Becoming a mad scientist

  Captain Joss led the mercenaries and fighters early in the morning to reclaim the village. By noon, a messenger returned on horseback bearing favorable news. The somber expressions on the faces of the worried women and older folks lifted. In the evening, the farm emptied into a ghost town compared to the sardine-packed, previous month.

  Chu entrusted Dyna in the barn to activate the talismans while he mingled around the farm before the exodus.

  "Captain Joss did it! He wiped out the remaining Bitzers in the village and reclaimed our homes!"

  "The rumor is that Chief Drey demanded the fighters to act. He said he would rather die in his home than live as a beggar in Karst."

  "I hear Mercenary Sweeto saying he will brave the wilds to deliver our plight to Karst. Hopefully, the town will send a winter caravan to tide us until spring."

  Chu assisted the move by generously lending half his horses for the venture. Tomorrow Captain Joss would return the majority while Sweeto would use a dozen in traveling to Karst. The carcass of the Bitzer leader, minus the heart, would be carted as proof of success. Before Chief Drey departed, however, Chu held a brief meeting.

  "That's thirty horses plus lodging for over a month. Not to mention, the certainty of becoming the next official Chief. So how much do you think this is worth?"

  "Apprentice Chu is generous in his actions."

  "No, no, no, you seem to be missing the point. There is no generosity here. You as the Chief need to foot the bill before you leave. I want a contract signed and sealed by your mark and also the stamp of the late chief. I also expect Captain Joss and other officials and villagers of standing like the tavern and inn owner to act as a witness."

  "Ah, what does young master Chu require?"

  Chief Drey asked while suddenly thinking he lay in the clutches of a robber.

  "For starters, as long as you hold the position of village Chief, I want to live tax-free. Since you ate my food, come spring, I expect a month's labor from the villagers to help sow my seeds. I also want a wagon of mead and ale courtesy of the tradesmen of the village for helping them regain their property. Your blacksmith also has to..."

  Chu ensured the villagers left his farm spotless before crashing for a brief rest. He woke up in time to watch the sun disappear under the Great Western Woods. The residents did not relax their guard but continued to post a lookout while tending to the small, flickering braziers on the walls.

  Chu sat on his chair at the head of the table in the workshop devouring a plate of roasted deer. On the first pair of seats next to him, Ming fought a losing battle with Lucy over slabs of juicy, fried Inyoni.

  Miki and Dyna tousled for the ladle of a large bowl of meat stew and vegetables. Considering the greasy faces and stained hands, whatever etiquette Mrs. Thomas imparted seemed to have fled.

  "Ahhh! This is the life. I traveled a month in thinking about this taste, only to drink watered down gruel every day. Clod, if you had opened our meat stockade to those villagers, we would be trading blows. Lucy, stop hogging the Inyoni, show some respect since I'm the eldest!"

  Ming voiced to Clod who sat next to Dyna.

  "Ming stop complaining and keep your dirty paws out of the smoked boar. Don't think I don't know you're trying to divert attention while stacking more meat."

  "What you calling paws? Only you and your thugs have paws?"

  "Pay no attention to him, Dyna, he's the only one who can talk and stuff food at the same time."

  Miki interjected while passing a slice of soft buttered bread to Dyna.

  "Hah? Tell you what Miki, gimme that piece of Inyoni on your plate and I'll let you sit on my seat next to Chu."

  Shine brought the last bowl of fried Inyoni and emptied half into the main bowl nearby before carrying the rest with her down the table.

  "Anyone would think you guys haven't eaten a meal for days."

  She remarked. He long hair swung on her back nearly reaching her waist as she pulled a chair next to Toll. A small rocker lay between them holding a sleeping infant. Along with the head and the close side tables, scenes like this were common. Glancing around, Chu felt content at the sight.

  The figures of the farm residents served as proof as to the good life they lived. After a hard day's work, they enjoyed herbal baths, delicious food, and comfortable homes. Hunting, reading, and writing occupied part of their daily living. When the men missed dinner because of watch duty, ended their shift, a hot meal would be served especially for them.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  What pleased him the most, was that for a month they endured eating the same watered down gruel as the refugees. And they did it without complaining about being denied a good life. Chu reckoned if he left this farm for a year or two, he would return to the same home. A suitable achievement since he arrived around four years ago.

  Mingle and chat for an hour, Chu then walked to the barn. Sitting on the long table, he found it empty, lacking Mr. Thomas and the others.

  Bon and the rest of the residents had reclaimed their homes from the villagers. The barn now returned to its rightful owners. Clod read his mind while joining him.

  "You think it's empty? Think about how it was when only Rose, Yin, and Hope accompanied me here. I missed you guys, even Ming. I asked Jim and the others to move in but they declined."

  "Once we help Mr. Thomas sort out his problems in Frost City, we'll be back. Don't fret too much since whenever we head out, we'll always return. I just need to think of a plan to keep in touch, one much better than the bungling mail service."

  Chu replied. He waited for the others to join them. Once they were seated, he delved to the point immediately.

