by Kimbro West
“It looks like he was studying alchemy symbols,” stated Stanley, pointing at the book. “But why? I thought Mitans couldn’t control alchemy.”
“It’s true, we cannot. However … we do, on occasion, get assistance with alchemy from humans such as Wegnel. He helped us with the Library of Truth — so we do study alchemy, to an extent.”
Ethan picked up a piece of parchment and spotted a symbol written on it. “What’s this?” he asked, holding it out to Ventu.
“Looks like an alchemy symbol … not sure I’ve ever seen that one before.”
Ethan handed the parchment to Stanley and Availia to look at. Availia shook her head. The symbol was a circle that connected all corners of a triangle, with a small cross on top.
“I’ve studied a lot of alchemy symbols — I don’t recall ever seeing this one,” said Stanley, mystified.
“Well, can’t you just do that letter thing you did with … you know,” said Auren, gesturing toward Ethan’s jacket.
Stanley was slightly confused, until he realized that Auren was hinting at the secret map. “Um … these aren’t letters, Auren — it’s obvious this is a rare alchemy symbol if Loka felt he had to look it up,” he replied as he fingered through the pages of the book. “Ah, here it is … ‘prufsian blue,’ it says. No wonder I haven’t studied this — artists sometimes use prufsian to blend a certain shade of blue. Its practical application to alchemy is basically … well … none, really,” he sighed. “That doesn’t give us a whole lot to go on.”
“If it has no practical application, then why was he looking at it?” asked Availia. “And why is it even an alchemy symbol?”
“Not sure — could be anything. Maybe he’s studying rare symbols because he had already learned the rest. That’s the only reason I’d look at this. Just to be safe, do you mind if I take this with me?” asked Stanley, holding up the parchment.
Ventu nodded. “Yes, of course — anything you need.”
“Well … it is getting late. Is there a place we could stay?” asked Stanley. “Maybe even here perhaps? It’s possible we could find some additional clues,” he added.
The Mitan agreed and took his leave. Although there were not enough accommodations for everyone, Auren had no problem claiming Loka’s cot and passing out. His nose wheedled air in and out, while occasional snorting could be heard.
Stanley, Availia and Ethan stayed up to look for clues throughout the dwelling, but after finding nothing, they focused on paging through the alchemy book. Availia was soon dozing in her chair. Ethan’s eyes grew heavy. Using his pack for a pillow, he fell asleep on the floor. After several hours, Stanley’s face was planted on the desk next to the book he had been so rigorously studying.
***
A pale young girl was kneeling outside the window. Her face looked sad, welled up with tears, yet calm. One eye was a beautiful hazel color that drew Ethan in, while the other was glazed-over, colorless and surrounded by a dark tattoo-like mark. Snowflakes rested in her short dark hair as her breath fogged up the window. Although she appeared to be Ethan’s age, she looked as if she knew something that Ethan did not. Fingers extended from her pale hand; she placed them on the surface of the window. Frost formed and crackled around her fingertips.
Ethan approached the window cautiously. His hearing seemed muffled. He looked down at his hand and saw that the wound on his palm was all but gone. He looked around, wondering if he was having a vision instead of a dream, when suddenly a resounding voice shattered his concentration.
“Ethan….”
He focused his attention on the fragile girl outside the window. “Yes?” he answered, his voice sounding like a muffled boom traveling through a fluid current. The rhythmic sound that bellowed from his mouth surprised even him. He further tested his voice. “Who are you?” he asked curiously.
“Ethan ….” The girl’s lips shivered, yet her mouth remained still. Instead, her voice seemed to go directly inside Ethan’s head. “Ethan … you’re going to die soon,” her voice reverberated.
Ethan gasped. He could not explain it, but her words felt true. Ethan knew his fate was tied to Xivon, tied to the Oroborus and tied to the great Game — a game in which he did not understand the rules. As her words echoed through his head, his anger began to rise, and his confidence in seeing his brother again started to fall.
“But, do not despair,” resonated her voice. He stared, standing motionless in the dream that ensnared him. The frost began to melt around where her hand touched the glass. “Answers will come, my young djinn — when it is time, you will seek me out.” Her voice ripped through his mind like an arrow shooting through time.
