It’s Time to Talk!-Beets’ History-Part II-09/11/22

Ran by the amazing willemf

Rain poured down as the last of the evening's travellers may make their way soggily and but thankfully through the wide gates between tall stone walls that lead into the southern part of the town. The dirt road below was lined with cart track ruts and a potluck of puddles in which many unfortunate folk had soaked their toes and chilled themselves to the bone, if they weren’t already. Ill-timedly appropriate given the district's name, Graveside.

It was amongst this damp atmosphere of cold toes and bowed heads against the rainfall that none of the travellers eyes cared to dwell long upon the earth brown harengon girl as she made her way past, her fur and tall ears despite the heavy drizzle rain, curiously dry, a odd ‘clacking’ sound from each step of her seemingly soft padded feet, thankfully muffled in the splishes and splashes of the heavy downpour. The harengon travelled swiftly yet unsteadily further into town, as if on a time limit, the slickness of the dirt or cobbles to anybody watching deeming them to be the cause of her miss-steps, whilst in fact the truth was far more peculiar.

After all, she was far more used to flying above these streets than walking them.

Finally as the peculiar harengon reached the familiar facade of the little clothing store, Fiztgrove Fashionables, she felt a little twinge in her belly. Especially upon noticing the dim golden glow emanating in the window from a backroom which she knew would be her seamstress and disguise-inspiring harengon friend Lolli, likely hard at work on her latest creation.

Reaching into a pouch at her side the harengon drew slightly damp and muddy piece of folded parchment, which with a quick nervous glance around she slipped under the crack in the doorway, rapt loudly at the ornate brass knocker, and by almost a trick of the light seemed to spring off her feet into the air with a curious dull buzzing, before whipping round the side of the building to the back alley, hopeful for an old wooden crate she would be able to curl up in for the night.

The distant creak of a door along with a merry jingle of a bell announced her friend’s retrieval of the letter, before after a minute being repeated. With a sigh the little soaked to the skin yet surprisingly warm figure of the now-fairy, as her furry disguise melted away, curled up inside her crate, recounting the words in her mind that she had stressed over so much this past week.

I woke up to a quieter morning apart from the occasional drip drip of the final dregs of last night’s rain, and although I was now a little drier and still snug thanks to my Ring of Warming, my stomach was squirming with hunger, and nerves.

It was a loud cawing-crunching laugh followed by the excitable sweet tang of Lolli’s voice that drew me out of my crate hiding place, the harengon disguise I had adopted last night moulding over me once again from the shroomy-tattoo on my wrist as I emerged and turned to face down the alleyway, to find an interesting party seemingly scanning around for me.

A bookish looking turkey with the head of a duck-Turducken I soon learned, a rather stoic looking pale blue coloured elf with half shaved hair and armour-Alva, an extremely vibrant aarakocra with a big rainbow mohawk-Kreekor, who seemed to be munching away happily on the..leaves of a fresh pineapple, and finally at the head of them, all frilly dressed and sweet adorned as always- Lolli.

She recognised me straight away despite my change of form, pointing out that she had made my leotard which I realised I had left my harengon-form wearing-Idiot! Well it wasn’t gonna last the whole trip anyway, but I still pulled the hood of Marto’s cloak further over my head as I let the illusion dissolve, Lolli’s assembled group giving varied curious looks at my true current mud matted and smeared form peeking beneath the cloak, their eyes dwelling perhaps little too long on my beetle legs-but then, maybe that was just me.

Lolli immediately offered to magic me clean, her lolly-wand raised at the ready, but I turned her down, my excuse of ‘not wanting to be recognised’ leaving her puzzled, but graciously unwilling to press any further. The aarakocra Kreekor must have caught my eyes hovering on the plump bulbous forms of the pineapples that he was stowing methodically away again in a bag after, strangely yet happily, munching the spiked leaves off of, and kindly through a full mouth of foliage offered me one.

