Manifest

by Cody Whitfill

  “I will give you five silver for a pair!” came a shout in the back.

  “I’ll do 6!” said a fairy standing just next to him.

  “8!”

  “10!”

  “Your sister’s a 10! I’m down for 13!”

  The price continued to rise, and Gitch didn’t have to do a thing. The players were bidding hard against themselves. He thought he might be able to squeeze a few extra silver from them, but this was insane!

  The bidding stalled at 40 silver and so he called for a stop.

  “We have a winner!” he declared triumphantly. There was no hiding the glee on the face of the fairy who outbid everyone else. She came forward and gladly handed over the coins to Gitch in exchange for the offered striped shoes. She put them on and gave a huge sigh of a relief. She didn’t say another word as she strode out of the room with the eyes of everyone glued to her every step.

  Gitch cleared his throat, and with a loud shout said, “Alright, there are more where that came from. Let’s start at 20 silver for the next!”

  The room exploded in noise as the fairies began hollering out bids. He didn’t make as much money on that pair, only 38 silver. He wasn’t complaining though. He sold all 10 pairs within the next 15 minutes. There was a small break when a fight erupted between four fairies, but this was quickly put to a stop as each of them was soon restrained by an invisible force. Maybe those grey fairies were good for something after all, Gitch surmised.

  In the end, he made 295 silver and increased his bartering skill five whole levels! Of course, 30 silver was going to Reigh to cover the cost and her share, but he thought he could live with that. There were many disappointed groans when he called for a halt, but they let him go without issue. With a smile on his face, he flew down the stairs to speak with Reigh and complete his quest.

  He jumped the final few steps to the basement and rushed over to the porter‘s counter. Reigh was half-asleep, but woke right up when she saw him approach.

  “Ahh, he returns! And how did it go?” she asked.

  “Oh, um… not too bad. I have your silver for the shoes,” Gitch said. He didn’t think telling her how much he actually made off the scheme would be a good idea. He reached into his pouch and pulled out 30 silver to hand over. She made no effort to pick up the money he slid across the counter.

  Diplomacy check failed! Prepare yourself for the consequences!

  “Gitch, do you know much about orange magic?” she asked quietly. Her face remained impassive, but she was staring at him with an intensity he had only ever seen coming from his mom when he would bite his toenails at dinner. That was a long time ago.

  “Ehh, no not really...” he mumbled before realizing he had just learned about orange magic. He let out a groan.

  “Well, let me enlighten you,” she said in that crescendoing way women sometimes use when building up to a good argument. This wasn’t going to be good.

  “Orange magic is magic of the mind. Very strong orange fairy mages are said to be able to read the very thoughts of the untrained. That’s why you see so many orange fairies going into business. It’s a natural fit.

  I am not at that level, only an apprentice really, but I can read emotions easily enough. That, along with years of bartering experience, helps me know WHEN A PARTNER OF MINE IS TRYING TO CHEAT ME OUT OF MY OWN MONEY! YOU THINK YOU CAN HOLD OUT ON ME? YOU POISONOUS SLIME NUT! TO THINK I WOULD HELP YOU TRY TO EARN SOME MONEY AND EXPERIENCE, BUT YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD GO SOLO, EH? JUST HOW MUCH DID YOU END UP MAKING, PARTNER?!?” she finished sarcastically. Reigh may have been an orange fairy, but she was doing a very nice job at imitating a red one. Not that Gitch would ever tell her, but she looked like she was about to pressure pop.

  Still not making actual eye contact, he said meekly, “Almost 300 silver.”

  “300 silver? 300 SILVER! HAHAH! Well no wonder you tried betraying me. I am actually impressed, Gitch, and that doesn’t happen too often. Tell you what, I’ll let you keep 100 silver, or a gold piece if you prefer. The rest is mine. Call it a liar’s fee.”

  He looked up in astonishment. That was not even close to half! He was going to argue the fact, but one look at her face shut him down in a hurry.

  “Yes, ma’am,” was all he said. He pulled out 165 more silver and handed it to her. A tear pooled in the corner of his eye as he watched the silver disappear behind the counter.

