Fae and Fare, page 47
part #2 of The Wandering Inn Series
“There’s some magic here.”
Pisces and Ceria had their own aura of glowing colors as well. In fact, only Erin and Olesm were without their aura of colors. The inn was full of magical auras shining from different locations. Val, Ryoka, Ceria, the chessboard, Pisces…
“Well, there’s something strong affecting you, that’s certain.”
Both mages canceled their spell and the inn faded back into the normal range of colors. Everything suddenly seemed drab and ordinary. Ceria stared at Ryoka’s head, and shook her head.
“You’re enchanted. And with something so powerful that I don’t know that I can do anything about it. Sorry, Ryoka.”
“I know I can’t do anything about that.”
Pisces sat back in his chair, wide-eyed. He took Val’s drink and drained it.
“That’s Tier…6 magic? Tier 7? Who did you anger so to make them use that on you?”
“I have an idea. Damn.”
Ryoka sighed, frustrated but vindicated. She was right. And maybe the faeries were…nah. It couldn’t be. But how could they tell?
Val frowned at Ryoka, and then fished in his pockets.
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Hold on; here. Take this.”
He took something out of his pocket and showed it to Ryoka and the room.
“I’ve got a powerful charm I use to ward against that kind of magic. It’s worth several thousand gold pieces, so it should remove anything that’s affecting you.”
“Oh! I know those!”
Erin peered excitedly at the charm dangling from Val’s hand. Ryoka recognized the object as well. It was a dreamcatcher, a circle in which someone had woven threads together in a symmetrical shape, like a spider’s web.
The only difference here was that this dreamcatcher was a far smaller version of the ones Ryoka and Erin had seen – barely longer than a thumb. And the frame was made of metal, not wood. But the threads were beautiful, each one a shimmering line of color that made a tantalizing pattern in the center of the charm.
“Here. Just put it against your head and it will dispel any magic on you.”
Val handed the dreamcatcher to Ryoka, and she looked at it dubiously.
“Are you sure?”
He shrugged.
“It’s not a one-use item, and if you’re enchanted, you’ll need something powerful to remove it. Consider it a favor from one Runner to another.”
“Huh. Uh, thanks.”
As soon as she accepted it, the small charm began buzz. Val nodded.
“You’re under the effects of something.”
Ryoka lifted it up, and suddenly the buzzing became a low whine. Val frowned.
“It shouldn’t be making that sound. Wait a—”
Too late. Ryoka pressed the charm against her head. She felt the metal warm, and then it cooled. Ryoka lowered the charm, and stared at it, bemused.
“I don’t know if anything hap—”
Something clicked in her head. It was like Ryoka suddenly going through déjà vu, only a thousand times stronger. She blinked. Memory, forgotten memory rushed into her head. Along with a word.
One word, echoing in her head.
Dragon.
The whine coming from the dreamcatcher suddenly turned into a shriek. Olesm clapped his hands over his ears and Pisces and Ceria ducked.
The dreamcatcher exploded, throwing Ryoka backwards. Val moved like a whirlwind, and Erin gasped as fiery fragments disappeared inches from her face.
Ryoka was catapulted over the top of a table, knocking Pisces’s empty plate off. She crashed hard to the ground as porcelain shattered under her, and felt something wrench in her shoulder.
“Ryoka! Are you okay?”
Erin crouched next to Ryoka, peering anxiously at her friend’s face. Ryoka was alright, albeit bruised and dazed. But she didn’t respond right away. Her eyes were flickering. The dreamcatcher had worked.
She remembered. She remembered everything.
2.17
Ryoka stumbled into the cave, bleeding. Dying. Every step was agony. She felt her sliced flesh and fragments of rock embedded in her skin cutting away at her sanity.
Pain. She didn’t know why she was still moving. But as Ryoka stumbled forwards, the rough stone turned to marble. The room filled with treasures made of gold and magic.
