A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (7 page)

“Coming, Captain,” Jemas said wearily. “My apologies.” He
bowed and followed his captain.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, but Eric was far
from bored. From the talking animals to the monsters and magic and the
existence of monarchy, he felt like he was in a medieval fantasy novel.

Other signs said otherwise. The streets he walked through
were cleaner than the streets he drove through in his own world, and he saw
manholes and storm drains. An unemployment office meant the state aided private
employment. A school system meant large numbers of people were being educated.
Glass being commonly used in windows meant the population could afford it. Add
to that the diplomatic relations animals had with humans and it was some kind
of mix between an old-fashioned “magical world” and his own modern world.

Modern Magic
. . .
Or maybe “magical real world.”

“We're here.” Redstreak stopped in front of a large brick
and mortar building. The lobby contained somewhat comfortable-looking chairs
and pictures of landscapes on the walls.

“Hello,” Redstreak said to the man at the lobby. “I've
brought an Otherworlder.”
The man looked up at Redstreak with sleepy
eyes

“Papers?” he said in a monotone. Eric handed them to the
dorm keeper and waited in silence as they were evaluated. “You can sit down if
you want.”

There was nothing for Eric to do but sit and think.
I'm
in a world where fairytale creatures walk among humans like it's normal and
plants eat people. I'm a teenager again AND I have nothing in the world except
the clothes on my back. Is this Tasio's idea of helping me!?

Finally, the man spoke up. “You will be staying in Room 137
until you get a job. Your roommate will be able to guide you to the school.” He
handed Eric a hemp string that held two crystals: a small clear crystal and
another bigger bronze one.

“The clear one is your room key and the bronze is your meal
pass,” the dorm keeper said. “Don't lose either of them.”

Instead of putting it on, Eric felt compelled to examine the
crystals. He looked at them from every angle and felt the polished surface.
Both were slightly chipped at one end and other random areas. Without thinking,
he asked, “How's it work? Is it by runes? I see a few on here . . . or maybe by
the refraction of light or . . .” The man's eyes opened wider as if he had been
jolted. “I-I didn't mean to sound stupid or ungrateful or . . .” Redstreak
laughed. Eric's cheeks burned and he hid the necklace.

“You're hahahaa, pretty sharp, hahahaha, for ahah an Otherworlder,”
the hawk said. “I trust everything is taken care of? Good, now I can
finally
return
to my colony.” To Eric, he said, “I wish you good luck on
adjusting to our world.” He bobbed his head and flew out of the lobby.

“Umm. Where is room?” Eric asked

“Down that corridor and third door on the left.”

Eric opened the door and walked down the hall. Despite his
earlier fears about the strangeness of this world, his present fears about his
roommate and future fears about what would become of him, he couldn't resist
taking the crystals out and examining them once more.

Room keys made of crystal instead of metal and working by
runes and refraction of the light instead of gears . .  . . .Different keys
means different locks. The make of it will be different and locksmiths here
will be different then . . .
So absorbed was he that he bumped into someone.

“I-I'm sorry! I didn't look where—” He spoke to a human face
mounted on a horse's body. Not a centaur; a horse with a human head.

“Watch where you're going,” the human face said. A snake
slithered over his haunches and hissed. The chimera walked past him and Eric
saw the snake's body poking out where the tail should have been. For a while,
he just stood there, stunned. '
Good luck adjusting' he says. I'm going to
need it.

Three doors down, Eric found his temporary home. He took out
the clear crystal and inserted it into the hole just below the knob; assuming this
was the lock. It flashed. He assumed the door was unlocked and tried the knob,
but the door wouldn't open. He pushed the door, thinking it was stuck, but the
door remained firmly shut. Eric tried the lock again with similar success. He
was so frustrated he started banging on the door. It abruptly opened and Eric
bashed a face, which made the body attached fall backwards and clutch a
bleeding nose. Eric stammered apologies but—

“Nice hit.”

 Eric could only stare. “You're not mad?”

“Of course not. It was an accident. In fact, I'm very happy.”
Talking animals and a chimera were one thing, but a guy that gets happy when
he's punched?

“You see, there's a strong unidentifiable funk in the room
and, being unsuccessful in getting rid of it, I've been trying to block my
nose. This break should do the trick.” He set the cartilage in his nose so it
would heal properly and stood up. The boy had long white hair, pink eyes, and
wore a tunic and pants. All of which had seen better days.

