The Witch of the Castle of Glass

For two days Milly, Calista, and Rain travelled west, moving through tall grasslands interspersed with low bushes and groves of willow, popular, and oak. They found themselves jogging for hours on end, their increased agility and toughness placing them at the peak of human capability.

Milly found it exhilarating. She had been out of shape her entire life, somehow both overweight and malnourished. But now, after two weeks in the God Contest, she felt strong. She relished the deep, comfortable breaths she took as she ran, and marveled at how her feet danced with ease over the rocks, roots, and gopher holes along her path. She leapt on top of large boulders that dotted the landscape and climbed the tallest trees she could find when they stopped for a rest. And when she reached the top, she would gaze out across the dynamic and colorful prairie and breathe in the scent of wildflowers and sage.

She found herself on top of one of these popular trees now, as the sun rose on their third full day away from the Tower. She watched a bison herd in the distance, headed towards a nearby lake where waterfowl dotted the still blue waters, ducks and loons dipping down below the surface to feed.

In that moment, as she stared out at the world around her, she felt grateful to be alive.

“How’s it going up there, beautiful?” Calista called out, staring up at her from the ground.

But perhaps that was not the only reason she felt that way.

It had been four days since their night on the beach, yet Milly still found herself blushing whenever Calista called her beautiful. Blushing, but also filled with doubt.

Her physical appearance had not changed since that first day. Increasing her strength did not give her muscles. Increasing her agility did not make her skinny. She was still overweight, her few muscles buried under the fat on her limbs and stomach. Her greasy skin were now covered with two days of sweat and soil, and her hair was so tangled that she feared it would be impossible to brush.

She ran her fingers through the edges of that tangled mess, unconsciously trying to work out some of the knots as she looked down at Calista. “Does she get more stunning each day?” she wondered, her thoughts straying. “The grime of the road did not diminish her at all, like it does me. The sweat on her skin and the dirt in her hair just makes her more beautiful.”

Milly felt the dark thoughts clawing in the corners of her mind, as if waiting for a moment of weakness. The chaos of the first two weeks had kept the worst of her depression at bay, but her demon had found traction once again in these moments of peace. She could sense it happening. She knew the signs. But like the tide, she could do little about it. She could only watch as it flowed in, covering up the momentary peace she had found.

The worst of it happened at night when Calista wrapped Milly gently in her arms and fell asleep. Milly would lay awake for hours, wondering how much longer it would be before Calista realized she was not worth it. Before everything fell apart, as it always did.

Milly shook her head, trying to dislodge the intrusive thoughts. “Calista makes me feel happy,” Milly whispered, scolding herself. “So why can’t I just be happy?”. Perhaps it was time to set aside her pride and talk to Rain about finding a replacement for her depression medication.

“There is a river canyon up ahead,” Milly shouted back, studying the lazy zigzagging landmark that split the prairie in two. Gentle, tree-covered slopes flowed down to a broad, slow-moving river and then up the other side. “Maybe fifteen minutes away. We’ll need to cross it. There is no way around.”

“Any monsters?”

They had been battling goblin patrols for two days straight. At first, they fought every one that crossed their path, driven by a desire to grow stronger. But after Rain and Calista hit level fifteen, the goblins were too easy to defeat and no longer helped them level up. Now they tried to avoid the patrols.

“No, it looks all…wait,” Milly hesitated, spotting a faint trail of smoke emerging from the canyon. “Looks like there might be a campfire by the river.”

“More goblins?” Rain asked, curiously. Rain was standing atop a small boulder, focused on its centre. Her hand was outstretched and glowing orange, the iron particles slowly being drawn from the boulder and coalescing into a tiny ball at Rain’s feet. The gift of the metal magic talent she had taken when she reached level fifteen.

“I don’t think so,” Calista said quickly, hands clutched around her crescent pendant. Each time they had encountered a goblin patrol, her pendant had released more information, until Calista had been filled with an encyclopedic knowledge of the creatures. “We have not seen any goblins, or signs of their activity, for several hours. I think we have moved beyond their territory.”

“Then it will be something new,” Rain concluded.

Milly marked the location of the smoke in her mind and quickly climbed down from the tree, jumping the final ten feet to the ground. She landed at Calista’s side with a hearty thump.

Calista looked down at Milly’s feet. “If you break your ankle, I’m not carrying you,” she teased.

