{Bring Back The Cat} has gained 8 listeners.
An illusionary screen appeared before Sache.
Starry clusters above the night sky shined as the seeds of curiosity were planted in these children’s minds. If there ever came a day when these little ones became a Tale of their own, Sache would gladly spread it across the lands.
“And thus, the night ended off with saplings well watered and cared for. It’s time to see what the next morning gaze offers us.” With a strum of her lyre, the melody soothed the souls of the village.
~~~
Sache bid farewell to the villagers. It had been a single day but the memories made within that day will forever last.
Though, Derius came up and wanted to ask Sache for help.
“Sache, I know it might be too much to ask but can you help me out?” Bringing a piece of fabric and some charcoal, he offered it before her. “Can you help me form my own poem?”
“Err… About that…” Sache scratched the back of her head. “I’m not really that good at making stories or poems. I lean more on… telling stories. A storyteller, if you will.”
“I guess it was worth a shot. If you ever stop nearby any time soon, make sure to visit us, alright? I’ll have an Epic ready for you to proudly spread across the lands!” Derius grinned from ear to ear, boasting of his full capabilities.
“An Epic is good and all but I think being a small Tale is enough. It’s not about the grandness of the story but the lesson you could learn behind it. Take care, everyone.”
And just like that, Sache had disappeared from the village’s sight. She traveled forward, seeking even more villages to spread her wealth of knowledge.
~~~
Traversing the plains, there had not been a single soul welcoming her. Mainly because there was no one to do so.
Fortunately, it has already been cleared of all dangerous beings. Other than non-aggressive animals and mystical creatures, there was nothing else worthy of seeing.
Taking a short rest by a nearby river, Sache decidedly sat on the edge. She removed her boots and dipped her legs inside the river.
Rushing waves of water passed through. She swayed them up and down, enjoying her time under the blazing sun. Feeling satisfied, she took out a waterskin from her bag, completely downing it all in one gulp.
She had just finished her last supply of alcohol.
“Bleh! It’s lukewarm.” Sache stuck her tongue out, trying to remedy the taste somehow. Rinsing the insides of this waterskin, she filled it up with fresh water. “If only I was one of those Tales that could create water out of nowhere. That would help me out a lot.”
At the corner of her eye, a worm slid out of the soil. She would’ve ignored it if not for the slight magical glow it emitted.
It was similar to an earthworm, with all the segments instead looking green. It emitted a blue hue, and there were even a few runes marked on each of their bodies. These little guys might not be troublesome alone but they usually lived in colonies.
Taking a closer look, Sache curiously looked at it. “Faewurm.”
Title {Faewurm}
Name {Faewurm}
Reputation {500 Cities}
Honor {Neutral}
Gravitas {100%}
Affiliation {Nature}
Blessings
Inscribement {Gluttenous Restoration}
[Eats away at unnaturally formed structures. Focuses on environmentally harmful establishments.]
“These little guys are so cute but… they are very annoying to deal with.”
“A Faewurm… out here? That doesn’t make sense at all! They only appear near structures but I don’t see anything out here!” Sache squinted, placing her hand over her eyes, and surveyed the area.
Feeling whimsical, she looked up at the sky. “Gah! Who knew looking at the sun would hurt my eyes? Me! Of course, I did, but I did it anyway.” Rubbing her eyes in discomfort she looked down instead.
“If there’s nothing to side and nothing above me. There’s only one thing left! Down!” With her next journey set, she started digging down. With what? A shovel she had stored inside her bag.
Sache held the little Faewurm and set it beside her shoulder.
“We’ll get you back to your family little guy. And probably fix this little infestation for whoever’s troubled by this.”
Digging her shovel down on the soil, she started her arduous and labor-intensive morning. That morning then turned into the afternoon. Then that afternoon had turned into nighttime.
“I’m not going to lie, I thought it was going to be much more shallow than… this.” Sache climbed out of the hole she had just made. Her belly rumbled.
“I’m hungry. And there’s no one to share my stories with. Unless… hey little guy, want to hear a story about your Fairy Tale?”
The Faewurm shined slightly brighter. Sache didn’t know what that meant but she took it as a yes.
“The Faewurm comes whenever someone’s naughty. Ignoring Mother Nature for their own selfish desires. It only started as a little joke that the Fae conjured up as a trick for keeping lumberjacks from cutting their trees down.” Sache lazily stared up at the night sky, welcoming the tranquility it offered her.
It was calming.
“Faewurms didn’t initially exist, they were conjured out of nowhere. Materializing itself into existence, even affecting the real world. It’s pretty interesting to see something come out of nowhere, isn’t it? It makes you wonder if that’s the case, then did anything really exist in the first place? But that contradicts itself, there needed to be someone who thought of everything in the first place. I don’t know, I’m cold and hungry, I’m probably not making any sense.”
As she drifted off into a deep slumber, Sache could see from a distance, a flurry of Faewurms, flying in the sky, coming towards her. They conglomerated together, becoming a great source of light. Shimmering, even against the stars.
“Faewurms could fly? I didn’t know… that…”
It was accompanied by a screen that she only managed to glance at before drifting off into the night.
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Title {Faewurm}
Name {Faewurm}
Reputation {501 Cities}
Honor {Neutral}
Gravitas {100%}
Affiliation {Nature}
Blessings
Inscribement {Gluttenous Restoration}
[Eats away at unnaturally formed structures. Focuses on environmentally harmful establishments.]
Engravement {Condition Locked}
{Required: Be they be good or evil, help them.}
{Additional Lock: Aid The Storyteller in continuing her travels.}
“I didn’t know they could fly...”
The sudden revelation last night jolted her awake.
