by Jeremy Finn
James sat for a moment trying not to return stares from those around him, and decided he better at least attempt to eat his meal in order to salvage a thus far failed attempt at not standing out in the crowd. Where was this woman anyways? She certainly should not have much trouble figuring out he did not belong here. Even if she was expecting the Intercessor, she should at least be curious about his absence and James’ awkward presence. James tentatively grasped a pair of long, jade chopsticks on the red silk napkin next to his plate, and pried a hole in the side of the fish. The skin was tough as leather, and his foray into the mysterious animal lacked any degree of etiquette. Finally, he managed to tear loose a small piece of white flesh and lift it to his mouth. Just as the morsel touched his lips, James noticed an older gentleman in an expensive suit at a nearby table with a concerned look on his face. He was shaking his head politely but intently as he was obviously trying to warn James there was something wrong with what he was doing. Slowly, James pulled the piece of fish out of his open mouth and returned it to the plate. The concerned man sighed and gave a final look of consternation before returning to his own more appetizing meal. While James was contemplating what to do next with the creature he was dissecting on his plate, he suddenly noticed his lower lip was beginning to tingle where he touched the chunk of fish briefly before retracting it. After about a minute and a few hasty sips of water, James realized his lip was swelling. He wanted to be free of the bombardment of others’ eyes and get a look at his lip in a mirror, so he placed his chopsticks on the top right edge of his plate and went looking for a restroom. After an accidental intrusion on the kitchen, he managed to find the restrooms, but had to stand outside and wait for a woman to come out of the left side door in order to figure out which restroom was which, since they lacked the always helpful images of a man in slacks and a woman in a dress. A look in the mirror startled James, as his bottom lip had already grown to be three times larger than his top. A man behind him ran into one of the walls of a stall because his eyes were fixed on James’ reflection in the mirror as he passed by.
James rushed out of the restroom trying to decide what to do. Should he try to ask for help? No, he did not think it was serious enough to have to face that embarrassment yet. But it was still plenty embarrassing to be walking around with a huge lip. As he rounded a corner, he noticed a large courtyard in the center of the building. It was lined on all sides by stories of hallways decked with doors leading to private dining rooms. There was no roof over the courtyard, and trees grew in a well-kept garden with a small stream connecting a series of miniature ponds. James found a door leading out to the garden and decided to rest on a bench near one of the ponds filled with golden carp until the swelling subsided and he could return to his frightening meal.
James was relatively alone in the dark garden, joined only by the occasional couple strolling by in romantic embrace. Although he could see serving men and women moving like bees in a hive through the glass wall windows stretching along all three floors of brightly lit corridors, the light still did not drown out the deep black of the night sky above him. James gazed into the sky watching the cool twinkling of a handful of bright stars shining through the glitzy glow emanating from the restaurant. One particular set of stars formed the shape of a warrior to those who knew how to connect the lines. This constellation had always been a symbol of hope and encouragement to him for some reason. He could not remember when it started, but since he was young, whenever he faced a trial or enjoyed a victory, that same constellation always seemed to be hanging in the sky over him like a silent friend encouraging or congratulating him. James started to think about how amazing it was that this same constellation he watched in the sky over his home on the other side of the world now stretched out over an alien country where nothing seemed familiar except for this old twinkling friend.
“I often wonder what it is like there as well,” a woman remarked in a soft, slurry voice at his left shoulder. She was sitting beside him on the bench, but he never noticed her approach.
“I’m sawry?” James apologized over his misshapen lip, then started when he noticed the woman’s butterfly pattern dress. The dark green dress fit the curves of her slender body perfectly, and was scattered with golden butterflies that seemed to shimmer in the dim light whenever she moved. She was a bit taller than James, and wore her jet black hair in a tight bun decorated with several colorful bird pins. She was certainly a local woman, and certainly one of the most beautiful James had seen this whole evening.
