Finally, after a few days of travel, we reached a safe place. At least a place where we could rest at ease. Hunter, although he looked a little upset about the worm situation, it seemed that having found this place in the middle of nowhere had put him in a good mood.
The cabin was not very big, but definitely bigger since the last time I came here, over two decades ago; the owner must have expanded it while I was gone. Sure, if he's still alive, it's been 20 years since I was last here.
I knocked on the front door with Hunter behind me. The sound I caused by knocking on the door was quite pleasant, after having been listening to my voice for several days in a row, telling a story to an annoying beast every now and then or the static silence of the desert.
- "Is anyone home?"-I asked to the air.
Fortunately, my question was quickly answered by some pounding coming from inside the hut, like footsteps getting louder and louder.
- "You called this place your "home"; I hope it's cozier than that stick shelter; I don't plan to sleep in a bed built by you again,"- Hunter complained.
- "Blame me for the pain in the back of your neck, but you not knowing how to get comfortable in a makeshift bed is not my problem."
- "You son of a...!"
The door opened, and we both saw a man of small stature, with orange and corrugated skin, with clefts all over his body, his hair taking the shapes of ferns and of a toasted black color. He was dressed in very loose robes of the same color as the sand, similar to a toga.
- "Ermm... Spacetime? Is that you?" -
- "Yes, that's me. I thought I'd never see you again, Awyn. Can we come in?"
- "Sure! After what you did for me years ago, for my kind, how could I not let you in!"
- "Excuse us."
Both Hunter and I entered the cabin as Awyn greeted us graciously.
- "Psst Spacetime, who's that with the green eyes?"
- "His name is Awyn, an old friend I helped twenty years ago, you'll meet him."
- "I think Spacetime already beat me to introducing myself, come on, have a seat."
We sat in his living room, in the chairs that he had carved himself; there were several decorations made of wood, figurines of the other races of the planet exposed on a shelf, being illuminated by some candles. Incredibly, it was much cooler than outside, which seemed out of the ordinary for the desert, surely he implemented a ventilation system, he offered us some water to drink and we immediately began to chat.
- "I see you renovated the place, Awyn. It's quite nice, I have to admit."
- "Grateful for that, I had to go back up there to get more materials. I finally repaired those parts where this shack was flooded."
- "You must have had some progress with the formula over all these years, didn't you, how are you doing?"
- "It has been, a small, but important breakthrough, the formula is becoming more stable and..."
Hunter suddenly hit the table with his beastly claw hand, causing a loud clatter that stopped the conversation in its tracks by cracking the coffee table in the living room.
- "Could you please explain to me what you're talking about, I don't understand shit!" exclaimed the beast.
- "Ah... yes sorry I didn't introduce myself properly, Spacetime half introduced me, I thought that would be enough with that."
The orange-skinned man rose from his chair and with his left hand on his chest said.
- "My name is Awyn, the only alchemist this side of Küpperniko, and I am of the race of the Grøntsag,"-Said the man in a friendly manner, looking at Hunter curiously-"I assume you are one of the many Plys that fall from the other side of the planet, you were lucky to meet this fellow."
- "Grøntsag? Plys? what is that? Is it edible?"- Hunter asked.Immediately addressed Awyn to avoid confusion and things Hunter might say about me.
- "Excuse Hunter, he is a Ply, only in his tribe they prefer to call themselves "Beasts;" I rescued him near the border edge of Küpperniko, and he fell two days ago, didn't he, Hunter?
Discreetly, I threatened Hunter with my sword, lightly pressing the edge of it against his skin, just enough for him to feel it and half cut him.
- "What do you mea-... AH... YES... THAT'S RIGHT..." -Said Hunter forcibly
- "Hmmm," said Awyn intrigued, who walked to another room and returned a few seconds later with a book in hand, "I've never seen a Ply like you before, Hunter. You must come a long way."
Awyn sat back in his chair and opened the book, pointing to the illustration of a Ply. A furry creature of short stature, stoutly built, almost sphere-like, its face completely covered with fur, except for its eyes that glowed whether there was light or not.
Comparing it with Hunter, there are almost no similarities. But Awyn, unlike me, has not traveled to other worlds and compares with what he knows, nor knows of the existence of races other than those already registered, so it is best to believe that Hunter is one of them.
