Callie's Heroes

PART II: FROM ALL OF US, TO ALL OF YOU

"Is everyone here?" Callie asked, looking around her and counting noses. Seeing everyone, she nodded and turned to look across the bunkerball field. There, Reynard was seated in his rolling chair while reviewing something with Major Celeste.

"Looks like it," Pixyl said. "Are you sure you know how it w-w-works?"

"Yup. Fizzlebek showed me how a little bit ago. Shall we?"

Waving everyone to follow, Callie started marching across the field. Behind her were the other three Rangers, along with Lhawni, Ambria, Tazrok, and a hovering Pixyl. These were all the recruits that had gone on the mission to destroy the bogwump nest.

"He's going to like it, right?" Jesca asked. "It seems a little … I don't know … morbid maybe?" She'd been fretting about it since Callie proposed the first hints of the idea weeks ago.

"Nah. He'll think it's funny, I'm sure. You worry too much."

"I know," Jesca said with a sigh. "I need to stop doing that."

Together, the gaggle of eight approached Reynard and Celeste, the latter straightening and looking worried. Reynard quickly flipped over the pages of parchment paper he was reviewing with the Major, adding "Oh oh, here comes trouble."

"You got that right," Callie grinned. "Nothing but!"

"What do you want?" Celeste asked. "We were busy trying to find a way to win this thing."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Callie said flippantly, waving away the statement. She refocused on Reynard. "So, we have something for you."

"That sounds terrifying!" Celeste said.

She'd been holding it behind her back with her other hand, and Callie brought around a small basket, the top tied closed with a pretty, red bow of ribbon. She held it out for her trainer. "Here."

"What's this?"

"It's from all of us, to all of you. A memento from the bogwump fight. And happy Midsummer, too."

Furrowing his furry eyebrows, Reynard took the basket and then looked at Callie rather skeptically. "This isn't going to explode when I open it, is it?"

"Probably not."

The Major giggled slightly at that, while at the same time taking a half-step back.

"A present?" Natala said from a bit away, quickly stepping up to join the group. "What's this for, Reynard? It's not your birthday." She looked at Callie. "It's not going to explode, is it?"

"Probably not," both Callie and Reynard echoed together.

"Ooo! Exciting! I love presents. What did you get? Treasure?" Natala's eyes were wide as she leaned in close to her friend, rubbing her hands greedily together.

A little warily, Reynard tugged on the ribbon, the bow untying itself and falling open. The lid revealed a cloth bedding of off-white fabric, and lying in the center was a … something? It looked like it might be a necklace, having a long loop of leather attached to it. But it was what would be effectively the pendant on said necklace that was odd. "What is it?" Reynard said, lifting the item out. It was long and round, slightly curved, tapering to a rounded-off tip. The color was a polished white, and there were holes at either end, as well as three more holes along the side, all in a row.

"Is that a tooth?" Natala asked. "What's it from?"

"It's one of the teeth from the big eel," Ambria said, "with the pointy end filed down a bit."

"The one that ate my leg? You made a necklace out of its tooth?"

Callie nodded, grinning. Behind her, the rest of the party was likewise all smiles.

"Callie, I don't understand why …"

"So I worked with Fizzlebek, and we had it hollowed out and turned into a whistle. I know the Major uses hers during training, and she used it when we were fighting, too, so we thought you might like one."

"Oh! That's actually quite useful," Natala said. "I always keep mine with me, should I need it." She pulled a leather cord hiding down her shirt, revealing a little wooden whistle of her own. "Every sergeant should have one."

"Me, too," the Major added, also pulling hers out. "I use it all the time when training my people or directing the soldiers, although I'm pretty good at whistling with just my fingers."

Hesitantly, Reynard put the tooth to his lips and blew, a shrill whistle sounding out, sounding much like the whistles used in the bunkerball game. He did it a second time, before holding it in front of him and looking closer. "What are these for?" he asked, pointing at the holes.

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"Oh, right!" Callie began excitedly. "We had an idea for a magical enchantment, so Fizzlebek helped with that too. If you play the right notes in the right order, it will do things."

"Like explode?" Natala asked again.

"No, no," Callie giggled, the others around her doing the same. Then she made a point to ponder a moment, before adding a simple, "Probably not."

Reynard rolled his eyes, but he was curious. He blew again, this time covering random holes. Depending on which hole or holes were covered, the pitch of the sound would change accordingly, as if it was a miniature flute. With three holes, that allowed for a total of eight different tones.

"Try this," Callie said. "Play these five notes. Cover in order the top hole, middle, bottom, then all three followed by just the top two. It's a specific sequence so you don't accidently activate it." She demonstrated in the air with her fingers.

Reynard tried, getting the sequence incorrect the first time, but then followed along with Callie a second time. He got the order right, and a gasp sounded out from him as the end of the tooth-whistle began to glow brightly.

