CHAPTER 2
THE SECOND ENTRY IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MASON COURBIS
"A Blast From the Past"
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"This knowledge comes at a price," said the old crone. "And that price... is fifty dollars. Cash." She chuckled softly as her wrinkled cheeks turned up into a wry smile. I sighed and shook my head.
"That's a hefty sum of money you're asking for. How can I even be sure you can tell the future?" I was sitting inside of an alleged "Fortune Teller's" place of business, which was a very small house-shaped building off of the busy street of Broadway in the middle of down-town Chesterville. There was a sign out front that read, "Fortune Telling," in neon lights, as well as a small billboard with generic-looking text. It had been adorned with what reminded me of christmas lights in order to give it an air of mystery, supposedly.
As you can likely surmise, the place that I'm describing can't possibly exist on the continent of Hsura. Or even anywhere on the world Hsura resides upon, for that matter. The place I'm describing is actually located on a planet called Earth; somewhere far away from here I'd imagine. Please, bear with it for now. I assure you, everything will make sense in time. For now, I ask that you simply enjoy the story.
The fortune teller sat in front of me, wrapped in shawls and adorned in various gaudy bits of jewelry. Her face was worn and wrinkled, perhaps adding to the character she was trying to embody. She smiled wryly with her arms comfortably folded as they rested upon the table before her. Between us sat a large, misty crystal ball that seemed to be filled with an almost tangible butt of smoke. It sat upon a lovely hand-carved wooden pedestal; the set looked as though it were valuable enough to be considered heirloom items, and quite possibly were.
"Hm hmm, a skeptic, are we?" The old crone hummed softly and squinted her eyes. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she'd definitely encountered many who had doubted her abilities in the past, but what intrigued me was her air of complete and total calm. She held herself in a way that suggested she could wield true power, or that her performance was so convincing that she'd never yet failed to captivate her customers. I had to know why.
"Perhaps, though I simply like to think of myself as cautious. I'll make a proposal," I said, reaching into my coat to retrieve my wallet. "I'll pay twenty-five dollars in advance..." I slid a couple of bills onto the table, and tapped them twice with my index finger. "... And I'll hold the other half until you've shown me my future, on one condition." A gnarled hand slipped out from the shawls across the table and rested upon the bills possessively as a dragon might claim something for its hoard.
"Hoo hoo, what a businessman," teased the crone as she eagerly accepted her half-payment. Her confidence suggested she believed that securing the other half was already as good as done. "And what is this... “condition,” of yours?"
"My condition is simple." I leaned in close and offered a small grin. Her eyes widened a moment as she looked into mine; I could see a faint, familiar glimmer within the deep wells of her pupils. I'm certain she saw the spark that lived deep inside of mine. "If I can figure out how you're trying to trick me, I'll take my money back." At this, the fortune teller offered a wide, satisfied grin.
"I accept! I've nothing to fear, as what I do here is the furthest thing from trickery; you'll simply have no choice but to pay in full once you see what powers I command..." She reached out and placed both of her hands onto the crystal ball as she let out a calm, slow breath. "... Now, tell me, Mason Courbis... What will you choose to learn about your future?" I smiled at this and leaned back.
"... Show me what my life will be like five years from now." I decided to give her something easy.
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"Certainly," said the fortune teller. She leaned forward, and I began to feel a small amount of pressure emanating from her, as if she were swathed in a field of electricity, or emitting frequencies below the audible spectrum. My smile widened and my excitement began to grow; this was the real deal. As the pressure grew, the old woman's eyes began to softly glow with an arcane energy. The mist within the crystal ball began to spin and the atmosphere grew tumultuous. A vortex formed, violent and powerful, before suddenly subsiding into an obscure landscape. I could see rolling hills, grassy plains, and mountains in the distance. The sky was dark and full of stars, yet the terrain was bright and visible as it was swathed by the light of the moon. I stared for a moment, eyes squinted, as I racked my brain in order to discern what this might mean. I wasn't offered much time to think, however, as within but a few seconds, the landscape changed. It warped and twisted as if created by swirling water, until eventually it formed into a new vision. I could see the city in which I lived from the sky, as if from the eyes of a bird of prey. Then, suddenly, the vision dived down towards the streets and singled in on a small group of people. As the view became still, I could easily make out who the people were; my youngest sister and her friends, waiting at a stop light before crossing. They were smiling and laughing as they poured over something on one of their phones.
