Your personal Tumblr library awaits
Outside of the tower, Ling begins praying, "I humbly call upon ya, OH GREAT DAGEXTAN!" The others chant the name behind her. "Bless this land to feed this world, guard this land from those beyond death, and," Ling points at the wormsworn, "Accept this offering!"
"Return to Samsara, ya wiggly b*****ds," yells Ling.
"We are so lucky that worked," says Oighrig, finally landing, "Your divine connections have saved us all."
"No worries," says Ling, "'Sides, ya'll did most of the work."
"I would never have thought to use the corpses themselves as the runes, Your Darkness," says Oighrig, "A most impressive display."
"Thank you," Melandria says with a bow.
"That's nice," says Ling walking into the tower, "But I got to check on my kid. Gash, you're still responsible."
Before Ling can get to far, Melandria's shadow hand stops her. "I know a faster way," she says. She pulls the group into the shadows and to just outside Gank's room.
Gash opens the door without knocking. Inside the room, Jevoi lies asleep on Gank's bed, with the charda sitting on the floor reading her tome. She shushes the adults as they enter.
"See, nothing to worry about," whispers Gash.
"Ya're lucky," whispers Ling, "Ya got a responsy kid here." She walks up to the bed. "Good on'ya, kid," she says to Gank, before picking up Jevoi, "And time to get ya back to bed."
L: I'd take it back, but... G: It's funny, now.
"Can I hold her?" asks Melandria, "No, I'm sorry. Ignore me."
"Go ahead, Mel," says Ling holding Jevoi up for the Shadow Queen to grab, "Sorry, I was... acting like that down there."
Melandria gently scoops Jevoi from her mother's arms and rocks her slowly. "You've nothing to apologize for Ling. The circumstances were... difficult."
"Struth, that was a stressful five minutes," says Ling, "Just glad she's okay. I was ready to end one of ya."
J: You did not say that. L: Yeah, I did. G: Was there, can confirm: she did. J: Your memory's wrong. G: Ghosts have perfect memory; I can't forget even if I try. L: I'm a wizard; I don't forget anything I don't want to.
"Mom, stop," says Gank, swatting one claw at Gish who is rubbing her head.
"Gank, was it?" asks Ling, "How'd you like a little job?"
G: One of the worst decisions of your life, right? L: Not even top ten.
"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do I do?" chants Gank, walking in place. The unconscious child on the floor continues to bleed from her arms in front of Gank. "Right, blood. I have to stop the blood," she says to herself.
Gank begins running around the room looking for anything that could help her situation. As she paces about, she licks the blood from her own claws.
J: I can see you struggling to keep your mouth shut, Mum. L: I wasn't saying anything.
"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Gank searches frantically for the salve she knows is somewhere in this room. "I know ya keep it somewhere here; ya suck at healing, mom." She spots a box sitting beside a shelf, and throws it open. "Jackpot."
The box contains potions, powdered medical herbs, and other supplies. "I'm going to get caught the next time she checks this thing." She grabs the salve and a towel and races back to the bleeding child.
J: Why didn't you grab the potion? G: You were bleeding; I was panicking. L: She was, like, fourteen.
Gank slathers it over Jevoi's arms, desperately trying not to cut her further. She then wraps the towel around the limbs and pushes gently on them. She feels the slowing rhythm of Jevoi's heart.
"I think this was how it worked. How'ya feeling?" she asks and receives no answer. "Yeah. That makes sense." She looks at the blood drying on the floor and has an idea.
Dipping her claw in the blood, Gank begins painting a magic circle around Jevoi. "It's like this, and this," she says to herself. Her claws shaking, she manages to etch the runes she knows. "Okay, okay, okay." She slaps the circle, the spirits of the cave answer the call and pulse life through Jevoi's body.
"All I have to do now is..." Gank looks at the bloody evidence still around here. She sighs.
Gank begins licking the blood off the floo-
D&J: EUAGH L: Why? G: Ya don't have room to judge me. I know where ya put your tongue. J: No, eeegh.
