Mage the Awakening - Intruders Encounters with the Abyss.pdf - Mage - The Awakening - RPG

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“Sure,” Ji mmy said. H e didn’t b other to wh isper, beca use his pare nts never c hecked up

o n him afte r bedtime. Not lately, anyway.

“Th is one’s cal led:

The B ull a nd th e An ts

T here once wa s a large, stron g bull who w as mightier th an any other i n his herd. No ne of the youn ger, weaker

bul ls ever dared challenge him. One day the b ull decided th at life with th e herd was bo ring, and so h e decided to

see what lay beyo nd the pasture . All the cows warned him n ot to go, and sa id that there w ere unspeaka ble dangers

out there, and tha t it was much better to stay safe where th ey were. The b ull just laugh ed at their fear , convinced

tha t there could b e no other ani mal as strong and powerful as he.

So the bull easily bro ke through th e fence and be gan walking t hrough the ﬁ e ld beyond. He had traveled for a

whole da y when he hea rd a small voic e call out to hi m. “Please, mi ghty one, do n ot go any furth er.” Looking d own,

the bull sa w a tiny ant. “Please change your directio n, O powerful bull,” said the ant, “or you m ay tread on m e and

my famil y.” The bull la ughed. “No on e tells me wha t to do or whe re to walk!” W ith that, he d eliberately cru shed

the ant be neath his hoo f. The bull kep t walking, and every time h e saw an ant h e crushed it ou t of spite.

But then, as h is powerful h oof crashed to the ground to crush another ant, his hoof b roke through the turf. The

bu ll had stepped into an anth ill and now h is foot was tra pped. He trie d to pull out, only to ﬁ nd hi s other three

li mbs trapped a s well. As the bull snorted w ith rage, hund reds of ants sw armed from their holes an d crawled up

h is legs and ﬂ an ks and chest an d back until h is body was co vered with th e insects. They began to rip aw ay his ﬂ esh,

ca rrying bit aft er bit of him d own into their anthills.

With his last ounc e of strength, the bull turn ed his head a nd saw the b roken fence, v ery far away now.

He coul d just make o ut all the cow s standing be hind it, watc hing. And the n the ants ca rried away h is eyes.

***

Jimmy was in the f ar corner o f the schoo lyard, wher e the aspha lt was torn up, when h e

heard the snickers o f the three older boys. They passe d him by, t hen stoppe d and turne d

back to lo ok at him.

“I never see this kid in Church,” o ne was say ing. “How come you d on’t go to Church,

kid ?”

“Mayb e he has be tter things to do.”

“ Maybe he’ s out lookin g for babie s to kill. Ba bykiller.”

“How come you call him th at?” the r unt of the trio asked, his voice p onderous with

boredo m.

“What are you, stupid ? Everybod y in town k nows the st ory,” their l eader answ ered. “His

w hole famil y are babyk illers. They took his m om to the plant and t hey cut ou t her baby

a nd hung it on a meat h ook. Isn’t t hat right, B abykiller? ”

“ You’ll be so rry,” Jimm y sighed.

“What di d you say? The lead bo y stepped closer; his c ompanions scufﬂ ed th eir feet on

the macada m as they followed. “Y ou little fu ck, what d id you —”

The n the three aggressor s began sha king their hands in th e air, brush ing at thei r arms

and l egs. Jimmy was surpri sed at how girlish the ir shrieks w ere as he w atched the black

and y ellow blurs of a dozen wasps divin g at their f aces and h ands. The b oys ﬂ ed in a blind

panic , not lookin g back, fal ling to the ground mo re than onc e.

“Jimmy. ” He alread y knew Fox was behin d him; he d idn’t turn around. “Yo u don’t

have to go to school a nymore, Jim my. I told you that. Yo u have mor e importan t work to do .”

“B abykiller!”

La ter, Fox tol d Jimmy h e’d be away for severa l hours. Bu t before he left, he sh ared a

new story:

Gra ndpa ’s Fav ouri te

There was an old man who lived in a hou se near the ed ge of the worl d, and he had four grandchil dren. Every

m orning they w ould walk to the great glass wall that sep arated the wo rld from what was beyond. One day, the

e ldest grandchi ld said, “Gran dpa, if I was t o climb to the top of that hig h wall, what would I ﬁ nd?”

“I don ’t know,” the old man answ ered. “Why do n’t you try it, then come bac k and tell us?”

So the child began to clim b. The watche d him for a w hile, until he w as just a smal l dot, and then was gone.

The next day the c hild returned , and they all g athered aroun d him. “Well, ” they asked, “ What did you ﬁ nd?”

“They hav e a thing calle d Light,” the c hild said. “Bu t I have no eye s, so it was use less to me.” An d the child fel l

sick and died .

Th e next day, as they stood by the wall, the second oldest c hild said, “Gr andpa, if I wa s to climb to t he top of

that high wall, wh at would I ﬁ n d?”

“I don’t k now,” the old man answered . “Why don’t you try it, the n come back an d tell us?”

S o the child clim bed. When th e child return ed on the follo wing day, they all gathered a round him. “W ell,” they

ask ed, “What did you ﬁ nd?”

“They h ave a thing ca lled Music,” t he child said. “ But I have no ears, so it was useless to me.” And the child fell

sick and d ied.

The next day, as they stood b y the wall, th e third oldest c hild said, “Gra ndpa, if I wa s to climb to th e top of that

h igh wall, wha t would I ﬁ nd ?”

“I don ’t know,” the o ld man answe red. “Why do n’t you try it, t hen come back and tell us?”

So the child climbed. Whe n the child ret urned on the fo llowing day, t hey all gather ed around him . “Well,” they

asked, “What did you ﬁ nd?”

“Th ey have a thin g called Time,” the child said . “But I have n o clock, so it w as useless to m e.” And the ch ild fell

sick an d died.

The next d ay, as they sto od by the wal l, the youngest child said, “G randpa, if I w as to climb to the top of tha t

high wall, w hat would I ﬁ nd?”

“W ait,” said the o ld man. He w ent into the ho use and retur ned with an ir on box. “You a re my favorit e, grand-

child ,” he said, “so b efore you clim b, take these.” He opened the box. “These a re eyes, and th ese are ears, a nd this is

a clo ck.”

The chil d took the eyes , the ears, and the clock. And then, for the ﬁ rst time, he s aw his grandf ather, and hea rd

his grandfa ther’s voice, a nd knew how long they had been living i n the house at the edge of th e world. And he

screamed in horror and t ore himself to shreds.

***

“Is so meone the re?”

The voice w as so soft t hat Jimmy wondered, at ﬁ rst, if he ’d imagine d it. He stoo d still for

t he narrow basement w indow he’d pushed o pen. The vo ice did not repeat its elf, but it

s eemed to J immy that the voice w aited behin d the only door in the room.

He k new that F ox wouldn’ t like him coming her e to see the Magician . Fox seeme d to

regret ever ment ioning the Magician. B ut Fox had let enoug h details sl ip for Jimm y to

ﬁ nd th is place, a long-aband oned farm house acros s the road from the p lant. “You c an’t

trust a magician, Jimmy,” Fo x had told h im. “All ma gicians are liars. And w hen magic ians

lie, th eir lies bec ome real.”

a minute, lis tening. The room was d im, even w ith the sun light that fo und its wa y through

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