Change is the deciding factor in all things that make the world go round, and the never-ending desire for it to occur, no matter how much one must sacrifice. Even while being surrounded by the enemy, people will find a way to defy the status quo and revolt against their oppressors. Diedmons Roue wasn't any different from this fact, and the anti-Eye of Rendition cause was their form of change.
During the deal made by Solomon and Erebus, the properties granted to the Gray forest hadn't extended to the outer ridge. Despite the outer ridge's inclusion, its inhabitants differed from those outside the Gray forest.
Unlike every other part of Diedmons Roue, the path remained the same, the same shabby road that, just as the entrance to Cavern, was uneven and poorly maintained. Grass erupted from the open grooves, sprouting its essence, a clear indicator of how much they cared about their home and the people close by it. There was only one factor she hadn't taken into mind, and that was the possibility that the information that had spread around Diedmons Roue had leaked inside the Outer Ridge, which meant that at least some of her enemies were near and were planning even now, as the herald's visit was surely becoming more known. This would be the first place she'd check. Unlike the dominant half of Gray Wood, the Outer Ridge was especially copious in the diversity of wood. Diedmon' Roue's market, while some of it came from traders coming along Caverns paths, traversing an environment that at first glance seemed endless and ever-changing. The majority of it came from the residents of the Outer Ridge. Toblitche's map would lead many to believe that entering and exiting was an easy endeavor anyone could endure. Schnee, of course, was one of the few who could, but Rum already made it clear that at least around Diedmons Roue, they weren't a viable option. Being around a constant state of disarray, monsters from all sides of the large circle provided room for the compact village of Tenisin, the only other people who could safely embark on the journey. The only reason the church allowed the Anti-Eye of Rendition to exist.
Going through the square entrance, Elizabeth threw on her hoodie and dipped her head down just enough for her to see ahead. Going into Tenisin with her position being so closely tied to Shane was a death wish, but she'd soon realize that, at least for now, there were bigger concerns ahead as unrelenting chatter from Tenisin blared through the wilderness. Taking one last turn left revealed a crowd of people and the voice of bishops cutting through.
"Stay back, you heathens, begone and stay inside; this is a business of the eye, withdraw your vision, remain on the ground where you belong!".
"This is Tenisin's problem! We don't allow the cloth!".
Stopping a few feet away from the crowd, she looked up at a line that connected two medium-sized buildings, one window to the other. The source of the crowd's anger seemed to gravitate toward the center, where at first she thought the skin of an animal hung. It was beige and thick, its hide stretched to its very limit; she'd never seen an animal like it, but surely something like that couldn't be the source. Even with her ignorance, there were still slight twinges of familiarity, but why?.
A creeping thought burrowed from the inner depths of her mind. It looks too familiar; why does it look familiar? Why does it remind me of something? Her line of questioning had twisted in a different direction as with one gust of wind, its front half had flown upwards and with empty sockets stared at her for a moment before dropping down again. It was human.
Elizabeth clasped her mouth and stepped back. What could have done this?.
The hollowed skin of man, deprived of all semblance of dignity, of all blood and appearance, only a husk, a shell of something that once was. His mouth agape, larger than his eye sockets, drooping into a dark hole that led toward an endless pit of despair that was garnished by the dried blood that littered his face. Before he died, he suffered, and the passage of time stripped away his humanity in a graceless fall when the string connecting the two buildings was severed, and the crowd went silent.
Elizabeth crept around the corner of a building that faced the exit of Tenisin. Against the wishes of who she assumed was the man's wife, the church took his body, the wails of the woman as she dropped to the ground, pleading for them to stop, pleading for them to save the last strand of humanity he held and bury him. Her cries fell on deaf ears as he was dragged along the ground by a Protector, his lower half hauled along the ground with them as they left. The last remnants of the man were from his children as they stood by their mother, unable to process what was happening, but enough to know that nothing would ever be the same again.
"That's horrible…" Before Elizabeth had the chance to move, someone's hand stopped her, pressing down on her shoulder. With a swift swing of her hips, she clenched her fist, soaring through the air, removing their distance in an instant as she drove her fist into their stomach, flying backwards only to tumble along the cobbled ground, holding their stomach, attempting to catch their breath.
Elizabeth looked at her fist for a moment before looking up again. The sound of the man's labored breaths cut through, and the realization of what she'd done sent her scrambling for a solution she wouldn't find.
I messed up
She grabbed the man by the scruff of his thick sweater and dragged him away into an empty alleyway. Grabbing the thin stone from her pocket, she pointed the sharp end toward his throat.
"What do you want from me?"
The man looked at her with strained eyes, taking his hand away from his stomach and spreading them at his side.
"You're from Diedmons Roue, aren't you?" Elizabeth remained motionless. "I'll take that as a yes.".
"What's your problem?".
"You're telling me you people don't have something to do with this?"
