Rain.
Oh, how Magnus loved the rain. Sometimes when it rained, he’d feel a stronger motivation to experience the great outdoors instead of sunnier, more happy days. He wouldn’t need an umbrella, all he needed was his fleece jacket, khakis and his signature white blutcher shoes and tap-dance in the rain letting the drizzle run through his curly chocolate-brown hair. A strange habit, but one he welcomed with open arms. When he had a hard time sleeping, or was stressed about the past, or even the future, he’d look out into the distance, on a day quite like this, and take a breath; allowing all his fears and worries to drift away, quite like the rain he showed such admiration for. Rain was therapeutic, Magnus loved therapeutic. It was the first day of the winter break, and Magnus was going to enjoy every second of it. He’d be off to a good start, as he heard the pitter of a cloudburst. Winter luck. Lucia had called him to do more digging onto the mysterious gifts and their peculiar perks, the source of them came from quite the poetic person whereas the supplier of which was an anonymous wight who’d placed it in Lucia’s palm before vanishing into the night; like most shady individuals who involve themselves in such tenebrous activities. Once again, like on most rainy days, Magnus put on his fleece jacket, khakis and shoes. Setting out towards Lucia’s house, with the intention of helping her with her endeavours.
“Wait right there, young man,” A voice from behind him said, he turned to see his father standing before him, with an austere demeanour. Magnus frowned; he knew what this was about. “Don’t forget this,” His father said, his stern face shifting into a lighter, friendlier twinkle, handing him an umbrella. How unfortunate.
“Oh! I almost forgot, thank you!” He said, taking the umbrella with a fake smile, deep inside, he was vexed. So close yet so far... His father winked at him before retreating to his bedroom, Magnus looking on grumpily. As he stepped out, he could hear how strident the storm was, hearing every single raindrop clattering against the porch, he looked up, to see the clouds, an onyx grey, so dark one would think it was a later hour. He allowed the rain to caress his face, embracing its force, taking a deep breath, he opened his umbrella and began his journey to the bus station.
He noticed that parts of the roads were submerged in ankle deep water rippling against the careful touch of the accompanying wind, in the puddles, he could see his reflection, smiling at himself with his joyous complexion; his hazel eyes glowing a vibrant rose in the lights of ongoing cars. As he sat down on the bench at the stop, he glanced across the rainy streets he had walked down, the precipitation had fogged up the air, creating a haze around the stop, reducing his surroundings to silhouettes. He smiled at the scene, it was pure and natural, and a pure demonstration of the atmosphere the earth could craft. From deep within the fog, a yellow glow started to expand. The bus had arrived.
(...)
The ride was soothing to Magnus, he sat down listening to funk on his headphones and laid his head on the window, feeling the tapping of the rain on the other side as they raced down the window. The bus was empty, being the start of winder break, nobody had many reasons to take it. He had the place to himself. Getting off, he noticed that the powerful storm had reduced into a more pacific drizzle, he slotted the hook of his umbrella into his pocket and continued his journey, dancing and whistling to the clicks of the few drops that hit the pavement. The sun began to surface over the various tall budlings, spotting the floor below him with different shades of yellow, some shining on the few-remaining puddles, caused them to glow polychromatic. Magnus watched in awe as they shun charmingly. He arrived at Lucia’s abode and knocked on the door, waiting enthusiastically. The door was opened by her mother, she looked weary, but her face lit up at the sight of him, “Hello Magnus! Everyone was waiting for you, please, come inside,” she said, smiling, beckoning him with her security. “Thank you, Mrs Filmore,” Magnus said, with a beam on his face, Lucia lived in a chic house in the city, he loved to visit her place because it was so interesting; due to its history, there were a lot of activities and secrets that dwelled below the surface of the estate and they both knew about the explorational potential it had. Infact, one of the reasons he was here today was because of a secret, he laughed at the thought. He placed his fleece and umbrella on the coat hanger and made his way upstairs, though when he opened the door to Lucia’s bedroom, she was nowhere to be seen, Magnus scratched his head in puzzlement. “Psst! Over here,” A voice said, Magnus turned his head, still nobody. “No, no above you! Look above you!” The voice hissed. He did what it said and looked up, to see Lucia looking down at him through an open trapdoor in the attic, “Oh, hey Lucia!”
