Binary Seven Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

The morning sun rose over Aldon's farm, highlighting the Kilvar mountains in the far distance, bringing with it the first rays of warmth to start the day. Aldon prepared to enter town in the main room of his hut, bringing with him a backpack full of the things he thought he might need. Botone stood next to him, watching. When he was done packing, she put her hands on her hips.

"Are we ready?" she asked.

Aldon nodded. "We're ready. Let's go."

The two of them left the hut and stepped outside, entering the road off of a small mud trail that led to Aldon's hut. The sun shone down bright on Aldon's shoulders, and a soft breeze blew in from the west. Botone walked beside him, her hair tossing in the light wind. The town of Gulvier appeared over the horizon, a small collection of brick and thatch buildings that hedged the Talmar river on both ends, with a crossing at the center. The inn rose a slight bit above the roofs of the rest of the houses, and Aldon made for it, walking through the town's main street. It was market day, and lots of people were about, selling their goods in stalls. Normally, Aldon would be with them, but he hadn't had much of a surplus of vegetables ever since Botone had started eating them all. He dodged out of the way of a mule and its owner, pulling Botone with him. Botone turned to inspect the beast as it passed by, her face full of curiosity.

Aldon stopped in front of the door to the inn, and faced Botone. "When we go in, let me do the talking," he said. "If anyone asks, you're the mother of the baby that I found a while back. The baby died, and you came back for it."

"Why the story?" Botone asked.

Aldon tapped his foot against the ground. "Because people might be curious when a strange woman shows up in the middle of the inn with me."

Botone nodded, and looked at the doors to the inn. She placed her hand against the door handle, and pushed. The doors swung open, and she stepped inside. Aldon followed her. The room smelled of thick smoke like always, and was filled with the working men and woman of the town. They hunkered down around their tables, nursing tall drinks and chatting amongst themselves. No one noticed Aldon and Botone enter. Aldon walked up to the counter at the end of the room and made eye contact with Mother Gresha. Mother Gresha glanced at Botone before coming over to where Aldon took a seat. She had a glass in her hand that she polished with a thick white rag. She glanced at Botone again before speaking.

"I haven't seen you around here for a while," she said. "What happened?"

Aldon shrugged. "Things did. I have a question for you."

"Sure," Gresha said. "What is it?" She turned behind herself and began to fill a tall glass with cider. A customer at the other end of the table waved at her. Aldon waited until she had finished serving the customer, then asked his question.

"Do you know of anyone that might know a lot about strange happenings?"

Mother Gresha leaned in on one elbow conspiratorially. "What kind of strange happenings?" she asked.

Aldon looked around the room before speaking. "Strange as in shape shifters."

"Shape shifters? Why the sudden interest?" Mother Gresha glanced at Botone in that moment.

Botone looked up. "I saw a shape shifter once," she said, confidently.

"And who are you?" asked Mother Gresha.

"Just a friend," said Botone.

"A friend, eh?" said Mother Gresha, winking once at Aldon.

Aldon shrugged, shooting a glance at Botone. Botone simply smiled. Aldon leaned in closer over the bar. "Well, do you know anybody?" he asked.

Mother Gresha played with her chin for a moment, and then put her hand down on the countertop. She let out a heavy breath. "I think I do, as a matter of fact. His name's Gerund, and he lives in the town of Burr, a while east from here."

"All right, thank you," said Aldon, getting up from his seat. "That's all I have to know."

Mother Gresha sighed, then pointed at a pair of black-robed men in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry, Aldon. They wanted me to watch for you, and they told me you would ask exactly what you did."

"Who's they?" asked Aldon. He looked at the pair of black-robed men. The men watched him with fiery eyes, their unshaven beards hanging out of their hoods. They stood up in unison and walked over to the bar. One of them took out a long crystal dagger and pointed it at Aldon.

"Why don't you come with us now," he said, his accent smooth and unmovable.

Aldon leaned back against the counter. "What's this for?" he asked. "What did I do wrong?"

The black robed man chuckled, and brought the dagger closer to Aldon's throat. "Oh, you did everything wrong, my friend."

Botone lashed out with her arm and pushed the dagger away from Aldon's throat. In that same instant the other black-robed man whipped out a short sword and slashed at Botone's arm. It separated cleanly, and then reformed back onto her body. The man let out a shout, and dove for Botone, trying to pin her beneath his weight. Botone kicked the man away, and grabbed Aldon's arm, pulling him towards the center of the room. Aldon stumbled over the foot of one of the patrons of the inn, hitting his head on a candlestick and bruising his knuckles on a table. The two black-robed men chased after him, bowling through the inn in their haste to get to him. Botone pulled Aldon towards the door, and then pushed him through. The two black-robed men jumped through the door after him, and the chase went through the crowded market street at the center of the town. Aldon dodged around a cart, and underneath an awning, Botone by his side. The two black-robed men pushed their way through the crowd with their weapons held outwards.

