The Mother of Monsters

Elat was the first face the two of them saw in the morning. Teyva gave the big man a delighted punch on the arm while Azrael did her best to remain stoic and demure. Teyva gave the two of them some space, though, and hung back while Azrael made an effort to walk next to the object of her interests. Teyva wasn’t going to tease her this time, well, except for the amused looks she shot her when Azrael looked back to check and see if Teyva was still there or listening in on their private conversation.

By the time they arrived at the round-a-bout and the misshapen tower that belonged to the wizened elder, they had made their way through at least a half dozen groups of friendly faces. All of them offering various gifts in the form of food and simple sundries. The scent of spices and fresh meat clung to Teyva so thickly she was worried the Mockeries would get the wrong idea. That thought vanished when she saw the darkened shade of Elat’s green face as he stepped aside to allow Azrael to enter the building.

Azrael opened the door and Teyva dipped in ahead of her; “The hell did you say to him?”

“A few things,” Azrael rebuffed, “Nothing you wouldn’t say.”

“I’d say a lot of things.”

“Will you shut up and get in there? We’re keeping the Elder waiting.”

Teyva burst into laughter as she dipped her way into the tent. The host of mockeries in her satchel wriggling and writhing in anticipation. They sensed something was coming. Teyva ignored it and instead gestured for Nephral to take a seat nearby while the two women found seats in the floor pillows that had been set out by the old man for guests. Yol didn’t try to wow them with tricks and magic this time, he was sitting in a casual cross-legged position with a pipe in his hand and blue smoke billowing from his nostrils.

“Welcome back, cheeky witch,” The old man said, inclining his head to Teyva. “And to you as well, noble Azar,” He added with a deferential nod to Azrael.

“I’m glad to see you in good health, wily old coot,” Teyva shot back, causing Azrael to shake her head and cover her face with her hands.

The old man stared Teyva down, Teyva returned the stare. She’d dealt with far too much to let the piercing gaze of an old man make her feel small again. After a few heartbeats, the old man blossomed into a wide grin; “It is done then? You saw hell down there.”

“It’s done,” Teyva confirmed, “The Great Tree will recover and both the Wolves and the Wightlings will leave you in peace, so long as you keep your distance from the former.”

The old man raised his eyebrows; “The Wolves?”

“They were once the guardians of this forest, Honored Sorcerer, and the grove was their nesting ground,” Azrael said, “They were made aggressive when the grove was tainted.”

The Elder looked between the two women. By the look in his eyes, he figured they were not telling him everything but it was as much as he needed to hear. Either way, he took a deep breath and nodded, reaching behind him and snatching up a heavy-looking book. He held the book out towards Teyva who took it in her hands; “The people of this settlement are in your debt, Lady Akura and Warden Unabi.”

The sea of prompts took Teyva’s breath away.

Teyva didn’t even know where to begin! There was so much going on from a single level up that it made her head spin. She saw her first instance of a respawn which put her heart immediately at ease. She had an extra life! Another Aspect Stone and finally an explanation for what the word [Pathetic] was in all of her abilities. She apparently had to reach a specific level to be allowed to advance an ability. Speaking of advancement, Skills! That had to mean crafting and sorcery and other such things. It was starting to feel like Level 5 was the true starting point.

Then there were her growth items. A 20% reduction in mana costs? Just like that? But she had to be using [Grasp of the Tomb Guardian] which made melee combat difficult. She rubbed her chin and a thought occurred to her. If she could just find a way to permanently push down the cost of [Simple Shift] she could basically use the ability as a pseudo-class change! A wicked grin crossed her face and it took her a second to realize that Azrael and Yol were staring at her.

“You alright there, little one?” Yol pressed.

Teyva coughed and waved her hands; “Fine-I’m fine, just figuring stuff out. No big deal.”

Azrael snorted with laughter and Teyva elbowed her. The two glared at each other before the old man cleared his throat and clapped his hands together.

“Well, is there anything else I can do for you before we begin preparations for the celebration? I need to get the good news out there.”

Teyva paused and pulled out her satchel; “Yes, actually. I want you to protect something for me.”

“Oh?” The old man leaned in curiously, Azrael joining him, as Teyva pulled out the [Aspect Stone of the Unspeakable]. The room immediately darkened in its presence, light snatched away in its orbit. The fluid-like stone tried to slide its way out of Teyva’s hand while she held it out toward the old man who gaped at it in a mixture of horror and fascination. “What on earth is it?”

“An Aspect Stone,” Azrael whispered before looking up at Teyva; “It couldn’t be.”

“Aspect Stone of the Unspeakable. Derived from the Bound One, the source of the Aberrant Glade’s curse,” Teyva said, rolling the goop about between her palms to keep it moving in a controlled way. Azrael scrunched her nose and pulled away from it. The old man looked at it with eager curiosity though, leaning in a bit closer and squinting his eyes.

“Fascinating, and evil, that is for certain. I have no way to destroy it, young miss.”

“I don’t want you to destroy it,” Teyva said, shaking her head, “Just guard it. I can't bear to use it myself and if it fell into the wrong hands…” She shivered. “It’s better out of my grasp anyway.”

Azrael shot Teyva a look but Teyva just shook her head again, her expression tight. Neither woman had to say it, Teyva didn’t trust her own thoughts. She truly was afraid that whatever the mural had done to her was going to push her to use the stone when she wasn’t careful. She had to keep it out of sight and out of mind. The Old Man was clearly powerful, he could handle it.

“A solemn duty,” Yol murmured, “But one I accept, Lady Akura. We will ensure it never sees the light of day as long as it is within our holdings. Hopefully, far away from equal wickedness, it should not grow enough to hatch.”

He opened his hands and accepted the accursed thing from Teyva before depositing it inside a shallow urn for the time being. The three of them stared at the small thing for a time before catching their breath and moving on. Teyva bowed her head and was about to give him her thanks again when he raised both his hands high and slapped his knees.

“Now! Get outta here wouldja? I have preparations of my own to make before tonight, I owe you a tutoring session young lady!” He pointed a withered hand in Teyva’s direction; “And I need to get the word out, we are going to have ourselves a party!” He burst into laughter and shooed them both out.

“Tutoring?” Azrael asked as they dipped out, Teyva offering Elat a grin and the big man scratching his nose a little uncomfortably.

“Teach me to hide my aspects,” Teyva murmured, “If he can sense them, who else can?”

“Fair point.”

“How did it go in there?” Elat cut in.

“Azrael was about this close to asking Yol for you as her reward,” Teyva shot, unable to control herself.

Azrael turned to her bug-eyed and punched her in the stomach. Teyva burst into laughter even as she coughed out the pain from the slight. She staggered away while Nephral hopped onto her back, hissing at Azrael who was hanging her darkening grey head. Elat gave Azrael a consoling pat on the back while Teyva recovered enough to sit down on the ground. She let out a cheeky breath and took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the settlement. A few locals waved as they walked past. They seemed utterly unfazed by her frightening appearance now.

It was nice.

“Man I can’t wait for a good party,” Teyva said, Azrael joining her a moment later while Yol shooed his son off to go deliver the news to the locals.

“We needed a break,” Azrael said, pulling her legs up to her knees. She rubbed her left calf muscle.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, more the memory of the pain than anything,” She let out a breath before swatting Teyva upside the head.

“Ouch! What was that for?” She grimaced, covering the back of her head. Azrael just grinned, staring off into space.

“Thank you, for using the stone on me,” Azrael said.

“Any time, we’re partners aren’t we?”

“Yeah, partners,” Azrael said wistfully; “That does sound pretty good huh?”