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So, I finally got this up. It's not quite completely proofread yet, and I may be lacking in terms of description, but at least I got it done, right? I can proofread it if it's not too much trouble.
Alright, so I have a question. Some of the people's descriptions of the characters may be different, so when we're finalizing all the chapters we need to check them against each other.
-CM
- Spoiler:
- The Grand Creation
Chapter Three
Varonis strode into a small, gray, nondescript-looking room and shut the door behind him with a quiet clang, magnified by the metal interior of the room. He flicked a switch, and a dim light brightened the dark room.
Inside was a rectangular metal table and eight chairs positioned around it. Two beings were sitting side by side in the chairs opposite the door. The first said in a snakelike voice, “Thank you for meeting us here, Varonissss.” Osavus dragged the “s” sound out at the end of Varonis’s name.
“My pleasure,” said the red Agori. “I was given permission to use this empty room for any dealings I might have with my… acquaintances,” he finished a little smugly.
“Actually, I-“ but he was cut off by an irritated Invidior, who shouted: “Get to the point, already! I want to meet my- I mean our -henchmen!
“Yes sir,” said Varonis, feeling somewhat flattened by Invidior’s impatience. “I handpicked these four warriors especially for you. They are the most skilled and powerful fighters in all of my henchmen, and they shall do your bidding.”
“Silex, Avarus, Robur, Ferveon, you may come out now.” Seeming to almost materialize from the shadows on one side of the room, the four new henchmen of Osavus and Invidior stepped into the light.
They could not have been more different from each other. The first was tall and skinny, with strange blades that seemed to be growing out of the back of his hands. Several feet down the blades from where they began, they curved into a 90° angle. Clad in dark blue and black armor, he hung back a bit in the shadows, his sinister face barely visible.
“Silex, at your service,” said a cold, malicious voice belonging to the being wearing the dark blue and black armor. “I am sure you shall find my skills of great use to you.”
The second was a bulky, thick-armored brute of a warrior with very little armor. Whatever armor he had was colored maroon. He was a sturdy character of medium height, and bulging muscles making him wider than he should be.
“Ah’m Robur,” said the henchman in a deep, hoarse voice, cracking his knuckles threateningly. “Anything ya want me ta smash, I’m ready.” Robur looked around excitedly, as if he were a rabid beast looking for something to destroy.
“I’ll tell you what, Robur,” said Varonis. “Show your masters your true strength. Destroy this chair, right here.” Varonis pointed a long, red-armored finger towards the chair nearest to Robur. Greedily, he loped forward, picked up the metal chair and held it in front of his chest, his hands on either side of it, elbows pointing out. With a grunt, Robur squeezed the chair, his muscles bulging with power, beads of sweat beginning to appear on his face. His large veins popped out of his arms as he squeezed the chair ever harder.
All of a sudden, the chair buckled, crumpling into an indescribable lump of twisted metal. With a roar, Robur slammed the chair onto the ground, breaking it into several pieces and creating a deafening clang that reverberated throughout the metal room.
“Quiet, fool!” Invidior whispered harshly. “I admire your strength, but you’ll alert everyone in the area if you don’t shut up!”
Frowning, Robur retreated to stand with the other three henchmen, acting like a dog that had just been denied a game of fetch.
A new voice, raspy and hoarse, spoke out now. “Please, Varonis, tell these two Great Beings how good of service I can provide to them!”
“This is Avarus,” said Varonis, gesturing a hand to the speaker but completely ignoring his request.
“He tends to get a bit… greedy, if you catch my drift.”
“Hey! I’ll knock your head in, you foul-mouthed little“ but the lithe, dark-green armored being was cut off by a single word from one of the Great Beings.
“Silence,” hissed Osavus, a menacing air of command settling over the room with just one word. “I will not tolerate this nonsense.”
All was still for a moment, before Avarus piped up again. “Whatever you need, I can certainly get for you,” he said eagerly, whirling his long scythe around his hand.
