Tawny led Dust into her bedroom, which was a very snug space with very little in it. There was a small bed in the corner that looked like it could only fit Tawny by herself, a small table next to it, and a desk and chair by the head of the bed, facing opposite to a small set of shelves on the other wall. Tawny's desk had papers and books stacked atop it, with one beaten-looking one laying in the center. She wordlessly picked it up and stared at its worn leather cover morosely, as if she were resigning to the fact there would be no going back, and turned back toward Dust, "This is my book I've been recording in. I've several papers and things with writings related to it but this has the majority of it." she explained softly, opening to the first page.

Tawny's writing was a bit scrawly and hard to decipher, but the first page appeared to be a simple journal entry, talking about having an outing in the woods. She flipped through the pages, pausing on each one for enough time to see it but not long enough to read it completely. The first few pages appeared to be normal recordings about Tawny's outings and eventual arrival to Briarheart.

"This village is cursed…" Tawny murmured, with no trace of her usual cheerful demeanor, "The people here are cursed to be sealed here forever, with no hope of ever leaving this village. And the reason no one tries to escape is because they do not remember the day they were cursed."

"They don't remember?" Dust echoed questioningly, watching the rabbit flip to a page that detailed a rough sketch of Briarheart's buildings. Her drawings looked better than her writing.

"No...that was part of the curse. They would forget they were trapped here, and feel no urge to leave the village. Not that they can, anyway. The entire village and the territory around it is enclosed by great stone walls, only open to the sky. The only way out of the village is sealed shut by forces I cannot comprehend…" Tawny whimpered, a shiver travelling through her body. Her eyes were wide with fear and reluctance to keep explaining, but she did so anyways, as she couldn't stop now,

"They did it. They keep us here, and I don't know why. They sometimes open the entrance for a few days, but we cannot leave regardless. It can only let people in, not out. And shortly after the newcomers arrive, the entrance shuts. In a few more days, the newcomers forget everything from the outside world and settle here, with no intention of ever going back. Those people think they have lived here forever…"

"A few more days…?" Dust murmured with growing dread, "How many days...exactly…? And who are 'They'?"

Tawny closed her eyes and briefly wiped her wrist across her face to dry her tears, "I think...in you and your friend's case...you have three days left before you too forget everything and become one of us. Destined never to leave."

At the second question, Tawny turned her body slightly, as if she inwardly wanted to pretend she didn't hear it. For a moment, Dust thought she would outright ignore his inquiry, but she finally turned back around, her voice hesitant and afraid, "'They' run this place. They come out at night and watch us through our windows to make sure we are where we're supposed to be, and it's...why I told you never to go outside or look out of the windows at night. You would see them, and perhaps you would try to escape and...terrible things would happen... That long path that leads away from the village, into the woods? It leads to the place where They live. No one is allowed to go there. No one even tries."

"And this book you have...writing things down keeps you from losing your memory?" Dust asked, looking down as Tawny's journal entries became more illegible and yet written as if in procedure. There were sketches of some of the other villagers, probably those who were once newcomers that had succumbed to the curse. The pages went on and on, describing many new people and occasionally pining for home, a place Dust had never heard of called Myssyk Village.

"Yes. In fact...I believe I am the first newcomer to not succumb to Their curse. The way to avoid losing your memory is to write it down, but while it saves your memories, you still cannot leave. They...They know about it as well. They allow me to document who comes in and what my life had been before, as They were surprised I had not lost my memory like everyone else...with the exception that I don't tell anyone, or try to use it against Them…" Tawny's head lowered, and a sob escaped her, "Which is...what I'm doing now...oh no…"

"Tawny…" Dust murmured softly, laying a hand on her shoulder for comfort, "It's okay. They won't find out, and I'll put a stop to this."

"You don't get it!" Tawny moaned, remembering quickly to keep her voice down, "nothing escapes Them! They are aware of everything! They know what we do, what we say...They know...everything…" Tawny dropped to her knees, her shoulders slumped, "This...this is condemning myself...I've...I'm dead…"

"You're not dead, Tawny!" Dust insisted, kneeling next to her, "If you think this is certain death for you to be revealing your secret to me, why did you do it?"

