Finder

 

 

Finder

 

 

 

 

 

 

A novel

By

Gerry Chadwick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So, what happens now?” he said out loud to himself.

Jonathan Finder was worried, worse than that he was lost. The moors were wet and foggy and although following the road had seemed like a good idea at the time, he was now regretting leaving the car. It wasn’t raining but the fog was so thick it may as well have been. It seemed to stick to him like cobwebs, soaking into his clothes, his skin and his bones.

Turning around he wondered about going back to the broken-down vehicle and waiting until morning, or should he carry on and hope to find a house. Although, the car would at least offer some shelter, besides who the hell would live out here. Middle of nowhere, population you! He smiled to himself and, as he turned back to head towards his vehicle, he noticed a light. How could he have missed that before? Thanking his good luck, trudged toward it.

The house was big, excessively big. In fact, it looked too big. Somehow it didn’t quite fit with its surroundings, it looked superimposed. But Jonathan didn’t care, to him it meant warmth, directions or maybe a home phone instead of a cell phone showing “No Service”.

Walking up to the door and putting on his best “Hello, I seem to be lost” smile, he knocked and to his surprise the door opened.

Finder couldn’t believe his eyes, he entered and the first thing he thought of was a set from one of the old horror movies he loved. He wandered in, his car, the fog and the cold all forgotten. He gazed around like a child left in a toy store after closing time. He moved further into the huge room. Two enormous staircases, one on either side of the space, disappeared onto the gloom of the upper floor. The walls were covered, floor to ceiling, in great tapestries and on the floor were several large chests. Against the wall at the foot of one staircase an ornate Grandfather clock ticked away the hours. But, on closer inspection he realised that he could not actually tell what time it said. The room was dimly lit by oil lamps set into the wall between the tapestries and it was while studying one of these he became aware that the outer door had closed and a door on the wall opposite, between the staircases, opened.

“Finder” a voice called, deep and smooth it swept to his ears like a draft of warm air, “Enter Finder, you are welcome”

“Welcome to what?” he thought. He considered leaving but then realised, with some trepidation, that the door he had entered by was no longer visible. As he walked to the other open door, he felt uneasy but not threatened. Fear never entered his mind and the closer he got to the door, the calmer he felt. Then, without noticing that his clothes were suddenly dry, he entered the room.

He found himself in a huge hall, in the centre of which sat five people. The man in the middle of the group stood, he was clean shaven and had short, greying hair. He was wearing a grey suit and tie under which was an immaculately white shirt. He spoke.

“Finder” he said, “At last, you have arrived”

“Yes,” said Finder slowly, “I’m a bit lost”

“That is not important now” the black suited figure replied, “You must rest and all will be made clear in the morning” He gestured to another member of the group, “Stell”

“Yes Amgra?” A tall, blonde man rose from his seat at one end of the group. He looked at Finder with a slight smile on his face, as though he knew what Finder was feeling.

“Take our guest to his room and make sure he is comfortable” Amgra said

“Of course Amgra” he replied. As he approached Finder saw how young the man named Stell was. He looked about seventeen and wore, what could only be described as jeans and a T shirt, but the jeans were not denim and the shirt featured animals that Finder found hard to identify.

“Follow me” he said quietly. Finder couldn’t think of a reason not to, so he followed back out into the entry way and up one of the staircases

“I’ll take you to your room” Stell explained “It will be unfamiliar at first, but that will change when the House gets to know you better”

“OK,” Finder replied, at a loss to say anything else. At the top of the stairs was a corridor and Stell lead Finder down it, past several doors. He opened one and said.

“This is yours, sleep well and we will all talk further in the morning”

“Thank you” said Finder. He found himself in a plain room with a large comfortable bed, he undressed and got in. “When the house gets to know you better?” he pondered “What a strange thing to say” His eyes slowly closed and he fell into a deep sleep. His last thought was how familiar the duvet felt.

***

When he awoke, Finder gazed around his bright, airy room and began to wonder about the strange dream he’d had and how did he get home? His thoughts were shattered however when the door opened and Stell entered, carrying a tray.

“Greetings” said Stell “The House has prepared breakfast for you; I hope it is to your liking?”

“Er, thanks,” Finder replied, he was still waiting to wake up from this dream within a dream. But, when Stell placed the tray on the bed and left, he still hadn’t. He looked at the contents of the tray, cereal, milk, coffee, toast and butter. The usual sort of food he would have when he was at home, rather than the rushed snack he would grab mid morning when he was working away. Shrugging to himself, Finder ate the food, drank the coffee and was wondering what to do next when his door opened again and the grey suited man from the dream entered.

