“Punkin, we are going to have to run towards the bandits. Are there any rocks or things I might trip over?” asks Cer as Punkin climbs onto Cer’s back. “We can’t fight a dragon. My magic isn’t made to fight dragons. Let’s lead the dragon to the bandits and let them fight each other. Launch a bubble at the dragon Pupu, we have to get it angry.”

“Okay, daddy!” Shouts Punkin with bravado and conviction as she launches several large bubbles in the direction of the quickly approaching dragon.

Jumping into a sprint, Cer grunts with a bit of frustration. “I said one bubble, Pupu! We don’t know what kind of dragon it is. Some dragons EAT BUBBLES!”

“Daddy… RUN!!! Watch o…” before being able to finish her warning, Pupu launches into the air and glides down with Kylan’s graceful save as Cer tumbles to the ground. “...big rocks.. daddy. There are lots of big rocks! You ran off the path.”

As Cer rushes to stand up, several auras surround Cer and Punkin with ill-intent..

“You have the Apiary’s mark. I know you have honey on you. Hand it over!” commands one of the bandits with an aura of red ill-intent and desire as the rest of the bandits point their weapons towards Cer. “Hand it over, slowly. Any tricks and we take your kid. Think of it as your tax for passing through our land.”

Whispering to Punkin, Cer tries to determine if their plan of luring the dragon worked. “How far is the dragon, Pupu? I can’t see its aura anymore.”

“Daddy, the dragon is gone. I don’t see it. But I have mine!!” Suddenly, Punkin reaches into her shirt and pulls out her naga. “ATTACK!!!”

Yawning, the naga stretches out in Punkin’s palm and releases a few bubbles in its yawn that float away as it orients itself, after being awoken from a nap.

“You have a magic beast! We’ll take that if you don’t have any honey! Give it here.” demands the bandit acting as their commander, as he reaches out to take the naga from Punkin.

SMACK!!!

Snarling, Punkin stands with her bubble blade drawn, blood dripping down the hollowed blade’s edge. “NOT YOURS! MY PET!”

“.....” Withdrawing his bloody hand in pain and confusion, the bandit tries to yell but is encased and muffled by a bubble barrier swirling with diluted red streams in its membrane.

“She’s a witch!! We need her tears!” yells another bandit as the others redirect their weapons from Cer to Punkin.

Getting up to try to attack, Cer is frozen in place, struggling to move. Ugh. I am still bound by my blood oath. Cursed! If I can’t fight, I can be a shield!

Breaking free from Cer’s own invisible chains by redirecting intent, Cer jumps in front of Punkin and attempts to be a barrier between the bandits and Punkin by focusing on drawing out Nothing to consume them.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happens as Cer’s eyebrows furrow with focus and effort.

Chuckling, the second in command chides, “You look constipated! You must be the blind Shriver that’s been hiding. The chaos witch said you’d be an easy target…”

Turning back to his comrades, the second in command reassures his gang. “it’s alright boys, he can’t hurt us…some kind of curse or rule he has to follow….”

Redirecting his attention to Punkin, the second in command reaches a hand out to Punkin. “Hey little girl, give us the little baby dragon or we’ll kill your daddy.”

Quickly waving her bubble blade in a circular motion above her head, a growing bubble mixed with hints of red from the blood on her wand forms as the bandits approach closer to Punkin.

Laughing aloud, the second in command prepares to strike Punkin. “Is that supposed to get all of us? Fellas pop the captain out. We are gonna kill this runt after we make her cry for us.”

Now fully awake, the naga climbs to sit on Punkin’s shoulder and lets out a small yelp as a warning of its anger.

Taking a deep breath in, the naga sneers then releases a barrage of small bubbles out of its mouth and directs them through Punkin’s red bubble, turning each bubble passing through into its own red bubble that reek of metal.

Surprised by the counter assault of magic, the bandits begin to pop the bubble which melt their metal weapons and set their wooden weapons on fire on contact. The splashes of red liquid from the popped bubbles instantly cause caustic burns on the bandits as they cowere back to cover their faces and skin from the liquid.

