After more conjecture, and self-muttering, Jarrah orders Dawn and Teuila to leave, suggesting they secure our temporary home. That’s honestly not a bad idea. No one can navigate to me, Teuila, or Dawn, or Percival, because no one really knows our names beyond Alanea, Flint, and Jarrah, but they might find our home regardless. I’m not even sure any of the Enclave know our last names, and that might be important. Even still, it’s not like it’s hard to wander around the area by the Enochian Enclave, where rumors likely tell that someone with Lullaby is residing.
Jarrah has me return to my normal gear and refuses to let me change in private, making sure to give me a thorough looking-over. He mutters, “No mark of power, little more than marring and bruising, slight freckling. Needs more sun. Not that they’ll get it on this accursed world. No fatemark, dragonmark, spellplague-mark. Close on that last one, from these lacerations, but not quite.”
Jarrah bowls me over so that he can look at the soles of my feet, and everything else that might have been difficult to see while I stood hugging myself in embarrassed modesty. I know there’s nothing exactly to see, but my memories are of how Earth human society, specifically western society functions. The reactions are ingrained into me.
As he begins poking and prodding me with his sharp killing-tool, I spaz out and finish getting dressed quickly. He comments, “I’m not going to kill you with it you pompous pinhead. Huff. Vexing child. Fine, fine, on the morrow, you’ll show me your five-runed spell, and we’ll attempt something else.”
He waves dismissively as he walks away. My hypersensitive hearing picks up on his speech as he’s whisperingly muttering, “Key to defeating our foe? Perhaps, perhaps. Perhaps not. Is unidentifiable power an asset in any way? I can not see how that could be. Enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a currently-dying package? Absolutely. Need to put these artifacts in the Kamaitachi service on a long loop to arrive back here. Most secure place for them, between spaces, inside the wind. I’ll offer them more than the usual sum. That should suffice. Still, vexing vexing child. Pity they won’t last the season, year at most. Still, they must succeed at their current goal. Absolutely must.”
Can freaking everyone other than me tell that I’m dying to a persistent malady with no name!? Ugh. Jarrah ignores me and paces about his chamber, so I take my leave of him and begin heading down the Enochian Enclave’s spiral staircase.
I sit at the edge of one of the mid to lower landings, my feet propped several steps below. I drop my face into my hands to weep. I’m dying. I’m dying, and I’m going to fail Dawn. I’m going to die, maybe before ever seeing Lil, Luni, or Lucky again, let alone my family back home. Come on Reggie. Make your last act be saving Dawn. Make sure you succeed. Keep practicing your runes. One, two, three, four. All good so far. Fi— flub. Fi— another flub. What the? I try five again and again as I cry in frustration.
Lullaby tries to send waves at me, but they’re distorted, weak. He wants to be comforting, and also to explain something, something about the fight. Hell’s bells, he gave up bits of himself to help me craft the runes faster, and complete the fifth rune. Oh Lull, buddy. Frick. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Hm? Well, that’s good I guess. Yeah, nature, cycles, plants, regeneration, it makes sense. Still, I’m sorry you’re suffering right now because of my wrath. It’s thanks to you that we saved Teuila though. I am truly, truly forever indebted to you.
I guess we’d better enjoy our bond for the next month or two or so that I have left, huh? I’m not being fatalistic, I’m being realistic. Have you seen any hints of any other dragons at all? Let alone elder, evil ones? That’s what I thought. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be snippy buddy. I just, I find it hard to deal with two torturous looming deadlines of such importance. Hm? Ah, thanks Lullaby. Yeah, no, I will. I’ll try to keep my eye out for clues that might lead us to evil dragons that aren’t too far off our path in our quest to save Dawn. She’s more important.
That’s not even in some self-sacrificial nonsense way. If she dies, Aasimovia crumbles to dust basically, and if Aasimovia falls, so does the Heart. The Celestial Emperor wins. He rules the entire continent, maybe this entire world if there’s only one landmass. Well, there’s still some places out west past the Jaggedfen bog, but I’m sure he has enough troops to take out a hydra and overthrow those remaining places. Hell, Jeegoobotstan pft, that country is already razed. No need to go to any trouble there. Not sure how many other places are out west.
I hear a shuffling approach behind me on the landing, so I stand up on the landing to make way for whomever it is in case they want to get past me down the staircase. There’s plenty of room, but I figure it’s only polite. The individual doesn’t aim for the stairs though, they redirect towards me as I move up and turn their way.
