Midas glanced at the desert expanse. He quickly felt up his supplies, finding that all his flasks were full of spring water.
He glanced back at the canyon before stepping forward unwavering. His contemplative voice drifted off into the dunes. " What is karma?"
And So-
Bang!
Both Ziggy and James found their attention drawn to the doorway of The One Stop shop which had been violently opened. The dust covered items on the loose shelfings rattled lightly before coming to a stop.
Inside the doorframe was a young man. James felt like he had seen this face before but was unable to put a name to it immediately. However, Ziggy glanced at the door. A bright smile spread across his meaty features as he closed the book.
" Young Ethan, I was just about to send someone to your mother. But it seems I am still blessed"
Ethan didn't respond to Ziggy but continued to scan the room around him, his eyes firmly locking onto James. James gave Ethan a similar appraising look but it did not linger for long, instead turning to ask Ziggy a question.
"I'm looking for his Father?" James' eyes did a double-take between Ziggy and Ethan.
Ethan hearing about his father felt his face heat up. 'Why would Ziggy send this man to my mother…He hasn't even been in the Wilds for more than a month. What use is he investigating when senior firekeepers haven't found any traces of him? "
Ziggy nodded and continued his previous statement. " We will finish our little story later after you return."
James nodded and stood up. His gaze flickered towards the book title "The Emperor" before turning to Ethan and extending his hands into a polite handshake.
Ethan glanced down at James' outstretched palm and reluctantly gave it a firm handshake. "What's your name?"
James, who seemed to be thinking of other things, replied softly. " James"
Ethan nodded and let go of his hand. ' He doesn't seem on guard at all. He doesn't even seem to take this seriously. Even I was denied access to my Father's case because of the unknown risks involved. What makes someone like him qualified in Ziggy's eyes. '
Ethan, feeling increasingly indignant started to boil his karma lake and light blue karma slowly seeped from his pores.
James did not notice, his mind was busy replaying sections of that story. It seemed that the more he learned the less he knew.
' According to the book the Wilds are divided into 4 distinct sections, The Northern Sahara, The Great Wall of the Deep South, An archipelago to the west and Great Plains to the East. Based on what I've seen I'm probably in the Great Plains. So I'm in the eastern section of this world. '
'There are also Gods in this world. Apparently some that used to walk the Earth. One is the Goddess of Fortune Tyche and the next the Goddess of Eternity Ophis. There was one more mentioned called Father Time which Ophis claimed to be her brother. Also that pumpkin patch feels familiar.'
James, realizing he had been silent for too long, looked towards Ethan who was suddenly coated in a light blue haze and frowned. 'I've never seen this color of karma before…Wait why is he looking at me like that? '
James eyebrows grew even more creased as he glanced behind his back at Ziggy who returned to his resting state. With no other choice James gave a polite nod towards Ethan and gestured for him to lead the way.
" Sorry, I just have a few things on my mind. You'll have my attention, let's go."
James waited for Ethan to respond but no words were spoken for a few seconds. Ethan simply turned around and exited the store.
Ethan did not in fact have James' attention…
James continued to look spaced out as he trailed behind Ethan. Ethan did not say anything but continued to make his way towards the residential district where he stopped in front of a terrace home.
The facade was rather beautiful with greenery and few flowers spread around the single window sill.
"They must regularly clear the ash from the leaves to keep these plants alive." James commented while looking around the other houses. They all seemed to attempt something similar to this home but the greenery was either brown or covered in soot and would most likely die before long.
Ethan's expression softened hearing James' comment a bit of pride welled up in his chest. " My grandmother was a botanist when she entered the Wilds and after meeting my father, she taught all she knew to their Daughter. It's my moms way of keeping her memory alive."
James nodded in agreement but didn't provide any further commentary. Ethan did not mind and simply stepped into the house.
James was greeted by the smell of…grass and fauna. It felt as though he had entered an indoor garden. The home was a complete contrast to the grey covered alleyways and rooftops of the Garden. In fact this place seemed to be more garden-like than anywhere else on this farm.
