The Hidden World

Part 2: In Pursuit of Knowledge

Sarah perked up in her chair. Perhaps she had finally found something? How, then, can you increase the amount of mana you have? Well, it's as easy as purchasing our mana crystal kit, and... Sarah closed the tab and groaned. She slumped back in her chair and looked at the clock on her desk. "3.00 am. Great. Did I just waste five hours of my time trying to find information online?" Sarah closed her laptop and headed for her bed. When the imp had been vanquished, she had made a decision to learn all she could about these supernatural phenomena, and how to counter them. Yet she had found no credible information during her internet search. She had checked any page that seemed interesting or even remotely broached the matters she had dealt with. But she had had no luck. "Well, at least I know where to go if I ever need power crystals," she thought to herself before drifting to sleep.

Any uncertainty she may have harboured about the whole magic business had been removed when she had gone to work the day before. The day had been normal until she went to have lunch. As she was sitting in the staff room, she noticed something black in the corner of the room. Sarah got up, thinking that it was a rat, and went to get a broom to chase it away with. But when she got back, she noticed that the "rat" was actually an imp. Luckily, this wasn't an oversized one like the one she had had met at home, nor did it seem interested in her. She just stood there for a moment, holding the broom. Soon, Sarah raised her left arm and inspected the ring she had received. "At least I don't leak mana anymore," she thought, "But it seems that it hasn't rendered me unable to see supernatural things." When she had returned home, she started to weigh her options. She came to the conclusion that talking to Edmund would be a last resort, as it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with Sarah anymore – unless she was willing to pay. And as her money situation wasn't exactly great, she opted to visit the library, and when that proved useless, to search the net.

Sarah was running. She looked back and saw that she was being pursued by an enormous black creature. No matter how fast she sprinted, the creature didn't fall behind; in fact, it seemed to be getting closer. Soon, it was right behind her and black tendrils started to wrap around Sarah's legs and arms, pulling her closer to it. Just before she was consumed by the darkness, she started to hear a cracking sound. A loud crack woke Sarah up. She looked around for the source of the sound and noticed that her ring had just broken down. "Well, there's not much I can do now except ask Edmund. I sure hope he has the receipt for this ring left..." she thought as she started to ready herself.

The mysterious woman wasn't in the waiting room this time around, so Sarah decided to just knock on the door to Edmund's office. She could hear rattling inside, most likely from the imp in the cage. "Come in," Edmund said, and Sarah entered the room, only to realize that she was staring down the business end of a revolver. "Oh... It's you," Edmund said, lowering the gun. "When the imp started to rattle around in his cage, I assumed that some mage had finally decided to try and off me. But it turns out that it is just you, without the ring no less. What on earth are you doing, woman?" Edmund said, sitting down and continuing to eat the donut on the table. Sarah sat down, too. She felt slightly offended by the way he treated her considering what had happened but decided to brush it off. "The reason that I'm here, and without the ring, is that it broke. Not only that, but it didn't stop me from seeing things anyway."

Edmund shook his head. "Should've known it... Damn you and your bloodline's ridiculous mana capacity." He started to look around his desk drawers. "Well, I suppose I should've guessed that something was off when you saw the imp at your place... By all means, you should've just seen a faint outline. Ah, there it is," he said, pulling out a phonebook. "Well, I'll be nice and order a new one..." Before he could say anything more, Sarah raised her voice. "No, I don't want any patchwork solution. I want to be able to control my mana by myself. I want to understand the supernatural and follow in the footsteps of my grandfather!" Edmund rolled his eyes and looked straight at Sarah. "For fuck's sake... Look, you have no idea what you're talking about. The world I live in is cutthroat, to say the least. One mistake and you could end up dead. No matter how much mana you have, death is always looming around the corner." "And what if I die? It's no sweat off your back, right? I'm not asking you to teach me, just to point me in the right direction." Sarah examined Edmund's face. She had decided her words based on the image she had formed of the man. Her analysis soon proved to be correct. "Alright, fair enough. Technically, I've already paid back the debt I had, so you dying is none of my concern," he said, wolfing down the rest of the donut. "Mind you, I'm not a mage, so I can't teach you anything. But I do know someone, who in turn knows someone else."

