the wyrm's mask part 6

The inside of the tourist authority’s shack was a bit small and ramshackle, but seemed to serve its purpose well enough. Another barely-legal girl stood at a counter nearby, mumbling absurdities to herself and continually checking over a set of photographs. The girl named Lucine entered the shack first, followed a minute or two later by Zora and her dragon companion.

“You’re back!” Photograph girl seemed surprised. “And you brought a dancing dragon and foxtrot to boot. Around, around, around in a cycle, you dance and you dance and you try to tie a snake in a knot.”

“...Thanks for the input, Nyx. Anyway, I’m getting the boat ready. They’re headed to the Freehold. Keep them entertained till I’m ready to head out.”

“Of course, of course. I can dance the foxtrot with the guests.”

“Rriiiight. Be right back.”

She left them, leaving the pair and the photo girl staring at each other.

“...So, how about that weather.”

“Poisoned.”

“Uuuuh huh. The… local sports team is doing well….?”

“What’s a sports?”

“Good answer. Um...”

“They won’t care who you are until you put on the mask.”

“What?”

“Nobody will care who you are until you put on the mask.” The girl gesticulated at the fox mask clipped to Zora’s belt. “The Freehold is sealed tight to outsiders.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Tango with your stolen face into the belly of the beast and scourge the taint from inside, girl with the forgotten memories. All that you know there, is not what you know here.”

“...Okay. Gee, I hope she gets that boat ready soon!”

“But while you wait, can I interest you in a free pictography box? For saving my girlfriend and all.”

“Um-”

“Go on, take it! Take it. Take it!! Only good things could come of it!”

As she was handed the box, the word ‘Malkavian’ popped into her mind. She swore she knew what that meant, but didn’t trouble herself about remembering at the moment.

“And while you’re out there, would you mind locating my dear’s non-gendered parental unit? I fear they may be out there chasing dragons again. Strange, strange lizard.”

“I… guess?” Zora knew exactly what she meant by that and frowned a bit. This Lucine girl seemed reasonable. She was raised by the map making weirdo?

But before either of them could get in another back and forth, Lucine reentered the shack. “Alright, one ticket to the Swamp Freehold, on the house. Everybody outside, let’s get you on the boat. It’s the only way across while the swamp is like this.”

“Right, let’s get on the move.”


It was a rather simple boat, made of wicker and hollowed logs, with the tusks of some long-dead beast mounted to the front. It was painted black, and had an odd mural of three women and a set of triangle on one side. A panel on the front had a small bobble head figure of a woman in green clothes on it. There was also a bell on a pole, which had a string hanging from the donger. The string supported a small ornament, which smelled like spice and formed the words ‘Fuck You’.

Lucine sat at the front, and Zora and Verity deposited themselves in the back. They were rather surprised to find that the boat seemingly started moving on its own, but a quick look to the front would see Lucine in a state of focused concentration. As the boat moved, they could have sworn they heard the very air around them begin to play some classic rock song.

“Hope you’re comfortable. Next stop, the Freehold. Bit of a shame no one can get there otherwise, but I tell you. It’s great for my business. Helps that most Changelings can’t swim, though.”

“I’d bet...” Zora couldn’t help but glare behind her back. Excuse you.

“Still, best be careful with a punishment-happy Summer King in charge right now. Some summer this is, though. Rumor has it that Snowhead hasn’t thawed yet. The folks up there are hardy but even they have limits.”

“Oh, jeez.”

“I tell you, bad things are happening all over. Except Ikana. Only bad things happen there. It’s been cursed since the day the kingdom was founded.”

“Ouch.” She didn’t really ask for this much exposition, but sure, she’d hold onto it for later.

“Of course, you seem like a traveler. You probably wouldn’t know any of the places I’m talking about.”

“I have to admit you’d be right...”

“Sorry about that, listen to me prattling on- oh. Hold on tight. You see that big boy blocking the front of the tunnel?”

Lucine pointed immediately in front of them, where there sat a frankly gigantic creature that looked like some kind of terrible hybrid between an octopus and a hermit crab. Its big yellow eyes stared them down, daring them to do something about it.

“Yeah, I see it.”

“We’re gonna ram into it.”

“Wait, what-”

Before she could say anything further, the boat lurched forward at a much faster speed than before, and Lucine planted both hands on a device installed on the front panel of the boat. Upon contact with the beast, there was a horrible snapping sound, and when she pulled the boat off of it again, it seemed to deflate, and its shell disintigrated, leaving not much more than a pile of crumble and a rubbery skin at the bottom of the swamp. The boat then pushed through the tunnel as if nothing had just happened.

