Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, elements, or borrowed plot ideas from any source I acquire them from, specifically KingsIsle. I merely own any original characters I create.
"Blah" = talking
"Blah" = thoughts, writing, sound effects, or flashbacks
"BLAH"= Yelling
Sleep never came easily for Tala Mythhammer.
He didn't much understand it himself, really. There wasn't much cause to prevent him from it. Nothing horrendous or stressful, to his knowledge, had ever really happened to him. No tragic deaths, no bouts of inferiority or self-pity. When he'd lie down for the night, his eyes simply would not find good reason to close. His mind was continually running, all the time. Events that happened at school, all this Exseed business. At this time, in the twilight hours of the morning, he would analyze and pick apart anything and everything, and fatigue could never find enough sway to overtake his body.
He pushed the blankets and overlapping sheets covering him down to his waist to allow the cold air of the room to touch his skin. Then, his head lazily rolled to the side, eyes finding the magical analog clock on his brick wall, which read 5:46 a.m. School would start in a little bit over an hour, where he'd go through the usual routine of classes, lunch, more classes and finally home to finish of the day, hopefully getting some sleep in between his usual bouts of restlessness.
Just a normal day, he mused, attempting to sit up in his bed but not finding the strength to finish. As he had given up, though, a soft rapping beat out upon his bedroom door. Well, soft wasn't the operative word. Rather, it was soft compared to what he was used to, a knock that forged cracks and rattled hinges to ruin, and the deep near booming voice that always followed.
"Wake up, Tala. I picked up breakfast on my way back this morning."
The voice left as quickly as it had came, and the boy's body tapped into a well of strength it hadn't known was there, overflowing from the promise of a hearty meal to start the day.
EXSEED
Eighth Pip: The Golden Watcher
The rhythmic ticks of the clock on the far wall resounded throughout the classroom at intervals, enhanced in part due to the relative silence that had fallen over all its occupants. Just beneath the pervading noise, the scribbling of quill pens filed into the background, a mere forethought in each of the Runewarden freshmen class students. Each one was much too focused on the test before them, along with the dangerous ramifications of performing poorly on it.
"Alright, let's see…question thirty…" Victoria Flaresong wondered inwardly as she raised her test copy to get a closer look. She was one of the few who was not worried. She'd studied, reviewed, and studied again, and she understood like no one else that worrying during the test was prone to bring mistakes. "The enlightened prophet who has become the cornerstone of Mooshu's faith and practice…easy. Moodha."
With a satisfied sigh and smile, she leaned back, setting the paper face down on her rough wooden desk and her quill pen in the small vial of ink at the top right corner. As she did so, Cyrus Drake, positioned behind his desk at the head of the classroom, looked up from his stack of notes and papers to identify the source of the small noise. He gave her a huff and upturned lip, then returned to his work. She rolled her eyes, but took no offense from the action, having long since learned that was the Professor's signature, if not only, method of recognizing someone.
From there, her eyes wandered to the clock, taking note of the ample time she had left before the test's time limit. Deciding she had nothing else to do, she leaned forward and propped her elbows onto the desk, surveying the room out of a weak curiosity.
To her right sat Fate, curiously eying the paper and making admittedly amusing faces as he attempted to decipher the correct answers. Victoria couldn't help but stifle a pleasant sigh, knowing he was sincerely trying to recall everything they'd covered in preparation over the last two weeks since the synthesis. It was a lot of material to catch up on, and Cyrus hadn't been the most understanding, aware as he was of the circumstances.
Ahead of her lay the back of Blain Seastrider, showing the usual signs of stress and aggravation during test time. He was a particularly 'wild child' from what classes she's had with him, holding more to the common freshmen philosophy that action spoke louder than a test ever could. Of course, he still managed to get by, and in the gym and combat training he was quite possibly second to none. His skin was tan, but no overbearingly so, and his eyes always held some feral, bestial quality she couldn't quite pick out. His black hair was as much a mess as Tala's and fell down his face just past his ears instead of taking the spiky approach of the latter's.
The shuffling of the boy in question's robes brought her attention left, to see Tala leaning back in his chair and eyes gazing into the ceiling. His paper lay turned over just like hers, and she wondered just when he had finished it. It seemed like he'd been lying there for a while now. Now that she began to think about him, she realized how little she actually knew. He was almost a complete mystery to her, save for the adventures with Fate and not even counting that odd eye-shaped tattoo on his forehead.