I tore through the thick skin with my sharp teeth and bit into it hungrily. After eating nothing but mushrooms and squishy apples for a week, this was luxury. Through huge delicious mouthfuls-and the occasional look towards Lolli to give more meaning to my carefully chosen words- I informed the group we needed to go to a desert in the mountains to see a dragon-lion-bird thing-a sphinx-to ‘talk’ about something’. I had just gotten a feeling from somewhere that I needed to go there. Lolli asked if I had spoken to Bogar again recently to see if we could maybe travel to Zitharis’ temple more quickly than last time, maybe he could be the reason for this feeling?-Oh bug of course!

So, I promptly asked him out loud, “Bogar, you still think I need to head to the temple?”

There was no response.

“Welp,” I thought, if my dishevelled appearance and sudden ravenous appetite hadn’t yet turned off Lolli’s assembled party from doing this job, talking to ‘seemingly’ invisible shadowy voices in my head that didn’t seem to want to respond today would of.

But nope, they were all quite keen, curious even. Even the quiet watchful Alva at the back, the tallest of today’s party, gave me a nod of confirmation. I felt reassured, Lolli had picked a good group. That is till Kreekor announced he loved the ‘el natural’ vibe I was going for with my attire, and promptly began smearing himself with mud from a nearby puddle…

Bug I really hope that was just mud!

After a very much Lolli-insisted stop off at Paradise Frost to buy me some pastries-which from outside I could hear resulted in Jorious practically pleading Kreekor to cease in his attempts to buy half this morning’s delivery of baking eggs to munch on-that bird just keep getting buggin’stranger by the minute-we were on the road towards the mountains.

It was a beautiful day, fresh if chilly giving everyone has cloaked up for the journey, and normally I’d happily have been up soaring through the sky excitedly above whatever party had been assembled for the latest adventure we were off to. But I hadn’t used my wings in almost a month, about the time I decided to stop wearing my horn. Right then, they just merely felt like part of a costume than the real deal. Part of the old Beets I had been than whatever I was now, so I merely trotted along on the path with the others, my feet clacking with every step. The rest of the party talked politely amongst themselves for most of the day, but Lolli respected my unusual reluctance to join in, simply giving me flashes of her sweet friendly smile every now and then, which I couldn’t help but attempt with my own in response.

Flit I hadn’t had a reason to smile in a long while.

After ‘camping’ much the same as the last time we’d travelled to Zitharis’ place, by aid of a magical summoned tower- this time in Lolli’s unique candy-topped colour scheme.

The party enquired if it was much further, and why exactly we were going there.

Once again our illusive guide, Bogar kept his silence.

'Thanks a buggin’lot!”

This did raise some muttering amongst the newcomers to who or what this ‘Bogar’ may be. To which, with some prompting from the studious Turducken, I admitted much like Bogar had stated to me many times prior. The situation was “Complicated”, so much so that it made my head hurt to think about it.

The ever enthusiastic Kreekor offered me a head massage in response to that as he cracked his..feathers? But I flinched away from him just a little too quickly, again earning some curious looks from my companions. Still, better that than any of them suddenly finding their head ‘chomped-off’….

After travelling onwards for a couple more hours our ‘quirky’ keen eyed Kreekor announced they spotted a strange mist spending out across the road up ahead. A returning sign from last time-minus the deafening roars-thankfully-that we were nearing our destination.

I turned to the party apologising that all this seemingly aimless walking must seem pretty strange, but also that I hadn’t even discussed a reward for their assistance. I hefted out my grubby pouch bursting with coin, and pulled out a handful to offer out to the party to start with.

As I held it in my hand a thought flashed through my mind, that I would happily give away every last copper if I could simply go back home to a time when gold held no importance to my life, and the love of the two most important people that cared for me was worth more than anything.

Yet the group surprised me-well, more than Kreekor’s request if I could offer eggs as payment. None of them wanted any gold, especially not Lolli who point blank refused, “I’m your friend Beets, and I’m gonna help you!” A tear welled in my eye for the first time in weeks, not of sadness or self pity. all of which seemed to have long dried up, but of gratefulness. The rest of the party agreed that they were invested now too, even if just to satisfy their building curiosity. “Well,” I warned them, as I wiped away the tear, and with a lot of effort like pushing open seized up old door, I managed to get my dirt coated wings to hum and raise shakily me up off the ground and steer me towards the wall of swirling fog, “it may get a bit hotter ahead.”

