Hello, Everyone!
How have you been? It’s a new week, and with it, a new adventure in our dear Mary’s path. Her friends and she had a bunch of things to do in Pamagos--some by their own wishes, others were sprung upon them--but in our last episode they finally managed to finish everything and prepared to move on.
We’re joining them now, on their way out of the city gates.
Exiting Pamagos on horseback, Mary felt like she could finally breathe again. When she thought about it, it’d been the same way when she was leaving Belfast and Frinkeltong. Perhaps city life didn’t agree with her. Maybe it was all the crowds of people, or the rules and responsibilities she’d been expected to abide by.
Even the coziness of a library wasn't enough to ease the feeling of being trapped under a crystal lid.
Now, when she’d left Pamagos behind, she felt as light as a feather. There were just the sky above and the road ahead, and, of course, the happy chatting of Bruno and Aurum on her two sides.
Plus, they were going on an adventure. How awesome was that?
The journey to Myth Adofhaer was going to take them about half a week. They travelled by day and slept in Mary’s magical orange tree by night. On the first night Mary tried to pull her horse inside as well, but the moment it passed through the dome, the tree shrank back and disappeared into her wand.
So, even with her permission, bigger creatures couldn’t enter the protected space. Good to know.
A few hours before reaching the elven forest, they saw a colourful caravan travelling from the direction they were headed to. They were going to cross paths in just a few minutes.
“Oh, shit!” Aurum gasped, his face suddenly as white as a sheet.
He murmured a couple of words and made a circular motion with his palm to his face. His form blurred and morphed into that of a beautiful young woman with long black hair.
“What the heck, Aurum?!” Bruno said.
“Shhh!” the bard said and even the tember of his voice had changed. “It’s just a new spell, don’t worry ‘bout it. And I’m not Aurum now, I’m… err… Lara.”
The caravan ahead of them consisted of about twenty cargo wagons, all painted in bright, happy colors. Little flags and flowy drapery hung from their roofs and fluttered in the breeze. A couple dozen people rode on horses and camels around the wagons, and two young women who looked exactly the same practiced acrobatics on a slowly moving flatcar.
“Are you all right?” Bruno asked the transformed bard. “You are very pale.”
“Don’t look,” ‘Lara’ said, nodding at the caravan that was already passing them by. “It’s my parents.”
Mary’s eyes widened in excitement. She’d been dying to know more about Aurum’s family! He never talked about them and that mystery had been eating at her curiosity for ages. They were probably just a few feet away now. Mary scanned the faces of the people around the wagons for anyone who looked like her friend.
Riding at the front of the caravan, she saw what could only be Aurum’s father. He was around fifty, well-built and handsome, with the same dark skin and long black hair as his son. He even had a few white strands like Aurum, although Mary doubted that he’d gotten them in such a dangerous way as her friend.
Next to him, on a similar white horse, there was a thin pale woman with curly black hair and a pretty smile. She was, at this moment, painting the man’s face with stage makeup while listening to him quote lines from some play.
Mary looked at ‘Lara’, staring ahead without even blinking, then at the two riders. Her lips widened into a huge grin and she turned her horse to catch up with them. Behind her, she heard an audible gasp and a “Mary, NO!”
“Hello,” she said, starting to ride alongside Aurum’s parents.
“Hello,” the man said.
“I’m sorry to bother you but you look exactly like a person I know!”
“Oh!” Aurum’s father exclaimed dramatically. “That must be my son! Have you seen him? Where is he?”
“He’s not… here,” Mary shot an unintentional look at her friends approaching behind her. “But we met him a while back.”
“Yes,” ‘Lara’ butted in. “He seduced me and left without saying a word!”
The pale woman chuckled. “Like father, like son,” she said.
“Oh, no!” Aurum’s father gasped. “I’m so sorry, such a gorgeous girl like you! You should know, he didn’t mean to hurt you. He probably left because he cared about you!”
‘Lara’ glared at him.
“No, it’s true!” he continued. “You see, when he was little, there was a prophecy about him. He’s supposed to save the world from a huge threat. It’s probably too dangerous to be attached to someone, be it a girl as pretty as you!”
Even Mary could tell that he was lying through his teeth.
"If you ever see him again," Aurum's mother said, "please tell him that we miss him and are hoping for his return!"
“We will," Mary said and glanced at 'Lara's reaction. 'She' was still staring daggers at 'her' father. "Well, anyway. It was very nice meeting you, Mr...?”
“Di Castillo. Alfred di Castillo.” Aurum’s father bowed down in the most dramatic way.
They bowed back, a lot more awkwardly, and held up their horses, letting the caravan move on.
Oh, my goodness! What a meeting! Aurum’s got family, you guys! I don’t know why that excites me so much but it does. I love learning more about my fellow player’s characters! <3
I hope you do, too. See you in the next chapter where we’re going to learn a bit more about the Di Castillos and have some Alter Self fun :)
See you then!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)