"Boohoo! My goldies!" A tiny whimpering voice draws his mouth into a circle.
On the fountain, sitting on top of the flat sun made of concrete where vodka-clear water sprays out of the sunray's end, a palm-sized humanoid with cicada wings could be seen.
"How can I hear you in immaterial form?" Mordred voiced.
"Ehhhh? Who are you mister elf?" Her white gown's tail flutters as she flits close to his nose. "Wait... Woaa!! You can see me?" Her baby face lits up.
He could not understand what she was and what she was doing. She shakes her hips happily, dancing crazily as she twirls around his head.
"Pfft! Why so happy?" His shoulder trembles in laughter.
"Please halp mister, someone stole my goldies I hid on this fountain. A baddie Dead Raiser!" She finger-spins her flowing jasper hair and bit the fringes.
"Maybe if we knew each other we could ask some help?" He gave her a hinting wink.
"Oh-oh! Yes! Ma name is Kerluen, sweet and pretty. Watcha name handsome mister?"
"Aren't you quite the honey-tongued?"
"No! We fairies are always full of honesty. Then, is it better to call you saw-teeth elf?"
"It's Mordred for you. Rule of equal exchange. If you answer all of my questions afterward. Then it's a deal."
"Absolutely, Mordred. Yay!"
"A little advance payment. First off, what do fairies do, and how come we converse without a language barrier?"
She tilted her head in pressed lips. "So basic? Fairies are numbered in few. We are very very very special beings, cute and lovely—
"Stop right there little fairy, I'm more inclined to what you guys do, not the appearances, please."
She humphs through her nostrils and pouted her cheeks. "Unlike any other Giftor entities. We talk and breathe. Question twoooo, simple! I can talk with you because we are both immaterial beings. Well, there are people with special spiritual abilities too."
"Why must you always squeal? And what I mean is 'language', words are different in each race you know?"
"So you will pay attention, alright?" She childishly nibs her finger into his nose. "It's my power of Earth Harmony! Anyone within my area of fluence can converse without any of those stupid language barriers! Why would each race have a different language? Stupid-stupid-stupiiied!"
"In simpler words, you're just a walking translator. Then how come you have this goldie you spoke of, how do you interact with tangible objects if you were immaterial?"
"I ain't no walking translator, I'm a fairy! A beautiful fairy! And why do you have so many questions?" She pulls her hair in frustration. "Through yrihan, duh! A nonliving object has no control over yrihan, which means they can't, uhhhh... say no to us when I move them, hehe!" She flashes him a rue smile, maybe to cover her somewhat lacking explanation.
"Was it some kind of telekinesis?"
"Nah, I simply touch them and move them in the same how a normal tangible being does things, but since I had no physical form, I had to use yrihan."
"Okay?" He tilted his head in confusion, maybe he had to throw his common sense for him to comprehend the fairy's explanation. "Your ability, Earth Harmony, and this yrihan thingy. Is it something you can teach me?"
"Nopey nope! It is an ability we are born with for having a high synergy with yrihan and the Earth itself, it's instinctual... Hey! Are you, not an elf?" She gave him a firm side glance. "Your race has similar traits. Weirdly enough, they still decided to make their own language, maybe just for writing?"
"You could say I'm defective." He shrugs his shoulder. "So? Other means?"
He dodged her question. It is not smart to clarify an advantageous misunderstanding. Who would want to entertain a well-known savage creature such as the goblin himself?
"You can learn an entry spell as an Enchantress root. What's it called again? Right. Word Commune."
"Enchantress root?"
She hugged her head with bulged eyeballs. "Ahhh! What's wrong with you dum-dum? You're just gonna dump me more-more-more-more questions if this continues!" She showed him a cold back.
"I guess nobody's patient enough to receive my help then." He turns around and glides sluggishly toward the portcullis gate.
"WAIT!" She swiftly flutters. Blocking his cheek, her arms spread wide. "Fine! This is the last one okay? Please?" Her sharp ears drooped down.
