View Full Version : hard work for a book
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Big mountains, very big mountains with lots of snow... This was going to be tough. I had just convinced myself that I could do this that I could find the the Testaments of the Great Ocean even when I heard it was in the Jagged mountains. Quite a nasty name and it had some bite as many of the slopes looked like sharp teeth and it meant they were steep and big.
It wasn't going to be easy, I had to hug myself under my robes to stay warm enough and my tail had lined with frost from freezing sweat. I know our ancestors didn't sweat but we do for some reason. But if I stayed positive and warm then I could make it and pay my debt to the spirit and no longer be an apprentice.
But I had no clue where the blasted book was in the mountains and I wasn't sure how long I could stay, maybe a couple of days before I was a kitty popsicle. But I had to keep going.
Thank the spirits it wasn't snowing but the dark clouds were threatening it. All was deadly quiet and that gave me some peace before I thought that it might be too quiet and maybe the snow birds were scared away. Perhaps there was a monster after me and ready to attack to make this little kitty its dinner.
Then a crunch of snow behind me confirmed my fears. I looked around to see a huge hulking beast with white fur and large saber teeth that could kill me in an instant. It walked like an ape but started to break into a run at the same time I snapped away and bolted. I fled to a small crevice in hopes to hide but there wasn't much cover and it could still reach in and pick me up.
I had only one choice. I called forth an earth spirit with my voice shaking in the ancient tongue with fear. The little creature appeared with a smile, I didn't bother with any formalities. "Please help me, Take some gold!" I tossed a handful of human money and pleaded. And either the earth elemental thought he made a killing or was generous since several pike of stone raised forth to cage me in and the monster out, buying me a little time. "Please don't Eat me!" I cried in vain hoping that the one in a million chance that the beast might look for food somewhere else.
“So cold. So cold. So cold. So fricking cold!” a tiny voice repeated, interrupted only by the chatter of even tinnier teeth. The only person who could actually hear this angelic voice wasn’t even qualified to be called a person according to most that beheld him. This horned behemoth that carried the sword the size of a teenage humanoid looked like something that Haidia dungeons set loose, a beast that walked on two legs instead of four. Few actually got a chance to witness that fact that the creature was gifted with the ability to speak – albeit a bit poorly – and that its name was Vroth. Most, however, acknowledged the fact that he was a minotaur, but the acknowledgment mostly lasted just long enough for them to get out of his way. Nobody in their right mind wanted to deal with a minotaur.
Perhaps that was why Alexia dealt with the ‘big furball’. The fist-sized fairy was generally known to be a bit out there, pushing her nose where no noses belonged and simply going against the rules and the prejudices that the society had chiseled into stone. That was what got her booted out of her tribe – which was quite a feat given the fact that fairies are very tolerant creatures – and that was what got her to forge a partnership with somebody so unfathomably different from her.
“Alex shouldn’t complain. Alex wanted to come here,” the minotaur replied in between snorts in his guttural voice, his hooves stomping and plowing through the unblemished blanket of snow with uncanny ease. The snow would’ve been at least knee-deep if Vroth was human, but as it was, it was barely deeper then his hooves and it posed only minute hindrance to the creature. The coldness also went unnoticed by the minotaur. Between his thick fur and the fact that he hailed from Berevar that was perpetually incased in ice, Vroth felt as if he was trekking through some mountains back home on a random summer day.
Alexia begged the differ. Wrapped in the mixture of the minotaur’s hair and fur that rested against the nape of his neck, the green-haired fairy could feel every brush of wind against her sensitive skin. In fact, every time Vroth made a step forward, she could feel frosty fingers creeping through her inadequate attire and biting into her skin. But in spite all his simplicity, her minotaur comrade was right; she shouldn’t complain. She wanted – demanded even – that they venture into the Jagged Mountains. It was her idea to follow a rumor she overheard while nosing around rooms of tavern patrons. In one of those rooms a pair of adventurers spoke tales of their latest escapades, so Alexia sat on a beam overhead and listened. She dozed off soon after the soliloquies started, but she woke up just in time to hear about this Mega Awesome Book of Water Spells. That’s what she called it anyways. It was supposed to be up in the mountains, in some caves, beyond some valleys... She couldn’t remember correctly. But it was up there and that meant a visit to the mountains.
Vroth didn’t object much. It wasn’t like they had something better to do.
But now that they were actually there, walking down endless snowy trails with not as much as a sunbeam to warm them, Alexia began considering turning back. There were probably other books out there and on more hospitable places. “Well, Alex didn’t know it’s so cold up here. It’s spring, for gods sakes! Where does all this snow come from? We’re not even that high. How come this secret magical stuff is never easy to obtain?” the sprite yammered the way she usually did, her high-pitched voice leaving her lips and entering Vroth’s ears almost directly. The minotaur didn’t mind. He got used to the endless string of words that seemed to come out of his miniscule companion. For every word that he didn’t say, Alexia always seemed to speak about a dozen.
The path ahead of them winded between two cliffs between bringing the uncanny pair to an intersection and what looked like fresh footsteps. Alexia, positioned behind Vroth’s neck, didn’t see this, just as she didn’t see the bipedal apelike creature that seemed to be clawing at the bottom of the cliff. Only when Vroth reached for his greatsword did the fairy realize something was amiss.
“Vee, what’s going on?” she asked, her head popping out above his right shoulder, her blue eyes scanning the white expanse. By the time she noticed the white-furred creature, her companion spoke again.
“Alex best fly away. Vroth deal with snow monkey,” the minotaur said, letting an audible exhale through his snout and readying his humongous blade. By the time his breath evanesced, the white beast ahead acknowledged their presence, sniffing the frosty air and growling through its overgrown teeth. Alexia – despite being reluctant to leave the warmth of Vroth’s fur – put her transparent wings into motion and fluttered upwards. The snow ape prowled at first, approaching with caution and measuring the larger enemy. If the winter wasn’t so long and the hunger wasn’t ripping through his belly, the yeti would’ve ran away. As it was, it came straight at Vroth. It dropped on all four as it ran, coming at the minotaur in an unhinged charge, but instead of running straight at the minotaur’s blade, the snowman leapt sideways, bounced off the cliff side, and tackled Vroth. The pair of monsters fell into the snow, but before the ape creature managed to bury its fangs into Vroth’s throat, a pair of meaty hands grabbed its head and turned it sideways. The bones gave an unhealthy, dull crack before the white beast exhaled its last breath.
“Vee? Vee, you alright?” Alexia shouted, descending from above and hovering over the pair of bodies like a butterfly. Once Vroth pushed the carcass off of himself, she got the answer to her question. “Whoa, that thing can jump. You sure he’s dead?”