“I said SILENCE,” Osavus hissed, rising from his chair, his long black cloak billowing around him. In the dim light, his silhouette was cast about the room, creating more menacing shadows. Avarus stepped back, his attitude wavering.
Then, the fourth and final henchman stepped forth. She was of medium height, strong, but not bulky, and clad in crimson armor with highlights of ebony. “I’m Ferveon,” a smooth voice said. She carried a menacing-looking ball-and-chain slung over her shoulder, the black handle clasped in her clawed hand.
The four henchmen stood there, each more different that the next, when Invidior said finally, “Come, new… recruits. It is time for us to go.” And Invidior stood up and beckoned to the four warriors, who strode forward to stand behind him. Osavus rose from his seat as well, and stood beside Invidior, who raised his hand, palm facing the wall.
Muttering several unintelligible words, a large, glowing rectangle as big as a doorframe appeared on the metal wall. Walking forward, Invidior and Osavus vanished inside. The four henchmen followed, and as the last one entered the glowing rectangle, it vanished as if it had been folded up into nothing. As soon as it did, the dim light that illuminated the room cracked, fell from its socket onto the metal table, and the lights went out, leaving Varonis alone in the dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Elder sat upon his throne, leaning to one side of the great embellished chair as a black, hooded figure appeared before him. The room was empty except for the two figures, the large, imposing Great Being, and the small, hooded figure kneeling before him, head hanging shamefully.
“I am most disappointed in you,” the Elder boomed. The hooded figure dropped its head even more.
The Elder paused. “Do you know what happens to swine who don’t clean up after they roll in the mud for too long?”
“N-no my lord, please enlighten me,” came the frightened reply from the cloaked figure.
“They get sick,” said the Elder calmly, coolly, threateningly. “And then they die. So next time, my little swine, you better clean up your mess. After all, you don’t want to get infected, do you?” The Elder let the deadly words hang in the air for several seconds.
“I- I understand, my lord,” the stranger said, its voice a barely audible whisper.
“Now get out of my sight,” the Great Being spat, his voice filling the great hall and echoing endless times. The cloaked figure stood, head bowed, face hidden in shadow, spun around, and strode out of the room, ebony cloak billowing behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still standing in shock at the words printed on the scroll before their eyes, the three Glatorian and two Agori finally regained their composures, one by one. Stepping back with the scroll in hand, Raanu was the first to speak.
“Well, obviously we have to do something about this,” he said, visibly trying to contain the mixed emotions welling up inside him.
This-this is impossible, Raanu thought, crushed. I have always looked up to the Great Beings and now I know that even they can commit treacherous deeds!
Suddenly, Raanu’s initial shock morphed into cold fury. I have to take this to the Elder and show him I know of his plan. I wonder what he’ll say then, thought Raanu harshly, forgetting he would be dealing with none other that the leader of the Great Beings himself.
Spinning on his heel, Raanu stalked off, carrying the scroll with him, heading straight towards the Great Being’s fortress. “Come,” said Raanu coldly, beckoning with his hand, all traces of his previous nature gone. “We need to tell the Elder about this.”
“Uh- er,” stuttered Rohkea, obviously trying to say something but too shocked at Raanu’s statement.
“Now stop right there, Raanu,” said Galintin forcefully. “You should think this through before you go rushing into it!”
“I agree,” said Pomerax.
“And here I thought you were the daredevil,” said Raanu with ice in his voice. However, he did not break his stride.
Ackar, who had been silent the entire time, head bowed, obviously taking the longest to accept what he had just seen, suddenly stood.
“Stop, Raanu,” he said with such finality that Raanu stood still in his tracks, turned, and looked at Ackar, a look of surprise on his face. “I can’t let you do this,” he said sadly, walking forward towards Raanu, his sword drawn.
“You can’ be serious,” gasped Rohkea, raising a hand and moving towards Ackar as if to stop him.
