One Vengeance - Raven's Scheme

Master Fyre’s quarters featured a contradiction of perceptions. Upon first glance at the quite large space, one would discover a complete mess. Like Van whispered in Raven’s ear as they stood in the entryway, she had “a lot of stuff.” They could spot clothes, newspapers, game boards, books, dishes, and all of it seemingly strewn haphazardly.

But on closer inspection, Raven realized it wasn’t quite the mess it first appeared. Clothes weren’t tossed – rather they were laid in specific places across furniture or on packed hooks. Dishes of cold coffee or cider crowded a table littered with books and writing utensils, denoting Fyre’s constant place of study. And while there were most definitely more items related to games than Raven could possibly identify, visible in every corner of the room, there didn’t seem to be an unused bit among them. The whole of her office was like this. She indeed had a lot of stuff, and she wasn’t tidy, but the space was hers, it was loved, and each object of interest had its own place. This was Fyre’s respite. It was home.

“You live here, Master Fyre?” Raven asked.

“That’s right,” she replied with a smile, unraveling herself from her large cloak, and hanging it on a hook by a comfortable-looking bed. The hook was too full, so it fell to the floor. “No one’s ever objected before. And it saves a lot of time and money when I don’t have to come in and out from the city. By the way, you boys can call me Fanny when we’re not in public. I’ve been a teacher here for four years, and I still don’t like being called ‘Master.’”

It was in that moment that Raven heard a distinct clamor. It bordered on the pitch of a human voice, but it was so small, he first felt it could only be in his head. But then, he felt Rue pulse against his chest.

“Raven…” she whispered in a very small voice of her own. “Something is here. I don’t like it. It’s painful.”

He nodded, but didn’t answer back. However, the source of something hidden was not immediately noticeable.

Fanny led them through a maze of furniture that formed narrow corridors to a wood table. She cleared it of dirty dishes, piling them into an already full sink. Then, they sat. Immediately, Raven and Van were drawn to the copper contraption sitting on the end. The table was set against the stone wall, and attached to the wall by heavy bolts was an immense machine of some sort. A large copper container reached from the ceiling all the way to just a span above the table surface. Eight smaller pipes extended from the bottom, ending in golden taps. Another spindle stored a stack of large steins. And a single pandora was affixed to the front, featuring an exquisite goblet, adorned with jewels and miniscule details.

Fanny basked in their wonder, nearly hopping in her seat as she waited for one of them to ask the inevitable question.

“What’s this?” Van asked.

“Only my pride and joy!” she replied.

She took one of the steins from the spindle and placed it under one of the taps. Pulling the handle, steaming hot cocoa poured from the spigot. Just as she finished, three marshmallows tumbled out.

“A giant hot cocoa maker,” Van said. “Nice. Can I have some?”

“Help yourself,” she replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

He did so, taking a cup off the stack and placing it under the nearest tap. However, when he pulled the handle, hot cocoa did not pour out. Instead, a golden frothy liquid rapidly filled his cup.

“What’s this?” he asked in puzzlement.

“Beer,” she replied.

He took a taste, and judging from his expression, he was quite pleased.

“Fascinating,” Raven said. “Does this contraption produce eight different beverages?”

“Constantly,” she replied. “And only the best kind you’ll ever have of each. But it’s my pandora that does the work.”

“What else does it make?”

“Cider, white wine, red wine, cherry fizzy, coffee and tea.”

“Ch-cherry fizzy?” he repeated with wide eyes. He gulped with excitement. “I’ll take some of that, please.”

She poured him a full glass, and he took it and drank. The ice-cold liquid was sweet and refreshing, bubbling on his tongue and down his throat. Cherry fizzy was his favorite drink, and this was definitely the best he’d ever had.

“You have a never-ending supply?” he asked in wonder, gulping down more.

“Yep.”

“How have you accomplished this?”

“It’s my dad’s doing.” She stared admiringly at the pandora affixed to the cylinder. “He used to run a drink parlor. Everyone said he was the best. I think you agree.”

Van nodded, sipping his beer contentedly.

Raven was more wild-eyed. His cup was now empty. He looked back and forth from Fanny to the dispenser, debating whether or not to ask for more. But she understood, offering her hand. He gave her the cup, and she refilled it.

“He was sold to pay off my family’s debts, but in short time, I got him back. Won him in a game of Parchen. Got really lucky at the right time. I’d like to think he had something to do with it.”

