Staring on in shock the door to the snake tower opened, “come inside Kheeta, I’ve been waiting for you...” the internal voice from earlier beckoned
As Kheeta walked through the doorway her body was overcome with the sensation of weightlessness, almost as though each of her extremities would float away on their own. Then, as suddenly as it had began, the feeling was gone and she was dropped several inches before her feet reached the ground.
The room she had been transported to appeared to be a waiting area of sorts; fluffy chairs perched on the black marble floor, as gold and red scaled walls surrounded her. In the center of the room was a crystal ball that depicted other applicants running through the maze.
“Kheeta, so glad you could make it, come on in.” A melodic voice rang out as the colors of the far wall began to ripple and wrinkle back, revealing another room.
“Oh, uh, okay, I’m coming.” Kheeta delicately scooped her gnawed on tails into her arms wincing from the pain but not wanting to track blood across the floor as she limped her way in.
Entering the new room revealed plush carpets and a large bubbling tub, with a Sehrmic woman lounging inside, her tail lolling over the edge. A soft pink mist rose from the water in thick clouds before rolling out and off the balcony, that Kheeta realized was the snake’s open mouth.
“Hello little fox, if you don’t remember, my name is Seh’ Shira,” the Sehrmic Mage was smiling as she held out her hand, gesturing to the pool. “Why don’t you join me? I’m sure your poor tails and leg would appreciate it.”
Kheeta began to protest, knowing that her clothes were filthy; however, looking down revealed her to be standing in the same swimsuit Aurora had made their first night at the springs. While inspecting her sudden change of wardrobe, she also noticed a growing puddle of blood that was seeping into the carpet, staining it red. “Oh no, I’m so sorry about your floor,” She said, scooping her tails up more, letting out a small yip as a stinging pain assaulted her.
“Silly child,” Seh’ Shira said, never losing her smile. She snapped her fingers and Kheeta was plopped into the water next to the Sehrmic woman. “Now then, don’t you feel better?”
Kheeta’s tails began to tingle as the pink water started to glow around her and she gaped in amazement; the flesh of her mangled tails mending itself, leaving only a pink scar that was quickly covered as her hair began to grow back before her eyes. Tears of relief and joy welled up as her tails swayed behind her painlessly, and her leg felt better than it did when she had that morning. “I suppose this is the first time you’ve experienced a restoration pool to heal wounds and not just fatigue, correct?” Kheeta just nodded, still too awestruck to speak, “don’t worry… you won’t actually have those scars, this test is just an illusion after all.”
“It felt real enough,” Kheeta responded finally finding her voice. “This Astral place might be pretty, but it’s kind of scary,” she observed rubbing one of her tails and shuddering at the memory of the creatures she faced. “Have my teammates been through here already?”
Seh’ Shira chuckled, “No, only a hand full of students have visited my tower over the years, most simply leave through the exit portal.” The Sehrmic paused to laugh before continuing, “and I apologize for the shock you must have felt when you were first injured. We’ve found that momentarily experiencing the pain of failure helps incite better strategy and logical thinking.”
“Well I’d say it worked,” Kheeta agreed thinking back to the maze. “After I was injured, I was a lot more careful and strategic about how I was going to get out. I wish that I could’ve seen more outside the maze though, it was so beautiful.”
Seh’ Shira placed her hand on Kheeta’s shoulder, “You are right about the Astral Plane. Though it is astoundingly majestic, it also holds considerable dangers, three of which you had the pleasure of meeting.”
“Oh my Gods yes! What were those? They were terrifying,” Kheeta shuddered, thinking of the animated corpse spiders.
“Well there are the Lingtrill,” her instructor said, swirling her fingers in the water until an image of the spider-like monster appeared. “They impale their prey with a spike, before burrowing into their skull and dissolving their organs; making their victim’s corpse their new home. They are drawn to people who overstay their welcome in the Astral Plane.” She waved her hand through the image dismissing it, “then there are the Trepidors, the ones that injured your leg.” Once again she summoned an image, and Kheeta absentmindedly rubbed her calf, looking at the slender creature. “These guys love to play with their food as they feed on and see by fear.”
