Grisly Groves

Chapter 3 · 22 pages. Tap a page's title to see its notes and comments.

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Javi examines a tree in the dark red forest, oozing golden sap. Narration: I gotta guess this whole situation is pretty new. Otherwise, everyone and their mom would be freaking out about it online. Y'know, Sigil would love this sort of thing. Scary forests might as well be catnip to her. So is this her doing? Faerie magic maybe? Javi tastes the sap from a clawed green finger. Narration: Nope. This is alien to me. Considering my new employer, it might be Elven magic, but who knows? Ugh, so many questions. A blue trail of scent drifts past Javi's face and his eyes widen. Narration: Wait... I smell something. Sweat, blackberries, and... lavender? That has to be the elf! I just need to get to her as quickly as possible and get out of here.

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Javi raises a clawed hand as a swirl of blue portal magic forms above the trees. Narration: I could try to set up a long-range exit portal for a quick escape after we get together but... I'm too rusty to risk something like that. Yeah... I'd rather not kill both of us with an unstable gate. The portal fizzles. Javi crouches and stretches his arms up. Narration: So I gotta think of another pl-- His fist slams into the ground. CRACK. Javi stands in a glowing gold crack in the earth. Narration: Okay! Note to self: Gotta work on strength regulation. Fiery wisps swarm overhead as Javi looks up. Narration: Ah, dammit.

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A pale, bird-like wisp with an orange beaked mask hovers in front of Javi. Wisp: Hello. Javi: ...Hey, little dude? Narration: It's kinda fascinating in a morbid way. Javi crouches, hands over his mouth, as the creature unfurls. Javi: I-I-- Narration: Bah screw this, I gotta focus on the big picture. The elf is super close an-- The creature spreads huge orange wings and long clawed legs, shrieking: Oinnnnk! Squeeeee! Neighh! Skreeeeee! Javi grins, wide-eyed. Javi: Oh... wow.

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Javi gasps as the pale, orange-masked wisp creature lunges at him with a long black clawed hand. !! It strikes Javi with a THUD! and sends him tumbling down the forest slope as it charges after him. Javi, teal scales on his cheek, glares back with a grin and grips his shoulder with a clawed teal hand. CRUNCH CRUNCH: teal bat-like wings tear out of his back, and Javi stands in the misty forest with huge teal wings spread wide.

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WHOOSH: Javi, wings out, flies through the forest and hurls the wisp creature away with a burst of force, snapping tree trunks. BOOM! The creature crashes through tree after tree. BOOM! Javi lands among the broken, burning stumps, wings spread, watching the sun set over the wrecked forest. Javi thinks: See? I got nothing to worry about. ...Now let's get our friend and get the hell out. Shall we?

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A small church stands in the dark forest, a lone figure silhouetted in its lit window. Javi looks up at the window from outside. Inside, the blue-skinned elf woman in a red dress waits by the window. Javi, wings folded, steps into the church. Javi: Sorry about all that noise earlier! Are you looking for moi? The elf, arms crossed, frowns. Elf: Oh... Caption: Bedelia Sophia Anna von HeiligeBerge die Kupferkrone. Age: ?? Tiny but fierce. Self-proclaimed best alchemist in all the worlds. Maybe just a wee bit arrogant. Owns a menagerie of small golems.

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Javi, now with teal dragon wings, runs through the dark. Inside a sunlit church, a blue-skinned elf woman in a red dress waits by the altar. Bedelia: A-Are you the dragon sent by the fox? Javi, horned and scaled, winks and flexes clawed green fingers. Javi: Yep. Sorry I'm not looking my Sunday's best. One of those beasties outside got a lucky hit on me. S'all good though. I sent the critter flying. Bedelia: How did one manage to catch you unawares? Dragons are supposed to have formidable senses, are they not? Javi, wings spread among the pews: Yeah, but I'm still getting used to this new body so, I'm not exactly combat-ready. Hell I don't even know how to fly yet. Bedelia, shocked: ...What?!

