Chapter 19: Zand has a Chat with an Old Friend

I should have foreseen what happened next. No doubt, peacetime had made me idle. As I grew comfortable in being sequestered, I was unaware of the tell-tell signs of peril. The Tarrus government was changing. Elementals were starting to arouse as much misgivings as Mystics. It seemed that newly rising officials in the government were beginning to see no distinction between Elementals and Mystics. The escalating argument became one of semantics. ‘Was there really a difference between Elementals and Mystics’? They both possessed power that most humans did not, meaning that they were both equally dangerous. As the tide of public opinion began to turn against my newfound Elemental allies, it was not too difficult to imagine what it spelled for my family and me, the actual Mystics.

As Torsha and Ryan began to make their way through the green camp, Ryan was becoming increasingly nervous.

“All right, Ryan. It’s time for you to prove yourself as a scout. You do remember the routes we took, right? Which cubes would be better to avoid, where the other enemy camps are? They’ll need to know these things if we are to chart the most efficient course for the army to reach the tower in time.”

“Umm.”

Torsha didn’t seem surprised as a pained grimace touched her canine features. “Don’t tell me. You weren’t paying attention.”

“Okay. I won’t tell you.”

“Ryan,” said Torsha with a literal wolf growl.

“What?! Scouting is not exactly my forte!”

“Then what exactly is your forte?”

“Uh?” Ryan had to think about that one for a few moments. “Punching stuff. And blowing other stuff up.”

Torsha sighed. “As your mentor, I can’t give a report that was primarily your responsibility. But there is something I can do since the technique I have in mind will incorporate your own memories. Now listen carefully.”

While Torsha debriefed Ryan about her plan, he could not help but notice the signs of aggression throughout the camp. Many of the other candidates were giving Torsha and him looks of contempt. Some of them even started whispering to each other, as if they didn’t know that he could hear him.

“Look who’s back!”

“He’s still with that wolf girl.”

“I can’t believe that they’d let riffraff like that into our Ministry.”

“Dragonborn and Werewolves. Don’t you think it’s dangerous letting them roam around like this? I mean, I don’t want to sound prejudiced, but I heard they can be pretty unstable, especially around humans.”

“Elementals get a bad enough rep without guys like that giving us a bad name.”

“But I heard he’s part of the Grim Team, so he can’t be all bad.”

“Don’t be fooled. That was just a publicity stunt by the council because it’s been a while since Squad 99 got a new member. It’s not like he earned his way onto that team. Besides, I hear he’s only there so that elite Lurranna kid can keep an eye on him.”

“But still, isn’t it dangerous putting those two together? I mean, wasn’t that Lurranna guy once a Mystic?”

“I suppose the best way to keep tabs on a monster is to use another monster.”

My God! Are these people for real? What jerks! Leon has put himself in harm’s way to protect every one of them, and they don’t even care! And Torsha certainly doesn’t deserve this. I’ve gotta show these people that they shouldn’t make so many assumptions about others. But how? How can I win their trust?

Believe in yourself. That is all that I will ever require of you.

Zand’s voice had returned. The strange old man that had helped Ryan all those months ago. It seemed like a long time now, but hearing that old guy speak again sure made him feel nostalgic. Suddenly, all of his doubt and bitterness washed away like a river against a stone.

“Ryan, were you listening?” asked Torsha.

“Hm? Oh, yeah! Sure. That’s a good plan Torsha. I like that plan very much. Let’s do that plan.”

“You weren’t listening, were you?”

“I got the gist of it,” said Ryan, shrugging his shoulders. “You’ll do some sort of mind meld ... thingy that will help me remember everything more clearly so I can tell the rest of the army where it needs to go.”

Torsha seemed surprised. “Oh. So you were listening ... kind of. Well, I suppose that’ll do.”

Ryan and Torsha soon found themselves coming to the center tent where the war council waited. As they approached the entrance, Ryan heard shouting.

“I say we commit all our forces now and do a full-frontal assault,” said a stout and chubby young man with ginger hair.

“Who put Squad Six in charge? There’s a reason that each squad has a representative here, and that’s so that no voice receives precedence over the other,” said a girl with dark, curly hair, freckles on her cheeks, and bright, green eyes.

“What the heck does ‘president’ mean?” Ryan found himself saying aloud.

Silence pervaded as all eyes turned to Ryan. There were about twelve individuals present in the tent, and judging by how they carried themselves, they were all probably very skilled. Captain Reynolds was there too, but he seemed particularly perturbed as he stared at Ryan angrily.

Noticing this new change in events, Ryan began awkwardly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean ... I wasn’t trying to interject or anything, ‘cause you guys ... you guys pretty much got it handled. That was just a comment. Not like a ‘pay attention to me now’ comment. More like an unnoticed, background comment.”

“Who the heck are you?” asked the large ginger-headed boy.

“Oh, come on! You know me! I’m the guy! Remember? We did that one thing together that one time!”

Awkward silence again.

“Oh, I’m just shitting with you,” said Ryan as he gave the boy a playful slap on his shoulder. “We have not met.”

“You’re the scout, right?” said the freckle-faced girl.

“We had a scout?” asked another boy with blond hair and tanned skin who sounded like he wasn’t quite all there.