“Plus their heads spilt apart!” Kheeta interrupted, “I’ve never seen anything so creepy!”
Seh’ Shira chuckled, “well you mustn’t have seen much of Rhespira then. The Trepidors have no sense of sight or smell so they hunt their prey by the aura of fear it gives off.” Once again, a scaly hand dispersed the image. “The last monster you faced is the Vormaw, these creatures are the guardians of relics belonging to the Astral Plane.”
“Guardians?” Kheeta repeated questioningly her tails swishing in the cool water as she stared on with interest.
“They track down and deal with those who come with greedy intentions.” As she spoke Kheeta gagged, at the image of the bloated creature before her. “I know, they’re rather unsightly, but they keep the Astral Artifacts safe and are one of the smartest races alive.”
A soft bell rang out through the air and Kheeta looked around trying to find the source, “what was that?” In response to her question a blinding light filled the room, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.
When she opened them, the chatter of other applicants reached her twitching ears and she realized she was back on the island, having passed her Mage’s exam.
11 Feasts & Friends
“Kheeta!” Aurora yelled trying to get the fox girl’s attention as she ran towards her. “About time, we all were wondering if you were ever going to finish your test.”
“Was I really that long?” Kheeta asked, looking up to see where the sun’s sat in the sky.
“Everyone else already finished,” Bartlebee added joining her and the Florae, along with Golluk. “You were the last one.”
“But that doesn’t really matter as long as you passed,” the iron Golem added seeing a look of distress consume the Kitsune’s face.
“I passed that’s for sure,” Kheeta said thinking back to her conversation with the snake woman only moments earlier. Her tails swooshed into her hands and she quickly inspected them for injuries, but true to the Sehrmic’s word, none of them remained. “I heard a bell,” Kheeta added remembering the strange sound.
“Yeah, they’re having all of the Parties meet up in the main hall for a celebratory feast!” Bartlebee exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement.
“Well, I’ve never said no to food,” Kheeta chuckled back as they started walking towards the large wooden building. As they entered the room she scanned across the crowd for any indication of where they were supposed to sit. The center of the room was taken up by ten large tables while a longer one sat on a raised stage.
“I see master Tarek seated over there,” Golluk pointed out, gesturing to the pouting Sylphyte who was sitting at an occupied table.
“Well I guess we should go and join him huh?” Bartlebee assumed, heaving a sigh and walking towards the table, the rest of the Party following behind.
As they approached their seats Kheeta took a second to evaluate the applicants at the table; a large Berejorn with white fur, save the black on his hands, feet, nose and two dark circles over his eyes, sat closest to Tarek. Next to the large ursine-man was someone who looked a little more familiar to Kheeta as it was a female Satyr, she wondered if she might be from Calisto’s village and deemed it probable. A strange looking Shelidon was the third member of the new party, the turtle-man was strange in the fact that the shell on his back seemed to be broken in half, revealing his blue smooth skin below.
/> “Hey! Glad you guys found us, you can sit next to me,” a Kelphyte girl, if Kheeta was remembering her lessons correctly, offered as she patted the seat next to her.
“Thank you,” she replied talking the chair that was offered to her. The girl had translucent lavender skin, revealing bones that seemed to glimmer with the light, and her head resembled the cap of a jellyfish, with what looked like stingers draping down like hair. “Why the long face Tarek?” Kheeta asked her comrade who was still pouting with crossed arms and furrowed brow.
“He started throwing a fit that our Parties were sat together,” the Satyr girl answered sneering at the Phyte. “He said he’s above sitting with us, but Gorn sure set him straight, had a good verbal lashing he did.” She stuck her tongue out at Tarek who glared intently.
“Sneer all you want, you’re just mad that you’re considered dinner, goat.” Tarek taunted, trying to get a rise from the girl.
“Now, the great Goddess Megoria teaches that we should accept one another for who we are and celebrate our differences so that we can join in the common search of knowledge and peace.” The Berejorn spoke, his deep baritone voice cutting through Tarek’s whiny protests.
