The Inventor from Velothain

Octavius

“I believe we have spotted the Zyisnikins temple.” Elysia began tracing her finger down the map while Edgar, Florence and Percy sat cross legged around her. “The sewers move under the city. So, if we can find the right area, then that’s where the Zyisnikins will be. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, that’s all well and good, but how are we going to find our way through the sewers and find the temple in one day? The city is very big and I’m pretty sure the sewer is pretty easy to get lost in.”
“That is true. But I found this:” Elysia held up a sheet of old, slightly burned paper. On it, showed a faded photo of a young man. He reminded the twins of Percy. He looked half human, half android with a vicious expression on his face. “This is Octavius Wraith. He is the ruler of the Zyisnikins, as we know, his goal is unknown but with a bit of spying we can find out. I’ve seen him trying to hide from the rest of the city, but because I know a hybrid when I see one, I snuffed him out.”
“So, where do we come in to all of this?” Edgar asked.
“Edgar and I will go down into the city to find where Octavius disappears to, then Florence; you and Percy will go down and find the temple, there you will gather information about the plan on the big plan.”
“Sounds easy enough.” Percy pursed his lips.
“Good. Now you guys wait here, while Edgar and I go and look for Octavius. We won’t be gone long. Come along Edgar.” Elysia pulled Edgar by the wrist to the door.
“See you later Babe!” Percy called.
“Babe?” Florence looked confused. “Are you trying to flirt with him?”
“Why would I need to flirt? He’s already my boyfriend.”
“Hang on, what in the world did I miss?”
“Clearly a lot, honey. Maybe if you had been a little less of a brat, he could’ve told you. He was really worried about you.”
Florence blushed. “I was having a bit of a crisis.”
“Oh, a crisis? Do tell.” Percy said half mockingly, he placed his chin on his fist. Despite all that, he looked genuinely intrigued.
Florence hesitated. “Have you heard of the tellers?”
“The myth about the people who can predict the future?”
“They don’t predict the future, they write it.” Florence corrected.
“Same thing.”
“No, it’s not. If you predict the future, you already know what’s going to happen. But if you write it, it’s your choice what you do with it.”
“Fine, whatever. What about tellers?” Percy sighed.
“Well, I’ve had some encounters with them.” Florence’s pace started to pick up. “And now, I think that I might be one. And-“
“Woah, woah, woah. Calm down. You think that you might be a teller?”
Florence nodded.
Percy began to laugh; his eyes were directed straight at Florence while he heaved and gasped.
“It’s not funny!” Florence screamed.
“Yes, it is!”
“I’m telling the truth!”
Percy stopped. “Alright. Say I believe you, for arguments sake. Why are you so worked up about having these amazing gifts?”
“Because the reason you never see the Tellers is because you cannot see them.”
Percy blinked. “I see.”
“Yes.”
“And you think you’re going to have to leave your brother?”
“Yes.”
“So, what does that have to do with me?” Percy leaned against the wall.
“It doesn’t.” Florence replied bluntly, “You just wanted to know what was going on.”
“True. But clearly, you’re worried about leaving Edgar. Did you need me to look after him?”
“No, I don’t want you to have to have that burden, Jasper or Elysia can do that.”
“I mean it’s no problem. I am his boyfriend after all.”
“Yes, I know but it’s not your responsibility to look after my brother just because I chose to run away from my problems but I guess if-“ Florence shot Percy an odd look. “Wait, what did you say?”
“Oh yeah, Edgar and I are together. I thought you knew?”
“Uh, no. when did this happen?”
“Last week. You’d know that if you hadn’t been ignoring your younger brother.”
Florence puffed out her cheeks. “Yes, we’ve established that I’m a crappy person, oh woe is me.”
“Alright, Ms. Drama Queen, don’t get your panties in a pretzel.”
“That’s gross, Percy.” Florence stuck her tongue out.
“That’s me.” He wrapped his arm around Florence, Ruffling her hair.
The doors to the Parlour swung open, Elysia and Edgar burst through. Elysia, looking visibly excited handed Florence a map with bright red lines leading to a single large red circle, right by a large block of buildings.
“So, we found our target, you’ll find the drain somewhere by the alchemist’s guild.”
“Yeah, and where’s that?” Florence arched an eyebrow.
“Just put these in and I’ll tell you.” Percy handed her a single cog.
“What’s that going to do?”
Percy snatched it off Florence and pressed it to her temple, an odd sensation rushed through her skull, almost like a static electricity shock.
Percy clipped his piece on, “Ok, can you hear me?” It felt as though Percy’s voice was inside Florence’s head, as if she was thinking his very words.
“Uh-Huh.” Florence replied, a little perplexed.
“Good. Remember the plan?”
“Find the Zyisnikins, watch them do their weird cult stuff then come back.” Florence counted on her fingers the order of the plan.
“Good luck then.”

