Good Night

Artifacts of the Arcane by Jake Kerr, Book three, The Cup of Jamsheet, Chapter three, good Night. By the end of the day, I hadn't slept much at all as I pondered all of the challenges ahead of us. I felt like the path would be simple, but everyone seemed to think it would be harder than I thought. To take my mind off the unknown challenges, I looked more closely at the coat in the sunlight. I still couldn't quite figure out what was under the decorative material that covered it, and I didn't want it to fray and fall apart, so I didn't cut it to sea. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was the skin of a magical creature, and the thought horrified me. It made me even more committed to freeing the poor dragon that Jamshet had imprisoned in the Artifacts. I couldn't imagine the evil in his heart in imprisoning this great dragon just for more power. He was already the greatest magician in history. Why did he need to imprison a dragon? The more I thought of it, the less sense it made. But in the end I had to realize this is the way of some men's hearts. The sun was setting, and I hadn't seen either Iggy or Naomi all day. I wondered if they had been wiser than me had gone to bed. I decided to check on them before resting. We would leave the next morning, and I wanted to make sure that we were prepared. I had assumed that Iggy had taken care of everything, as that was the kind of thing he would do, but I wasn't sure. Iggy answered on my first knock, which was a good sign, as that was the Iggy I had been used to Always ready. Iggy, how did it go today? He moved out of the way and motioned me in as he looked out the door and up and down the hall. Smart, I thought I should be as careful as he is. It went well, Tommy. Our financial situation is better. I was able to procure food and additional clothing. I paid for the rooms, and I commissioned a driver. That's fantastic. After his full day, However, I was concerned for Iggy's health. He did look better, but I wanted to be sure. Have you gotten enough rest? Are you well enough for the trip? Iggy paused, as if in deep. Thought, I don't need to sleep to recover my strength, and this has been enough time for me to get stronger. Have you seen Naomi. I haven't seen her all day. She helped with buying supplies. She also had her dress cleaned. I left her in her room two hours ago. The black dress, no wonder she wanted it clean. It was the perfect uniform for her personality and talents, A deep, omnous black that meant business. I turned toward the door. I'm going to check on her. Should I await your return or accompany you? No, you get more rest. I'll talk to Naomi and then we can get going in the morning when the sun comes up. I paused and turned back to him. Will the car be ready? It is on call. The driver works in the hotel and needs to be ready for us regardless of time. Great, let's plan on leading at dawn. As I closed the door of Iggy's room, I debated on just heading to bed. I was still tired and was starting to think that the weight of carrying the two artifacts was somehow draining me. Whatever the reason I knew, I knew to get some sleep. However, I couldn't imagine not at least checking in with Naomi. Maybe she would like to take a walk or spend time together, just her and me. I paused for a moment outside of Naomi's door, wondering if she would be in her fearsome black dress. It was an extraordinary look. Her flowing golden hair, her sharp leachures, and the ominous black dress. It somehow created a thoroughly intimidating image. Of course, I won't to Naomi, that, I thought with a smile as I knocked on the door. I knocked again, and after a short wait, was going to just return to my room. When the door opened, Naomi stood there in thick cotton pajamas I didn't recognize, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Did I wake you? I wanted to slap myself. Why did I say the stupidest, most obvious things in front of Naomi? Of course she was sleeping. Yeah, but that's okay. I was hoping to talk to you about the coat. Naomi stepped back. Come in when shopping, did you? I asked, as I walked over to the chair near the window. What do you mean the pajamas? Naomi looked down. Oh, yes, I didn't want to sleep in my dress, and I wasn't comfortable wearing anything that I couldn't fight in. As she said the words, she created a ball of destructive magic in her hand, a habit that she considered calming but everyone else considered scary. I sat down and looked away from Naomi as she fell back in bed. She seemed comple copletely comfortable in her night clothes sitting in bed alone with me, but it made me kind of self conscious. The pajamas weren't provocative at all, but they were pajamas. So Ikey has a car. I blurted it out, interrupting what I feared was becoming an uncomfortable silence. She ignored my comment. Did you learn anything new about the coat you had all day? I'm hoping that Eve unlocked all of its secrets by now. I wish it's very similar to the staff in that it just works. I turned back to look at her to find her staring at me. I never could get used to the intensity of her stare. It was as if she was looking directly into my mind, and that she was doing that while lying in her pajamas just made it worse, so I turned away again. The coat is simpler, though the staff has an almost endless variety of power. I understand the complexity, even though I can only control light only. Naomi's response surprised me, as she had always enjoyed teasing me as being nothing more than the street light to my ear, surprise me? Or are you actually complimenting my power with the staff? Sure, ears do surprise you. I was complimenting the power of the staff, not necessarily you. I knew she was teasing, and it didn't bother me. But when I didn't reply, Naomi quickly added, you. Know I'm teasing, don't you. I was shocked. Naomi had never truly led me to believe that she was concerned for how I took her teasing. I always assumed that she was who she was, and she would just say what was on her mind. I stammered, as I didn't even know what to say. Tommy, you know I didn't mean it. I looked over at Naomi and there was a sadness in her eyes. I know I said it too loudly. In fact, I like when you tease me. It's just sometimes you get me so good. I don't have a response, especially coming from this mighty magician dressed in her Jammi'saomi grabbed a pillow and threw it at me, which missed by a large margin. I laughed, You're lucky your spells blow up, because if they require accuracy, we'd all be dead by now. Oh yeah, well, let's see. Naomi raised her hand and I expected her to create a deadly sphere of magic destruction to intimidate me with, but instead she created a small ball of pure white light. I stared at it. Creating pure light was the most difficult magic possible, and I had no idea why Naomi conjured it. It wasn't a magic projectile, it wasn't a spell she could toss at me in any way. It was just this sparkling ball of purity. I decided to continue the teasing, as not knowing what Naomi had in mind was never a good position to be in. What do you intend to do with that? Nothing? Before I could ask what she meant, she stated. So the car at what time? Will it be ready? Will we have time for breakfast? And kidding quite domesticated, are you look? Do you want me to be healthy or not? Because you were practically shoving food down my throat In Saint Petersburg. Sorry, I was just kidding. The car will be ready at dawn, but we can definitely have breakfast, and you're right you should eat. Naomi continued, as if nothing had happened. Well, we should probably get going early anyway. I understand the importance of resting, but I do think it's dangerous being in one place for too long. I stood up, Well, I can take a hint. Before Naomi could throw another pillow at me, I raised my hands and said, kidding, we need our rest, and I started toward the door. I was almost to the door when Naomi called out, Tommy. I turned. I really am sorry. She lowered her head, and you're right. I'm sometimes not so good at hitting what I'm aiming at. It's okay. I didn't quite understand what she meant. If it makes you feel any better, I would never be against you hitting your target, even if it requires some crazy effort that makes no sense and leaves everyone shaking their head in awe. It does make me feel better, Tommy. She sat up and smiled, her light blonde hair falling over her face. Good Night. I wished her good night and headed to my room. As I once again lay down in the bulky uncomfortable coat. I thought of how our odd team of boy girl and a freet had gotten to where we were. After being chased by military magicians and another arch mage, we were finally able to put our heads down on our soft pillows and fall asleep in a Paris hotel, knowing that our greatest challenges were behind us. A podcast Alchemy production