Ceramic DM Round 2 - RangerWickett versus reveal
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Jeremy, if you don’t hold up the sewing machine, I won’t be able to get the UPS truck in the background."
“Mom, do you have any idea how weird that sounds?” Jeremy asked, smiling and holding the wedding gift up a little higher.
“It’s no weirder then some of the things I’ve heard come out of your mouth, young man.” Jeremy’s mother held the camera up, focusing on her 16 year old son. She couldn’t help but feel proud of him, especially on the day of his big sisters wedding. “Now say cheese!”
That’s when the truck exploded.
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“Wake up, boy.”
The inside of Jeremy’s head was pounding so hard, he swore that if he kept track of the pulses his brain would actually be signaling SOS. The first slap had stirred him, but it was the second slap which caused him to open his eyes.
Bright light stung him and he had to open and close his eyes many times to keep from going blind. Two men were crouched in front of him. One man was wearing a top hat and was looking at him with a kind of fixated wonder. The second man had a weird grin on his face and raised his hand to slap Jeremy again. The man put his hand down as Jeremy started to sit up.
“Who-Who are you? Where am I?” Jeremy asked as the blood rushed away from his head.
For a second, the two men where in black and white. After a few moments, however, color came back into the world.
The grinning man laughed and said, “I’m Zeke. This here is Geryon. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Jeremy slowly looked around. He was sitting in the middle of a field of grass, with no civilization in site. In the far distance he saw a large forest but, besides that, there was nothing but a sea of grass flowing in the wind.
“I don’t know,” Jeremy said as he slowly stood up. Zeke stuck an arm out and gave Jeremy some support. “The last thing I knew, my mom was taking a picture of me and…”
Jeremy’s eyes widened and his heart began to pump faster, pushing the blood back into his head.
“Mom? MOM?!” Jeremy looked around again and again, turning, trying to find any evidence that his mother still existed. “MOM!!!”
“It’s alright son, there’s no one here but us,” Zeke said softly. “It looks like you have a nasty bump on your head.”
Jeremy put his hand on his head where Zeke had pointed. He winced in pain as he felt a knot the size of a goose egg on the right side of his skull, just above his ear. He franticly continued looking around. He started to walk away from the two men when Zeke grasped him firmly.
“Hold on, son. I think you need to calm down and tell us what happened,” Zeke said quietly.
“I was… I was standing in front of my mom and she was taking a picture. We were at my sisters wedding and I was holding up one of her wedding gifts. There was this big UPS truck behind us-”
“You-Pee-Ess?” Zeke asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“Yeah, UPS. You know? ‘What can brown do for you?’” Jeremy explained. Zeke just shook his head.
“Anyway,” Jeremy continued, “So I’m standing there, getting my picture taken and the next thing I know there’s this loud sound and…”
Jeremy stopped. He now realized what the sound was. He had heard it in a lot of movies. It was an explosion. Somewhere behind them, an explosion had occurred. It was probably the truck. This probably meant that-
Jeremy stopped thinking and looked at Zeke. “Is this Heaven?”
Zeke, the puzzled look still on his face, said “Well, I’ve never heard of this ‘Heaven’ before, but if that’s what you think this place is, you’re wrong. This here is Thorgil. It’s an island right off the coast of Malebolge.”
“Malebolge?” Jeremy asked quizzically.
“Malebolge,” Zeke answered. His grin had come back. “Good thing we found you here. There ain’t many people who come walkin’ through this part of the island. Me and Geryon were doin’ some travelin’ and happened to pick this way to come home. If we hadn’t, the animals would’ve probably eaten you alive. One time, I was in them woods over there and this
huge bear comes-”
“I think he wants to go home.”
Zeke stopped and both he and Jeremy looked at Geryon. This was the first time the man in the top hat had spoken.
“Isn’t that right, Jeremy?” Geryon finished this sentence with a sly grin.
Jeremy looked at him blankly, “How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot of things, Jeremy. I know you were born on the night of an eclipse. I know your mother always treated your distantly, even as an infant. I know you never felt like you ‘fit in’ when it came to school or family. And, Jeremy, I know how to get you home.”
Jeremy felt the bile rush up his throat and heard it splatter onto the ground next to him. The vomit steamed as it lay in the grass.
“How the hell do you know so much?” Jeremy asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy,” Geryon said as he put his arm around this young man’s shoulders. “Do you know anything about magic?”
