From the Other Side of the Bar

We met for the first time when I came crashing through a glass window. Well, we didn’t really meet, I saw him, but he was talking with his friends. That is ok. Going unnoticed is my role, my gig, or my trademark you can say. I am a side character, not the protagonist, which means I slide under the radar to help those that need guiding. Back to him though, his patterns are basically the same each day. He grabs a tea, goes to work, takes a lunch break and sometimes follows his legs into the corner bookstore where a book is always purchased, he heads back to work, and heads home around 5pm. On one occasion he didn’t leave until after 7pm. That day he worried me with his late departure so I temporarily borrowed a janitor uniform for the building and checked on him. He was reading a book and had lost track of time. He spoke to me briefly, promising he was just wrapped up in the book and not on company time. I left and waited for him to leave.  

    I can tell you have a question: “Why am I following him?”. You see, this young man is Runed. No, not “ruined” but Runed. I think humans have called the Runed “magical” or something. Somehow, he had been missed by the Overseer when he purged this town of Runed a few years ago. When I informed him of the boy, he had me get to know the boy’s habits to see if he is a threat. The information I have gathered leaves me unsure, which means a Seeker has now been sent to test the young man. Seekers never mean a positive outcome for the Runed here. I feel for the guy, he seems harmless and unaware. 

    I pull on my pants, left foot then right, and slide into my shoes. It is about lunch time for the boy, what did he say his name was, oh yea, Felix. He will most likely head into the bookstore today. Humans, they are so predictable. He goes into the book store about every nine work days to pick up a new book. Today should be that day. The Seeker and I have discussed a plan to know more about Felix. We are going to trick him into a miniscule glimpse of power. If he can’t use the ancient powers, then there is a small hope she may not have to annihilate him. 

    After heading to the train, taking the short ride from the pub to the store, I step foot into the book smell of the store. Books seem to give off an odor of knowledge, comfort, tradition, and old socks, but I like it. There is something in that tree-like smell that gives me hope.

Felix approaches the building and I walk over to the store owner, removing the ancient, antique looking book from my pocket, asking him if we can go into the back to appraise the book. Seeing the smile that lit up on the owner’s face for this book almost made it sad to have to take it and the memory of it away from him again. We walked to the back room that was lined with antique books in stacks from the floor to the ceiling as well as in locked cabinets. I noticed some books were of the ancient text. He shouldn’t have those. Making a mental note to investigate a different day, I sat down across from the old man at the desk. Before he even speaks, I puff some ground up herbs into his face. This concoction of mine will enchant him into a short slumber, much like a power nap. This is a concoction of my own that erases all memory of me from the person’s recent memories, gives them an energetic sleep, and there is no nasty headache or nausea afterwards. Unlike those unfavorable drugs the humans use, such rudimentary beings. 

    I wanted to protect the several books his head rested on so I placed a seat cushion between him and them as a shield, just in case he drooled. Walking out from the back, I grabbed one of the little store aprons, waved my hand over my head to make it bald, and greeted Felix as he walked in the door. 

    “Anything I can help you find young man?”, I asked after he browsed for a few minutes.

    “Oh, ummm, yes actually”, he replied a little startled that I spoke to him, “I have been reading a lot of historical fiction, nonfiction recently, and this one series about magicians who can do special powers with specific items only. I am not sure what I would like to read next”. 

“When you don’t read, what do you listen to or watch?”, I ask him, pretending like I know what I am doing as a store keeper. I giggle to myself a little bit with satisfaction. Who knew role play could be so much fun?

“I listen to true crime, medical mystery, and horror for my podcasts. For shows, I like magical worlds that could be believed as real”, he tells me after giving it some thought.  

“I have an idea, let me see if I have that book down this other aisle”, I told him then walked just around the corner. I grabbed a book off the shelf, held it between my palms, and redesigned it to be the book I needed to give him. I shuffled harmless Glimpse history in it, some essays on Whispers, and some local news of the Glimpse region. I also threw in a few enchantments, only one will work if done by the boy. The book will look like a harmless journal of a magician from one of those books he read. This should work; I hope this works. I find the deck of cards in my pocket, breathe life into them, and then walk back to the boy as he flipped through a physics magazine.

“Here you go, I think this will pique your interest”, I promised. 

I watched as he gently took the book, Greentea and Magic, into his hands. Delicately, he flipped through the pages that varied in size, texture, and even material. The book chose its name when I fashioned it for this boy, and I thought that the name was perfect.   

    “I think it is fashioned to be a journal of a magician from that series you've enjoyed, or at least something of that nature”, I tell him nonchalantly. 

    He kept turning the pages, eyes glued to the words, closed the book, and looked up at me. 

    “I’ll take it! It is a bit different from what I normally read, but seems interesting enough. I look forward to reading it this evening”, he tells me with a long pause, “My friends had invited me out, but I would like to stay in. Life hasn’t been very kind recently. I lost… oh nevermind”, he finished abruptly, clearly not wishing to talk about it further. 

    He turned to walk to the counter to pay. I followed, debating to myself what the price of the book should be. What is the going trade for books these days? I still don’t have that answer. Once we reached the counter I told him the book would be $10. 