  Quest Completed: Let’s Get Some Shoes!

  You have successfully turned a profit on the shoes lent to you by Reigh, though your attempt at cheating your partner did not go unnoticed and may impact future dealings. There are always consequences!

  Reward:

  550 (500) experience points

  -500 reputation points with Reigh

  100 silver coins

  Pair of Chimpunk Moccasins

  Completing the quest lifted his spirits some, and 100 silver was nothing to sniff at. Plus, he received his own pair of shoes! He regretted holding out on Reigh, but hopefully any future trading wouldn’t be too negatively affected.

  “Come back tomorrow and maybe we can do this again!” Reigh said excitedly.

  “Sure, as long as we split the profits a bit more evenly next time,” he grumbled.

  “Fine by me, long as you don’t cheat me again, I think we can give it a go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Gitch.”

  That was fair, he supposed it was at least partially his fault he missed out on an even larger payday. He made a mental note not to attempt a fast one on any orange fairies in the future. He waved as he left back up the stairs. He made his way across the lobby to leave, thoughts firmly on his new-found fortune and the opportunities that were now open to him. Maybe he would go back to the market after all?

  “You smell different when you’re awake.”

  Debuff gained: Suffer -10 Charisma for 4 hours!

  “Suck a duck!” he shouted in alarm.

  He couldn’t help himself. The terrifyingly close whisper had been less than an inch from his head, which was followed by an equally surprising gust of wind deep in his ear. It was easily the most creeped out he had ever been, and the implications… had someone really smelled him while he slept? What kind of sick freak was he dealing with? He wasn’t sure what irked him more, the invisible pervert or that he only had one pair of underwear.

  “Hey Stinkerbell, the bath is on the top floor!” Lisha called out from behind her glass. She was using both hands to fan away whatever smell penetrated her little room.

  Mortally embarrassed, he ran up the stairs to the baths, with the haunting laughter of the invisible fairy following him all the way. He ran passed the second floor, ignoring three fairies that gave him questioning looks. They each stared after him before sniffing and crinkling their noses.

  He reached the top floor and was instantly greeted by a sky-blue fairy attendant. The fairy took one whiff and addressed him while obviously trying to hold his breath.

  “Greetings. Bath 1 silver. Laundry two silver, 25 copper. Stall to change, that way,” he said in broken English. The fairy was pointing to the left but used his other hand to cover his face.

  Gitch gladly paid the fairy and walked into the stall. There was a basket for his dirty clothes, a simple tunic for him to change into, and a small box for him to lock away his belongings. He quickly changed and left the room. He didn’t know if the water was cold, but didn’t really care. He flew to and over the water before allowing himself to drop.

  The water itself was hot. Not boiling hot like his wings were about to curl up, but more like a giant hot tub. Gitch also felt a faint tingly sensation on his skin, and he wondered if there was some cleansing agent mixed with his bath. The water could never truly rival Todd‘s magical pool, but there was no denying the simple pleasures of a hot bath.

  He stayed under for half a minute, letting the purifying water cleanse every inch of skin. Only when he started running out of air did he begin his ascent. The bath was not very deep, only a foot or two at its deepest point, how
ever, it did cover much of the top floor. Once he broke the surface, he saw perhaps half a dozen other fairies relaxing in the water as well. One or two gave him a dirty look from his large splash, but most seemed content resting along the sides. A public bath did not initially sound appealing to him, but no one was nude and he was clean, so he counted it as a blessing.

  As much as he enjoyed the bath, Gitch ultimately decided to leave after a few more minutes of soaking pleasure. He had places to see and things to do. He assumed he did anyhow. There was still much he didn’t know about this small city, but he planned on doing some more exploring. Besides, he still had to head over to the Training Hall and kiss some dude named Puk on the cheek. He still couldn’t believe he was a love fairy. That was lame.

  He picked himself out of the water and meandered over to the launderer to pick up his clothes. The fairy pushed his magically-cleaned clothes across, but not without a disgusted look on his face. Gitch ignored him and picked up his clothes before making a quick stop to change and grab the items in his box.

