The Barton Historical Record Archive is housed at the well-known Barton Manor and maintained by the Manor's butler. These records are broken into three parts:
A.) History of the Barton Manor from its beginnings up to the current era in which BFAA owns the place.
B.) Barton Day to Day: The ongoing historical archive of all Barton and Gaia-related events
C.) The Barton Chronicles: a record of the adventures and goings-on of Barton's most elite social group, Barton's Fort of Athletes and Artists.
**Please note**
Direct replies to this thread will not be allowed by the general public. The space is needed to maintain an orderly archive. Any questions, comments, or suggestions about the archive will be redirected to: [Tea with Cele]
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:22 pm
Barton Manor: A History
- to be edited as we generate the information-
The Manor Inside and Out: A Look at the Building
The Grounds
General Pictoral Reference:
The grand estate known as Barton Manor is constructed in a similar fashion to the Tudor style of Earth, reflecting the construction of the Towns housing areas. The grounds are completely enclosed by a high wall of grey and brown brick. The large front gate is constructed of black iron. Two metal leaves top the pinnacle of each half of the gate. Outside the walls are many shrubs and bushes of various types.
Inside the safety of the walls is a vast front courtyard with pristine lawns and well trimmed trees and bushes. A central drive, which leads up to the front doors of the manor, is broken only by an exquisite fountain in the center of the drive.
The real wonder though is what lies behind the manor. The vast back garden area of Barton Manor is enough to make the most highly skilled florist or gardener green with envy. Not a single blade of grass nor leaf is out of place. The colors of the flowers have been specifically chosen to compliment each other instead of creating competition. One of the greatest wonders are the rings of rose bushes surrounded several strategically placed and carefully pruned decorative pear trees. These unusual roses are the color of true ten karat gold. Their exquisite silky texture makes silk seem like burlap in comparison. These enchanted roses remain golden, spring through fall. About two weeks before winter begins, the roses begin to change color from gold into the purest silver. By the time winter hits, the roses are completely silver. They remain this way all through the season, only beginning to change back to gold about two weeks before spring. Perhaps the most interesting and symbolic item of interest is a sculpted bush in the center of the small garden maze in the center of the back garden. This bush is special for two reasons. First, while other plants' leaves wither and die as winter approaches, this bush remains a vibrant green all year long. Secondly, it has been expertly sculpted to resemble the Goddess Gaia herself. This serves as a tribute to the life given to the world of Gaia by the Goddess.
The Great Hall The Great Hall as the foyer is known, is guarded to either side by large Roman columns of ivory that stretch floor to ceiling. The floor is laid in a very light marble that sometimes shimmers if the light hits it just right through the windows. A great crystal chandelier hangs from the pinnacle of the domed golden ceiling overhead.
The Ballroom
The Game Room The game room, like the rest of the manor, has been given a face lift from the dark dreary looking room it had been into something bright and fun and full of color. The old dark paneling has been replaced by wall paint in a soft ivory white above the chair rail and a light camel color on the bottom. The furniture is all of a tasteful ivory leather to give the room a brighter feel. There are plenty of activities to keep one occupied in the game room such as the pool table or playing cards off in one of the cozy corners, but it isn't just for that. In one corner of the room stands a much loved pinball machine themed after the exploits of Johnny K. Gambino while further down that wall is a mounted flat screen television for watching things like Gaia 9 news, an ivory leather sectional in front of it. The game room also features a small bar and kitchenette not far from the game table. The high backed stools in ivory leather echoes the furniture theme. Several ivory leather club chairs are arranged in a small conversation setting with a small matching bench.
Private Rooms
The following is an overview of some of the regular BFAA members' private rooms at the manor.
KaguraSakata: The color schema for Kagura's room is predominantly a navy/indigo blend and cream. A large four-poster bed is of to one side, leaving room for a myriad of bookshelves throughout the rest of the room. Due to her love of fashion, Kagura's closet is actually an adjacent room that was converted into closet space to house her substantial clothing collection.
Celestine Ravencroft: The crystalmancer's room falls under the high fantasy category without a shadow of a doubt. Various shades of purple and blue color the room, supported by silver accents. The semi sheer curtains at the French doors leading out onto the small balcony are a deep celestial purple that sparkles with rhinestones and sequin clusters that mimic stars. A rich purple silk duvet covers the generous bed with its grand assortment of accent pillows. Almost every surface in the room has been sued to display various crystals. A rather ancient looking desk stand off in a far corner, lots of parchment and hand bound journals stacked neatly on top. A very elaborate trunk takes up another corner close to the closet.
The History
While Barton manor is old and prestigious, its history actually begins long before the manor as we know it today was ever built. Long ago in the world of Gaia, the area that would become known as Barton was the seat of an enormous gathering of people who possessed power of the light, which is to say their magic was good, not evil. A whole society was built up in this area with many homes, temples, and vast centers of learning dedicated to discovery, preservation, and protection of all things good in Gaia. The greatest temple, dedicated to the Goddess Gaia herself, was built on the land where Barton Manor would one day reside. The most legendary store of knowledge about good magic and how Gaia influenced the world was housed in the temple archive. The scribes, clerics, and priests passionately dedicated themselves to preserving the vast well of knowledge and using it to defend the people of Gaia against dark forces. They were the voice and defenders of the people. When the days of Nyx's first rebellion came though, the resources and paladin troops of Gaia were stretched thin trying to deal with the chaos wrought by Nyx. This had a negative impact on the city of light, and the vast complex of Gaia's followers were forced to hide their city under ground, lest Nyx destroy them all in his rage. Powerful earth mages raised the land up over the entire complex, safely burying it in a labyrinth under the future territory of Barton. This was done to keep safe what remained of the protective light magic that kept the dark at bay. Once buried, the people of this once great city moved out into the world. Their identities had to remain secret lest the dark forces of the world should find them,but the followers of Gaia tried to stay true to their convictions. They carefully passed on their knowledge to those whose hearts were pure and had the potential to become great guardians of the light.
While the old city of light was mostly lost to history, a very few artifacts were brought with the city's former inhabitants to hopefully serve as clues to the next generations of Gaia's followers. Small villages sprang up over the ensuing decades. The spot where Barton manor sits has played host to a castle and many a principality. Many rich and powerful people have built onto or taken away from the castle built on Barton Hill. In some instances, it was kept under siege for long periods, but always manged to be liberated. Something has consistently kept people coming here, willing to pick up the pieces and start over. The strong pull of good magic draws people to the Barton area.
This is Part B of the over-all Barton Historical Records. Here you will find a detailed archive of significant events both post and present in Barton and Gaia.
This book entails the recent string of attacks on Barton Town and the powerful new warriors that have arisen to defend not only Barton Town, but all of Gaia in the name of love and justice. Unfortunately, these books are classified as top secret due to the need for the Barton Scouts' identities to remain anonymous from the general public.
The Gaia Casimir Alliance: [link to GCA Guild goes here]
-to be edited by Chibi-
The Bartob Glossary: [The Bartob Glossary Thread] This is a zany collection of unique terms and phrases found only in BFAA country.
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:41 pm
The Barton Chronicles
Greetings dear visitor! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Caelen Evernight, butler of Barton Manor. It is my job as the official Lore Master to record the fun, dangerous, heartbreaking, and just plain bizarre events that surround Barton's elite social group know as Barton's Fort of Athletes and Artists, or BFAA for short. I will do my utmost to relay every detail of every story. So, pull up a chair and get comfortable. Adventure awaits!
The Barton Chronicles Volume 1: It Came from the Pond
Orindaenophobia Outbreak>
Oh, hello again. I see you enjoy visiting this manor. What's that you say? A giant frog in the pond out back? Oh dear, it looks as if Orindae has taken up residence on our property again. I must remove it before the Bartobs have a royal hissy. Honestly, if it wasn't for RO 2012... Anyhow, I...Hmm? You'd like to hear a horror story this time? Well, I can certainly indulge you. Listen closely and you shall hear of the RO 2012 nightmare...
The morning was bright, the birds singing,...and half of the Bartobs were about ready to drop. The 2012 Gaia Rejected Olympics was in full swing, and a large group of our beloved heroes had gathered to rack up points over night. They had battled valiantly against Aekea to try to take the lead, but there is not much to be done when you are pitted against and army of robots. MasturChef and Arcueil of Huron were trying to rally the troops when an announcement came across the game field speakers.
"Listen up athletes! A new game has been released. Head over to the Zen Gardens right away to try your hand at Frog Jump! Good luck to all!"
Chef was pumped.
"Alright! A new game! This could work for us. I think we all need a break form Thing Lift anyhow. I'm going to go take a group and check out this new game. Who's with me?!"
A few weary hands rose weakly in the air. Chef was able to recruit Hinata-Chan2588, Skyro Roka Ellunoso, and gowie2. The brave little group took off for the Zen Gardens to assess the new game.
The Zen Gardens is a beautiful place full of elegant Japanese Cheery Trees, crystal clear ponds, and lovely stone bridges. It is a place of peace and tranquility...usually. However, on this day a rather disturbing blot marred the serenity of the garden. Sitting in on the edge of the pond near the bridge to the Null Crystal was a giant, hideous frog. It's tongue was sticking out like a giant beef patty, the bulbous eyes watching a helpless little dragonfly dart between the frog and a giant flower in the middle of the pond.
People could be seen clambering up onto the frog and using its sticky tongue as a sort of springboard. Some who jumped landed on the flower. Others just fell into the pond, getting nothing but a good soaking for their efforts. The whole thing look horribly ridiculous. Chef was horrified.
"What the heck is this nonsense!? Do they really expect us to touch that ugly toad and flail about like flies?"
Hinata giggled and said, "Chef, we may as well take a whack at it. Besides, look at the score board. This game seems to provide a lot more points than Thing Lift or that dumb Space Drop game. Don't even get me started on Bacon Bowling. Yeck!"
Alas, Chef knew she was right. As that was the case, the small party got in line and tried out the game. At first it seemed impossible to get anywhere near the flower in the middle of the pond. Then gowie started to observe the Aekea team as they jumped, and realized they were watching the dragonfly overhead. When the dragonfly reached a certain point, the Aekea team would jump. Most of them would land in the middle of the flower.
"Hey guys, I think I know the trick to this," gowie said.
He explained what he had seen to the others. What could it hurt to try? So they all climbed onto the rather slimy Orindae, edged out onto its tongue, and waited for the right moment to jump. Suddenly they all sprang from the frog and landed smack in the center of the flower!
"Alright!" Skyro shouted with glee.
"Hey, this could actually work. Let's go back and tell the others. I think we need to get some teams together to work in shifts," Chef said.
So the Bartobs returned to the Barton Team meeting grounds and told the others about the new game.
Sissy Blade shuddered every time Chef mentioned the frog.
"Yeck! I am not climbing up on some nasty frog and ending up with who knows what kinda rash from that slimy thing! What the heck is the matter with these game designers?"
"Sissy, we really need you to do this for the team. You are one of our strongest players. Please, do it for Barton," Arc pleaded with her.
"Oh fine! But I had better get a little compensation for this," Sissy huffed and crossed her arms in annoyance.
"I'm sure that can be arranged," Arc said, a smile in her voice.
