However... I have successfully finished the second chapter, which I would like you all to read. Please, enjoy.
Mel's Prompt Story (Chapter 2)
When Lorwyn woke the next day she realized that she'd
completely forgotten to turn in the form that the Head Clerk had wanted. For a
full two seconds she worried about it and then shoved it aside. What was done
was done, there was nothing that she could do about it now. She rolled out of
her cot and groaned as she hit the floor. Her workout yesterday had been too
extensive, she should have held back a little. Now she'd waddle around for a
few days until her legs felt normal again.
She sat on the hard stone floor and made herself stretch her
stiff muscles and continued to groan. This wasn't getting her anywhere, she'd
have to get her muscles warm again. Dragging herself to her feet she did basic
exercises to work her legs, arms and shoulders. After about thirty minutes she
stretched all over, wishing painfully that she hadn't worked her entire body.
When she felt herself again she grabbed a fruit to munch on
and pulled the form closer. Upon examination she found it was just a check-up.
They wanted to make sure she hadn't injured herself in anyway to prevent her
from doing her job. Several of the questions asked about symptoms that could
eventually lead to serious health problems but they didn't apply to her. She
flipped the form over, on the backside were clearly worded questions about
certain laws that would prevent her from being trusted in court or allowed to
work. She snorted. Being part of the law made this sort of... unnecessary.
There hadn't been any huge accidents that she had to report to the officials
and nothing was on her record. And she wasn't about to confess to invading
innocent's minds on a daily basis.
Taking a big bite she held the fruit in her mouth while she
did a cursory job of filling out the form, then she pulled her hair out of her
face and in a band, threw on the same thin, baggy material she had worn
yesterday and ran down the stairs to the street. A quick glance at the clock
tower told her she had twenty minutes before she had to report in. Juice ran
down her chin and she wiped it away with her sleeve trying to figure out the
best way to utilize the extra time she had. With a shrug she went to the
fountain were most of the dead-beats hung out. It was an area of high traffic
and a good place to start surveillance.
When she reached the fountain she threw a very sticky pit in
a can designated for trash only. The fountain itself was a work of art that
spoke of the city's talent. Huge statues of women, horses and warriors,
decorated the city, but the twin goddesses of Diane and Theresa that mounted
the clean water struck a chord with the tradesmen in the city, for Lorwyn,
however, it had always been something more bittersweet. Diane and Theresa were
sisters and represented the sort of brotherly, or sisterly in this case, love
that a people could reach while working together. She gazed up at the fountain
for just a moment, thinking of her many brothers and how they had given her a
sort of reluctant security and love. Lorwyn sighed in relief, knowing that if
all else failed; there was her family to go back to.
Turning she sat at the edge of the fountain and began to
gaze vacantly in the distance and listened. There was always the steady buzz.
Now she closed her eyes and listened to the deep emotions. One of the silliest
things about human nature is the constant silent shouting. Always yelling but
too insecure, polite, or angry to say anything. Behind the words are emotions
and at the end of the day the words don't matter, feelings are what directly
lead you to action.
Lorwyn had always wondered what other telepaths felt when
they intercepted shout-thoughts, which were very different than the thoughts
more hidden and secret. The strongest ones were chaotic pain or a desperate
lash out at the world. It was draining, but Lorwyn had always felt it was
important to monitor the people she lived with and to keep an eye out for
red-flags. Over the years she'd gotten better at pin pointing suicidals, those
with killing-intent and most importantly those who reeked from finding joy in
causing pain and doing evil, but there were always the exceptions. The human
mind was complex and people's thought processes more varied and confusing than
anything else Lorwyn had ever encountered.
The bell chimed. Lorwyn's eyes snapped open and she tore her
mind from the thoughts and troubles of others, breaking into a run. Only after
she had stopped did her legs protest very, VERY loudly at her sudden sprint.
Chest heaving she bent over and stretched again, feeling the burn in the backs
of her thighs.
"Aaaggghhhh..." She groaned vocally.
"It hurts that much?"
Lorwyn stopped mid-groan and straightened to find herself
face to face with a monster of a man. At least six foot four and not in anyway
thin or lanky. He was like a bear. Stepping back, Lorwyn finally was able to
see up into his face which could only be described as leathery and tough. If
Lorwyn knew any better she would have thought it was the bark on a tree, it was
so dark and lined. His eyes were light blue in deep contrast to his skin and
his hair was long, thin and greying, with a shorter, thick beard growing wildly
on his face.
 |
| Hurst (sort of) |
At first his eccentric appearance shocked and even concerned
Lorwyn, but there was something about the steady calm in his deep voice and in
his expression that made her stay where she was.
He spoke again, this time a smile breaking his face in two.
"My name is Hurst." He held out a hand in offering. Lorwyn took it
and was again taken aback by the roughness of his hands and their grip.
"I'm assuming that you are Lorwyn, my new understudy." He looked her
up and down. "I didn't expect you to be so young... and are you always
late?"
Lorwyn chuckled, surprising herself. It was clear by his
tone that he was reprimanding her but it was the kindest chastizment ever
given. "I lose track of time easily and I apologize. It's not something I
do frequently, I promise. Had I known my Mentor was a giant I would have made
sure to get here on time."
Hurst laughed appreciatively and Lorwyn again had to stop
and replay what had just happened. She had just cracked a joke, albeit a
horrible one, but a joke nonetheless. A frown crossed her features without her
realizing it as she followed Hurst into the huge columned entrance.
Hurst noticed. "What are you so concerned about, my
little Inquisitor?"
Lorwyn raised an eyebrow. "Just because I am a foot shorter
than you does not mean that my height is so unbelievable. You are just too
big." Lorwyn used the time she had gained to decide whether to come clean
with her new mentor. She was uncomfortable with the fact that she was so comfortable
around him. "If you don't mind me asking, sir--"
"Hurst. You will never call me 'sir'."
