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stomach twist in a knot.
    Noir then heard a group of men yelling up ahead.  Their voices approached and trampling footsteps could be heard.
    Metal rang out against metal.  The sound was mixed with aggressive shouts, orders being called about by the captain, and cries of men in pain.
    Noir could not stand not knowing what was going on any longer.  He brushed the blindfold against the ground, scraping it up his forehead.  It took him a few tries, and he could feel the dirt scraping the side of his face, but soon he could see grass with one eye.  As soon as he raised his head to peek at the scene around him, a hand pulled the blindfold back down on his face.  Nothing was said to him, but Noir knew he should not try it again.
    Within a matter of minutes, the sound of fighting had stopped.  Noir still had no idea who had attacked them, why, or what the outcome was.  He had no idea if Aimee and Steven were all right.
    Suddenly, Noir felt himself roughly jerked up to his feet.  The rough motion shot pain through his damaged leg.  Hands grabbed his arms with an iron grip.  He heard an unknown voice scream passionately right into his face, “What do you know of this attack, boy!?  Huh?  What do you know!?  My friend lays dead because of you and your family!”  Noir had no idea how to react.  He was blind during the battle and couldn’t even see this man’s face.  Noir opened his mouth but no words came out.
    “Stand down!” yelled the captain’s voice.  After a moment, the hold on Noir’s arms released.  “At present, we have no way of knowing if he was responsible for this attack.”  The Captain’s voice came closer as he spoke.  “Son.  Do you have any idea why bandits would have wanted to take your family?”
    Noir’s brain reeled.  They were taken?  Why in the world would someone want anything with them?  They had no clue about anything that was going on.
    Noir said in a quivering voice, “I have no idea.  What happened to them?”
    Noir heard Grandel’s voice turn muffled as though his back was to him.  “I don't think he's lying.  I would rather something evil to not come to those two if they are indeed innocent.  However, we cannot spare the men right now to hunt down the bandits.”
    Captain Grandel’s voice trailed off.  He called out orders as he went.  Soon, Noir was nudged from behind and told to walk.
    Noir gave in to despair.  He had no idea what to do.  His family had been taken by, what, bandits?   The severity of his situation was truly sinking in as he blindly stumbled forward.  He wanted to go home.
     
    ~~~
     
    Noir walked on with the group of warriors for hours.  His damaged leg ached more and more as they went and he couldn't help but slow down.  As he walked, he thought about his uncle and cousin.  Where were they being taken?  What would bandits want with them?  Where was this place that there even were bandits?  Noir also thought about his home.  He missed his parents and wished that he really had gone fishing that day instead of investigating the cave.  How long would it take for the rest of the family to start searching for the three of them?  If they went to the cave, would they get… sucked into this world as well?
    The sounds changed from that of an open field to the closeness of a forest.  Birds sang around him and twigs broke underfoot.  After a while, they stopped and Noir could hear Captain Grandel somewhere in front of him talking to a new voice.  Then Noir was nudged forward again from behind.  The grass and twigs underfoot changed to hard dirt.  The sounds changed again, this time from wilderness to the sounds of a town.  People greeted the soldiers around Noir as he walked blindly by.  A hammer clanging against metal rang out to his right.
    Finally, Noir was told to stop.  He felt the blindfold lifted off of his face.  He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the sudden light then looked around.  He was in a very small