The minotaur picked up his sword and stabbed it through the head of the creature to clarify. “Vroth skin the snow monkey. Fur keep Alex warm,” Vroth said, pulling his bloodied sword out and returning it on his broad back.
“Eww! I don’t want to wear that. It smells funny,” the fay said, but Vroth proceeded with the dismemberment process anyways. Since blood and guts weren’t Alexia’s favorite things to see, the fairy flew away towards the spot where they first spotted the snow-beast. “I wonder what he was trying to dig out of there,” the curious sprite muttered to herself, descending before the entrance to the small crevice. To her surprise, a pair of damp sapphire eyes looked at her through several stony spikes. It made Alexia’s wing flutter more hastily, moving her backwards a couple of inches.
“Oh, hello there. What are you doing there all alone? Are you trapped?” the voice of the fairy chimed.
I had no choice but to watch the mayhem as another beast came to fight. They were probably fighting over which one was the one that got to eat me and while i wanted to close my eyes I couldn't bring my self to do it. I watched until the one with horns was victorious and said something about wearing fur of the creature. The horned monster could talk, it was intelligent perhaps it could reason.
Then there was something else looking in on my cage that I had the spirits make to keep me safe from the monster. The new creature was a small woman, like a spirit, the spirit kin fairies that grandpa talked about. She was extremely pretty with green hair that reminded me of the lush coastal groves back home. The fairy wasn't scared of the hulking Minotaur, a beast that my mind finally recognized.
"I was hiding from the hairy monster, my magic sort a got me trapped." I chattered out as I tried to squeeze through the stone bars but the magic gave out at my touch and they crumbled to dust. Thank that spirit for not making them permanent so I couldn't get out.
"Th- thank you for saving me." I said meekly and swished my tail. "I'm Ginx and I came here to look for an artifact." I figured it was polite to give my name and answer the fairies question for, "If you two didn't come than I probably wouldn't have made it." I said and brushed off some clinging snow from my robes.
It was pretty bad that I needed to be saved on my first real adventure. How could I live if something worse came by or if more of them were there or even the fact that there wasn't a savior nearby, there isn't a hero under every rock waiting for a maiden to be in distress. "I guess I'm not meant for adventure." I found myself saying aloud instead of in my head.
“Hey, don’t thank me. Vee over there did all the hard work,” the fairy said, her fragile wings taking her upwards and around the stranger until she was leveled with the eyes of the peculiar lass. Even though Ginx looked human, there were a couple of peculiar details about her that couldn’t go unnoticed by Alexia. For one, Ginx’s ears looked like something that belonged to a cat, if only a cat was about as big as the beast that Vroth was skinning. And then there was also the tail that swept over the snow even as the girl spoke. These bestial traits were a peculiarity indeed, but the fay was so used to oddities by now – she did travel with a fricking minotaur after all – that she barely noticed them.
“He maybe looks pretty scary and talks kind of funny, but he’s actually a really nice guy.” What Vroth was currently doing, however, suggested otherwise. His hands drenched with warm blood, the minotaur was kneeling next to the now decapitated and disemboweled carcass, peeling the pelt of the animal as if it were a large fruit. Despite his considerable strength, this proved to be quite difficult. The creature was skinny and stringy, as tough as nails from the long winter, and it sold its skin dearly. Vroth was snorting and puffing like a chimney by the time he was done, but by the time he was done, he held a blanket-sized piece of rather decent fur. It was rather usable in its current state, but after some drying and toughening, it could fetch a nice price. Not to mention, provide some warmth should the need arise.
“Well, at least when he’s not killing something,” Alexia added with a smirk. “I make sure that happens very often though. Somebody has to take care of that heap of fur. I’m Alexia, by the way, Alexia Galeborn.” Given the fact that she couldn’t extend a hand to greet the lass properly, the fairy fluttered her wings more rapidly, swirling around Ginx’s head and leaving a mist of sparkly particles that smelled of lavender and daffodils.
“So you’re searching for something?” the sprite asked once she once again switched to a hover mode in front of the kitty girl. “Isn’t that a coincidence? Vee and me, we’re looking for something too. It’s supposed to be near. Or not. I can’t really remember. Maybe we could search together. There’s strength in numbers and Vee is at least...” She counted on her tiny fingers and giggled. “I’d say about four.”
While Ginx didn’t look especially threatening – in fact, the furry girl looked extremely amicable – the fay wasn’t certain that she wanted to reveal what she was searching for. Jagged Mountains were rather vast, and chances that two people run into each other at some point in time, both looking for the same something were rather good. However, her secrecy almost came to an end as soon as Vroth approached the pair. Despite the fact that the fur was rolled on his back and that he cleansed his hands with snow, the minotaur still looked rather ominous, towering over the fairy and her new friend. His strangely clear hazel eyes looked towards the tiny golden-furred lass, looked for what seemed like seconds, before he spoke.
“Alex dug up a kitty girl. Strange things grow in the mountains,” he said in a tone that always left Alexia perplexed, making her wonder whether Vroth was serious or jesting, especially since the closest he could get to a smile was a toothy sneer. Regardless of what it was though, it made Alexia giggle. “Kitty girl shouldn’t be up here all alone. Winter gives birth to bad things. She should come with us, help us search for the magical bo...”
“Oh, my, look at the time,” Alexia interrupted, buzzing in between the minotaur and the furry maiden and speaking rather hastily. “We should probably get going. It’s only a matter of time before other beasts smell the blood and come for the feast. We should be as far away from here once that happens, right?”
Vroth snorted and nodded his long face. “We should move downwind, make camp soon. Not much day left.” Satisfied with his words, the fay made her way to the minotaur’s shoulder and pulled a couple of tufts of his fur over her tiny figure.
“So, you coming with us? Vroth seems to like you. He doesn’t usually talk to those he doesn’t like. He just uses that big sword of his,” Alexia said with a smirk, looking at Ginx from her perched position on Vee’s shoulder.
I tried to smile politely but I was still pretty scared and so it probably looked a bit awkward to the fairy and his friend. It's a good thing the minotaur was friendly too or I would likely be the things prey after the unknown beast. The Fairy was the one that brought them here looking for something and was wondering if I wanted to come with them.
"Umm I Guess I can come. I mean if you don' mind. I'm not very helpful since I'm not really good at my magic yet." I confessed as fidgeted with my tail in my hands to keep it from nervously twitching.
The minotaur had said something about a boo... but then was caught off by his diminutive companion. Was she looking for a book and the same one as me. This couldn't be good, I needed that book as an offering and there would be no way to share it like that, but if I went alone and another monster came. I shivered a little as the pair led the way.
Vroth led the way leaving a tail that kept me from trudging through the snow that sometimes reached up to my belly, they were heading downwards to a place that would be safe to make camp and I was actually glad since being so cold and scared while trapped left me feeling a little sleepy.
