Wow! Late upgrade! So this is a new story of mine. I based most of it off of the movie "The Illusionist" because I loved the plot. The little scene from "A Wayside Agreement" may have been changed, but it's in here! (A Wayside Agreement? Huh?) Enjoy and review!
There is a powerful crystal in this world. It has a power beyond any other. But it is wanted among men. Greedy men want it for riches. Scholars want it for knowledge. Rich men want it for power and fame. But there are those who want it to destroy it. For this crystal has a purpose that could overrule all.
Bombay, India, 1899
The streets of Bombay are busy this time of the day as he makes his way through the markets. He had woken up early to receive the package that had been given to him. The people are brutal as they pass him, late for marketing. The smells of fish fill the air. Nearby, a man gains the attention of the crowd by shoving swords down his throat, and pulling them back out. The sun has no mercy today.
Two men jostle him, nearly knocking the package out of his hand. It slips, but he catches it in time before it hits the ground and shatters into tiny pieces. A small child laughs at him as he sighs. When he reaches a dark corridor, he takes out the object wrapped in cloth. It is still whole. With that, he heads on to his destination.
Ten minutes later, he reaches the train station. The smoke nearly blinds him. He turns to look around. Many people say their sad goodbyes or warm hellos to loved ones. An English family just steps out of the train station. Their little boy looks as if he ate too many treats. As they pass by him, the man and the woman glance at him, and hold their heads high. What do they know, the man thinks to himself. They are the ones that are native to a dangerous land.
There is a room further down from the train station with the entrance covered by a curtain of dark crimson. He pulls it aside and finds himself in a quiet, cool place. He barely has time to look around before two strong men take him by the shoulders and shuffle him into another room. He is pushed inside and finds himself face to face with the powerful man he was appointed to see. His master.
"Your late," the Master says.
"A thousand pardons," the man says. He bows low with his face in the ground to avoid the Master's evil stare.
"Have you the item?" the Master asks, cocking an eyebrow. Without lifting his head from the ground, the man takes out the item wrapped in cloth from one of the pockets of his clothes. One of the strong men take it to the Master.
Once it is in the Master's hand, he removes the cloth. The object shines in the sunlight, reflecting many colors off the wall. The Master exhales deeply.
"Perfect," he whispers. "Absolutely perfect. Don't you agree?" he asks, looking at the man on the floor.
"Extraordinary, master," he says.
"Exactly. But it cannot stay here a moment longer. It has caused too much trouble for us already." The Master hands the object to one of the burly men; who in turn wraps it back up in the cloth and places it in a small box. "It must be sent away."
"But where, Master?" the man says, lifting his head up.
The Master looks up for a moment, and twirls his crimson mustache around his finger. It was a habit of his when he was thinking. "It cannot be in this country any longer, and it is not safe when threatened." He shifts in his seat. "So it must be sent to a place where it is least expected." The Master smiles. He looks at his two men, and they share the same sinister smile.
"And…where would that be?" asks the man, keeping his face to the ground.
"England, man, England!" snaps the Master, annoyed that this man had cut his sinister atmosphere short. "It will be safely hidden there. For the greater good."
"The greater good," the man repeats. "I understand, Master."
"Good man," the Master says. He gives a short nod to the two big men, and they hoist the now dirty-faced man, hand him the box with the object and send him on his way out.
"Wait," the Master calls after them. The others turn around. "There is a criminal by the name of Koda Khan," he says. The man trembles, for Koda Khan was by far the cruelest man in the East. "It seems that he is after this beautiful gem as well," the Master continues. "See to it that it is no where near him, or his men. Understood?"
The man nods.
"On your way, then," the Master waves them off. The man is shoved out of the room.
It is late afternoon when he finally reaches the port. A dark-skinned merchant is there, waiting for him.
"I need a ship that is heading for England," the man says. The merchant looks him over.
"On what business?" he asks.
The man takes out a worn-out piece of cloth from his sack and opens it. On it is a rough drawing of a skull and a sword. The merchant's eyes go wide as he nods. "There is that ship heading for England," he says, pointing to his right. The man turns to see an old, but capable ship waiting at the port. Many passengers in white clothing are boarding. The Mary Elizabeth is engraved on the side.
"I see," the man says, sizing up the ship that had once carried a fellow stowaway from the same Brotherhood a few years ago.
"But you must hurry if you want to catch it in time," the merchant adds.
"Thank you," the man says. He presses a coin into the merchant's hand and heads toward the ship.
The dock is crowded as the man makes his way. Many of the passengers which were mostly English give him curious looks and frustrated stares. He pushes past many of them, and reaches the top.
"Hold it," one of the soldiers says. "May I see your boarding pass?"
The man was prepared. He opened his sack and rummaged inside to find his pass. The people behind him were getting impatient, shouting out in his native tongue or in English. Ah, here it is. He takes out his pass just as a big man with huge elbows bumps into him and into his sack. Immediately, the box with the gem flies out, and hits the deck with a kink!
The man turns around and crouches down to find it. He's spotted it and is ready to grab it.
"Ah, here it is. I knew I dropped it."
A pair of gloved hands reaches for the box and picks it up, shoving it into a large bag. The bag belonged to an elderly woman. She makes her way past the guards and onto the ship. The man, who was too bewildered by it all, has no choice but to follow her.
He is allowed past the guards, and looks for the woman. She has disappeared.
The Master will have my head, he says to himself. But at least it is still on its way to England. All I have to do is find it.
The man looks around the ship, then goes inside and sits down, waiting for the woman to show up a dreading the worst.
Meanwhile, an elderly woman sips a glass of water, looking out the window and looking forward to witnessing one of the most talked-about weddings in London.
The merchant watches the Mary Elizabeth leave from the dock, heading for England. He takes out a paper and a piece of charcoal, and scribbles down four words. Then, he manages to place it in the beak of the pigeon waiting and watches as it flies off towards his master.
He knew that once his master read the note, he would be on his way at once. Victory would be theirs once again.
He heads for England
Oooh! Interesting! Suspenseful. I love it!
So this must be an interesting bit for y'all. What will happen to whatever is in the box?
Review and tell me what you think!
With all due respect,
Captain Corbin
Review or else inspiration is lost! That's not a good feeling! And check out "The Great Rakshana" by LunaEquus if you haven't already! Great stuff!