Chapter 5: Searching
The search began with Score feverishly jumping about the common room the next morning. "How do you tell if someone is a magic user?" he asked Pixel, "I mean, we don't want to meet some great people and then have them explode on us when we try to take them through the Portal."
"We shall certainly try to prevent any unfortunate exploding," Pixel replied dryly. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Don't you think there's a reason that there are absolutely no other people on Dondar at all?"
"Coincidence," scoffed Score, "Besides, we're hot-shots, we can take care of them."
Pixel stared at his friend for a few seconds. "I don't think it's such a great idea. What do you want more people around here for anyway? And what makes you think they're going to want to come?"
Score shrugged. "Oh come on, with my charm? Who could resist?"
"Right." Pixel muttered sarcastically, "you charm, I forgot."
"Don't tell me you don't want to do this," Score whined as Pixel scrawled on a piece of paper.
"Wait here" the smaller boy commanded as he dashed up the stairs to the bedrooms. Score tottered around the room, running his hands over the tapestries that lined the walls. Helaine crept into the back of his skull. She would side with him against Pixel, he was sure. She wanted something new and exciting. Wasn't that why she left?
Pixel returned with one of his festering tomes of spells. Score groaned. "Work work work" he complained.
"Shut up," said Pixel, "you're starting to sound like Blink. Besides, you said you wanted a visitor." He fumbled through the pages.
"Yeah, so?"
"So why don't you start with a little humanitarian service? Look," Pixel shoved the book in Score's nose, "it's a searching spell. We list the specifications, and the spell, in combination with my ruby, will find the person. Are you in?"
"What kind of person are we looking for, exactly?" Score asked guardedly.
"Well, I thought since we have so much plenty, we could find someone in an incredible situation of need. You know, and help them out a bit. Get them back on their feet or whatnot." Score thought about what Pixel said. It sounded like a good start. In fact, it sort of appealed to him. Matt Caruso, young street kid, rises from the gutter and helps his former kind. Then he thought about it some more.
"Yeah, Pixel, I don't know what kind of happy-go-lucky world you're from, but uh, the kind of people you're talking about on Earth, they're more likely to rob us then thank us."
Pixel nodded sagely. "I already thought of that," he said.
"Of course you did," Score sighed.
"A child. We'll find some poor abandoned kid somewhere and fix them up real nice here. They would have to have some magic-wielding capabilities of course, or else we won't get them through the Portal."
Score cogitated. "Okay," he agreed, "What could go wrong?"
On another world, Helaine was just waking up. It was the first time she'd slept late in a long time. She stretched and yawned and considered re-curling up in the warm blankets that were heaped on her bed. It was divinely warm.
She forced her foot off the bed and dragged the rest of her body out of her slumber. The stone floor was a teeth grinding cold, and she skipped on her toes to the rug across her room. A thick blue robe hung on a hook. Helaine gratefully wrapped it around herself and tied it closed. It was time to hunt for some breakfast.
She poked her nose outside her door. She couldn't smell any food cooking, certainly no waffles in Shanara's castle. Helaine padded down the hall. Pixel always said she walked just like a cat. She paused at the crest of the stairs and looked down. The kitchen was undoubtedly beneath her somewhere, but the bathroom, which she thought was located somewhere on the second floor, was sounding very appealing.
Trying to remember the directions Shanara had given her the night before, Helaine felt her way down the corridor again. Was it the second or third door on the left? Second. It was definitely the second. Helaine triumphantly pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into-
A man. Helaine blinked for a second to be sure she was seeing things correctly. Tall, dark, and frighteningly handsome in the shadow of the dim room- he was real, no doubt. She backed out the door silently, eyes wide and white.
"Come again soon," he said huskily as she shut the door and fled down the stairs into the safe embrace of the warmly lit kitchen. Helaine gulped and sat down at the table, and then relaxed.
"You know," she said aloud to herself, "you're being remarkably silly. It's just a man, after all." She smiled a little to herself and sank into her chair a bit more. Come again soon. It was the first enticing thing she'd heard a man say to her. Helaine blushed. Now was NOT the time to be thinking about this.
But why not? She countered herself. Why not think about 'this'? She was a magic powerhouse and best friends with two boys, but that didn't change her status of seventeen and single. Technically, she supposed she was still engaged to Lord Muckety-muck, but who was to make her keep that promise?
Shanara drifted into the kitchen in a haze of dreamy pink hair. "Good morning, Helaine," she mumbled as she groped through the kitchen to the giant iron kettle hanging over the fire. The sorceress dipped an enormous spoon into the pot and scooped herself out a glop of gray sludge. "Want some?" The bathrobe-encased woman fixed another bowl without waiting for Helaine's answer. She slid the second bowl down the table to Helaine. "Transfigure away," she waved a hand and plunged a spoon into a bowl of strawberries. Helaine watched as Shanara made a face and took another bite. "No matter how pretty they look, it always ends up tasting like goop." She complained.