“You mean the card game?” Jeremy asked.
“There’s a card game about magic?!” Geryon rolled his eyes at this silly notion. “No, not the card game; real magic.”
Jeremy shook his head, “I’ve only seen it in movies.”
“Watch then. See the pool of stomach acid you expelled onto the grass?”
Jeremy nodded.
“Look closely.
Vocum Jruno!” Geryon waved his arms and Jeremy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers; the puke vanished! It looked like it had never even been there.
“How’d you do that?!” exclaimed Jeremy, forgetting completely about his current predicament and completely enthralled with the man in the top hat.
“Elementary magic, my dear boy. And that is how I know so much. I have studied. I have listened. I have learned everything I can in this place.”
“You mentioned something about getting me home,” Jeremy said as he quickly remembered where he was.
“Ah, yes. My home is just beyond that forest. If you wish, I can take you there. The answers you seek should be in my lab.”
“Let’s go then,” Jeremy said authoritatively and started walking towards the forest.
Zeke and Geryon smiled at one another and started to follow the child.
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The forest was like none that Jeremy had ever seen. It was extremely thick and heavily wooded.
“This must be what the States looked like before everything was torn down to make way for suburbs,” Jeremy thought to himself. He had taken a position behind Zeke, figuring that he knew the way through this place.
Jeremy was asking Geryon a lot of questions in rapid succession, scarcely pausing to breath. “So how long have you been studying magic? Was it hard? Did you have to go to school? What’s with the top hat? Is it like a wizards hat? I saw this cartoon once where this wizard used to pull all kinds of things out of his hat. Usually they weren’t useful things, but he would always pull the right thing out at exactly the right moment. Now what was that called? It started with a ‘D.’ Oh well, I’ll figure it out eventually. So how long-”
“Enough!” Geryon whispered harshly. “Jeremy, please, these woods are fraught with danger. We need to be careful or-”
“Or you’ll alert the animals that someone’s coming. Is that what you were going to say, Geryon?”
Everyone stopped and looked up in the direction of the new voice. What they saw surprised the hell out of Jeremy, to say the least;
it was a tiny chicken carrying a tiny shotgun.
For a split second, Jeremy just stared at the small fowl. The next thing he knew, he was laughing maniacally at the gun-wielding bird.
“What the hell is that?!” Jeremy breathed between guffaws. “A baby chick with a shotgun?! I’ve heard of birdshot before, but this is ridiculous. What are you gonna do?! You don’t even have fingers?!”
“Why you little-” The sentry didn’t even finish his sentence before he pulled the trigger. A microsecond after he did, Jeremy stopped laughing; he was too busy screaming and holding on to the bloody piece of flesh that used to be his left ear. He dropped to the ground, kicking and screaming.
“Shut him up before I finish the job!” yelled the bird with the smoking gun.
Zeke quickly bent down and put his hand over Jeremy’s mouth. Muffled screeches were all anyone could now hear.
“Now, Geryon, what are you doing in our forest?” the bird asked as he trained his gun on the man in the top hat. “You know you’re not welcome here.”
“We were just passing through. This young man,” Geryon said as he gestured to the still-squirming Jeremy, “was lost in the fields outside of your forest. He does not know where he’s from or who he is. I would have simply skirted around your beautiful home, but this boy needs to find his family immediately. He is lost and frightened, now more than ever I’m sure.”
The bird thought about this for a moment and then lowered his gun.
“Can you help him?” the bird asked. “At the very least, shut him up?”
“Of course. Thank you, sir,” Geryon said as he bowed deeply. He bent down and positioned himself over Jeremy’s flailing body. “Hold still, son. This will only take a moment.”
Geryon waved his hands over the bloody stump of flesh and said the words “
Curious Ectos.” Seconds later, the wet nub was replaced by a fully healed, and fully functional, ear. Jeremy stopped screaming immediately and reached up to grasp his newly formed ear. After he verified its existence, he removed Zeke’s hand from his mouth and stood up. He glared at the sentry but, wisely, didn’t say a word.
“Now, Geryon, it is time for the three of you to leave. I will escort you the rest of the way through our forest. But if I ever catch you in here again, I will make your head resemble that boys ear.”
Geryon humbly nodded and waited for the bird to lead the way. Jeremy tried to speak but Geryon just put a finger to his mouth. It was best to wait until they were out of the forest.
