Month 12, Day 4 10:45AM

Marie

“Frigg? Who is Frigg?” Robards asked.

“Calder. I’m sorry. I had no idea this would happen.” Frank began to rummage through his component box. He found a brush and an screw top bottle, the pulled out a thumb sized beast core. He began painting a spell array on the table.

Marie was particularly concerned about Percy. He looked very alarmed.

“Master?” Marie asked.

Frank was muttering, and it sounded like he was saying “River, swim, current.” over and over.

“Poe? … Frank?” Marie had never seen him like this.

“When the Raven behaves that way, she is telling me not to get involved. I can’t … Frigg understood. It was me that did not. I was so interested in thinking about your future, I was not paying attention to the present. Do you understand?” He looked over the frame of his glasses, and looked at Marie in the eyes.

“You’re scaring him.”

Poe looked up at the teen. He shrugged.

“Sorry kid. Your talisman is not dangerous. Probably. This is something to do with me.”

“What … what do you mean?” Percy leaned forward in his chair to watch Poe construct the array. Robards, on the other hand, was looking toward the door.

‘The copper wants to go for help.’ Marie thought. ‘I wonder if Frank will let him.’

“I’ve got a curse. It’s like your curse, somewhat.” Poe replied. “My curse came from an experiment with fate magic. There are people and events that I must not interact with. I check, you see, with an oracle, to make sure I avoid making mistakes.”

“Oracle?”

Poe seemingly ignored the question, but then he continued. “It’s something that I have to do. If I don’t, I can get tangled too deep with fates that are better left alone. And, messing with the natural order … it doesn’t go well. So, the curse helps people forget me. It balances fate.”

“It’s my luck?”

“No.” Poe continued talking, uninterrupted in his work. “Luck magic … well it is not the it doesn’t exist. It does exist. Sort of. Anyone can make an endeavor more likely to succeed; the harder you work, the more likely success will follow. Moreover, magic to prepare for success can modify specific probabilities. So, that is luck, of a kind. Your problem, and mine, have to do with Fate magic. Fate magic … sets the flow of the present into the future.” Frank Someone gave you that talisman, and linked your augury to moths. My augury are ravens. And, the one I consulted doesn't want me to interact with you.”

“Frank, what are you doing?” Calder asked.

Poe did not answer. Marie had seen Poe behave alarmingly. She’d seen him look manic after returning from consulting Frigg. She had seen him after the Copper’s divination. He went beyond that, into the territory of frightening.

The boy looked nervously at her. She tried to smile reassuringly. She suspected that she’d failed. He scooted away from the table, and he was beginning to rock forward to stand, when Poe looked up and glared at him.

“The good news is, you won’t remember this.” Poe finished his freehand array.

To Marie, it appeared as precise as if he’d used a compass and a straightedge. There was a huge circle, nearly the entire width of the table and lines crisscrossing to make a huge regular hendekagram. But, inside it was a perfect circle, and inside that a curving line that made two balanced symmetrical shapes. A line from one edge linked to a third empty circle. Poe put the brush down and began snapping down metal tokens inside this smaller circle array. Each one had the fine tracery of an artifact, but they were placed in the empty spaces, one in the middle, and two at the points where they touched each line.

And, in the middle of each metal token, some sort of component appeared sandwiched between glass.

‘Fish scales?’ She thought.

Poe put the beast core in an empty space on circle that was attached to the side of the array.

“Frank!” Robards said.

“Don’t worry. This won’t change you at all.”

“What do you mean?” Percy asked, alarmed. He looked like he would try to stand again, but he wasn’t quick enough.

Poe stuck his left hand in a pocket, and raised his right hand toward the spell array.

“Time a river. Fate a current. I a koi. Swim the current. Swim the river.” Poe intoned.

The other two stared at him agape, and began to talk over one another.

Poe just repeated the bizarre chant. The second time, the first word seemed like it was more real. The third time, the last word of each phrase seemed more real.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Just as Marie was about to try to get more explanation, the brightly colored Koi on Poe’s coat erupted with motion, flashing into the air, then filling the room; a school of fish swimming in the air around them.

Marie could see every iridescent scale; white like pearls, orange like sunset, and black like raven feathers. The fish swam in the air, and she turned her head to watch them swim in a school around the room.

“Now.” Poe sighed. “Now we’re safe.” Poe said. Marie looked across the table at the other two; they were wide eyed with shock, but unmoving, like stones.

“Still with me Marie?” Poe said. Marie turned to him, and she noticed her hair floated, like they were underwater. Even Poe’s hair stood on end and waved like underwater plants.

“Poe, what is this?”

“It’s …” Poe made a strangling noise, then took another breath. “I can’t tell you much about the spell actually. I’m under a compulsion to withhold that information.”

“What can you tell me?”

“Now that I understand Frigg’s warning, I must not give this boy any advice on his tattoo. Or moths. Or potentially anything really. The consequences could be catastrophic.”

“How?”

