Upon the arrival of the next morning's sun, Basil woke up in a not-so-comfortable position as he was still cramped between all the young Bugbears and Teto around his head. So, as the adults taught him, he did the one thing he should do to get them all up and roared at the top of his lungs! With one bellow, the Bugbear children all jumped from the bed, ran outside, and back to their cave at the quarry. The only one left behind was Teto, who was running around like a chicken without its head. Watching this go on for a minute, he eventually stopped the bird from running and calmed him down.
After stretching, washing his face, brushing his teeth for the first time, and putting on his newly dried outfit from outside, he was ready to start his day! The first thing was to water his crops, and he found many ready to be harvested! Just as he thought, many of them only took a few hours to grow to maturity. The ones that did grow were all of the root and wheat plants except the corn, which was only about a quarter of the way ready.
He idly wondered why some plants took longer than others, then remembered that some plants naturally grow faster than others or were simpler in structure, so the magic helped them along, or it could be the soil. Either way, he'd have to record what plants took how long to grow and what he could use them for in his foods. Otherwise, he'd fill his seemingly bottomless Magic Pocket with useless stuff. So planning accordingly was a must!
Not knowing what to do from here, he decided to summon a sickle from his Magic Farming skill and start chopping. When he swung at one of the stalks, the whole section was chopped down in one fell swing with nothing left behind, just dirt ready to be replanted. He should have been surprised but was partially numb to it after dealing with weird magic like this for so long. So he went around to every harvestable piece of plant life and chopped it down. Afterward, he collected it all in a magic pocket, followed by summoning his hoe and tilling the soil for more plants later on. Once done with that, he watered the remaining plants and set off to his next task of the day, collecting ingredients for something he'd wanted to make for a long, long time.
Cake!
Just as he was about to walk towards the town, he felt something hit his back, and when he turned around, he saw Broomy standing there. He wondered what the broom wanted until it suddenly went under his legs, shot into the air, and flew off with him riding on it! Basil screamed like a girl momentarily as he clung to the object for dear life! All before calming down and realizing that he was flying! Realizing that Broomy could fly! Broomy wasn't just an animated broomstick; it was a Flying Broomstick!
Once fully calm about being several dozens of feet in the air, he took in the moment, spreading his arms to feel the wind before letting out a yell of pure ecstasy! Broomy took this as his cue to start doing some tricks, performing all kinds of loops, tricky bends, and steep drops! All of which was eaten up by Basil.
Eventually, they descended to the edge of town, knowing the people wouldn't be so keen on seeing anything come in on a flying broomstick. And since he already had the allegation of the Bugbears kidnapping people, he didn't need an allegation of being a witch on top of it. So it was better to be safe than sorry. Once on the ground, Basil put Broomy in his hands like any mundane object and walked into town. There, he went to a stall selling spices and found precisely what he was looking for: cocoa and processed sugar.
Upon buying some and placing it back into his Magic Pocket, he took out his notepad to check and see if he had all the needed ingredients. When he did, he walked back out of town and tapped Broomy to wake him up, or at least he thought he was sleeping. When the broom returned to life, he put it under his legs and stopped.
Since just knowing about Broomy's ability to fly, he hadn't thought of any commands for it to follow. Like a command to fly, go faster, slow down, land, go up, go down, move to the left and right. So he just said "whatever" and yelled Abra. Causing Broomy to zip off into the air! As he flew back, he tried some more words to control the broom but quickly found Broomy not listening. So he just tried to adjust his body weight, and Broomy adjusted himself to fly that way.
Leaning to the left or right would make him go in that direction. Leaning up or down would also make him go in that direction. Jerking up or down quickly would cause him to slow down or go faster. Yelling Kadabra would cause him to stop short, yelling Alakazam would cause him to land, and yelling Hocus Pocus would cause him to put on even more speed.
Once he had memorized all this in his head, he found that he was back at his house far faster than he would have if he walked. From now on, he would use Broomy to travel to the town. Nature walks were lovely and all, but the view from above was even better! After he landed, he let Broomy go off on his own while he went to the kitchen. Today would be his first actual day of business in his store, and he wanted to make it good!
So he set to work on making every and any kind of bread or biscuits he could. With help from Teto, he could double his efforts, and thanks to Broomy, he always had a clean workspace. Strangely enough, Broomy didn't just clean floors but all surfaces and even dishes! Which was fine since any bowl or pan he summoned would become clean again when resummoned. In addition to bread, he made sweet rolls with sugar, bitter sticks with cocoa, and some soup with whatever else he had fumbling around in his Magic Pocket.
