In the dank stone room under the ruined city, the little monarch fairy had awakened. She had finally been provided enough mana to evolve into her true form. The sneering Matriarch was always stingy with Aris mana feeds. When it was manapod feeding time, Ari was always made last, barely obtaining enough to accidentally grow anything during her sleep. Now that she was finally full, she had full control of her powers.
Ari was fully awake now and began fluttering through the room. "Ugh I'm hungry." She said as she started toward a broken enchantment on a blade, buried under some filth. She laid on top of the blade, absorbing the mana. Under the blade was a newly burst open bag of gold and copper coins.
"Holy crap she just talked!" Mellie yipped in excitement. She scooped up the fairy off the dagger, to the fairys discontent, and scooped up the coins, shoving them into storage.
"I didnt hear anything." Mary stated.
"Must be the bond. Hey little fairy! Are you alright and do you mean you need more manastones? Or mana potions or manablood? I have some potions or blood you can have." She told the little shiny blob.
"You can... hear me?" She asked flying up into Mellies face, bursting with excitement.
"Yeah, calm your lights down if you can though, its a little blinding" Mellie asked nicely.
"Sorry" Ari said as her glow subsided. "It always happens when my emotions run high. I'm the brightest in my swarm. Or was." She said, dejected.
"I don't mind the support or the company, but why did you follow me?" Mellie inquired.
The fairy fluttered in Mellies view, thinking before she explained, "When we went to feed on the sudden manasource, I was last as usual. As i had my fill, I felt the pull of a fatechanger. The Matriarch and I often disagreed but on you I was sure. Fatechangers and fairies are family. I don't know how I know this. I just know." She said staring into her eyes intently.
"A fatechanger, huh. Well thats not one of my titles but maybe that will change? Either way I'm glad to have your company. I hope you're okay with the soul bond."
"Fairies usually go their whole lives without finding their bondmate. Finding you was the best moment of my life, Mellie. I was so unhappy before you came. I'm so very happy to be able to find a worthy bondmate." Ari said, spinning in the air as she talked, smiling and prancing, leaving rainbow dust in her wake. She finally landed on her shoulder and sat. "I can survive off anything with mana. I was starving when you found me. Sorry about that." She said embaressed.
"No I would rather you be sleepy and full than starving." Mellie winced as she cut open her finger, "If this is what you need, take it."
The fairy descended on her finger and began sloppily slurping the blood that was flowing, covering her face and neck. The slurping and sucking noises were pretty gross. It was like having a pet mosquito. Soon the fairy was sated, cleaning herself then settling in Mellie's palm to nap. She tucked the fairy back into her little "fairy pocket". Her friends looked on at the situation morbid fascination.
Robert held out bags to Mellie and Mary, "Here. I got the bags of holding done. I made one for each of us." He said distributing bags. The team shuffled around moving their belongings over and readying themselves by the entrance. Mellie lifted the stone slab to exit the tomb of a Church.
On the way to Marningville, the group was in high spirits. Mellie was practicing her new cheese slap spell to terrorize her friends. They were squealing dodging the slaps, while trying to catch the cheese to snack on it. She was practicing her control to reduce the amount of power behind the slaps. Cheese Slap lvl 2! After the level up, the american cheese became a slice of provolone.
Mellie was looking forward to reuniting with her friends. They had tossed her from over 500ft in the air when she was 100% dead but they wouldnt judge her, right?
"Mary, do people come back from the dead on this world a lot?" She asked the woman.
Mary laughed, "No Mellie, your magic is just that special." She was concerned about what her friends would think about her resurrection. She also wasn't sure if they were still in this town. Her hopes and fears weighed in the balance as the forest began to clear, and houses could be seen in the distance.
Mary had fashioned a hood for herself, from some skirt cloth, and Mellie used her Will of a Savior to make it into a dark cloak that covered her newly pointed ears. Will of a Savior lvl 2! The town was fortified, surrounded by a ten foot wall. The two thick wooden gates that protected the town stood wide. Guards bustled around the entrance. A guard sat in a shack by the gate registering visitors. Neither Mary nor Robert had ever visited Marningville.
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"Just tell them you're from Refalt, the capital. You could pass as a noblewoman and if I'm caught as an elf you could pretend to be my master. We just need a quick look at some paperwork to copy it, right?" Mary discussed as they began to reach the guard gate.
"Yeah but I have no paperwork or anything. I kept losing everything I had before Bobby us made these bags."
"My names not Bobby," Robert grumbled for the hundredth time.
"Bags of holding are expensive as well because of the cost of materials." She said pointedly at Mellie. "So pretend your bag is normal in public or you will continue to have trouble losing things."
"Okay so you're basically saying I'm wearing Prada in West Baltimore that I need to pass off as a knock off." She rubbed some dirt on her bag.
"Stop that!" Mary yelled. "The runes are on the inside for a reason. Just dont go telling everyone what you have. Let me handle the money. You still have the gold and coppers from the church?" Mellie nodded, fishing her whole arm into her pack. Mary pulled them back out of view. "Don't let them see you do something like that either. You can't put your whole arm in a non magical bag."