****

The city had the twilight feel to it, despite it being only five in the afternoon. It felt as though Florence was walking through a steampunk dimension. Florence distracted herself with the lights in the windows of the skyscrapers that enveloped her entire being. She watched as those around her moved past her, some had eccentric outfits on. Some had simple suits. Thought the world seemed to have similar styles but everything was so different. It reminded her of her world.
“You ready for this?” She heard Percy say in her ear.
“As I’ll ever be.” Florence said with a slight tremble.
“You’ll be fine. We’ve got this. You’re badass!”
Florence smiled to herself. “Thanks Perse.”
“Anytime. Now according to the map at home, the opening is behind the market.”
Florence looked around the town. Sure enough, she saw a bustling market, similar to the one she saw a few days before. Only this one seemed different, the stalls were larger and the items on the table seemed to be from places that stretched across the world.
Florence stepped forward. The smells of foreign spices and the bright colours the trinkets burst through her senses. She looked at one of the stalls, it was covered head to toe in different animal furs and weapons that looked like they’d been made from stone and vine. It intrigued her, as she looked through the many items that were laid out before her.
“These were taken from The Marish Tribe, many miles North from here.” A rather skinny and frankly old man perked up from his task of wrapping the items in pieces of multi coloured silk.
“I’m sorry?” Florence blinked.
“These items are from a Tribe from the North. They live their lives as destructive killing machines, they have been known to kill an innocent person without remorse.”
“How?”
“To them, it’s like waking up and going to work. It’s just an everyday thing. They’re born to kill so that’s what they intend to do.”
“So how did you manage to get these things in your possession?” Florence asked.
“The Chieftain saw me as a friend rather than a threat. He invited me to join him for the day. Every so often I come back and we trade items from our cultures.”
“So, does everyone from the market do that?”
“Hard to say. I doubt that everyone uses that method. Some just go ahead and steal. Though we have a rule: we don’t judge and we don’t ask.”
“Did I offend you?” Florence asked.
“No, you weren’t to know. Besides I’m sure you don’t intend to sell anything.” The man replied.
“Do I look like the kind of person who travels the world and sells exotic items?”
“Hmm, maybe not.” He chuckled.
Florence eyed the sliver and grey cloak. It had a few specks of black, it seemed to call for her. She reached into her pocket and picked out a few gold coins, she had nicked them from Elysia’s room a few hours before, thinking that they’d come in handy. And they did.
“I’d like to buy that cloak.” Florence pointed to it.
The man raised an eyebrow, though it didn’t seem like it was mocking her. It was almost an intrigued look.
“Ah, this. Yeah, I met the Chieftain’s niece. It was a gift from her, I was told that whoever is deemed worthy may wear the cloak. It’s meant to draw said person in.”
“So, its like Thor’s Hammer?” Said Florence.
“Who?” Clearly the multi nation universe hadn’t heard of such a thing despite the entire place living and breathing fantasy.
“Oh, it’s a story I was told as a child.” Florence explain as loosely as she could. “So, do you really believe that?”
The man sighed. “I didn’t, but it’s been months since I returned and no one has even taken an interest in it. If anything, I’m just glad I’m getting this off my hands.” He gave Florence the article of clothing.
“Thank you.” Florence beamed.
“No problem, I’ll see you soon.”

******

“What the Hell, Florence?” Percy muttered in her ear.
“What? I wanted to have a look!” Florence protested.
“We don’t have time for this. Now, just find the drain, it’s behind the market.”
“Alright. Dad!” Florence pouted like a child.
“For god’s sake.” Percy mumbled.
“I can hear you.”
Florence walked down the alleyway. The cobblestone beneath her felt rough and broken. She noticed at the end, was an old circular drain. It was covered in a mixture of moss and rust.
“This is it.” Florence said simply with a hint of excitement.
“Excellent!” Percy cheered. “Now, we will guide you through the tunnels. They tend to get a bit confusing.”
Florence pulled the cover off the ground with a mighty tug. The strong stench of fresh sewage filled Florence’s nose; she felt the harsh smell pinch the back of her brain.
“God! That smells vile!” Florence pulled away in disgust.
“Yeah, I know but you’ll get used to it.”
“I’m not going down there!” Florence shouted.
“You have no choice! We need to find that temple. So just hold your breath and get on with it.” Percy scolded.
“Fine.” Florence grumbled as she clambered into the hole.

