Chương 6: Six Little Mystics

Sid's nose twitched as they walked into the grand foyer of the monastery. The sweet smell of cinnamon drifted through the large archway to the right. He furrowed his brows as they stepped into the belly of the beast. The sound of footsteps came from the same direction of the scent, and Sid could see a young man in a habit with loose sleeves and wooden clogs walking towards them. He was holding a pan of baked goods. It seemed the mystics were already setting up their bear-trap.

Sid wouldn't let them get their thorns in Allani.

"Welcome, welcome!" the man yelled as he picked up the pace. Sid instinctively took a few steps back. He would never trust a two-faced little mystic brat again in his life. Their intrinsic witch panic clouded any chance at rational thinking they had. This one looked like a fresh graduate, just as Sid was supposed to be. Despite his mind begging him not to spend any extra time around mystics than he had to, observing a real new graduate could be beneficial.

When the man stepped out of the shadow in the hall, his dark brown skin and braided brunette hair became clear. His beady brown eyes glistened in the light from the metal chandelier hanging above them.

"I'm so glad you made it safely! I'm sorry the bandits found you on the way here." The man held the tray of cookies out for them to take.

"Here, eat up. I'm sure you're hungry after the journey." Sid had been hungry when he first arrived, but suddenly, he couldn't eat a single bite. Allani was happy to dig in, grabbing the entire tray and shoving cookies into her mouth like a starving cat. On anyone else it would've made Sid sick, but the crumbs on Allani's cheeks looked kind of cute.

"Thank you," she said with her mouth full.

"I don't know how long we were underwater. No idea when I last ate." Seemingly out of nowhere, a hand landed on the man's shoulder. They all looked up to find a much taller man smiling with his eyes closed. His hair was entirely covered by the hood of his habit. He looked very pale. Almost as pale as Sid, whose time in the sun had been almost nonexistent for the last ten years.

"Ife, why don't you go help the rest of our flock prepare to properly welcome our new guests." Sid could feel his body recoiling in hatred. He didn't even know Ife until a second ago, but he already wanted to punch the other man on his behalf. Or maybe it was just the air of superiority that gave the impression of a head mystic. Mystic brats were annoying, but at least they could be manipulated easily enough. Ife caved to the man's orders without saying another word, disappearing back into the darkness of the hall.

"So, another mystic." He frowned.

"That's…unfortunate. Normally, I'd be happy to welcome another precious flower of the Rose, but there are already five of us here with that role." Sid put one foot behind him, ready to bolt if he had to.

"Yeah, I saw the warning when I got my role. I know the system is going to remove one of us. Does that mean what I think it does?"

"Yes, when five days are up, one of us will die. We have no way to know which one of us it will be, and we certainly don't resort to violence. The Rose takes whoever she takes." Allani swallowed a chunk of cookie.

"Wait, what? You didn't tell me the system said there were five of you."

"I didn't want you to worry. I didn't really know what the warning meant anyway." The man shook his head. His eyes remained closed for the entire time he had spoken to them so far.

"This happens every so often. Mystics are very common in the world, so a few of them always end up here." Allani looked at Sid with a heartbreaking frown. Her eyes had that horrible glint of pity to them. It should have been illegal to have eyes that green.

"Sid, what do we do?" Had he actually been in danger, Sid would've started plotting, but he knew that he wasn't actually a mystic. If the other mystics didn't know that already, it meant that the system didn't regularly update pawns about new arrivals in their class. It was possible the first warning was the only one they ever got.

"How do I get the screen to show me the countdown and number of pawns with my class?" he asked, trying to confirm his theory.

"Oh my dear, please don't use the word 'pawn' to describe yourself. But to answer your question, unfortunately, there's no way to bring it up manually. It'll only show up when there's three days left on the clock, and it doesn't even tell you how many excess mystics there are." Sid held his chin in his hand.

"So only the new arrival knows five days ahead of time? I guess it's a beginner's advantage so they can try to lower the count themselves."

