![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
[Lord of the Mysteries] For the Ones We Left Behind 3/15 (4730 words)
Title: For the Ones We Left Behind 3/15
Fandom: Lord of the Mysteries
Character/Pairing(s): Audrey Hall, Leonard Mitchell, Melissa Moretti, Benson Moretti, Klein Moretti, Xio Derecha, Fors Wall
Rating: PG-13
Warning: none?
Summary: MI9 catches Benson Moretti, and end up with more than they expect.
In the Land Forsaken by the Gods, the roar of thunder never quite ceased. The illusion of day and light cycled only by the feeling of ozone in the air, as ‘day’ meant there were fewer lightning strikes from the dark sky, and night meant it was difficult to sleep without shelter amidst the relentless sounds of thunder.
As a sequence three ‘Scholar of Yore’ in the Seer pathway, Klein Moretti did not need as much food and rest as a normal person, as such things were starting to become mere suggestions rather than rules the more he progressed on the path of divinity and becoming a mythical creature.
Yet he still needed to eat, and he still needed to sleep. The last time they met, Miss Justice had gently inquired about his rest hours and eating habits, and while she was satisfied with the latter, she had heavily suggested that he get more of the former.
Seers, after all, were no match for the Sleepless pathway. Even a sequence three Saint needed more than the four hours of rest a night that a sequence nine of the Sleepless pathway needed.
That was what made his journey through the Forsaken Land frustrating, trying to find rest under the open skies when his nerves were on edge by the fact he was surrounded by monsters and being pursued by Amon at the same time.
It made for a very depressing atmosphere, which meant that Klein often attempted to find small ways to lighten the mood. A few times when he felt safer than normal, he dared to bring out the historical projection of a music player, letting himself browse through his old playlists for short periods of time.
He thought it was good practice, keeping a projection with him at all times. It used to be the lantern he carried around, until the Tarot Club decided it was best to send him actual lanterns for use so that he would not be so heavily reliant on his spiritual energy for the life-saving light in this land. Now, the items he kept as projections tended to be whatever comfort items he could think up to keep himself sane.
Thanks to Danitz, he was well supplied with food on the regular, and when the Tarot Club realised the severity of his situation (having been brought to the Forsaken Land by Amon without warning, and then having to leave anything on his person in order to escape Amon at all), they started sending him little things: clothing and blankets and a tent to shelter under, all given over to Mr. Fool in hopes that Mr. World could make use of it.
(Emlyn, Klein thought with fond exasperation, had the thought to leave him a rather simple doll for company. While it wasn’t something Klein would use, he could understand the sentiment and appreciate the intent.)
Most of the items Klein kept in the grey fog, as it would be too cumbersome to carry with him, but he appreciated the clothes and lantern and sturdy boots. Illusions could only do so much, after all, and he was still human enough to get blisters and bruises.
He had a pocket watch to keep track of hours, and a small journal to mark off days so that he would make the normal Tarot meetings on Monday in time.
It helped that prayers had become more regular, and he could predict the time by who was praying. Fors, for example, sent a brief prayer before she slept and when she woke, which had once been exceptionally irritating as her writing schedule meant she sometimes went to sleep deep in the night and woke at odd hours.
Thanks to Xio’s urging, her sleep patterns were now far more stable, and Klein could almost measure the end and beginning of a day by her.
Which meant it was quite unusual to hear the faint whispers of her prayers while he was still walking in the darkness. From what he could gather, it shouldn’t be dinner time yet.
He noted grimly that even without retreating to the grey fog, he could hear just enough to make out that she was asking for Mr. Fool’s blessings and protection, and there was a level of panic to it that suggested she could potentially be in danger, even if that danger wasn’t life-threatening.
Klein carefully set down his still burning lantern and thought that at this rate, he was also getting plenty of practice in traversing the Historical Void, hiding his physical body amongst the ancient ruins of his hometown for the brief time it took to organise things in Sefirah Castle.
“Honourable Mr. Fool,” Fors’s voice whispered out as the red star of her prayer was activated, “please protect us through this time of turmoil. Please let the bombs fall away from crowded areas, or let as many civilians evacuate as possible. Please let families reunite at the end of the day, with as little tragedy as possible.”
Oh, Klein lampooned inwardly, he didn’t know how to inform Fors that the god she was praying to didn’t have the power to do such things.
As the war raged on, the attacks on Backlund grew more and more frequent. His worry for them grew as well, although Klein was fairly certain that everyone in the Tarot Club could take care of themselves. If there was anything he could do for them, it was to grant them the luck to get out of these dangerous situations alive.
Just like Fors’s prayer, he thought sadly. He also wished for the safety of the people in Backlund, perhaps more than Fors might know.
If anything, he was more worried about Benson and Melissa than he was about the Tarot Club. He left to keep them safe and away from his affairs, but now a stray bomb dropped during an air raid would be far more dangerous than what attention might lead to them.
What is the point of being the god of good luck if he couldn’t bestow his siblings with that luck, or even himself?
Perhaps he could call for another favour from Will at some point to have him bestow luck on— something, anything; just an ordinary object that Benson and Melissa could carry around with them.
He wished, vaguely, that he had just a bit more access to his powers back when he originally carved out amulets for his siblings. Something infused with a bit more luck and protection to keep them out of the way of danger.
With a sigh, Klein decided that he couldn’t think upon such matters anymore. The best way to keep his family safe wasn’t merely to stay away from them, but also to stop thinking about them. Who knew if Amon could steal away those thoughts, and then… and then Klein wouldn’t be able to do anything trapped from where he was.
