The Quest

Prologue - Chapter 5: A Perplexing Puzzle

Carmin POV: We finished our silent walk to the dorm. We arrive at an old rundown and rotten dorm. "This is too much character, if you ask me." Yuu hesitantly says. "I agree," Jackson says as he looks over the dorm. 'Ha, mother would pass out in disgust just by looking at this dorm' "Isn't it delightful? Right, scoot inside now. There you go." Crowley says as he ignores the comments. Crowley and Yuu start walking into the Dorm. "That is a hazard." I state. "Yeah, I'll look around for things I can use to repair the dorm, cause ain't no one living there." Jackson agreed. Jackson left to look around for supplies while me and Alex followed Crowley and Yuu inside. "This should keep the elements at bay for the time being. Now, I should return to my research. Do try to find some way to busy yourself. But don't let me catch you wandering the campus! Ta!" Crowley says before disappearing. "It's like a desolate snowscape. Only with dust..." Yuu mumbles. "Am I the only one who thinks Crowley is a bit of a jackass?" I ask. "Thats rude, we don't know what hes dealing with! Especially as the headmaster!" Alex counters. "But still- oh look at that, its raining" I observe. "GWAH! It's pouring out there!" Grim says. "Gah!" Yuu and I exclaim. Alex just sighs and looks at Grim. "Bwahaha! That look on your face is priceless! Like a bat that got blasted by a water gun. As if I wouldn't just sneak back onto campus the second I escaped pryin' eyes. You all got no idea what I'm capable of! I ain't givin' up on goin' here just 'cause I got kicked out one measly ol' time. And if you think otherwise, you don't know Grim!" he boasts. "Can I-" I start. "No." Alex interrupts. "Why are you so determined to go to this school?" Yuu asks. "Isn't it obvious? I was born to do this! I'm a magical prodigy who's got the makin's to become one of the greatest mages who ever lived! So I've been waitin' and waitin' for that black carriage to come for me. And yet...Hrmph! That Dark Mirror's got no eye for talent! That's why I took the initiative and came here myself. You humans don't understand what a mistake you're makin'! Not lettin' me in is a great loss to the world! Mrrao! C'mon, scoot over! I'm getting dripped on here! Bwah! Another hole in the roof! These flamin' ears are like my trademark, y'know? I can't let 'em get doused!" Grim exclaims. "Are you sure-" I ask. "No. You will not ask to feed him to Ignis" Alex interrupts. I scoff while Yuu looks at Grim unsure. "Guess I'll go look for some buckets." Yuu says. "I dunno why you don't just magic those holes away. You could have it fixed in half a jiff. Ahhh, right. You can't use magic at all. Pffft, man you're useless." Grim scoffs. Yuu pouts while I look at Grim, "Why don't you do it yourself weasel?" "I am not a weasel! You want ME to help YOU? Ha! You got the wrong idea. I'm just a stranger takin' shelter from the rain. You ain't the boss of me. If ya had some cans of tuna to trade, well, that'd be another story. But I don't work for free." Grim states. "... About those buckets." Yuu mumbles before going off to look for them. Me and Alex follow him down the hallway. "This place really freaks me out. Gaaah!" Yuu sceams. "Yee hee hee... Bwa ha ha ha ha ha. We haven't had visitors in ages! Oh, I'm just itchin' for new friends! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" three voices say. "Gh-gh-ghosts!" Yuu screech stutters. "Huh? What kind of ghosts are these? Ataphoi?" I ask. Alex just shrugs in response. Grim walks in, "Hey, keep it down over-AAAAAH! GHOSTS! GHOOOOOOSTS!" "All the people who used ta live here got scared of us and ran away." one ghost said. "We just want a new ghost to play with! What do you say, buddy?" another says. "Help me!" Yuu says in fear. I look over at Alex, "I'm pretty sure ghosts can't hurt us, unless it certain types...but we are in another world so it may be different" I state. Alex nods, "Its a possibility yes, I do believe that these three are not like the ones at home." "*Shiver* Eeeeep! I'm a master sorcerer! I ain't afraid of any dumb ghosts! Myahaaa!" Grim exclaims while breathing fire. "Nuh-uh. Not even close." one of the ghosts say. "Over here! Over here! Ah ha ha ha!" another says. "Argh! They keep disappearing and reappearing!" Grim exclaims angrily. "You can't aim with your eyes closed!" Yuu exclaims in response. I look over to Alex, "Should we help them?" Alex thinks for a moment before shrugging, "Nah, as much of a voice of logic as I am, they got themselves into this mess, they can get themselves out." I nod in agreement. "Shaddup! I don't need any lip from you, human!" Grim yells. "Beat them, and I've got a can of tuna with your name on it!" Yuu bribes. "Oh? He's going down the bribery route, this is about to get interesting." I say to myself. "Myah...?! Hmph... I'm Grim, Master Sorcerer! How come I can't even hit one of these little-" Grim says while blowing fire. The ghosts laugh and Grim responds angrily, "Hrmph! Ganging up on us... Yer a buncha cowards!" "M-maybe I can help?" Yuu asks. "Myaaaah...You, human! You tell me which way the ghosts are!" Grim demands. "To your left!" Yuu shouts. "Aaaaah! It buuuurns!" one of the ghosts says. "Ha, got one! Keep it up, just like that... And let's clear out the whole lot of 'em!" Grim exclaims. Me and Alex watch from the background. "Poor Ghosts, they only wanted to play a bit," I sympathize. Alex looks at me, "You can sympathize for randoms ghosts but not Grim or Crowley?" he asks. "Theres a big difference, I don't know their true intentions, the ghosts said they just wanted to play." I state. Alex just sighs and we go back to watching the fight.....Jackson POV: After leaving the group and looking around for some supplies to help with repairing the dorm I come across some materials that would work and I start collecting them. Then I see a familiar tail, "Ignis! My child!" I exclaim while picking up my kitten child. I softly scratch behind his ears and let him jump onto my shoulder before continuing my collection of supplies. After about 30 minutes I finish my haul and start walking back with my supplies in my bag and Ignis on my shoulder. I accidentally run into a man with green eyes and black horns. "Ah, sorry I wasn't paying attention" I say. He looks at me and smiles, "It's alright, what is your name?" I think over it and decide to tell him despite my better knowledge, "Jackson, what about you?" He brings his hand to his face and thinks before bringing his hand back down, "My name is enough to strike people with fear, what would you like to call me?" Malleus replies. 'This seems...off...oh well' I think for a moment "Corniger" I decide. He looks a bit surprised by the name I gave him, then a screaming can be heard from inside. "What in Hades name? Gotta go Corniger, something weird is going on" I say while running into the dorm. He just smiles as I run inside. Inside I see Yuu and Grim working together to fight Ghosts, while Alex and Carmin watch from the sidelines. I walk over to them, "Voice of reason said no?" I ask. Carmin nods. "And before you ask, we don't think those Ghosts are like Ataphoi or any ghosts from our world." Carmin states. "Oh, okay" I reply before joining their spectating.Ataphoi - Spirits of people whose bodies had not received a proper burial.Corniger - Horned One (Google Translate)(A/n - I hope I didn't make Malleus too out of character, I'm still working through the game and I haven't connected with him from a narrative standpoint)