<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="" dir="ltr">AN: This would have gone up days ago but...life. Due to formatting problems with IV, resubmitting it. This is the end of it.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">March 17th, 707</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Is he awake?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I think so."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I could hear voices. I scrunched my eyes closed as hard as I could. Wait, how can I feel this? I had been in a room with a ragman, now I felt like I was waking up.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Yep awake. Let's say hello."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You'll scare him. Let him wake up naturally." Two voices and I recognize neither. My sleepy brain filled in the blanks for me. Obviously, I'd been kidnapped and was being held hostage by two people for reasons I did not know.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Now when you think you've been kidnapped, there is an easy way to tell. If for example, you are laying in a soft bed with your head wound treated, you've probably not been kidnapped.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Statements like this are what qualify me to control a city.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I could still feel my arms, but not move them. The two voices were talking but I felt a barrier between us.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">If you think you're qualified and your kidnappers are torturing you by putting you in a warm soft bed, you have several options. You can scream for help, that's always a popular one. You can try to escape. Or you can stealthily throw your arm around looking for something to hit them with.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"What is he doing?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I think he's looking for something to hit you with."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Why me?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You're a three hundred pound green monster Cope."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"He doesn't know that! His eyes are closed anyway." I think I felt something. Nope, just the side of the bed. "Maybe we should wake him up."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Eh let him have a few more minutes." My hand hit a wooden nightstand. I felt along the top for anything I could throw, to catch the two kidnappers off guard. "It's a good thing I didn't leave a glass of water, that would make a mess."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I felt the urge to open my eyes but tried to suppress it. Hot breath rolled across my face, I scrunched my nose. The urge to see what overwhelming. Can't keep the world out anymore. I opened my eyes.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Hi." A massive green scaled thing stared back at me. Okay, no need to panic James. Just react the most calm and rational way you can.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Die!" I threw up my arms and reigned blows upon him. I put all of my energy into every punch, making sure he felt my pain. "Feel the agony!" The green lizard man looked at the other figure and shrugged. "Why won't you die?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"A few reasons." I pounded away at the invincible lizard man. "You can stop now."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Never! I will escape this kidnapping!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"We're not kidnapping you." The lizard said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Lies!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Why would we want to?" The raccoon man asked. I tired pounding the lizard's </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">face now. My problems included having no energy to fight, no plan of attack, no </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">experience in fighting and no hope in general. "Cope knock him back down, he's going </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">to hurt himself."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Alright." The lizard placed one finger between my eyes and pushed me down. I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">struggled valiantly under that finger. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Do not touch me!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"He's a grateful patient." The second speaker came closer, this one a raccoon </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">an. 'Maybe I can beat him to death.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Why am I so weak?" I asked. "Did you two poison me?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"If we had poisoned you, you would be dead." The raccoon said. "You were </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">initially. You took a bad blow to the head and must have been laying in the woods for </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">close to an hour before anyone found you."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"This was the closest place you could be healed." The lizard said. "You're not </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">kidnapped, you've just been resting."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">When someone has done something nice for you like say, healed your nearly fatal </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">head wound, there are several ways to react. The right way is to show gratitude. The </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">wrong way is to follow my example.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm done resting and this place smells like a barnyard." Because you usually see </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">lizards and raccoons around barns moron. "I want to leave and I want to leave now. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Where is this place?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"This is Metamor Keep, you—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I do not want to hear anything else!" I snapped. "This is the cursed place!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Well yes and—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You will escort me out now." I said. "I won't hear another word!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You're going to have too." The raccoon said. "My name is—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Don't care." Now they both were looking annoyed. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You may call me Coe." The raccoon mumbled something else under his breath. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm a raccoon morph as you can tell, kind of a—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Don't care!" Coe grit his teeth.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Your party will be coming for you soon thankfully. It's rather fortunate you </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">woke up." I think that's how things went…</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Are they here now? Why didn't they wait for me?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"This place is cursed." The lizard said. "They didn't want to be. So they left you </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">and will be returning. Probably not today but in a few days. They didn't forget you if </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">you're worried."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"They also refused to tell us why they were here." Coe said. "What is the Lord of </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Isenport doing not in Isenport?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I do not have to speak to you." I said. Yep James, just keep working those </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">people skills. That'll endear you to many a reader. "I want to leave and you will escort </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">me out immediately."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Okay your family will be coming here." The lizard said. "You just have to wait. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">My name is Copernicus, yours is James correct?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"James of House Dorothea, oldest child, servant of the empire and future lord of Isenport." </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I said. Copernicus smiled. He was actually there for a reason, but we'll get to that later. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You will not address me; I do not wish to speak to you." I forced the covers off my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">body and gave a shriek. "What am I wearing!?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"A tunic and pants." Coe said. I gripped the bed to avoid passing out. The </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">feeling of this rough, ugly and dull cloth made my skin crawl. "What?