*****

The stench from the sewer hole was so much stronger than it was above ground.
“This is disgusting, you guys.” Florence growled.
“Just suck it up.” Replied Percy, in exasperation. “Or not.”
Florence plodded forward, looking around at the filthy walls. “So, where do I go first?”
“Keep going forward, then take a left, then a right, then another left. You should find them there.”
“Alright then.”
Florence shuffled down the path, she turned her torch on her phone. She looked at the floor, her shoes were getting soaked with thousands of litres of Velothain Waste. Florence shuddered at the thought.
She heard a sound of shouting and cheering.
“Hey, Percy. Are you still there?” She whispered.
“Always. Have you found them?”
“I hear people.” Florence replied. “I’m pretty sure that’s them. Who else is going to be down here at five o’clock in the evening?”
“You?”
Florence sighed. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Mainly because I’m tired and I just want to get this over and done with and go home.”
She shuffled across to the side, she noticed that there was an opening leading to another part of the sewer. She looked inside.
“There they are.” Florence mumbled to herself.
“That’s great, now film the meeting. We need proof.”
“Thanks, but I was talking to myself.” Florence huffed.
“That doesn’t change the fact that I heard you.”
With another sigh, Florence held her phone onto the opening and held her foot onto a stone on the side to hoist herself up. She saw a group of people standing in front of a strange humanoid type creature. He looked like Percy; the only difference was that this person was almost completely missing of human flesh. He only had metal and wires running through. The others were different. They looked considerably more human than he was. But despite him being completely machine, Florence could still make out human like qualities to him. The man oozed a strange goo that gave off even more of a stench than the rest of the sewer. This must have been what Florence had been smelling.
“Oh my god, he smells worse than me after a P.E lesson.” Florence whispered, covering her nose.
“Grow up, Swan!” Percy huffed. “It’s just a couple of minutes so that you can get what you need before leaving. Now, just listen to what they’re saying.

Florence peaked over the slab that her phone rested on, and watched as whatever this meeting was unfold.
“My friends!” The man raised his hands high in the air, earning the cheer of the rest of the crowd. “I, Octavius the first have come with some amazing news for the future of our tribe.”
Octavius. Now, that was a name that Florence had heard before. She remembered that chats that the four of them would have. This man was the leader of the Zyisnikins, of course. It was all making sense. The people who seem to be obsessed with the line between man and machine are machines themselves.
“I have been watching very closely and I’ve found the person who can change our lives forever. A lonely inventor who lives in the house on Cogworth street. This woman is capable of some amazing things.”
“They’re talking about Elysia!” Florence whispered.
“What are they saying!?” Percy began to panic.
“Once we have her in our possession, she shall destroy the line between human and machine and soon, you and the rest of the city will look like me.” Octavius gave the crowd one last flourish, before they erupted into applause.
“They want Elysia to turn everyone into machines!”
THUMP!
Florence felt her heart drop as she watched her phone fall to the ground in front of her. The sound echoed through the sewer, this was it for her.
The entire crowd stopped, the silence filled the entire space like an exam hall.
“I think there’s someone watching us.” Octavius’s voice sounded much deeper and blood thirsty.
Florence gulped.
The sound of heels clacking down the stone began to get louder and louder as he edged to find the already terrified Florence.
“Florence?” Percy enquired. “What’s going on?”
But Florence was unable to open her mouth. She daren’t speak, she wouldn’t make a sound for the fear of being murdered on the spot.
Then, she remembered! Of course she hadn’t done it before, but she could try using what little ‘teller’ powers she possessed. She imagined Octavius walking in a different direction.
“I’ve got this.” She breathed. “Come on. I can do this.”
“Florence!” Percy broke through her train of thought, she was panicking again.
“Fucking hell, Perse!” Florence growled. “I’m trying to do something!”
“Florence, You’ve been quiet for a while. I need to know what’s going on!”
She closed her eyes. That was her fate sealed.
“Percy. Please tell Edgar I love him.”
“Wait, what!? Florence, speak to me! What’s going on?”
“They’ve caught me.” She sighed.
“Then get out of there!” Percy shrieked into Florence’s ear.
“Too late.” Florence gasped.
She looked up at the figure of the leader of the Zyisnikins tribe. He grinned from ear to ear.
“Florence?”
“Well hello there, Florence Swan.”