The One
Chapter Ten, Discoveries
"So where do we go from here?" Magnus asked.
"Go? Why, you go where you can." Gasper replied.
"What the hell does that mean?" Crono exclaimed.
"It means that you either go to one of two places. Your time," Gasper said, pointing at Crono, "and swimming home. Or Magnus' time, where you can wait until you figure something out."
"Why can't we just stay here Gasper?" Lucca asked.
"I'm afraid one of you will have to stay here anyway. Remember, more than three people in a Gate will result in it sending the travelers to the place of least resistance, here. The other three will have to find the way to get you three home." Gasper said.
"Well shit." Magnus muttered.
"Maybe I should stay." Lucca offered. "I mean, I could discuss things with Gasper while you three go look in Magnus' time."
"But Lucca, you know more about the Gates then any of us." Marle said. "We need you to go and help the others. And Magnus needs to go as well because he's the only one who can guide us around his time. Why don't I stay?"
"But Marle! I don't want you staying here by yourself!" Crono exclaimed.
"Then you stay with her. I'm sure we'll be fine. Won't we Lucca?" Magnus said.
"Well.I guess. Crono would probably just get in the way anyway." Lucca said with a smile.
Crono just about shot a retort back but Marle cut him off. "We would both get in the way. Go on Lucca, have your fun with the machines and technology stuff. You're the genius here."
Lucca laughed. "Ain't it the truth."
"Well, if it's all sorted out, you two should get going." Gasper said, scratching absently at his chin. "Go on now."
"Come one Magnus! We'll have a blast!" Lucca said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the Gate room. She stood in front of the Gate leading to Magnus' time and asked, "All set? Then let's go!" She activated the Gate Key and the Gate opened, cool wind blowing through her lavender hair. She laughed again and walked into it, followed by Magnus.
*******************
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Kilborne sat in his chair, a smile on his lips. His Vision was coming true. As they always had. Magnus would travel to his time and look for a way home for his friends. He would instead find his way to the Elns. All like the vision had told him.
But one thing still troubled Kilborne slightly. The Vision had remained cloudy after he had seen Magnus travel to the Elns. But it only bothered him slightly. He would twist Destiny to his own ends.
He had the power. He had the means. He had the Vision. He had Charles and scores of soldiers.
He would have Magnus too.
Soon.
********************
Sylphis lay on her cot massaging her raw hands. The water used to clean the dishes that were used in the castle was harsh on her hands. But the small pay she received was all she had to live off of, so a bit of pain was OK.
"A bit of pain indeed. Stupid dishes. Stupid Charin too. He could at least learn to be polite." Sylphis murmured to herself. "But of course, he doesn't have to. Head of the Kitchen. Such an important role he has." Sarcasm dripped off of her words as she spoke them. "More like Big Head of the Kitchen." The words brought an image of Charin falling down because of an enormous head. She giggled in spite of the pain flaring in her hands.
Sylphis sighed and rolled over onto her side. She would need her sleep. Charin would undoubtedly work the kitchen staff as hard as ever in the morning. She closed her eyes and fell into the sweet escape of sleep.
She awoke the next morning to quiet but insistent knocking on her door. She groaned and rolled off of her bed, stumbling to the door. She opened it to find Olga standing outside of it.
"Inside your room child, quickly. Close the door behind you!" the old woman said, scurrying inside the room.
"What are you doing Olga?" Sylphis said, closing the door and sitting back down on her bed.
"Another servant was killed last night. They found 'em stuffed in a storage room. Deathly pale 'e was. They say 'is blood was all drained out or something." Olga said.
Sylphis' tanned face paled slightly. "Another?! That makes about ten this week! What in the Seven Layers of Hell is going on here?"
"I can tell you one thing. It wasn't The Ruler. 'E was gone this time. Someone else is killin' 'em all."
"Olga, I'm scared. I mean, more than usual. I know the The Ruler is insane, but he doesn't kill his servants off in this big of numbers!" Sylphis said, biting her nail.
"Hush. Don't be saying things like that in the castle. You'll be the next ta decorate the walls." Olga said. She walked back over to the door. "I came ta tell ya ta be careful. Charin's in a rage right now. 'E says that the food in the storage was ruined, so 'e is likely to take it out on the kitchen staff."
