“Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.”
Oscar Wilde, Irish Poet
The balloon carried them through the uncharted territory deep into the night. Except for a few minute spits of land, there was little more than bare ocean beneath them. Cautious not to let her reserves dip below half, Milly took frequent breaks to allow her magic to recharge. At those times, she let the balloon simply drift on the local breeze, often circling the same spot in the ocean, though it was hard to tell without landmarks to orient herself.
It was during one such rest that Milly came to understand why the Orianes did not travel on the ocean. As she stared down at a pod of dolphins playfully zipping across the waves, an ominous shadow appeared below them. Twice the size of the Dragon of Endless Shadows, the monstrosity erupted from the depths of the ocean and swallowed the entire pod whole before they had time to react. As it breached the water, all Milly could focus on was the gaping maw of razor teeth that rose a hundred feet into the air before crashing back down into the water.
“So… we’re not going anywhere near the water, right?” Milly said to Coco as she threw another piece of coal into the burner to increase their elevation.
Coco barked her agreement, never taking her eyes off the ripples that spread out across the water as the monstrosity receded back into the depths.
As the sun set in the west and the stars emerged in the sky above, they intersected a gentle northwesterly current. Milly let her magical current fade away and they slowly floated on the natural current towards – more or less – their destination. The heat of the day had faded away, and a slight chill had settled in the balloon.
“I hope we’re headed in the right direction,” Milly said casually as she opened the vegetable sack and lit the small cooking stove. Its single burner barely fit the small iron pot that came with the kit. The whole apparatus was smaller than Milly’s lap. “It’s hard to tell with nothing but water beneath us.”
The talent web appeared abruptly in front of Milly and zoomed in on the Exploration section and a beginner talent labelled ‘Celestial Navigation’.
Milly quickly dismissed it. “Sorry, but that seems like a waste of a talent point.”
Coco gave Milly a concerned look and gazed up at the stars.
“I’m sure we’ll find our way,” Milly said, though her confidence wavered slightly. “I need those points for other, more important, things.”
Coco rolled her eyes and gave her a little chirp.
“Hey, that sexy magic talent was important,” Milly protested as she filled the pot with water and added the last of the boar meat from her inventory. “I mean, it could be useful… if I get home. Cally will like it. You know what? That’s none of your business.”
Coco dug into one of the sacks and carried over a mouthful of vegetables, plopping them down in Milly’s lap. Milly casually threw one the air and used razor-thin blades of air to remove the tough outer skin and carve it into pieces. The peeled, sliced vegetable fell into a pile on her lap, and the tough skin settled beside her.
As she scooped the vegetables into the pot and started to peel another, Coco suddenly scarfed down the tough peels left over from the first.
“Coco! Darn it, I just removed those berries from you last night. You know you don’t have a stomach to…”
Milly paused and looked into the undead capybara’s eyes.
“Coco… are you… hungry?” Milly asked, concerned.
Coco replied with a sad little whistle, still chewing on the peels. She hadn’t wanted to make a fuss.
“Oh, Coco, I didn’t know,” Milly said, aghast at her oversight. She gently grasped Coco’s head near her ears and closed her eyes, following the magical tether that bound them together. She weaved her way through the magic, until she found a solution. Only the solution made her gravely uncomfortable.
Deep within the magic – within Coco – was an emotional switchboard that Milly could manipulate to alter Coco’s mind. She could turn off the feeling of hunger Coco was experiencing, but also increase her aggression, turn off pain receptors, or even dim her self-preservation instinct. She could even erase her memories or implant new ones.
The realization that she had the power to alter Coco’s personality on such a fundamental level filled her with horror.
“Coco… I can turn off your hunger, but I won’t unless you want me to,” Milly said. Although she had the power, she wasn’t willing to change Coco without her permission. The moment she did so, Coco stopped being her companion and was little more than an object. A slave.
Coco agreed with a little chirp, and Milly flicked the mental hunger switch. As she did, Coco pulled away from Milly’s grasp and expelled the tough peels over the side of the balloon. As the last peel fell, the capybara waddled over to Milly and laid her head across the witch’s lap, now content and no longer hungry.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Milly scratched between Coco’s ears as her stew began to bubble. “Next time, just let me know, okay?”
They sat like that in silence, the stew simmering away until the vegetables were soft and the meat was tender. As the moon rose high into the sky and reflected off the ocean below, Milly ate straight from the pot, savoring its simple flavors. It wasn’t as good as Billy’s cooking – not even close – but she thought she did a pretty good job for someone who, before this, subsisted off ramen, potatoes, and peas.
“See, I’m learning more than just magic,” Milly said proudly as she finished off the last of the broth. “Look at me becoming a fully functioning adult.”
