Chapter 2

               Megan sat up with a start, staring into the flames of the fireplace. The small house was quiet, the windows showed that night was still heavily upon them. The cushion beneath her had shifted off to the side, exposing her hip to the hard stone floor. A painful ache resonated through her side as she arranged herself back onto the makeshift bed, and though she tried to keep her hiss of a wince as quiet as possible, it sounded to her as if it echoed through the entire kitchen.

               "You're as loud as a horse," Raife grumbled from where he rolled over on his own bed of folded blankets.

               "Sorry." Her voice died away, only the crackling of the fire continued. Megan laid on her stomach, resting the side of her head on her folded arms, eyes watching the tongues of flame and the fire arrow that fueled it. Her breathing was so soft, at times, she wondered if she was holding her breath.

               Raife rolled over again with another groan. "I can't decide which is worse. You trying to be quiet or deliberately being loud and restless."

               "Well, make up your mind so I can stop bothering you!" Megan snapped back, raising herself onto her elbows.

               "Hey, don't start snapping at me, I didn't do this to you. I didn't do any of this. I don't even know why I'm staying here. I'm healthy. I've got no more business with you or your friend, alive or dead, but most likely dead." Raife had, as he spoke, gotten up and had begun eyeing a candlestick on the mantel with a special sparkle in his eye. "I'm a thief. I don't work with anyone, certainly not two pitiful girls."

               Megan heard her cue and leapt to her feet, hissing as quietly yet as forcefully as she could. "We pitiful girls, as you call us, managed to save your life tonight!"

               "Which was only in jeopardy because of you!" The thief's dark eyes snapped angrily as he glared down at her. He was a good foot taller, it seemed, though it could have simply been the situation. "Thank you for reminding me what my job is," he said with a sharp sneer. "I'm no babysitter. I don't know who you are, but I'm not sticking around here to find out!" He turned away from her and picked up his cloak, dry now from the fire. With a callous gesture he tossed it about his shoulders and drew up the hood to mask his slicked back hair and long, fiery face.

               He was at the door, his hand on the handle, when he paused and looked back. Megan didn't turn around to look at him, but it was as if she could hear his own thoughts tearing at each other. His footsteps were swift in bringing him back in front of her. She opened her eyes and watched as he picked up the candlestick and winked.

               "I wasn't sure if I could sell this for much, but since I was robbed by the two of you- yes, I did notice my purse was gone- I'll just have to make up the difference."

               Megan let the look of disgust come across her face. "I hope your conscience is clear, stealing from the man who put his job on the line to help you! I doubt you even have a conscience!"

               "You said you were a thief," Raife replied as he slipped the candlestick into his quiver, "so you should know that thieves can't afford to think about anyone but themselves." Megan watched as the dark figure swept across the room and out the door into the night without another word.

               Much to her surprise, she felt tears coming to her eyes. "Oh, what are we going to do now?" She heard her own, small voice say into the emptiness. A fear gripped her and she felt her only chance coming to a head. "I can't stay here, either. I've got to find Daphne and we've got to find Garrett! He's the only one who will know what's going on and how we can get home! And if Daphne's not-" Megan choked on the word, "-I'll just have to find Garrett myself. I owe it to her family to tell them what's become of her. It's my fault. It was my house that we played the game at, and even if they don't believe me, I've got to tell them. There's no other way."

               With a determined frown, she walked across to the kitchen table where Paxton had left out his writing materials from during dinner when he'd composed a letter to his brother. She took one of the sheets and wrote as neatly as she could with the quill pen:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Paxton,

               Thank you so much for your hospitality. I wish we could have stayed longer, but I fear we both had to move on early this morning. Thank you, again!

                              Megan and Raife

PS- Our friend is fine, and you can burn this letter if it would be best. Thank you!

               Megan's face burned as she wrote the last line of lies, but it would set their kind hearts at rest if they thought everything was alright. She put the sheet under the glass inkwell and put the pen back. With a quick sigh, she began to gather her things, only to realize she didn't have things, only her original set of clothes which she threw in the fire just before she hurried out the door, toward the pub.

               "This way!" the maid whispered with a wave of her hand. "I know a guy, he sells things in Black Alley. I can get you a potion or two."

               "I just need one, thank you," Daphne whispered back. "I've got two friends waiting in an alley and one of them is hurt really bad, maybe with a broken back. And it's all because of me," she added with a low sigh. "So you see, I really only need one, for him."

               "Him? Is he- are the two of you?" the bar maid looked back at her with an inquisitive expression.