She left footsteps traced in crimson as she walked forwards, forgetting her hurts for a second. The wonders around her were far more glorious than anything she’d ever seen in a museum. Artwork as beautiful as a Louvre masterpiece hung next to swords that glimmered with magic. Yes, it was in the air.
Magic.
Ryoka felt her heart beating faintly in her chest. She heard rushing wind, but then the cavern wall opened up and her heart did stop.
Because in the center of this cave of miracles was a Dragon.
A Dragon. A massive creature four times the size of a house, slumbering on the cold marble. A creature straight out of myth and dreams.
Serpent. Wyrm. Drake. Arach. Naga. Ormr. Tanniym. Vovin. Draak. Drage. Draeke.
Dragon.
The massive dragon was sleeping in an open space in the center of the cavern. Ryoka stopped. She stared. His scales shone as the light touched them, so brilliant that her heart ached.
Her eyes filled with tears. Ryoka sank to her knees as her blood covered the marble floor. She didn’t care. It was worth it. This was worth it.
It was worth seeing this before she died.
“Hm. Who’s there?”
His head moved. The dragon opened both eyes and stared down at Ryoka. She gazed into two massive pupils, mismatched colors of heliotrope and cerulean. Celestial lights shimmered within the moving pupils.
For a moment, Ryoka understood magic. She gazed into the center of it; the reason why it could exist. A fragment of the truth. A piece of forever. A dragon’s eye.
Her eyes rolled back up in her head. Ryoka fell forwards and her nose broke as she toppled onto the floor.
The Dragon grumbled deep in his throat. He looked around, and tsked at the blood trail.
“I’m going to have to clean that up as well, aren’t I? And fix the nose. And use a memory spell. Honestly, this is why humans are…”
—-
She remembered.
“Awaken, human.”
Ryoka opened her eyes. She sat up at once and felt no pain. She was healed? Healed! How?
It was a miracle. But then Ryoka noticed the old man standing in front of her. Long white robes covered a body only lightly touched by age. His mismatched eyes gazed down at her as he gestured at her.
“Rise, human.”
Ryoka stood up. She couldn’t help it. She gaped at the old man who had pointed ears and flawless features.
“Mm. You must be exhausted from your travels. I confess; it was unusual for me to find one in such bad shape. But I have healed your wounds. I presume you are the Courier I requested?”
Ryoka blinked. She stared open-mouthed at the old man. He frowned at her.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
The human girl made no reply. Teriarch looked around, frowning.
“What? What is—”
He turned his head towards the cavern wall and paused.
“Ah.”
Teriarch’s illusory human form was perfect. He looked exactly like a normal human, albeit one made in flawless perfection and with slightly elven features. But he had forgotten one important aspect.
Ryoka stared at the shadow of the dragon looming huge on the wall behind Teriarch. It stretched out from his robes, lengthening impossibly until it perfectly reflected the dragon, not the illusion.
“My god. What—”
Teriarch sighed. He pointed at Ryoka, and she felt her head go blank.
“Let’s try that again.”
—-
Memory flooded into her. Words.
Teriarch stared hard at Ryoka as she stood, immobilized by the magic on her. He frowned, tapped at a lip.
“What has happened in the world since I have been asleep?”
Ryoka blinked at him. Since he was asleep?
“How long have you been asleep?”
“Ah. Well, I mean…”
Teriarch blinked at Ryoka a few times, and then waved his hand in front of her face.
“Forget that.”
Ryoka blinked. Teriarch frowned at her. He paused, and then spoke.
“I wish to know of any ongoing major wars between multiple nations, new technologies or spells developed, legendary monsters sighted or slain—import of that nature. Tell me all the news you have heard of in the past several years or so. What has transpired while I have been…secluded here?”
The human girl paused, and then shrugged. Even bound by the truthfulness spell, her tone projected quite a lot of insolence.
“Dunno.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t pay attention to world news. You probably know more about what’s going than I do.”
Teriarch harrumphed and glared at Ryoka, but the truth spell on her was still active. He changed tact.