“We’re really sorry about him… he doesn’t really like us either,” Kheeta offered with an apologetic smile, Tarek simply grunted and turned his back to the table.
“Isn’t there supposed to be five of you?” Aurora asked from her place between Bartlebee and Golluk.
“Yeah there’s five of us,” the Shelidon answered, his voice gruff, like gravel.
“Then where’s-“ Kheeta stopped mid-question as she felt something brush up against one of her tails. Turning to see what had touched her she yelled, “Bartlebee! Thief!”
The confused Meripint turned to look behind him, and saw a Hafpint with its hand deep in his pouch. “Hey stop that!” Bartlebee scream as he tackled the robber to the ground, a tentacle pinning each hand while the Meripint’s own hands held the creature’s chest.
“Wait!”
“Stop!” The other Party exclaimed as everyone at the table bolted to their feet.
“Does someone care to explain?” Aurora asked, a bemused smile on her lips as she looked at the little rogue.
“That’s Klept,” the Kelphyte girl said, as if that explained anything, “he’s our fifth member,” she added after seeing their still offended expressions. What race is he? Kheeta wondered as Bartlebee held out his hand and received a large clawed one in reply. Pulling hard he helped the boy to his feet and she realized he was smaller than her Bard friend by nearly a head, standing only about three and a half feet tall, as he moved his skin gave off an iridescent sheen, shifting from black to a deep purple. He looked at them with faceted eyes, scarlet rubies, that sparkled as he smiled at her group. His sharp, toothy grin split his face ear to ear, as he bowed deeply. “That’s his way of saying sorry,” the Phyte girl explained, gesturing to her silent teammate.
“Hey!” A loud voice thundered through the room, causing Kheeta and Bartlebee to both jump in alarm. “Do you mind if the rest of us get on with the event? Or are you not done being disruptive… yet again.” Gorn asked, not lowering his voice at all, causing everyone who wasn’t already looking, to turn and stare at their table. They mumbled their embarrassed apologies as they took their seats and prayed that the attention would be off of them in a moment. “We would like to congratulate you all on finishing your exams,” Gorn continued after the room had settled back down. “What you have accomplished is no small task, and we all are…” The large shark-man paused as if the next word was going to cause him pain, “…proud.” This was met with a round of applause from the gathered Parties, who stared on eagerly.
“Tomorrow morning we will be announcing the results of the tests and afterwards hold the graduation ceremony.” Seh’ Shira added. That’s weird, Kheeta thought, I didn’t even see her come in.
“Tonight we relax and revel in our victories!” Morla ended with a roar, jumping up onto her chair, her face masked with bright yellow war paint.
Pip jumped up, speaking before she could continue, “each of your tables consists of two Parties, take the evening and get to know one another.”
“A big part of Questing is networking and Guild management,” Az’rocc squawked in agreement before he was cut off by an eager Morla.
“So talk, mingle, eat, and revel in your victories!” The neurotic spider-woman commanded loudly once again as food appeared on every table.
“Morla, you need to calm down,” Seh’ Shira urged as she wrapped her long tail around the Arachling.
“We will not!” She screamed in reply, kicking all of her legs at once as she was drug off the table.
“And they said we were the disruption?” Bartlebee joked as the Party let out a loud laugh.
Kheeta took a moment to admire the feast that had manifested before her. Steam rose from potatoes and corn, chicken and ham were both served as center pieces, with rolls and butter all perfectly golden. “Wow,” Kheeta mustered, her eyes sparkling, as she grabbed a chicken leg and began loading the plate before her with food.
“Well I guess we should start by introducing ourselves,” the Berejorn offered as he took a big bite of corn. “Seeing as Klept tried to pick your pocket and all,” he shot the small Rogue a stern look before continuing. “I am Lu’Roe, I fill the position of Party five’s Cleric. I hail from a monastery nestled deep in the high mountains of Behrador, where we worship the teachings of all ten divine.” He bowed his head, turning toward the Shelidon, giving him the floor.
