#Marcus Laurier#
We sat around a fireplace in a small cabin. This time, I'm awake, but it's night and everyone's silent again. It's awkward and I look around to see Wallace fidgeting. We make eye contact, and he shakes his head sideways, winks a few times then uses some sort of sign language. I shrug once and he gives up his non-verbal communication tactic.
Isla and Clara stares daggers at Wallace.
I have to say something. I break the icy silence between the two, "we need to decide if we're going back or not." I feel everyone tense up. I look at Wallace and I pray to myself, please say something. Wallace, using his telepathic powers realizes my plea.
"Before we talk about going, I think we need to look at the risks."
"You're agreeing with me for once," Isla says.
"Vincent," Wallace asks robotically with his horrendous social skills, "you seem like you know the cult better than anyone here..."
"The cult has committed many crimes, one of which you have just seen earlier. Back when I was a child, I used to live in a temple, and it was peaceful there," Vincent starts reminiscing, "our lineage had one purpose. We were to protect a sacred relic from the hands of the Pareidolian Cult. It had been centuries since the last attempted to steal it. Then that night," Vincent's head looks down, "they launched a full-frontal assault. We lost miserably. We weren't prepared and we got wiped out in a matter of seconds. We, the children, were told to escape and one of us were given the relic." The campfire crackles as we listen to Vincent's story, his words passing through fickle flames and the howling the wind outside accentuates the gravity of his storytelling.
"Why do they want it?" I ask out of curiosity.
"The relic contains a portion of Dantalion's power. If they collect all of them, they will have enough power to wage war against a country."
"Where is this relic?" I ask again.
"I don't know."
The words resonate with my ears and suddenly the cabin that we sat in felt so small. I was meant to finish studying at the academy, apply for a job as a mage, and live in peace. Yet I was here, getting ready to save the academy from a Cult that massacres people indiscriminately? There were too many things I didn't know, too many things I was unaware of that I felt I had no control over.
"We can go," Isla speaks, "on one condition." We all listen closely, "if you face any danger, don't even think about saving people and just run, okay?"
Wallace pats her on the head, she turns around in annoyance and they start having their customary bicker.
Vincent later finds a map of the area. It seems we weren't that far off from Argos, "crossing the mountain then the valley would be the fastest way," Vincent instructs as he shows us the map.
Isla cooks and Wallace helps. When the food came, there was a clear difference who cooked which, though I was still grateful for any food. We lay on sleeping bags made of cushion and quilt as we didn't dare to sleep on the bed of a deceased. Soon after everyone was asleep, things got quiet and the snow no longer assaulted our window. Contrary to our experience in this town, it was graceful under the moonlight. Its peacefulness overcame any sort of anxiety or unsettlement. Truly a great place to live.
If we let the Pareidolian Cult continue their work, how many villages like this will be gone? The lives of many innocents lost by an unjustified cause. But that worry is for tomorrow. I need to get sleep.
I roll over to a new position and I see someone's face under the hollow glow of the moon. Clara. Her position curled up near me. Her golden hair glistening and her steady breathing send my mind into a state of disorder. This is testing my patience.
She moves over from her side to her back and spreads her arms flat out, one laying close, too close to my face.
I…
She moves again, resting her hands on my chest. A dangerous area.
am not sleeping tonight.
⁜⁜⁜
Morning rises and we continue our journey back home. Eventually, the snow had reached a boundary to where it becomes too hot for it to manifest, leading us to an open prairie full of tall grass and flowers. A couple of monsters and another fateful encounter of a mastodon sent us sprinting through the prairie for our lives.
Isla counters our weight force with some updraft, allowing us to run faster. Though I won't talk about what I saw underneath the girls, Wallace seems to be having a better time.
We stopped at a forest and camped there. The forest trees were structured differently, and the top of the base was big and flat enough to lay our equipment. We hunt for food and the two chefs cook up another meal, this time Wallace nearly setting our camp on fire. Luckily, Isla flushed the fire out before it spread to the trunk.
Another night, another two days and we make it out of the forest. I had never missed the abundance of sunlight as much as before. But in juxtaposition, the light was scattered by dust and smoke as the city of Argos from a distance was polluted with fire and ash. Were we too late?
The outer walls were severely damaged, and many robed people were stationed above the wall. Cultists, Vincent said as we made it to the outskirts of Argos. We found a hut and snuck inside.
"This place is on a lockdown," Vincent deduces, "the civilians are trapped and we have no direct route inside the city."
"why're there no reinforcements? They should've sent one out already," Wallace confronts. It was suspicious. One look at the Argos' current state and you could tell that they've taken complete control.
"They're probably keeping tight control of entry and exits" Isla concludes, "we should think of a way in that doesn't have a direct confrontation."
"In other words, stealth?"
Isla nods and we all get thinking.
Wallace raises his hand up. "Fire away," Isla says.
His plan consisted of using Clara's magic as a distraction and infiltrating straight afterwards.
"That will attract too much attention," Clara rejects, "I have a suggestion though. I'm not entirely confident, but I have a way to send reconnaissance."
We all responded with confusion.
"Just trust me," she said, and we don't doubt her. At the very least, not me. She had saved us from that prison, the least we could do was return a favour.
"I'll tell you guys the plan," Isla gets right into the job and pulls out the city and academy layout. We spent the rest of the day discussing and planning our move, drawing countless lines, and erasing them as we hurl suggestions one after the other. Isla had to use a second copy of the map since it got too complicated. We each had our own input, our own strategies, and our own role to fulfill. In this plan, what we relied on was our communication, our intuition, and our trust for each other. If one of us gets caught, the rest will follow.
"So, this new item you want to give to us," I say as she chucks each of us a rock, "is something you made?"
"On the fly," she says as she imbues an assortment of mana into the stones. That's a talented mage for you. "This should allow us to communicate long-distance. I just need to be ready to receive the message."
"How does it work?"
Then Isla spewed a bunch of words unknown to me.
⁜⁜⁜
"I'm in position," I speak while holding the stone in front of me. It lights up and it vibrates in my hand, I continue to speak, "we can see about 6 people on guard from this hill. The gate in front's been closed as expected. You?"
The rock takes some time and a few seconds later a static response relays, "Sorry, still getting the hang of this. We're in position. Wallace is there right?"
"Yes," he replies, "good luck to you."
"Thanks, wait for the signal." And the rock stops vibrating. I've never heard of a telepathic rock.
Wallace starts jogging on the spot. "You ready?" He says.
"Yeah," I responded. Frankly, I have never done something so risky, yet along break in to a city. Yet why do I feel so hyped up?
I chuckle and look down at myself. The past me, the gutsy thief stealing any possessions he could find. I wasn't so far off; the only difference was that I was just rebelling against the bad guys, which is fair. But the main difference is because I have people by my side. Trustworthy people.
A blinding flash of light appears in town and a large fireball goes up into the air, exploding and spraying its ash to form a smokescreen that covered the front half of the city.
The six guards stationed ran to check the incident. "Let's do this brother." Wallace reached his hand for a fist bump and I accept his gesture.
Let the plan commence.