M.D.Syl
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Chapter 112 colorless.
🕑 Added 2023-09-05 15:55:16 +0000 UTCChapter 112 The Swamps are so Friendly.
Knowledge leads to questions.
Questions leads to more knowledge.
It is questions that drives us forward,
even if we do not always wish for the knowledge they bring us.
Tukado, the Creator.
It is utter darkness, and the creature that is holding my feet attempts to climb up on my legs. I force its hands off me with my mind and kick him back into the swamp. “Revisor!” <light!> A ball of gentle light appears near my feet, shedding brightness on the moss covered water.
We are surrounded by humanoid creatures that look like a combination of a frog and a turtle. The glowing green eyes have wide pupils and their wide mouths with the sack below resemble frogs, yet the thick shells on their backs is clearly a turtle's shell.
The slimy hand has webbing between the fingers, webbing I can feel around my ankles. There are about twenty of them, swimming toward us in the murky water. I spot another pair of green webbed hands clenched around Loyal’s front legs, preventing him from moving.
Another one of these creatures holds onto my feet, while its friend climbs up on its head. It wraps one wet hand around my knees under my skirts and tries to push its other hand into my butt.
A surprised yelp escapes my lips. What the hell is it trying to do?! I attempt push it away with a silent ‘Minor Telekinesis’ but this thing is way too heavy for a creature that’s no bigger than a goblin. With my hands stuck to Loyal’s mane I can’t cast serious spells. “Loyal! Let one of my hands go!”
The adhesive effect holding my right hand ceases. I twist back and put my hand on the head of the creature with its hand between my legs. “Myrsha ritsa!” <Gravity repulse!> The head explodes like a rotten melon falling from atop the Sapphire Tower, showering me with greenish black blood.
“Ritsa!” <Repulse!> I push down the creature holding my feet, but the hold is too strong and my legs get yanked with the shockwave. I lose one of my shoes and a disgusting wet hand grabs my sock covered foot. I’m pretty low on mana after brewing that potion, I need to be carerful. “Rinim rill shariss!” <Ice sharp fly!> The icy spike lodges itself into the creature's body. Or I can just use other elements…
I attempt to climb up to Loyal’s body but another pair of hands are already holding my legs, tugging my sock and skirt down toward the murky water below. “Ka ka kapaaahhh!” The creature calls as a another dirty wet beast jumps like a frog and wraps its slimy limbs around my neck and abdomen, trapping my one free hand against my body. Pulling my hand free is a struggle with the wet slimy body that's pressed against me, I manage to pull my hand, but not before its sharp teeth sink into my shoulder. I gasp and stab my fingers into the creature's sack-like throat. “Felul felik!” <Wind aircut!>
A torrent of green blood washes my hand and chest. The creature gurgles and drops down back into the murky water. Another pair of slimy hands wrap themselves around my waist from behind. I reach back and press my finger to its throat. “Felul felik!” <Wind aircut!> The green blood covers my back and damps my skirts. The slimy creature drops down.
“Enough! Rial aluwe ri!” <Cold surface stop!> I freeze the water below me solid, it’s a thin patch, but at least five of them get caught in it, including the ones that are holding my and Loyal’s legs. Loyal is also covered by a thin layer of frost. “Get us out of here, Loyal!”
Loyal bolts forward while I hang onto his mane. The hands holding onto our legs break with a sickening crunch and lose their grip. Ice cracks, water splashes, and the magical horse gallops across the pond’s surface. “Ka ka kapaaahhh! Ka ka ka kappaaaaahhh!” The creatures behind us call to one another as they attempt to chase and encircle us.
It feels like my hand is about to get torn out of its socket, and my body rocks against my horse’s flank. Then Loyal stops on solid ground, and I manage to climb onto his back. I'm covered in bruises, my shoe is missing, and green blood stains my blue dress. I glare at the weird frog turtle creatures with a chill down my spine. They stop at the edge of the murky pond, all looking at me with dark green glow in their eyes.
“Nim” <Water> I manipulate some of the water to my hand, forming blobs. “Nim ri rinim.” <water stop to ice> I freeze the blobs, shaping them into multiple sharp spikes. “Rinim rill shariss!” <Ice sharp fly!> I send a hail of icy spikes at the frog people. Most of my spike hit the hardened shells and break, but I manage to get two of them. The sharp ice penetrates their wide throats with splatters of mossy blood. Their green eyes dim and their bodies float in the murky water. The rest disappear underneath, and the surface seems like those things weren’t there to begin with.
