*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

Rhyme immediately sat up from her bed. The strange howling of the wind brought with it a sudden change in pressure in the air, and all of her instincts were on edge causing her fur to stand on end. However, Jotuun continued to sleep like a log next to her, his snoring rumbling softly like a deep base.

Rhyme blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to adjust a little as the room felt subtly off. On her wooden nightstand, she had a picture of her and Jotuun proudly standing in front of the Inn after the first purchased it. A few other small pictures hung around their room: one was from the days when she lived back in the woods of Farvenheim; one was where she and Jotuun first met traveling through the Seven Confederated City-States, and another was of their first customers in the dining room. On the far wall opposite the bed, their wardrobe was still properly in place with a large wooden club leaning against it.

One of the challenges of running an Inn was being able to balance expenditures, so it was still hard to maintain more than a small variety of outfits. I can only imagine Diane’s expenditures running through so many dresses… I don’t see how that girl can still keep up a profit considering she needs to repair, clean or replace them practically every day!

Rhyme sighed, as she kept trying to get her groggy mind to clear up and figure out what was bothering her. Then, she laid her eyes on the white lilies in the vase by the window sill.

…

Why… are they red? Why… does everything look red?!

Rhyme leaped out of her wool bed and rushed to the window, the disturbance causing Jotuun to snort a little from the sudden activity. Her small eyes opened wide and her whiskers stiffened sharply… followed by a sharp cry! Almost simultaneously, the sounds of other people and creatures began to fill the air.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Jotuun! Jotuun! Wake up!!! Something terrible is happening, wake up!”

With a slow groan, Jotuun stirs from his sleep. “Hrmmm… Rhyme, what…?” His deep voice stops abruptly as his senses quickly collect themselves.

“Dear, please, gather the guests downstairs! I need to check on the children!” With astonishing speed, Rhyme rushed out of their room and down the hall, her small feet carrying her as fast as she could run. Various Canians, Humans, Orcs and Catkin were also beginning to filter out of their rooms in various states of dress, weapons in hand.

“Hey Rhyme, whats going on!”

“Nyaaah! Innkeep! Hey!”

“Awoooooo!”

“EVERYONE, MOVE. DOWNSTAIRS. NOW.” Jotuuns deep and powerful voice carried easily over the mass chatter from the other patrons, easily commanding and herding them towards the dining area.

Rhyme flung the door open to Diane’s room, breathing rapidly. She was met with a sudden, quiet tackle from Emily as she practically leaped into a hug with Rhyme.

Emily… check. Diane… still sleeping… Clover… the poor creature is cowering as tightly into the corner of the room as he can… Where’s Thistle?

“Emily, where’s Thistleman? W-where is he?!?” Rhyme’s voice raised quickly as she didn’t see him anywhere in the room. Emily looked up at Rhyme, her eyes wide and pupils dilated from fear….

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

The wind outside continued to howl louder and fiercer.

“Emily, finish getting dressed and wait down stairs! I need to find Thistleman!” Rhyme tried to put on a comforting smile for Emily, but her growing distress was showing through.

“Thistle! Thistle! Where are you?! Thistlemaaaan!” The distress continued to grow in her voice as she desperately searched throughout the inn, unable to locate the child.

“Jotuun, Darling! Please watch over everything here! I can’t find Thistle! I’ll be back, don’t worry!”

Before he could even utter a single word in protest, Rhyme dashed out the front door of the Inn, still yelling out Thistleman’s name. Through the opened front doors, Scarlet Light poured in to the dining hall along with an extremely fierce gust of wind. A couple of the Orcs and Canians struggles to shut the door behind Rhyme, while the others looked to Jotuun for directions on what to do next. Emily also moved close to the Ursine, holding tightly onto one of his pants legs for comfort.

Njord was in absolute chaos. The city itself felt like it was caught near the border of two forces of nature violently colliding with each other, just barely out of reach of the worst of the disaster. The explosive power of the wind raging outwards from the west was more than strong enough to push back the wall of storm clouds from the city, the collision of winds pushing the clouds to incredible new heights.

Having the skies cleared, then further illuminated by the scarlet and red rays of light shining from the moon revealed the spectacle in all its terrible glory! Lightning burst violently between the rapidly churning clouds, as the storm front grew far more violent by the minute and tornadoes and waterspouts grew and raged around the city. To the north and south of the city, the storm continued to advance, pressing around the circle of air and revealing to the careful observer the center of the disturbance.

