Only after spotting the mulberries did Sylvie know where she was. Memories of her tribe migrating to the area in the spring swam gently through her mind and after a few images of her mothers washing the hand-sized berries in the brooks nearby, Sylvie thought of the modern name for where she was.

  -Northberry Hollow, part of the bigger area…Ganaswell Highnds.-

  Satisfied that she knew where she was, Sylvie circled the area once more in her cloud-like form and then desded oown once more. Ily given her ability, Sylvie khere was a reason for being here, but uhe others before, she would have to search for her ahis time.

  -This sucks. I have apparently been hahese much too long. Okay..towns should have people?-

  Just as the thought crossed through Sylvie’s mind, the vision adjusted and the popution of the toeared and gave life to her vision. With people finally milling about and talking among themselves, Sylvie finally took iails of the settlement. A single brick paved road crossed east to west and served as the entrand the exit. Peering north to south, Sylvie could see that the sedary road was still under stru and had piles of paving stones and sand, ready to pound the rocks into pbsp; Adding to the feel of the area, Sylvie smiled to herself as she hat all the buildings were made of pine and ected together much like an apartment plex. All of the structures had a covered wooden walkway and led into the various shops. As she expected, Sylvie saw that two of the four er buildings were in fa inn bined with a saloon that had a majority of the men withiown seemingly jeering one another.

  -So a toeople, how is this anything I o know? e on, what am I missing?-

  Resigning herself to looking over the rest of the newly formed hamlet, Sylvie floated from store to store and everything was as it should be for the time. Small goods stores that doubled as a small market for spices and flour, a few little pces for bcksmith work, practical shops with clothing and even down to an older-looking butchery. pleting the whole image was a single rail lihat had been id at the southern tip with an equally small station that made the pce a single small stop on its way deeper south into North Carolina.

  Time progressed for Sylvie and the sun dipped below the horizon, and one by ohe town’s nterns spread their light yelle overpping so that the town had a warm evening glow as the townsfolk kept right on with their lives as though the sun didn’t send the signal to head for home. Wanting to experiehe township a little closer, Sylvie shifted into her normal form and casually walked between the people, who just smiled and offered their ‘Hello’ to her as she strolled by the buildings.

  -Wait. They see me? Is this a vision or is this real?-

  It was only after an elderly man walked through her and said, “Good Evening, Franco”, that Sylvie turned and came face to face with her old friend. A warm sensation flooded through her as she took hat the man she knew hadn’t ged at all. Same salt and pepper hair, clearly of Israeli dest, well-spoken and with the same charm he possessed sihey met many years ago.

  -Franbsp; This is defihe past, a very distant past, since he’s not dressed as the artist he became and Kody is not present.-

  Listening to the polite chat betweewo gentlemen, Sylvie was suddenly distracted by the myriad of vampires that appeared out of the shadows and began talking to the folks like they were best friends. It was after watg the vampires trade tris of silver and gold, that Sylvie uood.

  -By the moon, they have a symbiotic retionship. Am I looking at the first attempt at Phantasmagoria?-

  Vampires that Sylvie had seen during the dedication to the mercury pool were present as well as their overall leader, the one she knew as Kinthia. With carts full of various goods trailing behind her, Kinthia left their little tribute and were paid with barrels of vampire blood and a fusing st of an unknowal emanating from within.

  -Wait, vampire blood? Why would the town have vampire blood and why the hell does it stink so badly?-

  Ao her questions faded from her mind and she felt the town disappear from her mind. Within a few minutes, Sylvie’s visiourned and she was standing inside of some carved shelter that she’d never seen before with the faint st of mulberries that lingered just beyond the rock walls. It was clear to Sylvie that this space was a small living une for the vampires with small carved living spaces for each member. Dead ter of the room was what Sylvie sidered a rge dais, plete with stairs that came in from all sides of the circle and outlined with rge ornate pilrs depig the various stars and their locations in the sky. Walking up the small flight of stairs, Sylvie was met with a recessed basin filled with liquid that reminded her of gss rather than water.

  It was after spotting the stolen guide, To Xenos, ying on a small carved desk close to the pool that she was able to put all the pieces together.

  -Another pool. Okay, why have the vampire blood?-

  Appearing per her inquiry, the small barrels of blood were poured into the pool and held small ks of silvery-gray metal that seemed to melt almost immediately in the ing wake. It was seeing the results of the mixture that ed Sylvie greatly. Images of fantastic worlds appeared as though summoned by a magic mirror out of a fairy-tale. Watg in awe as the worlds fshed through as though looking at a well-crafted artbook, Sylvie had a super chilled shiver run the length of her spine when she saw the same world that she’d seen in the rge pool outside of the Mill.

  -So this is their sourbsp; This pool is too small…my word, it's a sg device, a literal crystal ball. You damned fools.-

  Just like f a movie, Sylvie looked away from the pool and trated on the vampires themselves. the others, Sylvie took a mental iory of all the metals that passed through the small spabsp; It didn’t take her long to add everything up and know that the portal was going to be built.

  -But why didn’t they build it here? All of the parts are right here.-