"Sid, is it? I'd suggest you not trouble your mind trying to understand the motives of that horrible woman. She stinks of the devil." Sid scoffed, actually finding himself agreeing with the man. If he only knew the half of it. Sid's mother was a living inconsistency. Nothing she did in life seemed to make sense. She only added to the growing list of her contradictions when she broke him out of the school she had trapped him in. The head mystic suddenly gasped and straightened out his posture.

"Ah, and forgive me for being so rude. Please, call me brother Davine." He turned to Allani.

"And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Allani." Her voice fell flat at the end of her sentence. She was not taking the threat of Sid's impending doom very well.

"Sid and Allani. Excellent. Now please follow me back to the dining hall. We've prepared a proper meal for new guests!" Davine escorted them deeper into the building where they found a proper mess hall. Wooden tables were shoved together in the center of the room with an impressive kitchen at the far end of the room. On top of the makeshift banquet table was a spread of bread, roasted meats, and steamed shoot vegetables.

It looked appetizing enough, but their food supply was definitely limited to what was available on the island. Rina must have been trapping people on this island for a long time since not only did polished structures like the monastery exist, but stoves and cookware were present as well. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"How old is this monastery, brother? It's very impressive for one on a deserted island." Davine chuckled.

"I'd hardly call Ring 'deserted.' It's no city, but a few groups have managed to set up a decent stronghold. As for this monastery, I'm afraid I myself don't even know how old Embrace is." As they approached the table, Allani leaned in and whispered, "Sid, how can you be so calm right now?"

"I've always been this way. Remember when I got lost in the fun house for six hours?" That brought a small smile to her face.

"Yeah…you barely made a peep. My father had no idea you were in there, especially since your mom didn't bother to mention that you had been missing."

"And when you guys found me I was sitting with my arms crossed looking like she had just forgotten to pick me up. For the hundredth time." They took their seats at the table and four young mystics appeared from the side door. Ife led them all back to the table and everyone found an empty placemat. Allani's mouth was starting to water, and she moved her hand to try to take one of the bread rolls, but Sid grabbed her wrist before it got too far. They had to pray to the Rose first, of course.

He wasn't going to let her become a social pariah to the mystics two seconds into meeting them. Davine was still standing behind them.

"Now, everyone join hands and thank the Rose for the bounty in front of you. Your brothers before you bled for this monastery and the comforts you enjoy today. Make them proud of your light and dedication." Sid looked at Allani and gestured for her to move down.

'Join hands' did not apply to the lone woman in the room. Mystics weren't allowed to touch women because their lustful ambitions could infect the mystics' pure souls. Surprisingly, Sid didn't find himself criticizing that rule often. Despite his contrarian thoughts, he still appreciated the importance of culture and history in human behavior. Mystics often accompanied soldiers in the field, and that meant building camp with them.

Protecting the healers from hot-headed and touch-starved witch hunters was necessary, and religious laws were the most respected ones among human and witch societies alike. She moved away with no complaints and the circle of mystics closed. The five boys joined hands and tilted their heads to the floor. Sid did what he had always done during a prayer circle and stared at his feet with absolutely no thoughts in his head. He listened to the faint whispers coming from his peers.

The light smacking sound their lips made as they mouthed their prayers. Once five minutes were up, Davine clapped his hands together and startled them out of prayer. It was the strangest part of the ritual by far. Just a way for the leader to assert his dominance over the flock. It seemed kind of disrespectful to interrupt a prayer that way, though it wasn't like Sid particularly cared.

"Now, my dear little flowers, you may all dig in." Allani returned to her place next to Sid and finally picked out her perfect bread roll. He took a good portion of every plate available. He needed a balanced meal just in case things took a turn for the worse and they had to abandon the sanctuary. While he ate, Sid took a good look at his new flockmates. They all looked around his age, give or take a few years.