Instead, he focused his vision toward where Fors’s star was, watching as she and Xio ran for shelter as the air raid sirens blared and the people out on the streets panicked.
Above were the sounds of heavy artillery fire, military guns shooting into the sky to take down enemy blimps that were attempting to hide high up amongst the eventide clouds. The ground shuddered once and then again as the attack began, and the panicked civilians fell and stampeded over each other without having been struck by the bombs. There were sounds of crying and shouts of pain as they tried to get to the closest areas of safety: larger buildings that might be able to withstand the bombardment, like churches or tall towers.
The two Tarot Club members were huddled under an awning, more to stay away from the panicking crowd than anything else, pushed against the wall to keep away. Fors had her head ducked down and her hands clasped together in prayer, the shawl over her arms showing a torn edge from having been yanked at by a scared lady just minutes before.
“Please keep everyone safe,” Fors continued to whisper her prayer, “and let this war end soon. Please bless myself and Xio today so MI9 doesn’t punish us for prying into their affairs. O-or Miss Audrey, either, for asking us to do this! I guess that comes after surviving, though…”
“Fors!” Xio hissed out next to her, barely audible under the wail of the sirens. “Let’s go!”
“A-ah, yes!” Fors said, uncurling and following the shorter woman out from under the awning and toward a larger building.
MI9? Klein thought in confusion. Outside of the incident with George III, Klein didn’t think any members of the Tarot Club had strife with MI9, nor would they run afoul of them on purpose. A request from Miss Justice? But what would she want with MI9?
Either way, Klein prepared several of his Angel’s Blessings, and waited until the two women made it to a narrow alleyway and stopped to catch their breaths before sending one down for each of them. He watched as they straightened and their shoulders relaxed as they breathed out, covered in his blessing.
This time, Xio joined Fors in clasping her hands and thanking The Fool, before they slipped further into the dark of the alley.
Just what were they up to, Klein wondered for a long minute, and then mentally calculated how long he could safely stay up in Sefirah Castle. With the drastic increase of his spirituality through the sequences, he could comfortably spend a very long time above the grey fog, but only keep his physical body within the historical void for perhaps fifteen minutes at a time.
What it came down to was a safe place for his physical body to hide while he was above the grey fog, which proved quite difficult in a place like the Forsaken Land.
The people here really do have it hard…
Sure that the two women weren’t going to run into serious trouble in the next several minutes thanks to his blessing (and they were smart enough to stay out of the path of war), Klein descended from the fog with the intent of finding safe haven for the night in the Forsaken Land, where he could hopefully keep a watchful eye on the others despite being trapped here.
As if sacrificing some of his luck to the others, Klein found himself in an unlucky position when he returned to his lantern, the light having attracted several prowling creatures that lurked just at the edge of the flickering beams, only noticeable by the shine in their eyes and the malice of their presence.
Quiet growls could barely be heard over the booming thunder, and Klein carefully bent to pick up his lantern. This was fine. Every fight was good practice for him to explore the limitations of what he could and couldn’t do with historical projections, and the corresponding Beyonder characteristics would be added to his collection to sell off later on.
How lucky, Klein thought, the renown Sefirah Castle is being used more as an endless inventory space these days.
With that thought, he reached beside himself into the historical void and pulled.
—
“What?”
Hibbert Hall set down his newspaper as the butler brought the information to him, his expression dark. Sitting across from him, his mother gasped and dropped the novel she was reading.
“Then Audrey, she’s…?” Lady Hall asked fearfully.
“She left the Charity Foundation nearly half an hour before the attack, my Lady,” the maid informed them both. “Her friend reported that just before, there were some strange men who broke in and spoke to her.”
“Do you have a description?”
“Indeed we do, sir,” the butler said, and offered a folded sheet of white paper. Hibbert took the paper quickly and unfolded it, reading the brief descriptions of the men provided by other members of the Foundation who were there.
“She shouldn’t be outside at this time,” his mother fussed in a shaking voice. The sirens could barely be heard faintly in the distance, as Empress Borough was not as attractive a location for the war as other densely populated areas. “Oh, what if something happened to her? Hibbert, can you—?”
“I’ll take care of it, mother,” Hibbert soothed, snapping the paper shut again and reaching out to pat his mother’s hand gently. “I believe I know who those men are, and if she is with them, then she should be plenty safe.”
“Your father will be worried sick,” she worried, “his health has been so fragile lately, we must get Audrey back safe before he finds out about this. He already has so much to worry about…”
Hibbert would never describe his father as ‘fragile’ at any point, even if Earl Hall had been getting stress migraines from the progression of the war. He knew that his father and sister hadn’t been seeing eye to eye lately on certain issues, and Hibbert himself had not helped that along.
Audrey was a good and sweet girl, but she was far too naive and didn’t understand how the world worked. Hibbert wanted for her to keep believing in the good in people, but he couldn’t have her disrupt their family with her credulous thoughts.
Perhaps that was their fault, for being so overprotective of her. But she was just a girl, and the only daughter of Earl Hall. Allowing her the freedom to work at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation and to travel there and back on her own was their compromise, but Lady Hall begged them to keep a distant eye on her at all times, just in case something bad should happen.
And something bad may have just happened.
Normally Hibbert wouldn’t have concerned himself over Audrey. After all, he had greater issues to worry about, especially if he wanted to succeed his father. It was Alfred who doted more on their younger sister, while Hibbert prepared himself for his future titled life and responsibilities.
