Chapter Twenty – The talkative Beldurian.
Fake, Andin, and Perc returned to the Academy. Pria and her rested crew took up station once more. The officer tasked with monitoring Fake and Andin was lashed and reassigned to a remote outpost for his convenient absence during the Hinge raid.
Andin received fresh faces in his two alternative magics classes. His advanced fire class covered both semesters. The fire prince continued reading reports from the research lab. Progress had wholly stagnated. After the first month back the reports shrunk to only a half-page in length.
He tossed the report on the ground and asked his friend, “Do you feel bad about killing those pirates?”
Fake shrugged, “No – I remember what they did to those girls; I think they deserved death.”
Andin sighed, “Me either.” There was a long silence while they sipped their tea. Fake idly rubbed the window curtains between his fingers.
“Why do you ask?” said Fake.
“I haven’t slept since the raid; I keep seeing the faces of the men I killed in Eida.”
“Not the pirates?”
“No, I feel nothing for them; but the nobleman and the tower priest have been haunting me since the Hinge.”
“Sometimes I have terrible dreams about the old world. There aren’t any details, just feelings, especially the suffering,” Fake paused, he said with a smile, “I think that just means you are good person.”
“I haven’t seen you with Perc that much,” said Andin, changing the subject.
“We sort of slowed down after what happened,” answered Fake, returning them back to the raid.
Andin thought hard for a moment. He downed his tea and stood up, “Let’s go outside.”
“I thought you killed just one man in the Plane of Light,” said Fake.
“The other man was incidental, I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Are you going to tell me why you thought Odium was communicating with them?”
Andin let his eyes drift between the scenery. He took a sharp breath in, “Look if I tell you this it isn’t just another secret for you to keep, it’s going to pull you into it.”
Fake looked at him like he was overlooking the obvious, “I was pulled into this the moment you popped into my world.”
“My father has been having dreams too, from Mortem,” said Andin.
“One of the first gods?” asked Fake.
“Yes, he warned that Odium had learned how to influence mortals through dreams. But for once Mortem had the upper hand on the enemy. Nobleman Eilef was the first, then Marth Prestle, and now who knows what Mortem has told my father.”
Fake looked suspicious, “How can you know it was really Mortem speaking to your father?”
“I can’t, I asked him the same thing; he said he was certain it was Mortem,” said Andin.
“Well what does Mortem say Odium is after?”
“Some sort of means to return to physical form; a way to get back and a vessel to hold him.”
“To do what?”
“To finish what he started; to corrupt and consume the planes and their people.”
Fake pulled out two Traufian cigars from his pocket and motioned Andin to light them both. “These talks always end up with you looking very serious and upset; I thought these might help,” explained Fake.
The illusionist took a puff from his cigar and asked, “So what’s the plan?”
With his spirits lifted by his thoughtful friend Andin answered sarcastically, “Not much really; just figure out how to control the portals.”
“Which we can’t,” chimed in Fake.
“Then unite gods and mortals alike under one banner.”
“Which we won’t.”
“Finally, defeat a being so incomprehensibly powerful it took the sacrifice of all three of the old gods to stop him from completely destroying the world – which ended up irreparably broken into the planes.”
“Actually I think we can do that one,” joked Fake. Puffing cigars under the night sky the two friends relaxed from their heavy conversation. Fake teased Andin about the entourage of giggling schoolgirls that manifested when the prince walked the halls, “I think I’m going to tell them where you exercise in the morning.”
“I think I’ll tell them you’re on the market again,” countered Andin.
“I can hide, you can’t,” riposted Fake.