"Thank you Olga. I'll hurry up then."
"Gods bless ya Sylphis." Olga said as she walked out of the room, the oak door closing behind her.
Olga hurried through the hallways, her next destination her own room. She needed to change and then get to work. She reached her room and entered it, closing the door behind her. She changed and ran her hand through her gray thinning hair.
She sighed. Even by Eln standards she was terribly old. Her husband had died the past year, murdered by The Ruler Benjamin's soldiers.
She shook her head. Tears should have come but she had cried herself out even before her husband had died. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She was a servant to The Ruler now, and too old to change it.
As she turned around to go back into the hallway, pain burst through her chest. 'A heart attack.' She thought to herself. 'Finally got too old.' She reached for her chest but found instead a blade jutting from her chest. Confusion swamped her as she fell forward. Then she saw nothing.
Shade pulled the dirk from the old woman's still warm corpse and stepped from the shadows. The blade glowed an angry red, as if upset at him from disrupting its feeding. Shade looked at the crumpled body in front of him and then stooped down beside it. He grabbed it by the back of its shirt and picked it up.
As he placed it on the bed he whispered to himself, "You're getting so hungry lately." He placed the dirk on top of the wound in the former Olga's back and left it there. It shimmered as if in anticipation then pulsed between dark red and a lighter shade of red. 'Like a heart beat.' Shade said in his mind.
The blood flowed from Olga's body to the blade for a few minutes longer, in which time Shade found himself thinking of Sylphis.
'She can't possibly have learnt that I was here. That means that either the slavers caught her or she came here willingly.' Shade felt anger rushing through him. 'The fool! She has no idea the danger she poses on herself!' The anger brought a faint flush to his pale cheeks underneath his mask. 'What were they thinking, letting her come here!' Shade felt the anger about to take control and pushed it back. 'No. Emotions will not help. I will have to remove her form here myself. I will be able to concentrate then.'
With that thought resolved Shade glanced down at the dirk. It had finished feeding. Shade bent down and picked it up, sheathing it. He turned and slid through the small window in the back of the room. As he disappeared out into the night, the door opened to the chamber.
"Olga? Are you here." Sylphis' voice stopped short as she saw Olga's body lying on the floor. Sylphis stared in shock at what she saw. Her friend since coming the castle, dead at her feet. Sylphis felt the scream racing to her lips and clamped her mouth shut. A groan of dismay escaped her lips but that was all. "Olga.no." Sylphis felt herself falling to her knees. She put her hand gently on the dead woman's head, stroking the hair softly. It was then that she noticed what had killed the old woman.
Something had been thrust through Olga's back and through her chest. Sylphis also noticed that she was pale. Very pale. Like her blood had been drained out. Realization dawned on Sylphis.
Tears welling in her eyes, Sylphis rose unsteadily to her feet and took a step out into the hallway. She glanced around fearfully, the self- preserving instinct suddenly unlocked in her mind. She ran blindly back to her own room, not noticing the stares of other servants in the halls.
She reached her room and flung herself on to her bed. Tears flowed freely and Sylphis could do little but let them flow. All that she could see in her mind was Olga's face, the look that had been frozen to it.
Pain.
********************
Benjamin paced across the floor in front of his throne. He was getting impatient again. He had been waiting for what seemed like days to him for Charles to come to him with the troops promised. His anger rising he plopped himself down in his chair in almost child-like impatience.
"He should have been here by now. The bastard is late with my troops." Benjamin tapped his foot on the ground slightly. Kill something. "Shut up! You cannot control me or tell me when to do something!" Do it now! "Quiet!" The voice silenced itself quicker than usual but Benjamin did not notice. The door had opened to his throne room.
"Finally! Where the hell have you been with my troops!" Benjamin demanded.
Charles stood in the doorway quietly for a moment before stepping into the room. He looked at Benjamin and said, "Watch how you speak to me."
"Ha! You're not my superior! I can speak however I like to you!" Benjamin laughed and then spoke again. "Now tell me what took so long! Mind yourself, I have been know to have a short temper."
