"So, Felix, what do you plan on doing today, big brother?" Jenna asked him
in the early morning. There were now only three days remaining before
Christmas's arrival.
"I plan on going out to buy my secret Santa his gift." Felix stated, tying his flowing green scarf tightly around his neck. "Hopefully, I'll be back before lunch."
"You said he. Who is it, Felix?"
"Promise you won't tell anyone, Jenna."
"I swear it, Felix." Jenna said, holding her hand up as though she were swearing on a holy object.
"Ivan."
"Jeez, I thought you had Garet or Isaac. Don't get me going like that, Felix. Well, at least he will be easy enough to buy for, right?"
"Yeah, I was planning on getting him a book of some kind. The kid always did enjoy a good read."
"Whether it was books or minds. . ." Jenna smiled. Felix chuckled lightly; something he didn't do very often. "My, Felix, were you just laughing? I swear, it looks like the holiday spirit is infesting everyone this year." Felix laughed heartily after Jenna finished her statement, and he gave his younger sister a hug.
"So I've been infested. Let it be known that I admit it." Felix said, releasing her. "Well, I'd best be off. I'll see you later, Jenna." The Venus Adept stated, leaving his little sister back at the inn. He stepped out into the cloudy day and the snow crunched beneath his feet. People remained bustling everywhere through the fair port city as Felix shuffled through the streets, shielding his face from the cold north wind. The cold was biting today and it reminded him of the weather of the northern mountains the village of Imil was nestled in. That was weather he didn't hate, but weather he could live without. He squinted through his hand as he tried to look for the bookstore they had passed on the way to the inn. After walking halfway back to the wharf, Felix finally spotted the shop and walked inside quickly.
The shop was scarcely lit, but Felix could see walls upon walls upon shelves of literature and writings. Felix began to look through the store for any signs of people who operated the shop, and found the counter in the back of the store. An older fellow sat behind the desk, enraptured by a rather large novel. Felix stood before him and cleared his throat softly.
"Oh, may I help you, sir?"
"Yes. What do you have that an educated reader might enjoy?"
"Lacerated pleader?! What do you mean by that?" The man replied. Felix's expression changed to confusion for a moment before he tried again.
"I'm looking for a book that a friend of mine would enjoy."
"A Chinook for a fiend of wine? I'm afraid you're not making any sense, boy."
"Are you hard of hearing, good sir?" Felix asked politely.
"What's that about lard and leering?"
"No, sir. I said 'hard of hearing', not lard and leering."
"A card and keening?" Felix slapped himself in the face in frustration and sighed. He was trying not to lose his temper, but not being understood when he was clearly speaking was one of his pet peeves.
"Alright. . . let's try this again. Hello, I'm looking for a good book."
"A lewd cook?! What are you talking about, kid?!" Felix grumbled, struggling to fight his urge to throttle the guy. "Oh, I'm sorry!" The man stated, pulling two wads of cotton out of his ears. "Sorry. I had a terrible migraine earlier, and I guess I forgot to remove my earplugs. I'm very sorry. Please accept my apologies, sir." Felix's anger quickly drained, realizing the situation. His own mother had suffered migraines many times in his childhood, and they always struck her bedridden. Those massive headaches were no laughing matter.
"It's okay. I'm just looking for a book an educated person might enjoy. A thinking person's book."
"Oh, we have plenty of that kind of thing around here. Come along now." The man said, standing up and walking over to Felix. "Now, what kind of reading does this person enjoy?"
"Just about anything, really."
"His he a math or English nut?"
"English, I think."
"Historical or Scientific way of thinking?"
"Historical."
"Ah, so he's the perfect fiction type. Now, let me see. . . is he a pacifist or his he somewhat aggressive?"
"Both."
"Both?! Oh well. . . Is he a wise or impulsive person?"
"Wise. Definitely wise."
"Then I think I have the perfect book for who you need." The shopkeeper said, directing Felix to a bookcase in the fiction section. "This book I'm thinking of has several tales of mystery and suspense. Sounds like what this person would like, correct?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"It's called 'Dark Requiem'. A very good read, mind you. It's among the most difficult stories to read, but it's an excellent choice. The plot is fantastic and characterization is incredible; it's like the author was born to write it."
"Who's the author?"
"Actually, no one really knows. The author chose to remain anonymous."
"Sounds like Ivan's perfect match." Felix stated. "I'll take it."
****************************
As Felix walked out of the bookstore with two new books, one for Ivan, and one for himself, he caught glimpse of Dargon heading into the same store. He turned and tapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Yikes!" Dargon shouted out of surprise. He spun on his heels and met the face of Felix. "Damn it, man! Don't do that!"
