Shadow Slave

Cassie smiled, but then suddenly frowned and asked:

"But, Sunny… how do we find her?"

He thought for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Follow the sounds of mayhem? This place is not that big. I'm sure we'll manage."

They descended the stairs and entered the slum, with Sunny looking around in search of the distinct tall figure. There weren't that many Sleepers in the outer settlement who possessed an armor-type Memory, so he was sure of his ability to notice Changing Star in the crowd.

Soon, they were surrounded by makeshift hovels and people that had empty, bleak eyes. Some of them stared at them with pity, realizing that the two had just been sent away from the castle, others openly gloated. Sunny paid them no attention.

Once again, he was surprised by the sharp contrast between the castle and the outer settlement. No matter how vile the underside of the ancient stronghold was, people were actually living there, walking around with mostly mundane human worries written on their faces.

Here in the slum, people were merely existing, and barely at that. In their eyes, there was a more dire need and a more consummate fear: the need to find food for the day, the fear of being devoured by some unseen monster in the night. They were all gaunt, cold, and listless.

The only time hope appeared on their faces was when their gazes accidentally fell on the Bright Castle.

'Hope will get you killed, fools. You have it better here than those poor souls in the fortress.'

All in all, it was not so different from the outskirts, with the added terror of Nightmare Creatures waiting somewhere in the shadows.

But then, there were monsters in the real world as well. They just wore human skin.

Sunny was once again reminded of how surprisingly well prepared he was for the trials of the Nightmare Spell, his lack of education not included.

Surprisingly, the was no sign of Nephis anywhere. They walked through the entire settlement before finally catching the glimpse of her.

crudely put together out of slabs of stone that had

be a bit sturdier than the rest of the hovels.

and the cursed city below. In the pale light of

rope tied around her

lightly on the stone surface of the

Sunny grinned.

Long time no

***

inside the stone lodge, which had turned out to be her new residence. The interior was spartan and austere, with pieces of broken furniture lying here and there and cold winds sweeping freely through the

craftsmanship, the lodge had been empty when she found it. No one wanted to live this close to both the edge of the platform at the threshold of the road,

Looking around, Sunny scoffed.

This place surely needs

very concerned with her

nothing but rocks and dirt, so in a sense, even this ramshackle mess was an enormous improvement. With some improvements, it could even become

comfort and warmth he had experienced in

Speaking of food…

and handed Neph a small bundle. Concerned about her friend, she had not eaten her supper the previous evening, choosing to save

Neph. I brought you something

Star received the bundle with a faint

you. Uh… do you

she walked over to a flimsy wooden table that stood near one of the walls and removed a piece of cloth from it. Beneath, there

feed ten people in the castle for a day or

then moved his eyes to stare at

this meat? We thought you would be starving here in the

her