Tawny was silent for a moment, and then she raised her head a bit to reply, "Perhaps...I thought for a moment...that it wouldn't be...and I could tell my secret to someone else…someone who might do something about it…" She sniffled, hugging her body, "This is such a heavy burden to bear…"

"Someone else…?" The fox echoed, "Is there someone else in the village that knows about the curse as well?"

"Yes…" Tawny whimpered, "you met her today. Angel, she's been documenting too, and They allow it I suppose...I wasn't supposed to tell her either but the knowledge of this was killing me. I was surprised They weren't as upset as they could have been...They allowed it, so long as she kept quiet as well…"

"Strange...why allow another person to know what They are doing if it's seemingly so vital to keep it secret…?" Dust asked, recalling all of Angel's odd behaviors.

"I don't know...perhaps They...in a strange way...understood why? I was losing it…" She laid the book on the floor in front of her, resuming leafing through the pages. There were a several pages that were just lines of scribbles and single sentences, a visual to punctuate Tawny's statement, "I had to tell someone...and that day, Angel happened to be there to fix my front door that had been falling off its hinges at the time. It was amazing that They let me at least live after my slip-up, and I managed to cling to my sanity a bit longer knowing I wasn't alone…" the pages became slightly clearer again, with sketches of Angel and her home and the tools she carried with her. Tawny's face darkened, "but it would be stupid to think They would think this was a simple error that would never happen again. In fact, this probably pushed me into further trouble with Them. They know I am weak and shaken now, and They don't know how long Angel will last. Perhaps that's why they sent Ignis."

"That kid?" Dust prompted, remembering his strange nature and Angel's apparent uneasiness toward him. He had suspected there was something a bit...off...about that child, but hadn't associated it with Them.

"Yes. He...doesn't belong to anyone here. He just...appeared one day. The villagers are none the wiser, though. They think his parents are just brooding inside and are never really inclined to find out. Ignis...he's one of Them, or something created by Them, to watch us. I believe They see through him, blending in with us and making extra sure we are doing what we are supposed to do." The rabbit whispered, another tremble running through her body.

"I see…" Dust said, watching the turning pages slow as Tawny reached her most recent entries. Entries that detailed the arrival of a robed figure and a nimbat, both ill from the rancor blossoms. There was a rough sketch of him, and of Fidget, and an undetailed one of Ahrah. There was even a side note about how she wouldn't bother to try and draw all of the details, "Do you...know how long this has been going on?"

Tawny frowned, "A very long time...hundreds of years...perhaps…" she blinked her eyes shut, "newcomers arrive and talk of places and events I've never heard of. I've come to believe that perhaps this place is not only suspended in space, but in time as well. Though time only seems to stop again once the newcomers succumb to their memory erasure." She shook her head, "It feels like only a few months time here, but I hear talk of new places and old places vanishing. I've never heard of your Aurora Village before, never heard of it being in The Glade where I often went from my old village of Myssyk. I don't hear talk of that place anymore. I think it's gone now, along with everyone I've ever known there..."

"Tawny...I'm so sorry…" Dust whispered, truly taken aback by her theory that the village was trapped in time. It sounded devastating, the idea of only a few months in Briarheart equating to years and years of time outside. Even if one did escape from this place, they might as well emerge somewhere completely different. Their family and friends would most likely be long dead, and they would become a stranger in their own home.

"Nothing can be done about it, and I've come to terms with it awhile back anyways. I'll miss my family and my friends, but I've accepted that...I won't ever see them again." she lowered her head miserably. Dust patted her back reassuringly, though he wasn't sure how effective it was,

"Tawny...tell me who They are, exactly." He said, "I'm going to find Them, wherever they are. I'll stop this curse."

"You can't, Dust…" Tawny whimpered, "They can't be stopped...I don't even think They're...corporeal...They'll kill you, Dust…"

"I can at least try, can't I? Do you know for sure they aren't corporeal?"

"Well...I've never actually seen Them personally...in Their domain…" she shook her head, whirling toward Dust, "no...this is insane. You can't do this, Dust! They'll kill you! They'll kill me as well!"

