Sayla bit her lip- trying her best to remain calm. After learning that the marketplace was closed, she had been wandering around for a while when a man suddenly approached her and began talking to her. At first, she thought he was just curious but he began to become more and more pushy. She was just about to leave when he made a great claim about a magic show.
"Don't you want to see it? You're a tourist, right? You must have come here for the magic so hurry up and let's go."
She hated to admit it but she had fallen for that tactic and by the time she figured out it was a trap, it was already too late.
"Is he really your friend?" A woman whispered to her in the darkness. They were in the back room of the bar. It was a dark and shady place filled with strangers huddled in groups, murmuring something indecipherable.
"Well...you could say that." Sayla replied. She knew Norris would yell at her for trying to be a hero but the woman who asked her appeared to just be a new waitress there judging by her uniform and equally nervous voice.
Saying she was trying to play hero was also a lie. Norris would yell at her more if she found out but she wanted to know what that man was talking about when he went on a rant about God and a magic gift from the heavens. He sounded like he was serious about it. When she yelled that what they were doing wasn't magic, he had gotten suddenly defensive and said he could prove her wrong.
The waitress asked a few more questions. After somehow convincing her that there was nothing to worry about, the man from earlier returned with a grin on his face. "Come with me." He said harshly.
"Uh what was your name again?" Sayla asked hurriedly. If he planned on killing her then she at least wanted to leave a dying message.
"Merc." He said immediately. Sayla stumbled a bit, shocked that he hadn't put up a fight at all. She had assumed he would snap back at her or become angry again.
"What's yours?"
"Uh...Lilac." She replied. She was dumb in many ways but she wasn't dumb enough to give away her real name. It wasn't like he needed to leave a dying message anyway. Then was the name he gave her also fake?
'How pointless.' She thought to herself, 'Both of us giving each other fake names so that no one will know who the victim or assailant are.'
There was a cloth hanging over what she assumed was a door but there was actually no door there. She stepped out through the cut and the first thing she noticed was a tall line of trees. A forest? It reminded her of the forest that she and Norris got lost in for a while.
"What's this place?"
"Stop asking stupid questions and follow me." The man said gruffly. She walked with him, making sure that she was either next to him or slightly behind him. He didn't talk much on the way there but he would suddenly start smiling as if he was going to some amazing place.
"How much further?" She asked after they had walked for ten minutes. Any further and it would be hard to find her body. Not that she had died.
"We're here." The man stopped suspiciously on cue. She looked around but there was nothing in sight. Behind her was a long strip of land. She could see a warehouse in the distance. The bar must have been connected to the warehouse somehow and they left from a door there. The rest of her surroundings were the same as always- trees and more trees.
"Uh what exactly am I looking for?" She asked, taking a few steps back from Merc who was still smiling maniacally.
"Look up." Was all he said.
She lifted her face to the sky and gasped. There was something in the sky that was clearly not a part of the sky at all! It was a dark purple colour, almost perfectly blending in with the dark blue but what gave it away was the fact that you couldn't see any stars on that patch. The patch looked about 3 meters wide and 7 meters long. It almost looked like it was moving...like some sort of slime monster.
"What's that?" She asked, both amazed and terrified.
"It's a portal. It can take you to heaven."
"Heaven?"
"There's nothing beyond this forest. Did you know?"
"Huh?"
"This forest is the end of our kingdom. There are no maps showing what happens on the other side either."
"Then...when did this portal appear?" She asked, her voice properly shaking then. "Was it always here?"
"Of course not. It appeared about a month ago. Not everyone knows that it's there either..." He laughed all of a sudden, "Don't you understand? Those of us who see it are the chosen ones!"
"I see..." Was all Sayla was able to say. "But I still don't know if it's magic..."
"What do you mean?" The man bit back, sounding agitated.
"If it's magic then someone made this portal, right? This looks more like a natural phenomenon..."
"Hah?! That's insane!"
"But you wouldn't consider the sky or the stars to be magic, right? As magical as they are-"
"This isn't just magic, this is a sign from God!"
Sayla was starting to think that it would have been better for her if she just agreed with him but she had let her tongue move faster than her brain and the damage was done. He seemed like he was so obsessed with his ideas that anyone contradicting him would send him flying into a rage.
He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her and yelling about magic. She tried pushing him off but he was stronger than he looked. She tried to switch tactics to talking but he wouldn't listen to anything she said- too far gone into his delusions.
Suddenly, something flew past her and hit the man square in the head.
"Let go of her." A voice said sharply. She turned her head around, eyes widening in shock. Norris?
"Who the hell are you?" The man stumbled back, bleeding a bit from his head. With how much force and accuracy had he thrown the stone? Sayla didn't waste any time, with a jump she was behind him- using momentum to pull him to the ground along with her. Just as she was about to get caught in another struggle, the man was suddenly pulled away from her and she saw Norris pinning him to the ground.
"What were you thinking?" He asked, unbothered by Merc who was cursing as loudly as he could and struggling underneath him. "If I had been any slower, do you know what would have happened?"
Sayla went through her entire roster of excuses but she knew that none of them were going to help her. Ever since running into the thief and seeing him die, she had gotten desensitized to danger and violence. It was odd. She should have felt even more worry knowing that she could end up in such a life-threatening situation but instead, she had felt the desire to know more. To know more about why people like the thief did what they did and most of all- what magic really was.
"Norris." She said seriously, "Look up."
"Huh?"
"Just look above us!"
Norris froze, experiencing the same shock that she did when she first saw it.
"What...what is that?"
"A portal." She said, "I think it's a portal."
"It's not just a portal!" Merc had been lying still for a few seconds but his vigor quickly returned to him. "Both of you will regret it soon enough! This portal is a sign from-"
Norris slapped a hand over the man's mouth. "Shut up already." He grumbled, "Who even is he?"
"Ah he says his name is Merc." Sayla answered, "I came here because he said there was some incredible magic-"
"You followed him just for that?"
"I mean-"
"Ouch" Norris suddenly removed his hand and Sayla saw that he was bleeding a bit. Norris frowned at the man, looking even more annoyed than he already was. Sayla took a moment to feel sorry for Merc- he didn't know just how strong and stubborn Norris could be.
"Anyway let's take him back to the bar first."
Norris shot her a look that made it clear their conversation wasn't over but for the time being he hauled Merc to his feet. "Walk on your own unless you want me to break your bones and carry you." He said sternly. Merc looked like he wanted to retort but stopped himself and just began to sulk at the ground.
The walk back felt longer than ever.