"Alright, quill pens down." Cyrus Drake's sudden voice served to snap Victoria out of her musings as well as elicit several groans from those who had only a few more questions left to answer. The man stood from his desk chair, casting a glance at a piece of chalk in the chalkboard tray while moving towards the students. Each student held his or her paper in the air, and the man collected them as he traveled down the rows, speaking all the while. "I trust most of you failed to prepare suitably for the test, so I'm not expecting much. Now, we haven't much time before the bell, so listen closely."
The chalk from before began to move on its own, forming symbols and letters as the Professor continued to talk.
"The Headmaster has decided to task me with providing more group assignments for students. Something about encouraging teamwork and its ilk." As Victoria watched the chalk, it began to pen a concise outline of what Cyrus was saying. "After a fair amount of deliberation, I have decided to give you a group project." Numerous groans, more than from the end of the test, sounded, and the man promptly ignored them. "You will form groups of three and travel to the major neighborhood of your choosing. From there, compile historical and cultural information and create a presentation to show to the class. Visuals and native trinkets are encouraged. Use the rest of the class to figure out what you need to. Everyone will present this Friday."
He grabbed the last of the test copies and returned to his desk. Whispers sprung up all around the classroom, ranging from which neighborhood to choose to who would be best in what group. The bell's chimes rang out amidst all the commotion, and all the students rose to their feet, but few left the classroom immediately, instead choosing to confirm their groups.
Victoria scanned around to check out the groups that had already formed. Blain Seastrider had already approached Duncan Grimwater, followed a few seconds later by a peppy Sabrina Greenstar who seemed oblivious to the two boy's quirked eyebrows. The blonde herself admitted the trio was a strange sight: a ditz, a relative recluse, and a ball of energy. Everyone else looked to be taken though.
Anna Flamewright and Susie Gryphonbane had already congregated around Mindi Pixiecrown's desk, the three girls equally excited to have formed a group with people they already knew. It took Victoria a moment to realize that they'd actually have a distinct advantage. Mindi's home neighborhood is Colossus Boulevard, so she's guaranteed to know everything the girls will need.
At that revelation, something within her mind clicked, and her head immediately shot Tala's way, who was gathering his burlap sack of a backpack. "Hey Tala, who were you thinking of for a group?"
The boy looked up, subtly startled by her suddenness but not showing it. A small pause ensued while Fate came up to stand near Victoria, before finally he shrugged his shoulders. "You and Fate I guess. I didn't really have anyone particular in mind. Why? Do you have an idea or something?"
"Don't you live on Cyclops Lane?"
"Well, sort of…" His eyes widened as he figured out her reasoning, and the girl could have sworn she saw a bit of hesitation in them. "I do know the culture there, but wouldn't you guys rather do another neighborhood?" Victoria and Fate glanced at each other for a moment, then looked back at the boy, perplexed. Tala nervously stretched, looking away. "I mean I guess we can do it. I was just making sure."
"I'd rather just do Cyclops Lane, but if you're not okay with it we can—"
"No, no." His voice instantly erased all the previous uncertainty it carried. "We can do it. It's fine." He finished hoisting his backpack and set out towards the door, followed by a few miscellaneous students who'd already accomplished what was needed. "I have a late class today, so I'll meet you guys at the front gate at six."
Victoria and Fate stood there for a few more seconds, even as the rest of the groups followed Tala's lead to head towards their next class. Finally, Fate stepped up and turned to face Victoria. "Is Tala alright?"
Victoria didn't answer him at first, simply staring at the open door for a moment. A twinge of worry crossed her face as the strap of her messenger bag found its way onto her shoulder, and to nobody in particular, she whispered while walking towards the exit as well. "I hope so."
—o—o—o—
It was with a sigh of relief that the final bell sounded for the day, Tala haphazardly scooting his books and materials across the desk surface to the unwound backpack below. He blinked furiously as he made his way out from the magical fluorescent light of the general studies' corridors and into the fading sunlight of approaching evening, the contrast between the two bringing about a few seconds of adjustment. As they did, his gaze took in the milling crowds of students, some fellow freshmen he knew or had otherwise seen in passing, others second and third years robed in the finest of colored silks and tapestries reserved for highest of titles or the fattest of wallets.
