Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 6: In the Shadows of Kryckwood

Chapter 6

A terrifying day naturally leads to a frightful night. At least Kuna’s fears, for the moment, aren’t real. But Lykou’s gonna have to really put his bravery to the test!

-Llox

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Lykou had never been terribly afraid of the dark. Whatever fear he may have initially had was quickly defeated by all the time he spent in his youth sneaking out at night with his friends. And once he was an adult and took up one of the few jobs that would let him wander far out into the woods, he’d gotten used to spending nights alone in the wilderness on occasion. So ordinarily, stalking through the woods at night would have perhaps been exciting, but not terribly frightening. His senses and reflexes were keen, and he knew he could handle all kinds of mundane monsters that might lurk out in the wilds, especially after all his wild experiences so far on his journey with Kuna.

But the journey had also introduced him to dangers far beyond his wildest dreams. Granted, they had managed to defeat or escape them, but it still left an impact. And the wilderness of Kryckwood was a far cry from the familiar forests of his home. With their recent run-in with the undead, especially the Great Wraith, Lykou’s heart was pounding in his chest as he carefully followed the stream away from the edge of Algrytha’s garden.

He considered using his crystal to light his way, but ultimately decided to hold off. The gaps in the clouds provided just enough moonlight through the sparse foliage for him to navigate around things, and he didn’t want to risk drawing unwanted attention to himself. Besides, he didn’t want to ruin his night vision for when he got where he was going. Still, having to rely more heavily on his other senses didn’t help his nerves any. The sound of the stream he was following wasn’t loud, but could potentially mask an approaching stealthy threat.

Thoughts of the horrors that might be lurking beyond his senses haunted his mind. They’d seen ghouls, ghosts, wisps, shadow spirits, and the Wraith- who knew what else might lurk out there? Whatever tracks they’d seen after their first night camping in the Kryck didn’t look like a person, so whatever left them might still be stalking the darkness. And given the general lack of large animals to serve as prey, whatever it was likely wasn’t picky about hunting.

He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so on edge and genuinely afraid. Anxious, yes- often for others at least as much as himself. Especially Kuna. He was usually pretty confident about being able to fend for himself, at the very least. But wandering that cursed forest brought back that long-forgotten icy-cold terror that he thought he’d outgrown before he even reached puberty. Still, he pressed on, driven by his desire to help Kuna.

His heart lept into his throat momentarily when a hooting owl startled him nearby. He looked up to see it watching him with eyes that almost seemed to faintly glow in the dark. It was different from any owl he’d seen before. Besides the glowing eyes, it was also larger, with what looked like slightly curled horns on its head. On the one hand, he was initially relieved to see that the hooting he and Kuna had previously heard was legitimately from an owl and not something even more bizarre. On the other, he couldn’t completely rule it out as a potential threat. Even if it was still smaller than him, it was one of the largest birds he’d seen, and it was clearly watching him closely.

He narrowed his eyes and let his hand hover over his knife, just to be on the safe side. He wished he still had his spear, but he’d had no choice but to leave it behind in order to carry Kuna back to safety. He knew he could probably fend the creature off if it attacked, but he also definitely didn’t want to find out just how big and sharp its talons were.

Luckily, after a few intense minutes of staring one another down, the owl turned and flew off, seemingly losing interest. As he looked up and watched it fly away, he noticed a small cluster of bats swoop across the night sky. A large, indistinct mass of some kind slowly floated through the air after them. For a moment he thought it was a small cloud further up in the sky, but then he noted that chunks of it twitched and stretched like tendrils as it lazily drifted through the air. With wide, fearful eyes, he slowly slipped further into the woods, eager to avoid catching the thing’s notice, whatever it was.

Fortunately, he reached the bog shortly after that. Recalling Algrytha’s directions, he slowly stalked around the edge of the muck and water, until eventually he noticed small dots of dim light in the distance. As he got closer, a growing number of smaller ones became visible, and some of the larger ones illuminated huge clusters of strange-looking flora near them. The whole place was dimly lit by a mixture of glowing fungi and pale beams of moonlight. Some of the glowing bits moved, and he realized they were eyes, belonging to one of the creatures the witch had warned him about.

