CHAPTER 2

As the days passed the cell holding Yava changed and became a bit more accommodating. The air was quite fresh so she didn't need the mask. She was even served meals of some kind of fruit – real actual fruit! Where did this fairy monster get such exotic food stuffs from? She remembered the time when her regiment had come across a half rotten apple in the ruins of some noble's edifice. They had split it and drawn sticks. She had won a thin slice. The taste was quite interesting but a far cry from these fairy fruits which were all delicious.

On the fourth morning something even more strange happened – Yava woke up feeling very clean. Her clothes and equipment were clean too. After taking out a small hand mirror, now pristine and shiny, she could see that the nasty scar across her nose bridge was gone without a trace. When did that happen? When they boarded the bioship and the hand wound disappeared?

It's the fifth day. If the fairy intended her harm, wouldn't she have been either eaten or interrogated by now? Emperor knows what's going on.

Sixth day. The ship still doesn't appear to have moved. The dampeners and gravity units on Imperial ships have a distinct feel to them. One can sort of tell when the ship is moving. Maybe bioships are different?

Seventh day, give or take. She got a tasty biscuit as an after dinner snack. It was shaped like a cute animal she had never seen before. Yava's last corpse starch ration packet was still left untouched.

–o–

The ship didn't have any sort of logbook that she could find, but it did have a very handy library of things the Tyranids had eaten. By using this library Jinglypuff was able to recreate some plants and basic life using the now enhanced brood chamber.

Restoring the planetary biosphere required some heavy lifting. Fortunately, terraforming is coarse control magic, which is much cheaper. It doesn't really matter if rock, gas or liquids gets jumbled a bit. Living bodies – brains especially – are a lot more sensitive to disruption. It's simple to turn a man into sludge, unlike the other way around.

So, for the atmosphere she had just gently teleported slices of a few water-ice space rocks onto the surface. After some home heat redistribution, elemental magic and tectonic nudging she managed to produce a sort of stable surface which should be farmable. It used a bit of mana, but the mana battery proved really handy. Six more things got stuck in the filter, so she installed an auto-cast scrubber.

Down on the planet one of her specialised Fairids is busy farming moss and reproducing. Moss spores spread aggressively in the absence of other life and are good for preparing the soil. Give it a few years of reproduction and the local, uh, Farmids can move to using other stuff from the local seed vault and brood chamber. If the Tyranids had sense for responsible farming they could've done something like this all along rather than just eating everything, but perhaps they have another goal in mind.

All in all, not her best work, but she did it all in six days. On the seventh she successfully baked some cookies from a wheat-like tree she found in the library and grew in the new arboretum next to the brood chambers.

What kind of impression the planetary restoration would leave on her guests was hard to say. She had a sneaking suspicion the humans had caused the mess to begin with, unless it was these Tyranids, a joint effort, or something entirely different. To be honest, from an orbital point of view it mostly just looks like the planet isn't smouldering anymore and got a few new oceans. Also, she'd have to show the planet using a Teleview spell since the ship didn't have windows or ports. However, they'd probably just believe she was creating illusions. She grew hesitant.

Perhaps they'll like the cookies more? Winning them over with cookies was her plan-B. The cookies had turned out pretty decent.

Only the peasant soldier woman touched the cookies. The big knight didn't touch any of the food Jinglypuff had arranged and instead spent most of his time mumbling prayers to this Emperor figure, likely fortifying his position. The goatman eventually ate the fruits with some reluctance. Does it actually prefer meat? Aren't goatmen herbivores? Could she perhaps grow meat by making a mindless meat creature?

Jinglypuff was interrupted in her thoughts by a sensor alarm. The ship had spotted an alien vessel approaching the planet, but at some weeks distance given their current speed. Did they use extraplanar travel appear out of nowhere? She doubted they could use teleportation, otherwise they wouldn't be puttering over here so slowly.

An hour later the ship picked up an unintelligible signal from the alien vessel, likely for communication or notice. Possibly they're trying to reach the planet, or the human ship that's been limping away for a week? If the newcomers are using something like, say, gnomish technology and message encoding, then interfacing with this organism ship might indeed be difficult. Jinglypuff tried to respond using the most basic telecommunication request spell, but an hour passed without response. The alien ship just kept repeating their signal. Would a two-way teleview spell freak them out? Possibly – there doesn't appear to be any potent magic users in this reality.