               Daphne blushed and thought for a moment. It'd be best if the girl didn't know anything about them. "Yes, yes, we're a thing. Both thieves, been together since we broke out of prison together."

               The maid's eyes grew wide as she continued to lead their way down the twisting back ways. "Really? You broke out of prison? That's amazing! You must be an amazing thief!"

               "Yes, well," Daphne smiled with a cough, "I don't like to brag or anything."

               The maid stopped suddenly and with a hissed, "Come on!" grabbed Daphne's arm and pulled her into a dark corner.

               "What is it?" the outsider hissed, finding the small hand over her mouth the moment the words escaped her lips.

               In the quiet that followed, she heard the voices.

               "At least the Builder has granted us a quiet night, isn't it so, Farius?"

               "Aye, a quiet night indeed. Not even the city's guard has come this way."

               "How long were we to wait for the rouge?"

               "Not much longer, my friend. If he does not show up, we shall depart. We cannot risk treason."

               "Thou hast a wise head upon thy shoulders, friend."

               "Aye. Quiet thyself. I think he comes."

               For a moment it seemed as if there was no sound at all, and then quiet suddenly, one of the voices let out a cry of alarm.

               "Thou didst keep us waiting, Garrett. We have not the time for your roguery."

               "Tell me why you wanted to speak with me." It was Garrett's voice alright, in all it's Stephen Russell greatness, only this time it wasn't a voiceover- it was real! Gruff, raspy, sarcastic, bitter! Daphne bit her lip to keep from giggling. Oh, if Megan were only here now!

               "Things are stirring in the city, Garrett. Things which we Hammers do not like at all."

               "Are the Pagans giving you trouble again?" So sarcastic! Daphne's mind raced. She had to talk to Garrett, but the Hammers! In all her gaming experience, not once had a religious fanatic with a huge, three foot hammer made of iron ever been a good thing.

               "Not the Pagans, but it probably has something to do with them. We've read of a curse coming upon the land, a curse from which none, not even yourself, can escape."

               "Stop being so vague," Garrett hissed. "What is it?"

               "The skies will darken with clouds, black as night."

               "So there's a big storm coming, big deal."

               "This will be no storm. There shall be no lightning, no thunder, no rain, no hail. Only darkness. The undead will walk the streets. The Pagans will have their chaos, as thou surely knowth they like. And it will not leave until whatever summoned it is destroyed."

               "So it does involve the Pagans," Garrett mused. "What do you want me to do about it?"

               "Find the item that brought this curse upon us. We have reason to believe it is in the Old Quarter of town, near the docks. Perhaps even in one of the warehouses."

               "Do I get any clues as to what this so called item looks like?"

               "We don't know what it is, only that a great disturbance has been felt on this night and something has entered our city which was never destined to be here. The item may have some affect on it."

               "Is that all?"

               "For now. We shall contact you if we need further- services… Garrett?"

               Daphne leaned around the corner looking at the two confused Hammerites. There was no one else with them. The master thief was gone.

               After the maid had pulled her back into the shadows, they waited some time until the Hammerites had finally walked past and their footsteps vanished into the city. Daphne was the first of the two out into the street.

               "I need a map!" she said quite suddenly.

               "What for?" The maid asked, her hands on her hips. "I thought you needed a healing potion!"

               "I do, but I need a map as well!" Daphne wrung her hands.

               "We're almost to the store, come on, we can talk more later! Let's just get off the streets. I think those Hammers were right, something weird is going on, and I think you've got something to do with it." Her eyes were fixed hard on Daphne's face.

               Megan leaned against the back wall of the pub and sighed heavily. The place was empty. Though the door had been locked, one of the windows had been busted open, and allowed her entrance to the place. Everything was in chaos, Chairs were tipped over, tables were on their sides, there was even food and blood on the floor, but most noticeable to Megan, there was no sign of Daphne.

               At first she had panicked, thinking up all the dreadful things that could have happened to her friend, but that only made her more afraid. The streets were dark, save for the occasional streetlamp, and the shadows were both a fear and a comfort to her. She could hide in them and be certain she was unseen, and yet, who else might be thinking the same thing? With a burst of boldness, Megan followed an alleyway back to the front of Paxton's house to see if Daphne had returned. There was no one. Even if she had returned, Megan thought, she would have thought we'd gone elsewhere. But where?

