Thryl walks forwards in-line with Audrey and Daniel, the little girl between them. More than once she has the sensation of something momentarily appearing from the surrounding fog and brushing past her, this she still finds unsettling.
Both the time and the distance they walk is indeterminate. But after this time, she notices a change. Their passage appears to be coming to its end and there is a shimmering point that Daniel is guiding them to. The necromancer selects one of the sticky notes heâd brought.
He applies the note to the shimmering point and sheâs startled by the sudden flare as the glyph upon it activates. Gazing about as their way forward clears, her attention is brought back into focus by the whining of Audrey wanting to jump in puddles. Looking, Thryl can see they arenât puddles but more a sort of hole. She continues to look at the phenomena as Daniel explains to the child about the holes, noticing that the river doesnât actually flow into them they are just there. Being taller she can almost see into the closest one but pulls her eyes away after detecting something uncomfortable in the stares from, what she assumes are eyes in the holesâ depths.
Noping away from the holes, she follows Daniel and Audrey deeper into the second precinct as the riverâs current strengthens.
Apart from the sinkholes, the Second Precinct of Death isnât much different from the first. The pervasive fog makes for slow going, but the glowstick in Audreyâs hand provides enough light for them to navigate the pools without too much trouble. However, Daniel pauses as they reach the second gate.
âAâight, the next partâs gonna get dicey. Are you a good runner, kiddo?â
Audrey looks away, idly splashing the water with a foot. âNot really. Mommy and the doctors brought me outside a lot, but I was usually in bed or in a chair. I threw a ball for the dogs they brought in though, and they were REALLY good runners!â
âRight. Well, this next partâs gonna involve some runninâ, so weâre gonna carry ya through it. Long story short, thereâs gonna be a big olâ wave we gotta outrunâwe donât want Comet tâget wet, yeah?â
Daniel turns to Thryl, his tone less playful. âYou good tâcarry her? I can if ya need, but Iâd like tâhave my hands free fâthis one.â
The three move forward, if it wasnât for the sinkholes that Thryl still refused to allow herself to examine to closely and the slightly more forceful current, this precinct was much the same as the first.
The small group were able to advance unimpeded by anything except for the fog. This Thryl thought was a bit of a blessing as it reduced the temptation to look into said sinkholes. That is until she saw that the way was becoming blocked again. Again, with the shimmering point which was Daniels obvious goal.
There was a difference, on each side of the shimmering point was a sinkhole. Both of these were larger than the ones they had passed. Travelling ahead of them were a number of shadows partially obscured by the fog. They seemed to pass the shimmering point with little or no hinderance. A short time later there was a muffled but building roar that reminded her of very large waves forming as they prepared to crash upon a shore of some ocean. Thryl spocks a brow at Daniel, trusting there will be an explanation.
Curiosity and the fact that Daniel had slowed to prepare the breaching of this gate had Thryl glance into one of the holes. She quickly regrets this decision as she struck by a wave of projected spite and anger and yes, envy towards those preparing to pass this barrier.
Able to withdraw her gaze from the well by Daniels question to Audrey. The concern in Danielâs voice allowing her to latch back onto their present reality. As expected, there is an explanation for the previously building roar, although she notes she never heard the expected crash.
At Danielâs question, âNo Iâll be fine. I can carry her ⊠Not a problem.â
Daniel nods and waits for Thryl to take Audrey into her arms before leading them forward. In this case, the âgateâ is in fact a swirling whirlpool, a yawning chasm that swirls into a seemingly endless hole. Daniel braces against the increased current and puts down another sticky-note, this time directly on the water. The signet glows as the necromantic magic comes to light, and the whirlpool seamlessly coaleses into a curious staircase, of water, albeit one without any rails. Daniel leads the way down, the water holding his weight effortlessly despite its state as a liquid.
âMind ya step, I donât think thisâd pass an OSHA inspection.â
âWhy would the ocean inspect this place?â Audrey asks, her eyes wide in wonder at the sight.
Daniel blinks. âUh ⊠you can ask ya mom when we find her, aâight?â
Audrey grumbles at the non-answer but accepts it. Grateful to not have to cut off another string of âWhy?â, Daniel reaches the bottom and steps through the pathway.
