Torien sat working in his workshop as the dull glow of the evening fell upon the cottage. Yukara, her lute in her cradling arms, was playing her latest creation, and he was perfectly happy to act as a test audience. Alas, he was having trouble with the house order he'd been doing, and it showed in his furrowed brow.
"What's the matter?" Yukara asked, stopping her strums to listen.
"It's this damnable crossbeam," Torien replied. "It continues to bother me. It won't stay in place and if I want to fix it easier I'll have to take apart the house."
Yukara sighed. "Well, you've already been behind on repairs, so I don't know what a few minutes will do--"
"It's the whole house that I will have to take apart, Yukara."
"O-oh," the woman replied. She stood up and looked outside towards the village. "Perhaps I should head back the village? It's getting late, and my gig at the alehouse is supposed to be soon."
"I would rather you stay here since your music keeps me from overworking myself, but if you have money to earn, I won't stop you."
As Yukara peered out the window, she drew in a short breath. "Um, Torien? I know it's not my place to ask, but I think someone is outside."
"Yukara, I told you- as long as they don't touch the nettles by the gate and get stung, there is no way for them to get in. It's locked by a key, and only fae-height folk can pass through the bars."
Yukara pursed her lips. "I'm gonna go outside and make sure they aren't causing trouble." She headed towards the door.
(Torien and Yukara are living incognito as humans just to be clear, right?))
Ewan took his time wandering the sleeping village along the Ora. His travels in the south were full of nothing but monsters, slavers, and blistering heat. The little sorcerer came home mostly to visit Arca and it's libraries, but it was good to be in a proper Serenian village again. He loved the orchards, cobbled roads and thatched cottages.
The boy was nearing the local inn when a glint of red caught his eye. A feather. A plumed serpent's feather. It lay in a garden on the other side of stone wall and iron gate. Native to northern climates, the constrictors' feathers were prized in potions made to build muscle and sculpt the body. Ewan looked down at his scrawny frame. He could certainly use some of that!
The feather was nestled in a pricker bush on the other side of the fence. Ewan could hear music. Someone was home but was it worth knocking just for a feather? They'd probably just swat him off anyhow. Besides. He was young, and quick, and could scale the fence and grab it!
The boy worked his feet into gaps in the mortar, making more noise than intended. Once at the top he reached across to grab the feather... only to scratch himself on a thorn. "Ow! Heck that hurts!" he yelped.
Yukara spotted the young boy. "Torien, we have an intruder."
Torien stood and look Ike's out the window at the stone wall. "Where? I don't--"
Out by the iron gate, there stood a short figure. His hand twitches back, as though he had been injured by the bushes.
"Oh heck no," Torien breathed. He quickly pulled a drawer out on his workbench. He rummaged around until he came across a small brass tin, which he immediately tossed to Yukara.
"The tall-folk isn't going to be so tall in a few moments. Those are emergency clothes. This has happened before, so it isn't a huge problem, but... he's going to be spooked if we leave him out there."
"Oh gods," Yukara replied, catching the tone between her palms. "There's been word of a serpent looking around for easy prey."
"Just get out there!"
Yukara ran out the door and headed towards the figure. "H-hey kid, those bushes will..."
As she approached, she realized she came a little too late. The nettles had begun to do its job. Yukara sighed and leaned down.
"...shrink you..."
A small nick was all it took and Ewan was already whoozy from the Briar. The little sorcerer braced himself on the stone wall, trying to think of what kind of plant this could be. He couldn't think of any poison nettles. None that grew up here. The boy lugged an enormous grimoire from his pack - which was unusually heavy - and frantically paged through it for the right antitoxin. Soon the book had grown to heavy to hold and slipped into the garden. "Stupid!" he cursed, leaping after it.
By then the door to the cottage creaked open, bringing some much-needed light into the garden. Two figures emerged. Both were waifish, definitely favoring the fae-traits of most Serenians. "S-sorry! I lost my book and I had to get it. It was just a little prick-" the boy darted back, blushing. His loin cloth must have gotten loose during the fall because he needed to hold it up.
