Ethan Wright and the Alchemist's Order, (Book 2) (17 page)

“Oh! That’s even more impressive — look,” said Stanley while taking the map. He rotated it so the letter
‘V’
now looked like the letter
‘A’
. “The top
and
bottom of the legend both say
‘N’
, which I can only assume is for north. Abbey Valisa —
‘A’
and
‘V’
— before it was Odin, and before that … it was Wegnel MacArthur.”

He handed the map back to Ethan, who rotated it to check for himself. Suddenly the black and faded brown lines, letters and markings on the map started to glow. A flash of white light erupted from the map, briefly illuminating the underbelly of the balloon.

“Whoa — what the heck was that?!” exclaimed Auren. “What did you do?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” answered Ethan, puzzled. Examining the map again, he removed his thumb to reveal the letter
‘A’.
The entire map had also changed. It showed Whitehaven and Strahlung, with several other surrounding cities. “It’s … home.”

He put his thumb over the symbol and rotated the map again. FLASH! It was the letter
‘V’
once more, and the map depicted Tirguard. And again, FLASH, back to Whitehaven.

“Didn’t know maps could do that — that must be an incredibly rare map, Ethan,” said Stanley. “Did you say your father
made
that?”

“No — there was a note attached to it. It said,
‘I finally found it’
— was meant for Isaac.”

Auren held out his hand. “Can I take a look?”

Ethan nodded.

Auren put his thumb on the letter
‘A’
and spun the map. FLASH, it changed back to Tirguard. He stuck his nose against the map to take a closer look, while Availia peered over his shoulder.

“That’s not all,” said Ethan.

FLASH! Another spin of the map and Auren was now looking at Whitehaven again. FLASH — again, and another FLASH!

“KNOCK … IT … OFF!” exclaimed Availia, punching Auren in the shoulder again and rescuing the map from Auren’s immaturity.

The bickering was ignored by Stanley. “What do you mean?
What’s
not all?”

Ethan shrugged. “Well, I think the map is indestructible. I’ve tried to damage it, but it seems it’s impervious to ripping, fire … even stabbing,” he concluded, looking over at Auren.

“Yeah — that map saved my life already. Xivon would have ran me through if I didn’t have that map tucked inside my alchemy jacket,” confirmed Auren. “If only I could get this jacket to react better, I probly wouldn’t have needed the map — but just the same, good thing to have around,” he added, pointing to the map.

“It’s what I’ve been using to hold the sword,” admitted Ethan, putting his hand near the pommel, “so it doesn’t burn, like when I fought Heinrich in the dueling hall.”

“So that’s how you did it,” exclaimed Availia. “When you fought the Stonewolf … you used the map, didn’t you — and you had that green goop, too.”

Ethan nodded. “This map has a lot of secrets behind it. This map is the key … but the key to what exactly — I just don’t know. I thought it was going to help me find Isaac, but after Xivon—”

The wind started to pick up and the corner of the map started to flutter in the breeze. Availia quickly handed it back to Ethan and he shoved it in his pocket. “Don’t believe Xivon — you need to follow your instinct, Ethan … and your heart,” she said kindly.

“Yeah —Xivon would do anything he could to get to you,” stated Stanley.

Auren put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “We’ll help you find Isaac, you can count on us.”

Just then Wegnel’s cat came waddling out from under the bench, where she had been curled up near the fire chamber. Her tummy wobbled back and forth as she trotted across the front deck of the ship. She jumped up onto Ethan’s lap but avoided eye contact with the Orobori, downplaying her demand for attention.

“Ivy?! I thought for sure you would stay with Valisa!” exclaimed Ethan as he patted the cat’s head. She lay down in his lap, snorted and began cleaning her paws.

“I guess she’s in as well, Ethan,” said Stanley, chuckling.

Availia and Stanley both nodded in agreement. Ethan sniffed, and then smiled. “Thanks everyone — you’re great friends … all of you.”

Chapter 15
Prufsian Blue

The airship landed on the platform, but no Losalfarians were present to greet them. The small staircase was unlatched and swung down. Ethan anchored the vessel with the rusty old sword that Red had presented to Auren last year as a weapon. Red, himself, had used it as an emergency airship anchor — now it was repurposed as their primary anchor, at Auren’s expense.