A young dryad woman, possibly a child approaches me, and I raise my eyebrow her way. There’s anger in her eyes. Her fists are, well, they’d be white-knuckled with how tightly she’s clenching them, if her skin weren’t basically dark bark. She steps right up to me and looks me dead in the eyes with ferocity. She stomps my foot, kicks my shin, and knees me as hard as she can in the groin. I blink with surprise.
She growls as tears well up in her eyes, “You piece of crap! You nearly got my Binty trampled! Your stupid shouting and your stupid duel! I hope you die in your next one!”
I gulp at the animosity she displays for me. I don’t blame her for having strong emotions if my actions nearly hurt someone she loves, but, wow. I’m just glad she didn’t know to dropkick my chest. My ribs would have re-broken.
I apologize as best I can while she’s turning away, “I. I can’t say how sorry I am. I’ll strive to make sure there isn’t another. I’m sorry for the trouble I bring. I hope Binty is okay.”
She glances back over her shoulder at me with one eye full of tearful fury. It’s plain to see there’s no forgiveness there, a scowl still plays across her face beyond her shoulder. My danger wraps indicate the disgust written across her face and in her posture.
Sindred, Keeley, this Dryad, how many more women want me dead? Do I even have any surviving male enemies? Maybe, possibly Don Derbrightmine and several of his capos. That would be possibly due to my ask on behalf of the Hellridges. Leviathan though, absolutely. At this point in my life’s adventures, I’m not sure which is more dangerous to me while here on Rayileklia. Leviathan is godly, he could possibly traverse worlds, maybe. These three women are nowhere near as powerful, but they’re here on this planet, and each absolutely hates me. Keeley only bottled up her hate for me in respect of Harriet, and gratitude for ending the extortion of The Brook.
I wonder if Hellga hates me. If she’s alive. I wonder if Alanea will begin to resent and hate me if I bring down more trouble upon the Enochian Enclave. I sniffle and sigh as I resume heading back to our temporary home, failingly practicing the fifth rune along the way. No, no Lull buddy, I don’t want you to help me succeed right now. This is practice for me, I have to learn. Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want you killing yourself to try to help me out with a silly thing like practice. I don’t want you dying at all bud. You like that nickname? Oh, it reminds you of plants. Sure thing. Yeah I can call you that Bud.
Seems I’ve got nicknames for most of the most important people in my life, huh? Teuila is My Wings, Lil is My Heart, Luni is My Anchor, Lullaby here is My Bud, Linti, well, I’m blushing as I think of nicknames we’ve used for each other in redacted memories. Nah I’m not going to tell you Bud, sorry. Dawn? Yeah. Yeah I have a nickname for Dawn. My Friend. Full stop. She’s My Friend, and I want to save her memory, no matter the cost. The only way to do that is to stop the curse.
Hey, um. Lullaby? Bud? If you can think of anything, even if it costs my life, anything at all to end Dawn’s curse, let me know. I’m living on borrowed time anyway. Yes I’m serious Bud, deadly. I know it’s a tough ask. I’m sure Teuila would take you back to the Hidden Heart if I die so that you can find another Fae. I mean, she might grieve for a bit and, I dunno, blow up a mountain or something first. Haha, you can imagine her doing that too huh? Yeah. She’s pretty great.
I heave a ragged sigh as I return to our abode. I stand outside looking in, feeling overwhelmed. I realize now that it was Lullaby providing the fancy amenities, and the automatic door for privacy and safety and stuff. I mean, okay Bud, sure, it’s obvious after all the recent help, obviously. I just mean, I probably should have figured it out the last couple of days already is all. Pft, yes, I can be a goon, and quite dense, and wrapped up in my own, huh. The moral to my tale. Thanks Bud. Yeah, yeah I’m ready to get out of my own head. A presence has been following me for a while anyway, so I should be prepared for an attack. I’m fairly positive it’s Dawn though.
Almost as if in response to my thoughts, Dawn appears right next to me, nearly spooking the crap out of me, still startling me even though I expected it. I flash her a half sad smile. Dawn cocks her head my way in curiosity and slugs me playfully in the shoulder.
She asks, “Why the glum chum? You casted spells without your staff, beat up a very angry woman, and, I dunno, sealed away the power of some deadly artifacts or something. Day full of accomplishments, right?”
I snort a laugh, “Pft, haha. Yeah, I suppose so Dawn, though that middle one makes me sound like an abusive jerk. Maybe you could have worded that differently? Hah.”
Dawn smirks as she teases, “Coulda, shoulda, but it wouldn’ta gotten the same laugh, would it?”
