“What now?” Grain asked. Jin took a glance inside and saw the old man hunched over a boiling cauldron, stirring so slowly it was like he was falling asleep.
“Jessica and Teller stay outside. The rest of us go in until we think it’s safe. Just because he seems harmless doesn’t mean anything. Did you guys see these creepy things?” Jin held up a paper man and Teller slapped it out of his hand.
“It’s getting colder. I’d really like to be inside,” Teller said.
“Stay outside, just for a little while. To make sure there’s no others on their way.”
“Fine,” Teller sucked his teeth and flew back up into the air. Jessica maintained her spot outside the window while the rest entered the humble home. They could barely squeeze into it comfortably. There was a table to the left with its chairs pushed in. The chairs still had their backs pressed up against the walls. No one bothered sitting for they simply wouldn’t fit. In the middle, by the back door, was a dirty toilet, and to the right was the “kitchen.” A cauldron was hanging up by five rusted wires over a blazing hot fire. The old man took a spoonful of the stew and took a sip.
“Oh, that’s vile. As bad as a demon’s socks,” he spat the mouthful into a corner and then wiped his greasy hands on his apron and turned around. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Not hungry,” they all said in unison. The old man laughed heartily and took a step outside, waving for them to follow him. They did and once they were all out in the open, he swat his hands out into the air and the paper men blew away as if caught in a tornado. They spiraled up higher and higher until they couldn’t be seen anymore, and the old man took a seat in the grass, crossing his legs. He waved a trembling finger at Aidan.
“Fire fire. Make a fire right in the middle now.” Aidan obeyed and the old man sighed in relief at the warmth. “Figured you didn’t want to sit on people,” he said, motioning for them all to sit down.
“People?” Jin asked in shock. “Those paper men were people? I stepped on some of them!”
“Oh, they were all bad people,” the old man replied. “Don’t worry. You don’t seem like their sort. Come. Sit.”
Jin took a seat and the others followed. The old man motioned for Jessica and Teller to join them, but they maintained their positions.
“Forgive us, but it’s just a precaution,” Jin replied. The old man put a hand to his chest.
“From me? Why? Because I turn people into paper decorations? That’s not evil. I was just defending myself.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“So what are you young ones doing on my property?” the old man asked, wiping his mouth with his greasy apron. They all tried their best not to gag, but the disgust still revealed itself on their faces.
“We’re on a journey,” Jin replied. “To Onyx Major. We were looking for shelter for the night.”
“It is a nice night, isn’t it?” the old man sighed, looking up. The stars were beginning to reveal themselves and begin their preliminary dances before the true sparring began. The moon was getting brighter by the second. “I like that someone wished for fighting stars. It’s better than watching them sit. People sit too much.”
“Who are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Name is Sylvester, but people call me Vest. I like Sly. Makes me sound like an old spy, but they like vest. Don’t care much for fancy digs.”
“We can call you Sly.”
“Oh no, call me Vest. Makes me sound like an Omega. Wouldn’t that be something? If I was an Omega? They could call me Big Sly.”
“Right,” Jin said, clearing his throat. “Vest, what are you doing out here all alone?”
“I takes care of myself. I manage,” he said, spitting into the grass to his left. “What you doing out here?”
“We needed shelter before heading to Onyx Major.” Jin sighed from having to repeat himself.
“Is that all? You ain’t here to get information? That’s what Duncan did.”
“Duncan? You knew Duncan?”
“Of course I did. It’s what I’m supposed to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s my job.” He gave a toothless grin. “It’s my ability. Know how old I am? Guess.”
“I don’t know…eighty?”
“I’m thirty-two,” he replied, coughing and laughing. “I got old quick, huh? Time do that. Stress. Pain. Burden. It do that. Lost my teeth, but that was from fighting. Fighting ain’t my ability.”
“When Duncan was here…did he mention something about a Choate?”
“Thank heavens,” the old man replied, dropping his chin to his chest. When he raised it back up, he was still old in body, but noticeably younger in spirit. His brown eyes were lively and coherent. The sudden change was unnerving. “It’s about time you asked about the Choate,” he replied, ripping the old apron off of him. He stuck a finger in his mouth and felt around.
“Seriously? One tooth left? And my hair…great, there’s fleas.” He started scratching his head so hard that the group began gritting their teeth in discomfort.
“Um…Vest?” Leah asked.
“It’s Sylvester,” he said quickly, feeling his body all over as if he were checking for abnormalities. “Sorry for all the riddles and mumbo-jumbo earlier. I’m not myself until someone mentions the Choate. I get a good hour of clarity and then I revert back.”
“What happened to you?” Aidan asked. He had never seen anything like this. Was it a spell?
“I’m one of the Judge’s victims,” he replied, jumping to his feet and heading into the house. “Be right back.” He rummaged around for a moment and then walked back out with a pipe in hand. He held it out to Aidan.
“Do you mind? I realized your abilities when your hands lit up earlier, back when you were approaching the house.” Aidan snapped his fingers and lit it. Sylvester sat back down and sucked at it for a while before sighing heavily and turning back to the travelers. “Alright, let’s make this quick. You only get one hour and that’s it. Even if you say Choate a thousand times, nothing’s going to happen, so hurry up, ask your questions.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Jin said. “Did Duncan do this to you?”