"What kind of ridiculous claim is that? Something this depraved could only happen in the Outer Ridge".
"Who's the one pointing a stone pike at my throat?"
"I'll move it once you tell me what you want? I know you didn't want my attention because of some grudge you have against us. So I'll ask you one more time", his neck drew back as she pushed the stone closer. "What do you want from me?".
"Alright, alright, just give me some space!" Just as Elizabeth raised her hand, he slid away from her and held his throat. Panting, grateful to be alive, surely, not that she had any intention of committing to the act.
"Come on, hurry," Elizabeth said, looking back at the crowd as they began to disperse.
"I'm getting to it." Regaining his composure, he took one deep breath and looked at her. "I saw you when you first got here. You saw what they did to him, I was hoping you'd know something about it".
"I don't know a thing. The only reason I'm here is because of the rumors of the Stehnam".
The man looked at her with strained eyes, clearly confused. "Stehnam? Never heard of them."
"Never heard… maybe you call it by a different name then? What do you call what just happened?".
"Doesn't have a name. The only culprits around are the shadowed beasts, and they're not supposed to be coming this way yet".
"Hm," no matter which angle she tried to take, a shadowed beast couldn't be the culprit, taking away it being the only scapegoat, there wasn't any reason to pin it there besides being desperate. She didn't buy into the idea that Stehnam had broken a cardinal rule, but if that's the case, then something else entirely was on the loose, and even more troubling, it wasn't bound by anything.
"Do you have somewhere else we could talk?". Elizabeth asked.
His face drew back in disgust. "I don't know if I'm comfortable having you near my family.
"As long as you know where I'm from, there's nothing I can do. Don't tell anybody about me, and I won't tell anybody that you're interacting with a potential worshipper. Are we clear?". Reluctantly, the man agreed, and they set forth deeper inside Tenisin.
His name was Schwartz, no last name, not uncommon considering Elizabeth didn't have one either. She gave a fake name, borrowing Marie's name for a short while; she didn't think she'd mind. She assumed the gesture was mutual; Schwartz wasn't his real name, and Marie wasn't hers. This interaction would be transactional, in and out, enough to get a better understanding of what was going on. Although getting a better look at Tenisin was an oddly interesting venture, she'd given it credit.
Since Tenisin was much more compact than Diedmon's Roue, they had used their space to its maximum capacity, which meant tight corridors and small staircases in the most minimal buildings. It also became quite clear that even though Tenisin was so close to Gray Wood and its never-ending benefits of comfort and protection, the leisure hadn't been granted to them. Stone buildings, the architecture of when the first Visitors arrived on Toblitche and granted the Island with new knowledge, remained present. She'd always assumed at some point they'd risen from their naïve days, both Diedmons' Roue and they had shared. Even then, however, quarrel and indifference had a hand to play in the affairs of all living things, even the Schnee that once roamed the forest. Tenisin had remained at a standstill since, refusing any gift from King Solomon and the deal he made.
Schwartz stopped at what was an apartment of sorts. There were five other rooms, all joining their windows and terraces, that overlooked a rather dreary landscape and a pointy top at its peak to complete it. Opening the door, Schwartz made it clear they wouldn't continue if Elizabeth hadn't taken the lead and without fret, she complied.
Stepping inside, Elizabeth could immediately tell that it was gruellingly cold; she could see each breath she took, and if it wasn't for her underlying resistance, she was confident her hands would be numb by now.
She took a glance at his hands. He had thick gloves, which she hadn't noticed before, but everything he wore was something people would wear during the Three-Month Winter. Thinking even further back, everyone else wore similar clothing; it was no surprise he'd caught her so quickly. From the beginning, she stood out from the rest.
I was lucky I was found by someone unaffiliated with the A.E.O.R., though.
They began going up the stairs, passing torn brown paper stuck to the wall with the Eye of Rendition in the center, being squashed by a mass of ice.
On second thought…
As time passed, Elizabeth's situation became increasingly noticeable. Her advantages in Diedmon's Roue had planted a false sense of security that was broken the moment they stopped on the third flight of stairs, as her anxiety had hit an all-time high.
"Door to the left". Schwartz said, handing her an iron key.
"O-Okay".
Inserting the key into the lock, she turned, squatting abruptly as it fell towards the ground, letting a sigh of relief as she caught it.
"Go on".
She looked ahead at the slightly open door and the two pairs of eyes staring back at her.
"Ah!" Elizabeth yelped, falling on her rear as she scooted backwards into the wall, holding her chest.
"You didn't tell me you had kids!" Elizabeth said.
Schwartz shrugged, "I said I had a family." He went on ahead as the two scurried toward his side, laughing all the while.
"That doesn't mean anything," she muttered as she stood up and went inside, taking a turn to the right of her, past the window, towards a figure on a roof that looked her way.