by Jez Cajiao
“Oh... oh, I’m sorry, Jax! I couldn’t help it! Bahahaha! Oh, your face!”
“I’ll get you for that!” I promised, even as Bob pulled the last pile of rubbish clear of the wisp pedestal, revealing a filthy basin that reeked of crap.
“Oh god…” I muttered, backing away from it and covering my mouth with one hand. “I think when it couldn’t get rid of it, it decided to use it as a toilet…”
“What do we do? Any wisp you summoned here would be… well, they wouldn’t be inclined to help you, I’ll put it that way…”
I checked my mana over and grinned. “That’s okay, Oracle, watch this!” I said, casting ‘Summon Water’ directly over the pedestal. As soon as it appeared, I switched to ‘Firebolt’, but, as before, I held it in my hand, using the flames to superheat the water and creating a boiling fountain that washed across the pedestal. With a thought, Bob was burrowing his into the mess, pulling chunks free and throwing them aside. Within a few minutes, it was clear and clean, making me realize just how bad the rest of the room was. The water had brought a wave a fresh air with it for some reason, and without that …God, it stank!
I channeled my remaining mana into the pedestal and then told the other two to turn around; we were getting out of there. I’d recover my mana outside, and we could come back down each time I was filled and ready. I just couldn’t stay in that filth any longer. Oracle was flying out of the room almost before I’d finished explaining my plan, and Bob followed along dutifully. It took the better part of an hour to get outside, but when I did, I felt relief immediately. I staggered across to a low fallen wall covered in moss and sat. Oracle landed next to me and stretched out on her back, her long wings folding up gently. I sent Bob off to jump into the stream nearby, ordering him to get clean. Although I knew it was my imagination, he seemed eager to do it.
I just sat back and thought about the madness of trying to tame a SporeMother. I mean, seriously, what kind of a mind would come up with that? I was thinking about all the things that could go wrong, when I noticed Oracle calling my name.
“Jax… Jax!” I blinked and focused on her, realizing I’d been staring at her, but seeing another world of horror and possibilities instead. Now that I was paying attention, I discovered that she’d changed her clothes again, and I’d completely missed it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking around the clearing.
“What’s wrong? WHATS WRONG?” she snarled at me. “I got naked and changed my clothes right here, Jax. I did it so you could watch, and you didn’t even notice! I was naked, Jax! NAKED!”
“I… uh… sorry, Oracle, I was kinda thinking about…”
“You weren’t supposed to be thinking about anything! You were supposed to see me naked and be totally distracted by that! It was supposed to make you happy! I made this body to please you! Did I get it wrong?” The clothes she was wearing, a small green tunic and pants, vanished into mist, leaving an irate naked wisp hovering before me, one hand pointed at my face.
“Is this wrong, Jax? Is my body ugly? Is that it?!” she growled.
“Stop! Please, Oracle, just stop for a minute, okay?” I managed to get out, sounding strangled.
“But why?!?” she cried out, flying up to hover in front of my face, her nakedness filling my vision. “Why don’t you want me, Jax? I remember the residents mating. It looked like so much fun, and in your memories, you loved it! Why won’t you mate with me?!”
“Because you’re like twelve inches tall, and you’re my friend!” I said all in a rush. “Look at yourself, Oracle, and look at the size of me. I’d kill you with it, for a start! It’s not physically possible, never mind the whole master and servant thing that we’ve got going on. It would be wrong!”
“My size?” She looked at herself, then at me, before her mouth became a perfect ‘O’ of understanding. “You’re worried about my size? I’ll grow, Jax. You’re so silly! Of course, I couldn’t mate with you properly in this form! Watch!”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, a tiny furrow appearing in her brow as she concentrated. Suddenly, she blazed with light. I had to look away, the light was so bright, but when I looked back, she stood before me, wings and all, stark naked and almost as tall as I was.
“Wha… I mean… how…” I gasped out, deep in shock.