Milly gave her a half-hearted smile and leaned up for a quick kiss. Calista laughed and obliged.

“Let’s head for the fire then,” Rain said as she plucked the tiny iron ball from the ground and placed it in her inventory. “Lead the way, huntress.”

* * *

They stood at the top of the canyon, watching the small camp at the bottom of the slope. It was nestled within a bend in the wide, gentle river such that its waters flowed around three sides. There was a central fire for communal cooking, surrounded by a circle of a dozen hide tents. Fish lay drying on lines, with collective pots and pans strewn about the camp in haphazard piles.

“They only arrived a few days ago,” Calista said, pointing out the newly trampled grass and freshly dug firepit.

The creatures themselves were what drew Milly’s curiosity. She counted twenty, though they moved about the camp so much that it was difficult to keep track. There were men, women, and children, though unlike any she had ever seen.

The women in the camp were humanoid. They were four feet tall and wore colorful dresses that reached their knees. Their hair was interlaced with flowers, each displaying a unique color and pattern. They glided across the camp using a pair of butterfly wings that sprouted from their backs, though they could not fly more than a few feet off the ground. Even from this distance, Milly could hear their high-pitched, joyous giggles as they puttered around the camp, preparing the midday meal or tending to the few children that ran about.

The men, if that was what they could be called, were five-foot-tall frogs-like creatures. They wore no clothing and their green skin and white spots sparkled in the sunlight. They stood on two feet but hopped around camp when they moved. Many were swimming in the river, propelled by their webbed hands and feet, and would toss river trout up to the women in the camp to be dried. Deep croaks joined the women’s laughter, creating a unique and enjoyable symphony that spread across the canyon.

“Prairie fairies,” Calista said, pointing towards the northern end of the camp where two couples were teaching their children how to swim. She clutched her crescent moon pendant as she tapped into its knowledge. “They are nomadic, roaming across the prairies in small groups. They move on from an area once every few days. The woman possess some earth magic, and the frogmen can spit paralytic or hallucinogenic poison. As the chill of winter approaches, the women use their earth magic to bury their men and male children in the mud to wait out the cold while they stand guard above.”

“Are they…enemies?” Rain asked, feeling uncomfortable with the notion as she stared down at the playful children in the camp.

“I don’t know,” said Calista, releasing her pendant. “My talent doesn’t tell me if creatures are good or bad. Just what they are and what they can do.”

“If Xavier were here, he’d say that every creature was just a bucket of experience waiting to be collected,” Milly muttered without thinking.

Calista and Rain looked at her in horror.

“I’m not saying I believe him,” Milly protested, waving her arms in denial as she realized she had spoken out loud. “It’s just something Xavier mentioned on our first day. He had a very black and white way of looking at this world.”

Milly watched the children playing in the water with their parents, a fairy mother carefully breaking apart two children who had started to fight. “We have only encountered creatures that wanted to kill us. But I do not believe that Lun…that the AI Director would create a world populated only by such creatures. There must be more to this world than to kill or be killed.”

They watched the camp in silence for a few more minutes, until the children emerged from the water and were carefully wrapped in woven cloths by their mothers. They were led towards the fire, where a simple snack of fish, berries, and insects awaited them.

“They are adorable,” whispered Rain, her eyes wide as she watched the children devouring their lunch.

“We should leave them be,” Milly concluded. “We can cross the river somewhere else. There was another bend in the river a mile to the south. Maybe the current is slow, and we can…”

Milly suddenly spotted movement in the woods below, moving quickly towards the encampment from the west. She nudged Calista, pointing towards the movement. It was difficult to see from this distance, but they caught flashes of the white furred creatures running on two legs through the woods. It was enough for Calista’s Companion of Artemis talent to activate.

“The Wolf Clan of the Silver Lakes, slaver class wolves,” recited Calista as the knowledge entered her mind. “The Wolf Clans are the dominant force in the lands between The Goblin Expanse and the Forgotten Fens. There are five wolf clans: Silver Lakes, Callous Claws, Single Pine, Winter Winds, and Erosion of Hope. The five clans are at war with each other for dominance, which is a constant drain on their resources. The slaver class wolves in each clan are tasked with…”

Calista hesitated for a moment, watching the wolves growing closer to the prairie fairy encampment. “…are tasked with acquiring slaves to use as battlefield fodder or to become food for their armies. While wolves of any class are dangerous, Slaver Class wolves are known for their brutality and lack of remorse. They will kill those who have little value to their cause, such as children and the elderly. They…Milly!”