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Javi, horned and winged, faces Bedelia in the church. Javi: Oh?, she didn't tell you? My dude, I've only had these powers for literally one night as a kid. Fifteen minutes as an adult, and just now was the first fight I've been in since I was 10. Bedelia, flustered: That mangy fox gave me the one hopeless lizard in all of these worlds inept at violence? A novice?! Is she mad?! Javi, arms crossed: Mad? Nah. Never been around fox fae before? Fucking with people is their thing. She did this for the bit. Bedelia pinches the bridge of her nose. Bedelia: I am aware of their propensity for

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In the church doorway, Javi explains. Javi: Well, Sigil gave me these powers see, but our contract states that she'll take them away if I fail this mission. And since my powers will get me tons of money and prestige- I have a vested interest in helping you. Bedelia, arms crossed: Ah, so it is your greed that keeps you loyal? Javi, grinning with arms spread: Yep. Same as any other employee ain't it? A flashback in orange tones as Bedelia narrates: Fine, but listen closely, for I will only state this once. I discovered that, for reasons unknown, my twin sister Artio has been conducting illegal arcane experiments in this reality. Bedelia watches a figure dissect an orange-masked creature on a workbench. Narration: One of which is the wispy creature you encountered. Before I was able to interrogate her about this transgression, we came to blows. A cloaked elf slashes at Bedelia with a sword as Bedelia casts with a wand, blood spraying from her arm. Narration: In the ensuing brawl, she nearly dismembered me with a particularly potent mystical blade and escaped my justice. In my desperation to capture her... Bedelia stands before a candlelit mirror showing Sigil's grinning face. Narration: I signed the fox's contract and fled here, near one of my sister's deserted workshops, to gather more information about her operations.

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Bedelia points at Javi. Bedelia: Thus, your mission. You must defend me while I unearth whatever wicked deed she is plotting. Once we put an end to it, your service is concluded. Javi: Meat shield duty, eh? Bet. In the dark forest, Bedelia stands while Javi sits on a stump. Bedelia: Splendid. Perhaps you will prove useful. Now let us destroy and seize the corpse of this wispy creature. Javi thinks: Another note to self: ask Bedelia what she traded Sigil for her help later. It could end up being relevant considering how much she likes her little

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In a flashback, a figure studies at a desk in a library, then two figures duel with swords in a tiled hall. Javi: How come? Bedelia: A Principalis is very often connected to an intimate moment in one's life. This moment can be a culmination of the years of study it took to discover the spell or- It could be an instance of great turmoil or trauma. Either way, hardly something to tell a stranger. Javi: ...I swear, I'm usually better at first impressions. Bedelia: I certainly hope so. In the red forest, Bedelia turns away. Bedelia: But do not concern yourself with this topic. Let us just say that my Principalis involves transmutation of a sort and cease this line of inquiry. Javi: Fair enough, guess I exposed even more of my ignorance there. Said ignorance brings me to my last question actually. Do you wanna have a little trade? Bedelia, arms crossed: And what kind of exchange comes to mind? Javi: Just a little something to help me help you. See, I don't know as much about the occult as I'd like, and you seem experienced. So, I figured I could pay you to tutor me in magic.

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In a red forest, winged Javi faces Bedelia. Bedelia: What do I gain from this? Javi: Besides, having your ally know more about what he's supposed to do? Well, alchemists like yourself need reagents, don't ya? Bedelia: Yes? Javi: Well, I can offer any reagents my dragon form can provide like scales and such. Bedelia: Admittedly, stocking my arsenal with dragonfire potions would be beneficial... But your offer is inadequate. I am a classically trained Heiligerbergian sorceress; as such, an education from me is worth more than mere rare components. Javi holds up his phone, showing an online store with speakers, fast food, sneakers and boxes. Javi: Lemme sweeten the deal then. I'll hook you up with a host other stuff here, too. I'm talking about stuff from any part of the globe ya want. And this wouldn't be magically binding, so if at any point either of us feels like backing out, we can. It's just a friendly trade for a lesson or two. Bedelia stares at the phone. Bedelia: In this deal, would I be able to ask you to retrieve anything I desired? Javi: Y'know, when you say it like that I start to hesitate, but... I kinda wanna see what weird shit you ask me to get, so screw it. Sure.

