Asmireen
©2024 by Jonathan Scott
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Chapter 20 - Two Wrongs
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Calmings
20.3 Happiness and freedom, to the lucky, be free but once.
Jake sat at his desk at work. In front of him he held a paper and a pencil that was quite worn. On the paper, was the name "Asmireen" written over and over. It was Monday morning. He had arrived at work at eight o'clock as usual and was about to begin his duties when some irresistible compulsion pulled him to his desk. Ever since Hannah had told him about Asmireen, he had felt a strong intrigue of a sort that he could not explain. He only knew that somehow, the name Asmireen was an important thing to him. In all truthfulness, he felt possessed by it. And so, he figured that he could afford a few minutes. He had sat down at eight and began to write the name over and over again trying to see something that he just simply could not see. A thought of immense importance loosely lay wedged in his mind. Jake knew that he needed to free it but did not know how.
Then there was a loud deep resounding bell and Jake raised his head in horror.
It was noon. Four hours had come and gone. Jake had wasted his entire morning staring at a stupid insignificant piece of paper. There was no mistake. Jake knew the sound of the bell and also knew exactly what it meant. Everyday, at noon, a little man climbed some stairs in the Main and rang a bell which told everyone at the guild that morning classes were over and that lunch was now available.
Shame.
Jake was not the sort of person to be this foolish. He was actually quite a responsible person. To sit down and waste four hours doodling some word, when there was work to be done, work that he was being paid to do, was, by his own standards, quite an evil thing.
Jake stood up and cursed himself for having been so weak. He quickly began to gather up his tools and ran down the hallway to begin his duties.
He saw fighter after fighter roaming about the rooms and was so ashamed of his laziness that he could not bear to look any of them in the eyes. He proceeded to the Desert room and began.
Hour after hour pummeled by and still Jake forced himself to work. It felt bad to be foolish, but it would feel worse to be dishonest, so Jake, to preserve his own integrity continued despite his fatigue. Ten o'clock came and still Jake scrubbed. Usually Jake was able to be home just before the sun went down. Today though, he would not finish until almost midnight.
At about ten o'clock though, Jake had talked himself into taking a break. He returned to his custodian's room where he once again sat at his desk. And there, on the floor where he had thrown it, Jake once again saw the paper filled with doodles that he had drawn this morning.
"Asmireen." Jake quietly mumbled to himself.
The word was written on the page perhaps thirty to fifty times and in thirty to fifty different ways. Several times, Jake had even written the word upside down and once he even wrote it backwards. He felt drawn to this word as though Asmodeus himself had taken control of his soul. Jake allowed himself to look at the page again for a few more minutes.
Jake opened his eyes and raised his head. He then looked around his room groggily. It was then that he realized that he had fallen asleep. He did not know what time it was. It was possible that he had even been there, sleeping at his desk, for hours.
He picked up the paper, tore it angrily into little pieces and threw it into the furnace.
Jake felt like slapping his own face for being so reckless. He was thoroughly unaccustomed to behaving like this.
He wearily stood up, looked at his checklist, and yawned.
There was still one room left to do, the Forest. It would be a room that he could complete easily. So, he grabbed his tools and walked down the hallway with some relief.
Within the room were the dead bodies of several hill giants and several ogres. It was much worse than he had assumed.
After two hours, Jake was completely worn. He sleepily put his tools away and walked outside of the TTB to his wagon. His integrity was still intact, but the price he had had to pay for it was fatigue. There at the wagon, he was greeted by both Quick and Gideon, both looking extremely spooked and lonely. They were happy to see him.
Jake climbed aboard and was about to flick the reins when he heard Quick begin to growl. So, Jake let the reins fall from his hands and began to try and calm him. Off in the distance, he heard whispers. He also heard the scuffling of feet.
Jake was nervous. The King's advisors had told Jake that they would do something about Hank. But then again, the guards at the gate had said that they would warn other communities about the monster. Jake was not sure if he was safe. Eastbrook was not an honest city. Jake simply did not know if he had been lied to. Jake didn't know if he should get Gideon to bring him home quickly or if he should get off of the wagon to investigate. He didn't know what to do.
