Samara Stupid sword. Samara couldn't figure out how to work this thing. She figured Excalibur would solve everything. She thought she'd take one swing and the skies would open up and bolts of heavenly fire would purge the world of evil. This was Excalibur, right? The legendary sword of kings. So why the hell were these wolves still attacking? They should be cowering in fear. Don't they know what this is? Samara thought as she fought alongside the others. It wasn't working. The sword was light and incredibly easy to swing, but also completely ineffective. It passed right through the wolves, who seemed to be unfazed by it. She did, however, notice that they tried to dodge it after taking a few hits. It must be doing something, right? If not, why would they bother avoiding it? Either way, it didn't matter. Excalibur was the least of their worries; any wolves who got too close took a crystal fist to the snout or a boot to the tail. Samara pushed forward from the circle, trying to draw some of the heat off of the others. It was working, but she was quickly being overwhelmed. More and more wolves piled onto her, until she was nearly buried in a furry mound of claws and fangs. She could feel them seeking out every gap in her armor, scratching and prying at any exposed flesh they could find. Everything smelled like wet dog. When the unicorns arrived, Samara was on her knees, swinging Excalibur wildly in one hand while the other was grabbing wolves by the scruff of their necks and trying desperately to throw them off. The wave of majestic creatures nearly trampled her but their hooves and horns expertly found only wolf flesh, leaving her unscathed. Couldn't have been mere luck. Shocked and awed, she was already bowing before Nora ordered the others to do so. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Samara thought, gripping Excalibur tightly. Who would've thought the legendary sword could summon unicorns! Awesome! I will never doubt your greatness, Excali- "...The unicorn herd has been hunting dark creatures for days now and they felt the surge of Darkness in Greenwood and came as swiftly as they could," Nora said. Oh... well... that's interesting. "Stupid sword," Samara muttered under her breath as she stood to greet their true saviors. Well, at least now she had some time to practice using Excalib- The sword vanished in a flash of white light and another one of those epic 'f-you' thunderclaps. She felt like the universe had just given her a great, big middle finger and wanted everyone for miles around to know it. "Oh, c'mon!?"Samara exclaimed and kicked a clod of dirt. "Mother fu-" Stop! deep breath in... exhale... rememeber your meditation training... good girl. She unclenched her fists and her battle-scarred crystal armor vanished. "So... who's hungry?" she said in an obviously forced cheerful tone. "You? How about you?" she went from unicorn to unicorn. "What do you even eat?"
Andreas He was losing control. It was too much. He was going to die. The final straw was a claw digging into his thigh. He gave up all focus and thrashed about like an animal, but his limbs met no wolves and he landed pathetically in the moss. They were running away! He turned to thank Samara - it had to be her, right? But she was being surgically de-wolved by unicorns. Holy cow, unicorns! His mind was too spent to take it in. He was just grateful to be alive. He didn't need to bow, he was already on the floor. They were stunningly beautiful. He gathered himself up and kept a respectful distance. It wasn't that the unicorns weren't welcoming. It was that they were pure and beautiful and wise and innocent, and he was none of those things. They belonged to something better, and he had the uncomfortable feeling of being out of place. Trisana was having a sort of happy breakdown. Well, she'd earnt it. She certainly belonged with the unicorns. She ended up asleep draped over one of them not two metres away from him. The unicorn supporting her looked to him with questioning eyes, as if to say "come and take care of your companion." Oh, no no no. He wasn't going to take her anywhere. There was no way Trisana would want him of all people to look after her. He looked around desperately. He spotted Nyx - no, that wouldn't do at all. "Samara?!"
Sulla healed everyone and they fed the unicorns for a while under the shining moon. Eventually, they all retired into the hollow tree, where Sulla conjured beds of moss and moss blankets. In the morning, they woke to find that they were covered in giant moths. When they shooed them away, they realized that the moths had somehow removed the stains from their clothes and even knitted together all the rips and tears. After they got up, they ate breakfast and drank peach juice that Sulla had squeezed for them while they were still sleeping. Then it came time to leave. Sulla made them all line up as if they were kindergarteners and handed out knapsacks (made of sewn-together leaves) full of provisions. When she reached Nora, Nora gave her a fierce hug and the Moss Woman laughed and hugged her back just as tightly. "Lady Wintersmith, it was truly a pleasure to see you again," Sulla said, tears twinkling in her eyes. "It has been a long time, far too long. Come visit me as soon as all of this craziness is over. And please give the Green God my greetings." "Why don't you come with us, Sulla?" Nora implored. "You could tell Fenn yourself. And I don't like the idea of you staying here all by yourself. What if another dark creature comes along?" Sulla shook her head. "It is my duty to stay in Greenwood. People from all over the Old Kingdom come here to be healed. I couldn't bare it if someone needed me and I wasn't present to service them. Now that I'm the last of my kind, it's more important than ever for me to hold my post." Nora started to argue, but she could tell that Sulla would not give. Moss Women were very serious about their duty. While Nora deliberated, Dancer trotted over with two russet unicorns following behind and touched Sulla's head with his horn. "Wow, you're too kind," Sulla remarked, blinking in surprise. She turned to the others and said, "Dancer said he's leaving these two unicorns behind to protect me." "Thank you," Nora said sincerely, bowing to Dancer. Dancer whinnied and tossed his head, then turned to rejoin the other unicorns. "I think he's saying it's time to get a move on," Nora told her students. As she was speaking, a unicorn walked up to each sorcerer for them to climb on. The unicorn that chose each sorcerer seemed to match each of their personalities: a grey unicorn with a blueish tint chose Nora, a black unicorn chose Alex, and so on. In no time, they were underway, speeding through the trees at an impossibly fast clip. The unicorns seemed to barely touch the ground, gliding over it instead, and the ride was so smooth that if they closed their eyes they could imagine that they weren't moving at all. Finally, they exited the Greenwood and came out into a wide, hilly plain. A dirt road started directly in front of them and the unicorns slowed to a trot and followed it. As they rode on, Nora started rattling off rules for when they reached Fairywood: "Don't let the fairies lead you anywhere or you'll probably be lost forever, don't eat their food or you'll never be able to leave Fairywood, don't look into the eyes of the Hamadryads or you'll turn into a tree, don't dance with the Sprites or you'll dance until you die from exhaustion..." And on and on. "Geez, what can we do in Fairywood?" Alex muttered to Samara, who he was riding so close to that their legs rhythmically bumped into each other.
