“Ate… too… much.” Ivy groaned in pain as she rolled over on the table. Meleri poked her head out from the kitchen where she was making dessert. “Yeah, well, I warned you to not eat so much. I take it you don’t want any Dessert?” Ivy just let out a pained groan in response. I shook my head. She was getting no pity from me.

“She does not get any dessert if it contains sugar. Sugar and Pixies is a nightmare combination. Think hyperactive kid on a sugar rush, and a cat with the zoomies, fused and then amped up another 20 notches. Not that I think she could get anything down even if I let her.”

Meleri popped her head back out. “Well, I’m not surprised, considering she ate enough for about a four people, and by people I mean humans, gluttonous ones at that. Man, am I glad I made as much as I did, as we don’t have any leftovers either.” I looked at Ivy for a bit more. “Well, thanks to a certain guest, we seldom, if ever have leftovers. I will admit, though, this is the first time I have ever seen her full, let alone having eaten too much. You should take that as a compliment.”

Meleri emerged from the kitchen with a bowl filled with… “How in the world? I am positive I was out of cocoa, let alone enough to make that much chocolate pudding. And the same goes for the vanilla for vanilla sauce to have as a condiment.” Meleri just showed a dazzling grin as she presented the pudding, and motioned for us to help ourselves. Everyone, except Ivy, filled our bowls.

It was quite the treat indeed. “You never cease to impress me, sis. I mean it.” She put her own bowl down. “I must admit this was pretty decent given the lack of modern equipment. I am impressed at how the temperature always seemed perfect once it got up in heat....” Her voice trailed off as she looked at me. “It’s magic, isn’t it?” I nodded. “I got sick of only having one temperature, so I enchanted the stove to always have the perfect temperature for whatever is being cooked, be it in the stove itself, or on the plates on top.”

Meleri picked up her bowl and began getting a second helping of pudding. “Not a bad idea, all things considered. Somehow feels like cheating, though.” I didn’t really know how to respond to that, so I just shrugged. With dessert done and the dishes and cutlery sent into the kitchen to get washed, I leaned back in my chair. “Now, then, where was I in our tale?”

There was a moment of silence. “We just finished the complete debacle with meeting Erydhe and Ilmahir.” Soot looked up from his own bowl, with a piece of finely cut meat in his beak. He, Midnight and Winter all got bowls of some kind of succulent meat for dessert, which the three seemed to enjoy, rather than risk the cocoa. He devoured it instantly. “So, unless I am mistaken, next up for interesting events should be… Well, I would say the spring of 348, but neither of us can remember the damn recipe even with magical aid. So then it should be…”

Jaira cleared her throat. “Well then, next up should be my darling little Winter and me, then shouldn’t it?” Soot nodded, before he resumed his dessert in silence. Hmm, was it now? I felt like I was forgetting something. “Hmm, not entirely. There is one thing that happened beforehand.”

Midnight perked up. “Oh, right… that!” Winter and Jaira both looked confused, while Soot tilted his head for a moment before he remembered too. “Man, how did I forget that? Ugh, must be getting forgetful in my old age.” Meleri, Miva, Jaira and Winter all looked annoyed. “Come on, spill it already.”

I grinned. “The event in question was my honorary inclusion in the Courts.” That got a reaction out of Ivy, who, despite still suffering from her over indulgence, sat up. “Oh, right… that stuff. Owie… Man, if you weren’t around, I don’t think the forest would still be around, let alone the rest of the region.” This earned me confused looks from those too young to have been a part of it. I called a mug of cold fruit juice and a few glasses from the kitchen with magic, then leaned back in my chair as Soot landed on my shoulder and Midnight jumped into my lap. I gently petted both of them before I took a sip of my glass. “It’s a right mess of a thing really, but I guess we should start at the beginning, shouldn’t I?”

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“Thanks for another great festival, Nettle, Lily. It’s been great, as always.” The two smiled. “And thanks to you as well, Ms. Morgana. We will make good use of the beeswax you gave us.” The two waved as I, Soot and Midnight jumped on the broom to begin our trip home. As we did, the ground shook. “What in the-?” I wasn’t the only one to look around confused, either.

There were, however, two individuals who seemed more worried than confused, and they were moving towards us through the shaking with no issues what-so-ever. “Ms. Morgana a moment…” “…if you please.” I looked at the two of them. “Erydhe, Ilmahir. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Erydhe waved me off. “Save us your pleasantries for when…” “… We have less pressing matters.” Alright then. They were not in a good mood, it seemed.

“Fine then, I will be blunt instead. What do you want?” I could see a muscle twitch underneath Erydhe’s left eye for a moment, while Ilmahir suppressed a smile. “Not…” “… Here.” Well, this couldn’t be good. I took a deep breath. “Lead the way then.”

They shook their heads. “Broom.” Really? Alright then. “Soot, Midnight, we have to leave early. Hurry now.” I called out and a few moments later both arrived. Soot was followed by a grumpy-looking Ivy. “Hey, what gi- oh, never mind me. I apologize for speaking up in your presence without your permission, your highnesses!” Ivy gave a terrified trill before zooming off back home.

The two ignored Ivy’s antics, too intent on whatever brought them here, which meant it was serious. I hopped on my broom, while Midnight perched herself on my lap and Soot on my shoulder. A few moments later, the three of us were flying towards the mountain range to the north.

About half an hour later, we were flying above one of the larger peaks. “This isn’t the first…” “… Time, this has happened.” The two pointed down at the mountain below. “Last time that happened, the mountain…” “… Burst into liquid flame…” “… Tell us, Witch who align with Them…” “… Do you know a way…” “… To stop whatever…” “… Beast that does this?” I looked down at the mountain, now with a sinking feeling.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“By catch fire, do you mean an explosion followed by a rain of ash, molten rock and stone?” The two looked at each other and nodded. “Last time our Court and the forest…” “… Both were almost destroyed by the attack.” I took a deep breath. “I… know the cause. But I cannot say if I know a way to stop it.” The two looked at each other, but remained quiet, waiting for me to continue.