Milly yawned, as the exhaustion of the day finally settled in.
“Coco, can you keep watch? I need to get some rest. Wake me if you see anything, or if this current dies down or changes direction.”
Coco chirped and climbed on the stepstool, her nose peaking over the side of the basket as she scanned their surroundings. Milly chuckled, the scene utterly adorable, as she pulled out her blankets and pillow and wrapped herself in their warmth.
A minute later, her snores filled the balloon, as it slowly drifted on the breeze across the ocean.
* * *
Oracle Tear detected. Location: Isle of [no name designated]. Direction: 10 miles due east.
Milly was roused by Coco’s gentle nudge. It was the cusp of dawn – the sun just barely peaking over the eastern horizon. A red glow wafted over the waters as the early rays promised another sweltering day.
It took Milly a few seconds to focus. She’d been in the middle of a wonderful dream. She’d been back home with Cally, the love of her life laid out, spread eagle, on their bed as Milly’s new sexy magic arched between her fingertips. She could still hear Cally’s moans in her head and…
Milly abruptly sat up, flushed.
Fuck… that was hot… I really need to get home.
Coco tugged at the sleeve of her gown and gave a quiet, impatient bark. The capybara headed over to the eastern side of the basket and poked her nose over the side.
Milly’s Spectacles of Hidden Design flashed, and she saw the message scrolling across the bottom of the lenses of her Spectacles of Hidden Design like a news ticker.
What the hell is an Oracle Tear? It must be something to do with the goddess. These are her glasses. Are they able to detect things that belong to her?
Milly headed to Coco’s side and stared out at a cluster of three circular islands ten miles to the east. The islands were tiny – each less than a half a mile in diameter. White sandy beaches ran the circumference of each, and beyond that lay densely packed tropical trees and ferns. Each island had a small mountain at its center – only five hundred feet high but taking up more than half of the island’s surface. Its white slopes rose quickly from the forest below before flattening out, their tops covered by forest. The water around the islands were a beautiful turquois – a stark contrast to the deep blue of the ocean around it.
“Should we go stretch our legs?” Milly said as she channeled a current to carry them towards the island.
The ticker at the bottom of her glasses continued to update as they grew closer.
Oracle Tear detected. Location: Isle of [no name designated]. Direction: 5.6 miles due east.
The ticker acted like a compass, adjusting its direction as they shifted in the wind. Curious, Milly altered the current to draw them north, and the ticker adjusted its direction to ‘4.4 miles southeast’.
The tear is on the furthest island to the east. That’s handy – and foreboding. My glasses will lead me right to it, but what awaits me when I get there?
“Coco, we’ll land the ballon on the southern-most island,” Milly decided as they sailed into the center of the three islands. “We can scout out the eastern island from there.”
Milly navigated the balloon close to the southern island and calmed her wind. She switched her magic to create the film of air around her and, before Coco had time to react, Milly leaped over the edge of the basket. Coco went into a panic, until Milly flew up and hovered outside of the balloon.
Coco spewed an angry stream of grunts and squeals at her witch, who held up her hands apologetically.
“I’m sorry, Coco. I forgot you hadn’t seen me fly like this yet,” Milly laughed apologetically. She did a flip in mid-air and twirled, her gown flowing out around her. “Pretty neat, right? Much better than rocket-style.”
Coco was not impressed.
“Oh, you silly little worry wart. You’ve seen me teleport – you know I’d be fine. Where did you pick up such language anyway?” Milly asked, as she leaned into the basket and grabbed one of the two tether lines.
Coco gave her a final, sharp grunt and propped herself up to look over the edge.
“Hold on,” Milly chuckled, as she flew towards the southern island, dragging the balloon along behind her. She spotted an overhand high up on the cliff that would give them a perfect view of the eastern island.
Five minutes later, she tied the balloon tightly to a palm tree and lifted Coco down from the basket. They stood on the overlook, side-by-side, as Milly studied the island.
Oracle Tear detected. Location: Isle of [no name designated]. Direction: 0.58 miles northeast.
The trees of the eastern island swayed in the gentle breeze, except for a single patch atop the mountain that shook as if it were in a hurricane – a patch that slowly circled perimeter of the cliffs.
Each time it moved, the directions on the ticker adjusted to follow.
Milly sighed deeply.
“Of course. Why would it be easy? Why would the tear just be lying in the open, when it could be guarded by a monster,” she complained, resigned to what had to be done. She didn’t consider simply leaving the tear behind. It was something that came from Oracle, so she knew it was important.
She shrouded herself in the layer of air once more, anxious to get this over with.
“Stay here and guard the balloon, Coco. I should be back soon,” Milly said, standing at the edge.
She leapt off the cliff, and flew towards the eastern island, ready for a fight.