Nyx Nyx fought as hard as she could, but she was wearing down fast. The caffeine chew had worn off near the start of the battle, and she was only still awake because of the energy she borrowed from her enemies. She was glad she'd chosen a spell that would keep her going after complete exhaustion. And it was much more useful in battle than she originally thought it would be. Then, suddenly, unicorns happened (Deus ex Machina, anyone?), but Nyx couldn't say she wasn't glad. The wolves that had been teaming up on her and Samara (and Andreas, apparently) were trampled, and she was still alive and kicking. Quite literally. She remembered bowing to the herd, petting a nice golden unicorn on the head... and then her energetic connection with the two werewolves snapped, sending her tumbling into darkness once more. Nyx slowly opened her eyes only to find giant moths, dozens of them, covering her entirely. Nyx's eyebrows flew up and she stumbled to her feet, brushing them off frantically. "What the hell?!" Nyx shouted, running a hand through her hair. This yet another reminder that the Old Kingdom was so much different from home. Even if everyone hated her there, it was... normal, to an extent. Nyx bit her lip and held up her arm, examining her clothes. They were pristine and just as perfect as they had been yesterday, before the fight. So fucking weird, she thought, shaking her head. Over the next few minutes, everyone else finished waking up, some reacting with extreme disgust to the moths, some (cough, Trisana) trying to pet the insects. After that, they ate breakfast, received their little packs from Sulla (Nyx thanked her profusely), and got going on their unicorns. Nyx vaguely remembered the yellow-gold unicorn from the night previous, the one with the white streaks in their mane. She was pleasantly surprised when the same unicorn trotted up to her, head high. They tossed their head, as if telling her to get on. Nyx complied with a grin. Then they all took off, moving so fast that the trees were a blur. Nyx couldn't help but laugh. The whole experience was fantastic, fun, really. Better than airplanes, in her opinion. "Don't let the fairies lead you anywhere or you'll probably be lost forever, don't eat their food or you'll never be able to leave Fairywood, don't look into the eyes of the Hamadryads or you'll turn into a tree, don't dance with the Sprites or you'll dance until you die from exhaustion..." "Then... why don't we just go around Fairywood?" Nyx asked. "I mean, little winged people are fun and all, but dancing and I had a disagreement a long time ago..." "Geez, what can we do in Fairywood?" Nyx heard Alex mutter to one of the riders ahead of her. "Suffer, apparently," Nyx called bitterly from behind him. I have a bad feeling about this... she thought.
Alex cackled at Nyx's clever joke. Nyx was a prickly one, and Alex would hate to get on her bad side, but she sure did add spice to any situation. "Good one, Nyxie," Alex teased playfully. "We have to go to Fairywood," Nora replied to Nyx. "That's where Mortimer thinks we're headed, so he's going to come there looking for us." There was a pause and Alex cleared his throat pointedly. Nora's cheeks flushed and she rushed on to say, "Oh, and, you know, we have to collect Fenn, and then the rest of the Lightbringers, to permanently banish Darkness Incarnate and save the world. That's also important. Eh hem." "Do we really need the Lightbringers to destroy Darkness Incarnate?" Alex asked. His cloak parted and they could see that he was taking notes in an old-fashioned commonplace notebook with a charcoal stick. When Nora gave him an askance look, he said, "What? My notepad and my mechanical pencil turned into these when we crossed the Wall. So, why do we need the Lightbringers?" "Banishing the Darkness is a serious undertaking," Nora answered. "It will take specific steps and an extreme amount of magic to defeat a primordial evil of this magnitude. The Lightbringers have defeated some of the worst threats to face the Old Kingdom: Mephistopheles the Demon Lord, the Zombie Outbreak of 1975, Bathsheba the Witch Queen. Heck, we even defeated Cthulhu, and that was in a whole different dimension. Those were good days. Mortimer was a real beefcake. A natural leader. Fenn was funny and brave, when he wasn't high or drunk out of his mind. Scathach was wild, always saying and doing things she shouldn't have, but she made up for it by saving all our butts time and time again. Ahhh, good times, good times." Nora broke off to stare into space and smile as she reminisced about the golden days. Then she blinked and came back to the present. "Anyway, if anyone can find and destroy the Darkness once and for all, it's the Lightbringers. That's why we need to get the old gang back together." "What about the king and queen of the Old Kingdom?" Alex persisted. "Shouldn't they be doing something about the Darkness coming back?" "I'm sure they're doing everything they can," Nora said. "King Amen and Queen Nazareth are the best thing to happen to the Old Kingdom. Everyone loves them. They're tough when the have to be, but never cruel, and their judgment is always tempered by compassion. But there's not much they can do about something this big. I mean, I'm sure they have highly-skilled agents on the job, but they aren't the Lightbringers," she added with an air of haughtiness. "And we can't just sit around and wait and see if someone else will be the savior. We have to be active and save ourselves." Alex nodded as he scribbled furiously in his commonplace. Then he tapped his chin and stared at the page, lost in deep thought.
