CM- It's A Long Way Down
The squirrels are skittish, which Facilier could understand. After all, he was asking them to lead him to a kelpie, a very dangerous creature. But Facilier needed answers, and kelpies were old and wise. Surely this one would have an answer to the Facilier’s question. People called him foolish, which he probably was. But he didn’t care. He may be twenty years old now, but soon, he would wither, age, and die. He needed to figure out how to become immortal as soon as possible.
He stepped over a tree root, then looked up to see the river before him. It was a little quiet here, but there was still a bit of a current, and Facilier knew that it only got stronger the further down it got. He sighed and he put his hands on his hips.
“Looks like this is it,” he said. He looked down at the two squirrels. “Thanks for showing me the way. As promised…” He held his palm over the ground, then rose it up. Using magic, he made a pile of acorns appear from the soil. The squirrels were overjoyed, chattering excitedly as they gathered up their favorite food and dashed away. Facilier chuckled. It was pretty useful to be a wizard. If you learned the right type of magic, you could get animals to do things for you, as long as you gave them something in return.
But his smile disappeared and his face turned serious as he approached the river. The dirt got muddy as he approached the bank. He could see his reflection in the water, serious and determined. He sighed, then bent down and held his palm over the water. His hand glowed, shining onto the surface like a flashlight.
“Kelpie of this river,” he said, speaking clearly and slowly. “I am a wizard, a being of magic, like you. I come with questions. Will you answer them for me?”
For a moment, nothing happened. There was nothing but the gurgling of the river and the wind stirring the leaves. Facilier focused, his palm glowing a big brighter. Then, from below the surface, a bubble floated up. Then two. Then three. A steady stream of bubbles rose up from the depths below, like the water was boiling. Facilier backed away, his eyes wide. Then, from the water rose a stunningly beautiful woman. Her skin was rich bronze and long black hair cascaded down her back. She was clothed in a thin blue blouse and a skirt with slits, but her feet were bare. She walked on the surface of the water for a moment before stepping onto dry land. She smiled at Facilier, making him gulp.
“You may be a wizard, but you are still prey to me,” she said. “But I am interested in what you have to ask me. So, little wizard, what is it that you seek?”
Facilier frowned at being called “little”, but he pushed it aside. He had bigger stuff to think about. “My name is Facilier. I’m one of the most accomplished wizards of my age. I’ve learnt spells far beyond what most of my peers have accomplished. But…I seek for something more than that.” He paused for a moment. “I seek immortality. I wish to live forever, so I can keep learning spells and see this world progress and age.”
The kelpie chuckled, although it sounded more evil than humorous. “An interesting wish for someone so young.”
“Do you know how I can achieve it?” Facilier asked. “You must know something.”
The kelpie walked up to him, water dripping from her hair and clothes. “You cannot achieve it through any spell or clever incantation,” she said, her eyes boring into Facilier’s. “If it were that easy, somebody else would have done it by now.”
She turned around and started to head back to the river. Facilier sighed in defeat. It looked like his quest was fruitless. He was just about to turn around and leave when he heard the kelpie spoke again.
“However…there are creatures in this world that might be willing to grant immortality,” she said.
“Who?” Facilier asked, running over to the kelpie. “What? Tell me, please!”
The kelpie smiled. “Oh, it could be any sort of creature,” she said, gesturing up to the trees above her head. “A fairy, a demon, an elf.”
“Please, tell me which one,” Facilier begged, clasping his hands together like he was praying. “I’ll do anything. Anything.”
An evil glint seemed to spark in the kelpie’s eyes. She turned to look at Facilier, her eyes bright and her smile wide. “Anything, little wizard?”
Her hand reached up stroke Facilier’s cheek. He shivered. Her hand was ice-cold, and had the faintest stench of blood. “Anything,” he answered, looking in the kelpie’s eyes.