“Ackar and Raanu! Think this through!” shouted Galintin, enunciating each word sharply. “You have to realize that what you’re doing isn’t right! If you tell the Elder about this, then—“
“Lower your voice, fool!” said Raanu in a harsh whisper. “No one else can find out about this!”
Galintin immediately stopped speaking and back up, hoping that no one in the crowds around had heard him.
Turning to go again, Raanu felt a strong hand on his shoulder. “Don’t do this, Raanu. You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Ackar said plainly. “I can’t make this any clearer.”
“You have to understand that this is the wrong choice here!” said Pomerax, a pained look on his face.
How can they not see this, thought Raanu angrily. Then his clouded mind realized something else. Do they not understand that if we tell the Elder we know about his plan then he will have no choice but to have us help him complete it? We’ll be known throughout Spherus Magna as the five supervisors of the core construction of the great robot! Tales of our prowess will be passed down through the generations!
Feeling Ackar’s hand still on his shoulder, he realized the three Glatorian and the Agori were not going to back down from his statement. Turning, he whipped out his handcuffs and had Ackar secured before he could even react. Taking out a dagger, he held it to Ackar’s back.
“Now come over here slowly,” he said. “I’m going to have to apprehend you if you don’t go with me.” He pressed the flat of his blade into Ackar’s back.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Raanu. I thought you were a good person! How could you be thinking this way?” asked Rohkea softly but sadly, walking forward slowly and presenting her hands to Raanu, who quickly handcuffed her. Galintin, however, was not so accepting.
“Hold it right there, partner,” he said firmly. “I can’t let you do this and you know it. Uncuff those two now!” he shouted, striding boldly towards Raanu.
In response, Raanu only dug his blade deeper into Ackar’s back, drawing a small trickle of blood as Galintin’s eyes widened in shock. After several seconds of secluded though, Galintin sadly presented his hands to Raanu, who quickly handcuffed him.
“Raanu, I… can’t do this,” said Pomerax sadly. “This isn’t going to work for me. If you’re going to do this, then I’m out of here. I don’t want anything more to do with it.”
“Oh no you’re not,” said Ackar. “I don’t know if I can trust anyone here to keep the secrets of this scroll safe and secure. You’re coming with us,” he finished boldly.
“Alright, now we’re going to the Great Being’s tower because nobody here can make heads or tails of this!” Raanu said as he turned and lead the three Glatorian and Agori towards the large tower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Soon, they had arrived, and Raanu walked up to one of the guards standing outside of the grand structure. “I—we –request an audience with the Elder,” he said, gesturing to the handcuffed group behind him.
“I can allow that,” the Glatorian guard deadpanned, as if he didn’t have anything better to do, “but you’ll have to take the handcuffs off those three. They’ll be perfectly fine up in there,” he said, making an offhand gesture to the large structure behind him.
“I can do that,” said Raanu, and promptly walked towards the three Glatorian and removed their bindings. “Ackar, you carry my bag,” he said, tossing his brown messenger bag to Ackar, who caught it in astonishment.
“Let’s enter,” said the Guard. Leading the four forward, he walked to an almost invisible door on the metal surface of the tower. He stopped to place his hand in front of a scanner for several seconds, which caused the near-invisible door to slide open seamlessly, revealing a long stone staircase that vanished into the darkness. Taking a small device from the bandolier slung across his chest, the Guard flipped a switch that caused the device to radiate with light. Holding it out in front of him, the Guard walked forward, followed by the three Glatorian and two Agori.
Meanwhile, Ackar had taken the scroll out of Raanu’s bag and begun to read it once more, obviously still trying to absorb the shock. We shouldn’t tell the Elder this, we shouldn’t tell him this, we shouldn’t tell him this! Ackar thought furiously. What is Raanu thinking? Has he suddenly gone mad? There’s no way we’ll find out anything more about this if we take the matter to the Elder. That’s the last place we should go!
