Daydream (ONC 2024)

Chapter 3: Monk of Truth

"Are you seeking a quack?" the man asked with a light smile as I approached, and I held back the exhausted breath as he grabbed a pot from the sidewalk, dumped water on the ground and clapped three times. "Come this way."

A huge wall towered next to him as he meandered down the street, and red paint flaked off like dried blood as he bumped into the brick and mortar like a wayward bowling ball. There were no lanes to hop, but he didn't settle solidly on his feet until we arrived at two wooden doors. They formed a gateway in the stone, and even with one collapsed and the other hanging by a single hinge, it was the most solid structure I'd seen so far.

The monk stepped over the muddy entryway and yanked the door with two hinges a foot so he could slip inside. Rust particles rode the wind and splinters fell into the grass that had me checking my shoes. The soles were solid and my patented double knot held them on my feet despite the hole on the side of one. They would keep me from getting tetanus or a sliver of a lifetime, but I could use a new pair.

I didn't relish going anywhere with a stranger, but this monk was the only lead I'd encountered so far, so I resigned myself to fate as I squeezed through the narrow opening. The questionably-sound, doors creaked in the breeze, but didn't fall on me. They did, however, swing shut with a slam.

Power filled the air at my back, and I spun around to a stream of energy flowing against the insides of the wall in a rising and falling stream of magic. It was near invisible save for wisps of blue that flitted in and out of vision as the sun dodges behind clouds. As pretty as it was though, it barred me from leaving.

"You needn't fear," he called over, watering a gnarled bonsai next to a decorative, stone pool. The pump for the water flow sputtered on and off, but the tree looked happier than the shrubs outside. Its tiny limbs flourished with green leaves, and the square pot only had a single chip missing on the corner. "It's a spiritual barrier," he continued, casting his dark eyes to the confining current of magic.

I was more drawn to the sheen of his bald head as it blinded me under the sun's glare, and he laughed as he realized. The refreshing sound of sentience eased the tension out of my stiff muscles, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt as he ushered me forward.

We traversed what appeared to be a Buddhist temple's outer walkways, and like anything in this world, they'd seen better days. The finish had worn from the wood so that even my weathered soles gripped it firmly, and I danced around broken floorboards and soft spots of rot. One nearly swallowed my foot when it caved under my weight, but the monk's firm grip saved me. With a bow of his head, he gave me another light spot in my vision, and I wondered why a giant crow hadn't swooped down to collect his waxed head for their treasure collection.

With all the weird things going on here, I would not be surprised.

Monk man headed over green grasses in as enclosed garden until we stopped at a stone dais. Cracks ran the slab of rock like an earthquake had struck it dead center, and the power required for such a thing had me thinking of the barrier. This man must have erected it or at least was comfortable about its existence. Did that mean he had power, like the kind I had projected with my voice to the world outside? Mine didn't seem to work very well though, since I was outside and Kearo hadn't shown up.

Maybe I hadn't been loud enough. That'd be new.

"My barrier is only good for caging sight and sound within these walls," the monk said as he noticed me lingering on the walls in the distance. "It isn't very versatile, but you are safe to speak here. Their eyes and ears cannot reach us within."

"You know someone is brainwashing people?" I asked, possibilities and new hope bubbling in my chest as he nodded. "Do you know who they are?" I was overreaching, I knew, but I asked anyway.