“The one called Amgra” he thought “He’s the one to answer my questions” Amgra seated himself on the edge of Finders bed, at least, a copy of his bed and sighed.

“No matter how often I do this, it is still difficult to explain” He began, “It will astound, confuse and scare you all at the same time, but you must help us. No, you will help us, I know it. Because you are a Finder”

“But that’s just my name” said Finder “I mean if it’s meant as a compliment to my family don’t bother. I haven’t really got one”

“Yes, we know that” Amgra went on, “It is a compliment to your abilities. Get dressed and Stell will return for you. He will bring you to the Meet Room and we will reveal all.” he waved his hands through the air “Vyvad would love to have heard me say that” he added.

Finder smiled. He decided he was going to respect this man rather than actively like him, more like an older uncle who has seen a lot of life and has a lot of experience, but always distances himself as if afraid to become too friendly. Whilst this thought was crossing his mind, Finder realised that Amgra had stood and was preparing to leave.

“Stell will return for you soon” he said and closed the door. Finder blew air out in a long release of tension.

“What the hell is going on?” he thought, “This is weird, and getting weirder by the minute” but, although that was the case, he didn’t want to leave. To make a dash for the nearest exit and run to his car. He didn’t know what help they wanted or whether or not he could provide it, but he would try. He ate his breakfast, which turned out to be good, and dressed in clean clothes that were a copy of the ones he had been wearing when he arrived. After a moment Stell entered again.

“Good, you are ready” he said, “Come. I will take you to the Meet Room” Finder followed Stell down a couple of corridors, both exceptionally long, although they never reached the end before they turned off. Finally, they came to a door which Stell opened and motioned Finder to enter.

The Meet Room was a reasonable size with a few desks and chairs scattered around. The walls were covered with bookcases, maps and pictures. Some of which Finder recognised and, some that he didn’t. All the people he had seen the previous night were present, sitting quietly or talking. Finder recognised a tall, red headed woman sitting behind a desk in conversation with the biggest member of the group. In the redheads hand was a small box with a small tube on top. The box was colourful and ornately decorated, the tube was a plain gunmetal grey.

He was just starting to wonder what this object was when, to his surprise and the big man’s apparent delight, a small, glittering metal bird popped out of the tube, whistled a short tune and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The object was just a toy after all.

At this point the red-haired woman looked up and, as she noticed Finder, her slight smile broadened into a welcoming grin.

“Finder!” she said, “Glad you could join us” She moved across the room and shook Finders hand, “I am Vyvad, and this.” She gestured around the room, “Is the Meet Room, where we come to relax occasionally. I’ll introduce the others”

“Here” she placed her hand on the arm of the big man she had shown the box to. “We have Ramon, a good man to know if you are in a fix” Ramon Laughed

“Indeed” agreed Ramon, “Of course, Vyvad here will probably be the one who got you into that fix” he laughed. Finder noticed a white streak of hair ran through the mass of black curls on Ramon’s head.

“Now our two resident comedians have introduced themselves I will take over” Said Amgra with a smile “Stell you have already met. This is Krissie” he motioned to the other woman in the room. She was small and slight; her straight brown hair covered a lot of her face.

“Hello Finder” she smiled

“Amgra” Finder began, a serious look on his face. “You’ve been a good host and everyone here seems friendly enough but. I have to ask. Where the hell am I? What is going on? And why do you keep using my name in that way?”

“What way?” asked Amgra

“Like it’s what I do instead of who I am” Finder replied

“Please” Amgra pointed to a nearby chair, “Sit and I will explain”

“We are the keepers” he began as Finder sat, “Keepers of the Planes, of which there are many. So many it would be difficult to even begin to understand. We keep the balance, for every plane dominated by good there is a twin plane dominated by evil” he paused “That is an overly simplistic description, for no plane is entirely good or evil but, one or the other usually has the upper hand, however slight or however great. In a good plane some evil will occur and vice versa, it is our duty to preserve that balance, for if a plane were to become totally good or completely evil then they would stagnate or tear themselves apart. But each plane has an opposite twin and, like positive and negative, if good gains an upper hand in one plane, then evil will come to dominate its twin. As a result, if one were to become totally good or evil, the balance would be disrupted and both planes would be destroyed. Sadly, they can never be replaced.