During this, he also learned what the Assignment sub-skill did in his Magic Cooking. If he looked at an object and touched it while thinking of a magic tool he had, he could make that thing into a magic tool! For example, if he assigned an oven as a magic oven, then it would have all the properties of one he could usually summon from thin air.
The only caveat was that it could only work on things that could reasonably be used as that object. So he couldn't assign a bowl as a knife or a rolling pin as an oven. He could assign certain things that usually couldn't be one thing to another as long as it made sense. For instance, he could assign an oven as a blast freezer, which would have all the qualities of one.
So with this in mind, he assigned three of his six ovens as magic ovens, the other three as blast freezers, several wooden crates as refrigerators, some large jars as preserving jars, several barrels as pickling and preserving barrels, assigned any bowls and other equipment as magical ones, alongside one magic kettle and stovetop.
He also learned that he gained the Living Object Sub-skill due to his Magic Cooking leveling up to 10, which granted him the ability to cause particular objects to become autonomous. Now, he could make his food without the need for many hands. The only caveat to this was that it ate deeply into his Magic and Stamina stats, so he would have to be careful about what he assigned as autonomous for how long; otherwise, he'd knock himself out from exhaustion. But now he could make any food he currently knew and let the magic prep it, cook it, and take it out when ready!
Soon, he had every shelf and jar filled with something fresh or sweet in the bakery! Looking back to admire his work he dusted off his hands to prepare what he really wanted all along. A cake! So he prepared all the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, flour, and sugar, and put them into a bowl. Then, add the wet ingredients, milk, eggs, water, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil into another one. He mixed both bowls separately before adding the dry to the wet mixture while slowly mixing it in. Making sure that the two never overpowered the other until the mixture was a fine, viscous substance. When everything was perfectly mixed in, he transferred it to three cake pans and set one of his magic ovens to the perfect temperature.
Just before setting the three pans inside, he heard a bell ring by his front door, letting him know someone had entered. So he brushed off his hands and set the pans aside before stepping out of the kitchen and into the store, where he saw one person standing behind the counter.
They appeared to be a man, so he greeted him jovially, saying, "Hello, sir, how may I help you on this fine day?"
The person, upon closer inspection, was quite a strange-looking character. They certainly looked normal enough, but his posture and clothing were something else to be written home about. He didn't even look like he was from this part of town or era of history. He wore the most unusual clothes, consisting almost entirely of black leather. Basil was still no fashion expert, but this guy almost appeared to be dressed like something of a cross between emo, rock, and punk.
A long leather coat framed his body and nearly touched the ground with frayed edges as if they had dragged along the ground for a long time. The coat was decorated with spikes on the shoulders and back, chains, and torn-off sleeves--a hood framed and concealed the man's face, which was also frayed and decorated with rings. The man wore no shirt under the coat, exposing his well-developed body, which had nothing but a necklace dangling off his neck, which held the Wicca symbol. He was extremely hunched over, making it seem like he was trying to hide something or had a terrible posture.
Going to his legs, he wore leather pants with his hands shoved in pockets decorated in chains, knee and shin spikes, and rings at the frayed edges of his cuffs, which fell over bare feet.
Basil tried to look at his face, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get a good look at him. The only thing he could get was that he had fair skin and not much else. Maybe it was magic, or perhaps his old social anxiety was rearing its ugly head.
The strange man was silent for a long while as he looked around his bakery and asked, "You live here, yeah?"
"If I didn't, then I don't think the owner would be too happy.", Basil joked while laughing, all before approaching an awkward stop at seeing the man's unchanging expression and lack of return laughter. He cleared his throat and answered, "Yes…I am, I mean, I do."
"Then you must know of the Green Hag, Tanya.", asked the man, causing Basil to break out into a cold sweat.
"Perhaps…why do you ask?", Basil cautiously answered while reaching for the magic knife under his counter.
Teto and Broomy also noticed this and prepared themselves as well. Teto reached for the magic knife he hid in his garments. One he had stolen, er, borrowed from the counter, being lured by how shiny it was, while Broomy sneakily floated behind the man, looking ready to whack him with his bristles.
"Because she was my mother.", the man explained, causing panic to spread across the young man's face as the strange man took one of his hands from his pocket and said, "And I'd like to-."
But he didn't get the chance to finish as Basil ripped the blade from its hiding spot and, holding it above his head, yelled, "You'll never take me alive!"
"...thank you.", the man finished off.
Hearing this causes everyone to stop mid-way through their attack as Basil asks, "What?"