“Djinn?! What did you say?” The muffled echoes of Ethan’s voice began to clear, just before fading away.
Ethan gasped for breath as he bolted up from the floor of Loka Tattur’s domicile. His breathing was out of control and his cheeks bloodless.
“Ethan?!” Auren, normally a comatose sleeper, was worriedly expressing his concern over the commotion Ethan was making. “Are you alright?”
He was not. He rolled over and vomited. Availia came rushing over while Auren patted Ethan on the back.
“You okay, Ethan?” asked Availia, feeling his forehead.
“He’s alright,” answered Auren with a chuckle. “I throw up all the time. Like sometimes on the airship, or when I eat something gross, or when I get called on in class, or when I travel through the Oroborus….” Auren was now mumbling to himself. “I barf a lot, now that I think about it.”
Ethan sat up. His face was returning to its normal color. “Bad dream,” he replied hoarsely.
“Must have been, you screamed terribly,” said Stanley groggily from the desk. He looked down where his head had just been planted, and panicked. “The book!” he shouted. “It’s gone!”
“What?” exclaimed Availia.
“It was right here,” said Stanley in disgust. He shuddered in disbelief that he had lost the only evidence that might help them find Loka Tattur. “I fell asleep practically on top of it. I don’t know what could have possibly—”
“I know what happened,” interrupted Ventu as he entered the room.
Stanley raised his head, excited at Ventu’s arrival. “What do you mean? What happened?!”
“Raikenai Tattur, Loka’s youngest daughter … she is nowhere to be found. I would guess she took the book before leaving to look for Loka.”
“And she took it from right under your nose, Stanley,” taunted Auren devilishly as he rocked back on his heels.
Availia was ready with a smack to the back of Auren’s head. “Yours too, Auren! She took the book under all our noses.”
“Well, she must have some idea on where to find him then,” announced Ethan while cleaning up after himself. “We should try and follow her.”
“Yeah, I agree — but follow her where?” argued Stanley. “All we have now is this piece of parchment,” he added, taking it from his pocket and placing it on the desk.
Auren went to the desk and looked at the symbol. “It sorta looks like letters—”
“They’re not letters!” exclaimed Stanley, examining the parchment. His eyes widened as he mentally deconstructed the parts of the symbol. “Oh,” he said with instant realization. “Auren … I am sorry. You’re a genius!”
Auren nodded in agreement. “That’s what I’ve been telling you guys!”
Stanley snatched up the quill and wrote the symbols separately. “And you’re absolutely right — they’re letters! Here’s an ‘O’ — this triangle has little feet, and could represent the letter ‘A’, and the cross is obviously a ‘T’,” he concluded excitedly.
“Oat?” asked Auren sarcastically. “I’m hungry … can we get some food now, Ventu? You have any of those biscuits lying around?”
Ethan stood and joined the others around the desk. “Rearrange them.”
“Yeah, let’s see — ‘OTA’, no … ‘ATO’ … ‘TAO’ — how about ‘TOA’? No, wait …
‘TAO’ — the Alchemist’s Order, could that be it? I mean, that’s gotta be it!”
“How do you do that?” asked Availia in awe.
Stanley smiled and motioned toward Auren, who was still hounding Ventu for food. “Good with letters and puzzles is all, always have been. But I gotta give credit to Auren this time,” replied Stanley. “I was too foolish to listen to him the first time … shoulda known the Order had something to do with this, the clue being an alchemy symbol and all.”
“What the heck is the Alchemist’s Order anyways?” demanded Availia.
“The Order was created a long time ago to manage the five main branches of alchemy. It consists of thirteen members who make decisions based on a voting system. They claim to maintain order in the alchemy world — they are the ones responsible for shutting down the Stone Sanctuary Academy many years ago…,” explained Stanley, “…for … well, for the experimental alchemy class I was in, under Professor Tothyll Longthorpe.”
“You mean … Tothyll? The same Tothyll that made you stutt….” Auren stopped short, realizing the subject may be sensitive for Stanley.
