Ethan Wright and the Curse of Silence

by Kimbro West

  “Indeed,” replied Odin as he put the glasses back in his pack, pulling out a piece of scrap parchment. “Although I am hesitant to say, it may be more alarming that the creature itself was still alive, having been altered through alchemical manipulation. No doubt the last werewolf that Ghislain saw, several years ago, is the very same Stonewolf that was seen here in Strahlung,” he added, making a rub of the markings on the pinch-shackle with the scrap of parchment. Odin held the rub and looked at it through the light of the fireplace. Satisfied with his work, he rolled the parchment up and placed it in his pocket.

  “This leads us to your errand, boys,” said Ghislain, fidgeting with the pinch-shackle. “Seems I used to make runs to Tirguard now and again, however I’m afraid that I must stick around home or get into trouble with Mrs. Faryndon …” Ghislain ended in a whisper, “and Odin here could no longer fight his way out of a paper bag, if you — er, know what I mean.” He chuckled at Odin. “I need you two to investigate this symbol in Tirguard and bring back …”

  But Ghislain was interrupted by Ethan. “Did you say Tirguard?” Ghislain slumped back in his chair and remained silent. Ethan then looked over to Odin. “Well, let’s have it then — this place is real? Tirguard, it exists?” asked Ethan loudly.

  “It does,” answered Odin.

  “How long have you known? All of you! HOW LONG?”

  The room stayed silent for a few moments and then Odin took a deep breath. “I have known all along, Ethan,” replied Odin. The deep gashes in his withered face brought little sympathy from Ethan.

  “My brother has been missing for over three years. I have missed school … and missed out on so many other things to go and look for him, and it turns out there is a secret city that everyone knows about but me? How is this possible?”

  “Ethan, you have every right to be angry, but please listen for a moment.” Gesturing for Ethan to calm down, Odin leaned forward. Flicks of light from the fireplace reflected off his weathered eyes. “Long ago, there was a Curse placed on you … placed on all of us. Anyone that gave information about the Oroborus, or even spoke the creature’s name, would reap the wrath of the Curse of Silence. As of the last few months, the Curse seems to be lifting….”

  Ghislain lifted both hands up and motioned for Odin to stop speaking.

  “What wrath?” asked Ethan sharply.

  “NO! That’s enough talk of that, Odin, my wife is here — my son!” exclaimed Ghislain in a whisper.

  “Ghislain, I will only speak of what is known to be safe, I promise.” He turned to Ethan and continued. “Please no questions, Ethan — for now — there are still things to confirm. However … there are three things I can tell you. First, travel by Oroborus to and from Tirguard is limited to a select few families. Second, people have been speaking of the Oroborus and not suffering penalty — more and more people are traveling by Oroborus again. And finally, breaking the Curse of Silence means instant death for anyone that does so. Which means, if something is spoken that is still forbidden by the Curse, everyone in this room could be in mortal danger.”

  Ethan did not know what to say; he sat back in his chair and kept silent. Ghislain had stopped fidgeting with the pinch-shackle and had quite a nervous look on his face. Auren was eager to break the silence. “So are we goin’ then? I mean, is it safe? Won’t everyone be talking about the Oroborus?”

  “Now that we know Wegnel sent Ethan there successfully, we think it’s assumable that you will be safe,” answered Odin.

  “Wegnel’s services haven’t been used regularly in years. Most folks just go about their business — some even completely unaware such travel exists,” added Ghislain as he looked over his shoulder to see if Isabel was listening.

  “We’ll go,” said Ethan abruptly.

  Odin seemed pleased, and even Ethan was happy about the new possibilities unfolding in front of him. Ethan realized this plan was premeditated, for some of the items that Odin had packed seemed odd for simply going to Ghislain’s house. Perhaps Ghislain and Odin wanted the boys to investigate a Stonewolf, but a much different task was on Ethan’s agenda. He decided he and Auren could explore the map, and maybe they would get clues to help them find Isaac.