Milly had leapt forward the moment Calista had mentioned the children, running down the slope towards the encampment. She moved forward without thinking, her eyes flaring with fire as Salem’s Fury built within her.

Rain and Calista quickly followed, and the trio dodged thin trees and low bushes as they scrambled to reach the camp before the wolves arrived.

“I don’t disagree with your judgment, Milly” Calista reproached, driftwood spear in one hand and a circular shield of light in the other. “But next time perhaps wait until we have prepared.” Calista focused for a moment and felt Pinga’s shield snap into place around each of them.

“At least the description of the wolves was without ambiguity,” Rain said, dagger in one hand as she fumbled in her satchel with the other. “They are the bad guys. Well…bad wolves.”

Panicked shouts and croaks erupted from the camp. The fairies had spotted the wolves and were scattering in fear across their camp. The crack of breaking branches echoed across the canyon as the wolves accelerated, stealth abandoned, their bloodthirsty howls drowning out the cries of the fairies.

“Shit!” exclaimed Milly, leaping over a row of thorny bushes and ignoring the scratch one left on the back of her thigh. “We are not going to make it. They are faster than us.”

A few moments later, the sound of the wolves breaching the camp reached them.

Calista formulated a plan of attack. “Milly, head for the centre of the camp. Protect the children and draw their attention. Rain and I will hit them from behind.”

“Be careful,” Milly said, eyes on Calista. “I don’t want to spend another night healing you.”

“You won’t, beautiful. That’s now how I want to spend my nights with you,” Calista replied with a wink, before she and Rain veered off left to circle behind the wolves.

Milly wished she had time to think about what Calista had said, but a few moments later she emerged into the camp. Into the chaos.

The children were huddled together around the fire, surrounded by the few adults who had been close enough to protect them. They had grabbed the nearby pots and pans for defense. They stood fast around the children, their legs shaking with fear and eyes wide as they watched the chaos unfold around them. The other fairies were spread around the camp alone or in pairs, trying desperately to gather together or hide.

There were six wolves in the pack. The beasts towered above the fairies, nearly eight feet tall. Their lips curled back to reveal sharp canine fangs as they surveyed the camp and breathed in the smell of their prey’s fear. They possessed utter certainty in their superiority, confident in the inevitable outcome of the ambush. A single wolf stood in the middle of the pack, towering even above the other wolves. His white fur was marked with symbols painted in blood and his claws had been sharpened to fine points. Unlike the others, who twitched with excitement, this wolf appeared to look almost bored. As if it were all beneath him.

Five wolves rushed forward, heading towards those fairies that found themselves separated and alone. Screams and croaks flooded the camp as the wolves brought fear and destruction upon the peaceful nomads. They barreled through tents and supplies without slowing, shattering them in their single-minded focus on the prey before them.

Fairy women hurled stones with their earth magic, and frogmen spit their paralytic poison, but their efforts did little to slow the onslaught. The wolves were fast and powerful, and closed the distance too quickly for the creatures to put up much of a fight.

One frogman’s poison struck the wolf in the muzzle as it tried to defend its mate. Anger flooded the wolf’s face, and the wolf struck out with sharpened claws, ripping open the frogman’s abdomen and spilling his insides across the ground. The wolf gave a sadistic grin as the frogman died, then grabbed the frog’s mate by the waist and hauled her up onto its shoulders. The woman struggled with panic until the wolf slammed her in the head with its fist. It gave a sadistic growl as it felt the woman grow limp and began scanning the camp for its next target.

It did not find one. Milly used her earth magic to rip a large slab of stone from the ground and hurled it at the wolf. The stone struck the wolf square in the chest, shattering on impact. The force of the strike launched the wolf backwards into the river. The woman that had been perched on its shoulders fell to the ground, unmoving.

Fairy and wolf alike turned towards Milly in surprise. Milly’s eyes were ablaze, her hands covered in her deep flame. Salem’s Fury filled her, and she let it consume her fear and doubt, leaving only righteous anger.

“I will not let you hurt anyone else,” Milly shouted. She threw her hand up in the air and she formed a wall of fire between the wolves and the fairies huddled around the fire. It rose six feet into the air, hiding the fairy parents and their children from view.

