It was a bright day of fall. You had been curious about the Community Center, a place you constantly passed by, but never really went in. Every time you felt this strange aura emanating from it. Something pulling you in, but also keeping you away at the same time. The air was cold and crisp that morning. You took a few deep breaths and decided to go in. Back in spring, Mayor Lewis had bitterly told you about how nobody seems to really care about renovating the Community Center. How there is a lack of "caring" in this town lately. You were new at the time, but recently, this place had been in your mind a lot. This is where it had begun after all, seeing those weird things. Occasionally, when you passed by this place, you'd see small, strange creatures. You never seemed to get a good look, but you figured it was time to figure out what was going on. You entered one of the rooms and found a golden scroll shining. You got close and tried to read, but it was a language you did not recognize. When you looked up, you noticed a shadow passing by and disappearing. What was that?! Maybe it's just rats. The place was old and so odd. It was making you nervous, though your curiosity would not die. You heart was beating faster, so you decided to walk out. It may not be safe. Maybe it'll be less scary if I take someone with me. Like Shane. I'll ask him tonight. As you walked home, your breathing was back to normal. You noticed you had a letter in the mail. Huh...I thought I checked it when I got up...
"My sources tell me you've been poking around inside the old community center.
Why don't you pay me a visit?
My chambers are west of the forest lake, in the stone tower. I may have information concerning your...'rat problem.'
-M. Rasmodius, Wizard"
You had seen the Wizard's tower before and even spoken with him a time or two, but it was only at festivals. You never had the courage to visit his home. How did he know I was at the community center anyways? Guess he really is a wizard.
You decided to visit him right away. There was no point in waiting. You wanted to know what all this was about. As you walked through the forest, a mist began to fall over the valley. A light fog began to settle. The tower looked like something from a gothic novel. It was made of stone with an arched door. Vines covered the structure. A crow was perched on a tree near the door. It seemed to look at you with its abysmal eyes. This is the part in the movie where I get killed... The wizard appeared, "Ah...Come in."
The room was lit by a fire in a corner of the room. A table with some stones was near the entrance and opposite to that was a giant cauldron with green fumes coming out of it. There was a book shelf but stacks of books were scattered on the floor as well. The wizard stood by a strange circle that was drawn on a piece of stone floor and some crystals were placed where the lines connected.
"I am Rasmodius...Seeker of the arcane truths. Mediary between physical and ethereal. Master of the seven elements. Keeper of the sacred cha-...you get the point. And you...(Y/N). I foresaw your arrival long before the spring."
"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. We had spoken before, but it's good to finally meet." you bowed, trying to be friendly.
"Here, I'd like to show you something," he gestured towards the circle, "Behold!"
One of the strange creatures you had seen before suddenly appeared in the middle of the circle.
"You've seen one before, haven't you?" he asked.
You nodded.
"They call themselves 'Junimos'...Mysterious sprits, these ones...For some reason, they refuse to speak with me," the Junimo disappeared, "I'm not sure why they've moved into the community center, but you have no reason to fear them."
"What about the golden scroll with the unknown language?"
"Hmmm? Interesting...Stay here. I'm going to see for myself. I'll return shortly." his body began to turn into a white light and he was gone. You looked around but he wasn't anywhere in the room. I should probably be more freaked out than I am right now. You had always believed in magic and even when society told you it was all fake, you never stopped believing. More than anything, you were excited it was being confirmed. A few minutes passed and the Wizard walked through the door.
"I found the note...The language is obscure, but I was able to decipher it: We, the Junimo, are happy to aid you. In return, we ask for gifts of the valley. If you are one with the forest then you will see the true nature of this scroll." he said staring into the cauldron.
"'One with the forest'...What do they mean?" you asked.
He was quiet and pensive. *sniff* *sniff*
"Ah-hah!" his eyes widened. "Come here!" you walked over to him, not sure what was going on.
"My cauldron is bubbling with ingredients from the forest. Baby fern, moss grub, caramel-top toadstool...Can you smell it?"
You wafted the fumes towards your face. It had a distinct aroma, earthy and bitter.
"Here. Drink up. Let the essence of the forest penetrate your body." he scooped up a bowl and handed it to you.
You looked at it. Slightly unsure, you paused. This has all the bad signs, but...It feels right...You quickly gulped it down. You began to feel light-headed. You stumbled and fell down. Your vision began to turn green. You could see leaves floating around. Then trees were dancing.
"Are you alright?" the Wizard was kneeling over you. You were lying on his wooden floor.
"What just happened? Everything was green and leaves and trees were swaying and..."
"You've gained the power to decipher the Junimo scrolls. Go back to the community center and see for yourself."