Charles studied Benjamin without emotion and then stepped closer, as if to whisper. As he closed in on Benjamin his hand shot forward and grasped Benjamin's currently unprotected neck. "Listen to me. I speak for Kilborne. I am Charles. I will be addressed according to how you would speak to him." Charles squeezed Benjamin's neck harder and held him for a second longer before releasing him.
Benjamin was about to speak before Charles turned around and raised his hand to the open door. A man who had been standing there was dragged through it and into the room by unseen hands. He struggled slightly as he stopped by Charles, his neck now in Charles grasp. Charles gave a quick jerk with his hand and the man fell dead to the floor.
"Your rule must not be disputed here. You must be seen in fear and awe until it is completely conquered." Charles said as he turned back to Benjmain. "Kill any whom have heard of this conversation."
"Yes sir." Benjamin said with heavy sarcasm.
Charles seemed not to notice as he continued to speak. "I have brought men whom I will command in destroying this rebel force of Elns. Do nothing to commit your troops to any fights until further notice."
"What?!" Benjamin yelled. "I will be the one to crush this rebellion. Where are the troops you promised me?!"
"I said I was bringing troops to stop the rebels. That is all." Charles replied. "I will be leaving now." He said as he turned and walked out the door he had entered from.
Benjamin stared at the open door in amazement. Most would have died from the attitude Charles had shown him. For once in his life, the voice failed to surge up and tell him to kill something. Then Benjamin began to laugh.
********************
Magnus sat back in one of his chairs and looked at the wall. He had been back in his time for about a week and he had no idea what to do. Lucca said she had an idea but had not gotten anywhere with it yet.
He was bored.
He had been occupied with something the first few days back though. He had taught Lucca how to use a computer. The basics at least. The rest she had and was picking up by herself. So she had spent hours the night at the library, tapping away and having a grand old time, while he had sat and felt useless.
"This sucks." Magnus said to the room. He stood up and started pacing. "Wish I had something to do. Just cause I don't know anything about 'Gate Theorems' and 'Physics'." Magnus sunk back into the chair he had gotten out of. "Bored, bored, bored!"
"Shut up in there!" Lucca shouted from the bedroom. She sat over several hundreds of sheets of writing and shifted through them. "I know I put it somewhere.Ah ha! There it is!" Lucca exclaimed as she pulled a single sheet from the pile.
"What?" Magnus asked from the other room.
Lucca stood up and walked over to Magnus. She threw the sheet into his lap and said, "A bunch of calculations. I think I found out what causes Gates and how they work. Mathematically, that is. So I might be able to predict the next shift in them."
"Great!" Magnus said. "So.anything I can do?" he asked.
"Not a thing. Unless you like math that is?" Lucca asked.
"Hate it. But if you need something burnt or anything tell me. I'm going crazy just sitting here." Magnus said.
"Don't bother. I'm not hungry. But try to keep it down in here." Lucca said with a grin.
"Shut up." Magnus said, a grin splitting across his face as well.
Lucca chuckled. 'What a goof. Just like Crono.' She thought to herself. Aloud she said "I need to go to that lie-berry again."
"That's library, Lucca. Library. And yeah sure, a walk would be considerably better than sitting here listen to you putter around my bedroom worrying over some papers." Magnus said, lifting himself from the chair he had been sitting in. He walked over to the front door and threw on a navy blue windbreaker. "It's supposed to be cold out there. Here." Magnus tossed a yellow jacket to her. "Don't get it wet though. It's a fleece and when it's wet it weighs a ton."
Lucca slipped the yellow fleece on and smiled at Magnus. "Thanks."
"No problem." He said as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Come on."
Lucca walked past Magnus and he pulled the door shut, locking it behind him. He pocketed the key and continued walking towards the stairs out of his building.
********************
Dedra straightened herself in her saddle. She tried to adjust Mik but his bulky weight seemed impossible to move without pushing him off the saddle. She sighed. "The poor kid."
Her horse trotted slowly but still fast enough to make good time without injuring it. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder or stared into the distance. She wasn't expecting to find anyone with hostile intentions towards her or Mik, but she had been trained to be careful.
As she neared her destination, she slowed her horse to a walk and proceeded more carefully, looking for hidden traps and markings that would give them away. Eventually, after over a half-hour of careful plodding her horse brought her to a cave hidden from view by brush and a few well placed hills. Lifting Mik from the saddle she placed him on the ground and tied her horse to a near-by tree.