“Yes well, I’m Tehsugon,” he began, his low gruff voice capturing everyone’s attention. “I’m the Warrior. I came here to get stronger so I can defeat the beast this belongs to.” He held up his weapon, a large hammer with an enormous tooth where the metal head would usually be. He nodded to the Kelphyte, allowing her to speak and leaving everyone with even more questions than before he spoke.
“My name is Soza,” the Kelphyte said waving a clear, shimmering arm. “I’m a Mage, just like my mom, in fact pretty much all the women in my family are Mages. I used to help with her studies of the Astral Plane, and I’m really hoping to learn more about it while I’m here.” She smiled and then gestured down to the scrawny thief who was shoveling food into his mouth. “This is Klept, you already kind of met him. He doesn’t talk, well not yet, so all we know about him is that he’s a Stalagpint and one heck of a Rogue… even if he seems to lack any impulse control.” As if to accentuate her point she lightly smacked Klept’s hand, which had found it’s way into Tehsugon’s bag.
“I’m Caprice,” the Satyr interjected, “and you’re all lucky because one day you’ll be able to say ‘I knew the famous Bard Caprice.’ I’m going to be an even bigger hit than my parents!” She threw her arms up in a grandiose gesture, earning her a scoffing laugh from Tarek.
“I’m sure whatever dead end town you’re from thinks they’re great,” he sneered, “but I’m the son of a Noble Cleric so it takes more than a pretty tune to impress me,” he finished crossing his arms pretentiously.
“Oh,” Caprice replied, looking down sheepishly. “You’re right, they’re only Odillia and Phyllus, Royal Bards to King Draven… I’m sure they hold no light to the muses someone of your stature is privy to.” All meekness had left her voice now, replaced by cold sarcasm and a sneer, to rival Tarek’s own, split her face.
“That’s so amazing!” Bartlebee exclaimed before Tarek could even think of a reply. “Your parents are some of my favorite Bards! I love your mother’s fifth sonnet, and don’t even get me started on your father’s novella, The Hafpint’s Maiden… I had that confiscated by my folks at least a dozen times.” The Meripint blushed purple as he realized that he was seeming a little star struck and Aurora looked slightly annoyed. “I hope that I can be as good of an artist as they are with words.” The Meripint finished, shoving a roll in his mouth to prevent himself from going on.
Caprice, looked at Bartlebee and smiled, “
it’s good to see that your Party has some culture. I should have expected it from a fellow Bard.” Bartlebee blushed deeper as Tarek pouted, verbally defeated once again.
So the conversation went, telling stories and anecdotes, laughing, and getting to know one another. Kheeta was amazed at how much she was learning about the various races that made up their Parties, Klept and Bartlebee are both Hafpints but one is a Stalagpint and the other a Meripint, for instance; or, that even though they look drastically different Tarek and Soza are both different sub-races of Phytes. Finally the time that she had been dreading since she sat down had arrived… it was her turn.
“What race are you? If you don’t mind me asking?” Lu’Roe asked placing yet another roll in his furry mouth.
Thank the Gods this food appears as fast as he eats... How does a monastery feed a bunch of him? Kheeta thought to herself with a chuckle before responding. “Well my race has been in hiding for a really long time…” Her voice wavered for a moment and panic began to rise in her stomach, Kheeta you have faced down astral horrors… a conversation is not going to kill you. She argued with herself before continuing carefully, “I wanted to be a Quester, my family wanted me to take over the shop, I decided to run away. I didn’t realize the magic that surrounded the village would make me lose my memory of how to return, but by the time I reached Dravenmoore I had completely forgotten how to get back home.”
Her eyes scanned the table for signs that someone saw through her deception and to her relief it didn’t appear that they had.
“That’s really cool!” Soza said leaning in towards the Kitsune with a fascinated expression painted on her translucent face. “I love studying the odd and abnormal… not that you’re odd!” Soza covered her mouth as she realized she might have caused offense, but relaxed when she saw Kheeta laughing.
“No, you’re right, I’m odd.” Her tails swished back and forth and a smile split her face, I haven’t been this relaxed since starting the tests… it’s nice.
Dauntless Dungeon Page 15