He ducked behind a tree and peered out into the grey wilderness that defined where the bog met the Kryck, observing the creatures lurking among the strange fungal garden. They were short humanoids, and he couldn’t really make out their features, other than their glowing reddish eyes. There were two that he could see, shuffling around and doing… something. Probably tending to the garden, or perhaps keeping watch. It was hard to tell exactl, but one was definitely prodding around some of the fungi at the base of a tree.

A slight movement on the ground among a cluster of large mushrooms drew his attention. After focusing for a moment, he realized there was a third creature sleeping on the ground. He managed to sneak a little closer so that he could get a better look at them. Their faces were somewhat flat, and other than a few patches on their bare feet and on their heads, they looked like they were bald and covered in very rough, reddish-orange skin. Their clothes were an odd contradiction- they looked sophisticated and well-crafted, yet filthy and heavily worn. In addition to grey shirts with oddly frilled short sleeves, they were wearing pants, with numerous pockets, that connected to straps that looped up over their shoulders. The imp-like creatures also seemed to all be wearing gloves- including the sleeping one- but sharp claws protruded through the fingertips. Each of them was also wearing a slightly flat, blotchy red hat.

The red splotches were visible on the rest of their clothing as well, but the hats seemed to be especially saturated with mismatched crimson patches. One of them even seemed a bit damp and caked with something. It had a long knife clutched in its hand as well. Needless to say, they did not look the slightest bit friendly.

He ducked back behind the thick tree he’d been peering around and took a few calming breaths as he tried to work out how to approach them. With his bracers, he thought he might be able to take them on if a fight happened- but he didn’t really want to deal with any more violence if he could help it, and for all he knew, there might be more lurking out of sight. They were clearly people of some kind, albeit strange ones that gave off a strong air of hostility. He wanted to think he could reason with them, but he was sure Algrytha wouldn’t have warned against it for no reason.

So that just left trickery, as they’d discussed. Apparently, they were intimidated by powerful magic users. Trouble was, without actually being one, how could he pose as one? Various ideas ran through his head. He pulled the crystal out and gripped it tightly in his hand as he mentally rehearsed various lines in his head, trying to decide on the best approach, before ultimately deciding to just wing it. After taking a moment to psych himself up, he straightened up and stepped out of his hiding spot, boldly approaching the strangers with what he hoped came across as a confident, imposing posture.

It didn’t take long for them to take notice. One of them spotted him and nudged the other, then they chattered something incoherent to one another briefly. After that, the first one stalked over to meet the konuul while the second went to wake the third. Its scowl immediately made it clear he wasn’t welcome there.

“You! Big fuck! Away from our garden or you feed it!” the creature spat out at him in a slightly high-pitched, yet raspy voice.

Lykou slowed to a stop and crossed his arms, then took a deep breath and frowned at them with what he hoped was an intimidating glare. “I’ll leave when I get what I came for, and no sooner,” he said in his best attempt at an imperious, intimidating tone. “And I would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Or what, you twig-dicked corpse-in-waiting?”

“You leave now. Last warning,” the second said as it approached, with the third mumbling grumpily behind it.

“You don’t leave, we’ll rip your belly and feed the soil with your guts,” the third snarled.

“No, I am warning you,” Lykou retorted, discretely activating his bracers as he spoke. “I have powerful magic and I will not hesitate to use it.”

The first imp-thing opened its toothy mouth to retort, but paused when it saw his flesh turning to wood. The other two shared a look. “...liar. One dumb trick. Not a big deal.”

“Wood rots good, too. Not scary,” the second declared, narrowing its eyes at him and waving its knife threateningly.

