Collector of Oddities - A Stormlight Archive FanFiction

(14) Fallen Star

[Drunk Man, In Kholinar]

The streets of Kholinar were empty during the night. Many families hunkered in by the fire to beat the cold and others simply had better places to be than out on the street. The cobbled paths were lit with small sphere lamps speckled every few feet—encaged with a lock to keep someone from stealing the glowing broams inside.

However, on this night there was someone wandering through the empty alleys and cold roads. They were a younger gentleman with a large pot-like belly that hung over his belt as he practically waddled drunkenly. He held a large bottle that hung from his fingertips that looked like it could go flying at any minute in the loose grip. The man didn't seem to mind.

The night was cold. Bitter. Frigid. Cold. Wait... Had he thought 'Cold' yet?

He shrugged, brought the bottle back up to his lips, and took another long swig of dark, dark wine—the sorts that many drank to erase entire days from their memory. The bottle sloshed and splooshed as he continued to chug on the neck, then it made no more noise. The man continued to suck on it, but no matter how hard he tried there'd be no more alcohol to come out of the bottle.

The man curses to themselves, shaking the bottle and hoping something more would come out. When nothing did, he chucked it. The bottle flew through the air with surprising speed and shattered against the side of a nearby cart that was parked up outside the market district.

"Bull—" he hiccups, "—seye." He chuckles and continues down the street.

There's the sound of an opening door behind him—the squeaking of hinges that could use some polishing. The drunkard looked back surprised, his eyes not quite able to focus on the source of the sound. Then he spotted it: the door of the wagon he had hit with his bottle had opened up and a person had climbed out from within.

"Hey! You there!" The man shouts, not worrying at all about the hour of the night or the quiet homes surrounding the market from either side. "You're lucky you didn't scratch up the paint, but you've got excellent aim!"

The silhouette waved out to the drunk man, then ducked back into his wagon and shut the door behind him.

"W-wut?" The drunk man slurred, shrugged, then carried on his way. Where to? Even he did not truly know.

-

-

[Elox]

-- Inside the Magical Wagon Cremling's Might --

Elox, the Collector of Oddities, shut the door to his wagon just behind him. He had been bathing of all things when he heard the shattered glass hit the side of the Cremling's Might. "Embarrassing, that would have been if it'd been in the day." He complained, tightening the ties on his bath-robe with discomfort. "But he did land that bottle from nearly a hundred feet away, Anomaly."

"Hmmm... yes, it would have been." The shape on the wall agreed—a spinning mass of curvy and wiggling lines that seemed to move about of its own free will. "And a good aim. Though a lie to say an excellent."

Elox nodded, walking back into the main space of the Might.

It was bigger on the inside. Much, much bigger on the inside. The wagon that could drive itself was also housing an entire building within its tiny little coach walls. Although, not many knew that as not many had ever seen back into the Cremling's Might.

When you walked into the doorway of the Might, you'd find yourself looking in on a large, circular room. The walls were domed and curved upwards, and every inch of their surface was covered in a shelf, bookshelf, or painting of who knows what. At the center of the large room was a pedestal of white stone, on top of which sat the power source of the entire magical cart. It was a purple stone—a rock that had fallen from the sky in the islands of Jah Keved. Some say it hit a volcano just as a team of scientists was exploring the volcano's area.

(Like the Tardis! -Writer's Note :P)

Elox seemed unphased by the grand room found just within the wagon's walls, as he had seen it a hundred times up to this point. The fairytales about him had always left out the fact that the wagon was small on the outside, yet large on the inside.

"Anomaly!" He called out across the large circular room, heading his way to another flight of stairs opposite the entrance. "Did you already pull the plug on the bath?"

"No sir, not quite yet. Did you want me to? I just thought that the bottle hitting the door might've only been a distraction." The Cryptic's voice echoed—it was like he had become a part of the giant space. His voice came from the walls, the ceiling, and everywhere else. Inside the wagon, Anomaly could control most of everything. Something to do with Shadesmar, Elox had believed, but never quite understood.

"No no, that's perfect!" The Collector hopped down the stairs and opened up the door at the base of the steps. Another, much smaller room lay just beyond it—a small spa complete with bathtub, towels, and whatever else one would need. "Thank you for everything you do, Anomaly!"

"Of course, sir!"