Daycation pt1

It still took quite a bit of convincing but Aldous eventually managed to get Diwa to agree to come along on his little ‘daycation’ idea.

“So where are you taking me?” Diwa asked, “It better not be somewhere cold.” she added.

“Firstly stop trying to ruin the surprise. Secondly you can’t very well drink tr…not going to spoil it. Just trust me.” he said.

“Last time you said ‘trust me’...” Diwa started to say.

Aldous put up a finger, from his half crouched spot on the floor where he was drawing a circle large enough for the two to stand in. “We agreed we wouldn’t talk about that.”

“I’m just saying that it was a carriage wreck.” Diwa interjected.

Aldous rolled his eyes as he finished the chalk circle and pulled a small notebook from his pants pocket flipping through a few pages before stopping at one. Using his thumb to keep the pages marked he waved that hand. “I know I know. That won’t happen this time.” he said, before going back to reading the notebook. He stepped inside the circle and sat down, starting to transcribe some glyphs against the ring of the circle's interior.

Diwa tilted her head slightly. “I’ve never known you to be one to use circles.” she said watching him as he kept checking the notebook against his own writing.

“Typically I wouldn’t but…” he shrugged. “Even with my level of power its not a safe gamble to aim for a moving target.”

Diwa frowned. “Moving target?” she said.

“Not currently.” Aldous added. “Just it doesn’t stay in one place. I don’t know where it is currently.”

“You are going to have to explain more.” Diwa said.

“Moving island,” he said. “Magical moving island.” Aldous explained simply as he pulled open his robe and reached into one of the pockets, his hand going deeper than its seemed like it was possible to do before coming back out with a small bottle of sand that was such a light blue it was almost white.

“And a focus.” she said, “I’m impressed. You must be getting less reckless with old age.”

Aldous shrugged. “Got to take it a bit easier, at least until Aggie is on her own. Gods know her father tends to forget about her when he’s focused on some research.”

“What’s he focused on now?” Diwa asked, as she watched Aldous putting a few grains of sand in his palm and putting the rest back in the bottle.

“Some kid put on a cursed necklace that not even the best clerics could curse break, so they put their best people to work trying to find a magical solution.” Aldous said, dropping the few grains in the center of the circle.

Diwa put up her hands. “Don’t ask me to fix them.” she said, “and don’t think a fun time will mean I owe you to fix them.” she added.

“Pfft. I don’t care about the kid.” Aldous said, “The man made his choice.”

“Seems a bit heartless.” Diwa said.

“I am a demon.” Aldous said, “But no. I just don’t know him, I don’t see a reason to sweat over it.”

“You could break the curse.” Diwa both suggested and was half a question.

“Doubtful.” he said, stepping out of the circle and inspecting it, holding out a hand to Diwa.

She took and and felt him pull her in. “Why’s that?”

“Pacts are hard if not impossible to break if you don’t know what god made it or what they want.” he said, letting her step in first, and when he followed the portal lit up and in a flash of white the room they were in was gone replaced with a sky washed in deep royal purple, smearing to lighter shades, to pink, orange and a fiery red on the horizon dipping over dark sapphire blue waters. The sand fine and warm under Diwa’s bare feet.

“You are saying he’s a warlock.” she asked, letting go of Aldous hand.

Aldous kicked off his shoes. “Best I can tell given Clerics couldn’t do anything about it but that’s work talk, we are on vacation.”

“Where exactly are we?” She asked.

“Elisium Island.” Aldous said, looking at the sky. “Currently somewhere off the coast of Zancrom I believe.”

In the quiet, she hadn’t noticed it before but over the sound of birds making the last calls before roosting for the night she could hear the sounds of merriment somewhere off in the small growth of jungle on the island. “Paradise.” she said, “I suppose that fits.”

Diwa watched as Aldous started walking into the dark jungle. “Are you coming?” he called.

“Just…just into a dark jungle?” She asked.

“You are a god, what are you afraid of?” Aldous ask, from the tree line, before acting like he was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the tall undergrowth.

“Aldous!” Diwa ran up to the trees, and Aldous popped back out, a dumb grin on his face.
“Nothing here but birds and bugs,” he said. “Come on,” he said. Leading them through the trees for a short time before they could both see light drawing closer. In a clearing down a small slope was one large circular hut with a roof made of palm fronds, with one third of the walls missing leaving an open section. Diwa could see it was filled with tables, chairs and at the back of the larger building was a semi-circle bar. Spread around the rest of the area in a similar horseshoe shape were several round huts.

Diwa stood for a moment in confusion; she'd never heard of this place. A moving island wasn’t profoundly confusing on its own, enough magic can do about anything, more so the fact that a secret like this existed, and seemed to be a frequent stop for Aldous.

“Come on, I don’t want to miss happy hour.” Aldous called already half running half sliding down the incline that led to the ‘resort’. Diwa hesitated a moment but decided she didn’t want to stand in a muggy jungle, and knowing her only way back was Aldous, she followed him down the slope and across the soft grass up to the cocktail bar.

End part 1