Meridias

by Ryan Hodgson

  Mr. Elden returned a moment later with a packed bag and a new key. “We’re taking a different car,” he explained. Tanis nodded and they left the apartment. They went down the stairs and Mr. Elden walked up to a black SUV with tinted windows and unlocked it with the click of a button. He and Tanis got into the car and were on their way. They soon came to the street that the VR center was on. Mr. Elden looked about for any suspicious people as he turned the car into the lot of the breakfast place that was just up the road from the center.

  He parked the car a space away from a small white car and shut off the engine. Tanis looked about and then looked to Mr. Elden. “So what exactly should we be looking out for?” he asked. Mr. Elden peered over towards the VR center and pointed at the two men standing outside the building. “We want to look for anyone that’s sitting around like those two. They’re bound to switch shifts so as not to arouse too much suspicion,” he said. Tanis nodded while Mr. Elden looked around the area. He pointed out a black car in the parking lot by the fast food restaurant with tinted windows. He wasn’t sure how many men The General had watching for them but there was bound to be more. They would probably also have to move at some point so as not to arouse suspicion from The General’s men.

  While they watched the VR center they saw a man slowly walking along the sidewalk who stopped near the end of the lot the VR center was on. He looked about for a bit and then turned and slowly walked up the street. When he reached the sidewalk by the stores he paused again and looked about before he turned and walked slowly towards the VR center. “They’re definitely keeping a tight watch on the place,” Tanis commented. Mr. Elden nodded in agreement. He pulled out a small pair of binoculars and looked further up the street. As he looked over the lot of the shopping area adjacent to the fast food restaurant he saw another man slowly walking around. This man appeared to be peeking into the cars as he casually strode by.

  Mr. Elden sighed. This would prove difficult. They watched for a couple more hours. During that time they saw the men that were walking the lots cross the street and trade places with each other. The men that were standing around the outside of the center traded places once with another pair of men who had pulled up in a blue sports car, and then about an hour later they swapped again with a pair of men that had exited one of the nearby stores. Mr. Elden frowned to himself as he considered his next move. They would have to leave their position soon and it appeared that there wasn’t much of a gap between the shifts that The General’s men had in place.

  He looked to his watch. The men had switched out almost on the hour each time. He nodded to himself and started the car. “I would like to watch longer but we’re out of time,” Mr. Elden said. Tanis nodded and stretched himself out. “Yeah, I’m getting kind of cramped just sitting here,” he replied with a yawn. Mr. Elden chuckled and they left the lot and headed back to Alicia’s home. Like before Mr. Elden took a longer, winding route back to the house just in case they were being followed. “So what’s in the bag?” Tanis asked curiously eyeing Mr. Elden’s handbag. “Ah, well let’s just say it’s my secret stash. You’ll see what I have once we return,” he replied with a smile.

  When Mr. Elden and Tanis returned to Alicia’s house they found Alicia healing Cerra again with Tim’s help. Felras was off to the side watching them. Cerra smiled at Mr. Elden and Tanis waved. Alicia slumped forward a bit and broke her trance. “Well that’s about all for now!” she said and wiped her brow. “I think I can fully heal your wound after another try! I feel like I’ve been getting a little faster!” Cerra’s musical laughter filled the room.

  “Well it’s probably because you’re getting a lot a practice in,” she said as she sat up. “So how did it go?” she asked and Alicia and Tim turned to see Mr. Elden and Tanis.

  “Well I don’t feel we were followed and we did learn some things,” Mr. Elden replied seriously. Cerra nodded. “First things first however! I brought some ingredients for lunch so if you wouldn’t mind Alicia I’m going to borrow the kitchen!” Mr. Elden said cheerfully. Alicia chuckled and nodded. She got up to help but Mr. Elden insisted that she sit down and rest. Instead he took Tanis with him into the kitchen to help him.

  His real aim was to talk with Tanis apart from the others before they made their plan. As he pulled out the ingredients from his bag to make his soup he glanced over to Tanis. “Say Tanis have you ever considered yourself a leader?” he asked casually. Tanis thought for a moment before responding. “Uh, not really,” he replied. Mr. Elden rephrased his question.