It seemed important nonetheless, so Jake got down off of the wagon, told Quick to stay and walked across the courtyard to where the whispers were coming from.
From around a corner, Jake heard lots of small whispers as well and some muffled laughter. He heard the clinking steel sound of tools and he also heard the rustling sound of cloth. Jake peeked around the corner and saw a huge monstrous muscular man picking up large sacks and placing them in the back of a wagon. He also saw a smaller man who seemed to be doing nothing but looking around.
There was a large hole in the wall where the strong man was standing. Something was amiss and Jake had no idea what to do about it.
Jake continued to hide and watch the pair of men take things and place them in the wagon. He then heard a voice that made him shake.
"Oh Jake. What are you doing here?" said a mocking and unpleasant but very familiar voice.
Jake looked around him and saw nothing even though the voice had seemed to come from a place right next to him.
He then looked closer at the wagon and saw that Gale was harnessed to it.
He began to run away, but then felt a huge hand on the back of his belt and another across his mouth.
"Struggle and you die you ungrateful little idiot." said the voice again as it raised Jake into the air and carried him towards the small man and the large man.
"I found this." the voice said.
The large man walked over to Jake, put one huge hand around his throat and another under his arm and lifted Jake high into the air. Jake would have screamed if the man's grip about his throat hadn't been so tight.
"Well, he definitely knows what we look like. The mages will definitely be able to read him." said the giant.
From behind Jake, there was a small apathetic and cruel voice that said "Do it."
The giant then slapped Jake across the face strongly and momentarily, everything went white in Jake's vision. Then, the instantaneous flash of white was replaced with the long relentless blackness that Jake was now far too familiar with.
"You're not done yet kid. Hang in there." said a voice.
Jake stared into the cloud of deep black midnight blue. He stared at the fuzzy rings of light that once again shrunk before his eyes. He knew what had happened. He'd been here before.
The rings of light then increased in speed and Jake awoke looking up once again into the faces of Marie and Zeb.
"I'm not getting up this time." said Jake.
Jake looked at the ceiling of the healer's tent and saw the splotches of discoloration that he was now beginning to be able to recognize.
The first time Jake came here, it was a shock for him. The second time Jake came here, it angered him. This time though almost seemed business-like. Jake was getting used to coming here.
"This isn't good." said Marie.
Adam's huge twisted face then appeared over Jake from behind him. Jake was happy to see it.
"I found you again. Your dog was barking, so a bunch of us went out to investigate." said Adam in his low rasping broken voice.
"Thank you. It was Hank again." said Jake who simply closed his eyes, rolled over onto his side and allowed himself to rest.
Adam then looked at Zeb and said "They lied to us Adam. We gotta do it ourselves this time."
"Yeah, we do, don't we." responded Zeb.
"I'll be right back." Zeb then left the tent.
The healer then poked his head in.
"Come on, I've got other paying cust..." he said.
Adam then took a gold piece from his pocket and threw it at the man as hard as he could. The piece landed squarely on his chest and knocked the man backwards until he fell on the ground grabbing at his chest in pain.
"GIVE THE KID A SECOND!" shouted Adam.
The healer then picked up the fallen gold piece, angrily stood on his feet and walked out.
"You just hang out here for a while, Jake." said Adam who then put his hands on the table, one arm on either side of Jake's head, and leaned.
Jake had been in and out of this healer's tent three times in the short amount of time that he had been in this city. Each time, Jake had been gravely wounded. Somehow though, Jake felt completely at peace. He didn't know why these new friends of his had chosen to protect him so intensely, but they had, and he was grateful.
"Where'd Zeb go off to?"
"He's looking in on something." said Adam who then went back to standing his watch.
Marie walked up to Jake, held his hand and waited next to him, patiently and silently and sadly.
It was now Tuesday evening and Jake was sitting at home with Hannah, Isaac and Marie. The room was silent and the despondency thick. Everyone's head hung low.
