The Josephus Problem #BattleTheBeast

The Josephus Problem

Quentin entered Wonderland Hall of Fillory with his three friends. The room was large, with vaulted ceilings, surrounding a domed roof made entirely from stained glass depicting various scenes, including a man in a brown suit angrily holding a glowing trident. Wild dogs surrounded the man and seemed ready to tear him apart. Quentin didn't at all like this depiction. And yet he stared at it for some time.

Eventually, Quentin began to notice cords crisscrossing the stained glass dome. Sliding along the cords were women dressed in thin white robes, singing. One spotted Quentin staring up and descended toward him, smiling, only to pull on the harness at the last second and dart back toward the ceiling. She was beautiful.

Alice jabbed Quentin.

"Uh, what?" muttered Quentin. "Don't you find that scene with the dogs disturbing?"

"It's not the dogs I find disturbing," said Alice, her frown turning into a smirk before settling back to a frown.

Quentin turned toward Alice, wanting to avoid a fight. "Wait, you don't think..."

A man in a dark suit immediately appeared before Quentin, within inches of his face. "Oh, crap!" cried Quentin falling back, stumbling.

"This way to meet the Beast," the man said, twirling his long moustache, which dripped from his fat face.

"I'm not following this guy," said Penny, pointing his finger in the fat man's face. "I mean look at him. Creepy as hell."

"I agree with you there," shouted Josephus, slapping Penny on the back.

"Let's just go," said Alice. "We need to find the Beast and don't have time to worry about creepy or not."

"I think looking for the Beast in a casino called Wonderland is exactly the kind of creepy we should be worried about," said Penny.

Josephus let out a large laugh. "Relax Penny. We find Mr. B. We kill him. We go home, chug some beers." Josephus paused a moment, looking at a woman levitating back and forth overhead, clinging to two small cords, "Or whatever..."

The fat man's lip twitched. He turned without comment. While his legs seemingly moved very little, he was in fact walking away very quickly.

"Come on guys!" Quentin shouted. "We have to follow him!"

"Uh, me and Penny are going to talk to the ladies up there. Maybe find out something to use against the Beast," said Josephus, straining his neck upwards. "We'll catch up."

Alice gave Josephus a look. Penny shrugged his shoulders. "He's right," he said. "It can't hurt."

"Remember what Jane said," Alice told Penny. "Time isn't what it seems in Wonderland Hall. Don't delay."

Quentin grabbed Alice's hand, dragging her away. To keep up, they found themselves jogging through a maze of slot machines. The fat man stopped, arriving at a table sitting squarely under the dome center. "Here we are."

The circular table stood nearly twice as tall as Quentin. "How do I get up?" Quentin asked.

The man with the drooping moustache clapped his hands twice. A tall chair immediately appeared before Quentin. The man pointed to the ladder mounted on the back of the chair. "Use that."

Quentin pushed the chair toward the table. He shook it a few times, it didn't feel very sturdy. "It looks okay Alice. I'll be right behind you."

Two children ran by, bumping into Alice. "Come on Jane!" the boy motioned to the other child. "Let's find out where Rupert is hiding."

"Was that..." started Quentin.

"I believe it was," interrupted Alice, with a puzzled look on her face. "Let's remain focused on why we're here."