Harvey (Team Crafted)

The Soothsayer

The town they had journeyed to was farther away that the trio had thought. It was only a half an hour's travel on horseback; but on foot, it took them till an hour after dawn to finally arrive. On the way they had broken from the treeline and come into a Sahara biome, with yellow-green grass and funny bendy trees and a desert off in the distance. They had passed a herd of cows at one point during their journey and Harvey was surprised by their lack of squareness. He chose not to bring the topic up for fear of being considered more crazy than the others already thought him.
The town they arrived in was slightly bigger than the last one, the one that Harvey had originally stumbled upon in the grassland. The people seemed kinder although that may have been because their village wasn't under attack and it was just a normal day.
It was only a few turns in the street till they came to a busy marketplace, with merchants selling goods like food and other essentials out of carts and villagers buying them. Husky and Deadlox walked side by side down the middle of the street, talking to each other in hushed voices while Harvey walked along timidly a pace behind them. He felt half like a third wheel in their group, and half like the tiniest guppy in the biggest ocean. It had struck him as the sun was rising, that this was an entirely new world. He didn't know that for sure, but it seemed like the only possible option. Talk about possible options... Nothing about this little adventure had been possible so far. As he had said earlier, Harvey was still pretty sure he had simply died and this was hell.
"Hey, kid." Harvey was pulled abruptly from his thoughts as he looked up as saw something red fly leisurely at him. He jumped and fumbled with the apple, but managed to catch it. Husky snorted. "Hey take it easy, you're safe now. We're protecting you, not leading you to your death."
"About that... Where are we going?" Harvey asked.
"We're almost there." Deadlox said, pointing to a path which lead up a big hillside to a cave.
"What's in that cave?" Harvey said. "Just tell me, I'm sick of being confused!"
Deadlox sighed. "We'll tell you when you calm down."
"I am calm!" Deadlox raised an eyebrow and Harvey realized his mistake. The human took a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them. When he spoke again, it was in a deliberately soft voice. "I'm calm... Okay? Please, just tell me."
"Okay, good." Deadlox said. "We're going to see the Soothsayer."
"Soothsayer?"
"Yeah, a seer. If anybody would know what your situation is, it's her."
Harvey blinked. "Okay so let's go see her!"
"You too go." Husky said, nodding to the path. "I'll stay here and get our shopping done."
"Good idea - and hey, get one for Seto too!" Deadlox said.
Husky gave Deadlox a thumbs up before walking away, disappearing into the crowds of the market.
Deadlox started walking down a deserted street, which lead to the path they would take to lead them to the Soothsayer's cave.
"What's he getting me?" Harvey asked, falling in step beside him.
"You saw how I got hit a few times during that fight, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but all the arrows and stuff bounced off this deflector thing, what was that?" Harvey asked.
"We call it a shield. It's the best technology we have." Deadlox said. "At least, best technology that we can afford. There are more powerful shields out there; we just used simple ones because they're the cheapest. See, the shields protect us from attack, but with every hit they take, they start to fall apart. If you get a break, you can give it time to recharge and fix, but I got hit so many times it couldn't repair itself and it just broke. It looks invisible except for when you hit it, and then you can see its color for a minute."
Harvey nodded, thinking to himself. The shield was kinda like the set up for Minecraft, as in the game. It was like whenever you got hit, the shield would partially break and the percentage of its strength would go down; like when you lost hearts. If you were at 60% shield density, you would have like six hearts left. It had been awhile since I had played Minecraft, but more and more evidence was showing that I had been pulled into a world just like the game. Sure, it seemed impossible, but after everything Harvey had just seen, he was starting to redefine "impossible".
It only took a few minutes more for the two to reach the mouth of the cave, but when they looked in, Harvey didn't see anything but a dark, shallow hole in the rock, only ten square feet large. He looked to Deadlox in confusion. "Is she not here?"
Deadlox just smirked at him mischievously before he took a step forward into the cave. When he did, he disappeared like he had gone through a portal. Harvey took a step back in alarm, his eyes wide. "Uh..." He stared at the place he had gone as the image of the empty cave rippled, then returned to normal. He looked around, then gulped and slowly reached out, pushing his hand through. It disappeared from sight like Deadlox had, making the image shimmer again. He was beginning to wonder if he should go through when something grabbed his wrist and yanked him roughly through.
Harvey yelped, falling to the ground from his lack of balance. He looked up at who had dragged him through expecting to see Deadlox, but instead he saw a very different face.
