Two days of travel passed, and Haze was right. When Seven wanted to get somewhere fast, she got there fast. By sunset on the second day, I could see several large pillars of ash towering high in the air, backlit with a red sky and orange lightning jumping around the black clouds, occasionally striking the destroyed peaks below, causing another billowing tower of ash to erupt from the volcanic mountains.
I stood on the ship’s foredeck and watched the water below slowly turn black from ask, and the land in the distance get closer. The soft thud of Granny Sheji’s bamboo staff on the wooden deck drew my attention, and I turned to watch her struggle up the steps of the deck and join me. She looked out to the swiftly darkening horizon and sighed a long, melancholy sigh as though she could see everything before us, even without working eyes.
I waited for her to say something, but when she said nothing, I decided to ask a question I’ve been wondering for a while now, “Granny, why does everyone show you so much respect and reverence?”
“To respect elders not bad,” Granny Sheji said with a light chuckle.
“True, but yours seems overly respectful. Why is that?”
Granny Sheji sighed again and looked down at the deck before saying, “Long story it is. Tell later I will. Other questions you have.”
“Fine,” I grumbled and asked, “Why did you decide to have me call you Granny?”
Granny Sheji chuckled ruefully and said, “Said before you have. Others overly respectful they are. Not you. No, not you. To me, speak normally to you do. Enjoy that, I do. You to stop adding honorifics, I wanted. Seemed fitting Granny did.”
I chuckled along with the little old lady and said, “Well, you didn’t have to trick me into it, but I won’t argue.”
We stood in companionable silence for a few moments after that, and Granny Sheji asked, “A favor I may ask of you?”
“Sure,” I said without hesitation.
“For long time, work my eyes do not. Scenery, describe it?” Granny Sheji asked.
I took in a deep breath, turned toward the closing shoreline, and said, “A whole mountain range lay before us. Dozens of mountains spew ash into the air, casting the world into darkness. Lighting dances throughout the extensive clouds like a dragon in battle with an invisible foe or even a giant. The water below is full of ash, and floating rocks like a great battle had just occurred here.”
Granny Sheji smiled at that and said, “Tongue of a poet, you have. Practice more, you should.”
I chuckled and shook my head, exasperated, “No, I should help Guru Shi’en first. We are on the precipice of war. I can feel it. Right now, we need him.”
Granny Sheji held my arm with an iron grasp and said, “Helping, you are. Helping, you will. Be patient, you must.”
I took a deep, calming breath and relented, “All right, Granny Sheji. I’ll listen to you.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The ship lurched a moment later, and I nearly felt my lunch come up as I suddenly felt my motion sickness for once on this trip. Turns out that being distracted with a lot of fresh air really helps with motion sickness. I turned around and saw Seven giving orders to her crew. I quickly made my way to her and saw Haze and Orrin already with her, and the rest of team Fiery Heart were already moving to join them.
“Why are we stopping?” I asked the moment I got close enough to ask.
“The ash,” Seven answered as though that explained everything.
“Okay? What about it?” I asked, trying again.
Seven sighed, “The ash is too thick. If we get any closer to those mountains, there won’t be enough light to fly with. If we land, that will be the last landing my ship does.”
I cocked my head at this, “But wasn’t it just as dark in Niflhiem?”
“Yes and no,” Haze answered, and I turned to her, “The clouds over Niflhiem were made of steam and water vapor. Ash, specifically volcanic ash, is a mixture of rock, glass, and other minerals. No light gets through.”
“So, what now?” Scarlet asked as she and the rest of the team joined us.
“We fly there and split up,” Haze said, “Shiro, Cami, and Scarlet, you three go to the north end of the mountain range. Xiao, Jax, Leila, and Shersha, you four check the southern end. Zeana, Orrin, and I will take the middle of the range. We are looking for a large cave system high in the mountains. The mountain will only be semi-active and not erupting.”
“What the fuck does semi-active mean?!” Shiro asked, sounding his usual level of angry.
“It means there will be magma, and it won’t be erupting. The gorgons like the heat and live up high. So, that’s what we’re looking for, and if you find any, don’t look in their eyes and cut off their head.” Haze answered quickly and simply so everyone could follow. With a clap, she said, “If you find one, shoot off a flare spell! We will not fail! And we will retrieve the cure for our ailing allies! Let us move now!!”
We all yelled our approval at her simple speech and, as one, team Fiery Heart shifted our bodies into our monster forms. I grew out two more tails and four three-and-a-half meter-long wings as my body grew into the more adult version of myself. My clothes sadly couldn’t change with me, so it was a bit tight, with my shirt exposing my ripped abs and barely covering my chest and my pants only going down to my knees.
Everyone stared at me for a moment, and I suddenly felt very awkward. I covered my belly and asked, “What are you staring at? Wait … is … is this my voice in this form?” my voice deepened. Not deep like a guy’s voice but deep like a young woman’s voice instead of my usual high, childish voice. In fact, I sound kind of hot with this voice. I think I can make it sultrier and add a little purr if I want. Wait! Why am I thinking that?! No, no, no! Bad thoughts, don’t get off on yourself! AHH! That’s even worse!
As I had my existential crisis, everyone continued to stare at my glow-up, and Cami was the first to ask the eternal question, “Okay … why did you change your form to look like a really hot chick with wings that could grate cheese with her abs?”
I froze, taken out of my reverie for a moment, and brushed a lock of hair back, which promptly fell because I had no human ears to hold it. Then I answered, “Well, it turns out that after I ate so many praying mantises, my body grew, and since I became a friend of spirits, my hair changed, too. It all happened overnight, and I just decided to stay in my normal nine-year-old body rather than aging.”
“Oh, so that’s why your hair is blue at the tips now. I thought it was just Orrin’s barber that did that for you,” Cami said, slightly surprised.
“Gah! Enough of this! Let’s move! We can gawk at Zeana later!” Haze yelled and stomped my way with Orrin close behind her.
“YES, GRANDMASTER HAZE!” everyone said hurriedly and began to take off.
I channeled power to my wings and felt Haze climb onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck. I grabbed Orrin under his arms just before slowly rising into the air and turning toward the shore. Scarlet, Shiro, and Cami all flew off to my left, while Xiao, Jax, Leila, and Shersha turned to fly off to my right, and I flew straight ahead as fast as my lightning-covered wings could carry us.
***