by Todd Shryock
"Tell me what's wrong," Striverse said, even though her healing powers were very limited. It was never an area of magic she had studied much.
The sergeant grimaced and shook his head. "It felt as if I had kicked a rock," he said. "That little creature had the weight of a horse."
"Is it broken?"
"I don't think so," he said between gasps of pain, "just numb."
"Stay here and guard the door with your men. Tern, take me to Sarien."
The human nodded, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and excitement, then turned to lead her through the halls and stairs of the tower. They raced passed closed doors, magical experiments, elven statues and ancient artifacts. Tern rounded a corner and pointed up a white marble staircase.
"That way to the top!" he shouted. "I must make sure the lower levels are secure."
Striverse nodded once in acknowledgement and sprinted up the stairs, emerging on the roof. The dark shape of Sarien was visible running from one side of the tower to another, sending spells of fire and destruction out into their attackers.
"Sarien, we are all in!" she yelled over the roar of another magical lightning burst.
The elf spun around, his breath heavy from the exertion. He ran towards her and led her back down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he pulled a small lever next to the banister. A larger counterweight rose along the wall as a heavy metal door slid across the opening to the roof, locking their attackers out, and locking them in.
Sarien leaned against the wall then sunk to the floor, exhausted. He looked up at Striverse.
"I see you received my message," he said between breaths.
Striverse looked at the sweat running down his brow and the strain on his face. "What are those things?"
Sarien shook his head. "I thought they were with you."
Striverse sighed. "You are impossible and a disgrace to the House of Oak."
"And you are a jealous member of the House of Maple," he said, slowly regaining his breath.
Striverse walked to the other side of the hall, then turned to face him. "Why did you summon me?"
The male elf pulled himself back to his feet and straightened his robes. "I obtained an object that has ancient elvish writing on it of some sort and I was hoping you might be able to tell me what the runes say."
"Is it a box, by chance?"
Sarien looked at her quizically. "Yes it is. How did you know?"
She motioned towards the door outside and said, "They told me they want it back."
"Interesting," he said, his mind drifting into thought. "If I only knew what it was."
A pounding noise came from the door to the roof.. Striverse glanced nervously at it before looking at Sarien.
"It should hold."
"Should?"
"I don't know what those things are, so I can't really tell you whether the magical and physical barriers of that door will stop them. I suggest we retreat to my study where I can show you the box."
Sarien headed back down the hallway towards the stairs that would take them to the lower levels of the tower. On the way, Tern reported that everything was secure and the barriers seemed to be holding. The elf told his assistant to get the soldiers and join him in the lower levels before leading Striverse to his study.
Striverse entered the room and turned up her nose. "I really don't know how you can stand that orange tea. It's not proper for an elf."
Sarien laughed. "You don't approve of anything I do. Even what I drink doesn't please you."
Striverse stared at him. "Our people have followed our traditions for thousands of years. Deviating from those traditions is insulting to our ancestors."
Sarien took his seat behind his desk and motioned Striverse to sit across from him. "I like orange tea. I don't like cinnamon tea, ancestors be damned."
Striverse was about to angrily chastise him, but he placed a box containing a blue jay onto the desk between them. She quickly forgot her anger.
Her eyes studied the box as the blue jay studied her. Her lithe elven fingers glided over the runes as she slowly turned the box so she could examine each side in turn. "Amazing."
Sarien leaned back in his chair, his hands folded in front of him. "Can you decipher the runes?"
Striverse shook her head, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. She pushed it away and continued studying the box. "I think this is an Omega box."
Sarien leaned forward. "Impossible!"
The female elf look up at him briefly then went back to studying the runes.
"There is no such thing as an Omega box," said Sarien. "They are legends from a time so long ago that not even the elven histories give them any legitimacy."
Striverse stopped turning the box, looked into the eyes of the blue jay, then leaned back her seat and closed her eyes. "You asked me for my opinion, and I have given it to you."
Sarien shook his head. "So you think this box has something to do with the end of the world?"
Stiverse opened her eyes and found the blue jay staring at her. "Yes. I can decipher some of the runes, but not all."
"What do they say?"
"Something about a being that will end good and champion evil, spreading it across the world."
Sarien looked at the bird. "The blue jay?"
Striverse nodded. "I think so."
"Then what are those creatures outside?"
"They said the box was 'theirs for the keeping.' I assume they were the guardians of this creature but somehow lost it. Now they want it back."
"So that the creature may be set upon the world?"
Striverse nodded. "I assume so."
"How will they set the creature free? I examined the box but could find no way to open it."
"I believe the substance in the top of the cage is some sort of time measurement, much like an hourglass. When all the sand has reached the bottom, I believe the creature will be set loose and the warnings will come true."
Sarien stared at the bird. "A blue jay. Of all creatures, why a blue jay?" Stiverse had no answer. Sarien's eyes narrowed. "How can we stop it?"