Lykou narrowed his own eyes and thought about the breezes on the island. He especially focused on the way it seemed stronger when they were out on the water, with how it managed to carry their boat quickly across the waves, far faster than mere paddles alone could hope for. On queue, the crystal manifested a breeze around him that buffeted his hair and clothes, and disturbed some debris on the ground underneath him. It was hard to maintain his stern, intimidating expression, but he managed. “Do not test me.”

The creatures muttered quietly among one another before the knife-wielder stepped forward and pointed it at him again. “What, you fart? I’ll make another hole so it all comes out easier.”

Suddenly, Lykou pulled his arms apart and clasped his hands together, carefully positioning the crystal between them as he did so. “I am tired of your pathetic threats,” he said, then focused on the bright sunlight piercing across the horizon at dawn. “Bring me…” he continued, then paused as he tried to remember the name. Fortunately it came to him after a moment, making his hesitation look more like a dramatic pause. “...a guarded agaric. Or I will burn you and your garden to the ground!”

Before one of them could retort, he slowly and carefully opened up his hands slightly, revealing a bright light shining from within. Using the best of his acting abilities, he made sure to shake his hands and arms slightly, as if holding onto immense, barely contained power.

That clearly unsettled them. The armed one lowered its knife and stared warily at the konuul’s hands.

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” Lykou warned, eyeing them. When they still seemed uncertain, he decided to go for broke. “Or do you want to face the fury of…” Again, he hesitated. He couldn’t just say his name, he needed something impressive to go along with it. Inwardly, he groaned as a thought occurred to him, but he realized he had a single point of inspiration for lengthy titles. “...Lykou the Magnificent, Master Warlock of the… R-Resplendant Order of the Supreme High Drunas of Lakefire!”

In order to drive the point home, he tried thinking of a sunset, causing the light to start shifting between different vibrant hues of red, pink, orange, and yellow as he increased the trembling in his hands. Somehow, it even seemed to pick up on his idea and the colors started shifting and flickering even faster after a moment. Huh, so that’s what the sunset one does, he thought to himself. He tried to keep both the sunset and the breeze in his mind for good effect, but it was tricky to do both at once, let alone while keeping up an intimidating appearance and carefully choosing his words. It was by far the most mental gymnastics he could ever remember doing, and he was afraid his guise would crack any moment.

Fortunately, it worked before that happened. The creatures’ skeptical and aggressive expressions gradually shifted to fear until finally one of them panicked and ran off, screaming. The armed individual dropped its knife on the ground and took several steps back, holding its hands up in placation. “Mercy! Mercy, please!”

“W-whatever you want, mighty warlock!” the other remaining individual assured him. “One guarded agaric, yes?”

“Make it two,” Lykou said, and almost immediately regretted it. He’d gotten cocky and caught up in the moment, when he really only needed one. But again, fortune was on his side. The imps didn’t question it.

“R-right away!” the formerly armed creature said, then ran off, with the third quickly following behind.

While they were away fetching the mushrooms, Lykou let the effects fade and let out a sigh of relief. After quickly putting the crystal away, he took a moment to collect himself while he waited, relieved to finally give his mind a moment’s respite. Soon, one of the imps nervously shuffled back out of their garden, with the other two nervously peeking out from behind a pair of trees at its edge.

Lykou straightened up and crossed his arms again while he waited for the imp to make its way over to him. Once it was within arm’s reach, he extended a hand without a word.

The imp quickly handed over a pair of slimy, somewhat disgusting-looking mushrooms with glowing purple nodules on them. “G-guarded agaric! For you! P-please take and…. G-go?”

Lykou stared at the creature just long enough to make it uncomfortable, then slowly tucked the mushrooms away in his bag, trying not to wince at the disgusting texture in his hand. “Very well. I will go now. Do not even think about following me, or I will set you on fire with my magic. Understood?”

“Yesyes, no following!” the imp assured him, anxiously backing away.

“Good. Farewell,” the konuul replied sharply, then turned and began walking away at a casual pace, doing his best to exude an air of superiority and confidence as he stalked off into the darkness. He was wary of turning his back on them, but they seemed suitably intimidated. And he knew the real dangers he now had to worry about were once again lurking out in the Kryck.

