Chapter 17: The Unexpected
Send half the group to The Nexus and half to do the contract job for Grandeur.
Starlight tried to explain why Hedron had convinced her they had much less time to get back, but the things about magic and time went way over Smolder’s head. In the end, they decided to send half the group to visit Hedron with Starlight and half to go back to Grandeur. Starlight would pick the final groups in the morning, so they all went to bed.
When morning came, Ocellus was so nervous she was shaking, so Smolder sat with her and put a wing around the small changeling. It was always embarrassing to be seen like this in public, but she knew that a gentle touch always calmed Ocellus down.
“You doing okay?” she asked.
Ocellus tried to smile. “I think so. I should have gone back during the night, but then I would have told Pince about all of you. I’ve never felt like this. But the queen had even worse things planned for all of you. I… I won’t go back to Pince. I don’t want to.”
Smolder pulled Ocellus against her chest. “I’ll protect you. Just like at school, right?” Smolder blushed as Ocellus cuddled against her while her other friends and Starlight watched.
“Once we split up, one of our groups will probably run into those changelings,” Starlight said. “And Ocellus is the only other one who can do magic besides me. Smolder and Gallus will go with Ocellus. If you run into trouble, use a messaging spell to tell me right away. Yona, Silverstream, and Sandbar are with me. Let’s pack up and head out.”
“Saffron go with Smolder,” the kobold announced.
He was a very helpful little guy, and Smolder would be glad to have him along. He packed up his things then helped Smolder pack up hers and Ocellus’s stuff.
“Be careful,” Starlight said. “I want to get back to Equestria with all of you.”
Gallus puffed up his feathers. “With me, there won’t be anything we can’t handle.”
Sandbar booped Gallus on the beak and laughed. “Just don’t pick too many fights.”
Silverstream flapped her wings. “You’re going to love the Bazaar. It has so much cool stuff! But I’m excited to go see this new place, too!”
“Yona want to learn more about strange crystal yak thing.”
They said their goodbyes and parted ways as they took different paths through the mountains. The map that Smolder found showed easy paths and clearly marked any dangers, so they were able to the edge of the Shadow Mountains easily. The forests thinned to small groves separated by rolling hills covered in tall grass. Smolder flew a little higher and looked around. Anything could easily sneak up on them in a place like this.
As the day dragged on, it was hard to remain vigilant all the time. Smolder landed next to Saffron.
“So, I know you like dragons, but what do you get out of helping us?”
“I find more dragons for kobolds to follow. You said there were lots of dragons where you come from. I find way to take tribe to your dragons. Here there is only one dragon, so only a few kobolds get work from him.”
Saffron wrinkled his scaley nose and pointed his spear at some nearby trees. Bolts of magic shot from behind the trees. Two nearly hit Smolder, and Gallus had to dodge another. Tall dark changelings with holes in their legs stepped out from behind the trees. Their wings buzzed as they flew forward.
One stopped next to Ocellus and shouted at her. “Ocellus, did you think I wouldn’t notice your absence? You left against orders, but now it’s time to obey. Help us subdue these creatures and bring them back.”
Gallus pulled Ocellus back and growled. “She’s our friend. Leave her alone!”
The changeling warrior laughed and charged at Gallus.
Smolder could no longer pay attention to them because two other changeling warriors were flanking her. Saffron stepped in to cover her back, but the changelings paid little attention to the kobold. They aimed their horns and kicks at Smolder.
Smolder fought back with her fire and claws, but these changelings were well trained. They pulled back and were only singed by the edges of her flames. They transitioned smoothly into devastating attacks. A hoof caught Smolder in the side. She crashed to the ground. A second hit knocked her face into the dirt. Smolder nearly blacked out, but the magic of Harmony within her suddenly warmed her entire body.
Smolder stood back up and used the magic to power up her flames. She felt unstoppable. She caught one of the two changelings with her fire. The soldier yelped in pain and fell in a smoking heap.
“Hah! You picked the wrong fight when you decided to fight with a dragon!”