The kelpie smiled, drawing her hand away. “Then get on my back, and I’ll take you to where the answers lie.” A ripple seemed to go through her. Then, she started shifting. There was the sound of bones grinding and tendons popping as her hands and feet turned into hooves and her face elongated into a snout. It was scary to see, but the kelpie’s human form soon disappeared and a beautiful horse stood in her place.
Her mane was a pale yellow while the rest of her body was a combination of brown and white. For a moment, Facilier seemed to hesitate. But then the kelpie looked into his eyes again and whinnied, jerking her head towards the river. Doubt seemed to leave him and he climbed onto her back. She snorted and started to head towards the water. But then, a voice sounded.
“Facilier!”
That voice seemed to snap Facilier out of the weird trance he was in and he spun around. It was Dongwa’s. The little cat was running towards him.
“Facilier, what are you doing? Get off!”
The kelpie didn’t like that. She gave a low neigh that almost sounded like a snarl. Then, she dove under the surface, dragging Facilier with her. The last thing he heard was Dongwa shouting his name before he went under.
Everything was a blur of blue, green, and white as Facilier struggled to get free. But the kelpie’s magic was strong and kept him in place. He kept his lips sealed, holding onto his last store of his oxygen. But then, the kelpie started to change again. Under the water, and about to eat her prey, dripping blood oozed out from her mouth and her eyes went jet-black. Her teeth seemed more like a shark’s than a horse’s. Her hooves seemed more like fins than legs now. Facilier was struck dumb by the horrifying sight, barely able to move, much less escape. The kelpie let out a roar of triumph, sure that the wizard would soon drown and would be hers to devour.
But Facilier wasn’t done yet. He wanted to live, be immortal. He wasn’t ready to die yet. Fighting against the kelpie’s horrifying eyes and deadly jaws, he flung his hand to the left, his magic power taking hold of the water around him. A current drove against the kelpie, sending her spinning through the water, and taking him with her. She growled, mad that her prey was fighting back. Facilier tried again, making a cloud of dirt spin around them, making it hard to see. The kelpie roared and tossed her head, confused. In that moment, her grip on him slipped and Facilier was able to get off her back. But he barely had time to move before she came after him again, snapping her teeth like a piranha. Facilier gave a yelp, bubbles clouding his face as he twisted around the water, avoiding her jaws. Lungs burning, he made another water current slam against her. But she came back with a snap, aiming for his leg. Luckily, she only tore off a bit of his pant leg, nothing more. Facilier was clearly outmatched, and even though he was able to fight the kelpie off now, soon he would run out of air, and then he would be stone-cold dead. So, he drew up his magic power and did the only thing he could do.
Creatures of this river! he called from his mind, the message echoing through the water. I am a wizard, a friend to you creature of this nature. Help me defeat this kelpie and I will repay you in some way. Just help me escape! Please!
He would have said more, but at that point, the kelpie took advantage of his distraction and chomped down on his arm. Facilier screamed, bubbles floating up to the surface. The kelpie dragged him down, blood clouding the water. Facilier fought, but he was in so much pain, and the kelpie’s black eyes were boring into him, cold and empty.
Then, a school of fish swam by and slammed right into the side of the kelpie’s face. After that, two turtles bonked into her side. Salamanders started to crawl up her legs and pull at her tail. The animals in the river had answered Facilier’s call.
Facilier fought to get free, making water slam into the kelpie again, trying to pry her jaws apart. But she just bit down harder, making him scream again. His lungs started to burn for air and his feet kicked helplessly.
A small school of minnows seemed to see what he was doing. They swam over to the kelpie’s mouth and went inside though any open space they could find. Their fins tickled the roof of her mouth, the sides, her tongue. It was a trick that almost seemed silly, but it distracted the kelpie enough so that Facilier brought up one last store of magic energy and make a rock slam into her side. The force was large enough to finally make her let go. Clutching his bleeding arm, Facilier kicked towards the surface, the kelpie’s angry roars and snarls echoing behind him.
