This was beyond anything I had ever beheld. Even in a world of magic, it was unheard of for the laws of reality to be broken to this extent… I knew I couldn't take her if it was in fact she/her and not just the form whatever it was fancied. But that is the point. The point was that deep down in my soul I knew if I tried to overpower her… I was as good as dead. That left me with few options other than to try to talk my way out. I tried to talk but it felt like there was a frog hiding in my throat. Smart frog! I thought. Let's try this again… “S...so what are you doing on the wall?” I asked. Trying to keep the piss my pants fear from coloring my voice. The girl gave a disorienting smile and opened her mouth. What followed were sounds that were completely inhuman and so powerful it made my head physically hurt. Despite being gibberish I somehow comprehended the meaning of what she was saying. “I could ask you the same question”! Before I could recover from my shock there was a rolling feeling in my stomach as gravity suddenly rotated. For a split second, I continued to stand where I was before the new direction of gravity gained a firm grip on me and I fell to what had gone from the wall to the new floor. Through all of this, the girl never stopped dancing through the crimson liquid. She slowly twirled to where I had landed and on the ground and it took me every bit of courage to not give in and run screaming. The air was once again filled with her gibberish language. “Do you want a hand up?” she asked as she offered me her hand. Not knowing what else to do, I tentatively seized her hand. Despite the delicate look, she was surprisingly strong! She easily hauled me from the floor to my feet. “So what brings you here to my fun land?” her voice filling the room and my head. I blinked, thrown off by her nonchalant tone. As if we were meeting for brunch. “Well…” I said, trying to figure out the best way to respond. “I am picking up a few things from the owner of the house,” I said. Trying to match her nonchalant tone. “So you're a thief,'' she asked immediately.“Er… yeah.” I said after a second deciding to be completely truthful after she had so clearly seen through my half-truth. “Awesome!” she said. Surprising me. I had never expected to meet someone in the house I was robbing to be so happy I was there. “So… I ventured on desperately trying to keep her talking while I tried to think of a plan. “Do you live here?” the girl immediately seemed to become agitated. “For the ritual…” she said slowly. “But I do know you don’t!” she added quickly, “fair enough,” I said. So what are you doing here? I asked. The girl was silent for a moment before answering. “They say they need me…” she said. The bleeding rain suddenly stopped. “For what”? I asked, “The ritual”! she repeated. “ Suddenly reality shifted! I fell once again to the original floor and I looked around in confusion. The girl was still there only she was curled in a small ball this time and I could hear the faint sound of sobbing. I also noticed that the door I had entered from had appeared again. I immediately booked it for the door. The girl had told me all I needed to hear. Whatever the count needed her for it wasn't good and that meant it wasn't good for me to know about it! I dashed through the door and the room. The window was still open from when I broke in, and I quickly climbed out. It took me a few precious minutes to climb down the wall. I nearly slipped nearly a dozen times but a few broken bones were nothing compared to what the count would do if he knew what I discovered. The ritual of Cuthud! Everyone had heard of the rumors. That the noble elite and A forbidden ritual. A ritual that gave you the power of a god… and all you had to do was kill a gifted child, a child gifted with the power to bend reality. No one quite knew where the rumors came from… but most wrote them off as urban legend. As I reflected on this, I ran through the night. I ran until I came to a small alleyway which I proceeded to turn down. I quickly began to count the bricks row by row until I came to the 23. Placing my hand on the 8th brick up I spoke the password… “where the shadows hide.” Slowly the bricks melted to form the entrance to the night market. Only once I stepped in did I start to relax a little. It was bustling and busy as usual which worked well for me as it is hard to blend in without a crowd. Vendors were everywhere advertising their goods. But I wasn't here for that type of business! I was here to give a bloody ear full to my informant. I slowly made my way further into the night market. As I walked, the crowd began to thin and the air took on a dirty and dangerous feel. The vendors were now less obvious and mostly kept to the shadows. I finally reached my destination, a small shop with barred windows and a small sign with the name Wangers Dark Wonders. I marched up to the front door and knocked with a little more force than was necessary. “Whos there”? Came a high-pitched voice from behind the door. “It’s me, you backstabbing jerk”! There was a slight pause before the sound of numerous locks being unlocked was heard. Wanger had always been a very paranoid person. Finally, the door was thrown open revealing the hulking form of Wagner Standing at his full height of six foot six and holding a ball of fire the size of a cannonball in his hands. “Cut the theatrics”! I said marching right past him. Wagner quickly closed the door and began the process of relocking the locks. “I can’t believe you”! I said. Beginning my rant! “After all our history you gave me a suicide mission”! I said. “I did not”! Protested Wagner! “I knew you would get out alive, and you even got the girl out! I froze. What do you mean got the girl out? I asked as I slowly turned around. To my surprise standing behind me was the little girl! “Surprised to see me”? She asked.