An Ode to Uncertainty Ch. 15-16

To Mirja's surprise the Sister headed out of the laboratory. Mirja hesitated on the threshold for a second, headed back and grabbed the light sphere and hurried after her. She found the Sister standing outside a closed door three doors down from the laboratory.

"What's this?" Mirja whispered.

Sigrid looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't know. But I have to get in."

Mirja blinked and stared at the woman. Had she gone completely insane?

"This was not part of the plan!" Mirja hissed feeling the irritation rise.

Sigrid squared her jaw. Mirja sighed. She knew that look. There would be no debating the issue.

"Where's Samel?" Mirja whispered looking around.

"Gone," Sigrid said as if it was nothing.

Mirja spun around and faced the Sister again. The light from the sphere lighting up her narrow face casting long shadows from her sharp cheekbones.

"What? When?"

Sigrid seemed to take this as a personal insult and a deep scowl formed on her face.

"I. Don't. Know," she said crossing her arms across her chest. "He's gone. All right? Now get me through this door."

Mirja stood there. Completely baffled by Sigrid's strange behavior. The Sister seemed to have completely lost control. It was not something that she had seen before. Mirja nodded. She walked up to the door. There was no lock. Just a flat piece of metal. She stood there looking at it for a moment. When she opened this door there was no doubt that someone would notice their presence. But on the other hand, she was done with the laboratory. She had already concluded that basically anything could be distilled in there. But there were no traces of anything having been prepared recently. At least not anything that had not been thoroughly cleaned away afterwards.

"Once I crack this lock someone will come. Understood?"

Sigrid nodded. Mirja sighed and put her hand on her nexus. She would at least not draw power from the ley lines under the building. She wasn't that much of an amateur. She put her fingertips on the metal plate and to her surprise it was not locked, it only required a simple cantrip to turn the handle.

Just to keep non-practitioners out, Mirja thought as the door slid open.

Sigrid stepped past her and walked into the room which was lit with the soft orange glow of real candles. Mirja looked along the corridor in both directions. The door to the laboratory was still open. She walked back and closed it before returning to the room Sigrid had disappeared into. As she reached the door, she heard a strange song from inside. It was like nothing she had ever heard. High-pitched ululating sounds mixed with what sounded like low wails. It was ... hauntingly beautiful.

Stepping around the corner into the room Mirja froze in her tracks. The room was indeed lit by real candles. Hundreds of them. She could feel the magic emanating from them, magic that kept them burning indefinitely without running out. But that was not what made her stop. The room was a prison cell. In the middle of the room a wall of narrowly spaced thick metal bars ran from floor to ceiling. Behind the bars stood a ... thing. It took Mirja's mind a moment to process what she was seeing. At first, she thought she saw a huge fox standing on its rear legs. But it was way too big for a fox. And it had a face. A human face. An incredibly beautiful human face. And what she had mistaken for a fox's fur was a thick wave of red hair that ran down the creatures back. It wasn't wearing any clothes, pale white skin shone through beneath the thick hair. And its paws ... no not paws. Long fingered hands clutched the bars. And it was singing. It was making that strange song with its fine lipped mouth.

And that wasn't the strangest thing. The strangest thing was that Mirja had seen the creature before. Several of them. Or at least similar ones. They were at the centerpiece of the Room of Ascendancy in the Westerling parlor. She had only been there once, but the visit had made an eerie impression. It was supposed to be modelled from an ancient Westerling city and all the buildings were without straight angles. And there were these creatures, who seemed to be watching you in everything you did. It was the perfect thing for certain clientele but Mirja had just wanted to leave as soon as she got there. And here it was. One of them. Alive. Staring at her with those strange slit eyes.

Sigrid made a sound and Mirja jerked. She looked at her friend. She had thought that it was the creature that made the strange sounds but now they came from Sigrid. Moving her lips in strange ways, she emitted the same sound that had been coming from the creature. Mirja just stood there staring for a long moment as the Sister seemed to ... communicate with the thing.

"You can speak with it?" Mirja hissed leaning in, trying not to look at the thing that was moving at the edge of her vision.

"I ..." Sigrid shook her head. "My mother. She taught me. I've always thought it was just childhood fantasies."

"What does it say?"

"She."

"What?" Mirja said raising her hand to block the creature out of her vision.

"She's a she. We have to break her out," Sigrid said nodding.

"You're thinking of releasing that thing on the capital? Are you insane? If the College does not hunt it, and you, down, the Imperial Guard will. Or the army."

"I have to," Sigrid said with an urgency in her voice that Mirja had never heard before.

The Sister ran her hands over the bars. There was no sign of a lock or even a door. After a moment she turned towards Mirja who still was trying to ignore the thing that moved with fluid movements behind the bars.

"You have to get it open for me," Sigrid pleaded, grabbing Mirja's sleeve. "Please."

Mirja opened her mouth to protest.

"You will do no such thing," came an all too familiar voice from the door.

Mirja shut her eyes and let out a long sigh. There was a screech from the creature and when Mirja opened her eyes again it had retreated to the far side of its cell where it hid surprisingly well in the shadows considering its vivid coloring.

"Master Olgric," Mirja said forcing a smile onto her face. "We were just admiring your ... menagerie," Mirja said and didn't even believe the lie herself.

"So you were, were you?" the Master said stepping into the room. "Acolyte Mirja and you are ..." he said pointing at the Sister. "Sigrid. Of the Sisters of Infinite Mercy. Am I right?"

Sigrid nodded in apparent defeat. Master Olgric studied them for a long moment as Mirja tried to figure out a way of this cul-de-sac. Finally the Master let out a long rasping sigh.

"As interesting as I find all this. You have still to tell me what you were really doing here," the Master said.

Mirja felt her stomach curl at his gaze. She forced the feeling back.

"We were looking for a laboratory capable of producing potions that could turn a man into a shadow," Sigrid said suddenly.

Mirja glared at the other woman who seemed as surprised at her own words as Mirja was. The redheaded Sister pressed her lips together. The Master nodded.

"Well. I have to hand it to you. You could do that here."

He drew a deep breath and pinched his chin.

"I even believe I did. Many. Many years ago. It was ... interesting," the wiry old man said seeming to be studying something not in this world. "But the after affects were ... strange. Not going down that path again. That much I can tell you. Took me years to get ... back ... to myself."

Mirja just stared at the old man. Talking to him was always unnerving but this was taking it to a new level.

"There is one other place that could have the same capabilities. However, I'm not certain ... It has not been used very frequently under Master Cerdic," the Master continued still half in his own reality.

"Where is that?" Mirja asked.

Master Olgric stared at her as if he saw her for the first time.

"What are you two still doing here. Get out before I have you thrown out."

He took one look at Sigrid and the Sister immediately turned away and started walking off. When the Master turned his gaze to Mirja she had to concentrate not to do the same. The Master's gaze relented somewhat, and he nodded in apparent satisfaction.

"You need to leave now as well miss Mirja. There is nothing for you here. We will forget all about what happened here tonight. Yes?"

Mirja nodded.

"And you owe me. Both of you. Remember that," the Master of Animancy said pointing one long finger at her.