Red Wind of Change

by Mimic Kairatta

Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Hello and welcome! This is Mimic. I have created another chapter with the help of Ironturtle. Be sure to check out his story "I Don't Think I'm Supposed to be Here" if you are interested.

This is a crossover chapter with material that comes from a video game known as DOTA 2. Don't worry, you don't need to know the source material to enjoy the story. Nor will it effect it in any major way. Well, outside of a monster attack. We'll get to that later.

So if you are against Video games, DOTA 2 lore, or cross-story chapters in general, you have been warned.

Red Wind of Change

by Mimic Kairatta

Co-written by Ironturtle

Chapter Four
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The Majesty of the Seas was a Sovereign class cruise liner owned by Red Feather International, a company whose specialty was luxury cruise ships that allow for large groups of passengers to travel with all the comforts and necessities one could ever ask for and then some. It was a ship designed for the wealthy and Nobles of all races. Her features included the trademark Griffon Crown Lounge overlooking the pool and sun decks, two onboard glass-walled casinos, many different bars of plentiful variety, two additional swimming pools, two hot tubs, a basketball court, and a rock climbing wall. The ship has 2,384 double occupancy and 346 triple-quad occupancy staterooms, which was an order of magnitude above the best ship their competitors had ever built. Were you to ask any who experienced riding this fine vessel, they would tell you the ship was definitely top class.

"Urg. How long do we need to wait on this stupid boat!?"

Sadly, this opinion isn't shared by one of the newest passengers as she blows her rainbow mane up in aggravation. Rainbow Dash, the athletic weather pony and "Fastest Flyer in all of Equestria," is bored. Very bored. “I-might-start-pranking-someone” bored, which was not a good thing to be when you’re surrounded by ocean for hundreds of miles in every direction.

“Ya know we won’t be there ‘til the afternoon!” The pony wearing a stetson hat and resting on the couch next to her pushes her hat up and glares at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, ya' need to relax."

"But Applejack!" She turns to her, hovering over her face. "I'm boooored! There's nothing to do!"

Applejack frowns. "What in tarnation? What about all them fancy shmacy bars an' restaurants this hyar place has?"

She loops in the air and lands on the ground with alight clatter of hooves. "Eh, I'm not hungry."

"Well, what about the basketball court?"

She rolls her eyes. "Those rich guys stopped challenging me after I trounced the first one hard enough to break the board."

"Swimming?"

"Full of snobby nobles."

"Rock Climbing?"

She gestures to her wings. "Do I look like I need to climb?"

"The Casino?"

"I'm broke."

"Talk to somepony?"

"They're too lame to talk to."

AJ throws up her forelegs in agitation. "Then hang out with the others! Jeez, ya more wound up than one of Time Turner's ol' Grandfather clocks."

She gives Applejack a deadpan stare. "I would if they were doing anything that wasn't so boring."

The apple farmer raises a brow. "Borin'?"

"Well, yeah!" She gestures to nowhere in particular. "I mean Twilight is with Rarity, mingling with the nobles while that guard we got stuck with escorts her. Which is about as fun as it sounds. Then there's Fluttershy, who hasn't left her room in days because she's seasick. And then there's Pinkie..."

"Pinkie?" AJ gives rainbow a blank stare. The thought of the pink pony being boring just couldn't register in her mind. "I figure Pinkie would be the life of the party."

Rainbow rubs the back of her head. "Yeah, she would be if I could find her."

"She’s gone an' disappeared again?"

"Yeah. She rushed off somewhere. Said something about 'Getting things for a big party' or something."

Applejack gives in to confusion. “Party? What party?”

Rainbow Dash rolls her hoof. “She wanted to throw a “political party.””

Applejack doesn’t respond, letting the silence drag out between them.

“Rainbow… a political party isn’t an actual party.”

Dash’s face clouds with confusion. “It isn’t? Then why is it called a party?”

“It’s a party as in a group. Ya know, ponies who share th' same idea.”

“Oooh.”

Silence.

“Still bored.”

Applejack moves her hat over her face and groans.

-------------------------

"...... huh."

That's pretty much all I could say after I finished reading about the Battle of Harmony. I mean what else could I have said? Emotions were mixed pretty well with the results. There were facts and information which could only be taken with a grain of salt since it was bias to the Griffon Kingdom.