Thinking about it, isn't there a mechanical boarding pod still lodged into the side of the ship? It might have a compatible communication gadget.

–o–

Aboard the bridge of the two kilometres long Shrike-class Raider a short plump man wearing a regal but perhaps overly embellished jacket suddenly halted in his back and forth pacing.

"Uh- still no response on any of the standard vox channels, Lord-Captain Antonius.", a woman seated at a communication console quickly responded after catching an inquiring look from the Rogue Trader captain.

"...the Augur can sense some debris orbiting Luctatio II, but at this distance...", the Master of Etherics trailed off, her voice uncertain.

The Lord-Captain frowned.

"Signs of a battle?"

"I... cannot say."

He shifted his questioning gaze to the Magnocular operator who had just returned to the bridge in haste, rolling out a parchment on a table and looking puzzled.

"Lord-Captain, the magnocular view does not fit the map in our archive. The world should not have oceans of this size."

"A clerical error? If so, we need to update ours and submit a copy to the Imperial archives. Ready the cartographers."

"But Lord, I've- I've visited the world before. It does not match what I saw then either."

The Lord-Captain's frown deepened.

"Nevertheless."

"Very well, it shall be so.", the Magnocular operator bowed out.

Tapping his chin a few times, the Lord-Captain spun to look up at the first officer at his flank, who was a fair bit taller despite being of a normal stature.

"And what's the status of our Choir-Master Telepathica?"

"He's still out. We... still don't know what happened.", the first officer hesitated.

"Psychic attack? What of the reports of a hive fleet in this sector?"

Just then, the Master of Etherics' auspex console droned.

"Incoming communication!", the Master of Etherics eagerly interrupted having suddenly twisted in her seat to face the Lord-Captain, one hand steadying an vox shell over one ear.

The whole bridge grew quiet except for the ambient rumbles and whirrs of cogitators and servitors. The Master of Etherics' face increasingly betrayed discomfort as she focused on listening.

"Well?", asked the Lord Captain, having sensed that the message had concluded.

"The signal is two orbits weakened, perhaps also coming from smaller vessel.", she replied while taking a moment to adjust the vox amplifier and filter levers.

"Repeating now on chamber vox.", she concluded worriedly and twisted a relay handle with a clunk.

A coarse monstrous voice rose over the background crackle and filled the bridge with ominous presence.

"Good tidings, unknown space vessel Ventrix Profundis. Jinglypuff the fairy bids thee welcome to the broken world which she restored, but she warns against further attempts at world vanquishing. Now ready thineself. Jinglypuff the fairy will momentarily teleport the Ventrix Profundis directly into orbit to shorten communication delays."

As the recording ended with a click and before anyone could comment, a panorama of Luctatio II filled the viewport.

–o–

Now wasn't that all prim and proper, clear and concise? Yeah, she was happy with her reply. The constant signals she had been getting turned out being some sort of standard notice of arrival sent by a trader ship called the Ventrix Profundis, likely of human origin.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Knowing how spooked they get around these Tyranids she had cast the super cheap spell Black Square and hid the Tyranid ship behind it. Unfortunately Black Square would also block the voice transmission apparatus of the boarding pod, so she had to dislodge it and now sat crouched inside, adrift next to the larger derelict human vessel. A gnome would have a field day here, probably finding faults and treasure with equal glee. "What's this it's so poorly made, I must have it!"

Jinglypuff herself wasn't that good with mechanical stuff but had figured it out the talky box eventually. It took quite some time before the new ship sent a message. Had they been admiring her terraforming work?

"Uhurm, this- this is Rogue Trader Antonius of the Ventrix Profundis, attempting communication with- uh, Yingel Pauf, wishing to receive a report on the situation here... and an explanation of the voidship teleportation phenomenon."

She grew a little impatient at that.

"This is Jinglypuff", she enunciated, "Jinglypuff the fairy. I don't know what happened but I think there was a big fight. Sorry."

There was a minute of silence.

"Everyone died but I fixed things up a bit-", she added, but ended up talking over the incoming message.

"Well then, Jinglypuff the fairy, what can-"

There was another moment of silence.

"What can you tell us about... Are you in possession of a Spatial Archeotech device?"

"A what now? Is this about the Teleportation spell? That's just magic. Anyways, do you have any basic tomes about the world, people and everything?"

