Chapter 7: Seeking Answers

Everyone felt a chill run deep in their bones as the door creaked open; even Ice King. A gust of wind came from the dark hall, making it seem as if the place was haunted with its ghost-like moans. It was hard to tell what exactly awaited them ahead, but the walls did not seem to match that of the ones outside. They were not made of either concrete or wood, but natural stone.

It almost felt as if they were walking straight into the mouth of an unknown creature, waiting to swallow them whole as soon as they walked inside. This was made even more apparent by the fact that there were both stalagmites and stalactites along the side of the walls like razor sharp teeth. When the howling of the wind stopped, Finn, Jake, and Ice King stood silent, staring into the dark abyss. Jake and Ice King would have loved nothing more than to run away then and there, but they did not. The fear got the best of them and froze them in place.

Finn was not afraid, but neither was he fully bent on stepping into the darkness. But he had to. He had come this far, might as well see the entire thing through. However, just as he began taking the first steps forward, Jake placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Dude, are you sure you won't reconsider this?" the dog asked with obvious nervousness in his tone. "It's really dark in there."

"I already said you didn't have to come with me, didn't I?" Finn replied.

Jake gulped some saliva that had been accumulated in his mouth. "I know, but…I don't want to leave you all by yourself either. What kind of brother would I be if I just left and then something happened to you?"

Finn smiled and turned to Ice King, who seemed just as scared as Jake. "What about you?" the human asked.

"Normally I would already be on my merry way out, but I really wanna be a part of this club. If I can get through this scary tunnel, then I'm definitely in officially."

Finn did not argue. As indifferent as he was to having Ice King tagging along, it could be worse. He simply nodded and turned his attention back to the dark tunnel, still unable to see anything five feet beyond the entrance. There was no source of light, so they would basically be going in blind, and going back outside into the city while the wizard police were still on their tale was a no-go. So…blind it was.

Naturally, Finn was the first to go. To avoid falling, he kept both of his arms pressed against the rocky walls of the narrow corridor. The walls were wet, and Finn pleaded silently that it was water. Soon after, Jake and Ice King mustered up the courage to follow as well. Jake simply shrunk and sat himself on top of Finn's head, too scared to move on his own. The sound of Ice King's beard as it kept him afloat was the only other sound.

The air grew colder the more they advanced, but the walls were less moist. Each step the human took was done with great care of not stepping on any bulges or stalagmites along the path that might cause him to trip. It would be a very great predicament if he fell while in such darkness, and Jake shaking from fear on top of his head was not helping. As Finn walked, however, his hand came into contact with something hanging from the wall; something metal.

The same feeling was on his other hand as well. Two items, both unidentified, were currently in his grasp. "What is this?" he asked himself out loud.

As if to answer his question, what had turned out to be a hanging torch on the wall burst into flames, along with all the others that ran along the tunnel walls. As Jake and Ice King shrieked in fear, Fin simply stumbled back a few feet, knocking Ice King several feet backwards.

The way before them was illuminated now, and they could see the end of the tunnel. A rounded wooden door was built into the walls. It was adorned with the same crow insignia on Finn's hand, carved neatly into the wood. Unlike the wooden doors they encountered before, this one did not seem to have begun rotting yet. It seemed as if it had been installed recently, but Finn knew that would be impossible. No doubt there was some magic at work here, and it made him all the more nervous that they had encountered no one so far. Whoever this strange Order consisted of, they went through some lengths to keep people out.

Jake had shrunken himself down a lot more and hid inside Finn's hair, looking through the blonde strands as if he were traversing a jungle. Ice King was still there, but he seemed just about ready to bolt back the way they came. But at least the torches added a sense of ease now that they could properly see in front of them. This also allowed Finn to move forward a lot quicker, and the trio reached the door.

He was hesitant at first, but Finn eventually reached out and grabbed the knob. It turned fully to the side, meaning the door was open, and began to push it open. The bright orange light of a fire was already coming from inside; maybe there really was a secret club down here? It only took fully opening the door and a shocked scream form all three to figure it out.

There was no way of telling how or why, but any members that belonged to what was once the Order of the Crow were all dead.

The room was rounded and seemed to be some sort of council hall. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, but it was more beautifully adorned than the one they had encountered before, with stalactites hanging all around it. A table was set in the center, perfectly rounded to fir the shape of the room despite the walls also being made of rock. There were seven chairs placed around the table, and all seven were occupied by robed and rotting skeletons.