———

It was blistering hot in the red desert as we emerged, so much so that as we almost had reached our destination of Zitharis’s mountain side temple Alva-the sea elf I learnt was very close to being ready to be served up on a platter with some chips. She gratefully accepted my water skin and gulped down half of it with relish, before pushing forward with the rest of us into the much cooler depths of the temple.

After allowing everyone to give a mirrored-version of my first impression upon entering the highly relief carved temple entrance hall, Lolli wondered allowed if we had to do any more puzzles-oh buggin’heck!

But, as I made way towards the familiar stone doorway with cautious call of, “Zitharis?”, it swung open, presenting a corridor of blue flickering torches. It seems perhaps Bogar had called ahead.

———

Through the-thankfully puzzless-tunnel we emerged into Zitharis’s bedroom/study/ private digs, and found the..sphinx awaiting us, but apparently unsure as to why we had come-Oh flit!

After another exotic desert feast, during which Kreekor discovered the combination that was juicing roast goat with freshly squeezed pineapple, Zitharis looked to me for the reason for our visit.

He didn’t know.

And neither did.

Well..No.

I ventured it must have had something to do with that ‘thing’ that came to see me…The creepy figure with the..centipede arms. I summoned up enough courage to project myself as it with my shroomy tattoo, making the others suddenly lose their appetite. Well, all except Kreekor.

Zitharis, though, said he did not know this creature.

I wracked my brain, trying to recall the names that that ‘thing’ had spoken aloud before I had blacked out, the names of its master.

Zitharis suddenly asked me to remain still, and as I did so, I watched as with a ripple a third eye suddenly peeled open from his furred forehead. Its gaze fixed upon me as with a flash of blue, a small beam of light shot out to hit me square in the head between my own.

I felt a strange almost poking in my mind, as if my thoughts were being displayed in a book that was being flicked through rapidly. Before finally, the feeling stopping suddenly, and then leaving as Zitharis spoke aloud the names that floated to the forefront of my mind,

“The Grand Hierophant, Almek’Irahj, that is a name I have no heard in a long time.”

I was on to him immediately yet, - deep breath- calmly. ‘How did he know it?’

He explained it was part of the history of the kingdoms that had once dwelt here, when this land wasn’t just barren empty sands of which The Grand Hierophant, was in a way, a ruler of sorts. Whilst it did seem sad and all, I couldn’t think what this had to do with me, until once again the words of that…’creature’, crawled out from the depths of my mind I had tried to bury it beneath. “…what is a noble beetle like you doing so far away from the desert sands hm? The hive misses you dear Beets, you could return to them…You know who I am Malsira, or has this new ‘Beets’ you forgotten…the grand Hierophant, Almek’Irahj? Who you stole from didn’t you, you and your poor friends, shame how they ended up in the end…”

“What do you know of The Swarm?” I found myself asking without truly thinking, again earning curious glances from my travelling companions. “Bogar must think you know something if he..directed me back here.”

“Hmm. I confess I know nothing more of them than I have already told you.” The Sphinx responded, before turning his gaze away from mine across his sprawling collection of swirling jars and magical trinkets. “I must..think on this.”

He fell still, so still that at first I panicked he had suddenly died, that is till I noticed the faintest movement of breath on the fur around his face.

The others-especially Kreekor, took this as a sign to finish their meal, but my eyes never left Zitharis spaced-out form.

There it was again, that small itching sensation in the back of my mind, just like had come when the thought, the feeling to come here had emerged. Zitharis had something else to offer, and I think..Bogar knew it-

A me-sized jar suddenly floated into view as if invisibly plucked from a shelf behind me, its glass form full of a whirling swirling pale mist. Kreekor enquired excitedly if it was dessert to which with the barest of movements Zitharis responded, “No, but it may..help.”