As they exit, the setting around them changes. The water feels warmer than before, and the mist almost nonexistant. However, the passageway they just stepped through vanishes behind them, leaving them surrounded by the pulling current. Far behind them, an impenetrable, featureless wall looms on the horizion.
âThereâs thânext gate. Itâs simple enough, just a misty getup fâus tâpass through. HowevahâŠâ
He turns around and does a double-take. A dull roar begins to pick up in volume as the water behind them swells.
âThat. Thatâs thâwave, run, time târun, GO GO GO!â
Thryl effortlessly takes Audrey into her arms as she watches Daniel prepare another post-it note. Looking quickly to the little girl, âMake sure you hold Comet and me tight.â
"Seeing Daniel head down the watery stair she follows holding Audrey securely. Smiling a little at his attempted humour and the little girlâs response.*
Reaching the bottom of the stair just after Daniel she looks about quickly and is a little disappointed that now that the mist had cleared there was little to see while the current trying to pull them forward was definitely stronger and the water warmer.
At some point Aathrylâs glamour had dropped, and she was now dressed as she was when still in the car earlier: a pair of denim shorts, somewhat more demur than Daisy Dukes, a pink camisole and sneakers. Her shotgun is slung across her back; pistols holstered on the back of each hip with hammer tethers applied.
Looking to where Daniel is indicating she sees his double take as the cause of the roar she heard earlier became evident. Wasting no time and needing no further urging she tightens her hold on the girl and starts to run as fast as the deepening water would allow towards the misty wall that is apparently the Third Gate.
âHold on tight, honey!â Comet makes one attempt to escape Audreyâs grasp but Thryl manages to catch the cloth bunny and squish it in tightly between herself and the child.
Running fast to keep up with the Necromancer, grinning a little âThis is a shyte first date Daniel.â
Daniel breaks into a dead sprint (pun somewhat intended) as he leads the way. His fingers fumble with the sticky-note pad, equally trying not to drop it while also working one with the correct glyph loose. While clearly aware of the danger gathering behind him, he feels more of a practiced caution than the absolute panic from his first trip through the Third Precinct, and spares just enough breath to return Thryl snark-for-snark.
âEvery girl I bring here says that. Maybe Iâm doinâ somethinâ wrong?â
Running and smiling at Danielâs response, Thryl notices him trying to sort through his post-it notes and elects not to distract him anymore just now.
They are racing towards a wall of fog. She couldnât see a shimmering point ⊠Maybe this gate didnât require a specific point to access. Maybe you just needed to get to and through the fog to escape the roaring wall of water following and indeed relentlessly catching up to them.
Glancing at Daniel, heâs putting a lot of effort into getting to the mist faster than the wall of water. She hopes the trust sheâs put in the man bears fruit and matches his effort. The roar of the following wave is getting louder and louder. This race was going to be close.
Audrey gives a squeal of fear as she watches over Aathrylâs shoulder, the wave is gaining on them more and more with each pace they take. Aathryl hugs the childâs head into the nape of her neck. âShhh little one, Weâll be fine âŠ. Shhh.â
The roar grows and a feeling of impending doom intensifies as the close-run race to the wall of mist nears its end ⊠be that for good or ill. Daniel is first to reach the wall and slaps the glyph inlaid post-it note onto the wall with a sound that sounds solid. Despite this the three burst through the mist which offers no resistance to their passing. Behind them the wave crashes in a surprisingly quiet way. The slightly deeper water in this the Fourth Precinct rises only a few inches as the wave from the Third Precinct passes the mist wall.
âCan we take a breather here?â
Daniel nods, his hands on his knees as he doubles over to catch his breath. âYeah, I need a minute myselfâŠâ
Past the gate, the Fourth Precinct isnât too different from the First; a pervasive fog clouds most of the area around them, though the current is stronger than before.
Aathryl doesnât put Audrey down straight away, the water is a little deeper here reaching half way up her shin, also the current is stronger.