"Wait! Shrink me?" Ewan's eyes went wide. The little sorcerer was used to people towering over him, but these two, delicate as they were, looked like giants. "How?! Can you stop it?!"
Torien came to Yukara's side as the boy hollered at them both. His pointed ears dropped a bit in embarrassment. "Well, this is going to be a bigger mess than I thought."
Yukara knelt down to try and calm the boy. His body was slowly getting smaller and smaller. "It's not really something that "stops", at least it isn't a process that can be prevented. It'll stop after a few more moments, but you'll be like... that... for a while."
Thank the gods that it was temporary.
The two of them heard a hissing noise nearby.
Torien grimaced. "It's that darned serpent," he said, grabbing a stick that was leaning against the wall. He ran after the noise, shouting profanities in hopes that he wouldn't have to confront it physically.
As Torien ran around the wall, Yukara pursed her lips. She opened the tin and set it down beside the boy. "What for the love of the gods were you reaching into the prickers for?" she asked.
"My name's Ewan ap Rhys. I'm a sorcerer. Best in Ravensway I'd bet!" the boy held his chin high, trying to look important. "I saw a plumed serpent feather in your brush and, uh, I wanted it. Its good for magic and stuff you know." Very articulate and believable. Ewan wrapped his loin-cloth about himself, it was like a gown now, and shuffled toward the table-sized grimoire to show her. He was no more than a foot-tall now and red with embarrassment.
"Um, how small am I going to get exactly? And just what is that plant? And why have you got it in your garden?" unsettling as it was to see the girl and cottage grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger... a shrinking plant was pretty amazing!
***
Meanwhile the feathered serpent had curled itself around an nearby ash and was just visible through the leaves. No doubt it was waiting for a squirrels, field-mice... or other small prey. With thick scales and plumage it had no fear of the nettles.
Yukara sighed. The boy was not going to like hearing her answer.
"You're probably going to end up the size of a mouse," she explained. She pointed to a mint-colored plant right next to them that grew up from the ground. "These plants are unique because they behave like mushrooms. The mycelia they produce may have caused one to grow inside the brambles.
"I've heard that the serpent has tried to nest nearby. You've quite the knowledge for someone so young, with your ingredients." She spied the markings on his arms, but didn't want to feel rude bringing them up. As a Fae herself, they were easier to read, but even so she wasn't prepared to ask where he got them.
"It's okay, Torien's been through this before," she said, pointing at the clothes tin.
"My name's Yukara, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Ewan." She leaned her hand against the iron gate.
Big mistake.
"Augh!" she yelled, her hand feeling the burn of the metal. The pain sent a shock down her body, and she began to shake. Her glamour was losing integrity.
She looked the boy right in the eye with a pained fright before bursting into a cloud of silver dust. A pile of clothes stood where she had knelt...
...and a small lump wiggled frantically beneath her shirt, shouting muffled obscenities.
"And like I've said. I'm the best. Way older than I look too," he added pompously. "It's great to meet you though, Yukara. Thanks for the help and all.
"But it's like a fungus? Is it... um... eating the bit of me that's lost?" Ewan screwed up his face. He'd probably have found it really interesting if he wasn't the one made tiny. "Why's it in your garden anyhow?" With a grumbling sigh the shrunken boy let go of his oversized shorts and approached the clothes-tin. At eight-inches tall it looked like a carriage... and suddenly he heard a cry.
Yukara was gone; replaced by a grumbling and cursing pile of cloth. Gosh that was fast! "Did it get you too!? You weren't even that close!" Ewan scrambled to free them. Easier said than done; the tunic was huge! The boy managed to find a sleeve and propped it up like tented bedsheet. "Yukara!?"
Yukara fumbled about with her bandage-bound chest as she spotted Ewan spying on her. Her body glowed a dim pink in embarrassment.
At first, she thought to hide. Unlike Torien, who had a head for thrills, Yukara didn't like the thrill of children finding her out especially.
Then she remembered the markings on his body.
She pursed her lips. There was no point in hiding from someone like that.
