Day 77. If I never have another happy moment, if in the end, I am destined to fail, then I shall hold this dream, this spellbinding moment in time and memory forevermore in my heart so that I shall always cherish it even when things look their bleakest… She is the light of my life. She is like a candle that burns strong, bright and steady, driving away the Darkness from all corners. She is like a star in the sky, that no matter how dark things seem, she always will brighten the night with her beauty. I look at her, and all others pale in comparison. She is gentle like the flowers she plants, yet her roots run deep. She is strong in the face of despair. She is kind to all who grace her presence, even someone like me, a boorish, fiery headed brute who carries the scars of many battles upon his hide without a care. I am nothing worthwhile, compared to her. I don’t deserve her love, nor her friendship, nor her comfort. And yet… she takes my hand and looks deep into my eyes and neither of us can’t help but smile. As we embrace, I feel tears welling up in my eyes as I hold her close to me. I stroke her hair gently, listening to her heartbeat. I always told myself that I’d need time. Time to heal a broken heart and get close to others again. That’s exactly what she’s done for me. I cannot thank her enough for everything she’s ever done. We sit down by that ocean of harmony, just like before. We talk for hours about everything we could think of, we laugh in the joy of friendship and happiness, and her smile warms me like no one else’s has. Yes. I am truly happy here! Moreso than I’ve ever been in my entire life. Becoming a Hero? Being declared a Prince? Receiving Soulforge? Not one of those compare to this! The warmth and tingle of Magic fills the air, and as it swirls around us, it gains a beautiful shine. I hardly notice, though. I’m paying too much attention to her. She embraces me once more and she whispers something in my ear. I look at her in disbelief and ask her to repeat it, she does so, and I break out into a huge smile. I laugh happily and hold her close, happy tears trailing down my cheeks. I couldn’t help myself. In all my foolish, overjoyed enthusiasm, I kissed her deeply and passionately on her lips. She kissed back and ran her delicate fingers through my hair. We are no longer strangers, nor just friends. Now, in this land of dreams, we are more than just that. And I couldn’t be happier than I am now because of it! I didn’t want to open my eyes when dawn came. I didn’t want to wake up! But, sadly, I had to eventually. I would keep going, for her sake. She’s the bright spot in all of this, after all. I didn’t stay in town long, however, it was just too depressing. With Nikolai now gone, everyone is in mourning. I did my final workout at the Guild, then left them to mourn their friend. Dmitri was especially taking it hard, since Nikolai was like an older brother to him and he’d charged himself to take care of the old man. And now he was gone. Dmitri only hopes him and Anna will find peace in the afterlife. I hope so too. Since I had Nikolai’s hat, I knew exactly where it’d be of some use. The Hangman’s Tree was my destination. Couldn’t exactly just pluck Dmitri’s hat, no, he’d look so strange without it. Speaking to old Bonehead once again, he told me a few interesting things. For one, Baba Yaga hails from near here, a place called Surria. She always had a soft spot for Mordavia, though. Enough Dark Magic to make life interesting, since it twists and mutates everything it touches, yet no trouble with an actual Dark One. For another, when she’d found out I’d stopped by, she wasn’t too happy and threw a tantrum. But then, when she stopped, she got that smile on her face, and Bonehead told me to expect a warm greeting from her. I gave him his hat, and I would say he looked happy, but he IS a talking skull and is always smiling anyway. Anyway, that made him call off the guards’ beam eyes and I ran up the familiar chicken legged hut… …Only for it to move out of my reach! “Hut of brown, now sit down!” I barked. Nothing happened. “That’s not gonna work anymore, buddy. Think like a bird!” So, with a heavy sigh, I went back to town and returned a bit later with some corn. This appeased the house enough for it to squat down and let me inside. As soon as I entered however, I immediately wished to leave! There was this sense of doom looming over