Chapter 60: Mask of the Jester

Charon pulled the mask up to his face, pausing just before putting it on. ’How am I going to figure out what you do?’ His gut instinct was to take it to Emerius and have him take a crack at it, but it would take a while to get back to the apartment, not to mention waiting for Emerius to be home if he wasn’t already. Subconsciously scratching an inch on his neck, he remembered the injection Doctor Becker had given him. ’Isn’t one of the tabs in the holo-pad about relics?’ Pulling it up to check just that, he was delighted to find that he had remembered it correctly. [Name: Charon] [Rank: Novice 6] [Patron: Death] [Element: Soul] [Abilities: Soul Summon*, Soul Sense*] [Relics: Mask of the Jester*] ’Just like I thought. It seems that whenever I’m holding a relic, the holo-pad will automatically scan it as part of myself, giving me the stats I need.’ His fingers twitched out of greed as he imagined collecting and scanning hundreds of different relics and artifacts, learning the secrets of the rare items. Suppressing his avarice, he gulped down his saliva and selected the new item. [Relic Name: Mask of the Jester] [Relic Rank: Novice] [Relic Effects: The wearer is immune to the effects of Mind Magic. The wearer will glimpse the future whenever the Mask of the Jester desires.] [Relic Description: Jester danced for the gods. Jester was happy. Jester was allowed to play. Jester saw the war. Jester cried. Jester was unable to dance. Jester displeased Mind. Jester was punished. Jester was beaten. Jester was broken. Jester lost hope. Jester prepared to die. Jester was offered freedom. Jester took offer. Jester became Jester. Jester fought Mind. Jester hurt Mind. Jester was happy. Jester was betrayed. Jester was destroyed. Jester waits.] Charon struggled to read the description, the repetition of the word "Jester" making everything blur together. Even when he could understand things, it hurt him to focus on them, tears collecting at the edges of his eyes. An unexpected sadness overtook him as he finished, his heart aching for a man he never knew. There was happiness and excitement, desperation and loneliness, hope and righteous fury, and then waves of hatred oozing off the text like a tangible aura. Looking at the face of the mask, he saw that the smile had vanished, replaced with a large frown. The eyes were like two crescent moons, downturned in sorrow. ’I’m sorry for your loss, Jester.’ Taking a deep breath, Charon closed his eyes and steadied himself, pushing the emotions away and letting logic take hold. ’The relic is more than just the description.’ Turning back to the information, he re-read the effects, his eyes widening as he realized how incredible they were. ’Immunity to mind magic? As in, total negation?’ Unlike the Warden of the Acheron’s Soul Bind ability, there was no specification about only working on lower rank spells, leading Charon to believe the mask blocked all mind magic, even from those above him in rank. He exhaled sharply, his lips turning into a wide grin as he came to terms with the incredible item in his hands. ’I’ll need Emerius to confirm it, but if this is as powerful as I think, this could solve so many problems! I wouldn’t need to worry about the High Elder knowing if I’m telling the truth or not, nor would someone like Red be able to skim my thoughts!’ It was the kind of ability he would have considered useless a month ago, but with everything he had experienced since the attack on his home, he knew that mind magic was a constant threat. ’And now I have the ultimate defense against it.’ What was equally as exciting was that the mask had a secondary effect, allowing him to occasionally glimpse the future. It was both obvious and difficult to understand, the impact ranging widely depending on how it worked. ’If it happens when I need it to, like during a battle, it could be very useful to warn me about unexpected attacks. If it’s purely random, however, it could be a hindrance.’ It didn’t take a lot to imagine what would happen if he was struggling during a fight, only to see a distant future that didn’t yet matter. The other part of the ability that confused him was that it specified the effect as coming whenever the mask determined it. Although the curator had already explained that everyone saw different faces when they looked at it, even multiple faces at once, it was hard to wrap his head around the idea that the relic was somehow sentient. ’What if it doesn’t like me? Will it try and get me killed? Do I need to tell Emerius to watch out for my relic going mad?’ He shuddered at the thought. ’Yeah, I’m going to hope for the best with this one.’ Deciding he had nothing better to do at the moment, he spared a glance towards the door before placing the porcelain mask on his face, the item somehow being a perfect fit. The first thing he noticed was how comfortable it was the wear. The material felt warm to his skin, cradling his chest and forehead like a loving touch. Despite the eyeholes looking small from the outside, Charon had no trouble seeing through them as if it were any other day. His lips were pressed against the indents, yet he could move his mouth without issue, as if the mask had fused into his skin. Smiling, he wondered what he looked like now, with the Warden cloaked around his body and the Mask of the Jester covering his face. ’I must look like a madman, the kind of guy you cross the road to avoid. All I’m missing is a scythe, and I could be taken for an assassin of Death, a hero to both praise and fear.’ Deciding he had spent long enough messing with his new relic in the back of a dingy shop, he walked through the beads to enter the main area. Hearing hushed whispers down one of the aisles, he spared a moment to glance around the corner. Oliver and an elderly woman with long, pointed ears were talking inches away from each other, their eyes shifting nervously. A series of pearls was clutched between them, neither side letting them go even as the string stretched precariously. Squinting to make more details out, he recoiled as he saw both heads snap to face him, the pearls forgotten as they both swung their hands behind their backs. "Ah, Charon! Have you found the mask to your liking?" Scratching the back of his head with his sweaty palms, Charon smiled and nodded, unsure how the expression came across with the mask blocking his face. "Yes, it’s perfect. Thank you for... selling it to me. I hope I can get you your orb soon enough." The curator waved his words away with a shake of his head, the black mask staying eerily still despite the motion. "Of course. The sooner the better. I believe I have a client in mind who would be overjoyed to purchase it." Although the man was too polite to say it, Charon had the distinct impression that Oliver wanted him to leave right then and there. ’If that’s what you want, I’ll happily give it to you!’ Giving a half-hearted chuckle, he backpeddled down the aisle and ran out of the door, eager to get away from the strange curator and his unusual guests. His mind went back to the contract and all of the other ones he couldn’t read. ’If I find out that I sold my soul by signing that piece of paper, I’m going to demand a refund.’ He froze as he remembered the mask might be alive. ’Not that I dislike you, mask. Mr. Mask. I just don’t want to be sold to evil spirits for all eternity. You get it, don’t you, Warden?’’ He heard no response from his first summon, his robes not doing so much as flapping strangely. ’I’m going to take that as a yes. I do most of the talking around here, mask. Emerius also talks a lot, but he tends to get sidetracked with boring lessons his dad had him learn. It can be a bit much sometimes.’ If he were looking down at himself, he might have been embarrassed by how he was talking to a robe and a mask. ’Yeah, you’ll fit right in. I wonder what article of clothing I’ll talk to next. Maybe Emerius has an enchanted ring?’ Just then, for a moment so short that he instantly dismissed it as his imagination, Charon thought he felt the Mask of the Jester shift itself into a smile.