She crawled over to him and sighed. "No, I touched the gate. Why Torien had to make it iron is beyond my understanding. We both have the iron issue. It's kind of common." She looked at the etchings on his arms. "Then again, you seem like you'd know more about the Fae than most your age."
She held her hand close. The burns were like fire scorches, but more like heavy abrasions. A rug burn times a thousand.
"Sorry!" Ewan gasped and dropped the sleeve. Of course shed be indecent, how could he so dumb! But Yukara wasn't just naked underneath. She had wings. "You- you're a pixie! This isn't some trick to make me your pet or something - is it?"
The boy free back from the tunic. Of course he couldn't run and his spell book was far too big. That and being unclothed left him little to do but shiver. But when Yukara emerged she was in no shape to be capturing humans.
Ewan blushed. He didn't much like explaining his condition, or revealing all he knew. "I used to be bigger you know. Grown-up. But I've had dealings with your sort. Learned a few tricks. Like to how to stay young...
"Iron gives me a rash too. My family's got magic blood. But nothing that nasty. Wait just there! I know a spell I bet could mend you - oh." His grimoire was far too big to handle properly. "So how long are we gonna be like this?"
Yukara giggled. "Why would I want to keep you as a pet? Despite how cute it sounds, I don't think there's really any reason to keep you here for that long. No, the plant is there because there's a village within the walls. We used to have guests."
Yukara had heard heresay long ago of an incident of a similar sort. Something had gone missing, and unfortunately it caused a lot of ruckus. Perhaps the boy was the one who had been behind that?
She breathed out. "I don't think that the effects will last too long, but this will probably last for at least the remainder of the nigh---"
Hissssssssssss........
Yukara froze. "Uh, Ewan? What was that?" she asked, her voice pitching itself upwards in fear.
Ewan cracked a tiny smile, . "Well all the stories say your sort steal away kids to be pets and servants, ya know. You tell me what you do with them." He glared in mock suspicion.
"But why are you disguised as a human? And what do you mean there's a village in the walls? Like a there's a little faerie hamlet in your garden?" Ewan squinted around the garden in wonderment. The brambles and fading sunlight made for an alien sky above them. The modest stone wall was an insurmountable peak. Just where was this city?
"Oh gosh! Its huge!" Ewan shrieked. The underbrush creaked around them as the plumed serpent came into view. It was slithering toward them and with purpose. No sign of Torien. The boy clutched Yukara's arm in a panic, "C-can you fly with me? And- and where'd your friend go!?"
The answer was probably no. He'd need to run to escape. There was no time to do a spell! There were some cracks in the wall and rocks lining the flowerbeds...
"Not all types of Fae like to steal children. Pixies like me are a bit too small to care for them as is. That, and I think it would be a bit hypocritical to--"
The serpent had slithered its way into view. As Yukara felt the boy's grip on her arm, she shivered. "I don't think my wings can sustain much more than my weight..."
She had to think fast. Her burn was receding, but it still throbbed a bit.
There were few forms that she could take, but in her understanding of traversing deserted areas, she had learned which dealt best with snakes.
"Whatever you do, don't freak out on me, okay?" she asked.
As the beast slithered closer, the fae's body lit up, and in a fraction of a second she transformed herself into a black cat.
"Mmrrroww..." she purred.
She picked up the boy in her jaws and ran around the walls, hoping to find either Torien or a spot to climb.
------------------
Torien had found himself a pitchfork. Now he had to find the darned snake.
The viper coiled back in shock. It was used to people getting smaller, not bigger! It sat in a defensive posture, bright feathers ruffled, ready to spring.
"Don't stop there! Turn into a lion- gah! Ugh!" Ewan thought she was turning into a big cat to run the snake off. But she wasn't. The boy instead found himself in maw of a cat. Neither the saliva, rough tongue, or rows of teeth made it very pleasant. He tentatively gripped a canine just to avoid an accidental swallowing.
At least it was a fun ride.
There were enough loose stones and mortar for a cat to scale with the wall with ease. The snake darted forward, somewhat lazily, as Yukara dashed off.