While the two catch their breath, she looks about frowning as the obscuring foggy mist has returned. Doubly troublesome as she canât work out where they need to go to find the next gate. Peering through the mist as she tries to remember Danielâs briefing, hoping sheâll recognize the gate when she sees it.
From the mist wall behind them she can intermittently hear the dull roar and the underwhelming crash of the wave from the last Precinct. She notices that just prior to the crash there are sometimes flickers at the edge of her vision as if someone or something was passing quickly, heading from the wall to deeper in. She still finds the sensation of the occasional something brushing against her unsettling. Every now and then the soft crash is accompanied by a forlorn cry that grates at the soul.
With these cries, Audrey buries her head into the nape of Thrylâs neck, adding to the wail. âMake it stop ⊠Please, make it stop.â
âI think we should push on if we are allowed. I donât think Audrey can take much more here. And truthfully, I donât enjoy it much myself.â
âNo argument from me, but fair warninâ, it ainât gonna get better from here.â
Daniel takes a steadying few breaths. âYaâ ever been tâYellowstone?â
*Aathryl shakes her head as hitches Audrey a little higher so the little girls legs donât have to rest on her holstered .45 Peacemakers. *
âNo I havenât.â
Just then there is another roar of a wave from the Third Precinct and an accompanying mournful cry. Audreyâs cry joins that of the troubled souls and she covers her ears.
Aathryl does her best to comfort the girl. âCan you tell me what weâre facing as we move in the general direction of away? I assume thatâs the way we have to go.â
Daniel nods and takes a final breath, taking the lead again. âHere weâre good, most of those passinâ through are in even worse shape than us after gettinâ tossed through by thâwaveâjust follow me. Fifth Precinct ⊠thâpools drop off WAY deep fâthe most part, thereâs a path through thatâs only about two meters wide, so we gotta stay on itâlike ya do in Yellowstone if ya donât wanna step through thâground anâ into a chamber of hot water. Hence thâearlier question.â
He hesitates, then continues. âProblem is, the Dead whoâve been here a while anâ donât wanna pass on use thâpathway as a chokepoint. Anyone livinâ cominâ through HAS to be on that path, anâ they know it. I cleared it out last time I came through, but thereâs a good chance somethinâ might be waitinâ.â
Thryl puts an arm about Audrey, holding her close and follows. She nods as Daniel explains some of the finer details about this precinct. Instinctively looking to her feet when told how narrow the safe path was. Looking left and right she canât determine how Daniel can tell where the edges of this path are, reassured by the fact that he hasnât led her astray yet.
She stops at the mention of possible hostiles. âWait! ⊠Youâre telling me there maybe something we have to fight? I need to know something first.â
She takes a breath, glances at the child then back to Daniel. âOkay ⊠When I fight things ⊠Things get broken ⊠Now ⊠I know this isnât a normal place and I suspect that the hostiles are not fully ⊠umm ⊠Aware. I donât want to hurt their chances of moving on by âŠâ She looks at a bit of a loss as to what to say as she looks between the increasingly anxious Audrey and the patiently waiting Daniel. Shrugging she continues, âShooting them in the face.â
Daniel struggles between keeping Audrey calm and telling the truth, and leans towards the latter. âOh, theyâre aware. Anything whatâs still active at this point, consider it actively hostileâya get this far into Death anâ donât follow the current, itâs not an accidentâproblem is, I ainât sure what good anything other than thâbellsâll do.â
âComet can help!â Audrey pipes up. âHe kept the closet closed even when it was dark. I always thought the monsters would come out of it, but it never opened once while he was around.â
âWhy donât you keep him close then?â Daniel suggests after a brief hesitation. âHe can be our last resortâlike Jack. Heâs a friend of mine, anâ also a bunny guardian.â
As he leads them through the waters, he does his best to drop his voice and speak to Thryl while she holds the girl. âI donât meant tâdownplay ya hardware or ya guts, but I ainât sure if we can kill somethinâ whatâs already dead.â
For a moment Thryl ponders the information, giving Audrey an encouraging squeeze and smile. âOkay, got it ⊠I think. Bells are the go ⊠but ⊠Do you know if being hit by weapons or other forces can move them. Even if those forces canât drop them?â She looks about at the very ill-defined path they are travelling. âThis is only important if the hostiles can fall from the path as well.â
Daniel nods again. âYup on both counts. Just 'cause they canât die again donât mean they canât get hurt, and if ya get 'em right ya can push 'em off the bridge.â
He takes the lead, guidind them around the pools through the relatively mundane precinct. Unfortunately, Audreyâs hearing is as sharp as any childâs during a hushed conversation. âWhaddaya mean by 'hoss tiles? Are those like flooring stuff?â
Daniel grimaces, though thankfully heâs facing away from her. âIt meansââ He hesitates, then sighs. Heâs always hated the idea of lying to children, and this op is pushing him to his limit. A brief silence follows as he finds his words. âIt means a bad guy. But donât worryâsâwhat weâre here for, tâkeep ya safe from that.â
Aathryl nods as Daniel explains to the child and she âhoiksâ Audrey a little higher as with practiced ease, sliding her SPEC about her chest so she can use it with her right hand alone, braced by a lanyard hooked onto her harness.