Dongwa stood on the bank, pacing back and forth, panicking about what to do. Once a kelpie dragged someone down, they were done for, dead, never seen again. It looked like the same thing happened to Facilier. But, he was proven wrong when his master burst from the water, coughing and hacking something fierce.
“Facilier!” Dongwa cried, overjoyed to see that he was alive.
Facilier just coughed as he made his way to the bank, water spurting out of his mouth with every wheeze. He collapses onto dry land, energy spent.
“What the…your arm!” Dongwa cried.
“Huh?” Facilier opened his tired eyes and noticed that his right arm was bleeding quite heavily. “Oh. Yeah. Kelpies have strong teeth. Did you know that?”
Dongwa rolled his eyes and turned into his child form. “Come on Facilier, we’d better get you home fast so someone can look at you,” he said as he helped him to his feet. “You’re still kind of rubbish when it comes to healing spells.”
“Hold on, wait,” said Facilier. “I have to…pay them back…” Gingerly, he reached over to the water, his finger tip glowing blue. Then, he lightly tapped the surface, sending a ripple of glowing blue lights.
“There,” he said with a tired smile. “The water in this river will forever be pure and clean. Nothing will ever be able to spoil it, waste or dark magic.”
Suddenly, there was burst of water as something from below emerged from it. Facilier and Dongwa screamed, seeing that it was the kelpie. She was in her human form again, but blood dripped from her mouth and her eyes were still black. Water and reeds dripped from her body. She let loose a horrible screech, the sound clawing at Facilier’s ear drums.
“You will not escape me!” she screamed. “Nobody has ever escaped me! Never!”
“Run!” Facilier yelled, scrambling backwards.
Dongwa pulled his master backwards, away from the kelpie’s hands, although her fingers looked more like claws. Blood spilt onto the ground from Facilier’s arm, but he ignored the pain as he and Dongwa took off running. The kelpie screamed and snarled, but her prey was out of the river, out of her element. She couldn’t kill him out of the water.
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">“You remember me, Facilier!” she screeched, the sound making Facilier’s heart jump into his throat. “You remember Tzipporah! Tzipporah! Remember it, Facilier! Because if I see you again, I’ll drown you on sight!”
He stepped over a tree root, then looked up to see the river before him. It was a little quiet here, but there was still a bit of a current, and Facilier knew that it only got stronger the further down it got. He sighed and he put his hands on his hips.
“Looks like this is it,” he said. He looked down at the two squirrels. “Thanks for showing me the way. As promised…” He held his palm over the ground, then rose it up. Using magic, he made a pile of acorns appear from the soil. The squirrels were overjoyed, chattering excitedly as they gathered up their favorite food and dashed away. Facilier chuckled. It was pretty useful to be a wizard. If you learned the right type of magic, you could get animals to do things for you, as long as you gave them something in return.
But his smile disappeared and his face turned serious as he approached the river. The dirt got muddy as he approached the bank. He could see his reflection in the water, serious and determined. He sighed, then bent down and held his palm over the water. His hand glowed, shining onto the surface like a flashlight.
“Kelpie of this river,” he said, speaking clearly and slowly. “I am a wizard, a being of magic, like you. I come with questions. Will you answer them for me?”
For a moment, nothing happened. There was nothing but the gurgling of the river and the wind stirring the leaves. Facilier focused, his palm glowing a big brighter. Then, from below the surface, a bubble floated up. Then two. Then three. A steady stream of bubbles rose up from the depths below, like the water was boiling. Facilier backed away, his eyes wide. Then, from the water rose a stunningly beautiful woman. Her skin was rich bronze and long black hair cascaded down her back. She was clothed in a thin blue blouse and a skirt with slits, but her feet were bare. She walked on the surface of the water for a moment before stepping onto dry land. She smiled at Facilier, making him gulp.
“You may be a wizard, but you are still prey to me,” she said. “But I am interested in what you have to ask me. So, little wizard, what is it that you seek?”