The path was still slick as I found out the hard way by slipping on ice and sliding down the path and into the Minotaur's legs. "S,sorry." I said picking myself up and dusting off the snow once again while my body was slightly sore but thankfully no bruises.
Luckily there was a copse of ever green trees where the snow was thinner underneath a good spot for camp and maybe even some firewood to make a fire. But there wouldn't be any fire spirits around here and I couldn't make a flame with what I had. I had realized how silly and foolish I was to try this.
With Vroth doing all the trudging and snow-plowing with his hoofed feet, Alexia was left with ample time to ponder on whether this meeting with the furry girl was auspicious or not. On one hand, looking back towards Ginx as they walked, the fairy couldn’t help but feel completely unthreatened by the lass. Most of the time she looked wide-eyed and friendly, way too soft for the hard mountains and the harsh elements and not to mention seemingly inept in any form of fighting. According to her words, she was some sort of a sorcerer, but her magic was rather weak, hence all the hiding in crevice and calling for help. But all of these rather amicable traits posed somewhat of a problem as well. Because what if they were after the same thing? What if they actually located this Super Book of Spells and Ginx wanted it for herself? Would they fight for it? Alexia knew that Vee sure as hell wouldn’t – beneath his monstrous looks, there was a kind, honorable heart beating. And since fairies weren’t known for their battle prowess, the book would probably be lost to them. And even if they weren’t after the same thing, how were they supposed to let Ginx wander through the mountains on her own?
With all this in mind, Alexia came to a conclusion that they were both well met and not-so-well met, depending on the angle at which she looked at the whole situation.
Vroth had no such predicaments. Most of his acquaintances were classified as either ‘friends’ or the ‘foes’, depending on whether or not they wanted to harm Alexia and him. And since Ginx seemed to have no hostile intentions whatsoever, the minotaur was glad to label her as friend and forget about the matter altogether. Instead he focused on the trail ahead, his eyes searching for an appropriate camp site. Since Jagged Mountains weren’t nearly as harsh and cold as the ice-encased mountains of Berevar, most of the places that were on the leeward side looked good to him, but he knew that his fairy friend would beg the differ and he reckoned Ginx preferred a more sheltered place as well. Luckily, they weren’t too high up in the mountains yet, so after following the trail downhill for about a quarter of an hour, they stepped into a small ravine. The creek to the left was half-frozen, gurgling between the broken shards of ice, but more important then the fresh water was a shallow grove of pines and spruces on the right, backed up by the cliffside.
“There,” Vroth pointed towards the batch of trees with his large hand. Alexia wasn’t too happy with it; she would’ve preferred some sort of a cave where it would be nice and dry, but the sun was failing them and there was no time to be picky. But once they were under the trees, she was satisfied to see that most of the snow got stuck to needled branches above. She untangled herself from Vroth’s fur and put her wings in motion.
“Right. We need to gather some wood for the fire,” she directed the minotaur. Even though he knew what needed to be done and that we actually meant him, Vroth didn’t seem to mind. Before he got to work, though, he took off the rolled fur from his back and spread it over a patch of snowy ground.
“Fur needs some drying, but still warmer then snow,” he said, looking towards Ginx before leaving the site and wandering past the thicket and deeper into the small grove. While he collected the firewood, Alexia did her best to prepare the spot for the campfire. She used a small pine branch to sweep some snow, but it was taxing work and she got tired before she even cleared about as much as Vroth could with a single swipe of his hand. Luckily, their new furry friend was there to help, the uncanny girl doing her best to clear the rest of the snow by the time Vroth returned. He brought only an armload of branches and twigs, but his one armload was at least worth three of the usual ones. The minotaur started arranging the wood.
“Good, good,” the fairy chirped, flying around the future fire and pulling out a magic wand that was tucked at her waist. “Now, you’re both in for a little surprise. I’ve been working on my magic and I can now create fire. So stand back, Vee. We’ll be warm in no time,” she added, confident and determined as she put her wand in motion. She swirled it and chanted, chanted and swirled the little stick in her hand, and when she finally pointed it towards the gathered wood there was... “Nothing? Wait, wait, let me try again. Maybe I need to chant louder.”
She tried again, this time swirling around and speaking the strange words and ultimately closing her eyes and shouting something at the would-be flames. Just as she did that, Vroth struck a pair of stones against each other, creating a burst of sparks that seemed to lose themselves in the wood. But by the time Alexia opened her eyes, the stones were back in his pocket and there was a string of billowing smoke rising from the firewood. The tiny fay descended fleetly, blowing into the flames as hard as she could. And she created fire. In a way.
“I told you I could do it! Soon enough I’ll be able to make forest fires, you’ll see!” the sprite said with a beaming smile to which Vroth said nothing. Instead he pulled out a huge piece of red meat that he cut from the beast he killed earlier that day, skewered it and positioned it above the crackling flames. He sat on the opposite side of the spread fur, leaving its warmth for Ginx and Alexia who was already sitting on it, warming her small hands on the fire. The minotaur looked towards the kitty girl and offered what could’ve been a smile.
“The snow monkey tried to eat kitty girl. Now kitty girl eats snow monkey,” he said, his voice rumbling. The tone could’ve easily been interpreted as unfriendly, but there was no menace in Vroth’s eyes.
“I hope it’s not as tough as that mountain lion we had the day before yesterday. It was like chewing a sole of a boot,” Alexia said, her wings glittering with shades of orange from the flame tongues. She figured that there was no time like then to ask some questions. “So, Ginx, you don’t mind me asking where do you come from? I mean, you don’t look very local. And what exactly are you looking for in these inhospitable mountains?”
Vroth seemed uninterested in this interrogation. The only thing he said, as he turned over the meat and made several cuts in it, was: “Alex always full of questions. Ginx better get used to them,” to which the fairy stuck out her tongue towards the minotaur and made a mocking face.
I tried hard not to giggle when Vroth used pieces of flint to make the fire while Alexia was trying to cast a fire spell. It was a cute little joke that had no ill will at all, I wish my brothers and sisters would try those kinds of joke more often. Usually they'd just tie a string to my tail when we played games or steal my magic books and items and one time one of the better magic users in the family cursed my robes to be invisible to everyone but me. I still occasionally have nightmares about that day.
Still when Alexia saw her 'success' I clapped my hands. "That is really good, but please don't start forest fires, the spirits go crazy in places that it happens and no one wins when that happens." My face was serious for a moment and I smiled again but kinda stopped when I was handed a snow monkey. Vroth was right that the monster tried to make me into dinner and instead got it as dinner but eating something like that just didn't seem all that appetizing.