  Odin, Ghislain, and the two boys grabbed their things and started on their way to Wegnel’s hut. The short journey was quite cheerful. The rain had died down and the sun was peeking through the dreary morning sky. Odin and Ghislain went on about the past and how they were on many misbehaved adventures, which seemed to steadily bore Auren. Ethan, on the other hand, had never heard about this side of Odin or Ghislain. He had always thought that Odin’s idea of excitement was sitting in the study drinking tea in front of the fire. They arrived at Wegnel’s place, where they found Wegnel waiting for them outside.

  “Well hello there,” said Wegnel, scratching his beady-eyed wrinkly face. “It’s great of you to show up on time for a change — not saying that you are the regular sort by any means, but you …”

  He was cut off by Ghislain. “That’s quite enough pleasantries, Wegnel, we don’t have time for all the babble this trip.”

  The brash comment was overlooked by the alchemist and he continued. “Ah then, come inside,” said Wegnel quickly.

  Ghislain and Auren walked in first, followed by Odin, and then Ethan made his way up the stairs and into the hut. It seemed much more cramped with Ghislain and Odin inside. Ethan looked at the chair in which his first meeting with the Oroborus had taken place. It looked rather unique, but at the same time, quite plain. It was made of wood but had a dark border around the backrest and seat. Everyone found a place to sit except for Ethan and Wegnel. Ethan did not care to sit in that chair, not now anyways. He stood by the doorway and watched Wegnel as he rooted around the kitchen.

  “Any tea?” yelled Wegnel from the other room.

  “No thank you,” replied Odin.

  Ghislain looked annoyed. “Let’s get down to business already, Wegnel.”

  Wegnel came in the room with a familiar small bottle of red powder.

  “Oh no — no son of mine will have need for any blundering blinding powder — not today or any day,” said Ghislain sternly.

  Wegnel looked a bit disappointed but put down the red powder and instead approached the beautiful chest with metal workings on the front, opened it, took out the silk bag and placed it on the table. Wegnel loosened the drawstring and took the creature from the bag. Auren’s mouth was agape as he stared at the Oroborus.

  “Ethan, why don’t you sit down first, since you have done this already,” said Odin.

  Ethan picked up the pack that Odin had brought and had a seat in the old wooden chair. Wegnel placed the leather straps around his arms and turned to get the Oroborus.

  “Now then, it will be important to remember not to panic, for when you arrive on the other side you will have to wait quite some time for Auren to show. It could be several minutes it could, and you don’t want to be getting yourself all irate.”

  The Oroborus had removed its tail from its mouth. The colors had altered slightly, as well as the shape. The tail was bright blue on the bottom, had brilliant yellow lines running up to the top, all surrounded by a black border.

  “His tail looks different than the last time I saw it,” said Ethan, wondering if he should panic.

  “Ah yes, that has much to do with little, and little to do with many things. You see he has never had to necessitate for feelings, but as time passes and he spends more time around humans, he finds himself wanting to express himself, wanting to express his … feelings. I believe this is a display of contentment for his environment I do. Evidently, Dimon has somehow come to the conclusion that you are of quality folk, how he came to that I may never know, but there you have it,” rambled Wegnel.

  As Wegnel brought the Oroborus closer to Ethan’s forearm, Odin noticed something. Dimon’s eyelids had slowly peeled open to reveal two very large black eyes. Odin looked up at Ghislain, who was also alerted by the eyes that had just appeared
. Ghislain was just about to speak when the Oroborus opened its mouth and sank its teeth into Ethan’s forearm. Ethan needed no reminder of what it felt like, and slipped away into darkness.

  Chapter 10

  Auren’s Bucket

  Ethan awoke disoriented; his hands were clenching the arms of the magic chair as if to catch himself from falling. He opened his eyes to a blurry mug of wrinkles and two beady eyes staring down at him. It was MacArthur.

  “Ahhh yes, I knew I would see you again, my boy,” said MacArthur. “So you believe in Tirguard now?”

  “Yeah, but …”

  “I assume you are bringing company this time around?”

  “Yeah … but how did you …?” Ethan asked, his eyesight clearing up.