Striverse looked into his eyes and leaned forward. "We would have to destroy the box before time runs out."
"How?"
"I don't know," she said, shaking her head as she fell back into her seat. "There are other runes on the box that may hold the secret. But with those things outside, I can't get to my library."
"Then you must use mine. We shall start immediately. How much time do you think we have?"
"It's hard to tell. I'm guessing the sand is accelerating as the time draws near. The first granule might have taken a thousand years to drop to the lower level, but as we grow closer, the sand speeds up. Now a granule may drop every few minutes. At that rate, I figure a week, give or take a day."
"Then we best get started."
For seven days and seven nights, Striverse and Sarien studied the ancient tomes in his library trying to decipher the meaning of the remaining runes. As Striverse predicted, the sand did indeed speed its descent. By the end of the seventh night, there were only a few granules left. During that time, the soldiers ventured an occasional peak outside during the day. The dark creatures surrounded the tower, continually pounding on the doors, but Sarien's barriers held.
The pounding increased to a frenzied pace as darkness fell on the eighth night.
"They know their master is almost free," said Sarien, his voice full of doom.
Striverse didn't look up from the book she was reading.
"We are almost out of time, dear Striverse." There were only a few granules of sand left in the upper chamber. The blue jay watched their every move with the utmost interest.
"I think I have something."
"What?"
"This text talks of the beginning and the end. The alpha and the omega."
"So?"
"The omega is the opposite of alpha and vice versa. We can destroy omega with alpha."
Sarien watched another granule roll down the tube to the lower le
vel. "I don't have an alpha axe to chop this thing up with. What do you suggest, we're almost out of time!"
"I think this will work." Striverse reached for the box and picked it up.
The blue jay cocked its head.
Beep-beep-beep-beep, it sang in warning.
Striverse turned the box upside down and set it on the table.
The glass blew out of the box and a blinding light knocked both elves to the floor. The air rushed from the room, then poured back in again.
Striverse listened. The pounding on the doors by the creatures had stopped. She pulled herself up. The glass was broken out of the box, sand littered the desk and the blue jay lie on its back, it's legs up in the air. It was dead. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Sarien emerged from the other side of the desk, saw the bird was dead and smiled. "Well done, Striverse of the House of Maple. I do believe you saved civilization."
"Is that a compliment, Sarien of the House of Oak."
Sarien scowled. "No. Just a statement of fact."
Tern burst into the room. "Master, the creatures have gone. When the pounding stopped, we ventured a look out. They retreated into the woods."
Sarien walked to the window and undid the magical protections that kept the shutters closed and flung them open. Moonlight illuminated the area around the tower, revealing nothing but grass and bushes.
Striverse could make out the shape of the last creature as it disappeared into the woods.
The keepers' job is complete, elf. We now return from whence we came. Well done.
Striverse was puzzled.
Sarien, seeing the look on her face, asked, "What is it?"
Striverse shook her head. "I'm not sure. The creature spoke to me again. He seems pleased we destroyed the bird."
"Pleased? I thought you said this thing was their master."
Striverse looked at him. "You said that. Perhaps those creatures were a greater evil than the bird. Maybe it was some sort of rival, or maybe they would have suffered just as we would have."
Sarien looked at her skeptically. "This whole episode doesn't make any sense. I'm going to take that box and destroy all traces of it."
"No! I wish to have it so I may decipher the rest of the runes."
Sarien looked at her, then nodded. "If you wish. I'm just glad to be rid of it."
Striverse took the box and returned to Lakehaven with her escort. After several more weeks of study, she summoned Sarien to join her.
"So what did you find out?" Sarien asked after sitting down in the seat next to Striverse. Her face was pale and gaunt and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Striverse looked at him for a long time before responding. "I now know why the creatures were pleased that I destroyed the bird."
Sarien's brow furrowed. "Why?"
A tear trickled from her eye. "Because the creature wasn't evil, it was good. Had we let it free, it would have destroyed all evil before it."
Sarien shook his head. "But you said that the runes indicated it was evil and would destroy all good."
Another tear fell from her cheek, dropping to the cold stone floor below. "That is what the runes said. But the creature was imprisoned not by good beings but by evil ones long ago. I forgot one of the basic rules."
Sarien whinced and closed his eyes before speaking. "All things are relative."
Striverse nodded. "Yes. No one ever thinks of themself as evil. We see things as evil that are opposite our beliefs. Yet those opposite us see us as evil. Those runes were a warning to what we refer to as evil beings that the creature would destroy them if it were ever freed." She wiped away another tear. "What have I done?"
Sarien stared at the floor. The chance to wipe away all evil was before their very eyes, yet it escaped them. The world would have dramatically changed had they not turned that box upside down.
