D3 Day Three Begins

As a bit of sunlight slipped through the high windows of the library, Mira stirred and slowly came to realize how uncomfortable she felt. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was sitting awkwardly in a very cramped chair, and there was a terrible ache in her neck.

Groaning as she moved her stiff limbs, Mira sat up and rubbed her neck. Rising to her feet, she put her hands on the nearest table to steady herself, and an open parchment caught her attention. It was lying there as if it had been left for her to read, and these were words written upon it:

No chains exist to bind you here,

Strong enough are threads of fear.

And with the coming of each night,

With a foe of terror shall you fight.

One of six may leave the gate,

And so leave the rest to their fate.

If in these lines no hope you find,

You've heard them well; be resigned.

But if you would waste time considering what you lack,

Let your thoughts dwell on liberty and youth,

While here you remain in lasting bondage,

Naught can you do but repeat this riddle back.

"What is this? Besides bad poetry…" Mira wondered to herself as she stretched out her hand to examine it.

But a noise behind her interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see Tanya drawing herself up from the floor where she also seemed to have ended up. Mira quickly walked over to her.

"Tanya, are you okay?"

Tanya looked around in confusion.

"How did I get here? I was in the room with Nosedive and Mallory before sunset."

"You don't remember anything from last night?"

Tanya looked at her.

"Well, bits and pieces. But I guess you know now that I turn into a brainless parrot at night."

"Yeah, I might have let you out of the room by accident," Mira said apologetically. "But why couldn't you just tell me what happened at night?"

"The curse stopped me. We're not really allowed to talk about it, but now that you seem to know, it's like I can speak more freely about it."

"Can you tell me about this then?" Mira asked as she led her to the table.

But as they approached the parchment, the library door began to shake someone tried to open it and then a fist knocked urgently.

"Tanya! Mira!" voices called.

Mira hurried to the door and unlocked it. Some of the other ducks were standing there with concerned expressions.

"Tanya, are you okay?" Mallory asked as she strode over to her teammate. "We were worried when you didn't awaken in the room with us."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tanya assured her.

Wildwing stepped into the library, but he halted beside Mira.

"You unlocked their door. Why you would do that after I trusted you to help us?"

"I thought I heard someone call for help in the other room. It was Tanya, but I didn't know what had happened to her. I'm sorry, but I didn't realize."

"There's a lot of things you don't understand here," Duke warned. "You can't keep ignoring our advice if you wanna survive around here."

Mira sighed as she looked around at them. Yes, she had taken risks, but she wanted to help them. At the same time, she could see how weary and uneasy they looked, but one of them was missing.

"Where's Grin?"

"He's like sitting out in the garden," Nosedive said with an uncharacteristic sad expression. "He got worried when Tanya didn't come down with the rest of us. I'd better go tell him we found her."

He left, and Mira suddenly realized how much a burden each morning and evening must be to Grin.

"Oh, I see. He was afraid that…"

"He fears for all of us, including you," Wildwing explained. "And if anything should ever happen, he won't forgive himself."

Mira grew quiet, but Tanya moved back to the table and the parchment.

"Hey, guys, come and look at this."

The other ducks gathered around, and Mira moved behind them.

"That's the words of the curse, isn't it?" Duke said as he read the parchment.

"Yeah, it's been so long since the sorceress cast it that I forgot the exact words, but I'm sure this is it," Tanya said.

Grin and Nosedive returned. Nosedive walked to the table to join the other ducks, but Grin hung back.

Mira moved closer and read the lines silently to herself.

"So is it possible for you to leave from the gate as well?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, but only one of us could make it out," Nosedive said. "And then the rest will be cursed for like all time."

"It was a cruel trick of the sorceress to leave a door open, but set a trap on it," Duke sighed. "But none of us is going to leave the others behind."

"So each night, you're cursed by your fears. The same ones or different ones?"

"It's always the same, and yet, the pain and terror seems new each time," Wildwing answered grimly.