“And that, is how you take care of one of those Big Octos.”

“Seems a little… brutal.”

“I mean, I guess you could just shoot it. But where would the fun in that be?”

“Mmm...”

“Anyway, coming out of the tunnel, we have arrived in Freehold territory. If you’re headed in for a visit, you want that set of doors right over there, the one in the wooden wall.” Lucine indicated toward a large set of doors set along a wall of logs and binding painted in bright reds and yellows. “Don’t get punished, friend. I owe you one for saving my life.”

“I’ll try.” Zora stood up and exited the boat when they pulled up to the docks.

“Take care. I’ll leave the boat here in case you need to head back around. Just ring the little bell on the front.”

“Will do, thanks.”

The pair watched her float off over trees and tremendous flowers, then turned toward the doors. They were easy to push open despite their size, and led them inside to a wooden palace surrounded by a moat of the same poisoned water. A rickety bridge of bundles of logs floated across the moat, and more lily pads stretched around the palace walls.

And curiously, just outside, there sat a lanky young man, holding in his hands a metal folding chair, glaring with brown eyes at the palace. He brushed back a bit of his spiked black hair and adjusted his ratty jacket, before noticing he was being stared at. “Oh. Haldo, friend. Hope to see you have a good day.”

“Er… hi. What’s the problem here?”

“My friend did venture in, caught by the Changy-doos. Hasn’t come back yet. Punishment by the King Summer is up next in the Royal Rumble. I want to in, give him a trademark Saturnbomb, all rights reserved.”

“I… see.” What an odd duck, Zora thought. “So, your friend got caught by the guards, and now the Summer King is going to punish them.”

“That I said.”

“Maybe I can get in there and help.”

“Could you do? Very well, if you can, I’ll reward.”

“No need. I was headed in there anyway, to see why all this punishing is going on.”

“Friend of mine, he spoke to a good Spring Courter. Got a sacred song and went to the temple. Only my friend came back, King Summer enrage. Help him!”

“Alright, alright. You just find somewhere to hang out, okay? I got this. Nothing can possibly go wrong.”

“Caged, in a cage is he. You need Magic Beans to get in. Seller under the inner garden. Get there!”

“We got this.”

“Good! I’m to go, they’ll punish me too!” Off, the strange lad ran, carrying his folding chair with him.

Across the log bridge, two guards sat perched above the door. One resembled an owl, the other resembled some kind of hawk. The two caught sight of her, and stared her down, until finally, she too backed out the door to reconsider her options.

“They won’t care who I am… until I put on the mask.” Zora mumbled, unclipping the fox mask from her belt. “You heard what they said. They don’t let anyone but other Changelings inside.”

“I mean, I guess if it works, it works.” Verity shrugged. “I mean, you heard weirdo. They might have tried to snatch you up too.”

“That would be bad.”

“That would be real bad.”

Zora pressed the mask to her face again, taking on the form of the Changeling girl she knew in passing. This time, the transformation wasn’t quite as searing as it had been before, leaving her a bit more able to get back to her feet. Looking at the sky showed a golden sunset, and she sighed a bit. Okay, two and a half days to take care of these swamp problems. That wouldn’t be too hard. Right?

She mentally kicked herself. Never say it won’t be hard, that just jinxes it, you twat.

Re-entering the gates saw the two guards’ piercing gazes on her again. But this time, they seemed not to stare for longer than a second, instead swooping down to greet her.

“You’re here! You’re alive!”

“When you didn’t come back from Woodfall, we were worried. And then the Royal Tailor went missing...”

“Um… yeah, I’m alive. I just needed to see what was going on...”

“Did you find anything?”

“No, sadly...” Just lie. Lying always makes it better.

“Hm, that’s a shame. No source of the poison?”

“Nothing. I’m gonna have to go back… but first I want to see what this ruckus is all about.”

“Listen. The King told us not to let anybody else in. But since you’re alive, you can go in. Head straight to the throne room. Don’t go into the gardens. You know how he feels about his buttercups being stepped on.”

“Alright, alright…”

The two guards stepped aside, and she entered the palace proper. It wasn’t much more than a few walls made of wood, leading into a stone-hewn room, but whatever kept the Changelings comfortable, she figured. On her way down the main hall, she couldn’t help but overhear the two.

“That wasn’t Grace at all.”