As she and Van continued to chat, Raven again looked around the room, and more details of Fanny’s chambers came into focus. There was a table in one tight wedge of the room that had a tall stack of Parchen cards and game pieces spread out over the surface. They were arranged in a manner that suggested she had been practicing the game. And this was not an outlier. Raven realized there were spaces dedicated everywhere to particular games. One corner had seven poker hands dealt. There was a roulette table with number histories posted on a corkboard. She had a Seals table, a Djinn table, a dominos table, even a Roubicon board – all of them splayed out in the middle of advanced game scenarios.

Fanny Fyre wasn’t just someone who loved to gamble. She was obsessed with it. And this unnerved Raven. Everything he had learned about her before coming to the school suggested she was terrible at the casino. She regularly lost entire months’ worth of salary to poor gambles. But this place told a different story. How could someone who spent so much time studying game theory be so terrible? Especially a math teacher?

He was careful not to let Fanny see his concern, but he made a note to revisit his observations in the future and consider them acutely.

In that moment, a noise exploded in Raven’s ears. It was definitely a voice, yelling unintelligible words with fierce anger bordering on torture. He jumped from his seat, at the alert. And as the intense roars continued, he could almost feel Rue shrinking within herself.

“Raven, I really don’t like this place,” the pandora said. Her card felt cold. “Something is here… it’s scary.”

He ignored Van and Fanny’s stares. “What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But it’s painful. So painful.”

The yelling stopped as soon as it started.

Rue exhaled. “It’s gone.”

Raven slowly sat down, his gaze devouring the room. He waited for an attack of some kind. But none came.

“Are you okay?” Fanny asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah you’re kind of freaking us out,” Van followed up.

“I’m fine,” he replied, gathering himself. “Uh… what were we talking about?”

“Beer, I think.”

“No, I’m pretty sure we were about to discuss Valentine Chessex,” Raven said with a smirk. “That is why we came up here, isn’t it?”

Fanny frowned. “Oh that. Fine, what do you want to know?”

“What is your connection to Valentine?” He stared down at his empty mug and then looked at her.

She rolled her eyes, and took it. “Like I said, I’m something of a guardian to her. I’ve known her family my whole life. Lord Chessex funded my education, looked out for my parents, who served in his household for a time, and sponsored me for the position of Master here at the school. I consider him to be my second father. And I watched Valentine grow up. She has led a hard life.”

“Yes, Van told me about her hardships,” he replied, taking his newly filled drink.

“Did he now?” She looked at him sternly. “And how would you know about it?”

Van avoided her gaze. “I lived in close proximity to her once upon a time.”

She hummed. “Anyways, her parents were not anxious to allow her to go to school, but she was insistent. So, they asked that I look out for her, and I take the task very seriously. If you understand her plight, you should know how fragile she is. Her sanity quite literally hangs by a thread.”

“Literally?” Van repeated.

“I’ll explain later,” Raven replied. He turned his attention back to Fanny. “What I want to know is why she started her Division so early… and how on earth she was able to survive it. I have never heard of anyone so young surviving the process, much less subsequently overcoming the Splits.”

“That I can’t tell you. No one can. It’s a complete mystery. All Lamgardians go through the Division around their early twenties, and most people survive it thanks to centuries of research that perfected the convalescence method. They receive their second gift and live normally. Valentine started the transformation at ten. She was as good as dead. But somehow she lived. No one has ever figured out how she managed it.”

“Even so, the consequences led to the Splits,” Raven said. “Split personalities that normally receive one gift each, which never matters, because anyone suffering from it goes completely insane and becomes brain-dead in months. So how is Valentine not completely off her rocker?”

“I hate to disappoint you when I promised to answer your questions, but I just don’t know. She’s clearly suffering from multiple personalities, but she maintains her sanity. Even she couldn’t answer that, even though she understands her own plight and is aware of both sides of herself.”

Raven took a deep drink from his mug while thinking hard. He had a strong theory about Valentine’s problem, and he was mostly confident in his plan to help her. But he had been hoping Fanny would give him more information. Now, his scheme would be forced to endure a small measure of luck, which he loathed above all else.

Van had become solemn during their exchange. His jaw clenched. “Is she going to be able to survive this?”

Fanny bowed her head, frowning in deep sadness. “I hope so, but I just don’t know. Any kind of rift in her daily life makes her extremely unstable. This is why I got so mad at you boys. Valentine was very upset by how she was treated this morning, and the effect has assaulted her mind. What would something more serious do to her?”

“Like say… a pandora duel tomorrow night at the Grewwauld Clock?” Van asked, glancing at Raven nervously.

Raven frowned. “Traitor.”

“I’m worried about her, okay?” he snapped.

Fanny gasped. “You challenged her to a duel?” she shouted.

“Other way around.”

“Listen to me. Under no circumstances are you to meet her for that duel. It would kill her. Do you understand? Please confirm you understand.

