The first thing was to talk to the pond dwellers. The fight earlier had caused a big ruckus, and those things had a way of rippling through the Deepshadow. As the closest thing to an alpha around here, he figured it was best to let them know what’d happened, and warn them of possible trouble. For the most part, they took it alright.
<<“Alright, guys. My traps are set up and you all know the score. Just be careful, okay?”>>
“You’re really worried, huh?” Meri squirmed a little as they finally left the pond, heading northeast. “Worried enough to make a whole announcement…”
“Well, I couldn’t just leave my friends in the dark. Nobody here’s up on the food chain, y’know?” Timothy tried to smile. “Hopefully I’m worrying over nothing.”
Meri hugged herself. “I didn’t think I’d cause so much trouble just comin’ in here. I’m real sorry, Timothy.” The message had really sunk in that she’d screwed up. Timothy squirmed a little at her obvious upset.
“Hey, hey, easy.” He said softly. “They live in the Deepshadow, they’re used to danger. It’s the Great Cycle at work.”
Meri sniffed, and wiped it away on her sleeve. “But I made it worse.”
“Well, yes.” He was hardly gonna lie to her. “But everyone that lives here wakes up knowing they might end the day in another monster’s stomach. Even me. They’ll be okay. Let’s worry more about getting you home safe, okay?”
It took a little for her to calm down and refocus. “Okay.”
Well, maybe this will cheer her up a little? Timothy thought as he read her into the next ward fence, allowing her to pass into his garden behind him. Here, the wards were different, and more complicated than his house wards. The forest up ahead looked unremarkable and dark… until they crossed the invisible line. Then, light bloomed all around them, filling the clearing with a strong, steady false daylight even greater than the glowbuzz light.
The woods here were open, with large distances between the large trees. Here and there, glowing mushrooms cast a sunny gold light in wide circles, illuminating patches of vegetables, herbs, and even flowers. Another branch of the same creek that fed his pond ran through, babbling gently. The air here smelled sweet and wild, the product of gentle wind through the flowers. And fluttering around the various plants were cheerful, buzzing Darkwood bees. They were soft with grey and black fluff, perfect for blending in among the trees of the wood. Their stingers glittered faintly in the light, but normally they’d be almost invisible. Even their buzzing was soft, with Timothy only catching it from experience.
Meri stepped back in surprise, passing back out the wards. “Woah!”
“Heh. Good wards, huh?” he smiled. “These’uns are just there to hide the light, and my bee buddies.”
“It’s crazy bright. What’s the deal with the mushrooms?”
He led her back through the wards. “Those’re Clustersuns. They’re rare mushrooms that mostly grow in the fairy territories.” Seeing the look on her face, he added, “I got mine from the Nightcaps, though.”
The dragoness looked at him, puzzled. “Nightcaps?”
“Mushroom folks. They’re small, like about up to your ankle, an’ live in a few scattered tribes around the forest.” He made a few hand gestures. “They’re not super friendly, but they’re willing to trade with me for poisons and junk.”
Her eyes widened. “Poison?”
“Yeah, they drink it.” The wolf couldn’t help but giggle at the look on her face. “I dunno why, they just like to. So I brew up the, um, good stuff in exchange for mushrooms they farm. Including these babies.”
“Being a witch must be so weird.”
“Only if you’re doing it right!” He winked.
“…So then why are we here?” Meri asked. “Not that it isn’t super pretty.”
“We’re here to talk to the bees, of course.” <<“Hey, Daffodil!”>> He addressed a particularly fluffy bee as it buzzed by.
<
<<“Same as ever, hon. Hey, would you mind lettin’ the queen know I need an audience?”>>
<
“Um, is she okay?” Meri looked nervous.
“Oh, yeah, she’s fine. Just give them a second, the Queen needs time to show up.”
Before Meri could ask anything further, Daffodil’s eyes went very wide and brighter than before. They were almost too bright, like there was burning light behind them. Timothy would think it was weird, if he weren’t so used to the queen’s entrances. The bee on his staff took off gracefully, flying up to eye level, and Timothy gave a slight bow. <
<<“Hello, your highness.”>>
Meri scrunched up her face in confusion. “Huh? But you just called her Daffodil. And I thought bee queens didn’t leave their hives or somethin’.”
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The witch glanced between the bee and his charge. “Huh, I’m impressed you knew that. Anyway, Deepshadow bee queens can kinda borrow their subjects when they need guidance.”
“Um… borrow?”
“Um… think of it like this. That’s still miss Daffodil in front of us, but the Queen’s in there too right now. They’re sorta sharing— the queen sees through her eyes, and can talk through her. I’ve heard dragons are kinda similar?”
Meri gasped. “Bees have a Great Link?”
“Yeah, that. Anyway, just a sec.” <<“Sorry, your highness, she doesn’t hear like me.”>>
<
<<“I just came to warn you to be on high alert tonight.”>> Timothy quickly explained the situation, describing that there had been a fight, and that the disturbance had been worryingly loud. <<“I think the garden wards will keep you safe, but you may wish to keep your bees in the hive tonight anyway.”>>
<
The witch smiled in relief. The queen was quicker on the draw than he was. The magic nectars were in fact potions— ones that were little more than storage for magic energy, <<“I think that’d be wise. Thank you for listening, your majesty.”>>
<
<<“Ah… I’ll certainly try, at least.”>> He said lamely. Daffodil’s eyes returned to normal a moment later, and after a few more bee pleasantries, she fluttered off to her duties. It was time to go.