"You have maintained the balance," said Sarien. "We have no way of knowing what would have happened had the bird jumped its cage. Perhaps we all would have been destroyed as the ancient powers reemerged. There is no way to know. All I know is that maybe we missed a chance at a better world, but you did no harm to our current one. We are no worse off now than we were before, and for that, I am grateful. One does not play with the ancient powers and break even very often."
Striverse wiped the tears from her eyes. "I suppose you are right. The world moves on, despite the fact that a small blue jay has been lost."
"Yes, and there are other omega boxes, according to legend."
Striverse smiled. "Let us hope that the next one falls into someone else's hands."
After Sarien had gone, her assistant, Tiera, entered the room with a small bird perched on her hand. "Here is the blue jay you requested, mistress."
The elf looked at the bird, hoping for some sort of sign, but the bird just blankly stared at her. She took it from the girl and dismissed her. The elf glided across the room to the broken box that sat on the table. "You are the alpha and the omega," she said. She held her hand near the lower level of the box. "Jump in there, little blue jay." The bird hopped into the box. She carefully picked it up and turned it over.
When the light dimmed and the air returned, she examined the box. The blue jay was securely behind the magical glass again, and the sand was all at the top. "In a few thousand years, someone will get another chance," she whispered. She carefully placed the box on a shelf and covered it with a cloth, never to speak of it again.
####
The Lurid Chronometer
"I need more," said the man. "I can't meet my customers' demands."
"This is the best powder you've ever turned out," said another, pushing his way closer to the mage who huddled against the wall, seemingly afraid of the three men who pressed in around him. The mage crouched protectively around a large pouch he held in his hand.
The man closest to him noticed large burns and black moles covering the mage's hands in the flickering lantern light, signs of unpure magic to be sure. Regardless of the mage's skills with normal spells, he was the master of the powder known as mind candy. A sniff up each nose, and the user would be transported to his or her most vivid fantasy. Never mind the excruciating headache and severe nosebleeds that followed, because another sniff took it all away. Since he started dealing a few weeks ago, Zabil had earned more gold than during the rest of his life combined.
"I need to check the quality," said a man dressed in a black cloak wrapped tightly about him; a new dealer no doubt, Zabil thought. There were new faces every week as the careless got caught. This one was obviously new, or else he wouldn't be questioning the quality of the mage's powder.
The wizard looked up at the newcomer with an incredulous look which faded to a sneer. He was the best and everyone knew it. Testing was something other dealers had to do, not him. The newcomer stared down from his large frame, an imposing figure to the thin, ungainly mage. The wizard could command far more power than some street punk, but his nearness would make casting a spell next to impossible. So rather than risk being broken in half by the large thug, the mage nodded and loosened the string around the dark leather sack. The new dealer held out a gloved hand, and waited for the wizard to pour out some powder. The mage looked up and met the man's eyes as he tapped out a small pile of the stuff, enough for maybe one trip. The man stared hard at him. There was something hidden in those eyes, the mage decided. As soon as he had enough distance, he would magically force the truth out of him to find out what he really was. No sense in taking chances, not with the city watch rounding up anyone suspected of trading in mind-altering magic powders.
The black cloaked man pulled a small vial, barely bigger than a thimble, out from the folds of his cloak. With the flick of his fingers, two drops of clear red liquid landed in the sweet smelling powder. The pile turned from white to black. The mage saw a slight smile appear on the man's face as he dumped the now-ruined powder to the cobblestones of the alleyway.
"I hope you're satisfied," the wizard said, the though
ts of the lost profits turning his voice to ice. He pulled the drawstring tight around his bag and pulled it protectively close again.
"I am very satisfied now that I have met the main supplier of mind candy to the city of Monton Beau," said the dark stranger. "And I get two dealers to boot."
The mage's eyes narrowed, not understanding the meaning of the words. "If you think you're muscling in on my territory, you are sadly mistaken," he said, his blistered finger rising in warning.
The dark-clothed stranger just smiled. "You have no territory to take, because it belongs to the citizens and not a bunch of low-life thugs."
The wizard recoiled in fear as the stranger grabbed the two dealers and hurled them with what had to be magical strength against the wall of the building. The two slumped to the ground unmoving. "Now, I will bring you to justice."
The wizard's mouth twisted into a crooked smile. "You won't be bringing me anywhere, you arrogant fool. Who do you think you are?"
The man stared at the mage, unmoving. "I am Darkblade, servant of the city."
The wizard chuckled. "Darkblade. I heard the rumors from some of my former workers who are now in the dungeons at Central Watch. A dark-clad man with strong magics who stalks the street at night rounding up the bad men." The wizard paused to spit at the man's feet. "I'll give you three seconds to turn and run for your life, only because I respect the courage it took to challenge me." The wizard already could feel the burning sensation in his hands as the unpure magic swelled in his hands; the energy wild and hateful for being forced into the known universe without the proper rituals. If the man made any sort of move, he would incinerate him in a burst of magical heat in the blink of an eye.