“Have trouble with the lock?”

“Yeah.”

“I did too. Apparently, Mr. Monotone forgets to tell people
that these locks work in the opposite fashion of normal ones.” Eric was about
to ask how normal ones worked, but the guy kept rambling. “Oh, where are my
manners? I haven't introduced myself. I am Aio Ricse, formerly of Latrot.” He
spat on his hand and held it out. “Pleased to meet you, Roomy!” Eric stared at
the spit soaked hand.
When in Rome . . .
He spat on his own hand
.

“Eric Watley . . .uhh formerly of Earth.” They shook hands. “The
pleasure's all mine.”

“Here, it's called ‘Threa,’” Aio said. “Scholars decided
upon that name for your world ever since they discovered Noitaerc.”

Eric backed up and put a hand to his aching forehead.
Threa?
Noitaerc?
The last confusing straw on a very large pile of confusing
straws. “I suppose it is a lot to take in for two days. Take a rest.” The
buzzing in Eric's mind was too great for him to wonder how Aio knew he'd
arrived yesterday.

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” A voice shouted. Eric
sleepily swatted at the shaker.

“Go away . . .sleep,” he said and curled back under his
blanket. The blanket was yanked away and he shivered. He opened his eyes to see
Aio's smiling face.

“Good morning!”

Eric rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Oh, about 6.”

“SIX IN THE MORNING?!”

 Aio rang his ears out. “Yeah, six in the morning.” Eric
slumped back into bed, but sleep evaded him without a blanket.

“Why . . . you wake me . . .early?”

“To see the sunrise, of course.”

“Don't . . . wanna see sunrise,” Eric mumbled and curled
into a ball.

“Oh, come on.”Aio pulled him out of bed by his ankles and
dragged him across the floor. Eric resigned himself to his fate and let himself
be dragged. Outside, he was dropped on a rock formation. He screamed when he
was doused with cold water.

“Wakey! Wakey!” Aio cheered as he put down his bucket. “You're
missing one of nature's most beautiful wonders!” Eric was most definitely awake
now and most definitely cold and wet. Aio plopped down on his own rock and
said, “Did you like living in your home world?”

“Yes of . . .” His response was automatic, not true. Even
before Tasio showed up, his life was awful. His family was non-existent. He
didn't make ends meet. He was picked on at work. His neighbor was the
guy-who-wouldn't-go-away. “No.”

“Ohh. That's too bad . . . ” Aio said sadly. He perked up
instantly. “But you can make a new life here. A better life! Just like me!”

“Oh yeah. You said you were 'Formerly of Latrot.' What
happened?”

“Oh, you know, stuff happens.” Aio shrugged. “Had to leave
or more stuff would happen.”

“Any family?”

“Oh, yeah. I got family all over the place, but we don't
really get along; sibling rivalry, ya know?”

Eric would have questioned further, but the sun was rising
and it was indeed beautiful. It almost made him forget he was cold and wet. “All
right, now let's get you into some dry clothes,” Aio said. “You should know
better than to sit in wet ones.”

You're the one who got me wet
. Dripping back to the
room, Eric dried off and looked for new clothes. He found an earth-brown tunic
and dark pants, and changed into them. Aio tossed his soaking wet business suit
into a dark corner and left it there.

“That's better, isn't it?” Aio asked.

“Yeah . . .” Eric said. He suddenly felt lighter. “Yeah! A
lot better.”

“Good! Let's go eat.”

 At the cafeteria entrance, Aio inserted his bronze crystal
into a brown cube on the greeter's desk. The crystal glowed slightly and the
guy waved Aio in.

Eric recognized some items on the line: lettuce,
strawberries, and some kind of pasta. Other things he had no idea what they
were; like a meaty-looking thing with a green band around the middle and yellow
zigzag. As he reached for it, its middle opened and the yellow zigzag teeth
snapped down on his fingers. He yelped. Aio laughed and rapped the thing's top.
It let go and fell on Aio's tray.

“Roomy, a little advice,” Aio said. “Don't eat anything that
looks like teeth.”

“Then why are
you
eating
it?”

“It tastes good if know how to deal with it.”