Yukara cringed a bit from the feeling of the poor boy squirming in her mouth. She didn't hunt as a cat at all, and this was exactly why.
She purred as she clambered her way up the wall, trying to assure him that she wasn't out to eat him. He tasted horrible as it was, a taste like that of dust or stale bread, and that was not a good one in Yukara's opinion.
As she reached the top of the wall she froze, mortified.
She forgot that Torien had placed a screen over the city to protect it from owls and hawks. The metal wire was silvery and full, and was definitely made of iron or something of the sort.
She knew there was a hole in the very corner of the enclosure, but it was on the opposite corner. She figured the serpent would find its way up there somehow very soon.
She set the boy down and transformed back into her small form. "I'm not sure what we should do. I'm certain that some snakes like those can get up here."
Torien was on the other side, near the hole. He seemed to be searching in the outer brush.
She looked down into the village, then over to the hole in the wire screen, but still wasn't sure what to do. If they went around the long way, they could get caught by the serpent, and if they walked across the caging, they risked being spotted by an owl or hawk.
"Pfuh!" Ewan flailed his arms, trying to dog-shake the cat spittle off. The slime turned his hair spikey. "Gugh!
"So that's it! We'll be safe in there, yeah?" Ewan peered down at the little city, wedged between the nettles and stone wall. It looked something like a pumpkin patch. But on closer inspection he could see little cottages formed of hollowed squash, dangling from the vines. It was lit up by foxfire
"We'll just climb along that cage and... and..." a stiff breeze rustled the trees, sending a chill down the boy's spine. They were high up. Higher than a castle. His arms could get tired and that would be it! Ewan tugged meekly at the pixie's arm, "C-can we just wait for your friend?"
Above them an owl hooted. Or was it the wind?
Torien swore he heard faint panicking above them. Even so, he caught the sight of the plumed serpent around the corner and proceeded to chase it.
Meanwhile, Yukara heard the sound of swooshing overhead. She bit her lip. "I don't think we have much of a choice- we're gonna have to cross the screen."
She stretched out her wings and hovered. "I'll spot you from behind. Just keep in mind that I may need to transform quickly, so again- please don't freak out too much."
"I'm not freaking out. Its just high up is all. And what if I caught my ankle in one and fall? I'd break it! Or what if my hands get sweaty..."
Ewan frowned and approaching the metallic bars. They were thick as chair-legs, just enough for him to wrap his hands around. The boy took a deep breath and stepped out onto the metal mesh. He paused and shivered. It was iron for sure. Callouses protected his feet, but Ewan no longer felt magic in the air. The sorcerer felt naked. Well, more naked. "Okay. I'm going. But you're going to watch right?"
Ewan fell to a crouch, crawling rather than walking across the top. It was slow going, but lnowing Yukara was overhead helped, too. The top of the cage spanned roughly three feet, which was almost a city block at their height. The five minutes it took to cross seemed like twenty but they were nearing the point where the wire curved downward.
Overhead, in the distance, Yukara heard a buzzing noise...
Yukara hovered over him as she stared into the village. The squash homes were temporary at best. Over time, Torien had been making repairs and renovations and new houses for folks in the village. The tavern, for example, was an addition that wasn't too recent, but served its patrons well.
She felt the breeze against her back, and the sound of buzzing came forth. "Oh gods, is that a wasp?" she asked aloud.
She looked behind her.
Yes. Yes it was.
"Ewan, we've got company," she said, drawing a dagger from her belt.
It was a large and nasty wasp. It sported a slick, black carapace flecked with foxfire. The insect hummed closer... perhaps to warn them off, or out of curiosity. From Ewan's and Yukara's perspective it was the size of a small dog.
"Its huge! I bet your knife won't even cut it. And we can't squish it," Ewan suddenly looked apologetic, as if the notion of squishing bugs was somehow offensive to the pixie. The boy hugged the bars tightly. He didn't have much on him to throw. "Its a lamplighter hornet. They, um, eat fireflies..." he added in a small voice, hugging the mesh.
But where there was one there might be more...
