((Unfortunately, I'll have to at least temporarily disappoint the sultry Vordra, for I too have returned from the dead!!!))
The hallway was only dimly lit with a eerie green light that had no discernible point of origin, a maddening hue that would drive someone to insanity if they spent too long beneath it. And the hallway was long. Very long. Cassius felt like he'd been running down it forever, his eyes burning beneath the light. Even closing them gave no comfort, such was the intensity.
He could scarce think, but in the back of his mind he knew what had happened: he had stretched his magical abilities too far, and had ripped his soul apart in doing so. There were vague recollections of something to do with a carriage, and many companions who would benefit from his aid. Other than that, all he knew was that if he couldn't find some way to reconnect his wandering soul with his mortal mind, he would die.
Soon.
As if the world around him sensed his desires, the hallway came to an abrupt end. Cassius now stood facing three passageways; one was an iron portcullis covering a blazing hot cavern, one was a tall and majestic metal double-door engraved with twin suns, and one looked like the entrance to an ornate mausoleum. Where such an alignment of doors may confuse a stranger, Cassius knew where each door led...and he didn't like that he'd stumbled upon them while roaming out of his body.
Things in the realm of spirits were often odd or nonsensical, but they always had a purpose. They could show you your future, or maybe a detail from a past event that you'd somehow overlooked. The things a person saw could fill them with hope, or haunt them forever. It was the latter that Cassius currently felt in the face of those doors, for each was one he'd seen at least once before in his life. Each was the entrance to a place that one of his siblings called home. Each was the entrance to a different hell for Cassius.
Surely, there was some reason that he'd come across these doors. Something beyond dredging up painful memories. There had to be...
Behind him, a mechanism clicked loudly. He turned and saw a large wooden door, slatted with metal. It was set into the side of a vast carriage. Then it hit him: the carriage! All of the memories of what had happened came flooding back to him. He was trying to help his newfound comrades, specifically the expectant ones looking for a way to solve the riddle of their strange curse. A curse beset on them through idols of great power. And if there was one thing Cassius's family had always been known for, it was great power.
He glanced over his shoulder at the three doors, steeling his jaw.
"
I guess its time for a family reunion..." he said under his breath.
With determination in his steps, he looked back to the carriage door and opened it, stepping through into a bright white light...
Cassius woke with a start, gasping for air.
He sat bolt upright and looked around. The room was spacious, lined with many comfortable-looking seats and warmly lit by both a rustic chandelier and a stone fireplace. Heavy rugs covered the bare wooden floor. A set of stairs curved around the room off to the side, leading to a catwalk around the upper-half of the room. A large kitchen sat in a nook off to the side beneath the stairs. There were several doors on both floors, all closed for the moment. The whole place looked akin to a cozy inn out in the countryside.
Cassius stood, his mind a little fuzzy and telling his legs they were weak from all the running he'd just done. Once his muscles realized the charade, he was able to move around normally again. And smell normally, which caught his attention because he smelled food...and it smelled delicious. A quick glance around the kitchen left him confused, for there was no one and no cooked food to be found. Then he heard some voices coming from beyond a large wooden door that looked a lot like...
He was inside the carriage!
Noting that quite a lot seemed to have changed and puzzling over just how he'd managed such a feat, he walked over to the door and pushed it open.
Outside he was greeted by a sight for some literally sore eyes; all of his new friends were positioned around an inviting looking campfire, over which was boiling the source of the tantalizing smell. He took the few steps down from the carriage and approached an open spot nearest the fire, smiling.
"
Hello, gents and lovely ladies! Mind if I join you...?"
