Evolution: Lesser Sprite (Flame)

Snot-blob trinket glowed increasingly brighter until the light almost seemed like a tangible thing. As it reached its apex, the light shattered, fuzzing out of reality. What was left behind was the approximate shape of a person, only at about six inches tall. It’s tiny body was made entirely of tongues of flame that flickered in and out of a human shape.

His party began to speak, ‘ooh’in and ‘aah’ing over the new Trinket, but Oliver was examining another prompt.

[Lesser Sprite] also has access to [Earth] element. Fuse into [Lesser Sprite: Magma]?

Do it, the Ring advised.

Oliver selected the option, and Trinket glowed again. This time, the glow exploded much quicker, leaving behind a form the same size and shape as the previous one. The difference was in the material that made up Trinket’s body. Instead of flickering flame, Trinket’s body was now made of smooth, black stone. Where the joints were in the stone body, the stone was cracked, exposing molten rock beneath. Trinket’s mouth cracked open, exposing glowing stone inside. Eyes without form, just glowing orbs of molten rock, still seemed to light up with joy as the sprite looked up at Oliver.

“Whoa,” Rose murmured. “Trinket’s a little lady.”

Oliver nodded. “So she is.” Trinket’s body was smooth and featureless, but held very slight feminine curves, nonetheless. Flaming hair like a gathering of tiny candle flames danced as the sprite learned that she, too, could dance.The tiny sprite lept and twirled, dancing all across the inn’s stone floor. Everywhere she stepped, she left tiny footprints of glowing red stone that quickly faded.

As she danced, Trinket glowed more and more, her hair growing from candle flames to something approaching a torch. Oliver cautioned the sprite before she did too much damage to the inn.

“Hey, I’m excited too, Trinket. Maybe calm down just a little, you don’t want to burn the place down.”

The sprite stopped and glanced around at her surroundings. She shrugged her shoulders then tensed up her tiny upper body, squeezing her little hands into fists. Slowly, her body began to dim and her hair returned to candle status. She opened her eyes and relaxed, examining herself. Seemingly satisfied, she looked up at Oliver, craning her head back like a tourist staring up at a skyscraper.

“I know, I’m way up here,” he said down to his tiny companion. “How are we going to help you get around? Are you going to be able to keep up with us on the ground...”

Oliver was cut off by an enthusiastic head shake from Trinket. It seemed that even though she had gained a human-like shape, speech was still not a tool in her wheelhouse. She began to run around Oliver in a circle nearly as wide as he was tall. After a few laps, when it seemed that she had reached her top speed, Trinket leaped.

It would have been an impressive, inhuman jump for a human, but for Trinket, she only crested the height of Oliver’s knees. Just after she peaked, Trinket put her foot down and stepped on thin air. Her foot somehow found purchase on the empty space, and she jumped again, this time coming up to Oliver’s waist. She kept leaping as she circled until she stopped, mid-air, right in front of Oliver’s face.

One of her feet was locked in position in the air, as if she were standing on top of a narrow pole. The other leg she bent, hanging in the air. Trinket crossed her arms and gave Oliver the tiniest smug look of satisfaction he’d ever seen.

“Huh,” was all he could get out. “Neat.”

Proud of herself for impressing Oliver, Trinket began to skip around over five feet in the air. She wasn’t flying, per se. It seemed like one of her feet had to ‘land’ on the air, but she could only do it with one foot at a time. By skipping and leaping, she could float through the air to her heart’s content. She varied the altitude, dropping a foot then climbing two, but stayed right around the height of Oliver’s head.

The rest of the group was speechless until Nada chimed in with, “Thank goodness she’s not a ball of snot anymore, that form was a bit disgusting.”

Rose smacked the taller girl on the back of the head, but Oliver could tell that there wasn’t any heat behind it. He wondered what the two had gone through on their duo outing to change their dynamic so much.

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“Well, I think she was precious before, but she’s just downright adorable now!” Cora exclaimed. “It’s just too bad that she’s too hot to handle, I just want to pat her little head, but I’m afraid I’d only pull back a stump!”

Trinket stopped skipping and cocked her head to the side. Without warning, she turned and leapt towards Oliver’s face. He tried to duck, but the little Sprite had the drop on him and was much quicker. She landed with one foot on his shoulder, then tried to throw her arms around his head, but couldn’t quite reach even halfway.

Oliver expected pain. Burning, melting, unfathomable pain. What he experienced was closer to a hot stone massage. Trinket was warm, but not uncomfortably so. Her stone body was as smooth as polished glass. He froze, not quite comprehending how molten rock was not melting his face.

