FORTRESS OF REGRETS

I found myself standing on a walkway, alone, outside an enormous building, only a small portion of which I could see from where I stood. A gray nothingness filled the sky. A single movement caught my eye, on a section of the walkway some distance away, in a direction that would take me away from the building. But my curiosity, always my curiosity, had been aroused. I expected to find enemies enough inside the building, but outside?

I moved away from the building. After a few dozen paces I could see a figure ahead of me. Someone I recognized, who I had been avoiding since the first time I met her in the Mortuary. Before me was the ghostly form of Deionarra; her spectral gown seemed stirred by some ethereal breeze. She was standing at the edge of the black stone causeway, staring out into the emptiness of the Plane.

"Deionarra...?"

"My Love! You should *not* be here! You must leave at once!"

"Deionarra, what is this place? Is this the Fortress?"

"This is the Fortress of Regrets. It is the place that holds the moment of my death prisoner, and I may not stray far from its halls. If you can find a way back to Sigil you *must;* if you stay here, my Love, you shall die."

"I'm immortal, Deionarra; I don't think I have much to worry about, even here."

"No, my Love. There is something about this Fortress - the shell that surrounds it cuts it off from the rest of the Planes. It is that shell that acts as a barrier to your immortality."

"A shell? The Pillar told me that when I die, another dies in my place. And if it can't find someone to die for me -"

"Then if you die in this place, it is the end, for there is nothing that *lives* here - so you must be careful. Return back to Sigil and leave this cursed place!"

"But - my allies are here: and that means they are inside this shell. What happens to *them* if I die?"

"My Love, if you have brought *anything* that lives with you to this place, then it is in terrible danger - both from the shadows and from you. Should you die here, your immortality will hunt for the closest living thing in the Fortress, and *that* is the one that shall die in your place. You must leave here, now!"

"I can't *go* back. So can you tell me *anything* else that might be helpful? What waits inside the Fortress?"

"There is no natural darkness within the Fortress, my Love, only the shades of those who have died in your place. The energies of this Plane feed them, and their hatred for you is beyond all reason. They will not permit you to leave." She threw a glance at the walls of the Fortress. "Do *not* enter, I beg you!"

"But - my allies are in there. I cannot leave them. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"If you brought others, then they were cast from you when you arrived - it is the nature of this place to divide living things... then kill them." She looked distraught. "The Fortress is a thing of many miles - finding your friends here will be difficult."

"I have to find them. There is no choice in the matter."

"Very well, my Love... if you intend to go on, you must know this - past the entrance to the Fortress is a great antechamber with countless shadows. You must move swiftly and not let them gather about you, or you shall surely be slain!"

"One thing more..." Deionarra paused, as if trying to catch a fleeting memory. "Within... within the chamber are great clocks..." Her voice became steadier, more certain. "Clocks which you spoke of once as having been the key to you escaping that chamber... when you were trapped there once before." She looked at me. "I know I cannot stay you from your course, my Love -- I shall watch for you, and help you if I can."

"I brought your ring, Deionarra. I found your legacy to me."

"The ring still holds a part of me within it, my Love. When you carry it, you carry my heart with you." She closed her eyes for a moment, and I suddenly felt a warmth pass through me. Deionarra opened her eyes, then smiled. "I knew you would return to me with it in your keeping. Carry it now with my blessing, and keep it close to your heart. Through it, I will defend you."

"You have my thanks, Deionarra. I must go now." At my words, Deionarra faded from sight.

I returned the way I had come, and then continued past the spot at which I appeared. The walkway ended at a circular portal, a portal which opened as I approached it. I entered the fortress, arriving in the 'antechamber' Deionarra had mentioned.

I had to dodge shadows, and trigger mysterious devices, before I could open the portal which would take me further into the fortress. There were footsteps in the dust of that chamber, and markings left on giant clock faces. I recognized them; I had been here before, the last time I had visited the fortress. Finally, I stood before the exit portal, and passed on, into a another portion of the fortress.

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