"I won't give them the chance to." Dust assured, regaining his feet. Tawny leapt up and grabbed him,

"No, please…"

"Tawny…" Dust growled, closing his hand over where hers were locked on his arm, "You told me all of this information, and expect me not to do anything about it? You couldn't have told me this, believing completely that it would just mean the death of you and I. What did you expect, that Fidget and I would become like you and Angel, forever trapped here and writing down our memories and basically becoming enslaved to Them?!"

"N-no...I wouldn't...I just…"

"Tawny, what's done is done. You must have known what you were getting yourself into…" He paused as Tawny began to weep again, as the reality of it all sunk in. His voice softened, feeling remorse for his bluntness, "we have the chance to stop this, once and for all. I can go and confront Them, and I can break the curse, and you all can be free from this prison."

Tawny was silent, the tears still streaming down her face hopelessly.

"Please believe me, I will set you all free."

Tawny sniffled, her grip loosening. She wiped her eyes, which had grown red from her crying. She nodded slowly, almost as if she were trying to still convince herself, "A-alright...you can...you can try, I suppose. I guess I knew...what could happen if I spoke again…" she paused to steady her breathing, but she still looked drained, "but please, Dust, listen to me this one time. Please wait until morning to go and find Them...don't go and find Them at night...I think They are stronger in the darkness…"

Dust paused. It was late afternoon by now, and while with the thought of only having three days left to escape with him and Fidget, he didn't like the idea of wasting valuable time just waiting around. Then again, he wasn't sure how long the path to Their domain was. He didn't know enough about Them to doubt Tawny's advice that They would be stronger at night. Perhaps it would be best to at least bide his time until morning.

He nodded, "Alright, Tawny. I'll wait until morning."

Tawny nodded, "Thank you, thank you Dust…" but paused again, "I'm sorry...I have one more request…"

Dust waited.

"Dust...I...I have no idea if you will actually be able to break the curse. But...if you are able to at least open yourselves an avenue to escape...I beg you to take it. Please, I want you to prioritize yourselves above us. We may as well be a lost cause...and perhaps it would bring me some peace to know you at least escaped…"

"Tawny…"

"Please Dust! Promise that if you get the chance to escape, you'll do it! I don't want your blood on my hands...I don't want you to die for us...please just save your nimbat friend and yourself…"

"Tawny, I can't promise this…"

"You must! Please! Think about it! If you escape, you might be at a better chance of maybe helping us...from the outside...I don't know...just please don't sacrifice yourself for us…"

Dust was silent. It was a rotten thing to promise to leave these people behind to protect himself. But then, Fidget would be one of the ones he would be protecting as well.

He could feel the conflict within him arise, an argument over whether he should listen and abandon Briarheart village at the soonest chance, or risk his own life to save them.

He wasn't sure. Tawny would probably force him to agree. And perhaps it was Cassius's side that compelled him to choose self-preservation over selfless sacrifice. He sighed, feeling himself succumb to that side, to Tawny's pleas, as much as the rest of him hated it.

"Alright, Tawny...:I promise…"

…

Dusk gathered outside, and Dust watched the single window in the room gradually darken. He looked down at Fidget, still quietly asleep. Starting tomorrow, there would only be two days left to hope to escape Briarheart village, would Fidget be any better by then? She had only just awoken today from her unconsciousness, and she still appeared listless and feeble in her bed. He wasn't sure if she could endure being moved just yet, the rancor blossom illness had hit her hard. And he still wasn't sure of where Aurora village could be in relation to the cavern they had entered Briarheart village from. Would be be able to find it in time? Would Fidget be able to last that long, being moved about? She had survived this long, but she was still very weak.

Dust almost considered waiting one more day to see if Fidget would at least be a little further along in her recovery to deal with being shifted, but he also couldn't risk losing precious time and being sealed here forever. Fidget would never forgive him.

"Master...I can sense your conflict over your next course of action…" Ahrah spoke from where Dust had laid it against the wall near his bed.

"I thought you couldn't sense anything due to this place disrupting you?"

"I can't, but you are right next to me. I can at least tell you are in conflict."

"I suppose you could say that."

"You are struggling to choose between risking Fidget's life to escape or risking your time to better Fidget's chances of survival…"

"That's right, Ahrah." Dust sighed, watching the nimbat twitch slightly in her sleep. She rolled over onto her side, facing Dust. At least she was moving, that was an improvement.