“You didn’t realize did you?” she asked quietly, a low purr in her voice causing my pants to bulge as ‘Mr Happy’ made his presence known. She looked down and smiled in appreciation before returning her gaze to my eyes.
“You really thought I was stuck at that size, and that I was just teasing you?” she asked. I couldn’t figure out how to get my words working again, as something about her had short circuited my brain, so my response was more a gurgle than the agreement I tried to get out. She understood, though.
“Jax, I’m a wisp. I can assume any form I want to and be any size I desire; it just takes mana.”
A glance at my mana bar showed that it was almost empty again, rather than refilled as it had been. She gently took my cheek in her hand and smiled at me. “Jax, you saved me. I was dying in hibernation, my friends all either dead already or dying the same as I was. You gave me life, a purpose, and you let me bond to you. I’ll get to explore the world by your side, seeing things I only ever read about before. Through our bond, I get to access your mana and have a physical body whenever I want one. I’ve watched the inhabitants of my Tower for years before the long sleep. I saw them doing many things to each other. For each other. I want to try them all. Please, Jax, do you really not want to….”
“JAX! Incoming!”
“Wha…”
“Get your head out of her and get ready! You have enemies incoming!”
I barely noticed Oracle’s growl as my fuzzy brain tried to get back into the world of fight and flight, rather than naked women that could fly and shapeshift. I stared around in confusion, searching for my weapon until I spotted where it had fallen off to one side of the low wall we’d been sitting on. I grabbed it and set my stance. Bob clambered out of the stream to my right and clattered across to take up his position at my side. My attention, however, was diverted by Oracle’s perfect bare ass as she flew up into the air ahead of me, screaming out at something I couldn’t see yet.
“YOU DARE!! You interrupted us; I’LL KILL YOU!” She slammed both wrists together and screamed as a large black horned cat leapt into sight, landing atop one of the collapsed walls. As quickly as it appeared, Oracle finished her casting, and a bolt of lightning flashed out, thick as my wrist. The white-hot energy slammed into the cat, smashing it from its perch to fall convulsing to the ground.
I used the last of my mana and cast ‘Identify.’
Vatin Hunting Cat – Insane
This creature is well known as an ambush predator, spoken of in whispers as the cause of death of many travelers. It is said that for every Vatin you see, three more are hidden. This creature has been driven insane by the death of its mistress and will hunt and kill anything it can.
Level: 8
HP: 18/130
Mana: 70
Hidden… I heard a faint sound behind me and spun around, my naginata flashing out by reflex, only to slam into the side of another Vatin. My blade cut into its right foreleg and nearly severed it. The massive cat crashed into me, its weight sending us both toppling to the ground. I brought the naginata up just in time to brace the handle across its throat. I worked frantically to keep its teeth at bay while its claws screeched across my armor and pierced my legs. I screamed, managing to firmly plant one foot and flip us over, slamming the Vatin onto its back.
It twisted, its typical cat reflexes giving it the leverage to get out from under me. It limped back, hissing its rage. I swung the naginata around, keeping the point between us as I staggered to my feet. Blood ran down my legs from the cuts and scrapes its claws had left.
Before it could attack again, Bob smashed into it. Swords stabbed, daggers drove deep, and the claw-tipped legs l
ashed down from above, repeatedly puncturing the cat until it collapsed, dead. My mana was low, since Oracle had used a huge amount of it on the supercharged version of my lightning bolt. She had apparently finished the Vatin off with a ‘Firebolt’ to the face. I spotted two more sprinting across the clearing at me, their roars making me back up instinctively. I couldn’t face these; they’d slaughter me! They were the kings of the jungle. They…what…?
Fear effect resisted. Paralysis effect resisted due to high ‘Luck’ stat.
Those cheating bastard cats! I felt my rage flaring to life as I realized the damn things had some fear-based ability that had nearly gotten to me. I raised my naginata and caught one cat in mid leap, impaling it through the chest and killing it instantly. The weight of it sent me onto my back again, but as the second cat went for me, I didn’t waste any time. I drew my dirks from both wrist bracers and stabbed forward. One plunged into its mouth and the other stabbed deep into its chest as I hunted around for its heart. It bit down on my wrist, one tooth punching all the way through to erupt out the other side, before the pain of my dirk slicing its throat open made it release me reflexively.
