When the woman finished her song, the whole crowd stood, transfixed. I myself was puzzling over its meaning. There was something about it that truly bothered me, deep down. Angels drawing a jewel-encrusted carriage that brought light… somehow, it sounded familiar, and I wasn't liking the meaning.
Hoping that the song was finished, I crept along the edges of the crowd, hoping to get into the apothecary. I honestly couldn't waste my time here; Lisa was at home and ill, needing medicine.
I was nearly there when the woman began to speak. Her voice surprised me; she sang so high but her speaking voice was low and husky, and she had an accent I couldn't place.
"My friends, citizens of Domina," she began. "All of you should give thanks that we were told to come to you. We have been chosen by a higher power who exists on a plane above our own…he is too pure for this world. Each of us has been bestowed the supreme knowledge of our universe; we know the past, present, and future as one. If you wish, we can read your fortune in the cards. If you wish, we can make you more desirable a creature. If you wish, we can save the life of a loved one on the brink of death."
Murmurs ran throughout the crowd. I froze, but when I heard voices muttering that it was all an act, I relaxed and crept back around and finally made it to the apothecary.
The place was completely empty, save for the shopkeeper, who was dozing. I rang the little bell near the door and he awoke with a start. The little old man adjusted his glasses, embarrassed, and asked me "What can I do for you?"
"Lisa, my elf apprentice, has got a horrible fever and chills," I explained. "She's also been coughing up a storm."
"Yes, yes," the shopkeeper said. "It's been going around. I've seen a couple of other cases this week. You'll want this-" he took down a corked flask of a bubbling green liquid-"for the cough. It'll clear her throat and sinuses. This," he continued, putting down a thin bottle of clear fluid, "will bring down her fever. Be careful with the dosage. That medicine's enchanted, and an overdose will just worsen the chills."
"Enchanted with Undine, huh?" I marveled, studying the bottles. Evidently, medicine had advanced since I'd needed any. I rarely get sick.
"Indeed," the man said, nodding. I paid him 200 Luc and he placed the items into a bag. "I thank you for your business. Those women out there have been spreading rumors about me. If Reverend Nouvelle were here, he'd put a stop to it, but…" he trailed off, and sighed.
I nodded. "I understand. I'm sure they won't ruin you," I assured him. "Not everyone is stupid enough to believe that sort of thing."
I left the apothecary in a much better mood, and was prepared to sneak back around the crowd, when I saw a familiar figure in the middle of the circle.
Teapo, the Dove, was situated on the ground across from the strange woman, and was engaged in a conversation with her.
"You mean to tell me," Teapo was saying, "that these 'ere cards can tell you everything about me, wot?"
The woman nodded. "Indeed they can, Teapo. Just give me the word and Alessa will bring me the enchanted cards."
The green-cloaked figure seemed to nod, but since her cloak covered her head, I couldn't tell. The cape's clasp, glinting green in the moonlight, shone eerily.
"Well, then," Teapo said. "Let's see you prove that it's not all a bunch of rubbish, eh?"
I couldn't help myself. People do say I'm pretty nosy, but I couldn't help it when I cried out, "Don't listen, Teapo! Just ignore them! There's no truth in what they're saying!"
There was a sort of hush, and I fell back, embarrassed. I saw the indigo woman moving towards me, and the crowd parted so that she could see me.
"What did you say?" she asked calmly.
"I said," I replied hotly, "that there's no truth in such things. There's no higher power that would let you do this."
She smiled at me, surprising me even more. "I am Ianthe," she said, taking my hand in her own (her hands were colder than ice!). "Your name?"
"What does my name mean to you?" I asked her evenly.
"Oh, go'n, Leora," Teapo said. "Tell 'er wot you really think, eh?"
I pursed my lips, willing myself not to yell at her for answering the very question.
"Leora, then," Ianthe said to me. "If you protest our reading of your Dove friend Teapo, perhaps you would allow us to look at your cards instead. That way, you would see that what we say is true, and then Teapo could have her reading."