A very old woman leaned down over him. Her hair was very white and very thin, pulled back behind her head. She was squinting as she looked him up and down even though her eyes were milky white, blind. She was dressed in old colorful but worn clothes, looking like a gypsy; just a gypsy that was old as dirt. "Hm..." She said, her voice old and raspy like Yoda. She looked back at Deadlox. "Your presumptions are correct." She said, standing, letting go of my wrist. "He is not of this world."
"Okay, that's good, but I didn't tell you what I thought about-"
"You need not tell! I know, I know..." She walked over to a wooden bowl and mallet she had on a table.
Deadlox kept an eye on her like he didn't trust her enough to look away as he pulled Harvey to his feet.
"Is that the-"
"Soothsayer? Yes." The old woman said, cutting off Harvey.
Deadlox ignored the exchange. "But he looks just like Seto, are sure he hasn't just-"
"Lost his mind?"
"Can you stop interrupting-"
"No, he hasn't. This is not Seto. Seto Sorcerer is no longer in this world."
Deadlox's expression saddened. "So... He really is dead?"
"I didn't say he was dead." The Soothsayer picked up her bowl and threw its contents into the air.
The powder made a cloud that didn't fall to the floor, as though it were suspended by magic. As Harvey and Deadlox watched in wonder, an image appeared within the cloud; an image that looked like planets, but much, much bigger. "There if more than one world." The Soothsayer began. "There are many, so many, billions upon billions upon trillions and I see all. There are multiple versions of you, one in each realm, just as there are multiple versions of me. Harvey is a different version of Seto from the realm Earth."
Deadlox blinked. "So... Where's Seto?"
"I do not know..." The cloud turned black. "This is all I see when I look for him. He has concealed himself from me."
"But why?" Deadlox asked, showing more emotion than Harvey had ever seen or heard from him.
The Soothsayer sighed. "I'm sorry... I don't know that either."
Deadlox sighed too, flipping his hair casually. "Well, can you send Harvey home?"
"I can't." The Soothsayer shook her head, letting the cloud of sparkling dust fall. "It isn't in my power. But perhaps it can be in his."
Harvey blinked. "...Huh?"
"Magic stretches between dimensions. Since Seto has magic, you have magic, even though it's just a little bit. You can train, hone your magic. And don't ask for me to train you, because I have no interest in taking on an apprentice."
"But-"
"Here."
Harvey was cut off as the Soothsayer shoved a book into his hands. He looked down at it in confusion and saw the cover was in some other alphabet, as was the rest of the book, so he couldn't read it. "Uh...?"
"You'll figure it out." Said the Soothsayer. "Trust me, you will."
Harvey sighed. "Okay... Thank you..."
The Soothsayer smiled and looked at Deadlox, puffing out her chest. "See that? He says thank you! You should take notes from him, he's polite."
Deadlox rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, thanks." He turned away. "C'mon Seto." He stepped out of the cave, through the force field that they had come through. Seto saw that while Deadlox couldn't see him inside of the cave, Harvey could see him outside of the cave
Harvey was about to follow when the Soothsayer grabbed his arm. "Beware, Sorcerer." She said, darker than before. All her cats scattered under the bed, having to squish together in order for all of them to fit. "You are in a new world, a dangerous one. The path laid before you will be riddled with danger. Your destiny is spread in thousands of directions; only one will bring you peace. Heed my word; make careful decisions. Be patient, for if you are not you will burn. Study hard."
Harvey stared at her. "U-Uh... O... Okay... Ma'am..."
The Soothsayer patted his cheek. "Good luck dear." She turned around and walked to her bookshelf, humming to herself. Harvey stared after her before he backed out of the cave through the force field.
For a moment, he and Deadlox stood silent. The Mincraftian stood facing the outward land and the town with his hands in his pockets while the human stood staring into the image of the empty cave, clutching his gifted book close to his chest. Finally, Deadlox spoke. "So, your name really is Harvey."
"...Yeah..." Harvey said.
"You're from another dimension."
"...Yep."
"You gotta find a way back home."
"Looks like it..."
The two stayed quiet another few moments as a soft breeze brushed past. Then Deadlox looked at Harvey, smiling just a little. "You can stay with us till you figure out how to get home if you want."
Harvey opened his mouth, then thought over what the Soothsayer had said moments before.
The path laid before you will be riddled with danger. Your destiny is spread in thousands of directions; only one will bring you peace. Heed my word; make careful decisions.
Harvey though for a few minutes before he smiled and nodded, looking at Deadlox. "Yeah, I'd like that..." He said, feeling a little better than he had a few hours ago. "Thanks."