With a chuckle at the thought, he began the long journey across campus and around the gargantuan girth of the grandfather tree towards the front gate, where a number of guards, wizards and soldiers alike, would be standing at attention, ready to inspect whichever suspicious persons traversed their paths. Tala did not so much mind the extra security detail, particularly since he was a part of the reason for it, but neverless couldn't shake the perturbed feeling as they quickly pawed through his bags for contraband. As always, he cleared inspection, returning a salute from two of the men not too weary to care for respect, and spied his quarry just at the end of the wide, two lane road connecting the school and the Commons.
As opposed to the morning, traffic along the entrance street and the Commons itself was rather sparse this late in the evening, allowing him to easily spot the familiar forms of Fate and Victoria standing at the far right out of every passerby's way. Both were not dressed up by any means, choosing a comfortable mix between casual clothes and sleepwear.
"Hey, sorry about the wait." Tala apologized affably, spewing out a relaxed huff as he came upon them.
"It wasn't too long." She responded, glad that he seemed more at ease than when she'd last seen him and hoping whatever it had been wouldn't return. "So I figured we could head to your house and come up with a plan, then tomorrow we can scout around the neighborhood for what we need."
Tala nodded his approval, and joined the duo in a stroll down through the Commons. Street lamps slowly began to flicker on as the three easily navigated the stone-paved walkways, crowds thinned after a hard day's work. Some still lingered, mostly swarthy construction workers tasked with completing a certain amount of work or spouses doing some last minute spending in the market for the night's meal, but most had discharged with the usual rush hour.
Soon, the trio slipped into the shopping district, the colorful tents and tapestries that lined roadside stalls removed and packed away for the night. Even with the lack of scent, the sight of the bread stall from a few weekends ago made Fate's stomach rumble from the lack of sustenance he'd received through the day, and his companions couldn't help but chuckle before resuming their conversation.
The quaint shops and boisterous department stores hidden behind the stalls of the shopping district slowly but surely gave way climbing stone towers and storehouses of Olde Town. Again, the vivacity of the liveliest port in all of Wizard City was devoid of its peak pedestrian saturation, replaced by the night stint of dock workers eager to begin and get the late night shift over with. Where the shopping district dealt with presentation and ambiance, here the prevailing theme was quantity and wholesale. Packs of food, staves, scrap iron, and any basic ingredients you could possibly think of rested in piles or in stacks of dusty boxes all around. Dozens of gargantuan wooden and iron ships, their forms more akin to a sea-faring vessel, hovered ponderously through the air or anchored themselves to stone piers hanging over the side of the bottomless void beneath the floating city. Here was where the imported tons of food and supplies need to keep Wizard City fed and armed rested, and Fate stopped more than once to marvel at the sheer amount of it all, against his friend's continued urging to move forwards.
As they talked and moved, the events from Cyrus's class kept resounding in Victoria's mind. Something had just seemed…off about how Tala had reacted to her suggestion. She just couldn't quite pinpoint the thought's source. Maybe she was just over thinking, but even the usually oblivious Fate had picked up the boy's distress. Even if she asked right now, though, she had a hunch Tala wasn't the kind to divulge personal information on a whim. Perhaps, as the trio came upon the gate and subsequent tunnel leading to Cyclops Lane, she would find her answer.
The guard on duty made a quick check of their forms and, seeing they had nothing to hide along with Tala's familiar face, allowed them easy access. The tunnel itself was dark, lit only by evenly spaced sconces unlike the glowing vines of the Unicorn Way entrance. Even this late in the day, as they drew upon the tunnel's exit, a particular smell assaulted their Victoria and Fate's senses, Tala immune from overexposure. Fate had no clue what it was, but Victoria gained a few viable suspects in a group of green skinned, tunic-donning trolls grunting and huffing past them. She made a mental note, as they stepped into the neighborhood proper, that she'd keep an eye out for any other offenders. And maybe take a bath when she got home.
Immediately, as their eyes adjusted from the dark tunnel, Victoria and Fate marveled at the grand architecture of the street. Grand statues lined every street corner, depicting hulking warriors posing with weapon or frozen in mid attack. Marble columns climbed from stone paved porches to support overhanging portions of the golden yellow roofs that sat atop most structures, mixing with the reddish tinge of the evening sunlight to bathe the street in an orange glow.