               The sewers, Megan nodded. If they had evacuated the area suddenly, if Paxton hadn't lived there, she knew she would have taken Raife back to the sewers to lay low. Turning in the direction she knew the sewers lay, Megan set off with a determined frown.

               "We came this way, I know it!" Megan sighed, stopping to scratch her head as she looked about the dark streets. From the moment she'd left the safety of Paxton's alley it seemed that the city had gotten shiftier and darker with each step. Now, when she was certain she was lost, Megan sank into a shadowy corner to think. "If only I had a map!" she sighed heavily.

               The wind came through with a hiss and vanished, but not before she heard the rustling of paper. Just down the street a parchment flapped from where it was pinned to the wall. No one seemed to be approaching, at least, not that she could hear, so Megan bolted over to the sheet and began scanning it. A grim looking face was drawn upon it with enough likeness she knew who it was even before she saw the words, "Wanted for theft and assault," posted below it.

               "Garrett!" She pulled the poster down and read the fine print aloud to herself. "Has been spotted in the South Quarter of town. Report all findings to the City Guard Station." For a moment she stood in thought. "If anyone has seen him, they'll have reported it to the guards, which means they probably have it documented in that station! If I can get it… I might have a better idea where I could find Garrett. But that means breaking in… doing some real thief work…"

               The thought might have bothered her if she had been in Hollis or anywhere in the real world, but here there was no other way. "Alright," she said with a nod. "I'll go to the guard station and find out what they know about Garrett." With a glance back, she sighed and said to the empty night, "Goodbye, Daphne. I don't know where you are, but I hope we meet up again. I won't leave without you, I promise." Her footsteps drew her down the road in the shadows, finally disappearing into the night.

               "That ankle looks pretty bad, Missy," the store clerk said with a toothy grin, his gums looking almost black behind his dry lips. "It's a good thing you come when you did. Here, drink this down."

               Daphne took the flask, looking over it as best she could. From what she recalled from the game, this was indeed a health potion, but then again, she had never seen any poisons or sleeping draughts, so how could she be sure it wasn't one of those? The wincing pain from her busted ankle decided that it was a risk she ought to take because either way, the pain would end. "Here goes," she muttered, crunching her eyes closed and wrinkling up her nose. With a quick swig it all went down. Almost instantly she felt the pain vanish like a mist.

               She leapt to her feet and looked down. "Wow!" she smiled at the maid, "It does work!"

               "Of course it works," the maid replied. "What did you think?"

               "I wasn't sure if it would work for me…" Daphne stopped abruptly, knowing that she tread on dangerous ground. She turned to the store clerk. "I need another one, not for me, but for a friend. Maybe two, because he's in really bad shape and I don't know how much he needs."

               "Sure thing," the clerk dug up two more identical flasks. "That'll be 200 coins."

               "You're bleeding me dry!" the maid complained, handing the money over. "You better be prepared to pay me back. I agreed to get you a potion, this is three! I can't afford that, especially now that I'm out of work."

               "You're out of work, Sherry? How'd that happen?"

               The maid, now identified as Sherry, blushed deeply. "It's a long story," she said with a sigh, then turned to Daphne. "Are you quite finished?"

               The two left the store and walked out into the dark streets. Daphne turned to the maid. "Well, thank you for your kindness. It's meant a lot to me. I need to get going, though, so I'll see you around, I guess!" She turned to leave, but a hand fell upon her shoulder.

               "Oh, no you don't!" Sherry said with a frown. "You're not going anywhere without me. Not now. I want to get some of my money back, and since you're such a great thief, I suspect going with you would be rather profitable."

               "I can't have you tagging along after me!" Daphne complained. "I don't even know what I'm doing next, except going back to find Megan and… my partner…" Trying to keep all the lies going was ending up rather tricky, especially when she couldn't get her mind off what the Hammers had said. "…something has entered our city that was never destined to be here." For some ominous reason, Daphne was almost certain the Hammers were referring to her and Megan. What else could it be? Had this item caused them to fall into the game? It had to be. For a moment, it seemed like she almost heard the "New Objectives" bell ring in her head. So she now had to get back to Megan and the unnamed thief, get a map, and then track down Garrett, who most likely would have obtained the item by that time and possibly have handed it over to the Hammers.

               "Look," Sherry said, breaking the other out of her thoughts, "I'm coming with you. I have a feeling that something very important is going on, and I'm not going to waste a moment to find out what it is. I think you know something, and I'm not leaving until I know!"

               "Why should I trust you? I'm a master thief, after all, I could kill you just as soon as I could tell you!" Daphne felt frustration growing inside her. Is this how Megan felt sometimes?