“Send people to both the Charity Foundation and to MI9,” Hibbert informed the butler, who bowed in acquiescence. He pushed himself up from the plush armchair. “I will personally oversee finding my wayward sister.”
—
Mr. Star reached out to cover both Audrey and Melissa the moment the ground shook under them, and dust fell from areas of mortar from the ceiling. It was a very kind and gentlemanly gesture, but one Audrey felt was ultimately futile when she was certain she could withstand more than he could, and she was closer to Melissa and would have covered her had things gotten too bad.
Or she would if she hadn’t been so startled by the sirens, only to experience the shaking immediately after.
“Are you both alright?” Mr. Star asked after the shaking subsided.
Melissa grabbed onto his arm, her face pale and eyes wide, clearly shaken by the event. “...Yes, thank you.”
Audrey nodded as well, slightly dazed by the volume of the air raid sirens. Even within the church, the wailing was a loud and continuous pitch warning people to evacuate to safe areas, such as the churches. While Mr. Star briefly rubbed at his ear, he seemed to recover well enough immediately.
Had her sequences increased the sensitivity of her hearing? Audrey hadn’t noticed at all until now. Or perhaps the stone walls and high ceilings of the church only served to boost all sounds.
Audrey suspected it had to do with Beyonder powers, but the churches were the safest areas in Backlund, and she knew that until the sirens died down, it was best to stay inside.
Melissa didn’t seem to agree, as she called out, “Benson,” the moment she understood none of them had been hurt.
“We’ll find him,” Audrey tried to soothe her. “After this, we can—”
But rather than soothe, the words agitated Melissa even more.
“We may be safe here, but he’s not!” She cried out. She scrambled upward, clutching hard at her bag. “I can’t— please, I can’t again—”
“It’ll be dangerous outside now,” Mr. Star told her, and he and Audrey exchanged looks of concern. “I’ll go with you, but your brother wouldn’t want you in danger in these circumstances.”
She shook her head, clearly more and more unsettled by the second as the air raid sirens reverberated through her skull, chasing after panicked thoughts.
“B-but what if—?”
Another deep shuddering of the ground, and Melissa froze in her panic rather than shout, her eyes round.
Outside, there were startled screams that could barely be heard.
Melissa pursed her lips before blurting out, “Klein would have come for us.”
Mr. Star drew back in a physical recoil, his expression pulled into something that Audrey could read as both grief and guilt. His jaw tensed for a moment, looking as if he wanted to protest, before the fight left his eyes. He looked over her way and gave a weak shrug, as if conveying what can I do?
He let out a frustrated sigh and said, “Those men after you would have left the moment the sirens went off. They won’t follow you into the church, and they’ll assume you’ll stay here for the time being. If you really wanted to escape them… it’s actually best to leave now, when they’re gone.”
“But I want them to find me,” Melissa’s voice was quiet and shaky. “I don’t… I don’t know how to find Benson otherwise.”
She never once considered that perhaps her brother might just be waiting for her back home, and that Audrey might have given her the wrong information.
“That’s fine, it’s better that they’re gone. I can find information on him,” Mr. Star said confidently.
With his connection to the Evernight Church (even Audrey knew that those wearing red gloves were connected to the Church of Evernight), it was likely he had many sources at his disposal, being an official Beyonder. Audrey just took that statement in stride, her thoughts still roiling over Melissa’s earlier outburst.
Klein would have come for us.
Don’t think about it, Audrey, don’t think about it. She told herself and willed her turbulent curiosity aside. There was something familiar there, something that stuck out like a bump on smooth ground, like she covered up the information with a blanket and let it sit there under a psychological cue.
It was a name that struck Mr. Star deeply, and it was a name that nagged at the back of her brain, like she knew it but forced herself to forget.
Melissa was just a quiet girl, that was all. She didn’t often talk about the people in her life, and any name from her would have been a surprise.
“Why wouldn’t they come here?” Melissa asked, brows furrowed as she caught onto that detail. “It’s safest inside the church, and with the sirens…”
“They can’t interfere with the churches, and the churches can’t interfere with them.” Mr. Star answered. “It’s a balance of power between us and the government, split four ways. With the war, things have been out of balance, which only made dealings worse. They—”
He halted, catching himself. “Anyway, I should know where they’ve gone.”
“Then,” Melissa said quickly before he could realise what he said. “Will you take me there? Now?”
“I…”
Audrey patted down her dress in an absent manner while she thought. Since she already sent Susie to Xio and Fors, the best option was to wait until they found something and then meet up with them. But Melissa didn’t look like she would wait at all, and if Xio and Fors went toward the MI9 headquarters, then perhaps they could meet up.
It could be a little dangerous— so many members of the Tarot Club in one space without pre-planning. Every instance before when they carried out missions together, they planned it under the watchful and protective gaze of Mr. Fool.
This time, there was no plan. But this time, it involved someone not of the Tarot Club, but one that Audrey wanted to help.
It looked like Mr. Star wanted to help, as well.
“Melissa,” Mr. Star said, “it’s not safe out there right now. It’s best for you to stay at the church, and I’ll go find your brother for you. I promise, I can—”
“I won’t be kept here when Benson could be in danger.” Melissa stated directly, loud even under the wailing of the sirens. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mitchell, I know that… I was asking for quite a lot from you, to go with me. We hardly know each other, and I was clinging to…” Her expression twisted. “I associate you with a memory, when that isn’t fair to you. You have no responsibility to do anything for me.”
“Of course I do.” Mr. Star exclaimed in surprise.