“I know. That was the human in the dragon tunic. She didn’t even bother to change her clothes.”

“Why’d we let her in again?”

“Shake things up a little bit.”

“Good enough for me. Feel bad for that poor kid in the cage anyway.”

Well, whatever worked, Zora thought. If they wanted to play along, let them.

The hewn-stone room was very large indeed, housing an occupied cage to one side and a large fire pit surrounded by all sorts of strange faces. Animals and mythological creatures and twisted beings she had never seen before, stood before a tremendous elk man sitting atop a throne. To his side, there was a saddened, prim-looking, olive-skinned woman, whose hair billowed into shadows as it was blown about by an intangible breeze.

“Ah, a visitor! Just in time to witness the punishment of this foolish young man. You see, he deceived the royal tailor! There’s none like him in all the land, and now he’s lost in Woodfall Temple. Therefore, this young man must be a fetch, or worse! A Keeper!”

“But what if-”

“And those are not taken kindly to, in my Freehold.”

“But-”

“This scum made us what we are, and we will never have our humanity back! We must take all we can from them and blah blah blah, blah blah, those wicked fae, blah blah blah, those tax evaders who blah blah blah...”

As the King continued to rant, Zora promptly tuned out and scurried over to the cage. Hanging from a wooden pole was, sure enough, a young man with tan skin and brown eyes, whose black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hey.” She whispered. “Heeeey.”

“What, you here to mock me, too? I told you all I didn’t do anything to him! There’s something in that temple! That’s what got him! But fine. Punish me if you must. It’s not bringing him back!”

“But I’m not-”

“I’m not saying anything else! Just do it!”

“Rrrright. No one in this room is listening. Now what was that about those gardens?” She wandered out of the throne room again, and erred into one of the two doors on the side walls.

What she saw was just as the outside guards had said – a frankly tremendous field of buttercups in all shapes and sizes, guarded intently by a number of patrolling units. Just over the field, in the opposite corner of the garden, Zora could see a hole in the ground with a ladder leaning on its side. Above them, in potted plants on platforms, she saw more Goblin Fruit plants, much smaller than the one in town.

“There’s no way we’re getting across there with all these guards around. You realize this.”

“Now that’s a load of bullshit if I’ve ever heard it. I’m gonna play diversion. You, book it to that hole. I’ll meet you outside.” Verity spread her wings, shot out of Zora’s shirt, and took to the air. “Count of three. You ready?”

“Ready, I guess.”

“Three...”

“Two...”

“One...”

“Go!”

Verity shot through the air into the field, past the eyes of the guards, who grabbed weapons and gave chase with shouts of “Get her!” and “Monster!”

Zora, on the other hand, made carefully sure not to trample over too many of the buttercup plants on her way to the hole. Best to make sure they never suspected she was here. On her way there, she saw the two guards from the front perched on the wall, watching the chaos and laughing.

Just after hopping onto the ladder and sliding down the hole, she heard a booming voice shout outside, asking what these foolish guards were doing. She could only assume the ruckus had attracted the attention of the king. She hoped Verity was okay, but before she had time to think on it further, she was startled by the sudden presence of somebody behind her.

“Ah! A customer. How wonderful.” The man standing over her shoulder was easily two heads taller than her in her current form, with bronze skin, strange red hair held in place by a large bead, and the eyes and scale patches of a snake. Without really stopping to think, she growled at him. Everything about this guy radiated bad touch.

“Now now, little Changeling, I mean you no harm… no, no. I just want to know what it is you might be coming down here for.”

“I got told there were Magic Beans down here-”

“Mmmm, if it’s magic beans you want, I can certainly provide. How many? Perhaps we can work out a deal.”

“I just need the one-”

“Ah, only one? Nothing else? I can get you anything you need, my sweet… drugs, women, those Goblin Fruit you Changelings love so much...”

“...No, trust me, the things I need are things I have to find myself. Can I please just get the magic bean and go?”

“Fine, fine, if you insist. Ten rupees.”

Out of her pocket, she pulled the pile of small crystals she had collected this morning. If she remembered the weird gecko correctly, the green crystals were only worth one, and the blue ones were worth five. She counted out her total and put the rest away.

“Very good. A pleasure doing business with you...~”

“Uh huh, yeah.”

“One more thing… you need to water it with clean water in order for it to grow. As it happens, my little hovel here has a fresh spring. Perhaps the only one in the swamp. I could allow you to use it…-”

“How much, you big snake.”