Mira turned back to the curse.

"Something seems off about the last lines. … But if you would waste time considering what you lack, let your thoughts dwell on liberty and youth, while here you remain in lasting bondage, naught can you do but repeat this riddle back."

"It just means that there isn't a way out," Mallory scoffed. "The curse can't be broken. But you can say the riddle over and over again in pointless repetition trying to figure it out."

"But why would the curse show up here now?" Tanya asked. "I've spent days in this library, and I've never seen it here before."

"I don't know, but I can't see how it helps us," Wildwing sighed.

"Who cursed you?" Mira asked.

The ducks grew uneasy again and looked at her with closed beaks.

"It's probably better if you don't know," Tanya said. "She might come back and curse you too."

"But if she brought me here, wouldn't she already know I was here? Shouldn't I have already been cursed?"

"I don't know what to tell ya, kid," Duke said. "You being here is as much a mystery to us as all of this is to you."

"I've had enough with this curse. Let's go get some food," Nosedive said as he stretched and started to walk out of the library.

The other ducks followed him, but Mira hesitated. Something doesn't add up with all of this, she thought and her gaze returned to the curse.

Suddenly, the library doors slammed shut, and the room grew darker except for a red light that appeared in the center of the room. It grew brighter until Mira was forced to look away. When she was able to look back, the light had faded and a tall woman in a black and red dress was hovering above the floor with a severe expression. Her hair was mostly black except for one streak of silver running through it, and she held a silver staff in her left hand. Shadows slipped from her form and added to the darkness of the room. Only a dim red glow allowed Mira to see.

"What mortal dares to interfere with my domain?"

Mira felt a little anxious as those dark eyes fixed her with a malicious glare, but at the same time, she hadn't done anything wrong. And there were a lot of questions she wanted answered.

"Uh, hi, I'm Mira, and I think you could have spared me the dramatic entrance. Why don't you just tell me why you brought me here?"

"I did not bring you here," the sorceress said with a cold gaze. "That is why I returned. I sensed that another presence had been drawn into the realm of my curse."

Judging from the seriousness of the sorceress's tone and the scrutiny with which she stared down at her, Mira supposed that she was telling the truth.

"But someone used magic to get me here," Mira insisted. "I couldn't have gotten here on my own."

"Obviously," the sorceress said with disgust.

Mira crossed her arms angrily.

"Okay, fine, new question…Why did you curse the ducks? What could they have possibly done to you?"

The sorceress fingered her staff and said,

"I do not owe you an account of my actions, but I would have you know that I am

Alastrid, Lady of the Dark Zone. Those feathered beasts dared to insult my brother, Asteroth. I could not have our blood disgraced by such a defeat, so they must be punished for their insolence."

"I think they've been punished enough," Mira protested. "They're not your playthings to torment."

"I haven't done anything to them except to initiate the curse," she said with a cruel smile. "The rest they have done to themselves."

Mira studied her… She didn't see how these awful things could keep happening to the ducks unless she was orchestrating it, but then again, she wasn't an expert in curses.

"Hear me, foolish mortal," Alastrid continued. "I came here to tell you to stop meddling in affairs that are not your concern."

"Well, actually it is my concern. You see, I'm from Anaheim, and you stole our hockey team."

"And how much is it worth to you to get them back?"

She snapped her finger and the parchment containing the curse was lifted from the table. It disappeared into a ball of red magic that she suspended in the air.

"Do you want to share their fate?"

That spinning ball of light caused Mira to hesitate, and she grew quiet.

"Did you think you were immune to my power?" the sorceress asked with an amused tone. "Believe me, I can see your fears. And I could do such wonderfully awful things if I cast my curse on you."

Mira tensed as their gazes locked. She felt certain that Alastrid could see her greatest fears. Perhaps it was not wise to provoke this lady.

If you believe Mira should back down, select D3 Ask for Mercy.

If you believe Mira should stand her ground, select D3 Resist.