Once he’d started to disappear into the shadows, the imp ran back to its brethren. Lykou kept up his slow, casual stroll as long as he could, until the sounds of their anxious chattering was long gone. He stepped around past a thick enough tree to hide behind, then peered back to make sure they hadn’t followed him. With another, bigger sigh of relief, he disabled his bracers and slumped back against the tree for a moment to catch his breath. …Zyn can never find out about that.

*****

Back in Algrytha’s hut, a feverish sereva began to stir and murmur in his sleep. After a few minutes, his eyes blinked open. He rolled over and began to raise his arm to rub his eyes, only for intense, sharp pains in his shoulder to immediately make him aware of his condition. He yelped and whimpered faintly, then used his other hand instead. Once his vision had cleared a bit, he struggled to try and remember things. He could barely recall what’d happened. He remembered being in a dark forest, seeing a bunch of increasingly hostile ghosts, him and Lykou running away from something, and then something attacking him… the details were all a blur.

His robe was pulled down to expose his shoulders, with some kind of makeshift bandage covering his wounds on the one side. He debated about trying to see how bad the injury was, but ultimately decided to hold off for the time being. For one thing, he didn’t want to risk inflicting more pain on himself by jostling it too much.

“Kou…?” he mumbled quietly as he carefully looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His concern gradually grew more intense as he noticed his friend’s absence. “Lykou?? W-where-”

His voice caught in his throat as he noticed something. He’d started to recognize the place he’d woke up in as Algrytha’s home, but everything was starting to look a bit… off. The furniture was stretching and distorting slightly, and his vision was swimming a little. And then the really freaky shit started. Slowly, various distorted faces started appearing on the walls. They looked like they were talking- either to him or to one another, but he couldn’t make sense of it.

Disturbed, he oh-so-carefully sat up and tried to swing his legs over the edge of the table that’d been turned into a makeshift bed for him. It was difficult to move around like that with his injury, given how sensitive it was. When he did, though, more oddities began forming. The containers on the tables, including those near him, seemingly sprouted dozens of eyes and strange little legs that began flailing around. Down below, he saw the floor starting to undulate as dozens of tiny tendrils started poking up from it. Some of them had eyes on them. “L-Lykou?? S-s-someone...?!” he cried out fearfully as he instinctively tried to push himself away from the nearest aberrations.

Flames spurted up from the firepit in the middle of the room, and hazy figures erupted from within the pots sitting over it. Some reached out towards him with distorted, undulating limbs. He pushed further back, his fear fighting against the pain as he whimpered and pulled his legs back up, trying to curl into a protective ball on the table. “W-what’s… who… what do you…. I….”

Algrytha suddenly entered through the front door and set a small basket full of freshly-harvested herbs of some kind on one of the tables, seemingly oblivious to the animate oddities surrounding her. When she looked back over, she saw the terrified, clearly delirious sereva wavering on the table across the room. “Oh dear… I’d hoped you’d sleep through more of it, ‘least till yer friend came back.”

“W… w-wha-… who are… d-don’t-!” Kuna stammered, still weakly trying to scramble backwards despite having nowhere else to go now that he was pushing up against the wall on the other side of the table-bed.

The witch sighed and started walking over, causing a fresh wave of desperate panic from the sereva. She paused for a moment and held her hands up. “Hey now, take it easy kiddo. It’s me, Algrytha. Remember?”

“Al… gryth….a?” Kuna murmured, furrowing his brows as he tried to think straight. The name kept fading in and out of his memory. “...Al… Algrytha… oh… y-yeah…”

“Try ‘n’ calm down, alright?” she said as she slowly started to approach him again. “Yer in my house. Took a nasty ghoul bite, ya did. But yer safe here.”

Kuna looked around warily, then started panicking again. He glanced down and his eyes widened as he saw a pair of eyes looking back up at him from his robe. He started to hyperventilate as he weakly and ineffectively tried to scrabble out of the garment with a small whimper.

