makingthisupasigo | And the Road not Taken

Ezekiel Jones is a loyal member of the Serpent Brotherhood but sometimes he wonders if there is supposed to be more to life than this.

Bringing magic back to the world had felt less satisfying than everybody always made it out to be; seriously, with the amount of ecstatic victory speeches that were going around these days you'd think they found an eternal well of pizza. Then again, Ezekiel had never been particularly interested in the whole "bringing magic back" aspect. Reawakened or not, his task is still to retrieve artifacts and get the others into fortified places; that is his purpose, not to be questioned and nothing really changes for him.

Still, he's annoyed. Ezekiel prefers to act from the shadows, so the whole decision to make a grand dramatic entrance and reveal the Brotherhood to the Library seemed so petty and unnecessary. Besides, there was this one thing he always really, really wanted, and that was breaking into the Library – the most secure place in the world, the ultimate challenge. He hopes he still gets a chance of doing that but now that the Library knows the Brotherhood is active again it kind of takes some of the surprise factor and fun out of it.

He had made a cautious remark if it wouldn't be better to reveal themselves to the Library after they brought Magic back but that had ended... rather painfully. After all, what did he know? He's just the thief. The tool. The asset. Know your place.

So much for magic improving everybody's life.

Today's mission is almost mind-numbingly boring. He traverses the ancient temple, sometimes doesn't even bother to deactivate the traps but dance through them instead so he at least has some kind of challenge and approaches the altar with a yawn.

Sometimes he wonders if there's supposed to be more to life than this.

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"That's horrible!" Everything about it was horrible, even Jones' logical point that he could have gotten her even more money, but still. How does a person even get over that? He reins in his reaction a bit, turning more sober. "I'm sorry. That...that's...yeah. Tough."

Please don't be so casual about it.

"It was really cool." If he could show you the Library, he would. You'd probably love it. "They have..." Also probably shouldn't tell the thief what was in the Library. "Really cool stuff. It's great."

"Well. Not much I can do about it now, is there?"

There is a hint of bitterness there but he doesn't mind. Why hide it? It's not usually that strong but it's being triggered by stories of magical Libraries that give you an out of your old life and lets you go on magical adventures instead.

"I've always wanted to break into it. Nothing personal, just, you know, as a personal challenge, to see if I could."

"Can't you...make a difference now?" His brows furrow, there's genuine concern there, as his voice softens. "You can turn your life around, walk away from...all of this." Yeah, he hears that bitterness. He's familiar with it. He's seen it a lot back home, experienced it himself.

"...I don't think you could," there's an air of competitiveness here. You think you can break into his place, Jones? Psh. "There's no way that you could make it past the Library's defenses."

Edited 2018-06-22 16:37 (UTC)

Ezekiel looks away, then shakes his head. "I leave, they kill me. Don't have the resources to keep the rest of my life running. There's... nowhere to go."

But oh, he hears that air of competitiveness and raises you an eager glint in his eyes in return. "You sound very sure about that. Wanna bet?"

Oh, man. That's...he can't even imagine what that must be like, except...he knew part of it. What it was like to feel trapped in a place, no resources to leave, no hope of something better. And luckily he did find something better, but it was that. Sheer luck. What's the difference between how he ended up, and Jones?

"...how about this? You break into the Library, I let you stay. The Library can protect you against the Serpent Brotherhood. I mean, if you're serious about wanting to leave."

...why was he offering him this?

The offer catches him off-guard and for a moment open surprise shows on Ezekiel's face. Is he serious? It sounds almost too good to be true.

... If he takes him up on it. Is Ezekiel serious about wanting to leave? Is it a trick? Is the Librarian toying with him? Or is he really that arrogant, believing the Library so impenetrable that he can mock Ezekiel with an offer like this? Then again... he did come back to check if he's okay with his head injury.

"I will break into the Library." That is just a fact at this point. No way he can refuse that offer. "Deal."

Jacob watches him curiously, wondering if he was going to take it or not. He can't just...not do anything, not after hearing his story. And yeah, it could be fake, but this...it didn't seem like it. And maybe it was stupidly idealistic, maybe it was just going to give the Serpent Brotherhood an opening, but...there was something about this that felt right.

"It's a deal." A grin. "And I'll have pizza and beer waiting for you when you do."

His face lights up. You said the magic words, Jake, because a break-in into the most secure place in the world followed by beer and pizza?

"You better! I might even make you a list of all your security system's weaknesses in that case."

...he frowns because on one hand, there shouldn't be any weaknesses, but on the other, if there are, they actually really needed to know.

"I'm sure you won't find any. But..." A beat. "...if you do find any--which you're not going to, but if you do--we could use the assist."

"Every security system has weaknesses, mate. I am gonna find them."

Despite his injury his voice is back to his unflappable self-confidence. That is just another fact right there, Librarian.

"Including magical security systems?"

Look, he can admit that you're good at what you do, but are you this good? Magical security system good?

"Please. Magical security systems are not that different from regular systems. Still rely on the 'system' part, that's all I need."

He shrugs, unconcerned. "You seriously got nobody to test that stuff for you?"

Well...yeah, that kinda made sense. He'll take your word for it.

Jacob shakes his head. "Nope. I'm the Libarian, I've got my hands full as it is. And I wouldn't know where to even start on that. Much less trust. Not that I actually trust you or anything." There's a smirk.

That makes him grin, too. "Good. I'd be disappointed if you did."

He'd hope the Librarian wouldn't be that stupid.

"... So what now?"

"Well, I could just...let you go, and prepare for your inevitable failure at trying to get into the Library." A grin. He nods towards the exit.

"You don't even have to tell me what day you're gonna be breaking in. I'll be ready."

"No. No, you won't."

The corner of his mouth moves up in an insolent smile. "Guess I'll see you at the Library, Cowboy."

"Maybe I'll see you there."

He motions his hand, offering for Jones to exit first, still grinning. "Maybe not. I might actually be disappointed if you don't show up and give me a good fight."

"How much of a fight can there be if you never see me coming?"

He heads over to the exit before Stone can change his mind, waving a final goodbye. "You better step up your game in advance!"

"And you better step up your game, man! It better be worth it!"

Even when Jones is gone, Jacob finds himself waving goodbye anyway.

And suddenly it's quiet in here, it's almost...diminished, in a way, even though he technically 'won' it feels so empty without Jones' mere presence and character. Jake shakes his head, wondering if he's made some kind of mistake, or gotten into something he shouldn't have. He just invited a dude from the Serpent Brotherhood to break into the Library, basically.

He was probably going to be in trouble.

For a couple of weeks nothing happens. There's no word, to break-in attempt and life follows its usual routine. That's because his failure in obtaining the artifact doesn't exactly go unpunished and Ezekiel isn't stupid enough trying to sneak out and break into the Library while they keep a closer eye on him.

He waits. Plans. He knows he will only get exactly one shot at this and he doesn't plan on wasting it.

So for a couple of weeks nothing happens. But one night, when everything's quiet, there are sudden noises filling the Annex. Scraping. Clanging. Really soft, almost inaudible.

Are there rats in the ceiling?

And the Road not Taken - for Jacob Stone

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