House of Memories

They had passed through the shroud of night without incident, and emerged on the other side to be greeted by a watery dawn. As the trees had thinned in the last hour they’d travelled, the canopy overhead parted to let weak gray light filter through, and with every glimpse of the sky, Roland felt a weight being lifted from his chest. The rain had ceased in the night, some time before dawn began to jettison slivers of light across the uncovered sky, and they left the cover of darkness into the arms of yet another uncharted stretch of land. The air seemed clear and crisp, carrying a chill that remained with a vexing determination, long after the rain had subsided and left them to trudge through its remains, hock-deep in the dirt and rotting leaves that sprawled in a haphazard pattern underfoot. In some confounding way, the world around him felt a little less frightening, the more distance they put between themselves and the portal. Roland was intent on observing the scenery around them, his fatigue having faded as the morning drew near, and he absorbed his surroundings with cautious curiousity as they passed through the woods. Though the feeling had not stirred within him for a long time, there was something exhilarating about the act of exploration, pioneering new trails and discovering new regions. There seemed to be a little more energy in his step as they emerged into the light and saw the sea stretched before them. A familiar sensation crept into his bones then, brought on by the scent of salt carried by the fresh breeze. It seemed they were up among the clouds, perched on the fringe of a jagged line of cliffs bordering the expanse of water below, and it lay far beyond their reach. Roland kept far from the brink as they walked, battered by the wind as it slapped against the edges of the crags. It was not foreign to him, the feeling of standing at a precipice, and for a moment he could pretend he was home, wandering the steppe, and all was well.   The ground sloped up for a ways, and Roland sluggishly drew himself the remaining steps to its apex, where they could look out across the ocean and the wakening sun’s rays as they touched the surface, sparking pinpricks of light on the gentle, rising waves. It was tumultuous and yet peaceful, watching the wind toss the water against the cliffsides. He searched the horizon for something, some kind of landmark he might recognize, as if some beacon could be found jutting out from the blurred edge between sea and sky, guiding them home; but as he scanned the expanse of water, his gaze caught no such obelisk cutting a pale silhouette on the borders of the ocean. A chill still lingered in his bones, making him ache for warmth and comfort, a place to lie down and sleep- sleep until the pain ebbed away, until he could rise to a sunlit morning in the comfort of his cave beyond the lake, and realize this was all a feverish dream inspired by the threat of an unhinged god. The rainwater had lingered in his hair, dampness still settled against the skin of his neck where his mane had dried in unkempt curls, but he could hardly be bothered to lament his appearance when they had greater concerns at hand. The wind battered his side as he turned to Lena, glad to look upon her in the light at last, where the shadows and the curtains of rain could not obscure her face from view. Though he felt utterly lost beneath a vast and endless sky, he was saved from complete despair with her at his side. Dawn’s radiant hues were fading from the stretches of the horizon as he drew nearer, reaching out for her in the silence. The waves crashed against the rocks below, and it could have almost lulled him to sleep as he relaxed in the warmth of Lena’s body against his. “How are you holding up?” He asked softly. The forest sat on the slope below them, and Roland was glad to have left it behind. He would be equally glad to never return. Push your luck if it makes you a promise that turns con men honest.