Into the Study

For the first time in a while, Devotion had a dream. He supposed that with everything going on, his mind had been too busy to dream, but finally, almost a month later, he was back in that routine.

He dreamed that he was within a small room. There wasn't much in the ways of furniture or decoration, just a simple desk and chair on one wall, and a door on the opposite side. There were no windows, no paintings, and no light. It was a wonder Devotion could see at all.

The desk itself was barren, but two drawers were located on its side. Devotion walked over to the desk, when he felt something preventing him from walking forward. It was like an invisible wall of some sorts, stopping him. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Ysmir appeared at his feet.

"Are you able to talk yet?" Devotion asked. He still hadn't forgotten their first conversation. He wanted to ask so many questions about it. Unfortunately for him, Ysmir just stared up at him. "Was worth a shot. Are you able to get through this barrier in front of us?"

Ysmir turned, then walked forward. It effortlessly went through that barrier, unimpeded like Devotion was. "I expected you to talk more than I expected that to work, but here we are, I guess. I don't think I'll ever understand how you work." Devotion lamented to himself. "No matter. Ysmir, could you try and open one of those drawers, and bring me anything within them? Be careful, though. I'm not really sure where we are." Ysmir nodded, trotting over to the desk.

It jumped up and pulled the door open with its teeth, standing on top of the desk. The first drawer opened easily, but was empty.

"Try the other one."

Ysmir complied, but this drawer was stuck in its place. Ysmir had to yank a few times, almost throwing itself off of the desk when it pulled, but eventually opened the drawer. Inside was only one thing: an old sheet of paper. Ysmir grabbed the page in its mouth, then trotted triumphantly back to Devotion.

"Good work, Ysmir. Could I see that paper?" Ysmir passed that page to Devotion. Just as Devotion was about to examine and read that page, he woke up, completely startled.

"Damn it!" He yelled into space. "Just as I was about to read the mysterious page, I wake up?! What kind of sick joke is that? Damn it!" Devotion cursed the air. Damn, that was frustrating! He'd be thinking about what was on that page for weeks!

Just as Devotion was about to head back to sleep, Ysmir started to paw at his head. "I know, Ysmir, I'm curious too." Devotion mumbled, half asleep as the purple fox kept him up. He was about to ignore its tapping when his eyes shot open. "Shit, what time is it? They're probably already outside. I really have to stop oversleeping."

Devotion shot out of bed, quickly throwing on plain robes, putting Ysmir on his shoulders and running downstairs. He was greeted with the sight of Victor and Alex sitting in the tavern, almost done with their breakfast already. Just as Devotion stepped downstairs, the entire tavern went silent. They were all staring at him.

In his rush, Devotion had forgotten to cover Ysmir with the cloak.

"Why, I didn't expect any immortals to come on through here. Sit wherever you like, kid." The barkeep said. Devotion nodded and stumbled over to his companions, sitting down and ignoring the astonished stares of the commoners.

"So much for being lowkey." Alex said, taking a bit of a piece of bread. "And for that matter, on time."

"Listen, I had a weird dream, overslept, it happens. Let's not worry too much, we should be out of this town by tonight anyways." Devotion excused himself between bites, shoveling food into his mouth. In the blink of an eye, he was done eating. "Alright, let's get this over with." That feeling of danger had returned, and Devotion wanted to just get it done. He hated feeling it in the back of his mind.

Victor stared at Devotion, his jaw dropped. "I have no idea how you eat that fast. Whatever. We're ready to go." Victor replied, getting up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"The study was hidden on the other side of town, in the basement of an abandoned merchant shop. New local legends tell people to avoid that spot, due to noises that sounded like screaming echoing from the night. The mortals here believe it's haunted. Those are no doubt the sounds of this professor performing studies there, so nothing to worry about. Let's go." Alex briefly explained. Devotion was impressed. She really had done her research.

The three of them paid their tab, gathered their supplies, and headed out across town. Devotion made sure to cover Ysmir this time, as they walked through the town. No need for even more attention, and he really didn't want to piss Alex off more. If looks could kill, the stare she had given him when he forgot the first time would have killed him ten times over. He wouldn't even be able to reincarnate out of fear.

Devotion and his companions found themselves outside of an old, ransacked wooden building in no time. It was covered in filth, a faded merchant sign hung on by a thread, and cobwebs covered the exterior. The windows and door were covered with rotted plywood boards.

"Well, there's no one in this side of town, so we can show off now, right?" Devotion asked. Best to confirm with Alex.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get a way in." She replied.

"Ysmir, darling, could you kindly open up the door for us?" Devotion asked in a sing-song voice. He had formulated that if he was extra polite to Ysmir, maybe it would talk to him again. However, he was quickly proven wrong when Ysmir gave him the most confused look it possibly could, then strutted over to the door and ripped the planks off with its teeth. Ysmir clearly hadn't liked that tone of voice, and was showing a bit of aggression.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll never do that again. Sorry." Devotion quickly apologized. Ysmir seemed to accept that, jumping back up onto Devotion's shoulders. Alex rolled her eyes at the display. She was doubting Devotion's capabilities every second she was with him.

"Alright. Let's head on in. Be on your guards, the magical beast might be within this room." Victor said.

The three of them stepped into the dark interior of the old, haunted merchant building.