Just then, Rue screamed. “RAVEN! It’s back!” she shouted in agony.

Then it came. A nearly deafening wail that only Raven and Rue could hear.

Again, Raven was out of his seat like lightning. “MASTER FYRE!” he shouted with authority.

“What?” she nearly screamed in fright.

“We are hearing something,” he said quickly. “And now I’ve figured out what it is. A pandora. Do you have something dangerous here? Something out of control?”

“What?” She turned pale. “Who is we? I don’t know what you’re… what?”

The screaming continued, and Rue continued to howl. She shrunk deep inside Raven’s mind, desperate to hide. It was affecting her somehow.

“A pandora,” he repeated. “You know what I’m talking about.” He pulled out Rue’s card, and it was glowing in a way he’d never seen before. A black halo of clout.

Fanny quickly got up and rushed around the maze of furniture back to her kitchenette. Raven and Van followed. She shoved an icebox aside to reveal a steel safe in the wall featuring only a handle and nothing else. She placed her hand on the door. There was a click, and it swung open.

An immense wave of heat hit their faces. Fanny gasped in fear. A small furnace was ablaze, and Raven quickly found the source. A pandora lay inside, discharging immense waves. With each new human scream coming from the card, new jets of flame expelled, incinerating anything else inside. And now that the safe was open, fire began to creep up the walls, threatening to overtake the room.

Raven acted quickly. A pandora whipped out from his sleeve, featuring three snowflakes. “Ice Token,” he said, snapping his fingers.

An icy jet of frost blasted from the card, encasing the pandora aflame in a clear ice bubble. In seconds, the heat dissipated, and Raven snatched the bubble from the safe with both hands. The pandora inside still raged in fire, but it could not break the icy shell. And the screaming stopped immediately. Rue settled down, but she remained mute.

“What the hell is that?” Van shouted.

Fanny was already desperately at work trying to salvage items from her safe, reaching quick but tentative hands through the rubble. She bemoaned each loss she discovered and sighed in relief at each save.

“This… is a very powerful pandora,” Raven replied. His eyes narrowed. “A Class Seven. Fanny, where did you get this?”

“I won it, believe it or not.” She spread her salvage across the table. “In a game of Parchen. I got really lucky. Or maybe I was unlucky. I’m certainly not so lucky today.” She sighed again, placing a hand on her face and shaking her head. “I just lost a fortune in rare treasures.”

“A Class Seven!” Van repeated in awe.

“It could be a Class Ten for all I care. It never did anything before today. A dud.” She rejoined them, and they surrounded the orb in Raven’s hands. “I don’t get it. I thought it was useless. Then you show up, and it bursts into flames.”

“It was screaming,” Raven said. “It still is, I would imagine.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Fanny said. “Van, did you?”

“I didn’t hear anything either, but Raven can talk to pandora.”

“Only Class Seven or higher,” Raven said. “But this soul seemed to come under severe distress when we came inside. And Rue reacted just as severely. She was desperate to get away, in fact.”

“Rue?” Fanny asked with interest.

“My Class Eight. A soul with whom I can converse. And she felt this pandora long before I did.”

“Well, if you figure out a way to talk to that thing,” she said with disgust, pointing at the globe, “Tell him, thanks a lot!”

Raven stared at the pandora inside, glowing like a white-hot branding iron. Something about it wasn’t so foreign to him. He felt something… familiar. Something devilish and clever. And anything Rue detested was something of interest.

“Why don’t you let me hold onto this?” he asked Fanny.

“Why, what are you thinking?” she asked. Curiosity consumed her expression now.

“I’m thinking my familiarity with high-class pandora will help me discover its secrets.”

“A Class Seven pandora is still a Class Seven. That thing is worth a hundred times its weight in gold.”

“How about we make a deal then? Let us borrow this soul, and I promise to discover not only what this pandora can do, but also the secret of the two keys.”

She hummed with interest, fingering the chain around her neck. “By when?”

“The end of my time at the school.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I give it back.”

“So basically, you’re asking to borrow it for a year, free of charge?”

“Geez,” Van piped up. “It’s not like you were loaning it out to other people for a fee before now. It was sitting in a safe! And didn’t it just cost you more than you could ever earn anyway? What if it burns everything else down that you own?”

She tsked. “That’s a really good point.”

“Raven obviously knows how to handle unstable business like this.”

“Alright, you boys have a deal. But on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, I can guess,” Raven replied dryly.

“Under no condition are you to meet Valentine tomorrow for that duel. This is non-negotiable. Do we have a deal?”

Raven considered it for a moment before smiling a devilish grin. “It’s a deal.”