Once inside the kitchen, Laverick opened the cabinet containing potions and herbs he’d viewed hours before during his initial search of the base. “Kay,” he whispered to his mother, “now what?”
“Search its contents,” Veronica answered. “If we’re lucky, we might be able to find something we can use to poison the guard.”
“That’s a great idea, Ma!” Laverick softly replied. He reached for a bottle of pink liquid and examined its small label which read, ‘Anodynum Elixir.’
“That’s a healing potion,” Veronica informed. “Keep looking.” As Laverick returned the bottle to the shelf, Veronica suddenly shouted, “Wait! There! The gray one!”
Quickly scanning the array of potions in front of him, Laverick located the bottle his mother had referred to. He grabbed it, squinting his eyes to view the small writing on its label. “Somnus Potion?” he whispered.
Veronica chuckled. “Just as I thought! That should do the trick.”
Shutting the cabinet door, Laverick continued to marvel at the bottle. “Is it poisonous?”
“Not quite,” his mother responded. “It’s a sleeping potion. A rather useful cure for insomnia, though we’ll be making tactical use of its effects. All we must do is prepare our ‘friend’ a delightful little snack mixed with our special ingredient. If he ingests even a miniscule amount, you should have more than enough time to nab the fragment and exit the base as he slumbers.”
“Oh boy!” Laverick said cheerfully. “This is gonna be super easy!”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Veronica replied. “Now it’s only a matter of finding something to lace with the potion.”
Moments later, Laverick emerged into the hallway carrying a rather messy looking sandwich on a plate. “Remember,” his mother reminded him, “all you must do is convince him to eat just one bite.”
“Got it, Ma,” Laverick quietly responded. He continued down the passage and entered the room in which the large bearded man stood guard. “Hi again,” Laverick greeted as he walked in.
The man raised his eyebrows. “Zoe? You’re still awake?”
“Yeah,” Laverick replied. “I went and ate a snack like you suggested. I figured you might be hungry too, so I made you this while I was in there.”
The man eyed the sloppy sandwich as Laverick handed him the plate. “Uh, thanks,” he said, gently resting his battle-axe against the wall. He took the plate. Though the sandwich didn’t appear to be particularly appetizing, he kept his opinion to himself. “That was pretty thoughtful of you. I could use a bite right about now.”
“It’s got honey and syrup on it,” Laverick informed, watching in anticipation as the man lifted the sandwich to his mouth.
Yes, yes! Laverick thought excitedly. The man took a bite. As he chewed, a look of masqueraded disgust appeared on his face.
“Exquisite!” Veronica proclaimed. “It won’t be long now.”
The man gagged slightly as he swallowed. “I think our syrup is going bad,” he commented.
Laverick shrugged. “Tasted okay to me.”
Returning the sandwich to the plate, the man rested it on a small table. “I’ll... finish it later,” he said, frowning.
“Okay,” Laverick replied with a smile. “I’m gonna get some rest now. Good niiiight!”
The man lifted an eyebrow as Laverick exited the room. She’s awfully peachy, he thought to himself, collecting his axe. He glanced at the sandwich. I’m never eating her cooking, that’s for damn sure.
Laverick waited patiently in the hallway, a massive grin plastered to his face. About ten minutes had passed when he heard a loud thud.
“Bingo,” said Veronica. “Go, now!”
As he reentered the room, Laverick looked down at the large man. He was sound asleep on the ground in front of the chest. Not far from where he’d collapsed rested his dropped battle-axe. “I’m gonna hafta move him,” Laverick whispered. “Is it gonna wake him up?”
“Not at all,” Veronica answered. “Until the effects of the Somnus Potion have worn off, absolutely nothing will awaken him.”
Laverick grabbed the man’s arm and pulled with all of his might. Though it took a great amount of effort, he managed to drag the bulky guard far enough away from the chest to make it accessible. Reaching into the bag on his waist, Laverick took out the ring of keys he’d found under Tarren’s pillow. He approached the chest and kneeled in front of it, examining each key as he flipped through the ring. “Which one of these do you think opens it?”