To repeat: Gank begins licking the blood off the floor and a primal urge rises within her. The soft meat of a helpless animal is right there. It must taste so good. A rare cut from so far away.
"No, focus." Gank throws those thoughts away and keeps at the floor.
L: So, on the topic of rituals: outside we were blessing the land.
J: Let's not forget whose story this is.
The training room is much larger than Jevoi had been expecting. Numerous training targets of various sizes stand around the spacious chamber. Along the walls, several weapons (swords, axes, polearms) are kept sorted in stands. A few grindstones sit next to shelves of materials and a small forge in the corner.
Jevoi's eyes dart across the room; scanning the weapons, she finds her target: knives, daggers. Little blades that can fit in little hands. Her hands. She rushes to them and begins testing their handles. Forward, backward, reverse-grip. She has to find one that fits.
"Oh, ya're into this," says Gank with a smile, "Anything clicking?"
Jevoi stops, holding one sleek dagger in her hand. "YES," she exhales, swinging the runic blade a few times, listening to it sing as it cuts through the air, "Perfect."
"D'ya think?" asks Gank, she points to a humanoid dummy, "Go on, then. Give it a whirl."
The little gecko walks around the dummy and slices at it. The blade cleanly cuts through its soft plant-like material. Jevoi coos at the damage, but the gasps in realization.
"Don't worry," says Gank, as the dummy stitches itself back together, "Nobody'll see nothing."
Jevoi licks her eyes and stabs the dummy as many times as she can, as fast as she can. She twists the blade and begins slashing wildly into it, desperate to outpace the regeneration.
"Okay, slow down," laughs Gank as she walks up to another one, "Let me ya how the big girls do it!" Gank unfurls her claws dramatically and swipes at the dummy in a practiced concert of blows. Her four arms tear, rip, and shred it that it flops about as if it were alive. She throws in a few twirling slashes and kicks as well.
"That's not fair," says Jevoi, "You've got four arms."
"Sorry," says Gank, her tongue hanging from her mouth, "But that's why I'm a warrior and ya're just a rogue."
"Oh yeah?" says Jevoi, running back to the daggers, "I'll show you." She grabs another and racing toward another dummy.
Gank's slit eyes widen. "Woah, kid, wait, no," she steps in front of Jevoi, "If ya get hurt, I'm getting in trouble. Put that one back."
"You don't get to call me a kid," says Jevoi, she looks at her weapons, then up at Gank, "Try and take them!"
L: Trouble from day one.
The developing rational part of Gank's brain attempts to conjure a means of handling this situation. Unfortunately, the emotional threat to her ego prevents the teenager from having any ideas more complicated than, 'Take them.' Some may also claim that her species, hard-wired for a short life of constant violence, may also be a factor in this spur-of-the-moment decision, but that hypothesis's largely irrelevant when faced with the far more accepted theory:
L: Kids are so f*****g stupid.
Gank suddenly lunges at Jevoi, who reflexively holds the blades in front of her. Gank grabs onto Jevoi's wrists, but the gecko squirms and the weapons come dangerously close to the charda's face.
"Let go!" yells Gank.
"Make me!" yells Jevoi. She kicks Gank in the groin. Both girls gasp in pain and Jevoi almost loses balance.
"Why would'ya do that?" says Gank, she then kicks Jevoi right back, "How d'ya like it?"
Jevoi emits a long squeak, but continues struggling to pull her hands out of Gank's claws. Blood begins dripping down both of their arms.
Gank bends her empty hands inward and uses the back of her wrists to slap Jevoi's face and punch her in the gut. "LET!" Hit. "GO!" Slap. "OF!" Knee. "THE!" Clunk. "KNIVES!" Punch.
"Noooo," squeals Jevoi weakly. One blade hits the floor, but she her grip on the other. She shoves her bloody hand into Gank's face, feebly slapping her. "Let me go."
The last thing Jevoi hears before passing out is Gank's desperate voice repeating, "Oh s***e!"
"Go on," says Gash, pushing Jevoi into the room, "Say 'hello.'"