"Thank you. I'd like to thank you for killing her.", the man reiterated while holding out his hand to shake.
Dropping the knife on the counter while Teto and Broomy also winded down, Basil laughed in relief while saying, "Oh! Phew! For a second, I almost thought you had come to seek revenge or something.", However, as he was winding down from the adrenaline running through his body, a thought crossed his mind. So he asked the strange man, "But wait, why are you thanking me for killing your mom?"
"She was a witch.", the man replied.
Basil narrows his eyes as he asks him, "Do you mean literally or metaphorically?"
He shrugs and answers, "Both, but more metaphorically. She was an awful mother…I'm glad she's dead.", he said the last part in a low and dark tone while looking at the ground.
Feeling awkward by not only the conversation but by the strange man going full emo mode, Basil just sorta blabbered out, "Well, um…you're welcome, I guess? I've never been thanked for killing someone.", the strange man continued to look at the ground while brooding to himself, causing more awkward tension to fill the air as Basil nervously asked, "So, was that all?"
The strange man looked up from the ground, still hunched over, and replied, "Did you expect more?"
Not knowing how to answer that, he offered, "Well, since you're here, did you want to have tea or something?"
The man stood up a bit more straight before asking curiously, "You're willing to have tea…with me?"
"You're not going to try to eat me, are you?", Basil inquired as he glazed his fingers over the knife.
The man looked behind for a moment, seeing Teto threatening him with a knife at his ankles while Broomy made a "fist punching an open palm" gesture with his bristles before turning back and answering, "No?"
Basil slapped the knife away and, with a smile, exclaimed, "Then we're good! If you weren't, I was afraid I'd have to get the Bugbears to come in and make soup out of you.", he laughed at his own joke while the man looked outside to see a Bugbear staring daggers at him, causing him to sweat drop in response. After Basil finished his laughter, he coughed before motioning to the steps outside the bakery, "Um, anyway, I was about to turn the oven on to bake this cake, so I'll also boil some tea water. You can sit outside and wait."
The man wordlessly agreed and walked out the door to sit on the front steps, which was the only time he seemed to stand up straight. Once seated, Basil sent Broomy and Teto to put the cake into the oven and make a kettle of pine needle tea while he did something else. Using Silent Step, he carefully made his way to the front door, where he hid around the bend and peeked his head out to stare at the man. While looking at him, he still couldn't bring himself to look at his face. Magic was involved, and knowing he was related to a Hag, it now made more sense. So, he used his appraisal to see just what he was. Doing so, he saw the window pop up and show him;
Night Hag Spawn: the male variant of a Hag. They are rarely born, but when they are, they are either abandoned by their mother or kept for their muscle. Hag Spawns are naturally Magicless.
Night Hag Spawn- 19 Strength, 29 Stamina, 59 Health, 9 Charisma, 39 Fortitude, 9 Knowledge, 49 Magic, and 29 Speed.
Suddenly, his appraisal window began to fizzle and glitch out until it vanished from his sight! When the window fell, he found the strange man standing right before his face! Basil squeaks like a mouse and falls to his butt in surprise while scooting back! Looking up at the man as he encroaches upon him, he finds that he can now look upon his face, which looks remarkably human. Unkempt blond hair peeks out of his hood with magenta eyes, freckles, and piercings along his nose, lip, eyebrows, and ears. All wrapped together by the chiseled face of a 30-year-old man who held a sour-looking expression.
But then something strange started to happen as he stared at him. His face…looked like it was melting off! But not in the literal sense of his skin falling off like wet paper mache. It was more like he was wearing a mask or makeup that was falling off to reveal what was really underneath. There, he realized the Hag was wearing a magical disguise! And when it fell, he found what he truly looked like.
Skin that was a light midnight violet, freckles that sparkled like stars across his face and body, two tiny horns protruding from his forehead and nearly swallowed up by his raven black hair, which kept its length and unkempt look alongside his magenta eyes and piercings. His last notable features were sharp teeth hidden behind chapped lips and his sour expression.
"Did you just appraise me?", the Hag demanded.
"Um…maybe?", Basil dumbly answered.
Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed Basil's shirt and yanked him up to his feet, finding that the Hag was two feet taller than him! The Hag looked him dead in the eye and asked in a rhetorical tone, "Why? Don't you know it's rude?"
Knowing he had to be tough and not wimp out in the face of this monster, Basil pushed off his hand, stepped back, smoothed out his shirt, and shot back, "Well, excuse me for not knowing everything in this world!", the hag raised his eyebrow like he was impressed, at this display, before Basil questioned, "Besides, I just saw that you're a Night Hag?"
