An Excerpt from 'The Ingenious Inception' - Issue #7

Excerpt from The Ingenious Inception

by Tobias Hrothgar

Everything on this Earth has a beginning. Every plant, every rock has a tale to tell. A beginning, a foundation… an inception. So it is for each organization, each fellowship, each friendship. Such is how our adventures began. But, to tell of this inception we must first go back to the point where the light just began to flicker on before we yet knew one another. Let us go back to my foggy predicament, the literal one first.

There was a thick fog, that cold October night. My footsteps seemed to be muffled by the water vapor that hung in the air.

Eventually, I started to the noises of laughter. I began to walk quickly that direction and nearly ran into a lamppost.

It seemed to be out of order, it wasn’t producing a ray of light. There was, however, light from the windows of a bar that was only about ten yards away.

I looked into these windows and watched a bunch of men happily singing and talking, obviously intoxicated. The only people who were sober looked as if they wanted to change that as quickly as possible.

To sum it up, this was a place that no one in their right mind would enter. Of course, I was going in.

I was just about to step in when the lamppost flickered on behind me. I stopped in my tracks. I wasn’t sure why, but I was sure someone was just a little ways behind me. This was confirmed when the voice spoke:

“These parts of town are not the safest places, especially not for someone such as you, and certainly not at this time of day.”

I turned around slowly. A man was leaning against the lamppost. He was an unusual fellow in appearance, with a black top hat, and an umbrella and trench coat of the same color. Basically, he was just as unusual looking as I myself am. His trench coat happened to be identical to mine, which I found insulting.

The man turned toward me. He had a thin, dark brown beard covering his face. “But that’s why you came here, isn’t it, Mister Hrothgar?”

“Might I ask, how do you know my name?” I asked.

He chuckled. “I know many things, Mister Hrothgar, but your name is one which very few people do not know.”

That did not make me feel any more comfortable, but I did not let my unease show on my face.

“What do you want of me, sir? I have nothing of great value.”

“That is a complete lie, but I wish not for anything from you but a drink.” He walked past me and opened the door. “After you, sir.”

Five minutes later we were sitting inside, sipping something that I had chosen at random, not knowing anything about strong drinks. I was looking around for the man I had come here for, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“He won’t be here,” the man from the lamppost said to me as if reading my thoughts. “The meeting has been rescheduled. I made sure of that.” As if on cue, my phone dinged. I pulled it out and read the message on the screen: Delayed. Meet at café tomorrow @12:34 PM on the spot.

I looked up at the man. “Do you work for Hawkins?”

“No, I don’t, and I suggest that you do the same.” He took a sip, then put down the cup. “That is actually the reason I am here. You should not be trusting Anton Hawkins. All he is after is power. It doesn’t matter what they tell you. Should you entrust a man of his likeness with such power?” I had no idea how he knew so much. As far as I knew Mister Hawkins was the only man who knew this much, but this man obviously knew quite a lot. He even knew where to find me.

“This is for the good of the world,” I spoke softly.

The man sighed. “It is, is it? Do you really believe such deception? You believe the man who lurks in the shadows, who covers up all his dark deeds?” He looked me in the eye. “Escape from this, Tobias. Anton will rid himself of you as soon as he has all the information he needs.” The man stood up. “Consider my words, Mister Hrothgar. Hawkins won’t deal lightly to you refusing him, but it may save many lives.”

The man began to walk out the door, but I called to him: “Wait, I never got your name.”

He looked back and spoke. “My name is Muris; Sames Muris.” Then he walked out into the cold, dark night.