Parallel Hearts

Part 1: Chapter 4 - Flames

Boston
February 2020
~~~~~

Evening had already fallen over Boston by the time Liam got home from the gym and out of the shower. Only the low light of a lamp and the glow of the computer monitor illuminated the room.

He sat at his desk in the office, the second bedroom of his two-bedroom apartment. His apartment was comfortably furnished but trended toward utilitarian, like himself: subdued grays, blues, and Scandinavian wood accents.

He sipped a fresh cup of coffee (his evening vice) and logged into Elements of Creation: Reborn.

He selected his character and logged in, finding himself in the midst of the bustling Guild Hall where he had logged out the night before.

Evening light sifted through the stained glass windows at the top of the Great Hall's vaulted ceiling. Each skylight scene depicted a major guild event: defeating the final boss in Fiery Caverns, achieving realm-first status for a few Master-level occupations, among others.

Only a few skylights had scenes on them so far. The guild had only been around since the relaunch of the game six months prior, but the rest of the windows were framed and ready for their stained glass inscriptions.

A few others were already online and preparing for the raid: Bowie mixing potions haphazardly through a cut-crystal alembic in the back of the Great Hall at the Alchemical table, greens and blues and golds from the skylights making water-like patterns on the smooth stone walls.

The developers had truly upgraded the game in the relaunch. They managed to capture the magic of the original game while modernizing it with a breathtaking new graphics engine.

Liam greeted the others and took stock of his inventory for the raid: he needed a few potions (Bowie could supply them if he gave him the materials soon), some enchanted food, and a special talisman to learn a new spell.

He held out his hand and conjured a ball of black and glinting silver flames that floated lazily above his palm. He whispered a word and the flames grew slightly taller and brighter, and set of eyes appeared in the middle. A little mouth materialized below the eyes and opened with a tiny yawn, revealing two little silver fangs.

"What do you want?" a small, yet deep voice asked crossly. Two tiny arms made of flames appeared with a pop.
"I was trying out this thing called eternal sleep and it was going great." 

Liam smiled, the AI model they introduced for his familiar on the relaunch felt like Ogluz was truly a living creature of ebon flame conjured from another dimension.

And the way his familiar was glaring at Liam right now, if he was not happy.

"Can you tell me where the nearest flamewiel talisman is located?"

"I don't know, can I?" Ogluz asked sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Og, please." Liam made a dramatic showing of conjuring his celestial sphere out of his inventory to check the time, the tiny planets whirring as they orbited the two stars. "We only have a couple hours before raid and if the nearest talisman is a hike we won't have it in time." He snapped his fingers and the sphere winked out of view.

Og grumbled a bit and then closed his eyes. Stretching his little flame arms wide, he quickly contorted and reformed into a small frame of dancing black and silver flames. Liam looked into the frame and an image melted into being in the center, a dilapidated building that must be located far away; aside from being in disrepair the architecture wasn't common in this area of the world.

Liam peered at the image. It was actually a small portal, but Og used it as a port-view to show him places sometimes. Og hadn't quite mastered full-sized netherportals yet but it wasn't a subject Liam broached often - he was a little touchy about it still. 

In the port-view, a few sad trees clung on to the last of their withered leaves as they swayed in a small wind. A shutter hung precariously off one nail on its window, the breeze causing it to let out an eerie sawing sound.

"It's in Drullin." Liam recognized the hamlet, "I'm pretty sure I went there 15 years ago, back in the original game. But there was nothing there at the time, it was part of the game they never finished."

"Hmm," Og sounded perturbed, his flames flared up quickly and back down again. "For some reason I can't detect exactly where it is, other than in the top left room."

"Aren't these things usually buried deep in the earth?"

"Unclaimed ones, yes, but once they're claimed by someone they bond and I can no longer track their individual signature..." Og's voice trailed off briefly. "I'm unsure why I can sense this one if it's above ground and claimed."

Ogluz popped a dark flame arm out from the side and formed a tiny fist. He knocked on the image in the center and it made a hollow thunk sound like knocking on a windowpane. A few sparks flew but nothing else happened.

Peering closer at the image, Liam asked, "is it possible that you're wrong?"

Dark flames shot out several feet into the air, bathing the area in darkness. Ogluz grew into a column of deeper black and purple flame with glowing eyes. His silver fangs lengthened from the growing void that was his mouth.

"I have never been wrong in five million years, human!"  His voice was louder and echoed.

Liam put his hands up and moved a step backwards.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Og. But what can we do? Are you picking up any other talismans?"

Ogluz shrunk down to his normal size, and reopened the port-view of the inn. His tiny brow was furrowed and one little fang peeked out from his mouth as he was thinking. It was scary how quickly Og could go from normal, to a terrifying ancient entity, and then to being adorable all within the span of a few seconds.

"No, which is also strange. Something is obscuring the signature of any other talisman."

Liam thought for a moment.

"I guess we have no choice but to investigate; I need that talisman."

He pulled out his celestial sphere and checked the planetary alignment - he only had less than an hour until raid; that wasn't time enough to solve this mystery and also get his other errands done.

"We'll have to look into it tonight."

"I don't like the feel of it," Ogluz said. "Something isn't right. It will be better if we go quietly after dark."

If Ogluz—the master of busting into places with flames blazing—felt cautious enough to suggest they go after dark, Liam knew something must be terribly wrong.

Concerned, Liam vanished the celestial sphere.

"Alright Og, we'll do this the safe way, late tonight."

~~~~~