I meowed and looked at the meat and tried a few bites while eating them as fast as possible. "I, Burnth my thongue!" I squeaked and putt the meat down, that was enough for now. I held my tongue out for a few moments until Alexia asked me a question and I took it in and tried to answer normally and I had a feeling that I should lie unless I wanted them to leave me in the cold or take me into town and have some one hold me so I couldn't get it. "Well I made this magic staff with a help of a water spirit but I didn't have anything she wanted to I was sent to look for a special item as an offering. It's uhhh..." I had to think for a moment while twitching my tail horribly to show how bad of a lier I was. "A piece of rare jewelry that was owned by some king up here who used to have a tower with a library here." Well I only lied about the jewelry but the king was true and so was the library, though I yelped in giving that piece of information.
They were probably going to leave me out in the cold now.
Alexia was so relieved when she heard that Ginx wasn’t searching for her magic book that she failed to stifle an audible sigh. In fact, she was so relieved that she failed to notice any possible deception. Instead of the coveted tome, the lass with golden fur was searching for some jewelry that some water spirit wanted in return for helping the girl make a magical staff. It was a nice story, and what was most important to the fay, it prevented the worst case scenario from happen. In fact, once the tailed lass elaborated on the item she was questing for, Alexia was ready to declare this meeting auspicious indeed. At first the story about the king and the library in a tower up in the mountains seemed only vaguely familiar, but then the sprite managed to recall most of the information she overheard back in the tavern and realized it sounded rather similar.
“I think I heard about this before. Not the whole spirit dealio, but about this king you speak off,” the fairy said, looking up towards Ginx. “Back in Radasanth, I heard this conversation between two adventurers and they spoke of this ancient king that lived up in the mountains. This was way back from what I understood, like before Corone was even Corone. I don’t know anything about jewelry or treasure though, but I heard he had this huge library filled with books of lore and magic. And I mean huge. Stacks and stacks of musty old books.”
Barely pausing her yammering, Alexia unsheathed the small dagger that she carried at her hip, buzzed to the large chunk of meat, and cut off a nail-sized slice that was as big as a steak to her. She continued speaking in between munching. “That’s why we’re here. There’s supposed to be a book up here that’s supposed to be like the mother of all books on water magic. Every water spell ever cast is written there. Now, I have to admit that I’m not very good at water magic, but I reckon that with this book, I could be. Just imagine... to be able to control hurricanes and waves and tides. I’d go back home and show them all just how strong I became.”
Though he seemed uninterested to the point where he failed to acknowledge the conversation between the two, Vroth was actually very attentive. Some of the words and meanings evaded his brutish mind, but he managed to capture the gist of it and he wasn’t particularly fond of what he’s hearing. He knew little of magic, but he understood the concept of power pretty well. If there was in fact this book that Alexia kept talking about and if it really is that powerful, the minotaur was rather certain that obtaining it would involve more then just walking up to this tower and taking the book. But then, on the flip side, his fay companion was very talented for exaggeration – after all, she called her dagger the ‘Ubersword of Doom’ when it brought no doom whatsoever. Chances were this book either didn’t exist or contained a spell that could conjure a spurt of water.
“This is great though. We can continue on together. Talk about a lucky meeting. You don’t happen to know the exact location of this library tower? You don’t exactly get a map when you listen in on a conversation.” Alexia said once again, the meat gone from her hands, making her wipe them against the fur below.
“Alex shouldn’t drop eaves. It’s not nice,” Vroth finally joined in, picking up the rest of the meat, together with the stick, and tearing off the meat with his sharp teeth.
“It’s eavesdrop and I didn’t exactly do that. I just happened to find myself there, sitting on the beam, with no way out of the room. So I figured I might as well listen. You know how it is?” the fairy said with a cheeky smirk, looking towards Ginx. The smarmy expression didn’t last for long though, a wide yawn cutting it short and making the sprite stretch her arms. Lying down and pulling some of the fur over her body, Alexia added: “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. It was a long day. Lots of walking, lots of snow. Don’t worry, Vee will keep watch.”
It wasn’t going to be good. The fairy indeed was after the same book as me and her relief showed it was going to be bad once we got it. I would have to think of some way to take the book while not angering her companion through her. Why does my apprenticeship had to be this hard. I just wanted to use my training to become a true spirit mage but it just wasn’t going to be so.
I slept poorly that night, a rare thing for I normally could sleep like a rock but I felt a little guilty and the fur that Wroth provided as a little itchy and smelly. Every time I woke I looked around to see only blackness and then fall back to find some warmth.
Morning came to soon and I got up and felt a little sore while moving. The air was crisp and cold chasing away the grogginess but the chill air was a less pleasant feeling. “Good morning.” I greeted while not sound super happy. “I guess we should get looking today. I have a good feeling about finding the ruins.”
And I did have a good feeling with my new friends I wouldn’t have to worry about monsters in the mountains, for Vroth could easily take any of them down and then we could search for the ruins.
Then an idea hit me. I might be able to work a deal with the spirits to show us the way. “Hold on I might be able to cut down some looking time.” I said with a chipper smile. I may be only an apprentice but I could find a path with little problem.
I didn’t have much to work with, some offerings I carried and some bits of bone with old meat and the fur. I had to be extra careful to show respect so I drew many runes as symbols of the spirits in a nice circle. I really wanted it to work and decided on some oil I had on me, cheap stuff but it was a simple task that I needed. “Oh spirits of the icy sky. I beg you to use the eyes of the clouds to show me the way.” I poured the oil out and saw a lesser spirit watch it fall into the snow, all it could do was watch as it was just a disembodied eye but it would do. “Please show me to the ruins with a treasure of knowledge.”
I watched the ghostly eye circle around and then disappear. I held my breath for a few moments until some arrows magically melted them self into the snow. My smile was as bright as the sun when I realized I was successful. “I did it! The ruins are this way!”
Alexia watched in awe as Ginx finished her conjuring enchantment and brought a huge lidless eye to existence. Well, it was huge to the fairy anyways, huge and very, very creepy looking. However, despite the obvious oddness of the entire occurrence, the Eye – Alexia found it appropriate to address it with the capital E for some reason – did confirm two things for them. First, it made the fay realize that she had a very long way to go before becoming a real mage. Ginx was a mere apprentice and she was already able to summon stone spikes and beholding eyes. Compared to that feat, the ability to sporadically put to sleep her enemies looked terribly insignificant. And all the more reason for her to acquire this water magic tome. The second thing that was confirmed was their heading. When the Eye vanished, it left an imprint in the snow, pointing them in what was supposed to be the correct direction.
“Wow, that’s a pretty nifty spell,” Alexia said, zooming down towards the arrow and examining it closely. Instead of looking to something akin to a footprint, the sign in the snow looked as if something – someone, probably the Eye – simply removed the snow all the way to the frozen soil bellow the white covering. “You’ll have to teach me how to do it. Only I don’t want to summon the Eye. It looks strange.”