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Where is my clothing?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"They were covered in mud and blood. We didn't think you'd want to wear them </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">after that."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"This is terrible!" I said. "The stitching on these pants are wretched, I could do a </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">better job than this. I have done a better job than this! And why will you not explore </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">colors outside of the beige spectrum?" </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You had to be dressed in something." Cope said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"And I'd have rather gone nude." I said, showing that gratitude I've become so </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">known for. "I couldn't have been that bloody anyway."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"We thought you were dead!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'd rather have been than in this place." I said. They both visibly tensed up. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">This would not be the last time I'd utter those words, but I'll get to that later. "I'm </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">getting out of this bed now."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You've been unconscious for two weeks." Coe said. "You will do no such—" I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">flipped my legs over the side of the bed. "Stop! You are going to hurt yourself. You </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">will not be able to stand up."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Watch me!" By sheer force of will, I forced myself to stand up. I almost </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">toppled over again.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'Their eyes are on you James. Show them you are strong.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I forced one foot forward. Then another. One two, one two over to a chair </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">against the wall. Finally I collapsed, panting hard. "Ha!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Was he supposed to be able to do that?" Copernicus asked.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Not as far as I know."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm strong willed." I said. "I want out of this disgusting room. I want to be </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">doing something!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You know, if you want to get out of here" Coe said, "Cope sometimes gives </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">tours of this place." Cope shot the raccoon a death glare.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Why would I want to spend more time in this place with either of you?" I asked. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Ugh, it'll get me out of this room, I accept." That's so kind of you moron boy.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Well I used to do tours." Copernicus said, "Uh not had the time anymore. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Besides, aren't you too weak to be standing up?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Are you trying to avoid me?" I asked. "I just said I'd allow you to show me </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">around this backwater stain." Was I really this obnoxious?</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Can't imagine where you got that I idea." The lizard said. "Do you really think </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">you're strong enough?" </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I know it!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Alright I can show you around." Cope, being far nice than I would have been, </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">helped me too my feet and lead me out. He started talking I believe but I immediately </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">blocked him out.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I moved through sheer force of will. Every step was labored and my muscles </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">were virtually frozen. 'Can't let them see me look weak.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I pushed on while focusing my gaze on my own feet. I willed the muscles too </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">unclench.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Nope, still stiff. No matter how much will power you have, you can't unhurt your </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">body through sheer force. Not that I wouldn't try. I was so distracted by this exercise in </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">stupidity I failed to notice I was outside. I did notice Cope had stopped moving once I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">had bumped into him.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I thought you weren't listening."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm distracted." I said, looking up, "Don't worry about me, go a-uh-uhhh."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">With every event in your life, there are two moments you remember. The second </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">is during the event, when you realize that your life has changed. At that moment I was </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">struck dead where I stopped by the new world I was standing on the edge of.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Isenport is not small. I'm used to seeing buildings stretching out in all directions </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">with people crammed into them. What I wasn't used too was the image of a wolf on two </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">legs and an utterly beautiful woman walking in front of me while discussing something.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"…wow." I whispered. Cope smiled.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Animals and people of all ages and sizes interacted. Species I had never seen </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">walked beside children who had an air of authority. The din of noise was unlike anything </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I heard in a marketplace or dock. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'What are those creatures?' People with feathers. Lizards with faces shaped like </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">knives. Creatures that were brightly colored, things I had never seen before. A desert </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">where you could feel life swarming all around you. I swallowed.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Done gawking?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I wasn't gawking." I stammered. "Just wondering why we stopped moving. I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">don't want to just sit on my ass doing nothing." The smile was replaced by a frown. "Is </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">there anywhere I can get very drunk while waiting?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You could show some gratitude."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Not to any of you." What an ass. "In fact I can't wait to leave this place. I bet </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">you can't too." He shook his head. "What's that for? You're never going to see me </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">again and thankfully I'll never see you."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You were in a bed for two weeks!" Cope said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Yes we've established that."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"We've been trying to tell you something—"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I don't want to hear it!" Copernicus sighed.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Feel the skin around your eyes." I didn't want to do what he asked, but even </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">more than that I wanted quiet. So I reached up and touched the area beside my left eye.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'No no no no' I scrambled away from Cope, moving as fast as my frozen legs </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">would carry me. 'Nononono' I stopped at the first window I could find and stared at my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">face.