Chương 9: Color Theory

Oscar had been going wild on the journey thanks to his new skill. [Lesser Dexterity] was absolutely incredible for a former oaf like himself. In the past, he'd tried a good number of sports. Each time, though, he quit midway through the season due to his overwhelming lack of coordination… and also because he didn't want to put in the effort. That wasn't the case any longer. Oscar could do flips, juggle objects of varying size, and actually catch things thrown to him. He simply was just capable now.

It didn't make him an agility god, as he had almost stumbled on a root and fell. But that was the keyword, almost stumbled. The fun of exploring his agility was coming to a close though as the town of Ascot was just up ahead. It had ended up being closer to four days of walking thanks to Bruno's desire to visit a local waterfall. There was genuinely no other reason for this detour other than him stating that they could've all died to Ardeo, which would've made them miss out on witnessing a masterpiece of nature.

He was loath to admit it, but it had been quite the sight. Oscar was stunned to see so much color radiate from all of the buildings. Burgen's Hill was drab and painfully generic when compared to fantasy media from Earth. As they got closer, he saw a great number of Ascot's residents dancing in the center of town.

"Is there a festival or party going on?" Gita asked.

"And where's the music? Kinda freaky to be dancing in silence…" Oscar was unsettled as he watched the whole thing. It felt like they were intruders, but at the same time, this was a town and they weren't doing anything wrong by being here. It was just that without any music, it felt less celebratory and more… cult-like. The dancers were all near a large fountain that was decorated with lush and vibrant flowers. The benches looked cozy, the ground was cobbled and had some moss growing in the cracks…

everything just felt nice. And then you looked at the dancers, their unwavering smiles, and perhaps even more unsettling was how they danced on a loop. Each person had a set dance and never deviated from its simple pattern.

"Bruno, just where have you taken us?" Oscar asked.

"Is Dynarus just as weird or is that an Ascot unique feature?" Bruno cocked an eyebrow and glared at him.

"Boy, what do you think? This isn't normal for anywhere I've been before. And I've been here before already, so I can most definitely confirm that this isn't normal." They stopped going any further into town, opting to continue observing the silent merriment from afar. Oscar wished Bruno had informed them on what was so important to check out here. This was definitely a scene to behold, no doubt, but was it enough cause to warrant investigation? A detail stuck out to Oscar, one that felt blindingly peculiar.

"How come every house is painted yellow? I mean, it's just strange that every building is yellow, right?"

"Not everything is yellow, don't exaggerate so much. That large house we just passed is… yellow? Huh, that's strange." Bruno said.

"Look at the edge of the cobbled street there." Gita said, pointing at an out of place splotch of yellow which stained the ground.

"Whoever did this paint job must've gotten quite lazy." It wasn't just on the pathway either. Oscar spotted yellow on so many stray objects around the houses. Was this whole town in mass psychosis or something? A clearing of the throat and a singular clap snapped all of their attention to behind them.

"Excuse me, are you fine folk travelers or looking for residency in my wonderful town? Pardon the intrusion, I just happened to be heading back to town hall after snagging a quick bite to eat and thought I'd check on the new faces." The voice belonged to a man draped in some of the most outlandish and gaudy clothes Oscar had ever seen. His hat was equal parts wide as it was tall, his tunic and jacket not only oversized, but also ludicrously loud.

Black paint stained parts of the multi-colored jacket and what wasn't stained glimmered brightly from the beaming sun overhead. Weirdly enough though, the pants were just normal pants. Maybe he'd run out of paint? Simply put he looked like a bad living performative art piece.

"Travelers," Bruno said, his brain equally distracted at the fashion.

"What's up with the silent dancing? And you mentioned you're in charge of Ascot now? Did something happen to Niel?"

"Ah, an old friend of Niels? My name is Dorian," Dorian said, offering the group a lazy looking bow.

"I've stepped in due to Niel's early retirement. It's been a struggle learning how to lead people, but I think I'm beginning to learn! Not too bad for a rookie, eh?" As Dorian made eye-contact with him, he noticed how sickly his eyes looked now. The underside of both eyes were a faint yellow. And both had clear strain visible within as well, making it seem like he'd been awake for days.

"So you're the one in charge of the yellow outbreak?" Oscar asked.

"Quite the design choice…" Dorian laughed at that for some reason.

"Caught! I've experimented with the town's colors quite a bit since taking charge. During Niel's time, the town was always so drab. People's moods were all over the place, with some days them being quite chipper, and other days just so morose! Ugh, I couldn't stand it!"

"Uh, so like how normal societies are?" Gita said.

