Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Keeper

Prologue ~ The Eternity Prison

An unwelcome visitor had infiltrated the mansion. Mageus could sense it. He strode to his office door and peered out into the hallway. The sun's early rays shone from the bay window by his desk, warming his back. Mageus could sense each one of his men sleeping-some snoring-in their beds one floor down. No, this was a stranger for sure, slinking down the hallway, invisible to the naked eye, but not undetectable to his keen senses.

Thanks to a variety of Viridian Conversions, Mageus could hear the stranger breathing. He felt the stranger's soft footsteps making tiny vibrations through the floor. The subtle odor of old parchment and ink permeated the air, along with the intruder's robes filled with hundreds of Components that mingled in a confused concoction that stank to High Heaven. Whoever it was had reached the third floor and now moved down the hallway toward him.

Mageus backed up quickly and pulled a vial of water from a pocket in his black suit. He activated his Spiritual Essence and silently performed a simple Vision Conversion. A green Sigil glowed on his hand, and water droplets created a mirage around his body, concealing him from view. He stood still, barely allowing himself to breathe, as the invisible Alchemist entered the room and took two halting steps toward the desk.

All night, Mageus had worked to uncover the hidden location of the Keeper's most prized secret. He was close to cracking the code in the documents he had filched from Blackthorn and Burtree just last night. There were a few problems with his work, however, namely that he needed another source to confirm some conjectures he had made to fill in the gaps of information. He would need to do some digging, but he would do whatever it took to find them.

The fact that he had an uninvited early morning guest meant that Mageus was surely on to something with his work. He needed to apprehend this intruder and protect the information he had gained. Whatever the cost.

Mageus pulled a small black stone from his pants pocket and held it up. With a flash of orange light, he enlarged the stone to the size of a boulder and listened for the clumsy footsteps of the intruder. He aimed and concentrated his Energy. With a spark of yellow light, the stone shot out of his hand and collided with the intruder just in front of his desk.

There came a grunt and a thud. Mageus hurried forward, groping with his feet until he came into contact with the invisible person. He knelt and grabbed the person's robes, yanked him up, and threw him against the wall in a magnificent flurry of ripples.

"Solidum!" Mageus called out as he activated a red Insignia on his arm, and the invisibility orbs surrounding him and the stranger both froze with a sharp snap. "Terra Kinesis!" he shouted as he pointed at the large stone, now on the floor. With a flash of dark blue light, it shot up toward the stranger and collided with the frozen orb. Ice crystals sprinkled all over his cashmere rug as the stranger tumbled to the floor in a heap.

Mageus gaped at the intruder. It was a man in a pinstriped charcoal suit and a gray vest with several hundred pockets. Short silver hair covered the man's head, and dark eyes glared back at him. Mageus could recognize that clean-shaven handsome face anywhere. It was the Code Keeper! The very man who had taken away what he cherished the most.

Mageus's mouth fell open and he raised his hand to his chest in a protective gesture. In his haste to return to his mansion, he had failed to cover his tracks, and thus led his enemy straight to his door. But he couldn't hold back the grin as he realized that this was his chance to finally claim what was rightfully his. He'd been waiting for this moment for nearly a decade and a half. He pointed at the Keeper and readied a Conversion, but something caught the corner of his eye.

Mageus wheeled around in time to see a shower of silver coins flying at him. The coins hit his frozen invisibility orb, and the ice crystals shattered with a snap. He threw up his arms in a powerful gesture that wielded his Spiritual Essence to defend his body. For just a moment, he glimpsed a ripple in the air, and another shower of coins shot at him from the corner of the room. He defended his body with a wave of his hand, willing his Spirit to repel the attack. The coins hit the wall and floor with a barrage of tiny clinks.