Trip of a Century

Part 1 Chapter 5

Over the Border

A couple of miles north of Yuba City, Gain said to Aiden, “Paul just said he’s at a restaurant called The Little Oak. I let him know we’re almost there.” 

A few minutes later Aiden pulled the car up in front of an odd-looking building that the GPS said was their destination. The place wasn’t large but it appeared to be made of large stones and logs. The only van Aiden saw was a big white one parked by the dumpsters. He said, “That must be Paul’s.” and he parked the little coupe in the shadowy spot next to it. 

The tired brothers got out of the car and stretched. Aiden remarked, “I could use a toothbrush.” 

Gain replied, “Aye.” Gain shook his jacket and sniffed. With a look of mild disgust he ran his fingers through his hair and added, “And a shower.”

They walked around to the front. Aiden noticed how shiny his brother’s hair looked in the lights. A sign hanging over the walkway outside resembled a tavern sign you might see in a medieval fantasy setting. It was lit from above by a single recessed bulb. It was kite-shaped and had an image of a sapling engraved on it. Carved in a log over the door were the words, “The Little Oak”.

They entered through a solid, heavy, hardwood door to a bustling little place. Aiden breathed deeply, taking in the incredible smell of the place. The elf behind the bar was preoccupied but still managed a wave to welcome them. The place was packed but after a little bit of looking around, Gain spotted Paul sitting at a table and indicated as much to Aiden. Paul was a very fat, dark-skinned sapiens man. He was also very tall. Even sitting, he must have been eight or nine inches taller than Aiden. His curly grey hair was pulled back in a messy bun. He wore a red vest that Aiden could only think to describe as “Well ventilated” and his calf-length black trousers revealed black socks and red leather dress shoes.

Paul looked up as they arrived at the table. “Gain!” He said excitedly as he reached out his hand for a shake. “It’s so good to see you,” he continued as Gain shook his hand. 

Gain said, “Hi Paul.”

Looking down at Aiden and extending his hand, Paul said, “And you must be Gain’s brother, uh, Aiden, right?”

Aiden shook his hand and replied, “Guilty.”

Then Paul tilted his head slightly to the left and said, “You’re much taller than I expected.”

Aiden smiled wryly and replied, “Samesies.”

Paul smiled and belly-laughed at that. “Please sit. Join me,” he said, indicating the two chairs opposite him. As they took their seats, he added, “The food here is amazing.” He sort of sang the last word. “Order whatever you want. I’ve got the bill. I understand you two have had some adventures recently.”

At that moment, an elf wearing a green shirt and a short, brown apron approached with a notepad in her hand. The brothers both ordered “their darkest ale”. She made a scribble and said she would be back momentarily.

Aiden and Gain then looked at their menus and pretended Paul hadn’t implied a question about the last few days. Aiden said, “What’s good here, Paul?”

“Oh, everything is good but my favorites are probably the goat stew paired with the fireroot salad or the ‘trice mince pie with a side of grilled onions and carrots. Mmm, the sweet hell sauce on those is just to die for.”

Aiden wondered what fireroot and ‘trice mince were. He found them in the menu and read the descriptions; The fireroot salad description read, a bed of fireroot leaves sprinkled with sunflower seeds and kelpie cheese all drizzled with smolderberry dressing. Well, that just created more questions. The ‘trice mince pie read, a buttery crust filled with minced meat and vegetables in a brown gravy. Aiden figured ‘trice must be some sort of house-grown meat that he’d never heard of.

Gain, in his reading of the menu, had his own questions–What’s a cave fisher and who orders the giant centipede? He decided to just keep it simple and order something he recognized. “Oh, look, Aiden. They have Irish stew.”

The elf came back and set two of the darkest ales the brothers had ever seen on the table. Aiden put his face down by it and stared into it. He thought that it would look like black ink but for the cream-colored, foamy head.

“What can I get for everyone?”

Paul ordered the goat stew and fireroot salad. Aiden decided to try the mystery meat pie and Gain ordered the Irish stew.

After she left Paul asked, “So, you boys are looking pretty rough. How is it you came to be on the run in CRONA-land?”

Gain looked at Aiden. Aiden looked down and scratched his ear.

Gain said, “Let’s just say the wrong people don’t like us anymore.”

Paul chuckled. “To chase you across half the continent, though? What happened?”

“Well, to give a little background, we came over from the Tuatha dé Dannan early in the year. Because mum is one of the queens, we didn’t want to draw attention or make ourselves targets so we came with fakies. We played around for a couple of months but then we kind of fell into work as un-i runners. Ran a few quick and dirty shadow jobs. You know, off the books stuff for low level corporate managers. Nothing too serious. Drop offs, muscle, warnings, a little clem. 