I can’t fight the smile as I shake my head incredulously. I admit, “No, I suppose not. Thank you Dawn. I love having wonderful friends like you in my life. How was your day?”
Dawn shrugs and rambles, “Little of this, little of that, mostly watching Boss do crazy stuff all day, especially when you went down. I was tempted to make a joke and kiss her fingers when she broke them, but I was afraid I’d send mixed signals and she’d get the wrong impression. She’s kinda clingy and touchy feely and stuff. You know? I mean, good for you two and all, but, erm, not my thing. I, I mean, not that I don’t appreciate you and Boss letting me, y’know, hold on for dear non-life when my senses go. Y’know? Sorry. I mean. Thank you? I’m glad we’re pals too. Without you I wouldn’t even know I was on borrowed time that’s almost up. Hell, I’d be freaking out alone in the wilds near The Brook, probably crying myself crazy as my senses kept leaving me. I, uh. Shid braddah. I mean, not braddah, not to you, it’s, ugh, it’s a saying. Sorry.”
I smile and chuckle while shaking my head as I console her, “Dawn, Dawn hey, it’s okay. Anyone else, with all those feelings admitting and stuff, I’d probably hug them tight and kiss them to calm them down. But we’re cool, like you and Te were saying, cooler than cool, ice cold. I. I don’t want to fail you. I don’t want your time to be almost up. I don’t want to lose my memory of you. You’re a wonderful friend. Hell, you’ve saved my life several times. Just. Thank you too, thank you for being a friend.”
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I flex my jaw as I fight through two or more blue screens of death in my brain while I’m talking. Dawn slugs me lightly and avoids eye contact as she disappears. My senses tell me she probably just went inside. I enter to meet up with Te, Dawn, and Percival. Apparently Te and Percy were talking about Percy’s plans. Apparently he likes living in this big tree. He really feels home here. I guess when we leave the Hidden at the Heart of the Wilds we’ll be leaving him and his meerkat familiar Tinpu behind.
That’s a bit saddening. It makes sense though. We’re trying to journey to more dangerous and more esoteric locations in search of ancient magic and any possible hint at breaking Dawn’s curse. He’s not exactly the hardiest adventurer. I’d be heartbroken if a fireball went off near us, and Dawn, me, and Te were fine, but Percy just went up in smoke. For example.
I swap into my nightclothes, shrink Bud down to fit into the egg pouch, and make sure I’m not leaving anything super dangerous just lying around. Most of my weapons and magical items are either still attached to my hips, or in pouches or pockets that I’m still wearing. I flop into the bed, completely exhausted, and I could swear as I pass out, that I feel myself tenderly embraced by three people.
Another day, another dolorous round of training. I’m sure I’ll master the fifth rune today, so I’m bringing every last book with me in order to browse their contents after I learn it. While I’d truly enjoy learning the dusting spell, and enhancing it to be a full cleaning spell, I don’t know if I’ll be alive long enough for it to really matter. I have to focus on any spells that might help guide us to clues as to how to save Dawn, or if I’m really lucky, one of the spells can actually save her.
My face feels like mush from the pummeling I took while unconscious yesterday, and despite Teuila being digital, she’s bruised all to hell herself. Between her broken fingers still healing, and the other broken bones and bruises, Teuila’s doing the smart thing and taking the day off from training. She said she heard Alanea isn’t teaching today, so she’ll try to track her down with Dawn to hang out. I really hope she doesn’t tease Alanea about any possible attraction to me. I’m already worried she’ll start resenting me if I bring more trouble down on her sanctuary.
Huff, Jarrah’s his usual muttering, cranky, demanding self. Today he’s being just plain weird with his demands though.
Jarrah digs through a pouch, and fishes out what I think is an octahedron. He demands, “Roll this, pause a minute or two between rolls, then roll again. Skip the pause if you land on a face you’ve already landed on before, just get back to rolling until you land on a new face.”
Alrighty I guess. I roll it, and it lands with a roman numeral for five faceup, on the face is also a tiny depiction of some sort of creature, a person maybe, but they have no legs, only wispy wavy lines beneath the waist.
Jarrah mutters, “Hm, yes? No? Wishes? No. No, not quite that broad. Side reality populated by them? Hm, no. Huff. I feared this would be the case, the vexing will continue, likely until the very last face. If we even alight on anything by then.”
I roll my eyes and shrug as he seems to be waiting expectantly for me to roll again. The eighth face shows up, with a gruesome looking skeletal icon on it. I grimace as my upper lip pulls back along the left side of my face.