Aldon grabbed Botone's arm and pulled her down a side street, out of the view of the black robed men. He was too late to escape them, though, and they turned down the side street as well in hot pursuit. Aldon turned his head to Botone for a short moment as he ran.

"Can't you do something?" he asked.

Botone nodded quickly, and grabbed Aldon's arm fast. Her entire body turned grey for a moment, and then flowed together over Aldon's wrist and up his arm and over his shoulder to form a suit of hard black armor over his entire body. A sword jumped out of the gauntlet that formed itself around Aldon's fingers and flowed into his palm, where it hardened into a pure white crystal sword. Aldon staggered beneath the all of the extra weight that was put on him by the suit of armor, and leaned against a wall.

"Thanks, Botone," he said, turning to face the two robed men. The robed men rushed towards him with their swords up and out, ready to slice him to pieces. Aldon swung hard at one of the men with his sword as he rushed up, but missed, because the robed man ducked underneath his blade. Aldon reeled from the momentum of his swing, crashing into the side of the street and upturning a bucket of waste water. Soaking wet, he pushed himself up just in time to catch a swinging blade with the armor plating on his wrist. The street they fought in was deserted, closed up cramp between the backs of two rows of houses. The sounds of the market echoed over the roofs all around.

The two robed men took up stances around Aldon, with their swords out, ready to strike. Aldon swung his crystal sword, but the men merely sidestepped it. He knew then that he was totally outclassed. He began to look around for another way out of the situation. His eyes fell upon the buckets of wastewater beside the one that he had knocked over. He glanced at the robed men, who were about to strike, and tossed his sword at them. They flinched, and in that moment Aldon grabbed the bucket of wastewater and flung it over their faces.

"Botone!" he called out. "Give me another sword!"

The armor around his palm tingled, and a crystal sword sprouted from his hands, smaller and less lovely than the last one. But it was still a sword. Aldon sliced down with it in an awkward motion, that was still enough to catch one of the robed men in the neck. Aldon was surprised when his sword clanked up against hard shell, and barely went in, instead grazing off the side. He looked around quick, and then darted off in the opposite direction from the robed men. They yelled at him, and began to give chase again.

This time, while running, Aldon's legs felt invigorated, and he was able to outpace the two robed men, even with the heavy armor that he was wearing. He thought it might be because Botone was sharing her strength with him. He turned out of the deserted alleyway and into the crowded market street, where sellers hawked their wares out of carts and stalls that lined the buildings on either side.

Behind him, the robed men slowed down, and then stopped beside a cabbage stall. Aldon took the moment to lose them in the crowd, and traveled as far away from them as he could within the small village. Botone spoke to him, her voice echoing out of the armor plates that Aldon wore.

"Find somewhere where I can get out of this form," she said.

Aldon obliged, and found a spot between two buildings where nobody was looking. Botone slid off of Aldon's body and reconstituted in her human form beside him, shaking her copper colored hair and looking out at the street. Her body solidified and she looked at Aldon.

"Do you know who those people were?" she asked.

Aldon shook his head. "No idea," he said. "They must be after you."

Botone nodded. "I think so. Do you have any idea why they stopped?"

Aldon shrugged. "No. No idea at all."

"Maybe it was all the people around," Botone said.

Aldon peeked out at the crowds that passed by the opening. "That's probably it," he said.

Botone crossed her arms. "How are we going to get to the town of Burr now?" she asked.

"We'll just have to leave before they do."

"They know where we're going," Botone said. "All they would have to do is ask Mother Gresha. No doubt she'd tell them."

Aldon sighed. "I'm sure Mother Gresha didn't mean anything by what she did," he said. "She's always been a good friend of her patrons. I can't imagine she'd set those men on us."

"If you say so," Botone said.

Aldon looked once more out at the street. "Are you certain that you want to go on this journey?" he asked.

Botone nodded her head vigorously. "Yes. Definitely. Now that we have a lead, there's no time to waste. We have to get to Gerund so that he can tell us about me."

Aldon leaned against a wall. "I don't see how we can do that, knowing that there are two crazy guys out to get us. How do you think we'll be able to escape them?"

Botone smiled. "You can leave it to me." She leaned out from the alley and looked both ways down the street. After a moment she looked back at Aldon.

"I see them," she said. "Just over there, standing next to a pair of stalls."

"What are they doing?" Aldon asked.

"Just standing there, I think," Botone said. "I'm not exactly sure what they're doing."

