Dullahans and Tablets

by Daniel Kolade

  Mila’s withheld hand slowly reached back out and this time it didn’t stop, she touched a golden chalice, and for a moment, nothing. Even she had to look around a good couple of times before she believed it herself. Then she picked up the chalice and gazed into it’s reflection.

  “See! Nothing happened,” Hyde said, showing his palms as if it was a no brainer. “Now where’s my twenty silver?”

  Mari said nothing, she simply watched the girl admire the piece of treasure until—the entire room began to shake.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Hyde muttered, baffled by the sudden quake. “This can’t be real, it must be a coincidence!”

  Mari glanced at him, saying nothing.

  “Fine, bet is yours,” he said, handing her the winnings and concluding the first bet he ever made.

  “Mila!” Remi rose to his feet, looking around for the girl, until he found her red-handed, touching something.

  “What’s happening?” Zora asked, looking about.

  “Mila, touched something,” Remi said with a pained expression on his face.

  “I’m sorry, Remi,” Mila whispered.

  “It’s okay,” he fronted a smile, trying not to catch her eyes as he held his now aching stomach.

  “Okay, everyone! Take what you can and leave the rest, we’re getting out of here!” Zora issued a retreat.

  “We’re what?” Nitro stopped her joyous treasure hunting quest.

  “We’re leaving,” Abe repeated.

  “Aww, but there’s still so much,” she grumbled.

  The party rose to their feet, leaving the rest of the treasure, as the entire structure was about to come apart.

  This is way too over the top! Hyde thought, still wanting to not believe the cause of it all. He met up with the other members of the guild at the portal at the end of the room, but one person was missing.

  “Nitro, c’mon!” Zora muttered.

  “No! I want more!” Nitro said, stubbornly trying to pocket more goods.

  “I’ll go after her.” Hyde ran into the room and scooped the small girl into his arms before she could get away.

  “But the shinies!” she screamed.

  “It’s for rent anyway,” he replied, almost shedding a tear because of the shame.

  Upon his return, the other members had already used the portal, leaving himself and Nitro to take it together. Just like her, he had a reason to stay. I hate portals. His feet hesitated, and Nitro quickly capitalised.

  “Maybe there’s another way,” she said slyly.

  “Doubt it.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

  “Doubt that too.”

  “Tell you what, I can use an earth spell to protect us so we can find another way,”

  “Really?” he glanced at her.

  “Yeah,” she replied, but he saw through the blatant lie in a second.

  “We’re taking the portal,” he sighed.

  “The treasure though!” she grumbled.

  “I hate portals,” he whispered, finally stepping in.

  CHAPTER 26

  The repeated portal joyrides took a hefty toll on Hyde, however they brought him and all the other guild members back to Genesis. Back home. It didn’t take long for things to return to normal. Abe returned to his people-watching—or which others would argue bordered on plain ol’ stalking. Nevertheless, the Sentinel found himself pouched in his nest, watching from afar, or more accurately from a secluded corner inside the guild arena area. There he witnessed not only the friendly chatter from Remi and Mila, but also the intense bout between Hyde and Zora, and finally Nitro’s overzealous drawing and Mari’s sweet tune.

  Her gentle voice rang wistfully in the stadium and her song swept across them so simply. At the top right of their HUD read: Now Playing: We’re Alright (Original) Mari.

  Wherever we go, no matter what happens

  Whomever we meet, no matter what happens

  Whatever we face, together we’ll see it through.

  And that’s just who we are.

  No matter the weather, no matter the time, no matter the place

  We’ll be together, in the rain, in the snow, even in a chase.

  That’s just what we do.

  I know now we’ll be okay,

  we’ll be alright.

  We’ll find our way,

  Through the light

  Through the thunder

  And through the night.

  We’ll be alright.

  Her words swept across them like a tide coming in. So smooth and so gentle. Her singing was amazing in its own right, however the soundtrack system was the true mystery. It filled in the gaps, following the song and playing the relevant notes to perfectly accompany the singer. It was so seamless, it was only in hindsight that they realised what was happening. The systems in place in this world, this Eden, weren’t simple programming. It was something more, maybe even something living.

  Nevertheless, Mari’s voice filled the space and every other sound disappeared. For a moment the sound of steel against steel, will clashing against will, melted away. Hyde’s grudge match against Zora turned into a silent tango. Remi’s conversation with Mila turned into mere mimicry and lip reading.

  In the presence of Mari’s song, time itself seemed to slow and everything finally made sense. Their destiny in this place called Eden. The reason for their latest engagement and the successive conquering of The House of Sages. It all made sense. This was the first of the many steps that they’d take to accomplish their dream. It was the first advancement they’d made towards winning, towards the finish line, towards getting back to their reality.

  They didn’t know it then, but this was only the beginning. Retreats like the one they made against the cave troll wouldn’t be the last and struggles like the one against the final boss of The House of Sages was merely a teaser. There was so much to come and preparations were scarce.

  However, at the end of all of this, they were able to find a solution to a long debate that plagued their identity, their very existence—yes, it was their name.

  It didn’t happen right away, but the moment Remi opened his mouth to say, “It seems like bounty hunting is becoming more popular recently” set it into motion. Mila looked up from the MMO Weekly article on the tablet between them, only to see a dove swoop down, appearing from seemingly nowhere and disappearing just as fast after leaving a digital mail behind.

  “Did we just get some guild mail?” she wondered.

  “Seems like it, but that never happens” Remi whispered, tapping the envelope icon on the screen. It opened revealing a message, addressed from MMO Weekly. “Hey, isn’t this about—” he trailed off before jumping to his feet.

  “Huh?” Mila glanced up at him.

  “Zora!” he called out, forcing the bout between herself and Hyde into a standstill. “MMO Weekly wants to know the name of the Guild that completed The House of Sages. Apparently, the leaderboards don’t mention a name.”

  “What? That’s strange,” Zora cringed. “How about the Headless—” before she could finish, her lips stopped as did everything else on her face. This was the moment, when she experienced a whole new sensation that she’d never been intimately acquainted with, unlike the other members of the guild. However, it should be noted that this was the very first and last time she’d ever experience something of this kind. It was such a strange sensation having the sharpness of steel dig into the neck, smoothly severing the tissue and cleanly slicing through. It was remarkable the kind of shock that it induced, the intense fear that followed, and the wonder that almost resembled the sublime. All in the course of a second, she was afflicted with the sensation that she’d happily inflicted on her subordinates time and time again. It was true that the lesson it taught was vital, but still… it was scary.

  The poor girl was only given a second to see the reflection of Hyde’s ruthless smile on the silver sword protruding from her throat. Red streams trickled across the steel following
the path of least resistance across the central ridge and into the fuller.

  Son of a—Hyde, that was dirty, she thought, knowing it was too late.

  No such thing! The smile on the boy’s face said. He stepped in, twisting with his blade in hand, severing the bonds between her neck and head, while gracefully twirling past her. It only took a moment for the flawless spinning decapitation to be proudly executed. The victim slumped—soon collapsing with a head cleanly cut from the body.

  Hyde stood tall, proud almost. His peers sat frozen, glancing at him then at their headless leader. It took a moment for it to finally set in and then they all thought at the same time.

  Now you know how it feels! Serves you right!

  Hyde stepped over Zora’s disappearing body and looked up at his friends, “We are The Dullahans!”