Chapter 316

Bosra Station, Bosra, Syria - 12:54 AM Arabia Standard Time

Mercury flopped out of the Angel Express’ subspace depot and onto the dusty tracks. “Freedom,” he whispered in his roleplaying voice, kissing the ground through his mask. “Freedom from a whip-cracking boss who knows no mercy. Thank Marishiten for this good fortune!”

“Get up,” I said, grabbing him by the back of his ninja outfit and pulling him back onto his feet. “You had twenty minutes to rest. Don’t forget that you asked for this.”

“I thought Jamie was scary, but I’ve seen the light,” he continued melodramatically. “The Warmonger lacks mercy of any kind.”

“Please, I’m a kind and benevolent boss who would never overwork any of his followers,” I scoffed.

Mercury gave me a look that was as clear as day even though his eyes were the only part of his face that could be seen.

“I’m a benevolent boss who only wants what’s best for his followers,” I corrected shamelessly.

“Woe,” he replied. “I am to be pitied, and— H-hey! Cut it out!”

“Not until you get your act together and drop this tomfoolery,” I said, having gotten the ninja in a headlock. There was no mercy for him as I rubbed my fist against the top of his head.

“Alright, I’m chill! I’m chill!” he protested. I stopped with the noogie and waited patiently. “The training was certainly from Heaven! I feel myself ascending as we speak!”

I arched an eyebrow at him.

“Truly,” Mercury continued, a hint of defiance in his voice. “I am but moments from shuffling off of this mortal coil. Sara, save a cloud for me, because I'm— Nooooo!”

He was asking for it, so I resumed my attack. It took a few moments before the ninja disappeared and a dusty bush replaced him in my arms. He stood a few feet away, his feet planted in the dirt just like the plant had been. We looked at each other, and then broke down into laughter.

This was good. Even with the stress of everything going on, it was nice to be able to play around like this. Mercury had always felt like a little brother to me and he treated me the same even after he found out I was a regressor. There were a few more stars in his eyes, sure, but he had accepted it with excitement and it didn’t change much between us.

Which I appreciated. I had told them because they deserved to know the truth as to why things were going so poorly and what to expect from the future, and it had gone well overall. 

“So, why are we here again?” Mercury asked, hands on his hips as he looked around.

“Can’t remember from when I was telling you during training?” I teased.

“Man, you were attacking me from a thousand different directions at once. You can’t expect me to remember every little thing. Cut me some slack,” he sighed.

“Yeah, fair,” I laughed. “I’ll remind you soon. For now, I’ve got business to attend to.”

With a nod towards the station, I used ASL to tell Mercury to go into hiding. The ninja disappeared on top of the building’s roof. I could still see him through my awareness aura, but he would be invisible to almost everyone else.

There was only one person at the train station. A boy, no older than 8 or 9, who was pretending to be asleep under a blanket. I approached, jumping onto the platform, and stopped a safe distance away.

“Anthony Franklin seeks the Oracle of Cinders,” I announced loudly.

The man I came to see had set up a system of orphans to act as an intelligence gathering force. They stayed at the stations and major roads, simply watching and recording information to be passed back to headquarters. It was simple and effective, and it gave the children a chance to survive after they got a class made for this kind of work.

This was something that the Oracle of Cinders clearly thought was necessary. He was a paranoid man, one who didn’t trust Patrons and certainly didn’t expect his premonitions to show him every little piece of danger coming his way. Between his class abilities and his network, he knew pretty much everything about what was going on in the area.

Normally, this was where I put my name out there and angled for a meeting. Our destination was over fifty miles away from any train tracks, and with his resources we could be whisked there in an instant. Getting back was another story, but only making that trek one way was a blessing.

The child peeked out from under his blanket, one eye trained on me, and confusion permeated his aura. Even though he could tell I wasn’t speaking Arabic, he still understood me perfectly thanks to my set item bonus.

To my surprise, the confusion in the kid’s aura changed into one of acceptance and understanding. “The Oracle has been waiting for you,” he said.