“Many years ago,” he continued, “My plane became totally good, stagnation occurred. Everyone had everything they needed and wanted, so they had no reason to strive, no reason to better themselves.” He sighed and looked down “No reason to carry on. My people died out; I was saved by the Keepers. They showed me the twin of my plane. War, greed, torture and chaos everywhere. I watched the end of both planes, good can destroy as much as evil Finder, I know.” Amgra raised his blue eyes to meet Finders, the sorrow was evident.

“Where do I fit into all this?” Finder asked, quietly.

“You asked why we say your name in a way that suggests purpose rather than just a name, well it is” Amgra went on, “You have the inbuilt skill or gift of finding something”

“Wait!” said Finder “I was totally lost when I arrived here, that doesn’t add up”

“It does if you were meant to find this house” Amgra smiled “And us”

“Come” he stood, “out into the corridor” They all stood and left the room. Once they were gathered in the corridor Amgra said. “I want you to relax, Finder. I want you to open your mind, make it blank, make it clear. When you are ready, I want you to go wherever your instinct tells you. Down any corridor, through any door. Find it. Go to it. The Trisept, Finder. Go to the Trisept!”

Finder felt a rush up his spine and a pleasing sensation in his head, then he did as he was asked. He relaxed and emptied his mind of all outside stimulation but, something flickered in his mind, like a reflection you can only see at the edge of your vision, a flash of a mirror or distant lightening. He opened his eyes and looked straight ahead.

He started to move, striding down the corridor. When he got to where the corridor split, he turned without hesitation, left and then left again. All the while one thought was in his head. “Missing” he thought, “something is missing”. He descended the staircase and approached the doors he had passed through the previous evening and threw them open. He wanted to see it desperately now, even though he knew it was incomplete.

Past the seats from last night, not noticing that there were now six of them not five, he finally came to a halt in front of an ornate screen at the back of the room. The screen was patterned with glossy black triangles on a matt black background, it was about three feet square and had no visible means of opening. But this did not discourage him.

He saw that the glossy triangles were arranged in such a way as to make inverted matt ones between them and it was while studying these that he noticed a glossy circle in one, about four down from the top. Reaching out he pressed the circle and all the matt triangles moved back a fraction of an inch. He then saw a matt circle in the centre of the projecting glossy shapes three rows from the bottom, he pressed this too. The two types of triangles parted, glossy upwards, matt down. Finder smiled.

Behind the screen was a crystalline shape, similar to a pyramid made of a collection of crystal rods. But only five were present and he realised that although he had never seen this object before, he knew that there should be six.

He turned to see the other keepers standing behind him. Amgra stepped forwards.

“There,” he said “You are a Finder”

They took him back to the Meet Room and they sat around the empty fireplace. Its cold stone and simple design were strangely reassuring to Finder, it reminded him of a time when he had stayed in a small holiday cottage as a child. That one had had a fire in the grate though and it reminded him of the real world, or what he had thought of as the real world. Was that world being removed?

“Here” a voice broke through his thoughts. It was Krissie, she handed him a cup of what smelled like hot chocolate.

“Thanks” he murmured

“It’s OK” She said reassuringly “We’ve all been through this, all the doubt and confusion. Amgra calls it the who, what, where, why moment. Stell was the last to go through it after Turrel left” she looked down, “And Baskin was killed”

“Someone was killed?” Finder was shocked “So you can die?”

“Yes” Krissie continued “We’re not immortals or anything, we die just like others. Although.” She paused to push her hair away from her face “We do tend to live much longer than others. It’s something to do with the House, I’m sure Amgra will explain” she broke off and looked towards the grey-haired man seated next to Finder.

“I suppose I’d better give you answers to some of the countless questions flying around your mind” Amgra sighed, “Krissie mentioned Turrel. Well, he is also a finder, in fact, in his own language his name is the equivalent of the word finder.” He motioned to the others in the room “All of our names translate into the word for our function in the Keeper’s House. For example, Amgra means leader”

“How can we all understand each other if we speak different languages?” asked Finder

“The House” Amgra went on “Anyone who is a Keeper lives in the Keepers’ house and is imbued with the gift of translation when they enter. This means you will be able to understand and communicate with anyone you meet, anywhere, no matter what language they speak”

“Useful” Finder remarked

“Useful indeed, it is one of the myriad things the house supplies to us. I have no explanation for that, it just is. After a while you come to accept a lot of what happens here. The House caters for our needs, we don’t need to worry about food, clothes, furniture or anything. The House provides it all and also seems to know what you want and when you want it”

“That’s why the room I have here looks like the bedroom I had in my apartment and breakfast consisted of what I would have eaten on any other day at home” said Finder thoughtfully.