  “They come by themselves and then they bring others, I have seen it a thousand times over. Besides, it’s my business to know these kinds of things,” said MacArthur. “Please, rest over here.” He pointed to the comfy chair. Ethan made his way over and plopped down in the cozy seat. MacArthur was carrying a mug of tea in one hand and a bucket in the other; he brought the tea over to Ethan and set it on the end table.

  “Thanks,” said Ethan, in anticipation of watching the magical chair in action for the first time. MacArthur nodded and took a seat himself, placing the bucket to the side on the floor, both now staring at the chair.

  “What does it look like … you know, when someone comes through?” asked Ethan.

  “Hard to explain really — it’s best if one sees it for themselves.”

  Ethan leaned back to peer out the window. “Is it early morning here?”

  “Indeed, the sun should be coming up any moment now.”

  “But how …” stuttered Ethan.

  “Time difference,” answered MacArthur shortly, with his eyes fixated on the chair.

  Ethan remembered MacArthur describing a time difference but was still unclear as to what he meant. From his dealings with Wegnel, he thought it may be better not to pry. Ethan was much more eager to see what it would look like when Auren arrived. As he continued to stare at the chair in front of him, he noticed it was identical to the chair in Wegnel’s hut.

  MacArthur had a peek at the pack that Ethan carried with him. “Staying a while then?” he inferred.

  Ethan also looked down at his pack that had been prepared by Odin. “Yes,” he answered awkwardly. He did not know if it was the right time to reveal his true plans to MacArthur. Maybe it was best to wait for Auren to arrive before discussing anything.

  At that very moment the border around the chair started to glow softly. It was getting stronger, growing in brightness until it hurt Ethan’s eyes. Then a flash erupted from the chair. Ethan could not bear it and had to shield his eyes. Suddenly it stopped. Ethan looked up to find a figure sitting in the chair; it was much smaller than he had expected, and appeared to be female.

  “Availia?”

  “How do you know the Oroborus didn’t turn Auren into a girl?” asked Availia, smiling.

  “How did — er, what are you doin’ here?” stuttered Ethan.

  Availia stood on her toes and gave Ethan a quick hug. “I arrived at Wegnel’s right after you left, and Auren was kind enough to let ladies go first. Besides, he thought it would be funny if you were expecting him instead of me.”

  “But what are you doing here?”

  “Well, I was trying to win the youth sword competition so I could be squad leader in the Guard. But as you, Auren, and no doubt everyone else saw, I lost to stupid Marcus Grenwise — the miscreant of Whitehaven. I need to thank Auren for paddling his bottom and making him look like an idiot — you two are hilarious, remember the toads?” asked Availia, smiling.

  “But what about the Curse? How do you even know this place exists?” asked Ethan curiously.

  “Oh, the Curse of Silence? That’s over with. Besides, my family is exempt — we trade goods with Tirguard all the time. My parents wouldn’t let us talk about it outside the house, you know … with the threat of death and the Curse and all that. My sister is in the Guard here as well. But this is my first time in Tirguard — so exciting!” exclaimed Availia.

  Ethan scratched his head for a moment as he took everything in. Just then another blinding flash of light ignited the room.

  “Oh, that was an odd trip,” groaned Auren. “I thought I might lose my breakfast for a….” His face turned green, then pale, and then green again. MacArthur was ready for this, for he immediately handed him the bucket, and Auren ended up losing his breakfast three times. He lifted his sweaty face out of the bucket, looked around, and looked back to MacArthur. “You look just like Wegnel,” he panted.

  “Well, my dear boy, that’s because I am Wegnel.”

  “Right then,” he answered with his head drooping back in the bucket.

  “Your father had a weak stomach too, you probably best not mention it to his face though,” suggested MacArthur.

  “So are you two here to enroll?” interrupted Availia.

  “Enroll in the Guard? Uh … no, we are here to investigate an attack,” answered Ethan.

  “Stonewolf,” echoed Auren’s voice out of the bucket.

  “Did he say Stonewolf?” asked Availia, tilting her head to the side.

  “Indeed he did,” replied MacArthur. “And if I am not mistaken, it is referred to by alchemical experts as a stone lycanthrope, or … Stonewolf. Altering a man to become a wolf, and then a second alteration takes place, inducing a stone-fleshed exterior — simply an amazing creature.”