I crossed my arms. “Has he, now,” I replied. Normally, he didn’t know that I was coming. This was unusual.

The boy nodded. “He says you are welcome to find him, and that you already know where to go.”

“That… is true,” I admitted freely. “Did he say anything else?”

“Only to hurry,” he answered. “His rage simmers because of events you put in motion, so it is up to you to fix it.”

I frowned at the boy as he covered himself with the blanket before looking up at the sky in askance.

<<<>>>

[[Patron Quest: Squirrelly Oracle!]]

This is a peculiar event, but you seem to already be known. What’s worse, it seems as though your presence is causing him to actively worry about something that is about to transpire.

Figure out what the Oracle of Cinders knows, and what’s causing him to react in such a way. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. Just be careful.

Objective: Find out what changed the timeline.

Reward: 2,000 points.

<<<>>>

Nodding to the sky, I turned and started moving towards the center of Bosra. It felt good to get a quest that didn’t pertain to training, which was all I had to work with on the way here. When I left the train station behind, Mercury joined me.

“The Oracle of Cinders is a really cool name,” he said after leaving stealth.

“You’re right,” I agreed with a chuckle. “But, to answer your question from before, the reason we’re here is because of the genie.”

“And genies can’t help but be attracted to cool lamps,” Mercury finished. “Yeah, I remember the wish granting entity part. What I meant was why are we here and not, like, on the Jordan River. Or the Taj Mahal, because the palace was influenced on that, right?”

“You’re thinking of the animated story of Aladdin, but that’s just one interpretation and the only part the administrators cribbed from there was the Cave of Wonders, and even then it was just barely,” I explained as we walked through the streets. It was empty this late at night, but we both remained vigilant. “The original tale says it takes place in a city in Ancient China, but it’s also a later addition to One Thousand and One Nights.”

“It’s not?” the ninja asked, tilting his head. “Where’d it come from?”

“It was added by a Frenchman who heard the story from a Syrian by the name of Hanna Diyab,” I answered. “And, you’re right, the wish granting lamp genie could be in tons of places. It’s not in China because, frankly, the administrators have a lot to pick and choose from there. It’s not in India because there’s really only the Taj Mahal connection, if I’m remembering right, and it’s not on the Jordan River because… well, I don’t actually have a reason for that one.”

“Can’t win them all, I guess,” he stated.

I shrugged. “It’s in a volcanic area called Al-Safa. Full of basalt rocks, black sand, and cinder cones. Finding the right entrance is a terrible endeavor, but luckily we already know where it is. You’ll have to take one of your heat resistance teas and use a breathing mask to avoid the toxic fumes.”

“Right, you did mention those before. I’ve got both with me,” Mercury said with a nod. “You’ll just adapt though, right?”

“Yup,” I answered with a grin. “So long as I don’t skewer myself on a rock or fall into lava, I’ll be okay thanks to the Instant Adaptability passive.”

“Lucky. That sounds so nice. Are you going to go into space someday? Maybe to the moon?”

“There is a scenario on the moon,” I said, which immediately set him off with excitement. “But, no. Space, yes. I have plans for space. The moon is a completely different beast and nobody’s got time for that nonsense.”

“You gotta tell me what that’s all about,” he replied.

“Someday, sure, but not now,” I promised before nodding ahead of us. There were patrols ahead. “We’ll have eyes on us soon, so get back in the shadows.”

With a salute, Mercury did as commanded. His ninja outfit blended into the darkness perfectly, as it was designed to do, and I tracked him with my awareness aura. Two guards looked at me as I entered their sight, did a double take at my outfit, and then waved me through without saying a word. Their amusement was obvious, though.

I adjusted my Hawaiian trench coat. Just because it didn’t conform to traditional standards of fashion didn’t mean it was a joke. I rolled my eyes and started passing through the busy part of town. Not that it was crowded, this was just where the night owls hung out.

No one stopped me, though I continued getting strange looks. My tropical outfit was absolutely outside of the norm where everything around me had a desert theme. Not just because of the surrounding area, but because that’s what was comfortable. I was thankful that the heat didn’t touch me, even though it was relatively cool without the sun hanging above us.

