Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Chapter 111: The Doll

"These people aren’t the surrendering type," Oberyn scowled as the trio stood over the wounded swordsman. The burning in his arm told him everything he needed to know. He took a step closer to the human crawling along the ground - the one Ezra had defeated moments ago.

"Who sent you?" he spat.

The swordsman writhed, bloodied hand reaching toward him in defiance. Oberyn tightened his grip on his blade, heart pounding.

"Who sent you?" he demanded again.

But the man just curled his lips into a mocking grin.

"I’m not gonna - "

Oberyn’s hand trembled, but he didn’t hesitate. The blade found its mark, silencing the man. He tried not to look at Ezra’s face as he plunged the blade through the man’s heart.

He pulled the sword free. If the man wasn’t going to answer, then this was what had to be done. He’d already been tricked by a human once today. He wouldn’t be fooled again.

Oberyn’s lips pressed into a thin line as he watched the swordsman fall. His gaze lingered on Ezra, searching for something, but he didn’t say a word.

He could feel the question in that silence - but he didn’t have the answer. Not the one Ezra wanted, anyway.

"My opponent mentioned something of a doll," Oberyn said flatly, wiping his sword clean. He felt himself returning to normal, the fires of battle diminishing to embers in his heart.

"There was something in the house," Ezra said. The words felt heavier than they should. "A doll, actually. We should check it out. If they mentioned it, it must mean something."

As he spoke, he walked to the fallen spellcaster. He grabbed the Corestone ring and the staff - figuring that the man no longer had any need of them.

Oberyn raised an eyebrow, but Ezra didn’t elaborate. He simply led Bree and Oberyn back toward the house - one mystery bleeding into the next.

In a few moments, they found themselves crowding the dining room of the farmhouse, staring into the glass display cabinet.

"Unnerving, as you say," Bree said, looking at the small doll that rested in the dining room cabinet. It had hollow eyes and hair that seemed to be made of grass. Its body was wrapped in vines, almost like it had been tied up in restraints. The body of it was made of a sturdy wood.

"The spellcaster I fought mentioned a doll," Oberyn said, glancing back at it. "There’s no way it’s a coincidence. It must be this one."

Bree nodded, stepping away from the icon to allow him a closer look. "Magic like this is foreign to me. I wouldn’t know whether to destroy, take, or leave the doll. It could be a trap."

Ezra bit his lip and turned to Oberyn. He was holding the large staff left behind by the enemy spellcaster, inspecting it and trying to figure out how it worked, alongside the Corestone he’d plundered.

Oberyn stepped closer to the doll, peeking in at it. "Well, I certainly wouldn’t touch it," he mumbled.

"We’ll need to hurry if we ever want to catch up with Rav," Bree said. "We should leave it for now. We can always come back."

Oberyn’s eyes lingered on the doll again. There was something more to this, but Bree was right. Speculation could lead to more harm than good.

They stepped away, and as they were halfway out of the room, a rattling noise came from behind them. Oberyn turned to see the cabinet in the dining room slowly swinging open.

"Okay, now that’s creepy," Ezra muttered.

"Yeah, let’s get out of here as soon as possible," Oberyn agreed.

The three of them stepped out of the house. The dread of the place was palpable. It clung to Oberyn even after they left, sending shivers down his spine.

"The only way up on foot is through Tienna Point," Bree said. "A small town, not terribly far to the north. A few hours walking, perhaps."

"We should head there next," Ezra said with a smile, and taking lead of the group in Rav’s absence. "How’s the town been handling itself during this famine? I would think a place like that could easily get overrun."

"When I was last here, the famine had not spread to the mountain yet," Bree informed them. "Tienna Point was still holding out... but this has been advancing rapidly, as you can imagine."

Ezra looked to the left, drawn by a noise. One of the Hungry appeared - a ravenous, transformed human who had lost all vestige of their personhood. It was an unthinking, gluttonous beast, and it seemed to have been attracted to the smell of blood. It started helping itself to the bodies of their attackers, paying them absolutely no heed.

A couple more ran out of the woods and joined it. All three began to feast. One looked up at Ezra for a moment, acknowledging the group’s presence but not attacking.

It was an utterly revolting sight.

"Let’s get out of here," he said.

He looked back toward the house one final time. Did they leave the front door open like that?

His eyes darted to the ground in front of him. He didn’t like what he saw.

That doll from inside was lying on the ground—right in front of him. Its dead, empty eyes were fixed on him.

Ezra and Bree hadn’t noticed - at least, not until the doll started speaking.

"Aren’t you gonna say hi?" the doll said.

Oberyn had expected a more sinister, childlike voice. What he heard instead was deep, distorted, and angry. Exasperated. Vile.

The moment it spoke, Oberyn locked eyes with Ezra. Anxiety overwhelmed him and he reached out for comfort.

Before they could touch, the doll made a loud clicking noise - and suddenly, Oberyn became... lighter?

Then the doll burst in a wave of magic. It washed over him, enveloping him completely. Oberyn lost sight of his human - his entire form swallowed in a tunnel of swirling purple magic. It was loud, so loud, blasting his ears with the sound of supersonic wind. Ezra’s mouth moved, but Oberyn couldn’t hear a word.

Oberyn threw his arms over his face, trying to keep the force at bay, but it was hopeless. The current was too strong. His arms fell to his sides, still weakened from his earlier battle. The ground underneath him gave way. He lifted into the air, tumbling through the vortex.

Then he hit a wall - hard - and slumped down.

He’d been transported somewhere else. Bree and Ezra were nowhere in sight.