《The Gloamcaller [A Fairy Necromancer litRPG]》 Chapter 1: Dont Tell Me What I cant Do Gloam: noun. Twilight. ¡°What¡¯d you say?¡± a quiet voice demanded. Vaelmir the Eternal, sole survivor of the First Dawn, the power behind the Council of ArchMagi, Personal Enemy of Astaroth, and general downer, looked perplexed. The human rubbed at his bearded chin while his pale eyes searched for the source of the noise. ¡°I¡¯m right here, you old coot!¡± The quiet shout and explosion of white-pink fairy dust drew the almost colorless eyes of the ancient human to the miniature fey who stood on the arm of his rocking chair. The diminutive fairy seemed to be the prime candidate for who yelled at him, unless the chair itself was re-animating again¡ªthe forces of the Upper Planes help them all if that were the case! ¡°Say it again! I dare you!¡± the uppity voice of the tiny fairy screamed at Vaelmir again. The miniature woman shook with visible rage and made no effort to control her emotions. Vaelmir frowned at the creature, then coughed at his rude intruder when she didn¡¯t get the hint. It would only take a mere trifle of his immense power to send the fairy fleeing, yet the cold logical part of his brain recognized an opportunity when he saw one. Young fairies, like most Fey, were ruled by their emotions. Vaelmir could use that. For weeks he had stared at the forest with its impossibly tall trees, and no Fey had deigned to welcome him to their realm. One finally showed up to greet him, and it was a rude fairy. Truly, his luck knew no limits. ¡°It is a shame that the Fey make terrible necromancers?¡± Vaelmir repeated the words he had said to himself moments ago. This time he swiveled his gaze to study the miniature woman to read her reaction. The crow¡¯s feet around his eyes compressed into even denser lines as he focused on his diminutive visitor. It did not make the fairy happy. At all. Instead, she shook her comedically small fist threateningly at him. For the briefest moment, Vaelmir almost felt like the fairy stood taller than him, looking down at him with a tight jaw, a raised eyebrow, and her chest all puffed out. He felt like a boy caught before a storm of vast, dark power. A blink of his eyes and the sensation faded, as if it had only been a figment of his imagination. The Sight, one of his gifts, came and went of its own volition. ¡°I could be the best necromancer!¡± The little creature insisted with great vehemence. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you say?¡± Vaelmir asked the fairy to repeat herself. He¡¯d been so caught off guard by the sensations of nearly god-like power radiating from the fairy he¡¯d completely missed what she said. ¡°Clean out your ears, mortal. I said I could be the best necromancer! The greatest! I¡¯d have all the best undead.¡± The fairy stuck her tongue out at him and floated a few inches into the air. Her wings fluttered, but not in any meaningful way that could possibly have provided the lift necessary. ¡°Fey are as connected to necromancy as fireflies are connected to the darkest layers of the abyss. Your essence is too light and ephemeral, your nature too chaotic. To be a master of necromancy is to have an intimate relationship with death, decay, and the drama of the final, last breath. For you fairies, flirting with death is like dancing in leaden boots¡ªdoomed to fail and fall on your own face.¡± Vaelmir watched the reactions of the tiny fairy like a hawk. If he set out a little bit of bait, she¡¯d willingly walk into his trap, and he¡¯d gain entrance to the Soulweald proper if his luck held out. Vaelmir gestured, and illusions of fairies tripping over themselves in ridiculously large metal boots filled the air. The old man even made the fairies look like the one on his chair for extra insult. The tiny fairy, with her purple hair briefly clutched at her stomach, and a flare of red suffused her face. The fey briefly looked at the floor, but humiliation gave way to anger in a flash. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you tell me what I can¡¯t do! You¡¯re the schmuck here to study the Soulweald, while I already know all about it. Here you are lecturing me about necromancy and lead boots! It looks to me like you¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t know anything about the soul, which is weird, because yours is so old.¡± The tiny fairy really emphasized his age by dragging ¡®so¡¯ out to extreme lengths. The old mage¡¯s nostrils flared for a few deep breaths and his eyes narrowed. He was Vaelmir the Eternal, and he could split continents in twain, yet in this cursed fey realm the feats of his homeland were nothing more than foot notes to a world the alien denizens of the Soulweald cared nothing about. He reminded himself that fairies were barely sapient in their youth, and this one seemed young-ish, and therefore possibly easy to trick. If she underestimated him, well, all the better for Vaelmir. He only had to control his own emotions and not be taken by annoyance of being mocked by the equivalent of a magical insect. ¡°Oh really? Why don¡¯t you tell me what you know about the Soulweald then?¡± Vaelmir asked in his best attempt at guilelessness. He had to appeal to the fairy¡¯s sense of superiority, but being subtle wasn¡¯t necessary. ¡°Haha, no. You want to know what¡¯s in there? Then go in there! Maybe the Mistress will welcome you.¡± The fairy cajoled Vaelmir. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯ll totally welcome you. Go on, go on! Go tell the Mistress that no fairy can be a necromancer and see what she says!¡± ¡°The Mistress? I didn¡¯t know the Soulweald had a mistress.¡± Vaelmir baited the fairy with a coy smile on his old face. He was close. He could sense it. His heartbeat sped up, and his stomach fluttered uncomfortably. Vaelmir¡¯s nearly colorless eyes focused on the fairy as if it were the only being in the whole forest. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re so dumb you didn¡¯t even think faeries could be great necromancers! Have you ever heard of Lyrindris, The Soulshaper? No? See, you are dumb for someone so old. Like Mistress Nyxaria would waste her breath on you, when all the Soulweald hangs on her every word. You could never be as great as Mistress Nyxaria!¡± The little fairy scoffed at Vaelmir. ¡°Mistress Nyxaria, you say? No, not her true name, even you wouldn¡¯t be that careless¡­¡± Vaelmir, caught up in his own trap now, failed to notice the fairy had very intentionally spoke a name of power twice already. Vaelmir looked up when a surge of magic pulsed before his cabin. A tall woman floated before the porch of his summoned manor. She had the tapered ears of the fey, and incandescent eyes of the truly terrible noble fey. The tiny fairy still sat on his chair, a smug expression on her face. Vaelmir had been outsmarted by a magical insect. He swallowed down bile repeatedly, even as the woman who had appeared stole his breath. Beauty and power radiated from the newcomer in nearly visible waves. In the back of his mind, Vaelmir heard primal screams of fear in his own voice. Every instinct he had suggested he flee from this woman. Instincts and emotions were for Fey, though, for was Vaelmir not powerful enough to be the nemesis of Astaroth? Had he not defeated Oraxis Bloodflame?Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The human mage bowed his head respectfully, then gazed upon the newcomer. Nyxaria was a human sized fey who levitated effortlessly in the air. Two black horns rose from her temples, but they looked almost like butterfly antennae. Her skin was pale, her hair the yellow a new dawn, and she was clad in a barely opaque outfit that glittered like the inside of a seashell. Vaelmir had witnessed countless tragedies, committed many crimes himself, and even fought gods a time or two. It had been centuries since anyone or anything had taken his breath away, but the adult fey stole his breath with a worrisome ease. ¡°Why must you keep calling for me, child? Oh, a human.¡± The fey, undoubtedly Nyxaria, looked down on the tiny fairy. ¡°It is time to return home now,¡± she said kindly, almost motherly, to the little creature. ¡°Nyxaria, Mistress of the Soulweald? I am called Vaelmir the Eternal, last witness of the First Dawn, Head of the Council of ArchMagi, Defender of¡ª¡± Vaelmir fell silent as his lips sealed closed. To his horror his mouth no longer opened, for there was no hole between his lips. ¡°While we may be at the edges of my realm, this is still my realm, mortal,¡± Nyxaria spoke down to the mage imperiously. Vaelmir, confronted by the power of an Archfey, realized the folly of assuming that being the most powerful wizard in the world of Nantes might make him a match for a creature like Nyxaria. Hubris landed him in a frying pan. His mind raced with ideas to escape. ¡°Yeah! Get him! He said I couldn¡¯t be the best necromancer! Make him pay!¡± The fairy jumped up and down on the rocking chair. Her lively leaps failed to produce enough power to make the chair rock at all. She was only eight inches tall and weighed less than three ounces. ¡°Oh, did you? You should know that young Dahlia is descended from Lyrindris, the greatest Soulshaper to ever weave spirits. And who are you, mortal? Why do you stare at my realm with such longing and hope?¡± Nyxaria asked the human, who mumbled behind his sealed lips. Nyxaria laughed and restored Vaelmir¡¯s mouth with a gesture. Vaelmir coughed and sputtered out his introduction yet again. ¡°You may call me Vaelmir the Eternal, last witness of the First Dawn, Head of the Council of ArchMagi, Defender of Nantes, High Scholar of¡ª¡± Vaelmir recited the list of titles, until Nyxaria lifted her finger. He stopped talking before his lips vanished again. Nyxaria¡¯s lips twisted with amusement when the mortal silenced himself. Vaelmir felt like he had gained a small amount of respect in her eyes. He¡¯d gone from a dog who barked too much and got mud on her carpet to a dog who sat quietly until she was ready to pet it. Worst of all, he felt proud that he¡¯d gone up that little bit in her eyes. ¡°Make a wager with me, Vaelmir the Broken. If this little fairy can become the greatest necromancer of your home world, you will give me your true name. If she fails, I¡¯ll invite you into the Soulweald and allow you to take over a tower in Shade¡¯s Grove.¡± Nyxaria offered. ¡°I came seeking the Shroud of Gloam to¡ª¡± Vaelmir found himself cut off again, but not by his lips disappearing. Nyxaria laughed and, strangely, it made him feel oddly whole. No mere laughter had ever been able to suffice as a balm to his fractured soul before. Perhaps the Shroud of Gloam was the cloak Nyxaria wore? ¡°I will mend the Broken when our wager is complete, regardless of who loses. What do you say? Shall Nantes be the world to bear witness to my disciples coming of age?¡± Nyxaria offered a cure to his condition so casually, when gods and centuries had failed to cure him. She¡¯d thrown words, offers, hope, and a wager at him so quickly the world seemed to spin around him. ¡°What are the terms for qualifying as the greatest necromancer of Nantes?¡± Vaelmir asked somewhat rhetorically. He immediately could think of at least three qualifiers. ¡°Conquest of the Tower of Alukard, of course,¡± answered Nyxaria lazily. Her casual demonstration of knowledge of the world of Nantes wasn¡¯t lost on Vaelmir, but he had mentioned his world of origin. It never occurred to the wizard to ask if she¡¯d been there before, for Vaelmir was nearly as famous as the bald, hawk-faced permanently frowning asshole who once convinced people to worship his toenails. ¡°Total control of the Fortress of the Death Court,¡± Vaelmir declaimed with a ridiculous laugh. No one had survived the Dungeon of Unexpected Death to even reach the Fortress of the Death Court in two hundred years. ¡°Awakening of the Bone Colossus,¡± Nyxaria added to the list of trials an entry even more obscenely difficult than the Fortress of the Death Court. Vaelmir felt a thorn of envy that she had snapped such a good trial from him. What could possibly compare to the difficulty of awakening an Undead Primordial? ¡°Destroy the Phylactery of Eldryn, and usurp the title from the Lich himself.¡± Vaelmir said after a long silence. He giggled at the mere idea of a fairy ever standing up to the likes of Eldryn, self-proclaimed Emperor of the Undead, and almost peed himself from laughing. The fairy looked back and forth between the two huge, laughing figures. If one of them weren¡¯t Mistress Nyxaria she might have mooned the two of them and flew away. You couldn¡¯t hide from Nyxaria though, not in the Soulweald. It made games of hide and seek a real downer. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t agree with that! That sounds like a whole lot of work, necromancy is super-duper messy, and I just got this outfit. You understand, right Mistress Nyxaria? I know, let¡¯s send Deborah, instead!¡± The fairy desperately sought any line of escape that might remain to her, even throwing her least favorite sister to be trampled under the stampede if it saved her own hide. The elegant fey reached down and grasped the tiny fairy between two fingers, holding her up like one would a cat by the scruff of their neck. It wasn¡¯t like Nyxaria leaned down and grabbed Dahlia, though. Magical forces beyond those Vaelmir had ever seen were bent to the task and did the grabbing for Nyxaria. Vaelmir¡¯s throat dried up in jealousy of the perfect ease with which Nyxaria sculpted raw magical power to do her bidding. ¡°You can be the best necromancer, little Dahlia. You want to be don¡¯t you? For me? For the legacy of Lyrindris?¡± The urge to make Nyxaria happy warred with Dahlia¡¯s urge to not be voluntold to take on hard tasks like becoming the best at something. Couldn¡¯t Nyxaria want something simple, like some berries? There were lots of berries in the Soulweald, and Dahlia could see jars of multiple types of berries inside the human¡¯s house just waiting to be gifted to Nyxaria. No one ever wanted berries, or a berrymancer. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have the wherewithal to be the greatest anything, especially not a necromancer. She¡¯s not even a wizard. You may as well concede defeat to me already, Nyxaria.¡± Vaelmir bragged smugly to the fey and fairy. Dahlia immediately raged at the wizard and missed his conspiratorial wink at Nyxaria. ¡°Hey, fuck you! I am too smart enough to be a wizard!¡± Dahlia screamed at the man. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Dahlia. I never agreed that you had to be a wizard. Go forth and become the greatest Gloamcaller his pathetic back world has ever seen,¡± Lady Nyxaria, ArchFey of the Soulweald demanded of Dahlia the fairy. This declaration was echoed by a peel of thunder over the Soulweald and a surge of power within the young fey. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna!¡± Dahlia pouted. ¡°Then I shall send Deborah too, and whichever of you two wins the bet shall be allowed to return to the Soulweald,¡± Lady Nyxaria declared only one fairy would be allowed to return to the Soulweald with a cruel, frosty twist of her lips and a vicious gaze. Dahlia flailed internally, but the Archfey didn¡¯t give her time to come to terms with the new situation. ¡°Open the way, Vaelmir,¡± Nyxaria requested of the mortal. Vaelmir didn¡¯t think about it. He had committed to this course, and if there were repercussions, well, he¡¯d have to live with them¡ªas he always had. He uttered a few strange syllables, bound magic to his will, and created a planar doorway to Nantes. Not civilized lands, but the far north where the appearance of a Fey might go unnoticed for a time. Nyxaria released Dahlia from her undignified hold and blew. Cool winds picked up the tiny fairy and dragged her, screaming, out of the Soulweald and through Vaelmir¡¯s portal. A second fairy followed not long after. Tiny far away voices cursed Nyxaria and Vaelmir, but they both pretended not to hear it. Chapter 2: What the Blanking Blank? Between The Soulweald and Nantes existed a black space. A white thing appeared before Dahlia. Information appeared on it in a familiar language, sylvan. When she read it, a strange voice narrated it in her mind, and she didn¡¯t have to read it anymore. But she definitely kept looking at it, and not at the vast black space all around her, and she certainly didn¡¯t write her name in the black void in fairy glitter. Language identified: Sylvan (Soulweald), Common. Race identified: Fairy (Soulweald). Class: Gloamcaller [Covenant Class*] *Covenant Classes are limited by sacred pacts. Gloamcaller is restricted by race and origin. ¡°That¡¯s what Mistress Nyxaria said. I think,¡± Dahlia said in deep thought. She couldn¡¯t help the way her chaotic little mind worked, and giggle after giggle escaped from her as she considered being a bard. It¡¯d really show that daft old cow who was boss, and that stupid human too! No matter how she thought about it, the voice in her head didn¡¯t acknowledge her desire for mischief, or acknowledge any way to change her class. Maybe it was for the best. Attributes Assigned.
Strength 7 Intelligence 6
Dexterity 17 Wisdom 7
Constitution 12 Charisma 19
¡°Intelligence six!? That¡¯s really low! I¡¯m smarter than I am stronger! Fix it! Fix it now! Why aren¡¯t you fixing it?¡± Dahlia raged at the world. The intelligence attribute did not change. For the first time in her life, the tiny fairy felt less instead of more. ¡°Faeries aren¡¯t stupid! And we¡¯re wise too! Mistress Nyxaria!!!!!¡± Dahlia cried out in desperation for the ArchFey. The facts of her existence cut deeply to her core, exposing vulnerability and undeniable failures of who she was. This self-discovery was not the kind of new and exciting revelation one sought from an adventure. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to raise those attributes, won¡¯t you dear?¡± Nyxaria¡¯s voice rang in Dahlia¡¯s mind in a haunting, unforgettable suggestion. ¡°I will,¡± Dahlia vowed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Determination replaced despair. Size: Tiny. ¡°Who¡¯re you calling tiny, you stupid voice!? I¡¯m properly sized, everything else is what¡¯s too big!¡± Dahlia immediately picked another fight with the strange voice and its hurtful messages, but this time her righteous anger sort of petered out on its own after a few seconds. Lady Nyxaria¡¯s voice echoed in her mind. After all, magic could fix size issues as well as increase attributes. Probably. Congratulations, you qualify to start at level 1. Class: Gloamcaller Class Skills: Adventure¡ªNature, Magic¡ªThaumaturgy Nature Rank 1¡ªForager¡¯s Instincts: Your familiarity with the wild shows. If you spend a half hour foraging, you are extremely likely to find enough food to nourish yourself and four others for a day. Thaumaturgy Rank 1¡ªAbundant Magic: Your innate magical nature as a Fey grants you a natural bonus to magical manipulation and precision. (Passive). Class Features: Spellcasting, Shadow Kiss. Shadow Kiss: You inspire others through a manifestation of the Soulweald. Subject: One creature within 60 feet of you. Effect: Increases probability of success of their next difficult action. Spellcasting: You are an innately magical creature and draw magic from the well of creation.
Cantrips Prepared Spells Lvl 1 Spell Slots
4 2 2
You know three cantrips! Illusion (Minor), Shadowy Whispers, and Soul Lash. Please choose one more cantrip to learn from the list. Acid Throw, Cinder Bolt, Echo of Destiny, Electric Touch, Light, Magic Trick, Repair (Minor). ¡°Magic Trick!!¡± Dahlia answered without even investigating the others. It had two of her favorite words in it. Magic. Trick. Dahlia couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of idiot wouldn¡¯t want Magic Trick. Perhaps the person asking her these questions was that kind of idiot? They were no doubt miserable old curmudgeons overwrought with regret that they hadn¡¯t chosen the glorious Magic Trick. You know one spell. Call Shadow (Level 1). ¡°I do?¡± Dahlia whispered in amazement. Please choose another spell from the list provided. Arms of Apep, Bouncing Bolt, Inflict Pain, Sphere of Sickness, Call Familiar. ¡°Call Familiar!! I¡¯m going to have a dragon!¡± Dahlia dreamed happily, and her glimmering fairy dust turned a bright pink to match her mood. Background: Acolyte of Nyxaria. Description: Raised as a follower of the ArchFey Nyxaria, Dahlia was raised amongst a cohort of her sisters to serve the ruler of the Soulweald.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Origin Feat granted: Disciple of the ArchFey (Soulweald). Disciple of the ArchFey (Soulweald): You gain +1 Charisma. You gain Social¡ªInsight (Level 1) and Social¡ªPerformance (Level 1). Social¡ªInsight (Level 1) grants you Attentive Observer. You pick up on subtle changes in tone, body language, and expression and can often tell when someone is uncomfortable, excited, or hiding tension, though you might not know why. Social¡ªPerformance (Level 1) grants you Catchy Tune. You¡¯ve practiced enough to reliably hold a crowd¡¯s attention for short periods and gain a bonus to performances before small crowds. You gain proficiency with the lute and Noctherin (Exotic, Soulweald). This background grants two cantrips from the following list: Echo of Destiny, Glittercloud, Light, Resistance, Vine Whip. Dahlia thought about it briefly, before she chose Echo of Destiny and Glittercloud. Both cantrips seemed like they might be handy. Echo of Destiny (Divination Cantrip): You brush the threads of fate of a willing creature, momentarily aligning their path with better possible futures. Glittercloud (Evocation Cantrip): You conjure a swirling cloud of iridescent fairy dust in a 10-foot radius centered on yourself. Each creature of your choice who fails to resist the magical dust cloud suffers force damage and is wreathed in fairy dust for ten seconds. Creatures wreathed in fairy dust cannot benefit from being invisible and suffers penalties to attempts at hiding. Choose one first level spell from the following list: Entangler, Make Water, Safe Food, Super Runaway, Wisp Heal. You will be able to cast this spell once per day for free, subsequent uses will require expending a spell slot. ¡°Oh, Wisps are my favorite!¡± Dahlia swooned and chose Wisp Heal without even bothering to learn what it, or any of the others, did. You have completed registration with Nantes. Welcome to our World. Unlike the previous words that were dull, the final greeting was a mish-mash chorus of very bored and unenthusiastic voices, none of which Dahlia recognized. That wasn¡¯t what was important, though. The darkness went topsy turvy, the black bled through with waves of purple like the time she ate those mushrooms she wasn¡¯t supposed to have eaten and got sick. Experiencing the trauma even in flashback form made her stomach heave. Thankfully, the wind from earlier finally reappeared, plucked her from the darkness and carried her into a meadow at the edge of a forest. The wind dropped Dahlia onto her ass in a large, suspiciously convenient pile of red-brown fall leaves. The summoned winds of Nyxaria disturbed the great oak that towered above her and her comfy pile of leaves once it let her freefall. Dahlia didn¡¯t mind, the leaves were soft and had a pleasant earthy smell to them. She was comfy¡ªuntil the first acorn fell. It impacted the pile with great kinetic drama and Dahlia burst out of the leaves in a nova of fairy dust and white light, only to be forced to immediately engage in evasive maneuvers. Dahlia weaved around the first few acorns before she looked for a pattern in their falling. Her chaotic little brain failed to pluck any patterns or useful information useful to her current situation, but looking up did allow her to rely on her quick reflexes and gorgeous purple wings to dart between acorns. She even anticipated a few of the acorns, before she zoomed past the edge of the tree to the safety of the open air. ¡°Whew, what a stupid tree. You meanie asshole, I¡¯ll teach you to attack a fairy!?¡± Dahlia yelled at the tree and shook her fist threateningly at it. It didn¡¯t talk back. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re too good to talk to me!? Take this!¡± Dahlia shouted and gestured dramatically as she unleashed Soul Lash. Soul Lash: You strike the life-essence of one creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you. The target takes radiant damage and cannot regain hit points for twenty seconds. A crackling sphere of vibrant white life energy coalesced in Dahlia¡¯s diminutive hand, and then struck from her palm to the base of the large oak like a flash of lightning. Hunks of bark and wood filled the air as she created a wound easily twice her size in the trunk of the tree. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what you get! Don¡¯t fuck with a fairy!¡± Dahlia taunted the tree, but it still wouldn¡¯t reply to her. Inanimate trees. Who had ever heard of this bullshit? Dahlia missed home already. ¡°There¡¯s a forest, maybe it leads back to the Soulweald.¡± The fairy hoped fervently as she darted towards the nearby forest. An invisible wall stopped her. You may not enter the Forest of the Fey. You must reach level 20 and complete Quest: Become the Greatest Necromancer to gain entry to the Soulweald. ¡°Moooooommmmy!¡± Dahlia cried in frustrated rage when the silly voice said she couldn¡¯t go home. Crying for mom usually solved a lot of issues that cropped up in life, so Dahlia was flabbergasted when this time it did nothing. Not even a sigh carried to her upon the breeze. This cruel world with its untalkative trees and deadly acorns seemed completely unconcerned with her, and worse, indifferent to her plight. Quest: Become the Greatest Necromancer (0/4). ¡°This blows!¡± Dahlia cried out in despair. To get back home she was going to have to do the one thing fairies hated to do. She was going to have to work hard. Or was she? If no one cared about her plight, then why should Dahlia care about a bet between two old dummies? Dahlia daydreamed of moonlit flower beds full of Night Phlox, Gardenia, and Evening Primrose. She could practically taste the sweet nectar of the flowers on her tongue. One major hurdle prevented Dahlia from living a life of laziness. She had no idea where to find a glade like that. Normally, she would simply ask a tree. These trees didn¡¯t talk for some reason, maybe they were too young? Plus, she couldn¡¯t become smart and wise by being lazy. Could she? ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± Dahlia said to herself, while the wind made her fairy dust into a spectacle of color even in the daylight. ¡°The forest is out. This tree is rude. So, I¡¯ll find another tree, or some sort of person. I¡¯ll swindle them for their knowledge and something sweet, then it¡¯ll be the easy life for me, ahahaha,¡± Dahlia laughed like a mad woman before she blitzed up into the sky. High, higher than the big oak, to look at her surroundings. To one direction lay the big forest. Dahlia couldn¡¯t go that way. The sun hung directly overhead. Opposite the big forest a large meadow filled ample space, but a big river lay at the other end of the meadow. To either side lay more of the forest, as if it formed a horseshoe around the meadow. Her only option, then, was to go towards the river. A shadow crossed over Dahlia¡¯s face, and quick reflexes were all that kept her from being grasped in the talons of a giant yellow bird. It cawed its anger at missing her, and banked around for another try. ¡°Oh piss off!¡± Dahlia exclaimed, but the bird didn¡¯t acknowledge her decree. So, she conjured the radiant power of Soul Lash. The blast of brilliant light struck the giant yellow bird as it banked around. Feathers and blood filled the sky, but the minor wound didn¡¯t deter the creature from making another swoop at her. The bird barreled down on her, death in its eyes, but the talons missed Dahlia again. No! The talons had been a feint, the birds giant beak pecked at her and ripped a painful gash across her arm. Luckily the dumb bird failed to get ahold of her. ¡°Owww!¡± Dahlia screamed in real pain for the first time in her life. She had been injured before, but the creatures of the Soulweald knew better than to attack one of the daughters of Nyxaria. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to kill you and eat you, you stupid ugly ass bird, and make a quill out of your tail feather!¡± Dahlia shouted while she cast a different cantrip, Shadowy Whispers. Shadowy Whispers: You dispatch tendrils of shadow that gnaw at the confidence and psyche of creatures. Resisted by Intellect. Failure to resist results in psychic damage, and the creature suffers large penalties on their next attack. Dark tentacles of power coursed around the golden feathered bird, and it emitted a terrible shriek of pain before it swooped around for another pass. Whether it was due to the shadowy whispers in its mind, or the nimble evasiveness of Dahlia, the bird missed the fairy with its peck attack and its talon grab. Dahlia blasted its backside with Soul Lash and landed a lucky blow. The yellow bird fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground far below with a satisfying splat. You have gained 100 experience. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what you get!¡± Dahlia puffed up her chest and shouted in joy but noticed more large birds in the sky. She swiftly dipped back down to the ground below and struggled to pull the big tail feather out of the very, very large bird. She failed to free the giant, beautiful feather. ¡°Mm.¡± When Dahlia closed her eyes to think. To her surprise a list of her current spells came up. Call Familiar, Call Shadow, Wisp Heal. ¡°That might work,¡± Dahlia mused and closed her eyes to see if she could learn anything more. Call Familiar: Summon a familiar, a spirit that can manifest from myriad forms. As a Fey, your familiars will be of a fey origin. Material components: Incense. ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s in my pouch,¡± Dahlia said with dread. It didn¡¯t seem too likely she¡¯d have any incense in her tiny pouch. ¡°Woohoo!¡± Dahlia chimed a moment later. Her little belt pouch for treasures and spell components contained a stick of incense, a pinch of dirt, and a fragment of bone. The latter two were components for Call Shadow, so she left them there. ¡°Fire!¡± Dahlia exclaimed grandiosely and used Magic Trick to light the incense. It smelled like cloves and burning. ¡°Oh, great spirits of whatever world this is, bring me a familiar to do my bidding. I need a strong one, so don¡¯t be stingy!¡± Dahlia plead with the wide world around her, and the corpse of the bird, before she recited the words that swam through her brain. About halfway through the ten-minute-long spell, she found that she¡¯d stopped speaking the words to the spell, and instead sang them. Singing totally kicked talking in the ass and brought Dahlia full strength back into the spell. She struggled to reach high notes, and by the last syllable she panted with exhaustion from her elaborate performance. You have unlocked the Magic Skill¡ªSpell Singing. Rank 1¡ªHarmonic Casting: Your sung spells resonate with minor harmonics which enhance range or duration. Increase range by 30% or duration by 10%. Magic flowed around Dahlia, the smoke from the incense drifted into the shape of a dog before it solidified into a fey creature. A large, intimidating fey creature. Chapter 3: Mr Floofers? No— The dog that appeared out of the spell dwarfed the miniature fairy by enormous amount. Dahlia stood at roughly eight inches, if she struggled for every little bit of height that she could. The dog, no, the wolf, that answered her call stood 3 feet tall at the shoulders. The length of the wolf proved incredibly hard to guess, especially for the easily distracted Dahlia. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the greatest doggy in all the world! A Warp Wolf! Oh, who¡¯s a good boy, who¡¯s the goodest boy?¡± Dahlia cooed at the white-blue spirit wolf. While other Fey creatures such as Rocket Dogs, Dimensional Distortion Panthers, and Elegant Sparklebutts frequently had magical auras, Warp Wolves existed in a state somewhere between energy and matter which resulted in a constant visible distortion. The wolf leaned down so Dahlia could pat its nose, and she did so. While the wolf appeared to shift between translucent, shadow, and blue-white solidity, the constant flux made it hard to study or focus on. Especially the cracked silhouette that gave it a jagged, rippling look, almost like looking at it through a fractured mirror. ¡°Do you have a name yet?¡± Dahlia asked. No. The wolf shook his head no, while a deep echo-y voice rang in her mind. ¡°I dub you¡­ uhh. Let me think.¡± Dahlia fluttered up and down, then landed on the wolf¡¯s attractive fur. Despite the strange, fractured appearance of the wolf it had incredibly soft fur. She could happily sleep in the warm embrace of her familiar¡¯s cozy coat. Perhaps a nap would be just what she needed to think up a name for the wolf? The wolf¡¯s tongue lapped up and caught her above its nose. The sting of its saliva reminded her of the open wound on her arm, and she fluttered down to swipe a blade of grass to make a bandage out of. The wolf flickered around the meadow in short teleporting jaunts. It reappeared next to Dahlia. Her familiar had scanned the area for immediate threats and returned to guard her before she even secured the bandage in place. The rapidity with which Warp Wolves could disappear in a poof of magic and reappear far out of physical reach was disorienting to witness. ¡°That¡¯s it! You¡¯ll be Mr. Disapoofer! How¡¯s that sound?¡± Dahlia clapped her hands together in glee. ¡°Ruff!¡± Mr. Disapoofer barked happily, pleased with his new name. His emphatic approval filled the back of Dahlia¡¯s mind with a warmth of love and adoration. Familiar bonded. Familiar: Mr. Disapoofers has Loyalty level 3. When Dahlia looked directly at Mr. Disapoofers for a few seconds without blinking information filled her vision.