“No, the Judge,” Sylvester said between puffs. “There are eight of us out there, across the world, that had wishes granted concerning knowledge about the Choate and its location. Four of us have information, and four of us hold a piece of it. In order to ensure that it’s even harder for someone to get all four pieces of the Choate and put them together, the Judge sent his lackeys to come to us and make wishes that forced us to lose our minds. We turn into these strange humins that everyone thinks is crazy. I become a senile, old man. There’s another that turns into a bird. Don’t ask. It’s not fun.”
“I thought the Judge was impartial.”
“Yeah, right. He may have rules to abide by. He may have limits, but he’s still in a position of power. He’s not going to let that go under any circumstances. He has to honor the wishes we made with our Yen, sure. But then he made sure we were so nuts that we didn’t have the willpower to retrieve the pieces ourselves. And, as a bonus for him, no one will consider that we even have the knowledge that we do. Most of the time when people come by, they’re either trying to rob me or kill me or some combination of both. That’s when they get turned into gingerbread cookie cut-outs. At least I have that. Can’t leave this stupid house though. I got another Yen to thank for that. I walk two miles from this place and I get teleported back. It’s annoying. Can’t meet nobody. Besides Duncan and you guys, I haven’t seen a living soul in two years. Two years! I’ve been eating that sewage water for…you know what, let’s not talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“So what was Duncan doing here? Passing by?”
“I think he got information from one of us. We call ourselves the Dull Edges. A bunch of slobbering, stupid people with the most important and powerful knowledge in the whole world. Anyways, either by accident
or intention, he must have said the word Choate or something around one of them and activated their clarity. Got information about me and came out here to investigate. A word of warning though. Don’t go around just saying Choate to every person you meet. You’ll attract the attention of the Judge after a while and he’ll make sure you’re chewing on old hair brushes like the rest of us in no time. You know what? Let’s not talk about it.”
“What did you tell Duncan?”
“That the most important piece of the artifact is in the Sentinel Stronghold, over the ocean if you keep going south, on another continent.”
“What is the Sentinel Stronghold? And I notice you keep saying ‘piece’ as if there are multiple parts to the Choate.”
“The Sentinel Stronghold is the one of the most heavily guarded fortresses in Obsidian, comprised of military men and women who have fought more battles than any humin should ever have to. And you would be correct in that there are multiple pieces to the Choate. 4 parts to be exact. Each piece is required to make the whole Choate, and the whole Choate is needed for maximum efficiency.”
“And the Choate grants whomever uses it a wish without limitation?”
“Oh it does far more than that.” Sylvester smiled through the pipe. “It summons a second Advent.
Chapter 17 – Together
“But only half of us survived the first one!” Grain exclaimed. Based on her reaction to his words, there was no doubt that what Sylvester said was true. He wasn’t lying. Grain would know.
“The four pieces are all over the place, but this is what they do. The first piece removes the Judge’s control over your Yen. The second, controls the trajectory of the new comet so it doesn’t just hit a planet you’re not aiming for. The third, and arguably the most important, controls the size of the comet and Advent, so theoretically, you could localize the blast. No need to wipe out half the planet. That’s the piece that’s in the Sentinel Stronghold. And lastly, the fourth piece controls the shockwave from the comet. The shockwave that follows the destruction is what gives anyone under it the Yen. If you had a complete Choate, you could not only get wishes without limits, you could grant them to multiple people.”
“Duncan really wanted to use Lowsunn as an army,” Aidan said. “He wanted them to fight the men and women at the Sentinel Stronghold.”
“Yeah,” Leah said. “And probably to get us to collect the other three pieces in the meantime.”
“So you know the locations of all the pieces?” Jin asked.
“Oh no, that would be crazy. Even the Sentinel Stronghold I only know about because I heard about it a few years ago. I don’t really know for sure if it’s there, but I wasn’t about to send a guy like that anywhere. I mean, I told the truth, which I’m obligated to do, but not the whole truth, you know?”
“I’m sure Duncan would have come back for you if he had survived,” Aidan said. Sylvester raised an eyebrow.
“He died, huh? Not surprised. I hear Lowsunn’s pretty solid on defenses.”
“So he didn’t have anyone else with him when he was here?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Interesting,” Aidan said, and Jin sat up more.
“Do you know for a fact the location of any of the other pieces?” Jin asked. Sylvester gave him a weary look.
“What do you intend to do with it?”
“To be honest, keep it away from others. I don’t want a weapon like that in the hands of anyone I don’t trust.”
“And who’s to say you’re to be trusted?”
“I don’t plan on using it for one thing. That alone should tell you my intentions are honorable.”
“True. Well, I know the exact location of only one piece, and it happens to be in Onyx Major. An old friend of mine is holding on to it. You’ll have to convince her to relinquish it to you. Her name is Mace.”