"They didn't have to do that. It's not like the wizard can read a dog, can he?" asked Jake wiping tears from his eyes.
There was a silent pause and then Isaac spoke up.
"Yeah, they can actually." said Isaac quietly.
"Zeb said that his skull was crushed Jake. They didn't make him suffer." said Isaac again.
"They didn't have time to make him suffer." said Jake bitterly.
Jake stood up and walked out of the room. He walked outside and down the stairs to where Gideon stood alone and lonely. Quick was not there.
The Tunnis family had gotten Quick from a friend as a puppy when Jake was eight, and the entire family loved him from the first day on. All dogs are not equal and some of them are surprisingly special. The best way of course to know which is which is by looking at the hole left in one's life after they are gone.
Jake stood there hugging and petting Gideon's nose for several minutes until Isaac joined him.
"He was a good little dog." said Isaac.
"Yeah. I know. What am I going to do without him?" said Jake.
"Well, one thing's for sure. We're going to have to start boarding Gideon and the wagon here someplace a little safer than the street." said Isaac.
They both stood there silently for a long time.
"Why's Hank so bad Isaac?".
"I don't know."
"But, I'm not like that Isaac. Nobody in my family was like that. You aren't like that. Zeb and Adam aren't like that. Marie isn't either. I know so many people and there are so few of them like Hank."
"What makes people like that?" asked Jake angrily.
Jake looked Isaac squarely in the eyes. Isaac took his time responding.
"I read a book once that talked about people 'coming of age, waking up and coming to life.'" said Isaac.
"What?"
"The story talked about a man who suffered through tragedy after tragedy, and the man, having been very young when the tragedies began grew up to be very unkind." said Isaac.
"Yeah?"
"Well, then it talked about the man's mind 'waking up' one day. The man had the realization that he could do whatever he wanted to now. He realized that he didn't have to obey his anger anymore. Then it talked about the man making changes in his life and becoming happier and more godlike." said Isaac.
Jake simply stared at Isaac impatiently.
"Well, it's like people start out one way. And it's kind of the way that they have to be just to survive sometimes. And then, one day, when things aren't so bad anymore, they wake up and realize that they can choose to live differently if they want to." said Isaac.
"What about Hank?" said Jake.
"Some people haven't woken up yet. And some people, when they wake up, make the choice to not change." said Isaac.
"So, which is Hank?"
"I don't know. I hope he just hasn't woken up yet. I didn't know his family too well, but from what I saw they didn't seem too bad. Maybe it was worse than we thought though. If they were, then maybe Hank's just being the way he is because he's angry." said Isaac.
"Or maybe he just likes being cruel." said Jake.
"Maybe. I really don't know Jake."
There was a pause.
"How much did they get?" asked Jake.
"I'm not supposed to say."
"C'mon, you talked to Zeb and Adam for over an hour. What did they say?"
"They don't know yet, but they're guessing that it was about fifty thousand gold. They took some other stuff too." said Isaac.
"Like what?"
"A few paintings, some sculptures, jewelry and such." said Isaac.
Isaac then turned around with some frustration.
"Hang in there Jake." he said, but not confidently. He then walked away.
Jake climbed into the back of the wagon, lay down, pulled his dagger out of its sheath and held it close. Until he would finally fall asleep, Jake thought about Quick and Hank. He also thought about Gideon.
Gideon was the last. Jake had lost his mother, his father, his brothers, his sisters, and now he even had lost his dog. All that he had left was Gideon, and he was determined not to lose him. Were Jake to lose Gideon, it would almost be as if Jake had lost his entire world. Jake lay down in the back of the wagon to watch over Gideon and was determined to lay there every night for the rest of his life.
For the next several hours, Jake restlessly slept. Sometimes he would lay on his back. Other times, he would lay on his right side. At other times, he would lay on his left. Sometimes, he would place his arm under his head as a pillow. Other times he would lay perfectly flat. A few times, he even placed his feet up on the seat in the front, but this never lasted long. Jake's sleep that evening was the type of sleep that leaves one wondering in the morning if one had slept at all.