  “Out of your friends who is the one that tends to get everyone together? Who is the one that when faced with a difficult task assigns people based of their strengths and weaknesses?” Tanis thought for several long moments. “Well I’m usually the one that invites everyone over. Heck back when Elunduil went missing it was my idea to try to find him after we figured out where he went,” Tanis said. “As for the second bit I don’t know.” He shrugged and Mr. Elden nodded.

  He chopped up a purple vegetable that had a similar shape to an onion but whose insides were more like a tomato. “Well you certainly seem to be the more extroverted person of the group. However I think you have a bit of the right mindset that a leader would have,” Mr. Elden explained. “Earlier when you suggested Tim stay behind because you knew he could use the portal to help the others escape to Meridias, that is something that a leader would do. I think with time you could become someone that people look to for direction, and I would ask that if something was to happen when we try to rescue Scott that you take the reins.”

  Tanis was taken aback. Leading the others? Sure he often decided on a course of action and dragged others with him but that wasn’t really leading. “Wouldn’t Tim be better at that? I mean he knows a lot more about Meridias than the rest of us.” Tanis asked. Mr. Elden grinned and tipped his chopped vegetable into the pot of water that was starting to boil. “It’s true that we tend to look to who has the most experience, but I think that you have better decision making in a tense situation. Plus Tim isn’t used to telling others what they should do.” Tanis nodded, uncertain, but he reluctantly agreed to try and lead the others should anything go wrong.

  Nearly an hour later and the soup was finished. The dining room was filled with an aroma of a fresh ocean breeze as everyone gathered around at the table. They thanked Mr. Elden and Tanis for the food though Tanis admitted he didn’t really help much to everyone’s amusement. The soup was quickly gone and those who had been using magic felt quite rejuvenated. “As nice as it is to just sit around and relax we do unfortunately have to come up with our plan,” Mr. Elden said growing serious. The air in the room changed as everyone shifted gears.

  Mr. Elden relayed the information Tanis and he had managed to learn in their outing. After they’d finished divulging all their information Tim spoke up. “I see. So we have very little time to get in and out. Probably not even a minute. If Scott has the data ready to go we can hopefully get in and out before The General’s men can rush in and capture us,” he said. Mr. Elden nodded in agreement. “Indeed. We may have to stay the night in Meridias though. Alicia do you think Cerra can walk from the portal to Ellicia?” All eyes turned to Alicia.

  “I… think it would be rough. The wound is still quite deep and walking for an extended period would only aggravate it,” Alicia said after some thought. Mr. Elden nodded.

  “All right then here’s the plan: We take Cerra to a safe house outside of town. The General may decide to come here once we grab Scott. Then we go to the Mt. Hood portal and travel to Ellicia where we stay the night and then in the morning we go to Ragnarok and use the portal to get into the VR center and rescue Scott and the data.” Mr. Elden looked around the room.

  The others nodded in agreement though Alicia held up a hand. “What about Felras? Should we leave him with Cerra just in case?” she asked. Mr. Elden tilted his head in thought. “Yes that is not a bad idea. I’m sure Cerra wouldn’t want to be cooped up alone,” he said.

 
“I would be just fine!” Cerra protested “However I would be interested in learning more about Elunduil’s brother. They seem fairly similar on the surface but I’m sure they have a few surprising differences.” She beamed. Mr. Elden nodded. It was decided then.

  The group cleaned up their mess and prepared to leave. Time was of the essence. The quicker they acted the less time their foes had to think of countermeasures. Mr. Elden sincerely hoped The General wasn’t onto them yet. As the group prepared to leave Cerra noticed Mr. Elden’s nervousness. “This will work!” she said encouragingly. Mr. Elden sighed and smiled. “Yes, I know, but this is General Titus Leviticus we’re talking about. His reach is far and long and I can’t help but look over my shoulder at every turn.” Cerra looked troubled and then smiled gently. “One cannot move forward if they are always looking back,” she said. Mr. Elden chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Of course I am. Besides you’re not alone. We can watch your back. You need to keep looking forward so that tomorrow will come.” Mr. Elden felt a surge of emotion. Yes he needed to keep it together. They were so close to a new future that it was exciting and scary. He pulled Cerra close in a half-embrace. “Let’s go!” he said.