My musings were dashed as I turned a corner and stepped into ancient times. The buildings ahead were Roman ruins, and I could see my destination. Bosra had been a major archaeological site before the system had dropped, and the Oracle of Cinders had taken it over as his base of operations a month or so in.

I flew up the side of the Roman Theatre, which was a stone building with a semicircle of seats in front of a stage and building. It had clearly seen battles in its time, both before and after the system appeared, but it wasn’t in terrible shape all things considered. I started walking down the steps towards a trio of individuals waiting for me at the bottom.

Two men, one with a modified AK-47 and a bandolier of grenades on his chest and the other with a staff, stood between me and the Oracle of Cinders. Bodyguards, I knew, though I was surprised by how nervous they were. Normally they were self-assured and confident that they could handle anything, but I noticed a few knife wounds that were taking a while to heal.

Too long, considering that they had access to faith healing here in Bosra. That was an important clue.

The Oracle of Cinders was as impassive as ever. Unlike Louise back in Sedona, he didn’t hide his face. His dark skin and beard were unkempt, and his eyes had bags under them as if he had been up for several days. Even still, if it weren’t for the glowing ash that appeared when he exhaled he would have looked like a normal guy.

The one thing that I hated about dealing with Oracles was that I couldn’t read their aura. It came with the class, though I could tell from the way he stood that he was wary. He appeared gray to me, at least, instead of being invisible to my senses. That would have been terrible given my sightless state.

I made it to the bottom with them and stopped when the gunman held his hand up. Despite being invited, I was still a guest here, and I wanted to stay on good terms with the Oracle if I could. Antagonizing him was the opposite of what I wanted.

“Will your friend be joining us?” he asked, gesturing upwards and to the left. He spoke in English, but with a thick accent. His guards looked in that direction, seemingly spooked by the question.

“Not just yet,” I answered. “Rest assured that he’s harmless, so long as no harm comes my way.”

“The last thing I want is for harm to come to you, Anthony Franklin,” the Oracle said, and I could tell he was being truthful. “Not when I have come to expect so much from you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Should I be worried that you’re expecting something from me, then?”

“There are plenty of things that you should be worried about,” he returned as he looked me over. “But I am not one of those things. I see you for what you really are.”

“And what’s that?”

“A savior,” he said simply. “An Angel of Vengeance and Death. Where your feet touch, evil is displaced. Where your sword strikes, evil is struck down. Your religion might not be my own, but that does not matter in the world that we are now stuck in. All that matters is power and, while you wield it in spades, you would still humble yourself by coming to ask me for aid rather than force it out of me.”

“It’s not my way,” I replied, putting my hands on my hips. “Especially when the alternative is simply a few hours of travel.”

“The alternative is a lot worse for you this time around, my friend,” the Oracle of Cinders warned, his voice becoming dark.

“I’d like to know what’s changed,” I told him honestly. “Whatever it is, you don’t seem too happy about it.”

“No, I am livid,” he confirmed before laughing. It was a dangerous sound. “Just last night, a man backed by a large group came to my home, my stronghold, and began making demands of me. He didn’t know for sure that you would come this way, but he was covering the bases of his dark master. The moment he made his demands, I knew. I knew you would come here. I told him that I would help, but you know me, don’t you?”

“You are a very vindictive man, Oracle of Cinders. There's no way you would take that in the seat of your power,” I said, holding back a wince. There was no way this was going to be a good thing.

He grinned, and pointed at me. “You’ve got it in one. The man tells me what I should do or else my safety is forfeit along with those of my people. That I must help them do away with you. I tell them yes because to fight them head on is foolish, but in my heart I am wholly against them. He demands of me one thing, and I will make sure they receive the opposite.”

“And what group was this?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.

“Angels, Anthony Franklin,” he told me. “Ones that are the complete and utter opposite of you.”

“Well, fuck,” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. Things had just become a lot more complicated.