With a sudden ‘pop’, the wooden stopper was seemingly forced free, and slowly spilling over the lip of the jar came a peculiar mist which began to fill the space around us, smothering the lower part of the room and feasting table-much to Kreekor’s dismay. White light began to fill the remainder of the room, and as the imposing form of Zitharis faded away his voice sounded in my mind with a cryptic purr. “Find the Giant-He may..help…”

And then we were suddenly, in a forest, a big one. Me, Lolli, Turducken, Alva, and a very dinner-less table distraught Kreekor, who somehow had managed to seize a great haunch of goat as we had..evaporated here?

———

“Find the Giant.” I stated allowed, to which the group enquired if I knew any.

Only one came to mind, Zalmern, the sweet-hearted if child-minded blacksmith who I had helped rescue from a bullying bunch of bad kitties a couple months back. But as talented as he was, he was..somewhat lacking in the ‘advise’ department and besides, he had never let on that he knew of my past. We’d only just met when I busted him free from that storeroom prison, and yet I had threatened to rip my way through each and every one of those bastard-cats should they stand in our way as we’d made our escape.

I decided to flit up for a quick look around, I’d been on the ground far too long and I always did my best thinking at a higher altitude.

The fresh piney-air filled my lungs as I circled on the spot. The forest was indeed sprawling, though not towering like the giant woods of that mysterious forest library I had visited with Gerhard and Mar-…

The trees didn’t go on forever though, and I noticed it did drop off suddenly into a void, a cliff-side perhaps. No sagely giant figures in sight though.

I relayed the news to the others.

“Good news-No giants. Bad News-No Giants.”

We were lost, and the weight that was building in my gut felt all the heavier. Was it?

It was.

Guilt.

I reflected how I had dragged this seemingly good natured group-including my best friend Lolli-on a wild turkey chase-sorry Turducken-into barren plains, blistering hot desert and now had gotten them ‘jarred’ into a flittin’wood in the middle of buggin’nowhere, looking for a giant that could just as easily decide to just eat all of us with our fresh desert-seasoning à la Zitharis.

I apologised to all of them. It had been..very selfish of me to ask them to come.

Flitting up skyward again, I called out to my still reclusive..ally? “Bogar? Any help?”…

Nothing again.

“HEY! You told-got me to come here, the least you could do is help!!”

Upon landing after an all too familiar silent response, I was once again met with the curiously-unnerved look of my companions. “Can I ask what the deal is with this Bogar guy?” Said Kreekor through a mouthful of goat.

Well, I looked at Lolli who gave me a small encouraging nod, I guess I owed the group that much.

I explained as much as a could, ‘raging’ to help with a demonstration of currently still paler by comparison beetle mandibles, whilst also not dwelling too long on the creep factor-I didn’t want them thinking I’d be beheading and feasting on them in the woods, even if Kreekor was looking particularly plumper by the second-

“NO!-No!”

As I turned to the group, worried my latest outburst had again spooked them, I noticed Lolli, face peering curiously at something just over my shoulder, before she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “I see something!!!”and quick as a flit skipped past me, into the woods.

I hurtled after her, weaving between trees. “Lolli!! Lolli wait! It could be dang-..!”

Lolli had stopped just short of…A skeleton, its form half buried in the ground.

“Oh-you’re right Beets! I-I wasn’t thinking!” She turned to me with a nervous yet still adorably innocent smile.

Oh flit-is this what being responsible feels like?-Is this what Marto was…Oooh..Right…

Jeezh.

———

As a group again, we cautiously explored further into the forest, Lolli explained she had see four eyes appear during my bogar-backstory and then a ‘big’-big as in bigger than her-scuttling lizard dart past behind me. Which she had thought would be a good idea to try and talk to but which, given our current circumstances as we continued happening upon further half buried skeletons, was appearing to have been a really bad idea. Either I’ve rubbed off on her or…

Oh bug…

I really have been reckless.