  “And,” Ethan pulled the pinch-shackle out of his pack, “we have this.” He handed the device to MacArthur.

  “A pinch-shackle — are you sure? It would be nearly impossible to control a creature that powerful with a childish device like this. Although the size … seems accurate,” MacArthur mused while studying the device.

  “Well, yeah. I saw it on the Stonewolf’s leg, but at the time I didn’t know what I was looking at. So you’re saying it wouldn’t work?” asked Ethan.

  “Not likely,” said MacArthur. He turned the shackle around and noticed the small symbol in the metal. “Did you see this marking?”

  Ethan nodded.

  “Well … it doesn’t look familiar to me — but one would use some type of symbol to initiate control of the wearer of a pinch-shackle. As I said, I don’t know how this could work — there is no possible way one man could control a creature such as this … I mean, if there were, he would have to be a master alchemist … and even then … not likely.” MacArthur handed the pinch-shackle back to Ethan. “Sorry I can’t be of more help. You two must have made quite an impression on someone — being placed in charge of such a daunting task.”

  Auren raised his head from the bucket, looked over to Availia and Ethan, and then to MacArther. “Well, father said Ethan made an impression on the Oroborus — does that count?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Ethan with his eyebrows raised.

  “Dimon opened his eyes,” said Availia. “It’s supposedly a trait of the Oroborus, that it doesn’t need to see — so it never opens its eyes, but it did just before you passed through.”

  “She speaks the truth, Ethan,” said MacArthur. “In fact, Dimon had not even developed eyelids until about five hundred years ago. He has never opened them before, until …” MacArthur paused, scratching his balding head. “Actually on your last trip from here I noticed that the Oroborus looked at you.”

  Ethan was confused and was about to ask why this was a big deal.

  MacArthur continued. “This is truly a significant event, and it is so because he has opened his eyes only one other time.” Ethan looked startled. “He opened them …to look at your brother,” said MacArthur, now in a very serious voice.

  “Isaac?” exclaimed Ethan, “but why?”

  “I am not sure I am the best one to answer that. And for that matter, I am not entirely certain. Dimon is very particular about who he inflates his curiosity upon. It may be that he senses in you the same quali
ty that he sensed in Isaac,” replied MacArthur.

  At this point Auren felt like he was in the general store and Vincent was talking Ethan up again. But it did not matter to Auren; still feeling sick, he threw up in the bucket again, paused, and looked back up to MacArthur. “Do you know where we can find Isaac then?” Auren asked weakly. Ethan looked at the alchemist as if he asked the question himself.

  “Ah …” MacArthur paused. “I see … unfortunately, I do not know his current whereabouts.”

  “Do you know where we could start looking then?” asked Ethan desperately. “Just anything that could give us a clue … anything?”

  “Well, you could try the records department. They keep records of all important activity in Tirguard. It may even give you answers about the Stonewolf attack you’re investigating, but there is no way to get near there, unless of course….”

  “Unless what, MacArthur?”

  “Well, unless you were enrolled in the Guard — civilians are not allowed near the records department,” answered MacArthur.

  “Looks like you two will be going to orientation with me after all,” exclaimed Availia.

  “Oh, man …” grumbled Auren. He had regained the color in his cheeks and was starting to feel relief from the effects of Oroborus travel. He looked out the window and smiled. “Hey, is it morning again? Looks like I get another chance at eating breakfast!”

  Ethan and Availia shook their heads.

  Chapter 11

  Orientation

  The three stepped out of the hut and into a bustling city. Ethan remembered the market district and recognized the vendor carts, colorful banners and the smell of food wafting past. He knew the smells would certainly excite Auren’s appetite and it would only be a matter of time before they bought food from one of the vendors. Auren started toward a meat pie shop, but at that very moment he stopped in his tracks.

  “That rat-faced jerk is here,” hissed Auren.

  Both Ethan and Availia looked where Auren was pointing. “Just wait a minute, Auren. Maybe he doesn’t want to start any trouble, and it’s probly best if we …”