“Just try them one by one!” Veronica ordered impatiently. “And hurry! We must be sure that you have enough time to distance yourself from the base before he wakes up.”
Hurriedly, Laverick stuffed one of the keys into the chest’s lock with no success. Quickly removing it, he flipped to the next one on the ring and attempted to insert it. This proved to be futile. The following key went into the lock, though he was unable to turn it. As Laverick tried to pull it out, however, he quickly realized that it’d become stuck. No, no! Dang it! With a little wiggling, he managed to extract it. He hastily proceeded to the next key, which only went halfway into the lock.
“Damn!” Veronica snapped.
Laverick tried yet another key. “What if we got the wrong keys, Ma?” he queried.
“That’s impossible!” Veronica barked. “One of these must open that chest! The man was sleeping on them for goodness sake!!”
Laverick’s sixth attempt failed. “I dunno, Ma,” he said as he tried yet another key. “It’s sure not looking good right now. There’s only three more.”
“Don’t talk like that, Son!” she exclaimed, frightened by the prospect. “Try the next one.”
Laverick slid the subsequent key into the lock. He turned it and heard a click as the lock released. His eyes widened.
“Success!” Veronica declared as Laverick eagerly took the lock off and cleared the chains surrounding the trunk. He hoisted the lid and looked inside.
There it was at the bottom of the chest, all by itself: the disk fragment. Laverick trembled with excitement as he reached for it, the thoughts of his future as a wealthy nobleman racing through his mind. He grabbed it, closely ogling its curious engravings. Swiftly stuffing it into his bag, he jumped to his feet.
“Alrighty, Ma! Mission complete! Time for me to get outta here.”
* * * *
Veronica turned to Lord Quinn. “I’m proud to report that my son currently holds the disk fragment in his possession. He’s exiting the Spades’ headquarters as we speak, and will soon be on his way back to Aria.” As she spoke, Lord Quinn’s mouth slowly formed a smile.
“Impressive,” he said. “I can now say wholeheartedly that my doubts have been effectively dispelled.”
“Then I suppose it’s time I received my payment, hm?” Veronica suggested.
Lord Quinn’s smile faded. “I sincerely assure compensation for you and your son’s assistance the moment I hold the fragment. No sooner.”
Frustrated by the response, Veronica hesitated before replying, “Very well. Laverick will not return until the morning, however. He has quite a distance left to walk before reaching the portal. Unfortunately, if either of us falls asleep, our telepathic connection will be lost. Therefore, I will remain here for the rest of the night until he emerges back in Aria.”
Lord Quinn got out of his chair. “Splendid. Considering my presence will not be required, I’m going to take this opportunity to acquire some much needed rest.” He walked toward the double doors. “Do not hesitate to make any requests to my servants. I will return to this room early tomorrow morning.” He glanced back at Veronica before walking out of the doors. “I highly anticipate our next meeting.”
* * * *
Laverick stood at the dead end of the base’s main corridor. I think this is where I came in. Maybe there’s another thingy for that crystal. Cautiously running his hand along the solid black wall, he tried to find a small groove similar to the one he’d used to access the base.
Without warning, his mother chimed back into his head. “Any luck finding your way out, darling?”
“No,” he replied. “I can’t find the crystal majiggy.”
Just then, his hand bumped into a small protrusion on the otherwise smooth surface of the passage wall. “Wait, I think I found something!” He placed his hand on top of it and pushed it in. As he did, a loud rumbling filled the hallway as the rock at the dead end shifted to create an opening. Laverick froze in horror, certain that the resounding noise had put an end to his otherwise stealthy escape.
“What are you waiting for?!” his mother screamed. “Get out of there this instant!” Panicked, Laverick bolted into the wilderness of the In Between.