I felt something give, and my right-hand dirk slid deeper, free of the thick, corded chest muscle that had caught it, and the sudden sensation of something fluttering on the end of the blade let me know I’d found my target. One quick twist and slice, and it was all over, blood gushing from its mouth to cover my hand as it died.
I shoved it off and rolled to my feet. Pain radiating from my wounds let me know that I’d need to heal up soon, but I wasn’t in any immediate danger. I looked over to find Bob finishing off the last cat in sight as Oracle flew toward me. She had returned back to her normal size, although she was still naked. She quickly observed my face and wounds, and with a sigh, called clothes into being. Tight jeans and a low-cut top appeared, but the outfit was still better than the ones she usually chose. She could see clearly that now wasn’t the time.
“What happened?” I asked her, and she shrugged.
“I guess maybe they were being used as guardians or something by the SporeMother. I don’t know for sure, Jax, but you saw the same thing I did when you used your spell on them. They were driven insane by the SporeMother’s death. If it had other creatures like them around…”
“Great; one more reason to get the golems up and running, I guess. Come on, back inside for now. Let’s get a move on.”
As I turned to walk back, I told Bob to grab two of the corpses and drag them inside. I’d look them over once we were settled and I’d gotten some more work done on the mana well.
It took us a while to get back to the main cavern, but once we were there, I didn’t waste any time. I summoned a second spring of water and heated it up to wash over the mana well again. It took me three castings before it looked properly clean, but by the time it was done, I didn’t think the wisp would throw up as soon as it was summoned. We spent the next few hours working on the surrounding area, as disgusting as it was, clearing away compacted shit and the remains of hundreds of years of meals and by products. The tedious smelly job was interspersed by me funneling as much mana as I could into the mana well. It went a lot quicker, thanks to Bob, who never tired or got bored of it, while Oracle kept me company, dressed thankfully.
I took the time to rest when I needed to, trekking out of the black pit that the Genesis Chamber had become, but as soon as my mana was fully replenished, I’d head back again.
When we finally reached the magic four hundred mark, the liquid silver mana began to swirl and bubble in the now familiar way. Oracle flew down, landing on its edge. She dipped a hand into the glowing pool and closed her eyes, communicating her knowledge and experiences far faster than I could have with words.
When she finally moved back, reaching out to be lifted onto my shoulder, the pool had quieted. When it moved again, it drew together to form itself into a short, muscular humanoid. This wisp chose a form that was almost as broad as it was tall, a stocky creation, with thickly muscled arms and legs, a bald head, and a beard that plaited itself as I watched. It slowly absorbed all the liquid before stomping to the edge of the well and staring up at me, its body now covered in what looked like thick leather.
“You’re a dwarf!” I said without thinking.
“Aye, laddie, a dwarf I be. It be the form most o’ my interactions were with, ye mind?” He looked up at me questioningly, a deep frown beginning to furrow his brows as he waited for an answer.
“Ah! No, no; just a bit surprised. I’m not really…”
“From around here! Aye, Oracle told me. She shared her memories of you, and all that’s happened since she was awoken. Includin’ the state o’ me Genesis Chamber!” He looked around, spitting in disgust. “This needs t’ change! I’ll be reachin’ out to Seneschal now. He be needin’ my permission t’ join with this section of the Tower, and I be needin’ his mana! Once I’ve got that, I’ll be startin’ t’ rebuild me glorious machines!” He clapped his hands together and grinned up at me, before looking around the room. “So! I need a lot o’ mana, a damn lot o’ resources, especially marble, crystal, an’ silver. An’ seems I need a name! That’s your place t’ sort, laddie!”
“Okay, what are dwarf names like, then?” I asked, a grin on my face. I didn’t like the idea of needing a lot of resources, but I’d always loved the dwarves of popular culture. To find them talking and acting as gruff as the scots I’d grown up with cheered me immensely.
