In accordance with the rules of Tenisin, Elizabeth made sure the ball was active at all times. After fiddling around with it, she’d understand that at least some sort of physical contact was needed to keep it fully active. Having it at least a small distance was acceptable, but she noticed that just slightly, some of its power was dampened. Having it inside her pocket seemed like enough to prevent having to go through the same thing again. 

Compared to the pain as she died, her life slowly trickling away, the aching of her body and hand seemed only like a mild distraction.  In the midst of that torturous death, she was able to find one helpful tip that took a small walk to get to. 

Without her knowing, she’d begin to shiver; the road was ahead, and like last time, all it took was one step for her to enter the after-hours. 

She was in the same spot as before, her shoulders rubbing against the concrete walls. Goosebumps formed across her arm as she passed by the same alleyway that led to her past death, a strange sense of deja vu. She averted her eyes as she passed by; she couldn’t help but feel a strange attachment to the area. It felt like a burial sight. 

After passing her first hurdle, bursting into the open ground, she looked for anything to catch her eye. She figured that anywhere that held a lot of people would be her best bet at starting, but that proved a greater challenge than she thought. 

A sudden thought intruded her memory. 

“Find the sound, and find solitude.”

Easier said than done. 

In accordance with the rules of the after-hours of Tenisin, no one diverted from the path given to them. If the road turned right, they’d turn right; if it turned left, they’d turn left. From the moonlight, it was clear there was open land around, but it was avoided altogether. Elizabeth would follow their example, of course, but where it would lead worried her most of all.

“Find the sound.”

She had to remind herself of that. 

As she approached a crossroad, she stopped. Surely, she was on the right track. Taking a moment to isolate all the noise into this one spot, she focused and closed her knees. Idle chatter gone, loose wind gone, all she needed was to hear the noise.

“Focus.”

It didn’t take Elizabeth long to go into a state of complete isolation. All she could hear were her thoughts and the ever-growing need to find it, at last begin this journey, and with little effort, she was able to accomplish said goal as she heard the chime. Ahead, she could see through the sparse lights, a building that soared higher than the rest. Atop its crest was an idle flag struck by the moonlight. 

“Made it seem as if this place was supposed to be a secret.”

A hand tapped her shoulder, and in response, she yelped, taking a storm of steps back until her rear slid against the ground. Everyone around turned to see her as she looked up in distress, her heart beating like a drum. 

She held her chest and squeezed, taking a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a moment before fully calming down. 

A familiar voice spoke to her, kneeling, his hand extended toward her. 

“Sorry about that”.

It was Schwartz; somehow, he'd found her in the midst of the crowd. From his appearance, he seemed out of breath, more than likely was trying to find her, but why? 

“You shouldn't have come,” Elizabeth said, refusing his hand as she got up on her own. Getting anyone involved wasn't even a thought, a stranger, one with a family at that. If the beginning of this journey started with death, then it was only a matter of time until it continued.

“Anne wouldn't allow it, believe me, this wasn’t my first choice.” he looked away, obviously frustrated that he was forced to do this. If there was any way  Elizabeth could convince him to leave, she'd try, but something told her that wasn't going to happen. 

“Not happening!” Elizabeth put her foot down and took a stance, in response he sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy.

“As long as I'm here, I won't allow anyone to be involved. This is a problem for me and me alone; you'd only get in the way.” A bit harsh, but she didn't think the statement was wrong. As far as she was concerned, she could return indefinitely; the full grasp of this ability wasn't clear, however. The risk was too great if something happened.

“Well, I'm not going to deny that, but this is sort of a personal thing as well,” he turned his eyes back on her. “I don't know what you're doing here. Honestly, I wish I had never interacted with you at all, but I can't take that back now. Ever since you came, it's felt like Tenisin has shifted”.

A memory of the meeting between the eye and her flashed, and she winced. 

“It’s because of that, I’m worried what will happen to my family if I leave you unattended.”

“Yeah, well, sorry then,” She extended her hand and pointed at him. “Under no circumstances will I let anyone get—

“Yeah, yeah, you said that. Then you can count this as having similar interests in mind. Someone used my wife as a means of getting to you. Whether you like it or not, we’ve been involved for a while now. My job is to keep my family safe. As long as this thing’s around, I can’t do that. Besides, it doesn’t seem you know about this place. One wrong step and you’ll die; I can’t let that happen either.”

Slowly, she lowered her hand, unconsciously holding her stomach as she thought about an answer. “Well, you're not exactly wrong.”

“And there we have it”.

Nothing was going to convince him that much was clear. Reluctantly, Elizabeth agreed; postponing this any longer wasn’t an option. Besides—

“Fine, we need to go there then,” she pointed at the building to the right. “Apparently, I’ll find what I’m looking for there.”  

Schwartz's only response was a loud sigh as he looked up. 

“What’s with that response?” Elizabeth asked. 

“That’s right, you wouldn’t know about this place, would you?” He ran his hand through his hair. “This place is —

THE CAPITAL 

Elizabeth’s first introduction was the abhorrent mess of voices that leaked from within the wooden enclosure. The structure was odd, foreign, no doubt to anything she’d seen in Diedmon's Roue. It bent and twisted in a way reminiscent of a tree, with a slim entrance that led to a winding staircase. Unfamiliar items encased in frames aligned the walls, all varying in size but aligned in their origin of life. Sharp tusks protruding from the brow of a fallen monster's skull, the cranium of a beast so large that they could only display the frontal bone, and even then, it was only labeled as half. 

