by Ryan Hodgson
They had a simple dinner. Mr. Terria asked Mr. Elden how Cerra was. “She’ll make it thanks to Alicia. If I could bring her back to her world I would but her current condition…” he trailed off. Alicia’s dad nodded understandingly. “Well stay here as long as you need to. I’m taking a couple of days off of work given the situation. I won’t let this general near my daughter!” he said in a steeled tone. Mr. Elden nodded in agreement. After dinner they sat on the couch and watched for any news. There wasn’t anything of note and Alicia started healing Cerra. She was only at it for a couple of minutes before she had to stop. She said that she’d closed one of the holes in Cerra’s stomach and that she’d try again tomorrow morning. Mr. Elden thanked her and Alicia wearily grinned before going upstairs to her room to sleep.
Cerra briefly came to a few minutes later and Mr. Elden helped her gulp down some water. She passed out a few moments later and Mr. Elden sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. “So, what’s this Elunduil guy like?” Mr. Terria asked as Mr. Elden took a seat on the couch. “He’s quite calm for his age. Similar to Alicia. He’s also fairly intelligent and hard to read, but…” Mr. Elden paused. “He cares about his friends and will fight fiercely to protect them.” Alicia’s dad nodded. Mr. Elden asked him why he wanted to know about Elunduil.
“Oh that? Well Alicia seems like she has a thing for him, so I was curious to know what kind of person he was.” Mr. Elden nodded knowingly. It only made sense for a parent to want to know about the person their child had an interest in after all. They turned the TV off a few minutes later and Mr. Terria offered Mr. Elden a room, but Mr. Elden insisted on sleeping on the couch so that he could be near Cerra. Mr. Terria nodded and went off to bed. Mr. Elden grabbed a blanket and sat awake on the sofa. Was Elunduil alright? Was The General torturing him? These thoughts plagued his mind until he finally drifted off to sleep.
***
Elunduil was rudely jostled awake by someone and opened his eyes. He saw that he was at a small airfield through the tinted car windows and wondered why they were here. He saw a white plane with a red stripe on it nearby with the door open and the stairs down. “Come along now,” said the man that had woken him up. He got out of the car and motioned for Elunduil to follow him. Elunduil groggily complied as his mind tried to assess the situation. Okay so it was a small airplane. That meant that he was likely being hurried to The General’s base, or that they were quickly taking him to a different place and then transferred to some other vehicle or plane.
He followed the men and walked up the steps and into the plane. There were six seats on the plane. The men situated Elunduil in the back away from the exit. It seemed they weren’t taking any chances. Not that he was in any condition to escape. Once the door had been drawn back and closed the twin propellers of the plane spun up. A few moments later the plane started rolling forward and onto the runway. It sat at the end of the runway for a minute and then after receiving the clearance to take off it rolled forward at an increasing velocity.
This part of flying always made Elunduil feel uneasy. The takeoff and landing. After reaching liftoff velocity the plane’s nose tipped up towards the sky and the rose into the air. Elunduil looked out of the window and saw the town below and the trees shrinking away. He was really leaving. He wondered if Mr. Elden had made it to Alicia by now. The sun was still high in the sky so he estimated that hadn’t been long since he’d been captured.
The rest of the flight was uneventful. Elunduil watched the terrain below as the city gave way to the forest. He saw rivers and streams between the trees and eventually he saw Mt. Hood. He briefly wondered where the portal was then realized that it would be somewhere on the south side of the mountain. Not too long afterwards the forest gave way to the dry rocky land of eastern Oregon. The plane flew straight for another unknown stretch of time. 40 minutes? An hour? Elunduil wasn’t certain but the sun was dipping low on the horizon. Before he knew it he caught a glimpse of a base out in the middle of nowhere and felt that this was his destination.
The plane circled around once and then landed on a small airstrip next to the base. Elunduil felt anxiety rising up within him. He didn’t really want to be here. As the engines of the plane shut down one of the men by the door opened it and lowered the stairs. The others stood up and the one across from Elunduil motioned with his gun for him to get up. He sighed and stood up. He walked in front of the man and followed the man in front of him as they escorted him off the plane. There was a Humvee by the plane waiting to pick them up and they led Elunduil to it.