Ackar felt Galintin’s breath on his shoulder as he peered over to look at the scroll once again. Shortly, Rohkea, Raanu, and Pomerax joined them.
Raanu gathered his thoughts.
All right, we’re here. But will the Elder really be forced to take us in as workers for the project? Now that Raanu was in a more stable condition, reading over the Scroll once more, he was beginning to doubt himself more and more.
And then it hit him.
Based on the content of the Scroll they had found, the Elder wasn’t a very kind person. And if they went to him with this information, he would realize he couldn’t risk Spherus Magna’s population finding out about it, and he would have to kill the four who had discovered the Scroll!
All too late, Raanu said in a harsh whisper, “We have to turn back! I don’t have enough time to explain, we just do!”
A wave of relief passed over the other four, relieved that Raanu had finally come to his senses. Galintin spoke up and told the guard: “We’ve changed our minds. Please, take us back down.”
“No can do, buddy,” said the guard, no emotion in his voice once again. “We’re practically here. Look, there’s the door.”
The group’s eyes widened. “Ackar, get that scroll in the bag!” Rohkea said quickly, and Ackar reached for the bag slung across his back. Fumbling with the clasp as he they moved forward even more, the guard stepped up to the door to the Elder’s office.
“Hurry!” said Pomerax in a sharp whisper.
As he turned the handle, Ackar finally got the bag open. The guard seemed to be pulling the door open in slow motion as Ackar stuffed the scroll into Raanu’s bag and shoved the bag shut, locking the clasp just as the door opened fully.
The three Glatorian and two Agori looked up hastily, and found themselves looking straight into the eyes of the Elder.
“Welcome, friends of the Spherus Magna government,” boomed the Great Being, gesturing the four into his large office. “Have a seat, have a seat,” he said nonchalantly, walking towards his window. It offered a panoramic view of Atero so magnificent that only someone with as high a position as the Elder himself was worthy of.
The five entered the office and sat down at a long, oval, polished wooden table that seemed to have enough chairs for the whole of Spherus Magna. The Elder returned from the window to sit at one head, while the group of five sat at the end of the table, a huge length separating them from the Elder.
The gap, however, did not hinder the strength of the Elder’s voice. “Now, let us begin. Why did you request a meeting with me on such short notice? It must be of the utmost importance,” he said, gesturing for the guard to leave. He did so, and the door shut quietly behind him. “Although you’re lucky I wasn’t very busy at the time you asked for a meeting, because if I was, I honestly couldn’t have given it to you. Now, I’ll hear you out. What is it you want to tell me?”
Despair plainly showed on the faces of the three Glatorian and two Agori. “Er- we- um- we were-“ stuttered Pomerax, searching for an excuse.
He was cut off by the Elder, however, who said, “I was thinking while you were coming up the stairs. That really is a long staircase, so it gave me a bit of time to prepare. Since I knew that I would have five fine residents of Spherus Magna, I wanted to ask you this. We have come to a time when I believe more security force will be necessary to us Great Beings. Since you’re here now, why don’t you join me in this endeavor?”
The shock stood out on the faces of the five. Finally, Raanu spoke. “Thank you so much for the honor, Great Elder. We agree,” he said softly. At least he didn’t kill us like I thought he would, Raanu thought, just to help himself take in the Elder’s words.
In the haze that was shock, Ackar stood up and slammed his hands on the table, clearing away the mist in an instant. “We need more security force, Elder,” he said plainly. “And Raanu and I should be promoted, because we’ve worked hard at our jobs. I think we deserve it, and I know we will serve you well.” He stayed standing, waiting for the Elder’s response.
After several moments of long thought on the Elder’s part and a shuffling of papers and some scribbling down, the Elder finally answered. “I… agree,” he said with finality, procuring a stamp from a drawer under the table and stamping several documents.
