September, 2013 CE, Sage of Water
The door to a hotel opened, and a girl who looked about 19 walked out. She walked quickly to the bike racks and opened the zip tie connecting one to the racks, then pulled it out and mounted it. It was a sky blue hybrid, something nobody would even second-glance at, just like its owner, despite her outfit, which consisted of blue jeans and a bright blue leather jacket, with the hood up. It was odd for somebody to be wearing that in the middle of July, but not unheard of.
She tightened the hood of her jacket so that only her eyes, which were also blue, could be seen, then kicked off and pedalled into the street, then moved into the bike lane and sped up. The wind whipped at her jacket, but her hood didn't fly off.
As she rode, she sorted through the results of the latest attempts at completing her mission.
Alright, that's just about it for Georgia, and nothing turned up. Only one state left, and my rounds are done. I hope the others are having better luck than me. She sighed. It's unlikely any of us will find anything, though. It's been long enough now that I doubt we'll find him or her. Still, I get this feeling…
For months, she had been sensing something, something she couldn't recognize. It was like a magnet, drawing her towards it, and it grew stronger with every day. She couldn't even begin to guess what it was, but it was likely something related to her goal.
She stopped her bike at a small house, then brought it to the back and unlocked the door, then went in.
She went directly to the dining room table, which was completely covered in a huge map of the eastern United States. Drawn across the map were several curves that at first glance would appear to be pressure systems.
She took out a pencil and drew a new curve inside the smallest previous one, going along a series of points. Now, the curves were small enough to resemble a pear, circling an area between New Jersey, Tennessee, and northern Georgia.
After drawing the curve, she put the pencil up and took out her phone, then opened a contact and called the number.
The phone picked up after three rings, and a male voice answered.
"Yes, Ruto?'' he asked.
"I completed my patrol." the girl said. "I didn't find anything. What about you, Rauru?''
"Nothing. The entirety of the Orient is clear.'' he replied. "I think you should take a break, Ruto. You haven't stopped searching for decades.''
"You know I can't do that. You know I've been the most active since-'' Rauru spoke before she could finish.
"Saria's been gone too long now for us to keep looking, Ruto. And remember what she said. The Hero of Time is our top priority now."
Ruto made to argue, but decided otherwise. She looked at the map. "Alright, I'll keep looking.'' She hung up and sighed. "Soon, I'm sure I can figure out what that signal is...''
Early August, 2014 AD, David
David was woken by the doorbell. He yawned and checked the time. 5:41 am.
He yawned again and sat up, stretching. "Who could be at the door now?'' he asked to nobody in particular, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
The doorbell rang again and David got out of bed and walked into the hallway, but his brother, Daniel, had already answered it.
Daniel and whoever was at the door talked for a few minutes, then he went over to David, stopping when he noticed he was out of his room.
He sighed. "Time to go.'' he said. David looked down, then nodded.
"Alright. Let me just get my bag.'' he said. Daniel nodded, and David turned around and went back into his room.
David took out a backpack, half-filled with clothes and various possessions. He stuffed a few more things into it and zipped it up, putting it on. Before he left the room, which he knew he'd never come back to, he picked up a picture on his nightstand, looked at it, sighed, and placed it back, then turned around and left.
The picture was that of a man, standing with two young boys, one on either side. They were smiling, something David didn't imagine he'd do for a long time now.
When he went back into the hallway, he saw Daniel sitting at the couch opposite their father's lawyer. He was holding a small duffel bag, but nothing else. They didn't have much they wanted to take.
David sat down on the couch next to Daniel and smiled sadly. "Time to go?'' he asked.
The lawyer shifted and shook his head. ''Not quite yet. There's still the matter of wills.'' he said.
Three days before, their parents had left to take their grandfather back to the airport so he could go home. Halfway there, another car had crashed into theirs. There had been no survivors.
The lawyer took out several legal documents and looked at them, then at the brothers. ''Before I begin, are you true brothers? The wording suggests otherwise.''
''No, we're cousins, but we've lived together long enough that everybody considers us brothers.'' Daniel said. David looked down at his backpack.
The lawyer nodded. ''Alright, in that case, I can begin.'' They nodded and he looked at the first page. ''I'll start with your parents. They had made a shared will, so it won't take long to read. I'll skip to the places they specifically mention you.'' He began to recite the passages.
''To Daniel and David, we leave a sum of $50,000 each, to help them complete their education. To Daniel, we leave our company, BioTech Industries, so that once he is the right age, he can run it as he sees fit, or to give to another he deems worthy of the position.''
David looked at Daniel, who stared at the ground, not speaking. It was typically assumed that he'd be the one to inherit the position, but nobody had expected it to be this soon.
The lawyer continued. ''To David, we leave all information stored on our computers, barring any claims Daniel may have on them.'' He looked up.
Daniel sighed. ''You can have them.'' he said simply.
The lawyer nodded and looked at David. He took out a flash drive from his pocket and handed it to him. David took it with shaky hands. ''The entire contents of the systems has been uploaded there.'' he said. David nodded solemnly and pocketed the flash drive.
''That's about all from their will. Now for your grandfather. I hear he's a bit of an enigma, isn't he?''
Daniel sighed. ''Nobody knows what he did. He was...energetic for his age, and very secretive.''
The lawyer nodded in response. ''Well, he's gained quite a fortune in his time, though most of it is going to his wife and several charities, companies, and other individuals. However, he mentions both of you, especially David.'' He cleared his throat and continued. ''To Daniel, I leave the sum of $1,000,000, to use in any way he wishes. To David, I leave $750,000.'' The lawyer looked at them. They were silent, shocked by the numbers. ''He added a special request to you, David.'' he added.
''W-What is it?'' David asked. The lawyer looked at the next page.
''He wishes you to have his most prized possession, though it comes with a clause. He says you have to promise to use it when the time comes.''
David was silent, then nodded. ''What is it?''
The lawyer reached into his pocket and took out a necklace. On the end was a bright yellow charm, made up of three triangles attached at their corners.
David took it and looked at it, then back at the lawyer, putting it on. ''How can I use this? What did he mean?''
The lawyer shrugged. ''He only says that you'll know when you're ready.'' He neatly stacked the papers and put them into a folder, putting it back in his case. ''He also wished you both to move to his home, to spend the remainder of your school years there.''
They nodded simultaneously, and Daniel sighed. They all got up and walked out the door, the lawyer first and David last. He stopped just before going out, looked back, sighed, and then followed them.
The entire drive there was punctuated by a solemn silence. Daniel stared out the window, while David studied the necklace.
''Why was this his most prized possession? What possible purpose can it have?'' he asked himself.
He'd find out soon enough.