The Forsaken Call

by Jamie Murray

  "Really?" Jameson said, looking impressed.

  "Surprised?" said Johanna. "You think I'm too young, don't you? I own it, I run it, everything. I'm almost twenty, you know."

  "She only just turned nineteen last month," Baloric interjected.

  "Oh be quiet!" Johanna snapped.

  "Besides, what ever happened to Anaya?" Baloric asked.

  "She's sick for the day and she won't be back until tomorrow morning," Johanna replied, and then she looked at Jameson. "Anaya is a girl who's been helping out and watches the inn when I go with Baloric to Market City."

  "Why do you go there?" Jameson asked.

  "I help him fight the Forces!" Johanna said. "Surprised again? I've killed Forces before. I know all about them. Are you impressed? Baloric isn't."

  "I'm impressed," Jameson assured her.

  "Flirt on your own time," said Baloric to Johanna. "Where's Louisa?"

  "I wasn't flirting!" Johanna argued.

  "Fine, fine," said Baloric. "Where's Louisa?"

  "I don't feel like telling," Johanna said. "All you've done is insult me since you got here. In front of your friend, no less."

  "We'll you're the one who lied about not being happy to see me," Baloric reminded her.

  "Who said I was lying?" Johanna retorted.

  "Johanna, seriously," said Baloric. "Come on, tell me where Louisa is."

  "How am I supposed to know?" said Johanna. "I was sleeping, remember?"

  "Right," said Baloric and waved for Jameson to follow him to the stairs. He then turned, pointed at Johanna and said, "Well, don't fall back asleep. At least not until Anaya comes in."

  "She's not coming until tomorrow!" Johanna called to him.

  "Nice to meet you," Jameson said to Johanna.

  "Nice to meet you too," Johanna smiled cheerfully.

  Jameson went over to where Baloric was and followed him up the stairs. "Do a lot of people stay here?" he questioned.

  "At the inn?" Baloric said. "No, not anymore. Johanna doesn't like talking about because this inn has been in her family for a long time, but she's actually just sold it to Anaya."

  "Where is she going to go?" Jameson said.

  "She and Louisa are going to come and live with me in Market City," Baloric said. "That way, there will be less traveling for me, and I can watch over both of them to keep them safe."

  "It seems more practical, but it's too bad about losing the inn," Jameson commented.

  Baloric agreed and pointed to the end of the hallway. "Walden's old room. Do you recognize any of this?"

  "No," Jameson replied. "Should I?"

  "You were here a few times," Baloric answered as he reached the room on the end and quietly knocked on it.

  "Walden's the guy from the Prophecy, right?" Jameson asked, and Baloric nodded. "Where is he?"

  "What do you mean?" Baloric said immediately.

  "I just…I only mean…well, you and Louisa are here, but he isn't," Jameson said, feeling somewhat defensive.

  Baloric looked as though he were about to launch into a lengthy explanation, but the door suddenly opened, revealing a beautiful woman with long blonde hair that reached her waist. At first, she only noticed Baloric and almost began speaking to him, but then she noticed Jameson standing off to the side, so she backed slightly into the room.

  "Oh," she said with a deep breath as she put her hand over her heart. "Sorry. He is… that is just how I imagined Jameson would look after all these years."

  Baloric looked at Jameson briefly and then back at Louisa who appeared shaken. "Louisa," he said gently. "That's the thing."

  "What's the thing?" Louisa asked, her voice shaken. "What's what thing?"

  "This is—" Baloric started, and then he stopped. "I am almost certain that this man right here… is Jameson."

  Louisa stared at Baloric for a good minute, and then tore her gaze into Jameson. Suddenly, she appeared angry instead of afraid and upset.

  "Aren't you even going to say hello to me after being gone, Daigh?" she said, closing her eyes and keeping her teeth clenched.

  "Louisa, be mature," said Baloric. "I'm sorry for dropping this on you so suddenly, but he sort of came out of nowhere for me too, and I've—"

  "No!" she snapped, making Jameson jump. "He's not Jameson. Jameson has been dead for ten years."

  "We all thought it, but somehow he's come back," Baloric said, putting his hands on Louisa's shoulders to hold her steady.

  "Come back?" Louisa almost shouted. "Come back from where?"

  Jameson looked over the edge of the balcony to see Johanna had come out from behind the desk and wandered closer to hear the conversation better.

  Baloric noticed Jameson observe Johanna's movements, so he let go of Louisa and leaned over the balcony. "Johanna, is there any way you could go outside for a few minutes?" he asked her calmly and sincerely. When he let go of Louisa, Jameson could almost feel her anger radiating towards him, and presumed she felt very much like jumping on him in that moment.

  "I could," Johanna nodded slowly, sensing the seriousness of the situation. She backed away from the argument and went straight out the door.