“Vroth doesn’t like it. Doesn’t smell good,” the minotaur finally spoke. He observed the entire witchcraft ritual with one hand on his sword, but even though nothing threatening happened, he still didn’t like it. Magic wasn’t a term he was unfamiliar with, but he knew about it just enough to know that he didn’t like the concept. Things appearing out of nowhere, fires sparked from thin air, it was all unnatural and disconcerting for his simple mind.
“What do you mean?” the tiny sprite said, sniffing suspiciously at the imprint that Ginx’s summon provided. “I can’t smell anything.” That was exactly the point that Vroth was trying to make, but the minotaur decided not to make a debate out of it. He always got disarmed in those debates anyways by Alexia’s constant questions that made his brain hurt. But the fact of the matter was that this arrow was a trail whose scent Vroth couldn’t pick up and it automatically struck a dose of anxiousness into him. His diminutive companion had no such doubts.
“Bah, don’t you mind him, Ginx. I think you did a great job,” the fairy chirped, swirling around the furry girl once before she landed on her shoulder. From the miniature sheath on her hip, Alexia pulled out a dagger and pointed it in the direction of the arrow. “We know where this library is supposed to be now. So let’s get going!”
Though rather disgruntled, Vroth didn’t seem to object with anything other then a snort that became visible as soon as it exited his nostrils. Packing up their camp took mere moments; the minotaur threw some snow on the ashes and rolled up the fur before strapping it over his back once again. And soon enough they were on the move, climbing out of the narrow valley, Vroth’s huge legs making a clear path. The arrow that appeared next to their campsite wasn’t the only one that the sprit gave in return for Ginx’s trinkets. There was one every half a mile or so, sometimes appearing as oddly shaped icicles on the mountain side, sometimes as shapes amongst the snow-covered tree crowns. They took the trio through the maze of mountain passes, but instead of making them ascend in order to climb the surrounding mountains, they took them more downhill until the cliffs seemed to close in on them. There was no sunlight in these places, making them thread through the dim passages through which an icy wind blew, forcing Alexia to once again seek shelter on Vroth’s back.
They followed the arrows throughout the day, but sometime during the afternoon one of the led them astray. They swung around another curve in the path and instead of another path, a solid wall of stone was standing before them. Overgrown with frozen stringy weeds and covered with snow, it looked like it was standing there at least as long as the surrounding cliffs. There was no doubt about it; they’ve reached a dead end.
“Well, this isn’t good,” Alexia spoke, putting her wings to use once again and gaining some altitude in order to get a better view. But not even when she put some thirty feet between herself and the ground did she find some crevice or nook through which they would be able pass. Only mountains rising ever higher, towering over them like sentinels with white caps. “It looks like we’re going to have to double back. Maybe we missed one of the arrows.”
“Vroth said this magicks not good,” the minotaur snorted, obviously displeased.
Alexia congratulated me on my spell though it made me blush. “Um well the Eye is the one that did the trick, I only asked it for help.” I said and then listened to Vroth speak on his distrust. I didn’t really have anything I could say other than, “We have to trust the spirits. They won’t come if we don’t trust them.” I said hoping no spirits would take offense from Vroth’s lack of trust.
At least the trail wasn’t melted away and I was really grateful that the spirit had given such a thorough path to the ruins; I had only expected it to point the direction not the best way through the mountains to it.
Then it was a dead end. I paced and shook my tail nervously. “Is this a trick, did I do something wrong?” I said several times avoiding the gaze of my friends. They probably thought I was worthless now and just a klutzy cat girl that could barely clean herself. “I, I’m sorry.” I said to them while averting my gaze and then letting my weight fall against a snow pile.
I thought it would support my meager weight but by some twist of fate the little extra force and made the snow collapse and I fell, not just a little but several feet into a cave. I screamed and yelped as I hit the ground and groaned. “I, I think I’m alright.” I moaned as I looked around. The cave wasn’t just rocks and earth but carved stone. “I think I found the Ruins!” I screamed as I looked at the hole in the ceiling that I made.
Coaxed by Alexia’s persuasion, Vroth was knocking on the rocky face of the mountainside with his huge knuckles in search for what the sprite called the sound of hollowness when Ginx squalled and fell through the snowy soil. The hole her lithe frame made was so small and concealed by snow that at first the minotaur and his flying fay friend weren’t able to locate it. They stared around in search of their new acquaintance and then at each other with befuddled looks at her sudden disappearance. Luckily, Alexia’s overview of the terrain was much better when aided by some wing action, so she was able to find the opening through which the furry girl plumped. Relief was prominent in her voice when she saw that Ginx was uninjured – except maybe a sore butt – and that the drop wasn’t too big.
“I thought we lost you for a moment there,” Alexia’s high-pitched voice descended from above, preceding her hovering form. She lowered herself into the hole tentatively, keeping her blue eyes wide open and ascertaining the environment. From what she could gather, the tailed lass was right; they did find a tunnel that was definitely not created by mother Nature. The walls looked more like those of a dungeon, made of square stone blocks, while the tilling of the floor looked almost as smooth as if it was made of marble. “I guess it would’ve been too much to ask from the Eye spirit to make one of the arrows pointing down,” Alexia added with a chuckle, swirling in the column on white light that came through the ceiling. Soon, however, something blotted the natural illumination.
“Kitty girl needs help to get out of the hole?” Vroth’s voice rumbled from above, echoing in the hallway that seemed to stretch infinitely into the darkness on both sides.
“No, she does not,” Alexia answered for Ginx. “I think she found the ruins. Or at least a tunnel that leads to the ruins. Come on, Vee. Get down here so we can see where this thing leads.”
Above, the horned head of the minotaur shook vigorously once, in sync with his trademark disagreeing snort. “No way up from the tunnel,” he said, and when the fay shot him win one of her no-nonsense looks, Vroth added. “Hole too small for Vroth.” He was pretty satisfied with this excuse, so much so that a toothy smile appeared on his hellish visage. There weren’t many occasions when he actually got to be the voice of wisdom. Unfortunately for him and his complacent expression, his wisdom wasn’t clairvoyant enough to see that the ceiling that fell under Ginx was probably bound to crumble beneath his weight as well. Which, of course, it did.
The stone arch that supported the ceiling cracked and gave way under some five hundred pounds of pressure, sending the minotaur on a crash course with the floor. Unlike the furry girl – whose bestial reflexes probably saved her from falling on her face – Vroth had no such perks. He plummeted downwards, making Alexia and Ginx scurry away just in time not to get crushed beneath his weight, his hands shooting before his face at just the right moment to prevent him from landing on his snout. Instead he landed on his back, his titanic sword clattering amidst the sound of crumbling stone.