Lorwyn eyed her Mentor again not sure what to make of him.
"Hurst..." and then realized she couldn't NOT add some sort of title
of respect blurted out. "sir. " He glared and she pointedly ignored
it. "What is your gift? If it's not too intrusive."
"I'm glad you asked actually, I'm a Healer. One of the
best." His eye disappeared in the folds of his skin as he winked at her.
"I can help you with that soreness if you'd like."
Relief saturated Lorwyn. A Healer was by far better than a
Sniffer or someone with Foresight. They were trained solely on the manipulation
of the mind to heal the body. In reality anyone could be trained to be a Healer
but there were always those who had the perfect balance of persuasion and the
raw power of joy. Plus the fact that he was a Healer explained why she felt so
comfortable around him. It was just his nature.
"If you can take away this pain I would be in your
debt." Lorwyn said quietly but earnestly.
Hurst promised to give it a try and then motioned her into a
small office. As Lorwyn stepped in her eyes were drawn to the walls. There she
found an array of colors and textures, feathers, paintings, shiny trinkets,
small weapons, artifacts, pieces of art made out of wood and ebony decorated
his desk. On one wall was a large map of their world. There was a large
bookcase chock full. All in all it felt very, homey, lived in and somewhat
cluttered.
He motioned to a cushioned chair. "Please, sit. This
will take all day and you might as well make yourself comfortable."
Lorweyn did so but continued to examine the hundreds of souvenirs. Hurst
grinned at her wide eyes. "I'm glad you like my collection. I spent most
of my earlier career with the Caradoc people overseas in Tredan. They were
having a hard time adjusting to new rule."
Secretly Lorwyn was very impressed. The Caradoc people stuck
to more primitive ways and were not easy to get close to and it looked as if
Hurst had gone native in his attempts to help them make an easier life for
themselves.
"Now let's get down to business. Your new
position..." He sat back in his chair and searched for the right words to
begin. "I don't need to tell you that being High Inquisitor is not an easy
position, you'll have up to fifty gifted under you command depending on the
cities and the demand. Your job is to gather reports from each of them, make
sure they are doing their job, visit the cities every once in a while and watch
the outer regions with a careful eye as they aren't under constant care. Every
month you'll send your report to the Central Agency in Paxsalvador. Every six
months you'll take your physical self and report directly. They'll scrub your
mind for any information they think is relevant."
Panic stabbed at Lorwyn. "Am I allowed to keep...
certain things to myself? More personal information, that isn't relevant."
Hurst shrugged. "I've never bothered to try and block
their telepaths, they are very thorough and I don't have the right training.
All I can say is if you block something be prepared for a serious interrogation.
You know how they can get."
Oh, Lorwyn knew, and it was never pretty. While everyone
said "report" what they really meant was "download."
Everything you knew was handed out like flags at a parade. At the University
you were trained to trust your superiors and teachers, they knew what was best
and you didn't question their orders. If they said jump, you jumped. If they
said give us all your secret hopes and dreams so we can crush them, you did.
Brecc had made her see that. You couldn't trust just anyone.
When someone said "scrub your mind" it wasn't just to get an accurate
report, it was a way to control you. They had their little fingers in your
life. You couldn't do anything without them knowing at one point or another.
Silently she cursed Brecc for killing the Head Inquisitors and the pale Head
Clerk who had passed on the promotion "opportunity." Refusal had
never been an option and Lorwyn knew it. She had taken careful precautions to
prevent this sort of thing and it had all been for naught.
"Are you alright, Lorwyn?" Hurst asked, deep
concern lining his face.
"I'm fine, I'm sorry, my thoughts wandered off."
she assured him at the same time reprimanding herself. She would've never made
this mistake in front of another official. Just because you feel comfortable
doesn't mean you can get sloppy. If anything she had to be more on guard than
ever.
Hurst sighed. "Well, your mind obviously has been on
other things all day. You were late and now you can't seem to focus.
Lorwyn," he sat up in his chair and leaned on his desk worry written all
over his face. "is there something that you want to talk about? I've
checked your files. You're a perfect member in the Paxsalvador Agency. I have
never seen a cleaner slate and this just doesn't seem like you."
Lorwyn remained silent and looked down at her hands.
Inwardly she was grasping at an answer. "It's just a lot of responsibility
and I don't know if I can do it."
Hurst laughed. "Oh, this will be a breeze for you. In fact
I'm surprised you weren't promoted sooner, but it all worked out in the end.
You are a very mature individual, Lorwyn." She made the mistake of looking
up into his light eyes and seeing the love there. It made her uncomfortable.
"Anyone can see that you are very capable and I just want you to know if
you ever want to talk. I'm here. It's what I'm here for." After a short
silence that seemed to bother only Lorwyn, Hurst sighed and stood. "I
think we'd better call it a day. You seem unfocused and you obviously need
rest."
Hurst went to his bookcase and selected a freshly bound book
and handed it to her. Lorwyn accepted it. "What is it?"
"It's some of the more detailed rules and obligations
of a High Inquisitor. When you have the opportunity I suggest you study it. I
think it will ease your concern. You'll find that High Inquisitors have many
perks. You get to travel, even out of your district if you want and times are
quiet enough. No matter where you are, you are treated as a royal guest with
the best food and best rooms." He grinned. "I think you'll find you
can come to enjoy this kind of life. It's not all hard work." He opened
the door and motioned her in front of her. "Now go home and get some rest.
I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."
Lorwyn walked home in a daze. The Head Clerk had to track
her down for the form that she had forgotten. He huffed a lot and stormed away
but Lorwyn didn't care. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
She could travel, she could get out Yevic.
She could find Brecc.
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