---
“How do bees talk?”
“A mix of buzzes an’ flight patterns.”
Traveling with Meri was a new experience for the witch, in a day of new experiences. Timothy'd barely seen another being for seven years, let alone spoken with one. His only company had been the monsters of the wood, and while many were fairly smart critters, they weren't exactly big on talk for talking’s sake. Except for the fairies, and the mere thought of'em made Timothy shudder. And now here he was with a little dragon who could jabber his ear off while keeping up a steady walking pace. The kid was curious about everything they passed! Timothy had to keep them kind of quiet, but he did answer a lot of questions.
“So how come you’re a witch and not a wizard?”
“‘Cuz I like talking to beasts more than reading magic books.”
“How come you don’t wear a witch hat?”
“Technically, any hat I wear is a witch hat.”
“Yeah, but witches don’t wear hoods! It’s like, wrong or something.”
“Hoods are more practical! And besides, I tried weaving a witch hat once. It made a better beehive than hat.”
“Do you really have spider friends?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re very sweet, clever little things once you get used to’em. Well, and to eating bugs with’em.”
“Eww!!!”
Things like that. Despite himself, it was actually kinda fun. The kid was lively and energetic to a fault, and even though he did wish she’d keep her voice down, it was really nice to hear a friendly voice at all. He couldn't imagine someone like Meri back with the Vol-- they'd probably have been smacked around by village elders constantly. Y'know, like he’d been. Fresa must be a good place to grow up. Anyway, keeping her talking quietly would probably help keep her calm and the journey short, so…
“Do witches go to like, witch school or something?”
“We do an apprenticeship, actually. A master witch trains us to be full witches.”
“So… that means you know what Anima magic is?” Meri asked innocently.
“Anima magic is the magic of the spirit, the aspect of motion and animation.” Timothy recited. “All things have spirits, and we can create enchantments to interfuse with them, out of the same stuff our spirits are made from.”
“And Force?”
“Force magic deals with manipulating and conjuring the elemental forces of the world around us. Makin’ shields, throwing fireballs around, even complicated stuff like energy constructs.” Timothy shook his head. “Meri, c’mon, I’m a full witch. You don’t gotta test me.”
“Yeah, but I’m curious and bored! What about Psyche?” The wolf decided to humor her.
“Psyche is the manipulation of emotions, minds, and personalities with magic. Puttin’ the whammy on someone with suggestions, stopping that with brain spikes, even good stuff like telepathic links. It’s complicated and dangerous, but thankfully countering it is easier than doing it. It’s also super illegal, except in self defense, Meri.”
“You’re not gonna let me forget that, are you? Life.”
Timothy rolled his eyes. “Healing magic. Biomancy. The manipulation of the elements of life, from vital energy to spiderwebs to bones to plant… stuff.”
“An’ necromancy!”
“Eh, a lot of that’s anima, actually. Not that I know how to do it,” he said at the eager look on her face.
“Aww… okay, um… Alchemy.”
“The study and practice of making stuff into other stuff. How substances react and change. Transforming things.” He smirked. “Occultism?”
“Er…”
“Beep!” He said after a moment. “The answer is: weird stuff that falls outside the other categories. Ritual magic. Rule magic. Warping. Futzing with natural laws. Information magic.” Meri stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m impressed you have them all mostly memorized, though.”
Meri smiled brightly. “When I grow up, I wanna be a wizard so I can study monsters! Like a biomancer, or a tamer!”
“Or a witch.” Timothy said thoughtfully.
“Eh, maybe. But I gotta know my magic first if I wanna do it!” She cheerily hopped behind him. “So I study lots when I can!”
“Good on you.” And he meant it. “You study monsters, too?”
She blushed. “W-well, I listen to monster stories on the radio…” Uh-huh.
The path they took was windy and rough, moreso than the one he'd usually take. The Deepshadow was pathless, of course. Nobody else really lived here to lay one down. Best you’d find were the occasional game trail, and the curgar tracks— though steering clear of those was always a good idea. To go to the southern border, he’d normally have carefully followed several game trails, swung across some chasms with magic, and maybe scorched through a few Spikerot thickets. It wasn’t a straight path, but it was as close as one could get. Of course, normally, the monsters would be quieter, and he wouldn’t have a very slow tail behind him.
“H-how are you doing that?” Meri panted, and the wolf turned back in confusion. The little girl was struggling to make headway without twisting her ankle in the underbrush. By contrast, Timothy flowed easily back to her side, making barely a sound.
“Years of practice.” He shook his head. “Can’t teach that in a day, sadly—“ Then before he felt a familiar, wet chill creep on them. “Meri, get down!” Timothy pulled Meri down prone yet again, flopping hard into the thick undergrowth. The cold grew heavier and heavier on their bones, several nearby plants turning brittle and icing over. With a wave of his free hand, he tossed a nearly invisible cloak of magic over them. A filtering spell, designed to keep things in rather than out. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep!”
Moments later, a Nightmare drifted into view.