“Easy, there. Just this once, I’ll let you take some on the house. And of course, if you ever need anything...~” He gently placed a small, green bean in her hands.

“Uuuh huh.” Already, she could see another ladder leading out of the hole, and presumably out of the palace. “That’s great. Thanks. I gotta go.”

After swiping up some spring water in the bottle from the incident with the boat owner, she hurried out of the hovel. Surprisingly to her, Verity was back at her side quickly.

“So, turns out they have no idea how to catch a dragon.”

“That’s probably for the best. There’s a gross snake man down there. Bad touch. Anyway… aha. Some nice planting dirt. If this really is a magic bean, then it shouldn’t take long to grow...”

In the nearby dirtpile, she gently tucked the bean about an inch down, and poured the bottle of water on it. It took a moment or two, but greens soon began to sprout, and in a minute or two, the plant had sprouted into a large, flat pad that looked like it could support her weight even as a human, but couldn’t do much else.

“...How is this gonna get us up here.”

“Stand on it!” Verity insisted. “Trust me.”

“I mean, you haven’t exactly steered me wrong about this place yet, so...” Zora stood on the pad. It trembled a bit, then began to hover, carrying her upward to a small walkway above the ground. She shrugged, and stepped off, watching it drift back down to the ground, before entering the door behind her.

She now stood above the very same buttercup garden that she and Verity had not very subtly crept through a few minutes ago, next to one of the hanging Goblin Fruit plants. She picked off a fruit, and winced through the bitterness as she ate it, feeling her legs strengthened just like before. From there, it was a simple task to leap across the platforms above the garden to another door on the other side.

It led across the main hallway, to a second garden, full of strange and alien plantlife that she had never seen before, much like the fruit plants she had been eating off of. She could only assume that these were other sorts of fruit, ones that wouldn’t serve her needs. Never the less, just like before, she hopped across platforms and hanging gardens, soon spotting an entry into the hewn stone throne room.

Through the window in question, which she figured she would just about be able to fit through, she saw the pole the young man was strapped to. She jumped in that direction, and clambered through, only to find that the king had gone back to his tirade after the chaos in the buttercup garden.

“Hey. Heeeey.”

“You again. I told you, I’m not going to say anything else.”

“Will you listen to me a minute, you fart-knuckled twat? I’m not a Changeling. I’m here to help. I saw your buddy outside.”

“But you look just like-”

“Shhh. Watch.” Zora removed the mask again, and returned to her normal form.

“I- I won’t question it. Okay, listen up. I’m not lying. I wanted to get into Woodfall Temple because I’m sure that’s where the troubles in the swamp are coming from. The royal tailor got me in, but… he’s in grave danger. You’re armed, maybe you’ll do better than I did...”

“That’s what I wanna try to do. How do I get in.”

“He said it took a song… that guitar you have won’t do it. Do you have an instrument that can carry on the wind? I saw you had a flute when you had the mask on. I’ll whistle it for you. Do you think you can play along?”

The mask went on again just as quickly as it had come off. “Play me out, keyboard cat.”

“What.”

“Never mind, just whistle the damn thing so I can do this.”

She took out her flute, and he began to whistle a melody, whimsical and airy. Suddenly, just like the moment she had picked up her guitar, memories flooded back into her mind, sending her into a state of deep fugue.

–

“Look, Zed! Look what she has!”

“Jason, you have scored. A legitimate copy of one definite Mario RPG! Mmm, Forest Maze...”

It was nice to see Jason relax a little after everything that had happened. Having some form of familiarity had helped him before, but to see this lanky guy here now seemed to make him genuinely happy. She knew his cell had had one particular individual that they had to steer very far clear of, but this guy seemed pretty neat.

“I bet you could play that, Zed. You’ve been practicing. In fact, you definitely could.”

“Hey, can I try? I mean, that’s a nice flute there. I’ll be careful.” She piped up. “I mean, it’s a good track.”

–

Almost as if it were second nature, Zora played along to the tune as she was lost in her returning memories. She still swayed a bit after the music stopped.

“Jason...”

“How do you know my-”

“Guards!” The king suddenly shouted. “Did you hear that?!”

“Yessir!” One of the various guards replied. “That song is only known by members of the royal courts!”

“Therefore, this fetch must have deceived Joey into teaching him! He entered the temple, and poisoned the swamp’s water! Then it’s settled. The punishment shall commence, one day from tomorrow!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

“Shit… get out, before they notice you!”

“I’m gone, man. Outta here. Hang tight, Jason!”