  Gitch then flew down the stairs until he came to the main floor. He took a deep breath before stepping out into his own little walk of shame, avoiding eye contact with a chuckling Lisha. He almost made it to the door when a voice called out that made him jump, though with no further issues.

  “Gitch! Hey Gitch, wait up!”

  Oh Dufflin, why couldn’t he just leave this trap of a building?! He turned around to see Kraz waving at him from down the hall. Takaar and Pinaki stood on his left, while a black fairy stood on the imp’s right. This fairy was dressed exceptionally well and a purple dot hung above his head. The only other fairy he had seen with a purple dot had been Queen Tibura, so this guy was obviously powerful and probably important. Gitch stopped and waited for the four of them to approach.

  “Hey man, lucky we ran into you. Your friends just showed up, and I guess we are headed to meet up with the queen again. I think something’s going down,” Kraz said excitedly.

  “My friends?” Gitch asked, confused by the statement. Aside from maybe Kraz, he wasn’t sure of any real friends he had in the city. There was Wasi, he supposed, but that fairy was likely still in the graveyard having a heart-to-heart with Chitt’s spirit.

  “Yeah. Dwik and the other wolf just showed up at the border. There’s also another fairy with them, but I’m not sure who.”

  “Nice! So, things went well up in the glade? That makes sense, I was wondering why you were still here sergeant, I thought you had already left,” Gitch said while looking at Pinaki.

  Sergeant Pinaki opened his mouth, but the mysterious fairy standing next to him let out a large cough and glared at Kraznik. The imp didn’t notice and was about to keep rambling until he put a dark hand on Kraznik‘s shoulder.

  “I think now may be a good time to shut your skull cave before you reveal all the confidential information you were just told not to divulge to anyone. Especially out in the open!” the fairy whisper-yelled. He had an imposing frame, silver ponytail, and spoke with the utmost authority. He expected his words to be listened to and obeyed. After confirming Kraznik was going to keep his ‘skull cave‘ closed, he looked back at Gitch.

  “Gitch, I am General Safiri, commander of Queen Tibura‘s armies. I need you to come with us and refrain from asking questions until we arrive in the queen’s chambers,” he said firmly.

  “Sure, I just have one thing to do first,” Gitch said. He looked over their shoulders and asked the mostly empty room, “You still there, Hollow Man?”

  A laugh issued forth near the stairwell. The air next to the railing shimmered, and soon a grey fairy appeared in full view. He recognized him immediately. It was Feckle, the fairy he had shared insults with just the night before. This was a guy who could dish it, but sure couldn’t take it.

  “I‘m here, noob. Care to try the stairs again? Need another bath?” The fairy sneered.

  Gitch truly had no intention of arguing. He actually didn’t even care to speak at all with this jerk who had it out for him. He just needed to know his general location. With a devilish grin, Gitch lifted a finger and shouted, “Pixie poo!”

  The fairy’s eyes widened just as he was turned into dozens of multi-colored pebbles that began bouncing wildly down the stairs. The other fairies in the room looked on in astonishment, not believing what they just witnessed. Kraznik, once poo‘d himself, shuddered at the recent memory. Gitch didn’t see any of this. He was busy reading his new notification.

  Congratulations! You have learned a new excrement: Pixie Poo

  Your target will experience the following:

  Random spurts of invisibility

  An intense urge to dance a jig upon returning to natural form

  Surrounding enemies may experience complete transparency of random body parts

  Congratulations! Transmorph has increased to level 3!

  Cooldown reduced to 23 hours, 30 minutes

  +2% spell duration

  Gitch closed both notifications and addressed his new posse, “Alright, let’s go.”

  Chapter 22

  Once they all stepped outside, Safiri, Takaar, and Pinaki all leapt into the air. Kraznik and Gitch followed suit, and all five arrived at the queen‘s Banyan Tree in short order. They landed on the top platform and walked the passage to the central chamber. The delicious chocolate smell reached his nose once more, and he instinctively looked for its yummy source. Again, Gitch saw nothing when he peered down the side passages, but this time he thought he heard a quiet pitter-patter. Almost as if dozens of miniature feet were running every which way. He was hoping Tupia‘s report would have some information regarding the secrets of this tree and the inhabitants he was sure were present.