Jevoi freezes; the older reptilian's eyes stare into her. Gank puts her tome down and slides off the side of the bed and slowly walks toward Jevoi.
"Hello, there, pinky," says Gank. She turns her attention to the tallgoblin, "Shouldn't you be helping your boss, old man?"
"Boss said-" Another explosion and Melandria's voice echo up the tower interrupting Gash. "On second thought, keep an eye on Ling's kid." He leans down to Jevoi and asks, "Are you going to be okay?"
Jevoi nods and Gash takes off back toward the stairs.
L: To be fair, we were just about to call him back anyway.
Gank quickly slams the door shut and turns to Jevoi. "Alright, pinky let's play a little game." She grabs the gecko by the shoulders with one set of claws and the waist with the other, and sets her on the bed. "I know your weird mom can regrow her limbs," she says with a smile. Her three rows of sharp teeth shining in the low light. "Let's see if you can do it, too." Jevoi continues to stare into Gank's eyes, transfixed. Gank hesitates. "Aren't you scared, pinky?"
Jevoi's voice squeaks out, "You're so cool."
"No fear at all," says Gank, "You're as weird as your mom."
"No, I'm not," says Jevoi, snapping out of her enamoration, "She keeps bringing women home and putting them in her bed." Jevoi looks to her side. "You put me in your bed; you're the weird one."
"I'm going to eat you," says Gank, bluntly.
"She says things like that, too," says Jevoi, equally blunt.
L: When have I ever said that.
D: You said that to that lady who needed a new arm last week.
L: That- Th- Nevermind it.
Gank pushes herself off the bed. "You're funny, pinky," she says, "What's your name?"
"I'm Jevoi." She sits up and spots Gank's tome. "What were you reading?"
"Just magic rituals," says Gank, trying to be cool and aloof, "Old man says I have to learn something here and this is the least boring thing they've got."
"Mum wants me to study magic too," says Jevoi, "But all she has is her dumb plants and animals. I want to learn blades."
An idea worms its way into Gank's brain. "Blades, huh?" she says, "I know where my 'mom'-" Airquotes. "-keeps her swords." She leans toward Jevoi with a coy smile. "Want to see them?"
"YES!" Jevoi jumps off the bed and almost into Gank's naturally armored face.
L: Reminder: I was fighting the abomy outside.
J: And?
L: I just think Dalini would like to know the other side of this.
J: Fine, make it quick.
Gash leads Jevoi up the stairs to the safest part of the tower, behind the shell of the Tarasque. Feeling her bitterness of being led away, he asks, "Who is your 'nana'?"
"You really want to know?" Jevoi's voice is sudden and loud. "Nana Ning's the coolest. She's super-fast and has all of the knives."
"Is that so?" asks Gash, looking over his shoulder, "What can she do with them?"
"She's a super sneaky acrobat and kills bad guys," says Jevoi running ahead of Gash, "I want to be just like her!" She turns back toward him. "But Mum hates Nana, she'll never let me."
"Yeah, I get it," says Gash, "My ma was against me learning magic." He manifests and twirls a knife before banishing it.
"But you did anyway?" asks Jevoi looking up into his eyes, "How did ya do it?"
Gash hesitates, but decides to answer, "My sister and I ran away from home."
L: I'ma kill him.
"But you shouldn't."
"Why not?" whines Jevoi.
"Your ma's a wizard; she'll catch you," he leans down and whispers, "So you should study all her tricks first; that way she can't catch you." He stands up and continues on as roaring and explosions occur in the distance.
L: Death threat rescinded.
Jevoi gasps, "You're really smart, Mr. Gash!"
Gash laughs, "That's why Boss Mel trusts me. Now right through here is Gank."
"Who's she?" asks Jevoi, as further explosions sound from outside.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" He opens a door, and says, "Hey, Gank, got someone for you to meet."
The bedroom's walls are decorated with stars and crescents. The plum bed is almost as big as Ling's. Lying on the bed, idly kicking her feet and reading a large tome is a teenage reptilian with a spiky armored body and four clawed arms. She's wearing a black wig with a magenta stripe in its bangs and tiny black trunks.