"Here's the thing guys, we're in the last few days of the games. We really need to put out hearts into this if we want to continue to give Aekea a good run for their money. I vote we break into two teams, an early morning team and a night team. Aekea seems to overtake us during the early morning hours. I am willing to lead this early morning team. I'll call this team the Sun Riders. Arc, could you take the night team?"
"Sure. Let's call the night team the Night Ravens. I don't think we need to worry much about normal day time hours. We seem to have that one covered," Arc replied.
"Ok people! Let's do this thing!"
With that, Chef whipped out a clipboard, write down the names of the two teams, and started passing around the clipboard for people to sign up. Surprisingly, a lot of people supported this idea. Name after name appeared on the sheet until it was almost full. This display of devotion and team spirit was so overwhelming that it brought tears to Chef's eyes.
"You guys are so awesome!" He cried.
Everyone was pumped and ready to take on this new challenge. The Night Ravens would be the first ones to take on the frog. Their dark cloaks billowing in the evening breeze, the orange and gold Barton Leaf neckerchiefs tied expertly around their necks, the Night Ravens were ready for anything. All night long they jumped gracefully from frog to flower, hardly missing at all.
As the firs few rays of the early morning began to peek over the wall surrounding the Zen Gardens, Chef could be seen striding in with his team of Sun Riders, marching in line like a great army. Their white uniforms caught the pale rays of light and made the garden seem that much brighter. Chef shook hands with Arc, and the Night Ravens retired from their nightly duty.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, let's do this. For Barton!" Chef cried and raced over to the frog. His comrades followed eagerly behind him. All through the early hours of the morning, the Sun Riders jumped and jumped again. To them, this was about more than wining. It was about showing true Barton spirit and having fun with friends. Even the Aekea team members had to wonder why the Bartobs were so happy while jumping. Aekea was bored to death and being work relentlessly.
Now, I told you this was horror story, and admittedly it does not sound like one so far. Trust me, I'm about to get there.
Once the sun was high in the sky and the Sun Riders were finished with their job for the day, they all retired to their respective homes to catch a little sleep before the early evening gathering at the Barton Team base. The Night Ravens had long since gone off to bed, but I'm afraid their dreams were not the pleasant memories of good times with friends.
Yuusha had gotten home around 4:30 am, practically dragging her feet. As she brushed her teeth before bed, she glanced into the mirror and shrieked. Orindae stared back at her! She threw a towel at the mirror, covering it and stepped back to catch her breath. Surely it had all been her imagination, right?
Yuusha cautiously removed the towel from the mirror. Nothing but her own reflection and the rest of the bathroom was to be seen. She wrote it all off as a result of being so dog tired and got into bed. All during her restless sleep, Yuusha dreamed she was being pursued by a pack of mini Orindaes, their tongues flicking out to catch her. No matter where she ran, they followed.
Tobi, who was among the strongest in the Night Ravens, woke in a cold sweat. The terror still clinging to him. He reached over to his night table and picked up his clock to check the time...and then quickly threw the clock at the door. Orindae had appeared as the clock face! It was still taunting him, even in waking hours. In Tobi's dreams, every time he had gone to jump off of the frog tongue, it would lash out and catch his leg, making him miss his target completely. Then it would reel him into it's giant mouth like a bug.
Tobi shuddered and tried to go back to sleep.
Even the Sun Riders were not immune. Chef was having hallucinations of his own. He had gotten home around 11:30 am, quite exhausted from jumping since 5 am. As he wearily trudged up to his house, a frog hopped out from the shrubs under the window. Chef noticed the frog and shrank back in horror. It had the face of Orindae! Chef hastily rubbed his eyes, not sure if he had actually seen things correctly, and looked down at the frog again. It was just a normal frog. Shuddering, Chef entered his home and laid down on the couch to take a brief nap. As he dozed off, Chef dreamed that a giant frog in a bow tie was chasing him down the streets of Barton, all the while it whispered the Team Rocket mantra.
Many other Bartobs suffered similar horrors as they tried to rest. By the time 6 pm rolled around, two hours before the Night Ravens were to start their duties, everyone was completely exhausted from restless sleep. More than one person was a bit on edge.
As the Bartobs gathered in their team area, Ami Sapphire and Sissy Blade dragged themselves over to a bench, eyes heavily lined in dark circles from a lack of sleep.
"Eyes...staring...chasing me...too horrible" Sissy muttered to herself. Ami tried to console her.
Kimzy, WillyJo, and DoodleNaut sat on the bench across from Sissy and Ami. All three of them looked like they had seen better days. Even Chef, who showed up to give Arc and the Night Ravens a send-off, looked pale and in need of a vacation as he entered the Team Barton section. No one was saying it, but they were all thinking it: Frog Jump was a nightmare that would haunt them forever. But there was no time for chickening out. Tomorrow was the final day of the Rejected Olympics and Barton still had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted even a snowball's chance at catching Aekea. Chef stood up on a vacant bench and addressed his group.
"Alright gang, this is it. We only have tonight and tomorrow until noon to try to rack up the points. I know you're exhausted beyond belief. I know you don't want to go anywhere near that frog, but we have to. This isn't about us, it's about Barton. "
Several half-hearted cheers went up from the Night Raven group, but there was no enthusiasm to be had. Figuring they may as well get it over with, Arc stood up from the bench where she had been sitting and rallied the troops. The Night Ravens trudged off to their second night of Frog Jumping, sure that their nightmares would be even worse when next they closed their eyes.
The night shift was indeed long and grueling. While Aekea thundered on like insane robots, many of the Night Ravens struggled just to keep their sanity in tact. Tobi constantly looked over his shoulder, sure that the absurdly humongous Orindae was watching him like a tasty fly. And yet, through all of this the Night Ravens persevered. As the wee hours approached, a small sense of relief came in the knowledge that Chef and his Sunriders would be on the way to take over the last stretch of the 2012 Rejected Olympics. 5 A.M. could not come soon enough for the exhausted, frazzled, and partially crazed Night Ravens.
The pale light of predawn crept over the horizon as the Night Ravens made their final jumps and staggered away from the Zen Gardens pond toward the exits. Chef and his valiant Sunriders, all dressed in their glowing white and gold uniforms could be seen just outside the garden archway. Chef tried to look cheerful since they were in the final hours of RO 2012, but his smile was more of a grimace. Tobi, who was walking toward Chef and his group, shared Chef's sentiments on the whole ordeal.
"Hey Tobi. How'd it go?" Chef asked, pretty sure he already knew the answer.
"Eh, it went. That tell ya anything? If I never have to see another frog again, it won't be a moment too soon. Anyhow, I-".
Tobit stopped, puzzled, and stared at Chef. The most peculiar expression had taken over Chef's countenance. It was a mixture of baffled confusion and horror. Chef stared at something in the distance, behind Tobi. Curious as to what could freeze Chef in his tracks, Tobi slowly turned to face back the way he had come...and blanched. The dragonfly that had been the guiding factor in helping contestants in the Frog Jump had finally had enough and buzzed away from the pond, only to quickly be pursued by Orindae. The overgrown frog was now hopping madly after the terrified dragonfly, and they were both headed straight for Chef, the Sunriders, and Tobi.
"Scramble!" Chef shouted and dodged off to his left, just inside the Zen Garden wall. Tobi dodged right and began running toward a grove of bamboo. He should have gone left like Chef. The dragonfly made a sudden zip to its left, Tobi's right, and headed straight at Tobi, Orindae only several hops behind. Tobi let out a terrified yell and dashed back in the direction of the pond.For whatever bizarre reason, the dragonfly had taken a liking to Tobi and decided to hover just above him as the poor Night Raven ran for his life. In the distance, several of the Sunriders were shouting something, but Tobi was too busy running for his life to hear them.
His legs ached, his heart was pounding, but Tobi pressed on until he was within a few feet of the garden pond. With hands on knees, trying to catch his breath, Tobi turned around to see if he had gotten out of the frog’s way. A shadow fell across a wide space around Tobi. A chilly breeze rustled the nearby bushes. Something wet and gloopy dropped on Tobi’s head. “Eck! What is thi-ohno”
Poor Tobi. He didn’t even get to finish his sentence. Orindae was right in front of him. A glob of froggy drool had fallen on Tobi. What followed was a brief standoff. Tobi stared up at the bulbous eyes of Orindae in terror while the frog stared back. No one could tell what the frog was thinking. Neither one blinked for a whole minute. Then the dragonfly, which had buzzed off in a different direction just before Tobi had reached the pond, now buzzed back and landed on Tobi’s head.
Oh no, please no not this… Tobi thought with sickening dread. He let out a tiny squeak. Orindae cocked his head and whipped out his tongue far too fast for Tobi to dodge it. The tongue wrapped around Tobi like a vice grip, and he was reeled at light speed into Orindae’s mouth. However, Tobi was much large than the tiny dragonfly Orindae had been after, so the poor boy’s leg stuck out of the monster frog’s mouth. Inside the slimy, mildew-smelling mouth of Orindae, Tobi let out a shriek that rattled the frog’s head and then passed out.
“N-no. Not the frog…..leave me alone. Noooooooooooooo!” Tobi came to with a start and stared wide-eyed at his surroundings. Chef gazed back at him, concern on his face. For his part, Tobi was confused.
“Wha-where am I? What happened? Am I dead?” Tobi asked, panic seeping through his confusion.
Chef shook his head and said, “No. You’re alive. I doubt you’ll ever want to see another frog ever again, but you are ok. It took a whole battalion of Barton Regulars to finally catch Orindae and get you pried out of his mouth. Blech! You were covered in slime and white as a ghost. Can’t say I blame you though.”
Everything was beginning to fall into place now. Tobi noticed the other people in the room then. Many Sunriders and Night Ravens had come to see him at St. Barton’s Hospital where he had been taken to recover after being extricated from Orindae. They all looked weary. Tobi frowned.
“So…what happened then? Did we win the Olympics?” he asked.
Chef gazed at Tobi for a moment before answering.
“No, we didn’t come in first. But second place is not bad. At least we had fun while competing. We didn’t push our people like robots. So you know, I still feel like a winner.”
Tobi smiled. "Yeah, winners are a matter of perspective."
Tobi was released from the hospital just in time to take part in the official award ceremony. Since he was the most dedicated player on Team Barton, not to mention having suffered trauma from Orindae’s escapades, Tobi was given the honor of being the one to receive the silver second place trophy. He held the cup aloft in his hands while the Bartobs all cheered. After the ceremony, the members of both the Sunriders and the Night Ravens gathered together for a picnic on the hills overlooking Barton Town, not far from a prestigious old manor that would soon become their headquarters. Everything was right with the world. The sun was shining. The merry band of Barton athletes was together. Chef looked out toward Barton Town and smiled.
“You know, this is great. We should all really stick together. How about we form a club? We could call it Barton’s Fort of Athletes and Artists.”
“I like it,” Tobi said.
“We can all hang out together and best of all, we won’t ever have to deal with that frog ever again,” Arc said and let out a sigh of contentment.
The ground shuddered suddenly, and a strange croaking sound echoed across the hills. Tobi’s eye twitched. Chef froze. The Bartobs glanced nervously at each other and looked behind them. Perhaps their frog troubles were not really over.
So ends the tale of the 2012 Rejected Olympics. Indeed, the group did stick together, and BFAA was born out of their comradery. The spirit of Barton remains strong in the group…but unfortunately so does a strong case of Orindaenophbia. To this day, many Bartobs have panic attacks when they see anything frog-related. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a frog to eradicate.