They all got into the vehicle and it took off towards the gate into the base. There appeared to be just one gate that led in and out of the base and the walls were somewhere between 15 to 20 feet tall. They briefly stopped at the gate and the person manning it quickly let them in. The gates swung forward and the car drove into the base. Elunduil saw several buildings within the walls that appeared to be connected. They drove up to a building on the north side of the base. It was a bit smaller than the rest and Elunduil wondered if it was living quarters or something.
The Humvee stopped and the men escorted Elunduil out of the car and into the building. They quickly took him inside and they walked down a couple of hallways before pushing Elunduil into a small room with a table in it. He had a sinking suspicion that this was an interrogation room and went to the desk. Well at least they gave him a chair. He sat down wearily and waited for something to happen as his eyes flicked about and looked for an escape.
Meanwhile outside the room the complex was abuzz with activity. Ashblade and General Titus hurried down the hallway flanked by a couple of armed men. When they arrived at the interrogation room they went to a door on the opposite side that would let them view their quarry without him knowing. As Elunduil came into view Ashblade felt a chill in his spine. He’d never thought he’d have to be this close to that kid again. General Titus on the other hand was exuberant. “At last we have him! Let’s get started!” he said and clapped his hands. Ashblade was confused when he saw a man enter the room with Elunduil. “Hold it! Weren’t we going to use Joel?” he asked and whirled about to The General.
“If we must I will use him. First we’ll try it my way,” he replied. Ashblade grunted and turned back to the room. He had a feeling that The General was making a big mistake.
Elunduil looked up and saw a man with short black hair come into the room. He didn’t say anything and simply stared down Elunduil for a time. He looked away from the man. He didn’t like this. “I have one rule. Answer my questions when asked and we shall get through this in no time.” The man’s voice was stern and cold.
Ashblade felt a cold chill as he watched Elunduil’s expression change through the glass, or rather the look in his eyes shifted. It was only for a moment but he’d had an intense glare. He nodded to the interrogator and the questions began. The interrogator asked Elunduil basic questions at first. What was his name? His age? Where did he live? Trivial information that General Titus would’ve had prepared for the interrogator ahead of time. Elunduil’s tone was apathetic and disinterested. He had an expression of utter boredom across his face and rested his chin on the palm of his left hand that spoke volumes about how little he was worried about his current situation.
The interrogator shifted his questions and started to ask Elunduil about more personal things. What were his hobbies? What kind of people did he hang with? Did he have friends? He even asked him what his friends were like. Elunduil took a moment to speak this time and said, “What do they have to do with anything?” The interrogator smacked a hand on the desk.
“I never said you could ask questions! Now answer me!” he said in an aggressive tone. Elunduil was slightly annoyed. He started to raise his head from chin and stopped mid-motion.
Ashblade felt another chill. This one was different from the one before though. Something about Elunduil’s sudden stop was eerie. The interrogator didn’t seem to notice and starting shouting at Elunduil to answer him. Elu
nduil suddenly moved again as if he’d never stopped and was greeted by a barrage of insults as the man slammed a hand on the table again. He looked at the man’s hand and then up to the man’s face. “Chill…” he said icily. The interrogator was momentarily taken aback by Elunduil’s hostile tone. “Do you think you’re safe here? Do you think that I won’t lay a hand on you because you’re special? Well you’re wrong! You will answer me!” Elunduil smirked evilly at the man.
“You may find that difficult,” he remarked.
The interrogator’s brows creased and he glared angrily at Elunduil for a several moments. “All right fine then if you want to be difficult then we’ll do this the hard way!” He made to rise up but jerked back towards the table. He frowned. That’s odd his arm felt like it was stuck. “Do what you will, but personally I think it’s a bit cool in here right now,” Elunduil said amusedly. The interrogator felt a chill in his arm and looked down. To his horror he saw that the lower half of his arm was encased in ice and that the ice was slowly coalescing and spreading up his arm.