"Fascinating..." I couldn't help but say something. It wasn't often I was able to find genuine magical artifacts, and I was quite pleased to see such a gratuitous display of one firsthand. The visions continued. The scene within the crystal ball twisted and changed once more and began to take shape in some obscure, dark location. Two figures moved within it, appearing to be a man and a woman, and though it was dark I could make out that they seemed to be in the heat of passion. The scene was difficult to place, as the lighting was poor, and the figures were nearly silhouettes if not for the small stream of what looked like moonlight coming through the closed blinds of a window. It continued for a few moments, almost begging the question as to what sorts of encounters this would suggest I'd have in the future, before eventually dissipating and twisting into something else. The last scene finally took form, and I could quite easily tell what it was supposed to be. I could see my parents' house in the distance, standing quiet and still with no cars in the driveway. It seemed cold, empty, and devoid of all life. The trees in their yard, branches bare after the leaves had left them, bent and swayed as the wind blew through them. That last scene lingered for a while before eventually dissolving into mist once more. The crystal ball returned to its natural, cumulus state. The glow from the fortune teller's eyes faded away, and her visage returned to normal once more. She let out an exhausted breath of air, but with a smile on her face that suggested she felt she was victorious. Surely she had shown me the truth, and I'd have no choice but to pay her in full, plus tip.
"Hm hmm... Quite a lot to this future of yours, I see... where to begin, I wonder?" Her wide toothy smile remained confident for a moment; when she looked up, however, it almost disappeared immediately. My own expression was that of pure amusement. I couldn't stop the mirthful laugh which burst forth from my chest.
"Where to begin, huh? I think I've got an idea. Let's see..." I brought my hands up onto the table and held them on either side of the crystal ball a couple inches away from its surface. The old crone's eyes went wide and she shrieked in terror.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH IT!" She was furious, but beneath the anger, there was genuine fear in her eyes. My grin only grew wider as a crackling light began to shine from my eyes.
"I don't have to." A visible energy, almost akin to electricity, began to spark between the orb and my fingers. The "fortune teller" recoiled in shock and fear as the atmosphere within the crystal ball began to shift and change once more. As the mist settled, I brought the scene back to the vision of my home city from the sky, before once again zooming in to a specific street. Familiar faces were in view once more, those of my younger sister and her friends who had since crossed the street. One of the women retrieved a device from their pocket, and lit up the screen. I brought the view yet even closer to read the information displayed upon it; there, clear as day, was the present date. I let out a soft chuckle at that, and let the scene dissolve. "I'm impressed. I never thought I'd see a genuine scrying orb. It's still divination, so you're at least in the right school..." I looked up to her, my eyes still full of arcane energy. "It's definitely the most impressive snake-oil I've ever seen." I forced a scene to materialize once more, and after a couple of seconds, we could see ourselves within the orb as if we were looking down from the ceiling. I moved the point of view down and flew past our table as I approached a door behind the fortune teller. I flew our vision through the keyhole and entered into an obscure, yet familiar dark room. Within, two figures were visible, a man and a woman, who were now sitting upon a sofa. Their faces and upper bodies were illuminated by the screen of a laptop computer, and as I circled around to see what it was they were viewing, I was greeted by a rather well-known social media platform. I could see information about my family and friends, as well as pictures of them. I finally let go of my control over the scrying orb, and the vision vanished. I rested my hands upon the table and looked up to the old crone, victorious.
"I think I'll be taking my money back."