As if the name hadn't inferred enough, more than half of the pedestrian's they passed on the way to the interior bore the signature single eye of the Cyclops race. Some were contrary to the sparse views of them Fate had received in his trips with Victoria to the market place, perhaps a head or two taller than the boy himself and mostly clean shaven. He assumed these were not yet adults, as a group bearing backs as wide as chariots and arms thicker than small tree trunks moved passed them, the trio of humans not even reaching a third of their height.
This group caught Victoria's attention, not due to their hulking size, but the strange behavior they exhibited. They all seemed to cast passing glances at Tala, who went out of his way to avoid their gazes. Had her disbelief not stepped in, she could have sworn she heard one mutter something about trash under his breath. She looked back at them, their uproarious, mocking laughter serving to affirm her suspicion. Tala said nothing, continuing to walk silently ahead of them, sometimes pointing or changing directions, acting as if the incident hadn't happened. During the journey, Fate's eyes shifted subtly to Victoria, registering that he'd seen what had happened too, but neither could muster the nerve to question the boy about it, and the mood turn unnoticeably somber.
Eventually though, as they came upon a slightly dilapidated two story building along the street, Tala's head rose and his pace quickened in delight. By the time his two followers caught up to him, he was twisting the doorknob and easing the strangely tall, rough wooden door ajar with some considerable effort.
"Hey, I'm home." His voice carried through the short, narrow foyer into the adjacent living room, and the three stepped in. Victoria and Fate let their eyes roam around the high ceilinged space as Tala ushered them in. The best word to describe it was plain, though not in a negative sense. There certainly was a homely feel to it: a couple of picture frames here and there on wooden, hand-carved furniture pieces, the smell of some beef-like stew wafting in almost visible clouds from the kitchen in the next room, but Victoria could easily see the lack of creative design. Tables, chairs, everything seemed to be handmade, expertly crafted but seemingly fashioned out of nothing more than necessity.
"Ah, that's right. You had your night class." A gruff voice sounded from the kitchen, usurping a frothy noise exuding from the same direction. Victoria and Fate turned their attention to the entryway, and as the source came through, they understood the need of all the adjusted doors and ceilings. Another Cyclops, a few inches taller than the ones that sneered at Tala earlier, had to duck under the raised entryway just to enter the room. Miniscule wood shavings covered his coffee brown tunic of a shirt and clung to his Donegal beard. He pinched the handle of an iron ladle between his index finger and thumb, its head full of a meaty soup. His one eyebrow quirked, perplexed at the two extra bodies in the room. "And who might these two be?"
"Victoria and Fate." Tala responded evenly. "They're my friends."
"Friends…" His face was stoic, completely unreadable, and Victoria wondered why the air seemed to feel so tense all of a sudden. Then after a few moments, he shrugged his broad shoulders. "Well it's about time. I was wondering when you'd stop being so antisocial and make some." His response sounded so serious that Fate and Victoria couldn't help but chuckle under their breath, Tala merely rolling his eyes. The Cyclops turned to his two guests. "Any companion of Tala's is welcome in our home, any time. My name is Remus. To what do I owe this visit, though?"
"A class project. We're doing a presentation on Cyclops Lane." Victoria answered. Her smile faded as she spotted Remus sending Tala an inconspicuous but stern stare, Tala silently returning the favor.
The earlier tension returned, but quick words from Tala dissuaded it immediately. "We're going to my room. There's some books there we can probably use to start us off."
The Cyclops seemed appeased by the statement, giving the boy a soft nod while heading back into the kitchen, reminding them to come down for dinner in a half hour. The trio nodded in unison, Fate and Victoria voicing thanks, then they returned to the foyer, walking down the short remainder of its length to enter Tala's bedroom. It was much the same as the living room in scarcity: a desk for schoolwork, a bed, a wardrobe for clothes, a bookcase for reading materials he possessed or would need as he advanced in classes. The essentials, and nothing else.
The group inevitably took to the open space on his floor, Tala gathering some books while Victoria got out a notepad to pencil down ideas. The next fifteen minutes was filled with brainstorming, spouting whatever thoughts came to mind and forming it into an outline.
"So who is that Cyclops?" Fate queried, earning a sharp look from Victoria on his lack of tact. Tala held up a hand to calm her though, and continued thumbing through the book in his hands.
