Ambrose dude stole a
sphere. Friar dude doesn't care. Don't Touch! My eyes are blear.

WE DIDN'T GO STRAIGHT TO THE REFECTORY. No, we didn't.

Immediately we stepped out of my cell, we detoured. Ignatius Hikaru insisted we see the whole of the monastery. We followed him into the weirdest hallway I've seen so far.

Overhead, it reminded me of a cave spangled with glowworms. Glittery mosaics shone on the ceiling, depicting unidentifiable symbols. Along both walls, it was like skirting the edges of a giant gear. Rows of adjoined hexagons formed W-shaped angles. I had this strange feeling that if I could watch from a birdeye view, I would see connected gears with six-sided rooms gridded into them like a honeycomb. 

"That explains it," I assumed. "Why my prison cell was six-sided."

"Oh, yes," Ignatius Hikaru didn't break stride. "The architect did an excellent job designing this spot we fondly call the Honeycomb. It's one of a kind. You won't see another like it anywhere else, I promise. And no, it's not a prison cell. More of a cell. There are thousands of them in the monastery. Each monk live in one."

"'Not a prison cell. More of a cell?' Can you explain whatever that means?" My voice shook as my bare feet tapped on the cobbled floor. I found it strange that the stones were mossy, smooth and lukewarm, making it unnecessary for use of footwear.

"Sure," Ignatius Hikaru passed a dimming torch in an alcove and it momentarily brightened up.

I figured it wasn't any trick of the light but a trick of a wired brain. I'm losing it.

"Our lives are devoted to austerity." Ignatius Hikaru explained. "We live simple lives of self-denial and abstinence, therefore, we do not only call our rooms cells, but we make it as humanely cellular as possible."

My headache resurfaced trying to get that. I made a mental note not to ask him questions again.

"Well, as the abbot," Friar joined in the talk, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Can I get a little big cell with four tiny king-sized bedrooms and a barrel of wine? Bordeaux preferably?"

Moses, who was leading, made a strangled noise, shaking his head like a bobblehead.

I imagined slapping his head. Somewhat, the thought lifted my spirit. The pain in my head subsided.

"Fortunately, yes, as the abbot, you get to have a special cell." Ignatius Hikaru rolled his heart-fluttering eyes. "In fact, you can drink. Almost always anyway. At least, when we're not fasting."

Friar smacked his lips. If eyes could assume different shapes, his eyes might have turned into heart emojis.

"Um, I'm talking about drinking the teas we harvest from the garden," Ignatius Hikaru's lips trembled with mirth. "We have them plenty: Black tea, white tea, green tea, chai, chamomile, jasmine, pouchong, oolong, you name it. I read that most of them boosts immunity, reduces risks of heart failure and weight which is good for Attainment. Remind me, Moses, which tea is Shifu Wang's favorite?"

"The last you mentioned."

"You-name-it is a name of a tea?" I asked, startled.

Moses suppressed a giggle, obviously enjoying the moment. "Oolong tea is Shifu Wang's favorite. Told us it's got double taste and improves his mental alertness."

The look of displeasure on Friar's face was priceless. He looked like he wanted to sit on Ignatius Hikaru's and Moses' head when next they were meditating.

We reached the far end of the hallway, turned a corner, reached a passage Ignatius Hikaru called a slype, which led into a transept. We entered a heavily incensed room, then another full of monkey statues, then one full of dusty scrolls and tablets, exited many, ascended endless flights of stairs, descended more, turned couple of corners and finally spilled into the open.

My eyes hurt from the sudden brightness. "A little warning next time?"

Ignatius Hikaru chuckled. "To reach the refectory, we will have to cross the cloister garth."

He made it sound like crossing the Pacific.

The cloister garth was a courtyard about the size and likeness of a stadium. It was grassy, rectangular and open-aired, dotted with fleecy clouds in the brilliant blue sky. We stood under one of the vaulted walkways that sidelined the area. Rows of pillars held the enclosure high up.

"Let's go, then," Ignatius Hikaru beckoned. "Moses is our key to the refectory. We should catch up before he blocks us out."

Moses was halfway across the vast courtyard, the midmorning sun glaring on his shiny head.

"Wait up, Moses the Monk's Key," I jogged after the boy. The blades of grass felt good under my feet. "Dare not leave us behind."

"Silly wordplay," Abbot Friar rested his palms on his knees, too exhausted to take another step.

We left him there.

Halfway across the yard, I forgot about catching up with Moses. I had to stop and gawk at the thing. I really had to.