"Thank you so much. This is incredible, but... Why me?" you began getting up.
"They chose you. Not me. Now, go. I must continue working."
"It was good to meet you. I can't wait to find out more."
"There are many mysteries around us. You must be patient if you wish to discover them." he smiled as he opened the door for you.
That was so surreal...Shane should be out by now I have to go talk to him.
You arrived at the saloon and Shane was there waiting for you. You told him everything and asked him to come to the Community Center with you.
"Now? Are you sure you're even feeling well? I don't know how I feel about that wizard giving you some strange drink then you passing out and dreaming up some crazy shit..."
"Shane, it was fine. Don't worry. Come on!"
"He could've drugged you. You seriously need to be less trusting."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. But can we please check out the community center? I've been seeing them, Shane. The things he calls Junimos. I had seen them before."
"Fine..." he finished gulping down his beer.
The day was already dark and instead of a light mist, hard rain was now falling. Shane and you walked over to the community center under your umbrella. He was quiet and seemed sort of nervous. When you arrived, the image looked worse than this morning. The lack of light made everything spooky. The vines growing seemed like tentacles threatening to choke you. A ghost or monster could come out of the cracks and holes on the walls. The windows were black and you swore you saw someone inside. As you moved closer to the door, it suddenly opened slightly on its own.
"Jesus fuck. Are we seriously doing this?"
"I can go in by myself. You don't have to come." You offered.
"Really? As if I'm going to let that happen." He pushed the door all the way open and walked in.
As you stepped in, the floor creaked at certain spots like the wood was screaming. You could hear the rain tapping on the roof, leaking in some areas. You reached into your backpack and opened a small box. When you opened it, a warm light surrounded you and Shane.
"What is that?" he asked curiously.
"It's a glow ring I found in the mines. It emits a constant light. Pretty cool, right?"
"Huh...Yeah. That makes me feel much better."
"I didn't know you were so easily scared." You chuckled.
"Easily scared? We are in an old, beat up building where you claim to have seen sprits. You just met with some crazy guy who gave you a weird drink. It's raining and dark. Need I say more?"
"Okay, I see your point, but isn't it adventurous?"
"I didn't drink enough for this." He said sighing.
"I'm sorry. We can go back..." you began to feel sort of guilty about all of this.
"Shut up and let's explore." he said...you smiled.
The wooden floor was missing in certain spots and weeds were growing out of it. Old books lied around, unreadable due to water damage. Some of the windows had been boarded up with planks of wood. You went back to the room with purple carpet where you had seen the golden scroll. When you looked at it again, you understood what the Junimos meant.
"They want gifts." You said looking at the box in which the golden scroll sat.
"What?" Shane kept looking around.
"Like...offerings to the spirits. Then they'll help us in return somehow." you walked over to the other rooms and found similar boxes with scrolls.
"Are you sure any of this is real? I'm not saying it's not true, but I'm skeptical. The wizard guy is probably tricking you into giving him free stuff, you know?"
"Don't be so cynical. I'm sure this is all true, okay? Trust me."
"(Y/N)..." he looked at your with uncertainty.
All of a sudden, you heard steps. You both turned to look in the direction of the sound.
"What was that?" you asked.
"Uh...probably the rain or something."
You slowly walked out of the room you were in and saw something coming towards you.
Shane took a step back and gave out a yelp, taking a hold of your hand. You moved your other hand forward to shine light on whatever was coming, figuring it was a Junimo.
"Look! I told you!"
Shane looked at the small, round creature in disbelief. It was a bright, yellow color and didn't look like anything he had ever seen before. Then suddenly, it disappeared into thin air.
"Holy shit...This is all real."
"Yeah! I wasn't joking, Shane." You pretended to be hurt, but were actually just happy he finally believed you.
"I'll help you then. With whatever it is they want."
"Offerings" you smiled.
"Right. We'll sacrifice our blood and Haley's first-born child." You laughed
"No...they want more like...vegetables and fruits and fish and stuff."
"Okay, good. I don't think I'm ready for human sacrifice." you laughed and noticed you were still holding hands. You both blushed and pulled away.
"I figured you were scared and felt compassionate." He said shrugging.
"It wasn't my hand that was all sweaty. Just saying."
"Okay. Maybe I was a little scared." He shot you a look.
"I'm not saying that. I'm sure you were just really warm." you both kept making silly jokes as he walked you home.
~~Author's Note: Sorry for the long waits. Aside from working, I'm a senior in university and as an English major, my life is swamped with reading/writing. I'll update more over winter break. I do intend to continue this story. Thank you for reading!