I took a deep breath. “There is no horrific subterranean monster causing all this. That there…” I pointed at the mountain below. “Is a volcano, and one that is active to boot. Considering the quaking, I’d say that’s a signal of an imminent eruption.” “Volcano?” the two seemed confused by the term.

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“Woah, hang on Darling, the Sirdis mountain range is volcanic?” I looked at her with a wry grin. “At least some of it is, though I suspect even the smaller hills were created by ancient volcanic activity. That being said, though, seeing as my hut is still here, it should be obvious the volcano’s eruption didn’t reach this far, if there were any.” Jaira looked at me with an annoyed expression. “And now, of course, you’ve made me curious. Continue the tale, then.”

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“Let’s find a spot to land. This will require some drawing to illustrate my points.” A few minutes later, we were back under the trees beneath the mountain. The two Fae wanted to land on the caldera, but there was no way I’d land in an area potentially covered in toxic gas.

I pulled out some parchment and ink and drew a rough outline of a mountain. And a volcano side by side, including the magma chamber deep beneath the volcano itself, and explained how it worked and what the cause of an eruption was. The two listened intently. Ilmahir took the parchment and studied it intently.

“So… any ideas on how to prevent the eruption?” It was unusual to hear him speak alone. "I… have a theory, but with no way to actually tell if it will work." Erydhe looked at the sketch some more. “Can’t I just use ice magic to cool all the lava in the magma chamber, cool it down and stop the pressure from increasing?” I shook my head immediately.

“That would just make matters worse. The lava and stone within the chamber is super-heated by the sheer pressure and internal temperature, far beyond the capability of even the best forges. To introduce ice magic into the mix would have… horrific results.” The two looked skeptic, so I launched into a tale of the doomed island Krakatoa and how its eruption culminated with the entire island vanishing off the face of the earth because seawater breached the magma chamber and caused a chain reaction.

“So a sudden shift in temperature would likely cause a similar result here. And given the size of this volcano… Well, if the entire mountain went up, it would flatten even Nekkal with the initial fallout, along with the Court, Nettledale and my home. And the rest of the world would see strong temperature drops for the next decade, if not longer. I shouldn’t need to tell you how bad that would be.” The two remained quiet, but I could see they were tense. “I… have a suggestion, however. I give no guarantee it will work, but it’s the best I got given what we have to work with here.”

Erydhe and Ilmahir looked at me with unreadable expressions. “Go on, then.” They said in unison. “Now geology is not my forte by any means, but I remember a little something my old teacher told me about lava and magma. To stay molten, it needs two things: extreme heat, and movement. Remove either from the equation, and it hardens in short order. And since lava is just molten rock, any Geomancer, or Geomancers of sufficient skill and power should be able to force it to remain still. Which would seal the breach from the mantle into the magma chamber shut. That’s the theory, anyhow.” The two seemed interested and motioned for me to go on.

"However, this idea has some… issues. First, getting to the magma chamber itself. Breaching it is a no-go, doing so would give the pressure within an outlet and, well…" My voice trailed off, but the two clearly got the point. “The second issue is that the chamber itself would be hot enough to mummify anyone entering it within seconds. Not to mention the air within, should there be any, would be poisonous to the extreme. If those three points could be solved, I’d say we would have a decent chance of turning this here volcano into a dormant one, at worst, or just a regular mountain, at best. Now, I would love to help with that, but given the sensitive nature of such an operation, I would recommend leaving it to experts on such elements, which I most certainly am not.”

The two looked at each other. “Agreed. This plan is…” "… Most satisfactory. Should it succeed…" “… You will be rewarded.” The two took each other’s hands and vanished. “Well, goodbye to you too…” My voice trailed off as it was just me, Soot and Midnight left in the clearing. “Well, I guess all we can do is wait and see now.”

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Jaira looked towards the distant mountains that barely poked up over the treeline. “I am surprised that the tremors from the mountain would reach all the way to Nettledale, given the distances involved.” Soot flapped over and landed on her head, then leaned down into her sight line. “It’s the Guardian Tree, its roots stretched for miles underneath the ground, including all the way to the mountain. The tremors were replicated by the tree as a warning to the inhabitants of Nettledale about the danger. Guardian Trees can do stuff like that.” His black eyes were glittering with fascination as he spoke.

Soot always found natural instances of magic intriguing. Jaira reached up and scratched Soot on the neck. “Guardian tree, you mean that enormous tree that the giant spiders live in?” Soot chirped happily. “Indeed. Quite a few of those scattered around various Fae communities. They warn the Fae of danger and the like, though what exactly the Tree itself gets out of it is beyond me. Say, do you know Ivy? … Ivy?” He glanced over to where Ivy was lying on the table, sleeping. Food induced coma, no doubt.

I glanced at the clock. “Alright, I guess that’s enough for tonight. Those who want enchanted dreams should line up, while the rest should start making ready for bed.” Soot flew over to the table. “What about Ivy?” I gestured towards her and she slowly, gently levitated towards her small bed. “That should do it.” Winter and Midnight flew over to me for their usual goodnight scratches, then went to their roost and basket respectfully. Then I turned my attention to Miva, Meleri, and Jaira.

“Alright, you three, some enchanted dreams coming up.” I began casting the spell, and a few moments later Jaira was walking out the door, while Miva and Meleri were making ready for bed. I glanced over at the clock. It was almost eleven pm. It was decidedly time to get to bed, alright.