"Night Hag Spawn.", the Hag corrected him.
As he said this, Broomy came out with a tray containing the kettle and tea glasses on a platter being balanced on the tip of its handle. Taking the tray, Basil waved him off while walking outside, "Right right. But Tanya was a Green Hag."
"And?", the Hag joined him while Basil sat down.
"And!? Do I need to spell it out?", Basil exclaimed as he poured the hot liquid into both glasses before handing one to the Hag, who sat beside him and shot the man a look in response. Sighing at the lack of an answer, Basil griped, "How are you, mother and son? Is it like mixing dog breeds?"
The Hag took a sip of his tea before answering, "I'm adopted.", suddenly Basil felt as if an edgy backstory was coming along and braced himself for both the sadness, repetitive storyline, and general cringe that came with it. "My birth mother sold me to Tanya when I was just a babe, who used me for my strength. I was her son, er, servant for many years until I escaped.", the Hag explained, short and sweet, much to Basil's relief.
"That's rough buddy.", Basil replied as he watched the Hag look at the ground again, taking a sip from his glass. Trying to change the subject, Basil inquired, "But I thought all Hags were super strong?"
The Hag explained briefly, "But Hag Spawns are even stronger. And if you're wondering how much, let's just say if your house wasn't rooted to the ground by piping, then I could lift it over my head with a lot of effort."
Trying to hide his shock upon hearing such a feat of strength, Basil asked him what he probably should've done from the start, "So…you got a name?"
"Hagson.", he answered in a lackluster introduction.
"Basil.", Basil did much the same while not commenting on Hagson's apparent name. He took another sip and asked the male witch, "How'd you escape? From Tanya, I mean."
Taking another sip from his cup, Hagson told him, "I devised a spell allowing me to destroy her original home and escape in the chaos."
Hearing the magic bell ring from inside the kitchen, Basil stood up while taking the tray inside and asked him, "But Hag Spawn can't use magic…right?"
Following him in, Hagson answered, "I was among the lucky few to have been touched by the Loom."
As he explained this, Basil went into the kitchen, grabbed the three pans holding the perfectly baked cakes sitting outside of the oven, and brought them out while asking, "The…what?"
Amidst pouring himself another glass of tea, Hagson looked up from his concentration while saying, "The Loom? The intangible source of all magic in our world? Hailing from the Goddess of Magic herself?", Basil said nothing but a shrug in reply as he caused the cake pans to vanish, to which Hagson sighed irritatedly and asked rhetorically, "You really don't know much. Do you?"
Placing one of the cake parts on a dish and beginning to cover it with chocolate frosting, Basil told him in a roundabout way, "You could say I'm…new in town."
Taking another sip from his cup, Hagson asked, "So, what brings you to town? Not many humans would be so bold or dumb as to try and settle anywhere near the Empty Lands, even at the border."
Placing another part of the cake on top of the first and applying more frosting, he answered vaguely, "Let's just say I've got some strong friends."
Hagson wondered if he meant the Bugbears, and to be honest, he probably was, but he seemed to be referring to something else. Looking upon his body for any clue, he saw something glow on his right hand. Investigating further, he spots the sigils and symbols for summoning four different creatures. Three of them sit on his thumb, index, and middle finger for three fairies who all seem to be related. How he got three fairies to cooperate was beyond him. And the last one was on the back of his hand, enveloping the whole part with the summoning for a…unicorn!? And not just any Unicorn! This was none other than Gossamer! How he got that unicorn of all beasts was really beyond him! This human must be unique, and not just because he's a Chosen Touched.
Trying to keep his cool in the face of such facts, Hagson blathered out, "So why is a human settling in such a harsh environment?"
Not knowing how to respond, as he placed the last layer and began covering the whole thing in frosting, Basil stammered dumbly, "Well…I'm a baker."
Hagson blinked a few times at his response before asking, "Are you kidding?"
Basil sweat drops with a smile as he reaches into his Magic Pocket, pulls out a loaf of basil bread, and offers, "You want some bread?"
Taking the loaf and sniffing it, Hagson takes a small bite of it before chewing it for a few seconds, his eyes widening with a glow of satisfaction. After taking a few more bites to fill his mouth, he swallows it down with his tea before closing his eyes in blissful enjoyment.
Quickly realizing how he was acting and shifting only his eyes to see a smirking Basil, he calmly admits, "This is…actually really good. Almost as good as Child Stew."
