, who returned his worried look. “Did we go the wrong way?” He said quietly.
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They carried onwards, more corpses filling Ayko’s view as he shuffled forward, his breath growing shorter with each glance. Burned husks clogged the road while others lay slumped over the railing, smoking arrowtips sticking from their backs.
Hazelmere tightly clasped her hands together. “We’re in a nightmare,” she murmured.
Ayko drew his brow together and clenched his jaw. “Elies!” He squawked. “Yarrow!” He clenched his fist. “If they’re dead, I’ll kill them both, Haze!” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Ashencrane! Anyone at all!”
He darted his hard eyes around until something caught his eye. “You…”
A woman sat atop the railing, sinuous and serpentine, her blonde hair bunched into two ponytails. She held a string instrument in her well-manicured hands, and her jade-green eyes stared back at him.
Ayko’s brow twitched as he stared at her slit pupils. He felt he’d met this woman before, but nothing besides her eyes was familiar.
“Who are you?” Ayko demanded. He unsheathed his sword. “Answer me, or I’ll cut you in half!”
The woman touched his sword with her finger, effortlessly pushing it aside. “Why did you come back to this place?” The cat-eyed woman asked.
“Don’t act like you know me! Answer the question!” Ayko barked.
“I’m a Songstress,” she said. She strummed the strange vial-shaped instrument, the sound sweet but distorted and alien. “I came to sightsee but found nothing but broken dreams.”
Ayko and Hazelmere traded looks. “Quit speaking in riddles!” He hissed.
“Your lives are over,” the Songstress declared. “Along with Elies’ and that old man’s.”
“Like hell, they’re dead!” Ayko snapped.
The Songstress strummed the strings of her instrument again. “Perhaps so, perhaps not. Regardless, I can tell you both what comes next and what came before.” A phantom smile spread across her black lips. “You have no idea what fate has in store for you.”
********* END OF ACT 1 ********