"We are trapped here in a region whose only citadel is guarded by a fallen terror. Escape is impossible and just surviving easy either. It's unfortunate but you'll have to accept this as your new reality or die."
The even solemness of his voice betrayed the magnitude of the words he just spoke. For a while only the crackling of the fire broke the silence. Eventually Lena asked a question.
"These handmaidens…who are they? Why did you think I was one of them?"
Her voice was even despite their situation. Gwin felt on the verge of tears and was barely stopping himself from having a panic attack.
"Nothing is free here."
He replied while prodding the fire. Lena did not argue and instead walked towards him and held her hand out. He took it and received his payment, his gaze grew distant for a second as he looked over his new memory in his soul sea and evaluated its value.
"The handmaidens are a faction inside the bright castle led by Seishan. You are a part of the same clan are you not? She is one of four captains who serve Gunlaug the bright lord."
As he explained, Lena perked up at the mention of someone named Seishan.
"Did you just say Seishan?"
'Who the hell is that? Another daughter of Ki Song? I've never heard of her though.'
{Do you know her?}
He couldn't control his curiosity although he wasn't sure what Umo would make of his use of sign language. Lena had told him to be more secretive but he didn't see how he could avoid speaking to others. As he moved his hands he watched as Umo followed them carefully with his topaz eyes. Lena answered him with a hint of nostalgia and excitement in her voice.
"Yes I do. She has been in the dream world for over a decade since her first winter solstice…and now I finally know where she has been all this time."
"Seishan has been here longer than most of us. She has also served as a captain far longer than the other three. She is mostly neutral when it comes to us outside the castle."
Umo continued while he stirred his stew.
"Outside the castle?" Lena inquired.
"Many survivors live outside of the castle for various reasons. You see, staying there is not free so most cannot afford to pay one soul shard per week to stay and are too weak or scared to go hunt in the city. I'm sure you've seen it by now but this city is unforgiving to those who are ignorant or careless. Others like myself would rather live off of our own strength than live under Gunlaug's oppressive rule. There is a large settlement of shacks and hovels outside the main gate where we stay."
He explained sipping his stew and pulling it from the fire. He found a couple of ancient bowls lying around and blew the dust out of them. He poured Lena and Gwin and bowl and sat down.
"Anything else you'd like to know?"
"What are you doing out here alone? And do you know the way back?" Lena asked
"I was separated from my hunting party recently and I'm currently in the process of making my way back. And yes I do know the way back. We should be able to make it back within a day."
'Finally…'
Gwin was finding it hard to be excited though. It didn't matter whether they were living in a castle or in the crimson labyrinth they were still trapped. He did have some questions though.
{Where is the gateway? And who is Gunlaug?}
He wasn't sure Umo would even be able to understand and yet to his surprise he did.
"Did you not see it already? The colossal tower on the horizon?"
Lena and Gwin each gave each other a look. It seemed neither of them had noticed such an obvious landmark in the chaos of the storm of black locust even with Lena's flaw.
"I've heard it's where the coral comes from but I'm not sure if that's true. As for who Gunlaug is, he is the current tyrant of the bright castle. He is extremely powerful and rules with fear to keep his subordinates in line with an exceptionally powerful memory. He has a golden set of armor that I had never seen any blade or claw pierce, not that I've seen him ever leave the castle…That's all your payment gets you."
Gwin began to sip the stew suspiciously. He hadn't seen him do anything with it but he couldn't be too careful. Well at least that was his thought process but he soon found himself scarfing it down with haste. The news of a tyrannical overlord hadn't done much to affect his appetite. After all he could only take so much despair and dread in before they became the norm.
'Wow that's good.'
There was then a spell of awkward silence. Neither of his two companions were very talkative and Gwin himself literally couldn't.
'Someone…say something…please'
{Do you want to spar?}
'What am I thinking?!'
Umo watched his hands calmly before answering.
"I'm afraid I'm too tired for that right now. One of you take the first watch please."
He said with a loud yawn as he sprawled out. Gwin didn't argue since he wasn't too keen on letting a stranger watch over him; however he soon found himself drifting off to sleep, letting Lena take the first watch.