Fatigued, beaten, and bruised, Vyxi awoke. She didn't remember going to sleep and didn't know why she hurt everywhere. After remembering what happened, she realized the pain level had gone down. She could feel her arms were bandaged.

She jolted up, realizing the sheet's were not hers. It was dark, but comfortably warm. The room was about 30 feet in length, but 10 feet wide at the shorter bits. In each of the four corners there was a door, each of which had a candle lit above it. The walls were logs, like the inside of a log cabin.

She also noticed the other beds. She counted, and including herself, there were eight. Only 6 were filled, not including herself.

Vyxi had to make a choice. She could go back to sleep, or check her surroundings while everyone else was asleep. She didn't know if there was danger, but the Den was very welcoming. At the front of the room, where all the beds were pointing, there was a large desk/table worked into the wall. It had metal scraps and parts all over it. In front of it was a high stool. 

She had walked to the front of the room, and could see the desk clearer now. She grazed her bandaged hand over what seemed to be blueprints.

She heard footsteps approaching, so she dove back under the covers before one of the doors propped open. Out stood a young man-- maybe 16 or 17 years old. He had quite some mass to him, but it didn't seem to all be muscle- he was just tall. He wore an orange hooded tunic and some strange blue material pants. The material looked like it was made of individual strings, and also looked very sturdy.

The boy's face was hidden, but she could see he had curly (probably black but it was dark) hair. He stopped to look at the things on his desk, before grabbing a few things and walking back into the room he came from.

Vyxi seized the moment to explore. She found an indent in the wall where there was a ladder, a ladder that led up to the roof. It struck her that the four doors all had windows except one, and there were no windows in the Den- they could be underground, or in a shelter.

A second time, the young man popped out of the room as Vyxi dove under the covers. He walked into the room across from the one he came out of, and while the door was open, Vyxi saw light, heard bubbling, and smelled... food. She realized it must have been forever since she ate anything.

She finally decided to be safe and go to sleep. Clearly, if whoever brought her here was going to hurt her, they would have already done it- and not provided such a comfortable place to sleep. The green silk sheets of her bed reminded her of home.

She lay her head on the pillow, focusing on the sound of the ticking clock and the smell of the candles. It didn't take long for her to knock out.

Vyxi awoke again, feeling as though she got a full night's sleep, only to find it was still dark in the Den. She fell back asleep again.

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What felt like an eternity later...

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The people around the room awoke, one by one, each speechless to find themselves in their surroundings. None of them seemed to know each other except Vyxi and Fate.

Going around the room, we had the original four: Jomax, Vyxi, Fate and Soul, and then there were three new people.

Towards the back was Jane, who looked somewhat like a redheaded pirate lady. Jane was tall, muscular and clad in blue, but had a long, thick scars everywhere. Clearly a veteran of war.

Next to that bed was a slightly larger bed, where a tan skinned man, maybe 18 or 19 and clad in white, awoke with the crowd. He didn't seem to be even half as disoriented as the rest. His name was Kalas, but he went by Kal.

Lastly, there was Beatrix. Short, pale skin, with short brown hair- mostly clothed with Yellow. Clearly sensitive and optimistic, though not appearing too intelligent.

A low murmur of people talking to and amongst themselves had arisen, when the young burst through the door, flicking on a light switch. He carried two trays, one in each hand, each holding four bowls of steaming hot soup. The soup smelled sweet, and warm, like pea soup.

"Eat on up! You'll need it if you want your energy back," The young man blurted to the crowd.

They stared at him, silent. No one dared touch the food from a stranger... except Kal, who ate it without a second thought.

The young man perched from the wooden stool up front, hunched over, his feet resting on the lower ring. He hunched over a bit, resting his chin on his knuckles.

"Well, I assume you all have questions? Except Kal, otherwise I don't know any of you." He waved at Kal. They were probably friends. "No? No one has questions?" The boy sat up, confused, only receiving stares. 

Vyxi sat up in her bed, looking the young man straight in his eyes. "Who are you? And where are we?" There was almost a bit of panic in her voice, but mostly, it was assertion.

The boy replied with, "I'm Kasai. I saved you from having your souls ripped out of your body back in Werdentown. I'm a rescuer. I follow Mr. Shade around, and when he strikes, I save what I can, from both people and supplies."

Everyone looked confused. Jomax sat up this time, asking, "Where are they, then?"

Kasai looked at the ground. "Dozens of towns, dozens of people, and they all leave seeking the same thing. No one ever wants to stay. They all go back out there, alone, thinking they can take on that man... no, that monster on their own." Kasai throws his hands up in the air. "I don't know where they are, but I'm ninety percent sure they're all husks."

A murmur of confusion arose again. Fate chirped up now. "Husks? What's a husk?"

Kasai was almost eager to answer that question. "Ah! Well, husks are the soulless bodies of people that Mr. Shade has complete control of. He has an army of them. They can be gray, black, white, or some other dead, dull color."

Everyone went silent. Vyxi raised her hand again, but before she could say anything, Kasai attempted to answer it before she asked. He said, "Yes, and he does do a thorough search. The chance that anyone you know or knew being alive still is next to nothing. Not to worry, there is a way to get them back to normal. I think."

Vyxi just looked confused. "What I was going to say was, you never answered my other question. Where are we?" Kasai looked a bit embarrassed about jumping the gun so much before. "Vibrant Forest, northwest quadrant, about 126 miles from the center of the forest, and 400 or more miles from Werdentown."

"How did you get us here overnight? That's a long distance to take eight people, especially by foot." Jane spoke up. 

The stool Kasai sat on lifted up under him, hovering around the room with him still on it. "Telekinesis. My best magic." He lifted Jomax and Vyxi, floating them around with him, before putting himself and the two back where they were.

"I have quite strong telekinesis. Lots of training over the years." Jane spoke up again in response to Kasai, and she said, "What training? I feel as though you didn't answer her question enough. How did you get so strong? Why do you know Mr. Shade? Where are we? And why is there some kid, living on his own, in a house in the middle of the forest that rescues people from an extremely powerful dark magic user?!" Jane rose her voice even higher.

"There's no need to shout," answered Kasai. "I don't live completely alone. There's Kal and my two bots. They live here too. They also trust my cooking," Kasai said backhandedly, "Which none of you seem to." Kasai let out a long sigh. "Shade attacked my village first. That's where it started."

Soul stood up. "Yeah, and here's where it ends. I'm going back to stop him, anyone going to come with?!" He shouted. Kasai jumped off his stool. "Did you not  hear what I just said? You cannot face him, not as you are now! And not with a group this small!" Kasai glared at him. "If you do leave, never come back. You will not put us in danger." Soul and Kasai only glared at each other. Soul scoffed. "Who do you think you are? You think you can just rip us from our homes, claiming to have 'saved us'? And hold us against our will, while we know nothing about you? Oh, I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to say 'thank you'! Oh, wait, no I didn't! What I meant to say was..." He stared Kasai down, turning his body to face him, bending his knees. Soul pounced at Kasai, slashing for his throat. "FUCK YOU!"