Chapter 8

  Shiny Little Gossamer Wings

  He had spent a good portion of the last month on his feet. In all of his time in the castle he had never thought he’d have to run this much again. An image entered his mind unprompted of his parents running to either side of him. Struggling to keep pace with their larger steps, he was constantly being pulled along by both arms. Through the trees and undergrowth in a predetermined path to the castle, where they lowered him down into the arms of a goblin.

  That was one of his earliest memories, and the last one he had of his family. He didn’t even know which goblin it was that took him. He spent that night and every night in the castle alone from then.

  Nik’s mind snapped back to the present, he was running with Pearl flying overhead. They hadn’t seen or heard any sign of their potential pursuers, but that didn’t mean that none would come. He was getting so very tired of the constant and endless running. It was like his entire life had become nothing more than training his physical endurance and his ability to endure pain.

  I wish this system had some sort of healing skill, because running around with an arrow stuck in me or claw slashes across my stomach is getting so very old, he thought. He didn’t know much about the system now that he thought about it. He had never heard of anyone else learning skills the way he had, or from elements that weren’t hardwired into their species.

  He looked up towards his windborne friend and said, “When we stop somewhere with any amount of safety at all, we should train up some more.”

  She swooped low to offer her reply, “And we need to talk about the flames you used back there.”

  “Right, and talk about the flames,” he conceded.

  “Deeper into the forest and farther from the adventurer’s road and cities. Maybe a few days of travel and then we will stop,” she said before returning to her higher vantage point. The two of them ventured onward, stopping only to forage the vegetation for meals. Which naturally made Nik’s heart leap out of his throat when the bell informed him of his foraging skill increasing to level 2. He would need to stop being surprised by that at some point.

  It made sense that this would be my first skill to level up, though. It’s definitely the one I’ve used the most so far. Weird that I haven’t gotten a quest in a while, considering everything I’ve had to go through since the chimpanther, he shivered as the thought brought him back to the fight.

  If the system wasn’t going to give him survival XP, then it seemed like he was going to have to take initiative, that is if he wanted to gain levels. For now he would focus on his skills. Then another bell rang out in his head, with the appearance of another box of text.

  Quest Received!

  Grow Five Skills to Level 2

  There’s more to life than just surviving, and you’ve barely been able to do that.

  Reward:

  50 XP

  Progress:

  3 of 5

  Quest Received!

  Take Initiative and Go on Your First Hunt

  Loot an Enemy Killed by You

  Reward:

  Gain Access to Inventory

  25 XP

  “Okay, so it definitely feels like the system is listening in on my thoughts,” Nik said as he tried not to trip on roots or rocks. This text was blocking everything that wasn’t in his peripherals.

  “What was that?” Pearl asked.

  “I just got two quests at once, and both seem to be in answer to what I was just thinking,” he said with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “The first quest is to get two more skills to level 2, and the second is to hunt and loot an enemy. Together they would bring me just shy of Level 3 and give me access to some ‘inventory’ thing.”

  Pearl had a thought that she did not like, but voiced it nonetheless,

  “Well, the second one might help with getting trapper to level two. I have seen traps left for small animals, and I know you should be eating at least some meat, you are not a faery after all.”

  It’s not that Nik never ate any meat, but he certainly hadn’t ever hunted, much less eaten something he’d killed. In fact, the only two things he’d ever killed were an accident and a desperate act of self-defense. Now that it was realistically something that he might need to do, he didn’t quite know how he felt about it.

  Surviving in this world wasn’t for the squeamish. It often takes resolve to do what needs to be done. Nik knew this. He also didn’t want to lose himself to the brutality of the tower. With all of these thoughts, he almost forgot to respond.

  “You’re not wrong, Pearl. I do need to get stronger if we are going to survive long enough to find a home.”

  At least this trip was a bit more filled with wildlife. It seemed the wildfire had driven more creatures this direction. There were new birds, a whole family of broodeer, and little bouncing things with long fluffy color-changing tails that were called, haremeleons. That would mean one other unfortunate thing, a rise in the number of predators.

  They were going to be sleeping lightly tonight. Well, every night, if Nik was being honest with himself. This night, though, they made camp next to the roots of another fallen emberwood tree. It wasn’t the near total cover that their last one was, but at least it provided a wall to one side.

  Nik went to sleep sitting up with his back to the roots, while Pearl was high up in the canopy somewhere above him. The night was full of sounds. Toads and insects made their strange noises, and long drawn-out howls sounded in the distance with their echoing notes. Nearby, something else filled the air with an unnerving chorus of yipping barks.

  Nik was thankful his dirtied red cloak acted as a camouflage for him, whether he was in line of sight to the noisy creatures or not. He felt like each time he managed to close his eyes, they were open again only minutes later. By the time the sun came up, he felt as if he hadn't rested at all. With how little they had to carry, it didn’t take long for them to be on the move again, but Nik’s feet did not want to move for him.

  It was a normal day for every other living thing in the forest, but Nik was walking through tree sap. His steps were clumsy and lumbering, as were his thoughts. He just had to make sure his feet went forward one after the other, following below Pearl. He also tried his best to keep his eyes open to any threats around them. He questioned his own ability to sense or even react to danger in his state of exhaustion.