“I hereby declare Glatorian Ackar, and Agori Raanu and Pomerax promoted to Alpha team of my security force, with Ackar as Head Guard!” said the Elder. All eyes turned toward Ackar, who sat down, triumph in his eyes.
This is the perfect opportunity to keep these fools within my reach. I can’t have them telling anyone about this incident, so if I keep them close to me I’ll be able to make sure they can’t get the secret out. And I’ll put Varonis in charge of them to keep a firm eye on them. Everything is going perfectly, thought the Elder with satisfaction. Of course I saw my own scroll when they tried to put it back in their little bag. It’s not like I would mistake that rush for anything else. I saw the whole thing, the Elder thought smugly.
“Congratulations, new Alpha team, you are dismissed!” the Elder boomed, a fake mask of pride covering his true demeanor. Of course, none of the five saw what he was really feeling, because the Elder was a master of deception.
The group of five walked out through the door, smiles on their faces and content in their hearts, the thought of the mysterious scroll wiped away for now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several miles away from the fire tribe village, in the abandoned magma tribe complex, a doorframe of light opened out of nowhere. Out from it stepped six beings; two of them Great, and the other four… well… not so great. Osavus and Invidior led their henchmen to the Magma Tribe Complex, with a specific goal in mind. Of course, their henchmen couldn’t know about it, so they had to do it themselves.
“What is this place…” said Robur, obviously trying to wrap his thick mind around the prospect of being somewhere that he didn’t understand.
“It’s the abandoned Magma Tribe, complex, you fool! Everything here is trash from the abandoned Magma Tribe, you see. It’s all worthless. What I want to know is why we came here,” said Avarus, annoyed at Robur’s ever-present stupidity. “Why did we come here?” he asked, turning towards the two great beings, who were muttering between themselves, their voices out of earshot.
“None of your concern,” said Invidior huskily. “Go do what you want for now, but don’t interfere with us!”
“Do… what I want… all worthless…” said Robur, still struggling with the minute amount of information he had just been given. “If it’s all worthless, and I can do whatever I want, then can I…smash?” asked Robur hopefully, to no one in particular.
“Go ahead, you dumb beast,” snapped Ferveon. She and Silex were observing the scene, quiet as usual.
Eagerly, Robur ran to the nearest piece of scrap metal and began to crumple it into a mangled piece of steel, which he threw high into the air.
Then, he realized he didn’t know where it went. Looking up, he stared straight into the sun, his eyes burning from the strength of its light. “Too… bright!” he shouted.
Just then, the piece of scrap he had flung into the air came hurtling down, heading straight for his head. Right as it was about to hit, it seemed to be plucked out of the air and slammed into a wall, a scythe sticking through it.
“Be more careful, idiot,” said Avarus with a grin, leaping over to retrieve his scythe. Ferveon chuckled in her position. Silex, as usual, gave no sign that he was even alive, instead standing motionless in his spot, his arms crossed, and bandages covering his face, leaving room for only his eyes.
“Did you see that! Did you see that! I just saved him from certain injury! I deserve a reward for that!” shouted Avarus, adding annoyance to the mixed mood. When no one answered, he grabbed his scythe and slunk back into the shadows, defeated.
Suddenly, Silex seemed to disappear from where he was standing, and reappeared next to a fancy-looking machine. Pressing a large button, the machine began to rumble, and started up. Drawing the interest of the other three henchmen, Silex began to push random buttons on the machine, hoping to draw out a reaction.
When Robur arrived, he roughly shoved Silex out of the way and began to bang his fists on the keyboard, shouting: “Do something, do something, do something!”
Silex, who had rolled to a stop, sprang back at Robur and stopped with his blade inches from Robur’s throat. “Don’t interfere, moron,” he said coolly. Robur backed off immediately, murmuring something about Silex being really scary.