"I know you don't like being tied like this dear, but you have been known to spook when it gets dark." She whispered to the horse.
In response the horse snorted and shook its head. Dedra laughed and picked Mik back up. Grunting in exertion over his weight she carried the unconscious Wolf inside the cave and to a gray colored door. Knocking with her free hand she waited a response. Receiving none she placed her hand in a small hole near the door and pulled a lever hidden inside.
Noiselessly the door opened a few inches and Dedra pushed it open the rest of the way. Walking as swift as possible she looked around for the Elns that should be walking in the cave halls. Finding none she became suspicious. Ducking into the first room she saw she closed the door behind her. Now in darkness Dedra reached out and grabbed a lamp on a shelf to her right. With ease that would have surprised anyone but a North Person Dedra lit the lamp in complete darkness and then looked around at her surroundings. Seeing a pallet against the wall Dedra placed Mik on it and sighed with relief.
"Heavy bastard." She said. Leaving the lamp on the shelf Dedra opened the door and slipped out of it. Darting her eyes from side to side she began to search the now unfriendly cave. As she walked further down the hallway she smelt a sickly sweet smell.
Eyes widening in surprise Dedra wrapped a piece of silk over her mouth. Seeing the silk brought painful memories to her mind but she ruthlessly pushed them down. She would have time later for the past.
"Foolish woman. Thinking of your childhood when there is flrech powder everywhere." Mentally thanking her grandmother for teaching her herbs she tried to recall how to contact the flrech powder. Smiling in self- accomplishment she pulled a leaf from her belt and crunched it in her mouth. She found it humorous that the most potent sleep herb could be made useless by a simple mint leaf.
Taking the silk from her mouth she began to search for other victims. Coming across what looked like a meeting room she gasped in horror
Sprawled in a chair was an Eln with scars running across his face. "Assassin." She hissed. "Gods damn it, Shade."
Rushing to the fallen Eln Dedra began to examine him to see if she could save him. Looking up for a second her gaze settled on the banner hanging on the wall. A white tree.
"Rebels, you have made yourselves quite the enemy, haven't you." She said.
"So where do we go from here?" Magnus asked.
"Go? Why, you go where you can." Gasper replied.
"What the hell does that mean?" Crono exclaimed.
"It means that you either go to one of two places. Your time," Gasper said, pointing at Crono, "and swimming home. Or Magnus' time, where you can wait until you figure something out."
"Why can't we just stay here Gasper?" Lucca asked.
"I'm afraid one of you will have to stay here anyway. Remember, more than three people in a Gate will result in it sending the travelers to the place of least resistance, here. The other three will have to find the way to get you three home." Gasper said.
"Well shit." Magnus muttered.
"Maybe I should stay." Lucca offered. "I mean, I could discuss things with Gasper while you three go look in Magnus' time."
"But Lucca, you know more about the Gates then any of us." Marle said. "We need you to go and help the others. And Magnus needs to go as well because he's the only one who can guide us around his time. Why don't I stay?"
"But Marle! I don't want you staying here by yourself!" Crono exclaimed.
"Then you stay with her. I'm sure we'll be fine. Won't we Lucca?" Magnus said.
"Well.I guess. Crono would probably just get in the way anyway." Lucca said with a smile.
Crono just about shot a retort back but Marle cut him off. "We would both get in the way. Go on Lucca, have your fun with the machines and technology stuff. You're the genius here."
Lucca laughed. "Ain't it the truth."
"Well, if it's all sorted out, you two should get going." Gasper said, scratching absently at his chin. "Go on now."
"Come one Magnus! We'll have a blast!" Lucca said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the Gate room. She stood in front of the Gate leading to Magnus' time and asked, "All set? Then let's go!" She activated the Gate Key and the Gate opened, cool wind blowing through her lavender hair. She laughed again and walked into it, followed by Magnus.
*******************
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Kilborne sat in his chair, a smile on his lips. His Vision was coming true. As they always had. Magnus would travel to his time and look for a way home for his friends. He would instead find his way to the Elns. All like the vision had told him.
But one thing still troubled Kilborne slightly. The Vision had remained cloudy after he had seen Magnus travel to the Elns. But it only bothered him slightly. He would twist Destiny to his own ends.
