[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vvi4faRB2M][u]I N  T H E  D A R K[/u][/url][/center]
No, no, no. Edward could not believe what they were doing. It was night time, they were far, far beyond the safety of the United Isles, and even a soldier's sweep of the little area they had commandeered wasn't enough to make Ed's heard stop racing.

And now Constance, drunk, foolish and loud as the Ring of Thunder, was actually traipsing off into the shadows to see what the noise was. That was probably the most foolish thing they could do, right? Walk directly into the danger zone? They were just crazy.

"Constance!" Captain Conway's voice cut across the campsite sharply. "We don't know wha's out there, lass. Ya don't want ta--oh skies above--stop encouraging her, Krauss!" But it was too late. 

With a sigh of dread, Edward got to his feet and followed. "Constance!" he cried. Conway certainly wasn't going to move: the man seemed entirely content to sit and watch. There was no real reason to be afraid, after all, right? The soldiers had found nothing worth worrying over. "Luna, come on!" Surely Luna wouldn't be joining in on this madness? And yet, that was exactly what was happening. A bunch of stupid fools, headed off on a suicide mission. Who could really tell what would be out there?

For a long while, they blundered through the brush. Edward caught up to the drunken business magnate and her band of compatriots shortly, berating them the whole while. "I swear to God, if we end up dying because you couldn't leave well enough alone, I will kill you in the afterlife." He poked the inebriated Constance in the shoulder with irritation. "And Krauss, what the hell is wrong with you? Won't take us here during the day, but you'll waltz to your doom at night? Please, give me a statement for the paper: how exactly did you live so long taking such stupid--"

Then he tripped over a root. With a stifled curse, Ed fell forward out of the brush, landing with a heavy thud on loamy soil. He grunted pain and exhaled heavily, swearing several very, very unpleasant words into the night air.

Not wanting to appear weak or graceless, he forced himself to roll quickly to one side, pushing up on an elbow to survey what lay beyond them. His mouth dropped.

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"No." Edward mumbled. "Ohhhh, no. We are not going in there." He would have said more, except for the sudden noise which came from just a little ways in front of them. He jumped involuntarily, then realized the noise had come from a man. Not just any man, however. Edward groaned, already regretting his decision to come along.

The man was wearing a tophat. "God help me." Edward muttered. "And...just...who are you?"