“What kinda question is that!” he huffed, fixing me with a severe look. “Dwarves have names like normal folk, ya speciesist shit!”
“Whoa, ya little bastard, calm down, or it’ll be ‘Grumpy’ I call ya from now on!” I snapped back, then grinned when I saw the edge of his mouth quirk up. “Alright, you got me.” I said, shaking my head in resignation.
“Bahahaha!” He roared, pointing a stubby finger at me. “I got ya good!”
“Aye, you did, you little bastard,” I admitted, “Don’t think I’ll let this slide, though. I’ll get you. Don’t know where or when, but I’ll get you!”
“In yer dreams, laddie! Now, a name, and then we need t’ discuss plans, see what we’re gonna do first.”
“Yeah, we do. Can Seneschal show himself down here? Think we need to all be together to talk this one out,” I said.
“Nope, too far for him!” The dwarf said, smacking his chest proudly. “Need t’ be stronger than that bugger t’ manifest so far from his well!”
“We could all manifest in the Hall of the Eternal, Jax?” Oracle offered, gesturing upward. “Now that the mana collectors are working and Seneschal is feeding mana into the Tower, there would be enough for each us to appear there.”
“Where’s that?” I asked cautiously, already fearing the answer.
“At the top of the Tower.” She replied brightly, a big smile on her face.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“But…”
“NO,” I said firmly. “I’m not climbing the entire goddamn tower just for a conference. Fuck that.”
“Another option, laddie. Want t’ hear it?” the dwarf said.
“Yeah, all right. If we have no other choice, I know I can communicate with him at this distance, but it feels like we need a better way to talk than that.”
“Aye. Well, me Genesis Chambers are a bit fucked here. I either need t’ repair ‘em entirely before I can start rebuildin’, or we could make a few basic golems and have ‘em move me mana well upstairs t’ a more secure area, followed by the single functional chamber. Then we can work on repairin’ and rebuildin’ this whole cavern t’ be me home again!” He looked at me hopefully as I frowned in thought.
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan, but how long is it gonna take? And what do we need to do in order to build those first couple of golems?” He grinned at me and pointed to the far corner of the room urgently.
“Ye see that corner? Where all the rubble be?” I nodded and he carried on quickly. “Well, all y
e need t’ do is clear it! There be a storeroom beyond it! Enough gear in there t’ build at least a couple o’ golems!”
“That seems simple enough… what aren’t you telling me?” I asked, peering into the gloom. I could make out some debris, but…
“It be the emergency store, sealed away just in case, that be all,” he said nonchalantly.
“And…”
“Well, it be a wee bit… buried… and it be… a bit heavy. That be all, nowt ye canna deal with, I’m sure. Go on there, laddie!”
I wandered over to the corner he’d indicated, summoning Bob, and we investigated the mess. It was a rockslide the size of a house, with no sign of any storeroom, or door, or even a damn wall!
“Are you kidding me?” I called out to the damn dwarf. “This isn’t feckin’ rubble, it’s a damn collapsed mountain!”
“Ah, quit ya whinin’! A real man, or even a wee dwarf bairn, woulda cleared it by now!” he called back at me. I could hear the grin in his voice. “And dinna be forgettin’ I need t’ be named! In fact, mebbe I’ll pick ma own name…” he trailed off, and I could hear the occasional laugh or muttered comment from him as Bob and I set to work. I instructed Bob to collect the animal corpses, and I cast ‘Raise Weak Skeleton,’ using the Vatin corpses to augment him further. As the flesh and bits melted away, his legs, arms, and trunk all received heavier bones. As I continued adding, shifting the smaller bones aside and replacing them with greater ones, he grew. When I was finished, Bob stood a good foot taller than before, and he hulked. There was no better way to describe him. The general outline was the same, but where his arms had been one or two bones before, now they were each composed of three at least, all adding together to give him greater strength and reach. I brought up my notifications as soon as I was done, delighted to find what I’d been hoping for.
