The Knights liked to travel by steam train. The seats were comfortable and gave ample leg room for the tall ones, the drinks were cheap, the scenery was great once they left the kingdom limits, and it beat riding horses. Quil wanted to reserve the VIP area because he’s boujie sod, but since it was a last minute booking, the VIP area was not an option. Reese commented that she liked riding in coach anyway. The others were ambivalent to how they traveled; they were thankful that the train was air conditioned.

They didn’t have any trouble finding seating because as soon as people realized who they were, they gladly offered their seats to them and sat elsewhere. Quil felt slightly guilty about this, but Jaco was only too happy to accept on the team’s behalf, much to Quil’s chagrin.

Once the team sat down, Reese noticed Everett was staring out the east facing window. He appeared more agitated than usual. She gave him a soft pat on the head and asked, “What’s wrong now, Everett?”

Everett took out his flask and took a gulp. “We’re not going to get there in time.”

“Why do you say that?” Romana asked. She pressed the button that allowed her seat to lean back. “This is the fastest train on the continent.”

Everett shook his head. “There’s another train in the south that’s faster, but that’s not really the point, is it?” He tightly gripped his satchel to his chest. “Whomever is behind the theft of the statue is working fast against us. I can feel it.”

Quil was never quite sure how to assuage Everett’s constant worrying, but he felt that as team leader, he should say something comforting and inspiring. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

Everett glanced at him with an eyebrow sarcastically raised. “And the sun will come out tomorrow? Was that supposed to make me feel better?” He could tell by the slightly saddened expression on Quil’s face that it was supposed to. The poor sap. “Well, you suck at it. Stop it.” Quil shrugged his shoulders.

Everett returned to the window and looked for any sign of impending doom on the horizon. He knew that time was against them. It didn’t matter how fast this train was; they were going to be too late to stop anything. He felt his stomach tighten. He wouldn’t be able to eat anything for a while. All he could do was hope that things didn’t go to crap too badly to where they wouldn’t be able to clean it up.

The train zoomed through the countryside all through the day. The team mostly rode in silence after Everett’s prediction of doom. They all thought about what might be awaiting them when they got to the Hyleian Mountains. Without a lot of information, they didn’t know what they might be stepping into, hopefully nothing too deep.

It wasn’t until night fell that they all felt a strange energy in the air. They couldn’t put their finger on what was going on, but they knew it wasn’t good. Everett took another sip from his flask as if to say, ‘I told you so.’ There was nothing they could do about it. They had to just endure the uncomfortable feeling until it went away, if it would go away. No sleep was had by anyone.

***

Tidas ran as fast as he could through the forest, occasionally taking small breaks, until he finally reached the village of Lagrimos before nightfall. He fell to his knees and panted heavily just outside the village border. He hadn’t run like that since secondary school. The coach always pushed him to run faster than he thought he could. He chuckled because it appeared the coach had prepared him for this day.

There were some people working the fields nearby who saw him approach. They called out to the others to let them know that a stranger had arrived. A few minutes later, two men came over and helped him off the ground. One of the men kept asking him if he was okay and if he needed water. He couldn’t get enough air to properly respond yes to all of his questions. He just concentrated on not passing out.

The two men escorted him to a small single room house. He was surprised by the bright yellow walls and teal carpeting. While he wasn’t an interior designer, he knew better than to paint a house yellow if he had teal carpeting. Maybe the people who lived here were color blind, that would certainly explain it.

The men led Tidas to a soft bed that had a red cover on it. Again, the colors were striking. He sat down and gladly accepted a glass of water. He quickly gulped it down and asked for another. The taller of the men gladly obliged.

The shorter of the two crossed his brawny arms as he examined Tidas. “What business do you have here?” he asked, his voice was deep and commanding.

“I’m here to meet someone to give something to them,” Tidas wasn’t thinking clearly otherwise he wouldn’t have revealed his purpose. It wasn’t until he finished the second glass of water he realized what he’d done. A chill traveled down his back as he thought about the possible consequences. Would his employers threaten to break his legs, arms, or neck? It was best not to think about that too much right now. Maybe these men wouldn’t care.

“Oh, that’s fine.” the man said. “We’ve been expecting you. Someone else arrived today looking for you.” He offered Tidas a warm smile. “They’ll be here any minute. In the meantime, relax.” The two men regrouped by the front door. “Fred and I will be right outside if you need anything.” The two men left the house and could be heard talking excitedly.