He had the power. He had the means. He had the Vision. He had Charles and scores of soldiers.
He would have Magnus too.
Soon.
********************
Sylphis lay on her cot massaging her raw hands. The water used to clean the dishes that were used in the castle was harsh on her hands. But the small pay she received was all she had to live off of, so a bit of pain was OK.
"A bit of pain indeed. Stupid dishes. Stupid Charin too. He could at least learn to be polite." Sylphis murmured to herself. "But of course, he doesn't have to. Head of the Kitchen. Such an important role he has." Sarcasm dripped off of her words as she spoke them. "More like Big Head of the Kitchen." The words brought an image of Charin falling down because of an enormous head. She giggled in spite of the pain flaring in her hands.
Sylphis sighed and rolled over onto her side. She would need her sleep. Charin would undoubtedly work the kitchen staff as hard as ever in the morning. She closed her eyes and fell into the sweet escape of sleep.
She awoke the next morning to quiet but insistent knocking on her door. She groaned and rolled off of her bed, stumbling to the door. She opened it to find Olga standing outside of it.
"Inside your room child, quickly. Close the door behind you!" the old woman said, scurrying inside the room.
"What are you doing Olga?" Sylphis said, closing the door and sitting back down on her bed.
"Another servant was killed last night. They found 'em stuffed in a storage room. Deathly pale 'e was. They say 'is blood was all drained out or something." Olga said.
Sylphis' tanned face paled slightly. "Another?! That makes about ten this week! What in the Seven Layers of Hell is going on here?"
"I can tell you one thing. It wasn't The Ruler. 'E was gone this time. Someone else is killin' 'em all."
"Olga, I'm scared. I mean, more than usual. I know the The Ruler is insane, but he doesn't kill his servants off in this big of numbers!" Sylphis said, biting her nail.
"Hush. Don't be saying things like that in the castle. You'll be the next ta decorate the walls." Olga said. She walked back over to the door. "I came ta tell ya ta be careful. Charin's in a rage right now. 'E says that the food in the storage was ruined, so 'e is likely to take it out on the kitchen staff."
"Thank you Olga. I'll hurry up then."
"Gods bless ya Sylphis." Olga said as she walked out of the room, the oak door closing behind her.
Olga hurried through the hallways, her next destination her own room. She needed to change and then get to work. She reached her room and entered it, closing the door behind her. She changed and ran her hand through her gray thinning hair.
She sighed. Even by Eln standards she was terribly old. Her husband had died the past year, murdered by The Ruler Benjamin's soldiers.
She shook her head. Tears should have come but she had cried herself out even before her husband had died. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She was a servant to The Ruler now, and too old to change it.
As she turned around to go back into the hallway, pain burst through her chest. 'A heart attack.' She thought to herself. 'Finally got too old.' She reached for her chest but found instead a blade jutting from her chest. Confusion swamped her as she fell forward. Then she saw nothing.
Shade pulled the dirk from the old woman's still warm corpse and stepped from the shadows. The blade glowed an angry red, as if upset at him from disrupting its feeding. Shade looked at the crumpled body in front of him and then stooped down beside it. He grabbed it by the back of its shirt and picked it up.
As he placed it on the bed he whispered to himself, "You're getting so hungry lately." He placed the dirk on top of the wound in the former Olga's back and left it there. It shimmered as if in anticipation then pulsed between dark red and a lighter shade of red. 'Like a heart beat.' Shade said in his mind.
The blood flowed from Olga's body to the blade for a few minutes longer, in which time Shade found himself thinking of Sylphis.
'She can't possibly have learnt that I was here. That means that either the slavers caught her or she came here willingly.' Shade felt anger rushing through him. 'The fool! She has no idea the danger she poses on herself!' The anger brought a faint flush to his pale cheeks underneath his mask. 'What were they thinking, letting her come here!' Shade felt the anger about to take control and pushed it back. 'No. Emotions will not help. I will have to remove her form here myself. I will be able to concentrate then.'
With that thought resolved Shade glanced down at the dirk. It had finished feeding. Shade bent down and picked it up, sheathing it. He turned and slid through the small window in the back of the room. As he disappeared out into the night, the door opened to the chamber.