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Five yards outside of the forest, Jeremy turned around, put out his hand, and extended his middle finger in the direction of the bird that shot him. The sentry cocked his head, looked at him quizzically, and flew off back into the trees. Geryon and Zeke were also puzzled by the gesture.
“What are you doin’?” asked Zeke. He was mimicking Jeremy, trying to figure out what he was missing.
“I’m flipping him off. You know, ‘giving him the bird?’” Jeremy half-heartedly chuckled at the irony and lowered his hand. “It doesn’t matter, let’s get going. How much further?”
“Not far,” said Geryon as Zeke continued to hold out his hand. Zeke was now using other fingers to ‘give him the bird.’ “About an hours walk will take us to the shoreline. We’ll stop there for the night and continue on in the morning. We should be there by noon tomorrow.”
“Do we have to go through any more forests?” Jeremy asked, unconsciously touching his new ear.
“No,” laughed Geryon. “No more forests; only beaches. Zeke, why don’t you practice that later and lead the way.”
Zeke dropped his hand quickly, nodded, and walked in front of Jeremy.
A few minutes later, Jeremy began to speak but quickly closed his mouth. He did this about four times, at which point Geryon asked, “Is there something you want to say, Jeremy?”
“Well,” Jeremy said cautiously, “Yeah. What did that bird mean when he said you weren’t welcome in the woods?”
Geryon let out a long sigh. “Jeremy, would you say that I was ‘different?’ That if someone saw me casting magic, I would be labeled a ‘freak’ and someone to avoid?”
Jeremy nodded.
“That is why I am prohibited from entering the forest, Jeremy. I am different. I cast spells and I make the world work in ways that I determine. I am a ‘freak.’ I am someone to avoid. At least, I am in their eyes.”
Geryon stopped walking and put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. He slowly turned Jeremy around to look at the boy’s face. “But do you want to know why they think that way?”
Jeremy looked at ground, trying to scratch at the dirt with his foot. He shook his head slowly.
Geryon put his hand under the boys chin and gently lifted it up, so that he was looking directly into Jeremy’s eyes.
“I am no different than they are, but I have an ability they do not. They do not understand me, Jeremy, and people fear what they do not understand. So rather than try to understand me, they scorn and ridicule me. That is their nature and I do not begrudge them that. Do you understand me, Jeremy?”
Jeremy didn’t say anything for a few moments. Slowly, he whispered, “Only too well” as he fought back the tears.
“Well then,” Geryon said cheerfully as he took his hand away from Jeremy’s face, “When we get back to my home, I shall do as I promised. I will show you how to get home. But I will also help you in other ways. If you are willing, I can teach you a few simple spells to help you if you run across people who don’t understand you. Would that be okay?”
Jeremy smiled and nodded vigorously.
“I’m glad we understand each other, then,” said Geryon as he put his arm around Jeremy’s shoulder and continued to walk towards the coastline.
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When they crested the final hill, Jeremy stopped and looked on in awe. Before him was a breathtaking view of the ocean in all it’s glory. Or, at least, he thought it was the ocean. All the oceans he had seen were blue; this one was purple. But it was still beautiful. The waves tumbled to and fro; the water gently caressed the sand like a lover; the sounds and smells were a feast for the senses.
“We will stay here tonight,” said Geryon. “Zeke, prepare camp.”
“Aw, boss,” Zeke whined. “Can’t you have your guy do it?”
“What does he mean ‘your guy?’” asked Jeremy.
Geryon sighed, “If I must; stand back.”
Geryon reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a small bit of string and what looked like a toothpick. He help them in his right hand and, with his left, made sweeping gestures.
“
Inviso Pajorm,” the spellcaster said strongly. “Prepare camp.”
“Who are you talking to?” Jeremy asked, looking around.
“Just watch,” said Geryon patiently. Suddenly, footprints appeared in the sand in front of them. Jeremy’s eyes widened as rocks seemed to fly in the air and place themselves in a perfect circle on the beach.
“What is
that?” Jeremy whispered captivatingly.
“That, my dear boy, is magic; haven’t you learned anything yet?” Geryon laughed and clapped Jeremy on the back. Jeremy smiled and decided not to ask anymore questions; he just sat back and enjoyed the show in which Geryon created firewood, food, water, and three wooden chairs for them to sit on. The bedrolls were supplied by Zeke, who had been carrying them.