Unless his mother was recruiting children, which was very unlikely given how much she hated them, these mystics couldn't have arrived at the island more than three years ago. Davine looked much more seasoned in life. Wrinkles sat at the corners of his eyelids, though maybe they were from overuse, since he never seemed to open them. Sid took a bite of fried mountain asparagus shoots. It wasn't half-bad. These mystics sure knew how to season their veggies. Even the meat wasn't too salty.

The monastery on a deserted island was eating better than he had back at St. Jane's. The food slowly vanished from the table as the group finished their meal.

"I'd love to get to know all of you," Sid said.

"Ife already introduced himself, but please, tell me all of your names. I want to know everyone's face, even if the six of us only have five days together as a group." The boys' faces darkened as they looked to the floor. It was the response one would expect from someone just reminded that they have a 16% chance of dying in five days. Sid wanted them to feel that discomfort. It made him look brave in comparison. That was what he always was to his flock. Their rock. Their leader.

The one everyone ran to when they had a problem. His eyes moved down to study every face carefully. He searched for the man whose eyes trembled the most. The one that was so scared of his demise that tears were starting to form. That man happened to be Ife. That was good, since he seemed to like Sid already. Just for the sake of it, Sid also glanced back at Davine. His smile was gone, but his face was still a beacon of calm. Sid squinted.

It was possible the head mystic was simply one that accepted their fate without fear. That would have been believable, if not for the gaggle of fresh adults surrounding him. It seemed the other mystics around him had an expiration date. Maybe the mystics who met their end in the halls of Embrace weren't chosen at random, because someone killed them before the timer ran out. That would only be possible if the system didn't inform pawns when the number went back down to five.

Rina wasn't lying when she said no one else could see the board. The information she showed other pawns was limited to the individual. Board vision was a weak skill at the moment; it only gave him access to Allani's interface at level one. He didn't know how high the levels went, but maybe it would grow to reveal much more useful information. Davine clapped his hands together once again, a sound that made Sid's entire face scrunch up in disgust.

"Alright, brothers. The sun is setting soon. It's time to clean the quarters and get ready to turn in for the night." Ah, bedtime. Sid had hoped that was just something the training monasteries imposed on their students. Davine certainly wanted these men to feel like teenage students again. That was typical of people who lacked the social skills to manipulate people their own age. Sid made sure to keep Ife company as they mopped the floors of the dormitories.

Apparently, the holy mystic healers chosen by the Rose herself acted as a clean-up crew for the entire sanctuary, as Davine marched them through the standard dormitories as well. When Ife had trouble mopping under one bed, Sid appeared on the other side to help. If his broom fell, Sid caught it before it could touch the ground. When Ife wiped sweat off of his brow, Sid was there with a glass of water from the mess hall.

"Thank you, Sid." He drank the glass without spilling a single drop.

"You seem like a team player. I'm glad you're here with us, despite the circumstances." Sid put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in.

"Don't worry, I know everything's going to be alright. The Rose told me. She kept this pristine during my journey here." He held up his shiny new pendant to pass off as the one dragged through the ocean with him.

"I think it's a sign. No one is going to die in five days." Ife's fingers traced the edges of the rose pendant.

"It's beautiful. Not a speck of dirt on it." [Rina Ring!] Your little claws are starting to sink in! I think it's time we upped the stakes a little bit. You seem ready for a new challenge. Sid held his focus on the man in front of him, fighting the urge to turn towards the voice on the screen that appeared next to him. This pawn thinks you're special, so you get +30 XP for moving the heart of a stranger. [60/150 XP to level 3] You've gained 20 FAITH. New objective: Convince all the little flowers of your virtue.

(1 out of 4) New primary objective: Take control of the head mystic's flock. Ife let the pendant fall as Sid's interface vanished. Even though it came from Rina, the primary objective provided would be a good distraction from the insanity of his situation. Leading the flock was something he already knew how to do. The Rose may have denied him magic, but Rina was offering the next best thing: control. Sid would have them eating out of the palm of his hand by the end of the month.