Mr. Disapoofer Level 1
Strength 12 Intelligence 6
Dexterity 16 Wisdom 14
Constitution 13 Charisma 10
Damage Resistances Psychic
Immunities Frightened, Charmed
Senses Dark Vision 60 feet
Languages Telepathy (60 feet) (Understands Common and Sylvan)
Traits
Phase Step (Recharge) The Warp Wolf can teleport up to 40 ft to an unoccupied space it can see.
Warp Dodge (Reaction) When an attacker the Warp Wolf can see targets it with an attack, it can use its reaction to teleport 10 feet to an unoccupied space.
Flicker Movement The Warp Wolf ignores hazardous terrain and attacks of opportunity.
Dahlia understood the gist of the information. Or so she thought. She flew up and landed on the head of Mr. Disapoofer. She luxuriated in his soft, warm fur that practically radiated with magical energies. The wolf represented the comfort and security of the Soulweald, a touch of home in this strange world Dahlia had found herself exiled too. A confusing place full of voices in one¡¯s head, and knowledge acquired as if by osmosis. Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s wisdom attribute left a pit in Dahlia¡¯s stomach. Her familiar, a glorified teleporting doggy, had more than double her wisdom! She wrapped her arms around her stomach to stop the frustration and embarrassment from transforming into an ache, and repeated Nyxaria¡¯s words to her again and again like a mantra. Attributes could be raised. The dog wasn¡¯t smarter than her. ¡°Rip that big tail feather free for me!¡± Dahlia commanded. Mr. Disapoofer flickered over the large bird and ripped the big tail feather free from the corpse. When he opened his mouth the feather drifted through the air, bit into multiple pieces. Wise or not, the wolf didn¡¯t have opposable thumbs. ¡°Ruff!¡± Sorry! I thought a giant bird tail feather wouldn¡¯t break so easily. Material world animals are very weak. Mr. Disapoofer yowled sadly and pawed at the separated pieces of the feather in the air. ¡°Oh well. You tried!¡± Dahlia said. She patted her familiar encouragingly on the head. Even the pieces of the feather drifting in the air were far too big for her to put into her pouch. Why did everything have to be so obscenely big? What were the architects of this world overcompensating for? ¡°I don¡¯t know where to go now, boy. Can you lead us to people?¡± Dahlia requested. A touch of hope had entered her voice and Dahlia found herself smiling for no good reason. Warp Wolves were intelligent creatures that could speak via telepathy even without a familiar bond and were considered a good omen in many of the fey realms. Not only were they intelligent, but they were also blessed with some of the best hunting senses in all of the Soulweald. She¡¯d hit the jackpot with such a powerful familiar, even if he lacked feather plucking skills. ¡°Ruff!¡± Yes, Mr. Disapoofer answered Dahlia. The wolf sniffed at the air, again and again. Then he took off at a brisk run, and Dahlia had to hold onto his soft fur for dear life. The fact that Warp Wolves casually disregarded obstacles by teleporting around them, or even teleported to bounce off vertical surfaces, made the neck breaking pace the wolf set all the more terrifying.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Unless you were like Dahlia. The idea that the speed they traveled at, with the strange obstacle jumping movement style, might be dangerous never even occurred to the fairy, or if it did, she remained willfully ignorant that it was anything but fun. She let out screams of excitement and encouraged Mr. Disapoofer to go even faster. Warp Wolves appear to ¡®jitter¡¯ when they run at full speed. This effect is especially difficult to watch from a distance, as mirage-like echoes of where a Warp Wolf might move appear and disappear along with the actual wolf itself are prone to experience intense bouts of vertigo. The strange sensations feel much different when you ride on one. Each time a copy of Mr. Disapoofer appeared to one of the sides Dahlia experienced her eyes attempting to water and her mind fighting what she saw. Like any good Fey, she immediately tried to reject the image as an illusion and deprive it of its power. Warp Wolves did not use illusions, though, and disbelief had no effect upon the jittery images of Mr. Disapoofer. The longer Dahlia sat upon her new mount, the more she sensed the truth of what was happening. Mr. Disapoofer could teleport at will, and in rapid sequence, and the afterimages of him were high-potential teleportation spots. When she focused on the weaves of thaumaturgy her wolf created, she saw the tendrils of his magic expand out to form a teleportation conduit, but the Warp Wolf only used a fraction of the conduits it created. The rest were only partially realized, but served to warn off less magical creatures from even thinking of interfering with a Warp Wolf. Dahlia quickly realized she could shut her own eyes and use the power of their familiar bond to look through the eyes of Mr. Disapoofer. For whatever reason, the wolf wasn¡¯t even slightly bothered by his own clones and copies, and ran at full speed as if the jerky, erratic path it chose made total and complete sense. The far side of the Soulweald had a lot of creatures like Warp Wolves. Mistress Nyxaria said it was because the Far Realm constantly tried to seep through an old wound in that part of the forest. Had Mr. Disapoofer come from the Soulweald? ¡°Arrrooo!¡± Yes! Mr. Disapoofer answered her stray thought. Mr. Disapoofer ran until he stood on the banks of a river. ¡°Do you need to cross it?¡± ¡°Ruff!¡± Yes, Mr. Disapoofers answered. ¡°Let me handle this, buddy!¡± Dahlia opened her eyes and shot up into the air. With a wave of her hand, Mr. Disapoofers vanished in a puff of fairy dust. ¡°I wonder where he goes when I do that,¡± Dahlia mused before she flew across the river. It was a large river, hundreds of feet wide. She wondered how mortals dealt with the humungous river. Boats, or maybe a bridge, she figured. In no time she flew across it, although she¡¯d had to go higher up into the air to avoid fish trying to eat her after the first one failed. ¡°Ta-da!¡± Dahlia waved her hand, and made cascades of fairy dust fill the air as she summoned Mr. Disapoofer back. The wolf reappeared amid colorful poofs of magic, unconcerned, but happy to see his master again. ¡°Ruff!¡± Hi! Mr. Disapoofer greeted her excitedly, tail wagging. Dahlia settled back into the comfortable fur atop his head. Some creatures might wrap their hands with the wolf¡¯s fur, but Dahlia used the magical principles of fairy flight to comfortably cuddle down against the wolf. It took less effort and kept her far more securely against the wolf¡¯s fur than she could hope to manage with her tiny, weak hands. ¡°Let¡¯s find some people!¡± Dahlia cried. She wasn¡¯t entirely certain if she was reminding Mr. Disapoofer or herself of their goal, or maybe both. ¡°Arooooo!¡± This way! Mr. Disapoofer howled before he charged into the brush that led upriver. Mr. Disapoofer jumped, warped, and flickered through and around the underbrush near the river like a pro. Dahlia found the high speed acrobatics beautiful in a way wholly different from grace of her own flight. Yet she couldn¡¯t help but find the slapdash, turbulent running of her familiar charming. Perhaps she could charge people to watch him race? Humans ahead. Enemies too. Mr. Disapoofer warned her telepathically. The wolf sniffed in huge amounts of air as it determined what lay upwind. ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s going on!¡± Dahlia decided without giving it much thought. The woods of the Soulweald had been a peaceful place, not one full of violence. But Vaelmir was only the third human Dahlia had ever seen in the Soulweald. Twenty seconds later the wolf burst through brush into a clearing. Two human men and a woman had been backed against the river by a pack of four ugly hyena-men. All of the humans had minor wounds already but stood with their sad weapons drawn against the much more visually menacing hyenas. Dahlia wondered if she should save them. They looked marginally more useful than the hyena-men, who were icky. Their stench was an assault on her delicate nose, especially when she forgot to turn off Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s enhanced sense of smell being shared with her. The mortals didn¡¯t smell all that much better than the hyena-men¡ªthey reeked of sweat, blood, and fear. The nearest hyena-man turned and growled at the loud entrance Mr. Disapoofer made. Dahlia did the first thing that came to her mind, which was try out her other magical spell. She pulled the ingredients from her belt, even as she sang the words of power to Call a Shadow. The appearance of the Warp Wolf had thrown the humans and Hyena-men into confusion, and neither party had even noticed a fairy upon the wolf¡¯s head. ? ¡°From shadowed graves in silent lairs, Awaken now from endless despair, Shadow of death, heed my call, Come forth, and slay my enemies all!¡± ? Dahlia tossed the speck of bone and dirt into the air as her spell finished. A brilliant flash of radiant power consumed both items to birth dark wisps of necrotic energies which burst from the ground and took the form of a spectral Shadow, one of the weakest types of insubstantial, spiritual undead. Call Shadow: You conjure a spectral Shadow to do your bidding until it is released or is destroyed. Material components: grave dust, bone fragment. ¡°Kill the Hyena-man!¡± Dahlia commanded the shadow, and Mr. Disapoofer. The sudden appearance of a Shadow, combined with the flares of magic and the command to attack, broke the standoff between all three groups. The nearest Hyena-man lunged forward with its spear to attack twice, but both of its thrusts failed to hit the actual body of Mr. Disapoofer. ¡°Hail fair wolf, aid us and we shall reward you!¡± A large man with a huge axe shouted. His huge axe was mostly keeping him on his feet. He wasn¡¯t dressed for combat like the other two but seemed attired to perform forestry. He had a few bad-looking wounds barely hidden under his woodsman attire. The blood spilled all over the ground seemed to be his. ¡°You idiot, that¡¯s a fairy riding a wolf! That IS a wolf, isn¡¯t it?¡± The brown-haired woman hissed at the biggest man. She didn¡¯t let the absurd occurrence stop her from letting loose an arrow. She shot the hyena-man in the back of their pack in the face with an arrow. The smaller man, a half elf, had a longsword in one hand and a short sword in the other, and he shuffled his feet in a weird way. His blades formed a barrier of steel that parried and pushed the hyena-men back from the trio. ¡°It isn¡¯t the craziest thing we¡¯ve ever seen, Zorah.¡± The Half-elf downplayed the abrupt appearance of Dahlia as if it were a common occurrence. ¡°It¡¯s the craziest thing I¡¯ve seen today, Joel!¡± Zorah disagreed in a higher-pitched voice than before. ¡°Yessss,¡± the Shadow hissed. It darted forward toward the Hyena-man that had attacked Mr. Disapoofer, and in a moment the Shadow struck it with claw like appendages. To Dahlia¡¯s vision it looked like vibrant life-force passed from the Hyena-man to her Shadow with the successful attack. The Hyena-man Hunter took the blow, his body spasming under the powerful enervating attack. That''s when, in a swift and surprising attack, Mr. Disapoofer made a sudden lunge forward, his jaws clamping down on the creature''s thigh. If the Shadow''s attack prompted a visual and audible response from the Hyena-man Hunter, then the ensuing scene¡ªMr. Disapoofer''s massive canines tearing into the creature''s exposed thigh, shredding the large veins in its fleshy leg, and causing a geyser of blood¡ªelicited a pained howl from the wounded beast-man multitudes more severe than the Shadow had managed. Mr. Disapoofer wagged his tail with pride. The other three Hyena-men shifted their focus onto Dahlia¡¯s wolf. Thunk. Another arrow from Zorah hit the spell-casting Hyena-man in the chest. ¡°Soul Lash!¡± Dahlia cried out excitedly, and the blast of radiant magic struck the already very injured Hyena-man that her minions had attacked. The luminous lance of power smote the Hyena-man, who made an awful gargling laugh sound as it fell to the ground. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t pick fights you can¡¯t win!¡± Dahlia crowed loudly. Mixed with her gleeful laughter, the tiny fairy climbed up the priority list for the other Hyena-men. You have gained 25 experience. Dahlia¡¯s cheering remained short lived. The biggest of the three remaining Hyena-men stepped over its fallen brother¡¯s corpse and swung its giant sword at her and Mr. Disapoofer. She noticed the huge iron weapon looked more like a club than a sword, with hardly any edge to it at all, and then she was looking at the creature¡¯s back. Mr. Disapoofer used Warp Dodge (reaction). The Half-Elf slipped up behind the lagging Hyena-man Hunter. The ugly laugh of the Hyena-man taunted Joel as it parried the attack with his long sword and casually side-stepped his follow up swing with the short sword in his other hand. Joel got his own laugh when he caught the Hyena-man¡¯s weapon with both of his, made some kind of flourishing motion with his hands, and the hunter¡¯s weapon crashed into the rocks along the river. ¡°Tis a poor fighter who can¡¯t tell he¡¯s been baited,¡± Joel declared condescendingly to the unarmed Hyena-man. The spellcaster hyena-man opened its mouth. A mass of putrid green insects eagerly flowed out of its mouth towards the female human who repeatedly shot it in the face. The archer managed to dodge the entire swarm by contorting herself into ridiculous poses. The plague of insects splashed into the river harmlessly before the spell fizzled out. Thud. The archer¡¯s final arrow took the caster in the eye. You have gained 25 experience. ¡°Are you laughing or are you choking on your own breath?¡± Dahlia asked the big sword-wielding Hyena-man, as dark tendrils of psychic power wrapped around him, his frail intellect unable to fight off the intrusion of Shadowy Whispers. The big creature tried to wave away the dark miasma that settled into its thoughts, which was right when Mr. Disapoofer jumped up and ripped his throat out. The Warp Wolf toppled the largest Hyena-man and landed atop of its fresh corpse. There, he howled at the sky. ¡°Awooooo!¡± I¡¯ll kill stupid hyena-things all day! Bring it on! Mr. Disapoofer proclaimed to the world. You have gained 25 experience. ¡°Get him,¡± Dahlia commanded her Shadow, who dejectedly awaited orders. Her tiny hand pointed at the last of the Hyena-men. Dark claws ripped vitality from the Hyena-man, another arrow from Zorah hit it in the shoulder, and then Joel sliced its throat. The awful laughter of the hyena-men ended in a lingering yowl which echoed across the riverbanks with uncanny glee¡ªas if even in death they had claimed some twisted triumph. ¡°Grrr,¡± Mr. Disapoofer growled suspiciously at the dark forest which the river ran through. Cursed, the warp wolf relayed a single word to Dahlia, who was uncertain if he meant the woods or the Hyena-men. Both had the lingering discordant notes that separated the cursed from nature. You have gained 25 experience. ¡°We won! Yay!¡± Dahlia jumped up and down on her place above the head of Mr. Disapoofer. Chapter 4: The People of Riverwatch ¡°Are you going to live Griff?¡± Joel asked in a worried tone that distracted Dahlia from her jumping up and down on Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s head. The large man with the big axe looked very pale. ¡°Bram had the potions,¡± Griff said. The big man sounded sad, but resigned to a grim fate. His wounds seemed to hurt him a great deal. Blood still trickled through his makeshift bandages to splatter the ground. ¡°I told you leaving town without Jessa was suicide,¡± Zorah told Joel and Griff, while she walked over to stab the hyena-men through the throats to make sure they were dead. She also did a quick search of their bodies, but Dahlia wasn¡¯t sure what Zorah might be looking for. The archer¡¯s lips were pressed into a thin line, and she avoided looking at Griff. ¡°Your bleeding is going to catch the attention of another pack, Griff. There¡¯s no way we¡¯re getting back to Riverwatch alive with you bleeding like that.¡± Joel declared. The Half-elf kept scanning the surroundings while he rocked back and forth on his heels. Dahlia found it interesting, the way the Half-Elf kept looking at his swords and Griff. What might she be about to witness? ¡°Are you okay, Mister?¡± Dahlia asked the bleeding, pale man. Griff looked shocked to see the fairy, as if his mind had already blanked out their savior. The look of desperate hope that entered his eyes as he looked at Dahlia offset the insult to her ego of being forgotten. ¡°Lass, I don¡¯t suppose you could heal an old forester?¡± Griff coughed. He¡¯d lost a lot of blood. Dahlia was surprised he was still alive, let alone able to talk. The pungent, corrupted scent of the Hyena-men¡¯s blood failed to cover up the brighter, copper scent of human blood. ¡°Mm. I know a spell,¡± Dahlia demurred. ¡°You¡¯ll owe me!¡± Dahlia cried happily. When the mortal didn¡¯t try to negotiate, Dahlia¡¯s smile grew larger by the second until she couldn¡¯t possibly smile any wider. The old, worn and wounded forester seemed to mistake her smile for desire to help, or concern, and not realize the source of her joy was in someone giving her anything she wanted down the road instead of nailing down a price now. Zorah and Joel both winced when the fairy mentioned a debt, but Griff hesitated only long enough to give Zorah a desperate look. The woman shook her head to indicate no healing items had been scavenged off the corpses. ¡°Aye, I¡¯ll owe you a favor, lass.¡± Griff agreed somberly. ?¡±Soft as a breath in midnight hush, Banish fear and earthly rush, From hidden realms your magic beams, Fill our hearts with healing streams. In starlit glades, your whispers rise, Mending sorrow with gentle sighs, Scars unbound, old pains undone now, We stand renewed beneath the bough. Whisper forth, bright mote of life, Cradle souls in dancing moonlight, Kindle hope in the deepest gloom, Heal our hearts, let new life bloom. ? Dahlia sang the words that bubbled up in her heart, and the magic formed a green wisp of verdant life energy. The wisp floated beside her, nearly as large as Dahlia herself. Which was to say, quite tiny. Unlike the fairy, the wisp was an ephemeral mote of positive magical energy and nothing more. It wasn¡¯t a true Wisp. Wisp Heal (1st level Necromancy spell): Summon an orb of healing energies with ten charges. Each charge heals a minor amount of health. The Wisp remains until spent, or until the caster rests. ¡°You don¡¯t see magic like that every day,¡± Zorah said breathlessly. ¡°Back in Cambria there was an elf who¡­¡± Joel trailed off when Zorah¡¯s silence and hard stare caused him to trail off. ¡°We¡¯re in the ass-ends of nowhere, at least a half day out from Riverwatch. Shut up about Cambria already.¡± Zorah scolded Joel. ¡°Oh, where¡¯s Cambria? What¡¯s Cambria?¡± Dahlia asked. Zorah and Joel glared at one another, Zorah seemed to dare Joel to speak, and Joel stared back at her with a smirk¡ªuntil Zorah took a step closer toward Joel, and he held his hands up. ¡°A Kingdom far to the south, little one. Hailed as the land of magic, and home of the Council of Magi, led by the illustrious Vaelmir the Eternal. Far from here, but not quite as far as where you¡¯re from, I¡¯ll wager.¡± Joel answered Dahlia¡¯s question, but he paid the price of a slap upside the back of his head from Zorah. The fairy didn¡¯t fall for his bait and offered no information about her own origin. While they bickered, Dahlia triggered the first pulse of healing. The wisp diminished by a little from its full glory as a mote of light broke free from the larger mote of positive energy and drifted over to merge with Griff. He barely improved. Dahlia triggered the spell again and again, until the man¡¯s wounds had closed completely. He still looked haggard, but his wounds had sealed and no longer oozed blood on the forest floor. Only five of the Wisp¡¯s charges remained. ¡°Thank you! You¡¯re a life saver, lass. I¡¯m Griff, and this here¡¯s Zorah and Joel,¡± the large forester introduced the party. You have gained one Glimmer point. Dahlia wondered what a Glimmer point was, but the humans were waiting for her to introduce herself. ¡°You can call me Dahlia,¡± Dahlia told the three big people. ¡°This is Mr. Disapoofer, he¡¯s my best friend!¡± Dahlia¡¯s enthusiastic introduction for Mr. Disapoofer garnered her a suspicious look from Zorah, as if the archer expected the wolf to morph into a fey lord or that she fully expected some other ludicrous revelation might happen at any moment. ¡°Ruff!¡± Yes. Mr. Disapoofer barked his approval at being called Dahlia¡¯s best friend. ¡°Ruff!¡± Hello, he greeted the three humanoids enthusiastically. The mortals looked shocked to hear the telepathic greeting from a wolf in their mind. Not for the first time, the mortals shared looks that made the hair on the back of Dahlia¡¯s neck raise. ¡°We need to get back to Riverwatch. Snarf¡¯s pack won¡¯t give up because we took out one hunting party,¡± Zorah lectured the two men, but didn¡¯t stop there. The archer turned to address Dahlia. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing out here alone, but would you like to come back to Riverwatch with us? Even together this is going to get hairy. The last time Snarf came through the bend he nearly breached the walls around town and dozens died.¡± Zorah painted a grim picture with her matter-of-fact words. ¡°Why does me being a fairy seem to scare you three?¡± Dahlia inquired, rather than answering. ¡°There aren¡¯t many Fey in this part of Nantes, maybe all of Nantes, since the War of Iron and Thorns. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be in any danger in these uncivilized lands, but we haven¡¯t dealt with your kind in centuries. If you go to populated areas you are bound to cause quite a scene.¡± Joel answered Dahlia¡¯s question. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll come with you,¡± Dahlia said without giving it much thought. She¡¯d been looking for people, and they wanted to take her to where there were other people. That¡¯d been her goal. Mortals were dumb and easy to trick if she needed to leave, and the forester owed her. ¡°How many spells do you have left, Dahlia?¡± Griff asked. The forester moved to walk behind Zorah. Dahlia giggled in amusement at the large human hiding behind the smaller archer. Joel stuck next to Griff protectively and further played into Dahlia¡¯s mirth at the two small people protecting the big man. Small, of course, was relative. Compared to Dahlia they were all colossal. ¡°None,¡± Dahlia answered with a chaotic laugh. ¡°But I¡¯ve got five uses left on Wisp Heal, my Shadow hasn¡¯t been hurt yet, and neither has Mr. Disapoofer.¡± Indeed, the undead shade lurked behind Dahlia and Mr. Disapoofer in a menacing sort of way. It showed no sign of flagging despite participation in the combat. The Warp Wolf hadn¡¯t been hit at all, unlike the tiny fairy. Dahlia¡¯s grass-bound wound seemed to escape her notice, or she deemed it so mild that it wasn¡¯t worth using a charge of Wisp Heal.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The reality none of the humans were aware of¡ªthe fairy thought the gash from the bird made her look badass, and she endured the pain to look tough. Dahlia didn¡¯t have any familiarity with concepts such as conservation of resources, nor had she ever lived in a place without abundance. The dangers of the Soulweald were not hyena-men. ¡°Follow and protect us,¡± Dahlia ordered her Shadow. It made a dismal moaning sound and fell into the shadow of Mr. Disapoofer. ¡°Which way gets us back to town fastest?¡± Joel asked Griff and Zorah. ¡°If we stick with the river it¡¯ll take us to Riverwatch, but if we get hemmed in against the river we¡¯re done for. The river winds a lot in these parts. If we go through the forest it¡¯ll save us a quarter of the day, but there¡¯s threats bigger than Snarf in the Bramblewood.¡± Griff tried his best to make the woods sound ominous and scary, but Joel, Zorah, and even Dahlia looked skeptical. ¡°We owe it to Riverwatch to make it back as quickly as possible. If the town gets raided without warning we might find only smoking ruins waiting for us, and the ferry lines cut.¡± Zorah spat on the ground. Dahlia appreciated the cut-throat simplicity with which Zorah viewed the continued existence of Riverwatch. No matter how else the archer felt about the town, Zorah seemed to consider its existence necessary for her own ease of life. Dahlia had a small burst of insight that bubbled up through her mind, not unlike a gas bubble rising through a swamp. The archer could, and would, be useful to her in the days ahead. ¡°Ferry?¡± Dahlia asked. She wondered why they were saying the word ¡®fairy¡¯ weirdly. ¡°Riverwatch and its ferries are the only safe place to cross the Silvervein River for hundreds of miles. Ferries are boats that use guide ropes to cross the Silvervein.¡± Joel explained as succinctly as he could. ¡°Having wings is great,¡± Dahlia told the others smugly. They mostly ignored her, but Joel examined her wings appreciatively, which earned him a smile from the fairy. The other two ignored her perfect pose, shoulders back, fully showcasing the purple-blue-and-black butterfly wings. She spread her delicate appearing wings to their full span and produced a burst of fairy dust to add a cloud of sparkles with which to frame herself in. ¡°I say we cross the Bramblewood,¡± Joel voted half in a daze, partially transfixed by the magical display of the fairy, and her fey allure. ¡°Aye, the Bramblewood.¡± Griff nodded and tapped his foot, impatient to be on the move and in the comparative safety of walls and civilization. ¡°What do you think, Dahlia?¡± Zorah asked the fairy. ¡°I like forests,¡± Dahlia answered. ¡°Griff, you¡¯re in the lead with me. Joel, you¡¯ve got the rear. Dahlia, you stay in the middle of the pack, okay?¡± Zorah explained the marching order for the group. The two men nodded their assent, as if it had been the expected order. Dahlia didn¡¯t like not being first. Being in front meant you got to have the first chance to see treasures and claim them. Were Zorah and Griff greedy people, like the sharp-eyed Deborah back home? Did the mortals intend to keep all the treasures for themselves? ¡°Okay,¡± Dahlia said after only a momentary hesitation. With the speed of Mr. Disapoofer and his teleporting, Dahlia figured she¡¯d be able to get to any real finds before the giant humans did, and they were taking her to their home. The humans were slow. For such big creatures they were almost plodding at their pace. Dahlia had to repeatedly scold Mr. Disapoofers telepathically. The Warp Wolf struggled to slow itself down to the level of humans for the first ten minutes of their travel. She needn¡¯t have worried about the idea of losing any treasures to the ponderously slow mortals. Unfortunately, the Bramblewood had far fewer treasures than the Soulweald. The Bramblewood was mostly a new greenwood, or young forest. Some of the trees had larval spirits, but almost none had developed dryads or other nature spirits capable of conversing with yet. A few hundred more years, maybe, and the inquisitive motes of magic that dwelled within the largest trees would be able to hold a conversation. Not a great conversation, but they could at least tell Dahlia things like where the nearest collections of magic were to be found, or report on things like humans hiding shiny things in their domain. Yet out at the edges of Dahlia¡¯s senses, she felt the familiar tingle of awareness, likely a dryad or other treefolk. There were familiar vestiges of darkness, ancient and terrible, secreted away in the otherwise young forest. ¡°Did someone burn down an old forest?¡± Dahlia asked the humans. ¡°No idea,¡± Zorah said. ¡°Not much old growth in the Bramblewood, but there is some still hanging on. Could¡¯ve been a fire that wiped out the old growth?¡± Griff speculated but had no answer for Dahlia either. ¡°The final battles of the War were fought near here, if I recall my history,¡± Joel said. ¡°The old nations have been slow to gobble up the land of the Fey. Gone or not, the land itself seems to seek a steep price to allow new tenants.