- "See this, these are the ones I call Plys, they live on the other side of the planet, on the other side of the border wall which, while not so high now, will be in a couple of days, the change of seasons came early this year." -Said Awyn-
Hunter looked at the book with intrigue. The book described in minute detail what their fur was like, color, feel and even taste. But what caught Hunter's attention the most was the "Transition" part.
- "What is that...?" said Hunter.
- "I thought this was general knowledge among Plys. It says here that when a Ply falls to the other side of the planet, i.e. here, its body starts to change drastically, the Ply loses all its fur and its body slowly turns into a Grøntsag, like Spacetime and Me,".
- "That's right, Awyn. That's right, the fallen Plys become Grøntsags, a kind of part-plant, part-animal life form, and it's not yet known what causes the transformation. But what we do know is..."- I said.
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- "That, if a Grøntsag were to climb all the way back to Ply's land, it would become one with nature and permanently become an ancient tree." -Completed Awyn. - "And that is why I am here, near the border, researching through alchemy how to become compatible again with the other side of the planet, returning to being Plys. The formula works temporarily; I have managed to make it last 5 hours up there, but I have not been able to achieve a permanent effect. I want to prevent those who fell here from being eaten by worms and other dangers of this desert, like your Hunter."-.
Hunter's face looked, would be, not angry... just... would be, as if he had remembered something.
- "Hey, I don't think I finished telling Hunter the story of how he ended up falling out of there."
- "HEY, BUT DON'T PUT IT THAT WAY! YOU LEAVE ME LIKE I'M AN IDIOT!"- Hunter exclaimed.
- "Well, if you put it that way... maybe."- I told him.
- "I wouldn't mind hearing a story from my favorite nomad; it will serve to relax me after spending so much time in the lab and solitude. Anyway, all of my kind live under the sand"- Awyn said.
- "Hunter, you have there the pieces of the worm we defeated, together. With mine that I saved I think it's enough for you to dine, don't worry about me or Awyn, we Grøntsag only need water to subsist. -I expressed to Hunter, winking at him so he would play along - "Let's see... where I left off.... Ah yes!".
- "Wait, wait... - Awyn interrupted me. - "Tell me all about it"-
Awyn got up again and went quickly to fetch a small notebook.
- "This is a unique opportunity to learn more about this Ply species and how the concoction behaved with you on your Spacetime journey. If I may."-
From his hair and foliage, he pulled a hollow branch that he used as a pen to write.
- "Okay... See, it all started a long time ago, like four days ago... help me, Hunter."
In a couple of hours, we told him in summary everything that happened before, adapting most of the story for him to understand. It got pretty late at night between everything Awyn had to write, and how we adapted everything to make sense.
- "It took longer than I expected...I think we'd better tell it in the morning, I'm tired." - Said Awyn- "You can stay in the room upstairs, I can't take it anymore. Happy night"-
Awyn walked to her room.
- "Happy evening"-I said to Awyn just before he closed his door, to immediately address Hunter. -"Hunter, we should go upstairs; I have something to tell you."
At the top of the stairs, we found a rather large room, with multiple single beds, its frame made of the same wood as the cabin, its mattress made of even smaller branches. Hunter and I each sat on different beds.
- "Eh... it's not that bad, I thought it was going to be worse" -Said Hunter. - "It was a bloody martyrdom telling that plant guy everything."
- "I worry about other issues at the moment, I don't even know how we will tell him the end of the story if it has to be adapted for him."
- "Bah, what does it matter! It's not like it's a matter of life and death, no, what's more, I'll go to sleep, you sort it out! I've already acted all afternoon for you, so don't bother me!"
Hunter lay down with his back to me; ready to sleep. I decided to ignore him and get to work on my own in the dim candlelight of the room.
- "You're still the same as always... but as much as I want to leave you, I need you" - I said between my teeth, whispered.
I reopened my Moebius bracelet in search of repairing even more of its functions, not having tools such as screwdrivers, soldering irons or tweezers has been a headache, the more complex functions such as multiversal localization were given for dead, but with a little effort, broken teeth, and sore fingers, I could rescue one of the last basic functions of the bracelet; The logs. I spent about three hours trying to repair that system until I finally succeeded.
- "With this I'll be able to see what happened"- I said to myself.
- "YOU COULD SHUT UP FOR ONCE, BETWEEN THE TERMITES AND METALLIC NOISES, ONE CAN'T SLEEP AT EASE."
- "You wake up just in time Hunter. I have good news, I got my trip log back, and I know what exactly happened that day, get ready for a narrative improvement, I won't have to give bad descriptions anymore."