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"No…" And golden eyes stared back at me. "No!" Across my nose were scales, </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">small pebbles, cool to the touch. "Oh no no no I can't no no no."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'I asked for this.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I tried to tell you." I turned to see the lizard man approaching me. "We both did but you wouldn't listen. You've been in bed for over two weeks, in and out of consciousness."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Am I cursed?" I asked.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Yes."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"What am I?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I don't know." Copernicus said. "A reptile of some kind. You have scales, </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">that's all I know for certain. You are changing slowly—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I collapsed. The lizard man rushed over but I brushed him away.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Don't touch me. Don't…damn it I didn't want this." Blood rushing through my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">ears blocked out the world and my head dipped between my knees. "I want this to stop, </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">get me out of here."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"James you—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Don't talk to me!" I cried. "Don't look at me, don't talk to me, leave me alone." </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Copernicus didn't say a word but he did sit beside me. He put an arm around me and I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">couldn't knock it off.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">For that I am grateful.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">When your life goes into a stop, you have two options. To try to pull out back to </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">your previous pitch or to ride along with it until you reach the end. Often if you do not </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">decide, life will decide for you.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I decided too to crash. I spent my next days in a fugue, unaware of the world. I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">didn't get drunk that day. When I next awoke the next scales had further coated my face.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">The curse of Metamor Keep is a strange thing. For some it comes upon them like </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">a wave crashing from the sea. To others it is the bite of a viper that leaves a slow burning </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">poison.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I only remember the days after I discovered I was cursed as white noise. I was </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">allowed to stay in the lodging of…someone. I don't believe it was an inn, though it </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">might have been. I feel regretful now; I can't remember the individual I lodged with.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I ate but otherwise I didn't leave where I rested. As the scales rolled across my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">face, I felt they mocked me. When a second patch appeared on my right arm, I knew </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">they did.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I don't want to be here. I sat in a chair and stared. I could see past the wall, I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">could see what was coming. I knew and every day my family did not return for me my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">sense of dread rose. This is my fault.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I learned how the curse would work for me in this time. I'd be able to shift into </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">an animal form and possibly a taur form. A taur form of whatever I was becoming.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I have noticed the morphs in the Keep are thrilled with their form after they have </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">it. I believe many felt different while they were still changing. I didn't feel excited at the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">prospect of a new form, I felt terrified at losing what made me human. Maybe a little </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">excited at that.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Four days passed before the moment I dreaded arrived. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Your family is here."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Why did they leave the edge of the valley? Why did they wait so long? I knew </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">walking out into the day light I wouldn't receive a satisfactory answer.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'Please let them be wrong.' I was led by someone into a courtyard, middle of the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">day. Warm today, I noticed it now more than before. 'Don't be here. Don't be you.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I recognized the small train of horses, my father, Nemo, a few knights </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">and Muffin. My father was the first to spot me. I could see excitement fall from his face. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">'He knows. He knows what happened to me. Anyone save me.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Whoever lead me left me at this point. I had to walk by myself to meet them. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">The people around me melted into phantoms, none could see me. 'What's that sound? No </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">way, that's my heart.'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"James?" My father asked. I swallowed.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Hi." </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Wow…" Muffin whispered. "Are you…James?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Why is this a surprise? The curse can strike anyone regardless of where they </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">come from. It cares not for rank or desire; it recolors all who are under it. Nemo finally </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">got a glimpse of me. Instead of horror, he looked happy. 'Why you bastard?'</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"It's me." I said. "This is me…" No it wasn't. It was a me half mutated and a </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">flush with scales. This was not the me I had been.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"We-we-we" My father swallowed. "We weren't we weren't gone that long were </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">we? This can't be right."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"He's a freak." Someone laughed. "A monster! Ha!" Now some of the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">phantoms looked toward us.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"This can't be happening." Father said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Sir!" Nemo spoke up. "No matter what, this is your son. Maybe with more </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">scales then the last time you saw him, but your oldest son none the less."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"My son is not an animal."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"He is your—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"This is not my legacy!" Now everyone looked at us. "James go </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">stand..somewhere else."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"But I—</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Do it!" He glared down at me. I moved back. Phantoms parted around me, a </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">few giving pitying glances but none spoke. I sat down on the ground, hoping to sink into </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">the dirt.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">This is a disaster. My head spun out of control, I had to steady myself against the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">ground not too collapse. They're not even looking at me. Why not? Why won't anyone </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">say something?</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Back at home, my brother still was waiting for us to return. Would it be a dry day </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">there? Would the market ring out with the sounds of throngs of merchants and sailors? </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">In that moment I would have given all the years of my life for the chance to walk for a </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">day upon those streets again.