“Hey Gus,” she said, unfurling the ladder, and placing it out for him, “Get up here! We were waiting for you” she giggled “Oh right, yes, my bad” Magnus apologised, mounting the ladder. The attic was spacious, with a large, slanted window in the centre that illuminated the entire room, there was a small desk with a laptop and lamp on it, the ceiling was lined with LED strips that made the room glow purple. On the other side of the attic, there was a beanbag and a small bed, covered in plushies and pillows, Aiden was sleeping against the framework. And to the opposite of the window was a small bookshelf, decked with novels and comics, Cynthia was sat on a stool flicking through a comic book. Above the bookshelf lay the sleek jet-black box that had held the curios, the V.I.P tickets stuck out of it. Lucia curled herself in a corner and continued to bury herself in the notebook. Magnus strode over to the bed and sat down, scrutinising the room. The bed was warm and snug, and made no sound at all. Silent minutes passed between the quartet as they each tended to their own business, finally Lucia got up from her corner and began to move, “hey guys, I reckon I found something quite interesting about this notebook,” she began, her announcement roused Aiden who was now looking up at Lucia, Magnus and Cynthia also turned from their occupations and turned to her. “You should read this part of the journal; it mentions some really interesting stuff.” The page she was pointing to was filled with composite sketches of different concepts, concepts that Magnus had a tough time absorbing, due to its multiplex nature. But on the page following there was a segment where it looked like notes were written.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I have been granted an article beyond my comprehension, a gift that proposes ideas that have been unheard and unseen of before by man. An article that manipulates the concept of logic, an article that manipulates the conscience and makes it an interface to worlds that defies all knowledge society has developed up until this point, I am in possession of this article, yet I have the feeling that it is in possession of me simultaneously, I have managed to employ concepts that have perplexed man for decades, Quantum tunnelling, Light speed, Wormholes, Black holes and even time, I have also been granted the knowledge to put hypotheses into practice. I have been granted the knowledge of the universe, yet the provider of this knowledge has incarcerated me in my own mind or is trying to.
“Fascinating, very fascinating,” Magnus rubbed his chin. “I see a person with that level of knowledge existing causing a predicament,” Aiden sighed “Knowledge is power after all,”
“But this person seems to be locked up, surely, he can’t be that much of a threat to anyone? No?” Lucia replied, “Well maybe that’s the case, but they did say it was a conscientious issue, if I were to draw a conclusion, I’d say the knowledge made them unhinged,” Cynthia acknowledged. They read on.
I am trapped in my own mind, and I have cognized the fact that my conscience is materialising in a world that parallels the conventional, during comatose intervals. The article is in control of this world and the minds of the inhabitants, I have named this world “The Dreamscape” Due to the requirements necessary to access such a place. The article remains in the overworld while I am trapped in The Dreamscape. I am imploring for succourance.
“This person is definitely in some sort of danger,” Lucia insisted, “Well I can see that now,” Aiden added, Cynthia and Magnus nodded. “This person is... was in contact with an item that seemed to be messing with his mind?” Magnus asked, “That seems to be the case, it’s a very unfortunate situation for the person,” Aiden mentioned.
“I think that a person with that much knowledge is worth saving, who knows what that knowledge could do” Lucia said with vehemence. Aiden leered at her “Okay, sure, let’s go save a random person we have no idea of, let alone their location” he said, “doesn’t seem like a very wise case to pursue, Lucia,”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Aiden,” she said, “Oh? How so?” Aiden asked sarcastically, Lucia pointed to above the bookshelf, where the box was perched, the golden V.I.P cruise tickets still sticking out. “Yeah, so? What does that pro-” Before Aiden could continue, Lucia brought out her laptop, which was on a page of a map, pointing it in Aiden’s face, “What is this this supposed to be?” Magnus asked, “7231 Cedarwood St, Calneclare, London SDE75 9UN, the address of the sender,” Lucia answered, “The cruise tickets are also to go to London too, perhaps the sender is intentionally sending us these messages, so we can help them?”