He tugged his arm several times. “What the hell is going on? Where did this ice come from?” He pulled and pulled to no avail. The coalescing ice formed faster and a spike grew from it that pointed towards the man’s throat. The interrogator began to desperately pull at his arm and even threw his leg up on the table to help push away from the spike that was growing closer and closer to his throat. Ashblade looked to The General. Shouldn’t they intervene? The General’s look of adulation told Ashblade that he wanted to see what Elunduil would do. The interrogator started calling for help. General Titus chuckled. “This is what I wanted to see!” he said.
They watched as the ice spike grew to within an inch of the interrogator’s throat as he leaned as far back as he could. Elunduil slowly leaned forward and spoke with a cold calm as he said, “Do you think you’re safe?” The interrogators face went white as his words were thrown back at him. Ashblade was barely keeping his body from quaking in fear. He’d been prepared to see magic again, but he hadn’t been prepared to see a murderous gaze in Elunduil’s eyes. Elunduil raised a hand in the air and the interrogator was suddenly knocked away by an invisible force. The ice that held his arm snapped and broke off from the table and he slammed into the one-way mirror. The blow wasn’t enough to knock him out but he was so shaken that he bolted to the door and pounded on it to be let out while clinging to his still mostly frozen arm.
General Titus sighed. “Let him out,” he said to Newitz who was sitting in the corner on his laptop. He nodded and relayed the General’s command. The door opened a moment later and the interrogator ran from the room. The General turned to Ashblade and said, “It would appear that we will have to use your idea after all. Go retrieve Joel.” Ashblade nodded and stepped out of the room. He returned a minute later with Joel by his side and was surprised to see that shades were drawn down over the window. “Brief him in interrogation methods,” General Titus commanded. Ashblade nodded and gave Joel a quick rundown.
Joel nodded as he listened to Ashblade. He then asked him who he would be interrogating. “You’ll see when you get in there. Here read this manual while I speak with The General.” Ashblade said and handed Joel a thin blue manual. He went to The General’s side and whispered, “I know this was my idea but I don’t think interrogation methods will help him. Not once he sees who it is.” General Titus drew a deep breath and nodded.
“True. I hardly expect him to be an expert. I just want to see what he decides to do.” Ashblade nodded when Joel spoke up. “Soo… am I’m supposed to takes his knees?” he asked with a bemused expression. Ashblade and The General frowned. “Excuse me? Ashblade what is he reading?” The General turned to Ashblade who shrugged and took the pamphlet from Joel. After scanning the contents he had a bemused expression and handed it to General Titus who took it and perused the contents. He chuckled and handed it back to Ashblade. “Ah, yes the man who made this is an ex-marine. I knew him before I became a general. His methods were a bit… extreme but effective.” The General cleared his throat. “Anyway let us not waste any more time. Get him in there!” Ashblade nodded and took Joel outside and around to the door that would lead him into the interrogation room.
When they came to the door he pulled Joel aside for a moment. “Just remember Joel if you’re successful you’ll gain The General’s trust,” he said. Joel nodded and went to the door. Ashblade walked back around to the other side and stood with The General who nodded at Ashblade. “Let him in,” he said to Newitz who nodded. The armed men standing in front of the door moved aside so that Joel could enter. He went to the door with a sense of anticipation as he put his hand on the door handle. Who was this mystery person that could use magic? He pulled open the door and stepped inside.
He stopped dead in his tracks as he entered the threshold of the room and saw who was sitting at the table. Elunduil stared back with his head tilted to the side while resting on his hand. Both of them had expected this outcome. Though for Joel his lack of surprise stemmed from the fact that Elunduil was Elunduil. “Mage,” he said casually.
“Flowerman.” Elunduil replied equally casual. Ashblade snorted in the other room and The General gave him a look. “Sorry, I just thought that Flowerman would be a good nickname for Joel.” The General nodded slowly and turned back to the scene unfolding before them. Joel went over to the table and sat at the chair that the previous interrogator had ignored. “So, magic,” Joel said. “Magic,” Elunduil replied.