James glanced around and there were two children sitting in front of a flower pot. One of the children was a young boy who had an uncanny resemblance to Ethan, the only difference was that his eyes were different colors. They were a light amber but still held the familiar hints of brown in Ethan's gaze.
There was a younger one who looked to be about two years old, she was playing in a flower pot filled with wet dirt. Her little hands slapped the thin layer of mud on the surface splashing it onto her face as she giggled and made little noises.
~ahh~
Splat! Splat!
The older one just sat calmly next to her, his gaze which was trained on his little sister now looked on at James and Ethan.
Ethan smiled and nodded towards his younger brother. "Are you alright, Enzio?"
Enzio glanced at the baby before pointing towards a room around the corner. " She's planting more flowers in Father's room."
It seemed there wasn't much that needed to be said between the two. Ethan gave Enzio a nod before striding up towards the baby girl near the empty flower pot.
The young one seeing a tall male figure approaching slapped the wet surface of the flower pot as a ray of Joy beamed across her face. " Etan…Etan! Flower! Flower!"
Ethan picked up the young girl uncaring of the mud that now clung to his pristine firekeeper uniform and shook her slightly. " Awee~ Caramel are you planting flowers like mommy?"
Caramel's toothless smile seemed to remove all darkness from his heart as a smile borne from true happiness spread across his features.
" Good, play with Enzio for a bit. I have to talk to mommy."
Caramel frowned but nodded at Ethan before glancing at James behind him. James smiled and waved at Caramel who at some point had put her small fingers in her mouth and begun drooling.
Ethan pulled the dirty finger out from her lips and set her down near Enzio. Enzio picked up Caramel and found a different place to play with her.
" Alright lets go!"
Ethan returned to his unamused state and James couldn't help but tilt his head in acknowledgment. 'A good kid.'
James and Ethan both entered a room near the backside of the home. Inside this room was a myriad of flowers of all different types and colors. It seemed as if a distorted rainbow blanketed every portion of this room. At its epicentre was an older woman from behind; she was dressed in a white sundress and her brown hair with silver roots was tied into a neat ponytail.
Hearing the door creak open without turning around her slightly melancholic voice filled the air. " Enzio. I thought I told you to watch your sister."
Ethan paused for a second, blinking blankly before replying. " Mom, it's me."
Hearing the voice the woman turned around a mix of pain, worry and happiness blended into her aged features. Wrinkles and sunspots coated her face like mortar.
Grace could not begin to describe the energy that this weathered beauty carried herself with. In this garden full of color and life she alone was the dark contrast that made each color around her saturate into something lovely.
Her hands were covered in highways of veins under loose skin; fingernails permanently covered in brown dirt and grime.
James felt a sensation well up in his chest as he stared at this lady. An image so distant but so close flashed within the darkest depths of his psyche and as the woman spoke he almost heard the same weary tone echo his own name.
"Ethan"
"James"
Both boys stood there in a daze unsure of what their purpose in life was at this moment. Each thinking of the trillions of ways they wished they were able to lighten the burden that this soul carried but neither able to bring that desire to words.
However Ethan was the first to say something. "I'm sorry mom, It's been hard."
Ethan paused slightly glancing at James who seemed to sincerely hold his gaze at the same moment. Ethan could see that even James was unsure if he wanted to be a part of this melodrama that was his life. It brought Ethan a bit of comfort seeing that a similar story was playing out in James' mind.
Ethan sighed and bent down to help his mother stand up. " You shouldn't stay here tending to the flowers for too long. You're getting older and ask Enzio to help where he can. I'm sure he would be willing."
Standing this woman's back did not straighten fully. James could just see the untold number of hours spent hunched over tending to the flowers and plants here.
Ethan's mother shook his head. " Enzio is a growing boy. It's already hard enough for him to be here watching his sister everyday, while I obsess over these leafy things…I know that boy wants to play outside with his friends like he used to. I cannot ask anymore of him or you as a selfish mother."