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Seeing the intense magic and mana coming from Punkin, Cer runs over and hovers over Punkin and holds her, attempting to calm her down while shieling her from the splashes of their own magic.

Shouting in panic, disgust, and anger, the bandit picks up rocks and prepares to hurl them at Punkin. “What kind of demon are you? You reek of blood and chaos. Demon! We will kill you! We need to kill the demon or it’ll kill us all and our families!!!”

Inspired by their comrade's fervor, the other bandits pick up stones in preparation for the assault.

The captain, now free from the popped bubble barrier he was encased in, steps forward drawing out a shiny stone, emanating a radiant yellow glow that spreads and covers the bandits in a barrier. “HA! The chaos witch gave us this. We’ll fight magic with magic. We can shoot while in this barrier. Drop the rocks, pull out your plasma disruptors and kinetic inhibitors and shoot the demon and the shriver. What a failure, can’t even shrive his own demon kid!”

Continuing to cover and hug Punkin, Cer raises the prayer beads, hoping some kind of magic or assistance will come to their aid. What kind of magic can block the ghosts and spirits from cursing them? Hopefully the barrier conceals us and she doesn’t attract any actual demons or ghosts. She is gonna kill them if I can’t calm her down. We need them alive to question them about the chaos witch. Clarity I need your help!

Drawing out their projective weapons from their coats, the bandits begin to aim their weapons towards Cer and Punkin when a thunderous rumble shakes the earth and air, reverberating through everyone’s bones.

Appearing from some unknown source, a large dragon looms over the barrier and lets out a roar, shattering the shiny stone carried by the captain of the bandit.

With the barrier now down, the bandits drop their weapons in terror and begin to run.

Standing over Cer and Punkin, the large dragon flaps its wings and gusts of wind and rock hurl at the bandits injuring them and leaving them unconscious.

Afraid the dragon will turn on them, Cer finally draws a black mass of void and creates a shield barrier between them and the dragon. How did we not sense this dragon? What kind of dragon is this? It can squash us this close. What an immense aura!!

“Titan!!!” squeals a mellow female voice from the dragon’s side of the shield barrier.

Redirecting its attention to Cer, the voice proclaims, “That’s no way to greet a friend, Cer. Can I at least inspect my pet without you drawing a shield against me?”

“Huh? Who speaks. I can only sense your dragon’s aura. Who are you and where are you hiding?” asks Cer as Cer scans for changes in aura in the area.

“Daddy, it’s a tree pirate princess!” squeals Punkin as she tries to break free from Cer’s protection.

Reaching out to grab Punkin’s shoulder as she lunges forward, Cer warns Punkin, “No. There are no elves or princesses here. They don’t exist anymore in our realm. She must be a witch, Pupu.”

Responding in a cheery tone, the female voice confirms Cer’s suspicions. “Right you are, Cer. Witch, I am. It’s been too long. Miyas said you’d be passing the general area towards Efatas. She never told me you'd be headed directly to me, and with your daughter!. I’m so glad you came to save me from those bandits. She is my hero.”

“You are a warrior princess. You saved us!” yells Punkin with excitement as she jumps up and down clapping.

Realizing who was in their presence, Cer kisses a hand and then gently rubs the kissed hand in circular motions in the dirt. “It is unfortunate that we must meet this way, Eowyn. No wonder we thought it was a dragon. Pupu, this is Eowyon. Amataeson’s half sister. An illusionist and succubi of the land and animals.”

Smacking Cer’s shoulder, Punkin scolds Cer. “She does not suck animals! I like her. Hi, dragon lady. Will you be my pet? You don’t suck!”

Falling on the floor from amusement, Eowyn chortles. “No, he meant succubi. Which really means demon. But I am not a demon. I am born from the House of Succubi- a long forgotten family very close to your mother and father. I am now with Miyas in Siren’s Caw. The House of Succubi are no more. I am not a dragon, either. So no pet I will be, but you can pet me.”