We happened upon particularly bulky buried skeleton that appeared to have been a sword wielder The leather binding of his weapon eaten away by time so only the.. ‘tang?’-I remembered a little from helping Zalmern at his makeshift forge before the gith-invasion- was left pointing skyward above the remains of the land-locked blade. It was then as I grabbed hold of the blade and pulled it free of the dirt, that we all suddenly felt the presence of ‘something’ in the woods.

I really need to stop touching stuff.

———

From amongst the shadows between the trees leapt, even shadows. Loose md roughly human-shaped and sized, my initial thoughts were that it may be the shadowy-form of Bogar finally making an appearance. Till one viciously slashed out at Kreekor who dropped the remains of his goat haunch in surprise. Bogar or not, I couldn’t let anyone else get hurt!

The battle was a black and white blur, mainly as I viewed it between sashes of my white beetle-raged talons as they cut through the shadows, turning them into ribbons. Lolli summoned a whirling wind creature which sucked up one shadow into a tornado, whilst Alva and Kreekor set upon their own shadowy adversaries with dagger and claw a piece, and nimble Terduckan nimbly avoided getting overcome by the assaulting darknesses. It was then I realised I’d let my guard down, whilst letting my concern for my companions overtake my own well being, as with a whirl of shadow I felt my breath and something more..leave me as a shadow leapt upon me.

Lolli cried out to me, and I felt a sudden boost of energy, even as another shadow struck me from behind. I watched as my body swelled before me, something I had managed to somehow bring upon once before. Yet this time it did not falter, and so it was with a beetle-roar that I tore into my two ‘sapper’ attackers, clawing their spectral forms to tatters.

Finally with a final cry and blast of glitter and gumdrops. Lolli rotten away the final shadow, and we all fell to the forest floor gaping.

———

Battle over, we discussed whatever those shadows may have been. I expressed that while they appeared at first similar to the strange shadow-like form Bogar had appeared to me in, they somehow didn’t seem to be of the same nature. Though they certainly shared a similar in not being very social.

Lolli’s windy friend still seemed to be hanging about though, which resulting from others fretting, we discovered Kreekor had a knack for talking to wind spirits.

Birds of a feather…No..Wind on the wing? That's not right. Oh got it! Air-buddies. Yeah, let’s go with that.

After bidding good..flight to 'The air that blows through mountains’, waived by a off deflating solo from Terduckan’s bagpipes that managed bring upon the first laugh from me in weeks, I took note of my rather roughed up party, and again, felt the guilt set it.

What were we even doing out here?! Aimlessly wandering about looking for a giant and getting attacked by the literal shadows of the deep dark death-woods. The others politely suggested perhaps it was merely a test or a game, some kinda puzzle.

I yelled out in frustration, and flung that rusted blade as far as I could into the woods. My whole life seemed like a flitting puzzle right now, one that apparently had a lot of missing pieces too!

Surprisingly, it was Kreekor that came to the rescue, pointing out some weird patches in the ground where it appeared some plants had been uprooted and..oh..eaten-Right.

Well it was the best lead we had, and apparently the direction of the ‘feasting’ led off towards that drop I’d seen at the edge of the woods. As long as no one jumps off a cliff next…

No..don’t tempt fate.

———

We travelled on through the woods, and finally emerged out of the gloom to a huge rocky chasm, across the opposite side of which tumbled a waterfall from a rock face. Spray raising from its depths wetting the..toes..and feet..and legs…The complete lower half, of a huge stoney figure set into the cliff side. Looks like we’d found our giant. 

‘It’s dead!’, came a response, though not from the giant.

But from behind me. 

Whirling about, it was then I noticed it. On a half rotted tree stump, sitting casual as you like, was a six foot tall beetle. 

Well I say beetle, beetle-like was probably more accurate. This creature was similar in appearance to the ones that had attacked the village…But it’s build, it’s..eyes..There was something far more to this creature than being simply driven by blind rage.

It hadn’t tried to kill us for a start.

“Too late by a few thousand years I’d say.” The creature added, it’s voice calm and collected as if we were simply old associates having a chat-

“Bogar?” I blurted out.

“Yep. In the flesh. Well, sort of.” The beetle..Bogar’tle..-heh- responded.