“My name is Mi Lin,” she continued calmly, ignoring the fact that James was staring at her with a mixed look of confusion and surprise for some awkward moments. Her melodious accent was strong and the words seemed to run together at times, but James could still understand. “I think you do not belong in this place. Do you know YaeSu Intercessor?”
“Ah! Da Intuhsesuh! He sent me,” James babbled.
The stunning woman raised an eyebrow, and seemed to be weighing him in her mind before speaking, “Very well. I do not have time to ask you to explain why you are here and who you are. If you speak for the Intercessor, then relay a message for me. I am an aide to a powerful politician in my country. He is dining here tonight with some men connected with men from your country,” when she said your country, the same eyebrow raised in doubt. “Your people are in danger. The Darkness within your own country is gaining control of your leadership. You must not allow the unification minister to sign the treaty of friendship with Joshin. There is much appearance of goodwill and harmony, but there are schemes and ruses behind it all.”
“I’m not sure exactly what you are talking about,” James admitted. He had heard about the friendship treaty on the news, but it just seemed like a harmless attempt to establish some commercial ties and tear down some barriers between the two regions, which were so completely cut off from each other out of fear and contempt. “But I will relay the message to the Intercessor.”
James considered telling her about the Intercessor’s current situation, but decided against giving away any information since even the Intercessor was not certain of this woman’s loyalties. At the very worst, he could let DaNyang know. He felt capable of taking care of something like this that did not seem too serious anyways.
The woman nodded curtly and added, “Be certain to tell him there is much darkness surrounding that man. He has not turned himself, but he is under heavy influence. Those who have him in their grasp will kill to keep him there.”
Suddenly this sounded a little bit more serious. Definitely a task for DaNyang.
“I need to go. Yai Tzy will wonder why I am spending so much time in the bathroom.” Without a word of farewell, she stood quickly and began walking toward a nearby door leading to one of the indoor corridors. After a few steps though, she halted and turned to face James with another quizzical look, “It seems obvious you are not familiar with agu fish. Do you know how much your meal will cost you?”
“Do you mean physically or financially?” James asked as he chewed his slowly deflating lip.
Mi Lin shot him another studied look, “I mean you better have a small fortune on you to pay for such a delicacy…”
The sick look of panic that erupted onto James’ face was all the reply the woman needed. “Why did Yae Su…no matter, I will pay your bill. And follow the road about a kilometer west to a hotel. I will arrange for a room for you as well, since I have a feeling you will be sleeping in the woods tonight otherwise.” Again, the look on James’ face was all the confirmation she needed. “If at all possible, do not kill anyone or cause yourself to be noticed. I certainly don’t expect things to come to that, but it would cause problems and complicate our relationship. I can not do anything more for you. I hope you have arrangements made for returning to your country.”
“Oh yes,” James answered. “After tonight I will be fine. Thank you for helping me.”
This time, James received both eyebrows raised in silent reply before the stunning woman glided tow
ard the corridor and disappeared among the bustle within.
For a moment, James remained on the bench thumbing his lip and feeling like the greatest fool in the world. If she was a servant, she must think he was a complete incompetent. If she was otherwise working for the Dark, she must see him as a simple pawn to be moved at her whim. Either way, James felt like he was not fit to take part in these struggles or stand shoulder to shoulder with women like her or men like DaNyang and the Intercessor. Well, at least he could deliver the message. That much seemed within his capabilities.
James made his way back to the large dining room, passing tables scattered with sliced raw lobster, plates of fish eyes and other apparent delicacies until he reached his table. The table had been cleaned off, and a waitress stood with an ecstatic smile and bowed repeatedly to express her thanks. Mi Lin must have left a good tip. James wandered from the grand restaurant tired and forlorn. His lip had nearly completely deflated, but so had the little pride he held before entering this place. So, with his head hung low and his hands in his pockets, he began to stroll westward along the street in front of the restaurant. As the lights of the flamboyant establishment faded, the familiar constellation popped into view once more. James breathed a deep sigh and picked up his pace just a bit. Early winter had just begun to touch this part of the world, and the night air held a strong chill. It was easy to follow the small paved road despite the absence of street lights because James did not come across a single intersection along the route to the hotel. Few cars passed him, mostly dirty trucks or aged passenger cars that all looked alike. The hotel appeared rather suddenly in the dark landscape, since only one small yellow light over the entrance lit the exterior of the building. It was a plain, rectangular structure with very little decoration, and appeared to be built for practicality rather than attractiveness. There were only four floors, and it looked like the whole place only contained about twenty rooms or so.