“Mmagic.”
“Maaagic”
“Magic, magic?”
“Mm, magic.”
“Ah, magic!”
Ashblade and General Titus had a perplexed look as Elunduil and Joel went back and forth in this manner. “What the heck?” Ashblade said genuinely confused. “It’s like… they’re saying one word in different ways but they seem to understand each other?” General Titus shook his head. He was also at a loss as to what was happening.
They finally stopped their exchange and Joel tapped the desk. “Soo how you doing?” he asked. Elunduil shrugged. “I got captured and dragged to some military base God knows where in Oregon, so how do you think I’m doing?” Elunduil retorted with irritation. Joel nodded his head a couple of times. “Yeah that was a stupid question. Anyway I guess I’m supposed to get you to teach me about magic.” Elunduil looked over to the desk where he’d frozen the previous interrogator’s arm to. Joel followed his gaze and looked surprised. “What the heck happened here?” he asked. Elunduil chuckled.
“I froze the last guy’s arm because he was being annoying. I may have also threatened him by making a spike of ice grow towards his throat. He may have soiled himself.” Joel tilted his head to the side. He wasn’t too surprised by Elunduil’s actions. He had a merciless side that tended to show itself in video games after all.
Elunduil sighed and rubbed his head. He was pretty exhausted. He knew that he didn’t have any energy left to use magic with. “Well given my current predicament I guess I don’t really have a choice but to try and teach you. I don’t really want to but it’s better than some random joe shmoo.” Elunduil sat up.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Joel asked in a pouting tone. Elunduil shrugged.
“Do I really have to explain that? You’ll go around burning everything and everyone that you deem too stupid to live,” he said.
“Yes, because there are idiots out there that shouldn’t be allowed to breath.” Joel’s rebuttal was expected. He often went on about such things. Especially when he was irritated. “Well, whatever. Even if you can use magic you wouldn’t be able to do much with it,” Elunduil said. Joel frowned. “Why not?” he asked. Elunduil waved a hand in the air.
“Magical energy doesn’t exist in the Earth’s atmosphere like it does on Meridias. Just making a spark of heat would probably knock you out,” he explained. Joel nodded understandingly. “Okay, no problem! The more I use the stronger I’ll get right? So teach meee!” he begged. Elundu
il put a hand to his head for a moment. The scene of Joel’s death rose up in his mind. If he taught Joel magic then would he die like in the vision? Elunduil furrowed his brow. That person hadn’t been Joel. Something had taken control of him. Maybe teaching Joel magic and getting him stronger would help prevent that end. He sighed. “Okay, but I’ll teach you and only you. Anyone else tries to come in here and they’ll wind up worse than the last guy, okay?” Joel looked meek and nodded. Elunduil was scary when he was in a bad mood.
He started off by explaining to Joel that not everyone had the potential to use magic. Those that did have the potential to use magic had something called a Mage Core. The Mage Core essentially was the source of magical energy for a mage however it is dormant until a burst of concentrated magical energy awakens the core. Once awakened the core would be able to generate magical energy that could then be used to cast spells. Elunduil paused. His situation had been different. He’d seen magic being used and in his moment of peril he had awakened his potential. He cast away the thought and continued his explanation. Mage Cores tended to be different from what he’d seen and different people were better at using different types of magic. Though he wasn’t sure if that was entirely based off the person or if it was their personality, or some combination of the two.
Elunduil finished his explanation and Joel nodded. “Okay so all I need is for you to shoot some magic juice at me!” Elunduil nodded.
“Yeah, but I don’t have anything left at the moment so it would have to be later once I’ve recovered.” Joel understood and said,
“Yeah, I guess freezing the guys arm was pretty taxing, huh?” Elunduil shook his head a couple of times. “Well actually most of it was used up when I tried to burn a warehouse down,” he said. Joel smacked the desk. “Hey, no! Fire is supposed to be my thing!” Joel said sternly. Elunduil shrugged. He didn’t really care. He just wanted to sleep.