"Alright, if you insist. This, I missed out. What's a Giftor and yrihan? Giftor sounds about finances to me"
"My gosh! Were you living in a cave? Basics! These are basic stuff." She jutted out her hip. "Giftor is any entity that blessed a Giftee, with power, control, talent..." She blabbers nonstop, saying a long list of interconnecting subjects.
"Give me an example, so it'll be understood easily."
"Dummy! When you are a talentless piece of failure. Then luckily, a Giftor that governs fire grants you their blessing. The failure will turn into a flaming failure, then you can go fire power kaboom-kaboom-kaboom!" She alternatingly pushes her arms back and forth. "Yrahin, it's not something you can explain to others, it's more of a feeling. Aha! A feeling of connection." She smoothly pulls her palm away from her bosom as she lifts her chin like a ballerina.
"Why the hurtful words?" Her cutesy gesture tickled him out a snicker. "Down to your request, what's this Dead Raiser you spoke of?"
"He took my goldies! I smell the faint rotten corpse stench from his traces. I will lead the way for you, no problem. If ma goldies are returned, then you get to ask many-many stuff!"
"If he's too powerful, we will retreat."
"Of course!"
"Follow me."
------
Oddly, even after consuming more souls, his ability of soul disruption sluggishly improved, possibly because it was already powerful just from the baseline. Rather, his control over his own soul has become stronger, especially after hitting 100 souls, he can split his soul in two.
"They're coming." The Mordred in his physical body muttered.
His ghostly doppelganger pops out from the horizon. Accompanying a bright copper star, they speedily dived across the trees.
Ricocheting to his chest, the collision bends him slightly backward. Skipping a beat, his lungs momentarily tighten. A warm arm hugs him from behind, preventing his tumble.
"Hewo?" Kerluen softly whispers beside his ears.
"M'Love, this must be the little fairy." Leisurely releasing him. She swift her hand, plastering Kerluen to her palms.
"How rude! This gorgeous little fairy has a name you know! It's Kerluen." She rose up and unwrinkled her gown.
Aleges and Clux crowded Melantha's raised hand. They stretched their neck to pry on Melantha's thenar, making them scratch their scalps.
Seemingly used to her confusing perceptions of seeing invisible oddities, they roll-eyed her and sprawled down, playfully sweeping the pale rose grasses with their daggers.
The sugary fresh scent of grasses pierces Mordred's nostrils, cooling down his lung passages with mint. "She promised to help us understand the fundamental workings of this world in exchange for getting her goldies returned."
"Goldies? Fish in a bowl? Where're your goldies at Kerluen?"
"Watchu mean fish? Goldies! Sparkly and shimmery goldies!" She stomps at her thenar in a tantrum. "Hey! You ain't like Mordred who's on astral projection previously, how do you get to spot and touch me without establishing a connection first?"
"Let's just say I have magical eyes, squealing missy." She pokes her tiny butt.
"Forgot to ask, is it safe to go down the town? I'm quite getting discontented with our leaf clothing. My bosom's starting to sprout too." She peeks at Mordred at the side.
"Don't even think about it. Goblin pets aren't welcome! You hear me? Uhh... Whatchu name pretty elf?" The noisy fairy interjected after seeing Clux and Aleges.
Melantha reveals a sweet beam. "Melantha. We can just leave Aleges and Clux behind."
"Kerluen, teach us the Word Commune that you mentioned. It'll be bad to pretend mute when transacting in town. We might've got a chance to peacefully negotiate with the Dead Raiser, harmlessly getting your goldies. Isn't it great?"
"Oh! B-but I don't know any spells to pass you." She simpers, her pale ears and cheeks turn into red tomatoes.
"Never mind then." He's aware that they are no longer wealthy. Currently, they're penniless. He just attempted tricking Kerluen off of free knowledge, sadly it has yielded him nothing.
And wasn't Kerluen possess the Earth Harmony ability, she was quite an airhead that she forgot that all she had to do was accompany them during their roam in the town.
