The night was ringing, and elves were singing. People lay asleep in a tent. Tired. Exhausted. Drowsy. Two people that just arrived slept like babies. Not even thinking they were in the Inkworld.
A scraggy old women walked out of the bushes, as did a man with a leg of wood.
"In there." Woodleg pointed to the tent.
"Thank you my dear. Wait. Do you think you can help me?" The Magpie asked.
"Why not?" He said.
The two crept into the tent, and looked around. Woodleg stepped on a rug, and slipped. Farid, still sleeping, rolled over, and continued to sleep.
"Him." She whispered.
"Take him." She was clearly pointing to Basta.
"Oh my. Get him as well." She was now pointing to a man, not an adult, but a man, that man, was Darius.
Woodleg, with a man on each shoulder, got out of the tent, and headed back into the bushes. The Magpie was leaving, when she turned to the tent.
"If only you knew what is about to come for you all." She said, and left.
As the two were walking further in the forest, Basta started getting up.
"Oh know! What do we do?" Woodleg asked.
"Nothing! It's the other person I'm worried of awakening."
Basta got up and turned to see the Magpie standing in front of him. He couldn't believe it. And then he turned to look at Woodleg. And then, he remembered.
"You!" Basta said ripping out his knife.
"Quiet!" The Magpie screamed, but whispered.
Basta looked at her, and put his knife down.
"How?" He asked.
"This isn't near the time nor place." She explained.
"We need to get out of here." The Magpie said.
"Where?" Asked Basta and Woodleg.
"Away from them." She jerked her head towards the camp.
"Besides, I got something BIG I want to try." She said.
"And what might that be?" Basta asked sitting on a rock.
She pulled out papers from her pocket, and started reading them.
Basta's jaw dropped, along with Woodleg's. The Magpie smiled, an evil grin.
"Your not actually going to." He said.
"Oh yes. I am." She said, about to laugh.
Darius was now waking up. He looked around and tried to run, but Basta grabbed him.
"Trying to sneak off are you?" He asked putting his knife to Darius' throat.
"No." He replied.
Basta grabbed the papers, and held them out to Darius.
"Read this!" He said.
"No!" The Magpie screamed.
"He can't read, he'll screw it up!" She said.
"He's the only one we got. It's to risky to go back." He said shoving the papers in his hands.
"No."
"Hold her would you?" Basta yelled at Woodleg.
Woodleg had a firm grip on the Magpie not letting her go. As much as she struggled, she couldn't get loose. Darius got the papers, but refused them.
"You don't read those, you are going to feel pain." He said getting his knife out.
"Never." Darius said turning his head.
"Fine."
Basta ripped open Darius' shirt from the back, and slashed a cut on his back. Darius screamed in agony, and his fresh wound, blood dripping down, felt deadly.
"You ready to read?" Basta asked looking into his eyes.
"No." Darius said struggling.
Basta slashed him twice more, with agony twice as loud, and blood, twice as much.
"You don't want anymore do you?" He asked him now laughing.
Basta got the papers, and put them in front of Darius. Darius now gave in, and read it over.
"You don't expect me to do this. Do you?" He asked almost crying.
"Of course." Basta smiled.
Darius bowed his head with grief. He took a breath, and read:
The moon was light, and the sky was dark. One man's skin and bones lie buried under dirt. The wind grew cold, and the night was breezy, but when one man awaken, the night, was hell.
He continued to read, and as he was, the wind shifted back and forth, it blew over the fire, not blowing it out. The wind was swirling around the fire, like a shield. An explosion burst up in the air, sending everyone down. A dark figure, scaly, arose from the fire. He stepped on the ground.
He looked up, and his skin was bone. White as a women's face. He raised his hand, which was scaly, and had many cuts on it, but no blood. He was covered in a bare robe. His head was a skull, but his cheeks, were bare, his jaw bone was showing. He opened his mouth, and some dust fell off. The three stared in awe.
Capricorn arose from the dead.