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:06 pm
The Barton Chronicles Volume 2: Dark Deliverance
Greetings once again, dear visitor. I trust you are in good health. Today we will be taking tea in the west drawing room. Hmm? You want to know more about me? *shy* Heh, well, I'm afraid my story is not very remarkable, but...Oh? You want to know how I came to serve a whole Town? Hmm, I suppose for posterity's sake, the tale should be told. It is brief, mind you, but still crucial to the survival of this town.
*I open the door to the spacious drawing room, letting the guest enter first. I then prepare a sweet smelling white tea with mandarin and clove aromas. Once the tea is ready, I pour it into an exquisite golden tea cup and place it on the side table next to the guest.*
Now then, I did not come to serve this town until after events that occurred later this past year. During Halloween of 2012, certain things took place that threatened not only Barton, but all of Gaia as well. A certain dark elf known as Don Kuro is to blame for the massacre late last year.
The Don is head of the Dark Elf criminal underworld. He had always been a schemer and a malcontent, but this time he pushed things too far. Many of the vampires he had snared into his service became fed up with his mistreatment of them and re-pledged their loyalty to their true leader, Louie Von Helson. Even the Countess Ambrosia came to her senses and pleaded with Louie to rally troops to stop the Don's impending attack on all those who would not join him.
The carnage was beyond description. But this was not the worst of the Don's crimes. Known to only a few, including myself due to my...unnatural existence, Don Kuro struck a bargain with an ancient evil being, letting it use him as a vessel to wreak havoc across the lands. As of yet, this demon has not made any apparent move, but I have no doubt that the worst is yet to come.
Anyhow, when the dust of the battle finally settled and the mourners had buried their dead, the people of Barton Town, especially out brave Bartobs, decided they needed some extra "fire insurance" in case of future attacks such as the once unleashed by Don Kuro. BFAA took on the task of looking into obtaining some sort of weapon or military force that would be capable of crushing an attack of epic proportions. What they ended up finding was Hell.
Through his research, Chef stumbled across writings that indicated an old clerical temple could be found buried under the hills overlooking Barton. He hoped that maybe some divine help could be found there. I won’t bore you with the details of the trek or the long days it took to find an entrance into this long forgotten temple (it may have just been in the hills overlooking Barton, but it took them forever to find the entrance). However, what was discovered inside is very important.
Once the party of BFAA members managed to find the secret entrance to the temple, they followed the passage that led deep underground, until at last it ended in front of a solid wood door of only one panel. An intricate mark was carved into this door. After attempts to break, hack, and blow open the door, Kagura finally did some research in the books she had brought along on Ancient Gaia. She discovered that only someone pure of heart could break the seal on the door and gain entry by giving of their blood.
Long story short, everyone voted Chef, naturally, and it was a good choice. He cut his hand on a dagger he had brought along, and placed the bleeding wound directly in the center of the door seal. The seal glowed with a blue light and vanished. The door rose upward into the ceiling.
“Alright gang, this is it. I have no idea what we will find inside, but hopefully we will find some means to defend ourselves in the future. Everyone spread out, and leave no stone unturned,” Chef commanded and headed inside.
The stone halls of the once majestic temple echoed hollowly, as if they were not quite sure how to take this new intrusion. Their silence had been undisturbed for so long, as well as their secrets. Most of the wooden benches had rotted away to mere stubbly debris. The altar at the head of the main chapel, which had once been a beautiful white marble slab with golden engraving around the edge, was now broken in two. A horrible scorch mark covered the area where the table had broken. If one were to look closely, they would see spatters of long dried blood mixed in with the burns.
All of the Bartobs had a sickening feeling that something horrible had taken place here. Thought the record books said nothing to indicate this, they all felt sure a horrible event had forced this place to be abandoned and sealed away for good.
Regardless, they continued their search. There were countless chambers off of that main chapel. The Bartobs split into pairs and searched the chambers. Mostly all they found were dusty old tomes in languages they had never seen. A few old relics remained behind, such as statues and chalices. Nothing of interest really caught their eye. After about 6 hours of scouring the place from end to end, they were about ready to give up.
“Hey guys, I may have found something!” Arc called from deep in the temple.
The others followed her call to the last chamber in the temple. There was nothing remarkable about it. It was just as desolate and void of any sign of habitation as the rest of the rooms had been. However, a stone about the size of a book was standing up at an odd angle from the floor. Arc had discovered a hidden cache.
“Is this all you wanted to show us?” Renon asked skeptically.
“No. I wanted to show you this,” Arc said as she held out a single old tome. It bore the same seal on the mottled old leather cover as the door that sealed the temple.
Chef took the book from Arc and turned it over in his hands. It held no title, just the seal. He carefully opened the tome to the first page. Surprisingly, the language was Common, which most Gaians spoke today.
“The Official Records of the Golden Chalice Order, as documented by High Priest Eagan, volume 13 of the year 1284,” Chef read out loud.
“What do you suppose this means, since it was buried?” Hinata asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good,” Chef replied quietly.
The others stood around Chef while he thumbed through the pages. Most of it was like a journal of the daily goings on of the temple. However, closer to the end, the contents began to take on a disturbing edge.
The book’s author wrote of a Friar who had come to the chapel from a distant land as an understudy. At firs the man had seemed to fit in well and excelled at his studies. After a time though, he began to act very reclusive. More than once, a fight flared up in the dining hall, the new friar right in the middle of it. Not long after this, some of the other understudies began to report an odd shadow that seemed to follow this other understudy. The High Priest began to worry, and sent an elder to shadow the man’s every move.
The elder reported back that the Friar would disappear into a secret chamber, the entrance hidden somewhere in the farthest study room of the temple. The High Priest tried various times to find this secret entrance. He finally found it by pure chance when he accidentally cut himself on a wall sconce in that chamber, the blood dripping onto a small mark on the floor. The mark glowed with a dark light and part of the stone floor shifted, opening to reveal stairs to a hidden chamber below.
What the High Priest found was a dungeon that had been converted into a ritual chamber for dark incantations and spells. He found a journal that told how the Friar had originally been studying ways to combat dark forces when he stumbled upon an ancient scroll that held the instructions to an ancient summoning rite. The Friar had been curious and tried it, only to find it was not what he thought. Instead of being the dud he had been expecting, it summoned a powerful demon that possessed him and would not let go until it had destroyed the Golden Chalice Order, which had locked the demon away one thousand years ago. Now the High Priest knew the truth.
Needless to say, the High Priest tried to stop this possessed man with various exorcisms and purifying incantations, but it was no use. As the days wore on, the demon’s hold on the man grew stronger. The order was powerless to stop the demon. That was when the High Priest Eagen got the idea to fight fire with fire. If no force he used could stop the demon, perhaps another demon could.
The Friar had been put under heavy restraints, many sigils of purity place on his bonds, but it would not hold him for long. On the 13 day of October, 1284, the possessed Friar broke his bonds and went on a rampage through the Temple. This was the last chance Eagen would have to stop this evil. He placed the Order seal on the main temple door to ensure only the pure of heart could enter. He then set up the ritual of summoning on the chapel altar. People were running and screaming all around the temple as he recited the incantation and offered his own blood as a sacrifice. The temple was eerily quiet now. The screams had stopped. Suddenly the chapel grew dark, and a great smoky pillar rose up from the altar. Through the smoke a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen staring back at High Priest Eagen.
“I had done the unthinkable and summoned a demon to defeat another demon. I knew there was no other choice. I asked this dark being I had summoned to destroy the demon that had taken the lives of my brothers. It agreed to do this, asking for a life in return. It said I would be that life, since I had a pure heart. I agreed, asking that it bury this journal in the temple once I was dead. He agreed.”
“Then a terrible screech like a great bird could be heard behind me, and the demon that had possessed the Friar stood behind me. ‘I will destroy all those who locked me away!’ it screamed. That was all it had time to say before my demon came at the Friar from above and slammed it down onto the altar. My demon ripped the Friar to shreds, finally setting him ablaze with dark fire.”
“The demon and the Friar were now both dead, the village below the cliffs safe, but nothing would remain of this Order. The demon I had summoned took me to the outskirts of the town by some means of teleportation. I left a few small clues to the existence of the temple and how to get in at the village library. It was all I could do. I did ask the demon for one more thing. I asked that if a time ever came that the people of this village would ever need a protector from forces of darkness, that he would be willing to fill that roll. I was surprised when he agreed. I wrote down the instructions for the summoning ritual in the last page of this journal so that whatever desperate soul that comes across it may yet be able to employ the demon’s aide. I now go to my end.”
Once Chef had finished reading this entry, everyone looked at each other with mixed emotions and wide eyes. It had been a dark tale indeed. Should they risk employing the services of a demon, or try to find some other aide?
“Well, what do you all think?” Chef asked after a time.
“It sounds awful risky to me. What if the demon wants to kill us in return for its service?” Hinata said to the group.
“I agree that it definitely is a risky thing, but if Don Kuro tries to attack again, we may not survive another attack. I think we should at least see if this demon would be willing to help,” Kagura reasoned.
Both arguments were valid. Chef’s head ached with the stress of having to decide such a thing.
“Ok,” he said finally. “How about this: we do the summoning and see if the demon is willing to go for a less morbid deal, and if not, we just forget it and try to find help elsewhere. I’m sure that much won’t hurt.”
The Bartobs muttered amongst themselves for a few minutes. Then Arc spoke up.
“While we may be very skeptical about how this will turn out, we do agree that we should at least make an inquiry. Therefore, we will do the summoning, but only make a deal if we can arrange to not have any innocent lives taken.”
“Alright then, I suppose we need to get things set up. I have no desire to go down into some creepy dungeon, so I suggest we do this in the main chapel. I want us ready to run for our lives if necessary,” Chef said.
And so the group trekked back through the temple and into the chapel once more. With a bit of team work, the symbol shown in the book was drawn on the stone floor with chalk, six candles placed evenly around the outside of the circle and lit. Now all that was left was to recite the summoning words and offer a blood sacrifice.
Everyone stood off to the side from the circle, hesitant looks on their faces. They were all scared of what could happen if things went horribly wrong.
“Are you sure you want to do this? You know you don’t have to,” Hinata offered hopefully.
Chef shook his head, resigned.
“I have to do this. It may be our only chance. We need a pocket ace in case of future catastrophes.”
**(play track 8 from disc one of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey soundtrack here)
With that, Chef stepped into the middle of the symbol on the floor. Using the dagger he had brought, he sliced open his hand and let the blood drip to the floor. With only slight hesitation, he began the summoning chant
Beast of ashes, shadow, and fire Fiend that lusts for blood desired From darkest depths I summon now Your services and do herby vow On pact of blood this dark hour A debt to pay for Hell’s dark power Come forth ye demon and make a pact On this, my soul’s desire, to act
The rite now spoken, Chef stood there waiting for a sign. All was quiet. Nothing stirred in the dark chapel. The others waited with baited breath, half hoping that nothing would happen.
Just as Chef was beginning to think it had just been a grand joke on them, the candles surrounding the circle all went out at once, and then flared back to life with a deep blue flame that smelled of myrrh. Deep red flames began to sprout on the outer rim of the summoning circle. Chef yelped and jumped out of the circle just before the whole thing caught and was set to a raging blaze. Black smoke billowed up from the fire.
