Balomren Wood Valley, Gomudrey, Tannovon 11

  “My precious!”

  “Nooo—”

  Arellian’s protest was too late.

  Not that her grandfather would’ve listened anyways.

  He swept her up in a hug and twirled her around like she was still an immature six and not a mature twelve.

  “It’s been so long! I’ve missed youuuuu!”

  “Grandfather! Christmas!” She managed to blurt out.

  “Yeah! But that was, like, six months ago! You grow so fast! Truly, unfair. Soon you’ll be a sullen teenager no longer wanting grandfather hugs!”

  A throat cleared.

  Grand Auntie rolled her eyes.

  “You’re embarrassing Arelle.”

  “What? There’s no one else around for miles. That winged horror changing its mind doesn’t count.”

  Arellian gasped and tried to crane her head to the night sky.

  It was dark and cloudy and dizzying because her grandfather kept spinning her round and round.

  “You’re ruining her dress.”

  “Oh!” Her grandfather’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, my precious! Let me take a look at you— wow… that’s a nice dress. Very black… and a lot of lace… frills… are you wearing eyeliner?”

  She fixed her hair from his smushing, using her hand to put her bangs back into place over one eye.

  “Cool! Goth?” He glanced back at her grand auntie. “I’ve always said that kids should be allowed to find their styles, you know.”

  “Uh huh.” Her grand auntie crossed her arms. “I remember you made fun of me a lot for doing exactly that when we were kids.”

  “And I apologized. Also, I was young and dumb. And it was, like, over a hundred years ago. Do I bring up the times you framed me for shenanigans? Or the countless times you used my fear of spiders against me with a ruthlessness that had me worried you were a Damien-type?”

  “Hey, I just didn’t think spiders should’ve been squished just cause they were living their lives. Was it really my fault that every time I tried to take them outside you happened to be right there? And I had a child’s lack of coordination, so it was only natural that I may have accidentally thrown them at you.”

  “Your lies fool no one. Let alone me when I can hear your heartbeat and see that you’re just barely holding it in.”

  “Bullcrap.”

  “Truth. The body does things when it’s in pre-laugh mode. So, let’s hear it. I know you’ve been practicing your cackling.”

  “Peh.” Arellian rolled her eyes. “You guys are so lame.”

  Her grandfather hugged her again before she could react and trigger one of her enchanted items.

  “That was so goth of you!” He grinned.

  “Alright, let’s go. It’s a bit of hike to my hut,” her grand auntie said.

  “Help!” she managed to wheeze out.

  “Sorry, kiddo. He’s been super excited. You can imagine how annoying he’s been the last couple of hours. Like a ferret with a quadruple shot of espresso.”

  The bit of a hike turned out to be close to fifty kilometers through a dense forest.

  It went by in a green and brown blur for Arellian in her grandfather’s arms.

  The foul stench of rotten eggs and dying things hit her nose before the sights of a dark, dank swamp hit her eyes.

  She had been prepared, but it was one thing to read the prep materials and another to experience it firsthand.

  “Dear sweat brown Jesus! This is foul, isn’t it? You leave for a few hours and you forget the smell.”

  Her grandfather put her down.

  Rather he was about to.

  “Wait! Don’t!”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t put me down, Grandfather!”

  The ground was muddy and gross and she thought she saw some wriggling things.

  Worms were okay.

  Leeches were not.

  “You were complaining then. Now you want to be carried?” He shrugged. “Well, you are my princess. So, I shall carry you as one.”

  “I was never this lame with my grand kids,” her grand auntie said.

  “You’re just jealous that they’re all grown and you can’t baby them anymore,” her grandfather said.

  “Where’s your hut, Grand Auntie?”

  Arellian was excited to see what the ‘Witch of the Woods’ had set up for a base.

  She so very badly wanted to be witch like her grandmother even though it was impossible.

  “Why is the water black? And it’s bubbling.”

  “Some enchantments, some geomancer spells and a few other things. Makes it look more dangerous than it really is. That is to say, it’s not dangerous at all since we’ve cleared out the monsters. The only things out here are the native flora, fauna and the robots,” her grand auntie said.