I shook my head. "I've got to go, my apprentice is ill-"
"Then let's read your cards and then we'll give you some medicine for your apprentice."
"I've already got-"I protested.
"Come now, Leora," she said. Something about her voice made me relent and obey. I walked into the circle, looking about and glaring at all the citizens giving me questionable glances. I flopped down on the ground, and Alessa, the woman in green, brought over a small wooden box. Ianthe accepted it, and opened it.
"There are thirty-six cards in our deck," she said. "I deal out nine of them and they shall tell me all about you." She began to shuffle the cards. "You must realize," she said, "that I do not choose the cards. They shall choose you."
"Just get on with it," I told her. "My apprentice has a fever."
"Dione," Ianthe said. One of the harpies stood at attention. "Bring some medicine while I read Leora's cards."
I did not believe in this for one second. I'd seen the cards before, but there was no way these people had the means of reading them. Only the highest positions in the Churches of Mana had such power. It was not commonly practiced anymore, however, for people had decided it was best not to know their future.
"There are eight spirit cards," Ianthe was explaining. "seven deadly sins, six lands, five jewels, four seasons, three angels, two orbs-night and day-and then there is the Mandala card. Rarely does one find that card in her reading."
"Lovely," I said dryly.
Ianthe dealt out nine cards face down in a row. Her snake-like eyes met mine and I suppressed a shiver. I could not let her know that I felt afraid of her and what she was doing.
Calmly, she flipped over the first card.
"You have the ocean, here," she said. "Your horizons are far and wide." She flipped the next card. "And here is summer. You're in your prime. You're a great warrior."
I try to be modest, but honestly, you can tell that much by looking at me. I keep in shape.
The next card was the lake and then the mountain-I thought things through before I did anything and would go to great heights to achieve-but the next two cards brought me around.
She flipped two of the jewel cards, and they came up as Lapis Lazuli and Pearl.
Those cards hit home. I had not seen my Jumi friends for awhile, but I still thought of Elazul and Pearl constantly. We'd had a great adventure, though it had been filled with peril and sadness most of the way. I have recorded that time as well, if you, dear reader, are interested.
"Lapis and Pearl," murmured Ianthe. "Yes, I see… you truly might be…"
Her voice had grown different; softer. I shuddered, not wanting to know what was going through her mind.
"Look," I said, standing up, "I have to go. I've had enough."
Ianthe blinked. "If you cannot believe, I cannot make you. May the Underworld have mercy on you when you have expired."
I rolled my eyes. The harpy who had been called for medicine stepped out of the band's carriage holding a bag. Alessa, the woman who'd brought the cards, took the bag from her.
I saw her slip something else in there. My eyes are some of the sharpest around. I accepted the present politely, then stomped away, refusing to look at those last two cards. Sure, I was acting brave, but actually, I was terrified. If the cards were correct about me, I didn't want to see the rest. On the way home, I managed to convince myself that the cards could be correct while Ianthe was a fraud. Talking about a higher deity, and a male one at that. We all know of the Mana Goddess, as she has been known to show herself to certain individuals, and almost everyone can use the magic through her mana spirits.
When I had almost reached home, the woman Alessa came back into my mind. She seemed nothing but a green cloak and a purple cape clasp.
Purple? Wait a minute, I had seen it green, and clearly. I had great faith in my memories, and I was sure. Oh, well, perhaps her cape clasp had been made of Alexandrite. I had experience with that gem.
I would have dived deeper into these thoughts, but thoughts of Lisa reminded me to run the rest of the way home.
She and Bud were snoozing by the fireplace. I woke Bud, sent him to bed, then carried Lisa to her own bed. She stirred in my arms and awoke.
"You're back," she muttered, and coughed.
"Yes," I said. "Here." I took the medicine out of the bag, and got her cup from the bedside table. Pouring a splash of the fever reducer into it, I told her to drink it.
