Lira

[Ladyhawke1973]

"It's still here" Lira thought to herself as she warily opened the gates to the O Guild. "After all that happened, I thought it'd be in ruins."
Refuse scattered the main grounds, overgrown weeds and bushes crowded the walkway. The stonework of the building was aging and thick vines had grown over the front door, but it was still standing.

Lira crept over to the dock, which was slowly rotting from years of neglect, but still had enough strength to hold a slightly built elf. The view was unchanged- the river, the sunset, the view of Trinity from Westgate. It was still beautiful.

"I wonder..." She snuck to the entrance, expertly hiding in the shadows of the trees and brush, and quietly moved back the vines and foliage growing into the home's front door. After carefully searching the door through the thick underbrush and finding the keyhole within, she paused to meticulously re-examine the entire door and frame. Taking a deep breath, she mumbled to herself "looks safe enough...I hope." She pulled from her satchel a gold key, inscribed with an eye inside a blazing sun, and carefully inserted it into the lock. As quietly and softly as she could, she turned the key.

*CLICK*

Lira jumped back from the sound and the door as the lock disengaged. She checked herself to see if she still had her hand or if something had suddenly lopped it off. She was skittish now, fearful, not as bold and carefree as when she first came to Trinity so long ago. Even so, her curiosity of what lie within and the exuberance of her young age gave her the courage to push the door open, just slightly, just in case.

"No traps so far, that's good." She remembered the house, the place she had begun to call home. The grandness of the halls, the camaraderie of the people within who welcomed her not with suspicion and fear, but with open arms and sharing hearts. Not that they were all good, some of them were downright mean, but they all shared this place as equals, none better than the other, and they had laughed, cried, and many even died in these very halls. A tear crept in her eye and she was suddenly angry, wiping it away with a vengeance. "No crying. I don't cry". She steeled her emotions and walked into the main entry.

Despite the blood stains on the thick rugs, the scorch marks on the walls, and the scars of sword marks etching the stone walls, it still held an air of grandness. The statue of Jarner, someone she never met, but heard so many wondrous tales of, still stood solemnly watching over the den. "More courage than brains" proclaimed the plaque. "Sure can say that again, probably about all of us...Oops, thinking aloud again. I really must stop that. Grr. Did it again".

She wasn't sure why she felt compelled to come back, but she just had a feeling it was time. She felt safe here and being homeless and wandering the world the past few years, she longed for a place to belong again.

Lira crept over to the bar, tentatively looking at the destruction that had been wrought, smashed bottles, overturned chairs, and spotted something glinting in the farthest corner under the bar. An intact bottle with a reddish-pink hued liquid. It had a worn label that couldn't be deciphered. Lira knew what it was and knew it was a good sign.

After exploring the remainder of the guild house, Lira felt more at home than she had for many years. Despite the blood-stained cushions, she curled up on one of the big sofas in one of the dens, feeling her eyelids growing heavier, she dozed and dreamt of her family coming home.