What I did get from all of it though is that, although the griffons lost the battle, the loss actually helped win the war. Who knew? I glance at the clock sitting upon the wall and realize how much time has past. It was nearly time for the sun to rise. The situation becomes dire when the sounds of a front door lock being worked rings in the air.

With utmost haste, I move the book back into place and make a break for the window. By Anzû, the door is opening. I bumped into a few things before slipping through the window and closing it. With any luck, the owner won’t know anyone was here. Personally, I’d rather not stick around to find out. I quickly make a break for it and hop to the roofs and back alleys with the help of my powers. Once I’m far enough away, I have to stop and catch my breath. Which was strange, I remember using my powers much more than this without getting so winded. No pun intended. The effects of my long imprisonment must have taken more out me than I thought.

No matter, my first goal is to make sure I survive. I’ll start making long term goals after I know I won’t starve to death. To survive, I need food and water. Which is easier said than done. Water is easy. Get a small cloud, make it rain. Food? That takes some more creative thinking.
I could steal for it, but it would serve as a dishonor to the griffons I swore to protect so long ago. I could also go scavenging from the trash cans, if I was desperate. Luckily, there was one skill that would prove to work in times when food was needed: Fishing. The rivers nearby were stocked for such a purpose. All I needed was a stick, some string, and a hook. Hell, just a stick would be fine.

With a plan in mind, I now quest for a long, pointy stick. Wonder if I should embed gems into it and call it the “Stick of Truth.”

However, while I was looking for lunch, the guard was looking for me. A small group being lead by an Aeromancer was tracking the areas where I used my Air Manipulation abilities. Like a trail of breadcrumbs, they were following the places where I have been. This included the bookstore I visited not too long ago.

----------

The dark blue and grey griffon in leather and a cloak lands in front of the store with three of the guard landing behind him. Jarman opens the door and enters.

The shopkeeper, Corran Azuretail, places the fallen stack of books back into place. He looks behind him after the bell upon the door rings.

“Oh my! Areomancer Jarman?” he asks. “This is certainly a surprise. What brings you here to my store?”

“Just trying to keep the peace, shopkeeper Korman. We’re following a disturbance that seems to have visited your shop. Have you seen or heard anything suspicious today?”

Corran looked puzzled for a moment, then rubs the underside of his beak in thought. “Now that you mention it. There has been something strange.” He gestures to the window. “One of my windows was unlocked and various books had fallen upon the floor. I assumed a thief broken in.”

“Did he take anything?”

The old shopkeep shook his head. “No. That’s the strange thing. There were signs of someone sneaking in, but nothing was stolen.”

“Odd. Do you mind if we take a closer look?”

He shook head head once more. “No. Go right ahead. Perhaps you can find something I couldn’t. As far as I can see, nothing of value was stolen.”

“Thank you.” The guards spread out through the shop, thoroughly scanning every surface, but being careful not to damage the merchandise. No one wants to get on the bad side of internal affairs, after all After a few minutes of poking around, one of the guards says, “I think I’ve got something.” The others cluster around him. On the shelf, pushed in haphazardly and sticking out like a sore thumb was the history book that I had my hands on not too long ago. Now normally this wouldn’t be much to go on, but it was the fact that it was covered in Aero magic that made it noticeable.

“Very good, soldier. a fresh lead.” Jarman takes a big whiff of the book, sampling the aero magic. With his fingers upon the book, he utters a few incantations and focuses a tracking spell around the book. His eyes snap open, glowing a bright blue. He whips his head around to face the river. He “sees” the magic of the individual there, pulsing like a beacon of light. He deactivates the spell and sets the book down. “He’s at the river. Let’s move out.” He turns to address the merchant. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Corran nods, bowing slightly. “I am glad to be of help. I hope you find the one responsible. I am curious as to why he broke in to read my books instead of waiting until the store actually opens.”

---

It was mid-afternoon. I had finished fishing with… some success. Sadly the fish here were small, but it was enough to pass for a decent meal. As I was walking across the alleyway, I heard something. There was some commotion near the docks. Sounds like something big is going down. Not one to feel left in the dark, I make use of my powers to quickly transverse the back alleys until I come across the docks.

