Vaile finished a loop around one of the non-Euclidean streets, taking care to note when he ended up back at the start. By his estimations, each street had a different set point where the loop would reset, making the process of escape seem to be utterly impossible. Some of the streets that ran parallel to others would restart their loop at a place that, by his estimates, would only be around one-half of the length of that of another parallel street. Some of them even had more intersections that, by al rights, should not have led anywhere, and yet when followed would send him to a different place entirely.

Vaile was not simply trying to figure this all out using pure memory alone, of course. After leaving the inn earlier that day, he had made the intelligent decision to start making a map. The only real issue in regard to this was the fact that he essentially could not make a ‘normal’ map. He had been forced by the nonsensical layout of this place to put each individual street on a separate part of the map, all of which were labeled so as to lower his level of confusion.

It was a bit like trying to map out a ‘Mysterious Forest’ level in one of those games with the pointy-eared hero in a green tunic, but after redrawing the map several times he managed to get everything in order. However, daylight was starting to be replaced by the darkening skies of the night, and Vaile wasn’t dumb enough to stay outside during that time. He beat a hasty retreat back to the inn and holed himself up in his room, popping a sleeping pill so as to avoid the noise and stress that would almost certainly come that night.

…

They whaled on the door and screamed for the man inside to come out. They didn’t want to do that much to him or with him, and he just needed to open up so that they could ‘talk’ with him. This was the time when they were at their most powerful, and it was the time when the shackles that usually bound them were loosened just enough for them to do what they wanted. However, all of that freedom vanished the moment that the clock struck midnight. Vaile... his body would be the thing that they needed to escape this place, to reunite with their ancestor and prepare for their ascension.

He would not feel a thing during that procedure, so what was the issue? They could not understand why he was so paranoid, as they knew that their cause was just. This was all not merely for their own personal benefit, but for Vaile as well! He just needed to understand. He just needed to see. His mind would be opened if he just let them do what they needed, but someone or something was keeping him from them.

The time of chains was closing in once again, and soon they would all be bound by the hated rules of this place once again. They would be, for the most part, prisoners trapped within their own collective consciousness, forced to watch and wait as the hell played out again as if nothing had ever changed. Only a few were free, and even then, they needed to be careful and quick, lest the chains bind them as well.

It would only be a few minutes until they were shackled again, and all they could hope for was that the Hounds would keep watch while they were so heavily regulated. After all, despite the looks of this damnable city, there was always the danger of something coming and harming their ticket to freedom. Those threats were all around them, and yet they could do nothing to any of them.

It was a humiliation that they could not abide by, to be forced to play by their rules, to be unable to establish their rightful dominance over them. Only the Hounds could strike at them, and only if Vaile was in danger from them. However, it looked to be that they enjoyed watching him try and escape, that they enjoyed watching his struggle.

There had been those that came before him, and as such, they knew that their interest in Vaile would eventually wane to nothing. And when that happened? It was too terrible to even begin to dream of. They could only struggle like usual until the binding that held them for most of the day imprisoned them again and sent them back to their dwellings. Tonight, as well was a bust, and their bodies were forced onto autopilot as the control was reestablished.

They could only hope that tomorrow night would be different. They would have Vaile break their chains, one way or another.

…

“Woof.” Said one of the Hounds to another of its kind as it trotted down the branching paths.

“Grr… woof woof, bark, ruff woof.” Replied another that had just returned to the place where the rest were after trying and failing to sneak into Vaile’s room.

“Arf? Grr woof grr bark bark bark bark woof!”

The others nodded in agreement. While they couldn’t get inside the room due to one thing or another while the entrances/ exits were shut, they had not tried to do so when the door or window was open. Perhaps one of them could hide under the bed and wait for Vaile to get back?

“Arooo… grr woof bark grr arf bark woof.”

The rest tilted their heads at this. They didn’t sense anything wrong with him when they saw him, so what was that one going on about?

Arf bark woof? Arf arf grr woof grr grr bark arf arooo?”

That was true. He did seem to be drastically weaker than he should have been. They had seen his level and, well, his physical performance seemed to be lacking, especially for someone that should be much, much more powerful.

“Arf aroooo… Grr grr bark bark grr arf grr arf bark arf arooo grr bark.

It all clicked. This was beyond outrageous! This was beyond unacceptable! It was one thing to chain them, but to chain him? No, no, no, that just would not do. They needed to get a word with him, but would that plan even work? Well, there was only one way to find out, and one of them had to be the one to risk their neck to try it.

“Arf. Arf arf.”

Well, at least there was one of them that chose to volunteer. Now the real question was if it would even work. Well, that was to be found out later. Or sooner? Or right now? Or earlier? Well, it didn’t matter either way. To them, time was just another limitation that they didn’t really need to worry about nearly as much as everyone else. From here, they could go anywhere and anywhen, so long as it had already happened. Of course, getting involved was out of the question, but they could watch.