Their robes were purple and each was adorned in the chest with the same crow sigil that seemed to be everywhere. From the way the skeletons themselves looked, it seemed as if the Order was made up mostly of goblins. But there was no indication on the corpses as to what exactly killed them all. No stab tears on the robes, no poison vials, nothing. It was almost as if they had stayed in just one place and waited to die naturally. It would make some sense, since most of the skeletons had long white beards that were yet to fall off completely.

In the center of the round table was a small pedestal, shaped like half a sphere and the other half appeared to be attached to the table, acting as a base. Its surface appeared to resemble that of a marbled. Most of it was as black as night, but it was accompanied by an intricate design of white lines all around its surface. The light of the torches along the wall reflected off of it spectacularly. Truly a work of art.

"Man..." Finn said. "What happened here?"

Finn could actually admire the style of the room, but Jake and Ice King were still too focused on the corpses on the tables. The human knew it would be a while before they were knocked out of their trances, so he grabbed Jake from his hiding spot on top of his head and placed him on Ice King's shoulder, who was too mesmerized to notice.

The only real item of any value to Finn was the orb in the center of the table, but he failed to see how it could provide him with any sort of answers to his questions. He knew there had to be something more to it. It was unclear what it was, but he knew.

Slowly, he leaned in on the table, making sure not to topple any of the corpses. Upon placing his hand on top of the orb, a bright ray of white light shot out of it not a moment after.

The shock made Finn tumble backwards, and the commotion was enough to bring Jake and Ice King back to their senses. Jake stretched back into his normal for and helped the human from the ground as the light began to die down. "Dude, are you okay?!" asked the worried and terrified canine.

Finn groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me, is all."

"Whoa," Ice King said, who was currently floating above the orb. "You guys should check this out. Cool…"

Jake helped Finn up completely and the two walked back to the table, and both were mesmerized by what they were seeing. The orb, with the light that emanated from its now fully white surface, was projecting some sort of map along the entire table.

There were several locations marked on it by name, and for a moment, Finn thought he remembered some of these locations. "Is this…a map of the Desert of Doom?" he wondered.

It very much looked like it. Finn had barely visited the desert after his unfortunate mishap with the royal tarts, but he remembered most of it from the short experience. Running into the dark caves, being mugged by a laser gun wielding butterfly, having to constantly lie to PB. All of these memories actually made Finn embarrassed of how immature he could have been during his younger years. Or maybe he still was…

In any case, they had another lead to follow. Finn and Jake would have preferred to be done with the whole thing right now, but both knew it would not be so easy. If the human's dream was any sort of indication, they had a very long road ahead of them. One that even he was not looking forward to, but was determined to follow through nonetheless.

Ice King seemed more impressed with the map's pretty glow rather than the map itself, but Finn and Jake only focused on studying it. Wherever they had to go, if the glowing orb served as some sort of destination mark, their next goal was near the center of the desert, which meant a pretty long trek. Naturally, Jake groaned in annoyance. "All the way in there?" he asked. "But the desert is hooooooooot."

"I know, Jake," Finn replied. "But we can manage." 'I can't believe I'm about to do this.'

Finn turned to Ice King, who was still staring wide-eyed at the map. "Ice King," he called out, knocking the wizard from his trance. "How would you like to go on a little trip with us?"

The ice wizard's expression beamed. "You mean were going on a road trip as bros?"

"Yeah, man," Finn replied. Before he knew it, Jake pulled his face closer to his own.

"Dude, are you nuts?!" Jake asked in a whispering shout. "Why are we bringing Ice King?"

"We're going through a desert, Jake. Ice is basically water. Trust me, we need him. At least for now."

Jake looked back at Ice King, with an expression that showed he was still not happy with the decision. "Gah, fine. But you're taking care of him. I'm not babysitting after no Ice King."

Finn smiled and turned back to Ice King. "Alright, Ice King, you're in."

Ice King squealed in delight. "ROAD TRIIIIP!"

After Finn's ears recovered from the loud yell, he turned his attention back to the map. "Okay, we need to memorize this as much as we can, but we don't wanna write it down on paper just in case." The human though for a moment. "Jake, can you morph your skin so the map stays drawn on your body?"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I can try."

He turned to the map and began to study it carefully. Holding the palm of his right hand in sight, he began to morph his skin, drawing the map itself with it. It took a few minutes, but when he was done, the entire map was fully drawn on his palm; smaller, but still readable enough so they would not get lost.

"Okay, we have what we need, so let's go," Finn said.