  “If another chimpanther appears, just let it be quick this time.”

  Nik sent his request on imaginary wings in the general direction of the tower. Then he froze in place, unmoving as bits of the underbrush shook in a path straight towards him. He just had to jinx it, didn’t he?

  Pearl hadn’t seen the threat in time to warn him. It was closing the distance with speed, nearly on him already. The creature leapt over him, wings catching the air in a gliding flight. It almost seemed to slow as it crossed above him. It was a spotted red-brown thing with a long snout and even longer ears. Its moth-like wings shared the same spots as the fur, and were only large enough to allow the fox a short glide. Nik’s system didn’t require the long concentration it once did, it already displayed the creature’s name.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Mammal: Species, Flutter-Fox

  His heart was still racing from the adrenaline rush, even as he marveled at the creature that had just passed over him. Just as soon as its soft paws quietly touched earth it disappeared back into the foliage. Nik wasn’t prone to anger, but he did give Pearl a bit of a dirty look as she descended towards him,

  “You didn’t see it coming or you thought it would be funny to give me a heart attack?”

  She laughed in response, “Sorry, honest. I just did not want to startle the fox. It is a noble fae creature. It is said to be great luck even seeing one. The fact that it graced you with its path is a very good sign.”

  He felt a little bad about his grumpy demeanor, “Oh, I’m uh. I’m sorry, too, I suppose. I didn’t know all of that, and it was beautiful,” he added at the end in hopes to lighten his own mood back to normal. It wasn’t a lie, though. It was a beautiful creature, and fae, very interesting.

  “I have even heard stories about how they talk with the other fae beasts, and might offer you a gift if they find you worthy. I guess you should keep your eyes open. I am jealous if I am being honest with you,” she confessed.

  Confusion was visible on her face as she studied the expression on Nik’s face as she spoke.

  “Being on the surface is so strange. It can be so beautiful, but it can be hard to even appreciate it. There’s so much danger here. How can you even appreciate the beauty when it might be what distracts from the deadly thing around the next set of trees,” he asked, sadness at the warring elements of beauty and violence visible on his face.

  “The world is what it is, Nik. Appreciate what you can because of, or maybe in spite of the things that would detract from the beautiful parts. Maybe even do what you can to make it better.” She looked him in the eyes, and offered him a hopeful smile. “We do what we can, Nik. I will be by your side for it. That is what I left home for. I think you have the potential to grow and make positive change for those around you, and I want to help you get there.”

  Nik had wondered, but never asked why she had chosen to come with him. That was honestly kind of a lot of pressure to have on his shoulders, and more expectations than anyone else had ever had for him.

  “I’ll try my best to live long enough to live up to all that,” he responded with a small smile of his own.

  It was another long day of walking. Even with the morning’s excitement, the rest of it was still grueling for his weary legs. Pearl could always rest her wings by riding on Nik’s shoulder. His feet never got to rest while they were on their trek. His eyes felt tired from constant use, scanning side to side, and occasionally behind for any sign of threat. Pearl, he trusted to guard from above.

  When evening came Nik felt like he was beginning to understand why adventurers might wear those foot covering things. Rocks and sticks had made the muscles of his feet rather sore. He would be happy to be lying down, but there would be no shelter this time, more the opposite really, if they chose the small clearing ahead.

  “It would give us a circle of visibility around us, but we would be easier to spot, too,” said Pearl.

  “Would we be better off against a random tree?” Nik asked, brows furrowed with tired pondering.

  “Maybe, and maybe not. I would like for you to make some observations and then the choice here. Let us call it a test of your surveying and decision making skills,” she said with a small smirk and eyes far more awake than his own.

  He closed his eyes and breathed, allowing himself time to consider.

  “Like you said, we’d be easier to spot in the clearing, and we wouldn’t have enough sight to gain much advantage in time to react to anything popping into the clearing. Not unless it wandered in at the speed of a turtlesnail. We’ll keep to the trees, at least my cloak blends with them, unlike the dirt in the empty circle.”

  His eyes locked onto a detail then that he hadn’t noticed. An empty circle surrounded by a large ring of little mushrooms, he thought.

  “Wait, what’s going on with all the mushrooms,” Nik asked.

  The small smirk she wore grew into a wide smile,

  “I was waiting for that. It is called a faery ring, and it is a place of protection. Adventurers would likely still attack, but the beasts of the forest would not dare. Still want to sleep sitting up against a tree?”

  A ring of protection? That was a thing that the fae could make? Nik looked thoughtfully at the mushrooms while he asked Pearl a question of his own, “Is that how the hollow is kept safe?”

  She blinked at him in surprise, “... It is, yes. How did you put that together so quickly?”

  Nik turned his eyes to her, “I’ve been looking for a safe place to call home. I’ve never seen somewhere that felt as safe as your hollow. This place feels the same way. We’ll sleep in the ring tonight”

  They entered the mushroom ringed clearing and a feeling of ease settled into Nik’s heart. This is what home should feel like. They wouldn’t be safe from adventurers, but nothing in the whole world is ever truly safe. This feeling truly was as close as he could imagine to the way it was in the hollow, and he thought, If there’s a way to get this where we make our new home, I’d trade anything.

