Adventures of Advik (Part 2)

Time passed and Eva grew up. She was sweet like her brother, but not afraid to stand up for herself. Her dark curls bounced as she happily ran around the house, chasing Advik. “Please, children, run around outside instead” said their mother. Before long, Eva was reciting morning prayers, helping with chores, and treating elders with respect. During special occasions, Eva would dance at festivals in a bright pink dress and jewelry would jingle on her arms and a band on her head. Henna decorated her arms and hands in swirls and flower patterns. Advik was mesmerized not by the bodies of the girls, but by the graceful ways they danced, like tropical flowers flowing in the wind. The group ended their dance and the crowd cheered. Advik longed to be one of the dancers. His heart filled with happiness at the thought.

Just before sixth grade, Advik saw a gray cat, sniffing the ground for food. He cut up a piece of fish he bought and threw it to the cat. It gobbled it up in a minute. The cat licked its lips and looked at Advik as if trying to say thank you. Then it continued on with searching for more scraps. Advik did that for several days until one day, the cat was nowhere to be found. He looked all around the alley where it was, but no cat was in sight. He peered around a corner and thought he saw something on the ground. It was an old rusted grate. Could the cat be down there? He looked down inside and just saw leftover water trickling down. Movement suddenly caught his eyes and a figure stopped underneath. The young man looked like he was getting ready to climb up, but he saw Advik and his eyes widened. “Um, hello down there,” called Advik awkwardly. “I was looking for a stray cat that was usually around here. Do you know where it went?” The man looked at him with shock and then scurried away. 

“Hey wait up!” called Advik. As he lifted the grate and inched his way down the rusted rungs, his senses told him that this was not a good idea. However, curiosity won out and Advik made his way to the bottom. He turned just in time to see the man run and shut a stone door. He walked up to the slab of rock, but it didn’t budge. Through a small square opening, there was another bald man who looked at him in boredom. “I’m sorry, young man, but business has not been open for a while. Come back later when the potions are ready.” Potions? Was there a wizard who lived down here? “You still here?” he asked Advik. Curiosity had left Advik dwelling for too long. “What is the password?” Advik thought back to when he learned about the strict anti-magic rules of the emperor and guessed “Indranil sucks.” 

The man’s face froze and he slowly opened the door. Advik could see a green light in the distance and potion bottles in a cabinet. Advik was right! Before he could take another step, the previous man he had seen, blocked his path and glared at his companion. “Are you insane?” he spat. Dark curly hair crowned his head and his mouth turned to a frown under a black mustache. 

“Why would you let in an unfamiliar person? For all we know, he could be a spy for the emperor!”
 “But he seems to hate the emperor’s ways as much as we do,” he objected. “Plus he did get the password right.” 
“Well, then change it and go back and get us some food,” the man yelled. 

The gatekeeper gave Advik an apologetic grin and went off into the dark. The man kept looking at Advik with shock that slowly turned to anger. “How did you find this area?” he asked. “Well,” Advik explained. “I already told you that I was looking for a cat, and I happened to find these grates in the corner.” “Not many people have ever found this area” said the man. “It is not that hard to find” added Advik. “It wasn’t very interesting until I saw you getting ready to come up. Do you live down there?”  Another voice that sounded somewhat wheezy, came from the darkness. “Who is at the door, Taaj? Is it another customer? Tell them that I am not ready until I can get the herbs for healing potions.” “It is just someone who got lost, father. I will handle this,” said Taaj, turning his head back. He turned back around and glowered at Advik even more. “I don’t want to see you around my property again, do you hear? And don’t you dare tell anyone else about this place!” The stone door slid shut but not before Advik saw a withered face appear for a brief moment. Advik climbed back up and sadly walked home. To his surprise, the gray cat was waiting for him by the front door! “Hi there,” I was looking everywhere for you! How did you know where I live?” The cat just looked at him and meowed. Eva was walking out of the house, tired from working Samira’s sewing machine. Her eyes lit up when she saw the cat. “Aww, a kitty, how cute!” She ran over and pet the cat. “Uh be careful, he might be feral…” Advik started to say, but the cat was a friendly as a house cat. Sure, it did have scars and its coat was matted but it was soon purring in Eva’s arms. “I don’t care what dad or mom has to say. I am going to keep this kitty!” The kitty meowed in agreement. Advik smiled. “I would like that. Let’s name it…” “Ojas!” Eva interrupted. “That’s his name! Come on, Ojas, let’s get you cleaned up and fed.” They walked back inside, with Advik’s mind wandering.

The market place had many different areas. The wealthier middle class lived in brick houses just outside the gates of the palace where the emperor lived. The palace was topped with golden domes and the walls were cloud white. In a large room, sitting at his desk was Emperor Indranil. He was filling out paper work and examining a map of the land. Blue sapphire rings decorated his fingers and a sapphire necklace wrapped around his neck. At times, he would look out the window as if expecting a dangerous threat to burst through the windows. “I thought I could trust them,” he muttered to himself. “They warn me of a danger in the future to scare me and take my position...” 

