Chapter 28: The Best Laid Plans

This is a bad idea.

“I know you’re struggling, Gareth, but trust me. I know what I’m doing,” Olban said, gritting his teeth. He was muttering under his breath, so as to avoid Gareth’s dad hearing him.

I agree with Gareth, Eloise said. This seems like it’s destined to fail.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Eloise. Now be quiet. I need to focus on Mr. Wilks.”

Eloise wanted to protest, but luckily for Olban, she didn’t.

“So,” Gareth’s dad says. “What’s next up on the agenda? Teeth pulling? The rack? Maybe my wife will break my ribs again? Oh, sorry, I forgot. You never repeat the same torture twice. Maybe my son will rip my entrails out. That would be new and exciting.”

If it was possible for Gareth to wince without a physical form, he did. Although he didn’t voice the thought aloud, there was a growing pit of anxiety in his stomach: What if Dad never trusts me again?

Where are you planning to take him, Olban? Gareth asked. You said somewhere safe, but…

Olban gritted his teeth. Eloise, tell Gareth that I’m taking him to Master Stell’s workshop. All his tools are there, and I can probably find something I can use. I can’t keep talking out loud.

Eloise relayed the message, but not without some bitterness. It felt like this was all she was good for. Relaying messages. Things kept going wrong, and it was all her own fault. And she was helpless to stop it. Gareth and Olban seemed to be doing all the work.

Gareth was struggling with similar feelings. Here was his dad, so close to being saved, and Gareth couldn’t do anything to help. He couldn’t even talk to Olban— he had to rely on Eloise.

Olban, too, felt hopeless. He’d never been good at navigating others’ emotions. Now he was expected to restore sanity to a broken man. What was Master Stell thinking, trusting him with this? Eloise was more empathetic. Gareth was certainly closer, and more knowledgeable about his father. Olban was the least capable. Yet here he was… in charge.

Each of them felt more alone than ever. Each of them worked hard to hide their feelings from each other.

Brian Wilks was beginning to breathe heavily. He was not used to walking. Although his injuries had been mostly cured, and he was relying heavily on Olban for support, his endurance had been shot. It would be a long time before he’d be able to achieve the active lifestyle he once had.

Olban noticed. Finally, he stopped. He knew if he kept pushing Brian like this, he'd practically be living up to the expectation of torture.

“Ah,” Gareth’s dad said. “So… this is where it’ll happen.” He looked around, taking in the setting with vacant, hopeless eyes. Olban did too, albeit for different reasons. He needed to make sure they were far away from the Nameless One and his minions… or any other creatures that might be lying in wait. Luckily, they were in a long, flat expanse of grass. Olban hoped that would make things easy to spot if they got too close.

“We’re stopping here for the night… mortal.”

Seriously? Eloise said. ‘Mortal?’ That’s the best you can think of.

“Hey!” Olban exclaimed. “The Nameless One’s minions aren’t exactly known for their witty insults.”

Touché.

Mr. Wilks continued to look around, wary of any potential threats.

“Hey, meat sack! This tent isn’t gonna pitch itself!” Olban used a trick his master had taught him to conjure a wide sheet and several stakes. Olban tried his best to mimic an evil minion’s way of talking, crude and intimidating.. It fell flat in a way that was almost comical. Still, he clung to the charade. And Gareth’s dad, if he suspected anything, gave no sign. Instead, he helped Olban set up the tent. As Olban dragged Gareth’s dad inside, the man let out a sigh.

“You’re really not one of his minions, are you?”

Olban was stunned into silence.

“I mean,” Brian continued, “you don’t look familiar. It's been hours, and you haven’t killed me, or hurt me, or even left me to rot somewhere. The worst thing you’ve called me is ‘human garbage,’ which, while I’m sure it’s a scathing insult to you, is downright tame compared to what I’ve heard in the last… how long has it been? Days? Months? Feels like years.”

Olban rubbed his fingers against his forehead. “You’re right, Mr. Wilks. We are not working for the Nameless One.”

“The Nameless One, eh? Is that what that demonic psychopath is called?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Well, no wonder he turned out so fucked up. If I didn’t have a name, I’d get pretty damn pissed too.”