¡± The air held the familiar scent of damp and decaying leaves. The tree trunks were dark and rough, covered in moss and fungi. The names of these mundane forest treasures eluded her, for they weren¡¯t the magical treasures that she grew up nibbling on in the Soulweald. A faint mist moved through the valleys and low-lands, and the humans took great care to avoid it. While it looked unfriendly, Dahlia had never met a cloud before. When she was on her own, she¡¯d come back and find the fog on her own. The quiet of the wood was sparse, but enough to not be unnatural. Dahlia saw glimpses of foxes, owls, squirrels, and other tiny woodland critters. At least, that¡¯s the way it began. Somewhere in the third hour of their trek, Dahlia noticed the animals had all vanished and she couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint when that had happened. She¡¯d been on the lookout for any of her favorite forest treasures, but not even one had shown up in the stupid forest, with its low magic-concentrations. Why, she hadn¡¯t even seen a single sign of another fey creature! Maybe the idiot mortals of this world really had gone to war and driven out the Fey, and that hadn¡¯t been a horribly bad joke? ¡°Shit,¡± Zorah whispered when a strange clicking occurred. It originated from underneath the woman¡¯s left boot when she stepped down. ¡°Trap?¡± Joel asked from the back of the pack. ¡°Don¡¯t move your foot,¡± Griff instructed Zorah. The big man used the haft of his axe to push some of the gathered leaves and brush away from the woman¡¯s boot, revealing a small stone box buried in the ground under her foot. ¡°What in the fuck¡¯s a Cambrian Inferno Mine doing out here in the Bramblewood?¡± Zorah spat. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not Cambrian,¡± Joel corrected her. ¡°But it is a gods damned Inferno Mine, isn¡¯t it? Who gives a shit if its Cambrian or not?¡± Zorah asked with her voice comically high pitched. ¡°Yeah,¡± Griff said somberly, as if he¡¯d pronounced a death sentence. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a mine. We¡¯ve ran into a few different types out here in the woods before.¡± ¡°It might be an Inferno Mine. No way to know the element until it detonates.¡± Joel grimaced. Mr. Disapoofer growled and looked back the way we had come. A pack of five hyena-men crested the last big hill two hundred yards back, and when they caught sight of their prey, they all laughed and jeered with their awful sounding calls. ¡°Leave me behind, I¡¯ll take them all out with me,¡± Zorah said with grim reluctance. Dahlia looked between the rapidly approaching Hyena-men and Zorah, then down at the rocks. ¡°I can delay the trap,¡± Dahlia said confidently. ¡°Can you pull it out and throw it at them?¡± All three of the large creatures looked at her in deep consternation. Dahlia looked back at them with a confident smile. ¡°None of you know how to manipulate magic, do you? That¡¯s fair, since you¡¯re mortals after all, and I¡¯m a fairy, a magical being. I¡¯ve been playing with traps since I could fly. It¡¯s a game, you see.¡± Dahlia explained to the dumber than usual looking mortals. Memories flickered through her mind. Jaunts through the Soulweald with her sisters. Competitions to see who could grasp the flow of magic around ancient glyphs and worn traps and make them do other things than what they were intended for. ¡°Fuck it,¡± Griff said. ¡°Tell me what to do, little one. Zorah, get your bow out and pick them off before they reach us, Joel, defensive line.¡± Dahlia hopped off the comfortable head of Mr. Disapoofer and landed next to the stone box, her purple butterfly wings beating, unnecessarily, only once or twice in the descent. ¡°You can take your foot off now,¡± Dahlia told Zorah once her tiny hand touched the stone box. The sparkling eyes of the fairy glowed as she took control of the ambient flow of magic through the old trap. Fairy dust swirled around the tiny fey, and pulses of magic made little popping sounds. Dahlia focused on the fiery magic inside of the stone box. Magic was easy to coax into doing things, if you asked it nicely, gave it some fairy dust, and had spent a lifetime playing games in enchanted woods. It also helped if you understood magic. Wizards manifested this understanding via scholarly endeavors, formulas, and the cold hard facts of empirical evidence. Sorcerers frequently had innate connections to at least one source of magic. Dahlia was neither sorcerer or wizard, but a Gloamcaller and a fairy. Magic was hers, and she was magic. Congratulations! Your skill in Magic¡ªThaumaturgy has increased by 1, to 2. Rank 2 grants you Subtle Infusion¡ªYour spells may tap the leylines of magic that run through reality. Once per day you may cast a spell with by tapping the leylines to either reduce the cost (no spell slot spent), or amplify the effect. The dumb voice in Dahlia¡¯s head recognized her greatness, but she already knew she was the best. ¡°Alright biggy, you can pick it up and throw it. For extra measure..¡± Dahlia brought her tiny fingers to her lips and blew a kiss to Griff. To the human¡¯s surprise, the kiss solidified in the air, made of royal purple energies. It struck the dumbfounded man on the cheek. Clearly it thrilled him to his core from the way he squirmed and shivered as Dahlia¡¯s Shadow Kiss suffused his being and echoes of her unnatural fey essence twisted fate and chance to more beneficial outcomes. What glimpses of fates denied did the logger see for a brief moment, and alter his actions to avoid? Dahlia wished she knew. No doubt there would be great entertainment to be found in that knowledge, but the ability gave her no insight into what those she blessed with a kiss saw or experienced. ¡°And for even more, extra good-er measure! Fates be Swayed!¡± Dahlia commanded as she twisted the flows of magic in the area even more. The dainty voice commanding reality, rather than begging it for help, drew the suspicion and attention of Zorah when Dahlia activated the cantrip Echo of Destiny. Golden threads flickered around Griff, and Dahlia impatiently tapped her foot on the explosive. ¡°Now pick it up! They¡¯re almost here! You¡¯ve got to throw it for a big boom!¡± Dahlia instructed Griff with a growing sense of urgency. Unlike the mortals, she could sense the pulsing, destructive flame magics contained within the mine, and how thin of a thing it was that she prevented it from detonating with them still inside of the blast radius. Griff looked to Zorah who fired arrow after arrow at the oncoming pack of hyena-men, and Joel who waited with his blades drawn. ¡°Do it!¡± Zorah shouted. Griff snapped out of his daze, pulled the mine into his hands with a cringe, and hurled the box. Chapter 5: Big Boom Griff threw the stone contraption when the Hyena-men were only thirty-feet away. His muscular arms strained against the weight of the heavy mine, but Dahlia remained standing atop the trap¡ªpreventing the arcane reaction fighting to be unleashed. Purple energies rippled along Griff¡¯s muscled lumberjack arms and the stone sailed through the air. At the halfway point to the Hyena-men, at the height of the arc of Griff¡¯s throw, Dahlia flew swiftly away from trap¡ªat full speed, with both of her arms in front of her and her wings flapping frantically. Fiery red lines glowed across the surface of the stone box. One of Zorah¡¯s arrows struck a Hyena-man in the eye. Mr. Disapoofer dashed after the box, leaped into the air, and the projectile of fairy dust known as Dahlia, furiously flapping her tiny wings to haul ass away from the impending explosion, grasped his white fur in a flash of vibrant fey magic and aerial acrobatics. The Warp Wolf and Dahlia turned inverted colors, vanished, and reappeared next to Griff and Zorah in a flicker of white teleportation energies. KRAK. BOOOOOM. You have gained (25 x 3)¡ª75 experience. Where the box exploded multi-colored flames rushed outward and seared leaves, trees, and fur. It elicited painful screams from the pack of charging Hyena-men. The conflagration looked a fair bit like the explosion of a fireball spell to Dahlia, although the intensity and size of the effect were much reduced from the infamously potent fire spell. Three of the Hyena-men were reduced to smoldering corpses by the incendiary trap, and the two who remained standing did so barely. The super-heated, shattered rock projectiles of the mine container filled the corpses and surrounding area with smoldering hunks of fragmented stone and holes through which they had passed, causing gaping, self-cauterizing wounds. Zorah dropped one of the surviving Hyena-men a single well-aimed hit, her arrow punctured the enemies throat and quieted its dying cries. You have gained 25 experience. Congratulations, you are ready to advance to level 2! Visit a Pillar of Ascension to advance. ¡°Soul Lash!¡± Dahlia cried, and the air between the last Hyena-man and her hand filled with crackling radiant power that finished off the final enemy. You have gained 25 experience. ¡°Thanks Dahlia, you¡¯re a life saver.¡± Joel thanked the fairy, his eyes on the still smoldering corpses. You have gained one Glimmer point. ¡°Indeed, thank you, little one. I would not have enjoyed being caught in that trap,¡± Zorah said slowly, reluctantly, after Joel thanked Dahlia. You have gained one Glimmer point. ¡°Do you know what a Pillar of Ascension is? Or what Glimmer is?¡± Dahlia asked the trio with a confused expression. ¡°Pillars of Ascension can be found in most towns, and in some ruins. That¡¯s where you go to level up. As for Glimmer¡­ sounds fey?¡± Zorah answered Dahlia with a large shrug of her shoulders. ¡°Is there one where we¡¯re going?¡± Dahlia¡¯s eagerness perked up despite the lack of answers to the question she really wanted answered. Points were used to win, or at least keep score, and Dahlia loved to win or be superior to others. She¡¯d have the most points and be the best in no time. ¡°There is. We¡¯d better get a move on, an explosion like that might draw attention¡ªwho am I kidding, it definitely will. They might have ugly. I¡¯d like to avoid fighting another squad if we can.¡± Zorah muttered darkly as she took one last look at the area decimated by the fire trap. She didn¡¯t even move to loot the still burning corpses. Dahlia waved her hand and used Magic Trick to put the last lingering fires out. It¡¯d be a shame to burn a forest down accidentally, even if it seemed to be utterly lacking in spirits. ¡°Aye,¡± Griff said darkly as he peered each way into the Bramblewood. The fear seemed so palpable that Dahlia could almost see the figments of his imagination crawling out of his mind into the forest around them. ¡°I hate when the two of you sound like you¡¯ve got a bad feeling, it always turns out to be true.¡± Joel grumbled at Griff and Zorah. He didn¡¯t put his weapons away and continued to hold both his blades while the group resumed moving. Joel might not have anything to stab, but the blades did come in useful for pushing thorned branches out of the way. Despite the rampant paranoia of the group no other monsters caught up to them for over an hour. When they found a small tranquil hollow with a brook running through it the toll of uneven ground, dense thickets, biting thorns, and so many hills had Griff practically collapse into a pile out of exhaustion. The woodsman stirred after a brief minute to study the stream, before he pushed his face into it and drank deeply. Several dead and some dying bushes helped provide shelter and concealed the hollow from multiple directions. So, the group took a quick rest to drink water, wash away sweat, and otherwise catch their breath. ¡°Why¡¯d you ask about the Pillar of Ascension, lass? Did you level up?¡± Griff inquired of Dahlia. ¡°I did!¡± Dahlia answered happily. ¡°Aye? I did earlier today, too.¡± Griff seemed to be as proud of himself as Dahlia was of herself. Sniff. Sniff. ¡°Grrrrrrrrr.¡± Mr. Disapoofer growled low in the back of his throat, his ears flattening and his sharp fangs showing. Blights. The Warp Wolf sent a single word to Dahlia, identifying the threat that had surrounded them unseen. ¡°Fucking fuck,¡± Zorah cried after she sniffed the wind herself. A volley of sharp needles struck Griff across his back. The sharp spikes of wood blasted through his forestry gear with no diminishment, and one of the spikes pierced inches deep into the large man¡¯s flesh. The dead plants atop the hollow writhed and revealed themselves to be Blighted Twigs and Needlers. ¡°Kill the bad plants!¡± Dahlia commanded her Shadow and Mr. Disapoofer before she flew to Griff to see if he was still alive. ¡°Hold the line!¡± Joel growled harshly and took up position where any attackers from the northern lip of the hollow would have to get past him to reach the others. ¡°Shame we didn¡¯t light a fire,¡± Zorah griped as she knocked an arrow. Dahlia spent another charge of Wisp Heal on Griff. Multiple wooden needles were pushed from his flesh as the verdant magic seeped into his body, quickly repairing damage with a rapidity that only magic could accomplish. She burned two more charges, to get the rest of the spines out of his body and close the wounds. In that time, Mr. Disapoofers, her Shadow, and the two humans dispatched the blighted plants. You have gained [(6 x 7)¡ª42 +13] 54 experience. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I hate Blighted Twigs, but Blighted Needlers are the worst. If one gets the drop on you it can be the end of you.¡± Griff groaned. Again, Dahlia had only managed to close his wounds. She lacked the resources to bring the forester back to full health. ¡°We have to go, now,¡± Zorah told the others. ¡°Needlers release pollen that alerts their kind to a foe¡¯s location. More will be on the way. Worse, I¡¯m down to ten arrows.¡± With that grim warning, the group hurried from the scene and resumed their trek towards Riverwatch. Between Zorah¡¯s keen eyes and Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s extraordinary nose the group managed to dodge two more ambushes by blighted plant monsters. An hour later, the sun weakening on its descent towards the horizon, they broke through the last thickets of brambles. The sight that welcomed them was a welcome relief that drew happy sounds from the mortals. Dahlia didn¡¯t enjoy the sight of the sun reflecting off the huge expanse of the Silvervein River blinding them, but when the sun lowered just a bit more and she could see, she felt a mix of pity and disappointment. Pity was a rare emotion for the fairy, but to her great surprise, that was the emotion that bubbled up within her when she got her first glimpse of a human settlement. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of wood,¡± Dahlia told Mr. Disapoofer. The entire settlement of Riverwatch lay encircled by ten-foot-tall wooden palisades. Behind the spiked wall lay primitive wooden buildings arranged in a chaotic patchwork, and a few important looking buildings of stone loomed over the smaller wooden constructions. ¡°Praise Hathor,¡± Joel whispered. The half-elf clutched a symbol from his pocket when he said it. ¡°Aye, lad. Praise be to Hathor and Horus both. Let¡¯s get into the town and warn them about Snarf, then we¡¯ve got to inform Bram¡¯s mum about his loss.¡± Griff laid out the group¡¯s obligations dourly. Their pace took on a slower gait, what with the safety of town in plain sight mixed with the reluctance of the mortals to explain what happened to the local authorities and soon to be bereaved. Zorah coughed awkwardly until she and Griff made eye contact. ¡°Dahlia, can you hide your Shadow and familiar? It will make getting into town a lot easier.¡± Griff asked delicately. ¡°I guess, but Mr. Disapoofer would have an easy time getting into town. Poof. Easy peasy.¡± Dahlia looked at the other three as if they were insane, or stupid, but they were the ones who lived there so it would be rude to deny their request. ¡°Into my shadow and stay there until I say otherwise.¡± Dahlia commanded her Shadow, before she turned her attention to her familiar. ¡°I¡¯ll call you back soon, I promise,¡± Dahlia swore to Mr. Disapoofer and the Warp Wolf vanished in a swirl of fairy dust. Without Mr. Disapoofer to sit on, Dahlia opted to land on Griff¡¯s head. She deployed the last charges of Wisp Heal on the man. The gates to Riverwatch weren¡¯t that big. No roads left the settlement, only paths trod by pack animals and men. Nor was there a line to get into the town, but there were armed men in chainmail with spears and halberds guarding the gate. ¡°What in the name of Thoth¡¯s sacred scrolls happened to you lot?¡± An overly familiar man with brown hair and a broken smile asked Griff. The good natured humor of the guard faltered when he noticed Dahlia sitting upon the forester¡¯s head. ¡°Are you trying to bring a blasted fairy into town? Have you lost your damned mind, Griff?¡± ¡°No Bram?¡± The other guard asked. He was a blonde man who looked worriedly towards the Bramblewood, but his eyes did repeatedly flick to study Dahlia as if she were a ravenous monster that could consume all their souls at any minute. He seemed less concerned with trying to stop the soul-eating and more interested in fleeing. ¡°Snarf¡¯s back and we¡¯re on our way to tell Lord Greystone,¡± Zorah answered gruffly. ¡°Dahlia here helped us fight off a few of Snarf¡¯s scouts and saved my life to boot. I¡¯ll vouch for her.¡± Griff assured the guards. ¡°Fucking fuck,¡± the brown-haired guard growled when Zorah mentioned Snarf. ¡°Off to Lord Graystone with you then, and tell him about the fairy, too,¡± the blonde guard waved the party into town, even more happy to be rid of Dahlia with the responsibility of her actions being someone else¡¯s problem. Joel groaned. ¡°Head to the tavern then, lad, we¡¯ll meet you after we meet with Hal.¡± Griff pat Joel on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks, Griff. I can¡¯t stand that guy.¡± Joel said sincerely, before he turned and smirked at Zorah. ¡°What the shit, why can¡¯t I skip the meeting too?¡± Zorah demanded. ¡°You¡¯re one of the few rangers in Riverwatch, Zorah, Hal isn¡¯t going to take my word that Snarf is back if you were with me and aren¡¯t there to back me up.¡± Griff explained. Zorah¡¯s sour expression didn¡¯t improve in the least, but she did give Griff a nod of displeased acceptance. Dahlia contented herself with staring at all the huge buildings and people that bustled inside of Riverwatch. There were vendors that sold weapons, armor, food, ingredients, wood, stone, if you named it someone sold it. It was a stark contrast to the Soulweald where a single merchant might wander through once a decade. Of course, the streets were a trampled mess. The muddy streets gave way to cobble stone streets as they approached the part of town with big stone buildings. Dahlia wondered why they hadn¡¯t made all of their streets out of stone. Griff kept kicking his feet at the cobbles to try and work the mud off his boots, while Zorah¡¯s boots were miraculously free of dirt. ¡°Ta-da!¡± Dahlia declaimed and tapped the top of Griff¡¯s head. Her use of Magic Trick cleaned the man¡¯s boots to a level of being unsoiled the boots hadn¡¯t been since they were new. ¡°What a kind lass,¡± Griff laughed happily. Zorah¡¯s lips tightened at the display of magic that matched the effect used to clean her own boots. Dahlia eyed the ranger in contemplation¡ªclearly Zorah had a cantrip to clean and tidy the same as Dahlia, but based on the nature magic of druids and rangers. This in itself wasn¡¯t a large thing, but it did mean Zorah could use magic herself, and that bore investigation. Griff led them to one of the big stone buildings, and inside a youngish human woman looked at them in askance. Dahlia liked the woman¡¯s colorful auburn hair that rested slightly more on the red side of auburn than the brown side. ¡°What can I do for you today, Griff?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to report some bad news to Lord Graystone. Is he in?¡± Griff asked. ¡°He is. I¡¯ll let him¡­know.¡± The young woman trailed off, her eyes widened in shock. She had finally noticed Dahlia sitting on Griff¡¯s head. ¡°Is that a fairy? I¡¯ve never seen a fairy before. The fey are supposed to be gone¡­¡± The young woman babbled heedless of her audience, the appearance of a fairy shattering any norms or etiquette that the secretary normally followed. ¡°Hi!¡± Dahlia said, excited to meet another person. She didn¡¯t like the sound of fey being gone though. How bad of a war had happened on this world, how long ago had it been, and why would anyone want fairies to leave to begin with? ¡°Aye, this is Dahlia. She saved our hides from monsters and accompanied us back to Riverwatch. She¡¯s a good sort.¡± Griff explained. The young woman looked to Zorah, who nodded that what Griff said was true. ¡°Well, hello Dahlia. I¡¯m Amelia. I¡¯ve never met a fairy before. Welcome to Riverwatch,¡± the young woman said with a smile. Despite the humans excitement there was a palpable undercurrent of fear that Dahlia couldn¡¯t ignore. It wasn¡¯t the wizened fear of a mortal who knew to protect their name, what to agree to and not, or even one who knew how to play music or ward against her kind with iron. It was disembodied fear built on tales and legends which had lost connection with the truth that birthed them. It created a displeasing sensation in Dahlia¡¯s stomach and mind, born of the confusion of truth and words. The discordant notes born by their preconceived notions were so strong as to make Dahlia feel physically ill. ¡°You¡¯ve got a very vibrant color of hair,¡± Dahlia complimented the woman, who blushed. The red in her cheeks highlighted the red of her hair even more. Zorah coughed¡ªit sounded almost like a dog bark. When the young woman met the gaze of the archer she looked down, flushed redder, and muttered apologies under her breath. ¡°One moment,¡± Amelia said and scurried away from the desk towards another door. ¡°Are faeries rare here?¡± Dahlia wondered aloud. ¡°Yes. Legends hold that the forests of the north once held an abundance of the fey, but over the years their presence has diminished. Supposedly some fabled city of magic used to be out in the Bramblewood. Most people these days think fairies are legends, just like that made up town.¡± Zorah explained succinctly. ¡°That¡¯s sad,¡± Dahlia said, but the mortals didn¡¯t understand her. They didn¡¯t understand how wrong they were, their words echoed with half-truths and conspiracies, gossip and rumor, not the solid gold notes of truth. Why couldn¡¯t they see it? Amelia saved Griff and Zorah from having to respond to Dahlia when she reappeared at the door and waved the forester and ranger inside. ¡°Lord Graystone will see you now. Adeline will be by shortly with tea and a snack,¡± Amelia informed them. Griff, Zorah, and Dahlia all perked up at the promise of snacks. It had been hours of trudging through the Bramblewood without anything to eat but a brief drink when they¡¯d been ambushed. What kind of food would humans have? Would it be as depressing and boring as the town they¡¯d come to? For the first time, Dahlia wondered, what do humans eat? She imagined grass. Hunks of animals. Mushrooms. Dahlia squirmed uncomfortably, wondering if there would be sugar. ¡°Griff, Zorah. Have a seat. Amelia says you¡¯ve brought me dire news, and an unexpected visitor?¡± An older human asked the duo as they entered his office. The white-haired man sat behind a big wooden desk filled with papers, and he had the most elaborate mustaches Dahlia had ever seen¡ªon a mortal. Fey mustaches were a step beyond mortal comprehension. They could even give a gnome a run for their money. ¡°Snarf¡¯s back,¡± Zorah said succinctly, although her expression made it seem she had a sour, unpleasant taste lingering in her mouth despite delivering the message. ¡°By Set¡¯s scorpion-bitten backside!¡± Lord Graystone cursed. Chapter 6: Bearers of Bad News ¡°We fought three different patrols in the Bramblewood, and the first patrol was led by a pack leader accompanied by a Fang of Set. We lost Bram in that fight.¡± Griff winced at the recollection. ¡°I used all of my enchanted arrows to kill the Fang, and Joel and I were running on fumes when we ran into another patrol along the Silvervein. If not for the fairy, we might have died there,¡± Zorah begrudgingly explained the rest of their travels back to Riverwatch, including the ambush by the Blighted Twigs. ¡°Great, great. Snarf¡¯s back with his Fangs of Set, Blighters are ambushing people within a stones throw of town, and Jessa and Bennet are across the river dealing with bandits. Is there no good news?¡± Lord Graystone complained. ¡°Well, there¡¯s Dahlia,¡± Griff pointed to the fairy sitting on his head. ¡°Hi,¡± Dahlia said. Her voice and appearance seemed to strike Lord Graystone like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened, he sputtered and pulled a pair of wire-framed glasses from his desk to his eyes. ¡°By Bes¡¯s bristling beard! A real fairy?¡± Lord Graystone stared at Dahlia as if she were a strange creature, and not a common fairy. Which, Dahlia reflected, was true. Unlike that skank Deborah, Dahlia exuded grace, charm, and copious amounts of fairy dust. ¡°Yep,¡± Zorah confirmed. ¡°Dahlia¡¯s got a magic wolf familiar.¡± ¡°And a conjured Shadow. More impressively, she healed my wounds when I lay on the cusp of death. Twice I felt the cold touch of Nephthys on my shoulder, and twice she pulled me back.¡± Griff added, vouching for the fairy. ¡°I am amazing, aren¡¯t I?¡± Dahlia chimed in with a faint blush on her barely visible cheeks. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± Graystone asked. ¡°The Soulweald. My Mistress sent me here because of that big dummy Vaelmir the Ancient.¡± ¡°Do you perchance mean Vaelmir the Eternal?¡± Lord Graystone queried. The old nobleman seemed shocked that someone might refer to Vaelmir in such a way, but he didn¡¯t press it. Dahlia took this to mean her social status was unknown relative to that of Vaelmir, but Graystone¡¯s status relative to Vaelmir seemed abundantly clear to Dahlia based on the reverence and fear the old lord held for the mage. ¡°Yes, Vaelmir the Dumb and Old is why I¡¯m here,¡± Dahlia corrected haughtily. Dahlia felt no remorse for her true interpretation of events. ¡°Lord Vaelmir sent you to save us from Snarf? We¡¯re saved!¡± Lord Graystone clapped his hands happily but paused when he saw the serious expressions on Zorah and Griff¡¯s face. ¡°The lass is impressive, but Snarf might be a bit much even for her.¡± Griff said diplomatically. ¡°I¡¯m here to become the greatest Necromancer! I guess I could save you too.¡± Dahlia exposed her quest without any hesitation, or wondering if she should. ¡°Necromancer?¡± The old man repeated, looking shocked and more than a little appalled. Griff and Zorah also looked surprised, but then frowned and nodded, as if they shouldn¡¯t be. They had seen her Shadow, afterall. ¡°Well, that¡¯s between you, Osiris, and Anubis,¡± Lord Graystone said. Despite what Lord Graystone said, Dahlia definitely felt like the old mortal had judged her himself, and found necromancy to be an unpleasant subject. ¡°We need to rally the defenses. There¡¯s no telling when Snarf will raid,¡± Griff said with urgency. ¡°Right, right. Zorah, could you brief Jaspar and send him to me after?¡± Lord Graystone asked the surly ranger. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m on it.¡± Zorah bowed her head slightly then slipped out of the room. The smirk of self-satisfaction Zorah flashed Griff made Dahlia wonder why the ranger seemed so happy to get out of the meeting. While slightly judgmental, the town¡¯s lord struck Dahlia as a mostly pleasant fellow. ¡°And you two,¡± Lord Graystone said. He didn¡¯t get any further, as another young woman with auburn hair who looked an awful lot like Amelia entered the room with a tray. Dahlia found herself briefly wondering if Amelia had changed dresses and hair styles to impress her, but the tray contained cups that demanded her attention. In addition to a steaming carafe that exuded a delicious aroma there was a jar of honey, a few cubes of sugar, and pastries with a honey glaze. Dahlia¡¯s tiny stomach growled, and her mouth watered at the huge treats. ¡°Adeline, we¡¯re¡ª¡± Graystone said, but stopped when his daughter poured him a cup of tea and set a plate in front of him. