This man I call Master is completely crazy, but he might also be a genius, the jury is still out on the second point. At first his relatively calm demeanor gave me the impression he was just absent minded, often answering any questions I had automatically in a monotone voice. Then there are the times he goes into a fit of rage or frustration and lashes out at me or anything else in the nearby area. Explains the destruction in some of the other rooms I had to clean up.
My body, while apparently durable, is able to give me pain whenever he wants with just a word. He keeps asking me for my real name and when he doesn’t get the answer he wants he sometimes has one of these fits. Thus, I find myself on the floor experiencing pain unlike anything in my previous life.
“I don’t understand, it’s not supposed to be able to lie… when it lies it is automatically punished but it keeps giving the same answer.” he turns to look at me. “You swear your name is Lucas?”
"Of course Master, this one has always been called Lucas by his parents." the same answer I’ve given him for the twentieth or so time. "This one’s friend calls him Luke but that’s not really this one’s name." I supply unbidden this time trying to drive the point home.
“Luke, another strange name, where does this originate?” he doesn’t seem to be speaking to me this time, just thinking to himself so I don’t answer. “The very idea that the summoning has not only failed to summon the named demon but a human soul instead is impossible.”
‘For him to be still stuck on this..’ it’s been a few days now and he keeps asking about my name, his tenaciousness is admirable I suppose. ‘It’s definitely important to him so I’m guessing I made the right call by not explaining it’s not my full name. You have to ask the right question if you want to get the right answer.’ I am chastising him in my head but no way I’m going to explain his own shortcoming to him.
At one point he had me lie to him on purpose just to test the auto punishment functions which of course worked, it isn't something I care to repeat.
"Master, might this one be so bold as to point out that this isn’t something you summoned him for? This lowly one isn’t so smart but knows you had some purpose in mind." I offer a bit of misdirection to get things away from this undesirable subject. Throw enough darts and eventually you will hit the bulls eye.
“Hmm, well you weren’t supposed to be my research subject originally, I had intended you to be a bodyguard of sorts but now that’s out the window. Still, you have uses, lets see... I have some research left to do that I’ve put off because it’s hard to stop and take notes, can you write?”
"Yes Master, this one knows how to read and write" I’ve taken to calling myself -this one- simply because it seems to keep this crazy mage from one of his fits of rage. The couple of times I referred to myself as -I- he flew berserk, something about me being no longer an individual but an object. Semantics but who am I to argue?
“Very well, follow me.” leading me out of the summoning room he takes me through a hallway with many other doors. Stopping at one and opening we go inside and I see a lab like room filled with various equipment which could only be described as a mad scientist style lab. Beakers and test tubes littered the central table, some having fluids and some not. “I will relay what I see and various ideas whilst I work, you will merely write down what I say so I can keep a record of the findings and theories I come up with, understood?” he explains while pointing to a desk in the corner.
"Yes Master." I move to the desk with a stool and some blank paper in the corner, a light suddenly turns itself on as I approach. ‘That’s convenient.’ I pick up the lamp but don't see any discernible power source. Next to the stack of papers is a old style fountain pen and ink well. ‘I’m going to miss pens.’ I lament to myself.
The mage has already started and is making adjustments to the equipment. I haven’t a clue what he’s doing but I prime the pen with ink and wait. He then goes to get a cage from another corner of the room that I hadn’t noticed until now. Some small rodent like creatures were in it, one of which he removes and stabs with a knife. ‘Ya lets not watch and just write.’ I look away from the gruesome scene.
Three hours and ten rodents later the experiment ends, all failures since the goal was to create a potion capable of reanimating creatures. ‘Zombies? Or revival? Yup, this guy is scary.’ I had diligently written down every word he said, some I wasn’t sure how they were spelt but I didn’t want to stop him in the middle to explain it so I just wrote whatever I could by phonetics.
“Alright Lucos, bring me the notes, lets see how well you were able to keep up with my words.” taking the papers from my hand he trembles slightly and goes absolutely still.
‘This doesn’t bode well….’ I have a premonition and I quietly back up to where I was sitting before.
“Lucos…” he pauses for a few seconds
"Yes Master?" uncertain I answer in case that’s what he wanted.
“What is this, some kind of joke? If so, I am not amused, the symbols mean nothing to me. Is this seriously a language of some kind? I’ve never seen it before…” he keeps rambling asking questions rapid fire. “What were you writing, what language is this….” he’s asking but not really looking at me as he searches around the shelves for something.
"Well this is the language this one learned to read and write in, it’s called English. This one thinks he did say that he doesn’t believe himself to be from this world so perhaps it’s no surprise that you can’t read it, maybe?" I had already explained this to him a few times. My worry that this crazy mage isn't as bright as I originally thought resurfaces.
“Ah, here it is.” he grabs some clear looking rock from one of the shelves and passes it over the paper I wrote. “Apokryptografo~” I notice a faint light as he moves the rock over the letters and astonishingly they change into the sigils I noticed on the papers in the summoning room. “Hmm, I see, yes OK at least this works but strange, how is there a language I do not know coming from this… You said you were from a different world, perhaps that it is true. Actually I guess it has to be since if you lied you would be punished instantly. Also, some of these words aren’t being translated properly.” he’s pointing out words I didn’t know and had to write down how they sounded.
‘At least he doesn’t seem angry, I am tired of being punished for doing something he doesn’t like. I also have learned something interesting, a magic rock that can auto translate maybe?’ "Yes Master, those words were not in the language this one knows or hadn’t learned how to spell them yet. These were the best approximation this one could come up with."
He had me tell him what each word was and he wrote down the appropriate equivalent in his own language. Then he asked me to write down the alphabet out of curiosity.
“Such a short list of symbols, how very strange, how does it deal with so many…” again he’s thinking out loud and I don’t supply anything he doesn’t ask me directly for. Then as if realizing something for the first time. “It’s obvious that you don’t know my language yet how are you able to understand me and I am able to hear speak in the words I know?”
"Master, this one doesn’t know either, it’s been like that since this one came here. That this one understood Master from the beginning was confusing this one as well." I had assumed it was part of the magic of the summoning but since he doesn't understand it either I'm doubtful. Something is at work here that neither of us knows about.
“Haaaa” he sighed as if he no longer cared “I guess that’s for tomorrow to figure out, I’m too tired to think about it any further. Go back to the summons room and wait there til I return.”
"Yes Master, this one understands" sleep, a concept I apparently no longer needed. I discovered this on the first night after I laid down to rest but sleep never took me. I was worried at first but I never got tired the next day. By the third day I had noticed my mind becoming a bit hazy I tried resting again and fell into what I can only describe as type of meditative state. Several hours later I was much more clear headed.
But tonight, I have a plan, because I now have a way to gain knowledge about this world. Indeed, I mean the translator rock the Master put back on the shelf. I quietly wait for night to fall as I plan out my nights from now on. This crazy Master of mine, I'm starting to think he's just incompetent.
