"What... the heck... was that?" Jesz asked between breaths. She had slammed her back against the dark grey stone wall of Eaups' dormitory room in exhaustion. It was a simple, clean room, one that looked like the person who lived there was either OCD or never home. There was a dresser, a desk with a few religious paraphernalia placed neatly along the edge, a bookshelf that reached from floor to ceiling with books placed neatly in order of size, and the bed with folds so sharp and neat that they had become a permanent part of the fabric.
"Sshh!! Not so loud! I'm not... supposed to have... guests!" Eaups was also panting as he leaned against the large wooden door.
"Well we could not go... to my family's house," Mel said as she lay on the bed, an arm over her eyes. It was probably the first time a female ever graced Eaups' bed, though the circumstances were not as he would have liked. "They would shoot first..."
Manfred pulled the chair out from the desk and sat on it backwards, the back between his legs. "I don't know about you guys, but I think that was actually kind of fun." The rest of them shot glares at him. "I'm just saying, no one got hurt... well, none of us anyway."
"Remind me why we have not turned him in yet?" Mel asked, returning the crook of her arm to her eyes.
"Murphy wanted us to help him," Jesz replied, pushing away from the wall and folding her arms in front of her. "Does this have something to do with your Mission, Eaups? I mean, you've met Murphy before, right?"
He nodded to her. "Yeah, but I'd never been possessed by him before. There's a ceremony we perform where we commune with our god in spirit. It's just, he always wanted to play poker."
"What mission? What are you talking about?" Manfred had pulled out a long needle from somewhere on his person and began to pick his teeth with it.
"I'm the Avatar of Murphy, the god of Fate. I have to do what he tells me. That's my Mission. I'm supposed to have a team of helpers, my Companions. That's you guys," Eaups said, pointing to the others vaguely. "Apparently, my Mission is to help you achieve your destiny." He gave Manfred a half-hopeful smile. "You... wouldn't happen to know what that is, would you?" This just got a shrug out of Manfred.
Jesz started to pace around the room, swinging her legs stiffly in front of her. "Whatever his destiny is, it better pay well. Something tells me we aren't going to get paid for that last job."
"We are not in this for the money, Jesz. We made an oath to help Eaups, even if we come away empty-handed." Mel rolled into a sitting position, her arms resting on her knees.
A knowing grin worked its way into the red-head's features and she began to toss a small golden ball from hand to hand. "Oh, I wouldn't say 'empty-handed' exactly."
"Is that the Gazer?"
"Heehee!" Jesz swiftly pulled the ball up to her eye. The mechanical iris contracted and began spinning with a pleasant whir. "Let's see... what did she say about it telling us the truth?"
She peered at Mel with the Gazer. Through the small hole in the back, she began to see words appear around her, or more appropriately, they appeared in Jesz' mind.
Melody Adina Tanger
Age: 22
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 158 lbs
Occupation: Noblewoman, Austringer, and Companion.
"Your name is Melody?!" she blurted out and giggled. It seemed that the longer she looked, the more information it would give.
"Hey!! I hate that name! Where did you get that?" Jesz continued to look through the Gazer, but soon the taller woman was lunging at her, trying to take it. "Give it to me! We can use it on our mystery man over there!" It quickly became a sisterly game of keep-away, with Jesz hunching over and turning her back to try to keep Mel away from it.
"It's mine! I picked it up! No fair, your arms are longer!" Suddenly, everyone paused as the mechanical eye slipped from Jesz' fingers and landed on the floor with a dense thud. It rolled loudly up to Manfred, who picked it up out of curiosity. The moment his finger grazed it, the Gazer's pupil dilated fully and the iris stopped spinning. The gentle vibration that had come from it before ceased completely. Manfred raised it to his own eye, looking over at the pair of girls who were paused in mid-nelson.
"It's not working." he complained, tapping it a few times on his leg before trying it again.
"Jesz! You broke it already!" Mel said. Eaups walked over to him and took the device, trying it out for himself. It remained still and silent, giving him no information. He quietly walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a few tomes, placing the Gazer on the floor as he sat down and spread some books out in front of him. The others just ignored him.
"I didn't break it! You shouldn't have grabbed it from me!"
"Shh! We don't want to be too loud, remember?" Manfred interjected. Jesz and Mel both shot a glare at him.
"Maybe you broke it? It didn't stop moving until you picked it up, right?"
"Yes, maybe you are here to sabotage us. Are you positive you do not remember anything?"