"Sorry. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for a present for Triad."
"Triad? What were you thinking of?"
"My first inclination was to get him a life." Felix burst out laughing and slapped his knee. "No, seriously!"
"Well, what was your second thought, Dargon?
"I knew how much the guy loved books, so I thought it would be a good idea to get him one. Hey, who are those books for?"
"Well, this one is for Ivan." He replied, showing the book to Dargon. "And I got the other one for myself. It looked particularly interesting. So, what were you thinking of for Triad?"
"I was thinking of a fictional book. . . something to get him to shut up for awhile."
"Dargon, you know damn well Triad won't shut up if he gets a book; besides, he spends most of his time working on that flying machine of his! We hardly even see him on a normal day!"
"Well, yeah. . . maybe we can coax him out from under that tarp and out in the open with something. You know come to think of it, he's been like a recluse since we left Tolbi a few weeks ago. What's up with that kid, anyway?"
"I'm not sure. Let's just find him a gift and get out of this cold." Felix stated.
"What?! You call this cold?! We call this a heat wave in Imil!"
"I was afraid of that." Felix stated, walking back into the bookstore. Dargon chuckled and followed him back inside. Felix and Dargon began browsing through the shelves quickly, but Dargon rejected one book after another for Triad. Too idiotic, too romantic, too intelligent, too booky, too periodical. you name it.
"Okay, how about this one?!" Felix exclaimed, going to the last book in the section. "It's the last one. It's called 'Paladin's Heart'. How about that?! It's the last one and it sounds like the corniest of the bunch!"
"Actually, that sounds like a good one. Triad has some weird tastes; sound's like something he'd read."
"Or write. . ." Felix muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Felix?"
"Nothing, forget it." Felix stated. "Just pay for the stupid book and let's get out of here."
"Hey, I think I found something else he might like!" Dargon stated, walking over to the nonfiction section. "He's nuts about that physics crap; so why not get him a new physics book?"
"Sure, why not?" Felix sighed, shrugging his shoulders, holding the other book in his hand. He sighed again, waiting for Dargon to finish looking for the last present for Triad. He eventually produced a large blue book, and he went to pay for both books. Felix walked outside and waited impatiently for Dargon to come back out of the store. The Venus Adept gazed up at the sky and sighed; the sun was setting. So much for being back at the inn before lunch.
"I plan on going out to buy my secret Santa his gift." Felix stated, tying his flowing green scarf tightly around his neck. "Hopefully, I'll be back before lunch."
"You said he. Who is it, Felix?"
"Promise you won't tell anyone, Jenna."
"I swear it, Felix." Jenna said, holding her hand up as though she were swearing on a holy object.
"Ivan."
"Jeez, I thought you had Garet or Isaac. Don't get me going like that, Felix. Well, at least he will be easy enough to buy for, right?"
"Yeah, I was planning on getting him a book of some kind. The kid always did enjoy a good read."
"Whether it was books or minds. . ." Jenna smiled. Felix chuckled lightly; something he didn't do very often. "My, Felix, were you just laughing? I swear, it looks like the holiday spirit is infesting everyone this year." Felix laughed heartily after Jenna finished her statement, and he gave his younger sister a hug.
"So I've been infested. Let it be known that I admit it." Felix said, releasing her. "Well, I'd best be off. I'll see you later, Jenna." The Venus Adept stated, leaving his little sister back at the inn. He stepped out into the cloudy day and the snow crunched beneath his feet. People remained bustling everywhere through the fair port city as Felix shuffled through the streets, shielding his face from the cold north wind. The cold was biting today and it reminded him of the weather of the northern mountains the village of Imil was nestled in. That was weather he didn't hate, but weather he could live without. He squinted through his hand as he tried to look for the bookstore they had passed on the way to the inn. After walking halfway back to the wharf, Felix finally spotted the shop and walked inside quickly.
The shop was scarcely lit, but Felix could see walls upon walls upon shelves of literature and writings. Felix began to look through the store for any signs of people who operated the shop, and found the counter in the back of the store. An older fellow sat behind the desk, enraptured by a rather large novel. Felix stood before him and cleared his throat softly.
"Oh, may I help you, sir?"
"Yes. What do you have that an educated reader might enjoy?"
"Lacerated pleader?! What do you mean by that?" The man replied. Felix's expression changed to confusion for a moment before he tried again.
"I'm looking for a book that a friend of mine would enjoy."
"A Chinook for a fiend of wine? I'm afraid you're not making any sense, boy."
"Are you hard of hearing, good sir?" Felix asked politely.
