Dizziness from their recent encounter still had a hold on Leone. Azim, on the other hand, was perfectly fine, which the young man was notably annoyed about. “How come my head’s the only one ringing? We both got hit just the same, didn’t we?” the young man chided.
“I apologize for the annoyance Leone,” the robot stated in a tone that sounded like one a counselor would use. “While the immediate effects of the girl’s shriek did stun me along with you, it seems that was all that could affect me. After all, I do not have anything in my head to ring. Consequently, it seems as though whatever side effects you are experiencing are ones that I cannot.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” responded Leone, dropping the matter. “Though that whole thing makes me think the geezer was more right than we first realized. We’re gonna need someone else traveling with us if we hope to make it much farther. We’re bound to come across tons of strong travelers and adventures, even villains, if we plan on finding magic powerful enough to send Azim home. We need to have the manpower to do so.”
Looking at the map, Riva searched for a location they could stop at that might have some capable adventures to aid them in their quest. “What about this place?” asked the woman, pointing to a small picture of a rustic, coliseum-like structure with the word Lemaerk underneath. “Whatever it is, I bet we'll find some real interesting characters there.”
“I think it would be a worthwhile experience to journey there,” commented Azim. “How long would it be until be arrived?”
“Tomorrow morning,” the woman replied. “Maybe even tonight, provided we don’t run into any trouble along the way.”
“I think you just guaranteed it with that comment,” remarked Leone with a grin, who then turned to Azim. “What about you, buddy? Do you like running into trouble? Does it give you any kind of thrill? Or would you rather stay out of it?”
Azim thought for a moment before responding. “I do not feel thrill, nor am I sure if I can enjoy or not enjoy aspects of life,” he delivered. “However, I do recognize things can be easier, such as traveling from one town to another without any obstacles in between. Though I do not feel a sense of joy for them. The closest I feel is an acknowledgment that it is safer for those around me.”
“Oh…” muttered Leone, somewhat put down. “Well, I’m glad you care about that much.”
The conversation slowed to a halt for a while after that. Despite not intending to, the android’s lack of connection to “feeling” in certain situations left a weight on Riva and Leone, who found that silence might have been the best choice for the time being. Before long, they came across someone waving widely along the side of the road, trying to get their attention. Riva reigned in the horses and stopped to ask what was the matter. “Hi, sir? Are you alright?” she asked.
“No! I’m not alright. My house is missing!” the man yelled.
“Um… what?” Riva inquired.
The man repeated himself. “My house, my house is missing! Look! It’s usually right here, along the road. I tend to the hayfields here, so I set up a little home for myself in the middle of nowhere. I went for a walk, but when I came back, my house was gone! How could that even happen?!”
The three travelers climbed off the cart and approached the man. He was an Insetoid, a human-like species with traits which resembled that of a bug. The man had grayish-white skin and a frail frame, with thin antennae sprouting from atop his head.
Azim looked forward at where the man had pointed. There weren’t any signs of distress from where the house was supposed to be located. No burn marks in the tall grass or singed, dry patches. Not even any debris to suggest a house had once been there. He walked towards the spot on the side of the road to get a closer look. Leone and Riva stayed behind to talk to the insetoid as he further explained what had happened. As the android took another step forward, his external processors felt him pass through some sort of bubble-like field. The robot stopped walking. Sitting in front of him was the man’s house, completely undisturbed.
Riva noticed before Leone did. Looking around her, the woman could find Azim anywhere. She interrupted the conversation to ask if either one of the men knew where the robot was and mentioned how he had just disappeared. If the rippling effect that Azim experienced had been visible to others, the woman would have likely noticed sooner. Unfortunately, the sensation was unique to Azim, and to anyone else, it merely would have looked like the android vanished.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Meanwhile, inside the bubble, Azim approached the rickety, wooden house. Before he could reach the front door, someone burst out to greet him. “Woah, woah, woah,” the woman before him yelped. “What are you doing, what are you doing? No, no, I’m not letting any more of you come in here, nuh uh!”
The woman clapped her hands three times and chanted, “Shut Out!”, turning the barrier that Azim had passed through now visible.
The dome-shaped bubble was an opaque, dark purple, and materialized in front of Riva and Leone’s eyes in an instant. The insetoid turned to see what the travelers were staring at, only to exclaim that the bubble was positioned exactly where his house was. Leone sprinted to the dome and punched it hard, but was met with a repulsion effect bouncing him back. Trying again with a gently placed hand, he found that even the soft touch softly bounced back from the force field. “I think Azim is inside this thing!” Leone yelled back to the other two.
