3 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter Two

While protecting the core of what he deemed to be his spirit, a small corner of his mind was guarded by the powerful presence of his companions, the names of his family forming a shield to protect his true self. Then strange things started happening. He felt Kolstum next to him, felt his emotions, his being, then he felt Valana who was closest after Kolstum, Then Strem, Sumi ,Yinta, Jer and finally Fliít. No longer were they simply a mantra to protect him from the evil that was outside his cage, he felt an actual connection to them. Then, suddenly, he felt a tug on his very essence his soul was being pulled, dragged out of his own body.

Three looked around the strangely endless white room. What shocked him more than the vibrant white room itself was the fact he wasn't alone, the others were staring right back at him. Sumi tried to speak but no sound came out, she grabbed at her throat in confusion, her cloth skin rippling with yellow before returning to its normal skin tone. Yinta stepped over to her and put her hand on Sumi's shoulder. Or rather, she tried to, but the hand passed right through. She stared at her hand and started waving it back and forth through Sumi, who in turn jumped out of Yinta's reach and wiggled her arms at her.

[Stop doing that, it feels weird!] Sumi signed, her skin rippling a dark blue this time.

[Sorry, I could not help myself.] Yinta answered. She stared around, looking at the others, eyebrow raised.

Jer stepped forward. [I think the connection between us is deeper than any of us thought. It's likely that we did not just feel connected to each other, we ARE connected.]

Three scratched his chin. [Whatever it is, I'm glad we get a break from the torture.]

Although the kids didn't actually know the word torture, they had a sign for what the hags were doing to them. The sign was basically holding the index finger with the thumb and extending the three others.

Klostum nodded. [We finally get to talk to each other again, I missed our conversations.]

The rest nodded in agreement. Jer was scratching his chin, still deep in thought. [What I want to know] he signed [is if we can use this to our advantage.]

Fliít answered [I doubt we can do much with this except protect our sanity, we can't interact with anything, the only thing we can do is talk to each other.]

Jer shook his head [We have gained something very important... time to think!]

Three sat down and the others followed his lead, except Fliít who was content running around and stretching her legs. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't been able to move like that in years or ever really, if his memory was to be trusted. He got up as well and starting jogging around a bit, before breaking into a full sprint with a wild grin on his face. The others lost all semblance of order as they started sprinting around, enjoying the movement they otherwise couldn't. They started playing a game of tag, some people cheated due to the fact that they couldn't actually be touched. Acrobatic spins and jumps, various silly looking manouvers, anything they could think of. Spirits were lifted due to the moment of childish freedom. After what felt like hours, they finally calmed down and took a seat in a circle.

Strem flopped down, his face losing the grin and turning serious. [How long have we been in those cages? I lost count…]

[Same.] Three responded, the others answering in kind.

[If we judge by how much Klostum has grown we are at least 70 years old!] Fliít quipped, grinning.

The others laughed as they looked at Klostum, who was easily half again as tall as the rest, and twice as broad.

[I'm not THAT big.] Klostum signed, frowning.

[I doubt you can even fit through a normal door!] Valana retorted.

Jer clapped his hands, the sound surprising everyone as they stared at him. He looked at his hands before nodding to himself. [I figured out why we can't hear eachothers' voices. We have no idea what the others sound like, so this room, whatever it is, can't replicate the sound. Everyone has heard a clap before in their lives however, so it CAN replicate that]

The rest nodded, his theory did make sense. [I also found out more about the runes that they placed on the floor, they use our own Mana to fuel the enchantments trapping us.]