  His thoughts of hidden elven treat-makers were soon forgotten once they reached the end of the passage. Queen Tibura remained perched on her elevated throne, but it was the room’s other occupants that drew his attention. Goldie sat off to the side, while Dwik stood next to her, grimacing and rubbing his inner-thighs rather vigorously. Next to them was another... fairy?

  Aside from his lemon-color, the fairy next to Dwik looked unlike any he had ever seen. Most fairies were between 5-6 inches tall, but this one was easily 7 or 8. He also looked buff. No other fairy looked like they even had muscles, though they somehow could carry things many times their weight, but this guy was ripped. Thick even. That wasn’t even the strangest part. The fairy looked over at him and began waiving ferociously.

  “Gitch,” the fairy said hoarsely. “I am glad you survived the journey here. When we parted, I thought our friendship was short lived indeed, but here we both are!”

  Gitch was eager to catch up with Goldie and give Dwik a good scratching, but he-wait! No, that was backwards. In no way did he want to scratch the gnome, whose skin had somehow returned to its former tan complexion. This other fairy had him flustered. Was he supposed to know him from somewhere?

  “Hello there, sport. Good to see you too,” he said hesitantly. Gitch racked his brain, but he was pretty sure he would remember something so fugly.

  “Gitch? Everything alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. It was then that he noticed a new notification was blinking for his attention. He mentally opened it and read in dismay.

  Diplomacy check failed! Prepare yourself for the consequences!

  Dwik started laughing. “Gitch, have ya forgotten me too? A bit rude to forget yer own friends, don’t ya think?” he said in jest before walking over and giving him a pat on the back. “It is good to see ya, laddie.”

  The strange fairy looked at him with a frown but then shrugged. “Don’t worry too much about it. I have gone through a few physical transformations since dipping into that magical pool. I am Faik, Brother!”

  Gitch analyzed him closely. The color was right, but everything else was so off. “Faik? But… how?” was all he could spit out.

  Faik nodded, but looked at the queen before answering him. Queen Ti
bura, who had been sitting patiently through the exchange, now addressed the eight gathered before her.

  “That is what we are here to discuss. Some of you are new here, and some have served me for many years, but it is my belief that all of you have the best interests of this forest at heart. When you are addressed, please speak and answer as best you can. That is all I ask. General, we will begin with you. What have you been able to learn of Gurthaz Keep through our new ally?”

  General Safiri stepped forward before speaking. “My queen, Kraznik has been very forthcoming, and we have learned more than we originally dared hope. Prior to his imprisonment, he had free access to their camp and has been able to draw for us a detailed map of the interior of Gurthaz Keep from memory. We also have a better idea of troop counts and their movements based on his numerous escape attempts. There are, however, two special items of note.” He looked a bit uncomfortable as he stared back at the imp before continuing. “Kraznik said he overheard some of their leaders speak of a rakatu nesting in the deepest chamber.”

  Gitch saw Queen Tibura‘s jaw stiffened as she sat forward on her throne. He, of course, had never heard of rakatus, but judging by her reaction, they sounded unpleasant.

  “That is serious news, indeed! We have not faced an evil of that magnitude in the Dufflin Forest for an age. Rakatus are usually confined to the Lava Lands. There must be some reason for its presence?”

  “Yes, my queen,” the general said humbly. “That brings me to even more troubling news. The rakatu is guarding a portal.”

  Gitch could tell everyone was a bit freaked out. The queen had scooted to the edge of her seat. Dwik was biting his nails. Takaar was tapping his foot nervously. Pinaki was stroking Goldie’s side, and that’s when he knew it was bad.

  “Forgive me,” Gitch said as he raised his hand. “But why all the fuss over the portal? I mean the monster sounds terrifying enough, but the portal? I used Reigh’s portal earlier this morning. Sure, the enemy having access to a global marketplace doesn’t sound so good, but why is everyone so worried?”