Sache saw that her surroundings had changed immensely, it was no longer a riverbed bed with an odd hole by the side. It was inside the trunk of a tree, carved out specifically for her to rest in.
It was clear it was for her because of the writing above her head, The Storyteller. It felt out of place since she wasn't this person.
“That’s a little too much, don’t you think?” Sache grabbed her bag by the side and went out. She was greeted with a mystical forest covered in a dense blue glow. It was misty but it gave off an ephemeral feeling of calmness.
There was nothing else around her but trees, she couldn’t even see another Faewurm around her. Even her little buddy was no longer there.
Walking forward while looking around, a slow light manifested itself in front of her. It was odd yet Sache instinctively knew that this was what the essence of this Fairy Tale… Fable was.
“Where do you wish to travel to next?” It sounded impartial, seemingly unconcerned as to what Sache would say.
At the very same time, this manifested light held a very specific aura. It was the grandness of nature itself. Any form of guilt regarding disrespecting nature manifested before it.
“Tales don’t usually act out like this. That’s odd, I’m just a simple Bard, walking on the face of the word, telling stories that other people have told me. Am I special or something? Am I? Don’t lie if I am!” Sache wasn’t afraid in this scenario at all. If anything, she was completely ecstatic that she could be faced with a suddenly developed Fable.
Such a turning point was something to truly behold. Inanimate objects and creatures that cannot speak can now utter their thoughts. Finally giving them the ability to communicate with others.
And the opportunity to talk to a Fable after they had just become big enough, was an extremely high honor.
“Are you not… The Storyteller?” A wave of confusion wafted over it.
“Well, I am “A” storyteller but I’m not “THE” storyteller. I don’t even know what The Storyteller is. Anyways, what’s on your mind? How do you view humanity? Are we the bad guys? Or are other creatures like demons much worse than us?” An expectant look was plastered on Sache’s face. She was more focused on what this newly formed Fable thought than her current circumstance.
“If you aren’t The Storyteller, then there is no need for me to aid you. You may leave this place by walking in any direction. May you find nature to be as valuable as your life.”
“Wait! What about the place that Faewurm was? Weren’t there people underground? Can you at least tell me that before you leave?”
“Very well. I’ll remedy the mistake I’ve made by answering your question. There was nothing there, the Faewurm you saw was merely something that fell off a wyvern’s back as it traveled across kingdoms.”
And clearly, Sache’s first reaction was, “I knew it came from the skies! My retinas didn’t get burned for no reason, after all!”
The Spirit of the Faewurm no longer entertained Sache’s questions. It turned away, becoming a mist that could no longer be associated with its former.
Sache sighed. She was still famished. Taking out her waterskin, there was a very joyful surprise awaiting her. Water had turned to alcohol.
“Those guys are all right. Bottoms up!” Sache was only going to taste it but she was immediately hooked. She gulped it all down in one take, even shaking the waterskin to pry any droplet left from it. “That’s really good! I didn’t know Faewurm also made mead. I’m learning so many things. But that doesn’t solve my hunger, well, there better be a city when I get out of here.”
The ramblings of the Bard behind it confused the Spirit of the Faewurm. It had only brought Sache here, it did not do take or give her any additional items. Though, Sache had been apparently dreaming about liquor, as she was singing about it in her sleep.
There were just some oddities that never made sense.
Title {Faewurm}
Name {Faewurm}
Reputation {501 Cities}
Honor {Neutral}
Gravitas {100%}
Affiliation {Nature}
Blessings
Inscribement {Gluttenous Restoration}
[Eats away at unnaturally formed structures. Focuses on environmentally harmful establishments.]
Engravement {Condition Locked}
{Required: Be they be good or evil, help them.}
{Additional Lock: Aid The Storyteller in continuing her travels.}
“They finally became a Fable! That's so neat!”
As the condition for its ‘Additional Lock’ was still barred, the Spirit of the Faewurm could only give up. If helping Sache did not unlock it then it only made sense that it had gotten the wrong person.
It continued on its journey, starting its responsibility as a Fable. There was a lot of work to be done if it wanted to unlock its ‘Engravement.’
Sache walked off, appearing in a completely different land. She was a little taken aback since this was not a normal place to be.
Golden treasures of immense value could be seen as far as the eye could see. There were magical artifacts, Tall Tales of mystical weapons, Fairy Tales of cursed armor, there were even a few creatures tending to this nest.
“Uh… you have got to be kidding me. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they say… hehe?” Sache was tensed up as an eye of ginormous scale watched her. She could only nervously laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Its vertical slit narrowed down on Sache, wondering at how a human could ever arrive this deep into its layer. For it to be a young maiden without any combat strength only served to further confuse him.
“Human Bard. How did you get into my, Gaelhe’s nest?” The dragon that had terrified countless living creatures for centuries was eying Sache down.
Title {Calamity of Ages Past}
Name {Gaelhe Und'rthe}
Reputation {3 Continents}
Honor {???}
Gravitas {???}
Affiliation {???}
Blessings
Inscribement {Ender of Worlds}
[Inherently grows in strength proportional to its desire to destroy.]
Engravement {Lore Eater}
[Gain a fraction of the power of a Tale when consuming it. The stronger the Tale, the longer the cooldown. Cooldown: 65 Months]
{Additional Lock: View the world from another’s point of view.}
Achievement {Condition Lock}
{Required: Destroy the world.}
{Additional Lock: Remake the world.}
Permanence {Condition Lock}
{Required: Rebirth}
{Additional Lock: ???}
{I knew dragons were real but I didn't want them to be this real! Why am I even here?}
“I don’t… know?” Sache was not going to have a fun time. “Would you believe me if I said I just walked here? Yeah, me neither.”