"Jarvis?"
"Oh. You're that kid from the guild. I remember yer eyes."
"You know each other?" Arra's eyes burrows as she looks at Jean. "And how did you even know about this? Aren't you supposed to be at Khrall's?"
"Pure luck. That's all there is to it."
Jean's smug grin paints the lower half of his face again as he takes the candy bar away from my hands. Jarvis seems absent-minded, scratching his messy beard as he stared into the ceiling. The cold air from the rune resonated within the establishment as Arra sat on the couch next to the doctor, and I take the candy bar back. Jean just looks at me as I open and eat the candy bar, never breaking helmet contact as I did this.
"That's my candy bar."
"I know."
"I don't know why Visar got suspicious of you, so let's just ask you a few questions. Where were you for the past few days?" Arra gently probes him. He scoffs.
"I was near the West gate. Locked up like a lost dog in a pound. A bandaged woman with bottles all over er hired me to work on a large serving of love juice. The one that killed a lot of people."
"You have kids, you bastard." My eyes were onto him, full of shock. He just smiles.
"I'll explain everything to ya later. For now, I'll just surrender myself, get arrested, and wait until I kick the bucket."
He almost choked as he said this, but he smiles it off and looks at the ceiling again. Jean takes the last chunk of candy bar in my hands and swallows it in one gulp, while Arra just looks at Jarvis. She must've been shocked. He used to work back in the Legion, after all. Still, if he knows what he's getting into, then why did he continue?
"Can you tell us where the place is?" Arra repeatedly taps on her right thigh.
"Sure. It'll be easier to follow me. Would you guys prefer it that way?" Jarvis thriftily smiles.
"You won't try anything sneaky?" Jean grins.
"I was thinking about it, to be honest. But I'm all past that."
He sighs, stands up, and motions us to come with him outside. Even with his careless demeanor, I can sense a conflict building up inside of him. He can't fool me. Not this time. He's really thinking hard on this one. He tries his luck and goes for the door, but the three of us were already behind him. He's got choice but to comply now. His body stiffens, but Jean lightly gives him a push, prodding him to continue.
"Trust me on this one, Jarvis. They'll be in good hands." Jean lightly taps his shoulder.
"You better make it sure."
...
Jarvis had his head lowered all the way to the place he was talking about. An abandoned two-story building filled with gnats, holes and moss stood a block away from the West Gate, and a faint scent of lilies permeated in the air. It looked strangely familiar.
"I'm going to the orphanage to get some water. What do you guys want?"
"Are you serious right now?" I stare intently at him.
"Dead serious. Look. We just went past it." Jean then points to the building next to it.
"... Oh, fuck. You're right."
"Do you think I'm that dumb, Sol? "
"Yeah."
"Please use your eyes to see. It doesn't cost much."
"No, you."
Jarvis opens the door, and the first thing I noticed was the smell. It's the same smell on the backyard yesterday, but this time it's stronger. Then there was blue. Blue smog freely danced around the room, but for some reason, it isn't as thick as before. Jean gives me the same face mask from the theatre before we went inside. From where he got it, I do not know.
"How did you make the poison?" Jean sneezes.
"I've extracted the essence of the Phantom lilies, made some smoke potions, and took a hefty amount of Naga venom. A simple formula, really." Jarvis boasts, smiling unnaturally wide.
"What's a Naga?" I tilted my head in confusion.
"Oh, it's another term for snake men. Visar's a Naga." Arra examines the bookshelves.
"So you're telling me that there's another Naga working with you?" Jean takes a flask on the table and swings it in the air, trapping some of the smog inside.
"No."
"But doesn't that mean--"
"Yep. The bandaged lady literally gave me five of them venom sacs. That lady sure is crazier than a coconut."
"Venom s--"
"It's an organ which can be found inside a Naga's body. Look, Sol. I'm getting used to you."
We follow him into the kitchen, where a large witch pot stood in its middle. There were a few potion bottles scattered near it, and the pot was covered by a red linen cloth and a stone lid. Jarvis takes a potion bottle from the ground while Jean wasn't looking and tries to chant something, but Arra tackles him down.
"What's going on?" I said.
"He just tried to burn the place down. Smoke potions are flammable." Arra then proceeds to repeatedly punch him in the face. I've never seen her so brutal.
"Well, that's not nice. I thought we talked about this?" Jean casually picks a bottle up and throws it at the doctor's head. "Sol, please help her restrain him. You're athletic, aren't you?"
"Yep. I sure am..."
...
"I'll go take him back to the jail back at headquarters. I'll have some of them investigate this place."
Arra gently reminds us as she forcibly drags Jarvis outside. His face is bloody and his hands are bound, but he's still awake, so that's a good sign. Jean closes the front door behind me, and the kids playing outside looks at us with horror. I smile a reassuring smile, but that doesn't seem to help. They all flee in terror... And their parents look scared. Really, now?
"Good idea. I'll go take a nap now." Jean yawns and heads straight to the orphanage.
"Are you going to stay, as well?" Arra smiles and tugs on Jarvis.