The chaos suddenly stilled as all eyes were upon her. Milly’s gaze flashed to her left, spotting Rain and Calista moving into position behind the wolves. Calista’s spear was raised towards the largest wolf, glowing purple as it had when she had killed The Crushing Wave, as she waited for the right opportunity.

And then the largest wolf – the alpha wolf – grinned wide and began to speak.

“Well, this is a welcome surprise,” the alpha wolf declared, his deep, gravelly voice laced with amusement. “We were tasked with bringing back a few fairies. Imagine how envious Greyclaw will be when I bring him something new. Something far more valuable.”

Calista’s eyes flashed and she hurled her spear at the distracted wolf with all her strength.

The alpha’s eyes flashed. With incredible agility, the wolf twisted to the side, dodging it. In mid-flight, the wolf reached out and encircled its palm around the glowing spear, catching it. The Spear of Pinga’s momentum was halted in an instant, its glow dispelled.

The alpha turned towards Calista and Rain and grinned. He tapped its muzzle twice. “Did you think you could sneak up on Red Fang the Imposing, alpha of the third-ranked slaver pack of the Silver Lakes? I could smell you coming, foolish creatures,” Red Fang chided, dropping the spear to the ground at his feet. “Do you think you are the predators here? No, you are just a different prey. Let me show you how…”

Rain’s vial shattered at Red Fang’s feet. The resulting explosion rocked the camp, sending Red Fang flying backwards into one of the tents and launching dirt and debris across the camp. Calista’s spear flew back to her waiting palm as she called for it to return, its glow returned.

Red Fang rose to his feet, throwing aside the hide tent. His look of amusement had vanished, replaced with an anger that permeated every fiber of his being.

“Forget the small fry,” Red Fang shouted to its pack, eyes now fixed on Rain as he plucked a shard of shattered glass from its cheek. “Bring me these fools. I want to see them suffering in our slave pits before the sun sets!”

The wolves abandoned their fairy prey, rushing towards the trio. Milly watched in horror as Red Fang headed straight for Rain and Calista, closing the distance in a few massive footsteps. The two nearest wolves fell in beside their leader, and within moments Rain and Calista were engaged in a perilous battle, overnumbered against the savage wolves.

Milly tried to rush towards Calista and Rain, but the remaining two wolves were on her in a moment, biting and clawing with the ferociousness of rabid dogs. Pinga’s shield was gone in the first moments, and deep cuts from their dagger-like claws began to appear along her arms as she scrambled to break free of their onslaught. She was forced to forget about helping Calista and Rain, her heart sinking at the necessity. All she could focus on was the two wolves attacking her.

Milly thrust her hands forward, using her telekinesis to push herself backwards to create space between herself and the wolves. She ignored the sharp pain from the cuts across her arms, blood already dripping down her fingers. These were not like the goblins or the ogres at the Battle of Tower Beach. These creatures were stronger and faster. They were intelligent. Coordinated. They knew how to hunt as a pack.

One of the wolves veered left, circling wide to flank Milly from behind. Her eyes flashed towards it, but the second wolf used her moment of distraction to leap forward, reaching out with his paw to grasp Milly’s arm and haul her to the ground for capture.

Instinctively, Milly pivoted quickly on her heels, so the grasp narrowly missed her. She reached out with both hands and sent a spear of flame through her palms and into the beast’s chest. She watched the flames lick along the surface of its fur, struggling to breach the surface, as if its fur were somehow resistant to her fire. The beast grinned at her, unphased.

In the corner of her eye, Milly saw the second wolf leap forward, claws extended as it went for her back.

“Fuck it,” Milly spat, letting her flames suddenly fade. She reached out and grabbed the arm of the first wolf tightly and used her enhanced straight to pull it off its feet. Shocked by Milly’s unexpected strength, the wolf quickly found itself pulled off the ground, and Milly twisted around and hurled it towards the wolf at her back.

The first wolf flew forward and collided with its partner mid-air, sending them both tumbling backwards into one of the fairy tents.

She only had a few moments. The wolves were already rising to their feet, red eyes filled with hate. Their plan for capture replaced with an intense need to kill.

Salem’s Fury consumed the fear that rose in Milly’s heart, leaving careful calculation. She scanned the camp and spotted the cooking spit. A long metal rod perched between two thick branches, glowing red with heat hours over the fire.

