"Finala, would you quicken your pace, please?" Neririe shouted looking back at her brother.
He was just standing there like a frightened doe, glancing at the surrounding foliage.
"You are meant to be the one protecting me, remember? In fact, you insisted," she huffed. Having had enough of his dawdling, Neririe marched towards him and grabbed hold of his arm, then marched back the way she had come. Heading up the small incline, they trudged deeper into the dense forest.
Sighing, she tugged on him a little harder, "You sure know how to drag your feet, brother," she tossed him a smile over her shoulder to soften the words. It was rather cute, really. He towered over her, but jumped at the slightest noise - which, considering they were in the middle of a forest, was quite often.
Just then, a little scuffle sounded from the bag slung across her back, causing Finala to respond, "You are the one with a problem. Why are we even here - there are much better places to vacation. And why would you bring that silly cat with you anyway? Nevermind…don't answer - I know. You just wanted to spend some time with me." He said the last bit with a dreamy look.
Shaking her head she said, "With both you and Luna, I don't know how I manage… I told you already! I have always wanted to meet a green wizard to connect with our roots. No time like the present. Besides, I am only getting busier; I might not have the chance soon…" she said thinking about her child. "And Snowflake has every right to come! Once upon a time, she was probably related to some of the beasties out here."
Finala gave her a skeptical look but let the conversation drop as he heard a branch snap nearby. Everyone knew that she had some special ideas at times… But most everyone also agreed that she made a good queen. The people were struggling, yet she did not turn a blind eye to it all. Finala would never admit it, but he looked up to her.
"I suppose it would have been too much to ask to have taken a more direct route," he said. Neririe had finally released his arm, so he took the opportunity to pull out his sword and whack away the large leaves in their self-made path.
Stepping out of his way she said, "You know as well as I that teleportation circles are not perfect. We had to take one outside of Alexandria to avoid the magic wards, and this place...changes sometimes…" She had to duck to the side and allowed more distance to grow between them as Finala's sword came a little too close for comfort, "Remind me why you started using that thing again?"
His form with the shortsword was rather terrible. The blade glistened without a scratch; it was sleek, well-balanced, and topped with a diamond-encrusted hilt. It all attested to Finala's overindulging nature. This was probably the first real action the blade had seen.
He held the hilt close to his face and said, "Well, with magic going the way it is I figured I should learn a new skill." Finala kept moving forward and decided to ask a question of his own, "What does Lunelis think of this, anyway? I cannot imagine my dear brother-in-law agreeing to the love of his life making her way through the foggy backwoods of Sekona Egurra gods-know-how-many miles away from home and his protection."
Running slightly to catch up with him, she latched onto the arm not holding the sharp sword, looked up mischievously and said, "I told him I would be visiting a few outlying villages in the kingdom. Then you decided to invite yourself along, insisting that your sweet little sister should not be going about alone," she said the 'sweet little sister' bit with a sickeningly sweet voice.
Finala detached his arm to pull her into a tight side hug as they continued on their way, "I said little as in short, not little as in younger… Look!" he shouted, then continued in a singsong voice, "At laaast!"
Not twenty feet away, buildings could be seen through the trees. They did not look like much as of yet, but he was certain he would find a nice place to relax and find a pint. He sheathed the sword and stumbled forward in relief. With a sigh, Finala brushed a final, massive leaf to the side.
The giddy grin on his face soon fell into a look of disgust. What was this place? The buildings he had seen were little more than grimy huts. One had large jars ornamenting the entire place, each filled with parts and organs from all manner of creatures. Speaking of which, did that dog have mechanical spider legs? And why did that other hut have puffs of rainbow-colored smoke coming out of the window? That hairless dwarf was walking up the wall, and so was the duck following along…
"Neri, I do no not know about all of that other stuff, but hairless dwarves do not exist." He turned around, noting the excited look in her purple eyes, "We have to get out of here."
The lively noises coming from the village only seemed to get louder as Neririe looked on. She had a good feeling about this place - she knew she could do what needed to be done. She pushed past her brother with her chin pointed up determinedly and continued to make her way forward.