Melissa shook her head, and Audrey truly felt like a spectator for their conversation. “No. I cannot ask for anything of you except whatever information you may have about where Benson might be. It’s up to me to find him. The last time…” Her fingers were trembling, unnoticeable to the average person, but obvious to a Beyonder.
It would be safer, Audrey understood, for Melissa to stay at the church while she and Mr. Star searched for her brother instead. It would be safer for them to knock Melissa out, even, to placate her and to pull her into a sweet dream so that when she woke, everything would be resolved. They could make it safe for her, and take away all that stress and worry on her mind.
If a situation like that happened to her, Audrey would have thought it a beautiful miracle to wake up and have everything be okay.
On the other hand, had Audrey aspired for a simple and beautiful life like that, she would never have become a Beyonder. If that was the life they wanted, Melissa would never have ended up volunteering at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation.
“No, no,” Audrey found herself saying, drawing Melissa’s attention to her. The younger girl was pale with fear, but had her chin held high, and Audrey couldn’t bring herself to give Melissa that beautiful dream and easy ending.
“No, I’ll go with you.” Audrey repeated, and pressed a hand to her heart. “You’re right, Melissa, you have to find your brother. But you don’t have to do it by yourself. I can help you smooth things over, so we can go together.”
She looked up at Mr. Star, who seemed torn.
“Mr. Mitchell will help as well,” Audrey volunteered for him, knowing that he was a good person who didn’t have the heart to let the two of them wander off alone. Soft-hearted, just like Mr. World! “We can head out right now.”
So long as she and Mr. Star were with her, Melissa should be safe from the crowd outside and from the bombardments.
—
The problem for Klein with travelling for months by himself in the Forsaken Land, was that there were very few problems at all.
There was the constant threat of running into Amon, and the darkness threatening to consume him, and the monsters that roamed the land, attacking him on a semi-regular basis. There was a lack of food and water without poison in it, and very few places to find shelter at all.
There were no comforts, no reprieves, yet Klein found that his own rhythmic steps and steady pace day after day became something like meditation. It cleared his thoughts and made the world feel simple.
Here, so long as he kept going at a steady walking pace, he only had to worry about his sequence promotion: finding the ingredients to the next potion and passing the ceremony. No war, no neighbours, no cause and effect, no paralyzing heft of responsibilities or the sense of racing against time until he made his way out from this land.
Monsters were increasingly easy to deal with, and his exploration through the historical void was almost like watching an educational movie.
No, as he stayed day after day in the Land Forsaken by the Gods, the real issue became…
The lack of other people.
The problem was that the lack of other people made things easier.
People were too far away to worry about, especially when he could barely do anything for them. At first Klein imagined that the Tarot Club meeting once a week wouldn’t be enough, and that he would feel isolated and increasingly stir-crazy.
The result ended up being different from he imagined, and it was for that very reason he not only had the Tarot Club each week, but private meetings with both Miss Justice and Mr. Star.
Talking with them left him heavy and frustrated and content and many other things that brought about a sense of depth to the shallow and easy journey that should have driven him nearly mad.
Deep down, Klein could identify what that madness, or lack thereof, was.
Humans would find it terrifying to be stuck in his situation. Gods would not care.
A few minutes (if it was minutes) after ridding himself of the ring of monsters and collecting their characteristics, Klein found himself continuing his journey and coming across a low ruin.
It looked like there had once been a village here, with sturdy houses and communal buildings.
All that was left were a few worn stone bricks laid in formation, most barely coming to his knees. Here and there was the placement of what must have once been archways and doorways, and a pit that might have been a well at the centre of the once-village.
Klein lifted his lantern high, and wondered if he should pull a high-powered flashlight from the historical void. He didn’t want to attract any extra attention from things in the darkness, but this was the first sign of shelter that he’d come across in the past week.
While he could make due with the fifteen minute stints into the historical void in order to settle affairs up on Sefirah Castle, it was always best to find a place of physical shelter.
He could not afford to have his physical body attacked while he was busy elsewhere, and it was hard to find a place of genuine rest.
Sequence three or not, Klein still needed rest daily, and a tent was not always enough. It was easier to set up within some ruins or nature formations, and camouflage from there. And in this case, he needed a safe haven in case Fors and Xio needed help.
As he found an alcove between several piles of worn bricks, he heard another prayer.
It was Miss Justice this time, although her tone was calm and did not inspire the same urgency as Miss Magician’s did. It sounded more like an update rather than asking for help.
Taking the opportunity to settle in for the evening, Klein made his way up to the grey fog and checked on the prayer.
“Dear Mr. Fool,” Miss Audrey’s voice echoed, and then paused a moment, sounding a tad sheepish after, “please convey to Miss Judgement that Mr. Star and I may meet up with her soon.”
Xio and Fors, and now Audrey and Leonard as well? Just what was happening in Backlund today? That was most of the Tarot Club in the capitol.
Klein frowned, steepling his fingers in thought for a moment before he reached for Miss Justice’s red star to view it.
Gazing down from the grey fog through the evening clouds into Backlund, he found Miss Audrey pressing against a wall and peeking around a corner. In front of her was Leonard, who was tugging at the lapels of his coat while covering someone else crouched next to Audrey. They looked to be staying away from the crowds and travelling with a destination in mind despite the crowd that flowed against them.
The sirens were quiet now, and he could see that the airships attacking were already on the retreat, and soon the attack would be over. Still, it was rather dangerous for them to be out when they could wait just a few minutes for whatever they were going for.
Audrey and Leonard moved in the break of the crowd, and Klein could finally see the third figure that they were travelling with.
