“She's the one that wanted to come save you too.
And you wanna just abandon her? Screw you!”
He glares at me
Silence echoes for minutes upon minutes
As Leigh's voice sounds “So, you did it.
You found the pompous punk.
There's no point in staying here.
Come on, I found a portal in a stump.
It should get us to a neutral Lo – cay – shun?
Did I miss something?” She asks confused by the
situation
“Nothing at all.” Tom gives me a look then walks back
toward the entrance
“Forget it.” I answer with a two word sentence
Arriving to the stump
There's tension on the air
I just can't read this guy
Did he know she was coming?
Or did he genuinely not care?
“What about the Sirens?” I ask Leigh
“Did they give you trouble?”
“They thought about it but they didn't dare.
I did get some information though.”
I give her a look of worry and concern
A look asking Did they burn?
“I got the info fair and square.” She sighs
“Turns out, the thief was immune to being ensnared.
Apparently it wasn't that he knew how to fight it.
He was just simply immune, no matter how they tried
it.”
“How is that even possible?” I think aloud
“I don't know. But it lets us know he's more dangerous
somehow.”
“Where to next?” My tone taunt
“Next we talk to the Whisps.
Hope you're up on your shots.”
Without another word, she jumps through the portal
Following - My only thought is that the thief is no mere
mortal
Trial 6: Willows and Whisps
Our next destination: The Willow Woods
With a layover in neutral territory
So that's good
The tension managed as best we can
Tom and I have yet to say a word as we land
“Home of the Whisps, we've arrived.”
Leigh's peppiness continues to thrive
“Hopefully,” Tom sneers “This one won't bring you to
tears.”
The jab directed straight at me
As Leigh asks “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” His tone dry
Passing me he whispers “Try not to cry.”
So, he did see it
Damn, this aught to be fun
“We need to find the council tree.” Leigh's tone level
“The sooner we're done, the sooner we travel.
I'm not looking forward to the next stop.
Let's hurry and get it out of the way
Before my temple starts to throb.”
A swampy forest with a collection of willow trees
I can just feel the beauty
Even though I can't really see
The mana so thick that I can taste it
As the marshy water soaks our feet
We are greeted by quite the treat
A puffy glowing cloud
Zooming to and from
It squeals and bleeps
In a panic and not calm
“What is this thing?” Tom asks
“I think it's a Whisp.” I say
“Is it trying to give us a task?”
“I think so.
It might be able to lead us to the council tree.
Let's follow it and see.”
“Time's short, we don't have the liberty to follow a
cloud.
Let's do our jobs.” Tom finishes proud
“Oh,” Leigh begins “You mean like you did back with
the Sirens?”
“I don't regret my decision.” Tom bites
“You two seem to think this is a democratic game.
But not doing as ordered is not why we're paid.
I suggest you both get with the program.
Your personal vendettas, on this totem pole, are the low
man.”
“And I suggest,” I growl “you come to grips
With the how and why we do things.
I don't care what experience or skills you bring,
This is our mission first and foremost.”
“Well, I'm senior.” He boasts
“That puts me in charge.”
“Two against one,” I say “You've already lost pretty
large.”
“I remember kicking your butt pretty good.”
“I just didn't want to embarrass you.” I say
“Maybe now I should.”
“Don't test me Seer. I could kill you where you stand.
I'd hate to become a wanted man.
Though that's something you'd know a lot about, huh?
Following that evil fae. Now being an O.D..
Bet you feel pretty dumb.”
My emotions flaring as I take a step
Ready to sock him and make him regret
But before I can, Leigh beats me to the punch
Literally, she nails him right in the gut
Crumbling, he falls into a hunch.
“We warned you.” Leigh's tone stern
“About bringing up taboo subjects.
You wanna go 0 for 3? Keep your mouth shut.
Keep it up Tommy – It's not gonna bode well for you.
We are a team. To us, you're the noob.”
He coughs and spits, trying to catch his breath
Glaring at us he holds his gut
“Lead the way little Whisp.” Leigh addresses the cloud
And so we follow as on the air it bounds
It leads on – To a flaming cage
Where a catlike creature with wings cowers
As blue flames rage
The fire beautiful, but dangerously strange
It's clear the Whisp wanted its friend to be saved
“Leigh,” I ask “Have you ever seen flames like these?”
Looking at her expression, her panic seethes
“Leigh?” I press
As with her hand she swipes
Not even ash is left - The flames completely wiped
Bending down I open the cage
“Come on out, you're safe.”
“None. Are. Safe.” The creature speaks
A slow dragging tone
It's clear he longs to sleep
“We're looking for the council tree.”
“I. Show. You.” The creature yawns
“We're from the Organization.” We explain as we follow
Tom trails behind, as his anger from earlier wallows
“What can you tell us about the theft?” I ask
“Man. Come.” The creature replies “Spread. Fire.
We. No. Fight. We. Too. Tired.”
“Well, there's a reason” Tom grunts. “they claim the Sin
of sloth.