Jarrah rolls his own crazily flitting eyes as he mutters, “Already ruled out undeath, pointless, do I need to rend you simpering things to dust and build you again? Grm. Vexation. Endless vexation.”
As Jarrah motions for me to continue, I sigh and roll again while practicing my fifth rune. The die lands with the third side face up, the icon on this one is terrifying tentacles with eyes and mouths. My grimace takes on a terrified disgusted quality.
Jarrah grumbles, quietly as always, mostly directed at himself, “Of course not. Good thing honestly. Would have made for an interesting time, to be sure, but better safe than interesting.”
I don’t even bother waiting for him to motion before rolling again, wanting to see any other face at all. The fifth face returns, but Jarrah waves me on to roll it again. The second face shows up, and there’s a beautiful, angellic, radiant, winged halo upon it.
Jarrah chuckles as he continues his muttering to himself, “Fat chance on that one sadly. I would have known already. Hopefully. Unless higher up and more disguised? No. No the child is no such thing. Too confused, too near death.”
Huff, I heave a sigh and roll again as Jarrah motions for me to continue. The fourth face appears this time, and on it is basically the opposite of the second face. Fel fires, horns, a scroll that looks like a contract. I shudder.
Jarrah puffs a sigh of relief as he continues his own quiet, crazed conjecture, “Well, that’s one less worry at least. No debt to repay, perhaps we can get their soul to safety when they die in a couple of months.”
I pout at Jarrah’s certainty that I’m going to be dead soon. I know it’s true, but, just, ouch. When I get the signal, I roll again, the second face returns, a bit of a comedic relief from the face I’d just seen. I have to roll again though. The seventh face arrives, and upon it is a soul-alight weapon. I could swear the icon is morphing between types of weapons. My jaw hangs slack as I gaze upon it. Thinking on it, the fires and the wispiness and the radiance were all moving too. I mean, parlor trick in comparison to some magicks I’ve seen, but still, fascinating.
Jarrah groans to himself, “I was hoping it would be so simple, they arrived with Lullaby after all. Fel hells. Technically this doesn’t rule it out entirely. Lullaby simply may not be the one. Could the child be fated to wield the four? Gae Buidhe hasn’t been seen in a lifetime, and that was the easiest to find.”
My jaw drops and I start crying. Partially from laughter, partially from how upset I am. Since Jarrah is pacing about, muttering rapidly, I spend eight minutes to do something I’d hoped I’d never do on Rayileklia. He watches me with amusement as I bleed all over his chamber.
I gasp for breath as I nearly pass out and choke on my own tongue. Somehow, the neckchain’s enchantment lets me breathe even around my own tongue blocking my airway. Thank heavens. As Gae Buidhe arrives in my hands across my lap, I ask, “Like this Gae Buidhe? I’ve got dozens more copies of it in my inventory.”
Jarrah’s face boggles beyond comprehension as he excitedly flubs, “You, you hwhat!? Has it, has it ever traveled without your consent? In space? In time?”
I grimace as I slowly nod while my eyebrows raise in worry as I stare at my mentor. His pacing becomes extremely rapid, and I can’t hear his muttering over the slap of his footsteps.
He orders me, “Continue with the rolling. Quickly now. Let’s get to the rest.”
Err, right, I guess we were doing that. Now I have this fuggin’ deadly spear in my lap. Frickin’ hell. The frightening tentacles with gibbering maws show back up on the third face and I shudder, quickly rerolling. The fel-fire contract shows back up on the fourth face and I quickly roll again as well. Argh, gross skeleton again! The morphing weapon again. He calls me vexing. This is vexing. How hard can it be to roll all eight faces on an eight sided die? Well, technically something like eight times seven times six times five times four times three times two times one to get them more or less in a row, or something like that. Or maybe it’s eight to the eighth power, though I think that’s only if we want exactly one result of something like eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Something like that. Bluh, my brain doesn’t feel up to math right now after the last few days.
The wispy tailed man again, huff, bluh. The angelic halo again, argh. How many faces have I done? I haven’t done them all right? Is Jarrah pranking me? That seems highly unlikely. I could swear the die didn’t even have anything on its faces before I started rolling it. Alright, next roll. Halo again, huff. Next. Eugh, tentacled maws again, next. Halo again. Friggin’ hell Jarrah, if this is a prank, I’m going back to bed to rest off my injuries. His scowl tells me it’s no prank.