"Agreed," Jake replied. "This place creeps me out."

Finn nodded in agreement. As they turned around to leave, no surprise would have gotten them better than seeing Weimar standing at the doorway out.

Jake and Ice King screamed in surprise. It was indeed the same wizard that the human and canine had met in the forest only a day ago. Finn actually found it very surprising it had been that short amount of time ago with everything that had happened. His cloak was over his face and the orb resting at the top of his staff lightly glowed. However, he was not actually there. There was a transparent look about him that was accompanied by strange smoke around the base of his feet. He must have been seeing them through some form of hologram.

"Finn!" he said, his voice echoing. "Quickly now!"

The human stepped up, but kept his guard up. "What are you doing here?"

"No time! Listen, no matter what he says, you must continue on! The fate of all of Ooo rests on you reaching the end of this journey. You must fight on!"

"Huh? What do you mean? Weimar?!"

It was too late to ask any more questions. Weimar's hologram began to fade as the cloud of smoke elevated itself and engulfed him in it. When it cleared, the only thing in front of Finn was the doorway leading back out.

"Uh, what was that?!" Ice King asked.

"Finn, I don't like this…" Jake commented.

For a brief moment, the human remained motionless, taking in everything he had just heard. He only had to look behind him and nod his head to let Jake and Ice King know he was still with them. "We're leaving," he said.

The trio wasted no time getting out of the room for good. The orb that casted the map across the table turned off when they all stepped through the doorway and each torch along the wall turned off individually as they walked past them. It was as if the entire place was aware of their presence and was preparing for their leave. While it did make it harder for them to find their way back because of the darkness, the group eventually reached the main hall.

There was no more sunshine coming through the cracks and boards on the windows; just the bright white light of the moon. As much as Finn would have loved to keep going, he knew Jake was tired just by looking at him. They would most likely have to go back to their home and sleep the night off. The Desert of Doom would have to wait until morning.

So many questions raced through his mind. If anything, the trip to Wizard City had only left him with more questions than answers. If he was going to find the answers he wanted, he, Jake, and Ice King would have to risk the journey across the dangerous desert.

Finn only had to take one step outside before he was brought to a complete halt. But it was not just him; it was Jake and Ice King as well. Something, unknown to all of them, was keeping them in place. From the dark alleys beyond the small courtyard, bright rays of a radiant orange light in the form of beams were shot at them. There was no telling what the source was on account of the lack of light, but whatever the mysterious light was had rendered the trio completely immobile; frozen in place without being able to move their limbs.

"Ugh, what is this?!" Jake was the first to ask.

No matter how hard the dog tried to stretch his limbs, he remained locked in the same pose as when he was walking normally out of the abandoned structure behind them. Ice King remained suspended in mid-air. His beard moved, but his body never flew anywhere. It was the same with Finn despite his best attempts at trying to walk.

It had all been a trap. The wizard police revealed themselves to be waiting for them as they stepped out of the alleys, wands in hand as they casted the beams that locked the trio in place. Only three of the guards were busy with the task, but there must have been a total of over ten of them surrounding them.

"We've got you now," said one of them.

"Is this about the whole business about us not really being wizards?" Finn asked. "Look, were sorry we had to resolve to violence earlier. Is there any way that we can-"

"We're not here about that, Finn the Human," said another new voice.

Two guards stepped aside to make way for what Finn, Jake, and Ice King assumed was the leader of the wizard police. Unlike all of the others, who had yellow gems on their forehead, this one had one as red as a ruby. And while everyone else's wands were simple wooden sticks, his was smooth and was as black as the sky without stars. He was also somewhat taller than the rest.

"The Grand Master Wizard has personally ordered that you be brought to him," he said. "It seems you have been snooping around where you don't belong."

Finn could not argue with that. He and his friends had broken into Wizard City property, even if that property was abandoned. But how could that possibly be a crime worthy of gaining even the Grand Master Wizard's attention? Anyone else would have been taken directly to jail.

"What does GM want with us?" Ice King asked.

"That is for you to talk about when we take you to him," replied the police leader.

There was no way of struggling. Finn, Jake, and Ice King could only go with the wizard police as they were carried away.

The large double doors that made up the front entrance to the Grand Master Wizard's palace opened. Finn, Jake, and Ice King were carried inside the large hall by the same guards that had kept them immobile for the entire way. Also accompanying them inside was their leader, who naturally led the way.