everything, and the interior- filled with spices, herbs, poisons, lit by candles and a hearth fire with a cooking pot over it, a bottle of blood and Scarlet’s webs were in every corner. Bones littered the shelves and there was even a skeleton nearby! Next to a Hand of Glory was a dusty crystal ball, showing some sort of talkie far sight program labeled “Bewitched”- didn’t help much! Speaking of little Scarlet the spider… above me was a skull of some sort of monster or Demon, and above that…? A bucket! Filled with water that splashed all over me, making me sopping wet! I shivered and sneezed, then a loud POOF sounded! There she stood by the fire: Baba Yaga. As ugly and nasty as ever, so I saw! Her scratchy voice intoned, “Spirits of the frigid North, Spin the water , draw it forth. Frosty Spirits, summoned twice. Turn the water into ice!” Indeed, I found my vision go distorted like looking through glass! My heart rate quickened as I was unable to move at all, save my head! Baba Yaga gave a harsh laugh and asked me, “Here to visit, are we? Here to chat? Here to see what you can turn me into this time, hm?” I shook my head and tried to explain, but she kept talking. She discussed with Bats and Scarlet about how exactly they wanted me- Eye Scream with Whipped Scream and Nuts? Green Legs and Man? Hero Sandwiches? Hero on a Half Shell? –with every suggestion, I shook more and more in my frozen prison, until finally they decided to skip the main course and go straight to dessert! “Any last words, oh Soon-To-Be-Supper?” she asked. “L-listen, I need your help! A friend of mine, Punny Bones the Gnome, has been cursed to lose his humor and wants it back! Please, I’ll do ANYTHING to earn your favor, just don’t eat me PLEASE!” I exclaimed, shaking in both fear and cold. Bats started squeaking and the ogress understood it as, “I want pie, mama!!” “You’d rather have pie? What, Eye Pie?” The ogress asked. I shut my eyes and whimpered. Bats shook her head and squeaked some more. “Oh! Elderbury Pie! Yes, we haven’t had that in a long time, have we? Oh, pooh! I don’t have any of the ingredients! Now that you mention it, I *would* like some Elderbury Pie…” she looked at me and leered evilly, “with or without Eye Scream.” Bats squeaked and flapped again. I heard Scarlet nearby, making little clicking sounds. They were apparently vouching for me, since after all, I HAD gotten them some Mandrake in Spielburg. I shivered at the memory- one of the worst nights of my life! –and Baba Yaga fixed her gaze on me again. She decided, due to her ravenous sweet tooth, that she’d give me another chance. If I came back with an Elderbury Pie, then I wouldn’t be eaten! Simple, really. The ingredients? Well, according to Bonehead, Elderbury berries which I just so HAPPENED to have on me already! Some Grue Goo for flavoring, some Bonemeal for a crust and placed into a pie pan. I’d gotten some Goo earlier for Dr. Cranium and still had some left, which worked fine. As for the Bonemeal, it turns out the Wraith barrows hold them often. There was a mortar and pestle nearby, which I used to grind the bones into Bonemeal. It took awhile, but eventually it was done. Bonemeal looks kinda like flour to me. I then squeezed the disgusting, horrible oozing Goo from my flask, and it slowly, VERY slowly dripped into the pan. Berries were in next, then the Bonemeal around it. “Lookin’ good!” Bonehead said. He then ordered his fellow skulls to cook it, which didn’t take long and it turned into a nice golden brown. If I didn’t know what went into it, I’d want to take a bite myself. I hurried back inside the hut, and got out from under the trap just in time! I was being watched, I could feel it! I heard Baba Yaga speak again, “Not very trusting is he, kids? Good. It’s not like I trust him either. Floor Quick, make him Stick!” Suddenly, I found myself unable to move! In fact, my boots had been stuck to the floor. The vile ogress licked her lips hungrily and recited, “Spirits of the swamp and mire, Aid me in what I desire! Creatures of mist, Beings of Fog, Turn this human into a cute hedgehog.” I found myself shrinking, smaller and smaller, more warped until I felt sharp spines jut from my back! My nose stuck out more and blackened at the end, my hands turned into paws and I was forced to be on all fours as fur covered my skin! I tried to scream for help, but all that came out was a squeal. Baba Yaga cackled