Ethan brandished the vintage blade in Auren’s face. “Remember this?” he jested.

“Yeah, yeah — it was funny the first seven times,” grumbled Auren as he trotted down the staircase and onto the Losalfarian platform. Ethan continued to chuckle as Auren grimaced.

Ivy lay on the end of the bench seat with her paw hanging off the edge. She drooled, and with a snort rolled off the edge of the bench, hitting the deck of the airship with a
THUMP
.

Ethan scratched his head, noticing this did not disturb her slumber. “I guess you can guard the ship then,” he mumbled sarcastically.

“That’s some legendary alchemy cat,” quipped Auren with a snort.

The weather had turned cloudy, and the overall appearance of Losalfar seemed dismal as well. In fact, there was not a soul to be seen throughout the city. The platforms in the trees were empty, with no sign of blue glowing in sight. The four walked to the wide staircase that led to the city and briskly strode down its countless steps.

“That’s odd — you’d think someone would notice the giant airship docked at the wall,” said Stanley, examining their surroundings.

“Yeah, it’s too quiet here,” Availia commented.

Just then a figure could be seen walking hurriedly toward them, coming across the bridge on their right. It was Ventu. His youthful, confident face was welcoming toward the young alchemists. With his fierce blue mark, Ethan had always thought Ventu looked like a younger version of Loka. Auren liked the Mitan because he usually brought them Losalfarian food when they met, but not this time.

Slightly winded, Ventu smiled and greeted his visitors. “So glad you can be here,” he said, as he cordially extended his hand to the Orobori.

Ethan accepted with an answering smile.

“How is that sword working out for you, Auren? Any issues?” asked Ventu, shaking hands with Auren, Stanley and Availia.

Auren’s face lit up. “It’s wicked! Best sword I ever had … only sword I ever had — except for that rusty boat anchor back on the ship.”

Ethan, Stanley and Availia chuckled as Ventu looked on blankly, confused at the group’s jesting.

The Orobori sobered. “Nice to see you, Ventu — I wish we were here under better circumstances, but … we’re here about Loka. Odin suspects something may have happened to him.”

“We’re not entirely sure if something
happened
,” answered Ventu, “he just seems to be missing.”

“What do you mean,
missing
?” asked Stanley, intrigued.

“Well, it’s unlike him to just leave without notifying someone. He would most certainly tell his daughter — she has no idea where he has gone. His domicile was a bit worrisome as well — very disorganized,” explained Ventu.

“Wait … he has
children?
” inquired Auren.

“Of course,” replied Ventu. “It’s in our biology to have a child every five hundred years.”

The side conversation was abruptly interrupted. “So his
domicile
was ransacked? Did it look as if it was forced entry? Was anything left behind?” barraged Stanley.

“We don’t have locks on our doors here, and most of us don’t have doors. I would be happy to take you there, if you care to see it.”

“Yes, please,” replied Stanley politely.

As they walked, Ethan took in the beautiful sights of Losalfar. The giant structures nestled in the trees, the decorative railings, and the monolithic sculptures delighted the senses. He thought of the time involved in creating such an intricate, extraordinary city. He wished his brother could be there with him to share the view.

As they continued down the path, they crossed several small ponds by way of wooden footbridges. Just before they reached a domicile with an open archway in the front, they passed over one last small pond. As Ethan crossed, he noticed blue-flowered lily pads floating gently on the water. It was calming; it was relaxing. Ethan intuitively knew this was Loka’s front yard. It was a small dwelling, and in Ethan’s opinion it was not disorganized at all. Everything was neatly put in its place. Books were in their bookcase, a single sword was hanging on the wall and personal belongings were removed from view. There was a simple chair and desk near the center of the room.

Auren peered in with his mouth agape. “This place is … a
mess?
” he asked, confused.

“You see on his desk here? He left out a book, a few pieces of parchment and this quill,” said Ventu, picking up a blank parchment.

“Um, not to sound … you know …
off,
but I don’t see any mess in here. What, exactly, are we looking at?” asked Ethan.

Stanley started poking at the items on the desk. He examined the book that had been left open and thumbed through its pages.

