Within and Without

Skeer was aware of the warmth of his physical body, even as the snow piled up around him in the Planar world. Spirit shivering is difficult at best, and Skeer could feel the sweat break out on his skin. The ice-laced wind battered against Skeer's already battered projection. If he kept it up for too long, Skeer feared that he wouldn't have the strength to return to his body completely. Already, he was pressing the limits. But he had to know.

As Skeer searched for a clue, any clue, of his mother's spirit tracks in the driven snow, he could hear them yelling, screaming. Raider, pirate, spectre. Murderer. They cursed him and railed against him. Skeer knew their tricks, yet he could not protect himself fully. His projection could not last much longer. "If I'm not careful, they might find me. Just like they found mom," Skeer thought to himself.

Skeer's body was trembling and his hands began to spasm uncontrollably. "Not enough time!" shot through his mind, as Skeer summoned the last of his strength. There. Finally. They were faint, but there were definitely spirit tracks underneath the crusted snow. Skeer followed the tracks to a massive stone that had been cleaved asunder. Here, he found what he was looking for. His mother's projection, faded and tattered. But it had been placed in some sort of container. What was going on here?

Out of the corner of his eye, Skeer saw something. "Foolish. I'm just tired and I'm not used to projecting myself for so long," he reasoned. Skeer approached the container to examine it and, perhaps, find a way to free his mother's projection. "Not that it would matter," he thought bitterly and recited to himself the first law of Spirit Shivering: "A body cannot survive without its soul." Again, Skeer saw something out of the corner of his eye. No, this time it was more than one thing. Fear made itself known in Skeer's heart, clenching it and constricting his lungs. "No. It can't be. They couldn't have!"  

Skeer immediately began the return process to his body, but it was already too late. A blur. "From the left!" his brain screamed. Suddenly, the intensity of the curses, threats, and accusations increased ten-fold. Skeer thought that he could see them, and if he can see them... Skeer quickly realized that he wouldn't be returning to his body. More slowly, he felt the icy blood of dread fill his veins.