Joe spent what was probably too much time bringing food out to the many members of the herd. They were glad to have the excuse to be away from the others for a while. Even on a normal day, talking to even one person was enough to leave them wound up and exhausted for hours afterward. Today definitely hadn't been normal. They realized with some surprise that it really had been only that morning that everything had seemed fine- or at least average. Will had been alive. No one had been hunting them down. There weren't werewolves, but then again there hadn't been unicorns either. A complicated thought that had been building for some time was making its way to the surface. Today had been terrible. People had died, and Joe and the other kids could've been among them. They should feel sick, and terrified, and sad. They did, sort of. After the initial shock of it, all the feelings hadn't gone away, but they'd been tucked behind a glass wall. Seen, but not felt. It was the standard response. Showing emotion was dangerous at home. Best to just bury them where they couldn't make trouble. That almost-thought stirred again. It had been bad, a crisis. But...in a way, crises were easy. It was everyday life that was hard and confusing. People were unpredictable and dangerous, and Joe never knew when they'd do something to set someone off. But when there was an emergency, what needed doing was obvious. Put out the fire. Get yourself between your brother and the dog. Call 911. High-stakes, but easy. They liked knowing what to do. They fell asleep still thinking about it, tucked between two kindhearted unicorns. It was still bothering them the next morning as they all set out, at least until the wonders of the OK once again distracted them. Their clothes had been mended by moths like little white pompoms, they were so cute it was almost painful. They seemed to appreciate gentle pats, and Joe had been sorry to see them flutter away as the group rode out. The unicorn carrying them now was also something special - well, all the unicorns were, really. This one was surprisingly large, like a Clydesdale or something, but piebald black and white with white socks and mane and a smooth black horn. Joe scratched at their neck as they listened to Miss Wintersmith list the many, many things that could kill them in Fairywood. The bite from the wolf had been easy enough to heal, but it had been itching all night. They couldn't help but be suspicious the creature had been carrying fleas. Ew. "Geez, what can we do in Fairywood?" "Suffer, apparently." That was Nyx, which made the line seem extra clever. Joe snorted a small laugh. Cool it, you twerp. She would've saved anyone. She just pities you, like everybody else. Alex's laugh covered their own. "Good one, Nyxie." Nixie? Was Alex about to get punched off his unicorn for that? (at the same time, Joe took mental note of "Punched Off My Unicorn" being an excellent title for something.) "In other words, our best bet for survival is doing nothing, preferably with our eyes shut. What could be simpler." ...Wait, had they said that out loud.
Drake He was hallucinating. Definately halucinating. Seriously, saved at the last minute, by unicorns?! But no, there they were, all glowing and hell, and apparently they had to bow to them. Well, does bowing count when you're shaking on the ground? Drake simply decided to take it as a yes. He finally decided the events were actually real, when he woke on the back of one of these magestic creatures. At least, the other unicorns were magestic. His was brownish grey, unhealthily thin, and glided slowly on the and calmly, like it had all the time in the world. Drake looked around, only to find the others about half a mile ahead of him. "Can't you move faster?" he said. The unicorn just whinned tirely. What's the point? It seemed to say. I know where they're going. Drake sighed. "Teleport," he whispered, bringing his ride forward with him to the others. He continued doing so every so often when his ride lagged behind too much. As they moved forward, Drake continued thinking about his Fantom Fridge, and maybe even had a breakthrough, while listening to bits and pieces of Nora's explanations about Dairywood. Long story short: do nothing and you're fine. "Goodone, Nyxie." "Hey, d'I miss a joke?" he asked. "Wait, never mind, I had to be there to get it, right?" "In other words, our best bet for survival is doing nothing, preferably with our eyes shut. What could be simpler." "Great, I'm a pro at both those things. I could give you guys lessons."
Trisana Trisana was confused...but that was her normal state, so she didn't worry too much over it. She just munched on a giant grape from Sulla's knapsack (thank you, Moss Woman!!!) and tried to understand what Ms Wintersmith was saying...no, what Nora was saying...ah, hell, she was too damn tired to remember what name to call their teacher. That caffeine chew and the battle from last night had really taken a toll on her. She was still groggy and she felt weighed down, but she was slowly regaining her strength, both physical and magical. Trisana squinted at Nora as she listed all the rules of dealing with the fairies. "Aren't fairies supposed to be, you know, nice and stuff?" Trisana asked at last. "I mean, that's what all the fairy tales say..." She trailed off as she thought about her favorite fairy tales, Cinderella being the principal one. She wanted to be Cinderella when she grew up: get married to a beautiful prince, wear fancy dresses, go to balls, live in a fabulous palace, have a fairy godmother. I mean, c'mon. Cinderella was #LifeGoals. But if the fairy tales had lied about fairies being nice...was it possible that there was no such thing as a happily ever after? And if that was true, did that also mean that Trisana would not get the guy of her dreams? Sweet, handsome, beautiful Drake? And more importantly...did that mean that all of their stories might not end well? Trisana got a chill down her spine and she suddenly lost her appetite, feeding the rest of her fist-sized grape to her pink unicorn. She looked around at her classmates with a creeping feeling of dread. Was it possible that not all of them would make it out of this alive? She suddenly found herself trying to figure out who would be most likely to die, but she quickly cut off that line of thought. No, she refused to think that. They were all going to survive. They were going to banish the Darkness, once and for all, and good would prevail... ...Wouldn't it?
Samara Samara awoke with a unicorn watching over her. Literally, over her. A huge, stone-grey unicorn, with hooves the size of her skull and a spiraling black horn, aimed skyward like a medieval lance, was straddling her while she slept. He stood vigil, like an old statue that had weathered centuries. And she was certain it was a 'he' because... well... when a male unicorn is standing over you when you wake up you see things. Things you can't unsee. As for the moths... ha, what moths? Samara awoke with a start and nearly sprang a foot into the air when she saw her silent protector. The poor moths scattered like dust bunnies. After the initial shock wore off, she petted the unicorn's head and profusely apologized. He was bigger than most of the others but, even when standing next to the ones that were slightly larger, this one had an undeniable presence, a stern steadiness that made him seem as if he were chiseled from stone. Solid as a rock. Unmovable. Unbreakable. His face and sides were littered with old scars, but none on his flanks. After receiving parting gifts from the last of the Moss Women, the group began the trek to Fairywood, using their new friends as transportation. It felt a little wrong riding these creatures but, turning down the offer would be equally wrong and a tactical mistake. One does not save the world by making stupid decisions, such as choosing not to ride a unicorn because it's too 'special.' It's just a horse with a horn, right? A horny horse. Things you can't unsee. Samara shuddered. Time to focus on other things. Samara took a slow look around herself as her mount --let’s call him Rock, because why not-- steadily trotted along with the others. The others seemed a lot more relaxed than the previous day. A good night’s rest under the watchful eye of a herd of unicorns could work wonders. They were even laughing and joking amongst themselves, something Samara just couldn’t bring herself to do. If Fairywood is half as dangerous as Miss Wintersmith says it is, she couldn’t let her guard down. Not now. Not ever.
