Saga of the Man Called True: Fourth Moon
Saga of the Man Called True
Fourth Moon: Becoming an Outsider
As the moon's light shines again, so we tell our stories. Where we left off, we shall begin anew.
Outsider rose from his bed, finding food and Never-Stained both close at hand. Taking up the food, he ate until he was content, which took quite some time. As he ate, he looked around the room in which he sat, taking it in. Aside from the bed, a soft mattress with clean sheets and a large pillow, there was only a small lantern, which flickered with a low light.
Once he had finished his meal, Outsider stood, wondering what his mysterious host wanted from him now that he had slept. The silent woman he had seen before stepped into the room, and he took up Never-Stained and followed her, coming to a small room paneled entirely in glass. His suspicion made him tighten his grip on his sword.
The voice echoed through the glass, which reflected only bright light in all directions. "Good morning. Your duty today is simple. Sit down and tell me everything you can remember about the outside world... absolutely everything. Start as far back as you can remember and talk until you are unable to remember a single thing more."
Outsider raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak otherwise, the silent woman set a chair behind him. He sighed, sat down, and began to talk, going back through his entire past. What he couldn't remember, he tried to piece together as best he could.
It suprised Outsider, but as he went back through his history and told it to the voice, he found himself revisiting it and wondering if he had made the right choices. He had never thought back over what he had done when he had fought to survive, but now that he was in a warm place, with soft beds and plentiful food, he could think over what he had done. That was one advantage of this new life that he had not expected.
When he had finished, the light had dimmed somewhat. Glancing to the glass, Outsider realized that the light came in fact from the sun, and it had moved as he spoke. His tale had taken quite a bit longer than he had anticipated it would. The silent woman came to him with food and water, and he took them, eating and drinking for a time.
Then the voice spoke again. "So it is as I thought." It was silent, and then spoke again. "I have another task for you. Once it is dark, you are to leave this building. You will be given a map. Take it, go to the fifth floor of the building it leads you to, and enter the only locked room. Place this dagger in the heart of the man in that room."
And the silent woman handed Outsider a very heavily-engraved dagger.
This was more along the lines of what Outsider had expected. From what he'd seen of the city, they did not seem the violent type... which did not mean they did not need violence done. He stuck the dagger in the waist of his pants, took up Never-Stained, and stepped out of the glass room, awaiting nightfall.
Once darkness fell over the city, Outsider had another surprise waiting - as the stories had said, the entire city lit up with small, shining lights along every road. He felt a deep dismay at the lack of the usual darkness, but he swallowed it and used that light to guide him, following the map along the silent roads.
The building's doors were unlocked, which surprised Outsider. No one stopped him as he walked inside, and no alarms sounded to stop his passage. He walked up a flight of stairs, and then another, and then another, climbing his way up.
But two flights from his destination, a woman stood in his path. With one look at her, Outsider saw that she was like him - no city-dweller, but another from the outside. Her face was rough, beaten and shaped by harsh weather, and she did not seem used to the soft clothes she wore. Her hands were hardened with callouses.
"When did you arrive here?" she asked.
"Three nights ago," Outsider answered.
"If you were wise, you would leave. There is nothing beautiful here." And she pressed a key into his hand before she disappeared into a side door.
Taking the key, Outsider traveled down the hall, finding the last door was locked. The key opened it, as he thought it would, and he let himself in.
Inside the room was a man seated in a chair. It was an old man, stooped with age, babbling to himself about some meaningless topic or another. Time had long since taken away the man's senses.
Outsider felt only pity as he drew the dagger from his waist and shoved it into the man's heart.
At that point, five men with bizarre weapons rushed into the room. "FREEZE!" shouted one. When Outsider did not react, they began to spray fire at him, or so it seemed.
Throwing himself aside, Outsider wondered why they were only responding now. He readied Never-Stained, sliding forward and slipping his blade into the first man's stomach. He withdrew it, turning and cutting down the second man. The third readied his weapon, but before he could use it, Outsider had cut open his throat.
The fourth had gotten into place before Outsider, however, and his weapon spoke. Hot pain shot across Outsider's back, and he winced, wondering what had happened. Such questions could wait. With two fluid motions, he decapitated both of the remaining men.
The room was silent, and all that were left were six corpses and a bleeding Outsider. He limped towards the stairs.
The woman from outside stood before them as he approached. "So they couldn't stop you," she said.
Outsider shook his head, saying, "No."
"They will," she replied, and went back into the side room.
There was no time for such questions for Outsider at the moment, as he needed to tend to his wounds. He returned to what he now thought of as his building, wondering what the voice would tell him to do next.
There are many more tales to tell, but the moon's light is waning. I shall meet you again when the moon shines anew.