Riva ran closer and shouted at the bubble, hoping Azim would hear from inside, “Azim! Azim, this bubble is keeping us out! What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Inside the force field, Azim was on his own. The second the girl incanted her spell and changed the barrier over the house, the invisible field that hid the presence of the contents inside became a visible barrier, acting as a traditional force field while also repelling force dealt and blocking out sound. “What are you doing, here? What are you doing?” the girl at the front door screeched. “This place is mine now, mine!”
The girl was clearly not looking for an actual answer to her question because the second she finished speaking, she lunged at the android. Azim ducked out of the way before the girl could reach him, grabbing her by the arm and tossing her aside. “I am not approaching you with violent intent,” the robot stated, attempting to diffuse the situation. “I only entered this space to look for the concerned man’s house. Why have you taken up residence in it?”
“This is my house, mine!’ the girl growled in response. “I found it, it’s mine!”
Just then, the girl drew a sword out of nowhere and swung it wildly toward Azim. He ducked and dodged the incoming swings and slashes, taking a careful assessment of the situation. The girl had green skin, halfway between mint and viridian, short, black hair, and cat-like eyes. She swung her blade with ferocity, but not much direction or technique. She had a simple, black tunic that was slightly tattered, and dirty, leather shoes with open toes. From her appearance, she gave the impression that she was more of a wild creature. Azim was perplexed at how someone so ragged had refined magic capable of concealing objects and transforming barriers.
Remembering he had some newly acquired magic of his own, Azim lifted a hand toward the girl’s sword and chanted, “Scrap Return”.
The green-skinned girl clothed the hilt of her blade tightly and pulled her sword back, leaving Azim stunned when the sword didn’t leave her grasp. Somehow, the girl had negated his spell and maintained control of her weapon.
In response, Azim lunged forward himself, closing the distance he had created between himself and the girl. The robot rolled as the girl swung her blade in sporadic waves, never coming close to the android. The metal man grabbed the girl by the arm holding her sword and threw her over his shoulder, disarming her with his other hand as he did. She tumbled forward before catching her balance, looking up at Azim with the same wild nature she had shown the entire engagement.
Azim took a moment to really look into the girl’s eyes. They were wild, yes, like a torrent of waves crashing through a beach, bursting wildly and peeling back at random. However, in the midst of the blue and foam, the sea spray and sandy winds, there was something more. As if there was a smaller version of the girl, struggling to stay afloat in the rapid sea, desperately trying to keep her head above the tide. Amidst all the chaos, there was struggling. And Azim saw it.
----------------------------------------
“Is there anything we can do?” the Insetoid farmer asked Riva. “He’s been gone for a few minutes now, is everything alright?”
“I really don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do, but I wouldn’t worry. If anyone is capable of figuring out what is going on it would be Azim. He’s much smarter than he looks, and he has proven to be pretty capable of fending for himself.”
“With the exception of this morning…” remarked Leone, who was met with a responsive smack to the back of the head by Riva.
“Speaking of this morning…” the woman continued. “I really wish we hadn’t left Plumrose in such a hurry. It would have been nice to pick some of that delectable fruit. We don’t really have much with us, and we didn’t bring much from Appilus either. We might need to pick up some supplies soon.”
“You were in Plumrose?” asked the insetoid. “I hear that town is lovely, though it has some regular company that’s not so.”
Leone chimed in to answer the farmer. “Yeah, we actually ran into that not-so-lovely company. The guy in there and I tussled with two of ‘em, though they were not friendly. Like she said, we had to leave earlier than we would’ve liked, so we weren’t really able to enjoy it for what it was. Not that that’s why we were there in the first place, though.”
“Well I’m sorry to hear that,” replied the insetoid sincerely. “I’m afraid I don’t have much to give, but if you need a town where you can get some good supplies, I’d recommend Milkwood. It’s a farmer’s town, about as ordinary as you can get. I’d live there, but I appreciate the solace I get out here. That is where I go to trade my goods, though. It’s a charming town, you can't go wrong with it.”
Riva checked her newly acquired map. A little up the way was Milkwood, though she noticed it was slightly off course from the icon marked Lemaerk. They were somewhat near each other, with a large forest in between. She showed the map to the other two. Riva asked the farmer if she knew about the forest and if it was safe to travel through. The insetoid informed the travelers while the Milkwood Forest was frequently populated with hunters, the area itself was relatively safe. He mentioned that he had never traveled through it himself so he could not say much, but attested to the fact plenty of adventures came to the town of Milkwood through its forest.
Riva and Leone consulted with one another, deciding they would make a few more pitstops along their journey. After Azim was done with whatever was going on inside the dark violet bubble, the group would head to Milkwood to stock up on some supplies for the rest of their trip. Afterward, the adventurers would tread through the Milkwood Forest, until inevitably reaching the coliseum of Lemaerk, where they would search for a potential companion to join them on the rest of their quest.