It was there I saw one of the biggest ships I have ever had the fortune to view. Granted, it’s the only large ship I’ve ever seen that wasn’t in pictures or stories. Still, it isn’t like anything I have seen in recent memory. Even more so when I catch sight of the passengers walking down the ramp. My first reaction was surprise. It was the fanciest ramp I have ever seen: Red carpet, a roof with elegant rails, and possibly the gaudiest set of red and gold patterns I have seen in my entire life. My next reaction was outright shock as I saw who was walking down those ramps. Ponies. Very classy looking if their clothing are anything to go by.

I remember how ponies were long ago, before I was stoned. Literally. I read in the book that the two species held a peace treaty, but seeing it myself was surreal. Ponies and Griffons? Together in the same area and not ripping each other’s faces off? The thought makes me very uncomfortable for some reason. For me, it was just yesterday that I was punching a pony in the face for trying to stab a griffon with a spear. Now? I see the two species talking, ‘shaking hands’, exchanging pleasantries. I’m tempted to leave just to get over the weirdness I was seeing. However, I stand there long enough to see something else that stood out even more.

a group of 7 ponies that don’t appear to be nobles are walking down the ramp. They have the pleasure of being the 7 most out-of-place individuals I have ever seen. There was a princess looking alicorn, a guard, a cowpony, an athletic pegasus, a bouncy energetic earth pony full of pink, a noble looking unicorn with fancy hair, and a shy pegasus. My mind was processing what I was looking at. While I’m distracted by this spectacle, I hear something land behind me. I turn my head and peak around the extrusion from the building to see a group of guards… and one of them looked to be using Aero magic.

“Ah crap.” I say quietly to myself, keeping out of sight. “How the hell did they find me? Did they find me? Could have been a coincidence… they could have just landed there by chance and-”

“Halt troublemaker! You are under arrest for 2 accounts of breaking and entering, destruction of historical objects, and vandalism.”

“... ah crap.” Now the noble thing to do would be to give up and turn myself in. However, the immediate reaction for someone in my position would be obvious. I worked aero upon my legs, reducing air pressure around them and sprinted off at high speeds. I don’t mean run down the alley, I mean run up the wall and bounce up to the roof. Wise men once said, “You’re only in trouble if you get caught,” and, “The best way to escape someone is to not go where they expect.”

“Guards, fan out and capture him.” I glance back to see the aeromancer lift a small talisman with gems and runes in the surface that’s shaped like a cross with a circle on the top up to his ear hole. “This is head guard Jarman requesting backup. We’ve got an aeromancer of unknown species and origin who is a suspect in multiple crimes on the run down at the docks. Requesting immediate backup, over.” His voice carries across the skies, through the channels of air in the form of waves silent to most ears. However, any Aeromancer can pick up these signals and focus them into their own hearing range. The result? Instantaneous, reliable, controlled communication.

Meanwhile, I was flipping over a low-standing cart when I heard a buzzing in my ears. It sounded like a radio on the wrong channel. It nearly caused me to trip as I tried to get the ringing out of my ears. I dunno what caused it, but I don’t have time to question it as I see a few guards making their way towards me. I immediately jump over a gap, then use a burst of air to shoot down at a right angle before doing it again to pop myself into an alleyway. Hopefully that will throw them off enough as I keep parkouring my way through the city, staying away from crowded areas.

I’m just about to lose my pursuers in a narrow, winding set of alleyways when something smacks me in the face, causing me to trip on a stray flagstone and go sprawling. Luckily I use a burst of air pressure to cushion the impact of the fall. Something I learned to do in my earlier years of using my powers. More out of necessity as I tend to crash into things. A lot. Moving on, I see the guard in question. It’s likely they are trying to flank me in or box me into a corner. However, I am not so easily taken. The guard flies in to tackle me and pin me down. I use the air currents to move him out of the way. Straight into a pile of cabbages.
”My cabbages!” Shouts the cabbage merchant. Which is my cue to leave. As I leave the area, I pick up the object that was stuck to my face. It looked… out of place. Like it didn’t belong here.

“I am Dual, master of the Heroes of the Radiant and the Dire, and destroyer of the Ancients. If innocent blood has been spilled or enslaved, call on me, and I will aid you however I can.”

