Fury in Sundor

Chapter 5

"My name is Percival, but you can call me Perci." Perci grins a wide set of pearly whites.

"Right... I'm Eon." he hesitates.

"Eon? Like the amount of time: Eons! That's cute."

Eon could swear his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, the man Perci muffled began struggling agitatedly. He attempted to kick Percival when he lightly jabbed the drunkard's cheek with the index finger of his iron claws. The old man's eyes rolled to the back of his head until he fell asleep. Somewhat unconscious. A small droplet of blood fell down his cheek. Perci let the old man down against an apartment door, leaving the situation for another person. He dusted his knees off and turned back to Eon.

"So, where are you headed?" He nonchalantly asked. Eon blankly stared for a moment until his mind took in the question.

"I'm headed to the tavern for a drink."

"Is that so? What a coincidence, I'm headed to Runo's Fountain too!" Perci automatically assumed they'd be heading to the same one, for it is around the corner after all.

Runo's Fountain

When they walked inside, they were flooded with booming voices coming from all directions. Tipsy men and women who had just too much to drink sang tunes that sounded as if they originated from pirates overseas.

"Be wishful at night, don't give in to fright! Or lo and behold, the children we scold, will come back to pocket every fool's gold!"

People swayed their oversized mugs in the air, carelessly swinging side to side with arms over shoulders. The air was filled with miraculous carefree energy.

The hangover will be quite unfortunate. Eon didn't come here to party though. There is a goal he needs to reach. Percival leaned over to Eon's ear.

"Keep a low profile."

Eon nodded and walked over to the bar, taking a seat on one poorly cushioned stool. Percival sits on his right. The bartender, who was drying cups, glanced up at Eon with a crude look. Eon could tell the man hated the bustling atmosphere.

The man had a little more fat on his bones than your average person, with a slightly overgrown stubble. He has an underbite that causes him to look even more troubled than he already does.

"Welcome to Runo's. Order." He almost demands. The bartender has a thick accent. He pronounced his e's as I's. "welcome" sounded like "will come"

Eon could feel his heart beat in his head. He takes a deep breath, and orders.

"Three whiskeys. Each a drop of greened white. in a tall goblet before night... please."

The order makes the bartender pause. He glances at Eon, curiously this time. He scans Eon's faux facial features. This causes him to sweat a bit.

There is one downside to every good potion: the effects have a giveaway. For Eon's facial change potion, the clue is in his eyes. There is a small red dot in the iris of both of his eyes. This signals to the bartender that he used magic to be able to show up here.

"I'll have the same, except served dozens after midnight." Perci speaks up. The man behind the counter shoots him a look too. He puts his rag and cup down, leaning one arm against the counter.

"You do realize that's poisonous, yeah?" He asks. His guard is clearly up.

"Oh..." Eon racks his brain for the second part of the letter. "The stale bits of the stars tell tales from afar. I am not thirsty anymore."

"Me neither." Perci follows, yet again. The two clash eye contact.

Could he really be...?

"Right." The bartender stands up straight. "You two: call me Andis. And, I think I might have some in the back. Follow me." Andis walks through a set of double doors behind the bar. Perci takes the lead and walks around and through the double doors as well.

What exactly is Percival?

Eon thinks as he follows close behind, staring at the back of Perci's hood.

There were cooks in the kitchen they walked into. Almost none of them cared to ask about the visitors that just walked in. Two or three of them looked up from the cutting boards at the immature kids staring at them. Eon realized how impolite this was of him and hurriedly looked away.

I have about three hours left of my disguise.

Eon begins evaluating the time he has left when Adnis suddenly stops in front of a... Indoor tornado shelter? At least that's what it looked like.

"I trust you can take it from here, Percival." Adnis waved the two off and walked back into the bar. Eon immediately turned to face Percival. What was going on? Perci seems to know everything about what Eon came here to do. This either means Eon messed up by entering the bar with him, or he was sent here by the Advena Canatre.

Perci crouches in front of the hatch and takes out a key. It seems to be a wooden one from where Eon stands. Not particularly new either. The doors make a clicking sound and open automatically. Eon steps up to it, leaning over the entrance. The tunnel goes straight down!

It's pitch black in there too. There's no way I'm going in!

Eon hatefully snarls in his head. Just as he convinced himself there must be a ladder or stairs down, Percival confirms his worries.

"Jump. I'll follow after."

Eon's eyes widen to the size of discs. There was no guarantee that he'd make it down there alive! Eon began to second guess his relation with Perci.

"You can fly ri-" Eon hurriedly slaps Perci's mouth shut. He said it too loud, and they're in a kitchen full of people. Percival's expression changes to confusion until he realizes the horrified expression Eon wears. Percival slowly peels Eon's hand off and chuckles. A sweet caramel sound of laughter.

"If this place was littered with humans, I wouldn't have come anywhere near it!" Perci smiles, confusing Eon.

"Nobody in this tavern is human. In fact, It's all hidden to the human eye. For them, this entire building is an abandoned antiques store."

Eon pauses for a moment, retreating his hand.

"If any human does walk in, they'll immediately be intoxicated by the extreme amounts of magic in the drinks. Yes, even a whiff can be dangerous for a person. For a half human, your tolerance is pretty impressive."

Eon's eyes remain locked in place. Perci's compliment falls on deaf ears. Just how much information is Valentine giving out? The thought made Eon livid. Blood rushed to his head for all the wrong reasons. Percival wasn't even supposed to know he had wings!

Percival notices Eon's expression falter and quickly rushes to reassure him again.

"Please don't take it out on Mr Kursatine. He's only doing his job."

"Then should I take it out on whoever the boss is? Just get this over with." Eon exasperatedly murmurs his last few words. He could tell that Percival began to take back his words regretfully. Swallowing anything else he wanted to say.

Eon steps up to the– what seems to be endless– black pit, inhaling his worries and exhaling air. With one leap– at the very top of his lungs– Eon began screaming bloody murder.

The bottom of the tunnel did in fact have an end. Although to Eon, it felt as if he were dropping from miles and miles above. He bit his lip down hard to prevent a scream from escaping his lungs. For if he began, it wouldn't end till either he landed or crashed.

When it came time for him to brace a landing, he spread his wings in an attempt to use them as a parachute down. Eon's wingspan is that of a full grown snow owl, naturally. Unfortunately, due to the lack of exercise and practice during his crucial periods of life, he has grown to be immature in his area of flight. Trying to fly was like trying to lift weights with cramped arms. It was simply impossible. So, he resorts to the next best option: a somewhat safe landing.

Surprisingly, just as he expected a cold, bone shattering ground: the tunnel ends and Eon feels the sun kiss his scrunched face. He didn't land in a basement, a kidnappers' lair, or anything of the kind. Instead, it is a completely different world. The sky seemed so much bluer, so much bigger. Nothing was clouded by heavy smoke or air pollution. But... where was Eon?