“But I saw you. You did whoosh and flap flap and the bandaid boys all got hurted.” responds Punkin as she mimics flying and flapping wings while telling her story.

Sitting up to look Punkin in the eyes, Eowyn’s changes her tone from amusement to warmth and longing. “You are so much like your mother. No wonder Titan took so well to you.” Reaching out to cup Punkin’s face, Eowyn lifts her other hand so the naga would come to her from Punkin’s shoulder. “Some of our strongest magic is concealment. It means to hide. We sometimes hide behind illusions- things that are not real, to keep things away if we think they will hurt us.”

Feeling sad, Punkin asks, “Is that why daddy rubbed the dirt with a kiss? Because you are a dirt witch with an owie that hurts and makes you sad? When I have an owie, daddy rubs my owie and kisses it. So daddy kissed your dirt to make your owie go away. ”

Offering a light chuckle with a sense of both melancholy and relief, Eowyn withdraws her hand from Punkin to pet Titan. “Those men have hurt me many times before and I was too afraid to fight back, alone. So I hid and looked like a dragon. When we hide, we make people see what we want them to see. Then you came and I didn’t have to hide anymore.”

“No more hiding, you can be my friend, tree princess warrior dragon dirt lady. I want to be strong like you so when I feel alone or scared I can do magic like you.” Wrapping her arms around Eowyn’s neck, Punkin hugs Eowyn and strokes her hair. “I can fly down with my blanket hood. I can blow bubbles and that's all.”

Placing her hands on the dirt, Eowyn casts a spell and dirt raises in the shape of a small box and opens towards Eowyn. “Hmm. Well seems like Titan, my little naga likes you. He can stay with you if he wishes to. Fascinating that you have a Qirin cloak. Qirin’s are almost extinct as well, just like the naga. Nonetheless, it looks like you can glide like Miyas with it, but you can’t control the wind like she can. I have another gift for you. I don’t need them. Take them and go. Don’t stick around, you should get on your way to catch up to Miyas.”

“Awww we have to leave already? I didn’t see your house yet. Ours is broken. I want to come over to play.” Whines Punkin.

“Hehehe. I have no house. Thanks to you, I know where I need to be to be home. You need to catch up to Miyas.” snorts Eowyn.

Feeling confused with the details of Miyas’ visits, Cer interjects. “Wait, if Miyas was here, why didn’t she help you with the bandits? None of it makes sense. Is she the chaos witch?”

Getting up to walk away, Eowyn brushes Cer’s questions off. “She can’t fight people. If you are so concerned with her, then maybe you should leave soon and go ask her yourself…”

Turning around briefly to give Punkin a pair of boots, Eowyn winks before walking away and talking over her shoulder. “I leave my boots with you, precious little Pupu. You already know what it’s like to walk in my shoes- losing someone so dear so early in life. Imagine being able to feel as light as a feather and dancing in the air and jumping on bubbles. That’s what these boots can offer. I have no need for being in the air for long. I like to be down here with my dirt. If you don’t like how they look, just close your eyes and imagine whatever you want them to be. Make others see what you want them to see. As for me, I will see you soon. Goodbye for now.”

Waving her hand in the air, dust and dirt rise from the ground and reform the landscape, with Eowyn disappearing as quickly as the dust settles.

“What is Miyas up to? We need to catch up to her.” Cer says decidedly.

Slipping her little feet into Eowyn’s boots, Punkin feels the boots shrink to fit her feet and change from cowboy boots to heavy-duty looking, light-weight feeling, black leather buckle boots fitting up to her calf. “Yes. I want to show her my boots. I need to tell her something. It is not okay to steal Eowyn’s pets. I love Titan. But that was not nice. She needs to stop stealing pets.”

Preoccupied by internal wonderings, Cer walks in silence as Punkin continues to admonish Miyas’ actions aloud to nobody. Hmmm. Eowyn’s boots. What a nice gift. What is the catch? Why is she rushing us off? What is the Siren’s Caw up to in the port city of Efatas? We need to catch up to Miyas.