“That’s… an interesting thought, Mr. Wilks,” Olban said.

“So, if you’re not working with him, then… was it true? What you said about my son? Are you really who he’s been talking to all these years? And this is… your world?”

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but—”

“These last few months, I’ve seen and felt so many impossible things, I think I’d believe anything. Hell, show me some evidence and I’d believe the earth is flat! But…” His voice broke. “If I’m in your world… and… and everyone else is still in mine… well, that might just be the cruelest torture of all.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Wilks,” Olban said. “Getting you home is our top priority.”

And the funny thing was, despite the dimensional warfare, despite the rioting and carnage plaguing Gareth and Eloise’s worlds… Olban really meant it. He’d get Mr. Wilks home. For Gareth’s sake.

Everything else would just have to wait.

As Olban closed his eyes, he could hear the muffled sound of Gareth’s father weeping in the dark. A broken man.

Olban hoped he could live up to Master Stell’s expectations and ease Brian’s mind.

For now, though, they all needed to rest.

Tomorrow, when they arrived at Master Stell’s workshop, they would have much work to do.

***

Eloise.

The Nameless One’s voice echoed through Eloise’s dreaming mind as a landscape formed around her. It was Nice. Or, rather it used to be. Now, what she was seeing didn’t look nice at all. Eloise saw rioting, agony, cities on fire. Tears sprang to her eyes.

“Eloise.” The Nameless One’s voice was clearer now, and Eloise could hear the remorse in his voice. “I need your help.”

“My help? H-How?”

“I am doing everything I can to contain the monsters I created. To keep them trapped in my realm. But, as you can see… the strange emotional link I have with your world is causing problems. Some of these vile spirits have escaped. The mortals don’t know it, and can’t see it, but they are feeling them. War. Hunger. Conquest. Death. Despair. Pandora’s box has been opened, and Eloise, I believe you, with your experiences, are the key to solving it. You are torn between worlds. Seal that rift, and we might be able to stop global decimation.”

Eloise felt a crushing weight in her chest. “But… I’m stuck here. I can’t help.”

“That is where you are wrong. Yes, you are here now, but… your ties to your original form cannot be erased. You could return to your body. Your home. Use what you have learned to fight against my creatures, in your realm. Let Gareth and Olban fight here, while you fight there. It might be the only way.”

“I… I don’t know. What about Gareth and Olban? I can’t just leave them. I…”

“I understand. Think about it. But remember that time is ticking. The rest of the Council and I are doing the best we can to hold back the hoards. But we can only do so much for so long.”

The view of Nice, her birthplace in ruins, vanished, and Eloise sank back into dark, dreamless sleep, with only a looming, subconscious dread to signify that anything had changed.

***

When Olban awoke, he felt as if he was jolted awake by some electric terror. He quickly swallowed the feeling and looked around. Mr. Wilks was still asleep. Good. He needed the rest, after everything he’d been through.

The sun was only just starting to show over the horizon, a thin sliver of light painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. Olban took in the view. Nothing in Gareth’s world had ever compared to the beauty of this world.

He became aware that Eloise was awake, but she stayed silent. Eloise was thinking about the Nameless One’s offer, and about her home.

She decided not to bring it up.

She’d come to a conclusion on her own, one way or another.

“I think it’s about time we wake up Mr. Wilks,” Olban said, as Gareth joined them in the waking world. “We need to get moving.”

He kept the source of his urgency a secret. He didn’t want to scare them by mentioning the strange, dark shadow that he’d seen on the horizon… a familiar shape, but one he didn’t like. It reminded him of the Nameless One’s minions. With their master subdued… how would they react? Where would they go? What havoc would they inflict upon the universe?

It was even more important that they made it to Master Stell’s workshop. Because if the Nameless One’s minions were here… it meant the boundaries between worlds were weakening. And that could either prove to be a useful step in their plan… or it could mean the entire universe was about to unravel.

Either way, Olban needed to talk to Master Stell. He knew this was a problem he couldn’t solve on his own.

In fact, he wasn’t sure it was a problem he could solve at all.