Melissa? He thought in shock.
Previous || Next
Fandom: Lord of the Mysteries
Character/Pairing(s): Audrey Hall, Leonard Mitchell, Melissa Moretti, Benson Moretti, Klein Moretti, Xio Derecha, Fors Wall
Rating: PG-13
Warning: none?
Summary: MI9 catches Benson Moretti, and end up with more than they expect.
In the Land Forsaken by the Gods, the roar of thunder never quite ceased. The illusion of day and light cycled only by the feeling of ozone in the air, as ‘day’ meant there were fewer lightning strikes from the dark sky, and night meant it was difficult to sleep without shelter amidst the relentless sounds of thunder.
As a sequence three ‘Scholar of Yore’ in the Seer pathway, Klein Moretti did not need as much food and rest as a normal person, as such things were starting to become mere suggestions rather than rules the more he progressed on the path of divinity and becoming a mythical creature.
Yet he still needed to eat, and he still needed to sleep. The last time they met, Miss Justice had gently inquired about his rest hours and eating habits, and while she was satisfied with the latter, she had heavily suggested that he get more of the former.
Seers, after all, were no match for the Sleepless pathway. Even a sequence three Saint needed more than the four hours of rest a night that a sequence nine of the Sleepless pathway needed.
That was what made his journey through the Forsaken Land frustrating, trying to find rest under the open skies when his nerves were on edge by the fact he was surrounded by monsters and being pursued by Amon at the same time.
It made for a very depressing atmosphere, which meant that Klein often attempted to find small ways to lighten the mood. A few times when he felt safer than normal, he dared to bring out the historical projection of a music player, letting himself browse through his old playlists for short periods of time.
He thought it was good practice, keeping a projection with him at all times. It used to be the lantern he carried around, until the Tarot Club decided it was best to send him actual lanterns for use so that he would not be so heavily reliant on his spiritual energy for the life-saving light in this land. Now, the items he kept as projections tended to be whatever comfort items he could think up to keep himself sane.
Thanks to Danitz, he was well supplied with food on the regular, and when the Tarot Club realised the severity of his situation (having been brought to the Forsaken Land by Amon without warning, and then having to leave anything on his person in order to escape Amon at all), they started sending him little things: clothing and blankets and a tent to shelter under, all given over to Mr. Fool in hopes that Mr. World could make use of it.
(Emlyn, Klein thought with fond exasperation, had the thought to leave him a rather simple doll for company. While it wasn’t something Klein would use, he could understand the sentiment and appreciate the intent.)
Most of the items Klein kept in the grey fog, as it would be too cumbersome to carry with him, but he appreciated the clothes and lantern and sturdy boots. Illusions could only do so much, after all, and he was still human enough to get blisters and bruises.
He had a pocket watch to keep track of hours, and a small journal to mark off days so that he would make the normal Tarot meetings on Monday in time.
It helped that prayers had become more regular, and he could predict the time by who was praying. Fors, for example, sent a brief prayer before she slept and when she woke, which had once been exceptionally irritating as her writing schedule meant she sometimes went to sleep deep in the night and woke at odd hours.
Thanks to Xio’s urging, her sleep patterns were now far more stable, and Klein could almost measure the end and beginning of a day by her.
Which meant it was quite unusual to hear the faint whispers of her prayers while he was still walking in the darkness. From what he could gather, it shouldn’t be dinner time yet.
He noted grimly that even without retreating to the grey fog, he could hear just enough to make out that she was asking for Mr. Fool’s blessings and protection, and there was a level of panic to it that suggested she could potentially be in danger, even if that danger wasn’t life-threatening.
Klein carefully set down his still burning lantern and thought that at this rate, he was also getting plenty of practice in traversing the Historical Void, hiding his physical body amongst the ancient ruins of his hometown for the brief time it took to organise things in Sefirah Castle.
“Honourable Mr. Fool,” Fors’s voice whispered out as the red star of her prayer was activated, “please protect us through this time of turmoil. Please let the bombs fall away from crowded areas, or let as many civilians evacuate as possible. Please let families reunite at the end of the day, with as little tragedy as possible.”
Oh, Klein lampooned inwardly, he didn’t know how to inform Fors that the god she was praying to didn’t have the power to do such things.
As the war raged on, the attacks on Backlund grew more and more frequent. His worry for them grew as well, although Klein was fairly certain that everyone in the Tarot Club could take care of themselves. If there was anything he could do for them, it was to grant them the luck to get out of these dangerous situations alive.
Just like Fors’s prayer, he thought sadly. He also wished for the safety of the people in Backlund, perhaps more than Fors might know.
If anything, he was more worried about Benson and Melissa than he was about the Tarot Club. He left to keep them safe and away from his affairs, but now a stray bomb dropped during an air raid would be far more dangerous than what attention might lead to them.
What is the point of being the god of good luck if he couldn’t bestow his siblings with that luck, or even himself?
Perhaps he could call for another favour from Will at some point to have him bestow luck on— something, anything; just an ordinary object that Benson and Melissa could carry around with them.
He wished, vaguely, that he had just a bit more access to his powers back when he originally carved out amulets for his siblings. Something infused with a bit more luck and protection to keep them out of the way of danger.
With a sigh, Klein decided that he couldn’t think upon such matters anymore. The best way to keep his family safe wasn’t merely to stay away from them, but also to stop thinking about them. Who knew if Amon could steal away those thoughts, and then… and then Klein wouldn’t be able to do anything trapped from where he was.