Our last one we got hired by an upper manager in Pfizer. Before we could do the job,” Gain gave Aiden a pointed look as he continued, “…for reasons that are Aiden’s to tell if he so chooses…the manager decided that he would prefer, best case scenario, that Aiden should have a closer relationship with his bat and his dogs. We weren’t too keen on that plan, there, so cue gunfire and a week of travel across the continent, avoiding major highways and doing our bloody damnedest to stay ahead of goons and taffirs. And now you’ve heard the story of the shortest career a living runner has ever had.”

Paul nodded, taking it all in, and sipped his drink. Gain and Aiden sipped their drinks as well. After a moment, the server showed up and set their food in front of them. She asked if there was anything else they needed. Each said he was fine.

Paul watched as the brothers took the first bites of their food. They both, practically in unison, made happy moans and stated how good the food was. “I don’t even care what sort of meat ‘trice is. This is amazing,” exclaimed Aiden. 

Gain said, “This is the best stew I’ve ever had.”

Paul said, “Big step up from quickie mart snacks, right?”

Aiden replied, “If anyone were to try to do anything malicious to my food right now, I would fight them to the death.”

Paul raised his glass. The brothers raised theirs. They clinked glasses and took a swallow.

Paul and Gain started talking about Paul’s research. Aiden didn’t pay much attention to it. He wasn’t much for theory and the whys of things. He didn’t know how to manipulate The Flow like a sorcerer or a wizard, or even like Gain but he knew about runes. He knew that if he could get it right, he could use symbols and gold to enhance a tool. Some referred to it as “enchanting” and the enhanced tools themselves, as “magic items”. Aiden didn’t know what to call it. He just knew it worked, and had done a little research online about the subject. 

“Paul,” Aiden interrupted, “Does your work involve item enhancement?”

Paul replied, “Well, some I suppose. I primarily focus on manipulations but that does often take me down the path of enhancement, tangentially. Why?”

“Well, I know gold is usually used to enhance and I’ve researched how it’s used. I heard that it’s theoretically possible to use other metals, though. Do you know about that?”

“Ah, yes. The metals used in enhancement must be dense and relatively soft. I know that platinum has been used with success and I think the current consensus is that the metals used for enhancements must be at least as dense as gold and no harder than iron. And on the subject of enhancements, I’m curious about your use of Flow, Gain. From what you’ve told me, you enhance items spontaneously, right?”

Gain replied, “Yeah, sort of. It’s somewhere between what a manipulation and an enhancement are. I need parts to bring shape and purpose to the Flow I’m manipulating but the items I enhance are essentially just prototypes. I can throw one together and ‘chant it in about a minute but they only hold their Mobius energy temporarily—only about 24 hours. Kind of like a wizard  or sorcerer, but without all the purposeful waving of limbs and reciting of formulas and I carry mine around or make them as needed. It’s less obvious and risky in the moment if I can toss a ball to summon a mist rather than wave my hands about and recite memorized formulas.”

Paul said, “That’s fascinating. Maybe we’ll have some time over the next few days to show me some of that. As far as I know, that’s a pretty unique way of using Mobius energy. I’ve never read about that method beyond your telling of it.”

Aiden said, “He can also fix things by touchin’ ‘em and thinkin’ hard too. It’s pretty handy for covering up a bashed in door. A shame it doesn’t work on bashed in people.”

Paul said to Gain, “Like a mending transmutation?”

Gain replied, “Yeah, but it’s more intuitive than that. If, say a robot were to have a hardware failure. A wizard would have to find the piece that broke, probably dismantling the robot in the process, and then mend that piece. I can only do it a few times before needing rest, and I can’t do much if it’s been absolutely destroyed, but through me, the energy knows what the robot is supposed to be. Knows what shape it is and how it’s supposed to be connected. And it finds the bits that aren’t right in order to make it whole again.”

Paul said, “So it’s like healing a living creature with positive energy, then. The energy just goes in and puts things the way they’re intended to be. You’re such a fascinating combination of a studied wizard and an intuitive sorcerer. You’re like a smith, combining study and talent, but instead of just metal, whole machines. Not an engineer, but a…” Paul paused, searching for a word.

“A machinesmith,” Aiden offered.

Paul said with a smile, “Yes. That’s it. A machinesmith.”