"Olga? Are you here." Sylphis' voice stopped short as she saw Olga's body lying on the floor. Sylphis stared in shock at what she saw. Her friend since coming the castle, dead at her feet. Sylphis felt the scream racing to her lips and clamped her mouth shut. A groan of dismay escaped her lips but that was all. "Olga.no." Sylphis felt herself falling to her knees. She put her hand gently on the dead woman's head, stroking the hair softly. It was then that she noticed what had killed the old woman.
Something had been thrust through Olga's back and through her chest. Sylphis also noticed that she was pale. Very pale. Like her blood had been drained out. Realization dawned on Sylphis.
Tears welling in her eyes, Sylphis rose unsteadily to her feet and took a step out into the hallway. She glanced around fearfully, the self- preserving instinct suddenly unlocked in her mind. She ran blindly back to her own room, not noticing the stares of other servants in the halls.
She reached her room and flung herself on to her bed. Tears flowed freely and Sylphis could do little but let them flow. All that she could see in her mind was Olga's face, the look that had been frozen to it.
Pain.
********************
Benjamin paced across the floor in front of his throne. He was getting impatient again. He had been waiting for what seemed like days to him for Charles to come to him with the troops promised. His anger rising he plopped himself down in his chair in almost child-like impatience.
"He should have been here by now. The bastard is late with my troops." Benjamin tapped his foot on the ground slightly. Kill something. "Shut up! You cannot control me or tell me when to do something!" Do it now! "Quiet!" The voice silenced itself quicker than usual but Benjamin did not notice. The door had opened to his throne room.
"Finally! Where the hell have you been with my troops!" Benjamin demanded.
Charles stood in the doorway quietly for a moment before stepping into the room. He looked at Benjamin and said, "Watch how you speak to me."
"Ha! You're not my superior! I can speak however I like to you!" Benjamin laughed and then spoke again. "Now tell me what took so long! Mind yourself, I have been know to have a short temper."
Charles studied Benjamin without emotion and then stepped closer, as if to whisper. As he closed in on Benjamin his hand shot forward and grasped Benjamin's currently unprotected neck. "Listen to me. I speak for Kilborne. I am Charles. I will be addressed according to how you would speak to him." Charles squeezed Benjamin's neck harder and held him for a second longer before releasing him.
Benjamin was about to speak before Charles turned around and raised his hand to the open door. A man who had been standing there was dragged through it and into the room by unseen hands. He struggled slightly as he stopped by Charles, his neck now in Charles grasp. Charles gave a quick jerk with his hand and the man fell dead to the floor.
"Your rule must not be disputed here. You must be seen in fear and awe until it is completely conquered." Charles said as he turned back to Benjmain. "Kill any whom have heard of this conversation."
"Yes sir." Benjamin said with heavy sarcasm.
Charles seemed not to notice as he continued to speak. "I have brought men whom I will command in destroying this rebel force of Elns. Do nothing to commit your troops to any fights until further notice."
"What?!" Benjamin yelled. "I will be the one to crush this rebellion. Where are the troops you promised me?!"
"I said I was bringing troops to stop the rebels. That is all." Charles replied. "I will be leaving now." He said as he turned and walked out the door he had entered from.
Benjamin stared at the open door in amazement. Most would have died from the attitude Charles had shown him. For once in his life, the voice failed to surge up and tell him to kill something. Then Benjamin began to laugh.
********************
Magnus sat back in one of his chairs and looked at the wall. He had been back in his time for about a week and he had no idea what to do. Lucca said she had an idea but had not gotten anywhere with it yet.
He was bored.
He had been occupied with something the first few days back though. He had taught Lucca how to use a computer. The basics at least. The rest she had and was picking up by herself. So she had spent hours the night at the library, tapping away and having a grand old time, while he had sat and felt useless.
"This sucks." Magnus said to the room. He stood up and started pacing. "Wish I had something to do. Just cause I don't know anything about 'Gate Theorems' and 'Physics'." Magnus sunk back into the chair he had gotten out of. "Bored, bored, bored!"
"Shut up in there!" Lucca shouted from the bedroom. She sat over several hundreds of sheets of writing and shifted through them. "I know I put it somewhere.Ah ha! There it is!" Lucca exclaimed as she pulled a single sheet from the pile.
