Cassandra Pendragon

To the north of the city, a vast forest grew, its edges frayed where the busy workers had begun tearing into it to satisfy Free Land’s ravenous hunger for woods. Breadnut trees, rubber figs, possum woods and snake woods comprised most of the plants, a dense canopy of tropical trees that still covered the greater part of the island. In the distance I saw the jagged, broken line of rising hills, slowly cresting towards mountains, nothing more than hazy, blue silhouettes on the horizon. Veins of water sparkled under the sun and if it hadn’t been for the disorganised city, I’d have called the scenery beautiful. The island was huge, much larger than my home had been and I puzzled for quite some time why anyone would willingly live in the confines of a cruel society if a veritable paradise lay waiting just behind the walls.

When we descended towards the forest, the smells and sounds of the city reached me, a cacophony of mingled impressions that left behind a sour taste. I felt relieved when the scent of living plants and the noises of nature covered the miasma and frankly, I was dreading the moment when I’d have to enter the chaotic juggernaut of so called civilisation.

With a final beat of my wings I broke through the canopy and landed at Ahri’s side in a small clearing, some hundred metres away from the nearest road. Pete was already lying on the ground, arms spread wide, while he kissed the earth. “Drama queen,” Ahri uttered quietly while she retracted her wings. “I thought pirates were made from sterner stuff.”

“I’m not a pirate, at least not a good one, thank you very much. And I don’t think any sane person would appreciate the torture you two subjected me to. I’m taking the ship on the return trip, that’s certain.” He scrambled to his feet and quickly glanced around. “But I hear you, time to get moving. I’ll leave you alone for a bit and see if I can’t find a couple of slaves close by who are willing to talk to me. I’ll be back in half an hour, maybe you can use the time to do something about your appearance. I’ll try to get my hands on some cloaks or something comparable but you shouldn’t count on it. Just… don’t do anything stupid or wander off while I’m gone, will you?” He didn’t even wait for a reply and headed off towards the edge of the forest on wobbly legs. Before he vanished behind the trees he turned around and added: “don’t forget your ears, they’re just as much of a giveaway as your tails and nobody wears hats around these parts. Maybe I can find two bandanas somewhere…” I stared after him unsure if I should laugh or take him seriously, but all things considered, we might be better off if we followed his advice.

“Well then, what do you have in mind,” I asked Ahri. “How do we disguise ourselves?”

“First, you’ll have to get rid of the clothes you’re wearing.”

“Seriously?”

“Unfortunately no, but you can’t blame me for trying. Truth be told, it would be quiet the hassle to cover our tails. The rest can be changed easily enough but Pete is right. We could try folding them against our backs, which would also provide a nice hunchback, but why bother? You’ve carried a chest filled with ingredients and a grumpy demon across the ocean. I’m sure Mephisto can help us out with an illusion or two to solve the problem.”

“That’s the secret? Call the demon for help? I could have figured out as much myself… and I thought you truly had a miraculous way to change our appearance.”

“I do,” she pouted, “it’s just a lot of work and we’re pressed for time, aren’t we?”

“Always an excuse… fine. Let’s see what he can do.” With her help I removed the small chest I had strapped to my back. Luckily it hadn’t fallen off during the journey, otherwise we might have been in a whole new world of trouble. A few seconds later Mephisto stood before us, his appearance as regal and imposing as usual. He squinted in the glaring light before he focused on us.

“That was quick. How did you manage to get here within the hour?”

“I learned a new trick on the way. Being able to control my magic comes with a few advantages.”

“You don’t say. Well, I guess it can wait but a word of advice: using your energy as a pathway is dangerous. Not necessarily for you but the world around you. You can easily destroy anything along the way. So… where are we at?”

“We’re close to the city of Free Land and Pete is trying to weasel some information out of the locals. Meanwhile he wants us to disguise ourselves since we attract too much attention, any chance you can help us out?”

“Sure, what do you want to turn into? I won’t be able to truly change your body, the transcendent energy that’s running through your veins makes it nigh impossible, but illusions should work. Any preferences or do you simply want to blend in?”