If there was one way Finn could describe the hall, it had to be "empty". It was big, but there was nothing in it except for the large marble pillars that held the entire structure up. There were no windows, so the only light came from three chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, each perfectly aligned with the others. A black carpet was set out in the center of the floor leading up to the Grand Master Wizard's throne, where he was busy laughing and rolling around a ball of yarn for his cat to chase after. He straightened himself when he saw the group approaching.

One thing that really did stand out was the throne itself. It looked big even from back in the room and its dark gray color stood out among all of the white in the rest of the room. It was so big that the Grand Master could fit in it with no problem. If anyone else sat on it, it would be too wide to feel any sort of comfort.

As he, Jake, and Ice King were taken along, Finn could only try and guess what was going on. He and the Grand Master had never personally interacted, so it was easy to say this was not a case of a personal grudge between them or Jake. Maybe Ice King, but that was easily resolved with kicking him out. No, there was definitely something else at play here, but the three of them were unable to anything as long as they were kept imprisoned in the beams.

The leader of the wizard police bowed respectfully before the leader of Wizard City when they reached the throne. "Grand Master Wizard, we have brought the prisoners to you as requested."

"Excellent," GM responded. "Leave them be right here. If they're smart, they won't try to escape knowing they won't get far."

Each guard bowed their heads and dropped the trio the ground. The Grand Master Wizard looked down on them from atop his throne, studying them carefully.

"GM!" Ice King said cheerfully. "How's it goin'?"

"Do not speak, Ice King," GM replied. "Frankly, your constant annoyance here in Wizard City is bothersome enough, but why is it that you have brought this human and dog with you?"

"Wha-Me?!" Ice King asked. "They came here on their own! I mean, sure we're bros…but I'm not responsible for the trouble they get into."

"Speaking of which, are we in trouble?" Jake asked.

GM began to laugh. "Oh, more than you can imagine, dog. You have been interfering in Wizard City business."

"Business?" Finn asked, standing up from the ground. "We were only looking around."

"I guess that explains how you were somehow able to break the wards that I placed and managed to get into a room that has been sealed off for centuries?"

"Uh…yes?" Finn responded.

Everyone was taken back when GM hopped down from the throne and landed right in front of the group, making the entire room shake from the impact. He knelt down closer to the ground so that his eyes were equal height to the human's.

"Listen well, Finn the Human," he said. "You possess a mark on your hand that has not been seen in Ooo since the fall of the Order of the Crow. You may deny it all you want, but I know you have it. It's the only explanation for you being able to break the wards." He placed a finger on the human's chest. "The path that you currently walk down has been taken by those crazy fanatics of the Order before. I had to lock them away before they could continue, and would do so again if I was forced to take drastic action. Believe me when I say that you will not enjoy what you find at the end of this journey. You may as well give up now."

Finn shoved GM's finger away. "And why should I? What lies at the end of the journey that I should be wary of?"

"There's…I cannot say," GM replied.

Finn narrowed his eyes. "Wait…so you talk of killing people in cold blood rather than bringing them to justice and you won't even tell me why?"

"All you need to know is that taking the journey itself is folly. Many men have tried before you. Stronger men. None could ever make it. And neither will you."

Finn stared up at the master wizard. He remembered everything Weimar had told him earlier. He must have been talking about GM. If that was the case, then everything he was currently saying was most likely false.

"Uh, Finn? Maybe we should just listen to him," Jake said.

The human stared down at the crow marking on his wrist. "No. I have no idea what any of my dreams mean, but I intend to find out. And I'm not gonna let any of your threats stop me!" He turned to Jake and Ice King. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

"Dream?!" GM's voice boomed. "Oh no, you don't. Guards!"

On cue, the members of the wizard police all shot the beams at the trio once again and froze them in place. Finn greatly struggled to break free, but it was no use whatsoever.

"Take these three to prison," GM ordered. "If they will not listen to reason, then let them never continue on. May they rot away in a cell."

"What?!" Ice King asked. "Aw come on, bro! Let's talk this through!"

"I'm not your bro!" GM responded. "Take them from my sight!"

As they were carried out of the palace and through the double doors, Finn could only shoot an angry glare at the Grand Master before they closed.

Next Chapter: Flowers and Stones

Note: It's sad to think that this show is actually ending in two years, but I think people are saying goodbye a little too early, no?

-TimeManipulator99: Thanks. There will be more to come.

-Fiery Crusader: It will be hard indeed.

-Ooobserver: It's good to see you've taken a liking to it. We shall see where it takes us.