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"James?" I glanced up. Muffin smiled and knelt down beside me.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Hey…" She said my name normally.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Muffin reached out and brushed her hand across the scales on my face. If they </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">upset her she didn't show it. "Yeah they're real." Muffin did it again, letting her fingers </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">linger.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You're becoming a lizard."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Could be a snake." I mumbled. That was no comfort. Still, at least I had my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">arms, assuming that snakes in Metamor Keep lost their arms. Metamor Keep is a place </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">where you can do the math and end up with three halves.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Does it hurt?" Muffin asked.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"No. It doesn't. They feel normal. I-I mean!" My heart froze. This was normal. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I mean I hadn't noticed them."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I like you more with golden eyes." Muffin said. Why can't I remember her name? She kissed me on my nose, or where my nose had been.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm turning into an animal." I said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You're still human." Muffin said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I've grow scales. I'll grow a tail. What's human about that!?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Depends on how you act." Muffin said. "You're made by your choices."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You were made my fiancé by our parents' choices." </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Sorry you think that." Muffin said. With her other hand she slipped something </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">over my right. I flexed.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"My falconry glove?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"If you want it." Muffin said. "I mean, I know you won't see Ulysses for a few </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">more days, I figured you might like it." I caressed the leather. The glove obscured my </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">reptilian hand.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Thank you." I said. "I'm still me holding this."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You're still you no matter what." Muffin said. "What's Metamor Keep like? </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">What are the people like?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Strange." I said. "You wouldn't like it. They're rude and they don't listen to </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">you when you talk." Muffin frowned. "What?"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Just surprised. I think this place is amazing."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Oh what do you know?" I snapped. She sighed.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Nothing Jay-Ames." She stood back up. "I know nothing." I glared at the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">phantoms until they turned away. Then I stood up.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I hate this place." Funny how we will transform, not just in body but in mind. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">One blue lizard gave me an especially lingering look and didn't turn away no matter how </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">much I glared. "Hate me, I don't care."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"James!" Time to face destiny. I walked toward my father, Muffin walking </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">beside me. Turn around! Flee! My body wouldn't let me. My father couldn't look at </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">me. Nemo came to stand beside me.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Hold tight kid." He whispered to me. I swallowed. All the phantoms had </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">resumed watching this nightmare play out.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"So what is my fate?" I asked. "What are you going to do to me."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I don't want to do anything to you." He said to me. "I don't have any choice. I </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">can't have a lizard for a son."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You don't have much choice." I said.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Yes I do." He swallowed. "My son was injured but the injuries were far worse </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">than we thought."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"…No"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"When we found him, he was bleeding, near death. We got him to Metamor Keep </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">to be healed but they couldn't do anything."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"No!" The crowd of phantoms took a step away from us, yet kept watching. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"My son died after eighteen days. His body was bloody and broken so we buried </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">him on the journey."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm not dead!" I screamed. I lunged at my father but Nemo held me back. "Let </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">go of me!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"No. Consider this beneficence." Nemo said. I squirmed futilely against the </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">larger man.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"Nemo has agreed to stay behind and watch you." He said. "He will protect you, </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I promise. We will leave you with a small sum of money."</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"I'm not dead!"</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">"You have to be." My father said. "I'm sorry James." I screamed at him. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Primal, without meaning, just rage and fear. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I yelled every obscenity I could think of. I screamed every curse I knew. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Anything to stop them from leaving.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Father handed a bag to Nemo. Muffin gave me a lingering glance but left with </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">him. </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">They walked out of my life and left me in a city of strangers.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">My hand grows tired. I will stop no</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">We have no control over our first birth but we do over the many little births that </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">follow. We choose them. We have no control over the many little deaths in our life </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">though, no more than the final one.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">In front of people I would know, I experience my first death. This was to be one </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">of the lowest points in my life, though not the lowest.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">At the time I was terrified. Now it seems foolish of me. This place was perfect to </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">tame an obstreperous, licentious youth.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">I'll close by wishing all readers luck and encouragement. Nothing is as hard as it </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">seems, not once you've survived your own death. And to you my friend, thanks for your </div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">encouragement to write this. May the blessings of Eli follow you.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">Your friend in the South</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="">J.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style="" dir="ltr">AN: Thoughts still appreciated</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417819399969_4172" class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div></div></body></html>