TBOS-OCT Lost Stories Round 2 Part 0

Three Years Earlier:





Lady Ink slowly walked down the stairs of her tower, making her way from her personal study to the main entrance of her home. She had spent the past few days deep in thought, considering all of the pros and cons of the idea her brother Mudd had proposed. It was radical, obviously, but Mudd had always been one to try the flashy and impressive route, when given the option.

And she would have been lying to say that some small part of her wasn't intrigued by his plan. Even though Lady Ink had raised several legitimate points in telling Mudd off, there was still that idea of interaction, the ability to learn through actual experience, that his idea would provide. For all that caring for the Book had taught her, Mudd's plan would provide new opportunities for learning greater, more subtle ways of controlling the flow and direction of the stories within the Book.

As she reached ground level, Lady Ink saw her brother, rainwater dripping from his braided hair, skin richly tanned in contrast to her pale appearance. When Mudd saw her, he smiled, and hung up his satchel on the coat hanger nearby. "Sis!" he called out, spreading his arms out. "Come over here let me give you a hug!"

"Mudd, please, no," protested Lady Ink, holding her brother back. "You are filthy and wet. Go clean up first."

"Clean up? Are you serious?" he asked incredulously. "Don't you want to know what I've been doing? Where I've gone? Oh, by the way," Mudd added, "I should give you this back." He walked over to his satchel and pulled out the Book of Stories. "You'll be glad to know that nothing horrible happened to it, obviously," he continued. "Got slightly damp, but nothing damaged. It should be perfectly dry by now."

Lady Ink took the Book and quickly flipped through it, making sure that Mudd wasn't underplaying the extent of damage the Book had suffered. Satisfied with her cursory glance, she cradled it in her arms, holding onto it firmly. "Mudd. You are tracking dirt and water all over the floor. Clean up." After a pause, she added a small "Please" to the end of her request. "After that, we can talk about…your idea."

Mudd slowly broke out into a smile when he heard that. Well then. This is gonna be fun.




"Before we get started on this, I just want to lay down some rules. This needs to be planned out perfectly," said Lady Ink, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, her shadow tall against the wall.

Mudd simply sat in the chair in front of his sister, legs draped casually over one of the armrests. "Sis, look, I thought I told you, I've thought this-"

"Yes, yes, 'You've thought this through, you've got it planned.'" Lady Ink sighed and shook her head. "Given your track record, Mudd, and the fact that you are….you, I know you have not considered all the variables this would involve. Especially considering  that this has NEVER happened before!"

"Oh don't be such a drama queen!" said Mudd dismissively. "If this works, it works. If it doesn't, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Lady Ink could only stop and stare at her brother after hearing that. "Are you honestly that DENSE? Mudd, I am trying to give you some credit, let you run things YOUR way for once. But if you are simply going to dismiss me in such a manner, then FINE. I will reconsider my opinion." She turned around and began walking out of the room. Before she made it past the door, Mudd had gotten up and stood in front of her. He had always been fast like that.

"Sis. Ink. Just wait a minute. I didn't mean…gah," he muttered, trying to get his thoughts together. "Look. I'll hear you out, alright? Just don't worry so much, ok? There's no reason to freak out about things that haven't happened yet, right?"

Lady Ink had to calm herself down for a second before finally answering. "And they will NOT happen if we plan things accordingly. Mudd, either we do this my way, or we do not do it at all. Can we reach consensus on that, at least?"

"Fine."

"Excellent. The first point is that I refuse to do this alone. You will be taking a part in this venture as well."

"Woah, woah, woah!" exclaimed Mudd. "Hang on a minute here, what makes you think that-"

"If this 'experiment', as you call it, is to work properly, I see no reason why only one of us should be involved in it. Goodness knows, participating might actually provide some knowledge on subtlety and control for you."

"…fine. If it will get you to go along with this, fine. Anything else?"

"Yes," continued Lady Ink. "I get to choose who begins it. I do not want you to pick an…an…" She stumbled a bit, trying to figure out the correct word for what she wanted to say.

"Overseer?" suggested Mudd.

"Yes. I do not want you to choose some gore-obsessed, depressing, overall despicable person to be the one we are placing our trust in. I want to research, look through our options, and choose someone who is not complete psychopath to participate. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine, alright. So, you're ok with this?" eagerly asked Mudd. He smiled widely and starting rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He had been looking forward to this for a long time, ever since the idea had entered into his head. "We're actually going to go through with it?"

"We will," acquiesced Lady Ink. "Let us just go through the Book of Stories first. We actually might find who we are looking for in there."

Mudd cheered and pumped his fist at that. "Awesome!" he shouted. "Let's DO THIS! Trust me, sis, you are NOT going to be disappointed!"






Present day:




"Ink, you have to trust me on this! We're gonna be set! I know it!"

"And what in the world makes you think that?" asked Lady Ink. Mudd had been dragging her around all the worlds that he could think of, searching every which way that might potentially lead somewhere, even if they didn't have a lead at all. She had wanted a controlled search, that left no detail unturned, but he simply wanted to rush in and search like he was looking for gold.

"Just look at the paper, alright?" he said, shoving it into her hands. The local newspaper, or the part of it that Mudd had handed to her, didn't seem helpful at all.

"The obituaries? Mudd, why were you even looking through here? And why would this help us?"

"Look at the one in the center column. Look at it!"

" "The esteemed Jaltx Va'Xizil, noted for his several contributions to his hometown, passed away from cancer at the old age of"…Mudd, what does this have to do with The Book?"

"Keep reading!" he shouted. " "While a philanthropist, the late investor was also noted…" "

"…as a rare book collector," read Lady Ink. Now she read with interest. " "As per his wishes, his books are to be sold off in auction later tomorrow, with all proceeds going to local charities." "

"And that's not all!" exclaimed Mudd. "Look at the photo they have of him. Look in the background!"

And there she saw it. She had read from that book more times than she could count, had cared for it more than her own very body. The Book of Stories, resting on its side on a shelf next to his head. "We found it," proudly proclaimed Lady Ink. "WE HAVE FOUND THE BOOK!"

And now, she thought, I can fix my mistake without anyone noticing.