[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=39b54a]William Fraser[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/09a7d8b539ab4871be0201ba32343361/tumblr_mfmavgOhGm1r03eggo4_250.gif[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][color=39b54a][b]Location:[/b][/color] [b]Soulless Fade Between <~SNAP~> DttS Fade Between[/b]
[color=39b54a][b]Skills:[/b][/color] [b]Gislid[/b] [/center][hr]

	The Duchess acknowledged William's introduction, but she gave no introduction of her own. To William, she would remain simply 'the Duchess' for now. Although 'The Great Bazhooli' had addressed her as a 'grand' Duchess, William struggled to connect the woman that he saw before him with an even more regal title than the one she already had in his head. Although she was clearly powerful, and her knowledge seemed to dwarf William's own, at least in matters of the strange and surreal, to William, she certainly didn't look like the heights of nobility. But there was something about her, a presence that she had maintained since she had first emerged from the flock of birds in front of the carriage what seemed like an eternity ago. William didn't know what it was, but he had brushed shoulders with nobility before, and this Duchess was something very different. 

	For all her presence however, to William she still seemed to be speaking in riddles. Something caught his eye though. A symbol, carved onto one of the crumbling stone walls. It had half-faded, but William could make out enough of it to recognise it as the same symbol that the Duchess had etched out on the floor of the church just moments before. Perhaps the Duchess really did have control over their journey to... wherever they are. That, or something really had drawn them here. William turned towards the Duchess, opening his mouth to question her about the symbol. He half-heard the less flamboyant of the two Russians introduce himself, but before William could speak, the world turned inside out. Again. 

[center][b]*****Snapping*****[/b][/center]

	For a moment, there was nothing but shades of black and grey. The same nausea from before struck William again, but he had braced himself for it this time. There seemed to be thick fog in every direction, but then details started to emerge from the darkness. He might have been prepared for the nausea, but he was far from ready for the phantom that loomed out from the shadows. If he had been in the unknown before, he was surely now in hell, for it must be Death himself that stood above him. William's blood ran cold, but after an instant, he realised two things. The first was that the phantom wasn't swooping forwards to claim William's soul. And the second was that he wasn't alone. 

	The presence of a face he knew, even slightly, did plenty to reassure William, even if the uncertainty in her usually assured voice unnerved him. But it was the others that unnerved him even more. Two women, a man and a... snake, all in the shadow of the phantom. That, however, was as far as William's understanding went. The three figures were all dressed in a manner totally alien to William, and the man's face was painted to resemble a skull. At least, William hoped that his face was painted to resemble a skull. The thought of the alternative sent a shiver down William's spine. It took him a moment to process that the man had just spoken, and that William must be one of the 'new guests', although their surroundings certainly didn't seem like a party. The Duchess seemed to recognise the figure, and the edge to her voice did nothing to settle William's nerve. Instinctively, he moved his hand to grip the hilt of his dirk. Although he felt he already knew the answer, he glanced towards the sky for a moment, or at least where the sky should be, behind the rolling fog. Just as before, there were no stars. But wile before he could have passed their absence off as his mind still recovering from his sudden transportation, now there seemed to be a choking emptiness where the stars should have been. They weren't shrouded, they simply weren't there. 

	Trying to push the thoughts of the emptiness from his mind, William turned back to look at the three figures. Keeping his hand on the hilt of his dirk, careful to not take his eyes off of the figures, William spoke, trying to ignore how his voice seemed to echo in the void. 

	[color=39b54a][b]"Who are you? Did you bring us here?"[/b][/color]