  Mr. Elden helped Cerra to the black SUV and the others followed. Alicia told her father what was going on and though he seemed reluctant to let her leave he simply nodded and told her to be safe. The group piled into the car and headed to the safe house. Mr. Elden took a long winding path to the southern outskirts of the town. It was only a few miles out but the many large buildings and small townhouses gave way to large tracts of land with only a few homes scattered here and there. They dropped Cerra and Felras off at a little blue house with a small tree in front of it and a decent sized barn nearby. Mr. Elden couldn’t help feel nervous leaving Cerra alone but he knew that there was no other choice. He glanced at her one last time before pulling out of the driveway and heading down the road towards the Mt. Hood portal.

  Chapter 25

  Plans of Mice and Men

  Elunduil found himself escorted back to the interrogation room a few hours later. He wondered if Joel had tried to use magic again once he’d come to and grinned to himself. Knowing Joel he was bound to have tried to use it many times. He was still a bit worried about what would happen when Joel became strong enough to actually cause damage. Maybe there would be a way to have him vent by helping the Knights of Ragnarok? Well that was if he got out of his current predicament which meant they had to find some way to escape.

  Joel entered the room a few minutes later and said, “Hey, Mage! Ready to go?” He seemed enthusiastic and Elunduil nodded with a faint smile of his own. “So how many times did you use magic?” he asked smugly. Joel frowned.

  “Ashblade ordered me not to. It was soo hard to resist the temptation!” he complained.

  “Like having a cookie in front of you that you’re not allowed to eat?” Elunduil asked. Joel nodded. “Yes! It was painful just waiting for time to pass! I was so bored.” Elunduil chuckled. That was just like Joel to moan and complain. It never really bothered Elunduil and he was usually amused by his friend’s quibbles. “All right then try to make fire again if you can.”

  Joel grunted and held his hand out in front of him. His brows furrowed as he concentrated with all his might to make fire. Elunduil waited patiently but didn’t sense any change in Joel. After a couple more tries Joel gave up and looked to Elunduil. “Mage! Why is nothing happening?” he asked. “I was able to do it just fine this morning!” Elunduil frowned and stroked his chin. Realization dawned on him as he remembered an important step that magic users had to take to cast a spell. “Ah, sorry I forgot but when I awakened you I also flipped the switch for you that lets you use magic. You have to turn on your body’s magic conduits whenever you want to use magic.” Elunduil explained.

  Joel nodded understandingly and stared at the desk for a while. “Soo is anything happening?” he asked. Elunduil shook his head. “How the heck do I do it then?” Elunduil tossed his hands into the air. “I don’t know. You’re supposed to use a bit of your magical energy as a spark. You know like starting a car.” He was only guessing since he’d never actually had to go through that step himself. Joel was deep in thought for a few moments before he spoke again. “Hey I should be able to sense magic now right?” he asked. Elunduil nodded. “Okay then Mage show me how you do it.” Elunduil stared blankly at Joel. He held up a hand and felt the energy inside of him. A moment later a roaring blue flame spread burst forth from his hand and licked at the air. The flame was the size of a basketball and its heat was intense enough that Joel instantly started to sweat.

  Elunduil let the magic fade and put his hand up to his face. “Well?” he said knowing full well what Joel’s response would be. “I didn’t sense anything happening until the big blue inferno appeared in your hand! Is that how it’s supposed to work?” he asked clearly confused. Elunduil shook his head. “No, that’s just the way my magic works. When a mage activates their conduits you can sense the magical energy flowing through them as they weave their spell, but the way I use magic is different. I don’t activate anything. My energy is just there waiting to be called and can only be sensed when it’s actually cast. Apparently it doesn’t even leave a trace either.”