The wolves began to rush towards her. Milly reached out with her telekinesis, feeling for the metal rod, just outside of her magical range.

“Come on, just a little bit further,” she said, straining. She took a single step towards the fire, as the wolves leapt towards her, teeth bared and intent on the kill. She felt the metal in her mind, and she grasped hold of it with her magic.

Milly thrust her hands to the side and the metal rod sped towards her through the air. Its sudden flight caused the cooking spit’s supporting branches to collapse into the fire, the impact sending hot coals and sparks towards the children and their protectors. Their shouts of surprise and panic were, yet Milly ignored them, completely focused on the rod flying fast towards the wolves. Powerful and deadly.

The rod reached the wolves in the final moments before their claws struck Milly. It struck the first wolf below its ear, piercing into its skull with enough force to drive it straight through to the other side. It carried the body of the first wolf into the second, the rod impacting the second wolf below its outstretched arm and piercing into its chest. It let out a high-pitched yelp of pain as two wolves collapsed into a pile at Milly’s side, one dead and the other struggling to breathe as the heated rod roasted its lungs from the inside.

The smell of burning flesh began to seep into the air, and Milly watched as the second wolf tried to gasp in pain. There was no sound. Only a tiny puff of heated air that smelled like the funeral pyre at the Tower.

She turned away from the wolves, leaving the second wolf to die in its own time. She felt no remorse for the creatures. No churn in her stomach that preluded the need to vomit that had overtaken her when she had first killed in this world. For a moment, she wondered if it was Salem’s Fury continuing to absorb her emotions or if she was growing accustomed to death.

But the thought was forgotten in an instant when she turned towards Rain and Calista. They were in trouble.

Calista was covered in deep gashes, one of the wolves lying dead at her feet, but another wolf, the one Milly had launched into the river, had replaced it. Her spear swirled around her in complex web of attack and defense, the result of enhancing her spear specialty talent when she hit level fifteen. Despite this, Calista could do little but hold her ground.

“God damn it,” Calista spat, frustrated. She kept trying to reach Rain’s side, but the wolves continually moved to keep them separated. Calista spun her spear, fainting high and stabbing low, piercing one of the wolves in its thigh. It gave a yelp, but it stayed upright and struck back, slicing a claw across Calista’s waist. They were intent on ensuring their leader could have his fun with the third woman. The woman with the bottle.

Rain was in rough shape. Her left arm hung limply at her side, covered in blood. Her shirt was slashed from neck to midriff, and the strap of her satchel had been sliced clean through. Her potions now lay a dozen feet away, hurled into a gooseberry bush. She held her dagger in front of her, its pearl half drained of the poison she had embedded inside, and she was struggling to stay on her feet.

Red Fang bled from several wounds across its chest, yet it seemed unfazed by the poison now coursing through its veins. He stood nearly twice as tall as Rain, teeth bared in a vicious grin. He was playing with his prey and enjoying every minute.

Rain thrust her dagger forward and Red Fang did not bother to move. Her dagger struck Red Fang’s chest at the bottom of his ribs, emptying a little more poison into its bloodstream. The beast hardly flinched. It left the dagger where it was as he grasped Rain’s wrist and struck her hard across the jaw with his other paw. Milly heard a sharp crack, and Rain collapsed at Red Fang’s feet, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth.

“Rain!” Milly shouted, drawing the attention of the alpha.

Red Fang glanced in her direction, eyes falling for a moment on its fallen pack members collapsed beside Milly. “She was weak,” he stated, kicking Rain in this stomach as she lay on the ground and sent her hurling into the trunk of a tree. “Perhaps you will be more of a challenge.”

Red Fang sprinted forward, closing the gap between them in a heartbeat. Before Milly could react, the beast struck her hard in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. She struck the ground, the breath knocked from her lungs. She struggled to find her feet, but the alpha was there before she could rise, yanking her into the air by her knotted hair and hurling her across the encampment. She landed in front of the children and their protectors, rolling across the hard ground until she came to rest at an elder frogman’s webbed feet.

“Disappointing,” Red Fang said, slowing strolling over to her. “You killed two of my pack. I had expected more of a fight from you.”

