Meh you tell me if you want me to finish this, figure I outta post something after all this time

Kris picked up the last of the broken key pieces, sliding it into their pocket. They turned away from the chest and walked back down the path to the paper ballet dancers, and Susie, Ralsei, and I followed suit. We carefully weaved past circles of beautiful ballerinas and headed west toward the bake sale. I smiled and inquired about our current plan, "So, are we paying Malius a visit so they can put that key together?" They nodded, silently walking over to the giant talking hammer.

"Well, well, I am the smith Malius. I can fix anything. Weapon, armor..." they paused for a moment, ". . .I can even fix you! Well, well, what will it be?" Kris dug into their pocket and pulled out the shards of key, holding it out for the smith to see. "Huh – – – ! That key is seething with energy! You must let me fix it!" Kris dropped the parts on the floor in front of them, "Huh-hah! Let's feel my technique!" They smashed into the bits with a squeaking sound, miraculously forming them into a single piece that, if I hadn't seen moments before, I'd think was never even broken. Before I could express my gratitude, they swept their gaze over each of us, making sure to meet our eyes to make sure we were paying attention, and switched into a more serious tone. ". . . . Hmm, this key has a terrible energy coming from it. . . Please understand that I only fixed it. . . So that you will never have to use it." I turned my head in Kris' direction, looking for guidance of some sort. I know they planned on using this key to open the cell of that mysterious prisoner. They... he sounded lonely and intriguing, but the person in that cage was clearly insane, and all that stuff Malius and Seam said... he must have been behind bars for a really bad reason.

I didn't think Kris noticed me staring, or they at least didn't acknowledge it. They just turned and left without so much as glancing at any of us. Susie and Ralsei stepped into line to follow him, but I stood still. "I'll catch up with you guys in a bit, I have something I wanna do." Ralsei looked at me, "Are you sure? It's dangerous in this forest, we can wait for you!" I shook my head, "No, no, you guys go on ahead, I'll just be a minute." "Okay.." I watched the group walk off to the weird magical door before turning back around. "Hey, Mal? ..Can I call you Mal?" "I am not against it." "Well then, Mal, about that 'terrible energy'.. what exactly do you mean?" "It just feels. . . dark. Very sinister. It's hard to explain, but great suffering could come of its use." "I see, thank you." "No need to thank me, I am merely-" "Just take the thanks, man, you've helped us a lot." "It's my pleasure, really." I looked towards the door, "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you around!" "Yes, you must catch up with your friends. Goodbye, lightner." I waved and ran over to the floating gateway.

I opened it and stepped through to the other side, but rather than the front of the king's castle, I stood near Seam's shop. I guess subconsciously I really wanted to talk to him too, and didn't entirely want to go see the others yet. I turned to my right and walked over to his 'seap,' ducking under the fabric hanging over the doorway.

"Ah, it's you again, traveler." I looked towards the stuffed cat and saw he was leaning forward, resting his elbows on the counter in front of him. "Hey, Seam." I stepped forward and looked at my feet, suddenly shy for some unknown reason. "Yeah, so, uh, just thought I'd stop by, say hi to my favorite shop-keeper." I pointed some incredibly awkward finger guns in his direction. He seemed amused. "I'm honored to receive such a prestigious title. Though, I have to wonder if that's truly why you're here." I fiddled with the hem of my top, my fingers seeking an outlet for this onslaught of nerves. "Honestly, I don't really know why I came. I did wanna say hi, you're cool and all, but I guess I just... don't want to go ahead yet?" "So my shop is a spot to wait for your courage to build up?" "I.. guess so, though now that I think about it I do have a question." "Yes?" "About the prisoner Kris brought up before..." His demeanor instantly became more tense, shifting to stand up straighter. "...Yes?" "Can you tell me any more about him?" His eyes looked darker, and he went quiet for a moment, before sighing and leaning on the counter again, "I suppose I have nothing better to do. What did you want to know?" "Well, for starters, how do you know him? I can't imagine you with someone so erratic." He chuckled. "Oh, you'd be surprised how much energy I had when I was younger. That man wasn't always the way he is now, either, not that he was ever particularly mellow. We we're both quite mischievous in our youth, and we'd run into each other occasionally while out pulling pranks, but we only really met as young adults, both working as entertainers for royalty, mostly the spade king. Our shows were a hit, I couldn't believe how something so fun could make for such a successful career. But, one day he changed. The difference was small at first, so I never considered it worth bringing up, but it was keeping me up at night how something about him was just.. off."

His eyes flicked to the wall behind me and he seemed to get lost in thought, shutting down entirely, breathing considerably slower. I let him stay that way for a moment, feeling bad for making him think about something so uncomfortable, but eventually decided I should break the silence. "Is that why he's in jail?" He returned his gaze to my face, and a smile started to creep up the edge of his cheeks. Not the calm, somber, introspective kind I'd come to expect from him, but rather an incredibly sinister-looking one. "Oh, I think you'll find that's the reason for a lot of things." He tapped the scar under his button eye, "Not just anyone would be able to hurt me like this." I took a step back, and his amusement only grew. "Do you know how many darkners died that night?" "N-no." "Neither do I, nor anyone. The wreckage was filled with such horrible utter chaos, they couldn't tell half the bodies apart. It was so..." His smile grew uncomfortably large and his eyes grew yet darker, a sick enjoyment plastered across his features. "Beautiful."