In the centre, levitating above a waist-high roundabout hedge, was a crystal ball. No, not a crystal. Aha! It looked like a miniature planet. Two elements — fire and rock — orbited it in a drony blur like high-powered satellites. The thing radiated a faint glowing aura. Inside the satellites was a white orb with a swirling black dot inside. Its eye?

"The Sphere of Yang." Ignatius Hikaru followed my gaze. "Impressive, right? It's the most important object in the monastery. And our duty is to safekeep it so it protects us in return."

"Hmm," I curled my toes, truly impressed. "How does it protect you in return? Zap intruders to oblivion or foretell their instant deaths?"

Ignatius Hikaru smiled. "Neither. Although I would have love those options. Instead, it keeps us hidden from non-monks under the glamor of a huge mountain. It keeps away monsters and prevents aerial, ground, nautical or underground attacks."

I scratched my jaw. "But the monastery is not hidden to us. I mean, Elronde and her friends brought me here and they're not monks."

"They were permitted," Ignatius Hikaru said simply. "As long as they know someone who knows someone within the premises, the sphere overlooks that."

I waited for him to say more but as it seemed, he was done.

I decided to press the case. "What if they brought in an enemy or a spy? Doesn't that breach your defenses?"

Ignatius Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "Are you a spy?"

"Of course not." I laughed. "Just saying…"

"Stop saying." Ignatius Hikaru glared. "Elronde and the others would do no such thing. We trust them."

"Trust!" I said scornfully. "Man's greatest vulnerability. I trusted her and she —" I stopped myself.

"Who?" Ignatius Hikaru said.

I raised my palms up. "Forget I said anything."

Ignatius Hikaru's shoulder tensed. "Okay, we all have secrets to hide. But there's something important you need to know about the monastery."

"More crystal balls?" I tried not to sound curious given that I just shut him out. "What is it?"

Ignatius Hikaru leaned forward, his face grim and young. "The Sphere of Yang is unwhole, getting more dysfunctional and uncontrollable by the ages."

As if on cue, the Sphere flickered dimly like a burn-out fluorescent light.

"Why is that?" I said. "Running out of gas? Oh, silly me. You said unwhole. Sorry, I'll stop with the comments."

"Thank you," Ignatius Hikaru cleared his throat. "There's a missing counterpart sphere. The Black Sphere or the Sphere of Yin. Without it, the White Sphere will eventually stop functioning. We can't afford to lose it too."

"If the sphere is so important," I said. "Why is it just lying around in the middle of a courtyard? And what happens when you lose both?"

"Good questions," Ignatius Hikaru began to walk past the White Sphere. I followed.

Behind us, Friar sat with his leg outstretched on the grass, either out of tiredness or laziness to move. I doubted it was the former.

"The Sphere works best in its place of origin, here in the heart of the monastery," Ignatius Hikaru said. "According to legends, moving it is like trying to move a mountain. It's not impossible. But it that can be done by two extremely powerful beings: Friar the White and Merlinus Ambrosius the Black. I'll tell you about them later."

A flight of pigeons flew at a low altitude, landed nearby, pecked at the grasses and flew off when Friar took interest in them — with a big stone.

I wondered if Ignatius Hikaru meant this Friar… this very Friar sitting on the grass, whose main objective is to hunt down pigeons.

"To answer your second question," Ignatius Hikaru ventured. "If we lose both Spheres, the monastery will be in disorder. It will go into unbalance, ruination…There will be unending wars amongst all the races of Arcaneheim, starting from here and ending until the Great Glitchfest."

"Because of a missing black sphere the size of a baseball?" I couldn't see how. "But where is it? Why aren't monks out there searching for it?"

"You think we'll just sit and fold our hands? Trust me, we have Elder Monks working on that." Ignatius Hikaru said. "For centuries, we have been searching. Elves, dwarves and wizards are helping, too. It's like the Black Sphere is gone from the surface of our world. Shifu Wang and Abbot Friar… I mean… Abbot Friar the Pure — not the new Pigeon Killer, even though they're the same — have seen unclear visions of its whereabouts. Its somewhere underwater, blocked by powerful anti-sensory magic."

"Lemme guess," I said. "That's where the dark Ambrose dude comes in."

Ignatius Hikaru blinked in amazement. "Yeah. Merlinus Ambrosius. He's a mighty dark wizard. He infiltrated and took the —"

"Hey!" Abbot Friar yelled. Somehow, he had gotten on his feet, and was standing near the hedge, his hands hypnotically reaching for the White Sphere. "What's this rolling thingy?"

"Don't!" Ignatius Hikaru cried, backtracking to intercept. "Don't touch it!"

Too late.

Abbot Friar touched the White Sphere, and in a massive force field, we were blasted away.

Don't Forget To VOTE dear Reeders ⊙﹏⊙