Algrytha hurried over and gently, but firmly took his hands. “Easy, easy kid! Whatever yer seein’, it ain’t real. Alright? Yer just seein’ stuff that’s not there.”

The sereva initially struggled, but the lack of energy and the pain in his shoulder quickly made him stop. He was shaking, and sweat dripped into his teary eyes, so she released his hands so he could wipe it away with the one not connected to his wounded shoulder. “N… n-not real?”

“That’s right. Yer feverish from the bite. That mixed with the medicine I gave ya means yer not exactly thinkin’ straight,” she said, then walked over to a jug on another table. “Hang tight, lemme give ya some water.”

Kuna tried to take some calming breaths with his eyes clenched shut, then carefully opened them and shivered at the strange things he was seeing. As much as he tried to convince himself the visions weren’t real, it was hard to ignore them. The eyes on his robe in particular made him uncomfortable.

“Here, drink this,” Algrytha said as she walked back over and handed him a cup of water. “Ignore anything strange ya see in it. Like I said, nothing weird ‘n’ scary in here,” she said, then paused and grinned. “’cept me a’course,” she added with a small snicker.

Holding the cup in shaky hands, Kuna took a long, slow sip of water after closing his eyes again. He took a moment to compose himself, then hazarded another peek. The visions were still there, but they did seem slightly less intimidating than before. “…s’all fever ‘n’ stuff?”

“That’s right. Ya remember anythin’?”

Kuna slowly shook his head and rubbed his head, wincing. “Only… bits ‘n’ pieces…”

“Well, ya got bit by a ghoul. Some’a them have kind of a… venom, type thing, y’see. Nasty shit. Luckily I’ve got some stuff that’ll flat kick the crap outta most poisons ‘n’ such. Unfortunately, from what yer friend told me, yer low on life essence, so yer body’s strugglin’ even with that help,” the witch explained. “Which is why he’s out fetchin’ an ingredient for another thing that’ll help ya fix that problem.”

Kuna shot a wide-eyed, worried look over at the dark window near the door. He immediately set the cup down and started trying to shuffle off the table. “H-he’s out there?? I’ve gotta-”

“Woah now bucko,” Algrytha said, quickly stopping him. “Yer not goin’ anywhere.”

“But-”

“No buts. Just calm down,” she said, pushing the cup back into his shaky hand. “Wouldn’t do anybody any good fer you ta go wanderin’ back out there. Yer hurt, weak, ‘n’ sick, ‘n’ yer seein’ things that aren’t there. Just how far ya think you’d even get?”

Kuna whimpered as he stared worriedly out into the darkness through the window. “...Kou…”

She gently patted his leg. “I’m sure he’s fine. I’m good at readin’ folk, ‘n’ he’s a strong, brave boy. He’ll be back before ya know it. In the meantime, just finish yer water ‘n’ try ta get s’more rest.”

The sereva stared out the window for a few more moments, then sighed and drained the cup. “...thanks…” he carefully and slowly shifted his legs fully back up onto the table and tried to lay back. “...not gonna be able to sleep ‘till he’s back though…”

“Well, just close yer eyes at least. Keep the visions at bay,” she suggested. “Need s’more water?”

Kuna stared down at the cup for a moment, then nodded slightly. “S-sure. Guess I was pretty thirsty. Thanks again…”

“Yer welcome,” she replied as she refilled the cup. “Not surprisin’, given the fever.” After handing him the cup again, she helped add some extra cushioning behind him so he could sit in a reclined position rather than lay flat.

“Thanks… How long are these s-stupid visions gonna last?” he asked tiredly.

“At least ‘till the fever breaks. When Lykou comes back, I can start the other potion fer ya. Until then, yer gonna have ta get used to ‘em.”

“W-what’s it do, anyway?”

“It’ll let you ‘n’ him share life essence while yer on the mend. ‘n’ let ya both recover it faster than usual, too,” Algrytha explained.

