A crow, a snake, and a butterfly became an ever-present image in her mind, for whatever reason, in the wake of what she now acknowledged as the second time she woke this morning. The events of later that day had been reversed.
Is this part of the deal?
From what she could tell, there was nothing different about her physically. She scanned her body, looking for any spot of discoloration or anything really to pinpoint the cause, but found nothing. As far as she could tell, there wasn't one, not yet at least.
She looked at her blank note and picked up her pen.
"I wonder".
Writing down everything that occurred after this point up to the Brehlam until the end, where she made the deal with the eye, gave unsurprising results. It all resulted in blurry splotches that lost all meaning. This must all pertain to the Visitor's guide, she thought, pacing around the room.
"If that's the case, then maybe this isn't the first time this has happened…".
Not that it changes anything.
"As long as I don't follow Rum into Gray Wood, I should be able to prevent it from happening again". She thought about what the eye had said; they had punished her. Who were they? How many did she have to worry about? Who's to say that even if she didn't enter Gray Wood, another oddity would happen?. Nothing was ensured, and as minutes passed, she realized she was wasting crucial time speculating about a fresh problem.
Stepping outside was a jarring event; something about repeating the same steps and actions went beyond a simple time of déjà vu. It made her head spin if she thought about it for too long. The same people went by, but strangely enough, some of them wore more form-fitting clothing. Belts and corsets, dresses of a variety of colors, a complete 180 from what Elizabeth had known of Diedmons Roue. This realization had conjured an uncomfortable idea in her head that prevented her from thinking straight. A searing pain started in her stomach and consumed everything else in a flash. Holding her chest, she muttered,
"How many things have changed?".
She became hyperaware of the minor changes Diedmons Roue had undergone; small things like the repositioned light posts, the stores' new signs, and even the altered road construction. It was more modern, and a cobbled road replaced the gravel. Everything accumulated into one horrible idea that speared into several others; this must've been the cost. This was the cost of the deal; if anything disastrous had happened, it was her fault. She'd made a terrible mistake that had rippled into so many others, but cutting through the echoing thoughts was a familiar voice that, once Elizabeth focused on, became the only thing she could hear.
"20% off all styles!" Marie shouted just as before, the only difference being that she no longer held a sign.
After closer inspection, while there were changes surrounding Diedmons Roue, overall, the main events had stayed true to what she knew before, with small differences that led to them. However, there was one glaring change that Elizabeth found out as she walked with Marie around town. She omitted what occurred yesterday, of the people who died from the unknown gas, because it hadn't happened. And when asked how long the hole had been there, her only response was,
"When hasn't it?" The implications of her response sent shivers down her body, only to continue talking.
"You know, everybody's been acting weird lately," Marie said. Again? Why is she asking this now?
"What do you mean?".
"I don't know… I only noticed this morning. My parents were freaking out about something; I think it has something to do with the church".
"Why do you think that?" Elizabeth asked.
"They mentioned a herald."
It took everything Elizabeth had to maintain her composure in the wake of what Marie said could implicate towards. The implication that even in this version of the morning, Jim Beckman had still visited her, and the events that led up to her staying alone in the library were also changed.
"A herald, huh…" said Elizabeth as she cleared her throat. "Did you hear anything else?".
"No, I'd rather not probe into what's going on. I shouldn't have even heard that…" With one hand, she clenched her gown. "I wish I hadn't".
Marie raised her voice, stopping Elizabeth mid-sentence.
"I know I'm the one who started it, but I'd rather stop there. So please don't ask anymore questions." Elizabeth stopped, surprised by Marie's assertiveness; she'd never even heard her yell before, but she'd just put her foot down. How much has this been weighing on her? She wondered.
The Truc family wasn't very open about the current affairs of their life. Marie was the only gateway into that foreign world of intertwined ness that not only extended toward the church but also had their hands in other avenues of Diedmons Roue, particularly that the Truc family not only cut hair but also doubled as the only people in Diedmons Roue with medical knowledge known for their steady hands and precision, their family was a valuable asset to what continued to run Diedmons Roue if an unforeseen event struck the masses. It was without a doubt overwhelming for Marie, especially considering she did not attempt hiding her one genuine desire was cutting hair, refusing to learn anything else besides it; sometimes talent was innate, however, and just as the shadowed beasts from conception knew their purpose, Marie knew hers.
Moreover, the information given to her provided insight into the potential webs that were made with Jim Beckman's visit. The fact that someone in the church knew who she was and prevented Rum from interfering. Though none of the resources she had at her disposal allowed her to breach past that barrier, knowing where the problem stemmed from only mattered if you could get to it.
"Hey, chieftain's daughter!" Without her realizing they had ended up in the shopping district, stands littered the large circle in town, and the man who shouted for her held miscellaneous items. His name was Jasper Collen, and he was the loudest person she had ever known.
There was a scattered assortment of stands around them, from handmade appliances carved out of an array of wood, all displaying their different day-to-day uses. A deep red wood made to ignite fires, a large dark block of wood that was used for weapons, and small pieces of armor and utensils made from simple oak. Which made Jasper's random items all the more enticing when he first set up his shop.
Both of them walked up to his stand, and Elizabeth grabbed the first thing she saw: a thin sharp stone with unfamiliar carvings.
