The Brink (#0199) - Foe, Part 3 by Daz1971

Mixed Medium • Story/Sequential • posted on Dec 21, 2013

Open full image in new tab Zoom on image

Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.

Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.

Description

Volume II - Episode 51 Where: Cologne, Germany When: 1 month and 5 days after E-Day, 3:18 pm As the day wore on, Cathy continued telling the nurse the story of how she met her husband. Her beloved, now missing, husband. Even though technically Monika was "the enemy", she opened her heart to the German nurse. Later she would reflect that it just felt good to be talking about something "normal". Something that made her happy. "Rob and I had all these plans. Our dream was to go to Africa and use our gifts to spread the word of Christ. We were going to heal people and change the world. Looking back now, that just seems so...naive. What can I say? We were young and stupid." "Are you a good healer?" "Well, as it turns out...no. Rob's okay at it. Definitely no carnomancer, but at least he can soothe a sore thumb. I can't even do that. I have no talents other than slinging. I'm good with a wand, but that's about it." "So you did not end up going to Africa?" "No. We went back to the States and got married and had Ellie. Then we just kind of fell on hard times. I guess God had other plans for us." "Hard times? Do you mean you had no money?" "Pretty much!" "And yet here you are, back in Europe! Things can't have been that bad if you were able to make it back here." Cathy shook her head. "We were sponsored to come here. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and eating Cheez-Its when I got a call from a lady at the Academy. She asked my permission to give my contact details to Dennis Adams from Project Enigma. I assume you know who he is?" Monika nodded. She motioned for Cathy to continue. "The Academy lady said he'd requested the contact details of all known spellslingers all over the world, and that he was going to offer Rob and I a flight to Paris to attend the spellslinger conference in June. My heart started pounding right away. I'd known about the spellslinger conference for years, and I'd always wanted to go, but with Rob and I barely able to pay our bills I'd just put it out of my mind as something we'd never be able to afford. I asked the lady why he was offering to pay for us, but she had no idea. She assumed it must have had something to do with his research on Gorod Drevnih, but she didn't know exactly what. Anyway, I gave my permission for her to give him my contact details, half thinking that I'd never hear from him, and then he called a couple of hours later. "And yep, he offered Rob and I flights and accommodation to attend the conference in Paris. He wouldn't tell me why. He was all mysterious about it. Just said something about wanting to keep it close to his chest for now, but that he would meet us in Paris and everything would become clear. Looking back, I think he was worried the Academy would find out about his plans and put a stop to them. "So Rob and I went to Paris. It was the most amazing experience of my life - it was just what we needed...what I needed, to get myself back on track. The conference was amazing. We learned so much, and met so many wonderful people. And Paris, of course, is just beautiful. [CONTINUED IN FIRST COMMENT BELOW]

Comments (4)

)

Daz1971

9:33PM | Sat, 21 December 2013

"Doctor Adams came to visit us on the last day of the conference. He brought a young Israeli woman with him - Roni, I think her name was Roni. They told us they'd been working on a theory of how to get into Gorod Drevnih using spellcraft, and asked if I'd be interested in joining the team. At first i was enthusiastic. They were offering tonnes of money - and they even gave us an all-expenses-paid trip to the wall - but I was uncomfortable about saying yes until I'd spoken to some people at the Academy about it. So i set up a meeting with Rector Martel and told him what was going on. He said he knew Doctor Adams was up to something, but that he hadn't been able to find out what. When I told him their plan, he was horrified. He asked me to decline the offer. He then went about contacting all the other spellslingers Doctor Adams had contacted, and asked them to decline the offer as well." Monika was barely able to hold her composure. She glanced quickly around as if looking for something, then turned her attention back to Cathy. "Why was he so opposed to the plan?" Cathy shrugged. "I don't really know. He just said something about disturbing the natural order of things, and that some things are more powerful than we could ever hope to understand, and that some mysteries are best left unsolved." "Do you think he knows more than he was letting on?" Cathy thought about this for a moment. "Hmm, maybe. I got the feeling he was just disturbed by how reckless or maybe disrespectful their plan was - messing around with something so ancient and powerful, you know? But I don't know, really." "So did you say no to the project?" "Yeah. I called Doctor Adams and explained my position - that even though we needed the money, I just wasn't comfortable about going against the Rector's wishes. He was disppointed, but he understood. He was quite nice about it, actually. Very courteous and professional." "What happened then?" "Well, we were supposed to go back to the States, but Rector Martel contacted us a couple of days before we were due to leave and asked if I'd like to come in for a job interview. Doctor Adams had met with him to talk about the project; to try and change his mind about it. The Rector wasn't swayed, but apparently Doctor Adams also mentioned how Rob and I were struggling financially, and that it would be very nice if the Academy could help us out somehow. So Rector Martel interviewed me and offered me a job as a teacher." "That must have been exciting?" "Oh my gosh, I was so excited! Rob and I were both so happy. I could teach kids about spellslinging, and Rob was going to go back into advertising. Employers in Paris couldn't care less if you and your wife are spellcasters. It was the perfect situation for us. We cancelled our lease in the States, and moved into the teachers' dorms at the Academy. The Academy gave us an advance so we could buy some furniture and send some money back to my sister in Charleston so she could handle our affairs back there. Working visas were a breeze thanks to France's International Spellcaster Permit. Everything was finally looking up for us." "And then?" "And then E-Day happened."

)