Meanwhile, Ferveon and Avarus had spotted a similar machine in another corner. They began to argue as to who would try the machine first, while Robur began to get angrier and angrier. As a result, he got more and more violent and decided that he would beat up Silex. Moving around to the back of the machine, Robur swung his fist down towards Silex, who nimbly stepped to the side.
This caused Robur’s fist to come smashing down into the machine, which, to everyone’s surprise, didn’t break nearly as much as it should’ve, leaving only a fist-shaped dent in the keyboard.
“Ow!” shouted Robur, clutching his hand. “Hard gizmo!” The other three henchmen began to laugh, and even Silex, who was always silent, let loose a small chuckle.
Suddenly, Osavus appeared behind Robur, a thin blade held up to his throat from between the folds of his cloak. “Don’t do that again,” he said slowly, drawing a small drop of blood from Robur’s neck. Robur turned and began to run away very quickly, realizing that Osavus was actually the scariest person he had ever met.
Invidior appeared between the three remaining henchmen, his face fuming, anger literally radiating in waves off him. “DO! NOT! TOUCH! THE! MACHINES!” he roared, sending the henchmen into a cower. Even Silex was overcome by his anger.
“FOOLS! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” Invidior fumed, and the henchmen retreated to the cover of darkness quickly and quietly, realizing that they had messed up big-time.
“Idiots,” Osavus muttered to himself as he began to tinker with the machine. Soon, the fist-sized dent was had all but vanished as Osavus finished his work. Then, he bent over it and began to press buttons in a systematic way, his fingers racing across the keys. Soon, Invidior joined him, and they began their work.
~One Week Later~
Ackar reached into his bag, looking for the key to open the door to his office. Feeling something cold and metal, he grabbed it and pulled it out of the bag.
Mild surprise flitted across his face as he realized that what he had pulled out were not his keys, but a metal tube. Then, realization and remembrance dawned on him as he remembered the scroll he had found a week ago with Rohkea, Raanu, Galintin, and Pomerax, and the meeting that had followed.
Reaching into his bag once more and grabbing the correct item, he shoved the keys into the lock and went into his office, closing the door behind him.
Sitting down heavily at his long desk, he took the scroll out of its tube and started to pore over the parchment, realizing that something had to be done about it now that it had been a week. The Elder could have had other plans that were already set into motion now that the group of five had all but forgotten about the scroll.
He knew that before he took action he would have to get the opinion of the other four who were involved with the scroll, and possibly Varonis, considering that he was their superior and he was someone they could all trust.
Typing in a few things into his computer, Ackar requested an urgent meeting between himself, Rohkea, Galintin, Raanu, Pomerax, and Varonis, with the subject of the meeting detailed as “To be disclosed at the meeting,” and sat back in his chair, waiting for everyone to arrive at the meeting.
Several minutes later, Galintin, and Rohkea arrived, breathless. “What do you need,” said Galintin, ready to help with whatever he could. “We’re here to help,” said Rohkea.
“Good, you’re here,” said Ackar, who gestured to two chairs, which both of them eagerly took. “Now it’s time to tell you what this is all about,” said Ackar, pulling a chair over to the table in the center of the room.
“This,” he said, holding up the scroll, is the cause of my urgency. “I feel like this has slipped out of our minds in the past week, and that we need to think about whether or not we’re telling the Elder about it,” Ackar finished just as Raanu and Pomerax entered the room.
Seeing Ackar holding the scroll and talking, their eyes widened in remembrance of that day. “What’s this about,” asked Pomerax.
“This scroll. I was just telling Rohkea and Galintin how I think it’s slipped out of our minds for the last week and that we need to figure out if we’re going to keep our knowledge of this a secret from the Elder any longer.”
“I think we shouldn’t say anything,” said Raanu, sliding into a seat.
“But weren’t you the most adamant one about telling him?” asked Ackar.
“Yes, but I have rethought my ideals. Unlike the rest of you, this hasn’t left my mind at all, and I have continued to ponder over this and settled on a firm decision. In my mind, that is the right way to go,” said Raanu with a hint of finality.