  “I will take first watch, just in case we have need to guard ourselves from an adventurer. You find the sleep you need,” she said with her smile never leaving her face. Nik went to sleep knowing from Pearl’s lit up face, that she could feel it too. This felt like home.

  The sounds of the forest were a gentle and relaxing call to dream sweet dreams of a brighter future, but what came was more like a bizarre rehash of the past days events. It was walking for hours, endless trees, and wild animals living their normal lives of day to day survival amongst the Emberwoods.

  Then there was the fox again, only this time it eyed him curiously. The ruddy brown furred creature’s long ears flitted about listening for any warning of trouble. Its oversized eyes glowed with the moonlight that had in a mere moment replaced the sun while Nik was focusing on the fox.

  Those eyes bore into his soul. It circled him to the right, drawing closer with each angled step. Nik stayed still. He noticed once it disappeared from view to his side, that he couldn’t hear its steps. In fact he had no hint of its position until it reappeared closer on the other side.

  Coming around once again to the right, it was close enough to lunge at him if it wished. It stepped towards him, lips baring in a dangerous snarl of sharper and longer teeth than Nik had thought might fit the fox’s features. It almost glided the last step to him.

  Looking up into Niks face it opened its mouth wide and… it spoke? He almost didn’t understand the words for the first moment from utter shock at the unexpected vocalization. The high and wispy voice was like hearing a hollow echo. He would hear each word layered over itself as it sounded in both his eardrums and straight through to his mind. The odd dizzying sensation nearly made Nik fall to his knees.

  “A pleasure to meet you again, young little Kobold. You seem to be at an interesting point in your journey, don’t you?” the fox chuckled

  Nik tried to respond, but his voice and his tongue were not responding to his own thoughts.

  “Now, now, don’t you worry. That was rhetorical, little kobold. You don’t have much of an idea what you are doing or where you’re going. You are trying to find a safe home. Safe for whom? There is nowhere in this world that you will find true safety, and you would find yourself alone and waiting until your safety abandons you. You aren’t strong enough and you aren’t many enough with only you and your tiny friend.”

  It cocked its head to the side, and said,

  “No, you will need more at your side for what is to come. No, not enough in the slightest. Remember that. I have left you a gift in the waking world. Treat it well for my gifts are rare indeed. You have a lot to do, and it is time to rise.”

  The image of the fox blurred as Nik fell to his knees. He keeled forward, the forest floor rushing to meet his face. He gasped as the world turned around him, his face passing through the dirt and falling upward. He found himself sitting up beside Pearl, breaths coming sharp and fiery-hot against his lungs as he struggled to get his bearings. Pearl jumped at his sharp inhalations,

  “Black Tower! Do not startle me like that. Are you okay?”

  Nik, still breathing heavily, replied,

  “I’m fine, just had a dream about the flutter-fox, speaking to me. It was unreal, and at the same time more real than any dream I’ve ever had.”

  “The fae-born beast spoke to you? Tell me now, tell me what words it said.” she spoke more frantically than she ever had in their daily conversations.

  He recounted the dream fox’s words to her as best he could,

  “It said that I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going. It told me that I wasn’t strong enough and that I didn’t have enough by my side to survive. Then it said that it left me a gift.”

  Pearl’s eyes immediately left his as she began to search their faery ring. Her eyes had landed in nearly instant on the only other things besides the two of them that lay within its border. Nik’s eyes followed hers, catching sight of the small pile just after she had.

  A shield and a spear. The pair of travelers both moved to inspect the multiple gifts that had been left behind. They were not the old and used wooden things that Nik had lost. These were of a dark and hard metal. They were charcoal, almost black, that faded to a grayish-white around the edges, and resting on the center of the shield was a single white-spotted, red-capped mushroom. That is an unexpected little addition. Why would the fox give me a mushroom? he thought.

  Closing in to get a better look at the fungi, they saw it shudder. Then, to their surprise, it lengthened, and little clawed lizard hands stretched out from under the thin, wide brim of the mushroom’s red top. The cap tilted upward to display the open-mouthed yawn of a tiny little, orange-scaled creature just blinking the sleep from its eyes.

  The little mushroom was attached to the top of its head like a little hat, and two pairs of shiny little gossamer wings, much like Pearl’s, unrolled themselves from its back. They watched on as pieces of the mushroom stalk cracked and fell away like bits of egg shell. The pieces chipped away to release the rest of the creature’s little body.

  Its still blinking eyes looked up into Nik’s, and smiling at him, it attempted to step forward. It stumbled on the shield pitching forward, and rolling. Nik dove forward to catch the little guy and barely caught his claws below the edge of the shield in time.

  One moment, he was diving and the next he was holding a baby smaller than the size of Pearl in the palms of his hands.

  Pearl came in close, her hands resting on the side of Nik’s and she whispered an almost inaudible, “... Fae-dragon...”