"Sorry", Mellie sheepishly said as she held out a handful of random coins. As Mary inspected the coins, she saw they were stamped with the old symbol of the church of darkness, instead of the kingdom. Their value wouldnt be of question, but these were ancient fabled coins.
She held the coin up for Mellie and Robert to see, "We can use these because they're gold and copper, but we could sell them at the auction house to promote the church if you want" Mary recommended as she put the handful in her bag, and they began back toward the gate.
Mellie considered it. "I don't want to be some demon worshipping priestess. I mean I know the races need to be saved, and I dont know a human who wouldn't fuck a sexy demon for magic powers. I dont see a problem with finding a place to start this. I do see a problem with promoting a religion from this service. Organized religion in general is good for social and mental health. I get that." She said seriously, "but in a world like this a church can become a cult with just one magical fanatic. I don't want to be worshipped." Mellie admitted.
"You may have no choice, Mellie. Dragons and Krakens are worshipped. Why not you? You are an undying savior. There could be worse fates." Mary shrugged.
"I just want peace." Mellie admitted. "Unfortunately it seems war comes first. That's the legacy these ancestors left for me to handle, anyway. But for now, let's find an inn, then my friends. After that we can secure passage to Reglar." Mellie explained.
"Reglar? They'll kill me there." Robert froze.
"Not with me there," said Mary, brushing off his worry.
Mellie pulled her cut finger out of her pocket and wrapped it as the little fairy passed out, content in her pocket. "Sleep well you little mosquito" she whispered to the pocket, as she closed it.
The group approached the guards booth.
Mary Pruitt, lvl 13
Mellie Adams lvl 33
Robert Rayner lvl 0
The guard wrote down their names and levels, and then since one of the group was over level 25 he asked Mellie for her class. "Level 33, what class" He asked, in a bored monotone.
"Manab--" Mellie began as Mary stepped on her foot, hard. Her face turned red. She looked at Mary quickly before saying, "Brewmaster", smiling at the man.
"Proceed" he said, jotting it down, not noticing her slip up. The guard behind him perked up on hearing her class. "The Whisper Inn on Falon Street has been looking for a decent brewmaster." He told Mellie. "He has the distillery but his last brewmaster went out and got himself eaten. Tell him Ralph sent ya!" He winked at her, and turned around to resume his duties.
"Well that was really helpful." Mellie observed.
"You're really pretty." Robert blurted out, reddening.
"Thanks Robert." Mellie replied, smiling at the compliment.
"Thats not what he means Mellie. He means the guard was being helpful because he found you attractive." Mary stated. "Look around you" Mary pointed out.
Upon entering the city shops lined the streets. Gruff men and women passed eachother, scarred and unsmiling. Some were walking with collared Elf and Beastkin servants following them on leashes. Mellie stopped walking, looking around. Angry scarred people herding other races to do their labors. Her stomach turned.
"What is this place?" she asked her friends as they began pushing her along with the moving traffic.
"Its a town, like any other. Our races aren't kind to eachother." Whispered Mary. "Women of this town are hardened warriors. None of them beauties because beautiful women in this world usually become a mans property or die from overuse. Many towns are like this. Which is why I told you to wear a hood." She shoved Mellie a hood again. Mellie grabbed Robert and Mary and placed them to block everyone's line of sight. She cast her Will of a Savior to make a cloak, quickly covering her beauty. She could protect herself, but not if she got kidnapped first. She figured that out the hard way, already.
"I'll find a way to stop this madness. Slavery isn't a sales commodity in any successful country. The only reason this works is because everyone is doing it. The only thing this facilitates is the lack of development for all of your countries." Mellie ranted as Mary humored her, lost at what she was talking about again.
Robert agreed, " You're completely right. But if we just throw all the bandits in jail, we would have to dedicate a whole farm to feeding them just to have them sit in a hole. They never change."
Mellie smiled, "They will change if I want them to." She quirked a brow.
Robert wasn't sure if he should be horrified or excited at the thought of prisoner reform. Rewriting someone's brain sounded like an evil power. Her future was of a fatechanger, whatever that was. The world would soon see who was the vicitim and who was the aggressor. The group quietly turned down Falon Street intersection.
Meanwhile a little fairy had an inkling. Ariana cast Call Swarm, letting out a little song beckoning her fairies too low for human ears, but higher than any other noise for other fairies. Each fairy stilled, hearing the music of their Matriarch and began glowing and crying with joy. Unfortunately there were no fairies in Marningville that could answer the call yet. But they would try. The beacon was set. She could feel them.
"Mellie." The fairy whispered, "I can feel some of my people in this city" she explained, "They're lost. I have to find them." Mellie heard her clearly, as everyone else heard a slight buzz.
"Ok Ari, lets find this Inn first, then we can see if my friends can help us." She said excitedly as they entered the Whisper Inn.