Nomadrel's Journey
II
When he arrived it
was night. He wondered what he had missed in his absence. He was
surprised to find that he was standing near the docks. At his feet
lay a box with his name written on it. Nomadrel knew it was from the
man in the hood. He didn’t know how, but it was.
The box contained a
red hooded shirt. ‘Lee said something about this.’ he
thought as his mind wandered to his memory of all that Lee had said.
Almost on cue, Lee
appeared ahead. Nomadrel knew that he was being watched. Someone
knew where he was going to be. Lee was there watching the docks and
it wasn’t long before Nomadrel spotted Beliso and his past self,
arriving to make an exchange. ‘To help find me on the docks’
Lee’s words echoed in his mind.
It was the first
conversation he had with Lee. ‘At the Mjolnir Tavern.’ He
reminded himself and there was only one of the Vekinos that wouldn’t
kill him on sight…Ephinox.
He had his message,
he had his meeting place, and, strangely enough, had a the time…Sort
of. With the flick of his new tail he was off.
***
The Mjolnir Tavern
was just as he had imagined. His father, Ragnarok, had never allowed
him to travel to this part of Dahamadra. Then again, Ragnarok never
really let him go anywhere there would be humans. That is, of
course, unless it served his own means.
He knew better than
to be seen here; his father had few friends. With the hood in place
he entered quietly and found a nice shady corner table.
Unfortunately it was occupied, so standing at the end of the bar
would have to do.
Other than a funny
first look from the bartender he sat unnoticed. He thought about
what he’d heard from people in his father’s employ.
The first described
an epic bar room brawl. Nomadrel was eager to see this.
It wasn’t long
before he heard Lee’s familiar voice. “I’m looking for…”
was all Lee could manage before he had to dodge a barrage of flying
drinks. To his surprise Lee lept into action, seemingly without his
permission.
The first of them to
step up was a six foot beast of a man with a shaved head and plenty
of tattoos. The one most noticeable was the one on his forehead that
read “DIE”. A quick thrust to the throat and a sharp kick to the
stomach and he was done. The next five each received a broken limb.
Nomadrel realized that he’d have to be quick on his feet if he was
going to avoid joining them.
After the last goon
had been handled Lee asked again. “I said I’m looking for the
Vekinos,” Nomadrel was amazed at the devastation that Lee had
caused. “I need to speak to them. I have a business proposition for
them.”
“What business
do you have with them?” Nomadrel answered from his poorly lit
corner.
Lee turned to see an
empty table. “Wha?...”
“You don’t
belong here stranger. You and I both know it.” The voice came again
from just behind Lee.
‘How is he that
fast?’ Lee thought as he turned around carefully. A young man
in a red hooded shirt stood hiding his face within the shade of the
hood.
“Speak with
Ephinox at the Happy Cloud Inn.” and in a flash he was gone.
***
Nomadrel was in a
panic. He hadn’t used his power to move through time. Something
was pulling and pulling hard.
After a moment the
pulling ceased and Nomadrel was flung violently to the roof of a
building. It didn’t take long for him to realize where he was.
Below him was the
alley where Lee had caught him. It was here that a paradox of
himself had been made. This was just a theory, of course.
Off to his right he
could hear the angry screams of Lee as he sprinted from the delivery
bay of the hospital. ‘Those vials could have been used to treat
the sick.’ Nomadrel thought to himself.
Below him was a much
more naive version of himself. His younger self quickly replicated
as he quickly folded time. In an instant Lee rounded the corner.
The pain, from Lee’s
attack, was still fresh in his mind. Though this hurt, Nomadrel was
still impressed with Lee's combat skills.
The paradox vanished
just in time for his already unconscious self to be restrained by
Constable Jgorn. Though the constables had a bad reputation, they
really were keepers of the peace in Dahamadra. Nomadrel could see
why Jgorn was a leader among them.
Something else
caught Nomadrel’s eye; His hooded friend. The man in the hood
stood a few blocks away on a rooftop as well. Staying a fair way back
Nomadrel made his careful way across the rooftops. One bad decision
here would not only kill him, but could do horrible damage to time.
The man in the hood
finally descended from his rooftop. Nomadrel could see that he had
cornered someone. That someone was his paradox twin.
He was no match for
the man in the hood. Nomadrel recognized the building. It was a
safe house for Ragnarok. He had considered fleeing there once he had
the serum. The old warehouse door rose suddenly bathing the hooded
man in light.
The hood was hit by
a bolt of electricity and in a flash the man in the hood was gone.
A flood of thoughts
washed over Nomadrel. Was it these events that pulled him here? Was
it a result of the events yet to transpire that had done this? And
what was the hooded man’s connection to it all? He knew he’d
need to ask the Mardrine he had seen from Dahamadra’s future to
know for sure.
***
As quickly as he had
left her he returned. His arrival startled the people who now lived
in these tunnels. Though they had been surprised by his arrival
there was something else in each of their faces.
Nomadrel pushed
through the crowd to the area Mardrine had led him before. People
now appeared to be living closer to the room that she had shown him.
The smell of unwashed, huddled masses saddened him. ‘This is
what it all came to,’ he thought, ‘one man’s quest for
power has brought this once glorious city to ruin.’
A teenager came
running toward him from the room ahead. “She knew it would be the
last time, didn’t she?” the undernourished girl asked. Nomadrel
could see the tears forming in her soft blue eyes.
“Yes,” he
started, “I take it she went peacefully?” The girl nodded in
confirmation. Still it brought no solace. He had hoped that he
would have had time to get to know her. Even though he knew that
with the ongoing war there was no real chance.
“You had just gone
when she slipped away.” the little girl sobbed. Still she took him
by the hand and led him forward.
The room was now
aglow with lights. Mardrine lay on a bed of worn and tattered
sheets. It was what lay on the wall just beyond her that caught his
attention next.
It looked to be a
message scrawled on the brick in blood:
A villain will
have it when his time approaches
Now knowing the
grim fate to come
to deliver
himself a message
he returns to a
powerful song
only he can
understand
next to have his
heart tested
yet only in time
While his new
allies fall the
is he to see
nexus opens for a
moment
the right time is
a square 2529
enlightening the
world
reality shall
bend into the correct path
soon.
Vision is blocked
as the book moves
in time
shadows hide the
book
gathering in the
dark places
ominous foes
prepare
to overrun the
world with monstrous creations
humanum novus and
tantibus filii
One will lay down
his life to the man of principle. Seek the cards. For without them
the song shall not play and the hand of death shall see a new day.
These things must come to pass or death herself shall move into the
throne of power.
Nomadrel stood there
taking it all in. This was the work of the seers. His father had
often complained of their meddling in his affairs. Now he came to
them with a question only to be met with riddles. This could not be
his only answer. He would need to learn so much more.
Now with the
children in mind Nomadrel departed. Moving though time like a shadow
he watched history unfold. If they were to survive they would need a
chunk of time safe from world devastation.
After many years of
searching he finally settled on two points of time; near enough for
plenty of overlap while not putting all his eggs in one basket.
Nearly one hundred
and eighty years had passed for him while he traveled along the ebb
and flow of time. With the locations selected it was time to return
to Lee. Nomadrel concentrated and then he was on his way.