“Yes” Amgra answered simply

“Wait, isn’t everyone I know going to wonder why I’ve suddenly vanished?” Finder asked

“Well, I’m sorry to say, as I always am, no. As with all of us, so it will be with you. No one will remember you. You see, when you enter the House as a welcome guest, it means you are destined to become a Keeper and, as such, your past is wiped out and your future becomes linked with the House, the planes and being what you are” Finder sat quietly for a moment. His past had been wiped out! That made him feel sad and alone.

“What happens if I choose to leave?” he suddenly asked, “Not that I feel I want to,” he added, “Strangely I feel like I belong here and can’t imagine being anywhere else. But what does happen if I want to leave?”

“We would allow you to leave” replied Amgra, flatly. “As long as we agree to your leaving. If we part on good terms there will not be a problem, be aware however, that all memories of being here will eventually fade and you will, in time, feel like you have always been wherever we leave you. This was not the case with Turrel” He sighed and looked down.

“Tell me about Turrel, is he the one I must find?” asked Finder

“In a way, yes” began Amgra, “you see, he will not fit on any plane he is on and, as a result, will destroy its balance, it will descend into chaos. Also, he will cause its mirror plane to decline, decay and stagnate.”

“So, he will actually destroy two planes,” said Finder

“Yes,” Amgra continued, “Turrel always seemed to want more than he had, he wasn’t satisfied with being part of a team working with the Trisept and the House, he wanted it all and the power that came with it” He went on to tell Finder the full story. Turrel had been a Finder but, had wanted the Trisept for himself. He would have used its power to rule the planes, not care for them and would destroy anyone who tried to stop him. One night he tried to steal the Trisept and leave, Baskin heard him and tried to intervene. In the ensuing struggle, the Trisept was split into its component parts. Unluckily for Baskin, Turrel was left holding one piece and used it to kill him. At this point Amgra stopped and bowed his head.

“Never before has one Keeper killed another. Turrel fled, but, while he holds a piece of the Trisept, he is dangerous to all. That is why we must destroy him and recover the piece”

“But Amgra” Stell had remained quiet up until now “We can’t kill Turrel, you said yourself that one Keeper must never again fight with another”

“Correct Stell,” Replied Amgra, “However Turrel!” he almost spat the name “Is no longer a Keeper of the Planes” He rose and strode from the room, leaving the other Keepers staring at the door in shock.

“He really hates Turrel doesn’t he” Finder remarked

“Yes, and with good reason,” explained Krissie, she brushed hair from her face and looked at Finder, “Baskin was his twin brother”

“Oh!” Finder was speechless.

“They came to the house together, longer ago than any of us here. Amgra as leader, Baskin as healer and counsellor. Amgra was devastated after Turrel’s actions and has sworn to put right the damage created. Sadly, his brother will still be lost to us”

***

The next morning, Finder awoke to his surprisingly accurate replica room. His sleep had been disturbed by a dark nightmare of mystery figures wielding powerful crystals. It was like a game, but instead of playing, he felt more like he a piece on the board. Doors loomed in front of him, he would command then to open and pass through where creatures awaited to fight and kill.

He carried on, more rooms, more creatures, he thought it would go on forever. Waking up was his only escape, to find freedom in reality. But what horrors did reality now hold? As he dressed, he realised that the only way to find the answer to that question was to do what he had done in the dream, open the door and face what was on the other side.

As he wandered along the passage to get breakfast, he wondered about the House. “It provides” was what Amgra had said and provide was what it did. The Keepers had explained to him, when you needed food, you went to the dining room and a meal would be waiting. The surprising part was that it was always just what you were thinking of eating. Clean clothes were in you wardrobe, the bed was made when you returned to your room, the bathroom was clean, it was like staying at a top-class hotel. But Finder didn’t know of, or had seen any servants, kitchens or supplies, nothing. It just happened.

The House, he had been told, travelled between the Planes adapting its appearance to fit wherever it arrived. It picked up any serious imbalance in the planes and travelled there. When the balance had been restored, it moved on. In this way the Keepers moved around, correcting, restoring and holding the important balance on each pair of Planes, thus, preventing their destruction.

In the dining room, Finder ate a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, mushrooms and toast with a large mug of coffee, which was just what he had wanted funnily enough, Vyvad entered.

“Morning” She said and sat down in the chair across from him.

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 24.05.2021
ISBN: 978-3-7487-8390-9

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