Out of Time the Grand Quest

by Christopher Douglass

  “Hmmph. Who cares if some backwater bumpkins see us? All we got to do is knock them out. Besides, they would probably think it is an invasion of some demons anyway and run home to cower in a corner while praying to some nonexistent god to save them.”

  “Remember what the mentors said before we left? We should try to minimize our impact within the world of the rifts. While things get reset upon completion, our actions still affect the true timeline. They might not consciously remember, but we can alter their very personalities if we are not careful. We can become nightmares and ghost stories, alien encounters and unexplained abductions.”

  “Jeeze, you sound like Vletch! Here I thought I could get away from him for a bit. Fine, fine, I understand. No making big bangs and booms if I don’t have to. We play this by the book and keep a low profile.”

  She furrowed her brow again while playing with her pinky ring. Two of her golem’s faded into the ground once more, the one holding the girl sprouted wings as the body morphed. Soon it was a giant bird that took to the sky. When Frank looked up, he caught the shimmer in the air around the giant form. Once the shimmer was gone, it looked like a regular sized raven.

  “There, you happy? Nice and subtle. Unless you think these backwater bumpkins are going to raise an eyebrow at a bird as well.”

  “No, I think that’s fine. Thank you for not making too big of an issue about it.”

  “Whatever. Come on lets get back and see if little miss bossy is done talking to Vletch or not. If she is, maybe she can do something useful.”

  As the two headed back towards the barn Frank shook his head. While trying to reason with this diminutive woman seemed pointless, Francis felt he had to try. Kimberly didn’t seem all that bad to begin with, and she was pretty smart. A lot smarter than he was at least. Plus, she was the only mediator among the three of them, without her help, Frank and Amy would only be half as effective.

  “That’s not really fair you know. She’s been mighty useful already. She figured out how to talk across echoes almost immediately didn’t she? She’s trying to save a life across the echoes as well, right? What if it was your partner that she was trying to save? And she is a mediator. Maybe not ours, but we still need her.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t like how she acts like she is the one in charge. Acting like we are supposed to follow her orders because she is giving them. Amy, Frank, go capture Joan while I talk to Vletch. That is the most effective use of our manpower right now. No need for all three of us to be here. While you’re out, see if you can find information on these Emishi. You aren’t telling me that didn’t rankle you just a little bit? We don’t even know her.”

  “Not at all. She made sense. What she said was the truth. Plus, I’d rather someone else take charge in a situation like this instead of me. I know I’m not cut out to be a leader, and I also know the leaders job is the crappiest one of all. They get blamed for everything if things go wrong, and they have to be the one to keep people together. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a great people person.”

  “You’re just afraid if you don’t do what she says, she will pull out one of those strange weapons that make a loud noise and kills you.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit afraid of that thing. I’ve felt what a weapon like that can do personally. My guess is, you are afraid of it too. But I get the feeling she wouldn’t pull it on us for no reason. She didn’t use it on Ryan and his mage until they threatened her life. She attacked Ryan with a sword first and gave him a warning. You know how violent he was, and his partner wasn’t much better. She probably sensed his threat was more than just empty words and acted to preserve her own life while she had the chance. I’m sure you heard the rumors about the mage-mediator pair that died mysteriously over in Tavrin town.”

  “Please, afraid? Me? You got to be joking. Nothing frightens me.”

  “Then why are you listening to what she says?”

  “I-I just felt like it that’s all. As you said, what she said did make sense. I still don’t have to like it though. Or how she just took over without asking anyone else.”

  “I didn’t see you stepping up to take the position when she started taking charge.”

  Amy didn’t have a reply for that. Instead, she stuck her nose in the air and strode forward rapidly to walk a little ahead of Frank. Frank smiled, feeling he had managed to get one over on her. A small victory, but a victory nevertheless. The two were silent until they came in sight of the barn, who’s presence made Frank feel a bit more secure for whatever reason. While they were still at least a dozen yards or so away, Amy spoke again.

