by Jeremy Dwyer
In her passion, she had forgotten she had other guests. They made their way into a room where her guests – five (5) wealthy businessmen, all stout with white hair and wrinkled skin, and in their fifties (50) and sixties (60) – were waiting.
“We’ve been waiting for you. We didn’t realize your husband was here with you,” one of the businessmen stood up and said.
Suddenly, Madeline remembered her guests and opened her eyes.
“Yes, my dearest, Sebastian, decided to join us. Have you looked over the documents I gave you?” Madeline asked.
“Well, we had a question about this land we are considering purchasing,” the businessman said.
“What is your question?” Madeline asked.
“Would you be willing to accept a twenty (20) percent deposit on the land, until we verify the mineral resources by sampling the soil and the rocks?” the businessman asked.
Madeline considered this.
Before Madeline could answer, Sebastian then asked: “Would you be willing to only receive twenty (20) percent of the mineral resources you find in your mining operations, which you fund, and give us eighty (80) percent from those same mining operations?”
The businessman considered this and said: “Admittedly, you make a valid point. However, please consider our perspective. If we pay the full amount, and the mineral resources are not what is being promised, what is our recourse? How quickly can we recover our investment?”
“You should be purchasing insurance – at your own expense – to cover such a possibility. However, Madeline has not treated you unfairly in the past, has she?” Sebastian said.
“No, not at all. It’s just that this sum of money is of such a large size that we need to be exceptionally cautious,” the businessman said.
Sebastian looked at the documents and saw the amount was forty-eight billion (48000000000) platinum coins, according to the illusion Madeline was projecting onto the documents. Sebastian was impressed, but there was something more. He reached into Madeline’s mind, and realized that she knew these men held assets that were worth fifty-five trillion (55000000000000) platinum coins, and these documents would transfer all of it to Madeline, when the illusion was made to end, and the documents’ true wording was revealed. This transaction was essential, and he planned on assisting in any way that he could to get their seals marked upon the documents to enable their execution. He did not want them reducing this by marking twenty (20) percent or any other fraction on the transaction.
“Would it assure you if we guaranteed a total refund, of all money involved, in the eventuality of a low resource yield, and we paid for the insurance to guarantee the refund for this transaction, from our own funds?” Sebastian asked. He was appearing to concede on the coverage of the insurance, but wanted to reassure them.
The businessman considered this, and he and the others all spoke up and said: “yes.”
“Please excuse us, while we prepare the insurance contract,” Sebastian said. He and Madeline left and went to her library and quickly found a suitable document – which said nothing of the sort about insurance – and she projected an illusion upon it and marked it with her own seal. They then brought the insurance contract – the wording of which was just another illusion created by Madeline – and presented it to the businessmen, who examined it.
The one businessman who had spoken before then said: “We have examined this and found it to be in good order and to our satisfaction. We will approve this transaction to purchase the land.”
The five (5) businessmen all marked the document with their signature seals, and together, these constituted the full authority of the partnership they had.
The businessman then said, “With the full authority of our business partnership, we hereby present to you, our approved purchase of the agreed upon land for the agreed upon amount.”
Sebastian and Madeline both examined the document and agreed that it was properly marked and signed.
“With my full appreciation, I present to you, the fires of the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” Madeline screamed. At this, Sebastian looked away and closed his eyes, so as not to be troubled. He simply read her mind, knowing all that she was about to present was merely an evil fantasy, and that what would follow was also unpleasant.
Madeline’s illusory beautiful appearance was now gone, replaced by an illusory horrible appearance, far beyond her true horrible appearance. Her skin appeared to melt away from her, giving way to bone and blood. Snakes appeared from her eyes, long fingernails grew and black demonic wings sprouted from her back. She was the image of a creature from the Maelstrom of Vengeance, where doomed souls spent eternity in torment and confusion. The five (5) businessmen were startled beyond reason, frightened so much that their weak old hearts gave way. Each of them died on the spot. Madeline then transformed her illusions to restore her former, illusory beauty. Sebastian saw this in her mind, then opened his eyes, and only saw her pleasant appearance. He saw no need to gaze upon terrible things, even knowing that they were false.
Madeline did not realize that Sebastian had seen her frightening form, because she was projecting a different, pleasant, illusion just for him to see. However, he saw through everything, by reading her thoughts. She thought that he was as much a fool for her illusions as the old businessmen, and it never occurred to her that he could see through her illusions clearly.
“It seems they have all suddenly died. Perhaps it was their old age,” Madeline said.
Then, she called for two (2) of her servants, who carried away the bodies to a nearby grave.
The illusory documents for the financial transaction bore on them the true and genuine signature seals of these businessmen. The illusory terms and conditions of the documents gave way to reveal the true terms and conditions, where these men transferred the entirety of their assets to Madeline. Sebastian saw this, and was delighted, as he had another transfer in mind, from her to him.
“We are now alone, my love. We should celebrate this success,” Sebastian said, kissing Madeline’s neck and cheeks. She was captivated by his kisses, and wanted even more.