As James opened the door and entered the tiny, sparse lobby, an older man looked up from behind the counter with a sullen, bored expression. James opened his mouth, still unsure exactly what he was going to say, but the proprietor quickly turned to retrieve a key hanging among others on the wall, placed it on the counter with a slap and turned his attention to some paperwork he was sorting through below the counter. When James hesitated, the man looked up irritably and thrust his finger toward a dark stairway to James’ left.
“Thank you,” James mumbled as he grasped the key and headed for the stairs. The sound of shuffling papers was the only reply.
As he climbed the stairs, he fingered the strip of leather tied to the key, and could barely make out the number 242 marked on the worn tag. A short stroll down the dusty, dim hallway brought him to his room. As James jammed the key into the lock, the door creaked open before he had a chance to turn the key. Further examination revealed the lock had long since become useless. I guess the key is just a formality, he thought to himself wryly.
The room was small and dreary, but at least there was a low bed crammed in one corner and a toilet in the other, despite the fact the covers on the bed moved occasionally as a few roaches burrowed under the sheets, and the toilet was full to the rim with ominously dark water. James dropped down onto the bed exhausted and lay gazing out the water-stained window into the blackness outside broken only partially by the tiny, colorful glow of the distant Haemol Restaurant shrouded in the haze of polluted air. He set his watch for an early morning wake up to give him enough time to walk back to the portal in the ruins atop the mountain. Then, fatigue finally got the better of him, and he slipped into a slumber despite the combination of hard mattress, cold air and moldy smell assaulting his senses.
THE FALLEN REALMS
When the Darkness consumes a land, it permeates every crack.
Oppression fills the air you breathe.
Fear is tangible.
Men revert to base instincts.
It is as if an eternal winter night has fallen.
-from the report of Chief Servant Fong after a journey abroad.
James did not know how long he was sleeping when something woke him up. At first he thought it must have been a loud noise, but the more he tried to recall, the more he realized it was just the opposite – a sudden silence woke him. In fact, he could not hear anything at all. Granted, it was not very noisy when he laid down to sleep, but even the barely noticeable background noise like water running through pipes in the wall, wind on the window, and water dripping inside the toilet seemed to suddenly have ceased. It was almost like he was in a movie and someone just hit the pause button.
The tangible sensation of silence eventually caused James to stir from his bed and he shuffled over to the window. He grabbed the bottom of the window and jerked up on the aged wooden frame. An accumulation of dust and some little pieces of wood splintered off and fell to the floor, but once they came to rest, the same silence pervaded. The air was still cool, but not even the tiniest breeze touched his face when he leaned out the open window. In the distance, he could see a car’s headlights, but as he watched, he realized they were not moving. Maybe the car is just pulled over, he thought as he brought his head back into the room. Just as he was about to close the window again, though, a black speck passed between him and the distant headlights. James refocused his eyes and tried to make out the object. It was much closer than he first thought. In fact, it was only about ten centimeters from his face. As he studied the small object, he realized it was a little moth. The curious thing was, though, the moth was frozen in mid air. It appeared to be frozen in flight. James ran his hand above, below and all around the moth, but nothing was connected to it. Just as he was about to cup the little insect in his hands, a shrill creaking sound made him jump and hit his head on the elevated window frame.
“Ow!” he exclaimed and turned, rubbing his head as he tried to locate the source of the noise. It was really only the sound of the door hinges moving very slightly, and would not have caused him to jump except for the silence in which it occurred. The door was only open about six centimeters and the dim light from the hallway cast a long, dull beam across the dirty floor.
