_Jroldin is really starting to grow on me... sure Flek is awesome warrior and Zarien isn't that bad and Astrid has these interesting moral problems and what not and I like all my characters, but, you know... When Jroldin is just able to tick off his assailants to the nth degree, ya know... There are just things like that that make you just want to laugh out loud at and with Jroldin. I suppose this part could be summed up with a couple words: Jroldin is awesome.

Part XXVIII: Separate Too Long

Date: Amanela 18th, 114 A.U.


Oldin hung up his coat as he shut the front door, walking into the kitchen. For the first time in ages, he was home on time and would be able to talk with Jroldin. The next day was to be his Naming Day. Oldin rubbed his head. He had taken out a lot of his busy work schedule, what with Astrid trying to get deeper in her spy network and more investigations and all, but he had gotten everything set up at the Cathedral and had gotten all of the nearby relatives and such. For some odd reason, the priests there had recognized Jroldin and said that he’d been coming quite often to the Great Cathedral as of late and had been talking with some of the priests. Oldin didn’t quite know what to think of that.
Jroldin had been acting strange as of late, what with the circlet he thought was on his head and all. It was probably long due for the two of them to talk, both of recent events, and of what Jroldin wanted to do in the future. Oldin felt guilty; he hadn’t talked with Jroldin at all about what Jroldin wanted to do after Naming Day. At the very least, he had been able to pull some strings to have the whole day of tomorrow off.

“I’m home!” Oldin called out, while opening a cupboard to where he had stashed away some food to have dinner with Jroldin. He had actually managed to go to the store and grab some stuff earlier. Oldin overturned the pot to where he had hidden it, but was met with nothing. Jroldin had found it first. Oldin sighed, and laughed a bit, before turning around.

“Jroldin?” He was met with the silence of the house. Oldin frowned and cocked his head. He would have thought that Jroldin would have been here by now. A beep emitted from the answering machine and Oldin walked over. Oldin pressed the button on the answering machine to listen.

“Greetings Jroldin, this is Governor Astrid,” the voice began. Oldin looked at it in shock. Governor Astrid wanted to speak with Jroldin? “A new expert came in who wanted you to see the new star; he said that because the prophesy spoke of it, he thought that you should see it. We also brought in the elf, and thought it would be best to see it together. Brother Tomas will be over to pick you up around midnight. I apologize for the late time, but to see the star, it will take a while to get through security and stuff to get outside. If there are any problems with this, please call me or Brother Tomas. Thank you.” And with that, it ended.

Oldin leaned against the wall, trying to comprehend what had happened. Not only did Jroldin seem to have met with Governor Astrid and some priest, that he seemed to know, but they were also arranging him to go outside the mountain to see some star. And a prophesy! What the heck did Jroldin have to do with a prophesy? Jroldin hated those things… And to go outside the mountain… Oldin had never done that, and he didn’t want to think about all the strings that the Governor would have to pull to get Jroldin out there. And Governor Astrid was doing all this for Jroldin? Oldin put his hand on the phone. He had been apart from his son too long. It was time to call Governor Astrid.



“Ah, Master Jroldin…” the man said. “Please, sit down in front of me…”

Jroldin looked at the man sitting behind the desk and then, slowly sat down in the chair. “What do you want?”

“I am the one asking the questions here,” the man said sharply. “And you’re the one who’ll be doing the answering.” A beeper in front of him buzzed, and he quickly looked down. “Ah good,” he said. “It appears that Astrid has checked her mail box… but never mind that for now.” He looked back up at Jroldin. “What do you know of the prophecy that you seem to be a part of?”

“You seem to know a lot about me,” Jroldin said. “You trying to write an article for some celebrity magazine?”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “This is no time for jokes!” he snapped. “My business is of no concern to you.”

“I’m hungry,” Jroldin said. “Could we perhaps stop this interrogation for a bit so that I can eat? I always think better on a full stomach.”

“No,” the man snapped. “What do you know of the prophecy?”

“Well, the Governor recites it every year, so you should know the prophecy,” Jroldin said. “And you already know that I am a part of it. What are you, a stalker or something?”

The man leapt up, banging his fist against the table. “You are being an impeccable idiot!” he snapped, seething, and then calmed down a bit to go back to his still voice. “You will answer my questions or there will be consequences,” he said firmly. “So how about I get a bit more specific. Are you going to go along with Astrid and the prophesy?”

“Why shouldn’t I,” Jroldin said. “If I do, that means I get to be part of a team beating bad guys. You are a bad guy, right? I thought it might be fun to get to beat you up with a big group of friends and all, and-”

The man drew up a gun from beneath his deck, and slowly placed it on the table. Jroldin stopped midsentance. The man acted like nothing had changed. “What do you know about your dad and his case?”

“What’s the gun for?” Jroldin asked. “You trying to threaten me by its presence.”

The man glared at him. “Why-”

“Yeah, my dad trained me to be too smart for you,” Jroldin said. “He knew that sometime I would be kidnapped to use against him... You do know he has a tracker on me, don’t you?”

The man looked surprised. “What?”

“Aw, crumbs,” Jroldin said, snapping his fingers. “I forgot to mention it when your goons kidnapped me. Yeah, he has a tracer on me so he can always find me if I was kidnapped. He’s probably coming to get me with all his big guns and stuff.”

“Stupid tracer,” the man said and swore, pressing a buzzer.

“Trying to get it off me?” Jroldin asked. “My dad will still be able to find my last location and find your all-too secret hideout. Kind of fun, huh? Anyways, if you want my tracer, it’s right behind my ear. Figured might as well save you the trouble of looking so this gets over soon.” Two men came in the room.

“The kid has a tracer on him,” the man behind the desk said. “He says its behind his ear. That probably isn’t the only one. Strip him and search for any other tracers, then put him and the priest in a car. We have to leave the hideout. I have other business to take care of. Now move on it!”

“Yes, sir.”

Question of the Week:What would you do if you were Jroldin? (Whoever gives the best answer gets 5 extra comment points.) Key is to give a funny answer that matches Jroldin's personality.)



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