“He would never leave these things out. To Loka, and to most Losalfarians, this is quite a mess,” replied Ventu plainly.

“If this is a mess, you wouldn’t like my room at all,” quipped Auren, as he eyed up Loka’s sword on the wall. He poked the blade with his finger and immediately recoiled when Availia shot him a dirty look.

“It looks like he was studying alchemy symbols,” stated Stanley, pointing at the book. “But why? I thought Mitans couldn’t control alchemy.”

“It’s true, we cannot. However … we do, on occasion, get assistance with alchemy from humans such as Wegnel. He helped us with the Library of Truth — so we do study alchemy, to an extent.”

Ethan picked up a piece of parchment and spotted a symbol written on it. “What’s this?” he asked, holding it out to Ventu.

“Looks like an alchemy symbol … not sure I’ve ever seen that one before.”

Ethan handed the parchment to Stanley and Availia to look at. Availia shook her head. The symbol was a circle that connected all corners of a triangle, with a small cross on top.

“I’ve studied a lot of alchemy symbols — I don’t recall ever seeing this one,” said Stanley, mystified.

“Well, can’t you just do that letter thing you did with …
you know,
” said Auren, gesturing toward Ethan’s jacket.

Stanley was slightly confused, until he realized that Auren was hinting at the secret map. “Um … these aren’t letters, Auren — it’s obvious this is a rare alchemy symbol if Loka felt he had to look it up,” he replied as he fingered through the pages of the book. “Ah, here it is …
‘prufsian blue,’
it says. No wonder I haven’t studied this — artists sometimes use prufsian to blend a certain shade of blue. Its practical application to alchemy is basically … well … none, really,” he sighed. “That doesn’t give us a whole lot to go on.”

“If it has no practical application, then why was he looking at it?” asked Availia. “And why is it even an alchemy symbol?”

“Not sure — could be anything. Maybe he’s studying rare symbols because he had already learned the rest. That’s the only reason
I’d
look at this. Just to be safe, do you mind if I take this with me?” asked Stanley, holding up the parchment.

Ventu nodded. “Yes, of course — anything you need.”

“Well … it
is
getting late. Is there a place we could stay?” asked Stanley. “Maybe even here perhaps? It’s possible we could find some additional clues,” he added.

The Mitan agreed and took his leave. Although there were not enough accommodations for everyone, Auren had no problem claiming Loka’s cot and passing out. His nose wheedled air in and out, while occasional snorting could be heard.

Stanley, Availia and Ethan stayed up to look for clues throughout the dwelling, but after finding nothing, they focused on paging through the alchemy book. Availia was soon dozing in her chair. Ethan’s eyes grew heavy. Using his pack for a pillow, he fell asleep on the floor. After several hours, Stanley’s face was planted on the desk next to the book he had been so rigorously studying.

***

A pale young girl was kneeling outside the window. Her face looked sad, welled up with tears, yet calm. One eye was a beautiful hazel color that drew Ethan in, while the other was glazed-over, colorless and surrounded by a dark tattoo-like mark. Snowflakes rested in her short dark hair as her breath fogged up the window. Although she appeared to be Ethan’s age, she looked as if she knew something that Ethan did not. Fingers extended from her pale hand; she placed them on the surface of the window. Frost formed and crackled around her fingertips.

Ethan approached the window cautiously. His hearing seemed muffled. He looked down at his hand and saw that the wound on his palm was all but gone. He looked around, wondering if he was having a vision instead of a dream, when suddenly a resounding voice shattered his concentration.

“Ethan….”

He focused his attention on the fragile girl outside the window. “Yes?” he answered, his voice sounding like a muffled boom traveling through a fluid current. The rhythmic sound that bellowed from his mouth surprised even him. He further tested his voice. “Who are you?” he asked curiously.

“Ethan ….” The girl’s lips shivered, yet her mouth remained still. Instead, her voice seemed to go directly inside Ethan’s head. “Ethan … you’re going to die soon,” her voice reverberated.

Ethan gasped. He could not explain it, but her words felt true. Ethan knew his fate was tied to Xivon, tied to the Oroborus and tied to the great Game — a game in which he did not understand the rules. As her words echoed through his head, his anger began to rise, and his confidence in seeing his brother again started to fall.