Chapter 14: To Dine as Arch-Magekings

“I told you that I’m not from this place, or the world it is connected to, I come from a world called Sunder, once it was part of another world, but after the sundering that my world was named for, it became its own.

I came here inside a machine, one that looks like a giant suit of armour, in my world there are many of these machines, called carps, short for carapace, which is short for another name. I remember now why my world has so many, closer to the sundering, many people lived beneath the ground and in other shelters, because the light of our dragon sun was too strong to bear. The hazcarps were made to explore our new and changed world, as time went on, they simply became a fact of life, even when the surface grew less hostile.

The Trans-Hazcarp was meant to travel between dimensions, I see how that in one sense this was a failure. This is not part of another dimension, a lot is unfamiliar to me, but plenty my people have stories about, like the word, the concept; chlan, my suit did not translate that word, it is known to me… also…

Before I came here, I appeared in one other place. The voidspread.

I was awed by the points of light, all the worlds, and other things I don’t know of, in the distance. There, as I floated in the void I saw a great flower, the size of a world, its roots… they pierced into the stuff of the voidspread itself.

I can’t actually remember what colour the flower was you know, but it bloomed before me countless petals unfurling sending out a wave of power that shook my hazcarp, and things rushed out of it towards me. I could not even see inside the flower for the mass of things that were flying out of it. I’m afraid I can’t tell you what the things that came out of the flower are, but they felt powerful and more things came out of them, as they came from the flower. I panicked actually you see, I wasn’t thinking straight after I had stepped through, so I just stepped through again, I feared dealing with such a mass, and that was how I ended up here in the Red Crystal Realm”

Toro went on to tell his audience how he unstable after arriving, and how he in a daze ended up in a barrow and inside a mimic. He told Paorge and Zhadar of the events leading up to him arriving at the wandering soul food shack, of how Olice saved him not once but twice. He even told them, quite proudly of the other fake Olice that he quickly shot.

“A blooming flower in the voidspread…” Paorge murmured, stroking his chin

Zhadar’s attention was on Olice however. She had a serious look in her eyes.

“Child, know this, that other, it can’t be truly defeated by anyone other than you”

Then she smiled.

“Don’t be afraid, just hold onto this truth, no matter what it says to you, there is only one person who can be you. That is you child. You’ve done well in surviving.”

“She speaks true, Mistress” Susasov confirmed. “The other will try to break you, get you to reject yourself or think that you are not who you are, chlan of its kind are lies”

“You mean to say that being isn’t dead?” Toro asked.

Zhadar shook her head. “A creature such as that is not slain by a sword in hand, but a sword in the heart and spirit, I do not know if you will understand, but I believe all chlan are like this”

Poarge came out of whatever reverie he was in and spoke.

“Toro Yacobs, would you do me the favour of lending me the vision of your eyes, I want to see this flower you saw”

Toro was surprised. Magic did not take such an overt form in his world, for the most part it was mostly used as fuel, still though he was wary of the magecraft of this realm he found himself in, and Poarge was a skeleton, Toro felt he could trust him.

Toro nodded.

“Then, look into my eyes”

Toro stared into those rippling pools of green, he froze in place, transfixed. His vision filled with a crashing sea of green water, from this sea a pair of skeletal hands reached out and went through his sight. This is what Toro saw, but to Olice all she saw was Toro looking into Poarge’s eyes and then something slipping out of Toro’s brown eyes and plopping into Poarge’s eyes.

Olice had tried to watch what had happened with her magical senses, but it happened so quickly and with so little power that Olice had no idea how it was done, it might not have even been a spell, but some quirk of Poarge’s strange eyes.

“Beautiful” Poarge said in awe.

He turned and sent the vision into Zhadar’s eyes.

“Fine indeed. More beautiful than the Rose of Bhaerdúwyn my love.” Zhadar said.

Olice also wanted to see the flower, but she felt that she couldn’t ask this, she somehow felt it would be rude, perhaps though she was a bit afraid of Poarge’s eyes.

Poarge clapped his hand, making a clattering sound with the bones.

“Well, such a vision, and a story requires a fitting reward”

He bent down and rummaged beneath the counter. Then, he ascended, holding a steaming roast being. It was a dark rich crisp brown, Toro, and Olice began to salivate, Gander, Susasov and the red shadower were struck with a clinging hunger. The being the roasted body had once been was strange, a kind of long body, but not completely unlike that of a rabbit’s body, it was quite a bit larger though, and the legs were meatier. Some kind of red dusting glittered atop it.

The smell was far too good, sending those around into a satisfied stupor, in fact just the mere smell stirred the heartflames of those present. Clearly there was clever magic in the construction of the caravan-boat to keep a roast at it’s peak state.

It was speared on a clear shaft, Poarge attached this to the sides of the opening in the back of the caravan-boat.

“Roast Carbuncle, Leon-Ard style, and with the gem from its’ forehead treated and sprinkled as seasoning!” Poarge announced.

Toro felt a desire to just begin ripping into the meat, but resisted. Olice was amazed, carbuncles were fairly rare creatures, and while not that powerful, they did brim with magic energies.

Poarge held up a finger.

“There is more, today, you dine as arch-magekings”

He descended once more and pulled up a loaf of bread in a basket. As soon as he set it down, the bread separated into slices. This bread was smooth, the crust seemed like the shell of some crab and the inside, which was creamy looked more like cotton than it did bread, but the smell of this bread perfectly matched the meat of the carbuncle, creating a lighting bolt of an aroma, that gently enclosed everyone.

Poarge however was not done.

He pulled out several crystal goblets, each in the form of a featureless humanoid carrying a cup.

Along with these was a bottle of shimmering gold.

“I don’t actually know what this stuff is” Poarge said.

He began pouring it, what came out was a violet liquid that gently bubbled one moment, then the next would swirl one direction, then another, then bubble again. It curiously had no smell, but held a regal presence.

“The alchemist who gave it to me called it Royal Violent, and claimed it tasted best when served in the presence of royalty, I’ve had it a few time now, and he was speaking true, more than that it while not perfectly match or enhancing any meal, it will fit quite adequately with any dish”

He handed out the goblets, even giving one to the red shadower.

Then he gave out ancient stone plates, to all but the red shadower. The spirit looked enviously at Toro and his companions. Toro took pity on the spirit.

“Poarge, can this spirit not have this marvellous meat?” he asked.

Porage nodded. “If you ask, it can be so”

He set out one more plate and then with a pass of his jewel set hand, slices of meat were carved off.

The red shadower projected gratitude towards Toro.

Everyone feasted. They were in such a haze of feasting, that it was only some time after they left Poarge and Zhadar that they even realised they had left. The almost divine taste of the food stayed with them though and they were strengthened by it.