and stared down at me, telling me had a sudden craving for a tiddywiggle. I squeaked in protest- we had a deal! Bats and Scarlet, however, came to the rescue again and reminded her of our deal. She quickly turned me back into a person again with the counterspell, “Spirits of the Mist and Moor, Restore this man as he was before.” I sighed in relief. That was something I never hoped to experience again! I told her quickly, before she changed her mind about this, “Ihavethepiewithmetakeitplease!” She smiled and flicked her finger, and it appeared on the table. She smiled at me happily, and I relaxed a little. “Let me think, how should I reward you for this lovely pie?” I cleared my throat and repeated what I’d said last time. I wanted the Gnome’s humor back. She sighed and gave me… “An ice cream bar?” “It’s a Good Humor Bar. Take it to your friend, and it should give him his humor back.” I said thank you and was teleported out of the house again. I ran away from the Hangman’s Tree as quickly as possible so I could help Punny Bones. I did visit Katrina, as she said I could, at the castle gate. We chatted for a bit, and it was clear she dearly had missed me. Like, a LOT! I make her feel safe, it seems, and she loves to hear stories of my adventures. She worries for me, because it’s so dangerous out in Mordavia at night. I gotta say, her outfit… mmm… my, my… it’s apparently a little warm tonight. She’s let her hair down, letting it flow over her bare shoulders. Her dress had a bodice that was ruffed white at the top and, well, let’s just say I had a difficult time keeping my eyes from looking down. She was a very attractive woman, I must say! I felt compelled to touch her for just a moment, though why I knew not, but she backed away from me, and our hands touched only very briefly. The feel of her hand is as chilling as the night air. “Please, not just yet. I find you attractive, but I don’t want to get too close to you. I don’t want to lose control.” “You’re right,” I rubbed the back of my neck, “I’m sorry I did that. I don’t know what came over me!” Back at the inn, I chatted a little with Bella, Yuri’s wife and the cook for awhile. She’d heard about the incident with the Gypsy, and she says that she cares not if they really ARE Werewolves or not, but told me to let them know that they’re always welcome at their inn, to Yuri’s astonishment. She also had become a little fond of Igor and thinks he’s a good person, if a little frightening looking. I went to Punny’s room after that, and when I gave him the Good Humor Bar, he thought it was a trick at first. The hot pepper bar trick, apparently. Still, he chomped down on it regardless. “How do you feel?” “Say, I feel funny. Like, REALLY funny! What was that thing?” I explained all about Baba Yaga, the Pie, and the Good Humor Bar. As a reward, he offered to tell me a secret that only Gnomes know. The Ultimate Joke. According to him, it’ll only work once on an enemy and is a last resort, but it makes them laugh. I mean REALLY laugh! Like, can’t help it can’t stop it kinda laugh! What’s the joke? Well… let’s just say it involves a Wizard and a farmer’s daughter. I’m not going to spoil the fun for you! Well, with his humor happily returned, he rushed downstairs to give one last show. And, he was actually FUNNY this time! He cracked jokes about everything in Mordavia, from the terrible room service at the inn- there wasn’t any –to the doctor needing three pairs of glasses- one for nearsightedness, one for farsightedness and one for to look for the other two –to the shopkeeper- suffering from acute indiscretion, but when you get gossip, what can you do but spread it? –to Revenants and Necrotaurs- he’d take very specific steps to avoid the former… large ones! To just hoping that if he ever saw the latter, that it’d not seen him –and, in the end, he said that if it wasn’t for someone like me, he couldn’t make a hyena laugh! It reminded him very little of the joke about the gravedigger who got buried in his work! As the show ended, he told me that he was heading out once the pass opened again, to Silmaria. Beautiful, scenic Silmaria! He hoped to see me there, and before I closed my door, he cracked a few sheepishly good puns for the road. ~Taken from the journal of Marcus Donnelly of Willowsby.~
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 05:18:11 +0000
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