That’s… convenient. Creepy, but convenient. I’m been so focused on the token that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was running. I find myself in an alley full of boxes with bits of trash lying about. There’s a rather large fence in front and high rise buildings sides by side. I could hear the flapping of large wings heading this way. Wasting no time, I took cover under one of the boxes. However, I realized that this trick would never work. They’d be able to find me the same way they found me last time. Looking upon the token, a square stone with two gems set in it separated by a groove, I figure that it might be the only way I get get out of this mess. I hold it up close and spoke.

"I am Red Wind the Aeromancer. I have reawoken from my deep slumber and am on the run. My powers have greatly diminished and I have run myself into a corner. I do not know how long until I am found. I require assistance."

I feel a tug through the stone, a thud under my feet, then nothing. By Anzû, that was a waste of time. I could hear the guards closing in. They reach the alley which I was hiding in.

“Come out! We know you are here. Give yourself up and you’ll be given some leniency. If not, you’ll be charged for resisting arrest.” Their steps becoming louder. Slowly getting closer and closer until they were practically at arm’s length.

CRACK. The guards stop and look at the paving stones. One of them had just, moved. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK, BOOM. The ground explodes, sending the foremost guards flying and revealing a massive creature made of living rock. “TIIINNYYY, COMIN’ IN!” That name must be ironic.

The creature nods at me, then turns to the guards, who are staring in open shock. The earth elemental grins, and looms over them. “Boo.” The guards form up , pointing all their spears at this new. Tiny looks miffed. Then he starts to shrink, and lose his stone skin, until he condenses into a human about my height with glowing green and orange veins, and absolutely no hair. This is first human I have seen in a long time, and completely ruins the dramatic moment by starting to break dance. I wonder why until I look at the griffin guards, who are frozen in confusion. He’s distracting them. While in the middle of spinning on his head like a top he shouts, “Moonlight Shadow!” and we both turn transparent. He stands up and leaps over the guards, gesturing for me to follow.

As you may guess, I took this opportunity with gusto. I’ll question the absurdity of the distraction later. Right now, escape is preferable to arrest. The guards in question were frantic, trying to search disappearing creature as well as where I was once hiding. We get far enough away to catch our breath. Well, catch my breath. I was more exhausted due to the continuous use of Aero magic. This guy? He looks a little winded, but no more than anyone else after a short exercise. I am so out of shape.

“You ok, dude? You don’t look so good.”

I nod, readjusting the cloth around my shoulders. “Yeah… yeah. Just give me a minute. It’s been a while since I ran like that.”

He takes a closer look at you. “I don’t that will cut it. Your mana levels are way below normal, and your regen seems to be shot. Here.” He sticks his hand into the bag slung over his shoulder, and mutters, “Bloodstone.” He pulls out a blood red rock and offers it too me. “This should help.”

I take the stone, staring at it. “Um thanks. What is this?”

“It’s the most powerful mana regen item I have access too. It triples your base regen amount plus one mana per second times how many charges it’s got. It also gives a large boost to your health regen, and health and mana pools.”

I pretend I understand all that and nod my head. Though from what I can tell, it’s refreshing my magic just from touch alone. Neat. “That sounds good and all. Though, is this thing… made of blood or something?”

“It’s extremely good, especially for rapid spellcasters. And to answer your question, I don’t think so. I know blood’s not a part of the recipe, but you can never be sure. You can probably guess where it gets the name.”

…. eeeewww. “Moving swiftly away from that mental image, I must thank you for your help.” I pocket the, urg, bloodstone within my costume. I definitely felt the regenerative effects if his words have anything to go by. “If it weren’t for you, I’d have been caught. My name is Red Wind.”

“I’m Dual, nice to meet you.” We shake hands. “Speaking of which, did you call me here just to get yourself out of a bind, or is there some big problem I can help with?” He clasps his hands behind him and levels an impassive stare at my face.

I think over what to say as well as what I can recall. “Well, it’s not as cut and dry as I’d like it to be. The immediate problem I had was the guard. However, my main problem so far is that I have awoken after getting stuck in stone for over 1000 years at the least and I got little bits of information to go by. The only thing I know of that’s happening is that some big event is suppose to happen today.”

“The princesses got you too, huh? I was lucky enough to be blacked out for the duration. Anyway, is there some way we can get clued in on what’s supposed to go down?

“Not that I-” I wince when I start hearing the radio static once more. “Gah! There it goes again.”

“There goes what? I don’t hear anything.”

