Worning this chapeter is a little bland but some big secrets are revealed and some big questions are rased. So stay tune.
I do not own Rise of the Guardians.
Chapter 7: Darkness Plotting
Pitch and Grim walked around a large table. On the table was a large diorama of Santoff Claussen itself. It was made interiorly out of black nightmare sand and bones that formed a very accurate version of the village right down to every insect that lived in Ombrics library. A small bone carving of each person in Santoff Claussen was placed in it respective spot along with a small bone carving of each of the Guardians which were placed off to the side for now. They would be placed later when there spy told them where the Guardians were exactly.
However they were not planning on having them join their little party until after they got the book. They knew that getting the book would a track the Guardians attention but they did not want their attention until after they got the book that way they would be a few steps ahead of them by the time that they figured it out. They also wanted to make it look like Pitch was working alone. He would be the one to cause the main distraction and to confront the Guardians wile Grim would gather everything that they needed.
Grim only new the basics to the ritual that they planned to use, not the specifics. He knew that he needed the blood from six specific people along with a rock, a flame, a crystal and something else and that the ritual had to be done during a lunar eclipse. So in other words they needed the book in order to start the apocalypse.
There were just a few issues involved in getting the book. The first one was that neither of them had been to Santoff Claussen in centuries. The last and pretty much only time that Pitch had been there had been when he disguised himself as a spider to look for a book on spells of enslavement and Grim had not been there for a while ether. The second issue was that Grim did not know for sure were the book was and Pitch did not know for sure either. Ombrics library was set up in such a way were if you did not know exactly what you wanted there was no way you were going to find it easily.
Pitch had been sending some fearlings closer and closer to the village to see if everything was still as Pitch remembered it. So far according to the fearlings everything was pretty much the same. Sure some new buildings had appeared but that was to be expected. It was the main things such as the village's defenses and if Ombric still kept the books in Big Root. They both were.
"So do we need to go over the plan again or do you think that you have it," Grim said. Pitch resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Grim had a way of making him feel like a child when he talked to him.
"Of course I do," Pitch replied trying very hard not to sound sarcastic.
"Then you won't mind explaining it to me then," Grim said. Again Pitch resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Grim was not the type of person that you would want to get on their bad side, he was the lord of death after all. Rumor had it that he could kill immortals. However that was just a rumor. A rumor that Pitch did not want to test.
"First we get our spy to cause a distraction with some of my fearlings," Pitch started.
"And how will the spy be able to make sure that the fearlings will do what she says," Grim interrupted him.
"By the necklace I am going to give her," Pitch said though clenched teeth.
"And how are you going to give her the necklace," Grim said. Okay Grim was really starting to tick him off now. If he asked him one more stupid question like that again Lord of Death or not he was going to attack him.
"I am not going to give it to her our informer is," Pitch said. Pitch had not yet met the informer or the spy but Grim spoke very highly of them both so Pitch had no choose but to trust his judgement.
"Okay then what will happen next," Grim said.
"You will go and work your magic to drain most of the life energy of the creatures in the forest along with the bear. Then I will make an appearance and have my fearlings chased all of the residents out of their homes and into the forest. They will chase them for a little while then return to help keep out anyone who tries to get into Big Root. By then you would be in the library looking for the book that we need. I will keep everyone else from entering Big Root and preventing anyone from stopping you. Then when you find the book and get out I will leave, and then we will figure out what to do once we have the book and know exactly what to do next we will form a plan and do it," Pitch finished.
"Very good," Grim said. "However you forgot the part where I drain most of the life energy from all of the creatures in Ombrics library."
This time Pitch resisted the urge to turn around and hit his head against the very solid and hard rock wall that was conveniently located right behind him.
"A slight slip of the tong. That part was meant to be included with the creatures of the forest," Pitch said as comely as he could.
"A slight slip of the tong could ruin our whole plan," Grim said.
"Like you don't make mistakes," Pitch said.
"Oh I don't," Grim said. "But you do."
"I find it hard to believe that you do not make mistakes," Pitch said.
Grim was about to say something but someone else cut him off.
"Master Reaper. Master Black. I have some important information for you."
Both men turned around to see a young man around the age of twenty kneeling before them. He had very dark slightly curly brown hair and very dark brown eyes. He was wearing black boots, pants and jacket. A black scarf covered his nose and mouth. Two small knife sheaths hung from a black belt around his waist.
"Ha Jordan, right on time," Grim said the man who Pitch assumed to be named Jordan stud.
"So is this the spy or the informant," Pitch asked as he came around the table.
"I am the informant, the spy is in Santoff Claussen," Jordan explained with a bow. "The name is Jordan Nether."
"Nether?" Pitch questioned. "Isn't that a darkness family name?"
"It is," Jordan replied. "One of the few that still exists."
"And do you know how to use your family magic?" Pitch questioned.
Jordan eyes glistened with excitement when he heard that, it sounded like a challenge and he loved a challenge. Jordan took the basic stance and then started to move his arms in a swaying motion. The shadows that covered the walls started to come closer. Then he did another arm/hand movement and the shadows turned into a thick fog like mist that filled the entire room. It was so dark and thick that Pitch could not see anything. After a few minutes the fog lifted and Pitch saw Jordan turn the fog back into shadows again and pushed them back to the walls. Pitch smiled he was most impressed with what he saw. Jordan had just met all of his expectations.