Facilier frowned at being called “little”, but he pushed it aside. He had bigger stuff to think about. “My name is Facilier. I’m one of the most accomplished wizards of my age. I’ve learnt spells far beyond what most of my peers have accomplished. But…I seek for something more than that.” He paused for a moment. “I seek immortality. I wish to live forever, so I can keep learning spells and see this world progress and age.”
The kelpie chuckled, although it sounded more evil than humorous. “An interesting wish for someone so young.”
“Do you know how I can achieve it?” Facilier asked. “You must know something.”
The kelpie walked up to him, water dripping from her hair and clothes. “You cannot achieve it through any spell or clever incantation,” she said, her eyes boring into Facilier’s. “If it were that easy, somebody else would have done it by now.”
She turned around and started to head back to the river. Facilier sighed in defeat. It looked like his quest was fruitless. He was just about to turn around and leave when he heard the kelpie spoke again.
“However…there are creatures in this world that might be willing to grant immortality,” she said.
“Who?” Facilier asked, running over to the kelpie. “What? Tell me, please!”
The kelpie smiled. “Oh, it could be any sort of creature,” she said, gesturing up to the trees above her head. “A fairy, a demon, an elf.”
“Please, tell me which one,” Facilier begged, clasping his hands together like he was praying. “I’ll do anything. Anything.”
An evil glint seemed to spark in the kelpie’s eyes. She turned to look at Facilier, her eyes bright and her smile wide. “Anything, little wizard?”
Her hand reached up stroke Facilier’s cheek. He shivered. Her hand was ice-cold, and had the faintest stench of blood. “Anything,” he answered, looking in the kelpie’s eyes.
The kelpie smiled, drawing her hand away. “Then get on my back, and I’ll take you to where the answers lie.” A ripple seemed to go through her. Then, she started shifting. There was the sound of bones grinding and tendons popping as her hands and feet turned into hooves and her face elongated into a snout. It was scary to see, but the kelpie’s human form soon disappeared and a beautiful horse stood in her place.
Her mane was a pale yellow while the rest of her body was a combination of brown and white. For a moment, Facilier seemed to hesitate. But then the kelpie looked into his eyes again and whinnied, jerking her head towards the river. Doubt seemed to leave him and he climbed onto her back. She snorted and started to head towards the water. But then, a voice sounded.
“Facilier!”
That voice seemed to snap Facilier out of the weird trance he was in and he spun around. It was Dongwa’s. The little cat was running towards him.
“Facilier, what are you doing? Get off!”
The kelpie didn’t like that. She gave a low neigh that almost sounded like a snarl. Then, she dove under the surface, dragging Facilier with her. The last thing he heard was Dongwa shouting his name before he went under.
Everything was a blur of blue, green, and white as Facilier struggled to get free. But the kelpie’s magic was strong and kept him in place. He kept his lips sealed, holding onto his last store of his oxygen. But then, the kelpie started to change again. Under the water, and about to eat her prey, dripping blood oozed out from her mouth and her eyes went jet-black. Her teeth seemed more like a shark’s than a horse’s. Her hooves seemed more like fins than legs now. Facilier was struck dumb by the horrifying sight, barely able to move, much less escape. The kelpie let out a roar of triumph, sure that the wizard would soon drown and would be hers to devour.
But Facilier wasn’t done yet. He wanted to live, be immortal. He wasn’t ready to die yet. Fighting against the kelpie’s horrifying eyes and deadly jaws, he flung his hand to the left, his magic power taking hold of the water around him. A current drove against the kelpie, sending her spinning through the water, and taking him with her. She growled, mad that her prey was fighting back. Facilier tried again, making a cloud of dirt spin around them, making it hard to see. The kelpie roared and tossed her head, confused. In that moment, her grip on him slipped and Facilier was able to get off her back. But he barely had time to move before she came after him again, snapping her teeth like a piranha. Facilier gave a yelp, bubbles clouding his face as he twisted around the water, avoiding her jaws. Lungs burning, he made another water current slam against her. But she came back with a snap, aiming for his leg. Luckily, she only tore off a bit of his pant leg, nothing more. Facilier was clearly outmatched, and even though he was able to fight the kelpie off now, soon he would run out of air, and then he would be stone-cold dead. So, he drew up his magic power and did the only thing he could do.