A few minutes later I scrutinised my reflection in a small puddle of water while Mephisto droned on about the dos and donts of illusions. Basically we would be fine as long as nobody touched us. While the magic wouldn’t crumble, our true forms were still underneath the layer of concealing energy and could easily be felt, especially since we were much more slender than the human bodies we had chosen. Consequentially, anybody who came in contact with us would see their hand pass through our skin for a few centimetres before they actually encountered any resistance. Or worse, they might accidentally touch our tails where we had slung them around our upper bodies. A handshake would work, at least for me, but everything else was bound to blow our cover.

I had chosen a middle aged, rather pudgy woman with a nut brown complexion, braided, long hair interspersed with threads of gold and dark, shimmering eyes. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to use my magic much, since the glow from my eyes easily pierced through Mephisto’s veil as I had found out when I had inadvertently used my energy to bolster my muscles. Truly a pity since I had hoped that I’d at least be able to strengthen my body and senses without anyone else being the wiser.

Ahri was more lucky in that regard. While she couldn’t control her magic yet, she at least could freely use her power to augment her physical strength to match her imposing figure, not to mention her fiery disposition. She had turned into a hulking, muscle packed behemoth of a man, dark as the night with piercing blue eyes clad in black, flowing robes. Considering she had wanted to keep the unwanted attention of muggers and brigands away from us, I thought she had hit that nail square on the head.

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“You know, I might be tempted to keep this body,” she said as she lowered her head to peer into my puddle, her changed voice a deep, resonating bass. “I don’t think I could look anymore impressive, no matter what I turn into.” “Not if you want to keep sharing a bed with me. Holy hell, I think you’re about three heads taller than my original body and about ten times as massive.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yeah, I’m the tall one, remember?” She grimaced. “Besides, you’re not nearly half as beautiful as before…” I pecked her cheek, which felt rather funny since I passed right through the outer layer of her new face. “And I want to be able to show off with you.”

“Flatterer… but you’re right, I can’t even fight properly. The sword would be stuck somewhere in my forearm, my arms are way too short… should I pick something else?”

“No, if we’re forced to fight, it won’t matter much. I’m not going to risk you getting harmed just to remain inconspicuous, if we’re attacked, we’ll use our wings anyways. And to keep any unpleasant company away from us, I think you’ll do just fine.”

“Also, I’ll be damned if I have to play the role of loyal guardsman alone,” Mephisto interjected, who by now looked like the identical twin of Ahri, except that his body wasn’t an illusion but a solid construct of magic. We had decided to enter the city as a rich, decadent merchant with her two bodyguards, passing through town on the lookout for any interesting purchases available. As good a cover as any and better then some, since we could easily explain away most questions we would have to ask.

With the both of them towering over me, I felt quite small and I had to suppress the impulse to manifest my wings again, their intimidating appearance a tad too much for me, even though I knew who was underneath. To cover up my insecurity I quickly replied:

“But that’s basically who you are, isn’t it? Our grumpy guardian angel with a heart of gold.”

“Repeat that one more time and I’ll make sure you choke on your words. I’m a sinister, mysterious entity with selfish goals, which are much too complex for your young, underdeveloped mind.”

“Sure, you’d never do anything without appropriate compensation. Like helping Aspera and Astra, you definitely have a hidden agenda that will somehow help you become the master of the cosmos, don’t you?”

“Of course, but I’m not going to share my diabolic secrets with you. I don’t want you to lose any sleep over my glorious ambitions.” Ahri snorted, an impressive sound coming from her more than two metres tall frame.

“You think that’s funny?” Mephisto barked.

“No, of course not. I’m quivering in my boots, can’t you tell?” Before we could continue our conversation, Pete’s voice wafted across the clearing.

“Oh my… are you… you are! Now, that’s a disguise, if I have ever seen one. Which one of you is which?” I turned around, a small smile on my face. If he couldn’t tell who we were, we should be safe enough.

“I’m Cassy, the behemoth in black is Ahri and the one with the white robes is our demonic friend. I assume this’ll do for a disguise?”

“Of course,” he replied while he strode over to us. “It’s amazing, I’d never be able to guess that you aren’t humans.” He stopped in front of me and peered into my eyes. A moment later he shook his head. “Unbelievable, there’s nothing left of you. Can you transform at will, now?”