  Joel stared at Elunduil in disbelief for several long moments. “This is exactly like The Comic. Oh look here’s this rule, but wait it doesn’t apply to you because you’re The Mage and you do whatever you want!” Joel complained. Elunduil chuckled. “Okay then fine I’ll just figure it out myself since you’re no help.” Joel grumpily sat back in his chair and stared into space. Okay so all he had to do was use his magic to create a spark to activate his conduits. That should be easy. Heck if he couldn’t do something so basic then he shouldn’t even be allowed to have magic. He took a breath and concentrated on the magical energy inside of him. Right now it was all gathered in one spot near the center of his chest. He imagined a light switch and flipping it on.

  He felt like something suddenly clicked and his body felt like there was energy flowing through it. “There you go! Good job!” Elunduil congratulated. Joel grinned and laughed.

  “Ha ha! Now is my time to shine! Let’s do this thing!” Joel held up his hand and gathered his energy towards his palm. The image of a flame appeared in his mind and a moment later a small tongue of fire the size of a finger rose up. Joel stared in admiration at the fire for several seconds before the flame dissipated. “Aww!” Joel whined. “That’s it? Man I’m so weak!” Elunduil didn’t disagree. Joel was weak right now, but it appeared that he had potential given how much stronger he was compared to a few hours ago.

  Joel sighed and slumped down in his chair. It would probably be awhile before he could even make a flame that large again. He looked at Elunduil thoughtfully. There was one thing he’d been meaning to ask. “So waaay back in April when you were kidnapped did you actually go to the other world and use magic?” Joel asked. Elunduil hesitated to answer, he realized the fact that he was here meant The General already knew about his first trip to Meridias. “Uhh, yeah…” he finally said. “That was an interesting few days.” He thought over the events that had happened. It had been hectic compared to his normal life and they’d constantly been attacked by the knights.

  Joel heard Ashblade’s voice in his earpiece telling him to press for more information about what happened. “So what happened?” he asked. He remembered some of the things that Ashblade had told him and wondered what had happened to the weapon. Elunduil grunted and seemed unwilling to talk about it but eventually he told Joel a summary of the events that had transpired. His vision of the knights attacking the elves. How he’d gone with Mr. Elden to the other world because he told him that he might be able to save the elves, and how on his first night there the knights attacked and he’d used magic to defeat them after one of the elves had been wounded. They were attacked again the next day but the others arrived and Tim saved the day.

  They were att
acked again the next day and Alicia was captured so they went to Ragnarok with one of their captured transports to try and free her but they were found and had to escape with Scott Howard who’d been helping them. They’d also learned that there was a weapon atop the tower in Ragnarok that was poised to fire upon the elves and wipe them out. Joel interrupted the story and asked Elunduil what Alicia’s full name was. “Uhh…” Elunduil said uncertainly. Should he say it? Then again it didn’t matter. His captors were bound to know everything already. “I’m guessing whoever’s talking to you wants to know, huh?” Elunduil said and motioned towards the one-way mirror. Joel nodded and Elunduil sighed. Well no real choice then.

  “Alicia Terria,” he said in a serious tone. On the other side of the one-way mirror Ashblade clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. If The General hadn’t stepped out of the room a few minutes ago he would’ve throttled the man where he’d stood, consequences be damned! The man had lied to him, no the records had been changed so that Ashblade wouldn’t be aware that his sister had been involved with the incident with Elunduil. He felt a gaze on him and glanced over at Newitz with such fury in his eyes that the man quickly looked away and acted busy. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. Newitz may have made the changes but The General had ordered him to do so. He would save his wrath for that snake!

  Joel asked if Alicia could use magic and Elunduil reluctantly said yes. He then continued on with his recollection and when he came to the final battle and mentioned using his firewall flower that there was one knight who had escaped the flames, but after another near miss with a stray bolt of magic the knight had thrown down his weapon and fled. Joel remembered hearing this part from Ashblade and smacked a hand on the table. “I knew it! You’re the one that scared the heck out of Ashblade!” Elunduil frowned. Who was Ashblade?