               "So you do know something!" The maid looked exalted that her suspicion had been correct. "Tell me, and I swear I will tell no one else. I just want to be prepared for whatever those Hammers were talking about. It sounds bad, and I just want to live through it. I promise I will not tell a soul."

               Daphne stood looking at Sherry for a few moments. There was so much to lose if the maid was lying. If she ran off and told the city guards what she knew, they'd all be doomed for certain.

               Just then, they heard a sound; a low moaning groan, and heavy footsteps. "Come on!" Daphne grabbed Sherry's arm and pulled her under the steps of the store where it was sufficiently dark. The sound was easily recognizable.

               Almost immediately following their dive to cover, a pale, half-skeletal zombie plodded into the courtyard. Its low, chilling moan echoed through the streets as it shuffling steps took it not three feet past them, the stench of its rotting body enveloping them. Sherry almost choked, but Daphne pressed her hand over the maid's mouth and nose. The zombie moved past them and finally left their sight as it exited into the dark alleys on the other side of the courtyard. When Daphne removed her hand, Sherry was shaking.

               "What was that?" she whispered, her voice barely loud enough to hear and not nearly stable enough to understand.

                "It was an Undead," Daphne said with a low exhale as she crawled out. "Come on. We've got to get-"

               A loud howl erupted from the dark alleys and the two leapt to their feet, half expecting the zombie to charge them from some hidden hiding place. But to their astonishment, they heard the clash of steel and saw the brilliant light of a flash bomb illuminate the back alley. A figure bolted toward them, his arm over his face as he ran, seemingly dizzy. Only a sudden squeak from Daphne as he knocked her, and himself, to the ground caused him to pull his arm away. They hit the ground hard, and he rolled away from her, trying to scramble to his feet as Sherry grabbed his cloak hard.

               Daphne got up and went over to him. He drew out his sword and pulled his cloak free. "Who are you! What do you-" he paused. "Oh, it's you."

               At that moment, Daphne recognized the unnamed thief. "What are you doing here? I thought you were hurt!"

               "I was hurt, no thanks to you!" he snapped back.

               "You're not dead, thanks to me! And Megan!" Daphne paused. "Where is Megan, anyway?"

               "Damned if I know," the thief replied, sliding his sword back into its sheath. "We parted company."

               "What do you mean? I need to find her! I saw Garrett!"

               The thief paused quite suddenly. "You saw him?"

               "Yes, I saw him! So did Sherry!"

               He turned to the maid. "You saw him, too?"

               "Yes, I saw him too! Who are you?" Sherry had her hands back on her hips, but her face was still very pale.

               "Raife. What do you mean you saw Garrett?" Raife turned back to Daphne.

               "I saw him just down the road. He was talking to some Hammerites about a job."

               "What job?"

               "It had something to do with an item in the Old Quarter, but I don't suspect you'll care much. You wan to go your own way, fine! Go! You're not worthy to talk to Garrett!" Daphne turned her back on him and said to Sherry, "Come on. Let's get going."

               The thief followed, "You're going to go talk to Garrett? The MASTER THIEF. Who are you to talk to Garrett?"

               Daphne stopped walking and glared at him over her shoulder, though she spoke to Sherry. "You want to know the truth, Sherry? I'll tell you. I'm not from here. I'm not even from this world. I don't know who brought me and Megan here, I don't know how it happened, but I've got to find Garrett because he's the only one who will know how to send us back. The Hammers know about us, I'm sure of it. They mentioned something that could have been us. Now there are zombies in the streets, and I'm pretty sure Garrett's the only one who will know what's going on! So if you really want to get mixed up in all this, it's your own funeral. And you!" She addressed Raife, "I've got things to do. I'm not waiting up for anyone, particularly not some selfish Garrett-wannabe! You got it? So go! Leave! Me and Megan can do this ourselves."

               Raife watched as they started to walk away again, this time, Sherry was whispering hurriedly under her breath. "Are you kidding me? You're from another world? That's so amazing! Of course I'll tag along! This is history making stuff!"

               "Fine," Raife said behind them. "I'll come too. But only because the Old Quarter has a lot of good looting places."

               "Don't slow me down," Daphne scoffed, not bothering to turn around.

               "Don't worry about that," Raife sneered.

               Quite abruptly, a howl erupted from behind them and the zombie, including a few friends, charged them from the dark alley. With a scream, Daphne took off running, followed closely by the two new comrades.