Lisa obeyed and choked it down. It couldn't have tasted very good. "It's cold," she said, shivering.
"I know," I replied, "but it'll help your fever. Now take this." I poured a splash of the other medicine into her cup, and she downed that obediently.
"Weird," she said, after finishing.
"I know," I said. "Now lie down."
I piled blankets on Lisa. Once she was asleep, I retreated to my own bedroom. I undressed, took the pipes out of my hair, and sat down on the bed. Only then did I remember the bag with the second medicine in it. I ran downstairs to get it.
I opened the bag on my bed, and pulled out the bottle. It was strange in shape, with a twisted neck. The glass was a dark jade, and the bottle was corked. I undid this and took a smell of the medicine.
I staggered backwards and nearly spilled the contents upon my bed. It was so strong that my nose was tingling with sharp pain. Once I recovered, I replaced the cork and put the medicine back into the bag. My fingers brushed against something else in there, and I pulled it out.
The shock from what I found was almost as bad as it had been from the medicine.
All it was, really, was a piece of stationery, containing a hastily scrawled message: "This is not medicine, it is a hallucinogen."
It wasn't the message that shocked me; I didn't trust Ianthe and her crowd to begin with. No, it was the stationery that bothered me. I'd seen it before many times.
The first time I'd seen it, I had been in the Tower of Leires with Pearl, my Jumi friend. Just as we were about to leave that horrible place (don't argue differently, it's full of vampires!) a note had dropped down from the ceiling.
When I had been in Geo, protecting a Jumi as my own guardian, a note had come for her, too. Every note had been exactly the same. Beige parchment stationery, with a deep copper gild border, and a death threat.
The note I had just received was definitely not a death threat, but the last one I'd seen hadn't been either, it had read "Take care of Florina for me."
That cape clasp hadn't been a clasp at all-it had been a Jumi core.
Alessa was Alexandra, alias Sandra the jewel hunter. I knew that she was alive, but I never thought that I'd see her again.
Evidently, though, I had.
And she was warning me.
=======================
questions, comments? Review or mail me (manaangel@mana-berries.net)
Hoping that the song was finished, I crept along the edges of the crowd, hoping to get into the apothecary. I honestly couldn't waste my time here; Lisa was at home and ill, needing medicine.
I was nearly there when the woman began to speak. Her voice surprised me; she sang so high but her speaking voice was low and husky, and she had an accent I couldn't place.
"My friends, citizens of Domina," she began. "All of you should give thanks that we were told to come to you. We have been chosen by a higher power who exists on a plane above our own…he is too pure for this world. Each of us has been bestowed the supreme knowledge of our universe; we know the past, present, and future as one. If you wish, we can read your fortune in the cards. If you wish, we can make you more desirable a creature. If you wish, we can save the life of a loved one on the brink of death."
Murmurs ran throughout the crowd. I froze, but when I heard voices muttering that it was all an act, I relaxed and crept back around and finally made it to the apothecary.
The place was completely empty, save for the shopkeeper, who was dozing. I rang the little bell near the door and he awoke with a start. The little old man adjusted his glasses, embarrassed, and asked me "What can I do for you?"
"Lisa, my elf apprentice, has got a horrible fever and chills," I explained. "She's also been coughing up a storm."
"Yes, yes," the shopkeeper said. "It's been going around. I've seen a couple of other cases this week. You'll want this-" he took down a corked flask of a bubbling green liquid-"for the cough. It'll clear her throat and sinuses. This," he continued, putting down a thin bottle of clear fluid, "will bring down her fever. Be careful with the dosage. That medicine's enchanted, and an overdose will just worsen the chills."
"Enchanted with Undine, huh?" I marveled, studying the bottles. Evidently, medicine had advanced since I'd needed any. I rarely get sick.
"Indeed," the man said, nodding. I paid him 200 Luc and he placed the items into a bag. "I thank you for your business. Those women out there have been spreading rumors about me. If Reverend Nouvelle were here, he'd put a stop to it, but…" he trailed off, and sighed.