Indranil got up and walked with his hands behind his back. “No matter, all those traitors are banished and they are learning their lesson on the streets!” There was a knock on the door along with a voice of a guard, “Your Highness, a young homeless man wants to know if you have anything that can cure his wife. He says it is life threatening.” “Tell him to go see a doctor or a healer,” said the emperor through the door. “But sir, he claimed that her illness was caused by a spell. He needs something with magic.” “Magic?!” he cried as he flew open the door with rage on his face. The guard didn’t flinch, but the other man shrank back. “You do realize that any form of magic is forbidden? I outlawed it many years ago.” “Please, I am begging you,” pleaded the man as he fell to his knees. After a brief look of disgust, the emperor sighed. “Wait right here,” he said and walked off. 

The old man peeked into the room and stared at the desk, the windows, the statue of Shiva in the corner, and the large bed. He stared at a stone wall and thought he saw an area that looked slightly different from the rest… A spear blocked his path. “No entrance to His Majesty’s chambers” said the guard and the man stepped back in response. Soon, the emperor came back out. In the palm of his hands were green herbs that were glowing a faint green. “These are some of my magic healing herbs that I keep, in case my family ever gets sick. I hope this will work for your wife.” “Thank you, your Majesty,” said the man who took the herbs and bowed with respect. “Good,” said the emperor. “Now go back to your home and do not disturb me again.” The man was led outside by the guards. The emperor shut his door and resumed his pacing. “Magic indeed. Any magical object is safe in my hands, not that I ever plan to use them since I have no understanding of the ancient language. Yet I should, though! I was named after Shiva himself!” He walked over to the window and looked out at the tiny houses in the distance. “I have better things to do then be involved with the affairs of commoners. I am sure that there are more traitors out there. I must increase the patrols and make sure that no one gets their hands on any form of magic.” The emperor did not need anyone to tell him the future; to his subjects, he would determine their future.   

There were also many alleys where the lower class and homeless lived. In one of the darkest alleys, people in tattered clothing slept in sleeping bags, some stood further out with cardboard signs and one man was passed out drunk. On the grimy floor in a back corner, there were rows of old grates where water and debris went through. The man who had received the herbs from the emperor arrived and examined the grates. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he lifted a grate and stepped down the rungs. Underneath this particular grate was an underground world few have laid their eyes upon. Of course, it was nothing spectacular. The walls were dreary gray stone and drops of water fell from the ceiling. Past a dark opening lay a small hideout. The room contained a gray mattress with a blanket and pillow and a cabinet lined with multicolored liquids in vials. In the center of the room, was a large black caldron with boiling liquid. The liquid cast an eerie green light on the wall. The man gasped as something slithered under him and went to a high backed rocking chair in the shape of a serpent. The creature was, in fact a snake, black with a light green underbelly. An old wrinkled hand was taping on the chair handle. “Father, I brought you the last ingredient we need” said the man as he put his hands together and bowed. The chair slowly turned around and an old man faced him.

The man, Kiaan had short white hair, glasses, and a white beard. He wore the dirty, ripped up clothing of someone who had been living on the streets for quite some time. His skin was light brown and there was wisdom in his brown eyes; a dangerous wisdom at that. With his eccentric appearance and the look of his hideout, he looked like a cross between a mad genius and an old witch.  “Excellent work, Taaj,” he said as he took the herbs and put it by a pile of other ingredients. “What else did you find?” Taaj replied, “That foolish emperor left the door to his chambers open and I discovered that there was a rectangular space in the wall of his room that was not like the rest of it.” “It must be a secret passage” Kiaan confirmed. “The emperor must have it in case he needs to escape. Soon, though, he will have no way to escape.” “How will that work?” the man asked. “Allow me to explain” said Kiaan, mentioning to a black rat that was scurrying along the ground. He waved his crooked staff and projections of black rats surrounded the rat. “All of his guards and trusted people will be unaware that their precious ruler is in trouble. He waved his staff again and the rats turned away from the real rat. “Then, once I build up an army, we will sneak in and enter through the secret passageway. Then once we surround the emperor…” the rats turned into snakes who hissed at the rat. “…and defeat the palace guards…” The snake projections attacked other rat images that appeared. The distracted rat did not see the black snake inching toward it. “I will come in and…” Crunch! The snake snatched the rat and ate it with several vicious bites. “You get the idea. Eat well, Kadru.”  Taaj looked in disgust, then stalked away.

What a poor, old man, no one thinks much of me

But they don’t know who I was meant to be

A magician, a king, born to seize the day

But one move and he took it all away

Once I lived a life of splendor

People in need came at my door

I sold potions, herbs and gold galore

Until she told the emperor a future of war

Idranil banished me in great fear

How I longed to stay

Soon enough, I ended up here

But now, Idranil will pay

My potions have lost their juice

Much of my magic is gone

But sell and brainwash I will

They will never know what went wrong