Same thing goes for the Sin of lust and Sirens.”
“Yeah.” Leigh agrees “Because they prey on men who
are easily lost.”
Her burn runs deep
As Tom goes silent
At least now we know she can make him compliant
“So, you're the Whisps?” I continue addressing the
creature
It's a bit surprising, I always figured they were the little
floating clouds
Not lazy little cats who just want to lay down
Arriving at the tree – It's lush and huge
It's branches filled with mana infused
A small opening exists at the base
As into the water we dive
Nothing but moss to taste
Finally arriving we take a brea
th
As surrounding us, a dozen or so larger Whisps rest
The size of jungle cats, laying in hammocks
“The. Elders. Sleep.” Our guide says
“Do. Not. Wake.”
“Why?” I ask
As Thomas approaches them
“Come on you lazy felines.” He begins to shake them
As I call “Tom! Wait!”
However - Too late
“Bad. Idea.” The guide warns
As suddenly from above Whisps begin to swarm
Perched on branches they giggle and grin
Hissing, they bare their fangs
Stirring, the elders begin
“Not good.” I whisper as we all step back
“Run!” Leigh shouts
As she lets off a blast
Wounding the tree, The elders quickly wake
Letting off a growling roar
Making the swamp water quake
Instantly, we're swallowed by a giant wave
Struggling to breathe - No way to escape
I didn't want to do this
But now I have no choice
Struggling to the surface
Loud, rings my voice
The water powerful, trying to keep me down
As above swarm the Whisps trailed by smaller clouds
“Wind!” I call, swallowing the water
“Help us by request of the heir
Of mother nature's daughter!”
This choice is likely to compound my troubles
However, it can't get much worse
Though the wind is sure to burst my bubble
Like a tornado a whirlpool forms
Dragging us up then into the storm
Flying flying, withered and wet
You'd probably think it's fun
That's where I'd ask you “Wanna bet?”
The cyclone carries us on to who knows where
Tom's gonna get us killed
His arrogance is beyond compare
When we land I'm gonna make it clear
The other races, along with me, are something to fear
Trial 7: Impossible to break
The wind drops us in the middle of a field
Cold and wet
Frustration – That's what I feel
Getting to my feet, muddy and slipping
I stomp over to Thomas – Grabbing and gripping
Pinning him down
“I'm done with you!” I snap
“Get off me!” He replies, fighting to get up
No use - No matter how he tries
This time the victory is mine
“You're an arrogant, smug, loose cannon.”
My tone echoes through gritted teeth
“You just can't help yourself.
Being Organization doesn't make us better!
Any respect we could have, you just keep severed!”
“Nate.” Leigh calls pulling me off “He gets it!”
Tasting the water I begin to cough
“From now on,” I say “You're on your own.
Because of you, this mission might already be blown.”
“Watch me.” I say
“You're still part of the mission at the end of the day.
But you're not working with us anymore.”
I hate proving wrong Jewl's faith
But I can't work with someone I hate
This mission's too important
It's my only link to Death
I won't let anything get in my way
On that you can bet
“Find your own way,” I finish “to the next stop.
I'll make it impossible for you to keep up.”
“Wind!” I yell “Take us away
To the palace of the griffins grey.
His arrogant hide
You can leave behind.
On this request now is the time!”
Instantly, we're swept up
In a moment we're there
To a place where beauty is beyond compare
The Arabian stone structures
Intertwining with snow and cloud
This place drips with pride proud
Leigh stares at me in silence
“What?” I say feeling the chill of the upper climate
This place at the peak of a mountain forgotten
We're probably the first humans in years
To ever stop in
“I know you made the right decision
But don't you think this might complicate the mission?”
“No.” My reply straight
“What aren't you telling me?” She asks softly
“And don't say nothing.
From the start you've been off, so please.
What is going through your head?”
Rubbing my eyes I give a sigh
“First that vision,” I answer tense
“Then I lose my sight.
After that we're shackled with that loser who starts
nothing but fights,
I talk to Jack,
And you act weird at the sight of blue flames.”
“Wait.” She jumps in “You talked to Jack?
How?”
“Remember that mirror she gave me?
Turns out it wasn't just any old mirror.
It's tethered to her mana.
Basically her, without being her.”
“How does it work?” Leigh asks
“Not exactly sure.
Now, it's your turn.
What's the deal with the blue flames?”
She bites her lip as her jaw goes tense
Something's got her spooked
And I'm dying in suspense
I give another sigh
Look at her with a smile
“Nevermind.” I say “It can wait awhile.”
I don't wanna press her if she's not ready
“We've got a job to do.” My tone steady
As we head into the palace corridors
The air is heavy
I sense it clear as day
We're being watched
By razor eyes
Perched high
The rage – It just wants us to die
Clearly Leigh can sense it too
As she begins to simmer and smolder
Her battle senses growing bolder
Their voice growls “Who are you?
What business have you here?
Humans, filthy and rotten to the core.