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, father.¡± Adeline chided and poured Griff a cup of tea and set out a plate for him. Dahlia couldn¡¯t restrain herself anymore and bolted off Griff¡¯s head to dart around Adeline. ¡°For Dahlia too?¡± The fairy asked, practically drooling as she flew in circles around Adeline. This left trails of fairy dust sparkling in the air like glitter. The magical energy, like Dahlia¡¯s hair, shifted from white to purple, sometimes to yellow, then to pink, then back to white in a practically breathing spectrum of color. ¡°I¡¯ve never met a fairy before; how would you like your tea? I hope this cup is small enough, it was the smallest I could find,¡± Adeline apologized as she poured a tiny amount of tea into a cup half the size of the men¡¯s, which coincidentally was half as big as Dahlia herself. ¡°With honey! And sugar! And honey!¡± Dahlia cheered, her eyes growing wide at the pile of sugar. ¡°And would you like a pastry?¡± Adeline asked between laughs, unable to hide the joy Dahlia sparked in her. Even Griff and Lord Graystone were hiding smiles and chuckling at the fairy.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Oh, yes!¡± Dahlia agreed. ¡°I love sweets!¡± The men discussed boring things, like where in the Bramblewood the Hyena-men attacks had happened, where Bram had fallen, and the location of the hollow that the Blighters had attacked. Dahlia ignored all of that and luxuriated in the sweetened tea and honeyed pastry. It was an uphill struggle to rip the pastry into bite size pieces, but Adeline took pity on Dahlia and helped her out. ¡°So, what will you do, Dahlia?¡± Griff asked when the fairy sighed contentedly and sat on the table, her plate nothing but crumbs. All three humans stared at the fairy, wondering where the pastry that had been larger than Dahlia went. ¡°There¡¯s a Pillar of Ascension here, right? I need to visit it!¡± Dahlia answered without any hesitation. ¡°I do as well, I¡¯ll take you there. Have you put any thought into what you¡¯ll do after that?¡± Griff coaxed her for an answer. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to save your town from Snarf, duh. Then I¡¯ll become the greatest Necromancer in the world. After that, I suppose I¡¯ll go home.¡± Dahlia smiled brightly, listing her objectives in order as if she¡¯d knock them out in an afternoon. ¡°I see,¡± Griff replied diplomatically before he looked to Graystone. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay with Griff, Lady Dahlia?¡± the Lord suggested, but Adeline coughed and scowled at her father. ¡°No, why don¡¯t you stay with us, Lady Dahlia? Amelia and I would love to have your company, and we have treats,¡± the Lord¡¯s daughter said with the smile of a tempter. ¡°Okay!¡± Dahlia said. Normally she would be reluctant to accept gifts from mortals, but Dahlia already knew Griff to be a sweaty, smelly beast of a person. Any accommodation associated with the forester were likely to be beneath Dahlia¡¯s standards. If any debt were created by staying with the Lord, she¡¯d simply make Griff pay it off in recompense for saving his life. ¡°Let¡¯s go see the rock thing now, Griff!¡± Dahlia demanded. She flew into the air and went through a few flying loops to burn some of her sugar fueled energy off. Adeline looked suspicious, as if Griff might not bring Dahlia back. ¡°I¡¯ll bring her back after,¡± Griff said with a laugh. ¡°Did you get what you went out for?¡± Graystone asked Griff. ¡°Yes, we managed to get it done. Wood from an Ashenheart,¡± Griff answered and untied a pouch from his belt and set it on Graystone¡¯s desk. The small bag looked like an ordinary bag, it didn¡¯t radiate any magic, but Dahlia realized that was part of the pouch¡¯s enchantment. She could sense, if not see, powerful magic within it. ¡°Aw, if I had a Pouch of Plenty I could¡¯ve kept the bird that tried to eat me,¡± Dahlia lamented. No one offered to give her a pouch, despite her subtle hint. How rude. ¡°Good job, Griff. I¡¯ll have your payment later, stop back after you visit the Pillar.¡± Lord Graystone took the pouch and caressed the bag happily. ¡°Come on lass,¡± Griff told Dahlia as he roused and shepherded the two of them out of the room. Adeline followed them to the front exit. ¡°Do come back, Dahlia!¡± Adeline said, and Amelia echoed her with a happy smile. ¡°I like the girls,¡± Dahlia told Griff from his head. ¡°They¡¯re sweet lasses, aye. Now, are you ready to level up?¡± Griff asked. Dahlia answered by jumping up and down on his head for the whole walk to the town square. Hyped up on sugar, Dahlia had an endless pool of energy to draw on, such that Griff had the potential to end up with a bruised head. The Pillar of Ascension climbed twenty feet or more into the air. Its base held a large depiction of the Book of Thoth, and a large number of ceremonial depictions. The rest of the pillar was more artistic and formed three climbing spirals of stone that ended at three different heights. ¡°What do you do?¡± Dahlia asked in an almost whisper. ¡°Touch it,¡± Griff answered simply and extended his hand. His eyes went pure white when he touched the stone. Dahlia flew off his head and landed on the ground, where she too touched the Pillar of Ascension. The world crumbled away, and Dahlia found herself in the black space outside of Nantes once more. You have reached level two. You have gained: 1 1st level spell slot. You have learned Dread Resolution. Dread Resolution (1st level Enchantment spell): You touch a creature, infusing them with the determination of fallen heroes. Grants fear immunity, temporary hit points, and enhances the attacks of allies in ten feet. You have gained the following class features: Call of Gloam, Dark Chorus. Call of Gloam: Summon an ancient knight bound to uphold the oaths of the past. Dark Chorus: You have unlocked fragments of the song of the Soulweald. Choose two from the following list. Deadly Refrain: Your Charisma enhances the damage of a cantrip of your choice. Distant Verse: Choose one cantrip, your effective range increases dramatically. Repellant Intro: Choose one cantrip, your cantrip now pushes the target up to ten feet away from you. Warding Shadows: You gain the Warding Shadows reaction, which allows you to decrease damage taken by you or an ally. Whispers of Gloam: You can cast Message at will without expending a spell slot. ¡°Uhh,¡± Dahlia muttered. All five of the options sounded good to her, and she could see a use for each of them. Dahlia chose Deadly Refrain. It had deadly in the name which really appealed to her, and her Charisma was super high! But then she had to choose which cantrip to for it to effect. ¡°This is hard!¡± Dahlia whined. Both Shadowy Whispers and Soul Lash were really good spells, with great uses, and both looked equally amazing. Maybe appearance shouldn¡¯t have been part of the decision-making process, but Dahlia couldn¡¯t help that it was. Part of her wanted to take Deadly Refrain twice, so she wouldn¡¯t have to decide. Both already had decent range, and dead things didn¡¯t need to be pushed. There was no one she wanted to send messages to, Warding Shadows sounded complicated, so why shouldn¡¯t she do that? ¡°Can I take it twice?¡± Yes, the boring voice answered Dahlia. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll do that.¡± Dahlia chose Deadly Refrain twice, for Soul Lash and Shadowy Whispers. You have 3 Glimmer points. Glimmer point uses: 1 point: Raise an Attribute under 10 by 1. 10 points: Unlock Racial Ability¡ªGlimmer Warp. ¡°Ohh, they are useful! Spend all three to make me smarter!¡± Dahlia jumped up and down happily. Attribute Intelligence has been increased from 6 to 9. You have 0 Glimmer Points remaining. Dahlia¡¯s mind swam and expanded as the increase in her intelligence took effect. The tiny, selfish brain of the fairy stretched. Concepts such as empathy, planning, strategy, and even the depths of communication grew. While the fairy certainly was sapient before, her intelligence skyrocketed into the realms of an average humanoid now. You have finished leveling. Exit? ¡°Wait,¡± Dahlia said. She felt so different. ¡°How do I get more Glimmer Points? What are Glimmer Points?¡± Glimmer Points are the mechanism used by the Fey of Nantes to bend reality. They are granted for the following: -A mortal expressing sincere thanks or gratitude to a fey. -Learning the True Name of a mortal grants Glimmer points commensurate to their power. -Completing a bargain or pact with a mortal grants Glimmer Points commensurate to the challenge. -Stirring powerful emotions in mortals. -Bending the rules of reality in clever ways. -Replace a child with a changeling. -Secrets Revealed! Learning the deeply hidden or valuable secrets grants Glimmer points equal to the value of the secret. -Temptation: Tricking a mortal into breaking a personal, social, or cultural taboo. -Disrupting the plots of another Fey, especially those of rival Courts. Dahlia read the list. Some of those things seemed simple. Mortal gratitude, for instance, seemed easy enough to earn by acting helpful. Maybe that one granted less points because it was easier than the others? Testing would be required. ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± Dahlia told the darkness. Chapter 7: The Graveyard New Quest! Visit a place of Death and use Call of Gloam. The town of Riverwatch settled into place around Dahlia. Griff stood where he had before, his hand slowly lowering from the stone indicated the elapsed time had been almost nonexistent. Dahlia wondered how that worked. She wondered about a lot of things she¡¯d never given any thought to before. Strange questions bubbled through her mind¡ªquestions that went beyond the depth of thoughts Dahlia experienced in the Soulweald, questions that she had no suitable answers for. Where did the elaborately worked pieces of metal tools come from? There was no smithy to be found in Riverwatch. ¡°All settled, lass?¡± Griff asked. ¡°Yeah, I am. I need to visit a place of Death to use my new spell. Where¡¯s that at?¡± Dahlia looked around inquisitively, but she saw no signs of mausoleums in the middle of the town. A place of death couldn¡¯t be far, death stalked mortals like Mr. Disapoofer stalked deer¡ªconstantly. ¡°I¡¯ll show you lass, then I¡¯d better get to work sizing stakes for the palisade, and whatever else the guards decide they need.¡± Griff grumbled about the work¡ªto hide the malaise and anxiety that stalked him about the impending invasion. Understanding the source of a mortals concern baffled Dahlia initially, but she quickly decided this new insight into the emotional status of mortals could help her. If generating emotions in humans granted her power, knowing the basics of the emotional process in mortals seemed to be a necessary bit of knowledge. Dahlia followed him closer to the river. Not all the way to the river, but along one side of the town, still inside the palisades, was a high stone wall with iron gates. ¡°Ol¡¯ Menes kept watch over the graveyard for the last fifty years. He died this spring. No one¡¯s taken on the job since, so we¡¯ve kept the cemetery locked. Might be a zombie or two in there¡­ practically a sure bet,¡± Griff grumbled. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll need a key.¡± ¡°I can fly, or did you forget?¡± Dahlia laughed as she sailed into the air over the nasty rusted iron gate and into the cemetery. It was a lively place full of ivy, flowers, and small headstones. It didn¡¯t seem creepy or evil at all. If anything, it felt like a beautiful place to cause some mischief to unsuspecting mortals. Still, Dahlia called her shadow to guard her. With the sun lowering by the minute, the bright well-lit graveyard might become a much scarier place in no time. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see¡­¡± Dahlia flew around until she felt a familiar twist of magic, a fragment of the glory of the Soulweald. Paltry and weak, the fragment represented the closest thing to home she¡¯d felt since her exile. The essence of it really had no similarity to the Soulweald at all, but it was the spot with the strongest flow of magic she could find. ¡°Now, Mr. Disapoofer, you protect me too,¡± Dahlia demanded of her familiar, who she returned to her side. In a flash of magical motes and glittering dust, the large white wolf appeared. He immediately sniffed at the air to take in the scents of the area. ¡°Arrf?¡± Bone? Mr. Disapoofer asked excitedly. ¡°No, sorry boy. It¡¯s very rude to dig in a graveyard,¡± Dahlia said in answer to the wolf¡¯s question. Mr. Disapoofer made a sad whimper of longing, but when Dahlia didn¡¯t relent he quickly moved onto searching for other smells. The stench of undead hung heavy around the few sealed mausoleums, but none seemed to be wandering freely outside. Dahlia closed her eyes and thought about her spells. After a few moments the list of spells and abilities popped up. Call of Gloam: Summon an ancient oathbound Fey spirit to uphold their failed oaths. Once summoned you may send your knight back to or recall them from the fey Courts at will. If your knight is defeated you may not resummon it until the next day. If your knight is banished they may be resummoned the next day at the cost of your highest level spell slot (not exceeding the spell level of the banishment). ¡°Here we go, guys!¡± Dahlia warned. She coughed a few times to clear her throat and then her soft voice stretched to fill the big graveyard. Her gentle voice rose from a whisper on the breeze to a powerful magical spell The fairy sang, and as she did so, it was not the graveyard of Riverwatch surrounded her, but the immense Towers of Mourning of the Soulweald. Gigantic dark colossi filled to the brim with spiritual power and ancient secrets stood protectively above her. ?¡±From shadows deep and twilight¡¯s veil, We call upon the ancient tale, Bound by fate and failed oath entwined, Rise, O Knight, through realms confined. The shadows nearby jolted alive in time to the beat and the mortal souls still bound in the graveyard peeked out from the ground to bear witness to something the people of Riverwatch hadn¡¯t heard in centuries. Armor forged in moonlit glow, Blade that struck many a final blow, Sleeper in the dreadful ground, Heed the call of my mystic sound, Dahlia emitted potent pulses of primeval power not seen for an age on Nantes. Fairy dust choked the air around Dahlia until external vision of the tiny fairy was all but obfuscated, and then the swarm of glitter moved and cast about dramatically while she sang. Big, dramatic explosions of color not unlike the Fireworks spell filled her proximity. In forests where twilight gleams, Bound by ancient oaths and dreams, Cross the veil between night and day, Rise, O Knight, and join the fray. An immense black tree filled Dahlia¡¯s mind. Many of the Black Towers of Mourning had fallen to assaults by the Discordant over the years. A much larger monolith ended abruptly in a broken trunk. Yet the broken tree was not the representation of her Knight. No. His Tower of Mourning appeared damaged, its bark dull and dormant, but life and power still resided in the vessel. The noble Fey of this Tower could only manifest itself again by going back to the incomplete oaths that were made and carrying them out. Spirits of the fey and night, Hear our pleas and Bless this ancient rite, Open gates that time long sealed, Let the Knight of Death be revealed. A name manifested itself in Dahlia¡¯s mind. Xeras Duskmourn, The Lost Knight of Silent Threnodies. Without a shadow of a doubt, Dahlia knew this to be the true name of the entity that crossed the dimensional divides to come to her. A potent spirit from a behemoth of a tree! Giddiness filled Dahlia¡¯s heart. Bound by fate and oath entwined, Rise, O Knight, your oath is mine!¡±? Twigs, grass, vines, and even lichen broke free from the living and dead shrubbery of the graveyard and formed together to create a vessel. The most striking aspect of the body that formed was the glowing, spectral eyes that radiated an intense green ethereal power. The same power that flickered over its body and beat at its core. It had wings shaped like her own, but they were made from twisting strands of the green energy. Antler-like branches grew from its temple to give it a commanding, majestic look. Its face looked more like a deer mask than a human face, but it matched the wooden body perfectly. The creature was large. Human sized, possibly taller. Underneath the wooden armor that sculpted itself in a facsimile of plate or scale were glimpses of more of the spectral energy that fueled the core of the spirit. There was no doubt to be had that this was a fey spirit, though, and no mere minor pixie or elf, but a noble warrior!This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Quest Complete. One strong hand clutched a wooden sword etched with green runes. The weapon rested almost lazily in its grasp, as if its weight were nothing. The back of the knight¡¯s wooden hands were barbed and rough. Of course, that wasn¡¯t limited to his hands. There were few places one could touch him without risking being pricked by brambles, save for the top of his head, from which a shock of white hair flowed down to his shoulders. The knight pushed its blade point first to the ground, and kneeled, his wooden forehead pressing against the hilt of the blade. The details of its oath evaded Dahlia. She sensed she met the confines of its oath exactly, but without knowing what those oaths were, she couldn¡¯t possibly know how tightly bound the warrior was to her will. The shadows and spirits of the cemetery returned to their rest, bored now that the fairy quit singing, and eager to depart the presence of the green hued spirit warrior. ¡°My service is yours, mistress,¡± the knight said. He spoke Sylvan in a deep, for a fey, masculine tone that reverberated across the expanse of life and death. The strange effect was one Dahlia knew well, for many creatures of the Soulweald bridged this same gap. He spoke quite slowly, as if he had to reach a great distance into the past to remember the workings of tongues and the meanings of words. ¡°How long have you lain dormant?¡± Dahlia asked, not expecting an answer, but wanting one anyway. The world of Nantes itself seemed to answer for Xeras¡ªor his Will seized control of the ambient magic and forged it into illusions to answer his master. Flickered images of forests, mountains, rivers and storms flashed through the abundant magical energies. Stars flickered in the sky, twinkling in honor of the return of Xeras. Distant gods groaned as ancient wounds ached once more, and other timeless warriors sharpened their swords¡ªfor one of their own, a rival, had returned from a long absence. Xeras himself spoke not a word in answer, for he had none to give. Mr. Disapoofer barked a greeting to Xeras. ¡°Ruff!¡± Hi! Xeras¡¯s empty wooden left hand patted the wolf on the head and the wolf¡¯s tail wagged happily. Warp Wolves had the sharpest of senses, and Mr. Disapoofer had high wisdom. It was a good sign her familiar responded positively to her new servant. ¡°Rise,¡± Dahlia commanded the knight. Dahlia cleared her mind and tried to focus on the compartmentalized bundle of sensations that were Xeras. The bond to the Knight felt deeper even than the connection she had formed with Mr. Disapoofer, who was her familiar. Mr. Disapoofer was a type of fey creature, while Xeras was an honest to goodness fey¡ªa noble one at that¡ªlike Dahlia herself. What sort of fey didn¡¯t really matter, the fey were nearly as varied and changeable within one race as they were as a whole. Dahlia suspected with a name like Xeras Duskmourn he hailed from the Soulweald, but the Shadow Court certainly seemed a possibility too. ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong, huh?¡± Dahlia guessed. ¡°My strength is bound to yours, and I am as you are.¡± Xeras answered obediently and without hesitation when asked a question he could actually answer. He added on, as if recollection were difficult, painful, and an on-going process. ¡°Once¡­ I fought under the Black Towers of Mourning.¡± ¡°I saw. The tallest of the Black Towers of Mourning fell to the Court of Discordant Whispers a long time ago,¡± Dahlia said out loud. It was an old memory, and an old story that Nyxaria had told her and other faeries, even that bitch Deborah who didn¡¯t deserve any stories. Xeras didn¡¯t react in any fashion to her remembering aloud, so she guessed he knew that. Hints of frustration and failure lurked behind a fa?ade of calm. Had her knight been part of the entourage of whatever powerful Fey the shattered Tower of Mourning had belonged too? ¡°What¡¯re you good at?¡± Dahlia tried to get a feel for her new companion. ¡°Killing,¡± Xeras answered flatly. He lifted the large wooden blade to show off its beauty, and the multitude of enchantments the blade bore. ¡°Gloombough and I are bound by purpose, the unspoken pact between wielder and blade. Our every move is a dance choreographed by centuries of sorrow, every parry a whisper of the ancient spirits that dwell within. I am the hand, the breath, the resolve. Gloombough is the precision, the weight of judgement, the final refrain of a hundred thousand songs. We are the inevitable shaper of our master¡¯s desire; we were the instrument of the Weaver of Souls, now we are yours.¡± Dahlia listened to the knight with comically large eyes. Xeras spoke with the outlook of the ancient. Still, he spoke in a way that offered few concrete details. The Weaver of Souls could be any number of gods, Fey, or spirits and he created more questions than he answered each time he spoke. ¡°Are wood swords good for killing? Everyone here seems to use metal.¡± Dahlia inquired. ¡°Very good,¡± Xeras answered. He swung the blade horizontally through the air, leaving an after-image of brown and green. ¡°What about weapons like this?¡± Dahlia conjured illusions of Joel¡¯s swords and Griff¡¯s axe using Illusion (Minor). Xeras grunted but said nothing. Did Dahlia have to be more specific with her questions? ¡°You¡¯re very large. Can you fit in my shadow like Shadey, or hide in the between like Mr. Disapoofer?¡± Dahlia asked. ¡°Yes. Between.¡± Xeras answered with minimal words. Despite his quietness, Dahlia could hear his words grow with burgeoning intent. At this rate in a few years Xeras might have a personality. Which was fine, she probably needed his combat prowess more than she required his conversational skills¡­ unless she got bored. ¡°Ruff!¡± People are coming. Mr. Disapoofer brought attention to humans unlocking the cemetery gate to investigate the surges in magic, strange voices, and fireworks display. ¡°Hide!¡± Dahlia commanded her minions as she flew around some brush and over the wall to the town. Why hiding was her instinct, she didn¡¯t know, but it seemed like a bad idea to get caught doing magic in the graveyard. The tiny fairy flew with the same ease as ever, even with a Shade, a Warp Wolf, and her Gloamknight in her shadow or riding with her in the between. A few blocks from the cemetery Dahlia came across a small school. The building was made of hewn logs, and a dozen little kids worked on writing their letters on small pieces of slate with chalk. ¡°Oh. Are you learning letters?¡± Dahlia asked as she flew above a little boy¡¯s head. ¡°ACK! It¡¯s a monster!¡± The blonde boy screeched. ¡°No, it¡¯s a fairy! A fairy!¡± Another boy cried. ¡°Wow, she¡¯s so pretty!¡± A redheaded little girl chimed in appreciation of Dahlia¡¯s majestic fey beauty. ¡°I am pretty!¡± Dahlia agreed with her. ¡°Children, back to practicing your letters.¡± A stern woman quickly took control of the outdoor class. The huge woman had blonde hair in an extremely tight bun on the back of her head, and a perpetually sour twist to her lips. ¡°Isn¡¯t it late to be having class?¡± Dahlia questioned bluntly. The sun had faded halfway over the horizon. ¡°What¡¯s your necklace of?¡± Dahlia asked the woman, as she flew in close to inspect the woman¡¯s amulet. It looked similar to the symbolism she¡¯d seen at the Pillars of Ascension. ¡°The Will of Lord Thoth isn¡¯t for a Fey to question. Tis a holy symbol of the great god Thoth, Lord of Wisdom, Writing, and Knowledge! Are you why there¡¯s been two alarms gone off in the last half-bell?¡± The follower of Thoth demanded in an accusatory tone. ¡°Nope! Probably Griff or Zorah. They¡¯re getting the town ready for an attack by Snarf. I¡¯m supposed to go back to see Lord Graystone, but I forgot where he lived.¡± Dahlia reluctantly turned away from watching the children and gave her full attention to their teacher. ¡°The Keep is in the center of town. If you are to see Lord Graystone that is where he should be. I swear, what kind of incompetent fool lets a fairy, a fairy run around town on their own? I shall give him a piece of my mind the likes of which he shan¡¯t be forgetting anytime soon!¡± The blonde harumphed and waved her finger vigorously in the air, before she stormed over to protectively watch the children, with a glare that made Dahlia feel unwelcome. When Dahlia realized the woman was protecting them from her, she wondered why. Dahlia had never replaced a child with a changeling before, and she didn¡¯t really see the appeal to it. Maybe the disgruntled priestess thought she was a hag, eager for a meal? Dahlia shot off across the town in swift flight that left trails of fairy dust behind. The children, and the dour woman, all marveled at the sparkling magic before it faded from the air. They weren¡¯t the only ones to stop and stare at the obvious magic as Dahlia crossed town to the keep. For humans, perhaps the town was easy to navigate. Dahlia wasn¡¯t a human. She was a tiny little fairy, and every building looked immense and giant to her. The scope of Riverwatch didn¡¯t match the scale of a fairy abode, and so she found it difficult to navigate or remember precisely what building had what function. She only had to ask people twice more to find her way to the keep. The awful smell of human bodily fluids kept her from going into a few buildings outright. Dahlia knocked on the door repeatedly when she found the keep. When that didn¡¯t work, she used Magic Trick to knock on the door at a louder, human volume. ¡°Dahlia! Come in, come in. You don¡¯t have to knock,¡± Amelia greeted her. ¡°I¡¯ll show you to your guest room.¡± ¡°Okay! Got any sugar?¡± Dahlia asked hopefully. ¡°I do,¡± Amelia whispered conspiratorially, and opened her hand to reveal a delicious salt flecked caramel. ¡°You¡¯re the best! Want to meet my new Gloamknight?¡± Dahlia asked. ¡°He¡¯s only a little bit scary.¡± Chapter 8: A Spoonful of Sugar ¡°Mmm,¡± Dahlia sighed in delight as she diligently worked her jaw to chew the dense, gritty molasses-like maple candy Amelia had presented her with. It was early in the morning, but the two sisters seemed to care not a fig about the hour when it came to sweets. ¡°Which one is better?¡± Adeline demanded. When Adeline and Amelia stood next to each other Dahlia could appreciate how exactly alike the two looked. They dressed in similar dresses, both wore their auburn hair in two braids, and seeing as they were twins, they looked even more alike than all the other humans already did to one another. ¡°I¡¯ll give you more if you say mine was better,¡± Amelia tried to bribe Dahlia. ¡°I¡¯ll give you more if you say that Amelia¡¯s tasted like cow dung,¡± Adeline countered. ¡°They both taste great!¡± Dahlia exclaimed. Truthfully, the fairy couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the candy the sisters offered her. They were sticky, sweet, and despite the graininess that combination meant they were fairy heaven. ¡°Maybe we shouldn¡¯t have made them together,¡± Adeline said with a sigh of annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s so much work to mix the candy though, and all of the strapping young men of town are too busy to help us in the kitchen, or took the ferry to evacuate,¡± Amelia lamented. ¡°Stupid Snarf,¡± the two young ladies simultaneously cursed the Hyena-man who¡¯d put the town on high alert. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him!