Of course, Zoe and Salik get to enjoy a cozy night at their tent, while I’m here dealing with creepy boggarts and crazy frog people! “Let’s go Loyal…” I say with a sigh, and my horse trots forward.
Only now do I notice that this dark swamp is crowded with odd lifeforms.
Blue and yellow lights dance to our right, but Loyal ignores them. A glowing dark blue bird glides above our head, hooting again and again. A group of black butterflies crosses our path, but Loyal paces through them.
A dark green woman with moss-like skin swims in the muddy ground as if it’s water. She climbs onto a puddle of water as if it’s solid earth, rinses her long dark hair from mud. She waves at me and pats the puddle with an odd inviting grin on her emerald face.
Yeah… I don’t feel very welcome here, thank you.
An old wrinkly man stands on a boulder near the path, he’s leaning on a curved walking stick. I’ve met this creature back in Sha’ashbash. His four white horns are long and spiky making his head look like half a sun, and the fifth horn replaces what would’ve been a beard. His muddy white robes has delicate yellow patterns on them, and he eyes me with a pair of silver eyes with double triangle pupils. Oh not this thing again!
“Thou shalt stop!” the weird old man commands, but Loyal simply ignores the odd creature and keeps running on the muddy path of the swamp.
“Thou shalt be cursed!” The weird creature waves its walking stick above its horned head. “Thy love shalt bring thy death! Thou shalt face thy doom!” he calls out as Loyal leaves him behind.
Yeah… both you and Jerro keep saying that, just shut up! If two prophets are saying the same thing, maybe I should listen? I should just kill that thing and drain its damned soul! if only I carried my bottles on me…
This is a fae habitat, there are way too many of them here… how did Loyal know to bring me here? How did he know that the boggart will have an answer for me? It doesn’t make sense, Loyal is smart, but not that smart, who’s manipulating me through my horse? Who wanted to make sure I’ll hear that I’m a quarter Rakshasa? Someone is behind it… I lean forward on the green mane. “Loyal? I know someone told you to bring me to that boggart, someone you trust, please take me to that person.”
Soon the swamp turns into a forest, leaving behind the crazy fae habitat. By the time I reach the camp, it’s already dawn.
{28} Amaret (July) the 10th
Loyal trots into the camp and stops near Jerro’s tent. His adhesive mane lets go of my hands.
I drop to the ground, wiping my sweat. I am exhausted and covered in bruises, the gash on my shoulder pulses with pain and the grass prickles my shoeless foot. This was a long night with very unpleasant experiences, and I spent the previous day traveling, fighting a monstrous serpent, and crafting the most complex potion I’ve ever made. “Jerro asked you to take me there?”
“Nigghhhee,” the horse nods.
If Jerro is the one behind this, it means that the information I got from that boggart is either real or will set me on the right path… At least it wasn’t for nothing... I’ll talk to him later when he wakes up… I wish he would’ve simply told me and prepare me for the creepy encounters I just had. But I’m sure he meant well… I need him on my side, I’ll try not to be too harsh…
Jerro exits his tent a moment before I turn to leave. “Hello, Inara.”
My anger and fatigue overwhelms me and I slap him. “Don’t send Loyal next time. Just tell me where to go. You scared me to death! And those creepy creatures in the swamp, did you know about them when you sent me there?!”
“Yes. A Boggart. A Fafricon. And Kappas…” He rubs his cheek and speaks with the emotion of a cold stone. “I’m sorry. There was a high chance you wouldn’t agree to go there alone for a small possibility, you’d deem it too dangerous, but this clue is important to your path. You were never in any danger. A Fafricon can’t curse you with a curse you don’t already possess, and you are stronger than a herd of Kappas.”
So he thought this through, and he thinks I would’ve said no for a possible chance to find my bloodline? Why the hell would I say no? I really needed to know what my bloodline is and now I do. Either way, he meant well, I shouldn’t alienate him, I need his predictions… I pat his shoulder. “Thanks for helping me find out what my bloodline is. I know you mean well, but next time please just talk to me and let me decide.”
He seems baffled by my show of affection. “I do not want you to touch me, Sharlafyn might get jealous.” He scratches his nape awkwardly and changes the subject. “Boggarts can discern bloodlines by smell."
I pull my hand back. "I see... but how do I know that boggart didn't simply lie to me?"
"You don't. They enjoy misleading and lying. I cannot tell whether he gave you the truth or a falsehood," he states, leaning on his cane like an old man.
The snake?! "Then why the hell did you send me there?!"
"Every lie is based on a truth. You have a better starting point than you had yesterday."
