A Quest for the Stars

Headmaster Gardens patiently waited for Starflower's answer, though the latter did not have the luxury of time as he did before. Or perhaps he never did; the wily headmaster had given him the answers he was seeking for the past four years, but his true intentions were to stall for time to grant the police a chance to apprehend Starflower before he could escape. He could get away with a [Teleport] spell, but Starflower wondered if the headmaster anticipated that.

Despite Headmaster Gardens's deceit, Starflower no longer had a multitude of options when it came to carrying out his plans for revenge. He had plans to flee the country and start a new life, live in Thule to seek out their secrets of undeath, head to the south pole and deliver the bad news to Olen's family and spend whatever remained of his life to make it up to them, or even just settle down in a remote village to pursue a second chance at teaching and even bribe the locals with protection in exchange of keeping the authorities off his trail. All of this, of course, after carrying out his revenge.

But his plans were all moot and became pointless over the span of a single night. It was a hard pill to swallow, but Lenoria was never at fault for Olen's death. This whole time, his anger should have been directed at Sage, and Sage only. He had no way to track the man responsible for murdering Olen, and if he couldn't at least bring him to justice, then all of his efforts to seek justice would truly have been in vain. The epitaphs in the courtyard stood ominously as if they judged him for his crimes.

Then, Starflower remembered something.

"Where's your integrity, old man? If you leave now, this inn won't belong to you anymore."

"I'm not planning to come back. I've always been a nomad, and my little girl deserves to be in a place where the people who tried to cut off her hands aren't revered as heroes."

"You're nuts! Do you think the Blue Jays will just let you walk out? There are rumors that they can find a background on people no matter how much they stray from society! They probably have eyes everywhere and dirt on just about anyone!"

"I have to try!"

The gears had already started spinning again. Not all was lost for Jean Starflower. It may be too late to apologize to the fallen, but at least he can still do some good for the amount of time he has left. For too long, he had blamed immigrants for the current state of his home. It is true that Horseface and Amphibonacci had made seedy parts of Helix into their personal dens, but even they were mere specks compared to the people who had come for a chance of a better life. People who had come not only to enrich the land with their culture, but some who had come to appreciate Helix as their new home so much that they were willing to defend it and its people.

People like Olen.

Starflower could do no good from behind a jail cell. And after counting the lives he destroyed during his tenure as headmaster, the best he could hope for was the chair if he was caught. There was no escaping death row. Even now, as Constable Richards was surely approaching the school grounds, there's no guarantee he would escape a confrontation with him alive.

But he could still do something. There was no excusing how he handled things, but Sage still needed to pay for what he had done. And the first step for reaching him was to deal with the Order of the Blue Jay. The time had come at last to take out the trash.

"Gardens," Starflower finally spoke, "you, of all people, should know that things aren't always black and white. Just as you can see the good in people, I can see the necessity and the silver lining behind even the most horrible actions." He vaguely gestured to the epitaphs around him with open arms. "There's no coming back from what I've done to these innocent people. No matter what I do from this point on, the fact will remain that they have died from a simple misunderstanding. But the least I can do is to try to make things right. However, you'll be disappointed to know I can't do that from behind bars."

"What do you plan to do now?" Headmaster Gardens gripped his staff firmly, bracing himself from whatever Starflower had in store.

"What else? Sage is out there, and he needs to pay for what he has done. If I let him run around freely, there's no telling how many more lives will suffer. Olen died a hero; if I want to honor his sacrifice," Starflower closed his fist, "then I have to ensure this tragedy isn't repeated elsewhere."

Headmaster Gardens smiled. "I don't need a candle to determine how genuine those words are." He holstered his quarterstaff on his back. "If you escape now, you'll definitely live your life as a fugitive. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"It's not. But I know this is what needs to be done. I must determine his location first. Then...I'll pay Tsukino a visit." Starflower plucked a strand of hair from his head. "I must make amends. I'm sure word of my escape will eventually reach her, and I must ease her worries before I make my move. This time, I will listen to anything and everything she has to say, and if she can provide a reason as to why I shouldn't kill Sage, I'll consider letting him go. It...won't be an easy conversation."

With a POOF and some magical smoke, the strand of hair transformed into a sealed envelope. Starflower handed it to Headmaster Gardens, who seemed perplexed. "What is this, Jean?"

"Details about Carpathia and the role he played in all of this. I would recommend reading this away from the eyes of the police. Memorize every word you can, because once you finish reading it, the letter will burn itself to ashes."

Headmaster Gardens gently waved the envelope around. "This is a little heavy. When did you write all of this?"