¡± Dahlia exclaimed when the twins brought up the Hyena-man. The fairy¡¯s soft voice came out louder than normal, while daydreams of the whole town slaving away above mixing bowls to produce candy for their savior danced through Dahlia¡¯s head. Her mouth went from dry with excitement to salivating with hunger. ¡°A lot of people have tried. Snarf¡¯s been around since dad was young. Every time we beat his pack back or corner him, he escapes and comes back with a new pack.¡± Adeline stated gloomily. ¡°Why do they keep coming back?¡± Dahlia asked with an uncertain tone as she wondered the question herself. Not so long ago she would have simply assumed Snarf was too dumb to do anything else, but the changes to her mind since coming to Nantes had significantly expanded her ability to reason. ¡°The Hyena-men are determined to control this side of the river so they can cross to the other side. The next crossing is over two weeks down river, but it¡¯s a real fortress. The magic boats don¡¯t come to Riverwatch, but they do go from Riverguard Keep down into the more populated areas. Without a way to cross the river, the Hyena-men are trapped on this side of the Silvervein. The mountains to the north and east are full of wyverns and other strong creatures that even the Hyena-men are afraid of, so Riverwatch is the only path to expand their territory.¡± Amelia explained the situation, her distaste for the hyena-men obvious. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just stay on this side of the river then? It seems to have lots of room,¡± Dahlia asked as she thought of the sprawling Bramblewood. Why did the Hyena-men need more land if they already had a lot? ¡°The Hyena-men are cursed by Set. They can¡¯t be peaceful. They know only war and chaos.¡± Adeline answered as if by rote. A tiny thought flickered in the back of her mind¡ªthe twins had probably been taught by the dogmatic priest of Thoth too. ¡°Plus, the Bramblewood is full of scary old monsters worse than Snarf.¡± Amelia said with an over exaggerated spooky voice, that Dahlia failed to interpret correctly. ¡°There are? Like what?¡± Dahlia asked, her full attention given to Amelia. ¡°Well, there¡¯s the Luring Light. At dusk a pale light dances at the edge of the village and tries to tempt children into the woods. Those who go are never seen again, and their remains are never found.¡± Amelia¡¯s attempt at drama on what clearly was a story of a wisp, or maybe a ghost failed to intrigue Dahlia. Quest received. Investigate the Luring Light. Apparently the voice didn¡¯t care about if Dahlia was interested or not. The fairy wondered what caused the formation of a quest. She¡¯d been given a quest to summon Xeras, but there had been no reward. Compensation was important! While Dahlia mused momentarily, Adeline hopped in eager to one up her sister. ¡°Fifty years ago, Riverwatch had a healer who tended to all the illness and injuries of the village for a pittance. When monsters from the forest killed her children in a raid, she cursed Riverwatch and the forest for failing to help her when she needed it most. Her moss-covered spirit roams the edges of the Bramblewood, eager to reach out with twisted, withering hands to drain the life from the people who didn¡¯t help her when she needed it.¡± Adeline went for a more even, and less over-the-top delivery that kept Dahlia interested. ¡°Where can I find her? I¡¯m a necromancer!¡± Dahlia bragged. A witch on a revenge spree sounded like the perfect sort of minion to capture. ¡°At the forests edge on the night of a full moon?¡± Adeline answered awkwardly, not expecting that particular response. Quest received. Deal with the Witch of Withering Moss. ¡°What about the Bleeding Grove?¡± Amelia changed the subject, annoyed that Adeline had managed to one-up her so successfully. ¡°Bleeding Grove?¡± Dahlia repeated, eyes wide with wonder. Unless one counted sap as blood, she¡¯d never seen a tree bleed before. ¡°Deep in the Bramblewood there is a grove of twisted, thorn-covered trees that weep red, bloody sap at dawn. Anyone who touches the sap is cursed to hear voices begging for forgiveness, and invisible hands clutch at their flesh and clothing, pulling them deeper into the Bleeding Grove. The only way to escape is to get all the sap off you, but they say the voices never leave you even if you cut off the limb the sap got on.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Forgiveness? Poor trees. In the Soulweald, all the trees can talk to you without needing to get anything on you. Maybe I should visit them, something bad must have happened.¡± Dahlia murmured. ¡°You might be okay,¡± Amelia said. ¡°The Bleeding Grove only seems to trap humans. Elves, and even half-elves, have escaped it without being cursed to madness.¡± Quest received. Find the Bleeding Grove.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Even deeper in the forest, at the darkest heart where the sunlight never touches the ground, a banshee mourns the loss of her life and love. Her voice is so perfect once you hear a hint of her song you¡¯ll never escape, so enthralling is her tale of loss. Dad says she sings of the ancient, original forest that lay where the Bramblewood does now. Every year on the Night of Mourning, her song almost reaches the village, and we all stuff our ears with rags. Anyone who hears her song is doomed to join her in eternal sorrow.¡± Adeline told the last story. ¡°Eternal sorrow and death,¡± Amelia corrected. Dahlia wiped away a tear. Banshees¡ªtrue banshees at least¡ªwere frequently elves with a tale of hubris and sorrow. They were also powerful undead. Dahlia had found another perfect candidate to become a minion! Well, if the banshee wasn¡¯t too much of a downer, at least. Quest received. Investigate the Heart of the Bramblewood. ¡°Poor Banshee! That¡¯s so sad. Why hasn¡¯t anyone tried to make her happy?¡± Dahlia demanded of the twins, as if they were personally responsible for no one assisting a poor trapped woman. ¡°How do you help someone who kills you for getting close to them?¡± Amelia asked in return. ¡°Oh. Right,¡± Dahlia murmured. She wondered about the answer to that question, how indeed. If you made a Banshee happy they didn¡¯t just turn into a happy Banshee¡ªthey ceased to exist as their connection to the material world dissipated. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of quests,¡± Dahlia said off handedly, depressed that she¡¯d already been forced to cross off the banshee from her list of possible minions. ¡°Quests? You got quests from us talking about the Bramblewood?¡± Adeline asked with a worried look. ¡°Yep! You don¡¯t get quests when people tell you stuff?¡± Dahlia asked curiously. Was she special? ¡°No, we do. Sometimes. Quests are given by one of the gods, usually Thoth, Anubis, Horus, or Isis. There¡¯s no way to tell which of the gods gave you a quest, it could even be Set. Quests can take you to rare knowledge, ancient artifacts, a journey of self-discovery, or your doom.¡± Amelia answered. ¡°Why do you have so many gods? In the Soulweald we only have Lady Nyxaria, but she¡¯s a Fey, not a god.¡± Dahlia asked the complicated question with the innocence of a young child. Dahlia didn¡¯t want to admit she didn¡¯t really understand these gods the mortals fawned over. They were powerful like ArchFey, but what purpose did they serve? What rules bound them? The twins looked at one another in consternation, uncertain how to answer the question. They were saved from having to answer the question at all by the door crashing open. Lord Graystone entered in a rush, followed by a younger human in armor that Dahlia hadn¡¯t met yet. ¡°Lady Dahlia! We¡¯ve spotted signs of Snarf¡¯s patrols on the edge of the Bramblewood.¡± The silver haired old human quickly blurted out the news to gasps from his daughters. ¡°Is it time for me to kick his butt?¡± Dahlia asked a little reluctantly, her eyes sadly slipping between Lord Graystone and the twins. The sisters had slipped the sweets out of view when their father burst into the kitchen. Dahlia missed the sweets already. ¡°Lord Graystone, I must protest. You would trust the villages safety to the hands of¡­. This?¡± The younger man stepped up next to the old man, his respect for the others role as Lord only going so far. ¡°You wanna fight?¡± Dahlia snarled at the obnoxious human. With a roll of his eyes, the young man dropped an upside-down pot over Dahlia. The heavy iron pot trapped the fairy in darkness. The closeness of the iron made her skin crawl, and Dahlia trembled in rage. ¡°We chased their kind out of Nantes centuries ago! The dictates of Horus are clear, yet you expect my men and I to trust our lives to a fairy who can¡¯t even escape a pot?¡± Dahlia heard the arrogant man snarl at Lord Graystone. ¡°Xeras!¡± Dahlia called for her knight. A cold breeze flowed through the kitchen as the vessel of the Gloamknight formed before them. The girls, who had already met Xeras, didn¡¯t scream. The man, who had no idea about Xeras, collapsed under the withering green gaze of the knight. Xeras casually toppled the pot with a thrust of his blade. Sparks of chaos and magic filled the air when the potent magics of Gloombough touched the cold iron¡ªand cleaved it in clean through. Dahlia swallowed down her indignation at the method in which Xeras freed her. She had to be more specific next time, perhaps add without your sword almost touching my hair! to her command next time. Dahlia flew up into the air and landed on her knight¡¯s head, where she had the height advantage over the humans. Speechless until now, Lord Graystone coughed. The twisted look of hate and rage on Dahlia¡¯s tiny face scared the old man, and he desperately tried to intercede. The twins were dreadfully silent, fear for and of Dahlia churning their stomachs. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about that, Lady Dahlia. I will give him a firm talking to about how we treat our guests here in Riverwatch when he wakes up,¡± Lord Graystone said, moving slightly before the unconscious guard. ¡°Wake him up, Mr. Disapoofer!¡± Dahlia called, and the Warp Wolf jumped out of her shadow to run a rough tongue repeatedly over the fainted man¡¯s face. Each lap of the wolf¡¯s tongue drew the sharp canines a little closer to the man¡¯s skin. ¡°Ruff!¡± Awake. Bite? Mr. Disapoofer quickly roused the human with the unmatched power of a rough wet tongue and the menace of sharp fangs drawing ever closer. The Warp Wolf didn¡¯t bother to hide its grudge against the human on Dahlia¡¯s behalf. ¡°No, no biting the human, this time.¡± Dahlia told the wolf aloud. Her attempt at appearing graceful and magnanimous was spoiled by the haughty way she said it, and the glare she leveled at the waking soldier. ¡°My face! My face! Her minion is eating my face!¡± The young man cried out in alarm. Mr. Disapoofer loomed over the soldier, large fangs on display and a very low growl in the back of his throat. ¡°Oh, gather your wits, Jaspar. Mr. Disapoofer wouldn¡¯t hurt you without orders from Dahlia,¡± Adeline rebuffed the soldier. Deep crimson stained the young man¡¯s face as he scrambled to his feet, at which point he saw Xeras again. With his dominating presence and fearful aura, the soldier nearly fainted away again. Jaspar looked at Graystone and the twins as if they had gone mad. Unlike him, none of the other humans in the room were exposed to Xeras¡¯s aura. ¡°Wha-wha-what is that thing?¡± Jaspar cried out in fear. You have gained one Glimmer point. ¡°I am Lady Dahlia¡¯s knight,¡± Xeras answered. Each word spoken by the oathbound knight, with its strange reverberation through life and death sent shivers through all the mortals, not just Jaspar. ¡°I apologize! Please forgive me!¡± Jaspar quickly found the words, but Dahlia found them unsatisfactory. The soldier wasn¡¯t afraid of her, only of her knight and familiar. She¡¯d have to work on being more intimidating. How was a fairy supposed to be intimidating? Yet she craved it. She wanted the power to make people piss themselves on the floor. She wanted Jaspar to be so afraid his sanity fled, and he became an empty, slowly withering husk wandering the material world until it collapsed inward¡ªlike an empty sack. ¡°Good job, Xeras.¡± Dahlia praised her knight, and pat his hair. The idle day dream of retribution had greatly improved Dahlia¡¯s mood. ¡°As¡­ we were saying. Snarf¡¯s forces have begun to gather. We anticipate they won¡¯t raid until after dusk, as is their way. Hyena-men have excellent vision in the darkness, while we humans do not. In the past Snarf has always attacked at night, but perhaps he will simply rely on numbers this time. Jessa and Bennet will be returning on the next ferry at noon, let us hope they don¡¯t attack before then.¡± Lord Graystone said. His attempt to reassert control over the room fell flat. ¡°So, we might have to fight at any time?¡± Adeline tried her best to help her father. ¡°Shall we get in our gear then, father?¡± Amelia, too, did what she could to help. ¡°Yes, girls. Equip your armor. You¡¯ll be stationed with Zorah and the other skilled archers. Lady Dahlia, would you prefer to fight alongside Joel on the front lines, or Zorah and the girls?¡± Lord Graystone asked with a small glare at Jaspar. ¡°Lady Dahlia, I would be honored if you would consider fighting alongside my men and I,¡± Jaspar spoke up. His voice quavered in fear, but even worse, the dishonesty assaulted her¡ªa painful shriek to which there was no dampening for the ears of a Fey. ¡°I¡¯ll start with Adeline, Amelia, and Zorah,¡± Dahlia said. She could fly. It didn¡¯t really matter where she started, did it? Snarf could eat the dumb Jaspar before Dahlia valiantly slew him. ¡°Thank you for your mercy, Lady Dahlia,¡± Jaspar squeaked out before he and Lord Graystone left the kitchen. Dahlia wondered why the human assumed she was merciful, instead of merely patient. All three girls laughed when the door shut behind them, although each laugh held different emotions behind it. ¡°I hate armor,¡± Amelia groaned. ¡°If we don¡¯t wear it dad will die of fret, and the Hyena-men arrows are barbed.¡± Adeline said, torn between agreement and fear. ¡°One more piece of candy?¡± Dahlia asked hopefully. Chapter 9: Riverwatch Raid Dahlia found waiting boring. Adeline and Amelia did their best to try and help her pass the time by peppering the fairy with questions about her combat capabilities, her spells, her minions, but there wasn¡¯t a lot to tell. She only had four actual spells, and six cantrips. It turned out that was a lot for a level two. Adeline and Amelia possessed different classes. Adeline was a rogue, while Amelia was a fighter. Amelia¡¯s preferred weapon was a warhammer, but her father refused to let her join the front lines of skirmishes, so she ended up using a crossbow. Adeline used a short bow. Combined between them they had a total of three abilities: Vital Surge, Valor Surge, and Ambush. Which made Dahlia seem like a positively versatile combatant in comparison, with double that many cantrips alone. Still, the time passed slowly, and sure enough, when the sun sank into the horizon a scout broke away from Lord Graystone and Jaspar to report to Zorah, who was in charge of the archers. ¡°Snarf¡¯s main force has been sighted and they are enroute, maybe ten minutes. Initial count puts their forces at over six hundred, with large elite Hyena-men brutes and multiple Fangs of Set distributed throughout the force. They learned to split up their casters after last time,¡± the man relayed to Zorah. The nearest archers went deathly quiet when numbers were mentioned. Riverwatch had far less than six hundred defenders, at best there were two hundred men and women arrayed at the gates and a few more than fifty on the raised sniping platforms. Many had evacuated on the ferry during the day. ¡°Hard to miss with that many targets,¡± Zorah spat out gruffly. Her grim demeanor didn¡¯t help with weakening morale though. ¡°Dahlia, can¡¯t you do something to make everyone braver? Fey are legendary warriors.¡± Adeline begged the fairy. ¡°You¡¯d have to make a bargain with me,¡± Dahlia said quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough power to do everything on my own, yet.¡± ¡°What kind of bargain?¡± Zorah asked, her keen ears picking up the conversation. ¡°Something valuable,¡± Dahlia said with a shrug. She could fly across the river with her wings, unlike the rest of the mortals. It¡¯d be a shame to leave Adeline and Amelia behind, though. ¡°My true name?¡± Zorah asked. ¡°Might not be enough,¡± Dahlia said. Zorah had been reluctant to speak about her past. Without that knowledge value couldn¡¯t be assigned easily. What value was the name of one-woman vs the hundreds of death bringing shadows that emerged from the woods. The silhouettes of enormous elite Hyena-men Brutes led the raiders, the largest of whom looked as tall as the ten-foot-high palisades around Riverwatch. ¡°This is turning into a pretty big ask,¡± Dahlia pointed out. ¡°All three of our names?¡± Zorah asked, and the twins nodded. ¡°To save your town?¡± Dahlia asked. The ladies nodded. Pact: Save Riverwatch from Snarf. Glimmer Point Advance: 5 Reward upon completion: 15. Difficulty rating: Hard Accept? Y/N. Yes, Dahlia thought in answer to the query. You have gained 5 Glimmer points. If you fail to save Riverwatch, you will lose 20 Glimmer points. Negative Glimmer points will result in fractures in reality that will adversely affect you. Dahlia laughed nervously. The mortals looked at her in askance, uncertain why the fairy¡¯s mercurial mood shifted towards manic laughter. ¡°Whisper your true names to me,¡± Dahlia demanded without explanation, her tiny purple eyes pleading. ¡°I am Amelia Odessa Graystone,¡± Amelia spoke her full name. You have gained 4 Glimmer points. Total Glimmer points: 10. Unlock racial ability: Glimmer Warp (10 points)? ¡°Yes,¡± Dahlia confirmed mentally. Glimmer Warp unlocked. Glimmer Warp: Expend Glimmer Points to achieve reality bending effects. Knowledge blossomed in Dahlia¡¯s mind about ways she could bend the rules of reality, and approximations of how many Glimmer points it would cost her to accomplish different effects. Glimmer points: 0. ¡°I am Adeline Phoebe Graystone, the Magic Trickster,¡± Adeline whispered to Dahlia. You have gained 4 Glimmer points. ¡°I am Zorah ¡®the Shadowthorn¡¯ von Draegen,¡± Zorah told Dahlia. Based on the somberness of the human¡¯s tone, Zorah thought that her name being told would be some kind of dramatic revelation to Dahlia. But there wasn¡¯t any. Dahlia had no idea what a von Draegen was, but she loved Zorah¡¯s nickname of Shadowthorn. It sounded badass. If Zorah died, maybe Dahlia would turn her into an undead. You have gained 12 Glimmer points. Total Glimmer points: 16. The fairy pulled out her tiny lute, checked if it was tuned, and looked around. Fey didn¡¯t only play tricks on mortals, other fey were even more frequently their targets. More than one blissful day in the Soulweald had passed by with Dahlia¡¯s Gloamhoney Bee swarms warring with that bitch Deborah¡¯s Veilguard Ant swarms for supremacy of the best Luminthistle patches.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Luminthistle nectar enhanced the magical strength and foundation of fey creatures who ate it, and acquisition of the nectar resulted in intense bouts of conflict between the denizens of the forest. The fairies, unable to help themselves, picked sides and shared in the spoils of victory when their side won. To some it might seem like a paltry affair to invoke war magic over, but it was these games that had taught Dahlia how to bolster her forces, and which Glimmer Warp told her it would cost ten Glimmer points to execute. ¡°Listen up!¡± Dahlia shouted, but only the girls noticed or looked at her. ¡°Listen up, you useless oafs!¡± Zorah shouted, her voice struck the defenders of Riverwatch like a whip. Reluctantly eyes left the shadows boiling out of the Bramblewood and turned to Dahlia. Dahlia¡¯s fingers drifted across her lute, the insects went quiet, and the wind hushed. Unlike the fairy¡¯s tiny shouts, each note that drifted from her lute spread through the twilight and practically rang directly in the ear of her targets. If one had the ability to see music, Dahlia¡¯s notes shimmered golden in the air, although flecks of silver swirled amid the gold. She hadn¡¯t quiet mastered her voice or instrument to achieve pure gold. She played a few more strumming, mournful notes, to make sure she had the crowd¡¯s attention and then Dahlia¡¯s voice rose as she spent the ten Glimmer points to expand the single target spell Dread Resolution to the whole crowd via fey war magic. ?¡°From shadows deep, old legends rise, With baleful gaze and demanding cries. They bear no fear, regret, nor pain, Their story loaded with loss and bane. By bone and ash, by grief¡¯s embrace, Steel your heart, take up your place. With dread resolve, no soul shall break; The dead¡¯s resolve, you now awake. In silence bound, yet never gone, The lost march still, their spirit strong. With spectral hands, they lend you might, A shield of dusk, a blade of twilight. By bone and ash, by grief¡¯s embrace, Steel your heart, take up your place. With dread resolve, no soul shall break; The dead¡¯s resolve, you now awake. Now let their whispers around you ring, To weaken foes and courage bring. In hollow breath, a curse is sown, Their power¡¯s edge is now your own. With shadows bound, in silence sworn, Bear now the strength the lost have borne. In Dread Resolve, no spirit fades; The fallen rise within your blades.¡±? With each carefully articulated word the twilight air congealed and vibrated with purple waves of fey magic. The torches and glow stones mounted on the palisades created shadows which writhed and climbed into the air. They became illusory forms of heroes long gone. The heroes waved their personal banners in the air, and the magically glowing sigils of legends banished terror and fear from the hearts of mortal men and women. And that was only the start. The shades of the brave dead stepped up to protect men and women with the magical power of the song. Spectral energy coalesced around the defenders of Riverwatch, a protective barrier that would absorb damage and protect them. Fear banished; injuries thwarted. That was only half of the spell¡¯s effects. The dead and gone made the ordinary weapons of dock workers and day laborers¡¯ glow with infused magic, and then a powerful chill radiated out from the defenders of Riverwatch. ¡°What does the spell do?¡± Zorah asked, then remembered herself. The forces of Snarf had entered the killing field. ¡°Release!¡± Zorah demanded. Arrows arced into the night while crossbow bolts shot straight. Few were the casters amongst the archers, so Dahlia bid her time and caught her breath. ¡°Fear immunity, temporary health, weakens enemies, and makes weapons count as magical,¡± Dahlia answered. None of the Hyena-men had entered range of her cantrips yet. ¡°That¡¯s a lot for a spell that affects so many people,¡± Adeline noted jealously. ¡°It only works on one person. I had to expend a lot of power and use war magic to make it effect everyone.¡± Dahlia corrected Adeline¡¯s misguided view on how the spell worked. The fairy found their lack of worship and praise annoying. As if to not be out done, Riverwatch¡¯s resident wizard finished an incantation of his own. ¡°Fireball!¡± The middle-aged human cried out, and a sparkling ball of fire shot into the front of the on-coming horde of Hyena-men and exploded in a huge radius of fire. The pained yelps and cries of dozens of Hyena-men filled the night, with many expiring in the incendiary blast. You have gained (2x16) = 32 experience! The front ranks made it to within range, and Dahlia hit one of the brutes with Shadowy Whispers, while the twins fired their crossbows, and Zorah let loose a strange arrow with a bulbous tip that exploded and covered a number of Hyena-men with oil. Her second shot left the bow right after the first, the tip of the arrow on fire, and combusted the oil. You have gained (2x5) = 10 experience! Dahlia¡¯s mind filled with the stupid voice telling her she gained 2 experience for each of the Hyena-men that died, and it was annoying, distracting, and dumb. She wished it would stop until the raid was over. Experience messages filtered off until the end of combat. ¡°O Mighty Isis, shield your servant with your wings of protection; let your fierce grace encircle and guard those in your light!¡± a powerful feminine voice boomed out from the front gate. Radiant visions of devoted humans wielding staffs or brandishing ankhs appeared around the cleric Jessa, who stood with the front line at the main gate. The divine power of her spell created a visible aura around the cleric, and when the Hyena-men entered it their speed dropped to almost nothing, as if the creatures had run into a gelatinous monster. Then flickers of radiant power struck each monster that dared enter the presence of the holy woman¡ªno matter how many came, the holy apparitions were prepared to deliver powerful blows to the Hyena-men. For all the Hyena-men dying, there were scores more ready to take their place. The horde still spread from the woods, and the largest of the brutes reached the palisades at the same time a large explosion rocked the side of town. A ten-foot section of the palisade was utterly demolished in the blast. ¡°Dahlia, use your minions to hold the gap!¡± Zorah requested desperately. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Dahlia cried and Mr. Disapoofer appeared under her to leap off the archery platform towards the breach. A single Shadow writhed in the same darkness Mr. Disapoofer had departed. Although she still had two more spell slots to use for first level spells, unless her current shadow died or someone needed healing, she didn¡¯t have much use for them. She could only summon the same shadow, so casting it again right now would be totally pointless. ¡°Xeras, I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Dahlia shouted as her Gloamknight stepped into the breach. The first swing of Xeras¡¯s wooden great sword beheaded a hyena-man and left a brutal gash across the chest of another. ¡°Did any get by us?¡± Dahlia asked her familiar. Sniff. Sniff. ¡°Ruff!¡± Two. Mr. Disapoofer answered. ¡°Shadow, Mr. Disapoofers, go kill the ones that got by and get back here.¡± Dahlia commanded. Ten seconds after the familiar and shadow departed a hyena-man skulker jumped out of the shadows, sword raised to stab Dahlia in the back. A crossbow bolt hit the skulker, followed by another. Dahlia barely dodged the sword and blasted the snarling attacker in the face with a crackling lance of radiant energy that drove the last vestiges of life from the awful smelling hyena-creature. Maybe, Dahlia reflected, she shouldn¡¯t have sent Mr. Disapoofer and Shade away. The dark seemed more dangerous than it had before with the knowledge that there were hidden enemies that lay in wait for vulnerable moments, and on the other side of the palisade a horde of Hyena-men swarmed towards the breach with only Xeras and Dahlia to stop them. Chapter 10: Snarf A second Hyena-man skulker leaped from the shadows and landed a blow against Dahlia¡¯s back. The graze depleted the protective power of Dread Resolution and a small spray of blood escaped her leg where the weapon made physical contact, before Dahlia hit the ground. A creature as small as a fairy didn¡¯t take blows from behemoth sized creatures like Hyena-men without consequence. Within moments the protective barrier reasserted itself around Dahlia, the spell refreshing as it would for all those it protected. Yet it did nothing to restore her lost health, which plunged dangerously low. ?¡±Wisp of life, wisp of death, Heal the heart, leave no trace, Shimmer soft, spirits guide, Mend the pain, heal inside.¡±? The Wisp appeared next to Dahlia, and she spent a charge to heal the bloody wound on her leg. Xeras still hadn¡¯t been injured yet, and her other two companions had yet to return from their task to hunt down the infiltrators. Dahlia decided to put some distance between herself and the ground, and floated higher up into the air, outside of the reach of the dumb hyena¡¯s swords. ¡°Ruff!¡± We killed the ones that got by. Mr. Disapoofer spoke into Dahlia¡¯s mind, and she could feel the two other minions returning. ¡°Your fur has more matts than a flea-ridden rug!