She figured it'd be easier to read a book rather than trying to wrangle information out of the obstinate locals.

More silence.

"We do have something. May I perhaps propose... a trade?"

Finally getting somewhere, she thought.

"We're interested in Archeotech.", the man continued.

Drat.

"Sorry I don't deal in gnomic goods, if that's what that is."

She pondered. What could she trade? Weapon and amulet enchantments might be doable if she could find mana cores or substitutes, something like a spirit. She probably shouldn't attempt to trade any of the Tyranid stuff.

"How about a nice enchanted sword, just to open up negotiations?", she wagered, then hastily added, "I also have some fruit and cookies!"

"Very well Jinglypuff the Fairy, why don't we start with that.", he responded.

After ending the conversation she hurried back to her ship.

–o–

"Alright, just give me what you have so far.", the Lord-Captain requested, eyes sweeping the planet below.

The first officer had gathered as much information as he could. The ship had gotten very busy.

"The planet is showing signs of recent terraforming, perhaps some time in the last few centuries or so. However, while the Ventrix Profundis has never visited this system, several of the crew claim with certainty to have visited it the recent past, and it's marked as a minor Sentinel World on all of our maps. It should by all evidence but our very eyes have a population of six billion... but it does not."

He continued.

"The debris field is very recent. Weeks at most. The Master of Etherics has spotted Tyranid remnants – all lifeless thank the Emperor. The Imperial Cruiser might have been the Yarrexon."

The Lord-Captain took notice.

"Salvage rights...?"

"Achievable... well, there's the- the complication, and also another Imperial voidship in the system, a frigate, but possibly a derelict as it's not responding to transmissions."

"What of the log scribes? What do we know about the teleportation?"

"Nothing I'm afraid. It was instantaneous with no emissions. Our speed was even adjusted of orbital purposes. The Master Helmsman was fortunately quick to quiet the engine spirits, preventing disaster."

"Vox Analytica?"

"The- uh, the fairy voice is not that of an Ork, Eldar, Squat, Tau or any common xenos, but it probably belongs to a large creature called a fairy, rather than a- a daemon.", the first officer shuddered and paused to put a hand on his Aquila, "None of the crew has experienced the... symptoms usually associated with such encounters. In fact, our journey here was unusually quiet despite the issue with the Gellar Field."

"Can we trust it?"

"Our High Factotum, well, you know how she is. Yes, she wants to risk it, if this trade goes well."

"Do we actually have any- any tomes to trade? The fairy wanted books about the world, right?"

"It appears so. We could be dealing with a maverick from an isolationist, hidden xenos culture."

Just then an old silver-haired woman appeared, her sharp eyes gleaming with opportunity, the rest of her face obscured by the stack of books and documents she was carrying.

"Ah! Speak of the High Factotum, and she appears!", the first officer joked but quickly had to move aside when the woman moved in to dump her load on the ceramite tactics table.

"None of these are sensitive,", she spoke briskly, "but possibly of interest to someone lacking basic knowledge. I suggest we start with-"

She was interrupted by the disappearance of the goods. Moments later a cookie and fruit baskets appeared in their place, as well as an elegant shimmering sword.

The High Factotum stood blinking in confusion. Everyone had backed away from the table. Eventually the first officer approached and prodded one of the baskets with the muzzle of his sidearm.

"It... looks like it is what it is, Antonius."

The rest approached as well.

"Get a cup-bearer in here.", the High Factotum turned and ordered.

Soon a young woman appeared. After a nod from the High Factotum she picked up a cookie, rubbed it against her skin, then touched it to her lips. Soon she bit into it, chewed tentatively, and finally swallowed.

"Well?", the Lord-Captain inquired.

"It's... it's a very good biscuit.", she replied, "Sweet. I can't tell what the ingredients are. Perhaps... wheat, sugars, nuts, herbs, and fruit extracts. Expensive stuff."

The atmosphere lightened a bit. The first officer reached for the sword, his hand hovering over the handle for a good ten seconds before grasping it. It felt nimble but deadly, with a slight hum to it. He became the center of attention on the bridge as the sword began to emit a gentle glow.

Even with the lightest of touch, it sunk right through a thick candle, and also the skull holding it, then into and through the ceramite table.

"...as if air.", he marveled.

"Don't drop it, it'll go right though the ship down to the grav-plating!", the Lord-Captain warned in a slight panic.

