Experience with Merimei
Before Shell can even begin to question the situation, Wim’s voice rings out with enthusiasm, “We didn’t even have to go looking for you! Looks like my guess was correct.”
The two travellers make eye contact for a brief moment, Shell’s bewilderment contrasting Wim’s smug satisfaction. As the figure emerges from the trees, Shell is caught off guard by how tall she is. Despite being shorter than the trees around them, she looks down on the two people standing before her. She is wearing a cloak, riddled with twigs and leaves, that conceals most of her body. Her face looks surprisingly youthful compared to the short, grey hair framing it.
She hardly acknowledges Wim and she continues to speak to Shell. “I will give you the same choice I give everyone else who tries to leave the village: Turn back now and stay safe in Merimei or leave and never return.”
“Who are you?” Shell finally utters. “What do you mean I can’t come back?”
The woman grimaces in a way Shell is all too familiar with; The grimace of someone who has lived through this conversation too many times. “I am the one who was tasked with watching over this village. If you leave, for the sake of maintaining this place and upholding my promise, I cannot allow you to come back.”
“Oh, let me guess!” Wim interrupts once more. “You’re the friend of that important person who lived in the village, right? That’s what this ‘promise’ is about, right?”
Her glare still locked on Shell, the woman attempts to brush Wim off. “This has nothing to do with you. Leave now and you will forget this ever happened.”
Wim barely seems to hear the woman’s words as she proceeds with her next theory. “If that’s true, then you’re probably the one who gave that warning to the people of Merimei. I bet you’ve been working behind the scenes to keep them in line for some time now.”
This time Shell calls out in accusation. “You’re the one who started that stupid rumour!?”
The woman’s face remains stony and cold. “I have done what I need to keep Merimei under control. The less the people change, the closer the village stays to what he fell in love with. Now, make your choice.”
Seeing his anger rising, Wim places a hand on Shell’s shoulder, but he quickly shrugs her off and points a finger directly at the woman. “You’re doing this just because some guy asked you to several centuries ago? You’re just like those idiots back home! What gives you the right to control the village anyway?”
As Shell tries to catch his breath, Wim jumps in. “He’s right, you know. The village might be on the outskirts, but it falls under the governance of the Eastern Capital. Unless you’re with them, you shouldn’t be controlling this place.”
The woman’s expression changes for the first time, as if Wim’s words had slapped her across the face. “Do not associate me with those scoundrels. It is their influence that I guard this place from.”
The sudden outburst blasts a hole in the conversation which instantly fills with the sounds of the surrounding forest. Shell is the first to speak. “Wait, did you say the Eastern Capital? I was told that important person who came to the village way back then was a hero of the Eastern Capital.”
The woman sneers, “The Eastern Capital isn’t worthy of heroes. I knew it from the start, but that fool didn’t figure it out until it was too late. We came here to be rid of them, and for the rest of his days we were happy.” She pauses, as if mourning the memory of times gone by. “This place must not change. It is the only remaining part of this land that has yet to be tainted.”
“I see what has happened now. That important person must have been Morrik the Sentry. If so, that would make you Elma the Enlightened.” Even without confirmation, Wim nods to herself as if bowing after a performance.
“That is none of your concern. As I have said, you would be wise to keep walking. You won’t remember any of this once you leave the forest.” The woman turns her attention back to Shell with a look of expectation.
Noticing this, Wim steps closer to Shell to be in the woman’s line of sight. “Hold on, I wasn’t finished. I’ve been looking for people like you who escaped…”
Before she could finish, the tall woman takes a defensive posture. “They sent you here to hunt me down, didn’t they?”
“Woah, I said hold on a second!” Wim cries, putting her hands up. “The Eastern Capital was overthrown nearly 200 years ago. I just said they were still around to gauge your reaction. The group that ultimately dismantled and replaced them were people like you who fled after learning of the corruption within their ranks.”