"But if he just lied then..." He has a point... "Yeah. Fine. Thanks for using your gift to help me. But please, next time just talk to me and let me decide, don’t use riddles.”
He nods, his words apathetic. “You are welcome. I’m glad the kappas couldn’t drag you under the water.”
“Was there a chance for me to die there?”
He shakes his head. “You are fae. They wouldn’t kill you. It would’ve been unpleasant.”
“Then I have nothing to be angry about. Any luck with Sharla?” he’s been stalking her for the past few days, but I haven't seen him approach her yet.
He shakes his head again. “I don’t need luck, she is my soul mate.”
I roll my eyes. “Someone forgot to notify her of that.”
He nods with a grimace. “Yes, indeed, I think I should tell her that. Thanks for the advice.”
Oh boy… “That won’t help you, just tell her that you love her and wait for when she loves you back. I think she likes Berthold and talking about fate won’t change how she feels."
He winces. “It’s not fate, I can’t see fate. I see time. My gift and curse come from the God of Time, Tiyadi. I see time as it flows through this world, how it touches and changes people, and where would it flow. Fate is something else entirely. Fate is fought over by Rakisha, Tukado, and Koshavi, these three gods wrestle each other to control fate.”
And he missed my point entirely… I pat his shoulder in amusement, and head for my tent. “You’re beyond help, Jerro, good luck!”
“Indeed I’m beyond help, unless you have a method to bring death to the God of Death,” he calls out after me.
Kill the God of Death? Now that’s an interesting idea, I wonder if I ever get strong enough for that… “I’ll think about it. Thanks again!”
*~*~*
Interlude 112.1
Berthold
Berthold gulps while looking at the blurry feminine figure in front of him, his eyes follow the purple veins that sprout from her back to the dark monolith behind her.
He really doesn't have much of a choice. If she's good, and everything she said about Tonisha is the truth, then worshiping her instead is a good thing. And if she's evil... if he won't worship her, he won't leave this place alive. He saw the key in Sharla's hand, and he wasn't supposed to. They won't leave witnesses behind. Berthold wants to live.
"Yes. I will worship you." He kneels down with a shudder. His instinct screams alarms, this creature can kill him with a thought and he knows it.
"Then repeat after me," the blurred fairy says. "I Berthold son of Clara renounce Tonisha. I worship the Faceless Queen of Nothing. I worship The Blind Lady of Twilights. I worship the Maiden of Darkness. From now and forever."
Berthold takes a deep breath, this fairy queen knows a lot about him if she chose the name of his mother instead of his father. "I Berthold son of Clara renounce Tonisha." A weight is lifted from his shoulders. A weight he never realized was there. He's no longer afraid, no longer wary of the fairy in front of him. No more instinct that screams danger. He does not continue, and the blurry fae stands there patiently.
He's no longer scared. Why would she kill him? She has no reason to, why would she lie about it? Is his survival instinct gone when he renounced Tonisha? Logically he knows she would kill him if he doesn't worship her, but... He stands. "I renounced her. You got your vengeance. Will you let me leave if I do not worship you?"
"Of course, my boy. You are free to leave." She gestures and the purple veins that block the path behind him open. "I never forced anyone to worship me."
"But what about the key I saw?" Fool. Why ask? Why? He really needs to develop a healthy sense of caution again, it seems like his original sense of fear came from the fact that he worshiped Tonisha.
"What key? You won't remember a thing about it once you leave the clearing. It'll be shrouded in darkness..." Even if her face is blurred, Berthold can tell that the fairy is grinning.
That makes a lot of sense. She is not malevolent despite the darkness and the creepy purple veins everywhere, and she promised him the ability to see weaknesses he can shoot... Berthold kneels again. "I worship the Faceless Queen of Nothing. I worship The Blind Lady of Twilights. I worship the Maiden of Darkness. From now and forever."
"Rise," his patron says with a rich voice.
Berthold stands up. The fairy queen's feature are no longer blurred. She is beautiful. Long smooth purplish hair and a pair of starry almond eyes that resemble Sharla's. Her dark skin is marred with tiny stars like the night's skies. Her black dress hugs her body and emphasizes her curves.
Berthold can't help but sneak a peek at her starry and ample cleavage before turning his eyes elsewhere. He focuses on the purple veins that grows out of her back, and tries to think of something else.
"You are now one of mine," she continues with a smile that fills Berthold with warmth. "You will find that the shadows and the night will aid and hide your presence when you need them to, as for my promise, I will need to touch your eyes." She floats forward and caresses both of his cheeks. Berthold blushes, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Her slender thumbs glide on his cheek bones and the starry fingers enter his eyes.