“Love me, always. I will give you anything you ask, anything,” Madeline said to him.
Sebastian had Madeline where he wanted her. Now, he would take as much of her wealth as he could, leaving just enough so she could have what she needed to do this all over again.
CHAPTER 23: House of Illusions
The Meticulous arrived at Udovedaj-Pren Island, with Captain Pradrock, Claudia, Akylas, Akantha and Torin on board. They left their ship and found their way to a well-paved road through a wooded area. Torin still had difficulties with blindness, and so he stayed closed to Akylas and his sister, Akantha, and the two siblings guided the young man.
There was a lighthouse standing on the island, but it was not lit.
“Had that lighthouse been lit, it may have helped considerably,” Pradrock said.
“Whatever it was that actually lit our way still has me worried,” Akantha said.
Daven and Taesa arrived at the island at the same time, and found the same road, and met up with the others. Captain Lyle remained on board his ship, rather than escorting them to the island.
“Hello, Captain Pradrock,” Taesa said to the fifty-three (53) year old captain, who was still recognizable to her, as well as being young-looking and handsome, despite his gray hair.
“You are Taesa, if I remember correctly, and you were studying in Emeth, when last we met,” Pradrock said.
“Yes, that’s right. And what we learned there led us to come here. Still, this is a difficult island to find,” Taesa said.
“Yes, it is very difficult to find, and very dangerous to approach. Expert navigation is usually required,” Pradrock said.
“Things have changed in the sky, and I don’t know what it means,” Akylas said, speaking of the bright lights in the sky over the dark waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean, and the streak of fire that lasted for a moment, but was clear enough for all to se
e.
“Neither do I, but it came at the right time to help us find this island,” Daven said. He knew more than he was saying, but was afraid to mention Taesa’s Let Many Suns Shine Down song.
“You are?” Claudia asked, suspicious of everyone. She planned on reading his thoughts soon enough, but had to concentrate on the most probable source of danger, which was any unseen inhabitant of the island.
“Daven. I’m a scholar of music, as well as other fine art,” Daven said.
“This island hardly qualifies as fine art,” Claudia said.
“We need to get off this island. There is horrendously evil spiritual power here,” Akantha said, surprising everyone. It became very strong, yet unclear, arriving out of nowhere, just a few moments after she set foot on the island.
“This world is filled with evil, and hate, and I can feel it when it gets near. That’s why I’m still around,” Claudia said.
“You can’t feel this evil – it’s not in the physical world. It’s not the emotion of a material being, but it’s just as dangerous,” Akantha said.
“Where’s it coming from?” Claudia asked.
“Over that way,” Akantha said, pointing down the road which wound through a forested area.
“Which way?” Torin asked.
“Let’s go that way,” Taesa said, pointing in the same direction that Akantha indicated.
“No. Let’s go that way,” Claudia said, pointing toward the ship.
“I have no idea which way you’re talking about,” Torin said.
“We didn’t come here to run away from danger and the unknown, but to confront an adversary in their weakness. Let’s go that way,” Pradrock said, pointing in the same direction that Akantha and Taesa did.
“I’m glad you agree, captain,” Taesa said.
“We’re going to end up that way, in our graves, if we take many more risks,” Claudia said, pointing down into the ground.
“What’s up there scares me more. There’s now one (1) less sun in the sky. Something absolutely bizarre and frightening is going on,” Akylas said, pointing up, toward the many suns in the sky.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Torin said.
“Neither do I. They can’t agree, so they’re pointing in every direction,” Daven said.
“Some of the answers are probably that way,” Pradrock said, pointing down the road.
“You don’t give up, you seasick fool. I was sent here to protect you. Remember?” Claudia said.
“No. You weren’t really sent to protect me,” Pradrock said.
“I was sent to protect you so that you don’t get killed or controlled, and have your ghost crew go wild or get sent off to do more damage,” Claudia said.
“In other words, you were sent to protect the world around me, by protecting me, for the influence that I have over the ghost of Captain Tychon, and, as a consequence, over his ghost crew,” Pradrock said.
“Yes, if you want to be particular about it,” Claudia said.
“If protecting the world is your ultimate goal, then we want to go that way. The streak of fire went that way. The spiritual power that Akantha is detecting is that way. The world around us is not a safe place. Running from the danger isn’t going to present the solution to any of these problems,” Pradrock said.
“If you want to solve the world’s problems, why don’t you go to a safer place, where you can think? That’s what you do best, isn’t it? We can go back to Emeth; you can do some reading and thinking there,” Claudia said.
“If the danger is as great as we’ve been led to believe, nowhere will be safe. Now is the time to act, if you want to have a world to protect,” Pradrock said, and he started walking down the road through the forest.
Claudia immediately followed him, and everyone else did too, some of them with hopes of dissuading him.
However, Taesa thought this was a good idea, and ran ahead of all of them.
“Let’s stay together,” Pradrock said. At hearing this, Taesa slowed down and waited for the others to catch up.
“Yes, let’s do that,” Claudia said, seething at Pradrock’s tenacity.