As they supped, Jeremy asked questions about the world he was in and even more questions about Geryon. Geryon explained that he lived far away from other humans so that he could study in private. Zeke was a friend that he had known for a long time and enjoyed his company. Zeke did not judge him as many people had done in Geryon’s old home. Jeremy just nodded, attentively taking in all the information. He was fascinated by the man and was loving every minute of this adventure.
When they were finished, the invisible creature cleared away a space for the bedrolls. The creature removed all the dishes used and stacked them in a pile as instructed; Geryon knew they would disappear once the spell duration was over.
Rather than put them to waste, Geryon also instructed the creature to place the chairs in the fire.
“The less firewood I have to create, the better I say,” Geryon said as he winked at Jeremy, who just smiled and nodded.
As Jeremy laid his head on the pillow, Geryon said, “Don’t worry Jeremy; we’ll be at my house tomorrow and we’ll start work on getting you home.” Jeremy didn’t say a word; he just closed his eyes and went to sleep. Honestly, he didn’t know if he wanted to go home anymore.
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The next morning came quickly for Jeremy. After all the excitement, he slept harder than he had in a long time. It felt as if he had laid down not five minutes ago when he felt a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him and heard Zeke’s familiar voice.
“Wake up, Jeremy. It’s time to go.”
Jeremy stirred, opened his eyes, and blinked a few times to take in the morning light. Initially, he had wondered if it was all a dream, but seeing the purple swells told him otherwise.
He slowly got up as Zeke finished rolling up the bedrolls.
“I trust you slept well,” asked Geryon as he, too, stretched his limbs towards the morning sun.
“Yeah. I slept like a baby,” Jeremy answered. “So how long is it again till we get to your place?”
“Just a few hours. We just follow the coastline until we reach my tower. You’ll see it from a distance shortly.”
“You have a tower?” asked Jeremy smilingly. “That seems quite clichéd, don’t ya think?”
Geryon laughed. “I guess I’m just not that original. Zeke seems to be ready; let’s get going.”
They had been walking for a couple of hours along the beach when Jeremy saw the top of a building off in the distance. “Is that it?” he asked.
“Yes. ‘Home sweet home,’ as they say in your world.” Geryon replied.
Jeremy glanced at Geryon quickly and thought, “How would he know that?” But, just as quickly, he dismissed the question. After all, he was a learned man. He probably knew a lot about a lot of things.
Soon, the tower came into full view. If Jeremy didn’t know any better, he would have sworn he was in one of those shows he watched on the History Channel; it looked like something out of medieval Europe. It was a large, grey stoned tower that extended at least 100 feet straight into the air. The top of the tower was fashioned in such a way that it made the whole building look like a giant rook.
“Rook takes pawn,” laughed Jeremy.
“What did you say?” asked Geryon from behind him.
“Rook takes pawn. It’s a chess term. It means the rook piece, or the ‘castle’ as some folks call it, defeats the pawn piece. It’s a fun game.”
“Oh how right you are,” said Geryon under his breath. Sadly, Jeremy did not hear this.
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When they finally reached the base of the tower, Jeremy could see the front door at its base. When they got closer, however, he noticed that there was no keyhole.
“No keyhole?” asked Jeremy. “How do you get in? Hold on, let me guess: magic.”
Geryon smiled and nodded. He moved towards the door and reached into his belt pouch. He produced a small key, which he held in his hand. “
Porto Laso,” he said firmly. The door quickly opened.
“Now then, Jeremy. Let me be the first to welcome you to my home.” Geryon motioned for Jeremy to step inside. When he did, Geryon quickly went through the door, as did Zeke, who locked it behind them.
Jeremy stood in the center of the ground floor, mouth agape, staring at his surroundings. While it may have looked big on the outside, the inside was enormous. He hadn’t been in a place this large since he stood in the middle of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.
“This place is huge!” exclaimed Jeremy. “It’s got to be a thousand times bigger in here than it looks from the outside.”
“You’re quite right, Jeremy,” said Geryon as Zeke helped him take off his coat and top hat. “It is quite large. It’s an extra-dimensional space. This means it does not exist in any particular world but, rather, in the area between worlds. Come, let’s look around.”
Geryon placed his arm around Jeremy and motioned around the room.
“I have traveled to many places, Jeremy. I have seen many things and I have learned much in my travels. I have learned about space and time; about matter and how to manipulate it; about people and how to manipulate them.”
Jeremy stopped walking and looked at Geryon. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.