They rode for half a mile before Nora called out for the unicorns to stop. "We're here," she announced. "The Stepping Stone should be just over that hill. Thank you so much for your help, Dancer. We can manage the rest of the way." The white unicorn bowed to her when she slid off his back. The rest of the unicorns also said goodbye to their riders, touching each of them with their horns. A shower of sparkles rained down over them and they all felt a wave of pure joy flow through them, leaving them happy and revitalized. "The unicorns have given us their blessing," Alex said, grinning like a fool. No one had seen him smile so big; it was almost unnatural on his dark brown face. "This is a very rare thing, from what I've read. They don't just give blessings to anybody." The white unicorn tapped Nora's head and she nodded in response. "Dancer and the rest of the unicorn herd is going to resume hunting dark creatures," Nora explained. "With Darkness rising, attacks by dark creatures are becoming more and more frequent. The unicorns blessed us because they wish for all of this to end, before it gets too out of control. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Nora bowed to Dancer and then kissed him on the nose. Dancer surprised her by licking the side of her face, causing her to break out in giggles. With that, the unicorns bowed to each sorcerer before falling in line behind Dancer and gracefully trotting away into the distance. They moved so quickly that they were gone before they knew it, their shining horns disappearing over the crest of a steep hill. "Alright, the Stepping Stone is just this way," Nora told the young sorcerers. "They are extremely easy to use: just walk up the stone steps and jump off the other side while thinking about where you want to go. Just say Fairywood over and over in your heads and we'll be transported to the Stepping Stone that is nearest to our destination." Nora was leading them up the hill as she spoke...and she froze in her tracks once she reached the top. To the left side of the dirt road was a circle of vertical stone columns that were chipped and worn with extreme age. In the center of the plinths was a square hole in the ground, which is what Nora was staring at with a dumbstruck expression. "Uh...Nora?" Alex said, snapping his fingers in her face. "The...the Stepping Stone," Nora stammered. "It's gone! Someone took it!" She ran into the plinths, dodging between prickly tumbleweeds, and knelt by the square hole. "It should be right here! We're going to have to walk fifteen miles to Fairywood without the Stepping Stone! UGH, why oh why did I tell the unicorns to leeeave?!?!" Nora face-palmed and shook her head. She was highly disappointed in herself. "Wait, look," Alex said, pointing to the ground. What had previously looked like tumbleweeds were actually dog-sized spiders. They were clearly dead, laying on their backs with stiff legs curled inward. There were nasty slashes across their bodies and some of their legs were ripped off. "These are some big spiders," Alex commented as he poked one of them with his foot. "I wonder who killed them? Or what?" Nora sighed exasperatedly. "Yet another mystery for us to unravel. I suggest we travel to the closest village and try to get some gossip from the local bar. Do you guys think that's a good idea?"
Drake As they dismounted from their unicorns, Drake could feel the creature stare at him with longing in its eyes. "What?" he said. Then he understood. "Yeah, I know. Sorry, man, but hey, you don't have to catch up no. Just take your time, one glide at a time." The creature touched its horn against Drake's forehead. He smiled. He was going to miss this lazy runt. They began climbing the hill, and already Drake's legs began aching. Maybe he should excercise some more. After they finished the mission, of course. "The...the Stepping Stone," Nora stammered. "It's gone! Someone took it!" She ran into the plinths, dodging between prickly tumbleweeds, and knelt by the square hole. "It should be right here! We're going to have to walk fifteen miles to Fairywood without the Stepping Stone! UGH, why oh why did I tell the unicorns to leeeave?!?!" "Fifteen miles?!" Drake whispered, his voice laced with dread and dispair. He was begginig to miss the werewolves. At least with them he could collapse on the ground in the heart of a panic attack. His doom was so inevitable, that Drake didn't even notice that he was basically standing on the head of a dead spider. . "Yetanother mystery for us to unravel. I suggest we travel to the closest village and try to get some gossip from the local bar. Do you guys think that's a good idea?" That seemed to get Drake's attention. "Umm, miss, sorry, Nora," he took a breath. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're sort of, you know, teenagers?" Unless... Wow, could it be? All thoughts of that fifteen mile walk completely dissapated, and hope began to stir in his heart once more. "Unless they have different laws here about underage drinking?" Then he noticed what he was standing on. He gave a not-too-manly shriek, before grabbing his mouth and stepping away from the dead spider hurridely. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.