"We're here," Edmund said, exiting his car. Sarah stepped outside and took in her surroundings. The area was on the edge of town, and as she saw, it showed. Everywhere she looked she could see abandoned or otherwise poorly maintained warehouses. A faint, unpleasant smell suggested that the nearby river wasn't exactly clean. "What is it with these people and run-down areas?" Sarah thought to herself as they started to make their way to Edmund's contact. He had called someone at the office, and judging by the look on his face, the exchange hadn't been pleasant, which made Sarah slightly nervous. Soon, they saw a figure leaning on a warehouse wall. Something about the building made Sarah's skin crawl. "Yo! Still rocking the frock, eh?" The figure turned out to be a rather striking-looking woman: her long, messy hair was bright red and she was wearing an equally red trench coat. Edmund sighed. "Hello to you, too, Jasmine." The woman clicked her tongue playfully. "I'm on a job right now, so call me Blaze."

Edmund took a deep breath. "Yeah, whatever 'Blaze'. What was it that you needed me to do in exchange for the information?" 'Blaze' turned around and gestured toward the building behind her. "The Witch's syndicate hired me to clear this here warehouse. As it turns out, some crackpot cultists broke in and decided that it would be fun to open a small door to the Otherworld. As you might expect, something nasty came through and slaughtered them all. Not a difficult job, per se, but take a look at what's stored here." She pointed toward a sign, signifying that this warehouse was owned by 'SuperGas Ltd.' "Yeah, it might be just a coverup, but it doesn't change the fact that the building is full of explosive canisters." "I see. Well, I'll go deal with it," Edmund said, heading in. "Thanks luv, you're the best!" Blaze cheered; Sarah could faintly hear Edmund cursing in response. The red-haired woman turned her attention to Sarah. "So, who might you be?"

Sarah explained her situation and how she wanted to be like her grandfather. "Hm. Can't say I ever met him, but would he truly be happy knowing that you're voluntarily putting yourself in danger?" Sarah sighed and looked to the sky. "Truthfully, I can't say that." She turned to look Blaze in the eyes. "But I've never felt like something fits me more than this. I wanted to be a doctor to help people. But if I learn magic, I can do that, too. It just feels... right." They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, until Blaze started to laugh, making Sarah feel more than a little embarrassed. "Oh boy. You have some spirit you. I like the look in your eyes." Then she turned completely serious. "That being said, you should know that you're about to enter a world that is much more dangerous than the one you have been living in. Are you prepared for that?" "I am, Blaze," Sarah responded. Blaze started to smile again. "Just call me Jasmine. I just like to tease Edmund, y'know?" For a while the two just stood there. Then Sarah broke the silence. "Why did you need Edmund here? If the whatever syndicate hired you, you're probably no stranger to combat, right?" Jasmine snorted. "Yeah, I am. It's just that the situation is a bit incompatible with me, as I'm a pyromancer." To prove this, she conjured a fireball on her hand. "So that's why I'm happy that Edmund happened to call me," she said, extinguishing the fire. "It's not like I couldn't do it, but things are a whole lot convenient this way."

After around ten minutes Edmund emerged from the building. "That does it. Checked the whole building. Just a few wraiths around, took care of them." Jasmine responded by applauding, a gesture which clearly annoyed Edmund. "Well done! Now, take this," she said, handing him a piece of paper. "Go to this location and say, 'I want some purple roses' to the person at the counter. There you will find someone that can teach magic." Edmund took the note, but then grabbed Jasmine by the hand. "Thank you. But you must stop associating with the Witch, she is seriously bad news." She shook her shoulders dismissively. "I get it, but she does pay well. Besides, if I don't work for her, she'll be pissed off anyway. Damned if you too, damned if you don't, right?" Edmund let go of her hand and started to walk toward the car. "But I'm touched by the fact that you are so concerned," Jasmine yelled, only to be ignored. "He's a bit of a tsundere," she whispered to Sarah before departing.

The address led to an inconspicuous little flower shop. The counter was managed by an elderly woman, who nodded at Edmund and Sarah as they entered. "Umm... We'd like some purple roses?" Sarah said to the lady, unsure if this wasn't just a prank by Jasmine. "Oh, I see," the old woman said, measuring the duo with her gaze and stopping to have a double take at Edmund. "Indeed. Follow me." The woman led them to the back of the shop, where she opened a door. "Enter there and go down the stairs. He'll be waiting." Sarah thanked the woman and they started to descend. They soon entered cellar that was much larger than one might expect, considering the size of the shop. The space was filled by plants and bookshelves. Suddenly Sarah could feel something rising up her leg. When she looked down, she saw that a vine was slithering up. Before she could do anything, it wrapped around her entire body, immobilizing her. Judging by the swearing, the same was happening to Edmund. They were totally and utterly trapped.