“Vee, you alright?” Alexia was quick to check on him, the dust forcing her to cough as she darted above the fallen minotaur. When Vroth growled and pushed himself into a sitting position, she got an answer to her question. “Well, now, since I’m the only one who can get out through the hole in the roof and I sure as hell can’t pull you two out, I guess we have no choice but to proceed through the tunnel.” Her horned companion didn’t seem to have any more objections, beating the dust off of his fur before he got up.
“It’s pretty dark though,” the fairy commented, breaking out of the circle of light, but not venturing too far through the tunnel. There was no light at the end of this tunnel, regardless of the direction in which she looked. There was plenty of coldness though, and not the kind that she had to endure for most of the day. Down here it was the different kind, the kind that bit down into your limbs and froze you down to your bones. It didn’t take long for her mind to find a solution.
“Fire! I’ll make fire,” she said, yanking her wand free of her little belt and landing on the smooth floor that made her bare feet feel as if they were standing on ice. Vroth shook his head but said nothing. He couldn’t make fire for her here, not without tinder. Perhaps it was time for her to realize that she couldn’t conjure flames. However, when Alexia began to chant her spell, there was something magical happening, an eerily golden aura encompassing the tiny fay. But once she was done, the effects of her spell weren’t what she hoped they would be. There was no fire, but instead her wings were now covered with a fine glittery film, and every time she moved them, they shed several of these shiny scales, making a barely hearable tinkling sound. The green-haired sprite couldn’t help trying to turn around and examine her own wings, looking a little bit like chasing her own tail even though she didn’t have one.
“Hmm... That’s weird,” she commented, swirling around and basking in the golden light of her fairy dust. She ultimately made peace with it and replaced the wand with a dagger. “Well, at least we have light now. I guess I’ll lead the way.”
Vroth followed his flying comrade as closely as he could, his giant fists trying to catch the twinkling particles that fell from her wings, but even as they would land on his callous palm, they would dissipate. That didn’t stop him from trying multiple times, trying to catch the pretty stuff that reminded him of fireflies, but these falling jewels were even more evasive then the shinny bugs. After several failed attempts, he was content to just keeping a watchful eye on anything that might jump out of the darkness.
Dark, it was too dark. I was rather scared after Vroth fell in and almost squashed me and Alexia. The little light that was coming from the hole was not enough to see far. But thankfully the fairy brought forth light from her wings as if they were rain clouds dropping lanterns. "Meow, That's so pretty!" I was with Vroth and curiously trying to study the falling specs. "You did this all yourself?" I asked seeing that there was no sign of spirit contact or magical item usage.
The pathway was clear and cold but still damp, maybe a water spirit would be nearby in case I needed its help though it might not get it since I would be treasure hunting in its home. If Alexia actually summoned fire would have cured the cold but still the light was better than nothing so it was a start.
"Nya, I'm going to check around, maybe some treasures nearby!" I brought my mind to think of glowing jewels and wands to get my mind off the cold and I even kept an eye out and looked at the cold stone of the floor and even breaking off the trail.
Then I yelped as I slipped in a puddle of something that wasn't water, it was more of a goo and made me shiver and shudder from the slimy feeling. "Eww," I groaned while trying to get up and it felt like the slime was crawling over me.
And then I noticed it was crawling and moving and then it reached my chest. "Help!" My cry felt short as I was forced against the floor trying to struggled and keep my mouth and nose clear. "Let me Go!" I cried as I rolled about on the floor.
It was like nothing Alexia ever saw before. She had fluttered her way over this greenish pool of water, making nothing of it, but when Ginx tried to walk over it, the liquid sprung to life. It was more then enough to make the diminutive sprite scream in horror, and if her fist didn’t ball around the hilt of her dagger, she would’ve probably dropped her weapon. The slime was moving like molasses, though much more potent, oozing upwards and defying the laws of gravity, threatening to envelop the furry girl completely. Ginx seemed helpless against this animated pile of goo, throwing herself on the ground and trying to free herself of the squishy grasp of the uncanny enemy. Alexia wanted to help but there were two things stopping her from doing that. For one, she had absolutely no idea what to do. If the slime could take down a human, defeating a lithe fairy would probably be a walk in the park. And second, she was petrified. Her wings were moving reflexively, just enough to keep her hovering, but the rest of her body was paralyzed by the bizarre scene that unfolded before her.
Luckily for the kitty lass, Vroth was much harder to impress and stun. True, he too never saw something so weird, but his train of thought always took the shortcuts through the thinking process. And right now it didn’t matter what this thing was or how unreal it looked. What mattered was that Ginx was fighting it, and by the looks of it, she was losing the battle. Without deliberating much on the course of action he ought to be taking, the minotaur was next to the attacked girl in seconds, his mighty hand reaching down and grabbing her by the back of her robe. But even when he pulled her up like a stray kitten, the muck refused to let go. Again, Vroth didn’t think much. Instead of trying to scrub the substance off, he shook Ginx rather vigorously. The lithe girl screamed again, this time in surprise, but after several rapid movements, the goo monster fell apart in a myriad of globs that looked like something Vroth sometimes blew out of his nostrils.
“Kitty girl free of the snot monster,” he said, lowering the slightly disoriented girl on her own two wobbly legs. However, by the time he did that and Ginx slowly doddered off, another mucus pile was on top of him. Creeping from the darkness that refused to be illuminated by Alexia’s magic, the slime wrapped itself around the hoof of the minotaur before it started ascending. Vroth would’ve done something about it, but at that exact time another one fell from the ceiling, wrapping itself around his head. The liquid itself reeked of decay and poison and bile, as if it was stomach acid that somehow got free of the digestive tract and grew a killing instinct.
The already dimly lit tunnel went even darker for Vroth. He could barely see through the filter of green sludge that stung his eyes and filled his nostrils. His ears were barely able to pick up Alexia’s screams of warning that told him to watch out. His meaty fingers tried to pull this oozing covering off his horned head, but they went right through the liquid body of his foe. There was only one viable option – the bludgeoning one. With a growl that got muffled by the green molasses that covered his face, the minotaur made a blind run towards one of the walls, slamming his head against it. It was impossible for his horns to pierce the stone walls, so they snapped off, causing Vroth excruciating pain which he voiced in a terrifying roar. But it was a roar that could be heard. The slime that covered his head was splattered all over the wall, collecting itself slowly.
That left him with the one that was slowly creeping up his thigh, but getting rid of this one was a much less painful procedure. Stomping his hoof against the marble floor several times, Vroth caused a tremor that shook the entire tunnel as if there was a mild earthquake. The goo monster lost ground more and more with each stomp until ultimately the heavyset hue turned it into a splotch on the marble.
Unfortunately, there was a side effect to all the stomping and wall-tackling. The already degenerated structure of the passageway started to crumble even more. The ceiling cracked on several spots, sending down a rain of stone fragments that announced the possible collapse in the near future. Very near by the looks of it.