  “While I’ll admit Ryan was pretty violent, and there were lots of rumors about him and his partner, he was still a powerful mage. If you ask me, we would have been better off having them around then that useless Maria girl. This Kimberly should have just let Ryan finish her off and call it an accident while on quest. The world would be better off without her. We mages don’t need such trash reproducing to weaken our ranks.”

  That was as far as Francis allowed her to get. Touching the swamp troll bone at his neck while giving the mental twist needed, he felt his body shifting once more. Bones bulked out as he grew in height and muscle expanded until he stood almost eight feet tall. Taking on giant step he was on top of the small woman, grabbing her up in his massive hand like a rag doll. She struggled to break free, but her arms were pinned to her side, only her head and feet dangling out from between his fists. Bringing her face close to his, he let out a gust of fetid breath, causing her to gag on the stench. Frank gave her a toothy grin, gnashing his teeth inches from her nose.

  “If I hear you say one more degrading thing about Maria, I will bite your head off. I don’t care how good a mage you are, if you are dead, you are weaker than her. She has had to suffer listening to people like you put her down all her life, yet she has survived despite that. Lesser people can’t say the same. You can have your personal opinions about her, but keep them to yourself.”

  Giving her a small squeeze he knew would give pain but no lasting broken bones, he tossed her gently to the ground. Well, as gently as a troll could toss anything. She rolled and bounced a few times, her back slamming into the side of the barn as he let go of his magic. Frank left her moaning on the ground, striding past her and into the building, already regretting his actions. It wasn’t like that was the first time he had heard people put Maria down. But he was tired of seeing Maria cry over such words. Frank just couldn’t stand by and listen anymore. So what if she was a weak mage. She had a bigger heart than anyone he knew. She might cry on his shoulder in private sometimes, but Maria was still stronger than any ten people put together, the way she was able to withstand all the taunts and teasing. Maria had learned to do things without magic, the only thing she lacked was confidence in herself.

  Inside, he was met by Kimberly, who was sitting next to a broken barrel filled with water and a blackened pit in the dirt with what looked like black rock inside. She had her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at an empty spot nearby. Frank could see her eyes were red from crying, though she jumped to her feet when she saw him. Francis wondered what had gotten her upset, the little he knew of her and the even less he had seen, made him think she was a strong woman in her own right. A small bit of anger flared up at remembering the beating he had given Maria, but Milly had stopped him from interfering back then. Looking back, he realized Milly had been right, it was a problem the two of them needed to work out and it wasn’t his place to protect Maria. He only hoped it would help Maria in some way, just as Milly had said it would.

  “How’s the patient?”

  Kimberly shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure. Vletch has done all he can, and it seems like she is a little better from what he says. Now it is all up to her. I really don’t know much about complex medicine, just basic first aid really. Everything else is just random bits of information from medical books, or stories. I’m not even sure if what I read in stories is
truth, or just something made to sound plausible. But Isabelle is a water mage, and healing is part of the water element. My hope is that she can cure herself if given the chance to.”

  Kimberly looked around, her brows drawing together in a way that reminded him of Maria, causing him to smile crookedly. “Where’s Amy? And Joan?”

  “Right outside. Amy just needs to catch her breath. I’m sure they will be in shortly.”

  “So what did you find out?”

  “Not much. People are afraid to talk about these Emishi. Like the very mention of them will bring down the wrath of God upon their heads. We did manage to pick up that these Emishi and someone named Sakanoue no Tamuramaro are at war. It seems the Emishi have the edge, since they are using hit and run tactics and have the skill to use archery while on horseback. This Sakanoue’s camp is a little distance to the east, and the Emishi encampment is farther east than that.”

  Kimberly nibbled on her thumbnail as she paced around the hole in the floor. Francis waited silent, having seen Milly swish her tail and walk back and forth often enough to know the girl was deep in thought. Amy came in, glaring daggers but not saying anything, the giant raven waddling in after.