“Do you at least know if Magnolia Reinhart still lives?”
“…Yes.”
He nods sagely, stroking his beard.
“Indeed, indeed. That is good. Well then, have you heard of a strange child known as Ryoka Griffin? She is a Runner, like you, although presumably high-level in the [Runner] class, unlike you.”
Ryoka opened her mouth and Teriarch continued, irritated.
“Although why Reinhart wants me to find the wretched girl, I can’t imagine. Do I look like I have the time to search for one annoying bratling all the time?”
“…Didn’t you just say you didn’t know if Magnolia was alive?”
Teriarch paused and then pointed at Ryoka.
“Forget that too. I do not know Magnolia Reinhart.”
He paused, and then amended his tone. Teriarch looked at Ryoka.
“Now, tell me where Ryoka Griffin is. Reinhart said—blast!”
He poked Ryoka in the head again and she forgot. Teriarch closed his eyes.
“This is why…”
—-
Ryoka paused as she stared at a massive broadsword hanging from one of the walls of the cavern. It was far too large for any human to use, or even a Minotaur. Teriarch stroked his beard proudly.
“Ah. Are you admiring my collection? That was a giant’s weapon, once. I took it from him when I—well, it was another time. Note the exquisite tempering of the blade.”
“All this gold and magical items…”
Ryoka stared around at the room, freed from Teriarch’s spell. She looked at a pile of ruby gemstones, each one larger than her fist.
“I’m…a collector.”
“This isn’t a collection. This looks…like a hoard?”
Teriarch waved his hands in Ryoka’s face hurriedly.
“This is not a hoard. You will not think it is a hoard.”
Ryoka blinked emptily at the air for a few seconds. Teriarch paused. Then he spoke conversationally.
“Do you like my collection? I have amassed it from every corner of the world.”
She gazed around, taking in the magnificence of the room for the first time. Ryoka had to admit, it was impressive beyond belief.
“How did you collect it all here? It looks…magical.”
“Oh, it’s quite magical. But I have my ways. And besides, when you can fly, amassing such things is fairly simple.”
Ryoka stared at Teriarch. He paused, and swallowed.
“Flying with magic, is what I mean. Not that I know of any other ways to fly, of course.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Right.”
“Of course. Ahem. Do note the Orb of Scrying. It’s embedded in pure jade and enchanted with several enhancing spells that increase the range and scope of the spell itself.”
Ryoka glanced into it and froze. Teriarch stared at her with concern.
“What? Did I leave it on?”
He looked over and cursed.
“Tamaroth’s beard!”
The Scrying Orb was reflecting the room they were standing in. It showed a small human girl standing right in front of a golden dragon. This time Teriarch’s expletive made the cavern shake.
Teriarch thrust one claw at Ryoka as she turned to run. He spoke curtly.
“That’s it. Forget everything except the part where I gave you your instructions. Get out. Come back in two minutes.”
Ryoka turned around and walked out of the cavern. Teriarch cast an irritated glance towards the magical orb and his tail flicked the globe off its pedestal. It shattered in an explosion of mist and magic against one wall.
“Wretched thing.”
—-
And once more. One last memory made Ryoka shudder on the hardwood floor of the inn.
The stink potion was keeping all the monsters away. Ryoka had to smile as she walked towards the entrance of Teriarch’s cave. But she froze. Down the winding canyon path, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
It was just for a second. But Ryoka saw it duck back behind a large boulder as she whirled. She froze in place, and her hand went to her side. She had a knife she used for camping and other tasks at her belt. Normally she’d fight with her hands, but…
The thing peeked out its head again, and Ryoka’s hand gripped the hilt so hard her knuckles cracked.
It looked vaguely human. It had a human head, a normal torso and legs that protruded slightly around the edge of the boulder. But it was naked.
And it wasn’t right.
Its face wasn’t right. One of its eyes twisted right until it was nearly vertical, and the other one was looking in the opposite direction of the first.