“Yes. My pupil and I were assigned as scouts and we have come to make our report,” interceded Torsha quickly.

“Yeah, we are,” agreed Ryan while trying to sound enthusiastic, but ended up sounding more sarcastic.

“Alright then scout, report,” said the ginger-headed boy.

Torsha nervously shoved Ryan and said, “You heard him, scout. Report.”

“Right,” replied the exasperated Ryan who was now on the verge of panic. “Me report. ‘Cause my mentor can’t report for me when the task of reporting is clearly mine. If she did make the report for me, that would be cheating. Therefore, I will do it ... the reporting, that is ... not the cheating.”

The young Elementals, who were all mostly human save for a few Demihumans in the ranks, looked around at each other in confusion, and that’s when Ryan saw his opportunity to give Torsha the signal.

“Ahem,” fake coughed Ryan very loudly.

“Oh,” cried Torsha in surprise as she put her hands to Ryan’s temples.

“What is she doing?” asked the freckle-faced girl.

Ryan took a few seconds to respond as he had yet to come up with a suitable lie. “Oh! You mean ‘why is she placing her hands on my head?’ Well, there is a very logical explanation for this behavior, and it requires a logical answer.

I don’t suppose they’d believe me if I told them that it was some kind of Werewolf tradition.

“You see,” continued Ryan, sweating now. “This is a training exercise that we developed ... while training. It helps me relax and process information.” Torsha pinched Ryan’s head tightly as punishment for the debauched lie that was sounding too much like telepathy, which was exactly what they didn’t want the Elementals to think it was. “I mean focus on concentration.”

“Focus on concentration,” repeated the tanned boy.

“Yeah. Basically, it helps me multitask. I have to concentrate on giving the briefing while ignoring the very distracting head massage that she’s giving me.” Ryan paused, waiting for Torsha’s reaction. “I said head massage.”

Torsha immediately started rubbing Ryan’s temple up and down.

“A little lower, masseuse,” said Ryan smugly.

“Don’t push it,” whispered Torsha under her breath.

“I will now give the briefing,” said Ryan, waiting for the images to come.

Sure as the sun, Ryan began to see images dance across his field of vision. It was like Torsha was allowing him to search through her memory banks and recall images instantly, like a computer. First, he saw the swamps. “Okay. I see a swamp. I ... I mean we’re walking through a swamp! No ... I mean ... crap ... we traveled through a swamp. Past tense.”

Then Ryan recalled images of scaling the mountain in the misty cube as well as images of him nearly falling to his death ... several times. The images were so vivid and clear that Ryan felt like he was back on the precarious mountaintop on the verge of falling off the cliff-side.

“Holy crap, I’m gonna fall!” shouted Ryan frantically while waving his arms around like a maniac. The listeners recoiled slightly in alarm. “I mean ... that I almost fell off the cliff in the 38th cube just north of the swamps.”

The charade continued for another hour or so until finally, Ryan concluded with, “And then the wolf bites me ... OWWW!”

For some reason, Ryan could recall the pain so poignantly that it almost felt like experiencing the bite all over again. Though it was not quite as bad as going through the real thing, it was still quite disturbing having to experience that memory again.

“That really hurts,” exclaimed Ryan, rubbing his shoulder. “I mean ... that did hurt. Past tense. Hurt so much that I can still feel it.” Suddenly, the images stopped as Ryan’s memories came closer to the present. “Okay. That’s it. I think I’m done with my report.”

Captain Reynolds suddenly spoke for the first time. “So, you’re saying that this Werewolf was somehow able to bypass the dampening fields protecting Ryan from fatal injury.”

“That looks to be the case,” said Torsha. “I’ve already informed command, but I’d recommend that one of the Seconds here give an official report as well. It will go easier coming from another Elemental. We should also consider the possibility of postponing the exams until this matter is resolved. But I suppose that’s not up to me.”

“All that aside,” interrupted the freckle-faced girl. “The scout did give a very ... vivid view of what lies ahead. We can now start our campaign on the Spire if he guides us.”

“So we’re going to do my plan, right? Full frontal assault, no bars held and junk, right?” asked the ginger-headed boy excitedly.

“Only if Captain Reynolds gives the go-ahead to continue the test,” said the girl, looking to the Captain expectantly.

The Captain seemed to consider for a little while, and then explained, “Until the higher-ups give the order to cancel the exams, we should still proceed as if the test is still in progress. But we will keep an eye out for the intruder and only travel in large groups from now on as a precaution.”

“In that case, scout dude,” asked the blond, tanned guy. “Do you feel up to it, what with that gnarly bite wound and everything?”

Ryan could detect the slightest hint of challenge in the boy’s tone, and responded thusly with a slight smirk. “You can count on it, beachboy.”

Zanderius was watching Ryan with a floating ball of light that pulsated with psionic energy. He had observed as Mozar attacked the group, something that Saria probably never intended when she hired their old associate. The plan had been ingenious on the enemy’s part. Even Zanderius did not think of that particular avenue of attack. However, he allowed the event to proceed for the same reason that he allowed many events to proceed. Certain incidents were interwoven into the fabric of Destiny, and needed to happen. With any luck, this event would propel Mozar back on the path he needed to go ... and perhaps one day, the endearing Werewolf would learn to forgive Zand.