Tidas was expected and the village people knew about it? He didn’t see that coming. Did the village people know about the statuette he stole? Were they in on the plan? This was just too bizarre.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Suddenly, he felt something move in the satchel. It startled him. He took the satchel off and threw it across the room before he could stop himself. He could hear it vibrate on the floor. He got up from the bed and slowly approached the satchel. It was visibly shaking. He reached down and picked it up. He opened it and pulled out the statuette. It shook violently in his hand. It tickled and caused him to giggle a little bit.

He felt a sense of dread wash over him as he examined it. There was a weird energy being released from it. Every fiber in his body told him he shouldn’t be touching it, that he needed to be as far from it as possible if he wanted to live. He listened to this and put the statuette back in the bag. Whatever it was doing, he didn’t want to be a part of it. He tossed the bag on the bed and headed for the door.

The door opened and he was met by the two friendly men. “You’re leaving?” the taller one asked.

“Just needed some air,” he lied.

“You will remain where you are,” said an old woman’s voice. The men separated to reveal the woman who had spoken. She was a really old woman, she looked maybe eighty years old, which probably meant she was much older than that. She wore a long, tattered brown robe, and dirty sandals. Her stringy grey hair flowed onto her shoulders from the hood she wore. She looked like the quintessential wicked witch one might have seen in children’s picture books. “I’ve waited all day for you. I would hate to see you leave now.”

Tidas took a step back to allow the woman to enter. The men smiled at him and closed the door behind them. Tidas didn’t want to be alone with this woman, but it appeared he had no choice.

“Do you have it?” she asked, holding her grey, veiny hand out.

“Yes,” he replied.

The hand beckoned. He gave the woman the bag. He didn’t want to touch the statuette with his bare hands ever again. He watched as the woman hurriedly opened the bag and retrieved her prize. The statuette was still now. Somehow the woman’s touch had calmed it. He was amazed.

“You’ve done well,” the woman said. She grinned to reveal that despite the stereotype, she had a mouthful of glistening white teeth. She stared into the eyes of the statuette and licked her lips. She chuckled as she went through the plan in her head.

It was a few seconds before the woman realized that Tidas was still there. She gazed at him with her glassy eyes and smiled. “You must be waiting for your reward, aren’t you, dearie?” She signaled for him to come forward. “Don’t be afraid.”

Tidas didn’t trust this woman as far as he could probably throw her, which wasn’t far because his arms were still sore from the mountain climbing. He wanted to push past her and run out the door. Once he decided that was the plan, he found that his feet would not obey him. He found himself slowly approaching the woman. When she commanded him to kneel before her, he was on his knees instantly.

The feeling of not being in control of his body frightened him. His heart beat faster. There was a chill that caused goose pimples to rise all over his skin. His eyes found their way to the woman’s. He didn’t like the malevolent glint they had in them. He also didn’t like the wicked smile she wore. He wanted to wince and turn away as the woman placed her hand on his forehead. His eyes immediately widened, and the pupils dilated. He instantly felt lightheaded.

“Sleep,” the woman whispered.

Tidas had no choice; he had to obey. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy. He struggled to keep them open, but they eventually shut. He fell to the floor, the impact softened by the teal carpet. At first, it felt like he was just going to sleep, but after a few seconds, he had difficulty breathing, then he stopped all together. It was as if his body had somehow forgotten how to breathe. Suffocation was instant. His body convulsed for a minute before it ceased. A minute later, he was gone.

The woman looked away from her work and held the statuette above her head. She laughed as she stared at the relic in the eyes. “Oh, the horrors we will unleash!”

Her laughing was interrupted when her Crystal device rang. She stopped laughing and answered her device. “Hello?”

“Is it done?” asked a soft woman’s voice.

“Yes, mistress. I have the statuette.”

“Excellent, Maltrice. Begin working on removing the spell. I want total chaos by day break.” And with that, the line was dead.

Maltrice put the Crystal in her robe pocket. She eyed the statuette and grinned. She was going to enjoy unraveling the Master spell that guarded it. If Mistress wanted to see chaos, her wish was Maltrice’s command.

She promptly sat down next to the body and set the statuette down in front of her. She closed her eyes as she waved her hands over it. She felt the positive energy swirling around it push against her negative energy. It started off strong at first, but as her power continued to interact with it, the positive energy weakened. It was only a matter of time before it was eradicated entirely. There wasn’t a Master spell she couldn’t break. She wasn’t a supreme witch for nothing. She just had to be patient. Time was definitely on her side. She hoped to meet the deadline, but what she didn’t want to tell Mistress L was that Master spells take time to break. Things would happen by mid-afternoon at best. The mistress may be upset, but she will be pleased with the results.