- "Like I said, what do I care!"-
- "It should matter a lot to you, since "she" is here."
- "Don't tell me that... No, impossible."
- "Yes, your fight against the witch is here, so unless you want me to tell the whole truth to Awyn and the humiliating things that happened afterward. You'd better edit that part out."-
- "Shit... all for preserving the last of my honor I have left. Start counting it, and let's not waste time!"-
- "Way to go, Hunter."
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With all conflicts resolved and me out of the reptilian cave, I picked up the RPGear and slipped it into my pocket. Little did I know it wasn't fully deactivated.
When I surfaced, I was alone, there was no one but me and the night wind from Lydenfrost. I sat on the bleachers to send up the soul, just like last time.
"Strange... I spent so much time down there, it can't be, there must be someone nearby," I asked myself.
Soon, but not too late, my question was answered.
"The RPGear is... blinking."
It turns out the time that passes on the RPGear is 9 times longer than the time that passes in reality. The device kept blinking faster and faster, while all my surroundings changed rapidly; I watched as a day passed in seconds, as beasts entered and exited the coliseum at super speed; I felt like a ghost, a simple spectator watching others until the device stopped blinking and time began to flow normally. I remember appearing on top of a beast hippogriff, he was instantly annoyed with me, the loud sound of the coliseum crowd was stupefying, by this point in the day, it was time for the beast tournament my companions spoke of.
"BEASTS PRESENT HERE! AREEEE YAAAAALLLL READYYYYYYY" -The announcer exclaimed- "ON ONE SIDE WE HAVE THIS YEAR'S PRODIGY FINALIST, THE MYSTERIOUS WITCH OF THE SEVENTH RING AND ON THE OTHER SIDE WE HAVE THE HEIR TO THE THRONE BY DESCENT, LET'S HEAR IT FOR HUNTER WOLF.."
Hunter stood up and, from the king's special room, said.
"Awesome, you made it this far on your own, but you're going to need more than that to take the reign, your ultimate test will be..."
With one leap, he leaped out of the king's special room, landing hard on the sand, and then, he asked mockingly.
"Well, why don't you tell everyone here what your name is, we can't put in the history books the beating I'm going to give you without a name to humiliate you by."
The witch struck the ground with her claw, causing a shockwave that silenced the arena. A blinding glow emanated from her immediately, revealing that she was never a beast in the first place, but, rather, was a human, short of stature and red-haired, carrying a staff with a crimson gem embedded in its loosely symmetrical tip and wearing a coat of green tones and a dress of blue color as cold as ice.
Hunter tried to finish her off immediately, with a punch aimed at the woman's face. But she summoned a protective barrier with her magic that stopped the blow.
The audience was stunned, some booed and others could not believe their eyes, the red-haired woman looked around, raised her staff, and spoke to the audience and Hunter.
"Not so cheerful now that you see the truth, vermin! So much you want to know my name, listen to me first. For years my people have suffered attacks from your race, week after week, month after month, year after year! Our race has been enslaved and consumed by you for hundreds of years, but it is finally time for a change! When I proclaim myself the strongest in this entire realm, you and you hideous monsters will regret ever having existed, and you will be banished from your lands, just as you banished us, humans, centuries ago! "We will feed our own with your flesh, clothe our own with your skins, use your bones as toothpicks and decorate our walls with your heads" - said the witch.
"Answering your question, My name is Griezu! And I have come to defeat you, Hunter Wolf!"
Boos and insults fell on her, along with some wooden jugs.
"Look you spawn, we beasts are and always will be superior to your inferior race, humans are such idiots that it fits in their little empty heads the possibility of beating us, if you like history so much, go see if there is any human who has ever beaten a beast eh?"
"I did not come to relive the past, I came to forge the future, and if it is necessary to exterminate the beasts for a brighter future, so be it."
Griezu took his staff with both hands, pointing it at Hunter, in front of the staff an arcane circle had formed. The circle collapsed in on itself, and an attack of light emerged from the staff, a beam of light that impacted Hunter.
From the dust and debris, a green glow emerged, illuminating the entire arena, Hunter had survived the attack, he had severe burns and lacerations everywhere with his right hand resting on his chest clutching the source of that glow, a talisman that's imbued with soul energy, the source of his power.
Both Griezu and Hunter stared at each other from afar, the entire audience was on the edge of their seats with excitement, as a high-caliber battle was approaching.