Yukara shivered. The aura that flowed around her must have attracted the thing, perhaps tricking it into thinking that it had found a cluster of fireflies.
She swished her blade through the air. "Piercing or not, if I dissuade it, then maybe it'll go away."
She could speak with a lot of desert animals, but this... this wasn't from the desert. This was a forest creature, and only Torien could handle those.
At the other side of the wall, Yukara noticed the tip of an ear. She grinned. "Welp," she said, "I got one shot."
With hope, she threw her dagger towards Torien, hoping her aim was good enough, before blocking the hornet's gaze of the boy.
-------
Torien had gotten back from placing the discarded items in his cottage when a sharp pain came to his ear.
"What in the name of---"
He knew not getting rid of the hornet's nest would be a problem eventually. But hornet stings didn't stay. As he pulled out what must have been a splinter, he realized it was a tiny, curved dagger.
"...darn it all." He sighed and gripped the side of the stone wall, intent on finally getting a good glance at the two who'd gotten themselves into this vanishing act.
As he spotted them, he realized they weren't far from his reach. He also saw the hornet. His options were running out.
He sighed and leaned in, his hand inching towards them.
Ewan bared his teeth in a cringe as the dagger sailed far to the left of the hornet. They'd have to be cross-eyed to miss so bad! Then Torien yelped, "You got him!
"Suppose he can hear us?" they probably sounded like squeaking mice.
Startled by the noise and movement, the hornet buzzed and circled toward Yukara, bringing its stinger to bare as it lunged. Feeling useless Ewan hugged the wire mesh, hoping it might save her the trouble of protecting him. What happened when mice got stung?
"Oh gosh! What is-" he shrieked, nearly losing his grip as the enormous shadow of Torien loomed over them.
Torien grabbed all three of the beings that clung to the mesh, and as he did, he felt the sting of the insect he'd caught between his thumb and forefinger. He bit his lip as the venom branched through his arm.
He closed his thumb and forefinger on the insect, squishing it. It pained him to see a creature die like that, but it would have pained him more to see Yukara and Ewan suffer such a fate.
He knew that hornets and wasps had ovipositors in their stingers, and it was possible that the hornet could have laid eggs if it had stung one of them.
He felt the other two squirming frantically in his palm, and he quickly descended from the wall and opened his hand.
"Which one of you threw the dagger at me?" he asked, half-joking. "And why did you think it was a good idea to climb across the mesh like that?"
He knew that the sting wasn't that bad, but it was still very painful to his arm, and because of that he carefully poured the two of them to his other hand.
Ewan squirmed in Torien's grip, trying to right himself on the young man's palm. It was an odd thing. Human skin felt like leather at this size. "Well... there was the snake on the ground and we were afraid of birds and stuff. Yukara said you had a whole city in there. Seemed safe for a boy whose been shrunk, yeah?" the boy cracked a smile and pointed accusingly at his pixie companion, "And she threw the knife!"
A stiff wind rustled the garden again. Feeling woozy Ewan leaned back to rest against Torien's fingers to brace himself. Suddenly the youth dumped him into the other hand, smearing wasp guts on his face. He yelped and cursed, righting himself again. "Uh, sorry! Thanks for saving me by the way. I'm Ewan. And I'm a sorcerer; a really good one too. Bet I could help you with that ting. Looks raw, it does.
"Lamplighter hornets are pretty nasty. Pretty too. They eat fireflies you know. I suppose they have big stingers to drive off people looking to catch fireflies. Bats too, I guess..." The boy puffed out his chest, looking rather pompous given the circumstances.
Torien shook his head. "I've seen these wasps before," he said. "Been trying to get rid of the nest for years. The stings hurt, but they can pull their stingers out, so it's alright." He began to walk around the wall, and he produced a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to the two of them. "You shouldn't be climbing across the netting like that."
Yukara's aura glowed a dull red. "Well, sorry! It was either that or risk the snake climbing up the wall and blocking our path." She crossed her arms. "Where the heck were you when we were busy dying?"
