Today’s snippet, titled “Epilogue”, is a piece I wrote about my PC in Mark’s new (Good) Pathfinder Campaign.
      Be forewarned, there are mature themes and naughty language below.
– – – – – – – – – – –
      Pounding the cobblestones as she ran, each step jarred her bones and tore at her wounds. Worst of all, her heart. It ached almost as it had when she was wrenched from her own world and tossed into this chaos.
      Kumiko felt tears welling in her eyes, but she adamantly refused to let even one fall. There was no time for that now. Later, when vengeance was won and her friends could rest in peace, perhaps. But not now.
      She dodged around a hideous, skulking beast. So bloated with whatever townsfolk it had found to gorge itself upon, it made only a half-hearted grab for her. Still, as she hit the ground with her shoulder and rolled back to her feet, Kumiko nearly cried out in pain. But she could spare no time to acknowledge physical pain either.
      There! She wanted to cry out in relief – or anguish – as Defender’s Heart loomed into view. I’ve made it!
      Her naked blade was still in her hands as she pushed past the startled guardsmen and dropped to her knees, just inside the door. Every fiber of her being hurt and she wondered if she would ever again know peace.
      As she knelt there, trying desperately to catch her breath, a few people shuffled closer. None dared speak to her. The stricken look upon her face must have spoken volumes.
      A commotion behind her drew their attention. Kumiko craned her neck back. Mira doubled over once she was safely inside, her tiny hands on her knees, her face red with exertion.
      “Seraphina?” Kumiko managed, twisting her body to better face the girl. “Red? Ema?”
      Mira met her gaze. The expression she bore was at once grief-stricken and determined. She shook her head softly.
      “Rhiallis?” Mira whispered. “Mickey? Celeste?”
      Kumiko dropped her chin to her chest, unable to speak. She would not have believed it possible, to find a friend amongst this madness, but she had. And now Rhiallis, as well as all their compatriots, was dead.
      “We have to go back,” Mira said. She grimaced, dragging something heavy around to present it to Kumiko. It was Radiance, the golden blade her friend, Rhiallis, had so proudly wielded against the demonic hordes. A sadness settled upon her heart. “We have to.”
      “Hai,” Kumiko agreed, and wished, not for the first time, that she spoke their common language better, to express the anger and sorrow in her heart.
      “We have to go back,” Mira repeated, looking down at the blade. It was stained with dried blood and soot, but somehow, seemed untainted. “We can’t let them have died in vain.”
      Grim determination on her face, Kumiko nodded. “Hai.”

– – – – – – – – – – –

Note: Image is “King Jagiello Statue Central” by (Mulligand) from SXC.hu; edited by me