Poe shrugged. “Could be anything. His curse could kill him. My curse could kill me. Reality might break and kill us all. Although, I’m more likely to become an aberrant, and just kill everyone in the room.”

Marie squeaked. She wanted to ask another question, but she was not sure what it would be.

For a possible destruction of everything Poe seemed to have calmed himself. Poe looked less wild and more thoughtful. He stuck his right hand in this pocket. Poe watched the fish swirl about the room for a bit. They all swum and brushed against Marie, Poe, and Robards. But, they avoided Percy, especially the arm with the tattoo.

“Not that I think he’s cursed in the ordinary way. He might actually be better off with the tattoo.” Poe observed. “I’d love to meet that hag. But, I bet she wouldn’t want to be anywhere near me.” His voice seemed more resonant in the surreal space.

“I do not understand.” Marie replied. Her voice felt strange in her ears. It sounded shiny, like a mirror. The other two remained unmoving, like statues.

“We’ve got the ability to make our own decisions, right?” Poe’s voice echoed in the space, now sounding as if he was talking into a barrel.

“Sure. Didn’t you say so?” The sound of Marie’s reply wobbled like splashing water.

“Right. Mostly. There are times when we don’t make our decisions alone. Not all our decisions. Imagine there’s a story being written with all the details left vague, but the outline must always ring true.” Poe’s voice sounded quiet, but backward echos made it sound briefly louder

“Yes?” Marie wasn't sure what that meant at all. And her voice changed again; sounding like crystal.

“That is fate magic. You can’t tell what the future is, but, there’s a shape to it. Possibilities going one way or the next. It all fits in that shape: like a gestalt of events. We tried to … well. Let’s not talk about that now. My will—even assisted as it is by my coat’s enchantment and a bigger than usual spell array—isn't going to last forever.” Whispers now followed Poe’s words, sounds chasing each other.

“Why am I not” Marie gestured to the other two still forms, “like that?” Was her voice sounding more like breaking the ice that formed on the tops of rain barrels?

Poe laughed. “I don’t know! Isn’t it amazing?” Poe’s voice had a sound like trumpets behind it.

“Um.” Marie smelled a fresh water pond. She wasn’t sure why she thought of that; the only thing she’d smelt was canal water.

“Write them a note; something simple that says I didn’t find anything. The tattoo is probably harmless.” Poe’s voice was beginning to sound normal again.

“Is it?”

“Who knows?” Poe reached toward the spell array. The koi were gone, the inky marks from the array disappeared, then Poe swept an arm over the table taking all of the coins, the brush, the ink bottle, and his beast core into his hands. He shoved the lot into his coat’s front pockets. Robards and Percy blinked.

“Apologies Calder, but there’s nothing to report. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Irving. While that tattoo is very elegant, you will need to consult someone else on any magical effect it has.” Poe said. “Marie will write you a receipt.”

And, without waiting for a response, he strode out.

Marie covered her eyes in embarrassment.

“What in Myrddin is that man about?” She muttered.

Percy looked puzzled. “Was that … fish?”

“Koi. It’s a type of decorative carp.” The Lieutenant replied.

“Oh! We have a tank with fish like that at the restaurant.”

“Mm.” The Lieutenant nodded.

“Uh, So, is there something wrong?” Percy asked Marie. Percy showed showing the signs of Poe’s curse: glazing eyes, puzzled expression, and lost memories. “He cast a spell, but he … wait, why am I thinking about fish? Did his coat have fish on it?”

“Does anyone smell water? Like a pond?” Robards asked. Marie had already witnessed Robards’ poor resistance to the curse, and he was fading even faster this time.

Marie wondered if the curse tugged at her memory as well. She tried to remember; where had she smelled a freshwater pond before? The images of Koi floated in her mind; when had she recognized what koi were?

She needed to write the note, reminiscing would have to happen later.

“Sorry! One moment while a prepare a receipt!” Marie had a pad of paper, a small, portable bottle of ink with a dip pen for writing. She was tempted to just write down everything that happened, and let these two sort out Poe on their own.

But, in the end, she liked Percy, and it would be better if he was not involved in Poe’s nonsense. In fact, as she wrote, she wondered if she should continue participating in this mess.

So, she wrote a very simple explanation: the tattoo was probably not dangerous, Poe could say nothing more about Percy’s curse, and, because Marie was trying to be kind, she told them to not worry too much about it.

As she was writing, the other two were almost about to ask her a question, when she held up a finger to stop them, and finished the last line.

“Here you are gentlemen.” She handed both a near identical copy of the receipt. There wasn't much point in hanging around. She gathered the component box and fled.

She found Poe outside, pipe in hand. But, it was unlit.

“Thank you Marie.” Poe said calmly. He seemed fine. The koi on his coat didn’t move.

“Poe. Are you gong to explain what happened?”

“Didn’t I already?”

“… No?”

“I should think it was obvious. I cast a spell.”

“I meant, what happened that made you like this. Your curse.”

“We experimented with magic better left alone.” Poe’s haunted look stilled any more questions Marie had.