Torien raised an eyebrow and plucked Yukara up by the waist. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"
Yukara squirmed in his grip. "Why must you be so belligerent, Torien?" she asked. "Do you want to kill me? You're going to crush my chest."
Torien looked to the boy. "Don't be frightened, she's just not used to being picked up like this."
Yukara screeched, angry and embarrassed. "You are in so much trouble when this is over."
"I'm just removing you so the boy can clean himself up and have his space. A lady like you should know better than to invade privacy." He looked back to the boy. "Judging from your height, it seems you're going to be stuck at least for the rest of the evening, perhaps 24 hours or so. Though, depending on your tolerance to the plant, it may be adjusted to be more or less."
As he reached the corner of the wall, he climbed up and placed the boy near the hole in the netting. He held Yukara close so he could see her. "It didn't sting you, right?"
"No, Torien," Yukara replied, irked. "It didn't."
"Good," he said. He placed her down quickly, and Yukara swayed and fell over on the cold brick. "If I recall correctly, you have a performance at the Tavern tonight."
"Oh no." Yukara's body paled. "I..."
Torien smiled. "Since he's stuck like that for a time, you two go in and I will catch up with you later."
With that, he left.
Yukara looked over the edge of the hole. Beneath the two of them there was a large bush. It was generally used for landing purposes, but in the event that ones wings were damaged it could be used to land with relative comfort from such a high drop.
She looked over to Ewan. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"I'm okay. Just shaken up is all..." Ewan meant it figuratively and literally. His hair was a mess up from being picked up and dropped and turned upside down. The boy blushed as he remembered his nudity, eyes darting to the tin and handkerchief. "Just let me get dressed, yeah?"
He wiped the mud and dirt smudges away and entered the tin. The clothes inside looked strange yet familiar. They might have looked like the loose, floppy clothes worn by Serenians but for the materials. There was a waist-coat of waxy leaves, sun-dress made of shed insect wings. Ewan was about to settle for a simple tunic when his gaze fell upon a coat made from beetle carapace, complete with a mandibular helmet. Gods knew how it accidently ended up in Torien's little wardrobe. That didn't stop him from putting it on. Maybe it was a little bulky... but it looked amazing!
"There we go! What do you think?" he scuttled from the tin and spin around to show her, proud of his new find. "And you sounded pretty good. Why don't you wanna play at the tavern?" the boy cast a dubious glance toward the opening and village beyond.
The village beyond amounted mostly to a ring of tiny cottages, each lovingly crafted, clustered around a trio of standing stones. Lanterns were strung above the houses, casting a a pale bio-luminescence over the hamlet. The temporary gourd-houses were visible further up, suspended from a vine. In the distance they could just make out a pixie and some manner of rodent lounging outside one of the larger buildings, no doubt the tavern.
They began their descent. Ewan scrambled down the bush and into the little village with surprising agility, with Yukara simply fluttering after. It wasn't so scary, not with so many branches to grab and boughs to break his fall. With an 'oof' the boy landed on his bottom, rolling from side to side in the in the beetle-armor. "Gah!"
Maybe it wasn't such a good choice... but he had a beetle helmet!
Yukara giggled as the poor boy tumbled, and she helped him up. "You're a bit clumsy in that armor, Ewan."
She gazed out over the village and sighed. "It's not that I have any problem with my performance, but it's just..." Her glow turned pink. "Listen, I usually only play because someone is waiting there..."
She thought for a moment about Torien before shaking her head.
"Before the snake attacked us, you said something about kidnapping?" She asked. "Seems a bit hypocritical, taking children from families, when you yourself are dispossessed." She pointed to the nicely built houses. "Each one of these belongs to one or possibly a group of Fae who were exiled or even left to die in the wilderness."
She looked to him. "I'm not interested in kidnapping or any of that changeling hooey. But," she said, "I am quite intrigued with those marks you've got on you. What happened there?"
"Someone special?" Ewan gave her an impish smirk, "Who won't be crushing you to death?" That it was Torien hadn't occurred to him. But Yukara had turned such an alarming shade of pink he left it there.