Andreas Andreas tossed and turned for a while, then his mind gave out and he slept like a corpse. He awoke feeling a little drugged, and when he opened his eyes he saw brown wings. Moth wings. "What!" he yelped, frozen stiff. Don't move. Don't provoke them. He turned his head slowly to the side, and saw Samara startle and her moths scattering. Her clothes had been completely repaired! "Oh, ok then!" he said cheerfully, brushing them off. His clothes were as new as they day they were made. Which was yesterday afternoon, actually. The unicorn that took him was a sort of tan colour that matched his own hispanic skin tone. For the second time on this adventure, he was vaguely offended. He stood looking at it for a moment, when the unicorn butted him impatiently and turned sideways for him to mount. Well, fair enough. Andreas mounted, and the steed departed with the others. Fairywood didn't sound too friendly. Dancing to death! Wow. He'd heard about pills that did that. He had to wonder, what counted as dancing with the sprites? If he gave his butt a little wiggle, or tapped his foot just once in beat to the music, would that count? All of sudden he had the strange urge to go Michael Jackson. Uhh, no. I don't think so. Samara was out of sight behind him, which was great because he found her very distracting in her OK clothes. Especially riding that unicorn. But Nyx was riding ahead, and he had to tell himself more than once that it was just the adventure making him go funny. It was such a smooth journey that he got a little bored. He reached forward and petted the creature's head, which it seemed to appreciate, then he tickled the underside of its chin. The unicorn halted, turned its head and gave him a long look. Seriously? it seemed to say. "Sorry... " Geeze, didn't this unicorn wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning! And now he was at the back of the line. Samara's leg was showing. Oh Christ. They dismounted after what was frankly a very sore journey. He took a moment to calm down, and then - Sparkles! Man, that was nice. His unicorn bowed, gave him another little nudge with its head and trotted away. And then it turned out they had another fifteen miles to go. "That's not so bad," he said. "At least it's not raining." "Do you guys think that's a good idea?" "Yes!" he said immediately. "Umm, miss, sorry, Nora," he took a breath. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're sort of, you know, teenagers?" "Maybe we can rough ourselves up to look a bit older? I mean, it's for the good of the land, right Nora?" And he still had that caffeine cube in his pocket to take away the hangover. Jackpot.
"Maybe we can rough ourselves up to look a bit older? I mean, it's for the good of the land, right Nora?" Drake let out a half-laugh. For the good of the land. How noble. "Yeah, good luck making the dude who lacks everything between fat and facial hair look older."
Samara Spiders. Lots of spiders. And slashed, too. It's not as if someone had stomped on them. How the hell do you slash a bunch of spiders? Samara thought, calmly inspecting the pile of insect corpses while Drake squealed like a little girl. And why? Surely there was an easier way to kill them. Fire, for example. But she was no detective. She gave up after a short time when Nora started talking about going to a bar to seek answers. What is this, a video game? Does that even work in real life, going to taverns to pick up fetch quests? Beats standing here, staring at dead spiders. "Umm, miss, sorry, Nora," Drake said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're sort of, you know, teenagers?" "Maybe we can rough ourselves up to look a bit older? I mean, it's for the good of the land, right Nora?" Andreas added. "Good idea. Come here, I'll start with you," Samara said, grinding her fist into her palm as she gave him a menacing look. "Don't see how this'll make you look older but... why not?" She shrugged. "But, seriously, what's the matter with these people?" she said, turning to Nora. "No one's watching the gates. No one's guarding the stones. Kids are waltzing into bars. Other than Sulla and the unicorns, does anyone in this Kingdom actually give a damn anymore? Sure, let's just blame the Darkness for everything, right." She crossed her arms. "Seriously. What the hell, man."
Trisana "I bid thee farewell, Pinkie!" Trisana cried to her unicorn when it was time to part. She shed a few tears and almost tried to hide them from everyone else, but then she thought, Wait, heck no! If there was any justifiable reason to cry hysterically it would be when your unicorn leaves you! So she cried without shame and trudged after the rest of the group. By the time they reached the other side of the hill, she had calmed down a bit and was twirling a lock of hair...when she saw the dead spiders. Her entire face sagged and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Nope, nope, nope." With that, Trisana turned and went to stand on the other side of the road, arms crossed and head turned away from the slaughtered arachnids. "Tell me when we're moving along, because I don't do spiders. Not today, not ever." Everyone had a breaking point and Trisana's was spiders, especially...ESPECIALLY...spiders of the giant variety. She simply refused to deal with this problem. And if Trisana saw one of those things alive, she just might blow chunks. Or pass out. Whichever one came first.
"Teenagers can drink in the Old Kingdom," Nora told Drake with a sly grin. "Preferably wine diffused with water, but no one would bat an eye if you ordered a pint. You won't have to worry about that, though, because none of us have any money, anyway." "Actually, Nora..." That was Alex. He had pulled a black velvet pouch from somewhere beneath his cloak and he emptied a pile of silver coins into his other hand. "My regular money from Taggerton turned into these when we crossed the Wall. I suspect everyone else's money has magically transformed, too." "Well, I guess I can't order you not to drink," Nora grumbled, clearly upset at this sudden turn of events. "But I strongly urge all of you to drink responsibly. Eat bread and drink water between pints and you should be fine." "But, seriously, what's the matter with these people?" Samara said, turning to Nora. "No one's watching the gates. No one's guarding the stones. Kids are waltzing into bars. Other than Sulla and the unicorns, does anyone in this Kingdom actually give a damn anymore? Sure, let's just blame the Darkness for everything, right." She crossed her arms. "Seriously. What the hell, man." Nora sighed. "There's really nothing I can say. Mortimer explained it perfectly earlier: we've grown lax. We trusted in the Deep Magic to keep out invaders and the dark creatures rarely attack with this much boldness. The Lightbringers defeated the worst enemies of the Old Kingdom and the rest have been too scared to make a move for decades. And we certainly never thought we would have to protect the Stepping Stones. Everyone benefits from their use, even criminals. I can't imagine who took it, but we will get to the bottom of this. We have to." They moved on, Nora leading them to a small village that was only a couple minutes away. The village was composed of a dozen wooden buildings lined up on either side of the road with a rickety sign at the entrance that read, MERRYDALE. As they entered Merrydale, they saw that a lot of the buildings were abandoned, the doors and windows boarded over, but there were still a few people about. They were dressed in plain brown or beige clothes and they stared at the sorcerers with a mix of curiosity and wariness. But most of the villagers barely glanced at them and rushed along, carrying bulging bags and baskets filled with foodstuff. "Why is everyone is such a rush?" Alex asked no one in particular. An old hunch-backed lady that was bustling by heard him and croaked like a frog, "Because the Darkness, that be why! We're tired of them big spiders ambushing us and snatching people up! Everyone's leaving, except for the stubborn and the crazies. Which one be you?" The old lady glared at them, then grunted and hobbled away. "For a place called 'Merrydale', the people aren't very merry," Alex joked wryly. Just then, four muscle-bound men came tumbling out of a tall, narrow building, punching and kicking and swearing up a storm. Nora tsk-tsked and flicked her wrist, sending out a sparkling blue cloud that settled over the brawlers. They started to move in slow motion and then they stopped completely, covered in a fine layer of frost. A stray dog walked up to them and licked one of their frozen noses. "I guess we found the bar," Nora announced. With that, she led them inside. They were welcomed by the sight of a dimly-lit room with tables and chairs scattered haphazardly about the space without any rhyme or reason. The nine patrons that were there looked grubby and drunk off their rockers. A few of them were even having trouble balancing on their chairs, and as they watched, one of them hit the ground and started snoring loudly. The others burst into riotous laughter. "Ya'll look real fancy in your colorful robes," the grizzly bartender said by way of greeting. He was standing behind the counter, drinking beer from a cracked monkey's skull. "The fancy types always want the good stuff," the bartender continued in a drawl. "I got some old wine caskets in the basement if ya'll are interested?" "Anything will do!" Alex chirped, hopping up on a barstool. The bartender shrugged and poured him something dark purple (almost black) into a tall glass and placed a wilting rose into it. "Thanks!" Alex took a big gulp and then burped noisily. "Oops, my bad," he said before immediately taking another gulp.