I nodded. "I understand. I'm sure they won't ruin you," I assured him. "Not everyone is stupid enough to believe that sort of thing."
I left the apothecary in a much better mood, and was prepared to sneak back around the crowd, when I saw a familiar figure in the middle of the circle.
Teapo, the Dove, was situated on the ground across from the strange woman, and was engaged in a conversation with her.
"You mean to tell me," Teapo was saying, "that these 'ere cards can tell you everything about me, wot?"
The woman nodded. "Indeed they can, Teapo. Just give me the word and Alessa will bring me the enchanted cards."
The green-cloaked figure seemed to nod, but since her cloak covered her head, I couldn't tell. The cape's clasp, glinting green in the moonlight, shone eerily.
"Well, then," Teapo said. "Let's see you prove that it's not all a bunch of rubbish, eh?"
I couldn't help myself. People do say I'm pretty nosy, but I couldn't help it when I cried out, "Don't listen, Teapo! Just ignore them! There's no truth in what they're saying!"
There was a sort of hush, and I fell back, embarrassed. I saw the indigo woman moving towards me, and the crowd parted so that she could see me.
"What did you say?" she asked calmly.
"I said," I replied hotly, "that there's no truth in such things. There's no higher power that would let you do this."
She smiled at me, surprising me even more. "I am Ianthe," she said, taking my hand in her own (her hands were colder than ice!). "Your name?"
"What does my name mean to you?" I asked her evenly.
"Oh, go'n, Leora," Teapo said. "Tell 'er wot you really think, eh?"
I pursed my lips, willing myself not to yell at her for answering the very question.
"Leora, then," Ianthe said to me. "If you protest our reading of your Dove friend Teapo, perhaps you would allow us to look at your cards instead. That way, you would see that what we say is true, and then Teapo could have her reading."
I shook my head. "I've got to go, my apprentice is ill-"
"Then let's read your cards and then we'll give you some medicine for your apprentice."
"I've already got-"I protested.
"Come now, Leora," she said. Something about her voice made me relent and obey. I walked into the circle, looking about and glaring at all the citizens giving me questionable glances. I flopped down on the ground, and Alessa, the woman in green, brought over a small wooden box. Ianthe accepted it, and opened it.
"There are thirty-six cards in our deck," she said. "I deal out nine of them and they shall tell me all about you." She began to shuffle the cards. "You must realize," she said, "that I do not choose the cards. They shall choose you."
"Just get on with it," I told her. "My apprentice has a fever."
"Dione," Ianthe said. One of the harpies stood at attention. "Bring some medicine while I read Leora's cards."
I did not believe in this for one second. I'd seen the cards before, but there was no way these people had the means of reading them. Only the highest positions in the Churches of Mana had such power. It was not commonly practiced anymore, however, for people had decided it was best not to know their future.
"There are eight spirit cards," Ianthe was explaining. "seven deadly sins, six lands, five jewels, four seasons, three angels, two orbs-night and day-and then there is the Mandala card. Rarely does one find that card in her reading."
"Lovely," I said dryly.
Ianthe dealt out nine cards face down in a row. Her snake-like eyes met mine and I suppressed a shiver. I could not let her know that I felt afraid of her and what she was doing.
Calmly, she flipped over the first card.
"You have the ocean, here," she said. "Your horizons are far and wide." She flipped the next card. "And here is summer. You're in your prime. You're a great warrior."
I try to be modest, but honestly, you can tell that much by looking at me. I keep in shape.
The next card was the lake and then the mountain-I thought things through before I did anything and would go to great heights to achieve-but the next two cards brought me around.
She flipped two of the jewel cards, and they came up as Lapis Lazuli and Pearl.
Those cards hit home. I had not seen my Jumi friends for awhile, but I still thought of Elazul and Pearl constantly. We'd had a great adventure, though it had been filled with peril and sadness most of the way. I have recorded that time as well, if you, dear reader, are interested.