I look at him in confusion. “You don’t hear that? It sounds like radio static.””

He looks at me in confusion. “No? Let’s think logically about this. What possible reason could there be for you having static in your ears whereas I don’t?”

He doesn’t hear it? Then it’s only me. “The only time that happened was after the Griffon started talking with the thing in his claws.”

“Really? That sounds kind of pointless. Why would he do something like that?”

“You’d think it’s pointless, but the way he was doing it was like he was giving orders to someone. ”

“That sounds like a radio to me. Griffins don’t have those, right?”

“Not… that I know of.” I had to pause and think. I remember before I was stoned, I never seen griffons use such devices. “At least, not a thousand years ago. Could they have that kind of technology now?”

“It’s possible. The industrial revolution only took two centuries, after all.”

“Yeah… but,” I took a glance over to the city in general. “I haven’t seen any smoke stacks billowing anywhere. So they can’t be using coal and fossil fuel.”

“Well, you were here a thousand years ago, right? What was new back then?”

“Um… hm. Let me think.” I recall back in the days when the Griffons were tribes instead of a unified nation. Of course, there was the unification of the tribes before the ponies came. Yet during that time, the biggest breakthroughs were around more natural means. “Well, the biggest things I can recall are medicines and such.”

“Wait, what are your powers again?”

I shrug indifferently. “Aeromancy. Air manipulation. Air Bender. Whatever you want to call it, it’s all air control.”

“Well, I know I don’t have any of that stuff. I’ve got a few storm manipulators, but nothing for pure air. Could that be responsible?”

I give him a questioning look, then one directed to myself. “How? Griffons didn’t have Aeromancy back then. I was the only one.” I pauses for a moment. “Back then… I was the only one. Yet now...” I’m not.

“Well, if I had air powers, I’d use them to make a radio too. give it a try.”

“Can’t promise I can. Radio waves weren’t invented yet.” I cup my hands to my ears and listen. I heard the static once more. Radio waves and sound waves have two things in common: They both use vibrations. By altering the vibrations, one could theoretically turn one thing into the other. Radios operate this way by using electricity, relays and receivers as the medium. For me, I use my own powers to try and alter the waves into something that could be heard and tuned. At first, it sounded like a garbled mess. Slowly, something starting becoming clear.

“ --- *bzzt* we have confirmation of a beast in the forest. Requesting permission to investigate?”

I blink in surprise. “Whoa! I… I think I can hear it. Bit rough, but it’s coming in loud and clear.”

“Well, what’s it say?” Dual was now standing on his head. I give him a questioning look and he just raises his eyebrows. “What would you do if you had no one to tell you ‘no’ to things?”

“Certainly not that.” He snorts, and I shake my head. “Anyways, I’m hearing something that sounds like a law enforcement radio. Saying something about a beast in the forest.” I listen in more to hear what the guard what saying. “Now he’s giving a description of it. It sounds like a dragon. A big nasty dragon that’s pounding on the Eastern wall!”

Dual cracks his knuckles. “Now that’s more like it!” He reaches into his pouch and pulls out two corked bottles, each with a glowing, red orange crystal inside, handing one to me. “These are haste runes, they’ll help get across the city faster.” He pulls the cork off and takes a swig the crystal inside disappearing. Then he pulls out another a purple bomb. “Smoke of Deceit!” WE vanish in a puff of greyish purple smoke. “This’ll last as long as the rune. Which way is east?”

Still holding the bottle, I get a feel of the air currents before pointing towards east. “East would be that way.”

“Then follow me!” He takes off up the side of the wall and onto the roofs, quickly leaving my line of sight.

I reactivate the magic around my legs and run after him. I’m rather surprised that he’s matching my speed with the hastening effect he placed upon himself. Though not quite as good with moving across certain objects, he’s pretty fast. It took quite a bit of effort to catch up to him.

“Do you run like this all the time?” I ask, sliding under a pipe before sprinting back up.

“No, not usually. It’s the haste rune, it gives me the maximum standard speed for most of my heroes, but only last for 45 seconds. A select few can go faster, though.” With that, he conjures a bat out of thin and with a quick, “Firefly!” starts gliding over all the debris.

I run up next to him. Quite literally. I was running along the air beside him, using increased air pressure under my feet to keep my afloat. “When all this craziness and misunderstands are over. Interested in seeing which one would be the fastest?”