  “Did either of you see any signs of sickness while you were out?”

  Frank shook his head. “Nothing. It’s almost as if this place is a ghost town despite all the buildings. We did find a few people just laying around in the street. Most of them were men but there was one woman. The men were all unconscious, but the woman was dead. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with any of them either, like they just suddenly chose to pass out between one step and the next.”

  “Dead? Any sign of wounds? Discoloration of the skin? Unsightly boils?”

  “Nothing. She seemed completely healthy to me. Even had a smile on her face. I can’t explain it.”

  Kimberly went back to pacing, talking to herself all the while. “That doesn’t make much sense. One of the conditions for success is to halt the bubonic plague. Yet there are no signs of it anywhere. Does that mean it doesn’t exist in this echo? That’s possible, We’ve already seen a few variations in names and actions. And the bodies, what about them? The dead woman might have been killed in another echo, that would explain it. But what about the men? Wait, didn’t Vletch say something about having trouble with a mob out for his head? So if he knocked them out, would that translate to these echoes as well? Perhaps it isn’t actual death that affects these echo people, but lack of consciousness.”

  Kimberly’s head shot up, her eyes going wide. “Wait! What about the barrel?”

  “The barrel?”

  “Quick! Is there a barrel outside on the side of the building? One that looks just like this one?”

  Not understanding why that was so important, Frank still left the barn to check both sides of the building. It didn’t take long, and he was able to give her a firm negative. This seemed to make her happy for some reason.

  “Translocation!”

  “What?”

  “The barrel! Vletch moved it from outside next to the barn to in here after filling it with water. The pit, he filled it with some chemical after digging the hole! Don’t you see? Not only words written in dirt can cross the echo’s, but things as well! Dirt doesn’t move, so it wasn’t noticeable. But by moving the barrel Vletch altered the very fabric of the world. I don’t know if it only works on inanimate objects but it’s something.”

  “Just what are you going on about? What did my Vletch do exactly and what use is it?”

  Amy seemed in a worse mood than before. While Frank was sure he would get an earful later, Amy was thankfully focusing her ire elsewhere.

  “I’m not sure what use it is, but its more than we know right? As for how to explain it---”

  Kimberly scratched her head with both hands, her face screwed up in a grimace as she growled in frustration.

  “Think of it this way. Two objects can’t occupy the same space at the same time right? You can’t stand in the exact place Frank is standing in at this very moment. But what if the inanimate objects of this rift can? People constantly move, so they can be in the same place, but not the same position at the same time. But inanimate things, by their very nature, don’t move unless something or someone moves them.”

  “So then Miss smarty-pants, why don’t we see things just floating around when someone else carries them if that’s the case?”

  “I don’t know! It’s not like I have all the answers! But it’s a theory at least. Like& like maybe the whole law of motion comes into play. You know, a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force. Maybe they don’t come into being in the other echoes until it comes to a stop. Maybe while someone is carrying them it doesn’t act like an inanimate object because it is moving. And movement is the definition of animate.”

  Kimberly started punching her head as she resumed pacing. He saw her lips moving but couldn’t make out what she was muttering. He didn’t understand the importance of any of this, and neither did Amy, but Kimberly seemed to think she was on the verge of something. Kimberly suddenly jerked, eyes going wide as she ran to the barn door to look up at the sky.

  “No, impossible! But what if it isn’t? what if that’s the truth? That would explain a lot. Amy you are a genius.”

  “I am? I mean, of course I am.”

  Ignoring Amy’s obvious desire to know more, Kimberly dashed back inside and picked up the stick she used to write in the dirt with, scrawling something furiously. Francis stepped close to see what she was writing.

  Anyone who sees this, what time of day is it where you are? --Kimi.

  Time of day? What did she need to know that for? It was obviously a little after noon by the position of the sun.

  Maybe ten or so in the morning I guess. --Vletch.