She glanced over and saw Gallus take a vicious hit. He got back up slowly. Ocellus had transformed into a bugbear, but she switched between attacking Gallus and the other changeling. The glow of the magic of Harmony surrounded Gallus and Ocellus, and Ocellus no longer fought against Gallus.
Smolder returned her focus back to the changeling still fighting her and Saffron. He charged at Smolder. She rushed to meet him, but he suddenly buzzed his wings and flipped into the air. A black hoof smashed into Smolder’s snout.
Everything went fuzzy after that. Smolder thought she remembered Saffron yelling and running forward to drive off the changeling warrior. She collapsed to the ground. She was too tired, and all the magic keeping her going was gone. She couldn’t keep her eyes open.
She closed her eyes for what seemed like a moment, but it must have been longer. She had an awful headache, but someone was rubbing her with something. She opened one eye and saw the blurry image of Saffron rubbing her worst bruises with some healing ointment. He dabbed a little on her forehead and rubbed it in. Two blobs with the colors of Ocellus and Gallus stood nearby. A hoof shook Smolder’s shoulder.
“Smolder! Smolder!” Ocellus said.
“Ugh… not so loud. My head hurts.”
“Thank goodness! You’re okay!”
“Here, I’ll help you up,” Gallus said.
Smolder blinked until her vision cleared. Gallus was offering his talons to help her up.
“Leave her there,” a musical voice said.
A creature stepped out of the grass. It took Smolder a moment to remember what sort of creature she was. It was a kirin mare. The scales on her back were a shiny golden yellow that faded to a lighter yellow in her fur. Her horn shimmered in silver and blue, and her mane was a faint brown.
“I saw that fight. You all fought well against the soldiers of Queen Cordys. You deserve a reward for your bravery. I am Mirage Chaser. Let me heal your friend.”
The kirin pranced toward them then stopped. Her horn glowed as she lowered it toward Smolder. A soothing blue light surrounded Smolder. All the bruises and pain of the fight quickly faded.
“There. That should have you back up and ready for whatever comes your way. You can never be too careful in the Realm of the Lost. I’ve been here a long time myself. I always was a bit too curious to stay in our village. I’ve never seen a shiny blue changeling like you! What brings three creatures as different as yourselves to this place?”
Smolder dusted herself off and stood up. Her headache was gone, and she only felt a little tired.
Gallus stepped forward and spread his wings, like he always did when trying to look impressive. “We’re here on a special mission from Equestria. Celestia herself sent us!”
Mirage Chaser laughed. “A good story, but I don’t think that’s the truth.”
“Fine. Celestia didn’t send us, but we are here to help save Equestria. We needed some help from Grandeur, so now we owe him.”
“That rings true to me. And if you have a contract with that old griffon, you better stick to it. But if you have time, I could use your help. If you’re against Queen Cordys, I’ve been helping a few ponies break free of her control. I want to save more of them, but I can’t do it myself. We’ve been working on something to get rid of those mind control mushrooms, but the ingredients are hard to find. And I’m not the best at sneaking into the village either.”
“I’m sort of under her control,” Ocellus said. “I can fight it, but maybe… you could help me break free?”
Mirage Chaser frowned and her horn glowed. She pressed it against Ocellus.
“Ah hah! I can sense it. Not quite like the ponies under her control, but it’s similar. Maybe me and my friends could find a way to undo it, but you’d need to get a few things for the potion and spells.”
Gallus scratched his chin. “That sounds nice, but we’re supposed to be going to Grandeur. But our contract with him still has a few more days. Maybe we could help Mirage Chaser.”
“I could send a message to Starlight to tell her about the change in plans,” Ocellus said. “I don’t want to hurt my friends anymore.”
“Yeah, you hit me pretty hard.” Gallus rubbed his side. “It would be nice to not worry about that. What should we do?”
- Travel quickly to the Bazaar to finish the contract work with Grandeur.
- Send a message to Starlight and wait for her reply before deciding.
- Help Mirage Chaser.
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The what, now?
9834577
They are both different RPG systems. If you're interested, I could provide some links to places with more information.
Well at least we're getting more help Kind of like any RPG games And I knew it there is something suspicious about the Queen And those Dang mushrooms Where super mario when lol