All were to show; if you may dare attempt to cause trouble, then beware the consequences of those who dwell in it. She'd heard of stories of a valley said to hold giants of all magnitudes beneath the depths of Tenisin. With her only frame of reference being scattered stories she'd read, the thirty-foot-tall skull they mounted was on the smaller side. And was sure it was dead long before they found it 

As they approached the top of the staircase, anxiety began settling in her stomach. The voices above became clearer, and she scrambled for any excuse to leave, but they did nothing. She needed to prepare herself; in this environment, the chances of her being discovered increased tenfold. Steeling her nerves, she took one last step and was immediately greeted by a tall woman dressed in redwood armor.

“Oh my, a new face at this hour. Darling, darling, come meet her!’ The woman radiated a scorching glow that made Elizabeth’s skin boil if she got too close. Taking a few steps back, she searched for Schwartz, looking for help, but he was already gone. 

So much for helping me.

“Really, really, that won’t be necessary”.

“Oh, nonsense; in fact, introductions are always necessary.”

In the blink of an eye, a man completely dressed in bandages appeared behind the woman, his hand on her shoulder. 

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat in response, holding her chest. The man appeared with such speed that it didn’t seem like the environment could even tell what had happened. No wind, no screeching halt; it was as if he’d always been there; she just couldn’t see him.

“Is that normal?” Elizabeth asked. 

The man bent down to the woman's ear and, presumably, whispered something as she responded. 

“My name is Evette, and this here is—” The man tapped her shoulder. “Seems like he’s a bit shy today, sorry about that. And you are?”

“Oh, my name is Marie,” out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth noticed the man tilt his head. What was that for?

“I’ll remember that,” Evette said. “Now,” she clapped her hands. “What do you say about joining all of us on a little expedition?”

“Expedition?”

“An after - hours tour, in a way, yes. Any level of class may join; this is simply a way for us to test the waters with each other. Break the ice in a way. Ever since what happened this morning, there've been so many newcomers. The valley is always open, and right now it’s calling our name.”

Explains the crowd

“Since when is the valley considered a place for newcomers?” 

“Why don’t you come and find out? We’d love to add another to the mix.” Her smile reached from corner to corner, reaching her hand out, an invitation that seemed to have ulterior motives. That's fine, while Elizabeth wasn't capable in combat if there were others of her caliber there, weak, frivolous men and women, perhaps she could gain something from it. Though it was hard for her to deny a chance to see how the Valley of Giants looked like, old habits, curiosity was a game for the living, she was playing a losing game. 

“Where do I sign up!” Her excitement was getting the better of her as she grabbed her hand and shook it with increasing excitement. If what was happening on the surface was truly connected to the Valley what secrets could it be holding! As far as anyone was concerned the Valley of Giants had never been fully explored. In that her past belief that perhaps a situation such as hers happened before, could be found beneath her. A leap of logic, sure but in this situation there needed to be a beginning.

“No need to sign up, the expedition starts tomorrow night; come back here, and all you need to do is follow. Don't be late.” She winked before turning around, the bandaged man leading the way toward a staircase on the side of the wall disappearing into the mess of people soon after. The voices of all once again booming as the thundering chants of men and women alike all in celebration over their shared desire to traverse the Valley of Giants. 

Realizing she's the only one standing alone, she quickly scrambled for somewhere to go, leading her to the center of the capital. There, her eyes immediately landed on Schwartz, drinking alone, quiet, isolated. Quickly she slipped past the mess and landed on the seat beside him grabbing his shirt so that his ear was right up against her mouth.

“Where the hell were you?”

Letting him go, he rubbed his head and answered.

“Unlike you, I know people here. If I'm seen with some weird woman, it could spell even more trouble.”

“Y’know you’re Offley chummy with a ticking time bomb. Even if Anne and you are okay with…” She pointed to her head. “Doesn’t mean anyone else here will be.” Elizabeth sighed and looked back at the crowd. 

“Have you heard what’s going on?”

“Partly. All I know is that I don’t like it one bit. You realize what they’re doing, don’t you?”

“No such thing as a newcomer here; either you die in the Valley or are sacrificed for the benefit of the ones that dwell in it. Same result.”

“But you’re still going, aren’t you?”

“Don’t have any other choice. I don’t think the logic is flawed. The shadowed beasts are bounded by an absolute law, the Valley of Giants isn't, put two and two together and you get the Stehnam.  I'm just not sure what they want to do with that information.”

“Only one way to find out then?”

“Unless you have a better idea, then yeah. Only one way to find out what's going on herem”

She was still against the idea of him coming, every second this expedition seemed like more trouble than what was needed. This wasn't a one day trip, that much she was sure of. He needed to be there with his family.

Sliding her fingers across the wood, she thought of a solution

Schwartz slipped an annoyed side at the dreary situation, she was making a bigger thing out of it than what was needed and she knew that. In response all she did was wave her hand that basically said, forget it.

“You're not afraid of anything happening down there?”

Schwartz shrugged, taking a sip of his drink before responding. His indifference was a bit haunting in a way, it almost seemed to her that she cared more about his family than he did. Maybe he was just that confident with his abilities, he didn't seem like the type but what did she know.

“Made a deal, that's about it. I'm bound by that whether I like it or not.”

“Well then why did you make that deal then?”

“Well, why did you?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows at him, clearly taken back by what he said, demanding him to continue.

“Why else would you be putting yourself through this? If it wasn't a deal then was it a promise? Risking your life isn't something you do lightly right? There wasn't another choice?”

“Call it a responsibility— no, maybe a burden. I made a choice and now I have to stick with it. My father taught me to never back down from a decision, see it through until the very end,” her hand slid down to her stomach. “No matter what.”

“Going off of someone else's ideology then huh. Doesn't seem like that'll bode well if things turn for the worse.”

“Why's that?”

He took another sip of his drink, staring aimlessly in front of him until he turned his head and into her eyes.

“You'll see.”