Instead, he focused his vision toward where Fors’s star was, watching as she and Xio ran for shelter as the air raid sirens blared and the people out on the streets panicked.
Above were the sounds of heavy artillery fire, military guns shooting into the sky to take down enemy blimps that were attempting to hide high up amongst the eventide clouds. The ground shuddered once and then again as the attack began, and the panicked civilians fell and stampeded over each other without having been struck by the bombs. There were sounds of crying and shouts of pain as they tried to get to the closest areas of safety: larger buildings that might be able to withstand the bombardment, like churches or tall towers.
The two Tarot Club members were huddled under an awning, more to stay away from the panicking crowd than anything else, pushed against the wall to keep away. Fors had her head ducked down and her hands clasped together in prayer, the shawl over her arms showing a torn edge from having been yanked at by a scared lady just minutes before.
“Please keep everyone safe,” Fors continued to whisper her prayer, “and let this war end soon. Please bless myself and Xio today so MI9 doesn’t punish us for prying into their affairs. O-or Miss Audrey, either, for asking us to do this! I guess that comes after surviving, though…”
“Fors!” Xio hissed out next to her, barely audible under the wail of the sirens. “Let’s go!”
“A-ah, yes!” Fors said, uncurling and following the shorter woman out from under the awning and toward a larger building.
MI9? Klein thought in confusion. Outside of the incident with George III, Klein didn’t think any members of the Tarot Club had strife with MI9, nor would they run afoul of them on purpose. A request from Miss Justice? But what would she want with MI9?
Either way, Klein prepared several of his Angel’s Blessings, and waited until the two women made it to a narrow alleyway and stopped to catch their breaths before sending one down for each of them. He watched as they straightened and their shoulders relaxed as they breathed out, covered in his blessing.
This time, Xio joined Fors in clasping her hands and thanking The Fool, before they slipped further into the dark of the alley.
Just what were they up to, Klein wondered for a long minute, and then mentally calculated how long he could safely stay up in Sefirah Castle. With the drastic increase of his spirituality through the sequences, he could comfortably spend a very long time above the grey fog, but only keep his physical body within the historical void for perhaps fifteen minutes at a time.
What it came down to was a safe place for his physical body to hide while he was above the grey fog, which proved quite difficult in a place like the Forsaken Land.
The people here really do have it hard…
Sure that the two women weren’t going to run into serious trouble in the next several minutes thanks to his blessing (and they were smart enough to stay out of the path of war), Klein descended from the fog with the intent of finding safe haven for the night in the Forsaken Land, where he could hopefully keep a watchful eye on the others despite being trapped here.
As if sacrificing some of his luck to the others, Klein found himself in an unlucky position when he returned to his lantern, the light having attracted several prowling creatures that lurked just at the edge of the flickering beams, only noticeable by the shine in their eyes and the malice of their presence.
Quiet growls could barely be heard over the booming thunder, and Klein carefully bent to pick up his lantern. This was fine. Every fight was good practice for him to explore the limitations of what he could and couldn’t do with historical projections, and the corresponding Beyonder characteristics would be added to his collection to sell off later on.
How lucky, Klein thought, the renown Sefirah Castle is being used more as an endless inventory space these days.
With that thought, he reached beside himself into the historical void and pulled.
—
“What?”
Hibbert Hall set down his newspaper as the butler brought the information to him, his expression dark. Sitting across from him, his mother gasped and dropped the novel she was reading.
“Then Audrey, she’s…?” Lady Hall asked fearfully.
“She left the Charity Foundation nearly half an hour before the attack, my Lady,” the maid informed them both. “Her friend reported that just before, there were some strange men who broke in and spoke to her.”
“Do you have a description?”
“Indeed we do, sir,” the butler said, and offered a folded sheet of white paper. Hibbert took the paper quickly and unfolded it, reading the brief descriptions of the men provided by other members of the Foundation who were there.
“She shouldn’t be outside at this time,” his mother fussed in a shaking voice. The sirens could barely be heard faintly in the distance, as Empress Borough was not as attractive a location for the war as other densely populated areas. “Oh, what if something happened to her? Hibbert, can you—?”
“I’ll take care of it, mother,” Hibbert soothed, snapping the paper shut again and reaching out to pat his mother’s hand gently. “I believe I know who those men are, and if she is with them, then she should be plenty safe.”
“Your father will be worried sick,” she worried, “his health has been so fragile lately, we must get Audrey back safe before he finds out about this. He already has so much to worry about…”
Hibbert would never describe his father as ‘fragile’ at any point, even if Earl Hall had been getting stress migraines from the progression of the war. He knew that his father and sister hadn’t been seeing eye to eye lately on certain issues, and Hibbert himself had not helped that along.
Audrey was a good and sweet girl, but she was far too naive and didn’t understand how the world worked. Hibbert wanted for her to keep believing in the good in people, but he couldn’t have her disrupt their family with her credulous thoughts.
Perhaps that was their fault, for being so overprotective of her. But she was just a girl, and the only daughter of Earl Hall. Allowing her the freedom to work at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation and to travel there and back on her own was their compromise, but Lady Hall begged them to keep a distant eye on her at all times, just in case something bad should happen.
And something bad may have just happened.
Normally Hibbert wouldn’t have concerned himself over Audrey. After all, he had greater issues to worry about, especially if he wanted to succeed his father. It was Alfred who doted more on their younger sister, while Hibbert prepared himself for his future titled life and responsibilities.
“Send people to both the Charity Foundation and to MI9,” Hibbert informed the butler, who bowed in acquiescence. He pushed himself up from the plush armchair. “I will personally oversee finding my wayward sister.”