"I used a spell to write down my inner thoughts instantly. Don't think too much on it."

Glass shattered faintly back inside the Guild. It happened, once, twice, thrice. Eventually, Starflower lost track as it continued to happen. He braced himself for what was surely the police breaking in, forcing him to make his move now.

"It looks like I'm out of time, Gardens."

"Jean, I no longer work under you nor do you work here at the Guild. Please, call me Seth."

"Very well, Seth." A powerful stroke of electrical energy was released from Starflower's fingertips. The smell of ozone filled the air as Headmaster Gardens was struck by the electric beam. His clothes and hair fried, the headmaster bent the knee as Starflower stared at him smugly. "That's for the sneak attack from earlier. Don't get upset, though; the police shouldn't interrogate you about my whereabouts if you're hurt. You'll live."

Without even saying goodbye, Starflower took his leave by vanishing without a trace. Headmaster Gardens struggled to breathe as footsteps approached the Guild courtyard. When the door opened, a small bear ran outside and dashed directly towards the headmaster. It was much smaller than a grizzly, with short jet black fur, and a ring-like mark right below the neck.

"Seth," the small bear shouted. It had the voice similar to that of a young boy. "Seth, are you okay?"

"Yes, Asbjørn." Seth groaned when he seated himself on the cobblestone. "Bastard. I knew he had the right idea, but he didn't have to blast me with that amount of power."

The small bear sniffed the headmaster curiously. "Looks like you'll be fine." The little bear sat across from Seth. "So, what do you think? Still doubting the power of the stars?"

"No, I think this power is very real." Seth reached into his pocket and grabbed an amethyst-colored gemstone from inside. "You managed to trick Jean into thinking the police were coming. That man's mental faculties are stronger than his lapse of insanity would have you believe."

"You have an answer, then?"

Seth nodded. "I'll help you. Power like this must not fall in the wrong hands."

***

2pm

A line had formed near a cave during a sunny afternoon in Cedar Forest. At the front was a simple wooden chair where Spark sat with Valerie on his lap, while Chet stood at their right and a youthful human male with red hair and a gray tunic at their left. The red-haired man unrolled a parchment and raised his voice to silence the chatter.

"Villagers of Hammer's Reach! Make your requests before the Order of the Blue Jay! The venerable and respected Sir Spark, presiding!"

"Thank you, George." Spark clapped his hands. "Good afternoon, people! I have some bad news and some good news for all of you. The bad news is that we have ran out of food and other provisions."

Wails of hopelessness and angry words of hunger filled the air.

"We can't go on like this!"

"Why hasn't Helix City sent anyone to help us?"

"My baby boy is sick! Please help him!"

"People, people, please!" Spark waved his hands downward in his effort to calm the crowd. "I haven't told you the good news. We talked with the leadership of our Order, and they're willing to send more food over to us. Moreover, our great leader has decided to hand out free memberships for anyone from Hammer's Reach!"

The wailing eventually settled down, and the whispers of the people were louder than anything else coming from the crowd. Valerie and Chet grinned to each other, while Spark remained jovial.

"That's right, you, too, can join our Order. Memberships are usually 15 gold per person, but anyone from Hammer's Reach not only can get in for free, but will also get paid on the first day they are sworn in!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Spark soon spotted his heckler from the crowd - an elven boy with orange hair wearing farmer's clothes. "Why would they offer money from their own coffers for a small village? These big organizations generally don't care for the average man."

Spark already had an answer. Practicing in front of a mirror for hours certainly helped him. "Because the fight for truth and justice never ends! The Order of the Blue Jay is always looking for helping hands, and who better to fight for the weak, the meek, and the tireless than those who had been victims themselves?"

The crowd's murmurs hinted skepticism, some even voicing how it was convenient for the Blue Jays to be charitable right when Hammer's Reach needed help.

"Come on, people," Spark said a little more impatiently, "did we not get those awful kids out of town for you? Thanks to us, you found out the terrible truth about the Hammer. The Church wants nothing but the gold in your purses, and had you allowed that boy and his harem to stay, they probably would have assaulted whatever merchants came your way and isolated your village from the rest of civilization by killing any help they sent your way. I'd wager they went back to Helix City and told everyone not to go to Hammer's Reach in retaliation. But don't despair!"

With a snap of his fingers, flames bursting in the air allowed Spark to summon a piece of floating parchment. The bottom of the parchment was rolled up, but the contents were written in very fine print along with a big red 'X' beneath it.