“No, those are just illusions, we’re still ourselves underneath. Except for Mephisto, his body is quite real, or as close to real as he can get for the moment. Did you find out anything interesting while you were away?” He was still struggling to wrap his mind around the changes but answered:

“Yes, several things that might be of interest to us. First of all, the captains have scheduled public games for tomorrow, a celebration of some sort. While I don’t know why, it’s to our advantage since the city will be busy with the preparations and I can’t imagine that anyone will bother with us, even if we slip up. Also, a good part of the fleet has left the day before yesterday, but nobody could tell me why. For the moment, only around 30 airships that belong to the city are at anchor in the harbour, the rest are foreigners.” He paused and scratched his chin. “Getting into the city won’t be much of a problem, but we might have trouble finding a place to stay.”

“Do we even need one? We don’t have that much time after all… which reminds me, Mephisto, how long do the elves have, precisely?”

“I can’t say for sure but not more than three days from now and I’m convinced that we won’t be able to do much for them if we can’t find them tomorrow. They’ll be too far gone. Once the soul decides to leave…”

“Great,” Pete replied. “No pressure. But I don’t think it matters too much either way. If we can’t get to them within a day or two, they’ll probably be gone for good.” I tensed again and Ahri quickly reached for me to wrap her arms around my middle. Seeing her meaty forearms against my waist while I felt her slender hands on my skin would have made me smile, but honestly, I just couldn’t. I was feeling nauseous. “Sorry, but we have to stick to the facts. Free Land is a jungle and once they’re lost in the undergrowth, I can’t imagine how we’ll manage to drag them back out. So, no time to lose, let’s get going. Are you going to use your real names?”

“Yes,” Mephisto replied. “They aren’t known and it would be much more problematic if we used fake ones and slipped up. Except… maybe you shouldn’t introduce yourself as a Pendragon, you never know who might have heard of Boseiju and its royal families.”

“Your call,” Pete said, “but I wouldn’t even use your original surnames. I told you before, whoever has taken your family might know more than you expect. It’s an unnecessary risk, I wouldn’t be willing to take.”

“Well,” I interjected while I snuggled deeper into Ahri’s embrace, “if we’re going to play roles anyway, we can just as well flesh them out a bit more. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Yasmine aibna Malek, trader extraordinaire with a disposition towards the rare and beautiful. Those two are my loyal guards who have been with me longer than I care to remember, the only ones I trust and you can be our local guide who we rescued from a small, deserted island where you were marooned on.”

“That sounds better, just one last question, how did we get here? We don’t have a ship in the harbour and I’d feel much better if we had an explanation, should the need arise.’

“Magic,” Ahri replied immediately. “Mephisto, you still have the crystal with the fallen goddess with you, right? It’s already an artefact that contains a small realm, we can easily claim that we stored our ship inside. If Cassy plays her cards right, nobody will dare to question her and should they try to analyse the thing, they’ll see that it contains much more than should be possible. It can even be an heirloom of some sort.”

“That could work,” Mephisto said. “I might even be able to change the signature of the statuette to match the story. Just give me a few minutes. Incidentally, from now on, you can call me Tanotamun, it’s a name I’ve used before. But I imagine we won’t have to talk much anyways, as Yasmine’s guard, we’re supposed to look intimidating and remain silent.” Pete was looking thoughtful and when Mephisto finished he quickly asked:

“Great, but how much money do you have on you? If you want to be a filthy rich merchant you can’t lodge anywhere. People will expect you to burn gold left, right and centre. Can you cover the expanses for a day or two?” Ahri gave me a gentle push and fumbled with the purse Xorlosh had given her. After a quick glance inside she smiled:

“Yeah, I think we’re covered on that front. We can spend money like water with everything he’s given us. There are at least a hundred coins in there, all gold.” Pete whistled.

“That’s a small fortune, it won’t be enough to buy our way out of this mess but it should be more than enough to keep up appearances. Alright, as your guide, I’d like to show you around my beautiful home. Follow me, milady.” Ahri and Mephisto fell in step behind me and together we left the forest to get our family back together.