—
Mr. Star reached out to cover both Audrey and Melissa the moment the ground shook under them, and dust fell from areas of mortar from the ceiling. It was a very kind and gentlemanly gesture, but one Audrey felt was ultimately futile when she was certain she could withstand more than he could, and she was closer to Melissa and would have covered her had things gotten too bad.
Or she would if she hadn’t been so startled by the sirens, only to experience the shaking immediately after.
“Are you both alright?” Mr. Star asked after the shaking subsided.
Melissa grabbed onto his arm, her face pale and eyes wide, clearly shaken by the event. “...Yes, thank you.”
Audrey nodded as well, slightly dazed by the volume of the air raid sirens. Even within the church, the wailing was a loud and continuous pitch warning people to evacuate to safe areas, such as the churches. While Mr. Star briefly rubbed at his ear, he seemed to recover well enough immediately.
Had her sequences increased the sensitivity of her hearing? Audrey hadn’t noticed at all until now. Or perhaps the stone walls and high ceilings of the church only served to boost all sounds.
Audrey suspected it had to do with Beyonder powers, but the churches were the safest areas in Backlund, and she knew that until the sirens died down, it was best to stay inside.
Melissa didn’t seem to agree, as she called out, “Benson,” the moment she understood none of them had been hurt.
“We’ll find him,” Audrey tried to soothe her. “After this, we can—”
But rather than soothe, the words agitated Melissa even more.
“We may be safe here, but he’s not!” She cried out. She scrambled upward, clutching hard at her bag. “I can’t— please, I can’t again—”
“It’ll be dangerous outside now,” Mr. Star told her, and he and Audrey exchanged looks of concern. “I’ll go with you, but your brother wouldn’t want you in danger in these circumstances.”
She shook her head, clearly more and more unsettled by the second as the air raid sirens reverberated through her skull, chasing after panicked thoughts.
“B-but what if—?”
Another deep shuddering of the ground, and Melissa froze in her panic rather than shout, her eyes round.
Outside, there were startled screams that could barely be heard.
Melissa pursed her lips before blurting out, “Klein would have come for us.”
Mr. Star drew back in a physical recoil, his expression pulled into something that Audrey could read as both grief and guilt. His jaw tensed for a moment, looking as if he wanted to protest, before the fight left his eyes. He looked over her way and gave a weak shrug, as if conveying what can I do?
He let out a frustrated sigh and said, “Those men after you would have left the moment the sirens went off. They won’t follow you into the church, and they’ll assume you’ll stay here for the time being. If you really wanted to escape them… it’s actually best to leave now, when they’re gone.”
“But I want them to find me,” Melissa’s voice was quiet and shaky. “I don’t… I don’t know how to find Benson otherwise.”
She never once considered that perhaps her brother might just be waiting for her back home, and that Audrey might have given her the wrong information.
“That’s fine, it’s better that they’re gone. I can find information on him,” Mr. Star said confidently.
With his connection to the Evernight Church (even Audrey knew that those wearing red gloves were connected to the Church of Evernight), it was likely he had many sources at his disposal, being an official Beyonder. Audrey just took that statement in stride, her thoughts still roiling over Melissa’s earlier outburst.
Klein would have come for us.
Don’t think about it, Audrey, don’t think about it. She told herself and willed her turbulent curiosity aside. There was something familiar there, something that stuck out like a bump on smooth ground, like she covered up the information with a blanket and let it sit there under a psychological cue.
It was a name that struck Mr. Star deeply, and it was a name that nagged at the back of her brain, like she knew it but forced herself to forget.
Melissa was just a quiet girl, that was all. She didn’t often talk about the people in her life, and any name from her would have been a surprise.
“Why wouldn’t they come here?” Melissa asked, brows furrowed as she caught onto that detail. “It’s safest inside the church, and with the sirens…”
“They can’t interfere with the churches, and the churches can’t interfere with them.” Mr. Star answered. “It’s a balance of power between us and the government, split four ways. With the war, things have been out of balance, which only made dealings worse. They—”
He halted, catching himself. “Anyway, I should know where they’ve gone.”
“Then,” Melissa said quickly before he could realise what he said. “Will you take me there? Now?”
“I…”
Audrey patted down her dress in an absent manner while she thought. Since she already sent Susie to Xio and Fors, the best option was to wait until they found something and then meet up with them. But Melissa didn’t look like she would wait at all, and if Xio and Fors went toward the MI9 headquarters, then perhaps they could meet up.
It could be a little dangerous— so many members of the Tarot Club in one space without pre-planning. Every instance before when they carried out missions together, they planned it under the watchful and protective gaze of Mr. Fool.
This time, there was no plan. But this time, it involved someone not of the Tarot Club, but one that Audrey wanted to help.
It looked like Mr. Star wanted to help, as well.
“Melissa,” Mr. Star said, “it’s not safe out there right now. It’s best for you to stay at the church, and I’ll go find your brother for you. I promise, I can—”
“I won’t be kept here when Benson could be in danger.” Melissa stated directly, loud even under the wailing of the sirens. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mitchell, I know that… I was asking for quite a lot from you, to go with me. We hardly know each other, and I was clinging to…” Her expression twisted. “I associate you with a memory, when that isn’t fair to you. You have no responsibility to do anything for me.”
“Of course I do.” Mr. Star exclaimed in surprise.