âYou hug me tight baby girl." This is emphasized by her left arm presses tightly about the small of the girlâs back. âWe got you.â
*Prepared, she looks back to Daniel. *âLead on ⊠Iâll try and deal with anything that gets past you and âŠâ her face splits in a grin, âyour tinkling.â
âAh fâgawdâs sake,â Daniel mutters under his breath, doing his best to ignore Audreyâs giggling as the girl clings tighter to Thryl.
The path through the 4th Precinct is thankfully bare, the more insistent current being the only real detriment. They have fully recovered their breath by the time they reach the gateâa thick patch of fog similar to the entrance. Daniel picks over his sticky notes and places the correct one, the glyph glowing as it activates the gate. A faint, muted glow seems to emenate from the holstered bells at the same time.
True to Danielâs warning, the gate opens to an open, seemingly endless expanse. The fog is gone, and the currentâs pull remains as strong as before. The ground beneath the water narrows to a walkway just over two meters wide, and on either side is a sheer drop of pitch-black water. The thalassophobic maw stretches as far as the eye can see on either side of them, and the sides of the cliff pathway drop vanish into the depths. Even though theyâre at the center of the path, Daniel sways as if near the edge of a cliff.
âSorryâalways get vertigo here,â he grouses, righting himself.
Audrey goggles into the depths. âWhoa⊠How deep does it go?â
âHeck if I know,â the necromancer admits. âI dropped a glowstick in once anâ lost sight of itâif thereâs a bottom at all down there, itâs furtherân I evah wanna check.â
Thryl doesnât seem disturbed by the very real height and the narrowness of their path. She does, however, grip both Audrey and her shotgun a little tighter.
âThis is your circus, Daniel. You lead, Iâll follow and if anything gets past you itâll get to meet the nasty end of my shotty.â
Then to Audrey, âPut your head into the side of my neck if it gets too scary.â
As an afterthought, she turns back to Daniel. âAre they likely to try and get to us from behind?â
DANIEL
âSâpossible, but thâroad ahead is more likely. Some greater Dead can wait in thâ Fourth Precinct, but not all of âem know where thâgate is. Sâeasier tâgo through anâ wait at a ⊠chokepointâŠâ
He sighs as fate seems determined to demonstrate for him. A looming figure comes into view on the path ahead, one equal parts familiar and alien; the torso seems humanoid, or at least apelike, but its limbs are far too long and gangly for any simian, and end in thin, knife-like paw-claws. A thin rat-like tail protrudes like a whip from its backside while elongated vertebrae protrude from its spine like a stegosaurusâs plates, though they never break the darkly tanned leather-like skin of the creatureâs body.
The creature faces them, turning a headless meter-long neck the girth of a telephone pole with serpentine ease. Daniel hisses as the âstumpâ of the neck reveals a face sunken into the muscle itself; shining pupils contract into pitch-black eyes as they take view of the new arrivals, and a thin slit of a mouth parts to reveal a massive row of humanlike teeth.
âCroo?â the Dead thing trills.