“The first actual physical form that I’ve actually been able to manifest near you.”

“Y-you’re actually here?!” I exclaimed, honestly almost lost for words.

“Yep the plane barriers were a bit weaker here so I was able to manifest into this.”

“A-and that’s what you look like?” I enquired.

“Yes and no”, the beetle responded, as if weighing up each with two of his..it’s four insectoid arms. “..It’s complicated…I can’t remember. Part of my memory was fucked with by what your Mum did when she split us!”

“Hey careful!” I snapped back, barely registering the mixture of bemusement and confusion that sat on the rest of the party’s faces. As if a fairy beetle talking to an even larger beetle creature that hadn’t yet tried to attack us wasn’t something they saw everyday. “That’s my momma you’re talking about!” I chided.

“Yes, and technically you’re her, and so am I.”

Way to drop a bugging'bug shell on the new guys Bogar, and drag up one of the weirder points of this whole situation that I still couldn’t get my head around.

“Well-uh-Why are you talking to me now?!” I retorted.

Buggin’weeks I was worrying myself sick about what to do, needing some guidance, some insight. And here was Bogar sitting as casually as you like, as if we had planned this whole affair like meeting at Paradise Frost for buggin’afternoon tea!-Which is very good by the way! But not important right now!

Bogar didn’t seem to acknowledge the venom in my words though, or if he did his calm manner did not falter despite it. “This is the first chance I’ve been able to get anywhere near you. It’s not easy being me you know, you got the good end of the deal.”

I couldn’t help but snort at this. “Huh! You think so?”

“Yes, no-one wants to kill you.”

I stopped mid flitter, and landed on the soft grass. I took in Bogar's form, the shiny exoskeleton, the wickedly strong and sharp claws and mandibles.

And yet, despite his appearance, he showed no sign of aggression, no monstrous intent. Almost like…

Me.

I took a breath, and dropped the attitude.

“That ‘thing’.” I ventured, calmly speaking allowed the new worry that presented itself to me. The one that could decide my next step. “the swarm.

If I stay in the Dawnlands, am I putting people in danger?”

“Not really, it doesn’t want to kill you after all…It just wants to be you.” Bogar informed me, the image of him simply stirring sugar into an invisible cup of tea superimposing itself over the still exceedingly peculiar sight before me.

“The swarm has a lot of your missing memories, as well as mine. You, me, it, we’re all part of the same being after-all, it wants to be complete.”

Well..that was. A concise bit of intel. I-I really didn’t know what to have expected really. I felt, well, relieved.

But also curiosity. And on top of that, another even stranger revolution had started to form in my mind at Bogar’s “You, me, it, we’re all part of the same being after-all.”

I’d heard this before from Zanthris, but set out before me again with such a visual cue it clicked..Bogar was..Is..my brother?!-And so was whatever that thing was!

This was getting too buggin’weird!

“Why did you ask me here then?” I asked, shaking my head to clear it of this troubling revelation.

“There’s a place around here, something you should see…I can’t really remember why.”

I let him ponder, but no answer came.

Kreekor then broke the awkward silence, reminding us of the party still stood to the side of us, taking in this insect’letual discussion by offering Bogar a pineapple.

I thought Bogar would refuse. But nope, surprisingly he happily accepted the offer, catching it out the air with his huge mandibles and reducing it to a mushy pulp with a gory spurt of juice as he chomped down on it. Reminding me just a little too much of that bandit beheading I had conducted in the Angelbark woods.

I shuddered at the memory, to which Bogar responded. “It’s no messier than the eating habits of the Ixyls,” The strange lizard that Lolli has spotted earlier, “Best watch for them as we go, they lie in wait their mouths open full of berries and leaves to attract small birds.” He informed, licking the juicy pulp from his fangs.

As one we all turned to Turducken, who nervously glanced about for any curiously positioned clumps of berries.

“No he’s a bit too big to be chomped up.” Bogar assured us.

“And what about those shadows,” I enquired, “what were they?”