“It wouldn’t be much of a contest. Spirit Breaker, one of my heroes, has a charge ability that allows me to go a lot faster than this.”

“I’ll be sure to keep it mind.” We were making some very good time, already we could see the eastern wall coming to view. We were also able to hear the roars and booming sounds of the creature behind the wall.

“Wait,” said Dual, “That’s no dragon, that’s” We hop the wall and get our first good look at the dragon. He was standing on his hind legs, using his massive claws to gouge holes the wall. Any griffin who tries to get close enough to attack him is smacked away by one of his talons. The wings growing out of his hunchback are tiny and tattered, nowhere near strong enough to lift him off the ground. “Roshan!” Dual sounds absolutely delighted. “Finally, I have something I can use all this power on. Ursa! Sven! Phantom Assassin!” and with those words, he’s gone. And I only had one thing on my mind.

“The heck is a Roshan?”

WHAM. I follow the sound to it’s source and see Dual right in the creatures face, slamming it with devastating blow after devastating blow.The fact that he was doing it with his bare hands was pretty damn impressive. He turns and calls to me, “Come on, do you want me to have all the fun?”

“Fun…. right.” I sigh. Well, it has been a while since I fought and this beast was attacking a major city. I lift my hands and start forming weapons upon them. One of the things I’ve learn is the ability to have air take on the form of physical objects via air pressure and currents. Pressure for structure, currents for sharpness and force. I used to make ones of massive size.

However, instead of a pair of swords, I was holding two small dagger-like blades.

I look down in confusion. “Wait, these arn’t swords. I couldn’t have gotten that weak!” In agitation, I throw one of the daggers straight into the massive monster’s eye, the speed rivaling a bullet being shot from a rifle. It screams in pain, and flails at random for a few seconds, seconds that Dual uses to land even more critical strikes. With an agonizing moan, the creature staggers and collapses, crushing Dual underneath it.

A displacement of air next to me signals Dual’s appearance at my side. “Of all the times I’ve ever fought Roshan, that was the first I’ve gotten flattened by him. Who knew?” His face is flushed and smile manic. I unconsciously edge away from him.

I dispel the blade in my hand. “First I’ve seen. Then again, this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.” I gesture to the massive creature. “What is this thing?”

“This is Roshan. He was originally a simple thief until he swiped the Aegis of Immortality from the Secret Merchant. This form,” He gestures towards the hulking figure, “Is his punishment for his crimes. He’s the closest thing DOTA has to a final boss. A team of heroes will endeavor to slay him and take the Aegis for themselves, as such a victory can make or break a battle. What makes him so dangerous is that he resurrected as a part of the curse, making him effectively immortal.”

“So a thief stole something he shouldn’t have and became this creature. That I can understand.” I glance at the fallen creature once more. “What I can’t understand is why he’s here in the first place.”

“I’ve got no clue. If any thing like this was going to show up, you’d think it would be in my own universe. Hold on.” He narrows his eyes at the beast. “I think there’s something stuck in it’s back. Just a moment.” Poof, and he’s gone, and poof, and he’s back, holding a jagged stone etched with angry red lines.

“Dire ore, I thought so. This must be what’s responsible. Well” He raised his fist, “I might as well get rid of it.”

And with that he punches the stone into the air shouting “Walrus PUNCH!” When the rock comes back to Equus, it’s completely unfazed. Dual stares down at it in confusion. He hits it again, and again, then uses some kind of ice spell on it (Frost Blast), then a bolt of lighting (Laguna Blade). and still nothing happens. Dual is looking more and more miffed as he tries and fails to break a stone that I’m beginning to think is anything but simple. “Well that’s just great. If physical, magic, and pure damage don’t work, then how am I supposed to destroy you?” I don’t think he was expecting it anymore than I was when the stone spoke.

“Give us an opponent.”

Dual starts in surprise, then crouches down in front of the Direstone. “What do you mean?” he asks.

The rock replies, “We can only be destroyed by our opposite. Remake the battlefield, summon the heroes, and let us destroy the radiant We will give you power, long life, everything you could ask for if you aid us.”

“Sure,” I stare at him in shock. “What? the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Then he leans in close and whispers, “I’ll just destroy them both.” I nod.

“Why do you want to break them again?”