Drake When Ms Wintersmith told them they were allowed to drink, Drake had to try really hard to supress a delighted squee. When he would behave, his father will usually allow him something. And play poker with his friends. Where he'll lose about half his pocket money but have a terrific time. Then they entered Merrydale, probably the most miserable place he had seen since coming there. With shabby people moving about, and very few of them at that. "Why is everyone is such a rush?" Alex asked no one in particular. An old hunch-backed lady that was bustling by heard him and croaked like a frog, "Because the Darkness, that be why! We're tired of them big spiders ambushing us and snatching people up! Everyone's leaving, except for the stubborn and the crazies. Which one beyou?" The old lady glared at them,then grunted and hobbled away. "Oh we are crazy," he said. "Definately thr crazy." Then he glanced at Samara and Joe. "With some stubborn thrown to the mix." "For a place called 'Merrydale', the people aren't very merry," Alex joked wryly. "Careful there," Drake chuckled. "You might wake up one day to find out you're Andreas." They entered the bar, a small dingy place, somewhere they really stuck out in like a bright red sore thumb. Seriously, it wasn't his fault he looked like Puck from a really bad production of Midsummer Night. Alex seemed to be getting on fine, already taking a wine and burping. Drake smiled to himself. Time to have some fun. Heand his old man usually had this game, where they will try to guess what people will want to drink when they came over. Over time he got quite good at this. Glancing at the bartender, and then his aquaintances, he said. "Wait, don't tell me, Nora, you would want wine. Something good, high class, whatever they have here," he turned to Andreas, an obvious choice, "scotch, definately. The brew of the cynics." Nyx, another obvious one, "tequila." It took him a moment to figure out Trisana, "you'll want a cocktail, something like Mujito, no wait, Sex onthe Beach," his face immediately turned red, "not that I'm implying- not that-" Just move on Drake, move to Joe. The kid was hard though. They were just fourteen, after all. "You'll- I think Shandy will do for you." Then came Samara. The girl seemed to much... Uptight for a perticular drink. Tough choice, but if she wanted to loosen up- "Me and Samara will have a pint. Something dark, wheat if you have." Then the though hit him that this was the Old Kingdom after all. "Unless all you have is wine and ale and stuff," he said to the bartender.
"Good idea. Come here, I'll start with you," Samara said, grinding her fist into her palm as she gave him a menacing look. "Don't see how this'll make you look older but... why not?" She shrugged. Andreas turned pale, but he gave a wry smile and a cheerful laugh (he hoped). "I can do that myself, thanks," he said. Good ol' Samara. She turned to Nora, her clothes swishing around after her. Strangely, he had no desire to look at her leg. None at all. "My regular money from Taggerton turned into these when we crossed the Wall. I suspect everyone else's money has magically transformed, too." "What's the exchange rate like?" he joked, wishing he'd brought more money to school that fateful morning. He emptied out three silver coins and a handful of dull beige ones. Copper or bronze, probably. "But, seriously, what's the matter with these people?" she said, turning to Nora. "No one's watching the gates. No one's guarding the stones. Kids are waltzing into bars. Other than Sulla and the unicorns, does anyone in this Kingdom actually give a damn anymore? Sure, let's just blame the Darkness for everything, right." She crossed her arms. "Seriously. What the hell, man." He agreed completely. He listened to Nora's explanation of how the inhabitants had become dependent on the Lightbringers and other higher forces. His higher reasoning engaged: On the one hand, it was just the same back on the outside - people depended on the army, the police, the welfare system for their security. That was the whole point of civilization, right? But it looked like here there was no police force, no organised rule. Maybe the means to organize society was not here - no technology, too thin a population. Did technology really trump magic when it came to living safely and comfortably? It looked like it. But if it was the anything-goes land it looked like, 'life without the handrail', so to speak, why weren't people more self-reliant? Had the recently damaged peace been that long? After all, what was the difference between them and the locals? Anybody could learn magic! They were just kids! What could they possibly have that they didn't? Then it struck him. Nora. They hadn't just learnt magic, they had been personally tutored by one of the Lightbringers. That was why they could face off Vetala, why they could stand up to werewolves. They moved on. "We're going Tris," he said, taking her request a little too seriously. The sign read: Merrydale. "HAHA!" Andreas let out. He shut his mouth quickly, trying to act normal. It probably wasn't good to laugh at their village. A few locals gave him an odd look. "For a place called 'Merrydale', the people aren't very merry," Alex joked wryly. " - " he began. "Careful there," Drake chuckled. "You might wake up one day to find out you're Andreas." "Oh hell yeah," he said. "You'll all be Andreas one day." He looked in awe as Nora froze the brawlers. It was the oddest thing, walking past big burly frozen men. "Excuse me," he couldn't help saying. He felt a bit more hopeful when he saw the shabby interior. A drink had to be cheap here! And with Alex already throwing down the gauntlet, there was nothing to get in his way! So, wine was on the cards, was it? No, he was going to ask for the beer. He could afford more of it, and the way he had been feeling recently he wanted the cheapest, most self-destructive shit he could get his hands on. Andreas, an obvious choice, "scotch, definately. The brew of the cynics." "How the hell do you know about all these drinks?" he said, feeling a twinge of jealousy. "I've never had it before, but sure, whatever. Is it expensive?"