Ethan's mother's hands lightly touched a wilting petal before turning her attention back to Ethan whose eyes had begun to glass over.
Ethan quickly regained his composure and sighed. " You remember asking Ziggy to investigate the disappearance of Dad near the Southern Outskirts"
James eye's flashed to a mission that was left on the notice board of the Lodge. He never paid much attention to it but it seems it would become relevant now.
Ethan's mother nodded as if remembering something from the distant past. " I had asked Ziggy after the firekeepers gave up on the search. Did he find something?"
A spark of light flashed in her eyes but was quickly doused by Ethan's next word. " No, but he brought this young man to help with the investigation."
Her eyes drifted upwards towards James, seemingly trying to identify if this young man could do something that even senior firekeepers had told her would be improbable. She was unsure if it was out of blind desperation, curiosity or genuine faith in this young man but she asked anyway.
" Do you think you can find him?"
James looked at the woman whose visage kept overlapping with a blurry haze in his memory and at Ethan who looked to be pleading with James. Even to tell a lie.
James shook his head. " I don't think I can find him."
The woman's hope faltered and Ethan shot James a glare that would kill a thousand men.
James continued. " I will find him."
Ethan blinked twice before looking at his mother who was already holding her face. Tears flowed endlessly through the gaps in her fingertips.
James could not help but kneel in front of her. His face deadpan and full of conviction. " Well, find him. I cannot guarantee how but we will bring you peace of mind. My dream was to escape where I came from and live by my own rules and morals…but if I can do some good along the way then I can at least look back at everything and smile at the end."
Ethan watched as a thick platinum energy seeped from his pores. ' What? He's a karma user? How? He has only been in the Wilds for a few days…Even Juraman had to spend three months fighting for his life to gain the recognition of Karma and he's done it in less than a month? Who is he? '
Ethan's mother gazed at the immense weight that seemed to be present in his eyes. It was as if everything became heavier in his presence. Her breath hitched as she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and placed it in James hands.
"I..I found this buried near the outskirts the night after he disappeared."
Ethan blinked at his mother. " WHAT! Mom? Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have gotten yourself killed. You're just a regular human. "
She did not deny or refute anything her Eldest boy said; she simply smiled at him. " Just because I wasn't acknowledged by karma doesn't mean I am useless, my sweet boy. The weak have their own methods."
Ethan unable to refute or deny his own mother, Ethan remained silent and turned her gaze back to James.
" Young man, there is something strange happening in the garden. Something far stranger than just scattered disappearances of people. I have faith that you will find my husband but I do wish for you to also dig deeper so that nobody else has to feel the loss that we have."
James nodded and read the piece of cloth. There was no writing other than three characters "VVV".
James blinked and glanced at the woman. His gaze grew deep and profound as he tore it up and placed the ribbons in his back pocket. ' Could this be why Ziggy sent me here?'
James already felt a deep suspicion churning at the base of his belly. 'How is this Company connected with the disappearance of a Firekeeper? How does it relate to me and my encounter with the dandy-man and those three men? What is the connection here?'
James did not stand on ceremony for long and shook himself free from his wandering thoughts.
" I'll do my best" James glanced at the woman one last time before standing up and exiting the room. He left Ethan there to discuss what he must do with his mother.
However as James exited the door he found something interesting. A young boy whose face was now pressed against his thigh after falling forward.
James didn't say anything but smiled. " Eavesdropping on adults isn't good."
Enzio didn't care as he blurted out. " You're going to find my Father?"
James, seeing the light in the boy's eyes, simply nodded and pushed him out of the way seemingly deep within his own thoughts. Enzio glanced at James' back as he left their home and a strange thought popped into his mind.
James walked out of the building onto the busy streets of the residential district and frowned.
"VVV's that's the company that those three mentioned. They're responsible for the industrial boom of the Garden. How is his death related to them? More importantly, how is it related to the Dandy Man? '
James quickly decided to head to the Southern Outskirts of the Garden not waiting on Ethan.