The pair sat down and Eric eagerly dug in. Once again, he
was amazed at the food's incredible taste. Just like the berries and water from
the forest, it was like eating energy itself. He felt good enough to run up ten
flights of stairs and back again.

“Never tasted food like that, have you?” Aio asked. “That's
mana-rich food.”

For the second time Eric asked, “Isn't mana the same stuff
that makes monsters?”

“Yep! Mana is the source of all life.”

“There you are,” a sleepy voice drawled.

Aio turned and pointed. “Oh, look! It's Mr. Monotone!” The
dorm keeper became slightly annoyed. “Mr. Watley, you have an appointment at
the Heleti General Hospital.”

“That doesn't sound like a good idea, Roomy,” Aio said
cautiously.

“Why not?”

Aio pulled Eric close and whispered in his ear, “What if . .
.” he began, sneaking glances at the dorm keeper as if he were eavesdropping. “What
if . . . it's a ruse?”

“A ruse?” Eric asked.

“Yes!” Aio said urgently, “To turn you into an emotionless
zombie like
him
!!”

The dorm keeper became a little more annoyed, even mildly
disgruntled. “We have a schedule to keep, Mr. Watley. Please follow me.”

It was a long walk and gave Eric another chance to study the
city. The streets were split into a road, made of compacted earth, and
sidewalks of stone on either side. He didn't see any cars, motorcycles, or
anything else motorized, but every now and then, a machine would fly overhead.
They didn't look like the airplanes of his world and didn't make as much noise.

They must function differently . . .I wonder . . .

The Heleti General Hospital was a tall and sprawling
building made of wood, stone, metal, and other materials Eric didn't recognize.
There were as many kinds of entrances as there were branches of medicine: holes
in the ground for moles, windows for birds, hatches on the roof—all in addition
to the standard door for earth walkers and even those varied depending on the
earth walker's stature. The griffin motif decorating the building was more noticeable
than anything. They were in the sidewalk, on the doors, and standing guard in
the lobby. Eric was about to ask what they were for when he spotted a familiar
face.  

“Jemas . . .Wotan. You're from Squad Two, right?”

“Yes. I'm honored you remember me.”

“Mercenary, what are you doing here?” Monotone man asked.

Eric wondered why he called Jemas “Mercenary,” when he had
just said Jemas' name. Jemas himself seemed to take no offense, so Eric let it
go.

“The Captain has been hired for an emergency, and being her
lieutenant, I came along.”

A bell dinged and an intercom announced, “To the person passing
out experimental cough syrup, please identify yourself.”

Jemas paled. “Oh no . . .Oh, please no.” He put a smile on
his face and bowed before Eric and Monotone. “Excuse me. I have business to
attend to.” With that, he ran off.

“Mercenaries . . .” Monotone muttered. “Come, Mr. Watley.”
Eric was led through a number of doors and hallways until Monotone spotted a
particular room.

“This is the examining room. Please cooperate with the
healer. I will be waiting outside.”

Eric was anxious to see what a Tariatlan doctor looked like.
Where they human or some other creature? The person that arrived was more
terrifying than either: long blonde hair and a white doctor's coat, a staff in
one appendage and a notepad in the other. She locked the door behind her.

“Hello, Otherworlder. I will be your healer today.” The
jewels on her staff glowed.

“So no one was harmed by the Salcion spit?” Jemas asked.
He'd rushed to the Clinic to stop his captain, but was too late; the room was
filled with people burping uncontrollably. The healer on duty explained what
happened.

“Apparently not. Instead of coughing, they're burping.
Otherwise, no adverse effects.” Jemas sighed in relief. “But still the fact
remains—”

“AAAHHHHHHHH!”

Jemas' eyes widened. “I am sorry, but there's something
urgent I must attend to.”

Dashing to the hall, Jemas searched for the right examining
room. He smashed the door open to find Hasina, dressed like a resident healer,
zapping Mr. Watley with bolts of energy. Every half minute, she fired another
bolt, which revealed a different body system.

“Fascinating,” Hasina muttered to herself while scribbling
notes with her free hand. “So similar to the others and yet different.” She
continued zapping as she wrote. “Like a watered down version . . . no . . . a
withered version is more appropriate.” Jemas jumped between them and brandished
his staff.