"I can make anything, young lad," the bartender told Drake. Then he set about mixing and pouring drinks and handed out all the orders that Drake had made. Some of them weren't the exact color, or the taste was a bit off, but they still got the job done. "Yeah, how do you know all these drinks?" Alex asked Drake, parroting Andreas's question. All the while he kept sipping his own drink, which was making his head feel very light and swimmy. "May I ask you a question, sir?" Nora asked the bartender. The bartender scowled, as if he was allergic to questions, but then his milky eyes bugged out and he gasped. "You're that Lady Wintersmith!" he stammered. "The Lightbringer! In my bar! This is unreal!" "Um, thank you?" Nora said, looking uncomfortable. "Please, just treat me like any other customer. Now, as for that question I wanted to ask..." "Can you sign my monkey skull?" the bartender cried, shoving his skull cup in her face. "No, wait! You should sign my tunic..." He trailed off as he realized that his grubby tunic was covered in stains. "Let me run and get a fresh one!" With that, he took off up the spindly staircase that led to the living quarters above them. "I'm sort of a celebrity here," Nora told the children with a bashful smile. "It has it's perks, but most of the time it's just annoying. But I guess that's a side effect of being a Lightbringer." She turned to Alex and frowned slightly. "Eat some bread," she said, giving him a piece. Alex took it, giggled, and scarfed down the bread. He was obviously tipsy.
"I guess we found the bar," Nora announced. Nyx grinned widely. The Old Kingdom was a little old-fashioned, but it had its perks. She took a seat at the bar next to Samara. "You gonna drink responsibly?" she asked the older girl. Nyx listened with interest as Drake ordered everyone's drinks. Though she didn't know much about anything other than sake (which she may or may not have frequently snuck at night), it was still cool, she thought, that Drake was able to guess what everyone would like based on their personalities. She was a little surprised when the bartender slid her the tequila, though. Nyx picked up the tiny glass and swirled the clear liquid around for a few seconds, frowning, before tasting a little on the tip of her tongue. She let it sit, then poured all of it down her throat in one go. Immediately, she started coughing, hitting her chest with her fist. At the questioning looks, she just choked out, "It's strong." After the coughs subsided, she raised a hand. "Could I have another..." she trailed off. "Where'd he go?" she said, looking around. "I'm sort of a celebrity here," Nora told the children with a bashful smile. Oh. That explained it. "So we're going to have to deal with fangirls?" Nyx asked. "Oh, wonderful."
"I can make anything, young lad," thebartender told Drake. Drake grinned, as he was handed his beer. God, this was really beginning to feel as poker night with his dad. "How the hell do you know about all these drinks?" "Believe me," he said. "When you see the size of my old man's drink closet you'll understand. It's this game we have, guess what somebody will want to drink by what we know of them. Great for poker nights." He suddenly gave Nora a sideways glace. Shit, she was a teacher after all. "N-not that he lets me drink. Or gamble. Usually." Just don't call social services, please. It was nice however how knowing about alcohol suddenly seemed to gain him respect with his peers. It was probably the only cool thing about him. That and he once slept for 39 hours straight. Don't ask. He took a sip of his beer. It was a good brew, something new. Maybe it was even homemade. "I'm sort of a celebrity here," Nora told the children with a bashful smile. fangirls?" Nyx asked. "Oh, wonderful." "Umm, I'm pretty sure less fangirls, more fanboys really," he said. "Unless the Old Kingdom is not as old fashioned as its name." Nyx seemed to really be taking a likeness for her drink, he thought amusedly to himself.
The spiders were horrible to look at, but what struck Joe most about them was how strangely pretty they must've been. Ants, dragonflies, and spiders... bugs were so different from other animals, like tiny aliens. Not that they liked actually touching them, but seeing something like this up close was still fascinating in a somewhat terrifying way. Seeing all these severed parts was mostly just disturbing, though. They felt a twinge of pity. Giant spiders were almost always evil in video games or whatever, but all the real ones Joe had met were quiet, kept to themselves, and helped out with pest control. Spiders were nice. Even the poisonous ones apparently would rather run than bite someone. But nope, apparently giant ones were evil and ate people. Go figure. They sighed as everyone trekked into Merrydale's bar. Within moments of sitting down, their heart started pounding again. All of a sudden there were too many people around them. They wanted to slip away and find somewhere quiet, but just about everyone else was already settling in. And...they were all drinking, apparently. When had that been decided to be a good idea? Andreas had gone ahead and was already ordering for everybody. "You'll- I think Shandy will do for you." Oh god, he'd remembered Joe. Joe, who hadn't been to a party their entire life, who'd never taken a drink and wasn't sure they wanted to. They'd always secretly suspected that if they tried any kind of stimulant, their depressive personality would quickly send them into addiction. Besides, what the hell was a shandy?? Was it alcoholic? When the drink arrived in front of them, it was dark and smelled a bit like fruit juice. Their terror wrestled with their desire not to make waves, eventually culminating in a small sip. AGH, what the hell was in this? They coughed and tried not to look like a complete idiot. The others seemed to be relaxing fairly easily. Once again, Joe could feel their unease at joining in causing walls to build between themselves and the others. Jealousy, helplessness, and self-pity all wound up inside their gut. It was just like at home, and they hated it. "I'm- I'm just gonna grab some air." They said it, quiet, maybe too quiet to actually catch anyone's attention. But they'd said it. Excusing themselves as subtly as possible, they faded from sight as they stepped outside. Cool evening air. Open sky. A soft breeze. This was better. Less cramped than inside, less busy, the cooler temperature helping them calm themselves down. They scratched at the healed marks on their neck again as they watched the townspeople go about their business, furtively packing up their belongings, fortifying their homes. None of them saw Joe watching. They liked watching people - not, like, for creepy reasons. Or so they hoped. But people were interesting. Watching them made them seem a little easier to understand. When they came into town, all Joe could think was how aggressive everyone looked, how dangerous they might be. But now they all just looked tired and afraid. Joe wondered if there was anything they could do to help.