The smoke and flames rose higher until they almost reached the rafters. A great wind picked up out of nowhere and turned the fire and smoke into a great roaring column. Through the hellish twister, two gleaming red eyes appeared, and a voice spoke from the flames.
“For what purpose have you summoned me here human?”
Chef was terrified, but knew he must say something.
“On behalf of my fellow Barton citizens, I have summoned you in hope that you might answer to the request of the former High Priest Eagen and fulfill his request to offer your protection to our town,” Chef stated, trying to keep his voice steady and free of fear.
“A pact of this magnitude will come at a price. How far are you willing to go, I wonder, to protect those you care about?” The demon asked, sounding rather amused. Still the flames raged around it, only letting the glowing red eyes be seen.
“Is there anything other than human lives that you would consider as payment?” Chef asked quickly.
“I can offer you this deal: I will require the pact to be made with the entire town. In exchange for my services, I would ask for blood in return. A certain degree of a person’s soul essence may be found in the blood. This may not be as satisfying, but it will still suffice. Would you agree to these terms?”
Chef looked back at his comrades. They debated only briefly.
“I suppose it would be just like stocking up the blood bank like we do for the vampires. I don’t see why this would be a problem,” Arc offered.
Chef nodded once at her and then faced the demon once more.
“We will agree to the terms,” Chef confirmed.
“Done!” was all the demon said.
The fire and smoke flared for a second and then vanished completely. Almost immediately, floor began to rumble, loose stone falling from the ceiling. The whole place was about to come down around the Bartobs!
“Run for it!” Chef yelled to be heard over the sound of pillars and other things crashing to the ground. The Bartobs scrambled to get out the way they had come, through the tunnel and out into the starless night sky that awaited them.
Once out, the Bartobs struggled to catch their breath, but their attention turned toward the deep blue glow that was spreading across all the land that encompassed Barton Territory. It was emanating form the center of Barton Town!
The Bartobs quickly took off down the hills, running at breakneck speed to get to the town square to see what was happening. On the way, Chef, Arc, and Kagura noticed how the glowing blue tendrils seemed to be forming some sort of pattern as they spread.
Our brave heroes reached the gates of Barton Square just as the glowing blue line intensified in color and sent a shockwave of energy outward from its center point. Anyone standing was knocked to their feet on impact, temporarily losing their vision.
Then all was quiet. Slowly, sight began to return to those unfortunate souls who had been caught outside when all this had occurred. Chef, Kagura, and Ren helped the other Bartobs to their feet. As one they approached the center of the town square, the smoke there slowly dissipating to reveal the form of a human walking toward them.
Everyone stopped and stared wide eyed as the last of the smoke finally disappeared and an attractive man in a fine suit strolled leisurely up to the group.
“W-who…” Chef began to ask.
“Please pardon my horrible manners before. My name is Caelen Evernight. I am now your demon butler and protector.”
*It is midmorning as I clear away the tea and tidy up the drawing room.* Well, it took my masters and the rest of the town a few weeks to get use to the idea of my services, let alone what I am. Things are much more relaxed now. I see to the needs of this town, and should the need arise I will defend it with my very life.
Ah, how the time has flown. Lunchtime will soon be upon us and I haven’t even gotten the meal preparation underway. If you will excuse me, I must see to my duties.
*Humming quietly to myself as I prune the rose bushes*
Ah, hello there. I didn't realize there were guests at Barton Manor. Welcome! What's that? Who am I? Well, dear visitors, I am Caelen Evernight, demon butler of Barton. You need not fear me. I protect this town, for that is the contract I have made with its citizens. What do I like most about the town, you ask? I suppose I am rather fond of the quaint neighborhoods nestled around the busier town square. In fact, the neighborhoods recently got a major upgrade. I could regale you with the hilarious results of that upgrade, if you like. Very well then, take a seat. I'll fetch you some tea, and our tale shall commence.
The whole of Barton was all a buzz on the first day of May. The renovations that had been so long in coming were finally complete. Crews had spent months demolishing the old Barton neighborhoods and rebuilding them to a more magnificent scale. New roads and bus routes had been added. This project had been a major undertaking, but most people had been looking forward to the fresh face this upgrade would give their beloved Barton.
Scores of people waited in the town square for the official ribbon cutting ceremony. All of the shop owners of Barton were present as well. People laughed and chatted excitedly as the anticipation rippled through the air.
Finally, the mayor of Barton stepped onto the stage and spoke from his gleaming podium, the crest of Barton shining brilliantly upon the woodwork.
"My fellow citizens of Barton, today is a glorious occasion! The long-awaited renovations have been completed! Barton town is now more beautiful than ever! I thank you, the citizens, for your charitable contributions to this project. Without your generosity, it would not have been possible. Now, without further ado, let us cut the ribbon and usher in a new era for Barton!"
The crowd cheered as Ian, owner of Barton Boutique, took the gleaming golden scissors from the Mayor and delicately sliced through the red satin ribbon tied across the south gate of Barton. With the cutting of the ribbon, the crowd surged forward to see for themselves the final masterpiece that was the new Barton.
Quite a few members of BFAA, the elite athletic and artistic society of Barton, had gathered for the ceremony that day as well.
What? What is BFAA? Barton's Fort of Athletes and Artists was founded during the final days of the 2012 Rejected Olympics. The camaraderie never died, and so this elite group remained. They commissioned this great manor, that has stood for many centuries and has seen many owners come and go, to be remodeled to suit their needs.
Now as I was saying, a group of Bartobs, as the BFAA referred to themselves sometimes, had been present at the ceremony too. Kimzy, MasturChef, Renon21, Hinata-Chan2588, Accio Alice, KaguraSakata, gowie2, Noirist, and myself all watched on with great pride as the citizens of Barton explored their beautiful new surroundings.
"Hey, since we are Bartobs, I think we should try to get homes next to each other. That way our BFAA Bashes will be easier to assemble," Chef said to the group.
"Yes, I quite agree. And since this is the case, I am willing to act as a land lord, along with you, Chef, and Hinata. We can create the main BFAA section in the neighborhood," Kagura suggested to Chef.
"Perfect! It is settled then. I will go request a neighborhood and then let you know when people can start moving in."
With that, Chef dashed off to the Housing Commission office to get the paperwork started.
While Chef took care of the technical details, the other Bartobs and myself wandered through the new Barton. There was so much to see! Every little thing was new, from the lamp posts to the shrubbery. We spent what seemed like hours just marveling at the splendor of it all.
After a time we spotted a bench by a bus stop and decided to take a breather. Naturally, I had brought supplies along to make tea. As I was preparing to set out the dainty tea cups with their Barton Leaf etched in gold, Hinata's mobile phone rang. She put it on speakerphone when she saw it was Chef calling.
"Hey Chef! Done already?" Hinata inquired.
"Yeah, the paperwork is all done. I've already claimed a house over in 164 Barton Heights. Why don't you all catch the bus and head out this way?"
It seemed like a good idea to everyone, so we waited for the bus. When it finally pulled up to our stop, Kagura nearly shrieked when she saw a familiar cat in a suit staring back at her through the window.
"Rufus!? What is he doing on the bus?" she asked as we all boarded the transport.
Apparently Rufus heard her, seeing as cats have excellent hearing, and replied,"Ian let me take the day off! I'm just riding around on the bus on a tour. I suppose you could call it a Bus Tour!"
The Bartobs just giggled as they took their seats. Kagura told the driver the destination, and the bus set out once more.
Now, being a deadly efficient butler, I was able to serve tea on a moving bus without spilling a drop. That seemed to amuse Rufus, who kept trying to snatch the teapot away. He wasn't the only one amused. It wasn't until I snatched up Rufus by his coat and cuddled him like a teddy bear that we heard the deranged laughter from the back of the bus. We all glanced back to see Old Pete sitting in the last seat, laughing hysterically at Rufus being squeezed like a Nerf ball. I promptly let the cat go.
Luckily, the bus pulled up at our stop just then, so we managed to avoid any more unusual passengers. However, our troubles were about to get much worse.
The Bartobs and I exited the bus and watched it drive off.
"Well, I see Chef over by his house, so let's go greet him," Noirist said.
Everyone nodded in agreement and made to move forward, but that was as far as we got. Chef glanced down at the ground and tried to move, but he was stuck in front of his house. At the same time, we were stuck standing in front of the bus stop! What on earth was going on here?!
Hinata's phone buzzed, and she looked down to find a text message from our friend Cree : We R coming 2 join U guys. B there in a flash!- Cree and Adz
"Oh no! If they come, they will get stuck too!" Hinata wailed.
"Try to send her a message telling her not to come!" Kagura urged Hinata.
But it was too late. A noise like an alien space craft beam was heard beside the bus stop, and Hot Caffeinated Cree and Adzella appeared.
"Oh great! Now you get to be stuck just like the rest of us!" gowie whined.
"What do you mean?" Cree asked, but then promptly found out just what gowie had meant when she tried to move and fell over, her legs stuck fast to the ground.
"What the ruddy devil is this?!" Alice raged.
"I don't know, but this is just plain stupid!" Chef shouted from the other side of the neighborhood.
So here we were, a bunch of silly Bartobs stuck in one place and flailing about. It was then I realized that we were missing one person from our party.
"Pardom me, but has anyone seen Renon? I thought he was with us on the bus," I said to the group.
Kagura looked a bit confused. "Yes, I know I saw him board the bus too, but I don't remember if I saw him get off. Where has that cat gotten to now? REN!"
"Whatcha shouting for, Kagura? I'm right here," we heard form somewhere overhead.
We all glanced up and to our right to see Renon crouched on the roof of Chef's house, a sly smile plastered all over his feline visage.
Needless to say, we were all quite baffled and a bit peeved. Alice was the first to voice this.
"Ren, what the devil are you doing on Chef's roof?! Don't tell me you went and got yourself stuck up there. I'm not climbing up to get you unstuck...mostly because I'm stuck myself."
"Yes, how did you get over there anyhow?" Noirist asked.
"Get off of my roof you moron!" Chef shouted.
Renon just took it all in stride.
"If you'll all stop yelling at me, I will tell you how and why I am on this roof. Now, after I got on the bus with you all, I realized I had forgotten to feed Benny, my puppy. I teleported back to the manor and fed him. The poor thing was about to die from starvation. Anyhow, while I was feeding him, I heard a news report on Channel 9 that a major programming problem in the teleportation pads around the towns had caused people to become stuck on the ground whenever they entered a neighborhood. Seeing as how I'm a space cat and all, I figured I'd be OK since my teleportation device operates on a different wavelength. So, I teleported here onto Chef's roof just in time to see you all start flailing about. I must say, it's rather amusing"
Mouths hung open as we all stared at Ren, dumbfounded.
After a brief silence,"Um, Ren, do you think you could get us unstuck possibly?" Chef inquired tentatively.
We all looked up hopefully at Ren to see what he would do. Ren regarded us for a moment, and then sighed.
"While I do find this all terribly hilarious, I suppose you are my friends. Seeing as that is that case, I will teleport you one at a time onto this roof. It's the only safe place to be since this glitch affects the entire ground. Just bear with me a bit."
Then Renon vanished in a flash of light and reappeared next to Chef, floating just above the ground thanks to his jet pack. He scooped up Chef, teleported to the roof of Chef's house where he unceremoniously deposited Chef, and vanished again. The whole ordeal took about 30 minutes, mostly due to the fact that a few of us were stuck rather tightly and had to be released by use of Renon's particle blaster.