“That’s a valid point to make,” Cynthia said, she looked at Aiden who gave a nonchalant shrug, she returned her focus to the journal, she narrowed her eyes as she noticed a part that Lucia missed out, she read it out slowly.
The article requires a key of the sorts in order to initialize. This key has been redistributed and I am unable to recollect this constituent.
Magnus’s train of thought was cavernous, and he seemed to be heavily immersed in it. “A lock and a key, that will access the mysterious item that seems to have this man trapped?” He asked finally, the extracts were befuddling, hence the extensive line of inquiry he had for his friends. “Yeah, but it looks like this key is lost...?” Cynthia reminded, pointing to the part that articulated that point. “Perhaps it’s in the second round of gifts, in London?” Lucia suggested, Aiden appeared deep in thought once again, a rare occurrence, yet a welcoming one. “It would be a shot in the dark, acting upon speculations like that would be really detrimental,” Aiden said “I suppose it’s worth a try” Magnus started, “I suppose” Aiden said.
Lucia beckoned the trio over to her laptop, “we should look more closely into this cruise; besides, we don’t know where it departs from and where it arrives from,” Cynthia expressed her acquiescence with an “OK” gesture with her hand. “Give me one of the tickets, it should have all the information about the cruise on there,” Lucia asked, Magnus got up from the bed and grabbed the stack of tickets from the box.
“VIP TICKETS TO THE A.U. VOYAGER! A LUXURIOUS CRUISE ACROSS THE VAST SEAS, DECKED WITH ENDLESS ACTIVITIES, DELICACIES, DRINKS AND ACOMMODATION”
Magnus lent Lucia one of the 5 tickets in the box, “A.U. Voyager? I’ve heard of that before, my Pa used to take that whenever he has a business trip abroad,” she said, tapping on her keyboard, “Not sure where it was exactly that he took the cruises, or their docks, I do know that they are up North however,”
“Which way is north?” Aiden asked, looking around the room, expecting to see indications of North. Cynthia pointed at the box, “I remember seeing a compass in Lucia’s box” She chimed, “perhaps that may help us, if it works at all, that is”. Magnus chucked the compass at Aiden, who caught with his available hand. He analysed it, “Oh I get it now” he said, running his finger across the surface of the compass, his index following the path of the needle. “Hey guys, check this out,” Lucia called out, “I found the website for the A.U. Voyager, and all of its information” she turned the laptop to face the trio “The cruise was founded in 1925, by a woman of the name Trixibelle Garnier, a French sailor who adored the sea, during the earliest models of the ship, the intention was to carry Fish, Gold and other goods across the globe, but when the company was handed down to her grandchildren Alexander and Urielle Monet they commercialised the ship as a luxurious cruise, with the main purpose of travelling tourists, instead of cargo,”. Cynthia took the laptop and continued to read in Lucia’s place, “it says here that the A.U. Voyager and the Monet Twins' main port is on the Boscouche Coast in Maine and their next departure is on Sunday”
“This Sunday?” Magnus asked, “Yes, this Sunday” Cynthia answered, “Thats the date that’s mentioned on the ticket too,” Lucia added. “How are we going to get to Maine in 2 days? Seems like quite a task” Magnus looked around the room, “I could ask my father if he’d be willing to take us to the docks for then?” Aiden offered, “That would be pretty helpful, yes,” Cynthia said.
Lucia closed the laptop and placed it back on the desk, putting the tickets, journal and compass back in the box. The puzzles were beginning to slot into place, although gradual, Lucia could feel it, and it was a very gratifying feeling indeed. She smiled to herself as she collapsed onto the bed, Magnus doing the same, Cynthia leaned on the slanted wall with a faint smile too. “Well, what's the plan for the weekend then?” She asked. Aiden got to his feet, smirking “Well isn’t it obvious?” Everyone turned to Aiden, anticipating his next words. He laughed, pointing to the window,
“We go North,”.