Huff, alright, next. The morphing weapon again. It draws my gaze into its morphing process slightly. Jarrah actually taps his foot impatiently. Erm, right, next. Friggin’ hell, nope. What faces are we even missing? The one face, and the six face. Let’s just speed roll til we get them. I assume I can’t just flip the thing to the next face. Jarrah confirms my assumption.
Sigh, skeletal stuff again on face eight, ribcage with a necrotized heart, eugh. Next. Huff, not this one again either! Blurhg, next. Hello again halo. Next. I. I can’t. Everything. Time is bending. What, what’s happening? It was about, about to land on the fir--.
Hm? What? What just happened? Where was I? Right, I still need to land on one and six. Next, nope, next, nope. Hey! Sixth face. Oh my. If I thought the deep-faced tentacles were frightening, this image is indescribable horror. I lose my breath and stare fearfully at it.
Jarrah rolls his eyes and places his hand between my gaze and the die. He grumbles, “Obviously not that one. What was that disturbance earlier though? You still haven’t rolled the first face, why is it so elu— Argh!”
Time whiplash snaps at both of us, now I remember what happened earlier, the first face was about to land up. It actively fought against being displayed until the very last. How in all the fel hells? Oh, wow. That’s Bastet, that’s Anubis. I think that’s, that, that stately face, and, and that one. Those are Oberon and Titania, err, Mab maybe. My gaze is drawn towards the octahedron nearer and nearer, I feel as if I’m falling into it. Jarrah struggles to his feet from a position where he’d apparently fallen on his arse. He snatches up the die and shoves it in a pouch.
He grumbles actually directed somewhat at me, “It’s possible, maybe. Maybe not even the source of your powers, maybe a blessing or a curse that follows you. Damnable archfey, noses in every pie where they don’t belong.”
I blink rapidly. The archfey may have taken an interest in me? Possibly before I even spawned? Enough interest to either curse or bless me? What the hell? What’d I ever do to them? Huff. Great. So I might be fated to wield or in some way resonate with or attune to four crazy objects, weapons maybe, or I might be cursed, or blessed by the most powerful lords and ladies of this realm, or maybe a little bit of column a, column b, and or column c. Lullaby sends massive waves of humor. Pft. Come on Bud, it’s not funny. This is serious Lullaby. Lives are on the line. Worlds could possibly be on the line.
Jarrah sighs as he claims, “I’m loathe to admit it vexing one, but by now I’m almost certain of it. You have no natural talent for magic. Nor any given ability from a patron. You are simply brute-forcing your way through spells with more willpower than anyone I’d ever seen. You are in for a long, incredibly difficult journey should you continue to pursue the power of magic, for what time you have left anyway. Perhaps even beyond. You are a vexation after all. I'll take that spear off your hands to hide with the other artifacts as you seem so frightened of it, not to mention you somehow having duplicates of the artifact.”
I shrug and let Jarrah take Gae Buidhe, I want nothing to do with it if I can avoid it. As I’m about to leave, disheartened, Jarrah adds, “You must accept no offer. Listen, you must accept no deal, no matter how tempting, that seduces you with shortcuts to magic and its power. Absolutely none! Huff. Yours is a soul in turmoil enough as it is. Do not add another claim to it. No matter how innocuous the offer, you must decline. The entity who offers such a deal may not even know the harm they could irreparably do to your existence. Worse, they may know exactly what they’re doing to you, and desire such a terrible outcome.”
Well that isn’t friggin’ ominous at all, thanks Jarrah. His wild eyes slow ever so slightly as his face adopts an apologetic look. I falter as I gaze upon it, feeling abashed at my flippancy. I, I really do mean thank you though. That sort of warning is incredibly important, obviously. Thank you Jarrah. For everything. Since the only magic I’m gaining is apparently my own brute force runostructuring, I guess I can just sit in bed and train. I guess I don’t need to come back to the Enclave any longer, that way I can avoid bringing my troubles to it.
Jarrah coughs for attention and orders, “I’ll see you bright and early for training, as usual. As soon as you awaken, make your way to my chamber with what haste you can muster. Rest well my little oddity.” He adds under his breath, “An ancient newborn essentially. Such an oddity.”
I raise an eyebrow but he waves dismissively, not even engaging whether or not to admit the last part I’d heard. Huff. I keep getting comments like that. Little old soul, things like that. Elder Rinnia Tolkenstein basically said my soul existed for an eternity, but also only a short time. I wonder if that’s what this is about. What does that even mean? Huff. I drop a belated sigh.