Chapter Text
Only after an ear splitting scream rang through the hallway did Miriam jolt awake.
Eya be damned, WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME?
From the comfort of the inn bed, she scrambled out and marched through the door, entering the hallway.
“KIWI?!” She shouted, both frightened and very irritated. “What is going on?”
But as she spoke, she found herself unable to move from where she stood. Her heart began racing. Her hair stood on end. She felt cold.
The end of the hallway bore no light. The wall-mounted lanterns had dimmed down to embers. Miriam couldn’t see very well.
Maybe I don’t want to...
As she looked on, the walls around her seemed to only darken more.
Mustering her willpower, she raised a stiff hand and lit a fire in her palm. The blue aura wavered greatly, but it shed more light into the hall.
And as she stretched her hand forward, she could make out a familiar outline; a silhouette of cloaked shoulders and a feathered cap.
She dragged herself forward, every step growing heavier and heavier. Her knees shook, and every one of her instincts screamed at her to run away.
“K— Kiwi….?” She hardly whispered.
She held her firelight farther out, close to Kiwi. The bard stood facing the end wall, hunched over and clutching their chest. They breathed short, ragged breaths.
“Mi…riam?” They gasped, turning to the witch.
Miriam flinched sharply upon seeing their face. The air around them trembled. Their eyes… so cold and grey, yet glinting ominously. Somewhere inside, a chilling voice, an overwhelming color — a spirit — resonated from the bard’s voice. They spoke again, but any words fell mute upon Miriam’s ears. Their voice breezed quietly through the air in garbled whispers.
Yet the message rang loud and clear inside the witch’s head.
“Oh, sweet Eya,” Miriam breathed, “you’re possessed.”