  Evening here, maybe four or five?-- Maria.

  And Milly and Bree already left so I can’t ask them, but I bet they are out of sync with everyone else too. --K

  Why is time important? --V.

  This might sound crazy, but what if we are looking at this all wrong? What if we are the echoes and not the world itself? What if we are not in four separate timelines, but at four separate times on the same timeline? --K.

  Chapter 21: Mending What’s Broken

  That doesn’t make any sense. If true, how can we write back and forth? We would break the time barrier. Wouldn’t we meet each other already as well? How did you even come up with that crazy idea? --Maria.

  Hard to explain, but something Amy said. I didn’t see the barrel floating in the air, or the pit fill up. They just appeared between one moment and the next. If we were in separate echoes, there would be 4 separate barrels. Moving one should not change others. But it did. That can only happen if there is one barrel, not four. As for inconsistencies such as our conversation in the dirt--- paradox. That is the essence of paradox isn’t it? Something absurd or contradictory. Plus& magic. I want to test this theory. --K.

  Maria looked over at Jasmine who shrugged, as clueless to what Kimberly was thinking as she was. Between one blink and the next, a pile of hay lay on the ground nearby. It made no sound, and she hadn’t seen it move, just as she hadn’t seen the barrel with barely an inch of water left inside move. It was just there, as if it had always been there.

  Did the hay move? --K.

  No. --V.

  With slightly shaking fingers, Maria answered the question with an affirmative. Perhaps the theory wasn’t so crazy after all.

  So moving objects can’t affect the past, only the future. And our powers can pass through this time barrier, otherwise Vletch’s chemicals would not have filled the pit. This is good. It means we can fix this rift much easier than we first thought. --K

  How so? --V

  Because it isn’t 3 conditions on 4 timelines. It is 3 conditions on 1 timeline with four teams stationed at different moments. If someone is going to kill me, if you kill them first, or keep them from encountering me, then they should
disappear. But that is just guesswork right now. More importantly, we need to focus on the bubonic plague. Isabelle got it somehow. Did you meet anyone on the way here? --K.

  Just a woodsman. We asked him about the town ahead and he gave us some information, he seemed fine though. --V.

  Did she touch him? --K.

  No. Wait! He did cough on her. --V.

  Does she have any cuts? Or did she get scrapes while in the woods? --K.

  Well, now that I think about it yeah. We both got whipped by some tree branches. That’s normal walking through the woods. I got a few cuts myself, it’s no big deal. --V.

  That was the transmission. It entered her blood through his coughing. We are on a different time speed than the rest I bet, that’s why it advanced so rapidly in her body while he seemed fine. --K

  So you want me to go find him again? --V

  No. Take care of Isabelle. Protect her and do what you can. We will find this woodsman and take care of him. Also captured Joan, will have Amy hide her away in loft of barn. Maria, Jasmine. Please check up on her. If she is actually there that confirms my theory even more. --K.

  Maria gave Jasmine another sideways look, but shrugged and headed for the ladder. While it was only a short climb, Maria wasn’t sure if she wanted Kimberly to be right. It would be just another thing she would be better than Maria at. Hadn’t she listened to her grandfather talk about rifts and the different types of magic in the world? Maria should have been the one to figure all this out, not Kimberly. Maria was the mage from a long line of mages, Kimberly was just a Phaser who barely knew anything about Aerth.

  Maria’s head peeked over the ledge, her eyes roving the space filled with hay. In the corner was a dark form, vaguely bird shaped. Focusing her entire will, she managed to make a small light at the tip of her finger. Panting from the effort, Maria stepped closer to the outline. Her magic illuminated a bird made of soil, dried and lifeless as it stood facing the open spaces. A girls face showed in the chest area, her mouth covered by more dirt to prevent any noise. There was sweat on her brow, and her eyes were closed. Maria put her hand close to the girls nose, feeling the regular in and out of her breath. Maria assumed she must be sleeping.