CyberDeletion: Hello! Thank you for reading this far into the story!

Rune: *looking around* Where are Rath and Thatz?

CD: I duct-taped them to a tree outside. Thatz was being annoying and Rath was starting to side with Thatz. .

Rune: That was rather harsh… *looks outside* *winces* They're getting attacked by rabid squirrels…

CD: Oh, we'll save them later. Say the Disclaimer.

Rune: CD doesn't own Dragon Knights. Still.

CD: I would like to dedicate this chapter to RPGer Yami, who made the review very interesting to read. ARIGATO!!!!! ^_^ Also, Thanks to Cosmos of the sun! I've never been complemented because I don't rush before!

Rune: Please R&R! *runs outside to make sure Rath and Thatz don't get seriously injured by the rabid squirrels*

~*~

The rain eventually lessens and we head back to town. By the time we've gotten back to the inn, it's late and the rain is pouring harder than ever. We all go to our rooms to dry off and settle in for the night. I glance out the window of my room to see if the storm had settled any. When I turn around, there's a little boy standing next to my bed. I guess today is just full of surprises.

I've never seen him before, but I figure that he's probably one of the townsfolk's children. "Hi there, what's your name? I didn't hear you come in."

The little boy looks up at me but doesn't say anything. He points at the flute that's still hanging around my neck.

"My flute? What about my flute?"

The little boy gives me a quick glare and runs out of the room. I chase after him and see that he runs into an empty room. I follow him in there. The room is still empty. I look everywhere a person could hide, but I can't find him. I walk out of the room.

Thatz comes out of his room and leans against his doorway, yawning and looking irritated. "Hey, what was all the running about? Normal people are trying to sleep!"

Normally, I'd have to try not to laugh at his messed-up hair, but right now I've got more important things on my mind than whether Thatz's hair is combed or not. "Sorry, Thatz. This little boy was in my room and ran away so I was chasing after him and he ran into that room."

"Well, where is he?"

"He disappeared."

"Nani?"

"Like I said, he disappeared. I checked everywhere around the room, and it was like he had just disappeared into thin air."

"People can't disappear into thin air, Rune," says Thatz, with the uneasy tone of someone who thinks they might be talking to a lunatic.

"I know, I know! I'm telling you, the little kid ran into the room, and then he wasn't there."

"Are you feeling OK? How hard did you hit your head when you fell out of that window back at the Manor?"

"I'm not crazy! I swear, that kid went into that room and disappeared!" I say, raising my voice in anger. He might as well come out and say he thinks I'm crazy, even though I'm not!

Rath leans out his door. "What's up?"

Thatz glances warily at me. "Rune says a little boy ran into a room and disappeared."

Rath looks at me like Thatz had said that I said the sky was orange. "People don't just disappear like that, Rune."

"I know they don't, but somehow, this kid did." I can tell from the looks that they give each other that it's official. Thatz and Rath both think I'm crazy.

"Alright, let's say the kid disappeared. Now, Rune, I'm serious. How hard did you hit your head?" asks Thatz.

"You did say you had a headache earlier," says Rath, "You should go lie down or something."

"… You know, like a normal person," adds Thatz.

"Fine. If you think I'm so crazy, I will go to bed. Not because you guys are telling me to, but because you are both wrong and my headache's coming back!" I snap at them, and retreat to my room. I toss my flute on the windowsill and lie on my bed, glaring at the ceiling irately.

"I'm not going crazy," I whisper stubbornly to the empty room, although I began to doubt myself. Sleep will not come easily tonight.

The next morning, Rath, Thatz, several townsfolk, and myself are stuck at the inn because of the storm. The disappearing boy from last night has gone unmentioned so far, and I'm hoping it will stay that way. I don't want anyone else thinking I'm crazy. I am reading a book that Mai had lent me, called Myths and Legends of Dusis and Beyond. She said she had already read it and that I "looked like I could use something to do" since I do not like to play any board games with Thatz, who had managed to convince almost everybody else to play "Monopoly" with real money. I turn the page in the book and begin reading a new legend, titled "The Flute of the Skilled Dreamer".

'Long ago, in a forgotten land foreign to us all, there lived a wealthy elf with a special talent for creating beautiful things…'

I continue reading, fascinated by this tale in particular. I pause when I read just a little further.