“Essence huh?” Kuna said, rubbing his head again. “Fuck. I… f-forgot I was low on that. Would’ve thought I’d have recovered m-more by now, anyway…”

“Well, the ghoul venom drains a bit too. So even if ya had some before that, it’d be gone by time ya got here. The worst of it’s been dealt with, but yer body’s still struggling ta recover from the damage without the essence ta help.”

“This potion isn’t… gonna h-hurt Lykou, is it?”

“Nah, not at all,” Algrytha replied dismissively. “What’d be the point’a that? Don’t worry, it’s safe.”

“Just m-making sure… hate being a burden,” Kuna said with a sigh.

“Now don’t go thinkin’a yerself like that. Ya got bit by a damn ghoul runnin’ from the Great Wraith himself, yer lucky ta even be breathin’,” the witch pointed out, then smirked. “Speakin’a which though, clever use’a that lil’ divine trinket ya got. Gift from some god, I understand?”

Kuna blinked a few times as he struggled to remember. “Trink… oh, yeah. Whironui’s crystal,” he said after a moment, then yawned. “Was just lucky, I guess… was all dark, I remember it m-made light, so I tried to brighten things up. Had n-no idea it’d have that kind of e-effect on them.”

“Lotta ghosts, especially ones like that, hate sunlight, fer complicated reasons. Particularly the Wraith. S’why he cursed the place ta get so little of it.”

“Huh…” Kuna pondered that for a moment, then drained his cup again. He looked back out the window, unable to escape his worries.

“Hey, relax kiddo. He’ll be fine. Ya both got away from the nastiest monsters in the Kryck, ‘n’ now he’s off wanderin’ more or less the opposite direction.”

“Just wish he’d at least waited until morning,” Kuna said, frowning.

“I suggested that to ‘im, but he insisted he didn’t wanna wait. Guess you two must be pretty close, eh?”

The sereva nodded slightly. “Very… what exactly did he go out to f-find?”

“Special mushroom that only grows in certain places,” she told him. “There’s one down on the south side’a the bog. So a good hike from here, but there’s a stream I told ‘im to follow. So don’t worry.”

“Can’t help it,” Kuna said, then sighed and rubbed his head. “I just hope he gets back soon…”

“He probably will. Already been a while, so I imagine he’s on his way back by now,” Algrytha assured him. “Tell ya what, if yer gonna insist on stayin’ awake, how about I make us some tea?”

Kuna thought for a moment, then shrugged- and immediately winced from the pain it brought. After sucking air in through his teeth and letting the pain pass, he nodded slightly. “Tea would be nice. Thanks…”

“Aaand I’ll put a little something for the pain in yours,” she said with a slight chuckle. “Just don’t be surprised if the visions get a little more vivid at times.”

“Great...”

*****

Fortunately for Lykou, the hike back to Algrytha’s garden was slightly less frightful than the hike out had been, if only because the ordeal with the imps was behind him. But ultimately, it was still a dark trek through an especially unsettling forest in the middle of the night. Whatever creatures did live in the Kryck were clearly nocturnal, because he was seeing, or at least hearing, far more of them than he had during the day. There were owls, bats, strange and unusually large bugs, and plenty of things he only ever caught brief glimpses of or heard in the distance. Every time the trees creaked, it made him jump slightly. Still, he preferred that to the eerie silence and stillness of the Wraith’s territory.

It was a relief when he finally reached the familiar sight of some of the mossy walls. That, of course, meant that he was stuck navigating the strange place, where things never seemed to stay in the same spot. He tried his best to navigate back to the cottage that was presumably in the middle, but ended up getting lost again, as usual. At least the hostile toothed ones seemed dormant for the night, as if they were sleeping.

After wandering for a bit, he spotted a faint puff of smoke in the air when it passed in front of the moon. Using that as a guide, he stubbornly pushed forward in that direction, occasionally climbing directly over walls if he had to. Finding reliable handholds was tricky, and a few patches had thorny vines on them which made the task painful. Still, he pushed through the pain and frustration, determined to take the most direct path back that he could. On one occasion, he accidentally woke one of the biting flowers and had to slice off its “head” when it lashed out at him. That woke a couple more that he ended up having to fight through. He didn’t care if it pissed off Algrytha. He was tired of dealing with the garden’s nonsense and just wanted to get back to Kuna. If the witch wanted her garden left completely intact, she should see to it that it didn’t impede his progress.