They continued to eat. When the server came back, they turned down dessert. Paul waved his watch over the payment screen at the edge of the table. It projected a confirmation screen onto a small sheet of white thermal paper. Paul touched the appropriate spots of light on the paper to complete payment. The paper was then pulled into the screen and spat out the other side as a printed receipt, leaving new, blank paper for the next customer.

The three left the restaurant together, Aiden and Gain following Paul. Once at his van, Paul said, “Get your stuff and throw it in the back. You’ll want to stay back there with it until after we’ve crossed the border.”

Paul opened the back of the van while the brothers grabbed their bags out of the coupe. He told them, toss your bags in and hop in. It’s not far to the border.

As they got in Aiden said, “How are we getting across? Won’t they look inside?”

Paul replied, “Oh don’t worry.” He presented the display of his handheld. “I have two solutions to help with that. Once we’re a couple of miles from the border, I’ll pull up a formula that will let me manifest an illusion of takeout bags so nobody will even see you. They’ll see me carrying dinner back. And to help prevent them from detecting the illusion with divination, I have another formula that will mask the aura appear as necromantic instead. Wouldn’t want my dinner spoiling before I got home.” Paul winked and closed the doors.

Aiden looked at Gain and said, “Necromancy? Isn’t that death magic? Like zombies and talking to dead folks and shite like that?”

Gain replied, “Yeah, but there’s more to it than that. Necromancy includes the decay and preservation of organic matter. It can be used to talk to the dead, make the dead get up and walk, and cause rapid decay. But it can also do the reverse. It can make the dead shut up, make them stop walking or obliterate them, and slow decay. There’s a lot of research money going toward the study of necromancy for food preservation right now.”

As the van pulled out, Aiden tried to wrap his head around the dead not just moving around and talking, but he thought, In what situation would you need to make the dead shut up? He kept his thoughts to himself on this one, though.

After about twenty minutes of driving, Paul pulled the van over to the side of the road. He rummaged around in the glovebox and the console. He turned and said to the brothers, “Either of you have any fleece?”

Aiden said, “Uhh. Lemme check.”

After a moment of rummaging in his duffel bag he said, “I got nothin’. How about you, Gain?”

Gain held up a pair of garish, fuzzy socks with an image of Yoda from Star Wars dressed up like Santa Claus, standing on a sleigh. He held them up and said to Paul, “Will this do?”

Aiden looked at his brother. Without actually uttering any words his face said, “What the fuck, man?”

Gain shrugged and said, “They’re comfy and warm.”

Paul got out of the van and walked back to the brothers. He opened the doors and inspected the socks. “Perfect.”

Paul took the socks and gave his handheld to Gain. “Hold that up for me, please.” For the next minute Paul held the socks and read the screen as he recited what sounded to Aiden like gibberish while he made some very specific motions with his body. At the end Paul looked satisfied and said, “Perfect.”

Aiden looked around and all he could see inside the van was the inside of the van and a large paper bag with the logo of The Little Oak. Gain wasn’t there. Their bags weren’t there. It was very unnerving to look down and see that he wasn’t there either.

“Now for the other. Gain, it requires some amount of concentration for me to maintain the image. If I perform the aura alteration, the image may fail. Can you do this one?”

“Oh, um, I can try.”

Gain stepped out of the van so that he and Paul could see each other. Aiden also stepped out so that he could see what was going on and took the opportunity to stretch. Paul took the handheld and pulled up the proper formula. Gain read through it.

“I’ll need a piece of silk.”

“Oh yes,” Paul said and pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket, handing it to Gain.

Gain began reciting that same throaty, growly, hissy-sounding gibberish, but different, and made some different, but just as specific movements while waving the handkerchief over the area. After a moment Gain swore and dropped his hands down. “Give me a few minutes. I’ve never done one like this.”

Gain reached into the seemingly empty van. His arm vanished. When he pulled his arm back he had his bag of parts and tools and he began connecting wires and driving screws. After a few minutes he had what resembled a little box, about four centimeters by eight centimeters, with a wheel on top. Attached to the wheel was a rod about nine centimeters long. Attached to the rod was the handkerchief.

Gain looked at the formula again and began the recitations again. This time he held his stick-box creation. A few seconds in, the wheel began to spin. The effect was the silk handkerchief waving round and round like a flag while Gain chanted. After a minute, Gain went silent, nodded, and then quickly dismantled his creation and put the parts back in his bag. He handed the handkerchief and the handheld back to Paul.

Paul said, “That was fascinating. Let’s see if it worked.”

Paul put the items in his pockets. Then he recited some more and made some motions that took about three seconds to complete. He then spent the next few seconds concentrating on the van. “I detect an aura of necromancy. Okay, hop in and let’s get you across the border.”