“Oh those. Just the spirits of the forest-Dead travellers who long for company and then kill those that come, and so on and so on.” The giant beetle brushed aside, as he hefted himself onto his feet with an oddly reassuringly familiar clack, and proceeded onwards further into the woods.

———

As we made our way, now spotting the occasional out of place cornucopia of delectable berries poking out between clumps of shrubby, the party quietly chatted amongst themselves whilst I flitted up alongside Bogar.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Not because I didn’t trust him-I was still hesitant to be fair, but well, I’d never seen another ‘being’-part from that thing, that embodied similar-features to me.

Bogar’s black bug eyes rolled over to me so I decided to keep our developing conversation skills going, for as long as I could. “You’re not quite what I imagined.”

“Hm. Well I didn’t choose to look like this”, he replied, indicating his form with his secondary arms as we walked on, “it’s a-circumstantial-thing.”

Nothing is ever simple with this guy.

“So,” I changed tact as the path started to slope downwards, “I wanna know. Was that you, or the curse that tried to attack Marto when he visited me in my room…Back when all this began?”

“Oh, I guess that kinda was me, under the thrall of the curse. I don’t normally try to eat people. Just, accidentally…”

Right…

Moving swiftly on from that awkwardness.

“So, where have you been all this time, why are you talking to me now?”

Bogar stopped and turned to look at me, fixing me with his eyes, which as I met them I realised were deep, and full of shielded emotion.

“Being hunted across planes, trying to survive. As I said, you got the good end of the deal, and I got the worst.”

Again that weight in my gut. More guilt, and yet, I hadn’t decided this. I hadn’t subjected Bogar to a life on a run more than I had..myself. At least before I settled in the Dawnlands. My..mother it seemed, had chosen our paths.

Suddenly, I found myself doing something I never thought I’d do. I apologised to Bogar. “I’m sorry.” I said, returning his gaze. “I of all people, should know what it’s like to have others jump to conclusions about you. I’m sorry for what my momma, Malsira, did to you. I’ll try and do my best to make up for it.”

I offered my hand out towards him.

Bogar looked at it and then turned away. “No.”

“Oh,” I responded, well I guess I shouldn’t have expec-

“No. I mean. We cannot touch. It-it would hurt me. Like, really excruciatingly hurt, and. It’ll hurt you too.”

I was surprised, and looked back at my companions that had caught up to watch this little interaction.

“Part of Zitharis’s protection.” Bogar explained matter a factly, before starting to move on again, leaving us to follow in his wake. “He doesn’t want us anywhere near one another.”

---------------

Finally the trees began to thin again as we emerged onto the shore of a small pond..lake? A pool of green tinted water, with a fairly large island at its center.

“That island was once a meeting place for Malsira and her friends Bogar announced, his wings flittering in the slight breeze. “On the island are stones that could have..answers.”

As a group we set about discussing how we could make it across. Shallow or not a small pond could still be a mighty obstacle, especially to the smaller members of our party. Perhaps I could ferry Lolli across and Turducken could sit on..well..I looked over at Bogar. Despite his willingness to talk, I didn’t want any accidental fowl-play to befall our winged friend.

Bogar though, had already made his decision and was already churning away through the water, as elegantly as a giant monstrous beetle creature could. Alva offered Turducken a lift on her back, being a native of the sea she was keen of any chance to utilise her aquatic-nature, especially after the dryness of the desert. Lolli was air-ferried across by me, during which I apologised for my smell and upon landing really allowed myself to properly take in my full aroma of not bathing for a full month with a good sniff under the armpit.

BUGGIN-HECK!

I STANK!

After a good dunking in the pond, followed by a ‘el magic wand’o blow dry’o’ curtsey of Lolli, I joined Bogar and others on one side of the island where stood a tall pine tree, a message carved into the surface of the trunk above a root-locked wooden chest, ‘Party funds.’

“This would now be yours, Bogar announced, easily pulling it free of its roots setting with a slight squeal and peel of bark and setting it down before us.

I hefted it open.The mostly full of gold and silver coins.

Well. This will be for you lot!” I announced, turning towards the party. “No excuses this time!” I said, taking in their still somewhat battered appearances.