“Run! We have to run!” Alexia yawped, finally liberated from the petrifaction that kept her practically immobilized for the duration of the battle with the slime monsters. However, that was easier said then done. A twosome of mobile puddles was barring their way on one side and on the other, the three that attacked Ginx and Vroth were consolidating themselves.
I almost died. I almost died in the dark by being drowned in a puddle of sentient slime. Living through it wasn’t any fun either. Thanks to Vroth I was alive and very dizzy and cold but alive. My movements were awkward and I pretty much almost tipped over with every step.
And then the strange creatures attacked Vroth and I couldn’t do anything, I tried to get my staff bout I couldn’t aim, there just wasn’t much I could do, not even watch. It was horrid to see the Minotaur bludgeon himself to get the slime off and while successful it left him a mess. “A, are you alight?” I asked while trying to keep myself as far from the slime as I could.
We had to get out, the shimmering of the slime showed us that our path was blocked; I had to think of something. “I can buy some time, I think but we need to rush through. It’ll probably anger those things if they can be angered.”
I was feeling a bit better and I think well enough to use my staff, the semi-fluid monsters looked like I could wash them away. I pointed my staff and prayed to the spirits though not officially ask for their help, doing that too often can make things more difficult in the long run. Finally a gush of water came out the staff to force the slime into the wall and disperse, it worked!
“Okay, Run!” I cried and ran forward at my top speed and hardly looking where I was going. I just wanted to get away before the slimes recovered and safely into the library or an exit or some place where there wasn’t piles of goo that wanted to murder in the most discussing way.
“Not much harder to wash away than mud!” Thud! My little cheer was cut short by me running into a door. “Ow that hurt…” I whimpered while holding my sore face and glad no blood was coming forth. “At least we got away…” I said trying to get my mind off of the pain though I still couldn’t hold in sounds of pain.
Running headlong through an unfamiliar tunnel filled with inky darkness perhaps wasn’t the smartest of plans, but the trio still unanimously agreed to pursue it. After the encounter with the vexing lively puddles of slime, they were all willing to take their chances with the mystery of the unknown then to continue the fruitless battle. None of them really thought that there might be more gruesome things lurking in the darkness; there was no time for such pessimistic thoughts. There was no time for any thoughts. The situation was simple. They were either going to make it or they were going to run straight into a horde of gooey monsters that would choke them to death.
So they ran. Alexia’s aerial abilities enabled her to fly in front of her two companions, but the sheer haste with which the group darted down the passage rendered the twinkling light of her wings practically useless. Ginx followed the glowing fairy, the bestial part of her gene pool obviously granting her the graceful dexterity with which she sprinted down the corridor. Vroth was coming up their rear, grunting and snorting and keeping his eyes on the little beacon that was Alexia. His long strides made his hoofs strike the floor thrice as rare as those of his furry friend, but there was little love – and more importantly traction – between his hoofs and the stone floor. Luckily, there were no corners around which he would have to veer. Unluckily, however, this meant that he would have a hard time stopping himself. This became apparent once the light speck that was the fairy started to get larger until ultimately her glow enlightened Ginx and the massive wooden gate against which she collided. With his current velocity and mass, Vroth had no other options but to do the same.
In order not to squish his kitty friend, the minotaur managed to divert his trajectory just enough to miss the girl before he crashed against the door. Unlike with Ginx’s light weight, the gates failed to endure the substantially stronger collision which blasted them open. Vroth lost his balance from the impact, falling on all fours, but even in his almost prone position he was able to notice the change in the atmosphere. There was light beyond these doors, yellow and dim and soft, and only when he picked his head up was he able to find the source of it. Alexia, however, noticed it already, and it downright mesmerized her.
The door didn’t open into a room or a hall or even a tomb. Instead, what stood before them was a cave so humongous that it had little problem housing a full-sized castle. With its elegantly lean ivory towers and stoic ramparts, the underground citadel seemed to glow with an eery golden aura. It almost looked as if the light was being emanated from the stone itself, for there were no other visible sources of light. The sprite never visited the subterranean realm of Haidia, but from what she heard, it looked like the enlarged version of what her eyes were witnessing right now. There was even a faint trail that led from where the trio stood to the front gates of the castle.
“Well, slap my behind and call me a pegasus... Would you look at that?” Alexia spoke, her blue eyes captivated by the sight. Not only was it an extremely peculiar one, but there was a strange majestic, almost mystifying feel about the hidden fort, the kind that made her feel like they weren’t supposed to be there, but the kind that made her feel happy for being there at the same time. “I bet you a hundred shinnies that the library we’re looking for is in there.”
Vroth was significantly less amazed. Human-made buildings were all pretty much the same to him, regardless of whether they were made of simple wood or glowing stone. However, once he regained his footing and acknowledge the building that stood before them, he too had something to say. “Vroth wrong, kitty girl right. Her magics speak true,” he said, his huge hand messing up Ginx’s hair while his face stretched into what might’ve been a kind smile if there weren’t all those sharp teeth to make it look ominous. It always amazed Alexia how easy it was for Vroth to apologize. When it came to that, his mind was almost at the level of a child that would ask forgiveness for trespasses as soon as they realized it. However, right now, she had other things in mind then the naivety of her companion.
“I hope there are no more of those slimy thingies in there. They were sooo creepy, creepier then The Eye you summoned,” the tiny fay rambled, flying around in jerky, jittery motions, eager to move closer to the edifice that dominated the massive cavern. Only then she actually noticed that there was something lacking on the head of her horned friend. Or her formerly-horned friend. “Vee, are you going to be alright? Your horns... They’re gone!” she added, buzzing around the minotaur’s head.
“Horns grow back,” Vroth responded, slamming the door shut once all three were through. “We should move. Snot monsters might be close.”
Vroth made me blush by admitting I was right and my magic was good. I tried to think of something to say but it felt petty, even smiling felt like rubbing it in so I looked at the ground. “Thanks.” I said finally though I was looking at the black ground.
Though I did find myself staring at the glowing castle with Alexia. It was a most wondrous place that lit everything up. We were underground and it should have been pitch black but it wasn’t. “It’s going to be hard to find the boo…” I slipped and stopped and corrected myself once again. “Hard to find the treasures in there.” I really hoped they wouldn’t notice we were after the same treasure, for I was shaking with nerves.
And I could still feel the slime on my features. “I’m afraid that there might be more slime, and you were luck. I feel so gross.” I whined and made a test lick to see if I could groom myself. “Nya!” I spat out the sour tasting sludge that covered me. “I’m going to have to take a bath…” I whimpered, I wasn’t the most fond of baths but took them when needed; the usual way was much better.
Thankfully we soon started towards the city, poor Vroth had the worst since he lost his horn but he kept going and I decided to pick up the pace and go with him.