“Who’s there?” James attempted in as stern a voice as he could muster. There was no reply, but he thought he caught a faint ripple of movement on the floor just beyond the door, and there was a soft rustling sound just within the audible range. The light coming in from the hallway hurt his night vision a little, but he knew there was a neglected little lamp on a small table to his right, so he rushed over to turn it on and illuminate the room. He reached the lamp without incident, but as he turned the switch, the bulb burst in a flash and broken glass fell on the table. Though the lamp failed, a tiny flame burned briefly on the socket and cast just enough light for James to identify a black, meter long adder moving across the floor toward him. He sputtered something unintelligible and leaped in an attempt to curve around the serpent and make a break for the door. Unfortunately, though, as he jumped he caught his foot on the edge of the little table and his legs, weak with panic, failed to recover from his blunder. He hit the floor hard on his stomach and tasted the dust that shot into his mouth. Turning his head in the direction of the oncoming menace, he realized he was too late – the serpent was poised centimeters in front of his face. Before he could even think about what to do next, the snake lunged forward with a powerful strike and bit James in the center of the forehead.
James jerked his head back so hard that his whole body followed and he was left lying on his back. His head throbbed with pain, but he scrambled to try to get onto his feet and flee. Only when he regained his footing did he realize he was now standing on his bed. The door was completely shut, the window closed, and after a moment, he realized all the little background noises had resumed. For a moment, he thought he certainly must have had a nightmare. He would have convinced himself of this if it was not for the fact that the center of his forehead still throbbed with a dull pain. He turned on the lamp, which barely worked but did not e
xplode, and went to examine himself in the cracked mirror hanging over the dirty toilet. Besides a good deal of stubble on his chin and dark rings under his eyes, his face appeared normal. There was no sign of any sort of injury on his forehead. He massaged the spot that still ached and looked around the bed. Maybe it was just a dream and he had hit his head against the wall or the bed post.
Just as James was debating whether or not to try to get a little more sleep in this creepy place or just strike out early for the mountain, his watch alarm went off. Well, I guess that decides it, he thought wryly. James turned off the lamp, managed to make use of the toilet without physically touching it and struck out down the hallway and through the lobby. The small reception room was empty, so he tossed the useless room key on the counter and slipped out the front door.
The air was still cool and his legs and feet ached due to the combination of having just woken up and having used his limbs hard over the last couple days. Nevertheless, he hugged the shoulder of the road and began walking briskly back in the direction of the restaurant, which was now just a dark mass obscured by the haze from a myriad of fires smoldering in farm house hearths for kilometers around.
As James was nearing the spot where he came out of the mountains the evening before, another car whisked passed him just as several others had since he took up his hike along the roadside. This time, however, the car quickly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. James figured they were probably going to offer him a ride, so, since he didn’t speak the language and was just at the point where he needed to turn into the woods and head uphill, he broke off from the road and started across a small fallow field separating the road from the forest at the base of the hills. As he cast furtive glances over his shoulder, he saw the car speed into reverse until it was parallel to his position, then two figures quickly clambered out of the tiny vehicle. James picked up his pace, but soon broke into a run as it became clear the two motorists were running after him. The sky was just beginning to pale with the approaching morning, but visibility was still terrible, so James found himself stumbling across the uneven terrain and painfully straining muscles and twisting tendons. As he reached with his left foot for the next stride, the ground dropped out from under him and he flopped face first into a cold, muddy ditch. He pulled himself up and saw he had reached the edge of the field with the dark forest before him. It took some effort to pull his limbs out of the thick sludge that emanated odors reminiscent of the pig farm his uncle once owned. By the time he pulled himself free and turned over on his side, one of the pursuers caught up to him and raised a thick baseball bat in preparation for a lethal swing at James’ head. Fortunately for James, the bat wielder’s companion had just as much trouble as James did seeing in the dark and ran right into the back of his companion, causing both forms to flop into the ditch beside James.