Claudia then drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from the vial she wore on a chain around her neck. She was thereby energized and highly sensitive to emotions and thoughts. She was looking for any sign of someone intending to kill Pradrock, or to control him telepathically.
The group walked the well-paved, quaint road through a wooded area. They passed over several attractive bridges that spanned pleasant rivers. With Taesa and Pradrock in the lead, they proceeded along this path toward a beautiful manor in the heart of the forest.
And all along the way, Claudia was reaching out with her emotional powers, expecting an adversary to strike at any time. She had to be constantly aware, despite the drain this was on her. Walking into danger only made her job harder, but Pradrock wasn’t under her command, just her protection.
The front door of the manor was closed, and there was a small knocker on the door that Taesa, bold as ever, went ahead and used.
“She has no fear,” Claudia said, surprised.
“No, there’s not a drop of fear in her that I have ever seen,” Daven said.
“Courage must be measured out with caution,” Pradrock said.
Taesa turned and asked, “Are you changing your mind, captain?”
“No. Caution is not the same as fear, which leads to failure,” Pradrock said.
“Fear keeps us alive,” Claudia said, whose very way of life was alertness, fear and fighting. She could sense danger – the emotion of hate and the corresponding intent to strike – and she was very well trained in combat. Fear was Claudia’s constant companion.
“A life lived in fear is a life unlived,” Taesa said.
“When you have no fear of your enemies, the knife in your back comes suddenly, because you didn’t prepare,” Claudia said.
“Life has purpose. I want to live that purpose, even if it means going somewhere new, unknown and dangerous,” Taesa said.
“Enough. Let’s see if someone lets us in the door,” Akylas said, tiring of this debate.
“If they have a knife, run,” Torin said sarcastically, trying to annoy Claudia.
“Which way?” Taesa asked.
“Away from the knife,” Daven said, wondering why they were even having this conversation. He knew that Taesa was very mature and self-confident, but she could sometimes be immature, as she was only twenty (20) years old and did not have much world experience. Of course, he didn’t either: he had just been alive longer, and traveled occasionally, but not to dangerous places.
~~~
Sebastian, by the power of the Elanatin Ocean waters that he drank, was able to emotionally and telepathically sense several people approaching the house. He could feel one of them who was old and weak and wealthy – his name was Daven, and he was easy to read. Another was the infamous Captain Pradrock, who commanded the ghost fleet. Another was Akantha, a young spirit-reader. Another was her brother, Akylas, a young star-reader. Another was Torin, a young man who had lost his sight in the attacks by the religious zealots at the Port of Kemalorin. Then, surprisingly, there was Caroline’s daughter, Taesa. She was coming here looking for answers, because she distrusted Sebastian and wanted to find evidence against him. There was also one he could not read – not even the name, only the fact that there was a thought-sensitivity, and an emotional-sensitivity, akin to his own.
Sebastian went to a window and looked out, to pretend that he saw them with his eyes, so as not to give a hint of his powers. Then, he turned to Madeline.
“Visitors have arrived, my love. One of them is wealthy,” Sebastian said.
“We should make them comfortable, for a little while,” Madeline said.
Then, she called for her servant – a tall man – and told him to answer the door.
“I will not disturb you while you have guests. I will wait in the library,” Sebastian said. At this, he walked th
e corridors of the house, and made his way into a small room that was definitely not the library. From there, he reached out with his powers to sense emotions and thoughts.
~~~
The front door of the estate was opened, and the travelers were met by a tall man with the formal attire of a servant of the wealthy.
“The lady of the house will be pleased to have guests. Please enter, and make yourselves comfortable,” the tall man said.
“Did he have a knife?” Torin asked, trying to annoy Claudia yet again.
“This is no time for ill manners,” Pradrock said to him.
“No. It’s a time for awareness. Someone, somewhere in here, senses me,” Claudia said.
Pradrock looked at her, thinking this meant that another empathic or telepathic power was present, and he was right.
The seven (7) of them – Pradrock, Claudia, Akylas, Akantha, Torin, Daven and Taesa – all entered the house, and were led into a comfortable waiting room, with the finest furniture, and various tapestries and portraits on the wall. The entire room was impressive, with high ceilings and gorgeous décor.
The tall man left them for a while.
“This is quite a fine estate. To whom does it belong?” Daven said, being one to appreciate, and even depend upon, wealth and comfort. He grew up surrounded by wealth, and found this to be a pleasing estate, despite the voyage here being displeasing.
“I believe we are going to find out very soon,” Pradrock said.
“Will we live to appreciate the knowledge?” Claudia wondered out loud, trusting nothing around her.
“Let’s assume nothing. Of course there could be danger, anywhere, but that’s not a reason to believe in imminent death,” Taesa said.
“We have to be aware and prepared to avoid that imminent death,” Claudia said.
“I feel the evil spiritual presence, very strongly, in this house,” Akantha said.
After several minutes, the tall man returned and said: “The lady of the house, Madeline, would like you to join her for dinner.”