"What are we going to do now?" asked Aldon.

Botone held up one arm, and it turned into grey matter that flowed freely through the air. "It's easy," she said. "I have a plan." Her arm coalesced into a sharp blade made of crystal that shone brightly in the sun. She swept it through the air. "I'll take them down."

Aldon looked for a moment at Botone, judging her chances of winning against the two black-robed men. "I don't know," he said. "That doesn't sound like a good idea to me."

Botone's arm shimmered, and turned back into its regular form. "Then what do we do now?" she asked.

Aldon shook his head. "I told you already, I don't know." He peered out from the window and at the street, looking both ways for the two black-robed men. He paused, when he didn't see either of them. "Are you sure you saw them?" he asked.

Botone nodded her head. "Yes, I'm sure," she said. "They were right between the stalls."

Aldon looked between the two stalls, and saw no one. "I think they left."

"Maybe they're searching somewhere else for us," Botone said.

Aldon sat back against the wall, in the dirt of the alleyway. "Well, our best choice now is just to wait them out," he said.

They waited in the alleyway for what seemed like an eternity, switching between observers and keeping a constant lookout outside. When the sun was about to set over the horizon, a figure approached them from the street. It was a thin man, angular in construction, with a wispy beard on his chin. His eyes spoke of a soft intelligence, and a determination that showed itself only rarely. He wore a leather jacket and canvas leggings.

"Are you Aldon?" he asked, pointing his finger.

Aldon nodded. "I am. Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter," said the man. "I have a message for you from Mother Gresha. She says that the black robed men are gone now, they left the town this afternoon. She told me that I could find you here."

"How did she know?" Botone asked.

The man shrugged. "Lucy guess, I suppose. You never know, with Mother Gresha."

Aldon stepped out of the alleyway, followed by Botone. The man led them through the street, and towards the inn in the center of the village. By now the market stalls were closing up for the day, and people were beginning to go home. Aldon searched for the two black-robed men out of the corner of his vision, still not trusting the lanky man's promise. When they reached the inn, Mother Gresha was waiting for them outside the door. She had her hands on her hips and an apologetic expression on her face. When she met with Aldon, she ushered him inside. Botone followed.

Mother Gresha tossed up her hands. "I'm sorry," she said. "I thought those men just wanted to ask you some questions. If I had known that they would have been like that . . . they tore up my store, and were terrible about it to me. I don't know who they were or where they came from, but I don't like them.

"Don’t worry, Mother Gresha," said Botone. "We don't like them either."

Mother Gresha put her hand on her forehead as she walked behind the bar at the end of the room. "Why don't you two have a pair of drinks on the house. It's the least I can do for you."

Botone sat down on a stool in front of the counter and smiled. "Thank you."

Aldon sat down next to Botone, and grabbed hold of the thick wooden tankard that Mother Gresha slid his way. He put it to his lips and took a deep swig of the bitter, mellow liquid inside. It was cool and refreshing, especially after a day spent running and hiding.

"I guess we'll have to leave tomorrow," Aldon said, looking around the room. "I was hoping to get our supply shopping done today, when everyone was here for the market."

Botone shrugged. "It's okay. Tomorrow is just as good as today."

Mother Gresha leaned over the counter with a wide smile on her face. "You two are leaving on a journey together?" she asked. "Are you two eloping?"

Aldon shook his head politely. "No, we're just going to see the world together."

Mother Gresha winked. "That sounds like eloping to me. Say, whatever happened to that baby that you found a while back?"

Aldon forced his face to fall an appropriate amount. "It died," he said. "You were right. I couldn't take care of it."

Mother Gresha wiped the corner of her eye and sniffed. "I lost one myself, a while back. You don't know how it feels until it happens. Lucy for me, I have George to cheer me up. He's been a fine son." She pointed to the lanky man that had brought Aldon and Botone the message.

Aldon looked the man up and down. "He's your son?" he asked.

Mother Gresha nodded. "Yep. Best son that a mother could have ever wanted."

Botone finished her tankard of ale and put it down on the counter, and then put her chin in her hands, leaning on the bar. She looked up at the ceiling. Aldon looked at her. "What's troubling you?" he asked.

Botone looked around the room, and then at Aldon. She shook her head. "Let's talk about it when we get home, okay?" she said.

Aldon nodded. "Sure thing. Let's go home now, as a matter of fact." He turned to Mother Gresha. "Thank you for your hospitality. We'll be coming back tomorrow in order to prepare for our journey."

Mother Gresha waved as Aldon and Botone got up from their seats. "I'll see you then," she said, her voice carrying over the inside off the room.