"Where'd you get all this stuff?" Marie asked.
"Oh, hand-me-downs, my family's been in the junk collecting business for a while now".
"Figures why you don't sell much," Elizabeth said, still looking at the stone.
"It's junk, but it's junk with history. Elizabeth here is the only one who appreciates unique craftsmanship".
Marie picked up a brown wooden mask with a shrewd eye and a small circle for a mouth.
"Interesting, isn't it!" Jasper asked.
"I guess…what's it supposed to be, though?"
"That's a mask of the carved," Elizabeth said. "They're a race of people up towards Ashton's Venue; apparently, they're so fond of them that they made masks as appreciation. But usually they have two eyes…"
"Yeah, I was hoping you'd know something about that," Jasper said. "We've had that mask for a while now; I say it's one of the carved but I've never seen one like it".
"Doesn't look familiar. Maybe it's a God of theirs?".
"Nah, can't be, the wood is their God, that's it".
Marie placed it back down with two fingers and backed away. "Whatever it is, it's weird looking".
"Yeah, maybe that's for the best," Elizabeth said, taking one last look at the rock, placing it back down as she couldn't see any worth in it.
"There's actually something I need to tell you, Elizabeth".
"Hm? What about?".
Jasper looked over at Marie and asked if she could go for a while. She happily left and told Elizabeth they would talk later, realizing she wasn't intended for this discussion.
"What's this about?" she asked.
Jasper looked around for a moment, looking for any prying eyes, but ultimately landed on nothing. Letting out a loud sigh, he shook his head.
"What in the world have you gotten yourself into?". So it's this widespread now.
"Alright, what have you heard?" Elizabeth asked.
"A visitor in the night, a shadow coming from your house. What's going on over there?". Elizabeth's interest piqued.
So there're only suspicions, then, let's see where this goes.
"I don't know what you're talking about?".
"Don't play ignorant with me, people saw you go to that library, who in the hell goes to the library in the middle of the night?".
"I was awake, and I needed another notebook. I've got my hobbies too, y'know." Elizabeth reached into her coat pocket and showed the notebook. "See".
Jasper grabbed the notebook, turned to the first page, and was instantly surprised, looking up at her.
"The hell is this?" Jasper asked, showing Elizabeth the page with blurred words.
Shit! I forgot.
"O-Oh that…" She rubbed the back of her head. "I was trying to recreate something…".
Jasper handed back the notebook and crossed his arms, "Fine, you don't have to tell me". Thank Goodness.
"Anyway, I've got something else to ask you".
"What is it?".
"I've got a sort of business plan in the works, I think you'd be interested in it".
"A business plan? You mentioned something like that before, didn't you? You have enough money for it?".
"Well… no, but for this it's not the most important thing, not yet at least." Where are you going with this?
"So I've got some connections going on around here, shady guys, people you'd never see walking the streets out here. But they're reliable, in exchange for some of my gems, they've been telling me some things that are going around here. It's getting screwed up, Elizabeth, it's only a matter of time until everything collapses".
This doesn't sound right. Danger signals were blaring inside her head on the other side of the discussion; it felt like the moment the Brehlam leaped into her shadow. The only difference was that her choice was clear before; now, all the images given were hazy.
Don't pay any mind to it. This is my chance to get more information.
Elizabeth nodded her head, urging him to continue.
"Something's going on inside Gray Wood, no one's sure yet, but people are beginning to hear different things. You know better than anyone about some things that go on inside there, but you haven't heard anything strange, have you?".
Other than Jim Beckman, she couldn't think of anything out of the ordinary coming from Gray Wood. Besides the Brehlam, but she had a feeling this wasn't where the discussion was going.
"No," Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, I figured. People have been saying something's been tapping on their windows at night, voices that sound too close, too similar. They're thinking the Stehnam have broken a cardinal rule and stepped outside Gray Wood, and the church is investigating it under your father's order in Tenisin".
Updated information on potential Stehnam and reset
Possess the ability to step outside Gray Wood.
How many? (Unknown)
Ability to mimic human speech
Ability to mimic human form (Unknown)
Connection with the hole (Inconclusive)
"Huh?" Jasper had asked a question she didn't hear. This was bad. She was getting distracted now, too many events happening at once. But where could I cling onto? Everything seemed disjointed, nothing fell in line, nothing gave her an ultimate question to tie it all together.
"I'm sorry I got lost in thought".
"Agh, it's fine; I'm just rambling, anyway. I know how you feel about going off conjecture, so you can forget what I said today, or take it in whatever you're looking for; it doesn't matter to me. Just thought I'd give you a heads up".
Jasper and Elizabeth stood up and shook hands.
"I appreciate it," Elizabeth said.
"Of course, once I get everything in order, I'll come to you about my plan".
"I'm looking forward to it".
Before Elizabeth had the chance to leave, Jasper stopped her as he tossed her the thin stone she was looking at before.
Don't ask questions, Elizabeth; just keep going. Each time you think you're getting over your head, stop and look at that stone. The person who made that would be happy to know some good was done with it". With that, they waved each other goodbye, as Elizabeth took one last look at the sky, at the hole that no longer spun in the wake of a new day on the Island of Toblitche.