'The favorite instrument of the elf … was a simple wooden flute with only a few elegant carvings, most of which had begun to fade…'

My hand reaches almost instinctively for where the flute would normally be hanging around my neck, but then I feel silly. Of course it isn't talking about my flute. This is just some inane story that someone made up because they had too much time on their hands, and told it over and over until people actually thought it was true. I continued reading.

'… The elf sealed the flute in an impressive-looking case with a spell that could only be broken by a descendant…'

I thought of the case that my flute had been in. Thatz hadn't been able to get it open no matter what he had tried, but all I had to do was touch it. This has to be a coincidence. I am probably not even related to this person, even if they did exist.

'…The elf cast a spell that cursed the mansion and forced the attackers to stay there forever as guardians and condemned anyone else who wished to steal his instruments to the same fate… a descendant and any companions with him were immune to this curse.'

I am not related to this elf… I am not related to this elf… this is just a story… right?

'But, of course, you don't believe in legends, do you?'

I do not believe in legends… I do not believe in legends… I think. Sometimes, there can be some truth to legends… what am I saying?! This is just a story! Somebody made it up! Everything around here is just a coincidence.

I start reading another legend, when I hear Thatz talking during his game.

"Hey, did anybody else get woken up by Rune running around last night?" He receives various answers that are mostly negative except for a couple people who say that they thought they heard something but had fallen back asleep.

"Why do you ask?" questions a young girl.

"Oh, he said something about seeing some kid run into a room and vanish. Hey, look, I rolled a six!" says Rath, moving his game piece forward on the board. The people from the town had become strangely quiet after Rath had spoken.

"Did you say 'vanish'?" asks a man in his mid-twenties.

Thatz spoke again. "Yeah, he kept saying that this boy ran into a room and disappeared. If you ask me, I think he hit his head too hard when he fell at the Manor. Hey Rath, since you landed there, that means you have to pay up." I resist the urge to remind Thatz that I am sitting in the same room as him, and start trying to see if I can pretend to look completely absorbed in the book so that maybe they won't ask me any questions. It doesn't work.

"Rune, why didn't you say something?" asks Mai. "This kind of stuff is very important."

Great, now she probably thinks I'm crazy too! "Listen, I have not lost my mind. I saw a boy in my room, he ran away, I followed him, and then he wasn't there anymore. If that makes me crazy, then sue me."

There is an awkward pause between the time that I finished talking and Mai began. "You're not crazy, Rune. It's important because that means something is awry at the Manor, and the ghosts of people who've gone there before are roaming around here. What you saw was a ghost, not the imaginings of a lunatic. This is bad, because it means that the demons are probably coming as well."

Thatz scoffs at what Mai said. "Something awry at the Manor? It seemed fine when we were there. Those demons and ghosts chased us out. I think Rune here's either hit his head too hard or he's finally cracked."

That's it. I have to leave the room before I strangle Thatz. I stomp up the stairs to my room, leaving the book I was reading behind. I sit down on the bed and do the only thing I can think of that might help me calm down. I pick up my flute from the windowsill and begin to play it. A few random notes soon become a song. It starts out angry but soon calms and the entire 'theme' changes. I play with my eyes closed, and let myself get swept up in the music like I had done in the cave. This specific song reminds me of earth, gold, and for some reason, food.

Eventually, the notes start coming to me slower and slower and I know the song is almost over. I stop playing when I hear someone exclaim something about Thatz. I wonder if he cheated at "Monopoly". I slip the flute's thread around my neck go downstairs to see what's going on.

I am shocked to see everybody crowding around Thatz, who looks like he's passed out. Rath is shaking him and trying to get him to wake up.

I join the back of the small group. "What happened?" I ask Mai.

"We were playing the game after you went upstairs when he suddenly got this dazed look on his face and passed out. No one knows why."

I think back to the tale about the flute and clutch the one hanging around my neck. I pale as I give in to the truth:

The legend is real.

~*~

CD: Oooooh… Spooky.

Thatz: Not really.

CD: How'd you get free?!

Rath: Rune cut the duct tape.

CD: Rune!

Rune: Squirrels were attacking them!

CD: -_-" Never mind, never mind. Please R&R!