She’s bound to your Spirit. Your Spirit can’t hurt itself. Same goes for the clothes she’s standing on. Just don’t let her try to hug anybody else until I get them nearly immune to heat damage.

The Ring’s comment was a relief, but seemed obvious in hindsight. Oliver scooped the little sprite up in his hands and held her up in front of his face. The rest of the group was making odd sounds that mixed relief, concern, and confusion.

“Hey, sis,” he murmured to her, then stroked her head. The flames of her hair tickled his fingers. “This is going to be even better than I’d hoped.”

The group gathered around to heap attention on the little sprite, who soaked it all up like rain on the desert sand. Eventually, the group headed back to their room and turned in for the night. Trinket realized that there were only two places in the room that she could sleep, but laying on top of Oliver was vetoed since the man regularly tossed and turned in his sleep. The last thing the group needed was for him to fling the living magma onto the flammable bed. So, Trinket stretched out in the hearth, igniting the logs inside the fireplace as she laid down on them.

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The next day, the group set out together to conquer more dungeons. They all rode on Scooter’s back, Trinket perched on Oliver’s shoulder, staring at the world they passed in wonder. Trinket’s eyes were nearly blinding when she saw what the creatures that inhabited this specific dungeon were: Living scarecrows.

The group was doubled over in laughter as they watched the living magma chase around the living dried out grass. Trinket barely had to make contact with the scarecrows and they would go up in flames. The tiny sprite was having the time of her life.

Cora leaned against her shield, watching Trinket skip around and slaughter scarecrows. “Well, at least one of us is having fun,” she complained without any teeth. “Anybody worry that this is getting too easy?”

Nada and Rose shared a look. “No. Definitely not,” the responded in near unison.

The scarecrows didn’t give Trinket even a pause as she swept through the dungeon. Soon the group was once more aboard Scooter, Oliver’s storage bag a few pieces of treasure heavier.

The next dungeon didn’t pose much more trouble for the group, nor did the one after that. In fact, none of the dungeons in the stage gave the group any more trouble. The cleared ruins, abandoned villages, caves, jungles, and even an odd back alley. The group gathered stat-boosting items and a few more pieces of gear. None of their number went barefoot now. The other tutorial takers in the town steered clear of them, few daring even to look them in the eye.

Eventually, the Ring told Oliver that it was time to move on. The timer is going to be up soon, it’s time to find a temple and clear the Stage. I know one that can take your whole party, it’s never found, so it’ll be an easy trip.

Oliver relayed the directions, and the group loaded up on Scooter. The temple was back in the direction of the first Dungeon that the team cleared in the Stage, the giant tree that held The Warren. Instead of setting down on the ground, Oliver had Scooter fly up the tree towards the top. There, at a height that only skyscrapers typically reached, was a hollow in the tree. Inside the cavernous opening, the group saw carved wood reliefs and stone pillars that would have had to be hauled up the tree to be hidden inside it.

Scooter flew into the opening in the tree and settled down on a stone floor. The Temple held one object of note: a stone obelisk only about eight feet tall. The obelisk had six indentions down its face, but as the group drew close, they noticed that the two bottom indentions glowed softly.

What? No! Two of the slots are used, that’s not possible! WHAT IS GOING ON! the Ring shouted into OIiver’s mind. Two people have found this Temple, which has never happened before, this is... No, it doesn't matter. We’ll just have to leave someone behind. Rose? Silas? We need the tank and the healer.

Oliver couldn’t ignore the Ring since it spoke directly into his mind, but he didn’t let his companions see any indication of what the Ring was saying, after all, he was the only one who could hear it.

“The ring says you guys should go first. Just touch the stone.”

What are you doing?! the Ring shouted. Oliver’s party touched the stone one at a time, vanishing in a hole in reality each time.

Cora gave Oliver a wink when she went, saying, “See you on the other side,” then she was gone.

Rose went last, throwing Oliver a wink before touching the stone.

All six indentions on the obelisk were now softly glowing, Oliver, Barton and Trinket still in the Temple.

Now I hope you’re happy with yourself. Do you know how long we have? Hours. Hours! I know a few others, but there is a small problem with your strategy, the ring lectured.

“What’s that?” Oliver asked.

Where is your ride?

Oliver looked around and realized that Scooter vanished when Rose left the Stage.

“I’m fast, I’ll run.”

Did you forget where you are?

Oliver looked out the hole in the tree at his current altitude, the trees below looking like little more than blades of grass.

“Crap.”