It was hard, sitting there in the pile of blankets, listening to the Yoda Man snoring and Adeo and Betsy in the next room over apparently having a very good time.
Al wasn't tired. He was a little too revved to sleep. It was a little too hard to relax and catch some Z's when the universe as he had known it had been tossed topsy turvey. The blankets weren't that warm, either.
It would have been nice to have Clare there with him, or Junior, as he so often tried to climb into bed with them after some nightmare, his cheeks all clammy and his snotty nose wiped off on Al's pillow.
Al did have to hand it to Adeo. The guy did seem to have quite a lot of stamina. They were back at it again. Al would have taken a walk, giving them at least a little bit more privacy, if he hadn't been afraid of getting lost in the bloody maze of tunnels.
"Perhaps, you, like me, are not in the mood to sleep?" The Guardian lit a lamp and the cavern was lit in a dim glow.
"Bit difficult. Light sleeper, ya know?"
The monk grinned. "Those six weeks," he said wistfully.
"Six weeks of what?" Al stood up and joined the monk at the little table he'd set up in the corner. The Guardian began cutting a piece of bread.
"In Shudador, Members of the Order are apprenticed very young. I was only six when my mother gave me to the Brothers."
"Your Mum gave you away?"
"It was a gift of love. I had demonstrated certain abilities that made me a perfect candidate for the order. And I had seven older brothers so as you can imagine, things were tight."
"Oh. Right." Still didn't seem quite right to Al, but Yoda didn't seem to be bothered by it.
"Anyway, I was apprenticed until the age of twenty one. Then at that time, Brothers are given their Release. Yes, both figuratively and literally. We're given three weeks to explore the outside world and all its pleasures. Then when we return, we completely dedicate ourselves to the Order and its work."
"So what's the return rate?"
"About fifty fifty. But there are enough apprentices to make up for that. In fact, many noblemen send their sons and second sons to be educated in the ways of the Order, only to have them leave after their Release."
The Guardian handed over a piece of bread, slathered in a rich red jam.
"And you weren't tempted after all your…" Al was about to say whoring and drinking, but it didn't quite seem to be the right phrase to use with an old man. "Releasing?" Al took a bite of the bread. The jam was a delicious mix of sweet and sour.
"Unlike some others of the Order, I was given a special responsibility at a very young age. I was only ten when the Guardian named me as his unofficial successor. There was no question that I would return, but you can bet I made the most of my six weeks."
"So what exactly do you guard? The Official Secrets?"
The Guardian smiled enigmatically. "You might say that. Most in the Order think the Guardian duties are solely related to the Kemala and the Pecala, the ancient stones of Shudador."
"The two rocks that Adeo uses to travel."
"Yes, but the Guardian is a much larger responsibility that only the heir is privy to."
The Guardian reached under his robe and pulled out a rough string that was strung around his neck. The amulet at the end was an unremarkable gray rock set in a black lackluster metal.
"This," the Guardian said with the eagerness of a young boy showing off his favorite truck. "This is the key to the whole mess."
"A bit of jewelry?"
"Everyone assumes the Kemala and Pecala work independently, but they don't. I can use it to control them, retune them."
The monk tucked the amulet back into his robes.
"It's a secret that's been kept hidden, and for apparently good reason. If the traitors had known how important I was, well, I'd be dead by now."
"So why tell me now?"
Yoda Monk nodded sagely.
"Because the Order is no more. Even if other members have survived Fred's wrath, the Prophecy is at an end, and we can give no more guidance."
"In other words, you've got a secret that you're dying to tell, and I'm the only one around who could possibly give a shit."
"You're more important than you think you. I sense something about you."
"I forgot to put on my deodorant this morning."
"There's a force that's strong in you."
"Yes, Master Yoda."
"And who is this Yoda?"
"A an ancient and wise philosopher from my universe in a galaxy far, far, away."
"Then I shall take it as a compliment." The Guardian smiled at him and took the last bite of his bread. His eyes began to drop and with the ease of only the very young or old, The Guardian drifted off into a solid snoring sleep.
Al watched him for a moment before deciding he needed to clear his head. He did what he'd always done. He pulled out his notebook from his jacket inner pocket, and a pen from up his sleeve. With a sigh, Al flipped past the common images of Clare and their children and began to draw on a clean sheet.
Despite the light, Al quickly rendered the old man's wrinkled face and his equally wrinkled cowl and robe. Just as he finished and was about to flip and start another, the Guardians eyes flew open.
"Take it. You are the heir and last of the Order, Guardian of Shudador."
"Ain't much a chance of me going monk. I've got me a wife and she and I… we're not what you call celibate by any stretch of the imagination."
"The New Order, then. A Guardian Knight, a King, and A Chosen One. You have the power defeat the evil."
"I'm just in it to get my son back."
The Guardian just smiled enigmatically and closed his eyes again. Al shook his head and began to draw again. It took him ten minutes to realize the monk was just a little too still.
"Bloody fuckin' hell, Yoda? Oi, Yoda."
Al caught the Guardian just as he fell to the cave floor. He reached under the cowl to feel for a pulse. He felt nothing except the string of the amulet. Al laid the monk onto his cot, and removed the amulet just before pulling the blanket over his peaceful face. The rock was warm to the touch as Al lifted the string over his own neck and tucked it into his shirt.
"So what am I supposed to tell his Majesty when he wants to know why you died on my watch? Just like you, Yoda, to die before you teach me everything I need to…"
A sudden thought dawned on Al. It changed his whole perspective. It changed everything.
"Oi!" He yelled loudly. It echoed through the tunnel. "Olly Olly Oxen Free!"
Al began gathering up anything that looked useful. They were leaving right now.
"What the hell, Al?"
"Your buttons are done up wrong."
Betsy quickly turned around and attacked her buttons. Adeo came out of the cave, shirtless, dragging a large clanking sack.
"Sorry to break the bad news, but Yoda has unfortunately expired."
"What?" Betsy went over to the cot and pulled back the blanket. She looked up at Al in horror.
"Not that I did anything to cause it. The bloke knew he was going. Filled me in on a few things. Straightened me out."
"Like how?"
"I was under the impression that I was just the hang along. Here just cuz I had a personal interest in the winning side."
"To get Junior."
"Yeah. I thought I was Han Solo. Not that he's bad. Shoot first, ask questions later. That's a solid philosophy if you ask me."
"So you're Chewbacca?"
Adeo for the most part, seemed to be ignoring their conversation. Instead he was pulling swords out of the bag, and testing the weight of them in his hands.
"No. I'm Luke! Makes sense. You're Princess Leia and everyone knows that the Princess has the hots for Han."
Betsy crossed her arms and gave Al a skeptical eye. He wouldn't be dissuaded.
"Hey, I'm even the Knight! The Jedi Knight!"
"I don't think your last name really has any relevance. I think you're pulling at straws."
"Oh, then why did Yoda tell me that I had the power to kill Fred?"
"First of all, he's not Yoda, and second of all…"
"He might be right," Adeo said buckling a satisfactory sword onto his belt. "I've no idea who this Knight is of which you speak, but perhaps he has the Ability of the Prophecy."
"It's not a prophecy, it's pop culture!"
"My blows have had no effect on Fred. It could be possible that Sir Al might have the power to kill him."
"See?"
"Or it could be entirely possible that Fred will kill you with his little pinky!"
Al shook his head and chose to ignore her. "Has the sun set?"
"In a few more minutes."
"Then let's blow this joint!"
"If that means leave, then I concur."
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
Al smirked.
"Never tell me the odds."
1 comment:
The outcomes are random each time, meaning that 카지노사이트 nothing within the recreation is rigged
Post a Comment