The castle was as pretty from the inside as it was out. The hallways were of the finest stone and hung with some of the finest tapestries, depicting all kinds of wizards and monsters. I loved the one with the woman feeding her child while causing a tree to grow while animals danced below. But there were so many others.
“This place is quite the maze, I hope we’re going the right way. I don’t know anything about the people that made it. Any of you have a clue?” I asked hoping that maybe someone would have an idea were these mysterious people would keep a library full of magical books or at least one book of power.
((Sincerely sorry for the delay.))
Despite the girl’s obvious amicability, Alexia was growing suspicious of Ginx. It was the second time now that the furry adventurer made a mistake when it came to the item she sought, and in both instances she almost uttered something that sounded a lot like the word ‘book’. It was probably nothing, the sprite tried to assure herself. They were, after all, looking for a library which is bound to hold hundreds and hundreds of books. What were the chances that they were both after the same one? Slim, logic answered. But logic was also the devil’s advocate. It reminded the flying fay that if Ginx wasn’t after the same item, there would be no need for concealing her motives. Could it be that the naivety was just a ruse, a clever disguise that painted cuteness and innocence over a more ominous face below? Such a claim was hard to believe. One look towards the tailed girl was almost enough to completely disarm Alexia’s accusation and dissuade her from ever doubting Ginx.
“Nah, there’s no way she’s pulling our nose,” the fairy concluded after a short period of observation. Instead of scouring the girl, Alexia returned her eyes and thoughts on the matter at hand and the castle that was no longer before them, but around them. The interior stretched in all directions, it seemed, by means of hallways and passages that led them from one hall into the other. Each room they entered seemed more lofty then the last one, some decorated with intricate frescos, some with paintings and aquarelles that depicted beasts and heroes and some battlefields long forgotten. Strangely enough, despite the fact that the liveliest thing they saw far was a rather realistic statue of some naked athlete, there was no dust covering the surfaces, no spider webs hanging from the corners like curtains. Everything looked as if there was a full staff constantly keeping every spic and span.
“I wish that I did. I wish that I hadn’t fallen asleep while listening to those people speak about this place,” Alexia mused, buzzing around and above her companions, more focused on all the detailed ornaments that covered the walls then the question Ginx posed. “One thing’s certain. There has to be an end to these halls eventually. They can’t stretch on forever.”
Vroth wasn’t so certain. There was something amiss with this place and it wasn’t just his usual dislike for prissy, ornate places speaking. His gut was restless, making him almost nauseous, ringing like an alarm bell in his head. The made the minotaur keep his hand close to the hilt of his sword, waiting for a foe that would jump from around the next corner, but he never got a chance to use it. Hallways exchanged around them like a bad case of déj* vu, where everything looked the same with an exception of few details. Sometimes the tapestries had different emblems stitched into it, sometimes the scenes in the paintings were different, but there was still an eerily sensation prodding him from the inside that made the minotaur feel like they were walking in circles. Aware that he had neither the intelligence nor the vocabulary to express this strange feeling, Vroth kept his mouth shut and kept plodding along after his two female comrades.
“Is it just me, or did this place look smaller from the outside?” Alexia finally said after what seemed like at least an hour of exploration of halls that didn’t seem to magnificent anymore. Too much of anything got really boring after a while. She wasn’t even flying around anymore, but rather satisfied herself with sitting on Vroth’s shoulder and watch more of the same pass her by. The idea of adventuring and finding the lost book of awesome spells didn’t seem so intriguing to her anymore. In fact, she was more and more inclined towards calling it quits and getting back to Radasanth... if only she could retrace their steps.
“I think we need a break. All this adventuring is making me hungry,” the fay said, exasperated. To her – and probably everybody else’s – surprise, once Vroth opened up another set of heavyset, lacquered doors, a dinning hall opened up in front of them. But that wasn’t the surprise. The fact that there was a table laden with pretty much every type of food that her little head could come up with was. The entire room looked spiffy enough for a royal ball whose invitees failed to answer the summons. The floor was polished to the point where they could see their own reflections in it, the fire merrily crackling the pair of hearths on the far ends of the room, the crystalline chandeliers spreading the soft, yellow illumination throughout the room. It was a regular feast and they were the honorary guests it seemed.
“We’re either crashing a rather dull party or somebody wants us to feel welcome,” Alexia said, putting her wings into motion once again to check out the premises. Her eyes were mostly locked on the food though. Days in the wilderness were mighty adventurous and interesting, but the food was lousy regardless of how much they tried to make it otherwise. What stood before them, however, seemed to come straight from the stoves of some very experienced cooks.
“Alex shouldn’t wander far. This place smells strange,” Vroth warned his diminutive companion. This entire setting was too auspicious not to be suspicious and the alarm bells in his head agreed.
“Oh, come on. You said Ginx’s magic smells wrong too and it brought us here,” the fairy retorted, landing on the edge of the table, below a huge roasted fowl whose crispy skin glittered in the light of the overhanging pendants. Her minotaur friend wasn’t assured, keeping his distance from the rich table. “Just because it’s strange, it doesn’t mean it will kill you. Maybe this is the way the host of this place is trying to apologize for not greeting us.”
It was a silly assumption and Alexia probably knew it too. But it was warm in here, the food looked succulent and she knew nothing of the subtleties that some people liked to use to take care of adventurers. So she picked up an olive from a plate – which was as big as a watermelon to her – and took a bite, then another, chewing and munching with a satisfied grin. And when she finally swallowed, she fell onto the table as if somebody cut the legs from below her. Vroth was appalled. He ran across the room as fast as he could, his hoofs slipping and sliding and barely getting him to the table where Alexia was motionless, her eyes closed. It was only when he cupped his large hand around her that she sprung to life with a giggle and a smile that almost went around her entire head.
“Gotcha!” the fay said, fluttering her wings and laughing at the confounded face the minotaur made, buzzing around his hornless head. Vroth snorted, half in relief and half in frustration.
“Alex has strange humor sense,” his voice rumbled.
“Well, somebody has to have one. All this adventuring doesn’t have to be as serious as the plague. Now, let us sit down and relax for a while,” Alexia commandeered to both Vroth and Ginx in a lighthearted voice, planting her tiny behind on the edge of an overturned goblet. “Ginx can tell us what kind of a treasure she is looking for here.” It wasn’t the subtlest of ways to prod at the issue that had been bugging her ever since they first saw the castle, but then again, Alexia wasn’t the subtlest individual.
((So, I was thinking. Maybe the maze-like interior of the castle is actually a maze, only concealed with a strong illusion. I figure, the food isn’t poisoned, but it will make them all fall asleep and when they wake up, they could find themselves in a not-so-pretty-looking maze or even a dungeon. :)))
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