Aldon and Botone left the inn, and stepped into a dark street lit by the town's one streetlamp, right in front of the inn. Aldon took Botone down the road to his house, out of the outskirts of the village. Botone craned her neck up as she walked.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," she said, her voice lost in the blackness of the sky.

Aldon looked up at the stars. It was true, they certainly were beautiful tonight.

"I wonder what's up there," Botone said.

Aldon shrugged. "There probably isn't anything there at all. I think it's just a trick played by whoever created the world to get us to enjoy the night."

Botone shook her head. "No, I think there's something there."

Aldon's hut appeared on the horizon as a low shadow, that got bigger the closer Aldon and Botone walked. When they got to the porch step, Aldon paused.

"You'll have to tell me what you were thinking about now," he said.

Botone sat down in one of the two chairs in front of the porch wall. She looked up at Aldon. "Better now than never," she said.

Aldon sat down in the chair beside her. He relaxed into his seat and enjoyed the feeling of the cool night air on his skin. He let a small time pass, in which nothing was said between him and Botone. Botone looked at her hands, and they shimmered a slight bit. She put them down in her lap.

"I don't know what I was made for," she said, finally.

Aldon let the phrase float in the air for a moment. "It doesn't matter what you were made for," he said, "If someone made you at all."

"What do you mean?" Botone asked.

Aldon looked up at the stars, and gave a long sigh. "What happened today proved it to me. You're human, just like me. That's all I need to know about you. Past that, it's your own choice."

Botone looked at Aldon. "Thank you, Aldon," she said. "But that doesn't change the fact that I feel like I was made to do something, and I know that I'm not doing that thing."

Aldon leaned back in his chair. "That's what we're going to go on a journey for, right?" he said. "We're going to find out more about you, from this Gerund fellow in the town of Burr."

Botone smiled. "That's true. There was another thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"When we combined, during the chase, it gave me an idea."

"What are you saying, combined? I thought you just became a suit of armor for me."

"No, it was more than that. I could feel a deeper connection with you. I think it's special."

"So why are you telling me this?"

Botone shifted in her seat. "I'm telling you this because I want to find out more about it. It felt good, and I think it confused our enemies. Since I don't doubt that we'll be facing them again, I want to take hold of this thing that we can do and use it to our advantage."

"So you think it's me?"

"It's definitely you," Botone said. "Something about the way you think, and how you're important to me, allowed me to find a connection with you that went deep."

"How do you suggest we approach this, then?" Aldon said.

Botone shrugged. "I don't know. Why don’t we start with a combining, like we did before?"

"Now?" asked Aldon.

Botone nodded. "Now is a good time." She stood up out of her chair and held her arm towards Aldon.

Aldon got up out of his chair and grasped Botone’s arm. Botone's body shimmered, then changed into grey matter that flowed up around Aldon's wrist and around his shoulder, covering his torso and his legs. The material hardened into a black shell that left enough room for Aldon to maneuver, but not very well. Aldon flexed his arm and looked at the covering on his shoulder.

"I think it would be best if you put a little less pressure here," he said.

"Right," Botone said, and Aldon could feel the pressing release. He tried moving his arm, and found that it maneuvered better, but not perfect.

"Try loosening it up right here," he said, pointing to a spot just above his shoulder. The pressure changed, and he found that he could move his arm even better. He swung it up, and it came through with enough momentum to put him off balance. He staggered and placed his hand against the wall to steady himself.

Botone spoke, her voice resonating through the plates that covered Aldon's body. "How does it feel?" she asked.

Aldon moved around for a bit more inside of the suit, listening to the noise that it made when he moved. "It works fine, I think," he said, "though it definitely could be improved."

The armor shimmered, and flowed off of Aldon's body and back into Botone's human form. She smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, plus the things that you told me."

Aldon rubbed his shoulder and sat back down in his chair. "Right," he said. "You do that."

The two sat beside each other and watched the stars for a while longer, and then turned in for the night. The next morning, Aldon got up early to pack the things that he thought he would need to bring for the journey, again. He placed his cooking utensils, his knife, and a few other odd ends in his backpack, and then strapped it closed and slung it on his shoulders. He called to Botone to wake up, walking back into the room and looking at her sprawled out on her straw bed.

Botone shifted underneath her horse hair blanket, and murmured to herself. Aldon clapped his hands together.

"Come on, wake up! It's time to go on that journey!"

Botone got up from her bed, her hair a tangled mess. She played with it absentmindedly for a moment, and then straightened it out by turning it into grey matter for an instant and then forming it back the way she wanted it. She looked up at Aldon.

"Sure," she said. "Let's go."

The two of them left the hut and headed for the village, and the beginning of their journey.