"Hammer's Reach has been selected to receive a privilege normally available only to a select few. By signing this contract, your greatest desires will become a reality!" Spark pointed at George. "Look at him! Didn't you used to call him Old Man George? Now he's just George."

George flexed his biceps in front of the crowd. "I haven't felt like this since my prime back in '27!"

More whispers around the crowd. Some couldn't believe it, but others pointed out George's basic features, like hair texture and jawline. Surely enough, this was the same old man who suffered a bad rash, and it appeared that it was completely healed when his youth was restored. After some debating, the crowd decided to move forward and accept the contract.

But the elf boy spoke again, slowing their advance. "Pardon my interruption, but isn't that a demonic contract?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I can smell the Abyssal sulfur here. That isn't ordinary fire that you used to summon that contract."

"Who is this kid?" Spark cursed under his breath as the crowd grew restless again. "You misunderstand. That's just something the Church of the Hammer uses to scare their people into following them! They try to scare you with words like 'hellfire' and 'punishment' and 'accountability.' They never take the poor into account when it's time to gather their tithes. We're all just numbers to them. The Order of the Blue Jay would never use the people's hardships to collect souls."

"Is that your final answer?" The young boy chuckled before looking at the sky. "Valentine, please do the honors."

A heavy object plopped at the feet of the young boy. The crowd gasped with horror at the sight of a thin and wiry creature about a foot and a half in height with furled batlike wings and curved ramlike horns for the head. The creature carried the mixed stench of sulfur and carrion, and blood oozed out of multiple stab wounds all over its body.

The crowd, as expected, panicked at he sight of it. "What is that?"

"That is a quasit," said the young boy. "They are typically birthed as familiars for wizards and other magicians. But when such a spellcaster dies, their soul is bound to the creature they carelessly summoned and are doomed to spend an eternity of getting exchanged as currency with other demons. As you can expect, they like to collect souls."

Revealing a black boot on his foot, the young elf smashed the tiny demon's head on the dried soil. The stench grew stronger as more blood spilled, causing people to recoil and back away. Orbs of light ascended from the demon's corpse until they disappeared as blips in the sky, and once the last orb disappeared, the contract Spark had conjured burned in literal flames.

"Of course, if you kill the demon, the souls it collected are freed. However, gods of death frown upon demonic deals, so a soul's freedom may lead to even more torment. Be thankful none of you sold your souls for such a pitiful fate."

"It's so ugly!"

"That could have been us."

"Smells like me ma's toes!"

"See? I knew he was trouble!" Squeezing through the crowd was none other than Lewis, who had his musket in hand. "Now do you people believe me? It's about time we return to Hammer's Reach and give up on the idea of selling ourselves to demons! Together, we can persevere and find a way to get through this! But this isn't the way."

Voicing their disapproval to nearly being duped, but having no weapons to retaliate with, the townsfolk of Hammer's Reach took Lewis's advice and took the road back to the village. Soon the crowd dispersed, leaving only the Blue Jays, the elven boy, and Lewis.

"No, wait! Come back!" Spark rose to his feet, causing Valerie to fall off his lap and plop on the dirt of the cave entrance. Valerie's cursing fell on deaf ears as Spark only had one target in his sights. "Boy! What is the meaning of this? I don't know who you are, but you ruined my chances for a promotion with the Order!"

"Gee whiz, mister." The boy shrugged. "It's a shame you don't know me...because I know you."

Spark gritted his teeth and grabbed his partisan. Chet and Valerie rushed to his side, while George stood there with no idea how to react.

"Lord Spark, what happens if the demon I made a deal with dies," asked a concerned George.

Spark continued glaring at the boy. "You'd lose your youth for sure, George, but don't worry. That wasn't the demon you struck a deal with, so your youth is safe."

"Are you sure you can do this," asked Lewis the boy.

"I'm sure. If you try to butt in, you'll only get in the way. I can't be held responsible if you get hurt." The elven boy took two steps forward with a reverse arm-fold. "Now, go. You have a daughter to look after, and you're in the splash zone. Of course, I did promise a spectacle, so do what you will."

With the boy's warning loud and clear, Lewis took his leave. He had no idea what was about to happen, but a feeling of dread loomed over him.

Spark just stood where he was. "You plan to fight me? You don't even know a thing about me, boy-"

"I beg to differ, Rutherford Spark. I know everything about you." The boy grinned as Spark dropped his weapon in fear. A puff of pink mist enveloped the boy, revealing Starflower in his place once it dissipated. "I'll only warn you once; walk away from this lifestyle and never return. Go home to your wife."