“Do you think she would give it to us?” Jin asked.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to pass her test, whatever that is. I’m just the messenger. But again, a word of warning. The Judge may leave you alone if you only have one piece of the Choate. Maybe two. But three or more and you officially become targets. He may not be able to harm you himself, but he has followers. Followers with abilities that will make you wish for a quick death. I hope you remember my words.”
“We will,” Aidan said. “But while we still have some time, I must ask you – what do you know about Lowsunn? Or what have you heard? What kind of a place is it?”
“Hmmm,” he said, puffing away. “Well, they keep to themselves mostly. Especially since there’s not much around them. But people don’t like them. I know that. They act like a fortress when many of the places in Obsidian have opened their doors to others. People understand the need for caution, but to cut themselves off from the world? People start thinking they have something to hide.”
“I only ask because I don’t know what to make of them. Lowsunn is a home to me, but I don’t like the way they handle some things.”
“If you’re a family like they say you all are, then they should treat you like it. What do you do when a family member is having problems with another? You have a meeting. You work it out. We all need a knock on the head sometimes. No one is above the knocking.”
“Right,” Aidan said. Sylvester nodded as he took one last look at all his guests, then climbed to his feet.
“I only have a few minutes left so I hope you don’t mind if I spend it doing a little light reading. Used to love that. Don’t eat that crap I concocted in the pot. There’s fresh meat in the cabinet in the back of the house. Check it before you eat it. Don’t remember how long it’s been there exactly. But use the cauldron to cook it and you’re free to sleep on the roof. When I revert back, I might yell at you and stuff, but just ignore me. The whole turning-people-into-paper thing is an auto-defense mechanism. Unless you attack me, it won’t kick in. Have a good night, everyone. It was nice meeting you all.”
Sylvester hummed a tune to himself as he scurried into the house. They heard the noises of a chair being ripped from the wall and placed into the open. The tune continued until his pipe dropped from his mouth and onto the table. The chair was heard scraping against the floor again, and then he emerged into view, hunchbacked and limping as he passed by the open entrance to the house. He grabbed his wooden spoon, stuck it in the cauldron and took a sip.
“Tastes as good as sunshine,” he muttered. And then he kept stirring.
* * *
“Can’t sleep?” Leah asked as she came from behind Aidan in the field. The stars were in the midst of their second act, bouncing off one another like they were made of rubber. There was no noise to accompany the clashes, just a light breeze that rustled through his hair.
“It was hard enough with a cabin full of boys,” Aidan replied. “Even worse with six other people lying right next to you.”
“Even if one of those people is me?”
“You’re the only one I want to lie next to,” he smiled, momentarily facing her. “I can come back there now if you like.”
“Oh, no I figured I wouldn’t be getting much sleep the first night out here anyways. And can we talk about how creepy those paper men were? Soooooo creepy!”
“I’m not going to forget those anytime soon,” he laughed. Leah hugged him from behind.
“So what’s the plan?”
“We head to Onyx Major, maybe get a little place of our own until we hear Necrosis is on his way. Then we keep moving.”
“I meant the Choate. Are we going to seek out Mace?”
“Should we? You heard Sylvester. We start collecting pieces, and we start gaining more enemies.”
“It is a dilemma,” she said, nuzzling her cheek into his back. “It’s hard because I almost feel like it’s our obligation though. Imagine if Duncan had gotten a hold of a piece. The damage he could have caused.”
“I don’t know if having it in our possession is any better. It really is hard. Knowing when to intervene and when to j
ust stay back.”
“What do you want to do? What does your gut tell you?”
“That we should retrieve it,” he sighed, looking to the stars. “Jin is right. The fact that we have no desire to use it speaks volumes. I can’t say the same about the Elders or Bailey, and given that Sylvester’s home is so relatively close to Lowsunn, it’s only a matter of time before he tells someone else about it.”
“We’re already in trouble, why not add a little more?” Leah said. A cry of frustration interrupted their conversation and they both glanced over to the right. Isaac was off in the distance, testing out his new-found abilities, making his sword fly up into the air and dance. Isaac used his hands to guide it, but he was having difficulty figuring out the mechanics. The sword would fall randomly and he stomped the ground, unable to figure out what went wrong.
“Should we go help him?” Aidan asked. Leah nodded into his back and they separated.
“I’ll go first,” she said, sprinting forward. Summoning a blade of ice with a hilt that wrapped around her right fist, she charged Isaac silently, keeping her body and head low. But Isaac sensed her approach, picked up his sword from the grass, and parried her blow at the last second. Leah pivoted and struck again, and they clashed again, and again and again, neither one taking the other too seriously. Aidan finally made his way over to them and stepped in between them.
“Now, now, that’s not going to help you improve,” he said, calling forth two magma swords from the palms of his hands. “Both of you taking me on at once will.”
Leah wasted no words and lunged right at Aidan’s head. Aidan blocked the blow and then Isaac’s, activating fire shields whenever he wasn’t fast enough to parry. The shields bounced their swords away and knocked them off balance, and whenever they staggered back, he would kick at them playfully. The three of them weren’t serious at all, but they enjoyed the skirmish all the same. Until they were interrupted.
“What are you kids doing?” Jin laughed as he beat his fists together and came out of the shadows.
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