Once we were all safe on Chef's roof, we all felt a bit bad about yelling at Ren. Many apologies were heard, but Ren merely shrugged and stole my line.
"If I could not do this much for my friends, what kind of a Bartob would I be?"
I just rolled my eyes and served tea while we all chatted and watched the sun set over Barton.
The glitch in the teleportation pads was eventually fixed, so not more innocent citizens got stuck on their way out the door in the morning.
*I glance down at my watch*
Oh dear, it is getting late. I must go prepare the evening meal for the Bartobs. I hope you enjoyed this little tale. It is certainly once of my fondest memories.
*With that, I smile coyly and vanish*
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:13 pm
The Barton Chronicles Volume 4: Glitterpocalyps! Parts 1-3
It was on one fine spring day, in the great town of Barton, that a contest was being held at Barton Square. Lady Alice had deemed it necessary to have all of Barton decide who had more charm, Renon21 or MasturChef. In an unusual public display, Alice stole the clothes from both contestants and made them pose for the crowd. While both men were quite charming, there was an odd feel about Chef. His apparent charm was beginning to manifest as a glittery swirl.
As the glitter spread, most of the onlookers became entranced by this display of pure charm. However, the ever-wise Kagura knew what was happening. Quick as a wink, she whipped out specially designed spectacles that would allow her to be immune to the charm spell weaving like a web around Chef.
Oddly enough, even Chef was becoming rather alarmed at the rate at which this glitter tornado was growing. The glitter was beginning to blow around in a fierce gale, getting into hair, clothes, and the occasional mouth hanging open.
Suddenly, everything in sight was transforming into glitter. Glitter fell from Kimzy's umbrella. Hinata-Chan tried in vain to shoot at the glitter, but the bullets exploded into more glitter on impact. The situation was getting quickly out of hand. Even a troupe of gnomes that had marched into town were now practically choking on the glitter. Chef looked terrified.
"It's not my fault!, " Chef cried. "It's getting everywhere and I can't stop it! Save me Hinata!"
Hinata tried to race to the rescue, but it was in vain. She tripped and was overcome by the mounting sea of glitter. Chef, who had been temporarily knocked unconscious by the great storm, awoke just in time to see Hinata being swallowed by the glitter. It was too much for our dear Cheffie. His whole being transformed into a creature of glitter as the chaos continued to mount.
"Oie, my head!," Hinata mumbled as she managed to dig her way to the surface of the glitter sea. This resulted in a mouthful of glitter, not to mention an eyeful.
"It burns! The glitter, It burns! My eyes!, " Hinata shrieked as the tears streamed down her eyes in an attempt to flush out the offending substance.
It was at this time that Kagura came riding in on a wave of glitter. She had managed to secure a boat so that she would avoid the worst of the raging Glitter Sea.
"Hello!!! Is anyone out here? There's so much glitter," Kagura called out as her keen eyes scanned the sparkling waves for any sign of life. Finally, she spotted Hinata, adrift in the crashing waves.
"Hinata are you okay?" Kagura called out to her friend.
Next to Hinata, Kimzy was beginning to sink under the weight of all the glitter. The situation seemed hopeless for our Barton friends.
Meanwhile, Renon, being the clever cat he is, had secured a space ship for himself so that he could avoid the glitter all together. Using the speaker system, he called down to Hinata and Kimzy below.
"I'd pull you guys up here, but it only seats one. Sorry about that."
While Ren was being of absolutely no help, Kagura still searched the stormy tides. Kimzy resurfaced.
"No! the glitter is getting worse! It's going keep spreading! It's the Glitterpacolyps!!!," Kagura screamed in a full panic.
Then Kagura yelled up at Renon, "Darn you Ren! why can't your ship seat more!?"
Ren, calm as ever, merely replied,"I have an abduction beam, but if I use it the glitter might get in the engine and I'd crash and... I forgot my rope at home."
Kagura glared through the sparkling onslaught and said, " Curse that glitter! It's become to powerful even for our alien cat ally!"
It was then that the beginnings of Renon's reckless and heroic plan began to take form. He just needed to get above the glitter.
"At this rate I might have to return to space for safety," Ren commented over his radio.
As he said this, Hinata, who had bravely been fighting against the pulling tides, managed to reemerge on top of her house, spitting glitter.
"So..much... glitter.. here! It's even in the air!," Hinata managed to choke out between coughs and gasps.
Renon, who had been watching Hinata's brave struggle, suddenly remembered his plan.
"That reminds me Hinata, I need to get above cloud cover before it makes me crash."
With that, Renon piloted his ship out of the atmosphere and up to a space station in orbit around the planet. Once on that station bridge, Renon activated the com system and reported down to those stuck below in the deluge.
"Uh guys, good news and bad news..... the good news is we're about to get a break in the glitter storm..... the bad news is there's an even bigger storm behind it. It's a Glittercane!"
As Hinata attempted to fortify her house to weather the storm during the brief respite, Renon continued to monitor the crisis from space. What he saw was alarming to the highest degree.
*Kssh* "Space cat to Barton! Come in Barton! Glitterstorm bigger than it appears *crackle* goes from Bass'ken lake to Bill's Ranch *crackle* standby for updates as storm progresses.. "
As the horrendous glitter storm of the century raged on in Barton, the mastermind herself sat at a computer in a fortified bunker, silently laughing to herself. Alice had planned this all along. She knew what would happen if she put Chef on display. She knew his dark power would manifest beyond his control. Alice squealed with girlish glee as she watched the events unfold.
Meanwhile, Chef had managed to retake his normal human form, but the damage had already been done. As he struggled to keep his head about the sea of glitter, he noticed a communication screen. It showed a live feed of Alice, safe and secure, on the only little piece of Barton that had not yet been overrun. Over the speaker, Alice giggled gleefully.
"Run while you can, Alice! Nowhere in Barton will be safe! NOWHEREI You can't just draw a barrier circle to stop this sea of glitter! Ren! Use the abduction beam and save the others! Don't worry about the glitter. I will keep it outta the beam. I must end all this madness," Chef shouted heroically.
Aylin had been watching the whole thing from a safe distance herself. She thought out loud, " And this is why I'll be safe in my rented tree top boarding house room on the floating island port town of Porta Denia. Glitter can't get to me when I'm on an island kept afloat by one of the largest Casmir trees on Gaia."
Hinata coughed to clear her throat and yelled in agreement with Chef.
"Go escape Alice! The glitter...oh the glitter! It's spreading not only in Barton, but everywhere!"
Chef shouted to Hinata as he began to swim to an open patch of land,"Go towards Ren, Hinata! He'll save you all. I must stop the glitter!"
Aylin heard all of this exchange and once more though out loud as she sat safe and snug, "And this is why I took to the air thousands of feet above the Gaian landscape. It's a pretty rough and tumble type of town, but it's a good hiding point and way station up there in the open skies of Gaia."
Can you blame her? She is right, after all.
At the same time, Hinata replied to Chef, " But he has only one seat! He can't carry us all to safety. The glitter, this must be what Ultra Satan Kitty had predicted! Nevertheless, I'm glad some of us are safe in the air. "
And where, you may ask, had Caelen Evernight, Demon Butler of Barton, been during this crisis? Sipping a cup of Earl Grey, of course! Glitter has no effect on demons, you see (or so he thought, very mistaken). He had sat back on a high mountain top overlooking Barton and watched it all play out.
"My! It is good to be a demon butler some days," Caelen mused.
However, he was bound by contract to the people of Barton. He would have to intervene soon or watch his masters perish.
Kagura had been making her way through the sea of glitter in her steadfast boat this whole time. She sailed near to where Chef was standing on that last patch of untouched land.
"We must find a way to get the sky too! We can help, Chef! Counter attack the glitter!" Kagura eagerly offered. But Chef would hear nothing of it.
"No Kagura! Go to Renon! He can get you all in the beam!"
At this point, Caelen decided it was time to jump into action. He spotted Kagura in her boat and leapt from the mountain, soared in a graceful arc, and landed delicately on Kagura's boat.
"I say, madame, do you need some help in your endeavor to rescue your comrades?" Caelen ask.
Kagura was startled at the sudden appearance of the butler, but figured help couldn't hurt.
"Why yes, I do. But more importantly, why aren't you buried in the glitter too, hmmm?"
To this, Caelen merely smiled that dashing smile of his and said, "Madame, I am simply one hell of a butler."
As this conversation played out, Hinata had grabbed an inner tube to help her keep from floating away.
"Chef, we really could help you!" she shouted to be heard over the intensifying roar of the glitter storm that was building up again.
"No, Hinata! We are not going after this glitter. You and the others are getting out of here. I will stay behind and stop it. With the Force as my ally, I am strong. Maybe not strong enough to get out of this mess unscathed, but strong enough to buy you all some time," Chef declare with absolute certainty.
He would never sacrifice his friends in order to stop something he had helped to create.
Kagura overheard this and replied, "No Chef, we can't leave you to fight on your own! We must defeat this sparkly menace together!"
At the same time, HInata wailed, "But Cheffie! We are Bartobs, and our home was attacked by the glitter. We need to come together!"
Caelen decided he liked the idea of fighting alongside Chef, so he hopped lithely from Kagura's boat and landed next to Chef on his pitiful little piece of land.
"Two forces of great power stand a better chance than one. I shall assist you since glitter has no effect on demon butlers. However, you may want to put on a blindfold since I will have to assume my true form."
Not yet noticing Caelen, Chef still countered with Hinata.
"There's no fighting it. The glitter has multiplied every time we tried to fight or struggle back. What I plan is to concentrate the glitter in one area, so you are all saved. Naturally, this one area would be me."
"But Chef, you will be overwhelmed by the glitter," Hinata cried.
At this, Caelen interjected with an idea of his own.
"Why not let me open a Hell Gate and send the glitter where it belongs?"
Chef finally noticed Caelen beside him, but was not very bothered. Caelen eyed Chef as he considered the proposition.
Then Chef replied,"That may actually work. Gathering all the glitter into one area, then sending it into the gate? That may work quite nicely."
"Well then, just let me know when you are ready for me to open the gate. Only a demon in true form can open a gate like this, so I must ask you to shield your eyes from me when I do this," Caelen explained to Chef.
Chef nodded in understanding.
Just then, Kgaura's boat radio crackled to life.
*Ksshh* "Space cat to Barton! Repeat, space cat to Barton! Come in Barton! Currently positioned over the Glittercane in the Dancey Cat Space Station! Do you read? over."
And then another voice on another channel:" I'd offer to help you two but I'm afraid anything I do just might end up causing more damage to Barton. I wouldn't want a repeat of the incident when I was four. That poor guy's estate and a twelve block radius in Durem never saw it coming when I mispronounced those those words written in the ancient language."
"That's ok Aylin," Chef said as Kagura held down the speakerphone button on the radio.
Chef then faced the oncoming tsunami wave of galactically proportioned glitter. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then he slowly raised his hands and shouted, "Do NOT test me!"
The tidal wave just kept coming. Then the boat radio crackled again.
*Kssh* "Nice try, but the glitter laser is already charged! Barton will meet my demands else they face the Nyan Sparkle Cannon. I demand one thing or else my full feline fury will be met.... a shrubbery! over."