D: Is that why you wear that wig? J: It looks great, right?
Jevoi hides behind Gash's leg, too nervous to approach.
"What d'ya want, old man?" asks Gank. She looks up from her book. "Need me to babysit for ya?"
The mass of undead giant worms continues to grow. Bile pours out, sliding down their sides and pooling on the ground.
Melandria raises her hand to the abomination and yells, "BEGONE!" Suddenly, half of the mass is ripped into a black void. The remainder force their way free.
L: She called that spell 'Dark Hole'.
"So cool," says Jevoi. She turns to the Shadow Queen, "Sorceresses are so cool!"
"Child, it is not safe here," says Melandria, "Please, go back inside."
Jevoi grabs onto Melandria's dress, "Tell me how to do that!"
"I promise to later."
Above them a translucent barrier forms blocking bile being launched at the group. Oighrig yells at the worms.
J: I didn't speak Vrow, but I assume she was cursing at them.
"That's what Nana Ning said, too," pouts Jevoi, "Mum won't let her teach me."
"If you work hard," says Melandria, disintegrating a line of worms, "You'll be able to be whatever you want."
"Mel, stop," yells Ling, "Don't encourage her." Ling gestures and the ravaged crops begin wrapping around the worms on the ground.
Melandria is so confused that she cannot respond.
"We're not talking about my mum now," says Ling, blasting a bolt of magic that transforms one worm into a still writhing giant carrot; it's companions immediately begin eating it alive.
J: You never let Ning teach me anything. L: Think hard, Jevoi, why'd that be. J: I only saw her twice before she died, Mum. L: Is that why ya're obsessed with her? D: Can we get back to the story? L: Right. Also, that spell's 'Veggification'.
"Boss!" A pair of armored tallgoblins step out from the tower with weapons drawn, "Give us your order!"
"Gish," yells Ling, raising a wall of large blunt teeth covered in smaller sharper teeth to hold off the tide of zombie worms dropping off the damaged mass, "Where's your salt? Get me all of it! Gash, watch my kid!" Melandria's shadow arms raise out of the gaps and begin forcibly grinding the worms against the teeth.
"Yes, Ma'am!" says Gish, racing back into the tower as Oighrig conjures a massive storm cloud spider. It magnetizes several worms out of the mass and pulls them into its mouth, electrocuting them all the while.
"Why me?" asks Gash, launching a flaming boulder over the wall.
L: Dental Palisade, Conjure Storm Spider (not to be confused with Conjure Spider Storm), and... er, Big Flame Rock. J: Goblins tend to be straight forward.
"We need someone to protect the-" Melandria taps the side of her head, "Idea: take her to meet Gank. Then you can keep them both safe while we get this under control."
"Understood, Boss!" says Gash, sheathing his weapon, "With me," he says to Jevoi.
"Fiiiine," says the child.
Ling quickly throws on her robe and wizard hat. "Get your stuff, kid," she says, "We're going out."
Jevoi grumbles, but pulls a pink tunic out of the dresser which it was hanging out of.
"You're bringing her?" asks Melandria, "Into the Underdank?"
"It'll be fine," says Ling, "We're with ya." Out of the corner of her eye, she spies Jevoi picking up a knife from the counter. "Ya don't need that."
Jevoi mutters to herself and puts it back. Ling and Melandria reenter the main room and the group stand in a circle.
L: Is it really a circle with three people? J: Fine, we stood in a triangle.
Melandria's dark aura swallows the geckos and the group are shunted through the earth. In a manner of seconds, the group arrives in the parlor of Melandria's castle.
The trio stand in the teleportation circle in the center of the room. The walls display banners of Melandria's silhouette in various poses. A few black leather benches set along opposing walls with grand doors on the other pair.
A Vrow sorceress is waiting for the group. Her left arm is incorporeal and her left eye is a spark in a dark void. Her attire is immediately recognizable to Ling, nostalgic even.
"Oighrig," says Melandria, "Has it returned?"
"Thankfully not, Your Darkness," says Oighrig with a bow, "Ah, great wizard Ling, thank you for coming."