Creatures of this river! he called from his mind, the message echoing through the water. I am a wizard, a friend to you creature of this nature. Help me defeat this kelpie and I will repay you in some way. Just help me escape! Please!
He would have said more, but at that point, the kelpie took advantage of his distraction and chomped down on his arm. Facilier screamed, bubbles floating up to the surface. The kelpie dragged him down, blood clouding the water. Facilier fought, but he was in so much pain, and the kelpie’s black eyes were boring into him, cold and empty.
Then, a school of fish swam by and slammed right into the side of the kelpie’s face. After that, two turtles bonked into her side. Salamanders started to crawl up her legs and pull at her tail. The animals in the river had answered Facilier’s call.
Facilier fought to get free, making water slam into the kelpie again, trying to pry her jaws apart. But she just bit down harder, making him scream again. His lungs started to burn for air and his feet kicked helplessly.
A small school of minnows seemed to see what he was doing. They swam over to the kelpie’s mouth and went inside though any open space they could find. Their fins tickled the roof of her mouth, the sides, her tongue. It was a trick that almost seemed silly, but it distracted the kelpie enough so that Facilier brought up one last store of magic energy and make a rock slam into her side. The force was large enough to finally make her let go. Clutching his bleeding arm, Facilier kicked towards the surface, the kelpie’s angry roars and snarls echoing behind him.
Dongwa stood on the bank, pacing back and forth, panicking about what to do. Once a kelpie dragged someone down, they were done for, dead, never seen again. It looked like the same thing happened to Facilier. But, he was proven wrong when his master burst from the water, coughing and hacking something fierce.
“Facilier!” Dongwa cried, overjoyed to see that he was alive.
Facilier just coughed as he made his way to the bank, water spurting out of his mouth with every wheeze. He collapses onto dry land, energy spent.
“What the…your arm!” Dongwa cried.
“Huh?” Facilier opened his tired eyes and noticed that his right arm was bleeding quite heavily. “Oh. Yeah. Kelpies have strong teeth. Did you know that?”
Dongwa rolled his eyes and turned into his child form. “Come on Facilier, we’d better get you home fast so someone can look at you,” he said as he helped him to his feet. “You’re still kind of rubbish when it comes to healing spells.”
“Hold on, wait,” said Facilier. “I have to…pay them back…” Gingerly, he reached over to the water, his finger tip glowing blue. Then, he lightly tapped the surface, sending a ripple of glowing blue lights.
“There,” he said with a tired smile. “The water in this river will forever be pure and clean. Nothing will ever be able to spoil it, waste or dark magic.”
Suddenly, there was burst of water as something from below emerged from it. Facilier and Dongwa screamed, seeing that it was the kelpie. She was in her human form again, but blood dripped from her mouth and her eyes were still black. Water and reeds dripped from her body. She let loose a horrible screech, the sound clawing at Facilier’s ear drums.
“You will not escape me!” she screamed. “Nobody has ever escaped me! Never!”
“Run!” Facilier yelled, scrambling backwards.
Dongwa pulled his master backwards, away from the kelpie’s hands, although her fingers looked more like claws. Blood spilt onto the ground from Facilier’s arm, but he ignored the pain as he and Dongwa took off running. The kelpie screamed and snarled, but her prey was out of the river, out of her element. She couldn’t kill him out of the water.
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">“You remember me, Facilier!” she screeched, the sound making Facilier’s heart jump into his throat. “You remember Tzipporah! Tzipporah! Remember it, Facilier! Because if I see you again, I’ll drown you on sight!”