"Very impressive," Pitch said. Jordan smiled even though Pitch and Grim could not see it.
"You said that you had some important information for us," Grim said.
"Yes I have been in conference with the spy in Santoff Claussen and we have a little situation," Jordan said.
"What is it," Grim replied.
"Well you know how I have told you last time that the animals in the forest had seen the fearlings sneaking around and that Ombric had ordered everyone to stay inside at night," Jordan said. Both men nodded their heads. "Well it turns out that tonight a small group of children snuck out into the woods and ran into the fearlings. In short they now know that you are planning to attack and they have called the Guardians. They came and contacted the Man in the Moon. According to the spy the Moon should some images of you and Master Black. Then he choose five new guardians to help them. He called them the Mortal Guardians, the spy was chosen as one of them." Pitch and Grim gave a very sneaky smile at each other. The Man in the Moon was not as good as he thought he was. "He also gave them a warning that one of them will betray the others."
"Who were the other four Mortal Guardians?" Grim asked.
"That want to be potions master Trevor, a young man that no one recognised who was dressed like a king, another man who looked a lot like the other only a little older and he was wearing a suit of armor, and then there was a young women who the spy described to be non-other than the potential trouble maker Sara Endersen," Jordan finished.
"Endersen isn't that a darkness family name?" Pitch questioned.
"Yes it is. Jordan here was supposed to marry her and get her out of the picture," Grim said giving Jordan an annoyed look.
"It's not my fault that she ran away," Jordan muttered just loud enough for them to hear yet Grim brushed it away.
"Are you sure that it is her," Grim asked.
"I got the spy to describe her in great detail and unless you know another girl with tear like scars on her checks, it is her," Jordan said. "Even more surprising, according to the spy the winter sprit Jack Frost, a new guardian in case you did not know, and the Easter Bunny both have been seeing her in their dreams. Apparently they are suppose to help her with something."
"Well that is really unusual," Pitch said.
"How so," Grim asked.
"Have you meet Jack Frost his and the rabbits personalities are complete opposites," Pitch said.
"I have not," Grim said. "And we have a bigger problem if Sara is helping them."
"How so she is a mortal is she not?" Pitch questioned.
"She is yet she is not," Grim replied. Pitch gave him a confused look and Grim took in a deep breath to explain further. "She possesses very unusual abilities and cannot be harmed in the same way as a mortal, but she can still be seen by other mortals and can still interact in their world like a normal person."
"And she is a threat because," Pitch said.
"One she is an adult believer in the Guardians," Grim said. Pitch was surprised to hear this; adult believers were almost unheard of. "Two she cheated me, three the moon saved her and four she has the power to stop us and has been a pain in my neck for too long. Now do you understand the threat?"
"A little," Pitch said. "So how do propose we deal with her?"
"We should not worry about her too much about her. She has trouble believing in herself and that will be her down fall. If she does become a problem I'll just get Jordan to take care of her," Grim said.
"He couldn't before what makes you say that he can now," Pitch asked.
"We will try a different approach," Grim said.
"I already told you that my magic doesn't work on her," Jordan said.
"You don't need to use your magic you just need to tell the Guardians that she is an Endersen they will never work with someone who is from a darkness family," Grim said.
Pitch was starting to lose interest to a point. Sure it was intrusting and all but he would like to get this meeting back on topic.
"Not that it does not interest me to learn more about this girl that you find so threatening but I do not see her as an immediate threat at the moment. We should focused more on the immediate threat which is the Guardians presents. You know that even combined we are still too weak to defeat all of them," Pitch said.
"The plan doesn't change and besides we don't have to defeat them you just need to hold them off long enough for me to get out with the book we need," Grim said before turning his attention back to Jordan. "Do you know Sara's exact were about?" He asked.
"No I do not," Jordan replied. Grim gave him a look. "What? She ran away. She could be anywhere in the world right now."
"Well let's just hope that she is nowhere close," Grim said. Then he remembered an important part of their plan. "Now I have an important job for you." Pitch pulled out a black opal necklace on a gold chain with several gold beads placed at set intervals along it. He handed it to Grim who handed it to Jordan. "You are to give this necklace to the spy tell her that she will be able to control the fearlings when she wears it and that she will need it to complete the first part of our plan."
"I will do as you ask," Jordan said.
"You are dismissed," Grim said. Jordan bowed to Grim and Pitch before running and jumping thought a shadow. People from a darkness family who possessed magic had the ability of traveling anywhere in the world by using the shadows.
"So how long do you think it will take the guardians to figure out who our spy is," Pitch asked.
"If we keep them distracted and give lots of opportunities for her to earn their trust it will take a while," Grim replied as he picked up a peace of bone and a knife. He started to carve away at the bone.
"And what about Sara?" Pitch asked.
"Sara has a lot of confidence issues. If she keeps on threatening to leave the Guardians, who after seeing her fight will want her back putting Eva off to the side. And if Eva makes her feel that she does not belong she will drive her away," Grim explained as he continued to carve.
"I am taking it that you have been watching her for a very long time," Pitch said.
"Oh longer then you think," Grim said as he finished his bone carving that he had been working on. It was of a woman with her hair in a braided bun and tear like scars, holding a staff that was slightly curved at the end. He put it on the table with the other Guardians.
OMG. Who exactly is this girl and what kind of thereat is she to them? Stay tune to find out.