Milly struggled to retain consciousness. She gasped for breath, her eyes swimming as she struggled to focus on the massive wolf. She reached out her hand, trying to ensnare the wolf’s feet with her earth magic, but the wolf simply smashed through the entrapment with each footstep. The fairies behind her hurled earth magic stones at the beast, but the wolf caught two in his bare hands and hurled them back at the fairies. Two of the women in the circle collapsed as the stone struck them.

“These fairies are so weak,” Red Fang chuckled, taking his time to stalk towards Milly. “Do you know how disappointed I was when Raid Master Greyclaw sent me on this mission? This is a raid meant to be assigned to young pups. It was meant to insult me. But with you three creatures, I will have turned an assignment for children into the clan’s best raid in months.”

“You haven’t beaten us yet,” Milly said, spitting out the blood in her mouth. She rose slowly to her knees, then pushed herself unsteadily to her feet. “And I don’t intend to let you.”

Milly’s hands flared with her fire, fueled by her anger and desperation.

Red Fang simply laughed, spreading its arms wide. “Go ahead. Hit me with your fire. My fur makes me immune.”

Milly saw movement in the corner of her eye. She felt a flicker of hope and a simple plan came together in her mind.

“Let’s find out how true that is,” she declared, watching as a bloodied and limping Rain got to her feet, raised her dagger, and hurled it hard at Red Fang’s back.

It struck home in a powerful strike, the blade embedding itself deep in the beast’s back. Caught off guard, a hiss of pain escaped Red Fang as his hands clawed at the dagger that was slowly emptying its remaining poison into its bloodstream.

It was the distraction Milly needed. She focused on her fire, increasing its intensity until the fairies behind her were forced to retreat backwards to shield themselves from the intense heat. Then Milly condensed her flames, smaller and smaller, until the entirety of the flame’s heat and power rested into a ball the size of a marble in her palms. Its power burned her skin. She winced in pain and could smell her own flesh being seared as she held it. She gritted her teeth. She would only get one shot at this.

Her moment came a second later, as Calista rammed her spear through the chest of one of the wolves she fought. Red Fang twisted his head in its direction, still trying to grasp the dagger in his back, drawn by the dying beast’s yelp.

Milly dashed forward, as fast as she could move. Red Fang twisted his head towards her footsteps, just in time for Milly to thrust the tiny marble of fire straight into his left eye.

The resulting blast rocketed Milly backwards into the gathered fairies, knocking several off their feet as she collided with them. Milly screamed with pain and the smell of burned flesh filled her nostrils. She glanced down at her arm, and nearly fainted as she saw it covered with charred skin from finger to elbow. The pain cut through Salem’s Fury, and she felt herself start to shake uncontrollably. Her increased toughness kept her conscious, but at that moment she wished it did not.

Milly’s shout of intense pain reached Calista’s ears. With fear for Milly gripping her heart, she quickly cut down the remaining wolf by somersaulting over its shoulders and stabbing her spear through its back.

A snarl of pain drew Milly attention from her arm. The massive Red Fang was slowly rising to its feet, one hand clutched to his face as the other ripped Rain’s dagger from his back and hurled it to the ground. He was furious, but through her pain Milly could also see fear in those once confident eyes.

Or rather, in his right eye. His left eye had been obliterated in the heat of the fire, leaving little more than a blackened hole where his eye had once been. The entire left side of his face was covered in seared flesh and bare bone, his upper lips burned away.

The alpha wolf suddenly found itself outnumbered by the trio and surrounded by the bodies of its pack.

“Damn you,” Red Fang spat as the final member of its pack fell. “This isn’t over. The Silver Lakes Clan will not rest until we have hunted you down. On the howl of our Lord, I swear this to you.” Red Fang stood tall, trembling with pain, and retreated to the trees, leaving a bloody trail in his wake.

Milly tried to get to her feet to follow, but sharp pain lanced through her body and caused her to collapse back to the ground. The smell of burned flesh was strong. Her head was fussy, and she hardly registered when her head was suddenly cradled in Calista’s arms.

“Milly! Oh god, your arm. Can you heal yourself? “Milly, stay awake,” Calista pleaded, as Milly began to shake and lose unconscious from the pain.

A webbed hand fell on Calista’s shoulder.

“Move aside,” croaked the elder frogman, a kind look in his bulging eyes. “We may not be great fighters, but we can handle this.” The elder nodded to two of the fairy women, who moved to either side of Milly and rested their hands on her arms.