Melissa shook her head, and Audrey truly felt like a spectator for their conversation. “No. I cannot ask for anything of you except whatever information you may have about where Benson might be. It’s up to me to find him. The last time…” Her fingers were trembling, unnoticeable to the average person, but obvious to a Beyonder.
It would be safer, Audrey understood, for Melissa to stay at the church while she and Mr. Star searched for her brother instead. It would be safer for them to knock Melissa out, even, to placate her and to pull her into a sweet dream so that when she woke, everything would be resolved. They could make it safe for her, and take away all that stress and worry on her mind.
If a situation like that happened to her, Audrey would have thought it a beautiful miracle to wake up and have everything be okay.
On the other hand, had Audrey aspired for a simple and beautiful life like that, she would never have become a Beyonder. If that was the life they wanted, Melissa would never have ended up volunteering at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation.
“No, no,” Audrey found herself saying, drawing Melissa’s attention to her. The younger girl was pale with fear, but had her chin held high, and Audrey couldn’t bring herself to give Melissa that beautiful dream and easy ending.
“No, I’ll go with you.” Audrey repeated, and pressed a hand to her heart. “You’re right, Melissa, you have to find your brother. But you don’t have to do it by yourself. I can help you smooth things over, so we can go together.”
She looked up at Mr. Star, who seemed torn.
“Mr. Mitchell will help as well,” Audrey volunteered for him, knowing that he was a good person who didn’t have the heart to let the two of them wander off alone. Soft-hearted, just like Mr. World! “We can head out right now.”
So long as she and Mr. Star were with her, Melissa should be safe from the crowd outside and from the bombardments.
—
The problem for Klein with travelling for months by himself in the Forsaken Land, was that there were very few problems at all.
There was the constant threat of running into Amon, and the darkness threatening to consume him, and the monsters that roamed the land, attacking him on a semi-regular basis. There was a lack of food and water without poison in it, and very few places to find shelter at all.
There were no comforts, no reprieves, yet Klein found that his own rhythmic steps and steady pace day after day became something like meditation. It cleared his thoughts and made the world feel simple.
Here, so long as he kept going at a steady walking pace, he only had to worry about his sequence promotion: finding the ingredients to the next potion and passing the ceremony. No war, no neighbours, no cause and effect, no paralyzing heft of responsibilities or the sense of racing against time until he made his way out from this land.
Monsters were increasingly easy to deal with, and his exploration through the historical void was almost like watching an educational movie.
No, as he stayed day after day in the Land Forsaken by the Gods, the real issue became…
The lack of other people.
The problem was that the lack of other people made things easier.
People were too far away to worry about, especially when he could barely do anything for them. At first Klein imagined that the Tarot Club meeting once a week wouldn’t be enough, and that he would feel isolated and increasingly stir-crazy.
The result ended up being different from he imagined, and it was for that very reason he not only had the Tarot Club each week, but private meetings with both Miss Justice and Mr. Star.
Talking with them left him heavy and frustrated and content and many other things that brought about a sense of depth to the shallow and easy journey that should have driven him nearly mad.
Deep down, Klein could identify what that madness, or lack thereof, was.
Humans would find it terrifying to be stuck in his situation. Gods would not care.
A few minutes (if it was minutes) after ridding himself of the ring of monsters and collecting their characteristics, Klein found himself continuing his journey and coming across a low ruin.
It looked like there had once been a village here, with sturdy houses and communal buildings.
All that was left were a few worn stone bricks laid in formation, most barely coming to his knees. Here and there was the placement of what must have once been archways and doorways, and a pit that might have been a well at the centre of the once-village.
Klein lifted his lantern high, and wondered if he should pull a high-powered flashlight from the historical void. He didn’t want to attract any extra attention from things in the darkness, but this was the first sign of shelter that he’d come across in the past week.
While he could make due with the fifteen minute stints into the historical void in order to settle affairs up on Sefirah Castle, it was always best to find a place of physical shelter.
He could not afford to have his physical body attacked while he was busy elsewhere, and it was hard to find a place of genuine rest.
Sequence three or not, Klein still needed rest daily, and a tent was not always enough. It was easier to set up within some ruins or nature formations, and camouflage from there. And in this case, he needed a safe haven in case Fors and Xio needed help.
As he found an alcove between several piles of worn bricks, he heard another prayer.
It was Miss Justice this time, although her tone was calm and did not inspire the same urgency as Miss Magician’s did. It sounded more like an update rather than asking for help.
Taking the opportunity to settle in for the evening, Klein made his way up to the grey fog and checked on the prayer.
“Dear Mr. Fool,” Miss Audrey’s voice echoed, and then paused a moment, sounding a tad sheepish after, “please convey to Miss Judgement that Mr. Star and I may meet up with her soon.”
Xio and Fors, and now Audrey and Leonard as well? Just what was happening in Backlund today? That was most of the Tarot Club in the capitol.
Klein frowned, steepling his fingers in thought for a moment before he reached for Miss Justice’s red star to view it.
Gazing down from the grey fog through the evening clouds into Backlund, he found Miss Audrey pressing against a wall and peeking around a corner. In front of her was Leonard, who was tugging at the lapels of his coat while covering someone else crouched next to Audrey. They looked to be staying away from the crowds and travelling with a destination in mind despite the crowd that flowed against them.
The sirens were quiet now, and he could see that the airships attacking were already on the retreat, and soon the attack would be over. Still, it was rather dangerous for them to be out when they could wait just a few minutes for whatever they were going for.
Audrey and Leonard moved in the break of the crowd, and Klein could finally see the third figure that they were travelling with.
Melissa? He thought in shock.