On
Falling In And Out Of Storyside...
Part
4
Meanwhile,
Magbert's directional rune casting had landed them
right in the middle of...nowhere.
"This
is just more of the forest," said Mia peering around. "Seems a lot
thicker around here, too," she added, with a nervous shiver.
"Exactly,"
said Magbert. "The perfect
place to hide a fairy city; in the dark of the deep forest."
"But
where is it?" Mia asked.
"You
tell me," Magbert said, folding his arms.
Mia
gave him a confused look, then flew around a little to
check. "I don't know," she finally said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Where
do you think it isn't?" he asked her.
Immediately,
Mia pointed into the underbrush. "Well, it's definitely not there,"
she said.
"Then
that is where we should look," said Magbert,
changing his height to sprite size. Mia landed next to him.
"But
I just said that..."
"That
it definitely wasn't there," agreed Magbert. "Which is why we should start there first. No good fairy city
is going to exist without a strong avoidance spell. That spell is making us
both believe the city's not there."
"But
it isn't!"
"I
know, that's why we have to try."
So,
completely against their better will and judgment, the two began walking into
the brambles, weeds and thick undergrowth.
"Daddy,
I'm getting scared," said Mia, as they struggled. "Why are we even
doing this?"
"I'm
not sure anymore," replied Magbert, "but I
know we have to or we'll never..." He paused, unsure of what his purpose
was.
"I
think we ought to turn back," said Mia.
"I
think you're right," Magbert sighed.
And
if the two had actually stopped at that precise moment, they would have never
stepped past the invisible barrier of avoidance, forget and illusion spells and
missed seeing the most beautiful sight in
As
they stood staring about them in awe, their fears and doubts forgotten now that
they had past the effects of the barrier, two guards flew up to them.
"Halt!"
one of the barked, jabbing a sword in their direction. "Who dares enter
the capital city?"
"I
am Magbert and this is my daughter, Mia," Magbert replied, collecting himself.
"She
can't be your daughter," said the other guard skeptically. "You're a
gnome and she's obviously some sort of...sprite," he added disdainfully.
"It
would be wise if you kept your moronic prejudgements
to yourself," said Magbert. Few things upset
him, but slights to his family were certainly a large part of that few.
"We are looking for someone who could help us find a sprite."
"Her
name is Naomi and we..." Mia began.
No
sooner than the name fallen from Mia's lips than the guards leapt into action.
"Assistance!" called the first guard. Several others came running and
he began to direct them. "Bind them both and take them to the dungeon for
questioning!"
"I
have a feeling we're going to need a little help," said Magbert, backing up to trace runes again.
"I
have a feeling Mommy's not gonna like this,"
added Mia.
One
nap later, Magbert awoke to find himself in a dank
cell with Mia curled up next to him. He tried to remember what had happened to
them through the foggy pain in his head and finally did, much to his dismay.
Before he had been able to cast a single spell, one of the guards had thrown a
sleeping powder into his face and the result of this was now obvious. He
attempted to look around him with a spell that located magic, but even as he
began to trace the runes, his hand began to wobble with a pain that spread
throughout his body like an infuriated dragon. That told him that either the
room had been made to stifle the use of magic or that he was still groggy from
the sleeping powder. The more powerful the attempt to cast a spell that he
made, the more pain he felt.
He
sighed, trying to recover. Certainly Mia was going to be terrified and in some
pain when she woke up and if
Because,
thought he, steeling himself for the test of the room's spell strength, help
is definitely something I could use right now...
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