–o–

Jinglypuff hoped they weren't too displeased by the enchanted sword – it really wasn't anything special. She had formed it from the knight's confiscated blade using the basic Shape spell. There might actually be better materials out there in the debris field if she could be bothered to take a look.

She had to resort to imprisoning a spirit to power and direct the enchantment. As things turned out the impurities getting caught in the mana battery filter were actually evil spirits of a few varieties. When she peeked into the extraplanar region and took a closer look, a red spirit with wings soon came drawn like a moth to a flame. It needed some processing before it could be used, then she locked it in a compulsion matrix and set up the binding with the sword. It now keeps the sword neat and sharp. The glow effect she added just for show. It's not very practical - what if you're trying to sneak in the dark?

The books were just regular books and not perception enchanted tomes. Still, they looked... alright. One was about mushrooms though. Or was it mushroom people? She still didn't really care about mushrooms. Or the two books with peculiar litanies and some form of human-centric propaganda which didn't seem at all trustworthy.

Holy Terra had depictions of what's probably the crown-world of the humans. Despite rich embroideries the whole place looked awful and apparently didn't have any forests, glades and ponds.

Xenobasica covered wildlife on a few select worlds, but also showed pictures of elves and dwarfs, some blue guys, and they were supposedly locked in some self-perpetual war.

The Boy Who Became a Servitor was a spooky short story meant to keep misbehaving young noble children in line. A few of the corpses she had used to grow the twelve Fairids had looked like these servitors in the story, so apparently it was a real thing here. She had also spied into the Ventrix Profundis with a Teleview spell and saw a lot of those servitors and other miserable people.

In conclusion, this reality was kind of awful but at least they hadn't built the Torment Nexus. She shuddered thinking about -that- place.

Unfortunately none of the books covered the extraplanar region and its use as a mana battery. Seems like a pretty important detail to skip. Was it perhaps very hush-hush? Should she ask the people on the Ventrix Profundis about it? Maybe not.

At any rate, it seemed like enchantments were a go now. Couldn't she make something nicer this time? She had definitely spotted a few larger structures in there she could use to make a more powerful enchantment. She had seen a little baby floating around, too. That was weird. It really didn't seem like a safe place for babies but what does she know? People here are a little wrong in the head.

She'd probably get nothing out of her guests since they had seen her. Dropping them off on the Ventrix Profundis might be the best thing at this point, but she'd have to put them asleep or they'll blab. Also, the big knight in the holding cell seemed like he was about to bully the peasant soldier woman a few times. Did she need to separate them?

Jinglypuff decided to make the woman a protective charm and thought about that bird necklace the woman was often clutching. Since the woman was currently dozed off, Jinglypuff borrowed the necklace and made a copy out of some more suitable harder metals she teleported in from the debris field. Regrettably, Blue Mythril might be rare or nonexistent here. She'd have to compensate by using a stronger evil spirit as a base.

She used the ship to make an opening into the extraplanar region again and took a real good look. There! There's something! It has a spiritually coherent root structure. Isn't it slightly feminine too? Perfect for the woman's necklace. Girls watch out for girls, right?

Jinglypuff sent out a mana tendril, latched onto a sturdy part of its root structure. Then she pulled, and she pulled, and she pulled. It was hard work. She had to siphon a lot of mana from the mana battery to keep going, but she was careful not to touch the baby.

The thing wailed something fierce the more she pulled. The extraplanar region was shuddering slightly. Soon she got a message from the system, which had been awfully quiet up until now.

"System warns that you're being too disruptive."

What? She can't make a necklace of this thing? Isn't it the System's fault that she's here in the first place?

Reluctantly she let go and the structure fell back, retracting in on itself protectively.

"System also warns against touching the baby."

"I didn't touch the baby!"

"System advises that spirit can maybe just withdraw to a nice place and relax for a decade, not upsetting the locals."

"Fine, but I'll still need a mana source."

"System has put together a compensation package."

A crate with high grade mana cores appeared, then other one with Blue Mythril.

"Deal!"

–o–

Somewhere in an unknown sector of Imperial space an unwitting explorer can find a Forbidden Garden World. Its name in records reads as Jinglypuff's Glade. Attempt no landings there, lest the Fairids get you.

– extract from Mysteries of Space by Rogue Trader Antonius the Second, final revision.