[Episode] The Mordant Knot

Episode:

On the Island of Thal within West blue, a tiny bell above the door of a local library signaled it’s opening from which the silhouette of the exiting figure could easily be confused as that of an ungracefully aging man.

Surprisingly, it was a young man, who stepped around the corner into the sun with red eyes that would have seemed brighter had the lids that drooped over them had not been so heavy.

A simple leather vest and cloak was draped over the youth’s marine uniform as he stood with slump shoulders. “Okay… that’s one down.” The young man thought to himself. The returns were easy enough since it still was quite early in the morning. Had the youth come by to drop those books off later than it would have inevitably more crowded.

“Hey! is that you Ohm!?”

Another young man, this one tall and slender, brush back his long black hair with a somewhat incongruous breast plate over a sweat stained blue jumpsuit that fitted his pale form. Ohm’s eyes lit up at the sound of the familiar voice. “Mikael? Heeeeey man.” The two would clasp their hands together several times in a rhythmic and practiced greeting.

“What!”

“Is!”

“Up!”

“My!”

“Guy!”

Then the two would shake off the pain in their hands. “Ooooooh! That stung a bit this time. Looks like all that boot camp you went through is serving you well.” Ohm snorted, tiredly. “More like served me… on a platter and it’s going to get even busier soon.” A look of confusion briefly fell upon Mikael’s face but then the realization struck him like lightning, propelling the youth to wrap his arm around Ohm’s head neck in a playful headlock.

“Yooooooo! You passed the boot camp! I knew you could do it bro! Congratulations! We need to go celebrate!” Ohm laughed and whimpered from the swift motion as he tapped his rambunctious friend’s arm in surrender. “Ah yes, wonderful idea. Kill me now… hrrk! so I don’t have to serve…” Mikael snickered and pulled a reluctant Ohm with him.

“Oh hush you! It’s off to the pub!”

Post Word Count: 363
Total Word Count: 363

The two friends strolled along from the stone top to a sturdy bridge of stone standing astride the river. “So, how have you been these days Mikael?” Ohm asked, moving his friend’s arms from around him before patting his back. The taller youth’s smile shrunk somewhat. “Well, y’know. It’s been a little tough. Pa kicked me out y'know.” Mikael’s fellow traveler’s expression fell away at the news.

“…That’s rough. You got a place to stay?” Ohm said with slight regret etching itself at the end of his question.

The optimism then beamed off of Mikael, in which gave off enough of a presence that could make anyone Ohm knew give Mikael the benefit of the doubt. “Yeah actually. You know it was high time for me to get my own place anyway. Not to mention I finally got a nice little gig going.” To this new piece of information, Ohm felt his eyebrows ease themselves back to a neutral state.

“Nice, nice. What do you do?” The youth asked in to which Mikael hurried his pace. “Work at a bank of sorts. Mostly as a moneylender. “ He answered before opening the door to their destination upon which a jolly-tune – if somewhat wobblingly played by a spirited gentleman on a violin – greets the buddies and pulling them into a cozy establishment. Inside, Ohm and Mikael found empty stools by the bar and were greeted by a portly blonde man drying off a glass with a rag.

“What can I get ya?”

“Two pints of the usual git-beater, big man.” Mikael ordered, placing a handful of coins onto the counter.

The bar tender took the beri and set down two mugs. “Comin’ right up.” The light tongue chap then looked to Ohm. “Hey, hey. Enough about me now. What was it like with all that training Ohm? You said it’s bad but I want details.” The Bartender then poured a cocktail from two bottles into each mug and took a scraper to swipe off the froth that flowed to the top of the pint.

Ohm took the handle of the mug and let the liquid pour down his gullet to ease his mind followed by his buddy doing the same. The drink was weirdly ambrosial, more akin to wine than a beer but had a sudden bite to it that corrected any sort of misunderstanding that this was a higher class of beverage. “Well, there was one of the timed obstacle courses. You see it starts off with a mile run then…” All of a sudden, a small squeak came out of Mikael’s throat and he fell off his stool onto the wooden floorboards with a resounding thud.

Post Word Count: 446
Total Word Count: 809

It didn’t take long to know the cause of Mikael’s sudden fainting as the young Marine’s tongue began to atrophy. Smiles burgeon throughout the room. Mouths widening beyond normal capacity, stretching all around heads.

Eyes becoming crucibles of dripping molten white metal that seemed to seep it’s way into the color of the background, spreading and turning everything into a pristine shade of white that slowly encroached upon his vision. Before his faculties completely gave way, the ensign turned his body to land hard on his elbow.

The resulting pain injecting a shot of adrenaline through his brain that fought against the symptoms of whatever dark mixture he had consumed. Ohm’s efforts awarded the sinister white to be blasted away from his eyes and rolled across the floor, scooping Mikael in a fireman’s carry with the very motion and rushing out of the building. Thunderous pops could be heard behind him, with black seeds zipping past him as the trained marine rushed through the exit, and jumped out of the window.

With Mikael in tow, Ohm continued to trek while knowing that whoever was keen enough to use such tactics as spiking a drink, wouldn’t risk being discovered by giving chase once there were out of the bar.

Once Ohm had returned to the bridge, he sat down in exhaustion while setting Mikael’s body to lie against the stone rails of the bridge as the public looked on. The young marine took a moment to catch his breath before reaching over to send a thunderous backhand to his own buddy to shock him awake.

The once sound sleeper woke up with a panicked gasp and slugged Ohm in his cheek, causing his buddy to fall back in a gasp, holding his punched jaw.
“Guuuh…! Glad to see your still alive Mikael…” the young marine snarled. “Ohm! Aww geez… I’m sorry I thought you were-..!” Mikael’s cut himself off as for once he was unsure of what to say next.

“Damn. Let’s see, my drink was spiked, I was almost shot and now Mikael is speechless. Are you going to fill me in on what you got yourself into this time or now?” For a long moment, Mikael was silent with his eyes darting away from Ohm’s own accusatory gaze. “Okay but not here…” The tall young man stood up.

“Follow me…”

Post Word Count: 391
Total Word Count: 1200