  "Come inside," Baloric said, leading Louisa into the room behind her.

  "I don't want him in here," Louisa said firmly, but Baloric gestured for Jameson to come in anyway. Jameson felt mightily awkward, but he entered and closed the door behind him as Baloric sat Louisa down on the bed. "How could you bring this impersonator to our home?"

  "He's not an impersonator," Baloric said, sitting next to her. "I've looked at his thoughts, and seen enough."

  "You're not good at reading thoughts," Louisa said.

  "I know, but I saw enough." Baloric rolled his eyes.

  "What did you see?" Louisa asked quietly.

  "When we were in the prison in Cyanyanka, I saw when they lifted Walden off the floor," Baloric aid.

  "You could have just been remembering that from your own memory!" Louisa said angrily.

  "I saw him holding the hand of the Ivilia princess as she dove to the Life Shrine when the lake still had water," Baloric said. "I saw the moment he first met you. I saw Roth take you in one direction, and take him in the other. Those were all things I never saw before I looked into his memories."

  Louisa stayed quiet for a long while and then looked at Jameson. "So, what? You've just been hiding away and suddenly decided to pop up and say hello?"

  "Don't, Louisa," said Baloric. "He doesn't have any memory right now. He can't remember what's happened. He can't even remember who he is."

  "That sure is convenient," said Louisa. "Don't you think so?"

  "I don't find it very convenient," Jameson said passively.

  Baloric leaned back and then nodded to himself. "Jameson, show her the stones."

  "The stones?" Louisa repeated immediately, standing up. "What stones?"

  Jameson looked hesitantly at Baloric, feeling almost afraid of Louisa at this point and the way she had been so vocal about her negative opinion concerning him. Now, as she eagerly awaited him to respond, he was suddenly apprehensive that perhaps her enthusiasm was merely an act to further express her displeasure with his presence. Still, once Baloric reassured him with a nod, Jameson pulled the necklace out from underneath his shirt and removed it, holding it in front of him so she could see it plainly.

  Louisa leaned in and put her palm behind them. She spent a long while inspecting them, and then raised her eyes to his. "They're not glowing," she concluded in a harsh voice.

  "I've heard they're supposed to," said Jameson.

  "They are supposed to," Louisa said. "And if they don't glow when you touch them, then you're not Jameson."

  "Louisa, it might have something to do with the barriers surrounding the shrines," Baloric reasoned. "Or even what happened under Market City."

  "Why should either of those things have an effect on whether or not the stones glow?" Louisa asked. "When Jameson only touched them, or was even just near them, they would glow
. If they're not glowing then that means they probably don't have any power! And if that's the case, what use is he?"

  "I don't think you should dismiss this so quickly and without thought," Baloric advised.

  "This can't be Jameson."

  "So you're saying there is an absurd amount of coincidences surrounding him that are completely negated just because the stones don't glow?" Baloric asked.

  "What coincidences?" Louisa said, crossing her arms.

  "Well, first of all, he has the stones in the first place," Baloric began sounding somewhat exasperated that he had to explain all this. "He had some kind of recollection of me when he saw me fight in Market City and I saw the memories when I read his mind." He paused a moment and frowned when Louisa didn't react. "Not to mention the fact that he looks exactly like Jameson and seems to be about the appropriate age."

  "All right, all right," said Louisa. "You don't have to speak in such a condescending manner."

  "Well I have to because you're acting like a child!" Baloric said.

  "How can you explain something like Jameson coming back to life, though?" Louisa asked, looking as though she would start crying again.

  "My guess is that he never died," said Baloric. "And that he only… went someplace else. I don't know where he could possibly go, but it's a question we should certainly ask ourselves." He looked at Jameson who was standing with his head pointed towards the ground. "It would be a whole lot easier if he hadn't lost his memory."

  "I don't know what to say," said Jameson, looking ashamed.

  "Is there a way to restore the memories so we can know for sure?" Louisa asked, still distant.

  "Perhaps," Baloric shrugged. "If his memory loss is due to something mystical, then there might be a chance for me to awaken them. But if it's just your standard bump on the head, then we might have to wait it out, or he could just never get it back."

  Louisa looked at Jameson and waited for him to chime in with an explanation.

  "I don't know for sure," Jameson said finally once he realized Baloric was waiting as well.

  "What's the first thing you remember?" Baloric said. "The more details you can recall, the better. Maybe we'll be able to tell from that."

  "What I remember…" Jameson exhaled deeply and remembered the first day back in the cave where he woke up. "I was in this…place. It was a raised platform surrounded by a few short pillars. There were a lot of overgrown vines and two big opened doors. All I had was the necklace with these stones on them, and the way out was a long walk."

  As he spoke, both Louisa and Baloric watched him, expressionless.

  "He was in the tunnel," Baloric said to Louisa.

  "I know," she whispered.