Hinata, who had floated near to Kagura's ship as it anchored beside Chef's piece of land, overheard the horrible threat from Ren. First a glitterpocalyps, now a betrayal? How much worse could this get?
"Ah Ren, how could you!? Barton is your home! Chef is trying to collect the glitter in one place and put it in the portal that Caelen will open to end this," Hinata pleaded with Renon.
Kagura exclaimed, "What?! Ren, have you betrayed us?"
*Kssh* "SILENCE! You have my demands. Now commence and all will be explained," Came the ominous reply from Renon.
Chef stared at the ground in thought for a moment, and then looked over at Caelen, who had been patiently awaiting orders.
"Looks like things have escalated. You wouldn't be able to, say, open up that Hell Gate right where an orbital superweapon's laser is going to hit with the purpose of redirecting that shot? Or perhaps just open up the Hell Gate right next to said superweapon?" Chef inquired.
Caelen's eyes began to glow a demonic red as he anticipated the destruction to come.
"I shall open the gate anywhere you wish, my Lord. You have only to give me the order."
Ren had been listening all this time, and overheard the plan.
*Kssh* "You forget we cats have great hearing. Now, get me the Shrubbery and all will be explained!"
Aylin came over the other channel once more.
"A shrub? All this for a shrub? Ren, are you out of your mind? I have family in Barton. You risk their lives and the lives of those who called you comrade for a shrub?"
Renon was growing tired of this farce. It was time to end things.
*Kssh* "Hurry up! Shrubbery or Sparkle laser! Clock is ticking everyone!. *Sigh* never mind.... I asked for the shrubbery as I wanted to see part of the place I so loved before.... never mind, no time now.... firing the sparkle cannon.....and ending this nightmare. Goodbye guys... I love you. and Chef.... I'm doing this seeing as they need you more than me... and this is much safer than your plan," Renon lamented sadly.
He was planning on sacrificing himself all along!
Overcome with emotion at the thought of losing a dear friend, Hinata shouted,"Ren, no! You're our dearest friend as well. Don't do it!"
The sad reply came,"Hinata.... the sparkle cannon isn't a weapon.... well not in the way you think it is.... in about four seconds it will reach Barton... erasing only the glitter, but it will overload the station's core and explode with me on it.."
Hinata stammered in between the tears now flowing freely down her face, "B..but I mean don't die as well. No good will come from your death in this."
Chef was almost beside himself with rage at this reckless plan.
"My plan was to repulse the glitter and scatter it everywhere else in tiny amounts! Not to blast it all to hell! You've gone absolutely insane!"
Renon was going through with his plan regardless of what they all said.
*Kssh* "Chef, it's not going to hurt anyone or anything but the glitter. What did you think I was doing up here this whole time? Alice planned for the demon portals to open and has Glitter on the other side waiting to flood in."
And to Hinata," Hey don't be sad... you still got Chef and the others. Alice would never have planed for this outcome."
Caelen was growing weary of all the bantering back and forth. Had they forgotten that a glitter storm was raging right before their very eyes. In a few minutes all of Barton would be history! Caelen began his transformation into his true form.
"If you wish me to end this before the cat causes his own destruction, you had better give the order soon," Caelen said to anyone who was willing to listen.
*Kssh* "Caelen.... my mind's made up. Get them to safety as this is gonna kick up a lot of dust. Do this.... Alice would never have planned for this and therefore would have had no countermeasure. Don't open any portals! Just get them out of there!" came Renon's reply over the radio.
Caelen regarded Renon's order briefly.
"Are you absolutely sure? You won't be able to take back the order."
"Just do it," was all Renon said.
Kagura, chiding herself for not believing in Renon, muttered to herself, "Oh Ren, I'm sorry I doubted you. Don't do it!"
Aylin's voice, full of rage, was heard once more over the second ship channel, "Damn it Ren! I won't have you doing anything that will end in your own death. I've never lost a man before, and I'm not about to lose one now. You'd be a fool to take your own life!"
Chef, who had been silently seething over Renon's brash plan, spoke up now.
"Not going to hurt anyone!?" You're unnecessarily sacrificing yourself! Were it the case that the portals are an attempt at sabotage, then we simply shouldn't use them! Nobody is sacrificing themselves! NOBODY!" Chef shouted, his anger mounting to epic proportions.
One last reply came over the radio from Renon.
*Kssh* "Chef.... Aylin.... I know.... just promise..... take care of my fish and Benny the puppy for me..... This station has to have one person on it until the cannon fires....
"I may yet be able to remedy this. Trust me. I'm one hell of a butler," Caelen whispered to Chef.
"As soon as that weapon goes off, open up the Hell Gate inside the station's reactor! The glitter will have no effect in space!" Chef ordered Caelen.
A flash, so brilliant that it could be seen in broad daylight, flared out in the skies above Barton. The canon had fired.
Quick as ever, Caelen quickly scooped up Chef, Kagura,and Hinata, dropping them on the mountain overlooking Barton, before shooting off like a bullet to stop the destructive cannon. Caelen reached the station just in time to pick up Renon by the scruff of his neck, throw him onto an escape pod shaped like a fridge,and hurl it down toward the planet before the station's self destruct went off.
Caelen then opened a Hell Gate directly in front of the mass of glitter and station debris, allowing the mass to be pulled back into the wretched place from whence it had come. With what little strength Caelen had left, he created a barrier shield around the gate so that nothing else could come out while it was open. Debris cut at Caelen as it flew past him at warp speed. By the time the last of the glitter menace had been sucked into the gate, Caelen was covered in cuts and bruises.
The Gate now closed, and all of Barton safe, Caelen let himself fall back into Earth's atmosphere, barely pulling up in time to avoid crashing. He had passed the speeding fridge containing Renon upon reentry.
From the perspective of the Bartons below, a red hot object was seen hurdling towards Bass'ken lake. Soon a familiar voice came screaming out, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" This occured shortly before a massive tremor and geysers of water shooting into the air from the lake.
Caelen, hurt though he was, still watched as the escape pod fridge containing Ren crashed into the lake*
*sigh* "On second thought, maybe I should not have thrown him toward Bass'ken, "Caelen mused weakly.
Far above in the skies, by the windows of Mr. Fong's Noodle Palace and Diner docked at the bottom of Porta Denia, Aylin watched the whole scene unfold.
"Holy crap! Ren you idiot!"
Aylin pounded her fist against the window in frustration.
"You better be too hurt to move down there. Because I swear I'm going to make you wish you were if you aren't for pulling a stunt like that!"
In the background the sounds of shouting in a language not unlike that of Earth styled Mandarin could be heard.
The others who had been rescued by Caelen were stirring once more. Kagura woke from being dazed after Caelen's rescue. She leaned over the side of the boat, which had somehow ended up on top of the mountain.
"Ugh! Wha.. what happend?" she stammered groggily, and then shook her head.
"Ren, only you would pull a stunt like that," Kagura mused to herself.
Hinata had seen the whole reentry and crash, and watched in horror as fish went flying up out of the lake. The impact of the rescue pod had been that great.
"Ren! Don't ever do that ever again!" Hinata shouted to the wind.
Renon finally emerged from the now heavily dinged up pod, his body battered and bruised. He still had to get to land. Ren was not looking forward to that swim across the lake. However, his spirits did brighten when he found a left over fudgesicle in the fridge pod on his way out.
As Ren swam, he thought to himself,"Darnit... Caelen threw me in before I could aim for the landing pad near Aekea."
As everyone else rushed off to see if Ren was ok after that horrible impact, Caelen silently slunk away. His wounds were grave, but they would heal. He sought solitude mostly because he was unaccustomed to showing true feelings around humans. It's just not the demon way. In truth, Caelen was very upset that Ren would risk his life in such a reckless way. At the same time, he was relieved that Ren and the others were alive and well. After all, if Caelen could not save all of Barton from a Glitterpocalyps, what kind of butler would he be?
Meanwhile, up in Fong's Noodle Palace and Diner:
"Sorry Fong. I'm going to have to take a rain check on the dinner. I have a cat to go knock some sense into for pulling a very stupid stunt," Aylin said in a very matter-of-fact fashion.
Aylin then exited the eatery and made a free fall off the lower docks of Porta Denia, hoping the move wasn't an idiotic mistake, all the while muttering to herself.
"I swear, Ren had better be injured, or so help me Gaia, I'm going to break a few bones in that cat's body myself for pulling a stupid stunt like that."
Renon finally reached the lake surface after slipping under from exhaustion several times and swam for the shore.
"Ow...so much pain.... that fridge knocked me around like a pinball machine. Why does everyone forget cats have nine lives... well no life lost.... just means I can use one later.... ow... that fudgesickle... totally not a good idea to eat it before swimming. Stomach hurting so bad.... but totally worth it.... now.... time...go sleep..."
At that, Renon reached the lake's edge and promptly fell asleep.
All this time, Caelen had been in a secluded spot on top of the Barton Tower. Someone suddenly spoke beside him.
"Um... Why didn't you send that space fridge over here? I could have caught him."
Caelen looked up, startled to hear Chef's voice beside him.
"I thought it best to give him a flashy re-entrance. Besides, he'll live. Ren is one stubborn cat," was all Caelen had to say before he passed out, much like Ren.
Chef stood atop the tower next to Caelen's limp form, remembering Renon's spectacular reentry and crash.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Chef said simply as the sun went down in a blaze of color over Barton town.
The Barton Chronicles Volume 4A:Of Demons and Angels
This is a brief story that takes place a few days before "A" finally makes her move and we see the grand finale in a brief spin-off RP taking place as a continuation of Glitterpocalypse. Unfortunately, that RP thread no loner exists, but it was fun. I'll do my best to keep this PG-13 or lower, but keep in mind there is a relationship between Caelen and Celest.
Since the whole situation with "A" and the Glitterpocalypse has driven the last shreds of sanity out of poor Caelen, he has locked himself away in a dungeon. Well actually, he kicked everyone out of the Barton Manor and is not allowing anyone back in until "A" has been caught.
After a long day at her new job at the town newspaper, Celestine was ready for a little quality time with her Bartobs. Too bad that wouldn't happen. As soon as she was in view of the Barton Manor, it became clear that something was off. Every last one of the Bartobs was milling around outside the gates of the manor as if they could not get into the grounds.
What's going on here? Why is everyone standing around outside? You do realize it looks like it very well may rain, right?
Chef glanced up, a look of dull acceptance on his face.
"Caelen kicked us out and said no one is allowed back into the manor until "A" has been caught. We've tried to get in, but he's placed a seal of some sort on the property that none of us seem to be able to penetrate."
To say that she hadn't expected something like that was an understatement. Everyone knew Caelen had gotten rather stressed about the situation, but no one had realized it was this bad. Celest thought for moment, carefully considering what Chef had said.
You're absolutely sure you've tried everything you can think of to break this seal?
"Yeah, we've tried mental techniques, all out breaking down the gate, teleportation, the works! Nothing will get us inside the gates," Chef replied, most defeated.
Well, then there's no help for it. Give me your pocket knife.
"Say what now?" Chef asked, confused.
I've learned to read him quite well since my return and this seal, not broken by conventional means, is meant as a message, particularly to me. I'm the only one that will be able to get through. I'm certain that this is a Blood Seal. This type of seal only allows those whose blood is attuned to the seal to enter. Watch.