  They floated over the swampy ground for several more kilometers.

  Arellian tried to take everything in, looking for creatures lurking in the tall reeds or the twisted mangroves or under the brackish water.

  Disappointingly she only saw a few frogs ribbiting on their tiny leaf thrones or the ripples from hidden fish tails whipping the surface.

  Her grand auntie’s hut loomed on a small hill rising out of the black water and muck.

  It was a dark crooked thing, rising nearly to the level of the tallest trees in the woods surrounding the swamp.

  Her grandfather raised a brow.

  “That’s a tower, not a hut.”

  Her grand auntie snorted.

  “I’m not living in a hut for a couple of years.”

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  “You’re supposed to be a witch. Ergo, hut. Dark towers are for wizards, warlocks or sorcerers.”

  “Don’t be a bigot.” Her grand auntie sighed.

  “I’m just saying you have to play into expectations. Otherwise belief won’t be suspended.”

  “I don’t think people that come through that swamp and see this are going to be suspending anything. And that’s not even accounting for my ‘witch’ powers. Besides, you’re being kinda mouthy for a servant muscle.”

  “Hey, don’t worry about me. I prepared for this role.”

  “You better have. This is costing us a lot of points.”

  “Don’t even start with that. You know how much of my own points I spent to travel to this world.”

  “Less than me?”

  “More?”

  “Well, we certainly can’t know for sure without either of us sharing.”

  “Nice try!”

  “Tch…”

  Arellian leaned closer to her grandfather’s ear to whisper.

  “How much did you spend?”

  “I’ll tell you when she can’t hear.”

  They floated up the hill.

  Her grand auntie opened the double front doors with a gesture.

  Arellian had been practicing with her powers, but she was fairly new to them so she failed to spot the gravity distortion that she knew had been used.

  She grimaced as the concentration triggered a loss of control with her eyes, which made everything suddenly zoom in violently.

  Her grandfather chuckled, but didn’t say anything, which would’ve triggered a snark response from her.

  The inside of the hut was a lot larger than it appeared on the outside.

  “I’m telling you, a smaller hut on the outside would make this even more shocking,” her grandfather said.

  “Yes. I’ll have them come back here, spending all those points just to change all this great work for you.”

  “Relax. Just making conversation.”

  Arellian loved the interior decor.

  Properly dark and foreboding.

  A giant black cauldron sat near the huge fireplace. It was filled with bubbling liquid and stained with rust red.

  One could just imagine what dark materials lay within for dark rituals and deeds in the dark.

  Bones, so many bones, hung from the ceilings and walls, rattling in the non-existing wind.

  Ceilings and walls?

  The architecture didn’t make sense the longer she paid attention.

  Too many ceilings and walls arranged in angles that shouldn’t have worked in a rational world.

  A smile crept up on her.

  “Co—”

  She caught it just in time and turned it into an unimpressed eye roll.

  Her grand auntie led them past a floor to ceiling jar of dark amber liquid.

  It swirled with movement.

  “Oh! What’s in—” she gasped as the excitement momentarily punched through her dark, unimpressed facade. “I mean, whatever…”

  “You like?” her grand auntie said. “It’s a robot giant eel thing. Two heads, crab and human hand. Most of the stuff in here are robots. Your witches wanted to gift this project all sorts of things.” Her grand auntie shuddered. “Appreciated of course, but I’m more than happy with the help they provided with the decor, ambiance and the enchantments.”

  Arellian nodded.

  “I recognize some of it.”

  “Well, it is good work, but, and no offense, I won’t be spending a lot of time up here.” Her grand auntie waved a hand.

  The floor slid open with a faint hiss.

  Gleaming steps led down to a very well-lit and well-scented area.

  Arellian wouldn’t admit it, but it was very nice to get away from the swampy fragrances.

  “Here’s where I’ll really stay when I’m not out and about as the ‘Witch of the Woods’.”

  “You don’t have to be a full hermit. It should be fine to travel incognito. See the sights. Sample the local cultures. Can’t be all work, all the time.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I know how to maintain a good work-life balance. Unlike others.” Her grand auntie gave her grandfather a significant stare.

  “I’m here. Aren’t I?”