¡± Dahlia proclaimed her insult against the stalker that chattered and howled at the sky, frustrated that the fairy had simply flown away from it. Since Dahlia couldn¡¯t speak the unnaturally guttural language of the Hyena-men, she had no idea the beast actually used its brain and called for ranged attacks against her, even as the shadowy choruses of insults ensnared the mind of the beast-man. ¡°Fey? Why do you block my path, little fey?¡± A gargantuan hyena-man demanded to know as he moved into melee range with Xeras. The wooden blade met the twisted, bloody weapon of the elite warrior in a shower of magical sparks. For a brief moment the wicked metal blade looked like it might cut through the wooden one, but it only penetrated a quarter of an inch before the brute¡¯s immense strength petered out, and Xeras parried the cursed weapon. Gloombough healed itself nigh instantly, Dahlia was pleased to see. ¡°Don¡¯t let any more in!¡± Dahlia cried down at Xeras from her raised vantage. The shadows cast by the torches on the palisade went crazy when Xeras counter-attacked the huge Hyena-man. Shadowy-tendrils reached out from all of the nearby shadows and the wooden blade pulsed with dark power, which Xeras unleashed in an attack. His wooden blade pierced the leather and bone armor of the gigantic brute, and the darkness his blade had absorbed unleashed itself into the brute¡¯s cursed flesh. ¡°Arggg!¡± The brute screamed as dark energy flowed into the torn flesh, and his blood flowed out. Orbs of acid and fire spiraled out of the darkness towards Dahlia. She dodged spell after spell launched by the casters outside the palisade before she got frustrated at her inability to do anything but dodge. Mr. Disapoofer and her Shadow rejoined the fight in time for her to land on Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s head. With the Shadow manifesting behind the large brute, and Mr. Disapoofer flanking Xeras, the Hyena-men were unable to enter the town through their explosive-created hole, but the press of hundreds of Hyena-men raiders pushed the sea of flesh inexorably towards the outnumbered defenders both at the gate and at the breach. ¡°Last offer, Fey. Step aside and we will have peace between us,¡± the huge Hyena-man growled out to Xeras and Dahlia. All Fey knew a lie when they heard one. The discordant noises the Hyena-man uttered might not have even been words, so disharmonious with reality was the lie that it sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Dahlia¡¯s ears. ¡°I¡¯ve met ogres with a more authentic I¡¯ll betray you later spiel!¡± Dahlia snarled at the uppity Hyena-man. Not only did it offend her by acting like Xeras deserved to be talked to instead of her, but it was ugly, smelly, and its minions had hurt her, then it dared to lie to her?! The darkness pulsed and slithered around the huge Hyena-man, and whispers filled the night, mocking Snarf, Warchief and Chosen of Set. The effects of Shadowy Whispers were insidious and instant. Snarf¡¯s huge, bloodied weapon failed to find Xeras, as the debilitating murmurs forced him to make mistake after mistake in his attacks. ¡°Die!¡± Snarf screamed at the fey warrior in frustration. ¡°No, you,¡± Dahlia masterfully retorted and unleashed another cast of Shadowy Whispers. The chittering of dark unheard voices tormented Snarf inside of what counted for his head, and the huge Hyena-man raged at the night sky impotently as his blade failed to land on Xeras. Mr. Disapoofer ripped great chunks of flesh from the Hyena-man¡¯s calf with angry bites. As Dahlia could feel her familiar¡¯s emotions, it could somewhat feel hers. Shade¡¯s dark claws sapped life itself from the brute, while Snarf¡¯s minions attempted to attack the shadow from behind. Those who managed to hit the shadow, which were few, did almost no damage thanks to the powerful weakening aura generated by Xeras and the shield generated by Dreadful Resolution every few seconds that absorbed what damage they managed to dump on it. While Shadows were counted amongst the weakest of the undead with their lack of sapience, they were insubstantial creatures who resisted most types of elemental magic and non-magic weapons. This made them exceptionally annoying opponents, great at splitting attention and perfect for throwing a monkey wrench into the advancement of forces. A final fireball lit up the night and struck outside the breach in the palisades. The minions so eager to pile into the town went up in a burst of powerful magic, giving a temporary respite to the Shadow. ¡°There¡¯s Snarf! Get him!¡± Zorah cried out to the archers. A moment later a column of daylight surrounded Snarf, making him a bright obvious target for everyone. It didn¡¯t surprise Dahlia that the elite creature fighting her knight to a standstill was the legendary leader of the Hyena-men. If rank and file monsters were a match for her knight, she would¡¯ve been forced to get a new one!The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Out of my way!¡± Snarf demanded of Dahlia¡¯s minions, but no matter how he pushed, he couldn¡¯t make headway or retreat, and Zorah¡¯s archers turned him into a pin cushion. ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡± Dahlia ordered and unleashed yet another cast of Shadowy Whispers at the big, stupid, hyena-man. ¡°Where are my forces? Break through the gates!¡± Snarf yowled at his forces, and the press of hundreds of hyena-men made the palisades risk collapse from the press of the wiry haired bodies. ¡°They¡¯re busy getting killed by a cleric,¡± Dahlia cheerfully informed Snarf. The front gate, defended by Jessa and her powerful spell dispatched Hyena-man after Hyena-man, with a little extra help from dozens of soldiers with spears and halberds. The guards of Riverwatch pounced with vengeful glee at the Hyena-men who were attacked by Jessa¡¯s holy spell, delivering vicious finishing blows. Few of the mongrel horde were sturdy enough to survive even a feather touched attack after Jessa¡¯s radiant spirits welcomed each new opponent. ¡°Why isn¡¯t your fence burning?¡± Snarf cried in anger and confusion. ¡°Apprentice mages may not have many spells per day, but they can put out blazes with Control Fire all night long,¡± Joel snorted as he joined the melee against Snarf. Xeras, with a flair for the dramatic, unleashed another Gloaming Strike with his blade. The dark energies of shadows and dusk, the death of light, exploded from his sword and the head of Snarf hit the ground. His body fell a few moments later, a proverbial pincushion full of dozens of arrows and crossbow bolts. It didn¡¯t end with the death of Snarf, unfortunately. The Hyena-men saw a path to victory and charged into the gap in the palisade to take on the fey, Joel, and the archers. One by one, the tide of Set¡¯s hungry children crashed against the palisades and was repulsed again, and again. Corpses littered the ground, and the defenders failed to notice stealthy skulkers dragging bodies away until it was too late. Two crafty Hyena-men skulkers built a ramp of their own corpses to climb over the palisade. Ten, then twenty Hyena-men jumped the palisade. The hyena-men didn¡¯t care about space, or even jumping to their deaths, they piled into the town like possessed creatures. Dahlia noticed the bloodied, rusty weapon of Snarf glowed with disgusting, cursed magic. She flew over to the weapon and inspected it more closely with her magical senses. It had a dark, evil core that reminded her of snakes and Discordant Ones. ¡°I can do it!¡± Dahlia told herself, before she touched the hilt of the weapon with a fingertip and tried to seal the curse. Despite her own vast reserves of fey magic the weapon threatened to overwhelm her immediately. Desperate, Dahlia expended a Glimmer point to strengthen her attempts at controlling the powerful energies in the weapon. She was so close, and yet so far, and so she expended a second point to tweak reality and successfully alter the flows of magic in the weapon. Instead of an open circuit, Dahlia closed the circuit, sealing effects of the cursed weapon of Snarf inside itself. It was a nasty, nefarious piece of magic, and Dahlia had seen her share of nasty, mean-spirited magic over the years. That bitch Deborah was always talking about how to do things with curses this and curses that, but even Deborah wouldn¡¯t make a weapon that possessed someone and transformed them into a depraved mockery of a long dead monster who had been a devoted, murderous, follower of Set. Probably. Maybe Deborah would. She was a bitch. ¡°Stupid Set, no one likes repeats,¡± Dahlia chided the god, while admiring her masterful tweaks to the thaumaturgical properties of the item. The twisted weapon glowed, the metal turned red-white like coals, and acrid smoke wafted off. Heat¡ªlike a campfire at first, then a forge, then a wildfire¡ªradiated in distorting waves. The hordes of Hyena-men rushed towards to the burning sword, as if it was the only thing that could save them. They didn¡¯t dodge blows, they had a single command drive their bodies: reach the sword. So, when the sword exploded, it mostly killed hyena-men. Inside the palisade and out, the Hyena-men all lifted their heads and yowled and whooped at the night sky. Even those mid-battles did this, resulting in more than a few being struck down. The angry dirge in response to the loss of Snarf¡¯s cursed weapon ended and then the Hyena-men broke for the forests. Any hints of organization, community, or leadership vanished with the death of Snarf and the sealing of his sword. Archers and warriors, mages and clerics, all desperately tried to strike down the fleeing Hyena-men, but over half of the thousand+ strong raiding party made it back to the edges of the Bramblewood. ¡°What¡¯s that bit of fire magic you did at the end, little one?¡± A dark-haired human man of middling years asked Dahlia. ¡°It was the big guy¡¯s weapon. It had a nasty curse, so I changed the curse to stop effecting the Hyena-men,¡± Dahlia bragged to the human. ¡°That¡¯s a mighty bit of magic to work in the middle of a battle,¡± the human remarked with a hint of skepticism. ¡°You use magic, I am magic,¡± Dahlia retorted. ¡°Enough, Bennet. Lady Dahlia not only held the breach but slayed Snarf and prevented the transference of his cursed weapon. That deserves celebrating, not suspicion.¡± Lord Graystone chided the man as he entered the still glowing circle of light that radiated off Snarf¡¯s corpse. ¡°Thank you, Lady Dahlia. Riverwatch would have been doomed without you,¡± Lord Graystone said with a bow of his head to the tiny fairy. You have gained 1 Glimmer point. Pact complete: Save Riverwatch from Snarf. Glimmer points awarded: 15. The sudden delivery of so many Glimmer points caused visible distortions of magical vortexes to swirl around Dahlia, and the haughty mage went pale faced. The human¡¯s eyes revealed the birth of a deep, existential fear in the mage as he witnessed evidence that all of the legends about the fey were potentially true. Dahlia spun and twirled happily in the vortexes of magic, which she greedily consumed. Experience breakdown for the Battle of Riverwatch: +834 experience from slaying Hyena-men. +420 experience from slaying Snarf. +1,000 experience for sealing cursed item The Crimson Hunger. Congratulations, you have reached level 3. Please proceed to the nearest Pillars of Ascension. ¡°We leveled up! Yay!¡± Dahlia cheered, and checked on each of her minions. Dahlia dumped a charge of Wisp heal into Xeras and Mr. Disapoofers to be safe, then flew around above the humans, distributing aid to the worst injured. ¡°Thanks, Miss Fairy!¡± One man called. You have gained a Glimmer point. Dahlia earned four more Glimmer points from people thanking her, as she buzzed around and tended to the wounded. Each charge of Wisp Heal did minimal healing, but thanks to the war magic cast Dread Resolution, few of the defenders had sustained wounds that breached the protection of the potent magic. ¡°¡°Dahlia!¡±¡± Adeline and Amelia got the fairies attention as dawn broke the horizon. ¡°Hi!¡± Dahlia greeted the two who still lugged their crossbow and bow. ¡°Dad wants you to get some rest, now. We¡¯re going to have a big party tonight.¡± Adeline said. ¡°A party? That sounds fun,¡± Dahlia chimed in as she flew in circles. ¡°A party. So, let¡¯s visit the Pillars of Ascension and get some rest, okay?¡± Amelia requested. ¡°Oh, right, level up. I totally forgot!¡± Dahlia said, and she laughed a little sheepishly. ¡°Ruff!¡± I tried to remind her! Mr. Disapoofers said. ¡°I will return to the Between,¡± Xeras proclaimed in Sylvan, and then took a sideways step and vanished. ¡°Aww, he¡¯s such a party pooper,¡± Dahlia pouted. ¡°Is he¡­ alive?¡± Amelia questioned. ¡°He¡¯s bound to my service,¡± Dahlia answered truthfully, but without giving an actual answer. ¡°Is there going to be cake tonight? I like cake,¡± Dahlia dropped what she thought to be an extremely subtle hint for the girls before she approached the Pillars and their iconography to Thoth. Chapter 11: Level 3 Before Dahlia touched the Pillar of Ascension, she did a little housekeeping with Glimmer points. With the huge stockpile in her possession, she quickly spent four points to bring both her Intelligence and Wisdom up to 10. Even with her spending spree, she retained 21 Glimmer points to spend. It seemed like a lot, until she remembered powerful effects like turning a spell into fey war magic cost ten Glimmer. 21 points seemed both many and so few all at once. Oh well. The people of Riverwatch could serve as a fertile ground in which to grow her stash of Glimmer. So long as she could control her capricious fey nature, the people of town practically worshipped her as a hero. A few performances with her lute and she¡¯d no doubt gain a couple more points. The world shifted around Dahlia, as if a filter had been removed from her vision. Her emotions felt more stable, she felt a connection to the world that she previously hadn¡¯t, and the idea of Dahlia felt firmer, as if someone had made a sketch and defined her by it. If the edge definition of her silhouette had been fuzzy before, it now had a bold black border to keep her in shape. None of this made practical sense to her, but she figured she could sort the differences out in time. Changing attributes, it seemed, was no insignificant thing. Dahlia touched the stone, and the world went black around her. You must choose a subclass. You meet the requirements for the following Gloamcaller subclasses: Hollowseer, Lamentweaver, Soulshaper. Hollowseer: Wield the hollow echoes left behind by lost spirits and the void that lies beyond. The Hollowseer specializes in manipulating the fear of emptiness, weakening foes with visions of despair, and draws power from the mysteries of death itself. Signature ability: Void¡¯s Embrace¡ªSurround yourself in an aura of emptiness that saps enemies of strength and resilience. Lamentweaver: Weave the sorrow and echoes of the departed into a haunting, powerful form of necromancy. Focus on the emotional weight of death, allowing you to channel the raw grief and pain of lost souls as a potent force in battle. Signature ability: Cry of the Departed¡ªChannel the sorrow and unresolved emotions of the fallen into an area to torment and weaken foes. Soulshaper: Master necromancers dream of the exalted peak of spirit mastery that belongs to soulshapers. Mold and customize your minions, blending artistry with power. Each spirit becomes a unique creation, drawing upon their former lives to grant them extra power, and using Spirit Meld to combine spirits. Signature ability: Spirit Meld¡ªCombine two or more spirits into a more powerful entity, granting the new creation unique traits and increased abilities. ¡°Soulshaper!¡± Dahlia proclaimed the moment she saw the ability. Lady Nyxaria had told stories of the Mistress of the Soulweald prior to herself. Lyrindris, the Gloamling Queen and Empress of the Twilight Quintessence had ruled until Nyxaria succeeded her. Lyrindris had been the Soulshaper, originator of the craft and magical path both. You have chosen the Soulshaper subclass. You have gained the following abilities: Shaper¡¯s Prerogative, Spirit Meld. Shaper¡¯s Prerogative: Your animations, summons, and conjurations remain under your control and last until defeated. Spirit Meld: Combine two or more spirits into a more powerful entity, granting the new creation unique traits and increased abilities based on its former life. You have unlocked level 2 spells. You have been granted the spell Call Spirit Hornet Swarm due to your Acolyte of Nyxaria background. You may choose an additional 2nd level spell from the following: Call Spirit Ally, Decay and Flourish, Peaceful Rest, Portal Sense, Webbing. Dahlia stared at the list of spells briefly, but she opted for Call Spirit Ally after she thought about it for a bit. The changes to her attributes had once again altered the way she thought about things. New considerations bubbled through the back of her mind for each spell. Peaceful Rest could allow for the preservation of corpses, which had some possible uses, while a spell like Portal Sense would let her slip into a fey realm easier¡ªor even into another plane. Call Spirit Ally leaned straight into her strengths¡ªspirits. Decay and Flourish looked tempting, but not as tempting as making more friends. ¡°Call Spirit Ally!¡± Dahlia declared with more confidence than she¡¯d felt before. For a moment, Dahlia wondered if the increase in Wisdom would lead her down a path full of hubris. Oh, what a grand tale of folly and arrogance she could write! You have learned the spell Call Spirit Ally. You have been granted the racial spell Glitter Bomb. You may cast it once per day without using a spell slot, subsequent casts require spell slots. Glitter Bomb (1st level Evocation spell): Every object or creature you can see within range of the spell (20 ft radius), except those exempted by you, are bathed in fairy glitter making them easier to find and hit. These items/creatures glow brightly and cannot benefit from invisibility. You may choose one additional Dark Chorus from the list below. Deadly Refrain: Your Charisma enhances the damage of a cantrip of your choice. Distant Verse: Choose one cantrip, your effective range increases dramatically. Repellant Intro: Choose one cantrip, your cantrip now pushes the target up to ten feet away from you. Spectral Murmur: When you use Shadowy Whispers you can cause the whispers to carry beyond the targeted creature. Choose up to two additional creatures within 10 feet of the target; they can also hear the whispers, creating a spreading wave of disturbing sounds. Failure to resist your spell grants them disadvantage on their next attack roll. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Soul Rending Lash: When you hit a creature with Soul Lash, you can expend a spell slot to drain life force, regaining hit points equal to half the damage dealt. Warding Shadows: You gain the Warding Shadows reaction, which allows you to decrease damage taken by you or an ally. Whispers of Gloam: You can cast Message at will without expending a spell slot. Most of the options were the same as she¡¯d been offered before, but Spectral Murmur and Soul Rending Lash were both new. Wisp Heal had proven itself to be a great source of healing for herself and others, which Dahlia felt gave a large boost to Spectral Murmur. The more creatures affected by her magic, the less damage she and her minions would take. ¡°Spectral Murmur!¡± Dahlia said with a confident decisiveness. It felt remarkably different from the ignorant brashness with which she previously made decisions with. Yet¡­ was it decisiveness, or arrogant hubris? Nah, it couldn¡¯t be that. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re done again?¡± Dahlia muttered after a brief stint of silence between her and the voice. The darkness around her faded, and she stood once more in Riverwatch. Dahlia closed her eyes and inspected her new spells. She heaved an annoyed sigh. ¡°Where am I supposed to get that stuff?¡± Dahlia kicked at the air in frustration, causing a few of the villagers to look at her strangely. Well, more strangely than they already were. ¡°Troubles, little lady?¡± Griff asked. The forester wore casual work clothes, no doubt helping with either the clean-up of the corpses or working to get the party ready. ¡°I don¡¯t have the material components for my new spells!¡± Dahlia whined. ¡°Well, what do you need? Maybe we can obtain some of it here in town?¡± Griff sounded dubious. ¡°Let¡¯s see, I need some crushed moonstone, a small piece of a mirror, lavender oil, a silver ribbon, a tiny piece of thorny wood, and a hornet encased in amber.¡± Dahlia rattled off the material components to Call Spirit Ally, Glitter Bomb, and Call Spirit Hornet Swarm. ¡°The only rare one in the list is the hornet in amber, I¡¯d wager.¡± Griff rubbed his chin while he listened, then nodded along with his own words. ¡°Come along,¡± Griff said. Dahlia zipped over to land on Griff¡¯s shoulder. The big forester seemed to pass through crowds without a problem. While everyone knew Griff, of course, it was the fairy on his shoulder that caused the survivors of the raid to part respectfully around him. Why else would they part like a sea before a mere logger? Dahlia¡¯s lips curled into a self-satisfied smile at what was merely the beginning of being shown her due. Griff took Dahlia a few blocks over to the vendors. One by one, he told the merchants what Dahlia needed¡ªshe only had to clarify once! For an axe swinger, Griff seemed to have a keen mind and a decent memory. An old lady gave Dahlia a hunk of moonstone as large as she was for saving the village, while Griff had to dole out five gold for a mere fragment of a mirror and another 6 silver coins for the lavender oil. ¡°Sorry Griff, all I¡¯ve got is amber without anything in it,¡± a middle-aged man demonstrated by emptying a small bag of amber pieces onto his table. ¡°Not a lot of demand in Riverwatch for collectible stones.¡± ¡°Hmmm,¡± Dahlia murmured. She landed on the table and lifted the pieces of amber¡ªthere were two small enough for her to lift up and examine on her own. ¡°I¡¯ll take this one,¡± she said. Dahlia lifted a piece the size of her head with some exertion. The piece was small, about two inches big, or the size of a small bird egg. ¡°With the local hero discount, that¡¯ll be two silver,¡± the merchant said. Dahlia beamed at him. Griff handed over two shiny pieces of silver. Dahlia hadn¡¯t caught a glimpse yet of what was stamped on the local currency. She should probably get more money of her own. Mortals valued money more than ephemeral things. They would even trade power and parts of themselves for money, so if she had enough she could convert it to Glimmer points quite easily. Why did the Glimmer system reward this behavior? It seemed¡­ inciting. ¡°Hey Griff, where do I get money?¡± Dahlia asked once they¡¯d left the merchant. ¡°Most adventurers get money by odd doing jobs and completing extermination requests. Zorah and Joel work as guards a lot. Some go searching old ruins and tombs for treasure. Lord Graystone keeps the employment board updated with available quests for Riverwatch,¡± Griff said. ¡°I have to work for it?¡± Dahlia stuck her tongue out and blew raspberries into the air. ¡°I already have some quests from the voice thing. Is that the same?¡± ¡°Aye, that it is lass. Here, let me show you,¡± Griff said when they entered the Keep. ¡°Back already? The celebration isn¡¯t until dusk,¡± Amelia greeted the two. ¡°Dahlia wanted to see the quest board,¡± Griff answered as he stopped next to Amelia¡¯s desk. On the wall a large board was full of posted quests. ¡°Here you go, Dahlia. The available quests for Riverwatch.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve received a quest that isn¡¯t on the board, please let me or father know. He checks the Pillars each day for new quests, but sometimes they¡¯ve been assigned after he last visited.¡± Amelia explained a common problem with the quest system. There were already copies of the quests Dahlia had on the board, and more besides. ¡°How do I accept a quest?¡± Dahlia asked, looking at one of the extermination requests. ¡°Touch it and say accept,¡± Amelia answered without hesitation. ¡°Accept,¡± Dahlia said after touching one of the extermination requests. Quest accepted: Exterminate 10 Blighted Twigs. [0/10] Quest reward: 100 gold. ¡°Are any of the other kill quests right around town?¡± Dahlia asked. Sure, she could read all of the slips, but there were so many of them, and she was rearing to go. ¡°There¡¯s the zombies in the Mausoleum?¡± Amelia suggested, pointing at one at the bottom corner of the board. ¡°Kill all the undead in the Mausoleum. How come this one doesn¡¯t have a number?¡± Dahlia queried. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to count how many undead were down there,¡± Amelia answered. ¡°It could be three zombies, or it could be a dozen. For all we know there¡¯s a Wight down there, but I doubt it. The graveyard is fenced in from the outside, so it¡¯d be hard for a wight to get into the cemetery.¡± ¡°That was before Ol¡¯ Menes died, Amelia. Without him keeping an eye on the cemetery there¡¯s no telling what kind of no good vermin have scuttled inside during the dark hours. If you take that job, best be prepared for even a Wight, lass,¡± Griff said. He seemed convinced that the cemetery was a dangerous place, unlike Amelia. ¡°Accept!¡± Dahlia cried. She wasn¡¯t afraid of some walking corpse just because it might be smarter than the likes of skeletons or zombies. Dahlia was smart, too! Quest accepted: Clear the undead from the Mausoleum. Quest reward: 500 gold, Ol¡¯ Menes Book of the Dead. ¡°There, now I have something to do until the party!¡± Dahlia cheered. Amelia fumbled through her desk and presented the fairy with a fancy silver key. It was nearly as large as the fairy, and Dahlia couldn¡¯t even carry it. ¡°You¡¯ll need this key to unlock the Mausoleum. Uhh¡­¡± Amelia trailed off, uncertain how the tiny fairy would deal with the key. ¡°Xeras! Be my key bearer,¡± Dahlia demanded. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Xeras answered as he stepped back into the world of Nantes, his wooden fingers easily taking possession of the key. ¡°Make sure the parties going to be fun, I¡¯ll be back in a few hours!¡± Dahlia cheerfully waved at Griff and Amelia from atop the head of her Gloamknight, who responded to telepathic command to begin the march to the graveyard. Chapter 12: The Mausoleum Dahlia once again flew into the cemetery on the side of Riverwatch, and landed before the Mausoleum that bore the symbol for House Graystone¨Ca gray colored block of stone on a black field. ¡°I suggest you summon your new allies first, Mistress,¡± Xeras interjected when Dahlia remained atop his head. ¡°I guess,¡± Dahlia agreed. First things first she fished the amber stone out of her pouch, and spent a Glimmer point to transform it into housing a desiccated hornet trapped in the amber. ?¡±From shadows thick and night¡¯s dread maw, I call thee forth on bladed wing. By blood and thorn, by death¡¯s cold law, Rise, foul swarm, obey and sting. Wraith-hornets fierce, with hunger wild, Each razor wing poised to defile, In writhing mass with venom¡¯s gleam, Descend, O swarm, in death¡¯s dark dream. Fey-born wrath with spectral spite, A thousand stings to shroud the light. Come forth, ye swarm, in fury¡¯s dance, Bound by pact of ancient trance. Through bone and soul, through flesh and fear, Your ghastly whispers draw near. A hornet¡¯s rage, a nightmare¡¯s grace, Devour all who flee this place. From blackened thorn and amber tomb, With phantom spite and eldritch harm, Bring death anew, O swarm of gloom, and spread your dread, my shadowed storm.¡± ? With each word of the song a hornet made of spiritual energy crawled out of the amber stone. One after another, until a swarm the size of Mr. Disapoofer buzzed and churned in front of Dahlia. The spectral hornets were tiny, smaller than Dahlia even, at approximately an inch long each. Yet even as spiritual beings, their bladed wings and large stingers left no doubt they were not to be trifled with. The attributes for the swarm surprised Dahlia.