He questioned me, looked at the back, and muttered, “No price tag, just a stamp of some cloud or something. That is odd”, and handed me the money for the book.

    “Try that trick on page 42 next time you are with your friends”, I tell him as I slide the book along with the deck of cards into the bland paper bag, “Don’t worry, those cards are on the house specifically for you.” 

    Felix takes the bag, waving as he leaves the bookshop. I hear the older man starting to groan in the backroom, signalling that it is time for me to exit the shop. It is never wise to do two enchantments within a day on a human, that is a headache I can never counteract. 

    All I have left to do is make sure the boy ends up at the pub this evening, not sure how that will be done, but I have a strong feeling it is going to work out. While the boy was paying for the book, I was able to see that his friends were harassing him to come out. He will most likely go out against his initial desires. 

    I didn’t need to hang around the city for very long. I gathered some things from the downtown market to do a special dish tonight at the pub. I have been craving pork and fig tacos so that’s going to be on the specials. Talking with the butcher, he said there have been more Runes traveling through recently. He isn’t sure why the sudden influx from their lands to here, but I suppose this is something I will have to let the Overseer know. 

    The afternoon slipped away from me, and the sun started to drop back down into the skyscrapers. I heave the bags onto my shoulders and make my way to the train and back to the pub. The front of my pub is all glass, some people are already sitting outside on the chairs having an evening beer or two. Quickly walking past them, waving a greeting, I push open the door and am greeted by the smells of beer and chips, along with the smell of old wood and mandatory fried foods. 

    “Took you long enough”, I hear a sarcastically annoyed voice thrown my way. 

    “Got talkin’ to the butcher”, I reply to the voice bearer, “He says more Runed have been traveling through. Know anything about that?” 

    “Just a bit, but that is not why I am here. Let’s talk, the boy”, she said bluntly.

    “Well, not so much a boy as a young man”, I tell her and she waves an impatient hand for me to continue. “I gave him the enchantment today, simple one. You know that one we first learn as small ones? I set it up that he will turn a single friend into a Goose”. 

    She stares at me, the gears in her brain go thinking of all the things that could go wrong. The bags are growing heavy on my shoulder and I walk to the back to drop off the ingredients. I spoke briefly with my chefs about how to make the special and they started right away. They’re all gifted and the pork will be so full of flavor with the spicy adobo seasonings and fig sweetness that it will be like it was marinating for two to three days. At this point I realize I am hungry and grab a hummus plate as I walk back out of the kitchen. Not to my surprise, I see Ria leaning over the bar pouring herself a colossal pint of dark, rich stout.

“Well, I am going to go over to my spot. you said he sits at that long table usually right?”, she asks me.

I nod in my response.

“Perfect”, she says as she walks away and sits just around the corner from Felix’s friends table. 

    I lost track of time as the patrons new and regular came to the pub for an end of week celebration. What is it with Friday? I feel for Monday or even Thursday, everyone is always the most excited about Friday. Personally, Tuesday is my favorite. The first of his friends started to show once the sun had disappeared behind the monstrous buildings. The light was still making its presence known but soon the night would squash it for its purple haze’s turn to rule. 

    After an hour, most of the friends were there but Felix and Mr. Breaks-All-The-Things were missing. Ria interrupted as I was making a dozen Cosmos for the bachelorette party to ask me where Runed was. She had walked behind the bar just as Felix and the Breaker came through the door and all the friends yelled a warm, boisterous greeting. Some of the bar regulars, several drinks in, joyed in such a merry hello. 

    “There he is”, I told her as she just gave me a look that meant I had no brains. 

    “Obviously”, she said flatly, finished pouring her pint, and walked back to her post.

    Again, I was busy with my patrons and running my business, but it seemed like the events played out as they were supposed to. Eventually, after several plates of mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and figgy tacos, the friends finally had Felix bring out the book and the cards. The group was laughing, cards were being dealt, and the one thing I did notice that went wrong was that the Break-All-The-Things kid got the Goose card. He didn’t say “Goose” of course, why would he follow the damn rules of the game? Once I realize he said the wrong animal, I am a little nervous. If he said a big animal, that is more damage that this kid has done to my pub. 

    Watching Felix intently as he shuffles and deals the cards out into the three piles, he picks up the middle card and yells, “Squirrel!”. 

    “Bollocks,” I mutter, keeping close attention on the one friend. 

    What I did not expect was for all twelve of his friends to turn. It should have just been the one. In a flash I saw his eyes, panicked, and then he ran towards the bar. Behind him I saw Ria already distracting the unwilling squirrels to her. Felix ran to me, frantic, and asked for a box. Honestly, I found it enduring how scared he was. He truly had no idea he was a Rune. I handed him the box I had intended for the one friend, at least now I don’t have to wipe the memories of the rest? Yes, that is what I console myself with. 

    He dashes back towards his table, but I can no longer see what has occurred. 

“Ria can handle it from here” I reassure myself as I am shaking up a martini, “This is her profession. The boy has strong ties into the Glimpses though, I wonder what is going to become of him”.