“Well then, since Raanu’s made up his mind, let’s hear his reasoning. Why did you choose this, Raanu? It does seem a little strange only because you handcuffed us and forced us to tell it to the Elder,” asked Galintin, a questioning look in his eyes.
“Well, I might as well start from the beginning. I’m ashamed to say this, but when we first found the scroll, I thought that if we told the Elder he would be forced to put us into supervising positions in the project and that we would gain fame. It was a product of my clouded, greedy mind at the time. But then, when we were going up the passage, my mind cleared a little from the shock of it all and then I realized that instead of promoting us, he might simply dispose of us. After all, my view of him as a person had changed given what we had just read. So then I tried to make you hide it away, and you did it just in time. Thankfully, the Elder didn’t see that we had it, and we were promoted just like I thought earlier, which was a big surprise to me. Because everything was going so great I decided that we would be better off not telling-“ but he was interrupted in his story by Galintin, who began to speak suddenly.
“But why did he promote us? That doesn’t make any sense. He’d have no reason to promote us unless…”
“He knew that we had the scroll,” Ackar and Pomerax finished the sentence for him at the same time.
Just then, the door turned and a red-armored Agori entered.
“Hello, Varonis,” said Rohkea absentmindedly, as if she were deep in thought, debating over some great problem.
“Sit down, sit down,” said Ackar welcomingly. He then proceeded to summarize the topic of their previous conversation.
“Well,” Varonis finally said after Ackar was done, a fake stupefied expression on his face. “That’s a lot to take in. The real question now is, how did he know you had the scroll? He may have seen it right as it entered your bag, but then we can’t be sure.”
“True, true,” said Pomerax. “Maybe he has security cameras in the hallways. Actually, of course he has security cameras in the hallways! I saw a little black bulb on the wall on our way up and wondered what it was. If only I knew then!” exclaimed Pomerax.
“So that’s what it is,” said Raanu.
“I… I have something to say,” said Rohkea meekly.
“It’s… about what my friend Casiria told me before I picked up the scroll that the agent of the Elder dropped. It was… very strange of her, but I think you all need to hear it,” she said, lowering her volume at the end of her sentence as if she still wasn’t sure whether to say it or not.
“Well, what is it?” asked Ackar, his interest peaking.
“Well…” Rohkea began. “She didn’t really explain it a lot, but this is more or less what she said. She told me in a voice really unlike her, by the way. I think she was really shocked. She said that there was an incident in the past, far back in the past, that the Elder was involved in. I think she said it has ties to something that’s happening now, but I’m not sure. She mumbled a lot.”
When Rohkea mentioned the incident from the past, Varonis’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth and began to raise a hand, but fell silent again.
“Oh yes, and Varonis was involved in it too. Is that right?” asked Rohkea timidly.
All eyes turned to Varonis. He was visibly sweating, his fingers constantly drumming against the tabletop.
“Well?” asked Galintin.
Varonis took a deep breath, then began to speak. “It’s true. I do have very deep ties with the Elder. But the past is the past, and I promise you nothing that happened then will have any affect on the events taking place now, I’m sure Casiria didn’t know what she was talking about,” said Varonis shiftily, his eyes glancing around the room.
“But there is one thing I have to say about the scroll. You should show it to the Elder. I know him well, and he won’t bring you any harm if you tell him about it. Actually, if you tell him about it now, I’m sure he’ll be able to grant you all Raanu’s original desire without a problem.”
“Wait-“ began Ackar, his heightened suspicions of Varonis jumping when Varonis mentioned hearing Raanu’s story. “-Varonis, you weren’t here to hear Raanu’s story, how could you have-“
But he was cut off by Varonis, who was now in a full-blown discussion with the other members of the meeting save Rohkea, who was simply listening to it all.