"I can also sense she is still very weak...but not quite close to death...:"

"I still feel like it'd be dangerous to move her around already…"

"There isn't anything that can be done about it. You must make a decision."

Dust was about to ask Ahrah what to choose, but thought differently. The sword would probably not give its input, even in a situation as dire as this. It would want Dust to choose.

"Fidget…" Dust whispered, despite the fact she probably couldn't hear him, "I need you to be strong as always, alright? We don't have much time left...and if there's a chance I can escape and you can survive...I'll take that chance, but you have to be strong and not die before we get you back to a place where you can be helped, okay?"

Fidget was silent.

…

This was a stupid idea, she couldn't be out at night!

Tawny felt her arms trembling, nearly making her drop the rather heavy burden she carried. It felt like so long since she had been outside at night, and it unnerved her to no end. She knew They roamed this place at night, and was inwardly surprised to see that they didn't seem to be nearby tonight.

She wasn't sure what she was even doing, why in any rational part of her mind she would think this would work.

But as broken as her rationality felt, she had enough sense to know Dust's mission was a futile one. The curse couldn't be broken. An entrance couldn't be broken back open. And They definitely couldn't be defeated.

Therefore, he wouldn't be needing that sword of his.

She carried it wrapped in leather and tied with rope. She felt absolutely rotten about doing this, and she knew the guilt was just another thing to eat away at her for as long as she would still live in this sealed village. Her intention wasn't to sabotage Dust at all, and if she actually had believed what he believed about breaking the curse, she wouldn't be taking it at all.

She wanted appeasement.

At the entrance of the woodlands, just as the path had begun to disappear into darkness, Ignis stepped out in front of her. His boyish appearance and childish grin did nothing to soothe her shaking legs and fearful tears.

Ignis tipped his head, "Oh? You brought us a gift, Tawny? You never bring gifts, unless you've done a naughty thing."

Tawny muttered unintelligibly under her breath, terrified out of her wits. Her thoughts were jumbled, and yet unanimously screamed for her to compose herself.

Ignis smiled, "Did you say something, Tawny?"

"Uh...n-no I-"

"Did you say that we were all keeping you prisoner here and making you forget stuff and how it makes you sooo sad?" Ignis tipped his head the other way, giggling, "that's why you brought us the newcomer's sword, isn't it? You want us to not be mad again, like the time you gave us the kid that came with you when you first got here. Your adopted kid, I think? What was his name again…? Iggy, Isaac…?"

"P-please…" Tawny sobbed, laying the sword down in front of him, "I believe this thing has much power behind it...I even heard it speak as if it had a mind...certainly you will accept this from me…?"

"Izzy? Impy? ...Ah right, his name was Ignis. You gave us your own kid to stay alive when you blabbed to that bear girl that one time. Even though he wasn't blood-related to you, I bet he meant a lot to you? Not enough, seeing as how you gave him to us when we offered your life for his hollow shell of a body."

"Please...just take the sword…" Tawny pleaded, covering her ears, "Don't remind me of my past mistakes...please…"

"You're a coward, Tawny." Ignis murmured, smiling, "First a child, now one of the Blades of Elysium...surprisingly enough. But fine, we'll take your gift. It certainly is a prize we never thought we'd set eyes on." Ignis hummed, waving his small fingers as the blade was lifted into the air by a dark aura.

"Thank you...are...are you appeased, now…?" Tawny whispered, shaking and eyes wide with hope.

Ignis smiled and chuckled, a small sound that escalated into a loud, baying laugh, "Tawny...you said this was a gift...last time you appeased us, we were the ones to offer that trade. We didn't offer anything this time, Tawny…" Ignis frowned, shaking his head, "So we thank you for your contribution, but I'm afraid you've used up your bargaining chips, and our patience."

"Please no…! No! No!"

"Mother, you traded me away to the shadow people! You sabotaged the one thing that could have possibly set you free from the curse! Why are you such a coward, mother?" Ignis spoke in a soft, childish voice.

Tawny's sobs turned to shrieks as she fell to her knees, covering her ears, "Stop this!"

Ignis giggled again, and darkness swarmed out of the woodlands behind him.

"Cowards never get very far in life, Mother dearest."