"Like it?" Callie beamed. "It can make three different types of light. Either a general all-direction one like this, or project a beam ahead for finding your way, or flash to use as a signal."

Quickly, Callie talked Reynard through turning off the current light, by playing the five tones again, and then the two other sequences that would produce the other effects. They were just as described. One turned the tooth effectively into a flashlight, while the second caused the end to flash like a strobe, about once per second. The overall effects were muted by it being daytime, but still bright enough to ascertain how they'd work. Obviously, come nightfall, the light would be quite bright.

By now, all the whistling had brought over several of the other trainers and staff players, all 'ooo'ing a bit at the gift. Rowani in particular found it fascinating, appreciating out loud that the eel's tooth had been repurposed into the magical item.

"That's really … that's cool," Natala said. Then she looked to Callie. "Did I use that word right?"

Callie nodded to the Sergeant-Major and then looked back to Reynard.. "We know you don't have Darkvision, so we thought someday it might come in handy if you're stuck in the dark."

"This was all your idea?"

Callie shook her head. "Pixyl came up with the whistle idea. Once Fizzlebek confirmed he and his apprentices could add something, we all worked together to decide what light types might be useful."

"The flashing is particularly helpful at night," Shul'an said. "We used flashing stones on our caravans if we got separated in the dark and needed assistance. It would allow us to quickly find each other."

"How does the magic work?" Celeste asked. "Any limitations."

"According to Fizzlebek, the two steady lights will last about two hours of continuous use total," Lawhni said, "and the flashing one all night long. It needs about six hours to fully recharge if you drain it completely."

"And you get a memento of our fight together, too," Callie added with a grin.

"The tooth from the monster that ate him?" Natala laughed. "It's perfect!" She clapped Reynard on the shoulder. "A good reminder of how delicious you are."

"I … don't know what to say," Reynard said absently, as he held the tooth-necklace in front of him. "This is … special. Unique, even."

Callie made a face. "Not completely unique." She pulled a leather lanyard from under her own shirt, pulling out a second tooth just like the one Reynard was holding. "This is the first one Fizzlebek tried to make, and apparently his assistant didn't get the enchantment right, or something. It will light up, but not very reliably and sometimes does weird things if you try. But, it still works as a whistle, at least, so I kept it."

"That's perfect!" Natala beamed. "See, I told you we'd make a sergeant out of you yet! You've got a whistle now, so that's most of the hard work right there." Then she added, "You should be able to put your Amplification sigil on it, too. Helpful during a big battle."

Reynard shook his head in vague disbelief as he continued to examine the whole getup. The bogwump recruits looked on in eager anticipation of a final verdict. "Thank you," Reynard eventually said, looking up with a genuine smile on his face. "Thank you, all of you."

Grinning, Callie and the other recruits turned to leave, and the rest of the staff and trainer players moved away, returning to getting ready for the game. Still, Reynard called after Callie to stay.

"What's up?"

Holding up the tooth, Reynard looked at Callie quizzically, saying nothing but obviously wanting more of an explanation for some reason.

"At first, I was just going to clean the tooth up and give it to you as a memento," Callie said, shrugging, "but then it would just sit on a shelf and collect dust. I wondered out loud to the others what else we could do with it, and Pixyl suggested the idea of a whistle after seeing how one is used in the bunkerball game. It then all sort of evolved from that, with everyone else adding their thoughts."

"But it's from the monster that ate his leg!" Celeste said. "That doesn't strike you as a little … odd? Morbid even?"

Callie rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, Natala interrupted. "The thing was killed and his leg is almost grown back. You have to look back and laugh sometimes. It's perfect."

"It's wonderful," Reynard said, smiling. "Natala's right, Major, you have to laugh at these things eventually." He nodded deeply to Callie. "Thank you. And again, a thank you to the others."

Natala clapped Callie's shoulder briefly, as if to say 'good job', then walked back to the rest of her players, where Rowani was busy trying to explain her idea for an offensive play.

Callie caught the details out of the corner of her eye and with her super-ears. It honestly wasn't a very good play. They'd most-likely just stumble over each other in confusion, but she quickly saw ways to exploit it if they actually tried to do it. Waving, Callie turned to leave, but then she stopped and turned back.

"You know, your attempt to get into my head last night wasn't very fair."

Gesturing aggressively towards the playing field with both hands, Reynard said, "Well, I had to try something. Perhaps consider it a lesson in dealing with unexpected stress?"

"Maybe, but that was an unfair topic you ambushed me with. So, as a result, we've decided we're not going to go easy on you today. Pixyl and I had talked everyone into holding back a bit, so you wouldn't look so bad in front of the Arkan and the other visitors. Not any more. You won't know what hit you. I'm still a little irritated, but Pixyl's actually pissed at you! You may want to apologize to her later today, when you get a chance."

Major Celeste's eyes went wide as she glared down at Reynard. Then, she smacked his shoulder. Hard! Then, she did it again. "You idiot! What the hell did you do to us!"