Celest took the pocket knife from Chef and made a cut in her hand. Giving the knife back to Chef, Celest walked up to the manor gate and pressed the wound against the lock on the gate. There was a faint ripple in the air, and the gate clicked open.
Right then. I'm going in. It looks like you'll all have to depend on me to settle this problem. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll have this all sorted out proper.
With that said, Celest entered the manor grounds, the gate swiftly closing and sealing once more right behind her. Once inside the manor, she made straight for the kitchen to make some Earl Grey. It always helped her think better. One steaming cup of tea later, Cel was off to find Caelen. She searched every room in the manor, which took a while seeing as the place was three stories high and boasted more than forty private rooms besides all of the public rooms and service domains. By this time it was 7:30.
After tearing through the manor and not seeing a single sign of Caelen's presence inside the vast building, there was only one place left to look. Sure enough, upon exiting out the back entrance of the manor that lead into the spacious gardens of the back yard, Celestine found Caelen relaxing in the luxury hot tub. Mentally doing a double eye roll, Celest quietly crept up behind Caelen.
Whatcha doin'? Celestine asked quite suddenly as she sneakily wrapped her arms around Caelen from behind.
Caelen had been so relaxed, almost in a trance state, that he nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke.
Yeep! What the…? Oh, Celestine. Forgive my bluntness, but are you trying to give me a heart attack? That isn't an easy thing to do, but you nearly managed it.
Teehee! No silly! I got your "message" at the gate and decided to reply. Did you really have to lock everyone else out of the manor?
Caelen sighed and looked off into the distance at the quickly gathering clouds. The weather matched his mood perfectly.
I know it was a bit extreme to shut everyone out, but I just can’t think straight right now. I have no idea how to handle this situation. I need to be alone to think.
Celest knew him better than that.
Obviously you don’t want to be completely alone, or you wouldn’t have let me pass through your blockade she said pointedly.
The day, which had started out full of the warmth and vitality of summer, had gradually given way to the grey skies of the building storm. Even as the last tendrils of the sun struggled to reach out across the darkening landscape, deep rolling thunder cracked and echoed across the hills surrounding Barton. Celestine glanced up at the brooding skies, slightly anxious.
Caelen, come inside. I’d rather not try to compete to be heard over the thunder.
Sighing heavily, Caelen nodded.
Yes, I suppose it wouldn’t do to be caught out in the rain. It’s not very relaxing. Anyhow, you may want to avert your eyes momentarily.
Huh? Why? Celest asked, confused.
Because, my lady, since I was alone I found no reason to waste time with swimming apparel, if you catch my drift.
Caelen grinned up at Celest in that coy way he had until she finally threw up her hands in exasperation and turned to face the manor while Caelen hastily climbed out of the hot tub and got his spa robe wrapped neatly around himself.
Celest glared at Caelen in annoyance as they walked back up the stone path and entered the manor, just as the skies opened up. For his part, Caelen just looked amused.
Once inside, Caelen wandered off to his personal quarters to shower and change into something comfortable. Celestine stood in the hall, pondering over how stressed the whole situation had made Caelen. She cared for him more than anything. In fact, she was one of few people that could ever truly be close to him. No matter how well he hid his feelings of isolation from the others, she could see through him. His heart was a thing of porcelain, chipped many times and yet, still beautiful.
Her mind made up, Celestine went off to her own room to get ready for bed herself. Though, this night, she would not be alone. Once she was satisfied with her choice of sleepwear, she crept quietly off to Caelen’s room. She let the door creak open just a bit, checking to see if he was in the main room or if he was still in his adjacent bathroom. The light was still on under his bathroom door, so Celest stole into the room, carefully shutting the door without a sound.
Celest quickly clambered up onto the ridiculously large bed, sitting at the edge, and waited for Caelen to come out. Demons don’t tend to sleep much. It’s more of a luxury to them. Celest briefly wondered why Caelen even had a bed to begin with.
The bathroom door clicked open finally, and Caelen emerged. His hair was slightly damp yet, his simple white night shirt left open to reveal his muscular chest. His light grey cotton pajama bottoms hung low at his waist. He really was a marvel to behold. Caelen looked up as he exited the bathroom and had to do a double take.
Uh, Cel? Wow…umm, hehe, is there something I should know about?
Teehee! Now don’t tell me you’re shy. I would have thought you of all people would understand. I don’t want to lose you. You mean more to me than anything. If anything ever happened to you…I could not live with it. My area of expertise deals in something with which you demons are quite familiar: the soul. If I bind my soul to yours, I’ll always be able to find you and be there to help you face any obstacle. You cannot tell me in truth that you don’t want this.
Caelen blushed, but knew she was right. Throughout all of his existence, Caelen had been treated like a freak because he did not believe in taking the souls of innocent humans. He tried so hard to protect humanity, not harm it. But because he was a demon, he was shunned wherever he went, always marked as an outcast because of his dark power. He had been trying for many long years to make peace with the idea of never being loved by anyone. And then she had come into his life.
The Crystalmancer who was quite beloved of the BFAA members had returned after some time in her own world. The first time he had seen her, it was like the sun rose inside of him. He sensed how keen and powerful she was, but also how wise and gentle. She had a truly pure soul. She saw through him when no one else could. She had been hesitant to be near him when she had first discovered what he was, but she did not judge him.
Much time had passed since then, and now the silver soul threads that bound them together were strong. Smiling at the memories of their growing love and trust, Caelen sat down beside Celest. He would gladly give up his immortality to live only a single lifetime, as long as that lifetime was spent with her.
You do understand, once this has been done, it cannot be undone? We will be bound together for eternity.
Celest looked at him, full conviction in her eyes. There was no hesitation when it came to her feelings for him.
I do understand, and I am perfectly at peace with the potential consequences this could have. However, I do want to know something. Why are you so worried about this whole ordeal with “A”?
That answer came easy. Caelen stared down at the floor as he spoke.
I am used to being able to solve any problem I encounter because of my powers. This “A” person seems to be able to negate most anything we try. I was summoned by your friends to help protect them from forces like this, and yet I can do nothing. Yes, Chef seems to think I can save us all, but in truth, I sincerely doubt my chances. I just wish I knew what “A” wanted. That would make things so much easier.
Gently cupping his face in her hands, Celest spoke quietly to him, her voice as soft as a whisper.
Have you considered just asking her what she wants? Sometimes the simplest things make the best solutions to difficult problems. Don’t overthink this. Besides, I will stand by you even if she brings the very doors of Hell to Barton. Trust me.
He drew strength from her every word. The truth of what she spoke was undeniable. He had been over-thinking things far too much. He just needed to let go and trust that all would work out. Caelen smiled in sincere appreciation of Celest. He felt strong when he was with her. That was all he needed.
Celest let her hands fall away from his face and crawled into the middle of the bed. She patted the spot next to her, indicating that Caelen should join her. His pulse was pounding through him, every nerve ending buzzing.
Caelen slowly edged closer to Celest. This was it. They would either bind their souls together as one or end up destroying each other.
You know better than I do how this works. I may be a Crystalmancer well versed in soul magic, but even I have never actually seen, let alone performed, a soul binding. How exactly does this work?
It’s fairly simple. We each must sacrifice our blood to each other, then seal the bond with…er…well, hehe…you know, we kind of have to kiss…
Caelen trailed off, looking away and blushing madly.
Celest uttered a slightly shy laugh. She had figured it would be something like that.
Umm, well then I supposed we should get on with it then. Celest muttered after a few moments of awkward silence.
Giggling nervously, Caelen nodded and looked back at her. As much as he despised the idea of inflicting any injury to her, it had to be done. Halfway closing his eyes, Caelen let his demon nature come forward to a degree. The fierce fangs that usually stayed hidden now grew out, wickedly sharp. His eyes were glowing with that same demonic red as they had the day the Bartobs had summoned him. If Celest hadn’t known the difference, she would have thought him a vampire.
Shaking off his hesitation, Caelen moved in close to Celest, holding her head slightly at an angle.
I’m sorry for the pain this will cause you was all he said before he plunged his fangs deep into Celestine’s neck.
It did hurt at first. Even though Caelen was trying to be careful, Celestine inhaled sharply at the pain. Slowly, the pain eased. The feeling of his lips gently tugging at her neck was almost enough to make Celest lose all sense of reason. It was a good thing he stopped before she did lose it.
Satisfied that he had taken enough from her, Caelen then shrugged off his unbuttoned night shirt so that he could more easily get at his wrist. He bit into his left wrist, the same side that held his seal. He held the bleeding wound out for Celest, and she let her lips touch the broken skin. Unlike normal animal or human blood, which just smells and tastes of copper, demon blood has a distinct sweet spice.
As Celest drank from his wrist, Caelen absently stroked the seal mark he had left on Celest’s stomach, perfectly centered around her navel, several months ago when he had made his contract with her. She had been wearing a sash ever since then to cover the mark. She wasn’t ready for the others to know about their deal.
After a few moments, Caelen subtly tugged his wrist away from Celest. Now came the part that made him the most nervous. He just regarded her for a moment, sitting there on her knees, looking quite innocent and beautiful. Celestine could feel how nervous he was.
Caelen, it’s ok. It’s just a kiss. Besides, you already know how I feel about you. You don’t have to be so distant around me. I don’t expect you to maintain the semblance of a servant in his proper place in my regard. You can relax around me, at least, when it’s just us anyhow.
That’s the crux of the whole thing, isn’t it? We both have to feign indifference in front of the others. How troublesome.
Ok, Mr. Emo. Snap out of it. Let’s just get this over with. I’m tired. Of course, that might have something to do with the gallon of blood you just drained out of me.
Caelen made a face like he was offended and then grabbed a pillow and smacked Celest right in the face. Celest just laughed and grabbed the other pillow. Thus began a brief pillow fight that neither person won. Celest swung too wide, missing him completely. He saw the shot coming, ducked, and returned with a swing that was dead on. Celest caught the pillow cannon right in the stomach and landed on her back on the bed. Looking quite pleased with his handy work, Caelen pounced on Celest, trying his best to look menacing, but looking more like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and knew it.
Celestine rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to look fierce and stared off in the distance at nothing in particular. Seizing the opportunity, Caelen lowered his head till his lips brushed Celest’s cheek. He trailed along her face until his lips found hers. He nipped playfully at first, but then got serious and kissed her with all the pent up passion inside him. It may have been merely a kiss, but it still left them trying to catch their breath.
Celest gently pushed Caelen away and settled into a more relaxed side position on the bed.
Caelen, you should probably get some rest now. Tomorrow I want you to let everyone back into the manor. There is no point in this self-isolation.
Oh, fine. Is that an order, Master? He replied very cheekily.
Celest just smacked his arm and yanked him down beside her. He rested his head against her chest, feeling completely safe and loved as he lay there wrapped in her arms. The rain continued outside, a lullaby from nature. Soon the two were both fast asleep.
The next morning dawned bright. As the Bartobs mounted the hill leading up to Barton Manor, they saw the gates wide open. Upon entering the grounds, the delicious smell of a good breakfast spread reached their noses. The sound of a string quartet drifted in from the back gardens. The Bartobs followed the smells and sounds to find a large table set with a morning feast, the old fashioned record player producing the relaxing music they had heard.