The boy brightened at the mention of his tattoos. Immediately, he pulled off the beetle helmet and unfastened the chitin tunic. Thick, ochre mucus had welled beneath the plates "Ugh! Where'd that come from?
"Okay! So when I finished my apprenticeship I decided it would be a grand thing to stay young and handsome forever. So I worked out a spell to summon the Twice Blessed Prince of Dawn and Dusk. He's a dull - uh - dualistic spirit you see. Likes to do trades and stuff. Gave him my knowledge and magic and got eternal youth. I'd have forever to re-learn it all anyway, yeah?
"I smeared my hand in blood, shook his, and shrank. Had these markings ever since," Ewan splayed his arms and chest to show her. The tattoos were dark green, and wove around him in an elegant floral pattern. Yukara recognized the symbols as belonging to an archaic language used by highborn fey. Everything said or written in it was true, and nothing could be unsaid or contradicted. Sometimes an intrepid bardlock would try to sing in it... and usually make someone turn into sheep, combust, or be banished to another world. She could make out some key phrases seeming to corroborate Ewan's tale. More strange was a symbol marking him as 'prey' - but prey for what?
"Prey," Yukara remarked. "That's not a fun word." What on earth could that have meant?
She knew about highborn fae types. Her old kingdom used to spread rumors about princes and nobility of such status. She didn't like their kind since they referred to pixies as "bottom of the food chain" types.
She took a step back and looked at the boy. "Ewan, I'm not exactly sure how long that spell is gonna keep you young. I can't quite tell if it's a youth spell or an adjustment spell..."
"It was supposed to be permanent! I worded it so perfect." Ewan scowled, looking down at his scrawny frame. Did he trade away half his life, and become this filthy child, just for an extra decade? The boy crossed his arms defiantly. "Guess its not a waste. I can just do the spell over again when I get too old, huh?"
"And what's this about prey? When you're done playing do you know anyone who reads this stuff?" the boy squirmed get a look at the marking. It made no sense to him. But it was an ancient, secret language spoken by the god-kings of a hidden people. There was one man in the village who might know - not abandoned or orphaned but exiled from a frozen forest far to the north - seldom did he speak of such things.
Ewan slipped back into the beetle-shirt and clapped the helmet on his head. It was strangely comfy, despite the mucus and stiff joints. As they walked he dallied to gawk at the towering daffodils and grass-hedges. Yukara was running late, but the little tavern came into view soon enough. Several pixies, crickets, and field-mice were already filtering in.
"I only assume Ganzen would understand the folklore of the old ones. It's unfortunate that you seem to have become ensnared."
Expiration was a very pertinent matter in Yukara's world. You see, death was something that waited a while to get you naturally, but predators were practically everywhere. She wasn't sure what the expiration notice was, since that was the only word in a common tongue.
The pub was bustling with people. Yukara was normally excited for the events here, but tonight a somber wind swept the doorway of the place.
She gripped Ewan's hand and guided him towards the door. She noticed the glances she was getting, looks of scorn. How could she abduct a child? they probably thought.
She stared down a particularly upset young lady whose wings were pinned ceremonially. "Listen Beata, if I were you I'd leave the assumptions to somebody else. Unless you want me to tell your mother about your affair."
As the pinned Fae stamped off, she turned to Ewan. "A lot of people hate the idea of kidnapping here. Most of us were abandoned to die or exiled. It wouldn't seem right to take someone out of their environment. So most of those dirty looks are from me, not you."
She lied of course, to some degree. They would certainly wonder why a human would have wandered in here like this. But at least it was a comforting lie.
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Ewan's gaze trailed after Beata as they passed, whispering to Yukara, "Why's her wings pinned? Was it because she, um, had an affair?
"And what do faeries really do with kids? Make them, um, us to do chores?
"Keep us as pets to sing and dance?
"Make us come up with ideas for pranks on account of them having no imagination?
"Turn us into frogs and impersonate us so our parents take care of them?
"And can we see Ganzen when you're done playing?" Ewan screwed up his face as Yukara lead him through the pub. He didnt need his hand held! Though he squeezed back when they passed an enormous spider. Graxiz'zt the barkeep.