Spirit Hornet Swarm Strength: 6 Intelligence: 4
Medium Undead, Evil Dexterity: 16 Wisdom: 12
Level: 1 Constitution: 15 Charisma: 7
Skills: Perception
Damage Resistances: Necrotic, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Non-magical attacks
Damage Immunity: Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft
Languages: Understands Common, can¡¯t speak.
Traits
Spectral Form The Spirit Hornet Swarm can move through creatures and objects.
Swarm Instinct If at least one allied creature is near its target, the swarm gains bonuses to attacks.
Fearsome Buzz Enemy creatures within 10 feet that can hear have a chance to become feared.
Actions & Reactions
Multi-Attack The Swarm makes a Bite and Sting attack.
Bite: In addition to minor damage, the Hornet bite carries paralytic venom.
Sting: In addition to minor damage, the Hornet sting carries a potent poison.
Dissipation: When damaged the Swarm can Dissipate, becoming resistant to all damage but Force for a brief time.
Your Magic¡ªSpell Singing skill has increased to level 2. ¡°Ruff!¡± Great singing! Mr. Disapoofer complimented Dahlia, even as she wondered what the effect of having a higher skill in spell singing would do. Dahlia closed her eyes to examine the skill. Magic¡ªSpell Singing. Rank 1 ¨C Harmonic Casting: Your sung spells resonate with minor harmonics that enhance range or duration. Once per battle you may increase the range or duration of a spell by 10% when sung. Rank 2 ¨C Resonant Voice: Your voice gains a magical resonance. Allies within ten feet gain bonuses to resist charm and fear effects while you sing. Additionally, you gain a bonus to spell-based attacks. Dahlia let the information go and opened her eyes. The swarm still writhed and pulsed. If she looked past the bladed wings, the hornets were almost like her adorable, beloved honeybees she¡¯d gathered nectar with. Almost. The buzz of their wings made the air vibrate in a prelude to violence. ¡°Let¡¯s see what we get for a spirit ally, shall we?¡± Dahlia asked her assembled minions. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right, and make a performance out of it.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Ruff!¡± Yes! Mr. Disapoofer cheered in obvious happiness at having more friends. Or maybe the Warp Wolf was merely excited that Dahlia couldn¡¯t summon more than one swarm of hornets at a time. Even the Gloamknight, Xeras, puffed his chest out and released a snort. Shade slumbered in shadows¡ªhe didn¡¯t care about any of this until there were enemies to shred. Without even a second thought for using both of her second level spell slots Dahlia coughed to clear her through and hummed a few notes. Only then did she pull out the mirror fragment, cover it in lavender oil, and tie a silver ribbon around it. Then she sang. ?¡±O soul of flame, of searing light, Through shadowed veil and endless night, By voice and spell, I summon thee¡ª Rise forth, O mage, and burn for me. Ancient pyre, from embers rise, A blaze reborn beneath dark skies. Bearer of intellect, fierce and bright, Step from the gloom, unleash your might. O spirit forged in fire¡¯s embrace, With flames that none but death could chase, Lend me your strength, your burning fire¡ª Awaken now at my desire. Through whispered words and binding ties, From distant lands where magic lies, Guide my hand with ghostly flame, And scorch our foes in death¡¯s own name. Come forth, O mage, with wrathful gaze, Ignite the dark, set all ablaze. Answer my call, heed my plea¡ª Ally of flame, now fight for me.¡± ? Motes of fire rose from the ground. Each wisp of flame added to the greater whole of the spirit that Dahlia called upon. The consistent addition of more and more motes created the outline of a humanoid mage that coalesced into a blue-spiritual form shot through with hungry orange-red flames. ¡°I am ready to serve, Lady,¡± the spirit said in common. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± Dahlia asked bluntly. ¡°I was called Ruth,¡± the half-elf answered. Dahlia knew the truth of the half-elf¡¯s name, but didn¡¯t comment.
Name: Ruthialle Medium Undead, Neutral
Level: 1
Strength: 10 Intellect: 18
Dexterity: 11 Wisdom: 12
Constitution: 14 Charisma: 10
Languages: Sylvan, Elven, Common Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.
Traits:
Emberheart Bond: A spirit of fire and loyalty, Ruth¡¯s very essence is entwined with vast magical energies of Dahlia. Her presence kindles warmth and power.
Effect: Dahlia gains fire resistance while Ruth is summoned, and her spells gain a chance to deal additional fire damage.
Actions & Reactions:
Multiattack: Ruth makes two Magical Flame Strike attacks.
Magical Flame Strike Ranged Evocation fire attack, range 90 ft.
Flame Shield (Reaction) Reflect physical damage taken to the attacker, as fire.
¡°Okay, Ruth, welcome to the party. We¡¯re going to go into this old crypt and clear out all the undead. Does anyone have any questions?¡± Dahlia asked, looking between her assorted minions. Bzz. Bzz. The Hornet Swarm indicated they were ready to commit violence, with their aggressive buzzing and writhing. ¡°Please unlock the door now, Xeras,¡± Dahlia said with only a bit of annoyance that the key was too big for her to use. Xeras grunted and used the silver key to free the lock. He then pulled the chains off the door and left them in a pile on the ground. Smoke wafted from the Gloamknight¡¯s hands from touching the iron. They left the key in the mechanism with the chains, since they had nowhere else to put it and no one wanted to deal with the chains. Dahlia flew forward to push on the door with her tiny arms. She might as well have been pushing a boulder. ¡°Allow me,¡± Xeras chimed, and his wooden hand pushed firmly against the double doors. The stone doors groaned and creaked as they opened, and before they had even opened fully a snarling ghoul lunged to attack Xeras. Its eagerness to feast on the first thing it saw resulted in getting a mouth full of wooden armor, while Xeras cut the creature from crotch to sternum. ¡°Eww, die,¡± Dahlia muttered. She unleashed a radiant lance of potent energy through Soul Lash. The holy, positive energy aspected cantrip struck the putrid creature and left scorch marks over its body. Bzz. Bzz. The Hornet Swarm flowed around Xeras and Dahlia and unleashed a plethora of stings and bites against the hideous undead. You have gained 50 experience. The corpse of the ghoul crashed to the ground, smoking and oozing dark, viscous fluids across the stone floor. Behind it, three more ghouls hissed and charged towards the opened door and freedom. ¡°Move into the mausoleum, kill these ghouls,¡± Dahlia commanded. Xeras stepped in and took point before the door. Anything that wanted out would have to get past him. Mr. Disapoofer positioned himself to the right of Xeras, while Ruth took position behind both of them. Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Ruth unleashed two moderately sized blasts of fire at the on-coming ghouls, and the lead ghoul took both flaming projectiles in the face. The scent of burning rotten flesh filled the air. It was very unappealing, and even the Hornet Swarm buzzed angrily. Dahlia mused summoning a mage with an element other than fire next time. ¡°You¡¯re all so ugly that I couldn¡¯t bring myself to eat a pastry covered in honey if one were to miraculously appear before me,¡± Dahlia chided the slavering ghouls and unleashed Shadowy Whispers. Tendrils of darkness writhed around the burning ghoul and then extended to enshroud the other two. Spectral Murmur¡¯s spread the distracting effects to the other ghouls. The first ghoul stepped into the reach of Xeras¡¯s wooden great sword, and the top half of its body fell to the ground, its body seemingly losing cohesion from the amount of magical damage that had already been unleashed on it. The slash through the air left a gash across the second ghoul to boot. You have gained 50 experience. Congratulations, you have reached level four. Please visit your local Pillar of Ascension to level up. Dahlia groaned in annoyance at the message. If she¡¯d been that close to a level why couldn¡¯t it just have let her be level four when she was just at the damned Pillar of Ascension? ¡°Get ¡®em,¡± Dahlia commanded. Mr. Disapoofer appeared behind the second ghoul and bit savagely at the creatures ankles. Shade swam up from the floor and attacked the other one from the side. Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Two more bolts of fire flew from Ruth¡¯s spectral hands. Combined with Soul Lash, the Hornet¡¯s stings, and Xeras¡¯s cleave, the last two ghouls fell to the ground in moments. You have gained 100 experience. ¡°Kind of pushovers, aren¡¯t they?¡± Dahlia said with a touch of disappointment. ¡°Do you wish to go deeper?¡± Xeras asked. ¡°Deeper? This is a single roomed building,¡± Dahlia pointed out. She jumped into the air to fly around the room to make sure she wasn¡¯t missing something important, which is when she saw the stairs in the corner of the room going down into a crypt. ¡°Alrighty then, Xeras take the lead. Shade, be ready to pop out and help him kill anything that attacks him. Ruth, Hornets, you¡¯re with me and Mr. Disapoofer.¡± Dahlia gave commands to her growing minion army before she settled onto the head of Mr. Disapoofer. He seemed safer to ride into combat than Xeras, even if it meant keeping the Warp Wolf from being a front-line fighter. ¡°Ruff!¡± I smell a Wight. A powerful one. Mr. Disapoofers warned. ¡°What¡¯s it smell like?¡± Dahlia queried. ¡°Ruff ruff Ruff!¡± Cursed warlockery, rotting flesh, and hunger for life. Bad. Mr. Disapoofer answered with an eloquence that surprised Dahlia. ¡°Follow,¡± Xeras rasped before he led the way down into the crypt. The stones of the stairs were old and weathered. Xeras made hardly a noise as he descended, and other than the bzzz bzz of the swarm, the rest of the group remained utterly silent. Despite that, Dahlia could sense in the back of her mind the cold damp touch of the stone against the padded feet of Mr. Disapoofer. The cold touch of death warred with the warmth that tingled inside Dahlia courtesy of the newest party member. The air grew heavier with each step and the faint earthy scent of decay mingled with the acrid odor of mildew. Shadows clung to the walls, moved by unnatural forces. The stairs turned after ten steps and turned again after ten more. The bottom stair opened into a darkened room from which vines had grown towards the stairs. Dahlia snapped her finger, and the wall-mounted torches burst to life with a quick application of Magic Trick. The light spilled into a large room full of alcoves and coffins. ¡°Who dares come into my crypt? Go away!¡± A voice shouted from beyond the perimeter of light. Xeras strode down to the bottom of the stairs, and hisses and growls emerged from the room. ?¡°From shadows deep, old legends rise, With baleful gaze and demanding cries. They bear no fear, regret, nor pain, Their story loaded with loss and bane.¡± ? Dahlia cast the normal, non-war magic version of Dread Resolution on Xeras. Ghostly blue-silver energies silhouetted his own deep green sylvan power. ¡°You aren¡¯t humans¡­¡± A figure who hung back in the shadows noted. The hissing ghouls restrained themselves from throwing them immediately at the party this time, unlike when they first entered the mausoleum. ¡°I¡¯m a fairy!¡± Dahlia agreed. ¡°Do you wish to join the cause of Set, and rise above the foolish humans? Long have your kind suffered under the rulership of Horus!¡± The rasping voice asked again. ¡°You¡¯re dumb,¡± Dahlia told the undead. ¡°You didn¡¯t even get your own undeath right, and I¡¯ve already got a quest to kill you. Sorry!¡± ¡°What? Why are you wasting my time, you stupid little fairy? Kill them!¡± The robe wearing undead shouted angrily, and the ghouls charged across the room, crushing the ancient corpses of the Graystone¡¯s under foot in their mad dash to assault the fey group. Dahlia counted five ghouls, one ghast, and then the wight who spoke. ¡°Defend the stairs,¡± Dahlia told Xeras telepathically. ¡°Kill the wight,¡± Dahlia commanded Ruth and Shade mentally. ¡°Help Xeras kill the ghouls,¡± Dahlia instructed the Hornet Swarm. ¡°Aroo?¡± Mr. Disapoofer asked. ¡°Stay here,¡± Dahlia answered from his head. They were a solid six feet behind Xeras, almost at the bottom of the stairs. ¡°Ruff!¡± Boooo! Mr. Disapoofer obeyed, but he wasn¡¯t happy about sitting back. ¡°Die!¡± The wight hissed and launched a black bolt of a spell at Xeras. Perhaps it was intuition, but the wight missed Xeras by a mile. Perhaps due to Shade flowing out of the ground to attack the wight from behind? Or maybe¡­. Chapter 13: The Hunger of Apep Darkness blossomed around Dahlia and her minions when the black bolt thrown by the wight struck the ceiling above them. The darkness writhed as semi-solid things that felt terribly like snakes, if snake¡¯s scales were covered in a milky and corrosive goo, attempted to grasp and ensnare them. Accompanying the corrosive touch of the nasty things was a terrible cold radiated from the darkness itself. Pain registered through her nerves at the same time as a low growl emerged from Mr. Disapoofer¡¯s throat. The warp wolf ran and then reality bent around her, and Mr. Disapoofer and Dahlia appeared on the far end of the crypt¡¯s main room. The stairs they had come down were swallowed in absolute darkness which even Dahlia¡¯s ability to see in the dark could not pierce¡ªand in the back of her mind it registered that each of her followers were under attack by that spell. What also registered in Dahlia¡¯s mind was a voice. This asshole has level 3 spells? It was her own voice, tinged with bitterness, jealousy, and envy. Why should this pathetic creature that failed to properly bargain with a patron be able to cast level three spells when she couldn¡¯t? How did she know it was a level three spell? She¡¯d never even seen it before in her life, but the raw power of the spell dwarfed her own level two spells significantly. ¡°Raw power isn¡¯t everything in a magic duel, that¡¯s why Deborah keeps beating you, little Dahlia,¡± Lady Nyxaria had frequently chided Dahlia¡¯s attempts at brute strength in magic against the slightly, barely, more powerful Deborah. But Dahlia wasn¡¯t the same Dahlia who¡¯d been kicked out of the Soulweald over the stupid bet Nyxaria and that Vaeldork guy, and clever ideas flooded her mind. ?"From fey-bound hands, this gleam takes flight, A sparkling web of dazzling light! No shadow hides, no veil can stay, All secrets fall to the light of the fey!" "Dust of mirrors, bright and clear, Shroud their steps and make them appear! From unseen depths to the world they come, Bound by glitter¡ªyour tricks are done!" "By fey decree, let colors bloom, Expose the hidden, dispel the gloom! A burst of light, your masks undone, In glitter¡¯s glow, the hunt¡¯s begun!" ? Dahlia¡¯s voice shocked the undead when it came from behind him. With each beautifully chanted word motes of magic spread from Dahlia¡¯s glowing wings. The motes of light clung to everything in the room except Dahlia¡¯s minions, and Dahlia herself. The wight, the undead, none were exempted. Even the floor, walls, ceiling, and every other object in the range of her spell got covered in fairy dust. The drab, dark crypt transformed from a gloomy dark place to a brightly lit glistening, glitter filled pastel paradise. Half of the area covered by Glitter Bomb had been plunged into absolute darkness, while the other half shone bright with fey magic. Xeras and the others could target their enemies without penalty and find their way out of the lingering spell. Get out of there! Dahlia gave the mental command, even as reverberations of pain echoed through her psychic connection to her minions. Xeras was the first to emerge from the darkness. The Gloamknight appeared to be unphased by the negative energies of the evil spell, and he stopped the moment he exited the darkness. Xeras raised his free hand, and unleashed torrents of green flame from his hand in the shape of a cone. The snarling, hungry ghouls who had rushed towards the darkness to pick off weakened targets found themselves caught right in the full blast. The green flames scorched the putrid flesh of the ghouls and they continued to burn even after the torrent of flames ceased flowing from Xeras¡¯s hand. None of the five ghouls died, but each looked haggard. Behind Xeras came Ruth, and her double fire attack finished off two of the five ghouls. Unlike Xeras, Ruth¡¯s spectral form looked lesser than she had mere moments ago. Xeras, the resilient Gloamknight, could shrug off much more than the fragile mage spirit. Dahlia pondered what sort of trickery she could commit with Spirit Merge to give Ruth more survivability. You have gained (50x2) 100 experience. Bzzzzzz! The spectral hornets flowed out of the darkness of the spell and moved around Xeras and then through each of the ghouls, stopping at the last ghoul. Each of the undead along its path withered under a barrage of stings and bites. You have gained 50 experience. Another of the ghouls died under the swarm¡¯s assault. ¡°My hard work!¡± The wight cried out in anguish, before he turned and swung a spectral claw at Dahlia and Mr. Disapoofer. ¡°Ruff!¡± Nope! Mr. Disapoofer mocked the undead, the spectral claws found only air as the Warp Wolf vanished and reappeared between the ghast, the ghouls, and the Spirit Swarm. ¡°Confounded fey!¡± The wight cursed and flung a bolt of necrotic energies at the Warp Wolf¡¯s new location. This time the bolt of negative energies struck the glowing white fur of the wolf, and Mr. Disapoofer yowled in pain. ¡°Haha, got you!¡± The wight bragged. ?¡±Wisp of life, wisp of death, Heal the heart, leave no trace, Shimmer soft, spirits guide, Mend the pain, heal inside.¡±? Dahlia¡¯s voice rose urgently, and a Wisp appeared next to her shoulder. She immediately discharged two motes to heal her beloved Familiar. In a flash of mist and magic Xeras stood behind the wight and lashed out with his sylvan blade. The wooden great sword pierced tattered clothing, sliced through bone, and left a trail of destruction across the body of the caster.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°What fey bullshit is this!? A wooden sword can¡¯t harm me!¡± The wight screamed in agony, and confusion. ¡°You dumb ass! Gloombough is a Feyblade forged from the ancient heartwood of one of the Black Towers of Mourning, trees whose sole purpose is to honor fallen Archfey! There¡¯s nothing it can¡¯t cut!¡± Dahlia stuck her tongue out and blew raspberries at the wight, who went from angry to fearful. Things had taken a dire turn for the wight. As ridiculous as the tiny, glittering, purple haired fairy appeared, her magic and minions annihilated his forces in short order. You have gained (50x2) 100 experience. The voice¡¯s notification murmured into Dahlia¡¯s mind moments after Ruth incinerated the last two ghouls. Bzzzzt! The swarm flowed to cover the ghast, and bite and sting a new opponent. The ghast flailed under the spectral swarm¡¯s wrath. The ghast futilely tried to bite and claw at the intangible enemy. Yet no matter how it clawed at the hundreds of spectral hornets, it failed to strike even one. Dahlia lifted a hand while she stared at the wight, and a blast of positive energy shot from her hand to smite the ghast. She failed to kill it entirely, but Ruth¡¯s fire bolts finished the nasty thing off, leaving only the wounded wight. You have gained 112 experience. ¡°Why? I was fully prepared to kill that idiot Bennet, and you came and ruined everything!¡± The wight screamed. ¡°You could be one of my minions,¡± Dahlia offered. ¡°Set would never allo¡ª¡± the wight couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. A telepathic command passed between Dahlia and Xeras. Gloombough severed the wight¡¯s head from its shoulders, and Mr. Disapoofer walked over to chomp the skull into bone shards. You have gained 275 experience. Quest complete, report to local authorities for your reward. ¡°Good job everyone!¡± Dahlia cheered for her minions. ¡°Especially you, Xeras. You¡¯re a great fighter.¡± The Gloamknight bowed his head to Dahlia in subservience, a creature of few words even when praised. ¡°Let¡¯s look for shiny things while we¡¯re down here!¡± Dahlia discharged more motes of her Wisp Heal to bring all her crew up to full health, before they each split up to poke at the debris of the tomb. Shockingly, there wasn¡¯t much to be found of any use to Dahlia. She helped herself to a few bone fragments and a pinch of grave dirt, before they exited the tomb. If she merged Shade into another spirit, she¡¯d need the material components to summon a new one. ¡°Back into my shadow or the Between, everybody,¡± Dahlia instructed her growing horde. Like good soldiers they followed their orders. Xeras seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if he might say something to Dahlia, but he simply vanished in the end. The fairy didn¡¯t give it much thought and whooshed into the air to take the swiftest path to the Pillars of Ascension. Whatever Ol¡¯ Menes Book of the Dead might have for secrets paled in comparison to what she might gain from leveling up. Four was a fantastic number, and something about leveling up felt deeply satisfying¡ªit was almost as good as eating sugar cookies. The familiar darkness surrounded Dahlia when she touched the Pillar. You have reached level 4. You have gained an additional 2nd level spell slot. Choose one of the following spells to learn: Alter Shape (2nd), Call Weapon Spirit (2nd), Cloud of Swords (2nd), Summon Beasties (2nd), Webbing (2nd). ¡°Weapon Spirit!¡± Dahlia decided after she did a quick run through the options. Alter shape was a bad version of shapeshifting. Why was it bad? Because it didn¡¯t let her change size, and turning into a miniature human or elf wouldn¡¯t do anything. Beasties were actually animals, not spirits or undead, webbing was sticky, and Cloud of Swords sounded neat, but not as neat as weapon spirits. Dahlia didn¡¯t linger on the choice when she felt drawn so strongly to one option. You have learned the spell Call Weapon Spirit. Call Weapon Spirit (2nd level necromancy) Components: Fragment of a broken sapient weapon, consumed on use. Description: You coax one of the many slumbering spirits of the Soulweald to revitalize a damaged or dead weapon spirit. Weapon type matches that of the material component used. The resultant spirit will be an unpredictable mixture of the new and old spirit. As a Soulshaper you may choose one trait from the original artifact and one from the answering spirit from the Soulweald. ¡°Crud,¡± Dahlia whimpered. The spell seemed perfect on paper, except for one problem. Sapient weapons were super rare and hard to find. ¡°Where am I going to find weapon fragments?¡± The voice of Nantes did not address Dahlia¡¯s despair over the exotic material component of her new spell. Instead, it moved on. You may choose between adding +2 to an attribute (cannot exceed 20) or choose from the following list of features. You meet the prerequisites for the following. Gloamcaller Specific: Ebon Conductor: Your summoned creatures can channel your spell energy. When you cast a spell, you may deliver it through a summoned creature you control if it is within 60ft. Additionally, you gain the reaction ¡°Take this, too!¡±, which allows you to cast a damage cantrip in parallel with one of your summoned creatures attacks. Once per day you may cast a leveled spell using Take this, too! Echoes of the Fey Realms: Your summoned creatures gain the ability to teleport up to 15ft as a bonus. When one of your summoned creatures teleports, it leaves behind a shimmering echo that grants allies within 5ft a bonus to defense. Oath of the Fallen: Summoned creatures gain a bonus to defense while within 10 ft of you. Additionally, you can mark a creature within 30 ft. If your summoned creatures attack that marked creature, they deal extra damage. General: Fast: Your speed increases by 10ft, environmental hazards don¡¯t slow you down, and you gain +1 to Dexterity. Healer: You gain a bonus for using herbal and medicinal items. Inspirational Leader: Increase Wisdom or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20. Once per rest you can inspire your allies, who gain temporary health. There were more general features, but most of them were so bad Dahlia muttered ¡°Next!¡± while the strange voice described them. Dahlia rationalized that most general feats must be for people like Griff. Plain Jane humans with boring classes like logger, and absolutely trash for those who could fly, use magic, and were amazing super Fey like Dahlia herself. She cut the listing short. ¡°Ebon Conductor!¡± Dahlia emphatically chose the spell that seemed most useful for her. Visions of her delivering massive attack spells, or even simple cantrips through her minions appealed to her delusions of grandeur far more than any of the others. Teleporting minions would be powerful, but fifteen feet didn¡¯t seem like it would be enough to provide a true, meaningful contribution to any fight. Thus, Dahlia never saw the option to choose Telekinesis as a General feature. Level up complete. The darkness vanished and Dahlia returned to the world of Nantes. People bustled around the town, and the sun hung in the late afternoon position. ¡°I¡¯ll go find something sweet,¡± Dahlia proclaimed to the world, and launched herself towards the few food carts and vendors still peddling. Most were helping prepare for the festival. Chapter 14: The Overexuberance of Continued Existence ¡°Caramel apples are over here!¡± Adeline shouted. ¡°Bennet cast Create Ice for Ol¡¯ Ibrik. Five maple chews for a copper!¡± Amelia cried out, shouting to be heard over the top of her sister. The twins never failed to zig when the other zagged. They darted between impromptu stalls with the vigor to rival the young children who dashed everywhere at full speed, fueled by sugar and excitement. ¡°You two are hopeless,¡± Zorah muttered darkly, as the twin girls each tried to convince the tiny fairy to choose their favorite snack as the first one of the night. Dahlia sat atop Zorah¡¯s shoulder where she kicked her feet boredly in the air. While Dahlia loved sugar she couldn¡¯t shake a feeling that this might be a waste of her time. She observed the humans with their competition to be the first to feed her candy with good natured mirth, but mostly the fairy had grown bored. What did it matter if a bunch of Hyena-men were dead to Dahlia? There had been little doubt about her ability to live and see another day, but across Riverwatch the townsfolk had expressions of wonder, as if one of their vaunted gods had sent Dahlia down to save them¡ªor thanks to Dahlia herself, the name Vaelmir travelled from tongue to tongue. ¡°Ahem, is this thing on?