  “Fair.” Her grand auntie beckoned. “I’ll give you guys the tour of my underground mansion later. We’ve got a meeting and she’s been waiting since yesterday morning.”

  They followed her into a large, well-lit room with a large table and chairs in the center.

  A young woman with short hair, cut at an angle aligned with her jawline sat with her bare feet up on the table munching on a bowl of popcorn and watching an animated show projected against the white wall.

  She grinned, set her bowl on the table and stretched like a cat and hopped to her feet. Straight-backed and tall. A bit taller than Arellian’s grandfather.

  Her shorts were short and her shirt was missing the lower half.

  “Hi hi! Great, great, great, great grand uncle! Long time! It’s always nice to see the generation I’m descended from still ambulatory! And you must be Arelle? Gosh! I don’t think I’ve seen you since you were a baby.”

  The young woman’s hair was half red and half violet split down the middle.

  Arelle suddenly realized that her grandfather was still carrying her like a child princess.

  Thus, she struggled to get on her own feet with grace and dignity.

  She exchanged a greeting, but was embarrassed to admit that she didn’t remember this strange looking person.

  Oh, not just because of the odd hair color, but because her skin was nearly as white as the wall.

  “I guess this’ll be our first official meeting since babies can’t be held accountable for anything, apparently. My name is Vamria. Technically, I think I could call you great, great, grand aunt and I will!” Vamria smiled wide revealing slightly pointed canines.

  “Why do you guys always make it sound weird?” Her grandfather sighed. “Descended? I figure you need at least a dozen more generations to start calling us ancestors and what not.”

  “Because it is fun, great, great, great, great, great grand uncle!”

  “You just added another ‘great’.”

  “Did I? It’s hard to keep track.”

  “Vamria.”

  “Yes, auntie?”

  “How come she’s ‘auntie’?”

  “Because it annoys you!” Vamria stuck her tongue out.

  Arellian couldn’t stop the giggle from escaping.

  “The meeting?” her grand auntie said.

  Vamria shrugged.

  “Everything I spied out of this region is in my very detailed dossier. Places, people, things, etcetera, etcetera.”

  “And it was comprehensively done,” her grand auntie said. “However, I’d like to hear from you directly what you think is important for us to know about this specific area.”

  They sat down.

  Vamria pushed the popcorn bowl closer to her.

  “What’s there to add? Hmmm… well, this valley is a backwater region of a backwater continent. The whole place made it to about the Time of Red Iron on the world of Soyle.”

  Her grandfather raised a hand.

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  “Earth. Right… um… I didn’t pay attention to Earth history in school. What was the time period without indoor plumbing for everyone?”

  “That covers, like, thousands of years,” her grandfather said.

  “No vehicles that aren’t pulled by animals?”

  “Again… thousands of years.”

  “Swords, arrows and crappy guns?”

  “That narrows it down a little better, but—”

  “Medieval times.” Her grand auntie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Roughly. This place does have an indoor plumbing with hot water system, but only for the wealthy and much of their most advanced technology was lost over the last decade or so since the spires appeared.

  “Yes!” Vamria snapped her fingers. “That was the word I was looking for! Thanks, auntie!”

  “Please continue.”

  “So, close to your medieval times, great, great, great, great, great, great grand uncle. You’ve got the expected basic classes, which I’ve fully detailed in my comprehensive report. Same with the monsters, encounter challenges and spawn zones. What else? Oh, yeah, the people. They’re blue. I mean, literally, blue skin tones, but otherwise not that different from us.”

  Arellian almost pointed out that Vamria had white skin and two-toned hair.

  Though, to be fair, that was probably dye or a Skill or a spell or an item.

  She wracked her brain, but couldn’t remember meeting Vamria at any other time, nor could she recall anything like a picture or vid, holo or otherwise.

  Which wasn’t out of the ordinary.

  Her grandfather’s oldest brother had a large, sprawling tree of descendants.

  “Yes, I read that in your report,” her grandfather said. “Don’t look at me like that. I can read a book in minutes. With perfect memory. Go head, try me. Give me a page and a line number and I’ll recite it perfectly.”

  “Please don’t,” her grand auntie said.