Trisana Trisana greatly enjoyed her Sex on the Beach and she also enjoyed Drake getting to be the center of attention. She grinned and fluttered her eyelashes as everyone asked how he knew so much about drinks. My man is so smart and gorgeous, Trisana thought dreamily. She promptly ordered another drink and continued to stare at Drake, basking in his shine. But she was distracted when Joe announced he was going outside for air. Trisana watched him leave, anxiously sipping her drink. Her eyes flitted from Drake to Joe's retreating figure until finally...she decided to follow him. There will always be time to flirt with Drake, Trisana's conscious told her. Right now, you should go make sure Joe is alright. As she got up to leave, Trisana stroked Drake's arm and gave him a big smile. "I'll be right back," she said in what she hoped was a sultry tone. "Try not to miss me too much." Then she started giggling uncontrollably and skipped out of the bar. "Oh, beautiful day!" Trisana sang as she sidled up to Joe. "Isn't love grand? Um, I mean life, isn't life grand? I'm not in love. Why would you think I'm in love?" Trisana started breathing hard and sweat droplets ran down her forehead. "Please don't tell anyone!" she squealed, grabbing Joe's shoulders.
Andreas Drake had gotten his drink spot on. At first, it had been like burning tar. "Eugh! Can you put some coke in this or something?" And that was it. It was still a little heavy, but there was something reassuring about it. Something dry. Something solid. Smooth and a little sweet. Something he could have a second of, but woo! He'd need to stand straight first. Christ, why WAS that? He'd only had one little glass, and yet he felt like he'd been mallet-ed across the back of the head. When he'd drunk cocktails at that one girl's party, he'd been fine...ish. But now he was a complete lightweight. Anyway. What was he thinking? Scotch. It made him feel adult. Mature. Safe. Whatever shit went down, he'd be ok, because he was the stone man with the scotch. He needed that second, but the barman was gone off somewhere. "Hey man," he said to Drake. "Yeah. Good job on the drink. So Trix got a thing for you, eh? Good for you," he said, pushing his fist gently into his shoulder. "You'll... " he tried to think of a witty comment. He looked over at Trisana, who was heading outside. Joe was already passing through door. What was that about? Well, leave them to it. He was busy drinking for the good of the empire! Hell yeah! Maybe if he was drunk enough, the bartender wouldn't take them seriously and he'd open up a bit more. For the good of the empire! Had he already thought that? Who knows.
Samara Samara stared at the pint of dark liquid the bartender had placed in front of her. The pint Drake had ordered. Drake, of all people, bought her a drink. He, a boy, bought me, a girl, a drink. Funny how this took longer to process than the fact that they were all underage. Worst of all, he had ordered the same thing for himself, as if they were somehow similar to one another. Soulmates, or something. A pair. A couple, even. The thought made her cringe. Stick to Tris. You ain’t ready for this, Samara thought. She took solace in the thought that he’d only ordered it. He hadn’t paid for it, so she owed him nothing… right? She clung to that excuse. The others were already drinking theirs. She wanted to set a good example by not drinking hers. Maybe they’d follow her lead. Too late. "You gonna drink responsibly?" Nyx asked before tossing her tequila down her throat. “I do not believe there is such a thing,” Samara said. Buzzkill. After a pause, she picked up the beer. “I… suppose I will drink this until I do.” What’s the worst that can happen? Maybe I’ll get in a bar fight. Actually, that sounds great! She look a small sip, considered it for a moment, then took another. Not bad… not good either, but not bad. Frankly, she didn’t understand the point of any of this. What use was alcohol? It dulls your senses, screws up your motor functions, and, if taken to the extreme, leaves you vomiting and pissing on yourself before passing out in a gutter someplace. It is the liquid version of getting punched in the face until you concuss. She laid a coin on the bar, unsure if it was enough. I hope not, she thought. They ought to pay me to drink this swill. It is poison, you know. And this is when she realized, in a brief moment of clarity, ‘I might be an angry drunk.’ Two more sips made that silly thought go away. I’m not the problem. They are. Sip. Stupid Drake wants me to loosen up? How about I loosen his teeth with my fist. Sip. Where’s Joe going? Too good to drink with the rest of us, eh? Loser. Gulp. And Tris, too? Good riddance. Maybe she’ll play in traffic out there. Sip. sip. Maybe I should slow down… nahhhh, I already paid for this shit, I gotta finish it. She downed the last of it. Not like I need to be the designated driver. Fucking unicorns’ll get us home. Samara loudly clunked her empty glass on the bar. “Where’s the damn bartender?” she said as she dropped a coin inside. “Hey, what’re you lookin’ at, Sticks? Got a problem?” she said to Nyx… who was definitely not looking at her.