It seems he’s found refuge from suspicion in an argument, Ackar thought angrily, and tried to look for a way into the argument. When he found none, all his openings blocked by Varonis himself, he left his chair and stormed out the door, seeking time to cool off.
He paced the hallway outside of his office, thoughts racing through his head, all revolving around the mystery with the scroll, the Elder, Invidior, and now, Varonis. What does this all have to do with anything?
Suddenly, he felt the brush of a cloak against his ankle, and whirled around. But the owner of the cloak was already past him. Looking over his shoulder, he realized it was the great being Osavus, who seemed to be muttering something. Straining his ears, Ackar heard the words: “Invidior’s late and I don’t have time for this…”
Realizing that maybe Osavus was tied up in this puzzle as well, Ackar waited for Osavus to be a ways down the hallway, and then began to follow him. As Osavus turned the corner into an open courtyard that sprawled out over the surrounding area, another figure joined him. Ackar could see that it was indeed Invidior! This was beginning to get really interesting.
Ackar got closer, and began to hear snippets of their conversation. They were just words, but in this scenario words were more than enough to get him to listen. “destroy… security… scaffolds… collapse…”
Ackar moved closer to them, and was able to hear them both talking now.
“So, to sum this up, we’re gonna destroy the robot how?” asked Invidior.
“Are you that thick?” teased Osavus, which was responded to by a shout of annoyance from Invidior. “Anyway, we’re going to first have our henchman start a riot at the front gate, drawing all the guards to them. Then, while there’s not a lot of security, we’ll be able to get to the robot and then start our de-attach program. At any rate, you know what the program will do. It’ll take out the scaffolding of the robot and make it collapse. And then everything will come together.”
Invidior gave a nod of approval as Ackar’s eyes widened in shock, and his mouth dropped into an “O”. They’re going to destroy the robot? This is insane? What motive would they have to do that! There’s no reason to! I need to hear this out… thought Ackar, questions zipping through his mind like bullets.
“But what about Varonis?” asked Invidior. “Isn’t he in contact with the Elder too? What about that incident way back when? How do we know if he’s playing the double agent?”
“Good point,” said Osavus pointedly, “and I’m not sure what to do about it yet. Any ideas?”
“We could force him to tell us,” said Invidior.
“No, too blunt. We need something that he wouldn’t see coming until the minute it hits. Just like our plan to destroy the robot.”
So Varonis is involved in this. I’m not surprised, Ackar thought. I knew he had something to do with this after Rohkea’s story and after he told us he knew about what Raanu said. I’ll just have to question him later.
“Well, we don’t have to worry about him now. Now that we have the plan ready, we can execute it any time we want,” said Invidior.
“That’s true,” said Osavus, “but what about the Elder’s agent? I heard they dropped some secret scroll or something when they stole your blueprints.”
Invidior growled, still unhappy with the theft of his precious documents. He knew he shouldn’t have resorted to a low-key trading agency to transport the precious item. “Yeah, they did alright. It was the scroll signifying their duty. I saw some Glatorian pick it up, but I doubt they’ll know what it means.”
At this point Ackar knew that they were referring to Rohkea, and, afraid of being discovered, began to fall back, realizing that if they were to find him stalking them, he would surely be killed. This is all so confusing, thought Ackar. Anyways, I need to go back and tell the others. And I also need to ask Varonis some questions, because now I know for sure that he’s caught up in this too.
Several yards away stood a figure shrouded in shadow, unnoticed in a corner. Her eyes glinted out from beneath her large hooded cloak, fixed on the three beings in front of her. She watched the pair of Great Beings and their observer, who all were unaware of her presence. Readying herself to fight, she smiled.
Alright, so I have a question. Some of the people's descriptions of the characters may be different, so when we're finalizing all the chapters we need to check them against each other.
-CM
I'm enjoying it whilst I'm correcting.
I gladly contribute (even if it's only correcting and making posters.