Twisted Wonderland: The Seven Treasures

Twisted Wonderland & The Serpent's Crown-Part 3

  Jamil stirred the mild curry one final time before drawing some into a bowl for himself. Kalim would get some chicken broth, light enough to satisfy his hunger and keep him from getting any worse.
  Grabbing both bowls, Jamil headed back to Kalim's room, passing through the lounge. There, he paused. "Kalim," he said, putting the bowls down. "I said I'd come back to your room."
  Kalim jolted awake from dozing off on the floor. "Huh?...Jamil?" He asked, sounding tired and surprised. "I'm so confused...I swear I was just in my room..."
  "You're still feverish," Jamil said, touching Kalim's forehead. "You probably tried to follow me and collapsed again. Come on."
  He looped Kalim's arm around his neck and helped him back to his room, before returning to the lounge for the bowls. Which he promptly took to the kitchen and poured them down the sink.
  "Can't risk anything right now," Jamil said, redishing. "Someone already snuck in once tonight."
  As Jamil picked up the bowls, the palm of his right hand suddenly flared up, nearly making him drop the bowls.
  "So you can finally see me," a familiar voice said, making Jamil look over, where his Overblot form stood. He grinned at Jamil. "Hello Jamil."
  Jamil put the bowls down and drew his magepen. "You're not supposed to be here," he said. "You can only exist if I've overbloted."
  "As mindful as always Jamil," Overblot Jamil said. "I won't tell you how I'm here. Instead, let's put your mindfulness to use. I'll give you 24 hours to figure out how I can exist separate from you before I claim everything from you."
  Jamil narrowed his eyes. "Claim everything? How would you do that?"
  "That's part of what you'll have to learn," Overblot Jamil said, smiling wildly. "But you'd better get started. I'm interested in what you'll do when time begins to run out..."
  Jamil lunged forward but his Overblot form vanished, laughter echoing though the room.
  Gritting his teeth, Jamil tightened his grip on his magepen. What did he mean, claim everything? There wasn't anything he valued here unless...
   Leaving the kitchen, Jamil ran back through the dorm, bursting into Kalim's room.
  Kalim was asleep again, but his face was contorted in a nightmare. "Ngh...agh..."
  Jamil gritted his teeth. Did his Overblot form mean to claim Kalim? Why? What purpose did taking Kalim have?
  Who could help him? Azul had been muttering to himself earlier, so that would be a good place to start. Except that Azul would ask for something in return...
  Jamil shook his head. He'd worry about paying Azul later. He needed answers.
  Casting a few defensive spells around Kalim, Jamil looked at the clock. He could still catch Azul at Monstro Lounge before it closed.
~~~~~
  It was always strange to walk into another's dorm alone. Jamil shivered inwardly as the cool Octavinelle air brushed away the warmer air from Scaribia, before he hurried down to the Monstro Lounge.
  "Ah, Jamil," Jade said as Jamil entered, the small bell above the door chiming gently. "We are just about to close up for tonight."
  "I'm not here for a drink," Jamil said, folding his arms. "I'm here to speak with Azul."
  "Azul's not here," Floyd said, walking over. "He's up at the main campus, mettin' with Goldfishy and Sea Lion."
  It took a moment for Jamil to understand what Floyd had said. 'Riddle and Leona? Odd that the three of them would meet just before curfew,' He wondered. 'Oh well. I guess I'll have to head over and ask Azul there.'
  "Thank you," he said out loud, maintaining his mask of contemptment. "I'll take my leave then."
  "Goodnight Jamil," Jade said as Jamil turned away. "I hope you learn what you want to."
  Jamil looked over his shoulder at the twins, but they had vanished to close up the Lounge.
~~~~~
  Jamil spotted Azul in the main courtyard and ducked next to a bush as he heard Leona and Riddle coming.
  "This had better be important," Leona grumbled. "Ruggie's gonna wonder where I am."