"That's my father." His eyes never left the pages, but he could easily feel their confused looks, and sighing, decided to elaborate. "Not biological. I was adopted." At that, the blonde female's face became soft, though Fate's remained perplexed, not sure what that even meant. Tala chuckled to lighten the mood. "No need to feel sorry. He's the one that's raised me since I was a toddler."
"Where's your real dad?" Victoria prodded with some reservation.
Tala shrugged nonchalantly. "No idea. It doesn't matter to me either way."
By this point, Fate's mind had pieced together enough of his friend's words to get a basic grasp of their discussion. "You don't want to go find him?"
"Not really." Tala replied. "I'm not angry or anything, I just don't have anything to say to him. Far as I'm concerned, Remus is all the parent I need. He took me in when none of the others would."
The room fell into a silence after that, the only sound the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the far wall. Each returned to his assigned role, Tala flipping through pages for information they could use to spice up their presentation, Victoria writing down lists of materials to reach a similar goal, and Fate going over his exercises for pip formation. Throughout this, Victoria's mind continued to wonder. There was definitely something Ty was leaving out, something that would connect everything together. The attitude of the Cyclops that had passed them earlier, Tala's own hesitance to do his street for the project, those strange glances she had witnessed between him and Remus.
Could it be that they just didn't like having a fellow Cyclops raise a human? She entertained the thought, but let it go no further. There really wasn't much racial tension between Cyclops's and humans to justify the idea. Before she could speculate any more, the bellowing call of Remus summoned them into the kitchen and around a dining table that easily accommodated the four of them. Being so small, Remus himself could not use the table, and so sat a couple feet away, using the large iron pot itself for his bowl after carefully pouring the teens a fair portion.
They ate in companionable silence for the first few minutes, the Cyclops imposing form deterring Victoria and Fate from beginning any sort of conversation. At length, it was Remus himself who broke the proverbial ice, out of nowhere relating a tale of a younger Tala garnering the attention of a female troll his age and avoiding her for the better part of a week. The boy snapped at his father, and Fate and Victoria broke out in boisterous laughs at the thought, almost falling out of their chairs. The stories came faster than the combined additional helpings of stew, Tala shrinking down in embarrassment with subsequent tales of his childhood. Victoria and Fate had long since thrown away their initial nervousness and became fully engrossed in the stories. It was a side of the boy they'd never before seen or imagined, and it was nice to have some potential blackmail lying about for emergency situations.
Their subjects covered everything, from Remus's work at a lumber mill and part-time carpenter in Olde Town to the children's progress in school. The Cyclops was particular happy to hear of his son's status as one of the smartest in the class, and gave him several pats on the back, restraining his strength as needed.
Eventually, on request, Tala began on cleaning up the kitchen while the remaining three relocated to the living room. Most of the seating furniture was a normal human's size, so Remus returned to the floor while the other two sat on a nearby loveseat. Then, after a few minutes of stories and general questions, Remus's mood shifted from lighthearted to solemn, and he scratched the back of his head as if he wanted to ask something but couldn't.
"Is…something wrong, Remus?" Victoria asked after a prolonged silence. The sound of running water and furious scrubbing provided enough cover for them to speak just above a whisper.
He breathed in response, steeling himself. "I am positive you've noticed something strange about Tala and this street since you've been here." The two were caught off guard, but eventually settled into affirming nods, not sure where this was going. "I am bound by honor to withhold explanation, but if I may ask you of this. On your search in town later on, if there is any place Tala does not want to go, please do not force him." The duo remained unreadable, not quite sure how to take the request. "Please, I beg for your understanding."
Without an idea what else to do, Victoria simply nodded, Fate following suit soon after. Remus gave a thank you nod of his own, and with that shifted his torso around to greet Tala, who'd just finished the dishes and was moving in to the room. Upon his return, they rose and began towards his bedroom once more, hoping to get some more work done before the duo would have to head back home.
Victoria glanced one last time at the rescinding figure of Remus, a grave look facing down towards the floor, then turned to Tala's back as he led them.
Without a doubt, she was definitely going to find out what was going on.
(Author's Notes)
Yeah, not too much this time. It was needed though. Hope you guys enjoyed! Chapter Nine is already written, so it'll be released this weekend or sometime before.