Basil's expression goes from pride to horror as he says, "I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
Ripping into the bread some more and mouth half full, Hagson shoots back, "Hags eat people; get over it. A cat isn't evil for eating a rat. So why is it different?"
"Because you guys look human!", Basil exclaimed as he covered the last part of the cake in frosting.
"But we're not.", Hagson corrects him.
Basil then takes a frosting squeeze bag filled with hot fudge and starts to decorate the cake with it while arguing, "Doesn't matter. If something looks human, then we think of it as such. So, to us, you guys are committing cannibalism. And why children, of all things? Adults are one thing, but children?"
"Don't you eat young things because their flesh is more tender and succulent?", Hagson asks back with a knowing look.
Aggravated by him trying to make a point, Basil declares, "Come on! We don't exactly reproduce very fast. Plus, we don't just get over our lost children and have another."
Hagson raises his eyebrow in confusion at his statement and says, "I thought that's how all humans were."
Slamming the now empty frosting squeeze bag on the counter, Basil demands, "And who told you that malarkey?!"
"My…mom.", Hagson admits awkwardly.
Basil slaps his forehead and tells him irritatedly, "Ho boy, it looks like I'll have to re-educate you on humans. Just because you think of us as cattle doesn't mean we're smart as them."
Confused by this, Hagson asks to be sure, "You'd do that?"
Taking a bar of chocolate out from one of the refrigerator crates and summoning a cheese grater, Basil replies, "If it means you won't go into town and steal a newborn for a pie, then yes. I'll teach you everything about humanity."
Looking suspiciously at him, Hagson says, "You're the strangest human I've ever known. Never have I met a human who would willingly work with a Hag and not expect anything in return."
"Like I said, I'm new in town.", Basil reiterates as he begins to shred the chocolate over the cake.
"But I can't accept this without giving something in return.", Hagson offers.
Knowing how sour deals with evil creatures, or any creature in general, could go, Basil tries to reject the offer by telling him, "I really don't-."
But Hagson cuts him off and firmly explains, "No, you don't understand. It may seem foreign to you, but creatures like me must give something back for a favor.", Basil stayed quiet as the Hag thought to himself, all before offering him, "How about I teach you how to use your magic offensively."
Finally putting enough chocolate shreddings on the cake, he puts the items down, cleans off his hands, and summons a Spotlight with his Light Magic, explaining, "My magic isn't really good for fighting."
"Nonsense, anything can be used as a weapon if applied correctly.", Hagson told him as he snatched the ball of light from midair, causing it to expand and shrink in size before flicking it off his finger, making it fly around and ricochet off the interior of the building before flying back to his finger where he caused it to burst into a flash of light.
Basil, who had ducked for cover during the flight of the light bullet, peeked his head up with amazement and fear. While Hagson just continued to stand at the counter and used his magic to pour himself another cup of tea as he casually asked, "By the way. How did you kill Tanya?"
Just before he answered, Basil saw that a window had popped up to congratulate him on successfully making and adding a new recipe to his Recipe Book. Looking at it, he saw how the item displayed was named Triple Layer Chocolate Cake and had a ranking of B. Basil was happy to see a vast improvement from his first F-ranked food item. So he knew that he was working with higher quality stuff, but he would look into all that later. So he placed the cake into his Magic Pocket and explained to the male hag, "Well, I convinced her that a garnish for a dish was poison to Hags, and she had to cover her body in flour for protection. When she left, the Bugbears were at her door waiting and beat her to death, where she couldn't turn invisible to escape because of the flour."
Then, out of the blue, Hagson slammed his hand on the table, threw his head back, and began to roar with laughter, causing Basil to back away in concern. After Hagson finished his laughter, he pronounced, "I would've paid any amount to see that!"
Basil awkwardly sweatdropped at this and, in response, said, "Yeah, it was quite the sight. If it weren't for the Bugbears, I would be in much more trouble than if I didn't have them. They're really reliable."
Just then, one of the Bugbears came barging into the shop and exclaimed before quickly leaving, "Man scrimp, wes got a problem."
Sighing exasperated and picking up Teto to calm his nerves, Basil groaned, "I hope Bite didn't try and latch onto another hornet's nest again or a donkey's butt."
xXx
Basil, Teto, and Hagson followed the Bugbear to the quarry, where several dozen piles of stones and boulders littered around the cave. Basil knew the Bugbears had been busy, but he never knew just how much work they accomplished. When he stepped into the cave, he was shocked to see that the area reserved as their sleeping quarters had been significantly expanded tenfold! Saying there was more space was an understatement! The whole area had been blown out with higher ceilings, wider walkways, and more tunnels than he could have imagined!