Both of the girls had stopped fighting and had come up close to Manfred with accusing expressions plastered on their faces. He leaned back in the chair defensively. "I... I remember running along the rooftops at night. I think I was injured, dying." His hand raised up to his side, where the small hole from the night before had become considerably larger and showed the healing wound beneath. It had already begun to scar over. "Suddenly, everything went purple... and the next thing I know, I'm in your room and you're taking off your..." He stopped and gave Jesz an innocent smile, getting a scowl in return. "Shoes..."
"Purple? Sounds like Murphy's doing, alright..." Eaups said distractedly, his eyes never leaving the books that he was flipping through.
"You guys keep mentioning him, but why would he choose me?"
"Who knows? Why do the gods do anything they do?" Mel said with a shrug, returning to the bed. Several moments of awkward silence passed. Manfred took the opportunity to look over each of his new acquaintances and try to develop his first impressions of them.
That one, Mel, is always so serious. She doesn't trust me. I don't think she even likes me, and I don't blame her. I don't know if I like me. But she did save my life...
Eaups is so nervous and innocent. I think he needs to get laid. But at least he seems trustworthy.
Jesz... is a bit unpredictable, but kinda cute. In a cut-your-throat way. I wonder if I have a thing for flat-
"AHA! I knew I'd seen it before!" Euaps cried cheerfully as he jumped into the air straight from his cross-legged sitting position. He was holding a heavy tome entitled "Ackmee's Catalogue of Holy Trinckets and Tincktures" in his hands and beaming at it.
"Seen what?" Jesz asked him curiously. "That eyeball thing?"
"Yes! It's called Occam's Gazer! It says here is was part of a set but it doesn't mention anything else about the set. According to the book," Eaups said, his tone getting more serious as he pushed past Manfred and splayed the book out on the desk, "the Gazer was designed to be used by the Avatars of the gods." He ran his finger along a line of text as he read directly from it. "When one who hath been Chosen by a god layeth a finger upon the Eye, it prepareth itself for its new master. Once the ceremony of Rayban is complete, the Eye will reveal to the Avatar his true path."
"Chosen?" asked Jesz.
"True path?" asked Mel.
"Layeth?" Manfred muttered.
"It doesn't say much else... Only that the ceremony is to be preformed at some temple in the Oakley Forest."
Mel furrowed her brow in thought. "I have heard of that. The Oakley Forest... I believe it is on an island between Mayford and Drysen. I was told that it is a dangerous place. Neither country claims it because neither wants anything to do with it. They say men have sailed to the island only to return hundreds of years later."
Jesz, who had been using the tip of a dagger to pick at something in her teeth, picked up the Gazer and turned it over in her hand. There seemed to be writing on the bottom of the Gazer, but it was in no language she had ever seen before. "I'm sure we could be in and out, no time at all. We did agree to follow you into any danger..."
"I didn't agree to that," Manfred said, but was largely ignored.
"I want to go! If this thing can show me what I'm supposed to do as the Avatar of Murphy, then what's a few hundred years? Besides, I'm sure Murphy will keep us safe!" Eaups' eyes were sparkling with hope and excitement at the prospect, as if he had just been told he was going camping with Mountain "Lion" Jack, the object of his childhood affections. As he looked up at Manfred, his expression changed subtly, from overwhelming joy to overwhelming hopefulness. "You'll come with us, won't you Mr. Chosen?"
Manfred pulled back just a little, unprepared for the display. He glanced up at Mel, who was ignoring him, and Jesz, who was biting her lower lip. "Look, I'm not... chosen or anything. I don't know anything about this Murphy or whatever. And I want to remember who I am and what I'm doing here. ...But I suppose I do owe you guys for saving me. I'll go, but only if you promise I'll be back this century."
Eaups' smile returned full-force and he crossed his finger over his heart. "I promise! Avatar's Honor!"
"If we are going to go to Oakley Island, we better get our supplies ready and look for a ship. Provided we can find one with a captain that crazy." Mel stood up and stretched her arms over her head, pushing her bust out a little to get the boys' attention. She brushed up against Jesz, who had been smiling at Manfred, and smirked. Mel never missed an opportunity to show her up. "Sooner is better than later. I am sure someone will be asking about Aska soon, and I would rather not be around when trouble comes looking for us." They all agreed.
"Alright! We'll meet down at the harbor then?" Eaups asked.
"Yes, in two hours. We will travel light. Manfred, you go with Jesz..." Mel had picked up her bow and had opened the door to Eaups' cell of a dorm room, only to find a rather humorless man blocking her way.
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