For days, Misery had been making her way through the forests and countrysides of Athania, moving as unpredictably as the wind which drove her. She used this time to clear her mind and sort through her emotions, letting the wind calm her and nature strengthen her.
Her husband dead, her children safe with Darkstar, Quinn continued this errant meandering, relying on the black polished cane Tristian had given her… Until that day.
She had not been paying much attention to where her feet had been leading her… she had been concentrating on defeating the demons tormenting her soul. Soon, the sounds of a small village had drifted out of the forest around her. She debated going around the town… she didn’t feel like dealing with people at the moment, but something urged her to enter the feudal community.
Straightening her clothes, turning her blind gaze to task before her, she steps slowly out of the trees and toward the low, stone buildings.
The feeling of remembering came over her almost instantly. A sense of knowing… as if someone was whispering long forgotten memories into her mind… someone else’s voice, a cold voice from her dreams, was telling her of her past.
On your left is the bakery, Misery, where your father got bread every Sunday. Next comes Jaymes’ vegetable stand… Do you remember?
Her voice trembling with emotion, she whispers to the long dead voice, “I remember…”
Just two more streets, my little Misery. Will you continue?
“Yes, mother. I must go. The wind wills it.”
A grudging approval brushes her mind.
The filthy peasants watch quietly as the blind woman passes, unaware of who she used to be. Misery continues step after step, unable to stop herself. Her heart pounding, she stops in front of a small stone cottage at the edge of the village. Her black carved staff tells her its still there, but what her blind eyes cant see is that her childhood home is run-down, the windows boarded up, the thatch roof fallen in, weeds overgrown in the front yard.
Quinn taps on the door frame with her staff and calls out in a quiet voice…
“Hello?”
For a moment there is nothing but silence, then a soft rustling is heard from the back of the room. She pushes the door open and a wave of heat makes her jerk back a couple steps. The air in the darkened room is thick with the smell of mold and rot and human waste. The damp smells make her gag, and Quinn presses the back of her hand to her mouth.
She calls more urgently, “Father??”
Silence.
Hesitantly she steps into the room, hand still pressed to her mouth. In the corner she senses a dim, gray aura… it swirls slowly, as dark, heavy smoke. The owner of the lifeless aura turns his attention to Quinn and a deep, tired voice addresses her.
“May I help you, young lady?”
Quinn is speechless. This man… No, this shell of a man couldn’t be her father… The proud, strong man she left behind… What happened?
What had happened??