If he weren't on a mission to see what had freaked them out, he would have fancied himself a day of exploration to see what they had constructed. But he followed the Bugbear down a tunnel until they came across one area still under construction. Going inside, they were met with the sight of a few Bugbears surrounding something in a dark room. When he broke through the crowd, he found himself next to Burr, who was staring down at the object they were all so unnerved by. When he looked at the ground, he saw nothing but an oddly shaped and long wooden box of some kind.
Narrowing his eyes in confusion, he blabbered out, "I um…I'm not even sure what I'm looking at. Seriously, what is this?"
"None of us know either. Just started digging at cave to start future City-dell and wall fell in this room. Where big box was laying.", Burr explained while continuing to stare at the object while Teto poked it with a stick.
"It's a casket.", Hagson said as he broke through the crown of goblins. All eyes fell on him, and he explained more clearly, "More specifically, a vampire casket."
A sound of worry and concern made its way around the dark room full of now frightened goblins, but Basil tried to subvert that coming panic as he blew a raspberry and waved him off, saying, "You're just exaggerating."
So, to prove it, knowing that's what was going to be asked, he used his appraisal to see what this object really was. And within a second, the window popped up and told him exactly what he was looking at!
Vampire Casket- used to hold resting vampires during daylight hours. Currently in use.
Stunned by a mix of stupidity and fear, Basil blabbered out in a small voice, "Holy crap, you're not exaggerating.", as he stood there, much like the Bugbears, suddenly he exploded into a panic as he yelled, "Get me some nails, a hammer, and a really big rock!"
The Bugbears all panicked before scattering like bugs to run for the necessary items! Within minutes, several goblins came back with nails and a makeshift hammer that Basil snatched up and began pounding them around the coffin's edges no more than a quarter of an inch apart from one another, moving like a bolt of lightning! After dozens of nails held the lid shut, several Bugbears came in with huge rocks that, with the aid of Basil, all stacked neatly upon the cover until the pile touched the roof of the small cave! Even Teto helped by holding nails and handing them to Basil or grabbing small stones and pebbles to shove into the spaces.
After everything was finally secure, Basil wiped cold sweat from his brow while saying, "There. That should hold the evil at bay."
Hagson came up and observed the pile of rock on the coffin where, after walking around it a few times, he asked, "Are you sure about that?"
Basil dropped the hammer, put his hands on his hips, glared at the hag spawn with the other Bugbears, and shot back, "If you have a better idea, I'm all ears."
"Well, actually, I-.", Hagson began to say until a thunderous explosion shook the cave.
"Oh, what now?", Basil griped as he ran outside the cave to see the new problem brewing.
xXx
When Basil made his way out of the cave, he saw smoke rising up in the distance from the nearby town of Ash End! He could even hear the distinct sound of people screaming in panic and the warning bell tower being rung at max output before it suddenly stopped! So he whistles for Broomy and yells Abra! Once he is in the air, he shouts Hocus Pocus, and Broomy puts on even more speed! Before he knew it, he arrived in the center of town within two minutes! He ignores his wind-pinched cheeks, missing sweat rag, and wind-swept hair as he looks around to see people running in panic while a few houses stand in ruin or appear to be melting to the ground by a green liquid! Alongside the warning bell tower, which had fallen over and crumbled due to the same green liquid!
He grabs one of the panicked townsfolk, quickly asking, "What's going on around here!?"
"Dragon attack!", the person yells before ripping his arm away and running for his life.
"Dragon?", Basil questions as the man runs off, confused about what he meant since there was no fire in or on any building.
Only to be nearly swept off his feet when something huge flew overhead! A loud crashing and crunching sound was heard nearby, and turning his head, he was horrified to see an enormous dragon colored black and looking like a skeleton as it sat atop a house that was barely holding up its massive body. In contrast, the sounds of people screaming within the home could be heard!
Basil's eyes shrunk down to pinpricks as he repeated in a small and fearful voice, "Dragon."
"Where is he!", the dragon demanded in a harsh female voice, making the people within the house scream. "Where is your Chosen Touched!?", she yelled louder as she spat a stream of green liquid on the home, which began to melt.
Seeing this in action made Basil realize that the Dragon breathed acid instead of fire! Basil didn't know if that was better or worse than straight-up fire! And the fact that dragons could breathe more than fire was a terrifying thought on its own!