A tiny pupil stared at Ryoka from across the hundred feet that separated them. Then the thing came out from behind the boulder, and Ryoka froze. Her mind was overwhelmed by horror. It shouldn’t move like that. It shouldn’t—
It reached out for her, one horrible clawed arm stretching out, out across the long distance. Flesh stretched like gum, skin rippling and peeling to reveal something red and pulsating inside. Ryoka couldn’t move. Her body was filled with true terror. The thing’s finger reached out for her face—
And a roar of fury filled the air. The creature looked up, and suddenly its hand retracted in an instant. It turned and ran as a massive shadow turned the world around Ryoka dark. She looked up.
Teriarch flew overhead, golden scales lighting up even parts of the mountain as the sunlight bounced off them. He landed with a crash on the ground that sent Ryoka to her knees. She couldn’t do anything but stare at him.
Teriarch’s massive head snapped towards the thing and it fled, running in a jerking, halting manner back around a bend in the canyon. He breathed fire after it—a concentrated jet of flames that missed his target by inches. Then the creature was gone.
The dragon—Teriarch—sighed and looked around at Ryoka. The her of then had no idea who he was, and she could only stare up at him, transfixed. His voice was like an avalanche heard from far away as he spoke to her.
“You must be warier, Ryoka Griffin. Darker things lurk in the High Passes. They do not smell—or if they do, they have different opinions than we do.”
He shrugged, as if the encounter meant nothing. To him, it did not.
“Come in, then. We have much to discuss. Forget what you have seen here. It will only burden you.”
Then and only then did the Frost Faeries return, laughing, and the Dragon flew back into his cave, and breathed fire. The memory of the…thing…vanished from Ryoka’s mind as she went to confront Teriarch.
She had forgotten. But now she remembered. Ryoka remembered it. She knew. And the knowledge was glorious. She had seen one. Seen a legend in the flesh.
A dragon.
—-
Erin stared worriedly at Ryoka as the young woman lay on the floor, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She looked around at Val and the others.
“Shouldn’t we do something? It’s been thirty minutes already.”
Ceria shook her head. She was sitting in a chair, watching Ryoka intently. Other than moving Ryoka so she wasn’t lying at an awkward angle, she hadn’t let Erin or anyone else touch her.
“It’s best not to, especially if she’s experiencing something magically. Movement can mess with her perceptions and affect her mind. Unless you’ve got a different opinion, Pisces? You know more mind manipulation spells than I do.”
Erin looked at Pisces. He was inspecting Ryoka just as intently. She remembered that he did know some spells that created illusions, like when she’d first met him.
But he just shook his head absently.
“This is far beyond my abilities to comprehend. There was a warding spell mixed into the first spell, did you notice?”
“I did.”
Olesm said that from a far table. Val nodded. He was crouched next to Ryoka, studying her face.
“So did I. That spell took out a powerful charm. I need to see a [Mage] about that. I was told my charm would catch any spell and remove any enchantment.”
“Now there’s an empty boast.”
Ceria’s words were the last thing spoken for a while. Everyone watched Ryoka sleeping—or dreaming—in silence.
Erin worried. She wasn’t sure if she and Ryoka were good friends—they’d barely spent more than a day together, although they had rescued Ceria and fought monsters, so that had to count. But she cared about Ryoka. Not only was she Erin’s only lifeline to her world, but Ryoka knew how to do things Erin did not.
It seemed like an hour had passed, but probably only a few minutes had when Ryoka suddenly sat up, gasping and clutching at her head.
“Ryoka!”
Erin leapt forwards, but Val was closer. He steadied Ryoka with one hand as she flailed and grabbed at his arm.
“Easy. Ryoka, are you okay? Did the charm work?”
“What? What? I—I’m okay. Yes. It worked.”
Ryoka stared around the room, wide-eyed and out of breath. Ceria abandoned her seat to come over, and Olesm moved one table closer.
“What did you see? Did you remember anything important?”
