Aryel Part 4: Furies Road

Posted on Thu Jun 15th, 2023 @ 3:14pm by Watch Leader Frederick Hollywood

Mission: Findelion Watch - Villains
Location: The Crossroads
Timeline: Present

David’s talismans seemed to have gained strength on The Crossroads. His medicine bag hung on the rearview mirror now could tell him whether or not one of the portals they came across contained Aryel’s, Lorde. His car could travel at great speeds. Taking them quickly from one opening to the next. There was still one problem. “If we don’t stop soon Aryel you may be okay but I will starve to death.”

The air elemental looked the man over. Hunger was not something she was used to dealing with. The only feeling that had ever come close was when she had been tossed into an airless environment. “What do you have in mind, Sixkiller?”

The shaman pointed at one of the portals. “We are going to have to try and go through the next one of those we come across that isn’t brimming with monsters and is close enough to earth to have something to eat. The real problem is we may have to be tricky about it.”

She didn’t like the way he said tricky. It sounded like something Frederick would say when he meant something would be very dangerous. “How tricky?”

-----

The plan wasn’t overly complicated. David would go through the next portal they found that fit his needs. He would leave behind his car and Aryel. She would help summon him back to The Crossroads if the way back wasn’t fixed.

It took just over a day and they found a world that fit the description. On the other side it looked like a pristine untouched forest. They waited a short while but when nothing happened close enough to the opening for either of them to detect using their magics David decided to make the leap of faith.

When he appeared on the other side the long grey haired man took in a deep breath. He hadn’t smelled air like that in years. He remembered going high in the mountains with his grandfather. Nearby he would see a stream. It seemed like a promising place to start. Looking into the crystal clear water he could see some fish. They looked enough like rainbow trout to alleviate any of his fears that they might not be edible. He fashioned a spear with a pronged end like a gig. He went about catching enough of the fish until he was sure there would be enough for several days.

Then a voice rang out behind the man. “You trespass on The King’s Lands?”

David looked behind him at the edge of the water. There on top of a beast that resembled some mad deer with four smoldering eyes clad in armor, was a knight of some kind with a long lance. “I'm very sorry Sir. I just stopped to try and get something to eat.”

“You must be mad from hunger having just admitted even more crimes against our king. Let me end your suffering, Old Man and send you onwards to the great halls.” The strange deer charged at him and the knight lowered his lance at David.

Any moment now Aryel! David thought to himself. He hadn’t fought someone in years. The shaman reached into his bag and threw some dust into the air. It lit on fire as it formed a cloud around the two attackers. David circled the fiery smoke a bit alarmed by what the powder had done. He had only reached for it instinctually. It was normally meant to ward off wild animals.

The knight and his steed choked on the burning air. Their armor protected them from the worst of the criminals attack. Getting out of the wretched cloud became the new priority. The knight guided his mount quickly through the blaze too where his prey had been standing.

David for his part began running. He hoped the closer he got to his entrance point the easier it would be for the small woman to bring him back to the otherside.

The knight refocused and went running after the old man. “I assure you there is no where to go. Other than into the arms of death.”

Sixkiller turned back to face the Knight charging at him. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Just as the knight’s lance almost connected with David’s chest the old shaman was back in the car. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry about that.” Aryel said in her musical way, “I didn’t realize just how much longer that spell would take in this place.”

David decided that getting off the road was a really bad idea. “Let's try not to repeat that.”

“I can make food, you know?” The golden goddess smiled.

David almost screamed but contained himself. “You’re just telling me this now because?”

Aryel sighed, then waved her hand like pulling a curtain over the back seat of the car. Suddenly as if from thin air, a thousand strange cans appeared.. “You might want to try one first though.”

The old man picked one up. It was very heavy. The metal seemed like iron or low grade steel. “How do I open them?” Not seeing any ring on the can or can opener in the back seat.

The mephit giggled, “Normally with a knife, silly but here...” She slid her fingernail around the can lid.

The smell that came forth reminded David of corned beef. The kind that resembled dog food. He smelled it and that didn’t help any. Opening the can at first he was a bit relieved. There was a biscuit of sorts on the top. Once he fished it out that became another matter. The thing would be better used for sling bullets. “People eat these things?”

The golden girl nodded. “Yea all though Frederick always said that someone had to do something to doctor them up, and even then he recommended having a strong stomach.” Aryel could tell by the look on her traveling companion’s face she had undersold the goods a bit. “I do promise they will keep you alive for long periods of time. I have seen adventures go for weeks just eating one of those a day.

Smelling the can again David could easily see why folk hadn’t eaten more than one of those a day. “Not many fat adventures I am guessing right?”

The mephit shook her head. “No, no, most are very fit.” Seeing his distaste in the food she put her mind on trying to remember what Lorde had done to prepare that food. One thing that came quickly to mind was he learned the trick in a “boot camp.”

David set out a Coleman stove from the trunk. He figured he had better eat something before driving too far. “I may have to cook all these if we don’t have a way to store them safely.”

Seeing that the golden girl had remembered something important. “Hey, Frederick used water and fire to make those rations better. If I recall correctly, he added a bit of water to a pot first, then put in that biscuit, then added the rest on top until it all was fully heated. I guess their idea was some of the juices would soften the bread.”

“It sounds like a plan.” The shaman decided he would try that alongside the fish with the already open can. He could eat a lot of fish, he wasn’t sure just how much of that kind of canned food he could take without really being hungry.

Aryel nodded and reached into her Armor and pulled out something that looked like a black piece of fabric in the shape of a circle. She laid that next to Sixkiller and a hole in the road appeared. “Put anything you don’t want to prepare right now in here, okay?”

The old man held a fish by the tail over the hole and let go. It disappeared like something being gobbled up by the void. “Is that an ability of your’s?”

The small woman shook her head. “No, no, you can get these at Walmart.”

Sixkiller almost spit. “Walmart? There is a Walmart where you are from?” He more imagined castles and keeps.

“Oh yea!” Aryel nodded. “It is the largest store in Hollywood. They sell everything. Some people say it is like a small city on its own.”

David just nodded thinking, Walmart in Hollywood.

TBC