"Seems strange to try and police people's emotions by coloring the houses over and over. And I mean… yellow? Really? I'd blow my brains out if I had to live in such a blinding town." Dorian's eye twitched briefly.

"Yellow evokes joy and positivity, little lady. Perhaps you'd do well to purchase some new clothes? You could definitely stand from some clothes that aren't such a filthy brown. Don't you know that brown gives off negativity?"

"Apologies, Dorian, she's had a rough day. We don't mean to question how you run Ascot. Clearly everyone's happy under your rule!" Bruno said, flashing a bright smile.

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I asked to have a conversation with you? I'm visiting Ascot on business, and was hoping to see Niel. If you'd be so kind as to offer what help you can in his place, it'd be much appreciated." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"I apologize as well for getting so defensive," Dorian said.

"I don't mind meeting with you at all! I do need to return to town hall right now though, but I could squeeze you in in about an… hour or two? Let's be safe and say two hours, how's that?" Bruno stretched out his hand for Dorian, and the two shook on it.

"I really appreciate it. Do you have a newcomers guide for Ascot? I'm sure much has changed since I've been here last."

"I recommend stopping by Auntie Lauthrie's for a scrumptious bite to eat! Tell her Dorian sent you and she'll fix you up!" Dorian said.

"Ah! Before I forget, please introduce yourselves. I completely forgot to ask, pardon my rudeness!" All three introduced themselves, and that was that. Dorian walked off towards what Oscar presumed to be town hall, leaving the three alone. All the while, the silent dancing continued.

"Fuck me, that guy's a creep." Bruno said with a dramatic shiver.

"I'm surprised that he knows who Niel was though. When I thought of Niel, I didn't picture him being close with a fellow such as Dorian."

"And why's that? Did Niel not like [Painters] or something?" Oscar asked.

"Although considering what Dorian's done to the place, I don't know if I can blame the dislike." Bruno chuckled and reached into a pocket, pulling out a cigar and lighting it with a flick of his fingers.

"Nah, because Niel is someone I made up."

"Welcome to Auntie Laurie's home cooked meals!" an old lady said as they stepped inside the homely building.

"You three seat yourselves and I'll be right down to serve you real soon." Oscar led the group towards an isolated table in the back corner. In truth, he could've picked any table and it'd be considered isolated.

"Damn, wonder if Auntie Laurie stole Auntie Lauthrie's job just like our new friend Dorian stole his." Oscar said.

"Whoever is in charge here clearly isn't the greatest at what they do if not a single soul is here at lunch time," Gita said. Bruno yawned and reclined back in his chair, balancing the seat on its back legs.

"I don't suppose any of you got any money, do you? Shit food or not, we gotta pay."

"You want us to pay? How old are you even? Don't you have a retirement fund or something to pull from?" Gita said.

"You think I'm old enough to be retired?" Bruno asked incredulously.

"And yeah, I do have money. But I'm not wasting a single coin on shit food. I have standards." The two bickered back and forth, but Oscar was busy observing the room. This didn't look like a diner back home, but it was also clearly meant to be some sort of business. The room was wide and spacious, with a plethora of tables scattered about. Given the scuff marks on the ground near the chairs clearly this place had seen its fair share of business before. But not today? At lunch time? No, Oscar couldn't believe that.

Even if this were a new world, what sort of people didn't love lunch? Sure the weird mixture of blue and red on the walls was a little ugly, but it sure did beat an overabundance of…

"Guys, why am I the only one to keep noticing how dominating one color is? Look around, this place is offensively red," Oscar said.

"Gita, do you know color theory?" Gita looked blankly at him until finally he got the message she was sending.

"Uh, okay so that's a no… anyways, red of course can simulate a lot of emotions, but one of them is hunger. Makes sense right for a diner, but also not really since such a deep red like this also makes people more angry."

"The explains why I want to kill Gita right now," Bruno said. Not wanting to indulge another spark to their argument, Oscar moved on.

"It's been awhile since I've looked this stuff up, but I'm pretty positive that blue acts as a counter to hunger. There aren't many natural blue foods in the world, so when you see blue, your brain tells you that you're actually not hungry. I know that this isn't the most elegant of explanations, but are you following?"

"Sure, but I also don't care so…" Gita replied.

"Blue also inspires a sense of detachment in people. Gita you're naturally detached, but the point still stands." Oscar said.

"I point all of this out to say… why is a diner trying to inspire conflicting emotions? Maybe that's why no one's here." Before anyone could say anything else, Auntie Laurie showed up once more.