"Lapis and Pearl," murmured Ianthe. "Yes, I see… you truly might be…"
Her voice had grown different; softer. I shuddered, not wanting to know what was going through her mind.
"Look," I said, standing up, "I have to go. I've had enough."
Ianthe blinked. "If you cannot believe, I cannot make you. May the Underworld have mercy on you when you have expired."
I rolled my eyes. The harpy who had been called for medicine stepped out of the band's carriage holding a bag. Alessa, the woman who'd brought the cards, took the bag from her.
I saw her slip something else in there. My eyes are some of the sharpest around. I accepted the present politely, then stomped away, refusing to look at those last two cards. Sure, I was acting brave, but actually, I was terrified. If the cards were correct about me, I didn't want to see the rest. On the way home, I managed to convince myself that the cards could be correct while Ianthe was a fraud. Talking about a higher deity, and a male one at that. We all know of the Mana Goddess, as she has been known to show herself to certain individuals, and almost everyone can use the magic through her mana spirits.
When I had almost reached home, the woman Alessa came back into my mind. She seemed nothing but a green cloak and a purple cape clasp.
Purple? Wait a minute, I had seen it green, and clearly. I had great faith in my memories, and I was sure. Oh, well, perhaps her cape clasp had been made of Alexandrite. I had experience with that gem.
I would have dived deeper into these thoughts, but thoughts of Lisa reminded me to run the rest of the way home.
She and Bud were snoozing by the fireplace. I woke Bud, sent him to bed, then carried Lisa to her own bed. She stirred in my arms and awoke.
"You're back," she muttered, and coughed.
"Yes," I said. "Here." I took the medicine out of the bag, and got her cup from the bedside table. Pouring a splash of the fever reducer into it, I told her to drink it.
Lisa obeyed and choked it down. It couldn't have tasted very good. "It's cold," she said, shivering.
"I know," I replied, "but it'll help your fever. Now take this." I poured a splash of the other medicine into her cup, and she downed that obediently.
"Weird," she said, after finishing.
"I know," I said. "Now lie down."
I piled blankets on Lisa. Once she was asleep, I retreated to my own bedroom. I undressed, took the pipes out of my hair, and sat down on the bed. Only then did I remember the bag with the second medicine in it. I ran downstairs to get it.
I opened the bag on my bed, and pulled out the bottle. It was strange in shape, with a twisted neck. The glass was a dark jade, and the bottle was corked. I undid this and took a smell of the medicine.
I staggered backwards and nearly spilled the contents upon my bed. It was so strong that my nose was tingling with sharp pain. Once I recovered, I replaced the cork and put the medicine back into the bag. My fingers brushed against something else in there, and I pulled it out.
The shock from what I found was almost as bad as it had been from the medicine.
All it was, really, was a piece of stationery, containing a hastily scrawled message: "This is not medicine, it is a hallucinogen."
It wasn't the message that shocked me; I didn't trust Ianthe and her crowd to begin with. No, it was the stationery that bothered me. I'd seen it before many times.
The first time I'd seen it, I had been in the Tower of Leires with Pearl, my Jumi friend. Just as we were about to leave that horrible place (don't argue differently, it's full of vampires!) a note had dropped down from the ceiling.
When I had been in Geo, protecting a Jumi as my own guardian, a note had come for her, too. Every note had been exactly the same. Beige parchment stationery, with a deep copper gild border, and a death threat.
The note I had just received was definitely not a death threat, but the last one I'd seen hadn't been either, it had read "Take care of Florina for me."
That cape clasp hadn't been a clasp at all-it had been a Jumi core.
Alessa was Alexandra, alias Sandra the jewel hunter. I knew that she was alive, but I never thought that I'd see her again.
Evidently, though, I had.
And she was warning me.
=======================
questions, comments? Review or mail me (manaangel@mana-berries.net)