Rhyme continued to run desperately through the slums, fighting the wind to look through each and every back alley and across the roads small and large, shouting until she was hoarse, and searching with absolute determination for the missing child.

Nobody dared to leave the safety of their homes save for a select few daredevils and the town guard rushing to man the walls.

Where… where… where is he? He must be terrified! Those poor kids… they’ve been through so much… too much… I just… I didn’t know what to say! I didn’t know what to do, I had never seen Diane look so defeated! And Thistle was acting so weird! I wanted to let them have some space… I should have known have known he might run away somewhere! And now he must be lost somewhere, when god only knows what is happening… I have to find him! I promised I would take care of them, they’re the only children I have!

Then, just as suddenly as it all began, the ominous winds stopped blowing. However, the moon continued to shine its scarlet light, losing its color far more slowly than the change in the wind. The air had become terribly still, but only for a fleeting, passing moment… as the floodgates holding back the storm were released.

Everything that had been held back, and more, came rushing forth with the vengeance of a furious god! The heavy drops of rain blew through in moments, before transitioning to a blend of sleet and small hail. Rhyme’s clothes and fur matted tightly onto her skin as she kept trying to press on. Her legs were near exhausted, and she was shivering violently.

Before she knew it, she was near the central market, her movements slowing.

“Thistle…. Where… are… you…” Her voice was cracked from overuse, barely able to utter a sound. The sounds around here started to feel muted and soft, and painful battering from the sleet started to feel almost… warm? The low hum in the background was almost reassuring to her, as she trudged on.

Without warning, she felt a strong pressure knock her flat on the floor. “Squeee…” Rhyme was barely able to yelp, as she lay flat on the ground next to a surprisingly tall man holding dearly on to a very large brimmed hat. His clothes were all darkened leather, and he had on a pair of extremely dark sunglasses shaped to perfectly fit his eyes, and that hid where he was looking. On his back was a large mahogany crossbow, and straddled across his belt was a half-dozen silver spikes. He also carried a quicksilver blade on his waist, with the letter D emblazoned on the hilt, and silvered spurs on each of his boots.

“What the hell ‘er ya doing running around in a shit-storm like this, ya crazy rat bastard?! Are ya tryin’ ta get yerself killed?!”

Rhyme could barely hear him over the overwhelming hum in the background, which in any other circumstance would have sounded like a roar. The wind had grown especially violent, as chunks of the building along with some of its inhabitants next to them were ripped into a very low spinning cloud above their heads. Their screams would never be able to escape the tornado, as it continued to touch down further into the city, blasting through houses before making its way out into the forests beyond the city walls.

Almost immediately after the tornado passed, through the dust and rain, Rhyme saw the silhouette of a young boy walking backwards down the street, as if he was watching the path of the tornado. Black hair… the same height… the same clothes… Mustering the last of her strength, Rhyme pushed herself out of the grip of the stranger as she ran to the boy.

“Thistle! Thistle! Are you hurt? Are you safe?” She barely managed to croak out the words.

“Eh? Auntie Rhyme?! What are you doing out here!!” Thistleman turned around just in time to catch Rhyme almost falling into a hug, her legs giving out underneath her and tears pouring out of her eyes.

“Auntie?? Hey Auntie! Your so… cold… Can you hear me? Auntie?! Noooononononono! Not again… Absolutely not! Diane will have a fit! C’mon, let’s get you home…”

Thank god… he’s fine… making me worry… I’m so… tired…

She wasn’t able to feel much at the moment, as she slowly lost consciousness, but she felt like she was picked up off the ground by a small pair of hands before she fully lost consciousness.

“What in the 9 hells…?” The man dressed in black leather didn’t try and get up for a few minutes, staring at the tornado’s path and where he saw the kid appear, and then looking back to where the kid ran off carrying an adult larger than himself.

“Today just keep getting more and more interesting…” A grin slowly creeps across the man’s face, before a golf-ball sized piece of hail smacks him on the head. Then another one, and another after that come raining down.

“Gah! Damnit, that hurt! The hell am I still waiting out here for? I gotta find somewhere to get outta this damn storm! Ow! OW! FUCK! OW!”