¡± Lord Graystone¡¯s voice boomed across the center of Riverwatch broadcast from a small metal cylinder covered in elaborate arcane glyphs. Dahlia had never seen both a cute and effective voice amplification item before. She wanted it, even if it looked heavier than she was. Maybe they¡¯d give her one if she asked? ¡°Yes, yes. Well, thank you Bennet. Third times the charm, as they say. Friends, citizens, and anyone else who still stands here today in Riverwatch, I bid you welcome!¡± Lord Graystone spoke into the item and gesticulated at the crowd with his cane with his other hand. He stood behind a lectern, atop an outdoor stage. ¡°Tonight, we gather not in mourning but in triumph! Not in fear, but in gratitude! Today we are free¡ªfree from the tyrannical curse of Snarf, Set, and the foul pack of Hyena-men whose claws and laughter sought to destroy our peaceful lives. While their shadows loomed large over our lands, their teeth and claws can threaten our lives no longer! They have been driven away by a force far greater than their malice. Not only has this otherworldly force of courage and determination slain Snarf, but it has also broken his curse. No more will we see that rotten Hyena!¡± For an old man, Lord Graystone knew how to speak well enough to keep even Dahlia interested. Especially when he talked about her. He should do that more. ¡°That force has a name, and it is Dahlia!¡± Zorah squirmed awkwardly when the crowds around them turned their eyes to examine Dahlia. Apparently the archer didn¡¯t like all the attention, a strong contrast to the fairy. Dahlia had no qualms about being stared at and praised by throngs of people, and in fact she rather liked it. Those who could see her, at any rate. A tiny, eight-inch-tall fairy wasn¡¯t the easiest being to see from a few feet away, even with the occasional puffs of fairy dust around her. ¡°I had my doubts. A necromancer, a caller of gloam and whispers. But last night, the truth shone as brightly as any sun¡ªDahlia is a protector, a beacon of hope wrapped in the veils of twilight. When hundreds of Hyena-men charged our gates, she utilized potent war magic to strengthen our defenses. When Snarf broke in through the palisade, she and her cohort charged to meet him head on! Even when Snarf lay dead and broken, she unwove the curse placed upon Snarf by Set himself. No more are these lands darkened by an angry god¡¯s curse. You saved us. You saved me, my family, my people, and my lands¡ªall of us owe you a debt that cannot be measured in gold or jewels.¡± Bennet climbed the stage to hand Lord Graystone a chalice, which the Lord raised to the sky in a cheer. Dahlia¡¯s hopes climbed for a relic or artifact, but it had no magic. Why would Bennet give the old man a mediocre chalice of wine? ¡°Tonight we raise our glasses not only to victory, but to the one who made it possible. Dahlia, may your path always be illuminated by the spirits. May your courage inspire others as it has inspired us. And may this land remember forever the night the Gloamcaller became our guardian!¡± Lord Graystone downed his whole chalice in an overly energetic single gulp. He nearly choked, but Bennet quickly leaped to the older man¡¯s rescue. The mage thumped the old man¡¯s back and prevented the Lord¡¯s demise. The mage didn¡¯t, however, offer him a handkerchief to wipe the crimson wine from his face. Across the whole of the town people were cheering and thanking Dahlia. A strange warmth flowed through her¡ªas if she¡¯d eaten the best piece of royal honey. Warmth flowed through her fingers, toes, and concentrated in her stomach. Time seemed to slow down for a brief moment, and Dahlia had the stray thought: I could destroy this whole city¡ªbut the thought passed quickly, the warmth remained. You have earned 42 Glimmer points due to the sincere gratitude of Riverwatch. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you smile so big!¡± Adeline complimented Dahlia. Dahlia took a deep, overly dramatic breath and winked at the girl. ¡°I¡¯m pretty amazing,¡± the fairy proclaimed. It wasn¡¯t a lie. Dahlia felt appreciated and great. The deluge of thanks and the wash of strong emotions which gripped the town both solidified into Glimmer points. Such a huge surge of potent magic manifested in euphoric waves that crashed haphazardly inside her tiny frame. The things Dahlia could do with forty points! If the mortals thought Dahlia¡¯s smile was one of appreciating the sentiments being directed at her, instead of the power she gained from it, that wasn¡¯t her problem. According to Lady Nyxaria mortals were dumb, and it was best to let them think whatever got them to act as you desired. The less you offered, the easier it was to speak the truth. A shiver ran through Dahlia¡¯s spine and the hair on the back of her neck raised. Someone, or something, was watching her. Physically, and magically. None of her minions were currently manifest so she couldn¡¯t rely on any of them to have noticed if anyone was watching her, and really, an entire town of mortals stared at her. Maybe it was just one of them being extra intent?The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I want sugar!¡± Dahlia cried at the twins and Zorah, who all nodded as if they had expected that declaration. Dahlia did want sugar, but more than anything, she wanted an excuse to have her group keep moving. Maybe she could lure out the watcher? The twins feasted her with maple chews, caramel apples, and pastries topped with a sugary white cream that Dahlia quite liked. ¡°We¡¯re being watched,¡± Zorah remarked in a low whisper. ¡°Well, yeah. Dahlia¡¯s the savior of town, of course we¡¯re being watched, Zorah.¡± Amelia responded with a roll of her eyes. ¡°By someone with dark intent,¡± Zorah added. The twins looked at one another. Both had replaced their armor with cotton dresses, and neither wore more than a dagger on their belt. ¡°There!¡± Dahlia pointed at a figure lurking in the darkness between two tents. The sparkle of two green eyes had caught the fairies attention, and when she pointed and exclaimed to her friends, the figure noticed and vanished into the shadows. ¡°I¡¯ll let Dad know there¡¯s a skulker. Don¡¯t chase after them, please.¡± Adeline waited until Zorah nodded that they wouldn¡¯t follow the figure, before she slipped into the crowd to report to her father. ¡°So, do we chase?¡± Amelia immediately asked Zorah. ¡°No,¡± Zorah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve summoned Shade. He¡¯ll help keep an eye out,¡± Dahlia assured the other two. Although, as a shadow, Shade was the least sapient of her minions, he was the only one who didn¡¯t glow and draw attention to himself. He also happened to be the weakest. All of these made Dahlia want to experiment with her new Soulshaper powers. Could she remake Shade into something more useful? Adeline rejoined the trio at the fortune tellers table, while Amelia got her fortune told by one of the village elders. ¡°¡­and so, you are at a crossroads. One path is easy, paved with duty and expectation. The other is wild, uncertain, and filled with trials and triumphs. Know that shadows circle the fire, ready to snuff it out regardless of which path you take.¡± The old woman cryptically warned Amelia. Amelia slid a copper across the table to the old woman. ¡°How about you, Dahlia?¡± The lord¡¯s daughter asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare read the futures of a fey, m¡¯lady,¡± the old woman waved her hand frantically. Fear radiated off the woman in palpable waves. ¡°Mhmm,¡± Dahlia murmured. While it was one thing to watch the talentless crone play for Amelia, it would be an entirely different matter for a human to have the audacity to lie about glimpsing the future. Such things could be done, of course, and they carried a terrible price that this decrepit mortal would be unable to pay. The hair on the back of Dahlia¡¯s neck raised again. Mistress. Stalker! ¡°We¡¯re being watched again,¡± Dahlia whispered into Zorah¡¯s ear and gave her the directions from which Shade spoke into her mind. ¡°Stay behind me, you two. You aren¡¯t attired for a fight,¡± Zorah warned before she vaulted over a barrel, broke into a sprint, then took a hard left at the first alley. A dark shape scurried away from them in a panic. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get away!¡± Dahlia snapped at Shade. She lifted her hand to unleash a blast of power at the retreating stalker. The blast of radiant energy from Soul Lash drove earth and rock into the air, narrowly missing the stalker. The mysterious figure vanished in a poof of magic. ¡°Teleportation?¡± Zorah asked as she skidded to a halt. ¡°No, worse,¡± Dahlia grumbled. ¡°Invisibility.¡± ¡°How is that worse?¡± Zorah asked. ¡°I could have read where they teleported to in the magic. Can you track invisible things?¡± Dahlia asked hopefully. Glitterbomb would cause too much of a commotion to set off in the middle of a celebration. Savior or not, many of the citizens of Riverwatch still had an skeptical wariness against Dahlia¡ªor she would¡¯ve received far more than 42 points of Glimmer for a town with a population in the hundreds. ¡°I can try,¡± Zorah said with determination. Ten minutes later, the four ladies stood near the guarded exit on the edge of town. ¡°Did you see anyone leave town?¡± Zorah questioned the older man on guard duty. ¡°Nope. No one¡¯s come or gone for a few hours now,¡± the guard grumbled. Dahlia considered playing a prank on him, for having the nerve to be the one unhappy in this scenario. She refrained, only because she wanted to be ready in-case they stumbled across the invisible stalker. ¡°Keep extra dutiful watch,¡± Zorah barked, and they reconvened at the manor. Surprisingly, Bennet and Lord Graystone were waiting for them. ¡°Couldn¡¯t catch them?¡± Bennet asked. ¡°They turned invisible,¡± Zorah grumbled. ¡°Hmmm,¡± Lord Graystone mumbled ominously, before he sipped his tea. ¡°I¡¯ve a scroll of See Invisible you could have, Lady Dahlia,¡± Bennet said. He shoved a hand into an inner pouch of his robes and fished out a scroll. Based on how much of his arm vanished into his robes, the mage either had an extra-spatial container in his robe or he was the greatest contortionist-wizard Dahlia had ever seen. The fact the town mage had a container like that and she didn¡¯t made Dahlia¡¯s face flush red with envy. ¡°If the scroll is to be of any use we must find the stalker first,¡± Zorah pointed out. ¡°Thank you, Bennet.¡± Dahlia smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything while Zorah tucked the wrapped scroll into her own pouch. The scroll was bigger than Dahlia. ¡°If they have any brains they¡¯ll give it up, now that Dahlia is onto them. I wouldn¡¯t want her host of minions to meet me in a dark alley,¡± Amelia muttered. ¡°If they went invisible and ran away they¡¯re thinking like you already, sis,¡± Adeline said with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Dahlia said. Her tiny voice drew all eyes to the fairy. ¡°I¡¯ll catch them while I work on my quests around town,¡± Dahlia elaborated. ¡°Speaking of quests,¡± Lord Graystone said as he looked directly at Dahlia. ¡°Reward!¡± The command word reverberated with Nantes in a way that normal magic didn¡¯t, and it disoriented Dahlia. A sack and a book appeared on the table in front of Lord Graystone. ¡°Let me contribute my own reward for you, Lady Dahlia. This has been in my family for generations, but it belongs with someone like you¡­¡± Bennet trailed off, a little, and reluctantly he dropped a small silk pouch on the table. Dahlia squealed, her arms flailing happily in the air as she made a series of undignified joyful sounds. ¡°A Feywoven Satchel!¡± The fairy leaped through the air, flew, and landed on the satchel. As her tiny hands gestured and infused magic into the bag, it shrank to her size and hung on her belt in moments. When she tapped the sack of coins and the book, both vanished into the satchel. Dahlia¡¯s smile grew even wider, as she gained a way to carry things that didn¡¯t rely on Zorah, Xeras, Mr. Disapoofer, or anyone else. Being self-sufficient felt wonderful, and freed her from some of the tyranny of the gigantic mortal-sized world. ¡°For me? How delightfully unexpected.¡± Dahlia spoke solemnly for a change, for a few brief words. ¡°Well, then, I suppose¡­.¡± Dahlia¡¯s face twisted a little in thought as she regarded her options with Glitter Warp. ¡°May the moon return your kindness for this thoughtful gift, Sir Bennet,¡± Dahlia intoned, the world of Nantes twisting slightly as the fairy burned five Glimmer points to give the wizard a small boon. Beams of radiant moonlight shone down upon Bennet, and a dusting of silver sparkles coated him temporarily while the blessing sank into his flesh and bones. ¡°I¡¯m going to go read my book!¡± Dahlia declared into the brief lull of shock from the girls, Bennet, and Lord Graystone. The fairy¡¯s mind, hopped up on Glimmer, sugar, the new found freedom to carry things much bigger than herself demanded solitude¡ªand honestly, experimentation. She had so many good spells and powers, and a book of the dead! She flew into the manor without giving anyone the opportunity to stop her. Chapter 15: Shaping a Soul ¡°What a pile of goblin muck,¡± Dahlia whined. She angrily watched the Book of the Dead get sucked into her Feywoven Satchel, and undignified as it might be, she threw her arms around angrily, making big poofs of fairy dust. ¡°Ruff!¡± Humans are the worst! Mr. Disapoofer agreed from underneath the fairy. The big fluffy wolf lay on the guest bed of one of Lord Graystone¡¯s finest guest rooms, with Dahlia sitting atop his head. ¡°Should I try to break the cipher, mistress?¡± Ruth asked. The spectral mage stood next to the bed. ¡°No, I¡¯ll figure it out on my own. No mortal is going to outsmart me,¡± Dahlia fumed. The fairy had toyed with magic to see if she could break the cipher easily, but none of her attempts had paid off. Glimmer Warp told her translating the cipher would cost a whole FIFTY points, and she only had fifty-seven points at present. The cost seemed like a trap, a conspiracy by the gods to steal her Glimmer. Dahlia turned her gaze to Ruth. ¡°Shade, stand next to Ruth,¡± Dahlia commanded. The malevolent shadow flowed from under the bed and peeled itself off the floor into a standing position. The undead shade stood in stark contrast to Ruth. Shadows were incorporeal, made of negative energy and darkness. Few had even the limited sapience of Shade, which was a direct result of the spell which bound it to Dahlia¡¯s control. ¡°Mistress?¡± Ruth asked nervously. Even the spirit mage could feel the dark nature of the other undead. Dahlia didn¡¯t answer. She couldn¡¯t very well say everything would be okay, that would be a lie. This could very well destroy both Ruth and Shade, for all she knew. Not that Shade would be a real loss, but Ruth actually had thoughts, feelings, and destroying her for nothing would feel wasteful. When Dahlia let her eyes unfocus the statistical information for each of her minions appeared. Shade was level ?, and Ruth was level 1. When she imagined activating Spirit Meld, a new set of statistics appeared between the two. Name: Ruth Race: Half-Elf Spirit Level: 1.25 ¡°Merge,¡± Dahlia commanded. Neither Ruth nor Shade appeared to move, and yet both of their insubstantial bodies flowed into one another. Ruth¡¯s luminous spirit form gained swathes of darkness, and her formerly human shaped digits turned into elongated claws. ¡°Do you feel different?¡± Dahlia asked. ¡°A little. I¡¯m still me? I feel¡­ hungry?¡± Ruth said nervously. You have merged Shade [Shadow (1/2 level)] and Ruth [Mage Spirit Ally (1st level)]. Would you like to expend 3 1st level spell slots to elevate Ruth to level 2? ¡°Yes,¡± Dahlia said. She felt a great tide of magic exit her in the space of a breath, a taxing withdrawal that left her exhausted. The room swam around Dahlia, the world spun, and she had to swallow multiple times to prevent covering poor Mr. Disapoofer in rainbow vomit. Darkness swirled and churned around Ruth, until the mage¡¯s form seemed a mixture of luminous positive energy and dark negative energy. The concentration of magic within the mage had grown significantly. You have 1 1st level spell slot remaining. Choose one of the following traits to bestow upon Ruth. -Cinderbound Spectre: Ruth becomes insubstantial and gains all associated resistances. -Flickering Fire: Ruth¡¯s flames gain an otherworldly quality and can pass through physical barriers by taking miniature detours in another plane. -Like Moths to Flame: Ruth¡¯s spells now cause lingering damage over time to the target and near-by creatures as long as they remain ignited. -Shadowfire Adept: Ruth gains the ability to mix flame and shadow, resulting in fire that does both fire and necrotic damage. A creature must have resistance to both necrotic and fire to resist Ruth¡¯s spells. -Vampiric Flame: Ruth¡¯s flames gain a sinister red hue, and Ruth heals for some of the amount of damage caused by her fire. If at full health, this healing goes to Dahlia at half potency. Dahlia wanted to shake her fist at the voice as it informed her of the options she had for Ruth. None of them were bad, in fact they were all good enough that Dahlia had a hard time eliminating even one of the choices. Yet eliminate four of them she must. Shadowfire Adept was the first that fell to Dahlia¡¯s imaginary pen. She brutally crossed it off the mental list. Fire was the most common element, and the world of necromancy was rife with negative energy. Her four major trials all involved necromantic legacies of some variety. While it would allow Ruth to push more damage, it had no other upsides. Like Moths to Flame seemed ideal, in a perfect kind of world, but Dahlia imagined it hurting herself, Mr. Disapoofer, or Xeras as much as her enemies. Flickering Fire seemed potent, but the last two traits were better in Dahlia¡¯s estimation. Vampiric Flames and Cinderbound Spectre both appealed to her. Wisp Heal provided a plentiful source of healing, and if she cast it as a higher-level spell its potency only increased. Vampiric flames would let Ruth be more self-sufficient, but so would Cinderbound Spectre. At the end of the day, Dahlia personally thought insubstantial trumped vampiric, and so Ruth gained more transparency to her form. ¡°What happened?¡± Ruth asked in confused wonder as she glowed and changed. The spirit ally¡¯s body became entirely insubstantial and wispy, a dark shadow with flecks of flames showing through occasionally.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You gained a new power. You¡¯re insubstantial now, like shadows. But you¡¯re a fire mage. So, you¡¯re like a shadow made from hot coals. Very fetching,¡± Dahlia said with a grin. While Ruth looked quite intimidating, Dahlia wanted to avoid any sort of existential crisis these changes might cause Ruth. ¡°Well, I do feel a lot more powerful now. Thank you, Mistress,¡± Ruth thanked the fairy. ¡°Is Shade gone?¡± ¡°Yes, but I can summon a new one. In fact, it seems like I can summon a new spirit ally too.¡± Dahlia said with a hint of wonder, and she pulled her lute out of her shiny new pouch. She strummed the instrument to ensure it was in tune, and hummed a few bars. ¡°Tra la La, la, la,¡± Dahlia trilled to warm up her voice. ? ¡°Hunter of the Verdant Glade, Archer sharp, bow well-made, Spirit of the watchful tree, Come forth and stand, ally to me. Beneath the stars, where silence holds sway, Through twilight¡¯s veil and moonlit rays, Your steps are swift, your aim is true, A guardian born from natures hue. Winds that whisper and shadows that call, Rise from glades where no sunlight falls, Strike with purpose, swift and free, Hunter, heed my melody!¡± ? The plucked strings of the lute created a gentle melody that Dahlia¡¯s tiny but powerful voice overshadowed. Each word had delicate enunciation, each note a purpose that wove word, sound, and magic into Spellsong. Motes of power always flowed around Dahlia in the form of fairy dust, yet when she performed like this, they congealed in the air as if forming an ooze. More and more motes of power flowed into the form of the spirit¡ªa male elf this time, with a spectral bow upon his back. Dahlia hummed a few last notes. Her lips twisted into a self-satisfied smirk at the sense of silver-gold notes she reached. Her skill was improving. After a mental pat on the back, she regarded her newest minion. It seemed like once she changed one of her minions, they no longer counted as being summoned by the baseline spell. A triumphant look dominated Dahlia¡¯s face as she surveyed her new hunter ally. Your Hunter Ally has gained the trait Shadow Spotter! When you attack the same target you each deal bonus damage. While summoned, you gain a bonus to perception and awareness of hidden enemies. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Dahlia asked. The sensation of a new person, new emotions, new thoughts kindled in the back of Dahlia¡¯s mind. While Ruth was a warming, loving presence in Dahlia¡¯s mind this newcomer was like a babbling brook¡ªit set itself to the background well, happy to observe in silence. ¡°I was named Lorien in my life, Mistress,¡± the spirit answered. ¡°That¡¯s a nice name,¡± Dahlia complimented the elvish spirit. ¡°Welcome to the Ebon Chorus, serve me well.¡± ¡°The Ebon Chorus?¡± Shockingly, it was the silent Gloamknight, Xeras, who asked about the name. ¡°Gloam, Twilight, Death, Song¡ªThe Ebon Chorus is what I shall call you all as a group. I think it has a nice feel to it,¡± Dahlia said. Xeras nodded with approval and resumed his silence. If not for all the magical green energies about the Gloamknight one might take him for a wooden sculpture. ¡°I wonder what else can I do,¡± Dahlia murmured. She considered merging the Hornets with Lorien. Merge Spirit Hornet Swarm with Spirit Ally (Lorien)? Merging would result in a level 1.5 Spirit Ally Hunter. Expenditure of a 2nd level spell slot would bring Lorien to level 2. Dahlia chuckled and grasped the swarm and Lorien with her magic. She slammed the two together, stuck her tiny hand into the miasma that was two spiritual beings, and began reshaping the soul while pushing the raw magic equivalent of a second level spell into the spirit. ¡­¡­. The voice managed to make an insulted silence dominate Dahlia¡¯s mind for a moment, before she refocused onto the task at hand. That Dahlia would do this herself, instead of allowing the strange voice and its powers to do the work of reshaping the souls of her minions seemed ridiculous to the fairy. In her mind, she stuck her tongue out at whoever, or whatever, that strange voice was. They were her minions, and no one else would be laying their hands on them. Dahlia only made minor improvements to the aesthetic of her one-time forest-elf spirit as she enhanced him with the Swarm. Lorien¡¯s thoughtful calm tempered the aggression of the swarm, and the graceful archer naturally adjusted to the frantic speed of the swarm. Congratulations, you have successfully Soulshaped Lorien [Spirit Ally Hunter(2)]. Lorien has gained the trait Stinging Fury. Stinging Fury: The swarm heightens Lorien¡¯s accuracy, and each attack is accompanied by a spectral hornet. Each hornet will continue to sting the target until the target dies or flees Lorien¡¯s effective range. Lorien¡¯s spiritual form seemed predominantly the same, but his quiver had become a hive. Dahlia herself panted and wiped sweat from her brow. Two huge expenditures of magic in a row had exhausted her. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± Dahlia said sleepily. ¡°I feel reborn, Mistress. Thank you,¡± Lorien bowed from the hips in a show of deep respect. ¡°Mmhm,¡± the sleepy fairy said with a smile. Then she settled more comfortably against the warm, luxurious fur of Mr. Disapoofer. ¡°Keep watch, Xeras,¡± Dahlia said between huge yawns. ¡°Ruff!¡± I¡¯ll keep you safe! The Warp Wolf answered before Xeras could. The Gloamknight contented himself with a nod of agreement directed at Mr. Disapoofers. Dahlia slipped into a dream, and found herself in her favorite spot in all the Soulweald. Lady Nyxaria¡¯s tea table. ¡°Level 4 already? You¡¯re doing very well, Dahlia,¡± Lady Nyxaria said. It was rare to get a freely given compliment from the ArchFey of the Soulweald. ¡°I am pretty amazing,¡± Dahlia agreed and happily sipped at the Moonlit Berry sweet tea. The luke warm, rich berry taste felt like a gentle breeze that restored her energy and rekindled the sharpness of her mind. ¡°You managed to beat Deborah to level 3. She¡¯ll be quite vexed when she learns you¡¯ve taken the role of Soulshaper, now she¡¯ll have to choose a different specialty.¡± Lady Nyxaria winked. She¡¯d always enjoyed instigating competition between the two fairies. ¡°Hah, sucks to be her. She¡¯s too aggressive to be a Soulshaper! Where¡¯s the old dumb human?¡± Dahlia wondered. Lady Nyxaria seemed surprised by the question and gave Dahlia a more direct gaze. After a moment, the Archfey laughed. ¡°He was called to answer to the pantheon of Nantes. It seems they were not entirely pleased with his invitation of Fey back into their world. Two little fairies and one of the gods of Nantes quails in fear and terror.¡± Nyxaria laughed mockingly, but her eyes shone with malice. Malice directed not at Dahlia, but at the gods of Nantes. Dahlia was glad she wasn¡¯t one of them. Lady Nyxaria¡¯s cruelty knew depths even deeper than the heights reached by her radiant benevolence. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there Fey in Nantes?¡± Dahlia asked. ¡°We all left that world centuries ago. A great war broke out between the fey and the mortal¡¯s gods, fought through their proxies¡ªthe humanoid races of Nantes. In the end, we abandoned their world, and Horus raised a barrier to prevent our return¡ªunless a native of Nantes invited us back. Where a god closes a door, always count on a mortal to push it open again a scant century or three later.¡± Nyxaria¡¯s laughter mocked the stupidity of mortal kind. ¡°Why did they have a problem with us?¡± Dahlia asked with wide eyes. ¡°You tell me next time we have tea,¡± Nyxaria said. Dahlia groaned. The voice the ArchFey had used was the same tone she had used when assigning work, chores, and other unpleasant tasks to her disciples. The Soulweald faded away. Dahlia wept for her unfinished cup of tea.