Finala's shoulders fell. With one last, longing glance toward the teleportation circle in the distance, he turned around and followed the woman he called his queen to what he was sure would be his demise.
Neririe was practically jumping out of her skin, she was so excited. Snowflake had quieted down a bit earlier, but the thing had started hissing with a vengeance once the noises of the village had breached the bag. Ignoring the pitiful paws tapping at her back, Neririe made her way through the busy streets. She knew what she was looking for, so she kept her eyes open. Maintaining a determined stride, she did not fail to take notice of the wonders around her.
Green wizards were chaotic by nature, and each had a special obsession. Some wanted to unlock the secrets of life and death, others the combination of creature and machine. They all focused on something - anything, really - hence the crazy little place they had stumbled upon. Her own ancestor - Cyphii - had been a green wizard. Cyphii had simply wanted to be good at everything. It is said that she came across as incredibly arrogant, but in a surprisingly amiable sort of way. She had once befriended Tim, the God of Invention, through her prowess at sweeping of all things. As in pushing a broom from side to side… Apparently there is a strategy to it. Besides that, her quick wit had allowed her to befriend the greatest strategist in the world - Grumpy the eternal dragon.
Though, what kind of name is that…
Shaking her head to clear her errant thoughts, Neririe refocused on the task at hand. She was not here to reminisce. She was not here to connect with her ancestor, as she had told Finala, or find crazy potions or cyborg animals. No. She was here to find a very specific wizard.
His name was Sheb. He was said to be ancient, and no one knew what his race was anymore. Sheb had done so many experiments on himself that he was no longer recognizable as whatever he had been born as. If her intel was correct, and she expected it was, Sheb would be found in a hut with a large eye carved into the front door. Neririe had gathered as much information on the place and its inhabitants' special skills before embarking on this little quest of her's and decided Sheb was who could best help her.
She stopped to ask directions from one of the vendors on the road. Just a left and a right and Sheb's hut would be visible - simple enough. She thanked the girl and handed her a coin then looked around to find her brother. As it turned out, a vat of something questionable-looking had been dumped out of a window and soaked the man in question through. Neririe could not help the laugh that bubbled up at her brother's expense. He was now hounding the person who had dumped the liquid on him and was drawing quite an interesting crowd.
Deciding to take advantage of the fortuitous lapse in her brother's watch of her, Neririe followed the vendor's instructions to Sheb's hut. She had to dodge a few sentient plants and some sort of animal on the way, but she made it.
As her eyes fell on the carving on the door, she felt as if she were being sucked in. She could not move. She couldn't even blink.
The door opened from the inside, releasing her from the trance. Neririe shook her head clear of the fog that had overtaken it.
"You gonna stand there all day or what?" A craggy voice came from inside the dark abyss that had once been the door, and suddenly Neririe was not so sure about all of this.
Come on. You have made it this far. Just a few more steps. Neririe psyched herself up then marched through the door. "H-hello, Master Sheb, my name is-"
"I know who you are," the voice interrupted her, "You are late for your appointment." The mass in front of her was something alright. It was looking in the other direction, so she could not make out its face, but she could see antlers protruding from its head through a mass of knotted grey hair. One foot peaked out from its pants - it had three talons in the front and one in the back. The other foot was covered in scales.
"How did you-"
Interrupted again, but at least the thing turned to face her this time. "You showed up on my 'To Do' list this morning; it's never been wrong before," he said gesturing to a never-ending scroll that hung off the edge of the stout podium in the corner. His face was a hodgepodge of humanoid, reptilian and avian. "Well! Let's get this done. I have a hundred other things to do - literally."
"That is it? No questions asked?" Neririe was incredibly confused. She had prepared a whole speech in expectation of having to explain herself and the situation. This was all moving so fast. Too fast.
"Why bother? I don't really care," he spoke in a rush. Sheb moved towards a cluttered table and shoved everything off - glass shattered as it hit the floor. He motioned her toward the table, "Well, lay down - I told you I don't have all day."