Celestine was sitting in a lawn chair, reading a thick novel and looking rather serene. And there was Caelen, standing by her side, a beaming smile on his face.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I apologize for my unorthodox behavior the previous day. Please, come enjoy breakfast at your leisure.
The Bartobs nodded enthusiastically and tucked into the morning meal. They all felt that things were looking up indeed.
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:27 pm
The Barton Chronicles Volume 5: A Fluffy Situation
Like other people, the residents of Barton Manor have pets. There is nothing unusual about this. However, during the summer of 2013, things got really fluffy.
Caelen got to work early as usual, taking care of daily chores around the Barton Manor. Everything was peaceful and in perfect order. The windows were spotless, the honey oak wood polished to a gleam, the lawn bouncing with fluffs...
WHAT?!?!?! Caelen did a double take and stared in horror at the herd of fluffs frolicking about in the garden.
Ack! Not the tulips I just planted! Eek!
Dashing off as quickly as possible, Caelen arrived in the garden just in time to scoop up two Pegacorn fluffs that were trying to nibble at the yellow tulips planted around the fountain.
Whew! That was close. Now, what I would like to know is how on earth you little guys got in here.
That's easy. We brought them here. Blaze is asking people to adopt these fluffs that managed to survive the Easter event. Since the towns are too crowded with people learning how to take care of their new fluffs, we thought we could keep the Bartob fluffs here at the manor. Celestine said and smiled innocently.
Caelen facepalmed.
Kagura, Kimzy, Alice, and Millie giggled at his reaction and skipped off to round up their own fluffs. The squishy little critters were bouncing happily through the spacious garden. They may have been small, but the fluffs were fast.
It took some time, but all of the fluffs were finally rounded up and taken into a relatively empty room to bounce around while the Bartobs went about their daily business.
"Just make sure to check on them every so often so they won't feel like they are being forgotten," Kagura said as she and the others headed off to their respective jobs.
The manor door closed with an ominous thud that spelled disaster in Caelen's mind.
Why me? he thought miserably to himself.
Caelen was turning to head back up to the second floor to continue vacuuming the rooms, when the manor door burst open. In rushed Chef and Aylin.
"Sorry, can't talk now! Late for work!" Chef said as he handed his wiggly little fluff to Caelen.
"His name is Lieutenant, or LT for short. Don't let him wander off!" Chef said and dashed out.
Aylin shook her head and patted the Pegacorn fluff in her arms.
I suppose you want me to look after your fluff too? Caelen asked in a resigned manner.
"If you wouldn't mind. I can't have little Moana under foot while I'm trying to make coffee and sell magazines," Aylin said as she handed over her fluff to a very harried Caelen.
"Be good now my darling," Aylin sang to her fluff, blowing it a kiss before daintily skipping out the door.
Why do these things always happen to me? Caelen whined out loud.
The Pegacorn fluff in his left arm just purred incoherently.
Sighing heavily, Caelen hauled the two new fluffs up to the holding room on the second floor where the other fluffs were. Caelen turned the door knob, and fell flat on his back as the door was pushed open from within! All the fluffs in the room had crowded up against the door and fell through as he had opened it. Now there were fluffs bouncing around the second floor hallway.
Ack! Hey, come back here!Cealen called after two quickly escaping fluffs.
Picking himself up off the floor, Caelen dashed after the two fluffs that were headed right for the stairs. The smaller Honey fluff was just about to bound down the stairs when Caelen caught it mid bounce. He quickly scooped up its Pegacorn fluff accomplice.
Oh no you don't! No fluffs are wandering off on my watch. It's back to the holding room for you two.
The Pegacorn fluff whinnied, the honey fluff buzzed, and Caelen looked frazzled.
Caelen headed back toward the holding room, the two fluffs secured in his grasp. No sooner did he round the corner than he saw the other fluffs bounding into the room where the vacuum was at, and it was still running.
Ack! I forgot to close the door!
Caelen dashed to the holding room, deposited the two fluffs he had caught, and dashed toward the billiards room where the vacuum was now making a rather disturbing sucking sound.
To his horror, he entered to find a Pegacorn fluff stuck halfway in the hose connected to the vacuum.
Oh dear lord, why?!?! Why today when I already have so much to do?
The other fluffs were bouncing around the stuck fluff, making worried sounding purrs. Heaving a sigh, Caelen switched of the vacuum. The horrible sucking sound stopped, and the stuck Pegacorn fluff's eyes stopped bugging out of its head so much. Caelen knelt down beside the distraught fluff and examined it. The fluff didn't appear to be physically hurt, just very scared. The other fluffs gazed up at Caelen with those big eyes. It was too much.
*sigh* Don't worry little guys, I'll have your friend out eventually. If you didn't bounce around and cause trouble so much, you might actually be cute.
Oddly, the fluffs seemed to understand. They all stopped bouncing around ans stayed perfectly still. This got Caelen to thinking. The stuck fluff needed to relax in order for him to be able to pull the fluff ball out of the hose. There was only one thing to do.
You should consider yourself very privileged because I don't usually like to sing around other people. But, since you aren't exactly "people" and you are in a bit of a bind, I can see there is no help for it.
Very softly, Caelen sang to the fluff, gently stroking it's fluffy face as he sang. It was like a charm. Not only did the stuck fluff relax, the other fluffs seemed to go into a kind of trance, swaying back and forth. Still softly singing, Caelen carefully slid the fluff out from the hose.
There now, that wasn't so bad. Just try not to get yourself into any more trouble than can be help, alright?
Scooping up the other fluffs, Caelen took them all to the holding room and made sure they were settled down before he left them to go back to his chores. He was able to work in peace for a time. Noon rolled around, and he figured the fluffs must be getting hungry by now.
He once again when to check on the fluffs. Experience being the best teacher, Caelen slowly opened the door this time, just in case the mischievous fluffs were at it again. Not meeting any resistance, he entered the room.
The Honey fluff was buzzing around the open window while the other fluffs were perched at the edge of the terrace railing, pushing each other.
Not again! Ugh! Why are you guys such daredevils?
Caelen made it to the window just in time to catch the Pegacorn fluff that was about to slip over the edge. Shaking his head in exasperation, Caelen shooed the fluffs away from the window so he could close it and make sure it was locked this time.
Caelen turned to glare at the fluff balls, but the glare turned to disbelief as he saw the last fluff round the corner out the door. By this point he had surpassed annoyance and was quite aggravated. Storming out of the room after the fluffs, Caelen’s eyes glowed that devilish red.
Caelen managed to track the fluffs to the kitchen. A he burst into the room, he found the fluffs stacking up on top of each other to try to open the cupboard. The sight of then balancing precariously and swaying like that was so comical that Caleen forgot he was mad and just fell to the floor, laughing so hard that his sides hurt.
What am I going to do with you little buggers? He said as he picked himself up off the floor. The fluffs just purred incoherently.
Sighing, Caelen unstacked the fluffs and opened the cupboard that they had been endeavoring to reach. As he opened the cupboard, the fluffs began purring madly and hopping about. Caelen was bemused. The only thing in that particular cupboard was a healthy supply of marshmallows.
The fluffs began crowding up against him in a frenzy.
Alright, I get it. You guys like marshmallows. I suppose it makes sense seeing as you are fluffs.
Caelen took a bag of extra-large marshmallows down from the cupboard and opened the bag.
Now, let us do this in an orderly fashion. Form a line and, ACK!
The fluffs were trying to jump up at him and get the bag. They clearly had no use for order or lines. They just wanted the marshmallows.
Caelen sighed, letting the bag drop and backing away.
About an hour later, the fluffs were purring happily, their tummies full of fluffy marshmallows.
You little puffballs really are something else, you know?
Now that the fluffs were more docile, Caelen was able to get them back up to the holding room. He situated the fluffs in the room, checked the window one last time to make sure it was securely locked, and turned to leave the room. He was about halfway to the door when he fell a gentle tugging at his pants leg. Looking down, he discovered a fluff clinging to him. It looked up at him with those large puppy eyes.
What? I can’t stay here. I have work to do. You must entertain yourselves WITHOUT causing trouble.
The fluff purred sadly.
Oh fine. I suppose I can stay for a few minutes, but then I really have to get back to work.
Caelen pried the fluff off of him and went over to the couch. Once again he felt a tugging at him. Looking behind, the other fluffs were pulling at him, trying to move him back.
What? Oh I see. You want me down on your level. I should have known.
Shaking his head in mild annoyance, Caelen moved to the center of the room and sat down. The fluffs instantly crowded around him. A Pegacorn fluff, it may have been Chef’s little LT, hopped up into Caelen’s lap and snuggled against him. The Honey fluff traces a few lazy circles in the air before settling on Caelen’s head. Caelen glared up in annoyance, but the little fuzzball was not phased.
Then a strange thing happened. The fluffs started swaying back and forth, purring in a sort of pattern. It was rather puzzling. Caelen listened carefully to the pattern, noting the rises and falls. Then it dawned on him. It was the same tune he had sung earlier to calm down the stuck fluff!
He was rather touched that they remembered it. Sure, fluffs may have a penchant for raising Cain, but they are very loyal to those they trust. Even though they had caused much trouble, annoying Caelen to no end, they still saw him as “Daddy.”
Caelen smiled inwardly and softly sang the song as the fluffs purred the tune. One by one, little fluff eyes slowly began to close. By the time the last fluff fell asleep, it was quitting time for all hard working Bartonians.
Kimzy, Kagura, Alice, Millie, and Celest met up with Chef and Aylin on their way back to the manor.
“I wonder how Calen fared to day with our little fluffs,” Kimzy asked out loud.
“I’m sure he did fine, but they were probably a handful,” Alice replied, smiling coyly.
“We’ll find out soon enough, Chef said as they neared the manor.
Millie pushed open the giant manor door and the Bartobs all entered. The place was quiet and rather empty.
Hello? Anyone there?Caelen? Celest called out, the sound of her voice echoing hollowly around the empty foyer.
“Maybe they are up in the room on second floor where we put our fluffs before heading out this morning,” Kagura suggested.
The others agreed that this was a likely scenario, so they all trekked up to the second floor.
When the Barotbs reached the fluff room, Chef listened carefully at the door. “I don’t hear anything. I’m a bit worried,” he said.
The others just waited quietly as he knocked on the door. A full minute passed with no response.
“Maybe we should just go in. What if something happened?” Kimzy pointed out.
Nodding, Chef held up three fingers, letting them fall one at a time. A three count. On one the Bartobs rushed the room together…and sighed with relief. The fluffs were snuggled up together in the middle of the room, fast asleep. And right in the middle of the fluffy mass was Caelen. The honey fluff was perched his chest, its wings fluttering each time it breathed in.
“Aww, how cute! The little guys must have really been a handful for Caelen to fall asleep too,” Kagura whispered.
The Bartobs giggled a bit at the scene before them.
Come on guys, let’s let them rest for a bit Celest said.
The Bartobs nodded and quietly exited the room.
The fluffs woke up later that evening, and the Bartobs happily played with their fluffs. The fluffs also got new name tags to help with confusion issues. More than a few jokes were aimed at Caelen for falling asleep with the fluffs. For his part, Caelen just did his best to look annoyed.
“Well, I’d say thing went well. The fluffs are all in one piece. I say we make Caelen our official Fluffsitter for BFAA. What say you?” Alice proposed to the group.
Cheers went up from everyone…except for Caelen. He just facepalmed.