As he stood there in the dead silence of the creature roaring its demands and feeling his knees buckle under him, Hagson suddenly appeared beside him and stared at the dragon with him before asking, "I don't suppose you and that Black Dragon have some sort of… history, do you Chosen Touched?"
Initially frightened by his sudden appearance, Basil jumped in his skin momentarily before calming down and demanding, "Are you trying to infer I dated a dragon?!"
"I'm not inferring anything. I meant to say it flat out.", Hagson firmly stated.
Basil shot him a displeased look before scolding him, "One, that's gross. Two, I don't have a history with that flying reptile or any other!", then his brain picked up on something and backtracking a bit, he said, "And wait, how did you know I'm a chosen whatever."
A slight flash of light skimmed over the hag spawn's eyes as he informed him with a knowing smile, "Any monster with a novice understanding of magic can see or smell it."
Tapping his chin while turning away, Basil commented under his breath, "So that's how all those magical creatures knew, but the Bugbears didn't. Which is strange since they have such a keen sense of smell."
Hagson, who appeared to hear what he was saying, butted into his private conversation and offered, "I think they're just not very bright."
Basil just glared at him in response before yelling, "Forget that; how are we gonna stop that thing!"
Hagson looked up at the raging dragon, then back to the young man, where he told him, "We don't."
"What?!", Basil demanded.
Seeing he was about to be scolded by the man, Hagson explained a bit further, "Or more like we can't. This isn't just any regular dragon. This is a freaking Ancient Dragon!"
Basil narrows his eyes in confusion of his vague statement and inquires, "And that means?"
Hagson sighed in irritation at having to be a walking exposition and explained to him, "The older dragons get, the stronger they get. The status of "Ancient" is basically the apex, and this is a Black Dragon. The most cruel of the Colored Dragons. It's better just to let her do her thing and pick up the pieces when she leaves…if anything is left."
Basil looked at the panicking people as more acid was spat upon their melting and crumbling house that was soon to buckle down under the dragon's body, and felt an overwhelming urge to try and help rush through him. So he tightened his fist and, not thinking rationally, he yelled while charging towards the monster, "Well…I'm not going to take that chance!"
"Hey, wait! Uck! Whatever. I'm not your mom.", Hagson yelled after him before quickly giving up and watching from a distance.
As Basil ran blindly toward the creature, his common sense caught up to him, and he realized he had no idea what the hell he should even do! His magic was useless for fighting, and even with his improved stats, he could still be easily killed by the weakest Bugbear! He had to think fast before he ran into his own death! So in his frazzled mind, he could only think of one thing that could possibly have a chance of saving the town and his own butt; reverse psychology.
So once he made it up to the house, he stood tall and called out to the black dragon, "Hey, dragon lady! Stop destroying the town!", surprisingly this got the dragon's attention, and she shifted her gaze to him. Basil nearly froze up as he stared into her acidic eyes that radiated pure malice and evil! Taking a dry gulp and standing on shaky legs, he called out, "Stop destroying the town because that's what you want to do!"
The same strange light that flashed over Hagson's eyes also flashed over the dragons, and she smiled sinisterly at him while hopping off the house to corner him in her huge and long body.
There, the dragon monologues like some cheesy movie villain, "Well well well. I finally found you!", excitement dripped from her rashy-sounding voice as acid dripped down her lips.
"I wasn't exactly hiding.", Basil told her in an awkward voice.
The dragon chuckles in response before telling him, "I'm glad. It makes my job all the more easier."
As she says this, she stops encircling him and stands straight in front of him with her clawed hand stretched out, looking ready to snatch him up! But Basil acts fast and tells her in an assertive tone, "Um…so you want to stop destroying everything cause you think that's boring and a waste of your time!"
Suddenly, the dragon paused as if thinking this over for a moment, and Basil smiled at seeing his plan work…until it didn't. The monster shook her head and turned a gaze of ire on the boy as she demanded, "Trying to make me think that your desires are mine?", Basil gulped hard as his bravado turned to fear, where the dragon smiled at him and complimented, "Clever. You're just as intelligent as any Chosen Touched."
Trying to play off the dragon's bluff, Basil proclaimed, "Then…then you know how powerful I am! And so you'll leave!...right?"
Suddenly, the dragon's expression changed from amusement to ire as she asked threateningly, "Do you truly wish to fight, Anaya the Black!", seeing Basil clam up and shake with fear, she approaches him while beginning to offer, "Then let us make a deal. I'll-."
But Basil thought fast, or didn't really think at all, when he reached quickly into his Magic Pocket, pulled out the newly crafted cake, and counteroffered, "Would you leave if I gave you this really big cake?"