Helaine transformed her sludge into piping hot brown sugar oatmeal, and decided not to mention that it tasted just fine. No point in showing her hostess up.
"Morning, love," Shanara blew a kiss across the room. Helaine looked up and saw her mystery man, still ruggedly handsome and dashing. "Helaine, this is Dorian," She waved a manicured hand as he grinned charmingly at Helaine.
"We've met," he said as he pulled up a chair to the table across from Shanara. Helaine felt something drop in her stomach. He smiled.
"Really? That's wonderful." Shanara continued eating her strawberries, stealing glances at Dorian every few seconds and beaming. Oh God, thought Helaine, Shanara's in love.
"According to the spell, we have to recite the characteristics we're looking for in this manner..." Pixel trailed off as he skimmed the page. Score chewed on a piece of sun-baked grass. The boys had relocated their project to the riverside, as magic was generally more convenient when performed outside.
"How old are we thinking, Pix old buddy?" He asked, peering at the page over his friends shoulder.
"I was thinking seven or eight. We have to be able to handle the kid, and we're not all that old ourselves. Too young, and there are going to be some communication issues." Pixel stared at the letters a minute longer and then announced smugly, "I've got it." Score, by now well used to Pixel's uncanny skills, leaned back and waited. "We list the specifications in order of importance, and create a tag out of those words by reversing and dividing into chunks of syllables."
"You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you definitely just pulled that out of your ass." Score commented, ignoring Pixel's dirty look.
"So... strong magic user, orphan, age seven, translates into..." Pixel stared off into space a moment, "nev es eg an ah pro re su cig am gnorts." Score shook his head.
"I'll never understand you. Gnorts?"
"Just concentrate with me, okay?" Pixel demanded. Score sighed and fell in with his companion, focusing on the image of an orphan that would be strong enough not to explode through a Portal. After a minute of gray mind fog, Score still didn't see anything.
"Uh, Pix? Is it working?" He asked.
"Shh..." Pixel muttered. Score cracked an eye open and saw the ruby sitting on the ground was pulsing with fuzzy red light. "Okay, I found one," Pixel said quietly, "Now how do you propose we bring them here? They live on one of the rim worlds. Not Earth" Pixel added quickly seeing Score's look. "Not my planet, Calomir, either," he frowned. "We can't make a Portal directly there, because so far, no one has been able to do it. Not even the original Triad."
"Why not? Aren't we stronger than them anyway?" asked Score.
"We haven't got Helaine with us." Pixel reminded him.
"I know I know but...let's go for it. What's the name of the planet we're connecting to?"
"I don't think it'll work, Score" Pixel began, then saw the look on his friend's face. "Oh. Myrd. That's the name, I think."
"Okay. On three then." Score counted and focused hard. A long time passed. Score peeked his eyes open. "It's not working, is it?"
Pixel shook his head.
"What about... well, remember what the Triad said?" Score's eyes gleamed.
"They said a lot. Most of it nonsense. What are you referring to?"
"They said... 'Here on Jewel, you can do anything at all, if you have the power and know how to use it.'... right? Or something like that?"
Pixel thought about it. "You want us to go back to Jewel? Are you sure we can get in?"
"Well, sure," Score said, "I mean, we only sealed off the analog room." He glared at Pixel's uncertainty. "Let's go, come on."
Pixel sighed and shook his head as the two created a Portal to the prison world of Jewel.
*****
Hello All...
Many thanks for the lovely birthday wishes(*Ihire*)!!! I had a great day, luckily, though it did spark an idea for a miserable birthday story that stole away some of my time this week. Haven't posted it yet, but I'm working on it :)
Track has been trackly as usual, thanks for all your patience with my slow updates and poor grammar. Anyone out there who wants to be a beta?
Umm... I think that covers everything. If you're familiar with Oscar Wilde at all, you might have a glimmering of an idea as to where I'm heading with Dorian.
So yup! Cheers to you all, keep writing and reading!
Couldn't do it without you guys :)
Aroo!
--Meitora
Chapter 1. Morning
Chapter 2. Changes
Chapter 3. Last Night
Chapter 4. White Monkey
Chapter 5. Searching
Chapter 6. Child
Chapter 7. One Candle
Chapter 8. Crow
Chapter 9. Dorian
Chapter 10. Ordin
Chapter 11. Votrins
Chapter 12. Gone
Chapter 13. Mother
Chapter 14. Mardren
Chapter 15. Scars
Chapter 16. Tears
Chapter 17. Mend
Chapter 18. Summons
Chapter 19. Council
