Endangered: The Strings of Fate Pt. 2
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© 2025 S. Round. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen (18) years of age or older.
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Ch. 13
Evan took his time getting ready the next morning after sleeping in late. He then spent some time catching up on a few of his favorite shows. What was the point of being on summer break if you weren't going to be lazy every now and then, right? While he vegged and enjoyed his free morning, he also thought about the stones and the guardian he heard mentioned in the grimoire, and he wondered who might be best to ask about them. A teacher would be good, but he didn't really want to bother them since it was summer. There was no telling which one of his friends might know something about it, except for maybe Sophia. She stood out as the obvious choice being a magic history nerd, and he had little doubt he would be able to find her at the library.
"I'll get some food and then try to catch her there. If that doesn't work, I'll just call people one by one I guess."
As luck would have it, Evan found Zayla and Barry walking to the cafeteria at the same time, and they decided to eat together. He felt like he hadn't seen them much lately, so it was good to have some time to catch up. He got himself a tray full of the best food the buffet had to offer and sat down with his goblin pals.
"What have you two been up to?"
"Just getting our freak on," Barry said with a big grin.
Zayla looked at him for a moment in shock before shaking her head as if to say it wasn't worth trying to say anything.
"We've been enjoying the freedom of summer," Zayla said. "In the past, it's been hard to spend any... umm... quality time with each other with our families constantly around. That's why we both opted to stay here this year."
"So... getting your freak on, then?"
Zayla just looked down and refused to answer, but Evan saw a bit of blush fill her cheeks. It was funny to see the calm and collected Zayla thrown off her pace for once. She just wasn't one to share intimate information like that so casually. Barry, however, had a clear look of pride on his face.
"That's cool, though," Evan said. "Is there anything planned with your families for the break or is the plan as little family time as possible?"
"I still have to go home every weekend to appease my mom," Barry said. "It's the only way I could get her to agree to let me stay in the dorm for the summer. Other than that, no plans really."
"My family has a big fourth of July celebration they do every year," Zayla said. "My parents have always been crazy about fireworks for some reason, so they have all the relatives over for a big barbecue. I'll probably spend a week there to help out with that."
"That sounds fun."
"It is," Zayla said, smiling. "If you were going to be in town, I'd tell you to stop by."
"Yeah, wish I could," Evan said. "I'll be who knows where by then, though."
"When are you leaving?" Barry said.
"End of this week. Next week I'll be with my parents for the first time in almost a year. I'm sure I'll be smothered with love."
"Moms be momming," Barry said with a knowing look.
They ate and chatted a bit more about this and that. There were a few interesting things going on with social media they laughed about, but they were all soon finished eating and set to go their own ways for the day. But before the two goblins left, Evan decided to shoot a shot and see what they might know about the old legends he heard about.
"Hey, I have a question for you guys," he said. "Do you know anything about some legendary spirit stones, or a person who is the guardian of Earth, or something like that?"
"Yeah, sure," Barry said. "Pretty much everyone knows about the guardian."
"Really? What's the story?"
"Well..." Barry said, thinking, "he's like a children's story character, or maybe a comic book character. I guess you could think of him kinda like Santa Claus."
"I don't get it."
"He's a figure that pops up in stories all over the world," Zayla said. "There isn't a mage family out there that doesn't have some traditional story of how the guardian showed up in a time of crisis and helped save everyone. But all those stories are from a long time ago, and nobody has ever actually seen him before."
"So, he isn't real then," Evan said. "Santa Claus."
"Maybe he was real at one time, or there was someone like him that inspired all those stories, but yeah, most don't think they're any more than old folk tales passed down by mages for years and years," Zayla said.
"Huh. What about the spirit stones?"
Zayla and Barry looked at each other and shrugged.
"Got nothing on that one," Barry said.
"Ah, ok."
"What's the interest?" Zayla said.
"Just heard some stories about them and didn't know anything," Evan said. "But thanks, that helps."
Evan said his goodbyes and left the cafeteria. He aimed his steps straight towards the library. On his way, he thought about what those two had said. It really painted Mr. Price in a different light. Was he really just a kooky old man chasing down a fairy tale? It would be crazy to spend your whole life chasing after the existence of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. But that would explain how a man that lived to be 105 could spend his whole life looking for something and come up with so little. Did that mean Monstrum had also wasted much of his life when he took up his master's cause? The two had nothing to say about the stones, though, and based on what the book showed in Australia, those seemed to be real at least.
As Evan approached the library, he really hoped that Sophia would have better information. He was pleased to see that she was at the front desk as predicted. She greeted him cheerfully as soon as her big eye caught him walking through the door.
"Hi, Evan! Something I can help you with?"
"Just came to ask you about something. You free?"
"Of course! What do you need?"
"Do you know anything about some legendary spirit stones?"
"Yep."
"Really? So, could you tell me what they are?"
"The spirit stones are said to be the genesis of life and magic on the planet," Sophia said. "Some legends say they were put here by God at the beginning of time."
"There are two stones," she continued. "One made of pure positive magical energy that helped protect life and creation, and another made of pure negative magical energy that only created forces designed to destroy it. Together they were said to provide the necessary forces to spur on a world's evolution."
"Do these stones actually exist?"
"There's a lot of debate about that, actually. Most historians say no, but enough archaeological evidence of the stones has appeared throughout history that there are still some that claim they absolutely are real."
"I see," he said. "What about... the guardian of earth? Is that a real person?"
"Not so many people believe those stories," she said. "But there have been one or two that claimed the guardian existed."
"What do you think?"
"Hmmm, I'm not sure. But I want them both to be real."
Evan did too. Dr. Monstrum had loved his master. He wasn't looking forward to an ending to Monstrum's story showing that Mr. Price had been a quack all along.
"So, do the stones and the protector have anything to do with each other?"