"Aren't you a Giftor? Why don't choose us as your Giftee? In case a battle breaks out"
"Sure! Let's check if any of you are compatible." She flaps her wings, soaring above their heads. Her tiny outline figure is illuminated in brown glamor. The light burst out, brushing his skin with a gritty feeling of sand.
"Eh? Impossible! You both were suitable." Her illumination dims and rubs her tiny nose. "I can only grant one of you."
"Why is that?"
"C-cause I'm a Neophyte Giftor." She showed her pearly lower teeth and pointed her indexes together. "But it's powerful! I promise. You can bend the earth!"
He clutches Melantha's hand, her hand's roughness was snuggling his heart in warm. "Melantha will be granted."
When she heard him, her midnight green vertical pupils peg his own, she leaned over and pecked his lips. Thanks were unneeded.
"Kyaa! Flirty-flirteee!" She hastily covered her face, but she was naughtily peering between the finger gaps.
"I bet you've seen worse." She shoots her a smirk. "Shall we proceed now on the bestowment, missy?"
She gently floats, aligning to Melantha's temples. Her shut lashes shivered as silky membranes were enwrapping her four glassy jasper wings. The membranes wiggled from her wing's jugum to radius.
Soil scraps levitate upwards, encircling the duo. Glittering chocolate gold dust sheds down from her skin as her height protrudes. Simultaneous changes occurred as she became a slimmer, taller, and prettier version of Kerleun. How about cultured and matured? Those questions are left to be answered soon.
"Kyaaa!! I got prettier! lovelier! sexier! gorgeour!" Disregarding the world. She reenacted her signature merry hip-shake dance underneath the raining loam crumbs.
The other audience: Clux and Aleges had sparkling eyeballs as they clapped happily at the magical phenomena. Albeit they could still not see Kerluen.
Damn. Same old Kerleun. Heck, gorgeour? Is that even a word? In pursed lips, Mordred furiously shook his head. "How is it, Darling? Anything different?" After shoving off the girl in mania with his hand's dorsal side. He faced Melantha and slithered his arm to her thin waist, his arm's skin was rubbed by her soil-gritted body.
"Watch." Flashing her cutting teeth, she gracefully raised her arm.
Four spots on the ground arched up, molding to 6 feet of mucky humanoids.
While their muddy yet solid bodies bordered them, she recast her hand as silver vapors squirmed out of the lid of her wooden canteen.
The vapors crawl toward the four muddy heads to puncture a vertical cyclop eye, blazing from their forehead to chin.
"Wo-wow! So many earth golems already? What a talent! You've jumped straight to Tier 2 of Elemental Conjurer root and become an Earthen Invigorator! As expected of my chosen one Hehe!" With her stretched chin, she hovers above a golem. "Eh! Souls? Necromancy Root? But there's no yrihan involved during command. Very different from how those yrihan user Dead Raiser, you're eh? How do you fully influence the souls if you're not a Lich? I'm confused."
"It has a diverse feeling. Is this yrihan? If our power exhausts our mental capacity. This yrihan unnaturally drains my body's energy."
"Darling, is it straining than ours?"
She bobs her head. "If I keep the numbers high. So I just use them as vessel alternatives. A walking earthly stench's better than reeking raw meat, isn't it?" That solves her container requirement in puppeteering souls.
"Indeed."
"Heey! Don't ignore me, look! Am I not prettier?"
His contemplation is unnecessary to tell that she, being Kerleun's Giftee is far more favorable than him taking the role.
His wife has more dominance over quantitative or macro management of soul power. In opposite, he was qualitative or good at micromanaging. His influence on a singular soul was supreme. In addition to selectively disrupting an individual's soul from consciousness, he can split his own soul for projection without repercussion. Well if there's one, it's at the cost of the tearing pain he has to suffer.
"Missy, what happened to you?"
"I became a better-better version of meh!" Finally getting some attention, she lifts her bosom proudly. "A growth from promotion! 'Cause I got my first Giftee as a fairy."
"First? Is it so hard to look for Giftee?"
"Duh! If it is so easy, then I won't be too stuck upon my previous appearance for many-many years!"