  "I have an experiment I would like to try but it might be dangerous. If it fails, then we will have to also ramp up production of drawing the Ancient Talismans tonight."

  "If you want someone to test it, I am willing."

  Clod replied.

  "No, all of you here are too important. If anything happens to you, then who will run the farm? Besides, I don't want Rose to kill me in my sleep."

  Chu said while drumming his fingers before continuing.

  "If I ask Bon and the others, they won't object either. Since I am not sure of the outcome, I'm wondering if I should grab an outsider. This experiment needs a guinea pig."

  Even though the listeners felt curious about the so-called guinea pig, they understood his concerns. If the village slums existed, maybe they could find a bandit hopeful there. The ideal candidate might actually be a bona fide bandit. Chu held no love for bandits, but if his theory proved correct, then he would create a monster.

  An answer unexpectedly arrived from Yin.

  "If it's that dangerous Chu, why not test it out on the horses?"

  ***

  There was something about the night which encouraged one to sink into the arcane. Or conduct insane research.

  "So you're saying you took an Ancient talisman and modified it to suit your own purpose? Chu, you really take me for an idiot, don't you? Since the day I introduced Lucy as a helper, I knew you always wanted to get rid of me."

  "Will you kick that grudge out of your mind. How long do you plan on carrying it, huh? And how is it related to this?"

  Chu rolled his eyes as they huddled on a bench outside the warehouse. Lucy and Dyna completed a round of patrols and joined them just as Clod led a horse towards them from the smithy.

  Chu patted the side of the gentle beast while dusting away the falling hairs from above its forelegs. Halter and Bon had spent the last hour shaving the short hair to expose a smooth, pale skin with a pinkish hue.

  "Redflower is the oldest of the lot. She has been under the weather lately and is the weakest in our stable. As a training horse, she is one of the best..."

  Chu listened as Clod submerged him with the information for the horse. He swore Clod could present more detailed information on the horse than on people.

  "Don't worry, I'm more concerned if this plan of mine will work."

  They entered the warehouse as Bon locked them inside. Torches lit the large floor with a lone table occupying the center. Clod led the horse to it while Chu congregated with Lucy, Ming, Miki, and Dyna. Rose guarded the outside of the building with Bon and the others. Only she and the ones inside knew the full extent of the plan.

  "If this doesn't work, we consider it a loss. If it does, then we move ahead to step two. Miki, prepare the blood."

  Chu said. He watched as Miki opened two of the neatly wrapped packages from the chest and placed the contents on the table. A pair of pale blue lifestones rolled in a small bowl while she opened and poured out the contents from two wooden flasks into separate bowls. An oil lamp burned brightly while sitting on the center.

  "The theory on Ancient talismans stems from what we learned from the drawing on the wall in the ruins. By a bit of luck, I also learned something important from the scroll we deciphered and donated to the Tower."

  Chu removed a rectangular slip of paper from among a cluster held under a paperweight. Under the light from the lamp, he waved a talisman unlike any ever seen. Two adjacent circles occupied the area in the middle, with thin but solid lines decisively connecting to various symbols on the ends.

  Like lines of a circuit board, they avoided crossing and intersecting as they wove an orderly, intricate design.

  "On an Ancient talisman, the circle for the lifestone is written with the magical chant and activated. This circle is enclosed by a top and bottom larger half circle. The top and bottom both have a different symbol directly attached to them at the top and bottom. Sakura found out for me that both these symbols have no real purpose."

  Moving to the table like a lecturer, he spoke in a soft voice for only his companions to hear. Pointing to the two bowls of blood, he instructed Miki to begin mixing them together.

  "In electric circuits, we have positive and negative. If a lifestone acts as a battery, then why can't I have more than one? What is the limit?"

  Chu patted Redflower on the head as he strolled around while continuing to voice his thoughts.

  "I surmised that one of these symbols represents positive while the other negative. Joining them in series with another circle should deliver double the lifestone power. As for how high we can go, the scroll provided the answer, eighty-one symbols. I believe we can safely harness the power of nine lifestones into eighty-one symbols, all providing we can fit them into the standard size of the talisman."

  Ever since leaving Limerock, Chu spent his free time in the caravan drafting and connecting the individual circuits into a complex one. The difficulty he faced in compacting the connections into the small slip of paper, compared to that of stacking transistors into a CPU chip.

  "Chu, this paper only has two circles. You made a mistake in counting, it should be nine."

  "Ahem, the first step is to try out if the theory works by using the two lifestones. Once successful, we move on to nine. Miki, Dyna, let's begin."

  Chu watches as the girls wipe the shaven spot and then stick the talisman on the skin using the mixed blood. He held the two lifestones and simultaneously pressed them into the circles. Clod patted and calmed the horse as it sensed the blood.

  Nothing happened.

  An awkward silence fell on the occupants.

  After lecturing and boasting about his wild theories and electrical circuits, his grand inferences blew up in smoke.

  Boy did he feel like an idiot.

  Ming broke the silence.

  "Somehow I feel like a genius..."