"What?" Magnus asked from the other room.
Lucca stood up and walked over to Magnus. She threw the sheet into his lap and said, "A bunch of calculations. I think I found out what causes Gates and how they work. Mathematically, that is. So I might be able to predict the next shift in them."
"Great!" Magnus said. "So.anything I can do?" he asked.
"Not a thing. Unless you like math that is?" Lucca asked.
"Hate it. But if you need something burnt or anything tell me. I'm going crazy just sitting here." Magnus said.
"Don't bother. I'm not hungry. But try to keep it down in here." Lucca said with a grin.
"Shut up." Magnus said, a grin splitting across his face as well.
Lucca chuckled. 'What a goof. Just like Crono.' She thought to herself. Aloud she said "I need to go to that lie-berry again."
"That's library, Lucca. Library. And yeah sure, a walk would be considerably better than sitting here listen to you putter around my bedroom worrying over some papers." Magnus said, lifting himself from the chair he had been sitting in. He walked over to the front door and threw on a navy blue windbreaker. "It's supposed to be cold out there. Here." Magnus tossed a yellow jacket to her. "Don't get it wet though. It's a fleece and when it's wet it weighs a ton."
Lucca slipped the yellow fleece on and smiled at Magnus. "Thanks."
"No problem." He said as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Come on."
Lucca walked past Magnus and he pulled the door shut, locking it behind him. He pocketed the key and continued walking towards the stairs out of his building.
********************
Dedra straightened herself in her saddle. She tried to adjust Mik but his bulky weight seemed impossible to move without pushing him off the saddle. She sighed. "The poor kid."
Her horse trotted slowly but still fast enough to make good time without injuring it. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder or stared into the distance. She wasn't expecting to find anyone with hostile intentions towards her or Mik, but she had been trained to be careful.
As she neared her destination, she slowed her horse to a walk and proceeded more carefully, looking for hidden traps and markings that would give them away. Eventually, after over a half-hour of careful plodding her horse brought her to a cave hidden from view by brush and a few well placed hills. Lifting Mik from the saddle she placed him on the ground and tied her horse to a near-by tree.
"I know you don't like being tied like this dear, but you have been known to spook when it gets dark." She whispered to the horse.
In response the horse snorted and shook its head. Dedra laughed and picked Mik back up. Grunting in exertion over his weight she carried the unconscious Wolf inside the cave and to a gray colored door. Knocking with her free hand she waited a response. Receiving none she placed her hand in a small hole near the door and pulled a lever hidden inside.
Noiselessly the door opened a few inches and Dedra pushed it open the rest of the way. Walking as swift as possible she looked around for the Elns that should be walking in the cave halls. Finding none she became suspicious. Ducking into the first room she saw she closed the door behind her. Now in darkness Dedra reached out and grabbed a lamp on a shelf to her right. With ease that would have surprised anyone but a North Person Dedra lit the lamp in complete darkness and then looked around at her surroundings. Seeing a pallet against the wall Dedra placed Mik on it and sighed with relief.
"Heavy bastard." She said. Leaving the lamp on the shelf Dedra opened the door and slipped out of it. Darting her eyes from side to side she began to search the now unfriendly cave. As she walked further down the hallway she smelt a sickly sweet smell.
Eyes widening in surprise Dedra wrapped a piece of silk over her mouth. Seeing the silk brought painful memories to her mind but she ruthlessly pushed them down. She would have time later for the past.
"Foolish woman. Thinking of your childhood when there is flrech powder everywhere." Mentally thanking her grandmother for teaching her herbs she tried to recall how to contact the flrech powder. Smiling in self- accomplishment she pulled a leaf from her belt and crunched it in her mouth. She found it humorous that the most potent sleep herb could be made useless by a simple mint leaf.
Taking the silk from her mouth she began to search for other victims. Coming across what looked like a meeting room she gasped in horror
Sprawled in a chair was an Eln with scars running across his face. "Assassin." She hissed. "Gods damn it, Shade."
Rushing to the fallen Eln Dedra began to examine him to see if she could save him. Looking up for a second her gaze settled on the banner hanging on the wall. A white tree.
"Rebels, you have made yourselves quite the enemy, haven't you." She said.