A Tangle of Brambles Chapter 9 - Rude Awakenings
Chapter 9 is up! The gang is off to Brakenbury Sanitarium, where the leading minds in animancy must be able to help with Awakenings, right?
Something about Brakenbury Sanitarium just felt… wrong. The fur on the back of Hazel’s neck stood on end as they descended the stairs to the lower level. Potted plants still lined the hallways, but the lighting seemed to grow dimmer. The lack of windows underground, she tried to tell herself. She’d just spent too much time underground recently. Hazel tried to draw as far inside herself as she could, not wanting to brush up against the edges of any of the tortured souls who inhabited–or used to inhabit–here.
It was straightforward enough to find the Vailian animancer’s office, although Hazel couldn’t help but peer at the guarded door at the end of the hall that lead to the patient ward. The group piled into the office with Aloth trailing at the back. Only a few torches illuminated the dim room. While there was a desk and a couch arranged over a plush red carpet, Hazel’s attention was immediately drawn to a large cage in the far right corner behind restraining frames with thick copper bands. A cage that looked like it was used for holding kith.
Aloth hesitated in the doorway, his fingers trailing against the door frame. “Maybe… maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
Heather grinned. “It may not be a good idea, but it’ll sure as Hel be interesting.”
Start from the beginning!