Milly started to scream in pain, until the elder frogman ran his tongue across her wound, releasing a paralytic that dulled her agony. The two fairy women’s hands started to glow blue, releasing healing magics into Milly’s arm. Milly sighed as the soothing paralytic took effect, her eyes fluttering closed as the fairy women worked. The pain disappeared and a pleasant tingle took its place. It almost felt…good. Milly started to giggle as she looked at her arm, though she did not know why.

Rain joined them a moment later with a heavy limp and her arm dangling from her side. The elder saw her holding back the pain and nodded to two more fairy women, who floated over to Rain and began healing her injuries. A fifth fairy moved in to assist Calista, whose defensive prowess had kept her mostly to superficial injuries.

“Thank you, strange creatures,” the elder croaked in a deep and grateful tone once their healing had started to take effect. “We are no match for the wolves, even with our magics. They would have taken us as slaves for their war, and it would have been the end of us. We owe you a great debt that I fear we can never repay.”

“We do not need to be repaid,” Rain said, then yelped in pain as the fairy magic suddenly reset her dislocated shoulder.

“Sorry,” whispered the white-haired fairy. She was young, with green eyes and a subtle scar that ran from cheek to ear on the righthand side.

“Don’t be,” Rain responded gently, trying to block out the pain. “This is not the first time we have been injured. And it will not be the last.”

“I have never seen anyone stand up to the wolves,” said the white-haired fairy in awe. “Who are you?”

“We’re just players,” answered Rain, watching her wounds slowly sealed shut by the fairy’s magic.

“What’s a player?” asked one of the frog children in a high-pitched croak, poking his head out from behind the elder’s knees.

“They are obviously monsters, Tentongue,” answered one of the fairy children, fluttering up to perch on the elder’s shoulder. “Only monsters are that strong.”

“Nuh-uh, Flutterwing,” countered Tentongue, eyes darting up to the elder in doubt. “Monsters are evil. They would not come to our rescue. They must be fairies like us. Only bigger. And stronger. And tougher.”

The elder frog placed a webbed hand gently on top of each child’s head. “Now is not the time for curiosity, children,” he croaked, scanning the broken encampment. His eyes fell on one of the fairy mothers, crouched over the broken body of her mate. “Now is the time to recover. And to mourn.”

The elder picked Flutterwing off his shoulders and set her on the ground next to the white-haired fairy. “Whitewing, ensure our saviors get the healing they need. We owe them our lives. Flutterwing, be a good girl and do what your mother says, alright?”

Flutterwing gave a small pout but settled in next to her mother to observe.

The elder turned to the trio. “I am Elder Twotongue. You are welcome in our camp, strangers. I must see to my people, but Whitewing and her circle will heal your wounds.” He hesitated for a moment. “And, if you are willing, I ask that you stay in our camp for the evening meal. I would request something of you, though I have no right to ask for more than you have already given.”

“We’ll stay,” muttered Calista, cradling Milly’s head in her lap and watching the fairies as they struggled with Milly’s severe burns. Calista had to turn her head away as the fairies focused their magic on a patch near Milly’s elbow, which had been seared down to the bone. “Just please keep healing her.”

Milly reached up and stroked Calista’s cheek, a delirious smile on her face. “Hey…. don’t worry pretty lady…I’ll be fine…I feel good…,” Milly slurred, giggling at nothing.

“Umm…is she okay?” Rain asked, watching Milly beginning to trace strange patterns on Calista’s cheeks with her finger as Elder Twotongue left to tend to the camp.

“The Elder’s saliva is a remarkable painkiller,” Whitewing answered, glancing over at Milly. “But it has its side effects. Just know that your friend will be well cared for, and she cannot feel any pain.”

“Boink. Boink. Hahaha,” Milly laughed, poking at Calista’s nose. “You have the best nose, Cally….Callyista…Callallyalllyoooo..sta…I just want to lick it.”

“I need to get a sample of that saliva,” Rain laughed through her own pain.

Calista just smiled and held Milly protectively as she let the fairies work their magic.

Congratulations! You have defeated Red Fang and his Slaver Pack.

You have been awarded 2000 experience points.

You have leveled up twice and received four attribute points and one talent point.

You have reached level 20.

Congratulations, Milly Brown! You are the third player to reach Level 20 and unlock the next tier of talents.

Item: Red Fang’s Amulet of Fire Resistance

Gold: 500