Finally, he crested another wall and saw the house sitting in front of him. As luck had it, he was right in front of the main door. He hurried inside and immediately perked up when he saw Kuna laying propped up in the makeshift bed. The sereva blinked his eyes open and turned towards the sound of the canid entering.

But much to Lykou’s surprise, Kuna reacted with panic, rather than relief when he started to rush over to his side. The sereva yelped and scrabbled weakly backward with a fearful expression, making him stop halfway there. “Ahh! A-algrytha there’s-” he blurted out, then paused and furrowed his brows, struggling to focus on the bewildered konuul. “W-wait… Kou is that you?”

The bewildered konuul just stood halfway to the bed with a confused expression, uncertain how to proceed. “Uh… yeahhhh…?”

Kuna blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes as he visibly relaxed a bit. “S-sorry, I uh… this is gonna sound strange, but how many eyes do you have?”

“Just... the usual two…?”

“His eyes are playin’ tricks on ‘im cus of the fever ‘n’ medicine,” Alrgytha explained, approaching the konuul from behind.

Lykou jumped slightly in surprise at her sudden appearance. “Oh… really?”

Kuna grinned sheepishly and tiredly at him. “Yeahh… I’m guessing the knives on your fingers aren’t real either, right?”

The konuul glanced down at his hands with a mildly amused expression. “...I sure hope so, because that’d make things pretty damn awkward and risky.”

“...then get over here and give me a hug, dammit.”

Lykou grinned and hurried over to embrace him, being careful around his injured shoulder. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

“I was so f-fucking worried when Algrytha said you went back out there on your own,” Kuna said, giving him as much of a squeeze as he could.

“Hey, I’m not the one with the ghoul bite. I was really worried about you.”

“I tried ta get him to go back ta sleep, but he insisted he couldn’t till he knew you were back safe ‘n’ sound from yer little errand,” Algrytha said with a light chuckle as she walked over to join them. She then extended a hand towards Lykou and cleared her throat. “Speakin’a which…”

“Oh, right!” Lykou quickly dug the mushrooms out of his pocket and handed them over, cringing at their slimy, disgusting texture.

“Two huh?” the witch commented in amusement. “Only needed the one.”

“I… got extra,” Lykou commented, while avoiding meeting her eye. “You know, just i-in case.”

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then smirked and tweaked his nose. “Sly little devil in disguise arencha?” she said, then chuckled and walked over to her work table to start prepping the potion. “Anyway, make yerself comfy. I’ll help ya set up another bed after I finish the potion.”

“Uh… I don’t suppose this table is strong enough for us both?” Kuna chimed in.

Algrytha glanced back at him with a quizzical look. “Well, sure, they’ll hold way more in fact. But I don’t mind makin’ another sleepin’ spot fer ya.”

“We… uh-”

“He doesn’t like sleeping alone these days,” Lykou explained with a smirk, holding the sereva’s hand. “And I like keeping him company.”

Kuna blushed and grinned. “Yeah…”

Algrytha chuckled again. “Well, as long as ya don’t mind it bein’ a bit cramped up there, have at it. Just be careful not to jostle that shoulder’a his. Might want ta wait till after you’ve had a very late dinner and the potion, though.”

“Wait, both of us?” Lykou asked curiously. “I thought the potion was just for him?”

“Won’t work properly unless both of ya drink it.”

“Apparently it’ll let us share life essence and recover it faster,” Kuna explained, rubbing his eyes again. “But you don’t have to if y-”

“Hush, you know better,” Lykou lightly chided, then gave his hand a small squeeze. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you get better. How are you feeling?”

