Sign: Snake
Buffs: Serpent’s Kiss (Romance twice as easy)
Debuffs: Curse of the Unspecified (Start the game with no gender, no name, and no other identifying feature)
EXP: 1,119
Alchemy
Coagula (LVL 0, 24 SKP)
Solvé (LVL 0, 9 SKP)
Theoria (LVL 0, 23 SKP)
Botany
Tending (LVL 0, 5 SKP)
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Cooking
Fire (LVL 0, 21 SKP)
Water (LVL 0, 11 SKP)
?
Homesteading
Fire Tending (LVL 0, 7 SKP)
Tidying (LVL 1, 5 SKP)
Dirt Buster: The magical branch of Purification lends this Sorcerer the ability to ‘Bust Dirt.’ Dust and grime accumulate at a infinitesimally slow rate on objects you have cleaned.
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Speech
Logic (LVL 0, 33 SKP) Ready to level up!
Linguistics (LVL 0, 7 SKP)
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Total SKP: 160
Inventory:
Auros: 0
Cards of Destiny: 5 of ?? Discovered
Names: 2
Gillygad, The Stiched-Up Wonder (Pitchfork)
Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress (Snake)
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I poured hot tea into a cup, and then a little into a saucer. My hands shook.
Aleister was sitting with me on the table, his white tail lazily swishing up and down.
“So you managed to summon the scarecrow. And extract help from him, too. Not an easy feat.” He said.
“How did you know?” I asked. “You did leave, right?”
Aleister didn’t say anything for a moment.
“I had arranged to, but at the last moment, I couldn’t in good conscience abandon the house.” Aleister said.
I frowned.
“I was hiding in a cabinet all night,” Aleister pointed towards the sink with his paw, “that cabinet in fact. Once morning came, I ran around trying to find you.”
I looked over to where he had pointed. It was very close to where I had hid myself while playing the Midnight Game.
“For a couple of minutes, we were practically neighbors.” I chuckled, but I didn’t think it was very funny.
“Adrian, I’m very sorry I could not assist you more. I wanted to help you, but I was afraid my presence might make the thing take you over, and give chase again. It was a terrible crucible to have to go through. Especially for a Sorcerer so young and inexperienced.” Aleister said.
“It’s okay.” I nodded, but I didn’t feel young and inexperienced. I felt old somehow, and like I knew too much. I looked out the kitchen window. I could see a green bush, and a cobbled road beyond. The windows which were all fogged up were clear now. But was what I saw there real?
Aleister caught me looking out the window.
“The interference of the Midnight Game must have broken through the enchantments. Naturally, you were supposed to unlock them yourself during the course of your initiation, but no one could blame you.”
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We sat there and enjoyed our tea. Aleister took furtive swipes at his saucer with his tongue.
“You were wrong about the scarecrow.” I said, thinking of the warning Aleister had given me.
“Obviously. I’m glad you didn’t heed my advice in that particular matter.” The cat said uncomfortably. It did not appear that he enjoyed being wrong.
“You couldn’t have known. But he doesn’t help defenseless things, like you said.” I tried organizing my thoughts. Everything in my head was swirling like a maelstrom.
Aleister didn’t say anything, but looked at me expectantly.
“He helps those who understand him, I think.” I finished lamely. That wasn't what I had meant to say. I meant to tell Aleister, somehow express the terrible truth of the nature of the world. I looked down at my hands. I could feel blood pumping through them, as I clenched and unclenched them into fists. What a convincing lie it all was.
“I am afraid you have me confused now. Quite a reversal of our usual roles.” Aleister said, waiting for me to go on with my explanation.
I didn’t have any more to say. I thought about Meredith the Tiny. Why did she confine herself to the form of a child? Perhaps this illusion was easier to bear, easier to understand when one is small and the mind is more malleable?
“I’m confused, too.” I finally said, and Aleister didn’t have anything to follow.
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Our food situation was still dire, but Aleister didn’t seem worried at that moment. Truthfully, I couldn't bring myself to worry either. Perhaps I could go begging out in town? Perhaps some nice kids would play in my yard and bring me apple pies and tuna sandwiches? Perhaps, perhaps.
I was hungry, but more so, I was tired. It was the middle of the day, but I found myself unable to keep my eyes open. Aleister tutted that I ought to get some rest, after the ordeal I went through.
The nest of quilts by the fireplace called to me, with its reassurance of safety, but hadn’t I seen bedrooms upstairs?
I stretched my back. It would be nice to sleep in something meant for sleeping in.
And what will I dream, while inside a dream? I shook my head to try to clear it.