It was putting four of it's arms to working the taps, and waved cheerfully to Yukara. "Ah! Kara!" he chittered. "You are late. I was so worried, oh yes I was, that our ears would be not blessed with beautiful music! But the builder. The builder the builder the builder. Oh where is your pretty friend?" One of Graxiz'zt's eyes winked suggestively. Maybe. It was hard to tell!
Yukara sighed. "You ask so many things that stun me. Her wings are pinned for marriage. Symbolically it means she isn't meant to fly away from her groom. As for kids, well, we tend to give them a nice fantasy before they find themselves waking in a field. That way they believe it was a dream. I haven't decided since your a bit more... mature... to do such a thing yet."
Graxiz'zt was shouting across the pub to her, and her eyebrow twitched. "He's not coming, Grax. You know better than I do that he ran into your cousin last week and ever since he's been frightened by spiders. He can't even handle one in his cottage without calling on me to place it outside. Also, you should be grateful- the other reason he's not here is that he's driving away lizards and snakes from the walls."
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"A bit more mature? I'm a powerful sorcerer! And I'll hardly want to just forget any of this..." the boy's head swiveled to watch a pair of mice in surcoats, clutching tiny bows, clinking glasses. Ewan knew his magic and alchemy but had never seen the like. Did all mice and spiders and faeries lead such interesting lives away from human eyes? Made you think twice about crushing one. At a nearby table a pair of crickets were carving up a blackberry as if it were a roast. His stomach began to growl, and he tugged at the pixie's sleeve. "Um, do you suppose we could get something to eat before we see Ganzen? Its safe right? But I haven't got any money or anything..."
"Good, good. His struggles with the serpent shall inspire her to sing, yes? And this time her words will not make fire... dance and burn floor?" Graz chittered with amusement, before turning to regard the boy. "Yes, yes. Will get meal for small grub."
Yukara grimaced at Graz. "Don't you dare give him anything he can't handle."
She took a seat in the center of the room. "I'm going to have to be a little more conservative on the tunes tonight, much to the dismay of the Prosciutto Sisters," she spoke. Two mice nearby sighed and squeaked.
"Yes I know," Yukara said. "But I have a guest I must tend to and I'd hate to leave a bad impression." She picked up a lute that leaned against the wall and breathed. "I think I have just the tune."
And with that, she strummed her first chord.
"Ah....
Se le to marah geren sé...
A baryah tala morii mane...
Along the road the traveler walks,
Unwary to the eyes below,
A shadow lurks waiting to strike,
His dagger grin begins to glow,
The traveler stops for but a while,
He feels the wind, the air, the guile
Of the one
Who whispers just behind:
Ah!
Se le to marah geren sé,
A baryah tala morii mane!
You came too far, you crossed the line, the woods are not your home.
Se le to marah geren sé
Mia tolvah ese a sunnai!
Have fun with your life,
count your blessings and goodbye..."
The song went on. It was a tune that, while upbeat in tempo, contained rather melancholic minor key.
But something stranger still was happening, something between Ewan and those words.
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The guests at the Spider's web clacked their claws in step with the up-beat tune. A handful joined in with the chorus, quite a bit out of key, and were promptly hushed. Surprisingly, Graz did not serve some horrible fungus or skewered insect, but a cake drizzled with cinnamon and honey. Of course if there were cities of field mice and spiders, there must be bees making and selling the stuff. The cake was good but probably unwise. Ewan wasn't going to have any growth spurts given his current condition, and slightly round about the middle.
Lovely as the tune was, a song about being stalked and run out of the forest was hardly very friendly. Was it aimed at him? Probably a joke. But something else was off. The tavern had been dimly lit with foxfie lanterns strung from the rafters, but now it seemed... brighter? It took some moments for it to register that no one was casting a shadow! How strange.
What Ewan did not notice was the wisps of shadow streaking across the floor, and coalescing beneath his table. One of the Prosciutto sisters shrieked in horror as a gaunt figure, made of pure darkness, rose out of the floor behind the boy...