The labyrinthian webs of the Matriarch spider’s domain had begun to decay since her demise. Though portions were still maintained by her surviving brood, much was left to fall apart and fade away, leaving strands of webs drooping from branches like a ghostly white hanging moss. One such neglected area was the site of the wyvern's abduction, where the dried husk of the Matriarch's body still loomed menacingly in the dark woods, her remaining legs were curled and hung rigid above her upturned corpse.
Victoria watched as Kieren the mage traced lines with colored chalk across the matted redwood roots that served as the ground in this part of the forest. He was connecting a series of sigils he had already drawn, each one centered around a charred mark in the roots where the abducting wizards had stood when the lightning strikes carried them, and their captive wyvern, away. The Dreamweaver observed the process from nearby, while Kerrick lingered somewhere unseen in the tangled canopy overhead.
"We're almost ready," Kieren said as he connected the final sigil to the ritual array, "all that's left is to incorporate you two."
Victoria and the Dreamweaver joined him in the center of the circle, each holding out upturned palms. He took ink and a quill from his pockets, and gently held Victoria's hand as he drew elaborate swirling patterns in her palm and a short distance up her inner forearm before moving on to her other hand. The Dreamweaver's role in the ritual would be to lend the vast well of power of a titan to boost the ritual's effectiveness, while Victoria would serve as the eyes of the ritual, visually tracing the route it would draw that only she could perceive.
"Alright, that's it," Kieren said when he finished the final markings on the Dreamweaver's hands. He stepped outside of the array and looked over his sigils on the ground one more time, "when you're ready, both of you place your palms on the sigil in the middle, and the ritual will begin."
Though Victoria's face was expressionless and stoic, the Dreamweaver saw right through her. The titan gave her a reassuring smile, and spoke softly, "it will be alright, this is perfectly safe."
Victoria forced a faint smile and nodded softly. The Dreamweaver knelt near the center of the ritual circle on one side of the central sigil, and Victoria knelt directly across from her on the other side.
"Ready?" the titan asked.
Victoria nodded again.
They placed their palms on the ground, and for a moment nothing happened. Then the central sigil began to glow a pale purple, and the glow spread along the lines connecting it the outer array. Soon each of the lines and sigils were glowing, and strands of magic reached up from each of the charred spots in the wood. The markings on hands and arms likewise glowed, stinging as if they were searing the flesh. Victoria locked eyes with the Dreamweaver, who smiled kindly at her.
Victoria's eyes flashed a bright purple, and bulging veins around them began to glow a similar color. Her head shot back and her eyes looked to the unseen sky above. Pillars of bright purple light shot up through the canopy at an angle, and her vision followed them. Her disembodied gaze shot through the branches and leaves until it erupted out into a wide view of the brilliant sky. The pillars carried her up into the expanse, racing higher and higher past meandering clouds and towards the stars. No -- towards the purple-orange moon, where it lingered faintly in the late evening sky.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
She gasped sharply, falling back onto the ground as she returned to her body below. The glow of the ritual was fading, and the pillars of light split into disjointed beams that quickly blinked out of existence. The Dreamweaver moved to check on her, placing a hand on her head and whispering softly.
"Calm now, child," her voice was like a lullaby, "all is well."
Victoria felt tranquility wash over her. She was at absolute peace, all was right in the universe, and there was nothing in the world to fear. The feeling lingered as the Dreamweaver withdrew her hand, but soon began to fade, and she felt herself clinging to it, longing for it to last forever, and already dreading its absence.
"Was it a success?" the Dreamweaver asked Kieren.
"I don't know," the mage admitted, "it depends on what she saw."
Victoria pushed herself up on her elbows, forcing her thoughts away from the yearning of that fleeting peaceful sensation, "I saw lights pointing to the sky, reaching up and beyond the clouds towards the expanse beyond. I think I saw--" she trailed off.
"It's okay," the Dreamweaver said, "tell us what you saw."
Victoria's eyes filled with fear, though she didn't know why she was afraid, "I saw them touch the moon."
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The final course was an elk roast the size the Shark Titan’s torso, slow cooked until the meat would effortlessly fall apart in hand, and served with a side of deep fried dough sticks glazed in Red Wasp honey. The shark titan leaned forward in his seat and chomped down on the roast, ripping straight through it without regard for the bones inside. After gulping down the massive bite, he chased it with another full goblet of wine. Autumn waited silently beside the table, hands clasped behind her back and head pointed at the floor.
"Pull up a chair," the Shark Titan ordered.
Autumn did as she was told, lifting the chair from the other end of the table and placing it midway down the length of the table. She took the seat with trepidation, feeling as if a job interview had just begun.
"The food was phenomenal," the titan began, "but you prepared it with the full resources of Giantrock City at your disposal. The Gaping Maw travels far, and opportunities to restock in major cities will be rare. You’ll have to feed an entire crew off the lands, how do I know you're up for the challenge?"
"I gathered many of the ingredients for tonight's dinner myself, captain," Autumn explained confidently, "the octopus I killed myself, the honey was harvested from the nests of wasps my party and I raided, and the majority of the spices used were picked by my own hand. I pride myself in keeping my team well fed, no matter where we find ourselves, and I've never found a patch of wilderness where I couldn't scrounge up a good meal."
"You'll have a whole ship to feed," the titan said, "that'll mean often instructing others to gather what you need. Can you handle that kind of leadership?"
"It'll be a new challenge, captain, but I'm confident I can rise to it."
He bellowed a curt laugh, then tossed a dough stick into his mouth while he thought. "What of your companions?" he asked.
"We're a package deal," she said firmly, "I understand that I may not be in a position to negotiate, but if there's not room for them on the ship, there's not room for me."
"Hmm," the shark titan thought for a moment, "tell you what, you've earned a place on my ship, but your companions have not. There is a way they still can, however."
Autumn leaned forward in her seat.
"The Fish Wizard trusts you, or at least has dropped his guard around you. There’s a man named Gerald, you were the last time I spoke to the wizard about him. He is currently in the wizard’s custody, bring him to me and I'll find room on the Gaping Maw for your companions."
"We'll do it," Autumn blurted out without thinking.
"Excellent," the Shark Titan grinned, "bring him to my quartermaster on the docks within two week's time."
The Shark Titan began to rise from his seat, and Autumn quickly added a question, "wait, what can you tell us about Gerald?"
"He's the biggest coward I've ever met," the Shark Titan said as he made his way to the door, "and last I heard, he'd been turned into a fish."
As the door closed behind the Shark Titan, gears clicked in place in Autumn's head, and she spoke to herself in disbelief as she realized which fish it must be, "son of a bitch."