Aleister and I made our way upstairs. The cat was keeping very close to me now, and I appreciated the company.
There were two bedrooms upstairs.
One was rather stately, and had a large bed, the posts intricately carved of wood. There were clothes neatly hung in a closet. Women’s clothes. I assumed this was the Sorceress’s room. I didn’t feel comfortable lingering there, so I moved on.
The other bedroom was much more modest. A smaller, metal frame bed and simple shirts and pants hung in the closet.
I looked around the humble bedroom, thinking it was probably my own. There was nothing in the way of identity, anywhere. No photos, no diaries, no pictures. It was as anonymous as a hotel room.
I had hoped, secretly, to find some clue as to who I was, but there was nothing like that here. Still, it would do for some sleep. The bed, simple as it was, felt comfortable. I laid down and shut my eyes. I felt Aleister settle down, and within moments I was asleep.
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I did dream. It was the first time I remembered dreaming since I woke up in this house.
I was sitting with someone on a picnic blanket. I could remember brown curls, soft as starlight, and the twinkle of blue eyes.
“I’m glad you won that game.” The person said.
“Thanks.” I said. There were blue flowers everywhere. Blue flowers with five petals, and a yellow center. I couldn’t clearly see who I was talking to, but I could see each blossom in detail.
The person sighed.
“I guess that means I should start making my plans to run away.”
I didn’t quite understand this.
“Run away from where?” I asked. It was nighttime, and the stars shone SO brightly above us. They were bearing down. I was afraid they might fall and crush us.
“Run away from the convent.” The person answered simply. “I’ll see you here, one day.”
“Where is here?” I asked, but the person didn’t respond. They plucked one of the blue flowers and held it up to me. I inhaled the delicate, sweet smell.
“Aren’t they pretty?” They said, as I took the flower.
“Yes. What are they?” I asked.
“Forget-me-nots.”
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I woke up and it was morning again. I was groggy and had lost my sense of time. I staggered out of bed, unsure of where and when I was.
I stumbled my way down to the kitchen, where Aleister sat. There was a chill in the air. I quickly made a fire while shivering.
My stomach rumbled, and I was smacked down into the reality of our situation. The cat and I would go hungry, if we didn’t figure something out.
“Cheerful should be back today,” Aleister started to say, “Maybe then…”
As if on cue, the bird burst into the kitchen, and flapped in a circle, chattering excitedly. I felt my mind flip upside down. It was too much, to have just mentioned the crow and have him fly in.
“So many things! So much news! So many new things!”
Cheerful kept twittering about news for a solid five minutes, never actually getting to the news themselves. It took a combined effort from Aleister and I to calm him down enough to tell us the news.
He had delivered the potion, which was really just a strong tea, to Ms. Arabella Flynn. As agreed, Cheerful only took half of what she offered. It turned out, half was four Castles.
The slender coins dropped on the table. I picked them up and examined them. They had the bust of a man on one side, and a picture of a castle on the other. They were perfectly round, and small, about the size of a ring. The metal was light; I guessed it was silver.
We were saved. We had money again, and could send Cheerful out to get food! This time, I would give the bird specific instructions for what he ought to buy. Nice as it was having Dandelions on hand for a potion, I didn’t want to risk spending our only money on something which Aleister couldn’t eat.
Cheerful said he was up for another trip. I started giving him detailed instructions.
“Get more fresh fish from Mr. Caskard, just two filets will do, since we don’t have any way to refrigerate them. Then, see if you can get cans of tuna or sausage or something…” I started saying.
“Surely, you ought not spend all your money on cat food.” Aleister butted in.
I nodded my head.
“Then see what you have left, and get… Hang on, will you be able to carry all that?” I was concerned.
“Yes, yes, I can carry it, I carry lots of things! I’m good at carrying, I carry stuff here, and I carry it there!”
“Right, then if you have any money left, maybe get some berries. See if there are any cherries, or strawberries, or-”
“Oh, oh, and the most important news!” Cheerful interrupted me. “I should tell you, I should, the most important news, I should tell you now, important news I learned is that-“
There were three raps on the front door. They were so loud, I could hear them clearly in the kitchen.
I froze, thinking of the Midnight Game, and how the monster had started by knocking on the door. It isn’t, I told myself. It isn’t that thing again!
I looked at Aleister, and he looked back at me with wide eyes. He must have been thinking the same thing. But then we both came to our senses. It was the middle of the day. Somebody was knocking on our door, but it surely couldn’t have been the grinning monster in the shadows.
“Let’s go see who it is.” Aleister said simply, and hopped off the table.
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