"What's that about lard and leering?"
"No, sir. I said 'hard of hearing', not lard and leering."
"A card and keening?" Felix slapped himself in the face in frustration and sighed. He was trying not to lose his temper, but not being understood when he was clearly speaking was one of his pet peeves.
"Alright. . . let's try this again. Hello, I'm looking for a good book."
"A lewd cook?! What are you talking about, kid?!" Felix grumbled, struggling to fight his urge to throttle the guy. "Oh, I'm sorry!" The man stated, pulling two wads of cotton out of his ears. "Sorry. I had a terrible migraine earlier, and I guess I forgot to remove my earplugs. I'm very sorry. Please accept my apologies, sir." Felix's anger quickly drained, realizing the situation. His own mother had suffered migraines many times in his childhood, and they always struck her bedridden. Those massive headaches were no laughing matter.
"It's okay. I'm just looking for a book an educated person might enjoy. A thinking person's book."
"Oh, we have plenty of that kind of thing around here. Come along now." The man said, standing up and walking over to Felix. "Now, what kind of reading does this person enjoy?"
"Just about anything, really."
"His he a math or English nut?"
"English, I think."
"Historical or Scientific way of thinking?"
"Historical."
"Ah, so he's the perfect fiction type. Now, let me see. . . is he a pacifist or his he somewhat aggressive?"
"Both."
"Both?! Oh well. . . Is he a wise or impulsive person?"
"Wise. Definitely wise."
"Then I think I have the perfect book for who you need." The shopkeeper said, directing Felix to a bookcase in the fiction section. "This book I'm thinking of has several tales of mystery and suspense. Sounds like what this person would like, correct?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"It's called 'Dark Requiem'. A very good read, mind you. It's among the most difficult stories to read, but it's an excellent choice. The plot is fantastic and characterization is incredible; it's like the author was born to write it."
"Who's the author?"
"Actually, no one really knows. The author chose to remain anonymous."
"Sounds like Ivan's perfect match." Felix stated. "I'll take it."
****************************
As Felix walked out of the bookstore with two new books, one for Ivan, and one for himself, he caught glimpse of Dargon heading into the same store. He turned and tapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Yikes!" Dargon shouted out of surprise. He spun on his heels and met the face of Felix. "Damn it, man! Don't do that!"
"Sorry. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for a present for Triad."
"Triad? What were you thinking of?"
"My first inclination was to get him a life." Felix burst out laughing and slapped his knee. "No, seriously!"
"Well, what was your second thought, Dargon?
"I knew how much the guy loved books, so I thought it would be a good idea to get him one. Hey, who are those books for?"
"Well, this one is for Ivan." He replied, showing the book to Dargon. "And I got the other one for myself. It looked particularly interesting. So, what were you thinking of for Triad?"
"I was thinking of a fictional book. . . something to get him to shut up for awhile."
"Dargon, you know damn well Triad won't shut up if he gets a book; besides, he spends most of his time working on that flying machine of his! We hardly even see him on a normal day!"
"Well, yeah. . . maybe we can coax him out from under that tarp and out in the open with something. You know come to think of it, he's been like a recluse since we left Tolbi a few weeks ago. What's up with that kid, anyway?"
"I'm not sure. Let's just find him a gift and get out of this cold." Felix stated.
"What?! You call this cold?! We call this a heat wave in Imil!"
"I was afraid of that." Felix stated, walking back into the bookstore. Dargon chuckled and followed him back inside. Felix and Dargon began browsing through the shelves quickly, but Dargon rejected one book after another for Triad. Too idiotic, too romantic, too intelligent, too booky, too periodical. you name it.
"Okay, how about this one?!" Felix exclaimed, going to the last book in the section. "It's the last one. It's called 'Paladin's Heart'. How about that?! It's the last one and it sounds like the corniest of the bunch!"
"Actually, that sounds like a good one. Triad has some weird tastes; sound's like something he'd read."
"Or write. . ." Felix muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Felix?"
"Nothing, forget it." Felix stated. "Just pay for the stupid book and let's get out of here."
"Hey, I think I found something else he might like!" Dargon stated, walking over to the nonfiction section. "He's nuts about that physics crap; so why not get him a new physics book?"
"Sure, why not?" Felix sighed, shrugging his shoulders, holding the other book in his hand. He sighed again, waiting for Dargon to finish looking for the last present for Triad. He eventually produced a large blue book, and he went to pay for both books. Felix walked outside and waited impatiently for Dargon to come back out of the store. The Venus Adept gazed up at the sky and sighed; the sun was setting. So much for being back at the inn before lunch.