“The Radiant and the Dire care only for themselves and their eternal conflict. They will enslave the body, mind, and soul of any creature unlucky enough to find them if they get the chance, which is a blatant violation of my second rule. I won’t live in the same world as them under any circumstances” I nod again, this time in understanding.

By now, we could hear the sound of groans nearby. Not from Roshan, but from the guards slowly getting up.

“I think we should leave before anyone sees us.”

“Why would you do that? We just saved the city. You should go get some brownie points from them. It would help with your long term goals.”

“Normally, I’d be inclined to agree. However, they’d want to know where you came from and start questioning things… like the Dire ore you have on hand. ”

“This? I’m taking this with me. Roshan too. I have a feeling I’m going to need him. As for their questions, why not the truth? We’re not the only ones of our kind out there, and one of the messages I got from them was addressed to the alicorn princesses.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I do not want to deal with those two at the moment. Besides, what am I going to say when you take away the monster? ”

“Call it payment for services rendered.”

“.... I’ll just say you ate it.”

“That works. Anyway, I should warn you, you’ll be getting a bunch when you go to sleep if you haven’t already.”

“A bunch of what?” I raise a brow.

“Tokens, you know, like my crest.” he pointed to his satchel’s buckle, which was shaped like the object I had used to call him. “Every Displaced, as we are called, makes their own personal calling card after being exposed to the multiverse for the first time. For me, that was after I fell asleep for the first time after my release from stone.” He rubs his butt when as he speaks, and I choose not to comment. “I don’t know how many are out there, but it’s a lot. So you’ll have plenty of evidence if asked to provide it.”

I glance at him, then at my pockets, then back to him. “I don’t have the pockets for all those tokens.”

“Me neither, they’re back in my lair in the Everfree Forest. You’ll need a similar place to store them.”

“I don’t even have a house!”

“Then now is your chance to go get one.”

I wave my arms in exasperation. “I’m poor!”

“One moment.”

He reaches into his satchel and says, “Storm Spirit.” When he removes his hand, he’s holding another satchel like the one he’s wearing, only much smaller. “This satchel contains the full power of Storm Spirit, one of the heroes I can use. It’ll give you a place to keep that bloodstone, and it’ll generate 1 gold piece every 0.6 seconds. Don’t worry, it uses hammer space, you won’t feel the weight. Just let me choose a few items.” He fiddles with the bag for a moment, then gives it to me. “Here, take it. Unfortunately, you’ll have to start at level one. You’ll get more experience and level up when you fight.”

I take the bag, looking it over. To the average observer, it appears to be a normal satchel. I then take a peek inside. It was like looking into the depths of the void itself. With bits of gold flying around and appearing every second. “That can’t be good for the economy.”

“It’s not. I could crash both our universes if I felt like it, so use it sparingly.”

Spending could destroy the universe economically. Good to know. “I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.”

“Good. Oh, wait one last thing. Everyone time a creature dies next to a bloodstone, it gets another charge, if you get enough charges, it can resurrect you if you die. That’s the real reason behind it’s name.”

“There are so many ways that can go wrong.” I take the bloodstone as well as the crest and place them in the satchel.

“Well, I think that’s everything. Now how do I get back?”

I blink. “... you don’t know how?”

“Not really, no. Maybe you’re supposed to say something?”

I stand there for a moment, thinking. What could I say that would get someone to leave after accomplishing something? “Um… you may leave?”

A hole in the world opens up behind Dual. He turns to look at it, then grins at me. “I guess I better get going. See you around!” and with that, he says, “Meat Hook!” snags Roshan with the spell, picks up the red and black rock, and jumps into the hole, dragging the monster after him. Before it closes, I hear “And make friends with the locals!” Then it’s gone, along with Dual and any trace he ever existed, excepted for the bag in my hand.

“Alright. So… a guy shows up, tells me stuff, and helps me beat a monster. Then gives me stuff. If I can deal with Lovecraft stories, I think I can deal with that.” I glance back to the guards, who have now gotten up. “So much for keeping a low profile.”

Comments

[Architect Ironturtle]

Wow, the latest chapter is larger than the last three combined.

[Techpriest Eh]

5643560 So true.

[Blaze the draconic mage]

Pls make more this story is very cool and has air bending Griffins and for once the the character has not spawned in the pony country