“Come in here, Jeremy,” said Geryon as he led the child through a door into another, smaller, room. In the room was a long, low table made of some sort made of black rock. On the table were dozens of black candles, all lit. In the center of the room was a tripod which looked like a talon-like hand rising from the floor; it grasped a perfectly round ball made of glass. Jeremy could smell spices in the air and, on the far side of the room behind the black table, he could see a dozen or so knife-like implements hanging on the wall. For the first time since he arrived here, Jeremy was afraid.
“Let me show you something,” Geryon said as he walked Jeremy towards the glass ball. “Look in here as I explain a few things to you.” Geryon let go of Jeremy as the boy gazed into the sphere.
“You see, Jeremy, I know about your world because I have watched it. I have never been there, of course, but I do have slight influence over what happens. For example, that UPS truck you said was behind you when you were getting your picture taken. Do you really think it was there by accident?” Geryon chuckled. “No, son, it was there because I wanted it there. I needed a distraction. Look closely and you’ll see what I mean.”
Jeremy stared into the ball. The picture was distorted, but he was able to make out what was going on. He was looking at the UPS driver from the passenger side of the truck. He saw Geryon bending down, whispering something in the drivers ear. Jeremy looked up from the ball and locked eyes with Geryon.
“He couldn’t see me, if that’s what you are going to ask,” Geryon said and motioned for Jeremy to look back at the orb.
Jeremy looked down and saw the driver stiffen in his seat, accelerating until he had crashed into the side of a small incline. The image in the ball changed, as if the person in the passenger seat turned to look out the front window, and Jeremy realized he was looking at the back of himself.
“Jeremy, if you don’t hold up the sewing machine, I won’t be able to get the UPS truck in the background,” he heard his mom say.
“Mom?” Jeremy croaked. He looked up quickly and started screaming at Geryon. “WHAT DID YOU DO?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!”
He started to move forward but a pair of hot hands grabbed him from behind. He swiveled his head and looked up to see the most horrific face he had ever laid eyes on. The creature’s skin was red and smoking; its eyes were black and slick; its breath reeked of rancor. Jeremy struggled as the creature easily kept him in its grasp.
“Come now, Jeremy. Is that any way to treat your old friend, Zeke?” the creature asked as its mouth filled up with razor sharp black teeth in a twisted smile.
Jeremy stopped and simply stared. His bowels loosened themselves and a puddle formed at his feet.
“You see, Jeremy, there is no escape. You might as well just make these last few moments less troublesome.”
Jeremy turned his head back towards Geryon, his face a mask of defeat.
“Jeremy, you are special. You are a child of violence born on the night of the crossing of the stars Kelops and Horsus. You are who I waited 17 years for. You are my portal to Earth and I used the distraction to bring you here.” Geryon lectured Jeremy as if he were the teacher and the boy was the student. “Look back into the ball, Jeremy.”
Jeremy looked down and saw a very young, yet very familiar, face in the contorted image. “Mom?” he asked again.
The scene in front of him was of a young woman holding an umbrella, walking in the rain.
She was having trouble holding her umbrella as the wind tried to rest control from her. A man approached her and offered to help, which she accepted. He tried to keep her struggling umbrella under control and, once he had tamed it, the man gave it back to the woman and started to walk away. As he turned, he suddenly stiffened, just as the UPS driver had done. He turned again, stalking after the pretty woman as a tiger stalks its prey. As she walked by a dark alley, the predator struck.
Jeremy turned his head, closed his eyes and yelled, “I’ve seen enough you bastard! Stop it!”
Geryon smirked and mockingly comforted Jeremy. “Jeremy, Jeremy… Tsk tsk tsk. I was just trying to explain what was happening. You seem like you were interested in what I was doing. I guess I was wrong.” Geryon face turned cold and he barked, “Take him to the altar.”
Zeke grabbed Jeremy and forcibly moved him to the black table. He lifted Jeremy into the air like a child’s toy and placed him on top.. He held him down with one hand while he strapped him down with the other.
Geryon moved to the wall and picked up an implement from the rack on the wall; it looked like a cross between a knife and a human bone.
Once strapped down, Zeke let go of Jeremy, who started to struggle again immediately.
“Jeremy, shhhhh,” Geryon said as he stroked Jeremy’s hair. “Please, stop struggling. You didn’t really need your eyeballs anyway.”
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Back in the forest, the sentry cocked his head as he heard the screams wafting on the wind.
“Poor kid,” the small bird thought. “I guess I should have finished him off myself.”