Anaya paused as he said this, arched down her head to look at the cake, and then brought her head back to ask him, "What flavor?"
"Chocolate-chocolate with more chocolate.", Basil quickly told her.
So Anaya took the dessert between two of her claws, put it up to her nose to smell it, then popped it into her colossal maw, where she chewed it for only a second before her stern visage softened into pure bliss as she moaned in delight, "Hmmmmmmmmm.", after swallowing the cake she licked the remnants on her claws. She complimented, "I have sampled many foods over the vast centuries, but never before have I ever tasted something as incredible as this!"
"Um….thank you.", Basil replied in a submissive tone while backing away a bit.
As Anaya was licking her lips, a thinking expression appeared as she said, "New deal then. I'll spare this little town that you seem to like so much. So long as you provide me with more of these sweet treats, say, oh, every month? Sounds good?"
Basil quickly agreed, nodding his head to her demand, "Yeah, sounds like a great deal. Well, doing business with you is a pleasure, and goodbye!"
Smiling devilishly in satisfaction at his submission, Anaya spread her massive black wings and took off into the air! Just before vanishing over the horizon, she let out a final roar, leaving a lingering feeling of pure dread behind. Basil stood utterly still in his original spot, and his shaking knees finally gave in as he fell to the ground before dry heaving in stress and fear!
Hagson, who was back in his human disguise, finally came to his side and kneeled next to the panicking man; he commented while patting his back, "I can't believe that worked."
Basil managed to calm himself enough to reply, and with tears in his eyes, drooling around his mouth, and a wet spot on his pants, he said shaky, "Neither can I."
As Basil continued to dry heave all over the ground, several of the townspeople who saw this unfold began to spread the word to the other people until nearly the whole town was loosely gathered around him. As Basil finally calmed down and lifted his head from his panic attack, he was surprised to see so many people staring at him as if waiting for some kind of answer or advice. Their faces all twisted with a mix of worry, concern, confusion, and desire. Basil began to feel his nerves rise again, not knowing what to do in this situation until the mayor of the two stepped forward.
He was an older man with graying hair and a large stomach from many years of stress eating and wearing one of the only garments in the whole town colored with violet dye. His kindly face was wretched with just as much confusion and stress as everyone else's. Since Basil had become so popular with the townsfolk nearly overnight, he had heard many good and not-so-good things about him. And from so many people talking about him, he could easily discern who he was, especially since he was one of the people who saw him confront Anaya head-on.
Taking a calming breath, the mayor asked him, "Basil, how did you convince that dragon to leave us alone?"
"She likes my cooking. And she'll be back next month…for more.", Basil told him as tears began to fall from his face, now feeling the burden of his decision and having no idea how to provide for it.
"Then…", the mayor began to say before the young man could break down. "Then we'll provide you with everything to make your goods!", he proclaimed, making the young man look up at him with awe and confusion.
"What?", Basil asked him in a small voice.
"I'll double my imports on sugar cane!", one of the vendors shouted, getting Basil's attention.
"And I'll double the amount of cocoa I buy!", another vendor cried.
"I'll give you all the wheat flour you need!", the vendor who was trapped in the melting house with his family called out.
"Eggs and milk from me too!", a couple exclaimed as they held up a young goat and chicken.
Basil quickly whipped his head around at all the people offering to aid the young man holding up his bargain with the dragon, and he stammered out to them, "You're all gonna help me with this?"
"You just saved us from a far worse fate! If we provide you with what you need to keep her from destroying our town, we'll do everything in our power to help you help us!", the mayor told him as he helped the young man back to his feet.
"Everyone…thank you.", Basil thanked the people while he wiped the tears threatening to fall from his face. Standing tall before them, Basil proclaimed, "I'll make goods every month for that dragon, so the thought of destroying this place will never even cross her mind!"
This caused an explosion of cheers and praises from the townspeople! Even the town cleric approached him with a holy water sprinkler and misted him with the holy water while saying, "Oh bless you, brave soul! Bless you!"
"I'll send out an emergency message to all kingdoms for the eradication of this dragon.", the mayor told him and everyone else as he began to run back to his office, which somehow managed to survive the attack.
Just before he left the crowd surrounding Basil to praise and thank him, Hagson stopped the mayor and asked him in a severe tone, "Hey, old man. Will anyone even answer the plea to slay an Ancient Black Dragon of all monsters?"
The older man looked down at the ground, knowing that the likelihood was slim to none, and honestly replied in a small voice, "I…don't know."