"Yeah. Unless you need help, of course."
"Don't worry. He can't cast magic with those chains. Still, thanks for the offer. I wouldn't have done it without you."
"I didn't do anything, honestly. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yep. Wanna go out on a date tomorrow?"
"... You can't be serious." I chuckle.
"I am."
"Aren't you lesbian?"
"I go both ways, actually."
"Oh... Well, why not? I don't know why you're doing this, but I'll take you on the offer."
"Great. We meet at noon. I've got a lot to show you."
She waves goodbye and smiles her megawatt smile, and my heart felt like it was getting attacked by a million ants. It feels good. It hurts, sure, but in a good way. I wanna punch and bash my head against a wall, but I honestly think it would hurt..... I wonder if it'll hurt? Maybe I should try it later... Not. I yawn and follow Jean towards the bedroom. He's already lying down on the nearest bed to the door.
"I was hoping you'd show up."
"You were waiting for me, weren't you?"
"Who knows. Come. Let's go to the fields. And... Take these." Jean smirks, gets up and hands me
a very pristine tome and a scroll.
"The learning materials, huh?"
"Right on, chief."
"Alright. I'll be in your care. Wait... Who's going to cook today?"
"Danella. She'll probably do the things I taught her."
"Like what?"
"Putting a bit of love and magic in the seasoning. Let's go?"
...
Ah. Open air. It feels amazing. The skies are clear. It smells like soil and grass. This is what I've been waiting for... I wonder what's for dinner tonight? Ah, shit. My appetite's back. Just in time for training, too. I hate myself. Jean leads me to a tree with a shade large enough to cover two houses.
"Lesson time! Kindly open the scroll first." Jean claps his hands with vigor.
"What are these?"
"Those are the scripts required to chant magic. There are twenty-six in total, just like the standard alphabet. Be sure to remember the symbols."
"Why can't I just chant them?"
"You need to visualize the symbols in your head before you chant them. That's the only way they'll work. It's basic knowledge around here, but I guess you're not ordinary."
"Well, sorry about that. Why does my weapon work, though?"
"Because there are magic scripts engraved on it. Now get to work. It'll be easy once you're used to it."
"Said no one ever. All right. Give me half an hour. I'll try to get as much information as I can."
"All right. Take your time." He sits butt-first on the grass.
"Wait, you're seriously fine with me taking half an hour on this?"
"I said it, right? Wake me up when you're done."
Just like that, he's out. Oh, well. I guess I'm left to my own devices now. Might as well try to understand all of it. Here goes... Nothing? Ahh. There's that ringing in my head again. Shit. I can't study effectively at all. The ringing gets stronger every time I... Look at the scripts. Oh. It's gone now. Well, that wasn't so bad... Huh? These scripts are starting to make sense now... Yes! I can read them!
"Jean! I can do it! I can read all of it!" I punch the air with my fist.
"Gods, Sol. It hasn't even been five minutes yet. At least let me sleep first. Go study the book next. We'll spar when you're ready."
He yawns and turns his back to me. I put the scroll near him and turned at the tome. Compendia Elemento: Pro Haedos. That's what the scripts describe on the cover. So this is what Jean talked about when we first came here. Interesting. I wonder what type of magic's hidden in this dumb book?
...
It says here that the core of all magic starts with the owner's ability to control the basic elements. The basic elements of Element magic consists of the following. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Since magic is accessible to everyone, one can choose what type of magic they'll improve on, but doing so will weaken their affinity towards other elements. Basically, magic users who specialize in fire magic can still use water magic, but doing so will weaken their fire magic. Interesting mechanics, I must say. They're perfectly balanced. Oh. There's the list of spells in here... Ignys, Aquos, Terras and Aeres? That's it?... Well, that's disappointing. I guess I should try one out. Let's see. What are the symbols for Ignys again?... Okay. I'm ready now. Visualize the symbols and chant the spell. Alright! Here goes nothing!
"IGNYS!"
...
Shit. That wasn't as little as I thought it would be. I think the tree's dead now... Yep. It's definitely not me. It's this dumb book. Dumb book. Making me burn this tree. Gods. Just what the hell have I done? It's gone now, and the wall near it looks burned, too.
"Gods almighty!? What the fuck was that?!" Jean jolts up and turns his head on all sides.
"I was trying a spell. Just like you told me." I toss the tome near him.
"Just what the hell did you do?! What happened to the tree?"
"Oh, I burned it. By accident."
"How do you burn a tree by accident?"
"I don't know. Magic?"
"Gods, you're killing me... What's the time?"
"I don't know."
"Why did I even ask. That's it. Punishment time."
"Punishment time?"
"We're going to play tag. I'll give you a cleansing crystal if you catch me before sundown."
"I don't think it's a punishment." I nervously grin, and this causes him to click his tongue.
"I'll do my very best to make sure you don't succeed. Augerre Celerys!"
He then runs away further into the field... Yep. I'd rather take a nap. It's only one crystal. With one last look at his running figure, I took the learning materials and went to the orphanage.