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Bedelia, arms crossed: Intriguing, and do you know what spells the reagents from our world can provide me? Javi: Uh. No. The whole

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Javi's glowing green fist. Under a red sky beside a giant tree trunk, Javi and Bedelia walk toward a silhouetted town. Javi: If the price for tutoring is so high, why did you tell me about the Principalis for free? Bedelia: That is basic magic, something even a child should know, really. Do you mean to tell me even more of the fundamentals are beyond your knowledge? Javi, grinning sheepishly: Only... s-some of it. Bedelia, facepalming: Ugh! Bedelia, wide-eyed, crouches over enormous hoofprints in the ground. Bedelia: We will speak of this later. Tell me... did the wisp creature make these tracks? Javi: Probably? The thing had hooves but they were considerably smaller than this. Bedelia: It grew? Let us make haste, it seems this workshop is less deserted than believed.

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Javi and Bedelia run through the forest. Javi: I made a ruckus earlier, so pretty sure they know we're here. My guess is your sis is rushing to clean up the evidence. Bedelia: Or lure us into a trap. Have you been to this particular area before? Javi: Only two or three times, used to do bike deliveries here occasionally. A wide view of a ruined hillside town overgrown with huge twisted red trees, with crashed and abandoned cars in the streets and two white silhouettes standing among them. Javi: I gotta admit, even if the people here were a buncha upper-class yuppies, seeing it like this tugs at the heartstrings.

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Bedelia: Is this desolation a recent development? Javi: Yeah. It was sparse around here before, sure, but it was never like this. Bedelia: Concerning. Did these people have any notable abilities that may make them useful as captives? Javi thinks: Nah. Just regular ol' folks. A flashback shows Javi delivering a package to two locals on a green, wooded street. Javi thinks: ...Though that might have been the appeal. The nearest city from here is around 70 miles away so they'd be easy prey. Javi, scowling: Focus up, I think I can sniff out where they are. A red trail of scent leads to a broken house beside a dead tree. Bedelia: Prepare yourself and pay attention to any reflective surfaces. They can use them to teleport away. Javi thinks: I'll add that to the growing list of stuff to ask questions about.

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Inside a dark, wrecked building with a body lying among the debris. Javi thinks: Jesus... I-I can't afford to get distracted right now; who knows what these people would do if they caught me. Javi looks at a blood-spattered wall below a family photo. Javi thinks: Besides, it's not the first time I've been around a few dead bodies. Down a stairwell, two silhouettes stand beneath a ceiling light, one holding a glowing light. Voice: I will stand sentinel until all is well, Lady Artio. Make haste. Javi and Bedelia walk down the stairs past more bodies, Bedelia raising a finger for silence.

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A dark hallway strewn with debris. Voice: I assume the natives around the woodlands been taken care of? Voice: Indeed, thoroughly. Javi: Is that voice your sis? Bedelia: One of them is. I do not recognize the other. Javi: So, we're kicking both their asses? Bedelia: Of course. But it is a secondary concern. Our original mission stays its course. Voice: Try as you might to flee, renegades! Your cheap tricks won't work this time! A bearded elf soldier in puffed red-and-orange landsknecht clothing stands holding a halberd in front of a broken mirror. Soldier: Cheap tricks? Dear me, she simply cannot comprehend losing, can she? And I see you've chosen to drag one of the natives down with you. No matter, the lady has gifted me with more than enough to deal with you two.

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Bedelia raises a wand. Bedelia: Her

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In a small inset, the two silhouettes face each other. Bedelia: Be wary, the landsknecht arsenal is magical in nature. Javi: In that case, might as well go whole hog. Javi, grinning, crouches as his clothes tear and his body stretches, a long scaled tail growing. Javi: You may wanna take a few steps back. Pretty sure this is gonna be huge. Bedelia watches as Javi transforms into a dark, horned beast with glowing green mane and orange eyes. Javi thinks: I shouldn't be this excited, considering the bloody circumstances. But damn have I been waiting for an opportunity to do this. A clawed foot crushes the floorboards.

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A huge green dragon with pale wings and a glowing green mane bursts out of a building and dives over the red lake toward the tiny soldier standing below with his halberd. Bedelia, riding on the dragon, laughs. Bedelia: Bahaha! Bow before your future empress fool! Lest my dragon burn you to cinders!

That's the end of Grisly Groves. Keep going with Corybantic Conflict!