Corpse

In a small house in a rural town on the outskirts of the capital….

An older man with brown hair was catching a pail of water from a nearby stream. He looked around him with an extremely cautious gaze and carefully scooped up the water.

He wore peasant like clothing. Torn cloth shirts and trousers covered his slightly muscular build.

His face had a small stubble with streaks of grey dashed around it. The man slowly stood up and walked towards a small house in a secluded area of the town.

He slowly walked into the field around his home and continued his strict survey. The wheat strands that were coming in began to turn brown showing that they were almost ready for harvest soon. He then entered a small wooden cabin after pouring the water into a trough.

Inside was very little furniture and it seemed relatively spacious compared to the outside. Hearing the door close a slightly childish voice rang out.

"Jameson?" the man did not respond leading the person who spoke to continue speaking.

"Jameson, what do I do if someone responds?" Jameson placed the bucket of water down and looked towards the girl who was feeling her way across the wall.

She wore a very simple dress and her hair was neatly tied into a bun to prevent it from getting stuck. She walked with very little coordination. It seems like she had gotten used to Jameson being her extra pair of eyes.

Her hand reached out to where she thought Jameson was before letting go of the wall which had been her guide. Jameson watched her do this and put his hand out to prevent her from colliding with the floor. He then responded to her question.

"If the person responds to your question it is not me. There are people who can sound like me on a whim. This world is more strange and magical than it seems my dear Planchett and one day you may be forced to make a choice to walk that road of madness. Blindness is only a temporary state in that world but beware of the corruption that follows you as you enter the Realm of Witchcraft."

Planchett who lay on Jameson's arm like drying clothes sighed and puffed her cheeks. She felt that Jameson was just trying to entertain her by telling her about old witch tales and stories. He often spoke about Realms or pathways and numbered realms but it all made very little sense to her. It all seemed like the works of fiction. She knew Jameson was not someone to continuously lie like that but she couldn't believe such farfetched stories. Eating someone's brain to gain supernatural powers? It was all too much for her.

She had been told that they had to take a small trip outside of the castle for a while and on her way out she could hear people talking about her sister and how she was missing. She became increasingly worried.

Her heart sank when she heard her Father had died. It was from a conversation she heard while leaving the capital. She held back her tears and thought about everything that was going on, good and bad.

She had slowly pieced together that something must be wrong with her older brother Silos. He would be the only one benefitting from father dying and she had heard the maids talk about how he was always fighting with Liz in their room and seemed extremely on edge. She didn't ask Jameson as he must have had his reasons not to tell her.

She still chose to ask a question though.

"Jameson? Are you a witch?" No sounds were heard but she could feel a slight dip on the strength of his arm that was keeping her up. She then felt her body be lifted up before being sat down on a crude couch. A brief silence prevailed.

Jameson looked into the closed eyes of the girl and thought about how he had raised her like his own daughter after the incident. His lips trembled before opening.

"Yes…Yes I am. I am Realm 9 Corpse of the Death Realm."

Planchett looked closely at Jameson which was a pretty odd sight for him. She then reached out and touched his cheek and said "You don't seem very dead to me."

Jameson let out a soft chuckle. The little girl he knew was still there. He knew that she had heard about her father's death and suspected her brother. He had purposely let her hear this from strangers as coming from him would have made it less believable and she wouldn't have been able to recover as quickly as she needed too.

He then whispered to Planchett. "The day I respond follow the crack in the walls. It will lead you to the basement. Be quiet and be swift. Now I know this may not be the path you want to take but I am sorry you may have to fight on your own for a while. Don't worry Belle is safe. She is most likely heading towards the coast. You will go there as well."

Planchett wondered why he was telling her this. He sounded almost scared. She could feel his face and lips trembling but she still remained silent and let him continue.

"Now I can't tell you why right now but listen to me. The death pathway is the one that suffers the most corruption. No one knows why but it's very easy for us to begin decaying if we're not completely calm. Corruption is something all people of witchcraft experience. It's the price we pay to handle the powers of the supernatural world. Corruption varies but it usually always manifests in the form of decaying or changes in a person's character which leads to decay. To prevent the effects from worsening you must almost act as whatever realm you are in. The biggest hint is in the names of the numbered realms. For a corpse : were more inclined to silence, making my presence less noticeable things like that"

Planchett listened carefully to his words and made a mental note.

He then went on to explain the basics of the witchcraft world to her. She memorized the three core rules and took them to heart. Planchett asked him what she should do if she ran into one of 'them'. Jameson slowly grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"RUN and pray they don't pursue"

She was about to ask more but she was lifted and placed on her feet again. Jameson slowly escorted her to her room. Planchett felt as if the roof was leaking she could hear the rain outside her windows but every now and then a drop of liquid slowly fell on her cheek.

She asked Jameson but he didn't respond and just continued to sit by her bed side.

Inside the abandoned house…

"Woof"

The sound a dog's bark could be heard once more. Belle and Chris exchanged looks with the cute dog and the girl with an extremely flustered look on her face and sighed.

"You think you can embarrass me and just walk away like that?" Belle looked at the girl as if she was looking at a someone with a mental illness.

"I paid for my bird…What's the problem?" Polly who had hidden behind Belle peaked its head out at its original owner in fear.

"You. You...Sigh I can't even be mad but who are you? How were you able to pay for it?" Belle just shrugged her shoulders. That kind of money was child's play to her. She spent that on a corset for her 15th birthday.

She went on ignore the unstable woman and continued poking at the floor. She really felt something coming from below this floor. It was wind.

She heard the weirdo mumble something behind her before taking out a machine and saying "spirits are here". Her expression then turned fearful and she slowly crept inside. Chris who witnessed this happened couldn't understand why this girl couldn't choose a state of mind.

He turned away from her as well and looked at Belle. He saw that she was poking at the lock and chanting weird words. Eventually the lock suddenly came apart like magic and she lifted up the cover.

A bleak and damp ladder that was enshrouded by darkness appeared. Belle then looked around her and tossed a rock down. An audible splash was heard after 10 seconds. She then braced herself and started her descent.

Chris quickly followed her.

Afraid being left alone she left her pets to 'guard' the entrance and Karo immediately jumped in holding a cannon ball like motion.

After a similar period of time three loud splashes were heard.