As Ling talks with Oighrig, Melandria turns her attention to the upset little gecko. "Are you alright? That wasn't scary was it."
"Are you another wizard?" asks Jevoi, bluntly.
"Not exactly," says Melandria, "I'm a sorceress."
"What's the differ-"
L: Wizards study magic; sorceresses are given it free. J: Sorceresses create magic; wizards copy it. L: Ya stole your power; ya didn't create s***e. J: Language, Mum!
"Well, if ya've already killed it," yells Ling, "Then why the house call?"
"Because it keeps coming back," says Oighrig, "And we still don't know what it even is." She contorts her phantom limb into a hydra. "It's a massive-"
Suddenly the earth quakes, the tower vibrates from the force outside.
"Good timing," says Ling, as she charges out the door and kicks it open. The stench of death is immediate and overwhelming.
"That is unnecessary, Ling," says Melandria, racing behind her with Oighrig and Jevoi on her rear.
The women look out to the writhing mass of worms pouring into the cave crushing the ravaged farmland. Each worm large enough to swallow a person whole. The infestation blocks out the crystal "stars" in the ceiling.
"How in f'ell!?" yells Ling, "Is that a b****y warsworn!?"
"Giant worm!" yells Jevoi, ecstatic.
Melandria, the Shadow Queen, oozes out of the darkness into the sleeping town of Rankedge. The sun, what the Inner Glowians call that weird rock floating in the center of the planet, shines its light on the lands to the east. No matter how many times she sees this inner world it still unnerves her; the bending of the land into such an unnatural state.
The goblin town has recovered since last she was here, but one building is largely unchanged: Dr. Ling's brutalist brick apothecary. The placards on the side identify it as the Wizard Lizard's Pharm.; they also direct people seeking the Lizard Wizard, Lang Cantor, to the other side of town, by the Gizzard King, a local restaurant.
Melandria, as beautifully dressed as ever, takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. While she waits, she looks about the empty roads, at the the simple stone huts that line this side of town. Her mind drifts into nostalgia, only to be pried back to reality by the sound of the door unlocking.
The door creaks open and a child peers out. The little gecko, almost a miniature Ling wearing a pink smock, stares at Melandria for a second, then says, "Mum's not home." She closes the door suddenly.
J: The end. D: What that's it? J: I'm kidding. There's more.
Melandria knocks on the door again. When the little one opens it again, the darkness grabs it and holds it open.
"Let's try this again," says Melandria, "I am the Shadow Queen and I am looking for Dr. Ling, who I assume is your mother."
"Yes," says the gecko puffing out her cheeks, "She's not here."
"Then, where is she?"
"Get out of my house."
Melandria conjures her magic orb, black like all her things, to her hand. She calls Ling and hears a faint buzzing come from within the house. "Did she leave her orb here?" asks Melandria, pushing her way into the building. "Ling, I need you."
The apothecary is in a sorry state. Contraptions of various types line walls, while a cluttered counter blocks the way into the backroom. The backdoor is actually several threads of beads. A small hammock hangs near a messy dresser in the corner.
"Get out of my house," says the gecko, "You, big titty w***e."
"Child," gasps Melandria, " Where did you learn that word? You shouldn't say things like that."
"Jevoi, what's that racket?" calls a groggy voice from the backroom.
"Ling, it is I," says Melandria, "The Shadow Queen."
"Bl'ell, Mel," says Ling, audibly rummaging around the other room, "Why didn't ya just call?"
"I did," says Melandria firmly, "Several times." She enters the backroom.
The super king sized bed takes up most of the room. It's blankets are crumpled to the side and the pillows are scattered. There are a ludicrous number of shelves along the walls, most of them supporting water bottles. So many water bottles. The rest of the shelves hold an assortment of wands, amulets, scrolls, and books. There is a second door in this room with a plush alligator sitting over it.
Ling is sitting naked on the side of her bed, flicking her magic orb. "What's the problem?" she asks without taking her eyes off it, "So I can prepare."
"Ecological disaster."