The Abstraction Chronicles: The Abstract

Chapter 7: I Meet A Giant Bird That Tries To Eat Me

You know, at this point, I am starting to debate my life choices. It's not good for someone's health to run from an organization that prides itself in its exploration and killing abilities. But all of that will have to wait since I'm about to meet the creepiest old dude of my

life. Looking towards the voice an old man emerges. He's wearing a dirt-ridden jacket made up of some fur from a creature I'm not familiar with. His face is almost completely covered by a hood with a long silver beard reaching his chest, but that might be due to the heavy snow stuck in it.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Cynthia asks getting up and getting her silver knife ready. She was noticeably still shaking from the cold though.

"Easy, I don't want trouble. This is my mindscape in the Abstract which means I know who enters it. Your Keys identify you to me since I'm the one who developed that technology."

"So, who are you exactly?" I ask.

He responds by pulling down his hood to reveal piercing silver eyes.

Covering her face with a facepalm, Cynthia looks at me and exclaims, "Alastair!"

"That much should have been obvious." Plopping down he pulls out his pack and starts chomping on some bread.

"So, what can I do for you?" He says in-between mouthfuls. "We're here for a map to the Gate of the Abstract."

Swallowing suddenly, he laughs. "Do you have a death wish? That place is crawling with Dwellers."

"That's why we need it!" Cynthia says standing up. "The Dwellers now seem to have a commanding force and we need to get to the Gate before they destroy the city!"

"That does sound like quite the predicament." Rubbing his chin, he starts to think for a minute. "Do you know why I left the city and constrained myself to this freezing place?"

Shaking our heads, he goes on, "I didn't agree with how Thaddeus chose to train people new to the Abstract. I wanted a city that people could go to and talk about their different cultures beyond space and time. I respect Thaddeus to the ends of Reality for taking care of me when I stumbled here, however. I've lived in the Abstract for centuries and being a founder of the city, I can't let

it be destroyed."

"So...You'll help us then?" Cynthia asks looking up at him.

"Yes! Time I pay that old hypocrite back I suppose. Does he know about this? I can't imagine he'd allow this."

"No, he doesn't. I'm pretty sure the whole city is now looking for us."

"Young folk always be getting into some trouble regardless of the era," he chuckles. "What did you do anyway? Light fire to some poor new Lost member and now going on this epic adventure to redeem yourself?"

"We stole the first Key and plan to use it to destroy the Dwellers." Whistling to himself he says, "Thaddeus is pretty tolerant of people, but that's something beyond just simple misbehavior within the Lost community. It's a good thing I agree with you on what needs to be done then. Been trying to get Thaddeus to be more aggressive with this threat for decades! But no, he'd prefer to hide in the city. The Lost people should own every mindscape within this bloody Abstract by now if he'd have followed my instructions. Anyways, the map you'll need is not with me. It's guarded by the Abstract itself within this mindscape."

"I was told you'd have it." Cynthia says pointedly.

"Yes, I used to, but after I left the city, I gave it to a raven for safe-keeping. If you'd like to get the map from it just go to its nest on the top of the tallest mountain here. You have your Key's so let them guide you." At this point, he finishes his snack and gets up. "I'll see you both around some time, don't get killed. I don't want to have to tell Thaddeus his two scouts were killed recently," he says as he walks into the wormhole he created.