In an attempt to help Auren move on from his blunder, Availia jumped in. “What would Loka want with the Order?” she asked.
“Or … what would the Order want with Loka?” corrected Ethan. “And what does this have to do with prufsian blue?”
“I think we are all missing the fact that I … am a genius,” bragged Auren.
“As much as I agree with you, Auren, we have a slightly larger problem. If Loka’s daughter went to find him — she could be in serious danger,” replied Stanley while glossing over Auren’s comment, “especially if the Order means to harm Loka for some reason.”
“Raikenai is the daughter of Loka and is strong — she will be okay,” replied Ventu.
Ethan took the parchment from Stanley and looked at the symbol again — his eyes lit up. “The Order … Auren, remember when Abbey took us through the shortcut?”
Auren scratched his head. “Well, yeah … how can I forget? I carried you almost the entire way,” he complained.
Ethan thrust the parchment in Auren’s face. “Look — this symbol was on one of the pillars in that cave — near the door with the gold dust on it. That man from the Order … at Abbey’s place — he said he was a Gold Dust alchemist.”
“Yeah — I’ll bet he knows where Loka is,” added Auren.
“You think Raikenai came to a similar conclusion about the Alchemist’s Order — that they took Loka?” inferred Stanley.
Ethan threw his pack over his shoulder. “Only one way to find out.”
Ventu quickly interjected. “I’m going with you — I am the responsible party while Loka is away. It is my obligation to see you, and his daughter, safe.”
Ethan, Stanley and Availia nodded their heads and prepared to leave. Auren watched as one after another marched out of Loka’s domicile. He held his hands out in protest. “Wait … aren’t we going to eat first?” he whined.
Chapter 16
The Lady of the Mitan
“I still don’t understand why we’re walking!” grumbled Auren as he gobbled down a few of the biscuits he had received from Ventu. They walked through a small clearing before trudging back into dense forest. The smell of rotting wood turned Auren’s stomach, so he shoved the remainder of a biscuit in his pack. Branches creaked and scraped as a light breeze blew through the trees. As Auren stepped over a large patch of moss, he simply could not contain his argument. “We have an airship — I mean, not that I like to fly or anything — just think it’d be faster, is all.”
“If we take the airship, it brings us within eyeshot of patrols sent out from Gilfangir — it may be faster, but I fear we would be spotted. Setting down near King’s Point would be unpredictable — nearly impossible to avoid a confrontation with Xivon’s followers,” answered Ventu. “Besides, Raikenai isn’t going to take the main road — she’ll travel through dense forest, which would be difficult to see from the air.”
“Just great,” mumbled Auren as he followed Ventu into the thicket, “more forest.”
“You really think Xivon would keep that close of an eye out for us?” asked Availia.
“Most certainly — he would do anything in his power to get to Ethan. If he had been in Tirguard when the Mortuus Manus bracelet was stolen, you may have had an encounter with Xivon there. That action alone was a bold move, even for him,” answered Ventu, pushing the brush out of his way.
“Ventu, if Ethan has a brother that is a part of the Game … is it fair to say that Xivon would also have a sibling that’s involved?” inquired Stanley.
“Dregfin,”answered Ethan. “He was the owner of my sword, before Heinrich’s family.”
“That’s right,” said Ventu. “Dregfin had a very dark heart. He used the Game as if it were a competition with his brother. He attempted to gain favor with the Mitan, but only one thousand followed. All of which were stopped by Loka himself.”
“Wait, that was real?” asked Availia, stunned. “Ethan, didn’t you have some weird vision about that when we were at the Stone Sanctuary?”
“Yeah, in my vision — Dregfin drew this very sword,” said Ethan as he placed his hand on the scabbard, “and tried to use it on Loka, but he turned the sword against Dregfin, turning him to smoke … just like when I was caught in Xivon’s trap.”
“Is that what happened, Ventu?” asked Stanley curiously.
“That’s exactly what happened. And out of those one thousand that Loka stopped, none died, save for Dregfin.”