  "This shouldn't take long," Azul said. "I trust you brought your Treasures?"
  'Treasures? Is he talking about the Seven Treasures?' Jamil wondered, frowning. 'What was going on?'
  "Of course," Riddle said. "You're text instructed as such. But why would we need to bring the physical Treasures if they would just join us anyway?"
  "I have reason to believe Kalim may have been chosen by the Sorcerer of Sand's Staff," Azul said. "Jamil said Kalim was absent from his classes, which is similar to your choosing, Riddle."
  "I suppose that is true," Riddle said. "But is it really safe to assume that the Sorcerer of Sand's Staff chose Kalim? It could have chosen Jamil. He was acting unlike himself today as well."
  'Chosen? What were they talking about?'
  "What did you deal with Leona?" Azul asked.
  "Tch. Just missing students," Leona replied. "Claw only wanted them as part of his army. You had a similar experience, Azul. Just students gettin' used."
  "Yes, but the Shell didn't make them vanish from memory," Azul said. "Well, not most of them. Sigh. It's a shame we don't know the power the Sorcerer of Sand's imbued into his staff."
  "We can't wish for something impossible," Riddle started. "It would be better if we just–"
  "Shhh!" Leona interrupted. "Someone's listening in. Smells like a Scaribia student..."
  Jamil crouched lower. Crap. He'd forgotten about Leona's sense of smell. Now what?
  "Leona?" Riddle asked.
  "...It was nothin'" Leona said. "Must have been smellin' the curry we had for dinner."
  "In any case, we should head back to our respective dorms," Azul said. "Goodnight."
  Jamil heard the three of them walk away before he stood up. What in the Great Seven had he just witnessed?
  "So, what are we looking at?" A voice asked, scaring Jamil.
  He whirled around, his magepen raised as Azul's Overblot form walked out of the shadows behind Jamil.
  "Wha-How-!" Jamil cried, looking over as Overblot Riddle and Leona appeared. "What's going on?"
  "Weren't you going to ask Azul about the Treasures and their hosts?" Overblot Riddle asked.
  "How do you know that?" Jamil asked, too surprised and a little scared to try and lie.
  Overblot Leona rolled his eyes. "Cause we can tell you're the one who's really chosen. You reek of him."
  "Him?"
  "The Sorcerer of Sand's Staff," Overblot Azul replied. "Do you want to learn or not?"
  "How do I know you won't lie to me to protect the Staff?" Jamil asked.
  "Cause if we were, we wouldn't have helped you hide earlier,"  Overblot Leona said. "Shesh. You have some trust issues."
  "You guys did that?"
  "A Beastman's scenes are hard to fool, but I've been wanting a challenge," Overblot Riddle said. "So, what do you want to know?"
  Jamil licked his dry lips. What to ask? He was faced by three Overblot forms, who claimed to know about the Seven Treasures. There were so many questions...
  Just as he opened his mouth to ask the first question, a twig snapped nearby, making all three Overblot forms turn.
  "Sorry about that," Overblot Jamil said, walling out from behind a tree and throwing two pieces of a broken stick to the side. "But I couldn't help but overhear this riveting conversation."
  The three Overblot forms didn't react, but the air grew thick with tension. "What are you doing here?" Overblot Riddle asked.
  "I'm allowed to be wherever I want to be, just like all of you," Overblot Jamil said. "The only difference is that I have the freedom to use my power to silence you three. Can't make it too easy on him."
  He reached out and something began to form in his hand.
  Now the Overblot forms reacted, each suddenly holding an object; Overblot Riddle whipped out a playing card, a beast's claw covered one of Overblot Leona's arms and the golden shell around Overblot Azul's neck glowed softly.
  "Get out of here," Overblot Azul told Jamil. "Don't turn back."
  Jamil nodded, then turned away, running towards the front doors of the school, hearing Overblot Jamil's laugh echo through the air behind him followed by three screams of pain.