"Sorry for that wait! We are absolutely slammed today! Not to mention Master Dorian has asked me to repaint the upstairs yellow for some reason… ah, sorry, you three came here to eat, not hear me complain!"

"Slammed, you say? Is this a chain of restaurants?" Gita asked. Auntie Laurie gave her a perplexed look before forcing out a strained smile.

"I-I don't understand, but uh… I hope you all don't mind that we have a limited selection today. All I can offer is a carrot. But I promise it's good!"

"Ah, shit, sorry Auntie Lauthrie, but I'm actually not all that hungry all of a sudden." Bruno said, his chair creaking against the floor as he sat up.

"Neither are my friends, so don't ask them. But… maybe we'll be back for dinner? When there's actual variety perhaps? Or multiple carrots at least?" Auntie Laurie paused, her body completely frozen.

"Lauthrie? Ah! Right… my name is Lauthrie. No… wait… my mom was named Lauthrie. Or was it Laura? Do you people know my name?" Oscar and Gita simultaneously pushed back their chairs. Auntie Whoever was slowly beginning to adopt a violent twitch. It was almost like watching a robot short circuiting. The twitches began to grow more and more violent, until finally… her head snapped fully to the right like she'd been possessed by a demon who'd had enough of their host.

"Fuck! Oh my god… what the fuck just happened?" Oscar shouted. Gita recoiled from the shock and stumbled on a table, sending both it and her crashing to the ground. Only Bruno was left unbothered by the event. Despite himself, Oscar found himself unable to look away from Auntie's corpse.

"Gita, get up and go check if there's anyone else upstairs," Bruno commanded as he stooped down to better observe the body.

"Oscar, check and see if anything has changed outside with our creepy dancers." Not needing to be told twice, Oscar rushed out of the diner. He didn't really want to see the dancers, but he desperately needed some fresh air. Stepping back out in the town of Ascot, Oscar was both shocked and not shocked to see that nothing had changed. The dancers were still dancing, their smiles still firmly glued onto their faces with no sign of faltering. Whatever had happened to Auntie must have been confined to just her.

A part of him had been hoping that something had happened to the dancers. That'd mean whatever was causing the disturbance was all linked together. And it still might, but if so, then there was a different thread for each anomaly. Heading back inside, Oscar relayed to Bruno what he had seen.

"I'm no expert in this stuff… but I think Dorian is the mastermind behind it all."

"Uh, yeah? I thought that was obvious already," Bruno replied.

"The question isn't who, but how. It's faint, but I think I smell the touch of corruption on her."

"Corruption? Like what you sensed off of me?"

"Weaker, but yes. I don't know what really causes it to pop up in the world. All I know is what my master taught me and even he is a bit in the dark on the whys. It's tied to Calus' reign of terror back when he was around." Gita returned this time, interrupting them with her panic.

"There's two more bodies up there. I think they were maybe the [Cooks]? I looked around for clues or something, but it's a giant mess up there."

"Why'd Dorian send us here if it's such a mess? He's the one causing all of… this… so why tell us to come here?" Oscar asked. Bruno stood up and stretched.

"I truly don't think he knew this was going to happen. I didn't detect evil or malice from him. If anything I think he truly believed everything he said."

"So… he's insane?" Gita said.

"What do we do then, leave? I mean are we really equipped to deal with shit like this."

"Most people aren't equipped to deal with stuff like this, Gita." Bruno said.

"But we can. Dorian didn't seem to be some sort of powerful evil mastermind. Just someone who snapped, perhaps from corruption."

"Then what, we just barge in and kick his ass?" Oscar asked. Bruno shook his head no.

"We could, but I don't think that's necessary. He seems fairly weak, so it may not come to that. We just gotta think outside of the box, ya know, real abstract type thinking." Oscar didn't know if he agreed. If whatever Dorian was doing had resulted in Auntie's sanity snapping like this, he wasn't too sure if talking would be the solution.

"I didn't think of you as the type of guy to even consider talking their way out of a problem to be a solution," Oscar said, feeling a little proud of him surprisingly. Bruno scratched under his chin and produced a slight grimace.

"Eh, I'm expecting to have to kill this fucker actually. I'm just trying to be a bit more positive these days, that's all. You should both be ready for a fight." And just like that… Bruno had refunded Oscar's small investment of pride.

"Was there really only one carrot up there?" Bruno wondered, oblivious to how deflated Oscar had become. The trio hastily left and marched their ways towards town hall, but not before being stopped one last time by Bruno to look back at Auntie's diner." Un-fucking-believable … one carrot? This probably never would've ever happened under Niel's control…"