  "You know it?" Jameson asked.

  "Yes, we know it," Baloric replied. "That was where Jameson—you—were supposedly killed. It's the last place we saw you."

  "Does that prove it?" Jameson said hopefully.

  Baloric put his hand on Louisa's shoulder, and she put both of her hands over her face. She shook slightly as she began to cry, and Jameson stood cautiously across the room, wondering if there was anything he could do. He looked to Baloric who was only standing beside her, and then Baloric waved his hand for Jameson to come over to them.

  Slowly, Jameson advanced towards where Louisa was still seated as Baloric backed away at the same pace. He put his hand where Baloric's had been, trying to be comforting to her. As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, she uncovered her face and, without looking at him, wrapped her arms around him. He didn't know how to react as she pulled him as close to her as she can, and her cries became steadily softer. She stopped shaking once he returned her hug. All at once, all his fear of Louisa's abrasive personality dissipated when she finally stood up to give him a proper hug.

  She did not say a word the entire time and, only as she was pulling away from him, she muttered, "I'm glad you're back."

  10. Lost His Memory

  Chapter 10

  Jameson didn't even have an opportunity to respond before she wiped both her eyes and looked at Baloric.

  "How do we fix him?" she asked. "And fix the stones?"

  "We can attempt to restore his memory," Baloric answered. "Since he was clearly taken away through mystical means, it should be possible, though not easy."

  "How can we do it?" Louisa said.

  "I'll need your help," Baloric said.

  "Just tell me what I have to do."

  "First get something to help a person sleep."

  Louisa immediately left the room, leaving Baloric and Jameson alone. Jameson looked to Baloric for an explanation of what he was going to do and how it was going to be done.

  "After you disappeared," Baloric started. "From what I saw before, your strong memories are still there, but fractured. They're perhaps separated by barriers, which is making you unable to store them properly. I'm going to try to tear down those barriers."

  "That sounds dangerous."

  "It's not," Baloric said. "When I break the barriers, your mind will recognize the correction and release it. All of the memories are still in your head, they're just in pieces, and none of them know where they're supposed to link up with the rest. They're just being blocked by something."

  "By what?"

  "My guess is a similar thing that is blocking the Rain Shrine. There is some kind of barrier around it that only Forces can pass through. You're lucky you didn't only bump your head."

  "Is this going to hurt?" Jameson said.

  "You'll be asleep," Baloric assured him.

  "I meant for you," Jameson said quietly, and Baloric looked surprised with the question. "It's just you looked like you got pretty hurt back when we were in Market City. You said so yourself you could have died."

  "This is different," Baloric said, waving it off. "It's a less drastic thing. Besides, I'll have Louisa to support me."

  "That's what I'm here for!" Louisa said as she hastily speed walked into the room with a small vial in her hands. "What do I do first?"

  "I'm going to have to do something I haven't done for a long time," Baloric said, looking somewhat reluctant. "I'm going to need to draw energy from a person."

  "Me?" Louisa said, almost looking hopeful.

  Baloric didn't answer at first, but then slowly nodded. "Because of what you are, you should be all right," he said.

  "I'm the only one who has enough energy to give you enough power, right?" Louisa inferred. "It's all right. It'll be fine. I don't mind, especially if I'm the only one."

  "Wait," said Jameson. "Why?"

  "It's a long story, Jameson," said Louisa. "Difficult to explain. Just know that I'm special and all that."

  "But, yeah," said Baloric. "The last time I did it, your energy gave me enough power to defeat the Forces in Cyanyanka without hurting you too much."

  "I already said it was all right!" Louisa said.

  "Are you sure?" Baloric said. "Because we could just get a lot of plants—"

  "Yeah, that sure makes sense," said Louisa sarcastically. "It's fine. Trust me."

  "All right," said Baloric. "But we'll still both be careful. If you think I'm taking too much, just hit me or something."

  "Daigh. I don't want to say it again."

  "Okay," said Baloric. "Jameson, I need you to take this. You don't have to worry. When you wake up, you'll remember everything and you don't have to do a thing."

  "Are you sure this is safe?" Jameson asked.

  Baloric and Louisa looked at each other and then back at Jameson.

  "Well, not really," said Baloric. "I've never done it before, but I can't do any damage to you, if that's what you're asking."

  "We can't wait it out to see if my memory just comes back normally…?" Jameson tried.

  "Jameson, don't worry," said Louisa. "You're with people you can trust."

  Jameson peered back and forth between the two of them and then took the bottle from Louisa. With a nervous gulp, he swallowed the liquid inside and then handed it back
to Louisa. Baloric offered him the bed, while Louisa made a quiet remark about how they could have used a different room, but Baloric shushed her.

  "We'll give you a few minutes," said Baloric as Jameson lied down. Jameson only nodded as he watched Baloric and Louisa leave the room.