Berthold closes his eyes on an instinct. He expected pain, but he doesn't even feel a hint of discomfort, not even an itch. He can't see a thing, and there's a warm feeling in his eyes. The Maiden of Darkness pulls her thumbs back and Berthold can see again.
He looks at Sharla. Unlike before, he sees a starry spot on her chest as well as her head, and he knows that an arrow to these spots... no. It'll have to be an iron arrow, or a silver arrow. Or... a few other materials he doesn't know yet. But if an arrow like that hits those spots Sharla will die. Oddly enough, her heart is in the right side of her chest as opposed to a human who have it on the left side. Berthold looks at the Maiden of Darkness again, but unsurprisingly she doesn't have any weak spots.
"I... thank you. You're sure you're not evil? This darkness..."
The fairy queen smirks. "Darkness merely hide things, dear. I have many secrets, and I may ask your help in keeping them one day... but not today. Enjoy your new sight. When you have an offering for me, you will be able to feel where my closest altar is located."
"What about the key I saw?" Why ask?! Why? Why does he insist on putting himself in danger?
"That is another secret. I only ask that you don't mention it to anyone."
"Ok! I promise!" Why is he so attracted to dangerous women? Inara. Sharla. The Maiden of Darkness. At this rate he'll end up dead one day.
*~*~*
Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: connected: 1 gem replenished per minute.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 79
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 16 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 26 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 13 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 19/20 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 39 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 6 gems
Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 13 gems
Gravity: Affinity 9: connected: 91/95 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing. Aria’s Sonic Scream.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating. Nuriss’ Ignite. Oniga's Soap Creation.
Light: Noxi’s Light. Lako’s Blinding Light. Rika’s energy hand.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet. Ayla’s instant freeze. Ayla's Flowing Shield. Ayla’s Freezing Vapors.
Earth: Alice’s Oil Summoning, Reiko’s Acid Spray. Alf's Copper Bolt
Wood: Arigor’s Lesser Vines. Kolosu’s Vegetable Summoning.
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s Lesser Shield II. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body. Alino's Orbiter.
Transmutation: Oniga's Laundry.
Spells known:
Light: Rika's Electric Channelb1
Gravity: Alino’s Weightless Bodyb1x2. Imari’s Lesser Flightb2.
Life: Brigit’s Lesser Cure Poison. Brigit’s Skin Restoration.
Focus capability: 18 patterns.
Social status: The Queen of Red Cedar City. Shaman of the Twin Moon Tribe. Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries. Sorceress.
Personal Wealth: 1465 Magic Gems. 1420 Golden Peas, 45 Silver Scales, 32 Copper Bits.
Personal Items:
Magical necklace. Contains 100 gems of general mana, can be drained like a mana pool. It’ll recharge by itself at the rate of five gems an hour.
1 potion of glitter.
1 potion of lightning body.
1 potion of mana, medium grade.
5 potions of Lesser Healing.
5 potions of Pain Tolerance.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh. Each pouch may contain 10g of petals or six potion flasks.
Glitter ingredients. (1 bag)
Fresh rose petals, 37g
Fresh lavender petals, 7g
1 empty soul bottle. 6.5 Marili Serpent Soul shards. 2 Luard's soul shards. Glass with a diamond stopper, put in scaled leather wrapping.
The Great White Egret grimoire. Dedicated by the Maven of mysteries to Inara. 27/100
Present Companions:
Loyal
Sharlafyn Nettledew
Salik
Jerro
Zoe
Ryon
Berthold
Languages:
Toml’a <People’s tongue> Fluent
Sinteo <Speech> Fluent
Myrsha <Gravity> 8/10
Felul <Wind> 1/10
Nim <Water> 1/10
A'arkalu <Wolf Tongue> 2/10
Injuries and scars: Bruises
Curses:
-
Kingdom’s treasury: 3836 gold coins. 123 magical gems.
Kingdom’s citizen: 3,881 humans, 1,836 human children. Twin Moon Tribe: 1,158 orcs. 293 orc children. 529 sheep-slaves.
Kingdom's army: 1,1156 Orc Warriors. 324 Footmen. 49 Peacekeeper Knights.
Notables at Court:
Tasiya Keyholder.
Jolla SilverQuill.
Talbot Bookkeeper.
Marasi Chef extraordinaire (spymaster.)
Old Gardner Tiom.
Balgrum Orc Chieftain.