I then flittered over the other side of the island, which was mostly occupied by a half circle of five piles of rocks. Cairns, Turducken informed me scholarly, the top most rocks of which were daubed with strange white symbols.

Again, foresight is a buggin’wonderful thing, but in the moment I felt strangely drawn to these rocks. They were markers of Malsira’s friends. Real people besides Papa and Gramps who had know her, maybe even loved her too, in their own ways. I felt my hand slowly graze the surface of a topmost stone, and before I knew it, had hefted it up to study it more closely.

Suddenly from all of the rocks piles around me came a swift jolting whoosh of white mist, gusting out from the formations and causing ripples across the lake’s surface as they spread out in all directions, into the surrounding early afternoon horizons.

“Oh!” Exclaimed Bogar. The loudest sound he had made since joining us-besides the pineapple devouring. “I remember what these cairns are now. They’re the resting places of Malsiria's friends who died before their time. By touching them you’ve just caused their spirits to roam free once again.”

“I-I’VE WHAT?! I cried, nearly dropping the rock in shock. “M-maybe I can fix it!” I stammered, placing it back onto the pile with a straightening twist and overly-affectionate pat.

“T-there! Good as new!”

“Oh I’m afraid it’s too late for that.” Said Bogar, and I watched as once again a familiar swirling fog began pooling around us, its ghostly presence completely smothering the stoic armoured form of Bogar from view, cutting his last words short. “It’s too late for-…”

Suddenly, we are back in the temple, and towering above me, looking very angry, was Zitharis.

“What did you do?”

———

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” The sphinx snorted, lashing his tail, feathered wings unfurled.

My beetle legs shook slightly from the anger resonating from his words. But then suddenly, I felt a warm little flicker in my belly. Confidence.

“Y-yes!” I declared back, flitting up into his face. “I was getting some answers! Why, got a problem with that?”

The cat-like eyes fixed me with their penetrating gaze. “I tried to keep you from there for a reason.”

“YOU WHAT?!” I retaliated, anger suddenly spreading that feeling of confidence throughout my entire body. “You knew about it?! And you didn’t tell me?!

“I kept that place from you cause I didn’t want you going there!” Zitharis continued, clearly fighting to retain his composure. “Now you’ve more trouble and I’m gonna have to get some of your adventurer types to sort this out.”

I really buggin’wished at that moment I’d kept that stone handy so I could shove it right up his furry little-

“Hey it’s not really fair you keep blaming Beets for everything, it’s not her fault! She didn’t know!” Yelled Lolli from below, breaking me from my steadily building confrontation with this frustrating feline. Slowly, I let myself flutter down beside her, taking one of her small furry hands in mine.

There was an awkward silence as Zitharis and I stared off against one another. And then.

“Have you got any more goat?” Kreekor enquired hopefully.

“It is time for you to leave.” Zitharis announced with a scowl, and our sight became a whirl of white.

———

We were back at The Stonegate in Daring Heights, just as I released a torrent of curses I’d been holding back upon the poor unsuspecting guardsman. “You buggin’liar! Buggiin’lion dragon thing! BUGGIN! BUGGIN! BUGGIN!

“Beets what the?!-Didn’t you just leave a minute ago-and what did you call me?”

Lolli smoothed things over and left the guardsman with a lollipop in hand-and one in the wing for Kreekor.

We stopped off on a side street, and before anyone could refuse I filled a handful of spare parcel pouches from my bag with equal shares from the chest had Kreekor had ‘thoughtfully’ grabbed, and thrust them into everyone's hands-including Lolli-I knew she had a special commission she was working on for Queen Merla.

I thanked them all for their time, and..for not freaking out at some…Okay all of the weirdness. I was still trying to understand much of it myself.

I did ask them though that if they could not spread the rumour of a possibly murderous swarm of bloodthirsty insects potentially trying to track me down in Daring heights. I’d very much appreciate it.

They all seemed to agree though, especially with the promise of a round of drinks on me at the Three Headed Dragon to seal the deal, and perhaps even, an egg or two for Kreekor.

———