Not knowing what else to do, Neririe came forward and settled on the table, but did not lay down. She could not find her voice, so she settled on staring into his odd eyes.
Sheb met her gaze, his old voice finally slowing in his seriousness, "I take it, if you are here, then you already know what you are asking. A life for a life." He took the bag from her shoulders and pulled the white kitten from within. It was all teeth and claws as it finally escaped its prison. Even with how fiercely she fought, Snowflake could not escape the old man's grasp, "Do not short sell this thing. The little beasts of this world are no less valuable than its kings - or should I say queens?" Sheb met Neririe's gaze again, and she finally laid back on the table.
With Snowflake still in one hand, Sheb reached the other out and rested his gnarled fingers on Neririe's stomach - over her growing babe - and began mumbling. Suddenly a pain shot through her abdominal region. All she could do was grip the edges of the table. Looking at him, Neririe could see the magic at work. From the hand on the kitten, a white and red smoke crawled up Sheb's forearm; it seemed to be a living energy.
White - the color that would differentiate her child from the moon elves' raven-haired heritage.
Red - passion and agility that the child would so desperately need.
As the energy was leached from Snowflake, the kitten seemed to grow smaller before Neririe's very eyes. The fight it was giving weakened with each passing moment.
The same was happening where Sheb's other hand met her rounding stomach, but, instead of white and red, black and yellow swirled up his arm.
Black - well that was obvious. The child could not have black hair.
Yellow - weakness and fragility, neither of which could possibly serve the child well if it were to outwit the Queen.
Both energies continued up Sheb's arms and met above his chest. They seemed to clash there for a moment, as if deciding whether they should really go along with what was befalling them, then continued down the opposite arm and into the new host.
The whole process had only taken a minute, and the pain Neririe had felt passed as quickly as it had come. Sheb moved back from his position, effectively dismissing his client, "Well, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Oh - and take this thing with you," he tossed Snowflake at her chest. The kitten just lay there motionless. "Can't survive on its own now, can it?"
Neririe sat up slowly with the kitten in her arms. Her mind was blank, and her hands mindlessly gathered her bag as she stared at the man who had already moved on as if she were not even there - as if he had not just changed her life. She reached into the bag and pulled out the purse full of coins that she had prepared. She stood, sat the heavy purse on the table, and made her way out.
Sheb did not spare her another glance.
The young queen made her way back through the village in a daze. She did not notice the cart that almost ran her over, nor that no one was pushing it. She did not notice the odd creatures milling about, or the weird gases coming through the windows.
She did not notice anything.
A pair of hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her close. "There you are," a familiar voice said, "I have been looking all over for you! I know you wanted to explore some more, but, honestly, I have had quite enough. Executive decision - we are leaving. I cannot take another moment in this wretched place. It reeks - I reek. Not to mention I feel like something is crawling around under my clothes."
Finala had dragged Neririe halfway through the village, and they were well on their way to the forest path. Still, she had not said a word, just allowed him to pull her about.
"I am serious - I am never coming here again. And nor are you! Listen-" Finala finally looked at her and the fuzzy ball nestled in her arms. "You look peculiar. Did you drink one of those potions? If you start sprouting horns and turning blue I do not know what I will say to Lunelis. Truly - he will have my head."
Finala kept walking. Thanks to his earlier escapade, most of the path was clear of leaves and branches. As they neared the teleportation circle, Finala stopped and gave his sister a quizzical look. Lightly flicking the kitten on the nose he said with a little laugh, "Snowflake? Seriously? Were you trying to be ironic when you named the thing that? Seems more like a Midnight to me. And why is it sleeping like the dead? Maybe Nightmare would be a suitable name..."
With that he kept going.
Finally, some of the haze cleared from her mind, and Neririe look down at the kitten who had yet to move a muscle. She lifted the kitten in front of her face. As she stroked the pitch-black fur over Snowflake's fluttering heartbeat, Neririe had her first clear thought since before Sheb's hut.
It worked.