The Mitan stepped precisely through the forest, while Ethan shuffled noisily through leaves, dead brush and fallen branches.
“Ventu…,” Ethan pushed the brush out of his way and took a running leap over a downed tree, “what if Dregfin didn’t die? What if … he used a similar trap?”
Ventu had a disconcerted look on his face. “That’s impossible, Ethan. I was there — his light was extinguished.”
“Did you see his body?” asked Stanley.
“I’m sorry?” replied Ventu, confused.
“A body — Dregfin’s body, after his … light, was extinguished. Was there a body?” he repeated.
“Well … no. The sword unleashed a power unseen by any. There was hardly anything left — Orobori or not — nothing would have survived that.”
Ethan looked over at Stanley, and Stanley back at Ethan. He knew there was doubt lingering in the back of Stanley’s mind over Dregfin’s death. Just as Ethan believed Isaac was still alive, Xivon’s brother could also be out there, plotting, planning.
Just then a harrowing scream echoed through the woods. The scream pleaded, desperate for mercy. Ventu sprang into action, leaping an impossible distance over the thick brush, leaving the alchemists to catch up. The Mitan was extremely swift — much faster than any human Ethan had ever seen.
“Over here!” called Ventu from a short distance ahead.
The four rushed upon a gruesome sight. A young female Mitan that Ethan assumed to be Loka’s daughter, Raikenai, was trapped against a large, gnarly oak tree. A device held fast to a metal net that had wrapped around both sides of the tree, clasping to itself with metal hooks. Gears inside the casing clanked and clinked as the net slowly pulled tight against the trapped Mitan’s upper body. She thrashed and howled. The net started to dig into flesh.
“It’s a torture trap! Just like that broken one at Wegnel’s!” exclaimed Ethan, hurrying to the device’s casing. “Remember what happened to Wegnel’s coffee table? Need to be fast!”
Auren used his sword to hack at the net on the back of the tree while Ethan drew a dagger from Ventu’s belt.
Auren quickly realized that he was gouging the tree, but the metal net could not be cut. He wedged the Losalfarian sword between the net and the tree next to Raikenai, making a lever. Using his great strength, he pulled on the handle of the sword to force the net away from Raikenai’s face. Ventu followed suit on the other side of the trapped
Tattur daughter.
“Hurry!” she screamed as a small POP came from what Ethan thought was a bone giving way in her shoulder.
Ethan stuck the dagger into the gadget and unhinged a small retaining clip. He worked the clip loose and removed the countersunk panel. He desperately jammed the dagger into the gears.
“There must be an Aegis nearby,” said Ventu, trembling with exertion as he continued to pull on the handle of his sword. “They tend to hang around to see their traps work. Stanley and Availia, can you scan the area?”
Availia nodded.
“On it,” stated Stanley tersely as he and Availia rushed into the woods, swords drawn.
The net tightened, forcing bark on the back of the tree to crack, sending splinters flicking through the air. Auren’s face reddened and veins started to pop out of his neck from the amount of force he was exerting. Ventu was straining so hard that his sword was beginning to flex — he clenched his teeth as he strained to keep the net from claiming its helpless victim.
“You … al … most … got it?” grunted Auren.
Ethan examined the cogs and gears until he found a small locking mechanism that held them in place. “Yeah — one more minute—”
“We may not … have a minute, Ethan,” exclaimed Ventu as his grip started to waver.
Raikenai desperately choked back her screams as the pressure increased. A stream of blood coursed down her face, right through her bright blue mark.
Ethan forced the dagger in and wedged it behind a loose gear. CLANK! The gear jammed, causing the net to jerk to a halt. CLINK! Even as one of the gears pulled free, the torture device continued to function. Ethan frantically slid several more gears out and the shaft spun free. He triggered a release latch hidden by the gears and the tension on the net suddenly gave way. Auren flew backwards and landed on his backside. Ventu only lost his balance for a moment before regaining his footing. Auren scrambled to his feet as Raikenai fell toward him. He caught her in his arms.
Auren looked at the Lady of the Mitan with concern, but felt befuddled as to what he should say, if anything at all. “You … alright then?” he stammered.