A couple of minutes later they arrived at the border checkpoint and stopped under a very bright lamp. A soldier wearing a green uniform approached and signaled to Paul to roll down his window. Aiden could see the PU logo embroidered in gold on a shoulder patch. It said “Pacific Union” arched over seven interlocked rings. Across the front, were the words “Border Guard”. 

Paul touched the button on his door that made his window go down. The guard started to say “ID” but cut short as Paul, already familiar with the routine, held his ID out.

The guard asked, “Where are you coming from?”

Paul replied, “The Little Oak.”

Gain and Aiden watched a second guard walk around the outside of the van.

The first guard paused and squinted at the ID and at Paul. 

“Oh, yeah. You’re that guy,” the guard said with a half smile. “How often do you go to The Little Oak?”

“Oh, I go once or twice a month,” Paul said with a smile.

The second guard tapped on the rear window and said, “Tell him to drop his tint.”

Aiden thought, Please don’t open the door.

The first guard nodded to the second then said to Paul, “You bringing anything back with you?”

With a big smile Paul replied, “I always do.” He then said, “Zsa Zsa. Drop window tint to zero.” The van replied, “Dropping tint for all windows to zero,” and the rear windows became totally transparent.

Please don’t open the door.

The second guard peered in then said to the first guard, “Big paper bag with a tree on it. Looks to contain carryout containers.”

Do not open the door.

The first guard handed Paul his ID and waved off the second guard. He said to Paul, “Welcome home,” and motioned him forward.

Paul put his window up and they drove through the checkpoint and into PU California. Once the guard station was out of sight, Paul dropped concentration on the illusion and Gain and Aiden let out sighs of relief. Then they climbed over the seat back. Aiden buckled himself into the bench seat. Gain continued to the front and buckled himself into the passenger seat.

Paul rolled the front windows down a little and Gain began chatting about physics and magic research. Aiden searched around and discovered that his seat could recline so he reclined it and let the road noises and the boring conversation lull him to sleep.

About an hour later Paul pulled the van into a driveway. It was really little more than a spot of pavement just long enough for the van to be in. The only light came from the van’s headlights and a streetlamp on the other side of the street. Once the van parked, Paul and Gain opened their doors and got out. Aiden, sensing that something had changed, woke up, stretched, yawned, and got out the sliding side door of the van. He and Gain went around back to collect their things while Paul went to the front door of the house, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and held the door open for the brothers. He said something that sounded to Aiden like, “Mitnay ouch,” and the lights inside the house came on dimly.

Once they were all inside the foyer, Paul said, “Quick tour.” He pointed to the right and said, “Dining room.” He pointed to the left and said, “Living room.” He pointed down the hall and said, “Kitchen’s that way. You’re welcome to anything in it. There’s a bathroom between the kitchen and dining room.” He then started walking up the hardwood staircase that began just past the entrance to the dining room and he said, “Bedrooms are up this way.” 

When they reached the top of the stairs, he pointed at a door immediately to the right. “Bathroom.” Paul turned left, pointed straight ahead and said, “There are two guest bedrooms. One of you can have that one.” He then turned left and walked down the hall. He indicated a door at the end on the left and said, “That’s the other room. Mine is this one.” He indicated a door straight ahead at the end. “Make yourselves at home. Wash the road off. Bathtub up here. Just a shower downstairs. Washer and dryer are behind those doors.” He indicated sliding doors at the opposite end of the hallway, between the bathroom and first bedroom. “There are extra blankets and pillows in the closets of your rooms. I need to be out of here at about seven in the morning so I’m going to bed now. Good night.”

With that, Paul retreated to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Aiden claimed the room nearest the bathroom. Gain thought it best that way. He didn’t want to sleep by the laundry. Both of them wanted to wash. Aiden got to the upstairs bath first so Gain went downstairs. After going five days without bathing, the brothers felt amazing with the warm water flowing over them and refreshed after getting out and drying off. 

Aiden picked up his clothes and sniffed them. He immediately regretted it and gagged. He draped his towel over a shoulder and kicked his clothes to the laundry. He tossed the dirty garments into the washer, left the door open, and went straight to bed.

Gain draped his towel over his shoulders and wadded his dirty clothes up in a bundle. Seeing the washer door already open, he pushed his bundle inside and closed the door. He found detergent and started the washer and then retired to his room.Gain took a last look at his screen as he set it down next to the bed. It showed Thursday, November 9th 10:55 pm. He and Aiden were both asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.