About an hour before dawn, just as the sun was beginning to faintly light the sky, Jake finally deeply dozed off and began to dream.
The dream began with Jake and Gideon galloping down a long pebbly road. The sky was gray. There were no clouds. There was no sun. The road twisted and turned. The landscape to either side of them was rocky and sharp and littered with the bodies of other horses that had fallen from the path and shattered against the rocks. The only place of any seeming safety was the road. And the only seemingly safe way to ride it was fast.
Jake continued his flight and all the while, Gideon spoke to him.
"I'm tired." Gideon would say.
"Why are you doing this to me?" he would say.
"I don't know how much more I can take."
"I hate you."
"I miss my family."
But still Jake held onto Gideon's reins and kicked him and spurred him all the while forcing Gideon further down a road that Gideon did not wish to go down. Jake could have made the trip without him. He could have done everything without him. But how could he have saved Gideon if he had left him behind?
Eventually Gideon ran out of strength and slowed. But, Jake, seeing that Gideon's energy had been spent, let loose the reins and violently grasped Gideon's mane and began to fly with him, grasping him tightly between his legs. As they flew, Gideon's legs flapped and dragged lifelessly against the pebbles. Gideon's tongue fell slightly from his mouth and his eyes began to half close as though he were dead.
"Please let go of me." Gideon would then say.
"I want to die." he would say.
"Why me?"
"You are so cruel."
"Please stop."
Eventually, in front of them, the great Mirrorball appeared and grew in size. Jake looked at it with a look of such intensity that the Mirrorball itself began to quake as though it would shatter.
Gideon's legs bled. Each and every time his feet had dragged on the ground, the ground had ripped them slightly. Now, the skin about his hooves had been torn away, and in some places, there appeared the white of bone.
Gideon's mane was ripped. Strands of his once beautiful hair had fallen from him because of the relentless immortal grip of Jake's. Very soon, there would be no mane remaining.
Jake had also placed such pressure about the chest of Gideon as he gripped it with his legs that Gideon thought his back would break and his lungs would burst.
Despite the pain, despite the cruelty, Jake held on. His iron hands gripped Gideon's mane with even more cruelty than before. His iron legs gripped Gideon's chest with an equal amount of violence. All Gideon could do was scream and moan at the pain of it.
Then, from behind them, Jake heard a cry and loud chaotic laughter. Jake and Gideon turned their heads and saw a monstrously huge red dragon approaching them, breathing fire as it went. The dragon then grew in size and strength and Gideon knew that its jaws were beginning to open about him, even though he could not see them. When Jake saw this, he gripped Gideon even tighter and flew even faster down the road. Gideon, was now aware of the reason for Jake's cruelty. Jake was saving him from the dragon. Gideon wondered though if the saving would kill him.
And then, just as Gideon knew that he would soon die, Gideon saw the Mirrorball explode. The great shards of it zoomed past them and cut Gideon's skin, causing him great pain, but not his death. Behind them, there was a loud ungodly wail and Jake and Gideon both knew that the dragon had been vanquished. As the Mirrorball exploded, the world itself began to heal. The sharp rocks to either side of the road were replaced with trees and grass. The horses that had fallen on the sides of it, once again became whole, stood up and walked away in shame.
Jake let loose his grip on Gideon's mane. And from somewhere, Gideon found his strength return to him. He looked down and saw that his body was whole. His hooves were no longer bleeding. His mane was no longer torn. He breathed a deep relaxing happy breath and ran.
The world was beautiful and Jake rode Gideon tenderly. He petted and stroked Gideon's full beautiful flowing mane. And they both continued as though the world had never been dark.
Far off, in the distance, where the center of the Mirrorball had once been, Jake saw his family standing there waiting for him.
Jake and Gideon then began to gallop faster. Within seconds, Jake and Gideon arrived in front of Homer, Saja, Shane, Jolie and her baby, Kira, Jason, Hera, Gideon and Quick. Jake walked amongst them, and everyone cried as they thanked him for having brought Gideon back to them. Everyone then walked up to Gideon, embraced him and once again the family was whole.