~~~~~
  "Lilia, what are you doing here so late?" Jamil asked, seeing the black and pink haired Diasomnia vice-housewarden in the library.
  "I wanted to find a book to read," Lilia said, pushing a book back into the shelf. "What about you?"
  "Research." Jamil replied.
  "This late?" Lilia asked.
  "I couldn't get away till now," Jamil said smoothly. "Vice-housewarden duties."
  "Ah. Is Kalim still unwell?" Lilia asked. "He was missing from P.E today."
  "Kalim will be fine," Jamil said, feeling his irritation from earlier rise up. "Please excuse me."
  He ducked into a different shelf and grabbed a random book, opening it to a random page.
  I desire...
  Jamil flinched, dropping the book as his right hand burned.
  "Is everything alright Jamil?" Lilia asked.
  Jamil didn't reply. He could feel something, his irritation building up, trying to break free.
  Ah...you can not keep me from feeding on what I desire, Overblot Jamil's voice echoed through Jamil's mind. I will claim you tomorrow night. Don't disappoint me...
  The welling emotion dispersed quickly, making Jamil stumble back into the shelf.
  "Jamil?" Lilia asked, poking his head around the bookshelf. "Are you alright?"
  "...Yes," the lie came easily, burning his throat. "I'm fine."
   "You're lying."
  Jamil looked over at him. "What gives you the right to say if I'm lying or not?" He asked, forgetting to hide his anger.
  "Nothing really," Lilia said, closing his eyes and throwing his arm out. "But I can recognize many of the tells that indicate lying. So, are you alright?"
  "I'm fine." Jamil repeated, straightening from the shelf and beginning to turn away.
  "Just a moment." Lilia said, opening his eyes and grabbing Jamil's right hand and turning his palm upwards.
  "What are you-?" Jamil started just as Lilia pressed his finger into the center of Jamil's palm.
  Like a spiderweb, black lines of ink spread out from Jamil's palm, forming the tattoo of a snake, stretching up towards his elbow.
  "Hehehe!" Lilia chuckled as Jamil pulled his arm back. "How fascinating."
  "What did you do?" Jamil exclaimed.
  "You mean you didn't notice?" Lilia inquired. "I only canceled a concealment spell over that Treasure Mark."
  "Treasure Mark? Are you referring to the rumors that the Seven Treasures have consciousness?" Jamil asked, recalling the three Overblot forms. Could those really have been the Treasures?
  Lilia nodded. "Of course. But it's the truth, not just a rumor. The Seven Treasures chose hosts after the Great Seven imbued them with power. At first, all was fine. But after a while, the Treasures began to grow more sentient, rebelling against their Hosts. The issue became so great that many powerful mages had to be called together to seal the Seven Treasures into a deep sleep, until worthy Hosts would come into contact with them."
  "What does the mark have to do with anything?" Jamil asked.
  "Every Treasure was imbued with the power of one of the Great Seven," Lilia said. "Therefore, the Treasure's power would be forced to mark its Host in some way. Of course, the mark could be visible or concealed."
  "What about other hosts?" Jamil asked.
  "Excuse me?"
  "What if there were others who'd been chosen to host a Treasure?" Jamil explained. "Would they have a mark as well?"
  "I suppose so," Lilia said. "Why the sudden interest?"
  "..."
  Lilia sighed. "Very well. I won't push your interest in the Treasurers."
  "...Do you know what the Seven Treasure's powers are?" Jamil asked.
  "I'm afraid not," Lilia said. "And any list containing the full accounts was lost years ago."
  He grinned, showing what Jamil could have sworn were fangs. "I should head back to Diasomnia. It's quite late. Goodnight Jamil."
  "Goodnight Lilia." Jamil said as Lilia left, waving a hand as he exited the library.
  Nearby, a clock struck one in the morning and Jamil felt his palm flair up again, looking down to see the snake tattoo grow, crossing over his elbow and beginning to curl around his arm.