Merlinus
The streets of Malaysia were hot and sunny. Fortunately, Artemis Fowl the second wasn't on the streets. He and his manservant, Butler,were in an air-conditioned gourmet restaurant, which shall remain unnamed. Artemis had ordered some of the local cuisine, whereas Butler had asked for some hot chocolate with toast.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, the contact finally arrived. He was a man wearing a suit that appeared to be exquisite, but upon closer inspection by Artemis, costed no more than ten dollars. His hair was cut short . His hands were clenched tightly, a common sign of nervousness. All in all, he was a man who appeared nervous.
The man sat down "You are Artemis Fowls son, right?Did your daddy send you here to wait for me?"
Artemis was instantly annoyed. He looked at the man " As you very well know, my father has been deemed missing, as told over the news in Ireland. I daresay that a man with your contacts, working for who you work for, have heard of it. Hearing of it, you have researched it and quite possibly, discussed it in detail with your numerous employers."
The man stared at Artemis, and then at Butler "I give my condolences."
"I don't care. Now, to business. I've sent you an email, asking you to guide me to the 'bomoh', the old man with a magic staff who can heal, curse, destroy or bless. In return, I'll pay you a thousand euros. I intend to take you up on the promise."
The man looked greedily at Butler, who had taken out his wallet and was counting ten hundred euro bills." Give me the money"
Artemis frowned "No."
The man froze, a mask of shock on his face " No?"
"No." Artemis confirmed.
"Why not?"
"Since you gotten -sorry- got here, a white Camry has been parked outside the restaurant. The driver of said Camry, has been staring at us, keys in the ignition. Nobody has gotten off the Camry since it was parked. The driver can't be waiting for another person to get back in. That and, you seem to be in an awful rush to get the money. As soon as you get the cash, you will grab me and run back to the car, using me as a human shield against Butlers guns. Then, not only will you have a thousand euros, you will have me as a hostage, and you know my mother would be willing to and able to pay ransom."
Butler had taken his sig sauer and had pointed it menacingly at the man as soon as Artemis had done the code , which was making a grammatical error. The man tensed.
"You will follow us into the Bentley, after texting the driver and telling him the betrayal was canceled. Then, you will Lead us to the 'Bomoh'. Finally, you will go with half your original fee and your head not blown all over that lovely wall behind you. Do we have a deal?"
The man swallowed "Yes."
Artemis Fowl smiled, a smile that even in its early twelve year old stage of development was extremely creepy "Glad we have an understanding, then."
Half an hour later, Artemis was walking into a tent which smelled slightly of fish. In the tent was a table and a chair. On the table was a globe, a staff and a book. On the chair was an old man, dressed in a robe with a hat. The man had an enormous beard, which tasselled almost to his knees, which to be perfectly honest, wasn't a difficult feat when you were sitting down and had a hunch.
"Greetings, little one. What may I do for you? Need a little help with exams? Worried about a parent on a dangerous trip? Stuck with a common cold that doesn't seem to go away? I can help."
"Actually, sir" Artemis said, carefully" I'm doing well in my exams, my father is missing and my mother insane, and I'm completely healthy except for a slight allergy to dust mites."
"Ah," the bomoh said, stroking his beard" so you want help with your mother."
"Not exactly."
"Please, do sit down." the bomoh conjured a chair into the room.
"How did you do that?" Artemis asked, excited. This was the ultimate proof that the man was legit.
"I'll let you in on the secret,"the man said "clever distraction and a concealed trapdoor"
Artemis knew he was lying."Enough said. Here. Payment in advance."
Artemis handed the man a ten ringgit bill, four ones and two fifty cent coins. The bomoh took them. Then, he winced a little. Artemis did a mental cheer.
"It was static electricity. Anyways, Fifteen ringgit. The usual fee to ask a question. Ask away."
"What is the chemical makeup for antimage?" Artemis Fowl asked, his heart rate almost doubling.
The bomoh looked at Artemis for a stressful moment. His smile faded and his grip on the armrests of his chair tightened.
"How did you know about that?" He questioned, his brow furrowing "And how did you find me?"
"Actually, Merlinus," Artemis said, seeing the old man flinch at his old name" It was not difficult. Among the many legends of your death, almost none of them end with you actually dying. Most of them end with you sleeping, or cast out of the land into a magical place. Where else would you go? Not america, for certain. Or China. You knew that they would prosper, and that people would notice you. You came here, to this lovely little place, where most people wouldn't bat an eye to another " fortune-teller" or "charm man", with all its legends and cultures, Malaysia would've been an ideal place for you to go when you were tired of old king Arthur and his numerous tedious requests."
"You are a clever boy," Merlin admitted, shaking his head "but you know that not only will I deny you of that question, I will strip you of your magic,and obliviate you of all those magical memories. You would be, officially and technically, a muggle boy."
"Firstly, you will answer my question. Veritaserum is impossible to resist, even for a wizard of your abilities." Artemis got up, walked to the desk, and picked up the fifty cent coin. He moved it close to Merlin's face. From the tip of the Rafflesia, sprouted a little syringe , impossible to spot unless you were looking for it. Merlin's eyes widened " My own design, made specially for this occasion. Secondly, you will not be able to carry out your threats. I also mixed in an extremely potent muscle relaxant. You will be paralysed from the neck down for about twenty minutes, after which you will fall asleep. Lastly, there is one final poison in the brew- a memory breaking potion. When it takes place, in an hour, you will forget the events of the past three hours. You'll wake up, thinking you dozed off. Now that I've explained everything to you, why don't you explain to me, approximately how to brew up two metric tons of antimage."
Merlin started listing out the ingredients against his will. Occasionally, his hands twitched as Merlin fought the effects of the muscle relaxant. Artemis mentally made a list of everything, complete with places on where to find them. When Merlin was done, Artemis got up and walked out of the tent.
After half a minute, Artemis walked back into the tent and took the money he gave Merlin back.