Kuna folded his ears down and took a deep breath. “Besides seeing things that make everything feel like a twisted dream?” He paused and reached for his shoulder, then winced. “Like I envy the dead. Hurts like fuck, I’m weaker than ever, and my body can’t decide if its freezing cold or burning up.”

“I’m so sorry, Ku… wish there was more I could do for you.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you’re back and safe,” the sereva replied with a weak smile, rubbing the konuul’s hand lightly with his thumb. “That’s enough for me.”

Lykou grinned. “Sappy.”

They both giggled a bit.

“Still though, I can’t believe you went out there alone, let alone in the middle of the night,” the sereva continued. “Hope you didn’t have to go far.”

“Was a bit of a hike, but at least it was the opposite direction from the Wraith’s turf. South side of the bog.”

Kuna shuddered a bit. “That far?”

“Yeah, but it was worth it,” Lykou said, then booped the sereva’s nose before he could argue. “And no arguments.”

“Still… nothing attacked you at least, right?”

“Not really. Saw some freaky things out there but didn’t have any real fights or anything. Mostly just had to deal with these weird… imp things, to get the mushrooms.”

Kuna arched a brow. “Imp things?”

“Yeah. Short, weird lookin' guys that have a strange little garden of their own, only its all different kinds of mushrooms. They're mean and nasty, but not too bright. And scared of powerful magic users.”

The sereva blinked a few times. “...magic users…?”

Lykou looked away and rubbed his neck. “It’s… a good thing we’ve kind of started collecting a few magical things on our adventures. The bracers and Whironui’s crystal really came in handy.”

Kuna grinned. “Oh really? This sounds like a fun story. What’d you do?”

“...if I tell you, Zyn can never hear about it,” Lykou said with a flat look. “Kay?”

“Oh yeah?” the sereva asked, already amused. “Alright, and why not?”

“I maaay or may not have had to take some inspiration from him to create an intimidating persona to trick them with,” the konuul explained with a sheepish grin. “Lykou the Magnificent, Warlock of the.... something order somethingsomething I forget the rest.”

Kuna snorted and giggled in amusement. “Oh man, I wish I’d seen that.”

"Felt kinda wrong, but to be fair they were little jerks." Suddenly, the canid yelped as Algrytha walked over and plucked a hair off his head. “Hey, what the-?”

“Sorry, gotta have a hair from each’a ya fer this one, ‘n’ I didn’t want ta interrupt,” the witch explained, then reached over and plucked one from Kuna as well, making him wince slightly.

“You’re cooking something with… our hair in it?” Lykou asked dubiously.

Algrytha chuckled. “Yep. Don’t worry, it’ll break up as it cooks, ya won’t even know it’s there.”

Kuna shot her a look. “Are you sure this stuff is safe to drink?”

“Yep. Might eventually be some side-effects, mind ya. But they’ll be temporary ‘n’ manageable.”

“Side-effects?” Lykou asked warily. “Like what?”

“Oh nothin’ ta worry about,” the witch said dismissively as she got back to work at the other table. “Just some… perspective, I suppose, hehe.”

“...that’s not a reassuring answer,” Lykou pointed out.

Kuna sighed and rolled his eyes. “Something tells me it’s the only one we’re getting, though.”

Algrytha glanced back and winked at them. “Like I said, don’t worry about it. Nothin’ harmful, all temporary. Likely won’t come up till after the third dose anyway.”

“Third dose?”

“Mhmm. I’ll be givin’ ya three containers’a the stuff. Don’t worry, these ones won’t be glass,” she explained. “Each of ya will drink half of one before bed each night for three days, startin’ tonight. Lykou, you’ll take the first half, then Kuna takes the second. S’the only way the magic’ll work properly.”

“...this potion stuff sure is weird,” Lykou commented.

“That’s magic in general fer ya,” Algrytha replied. “Incantations, potions, rituals, glyphs- it’s all got odd quirks. Even the raw energy-twistin’ stuff ya do with yer mind has weird rules fer certain things. Just the nature’a the world.”

Kuna sighed and rubbed his eyes some more. “I just can’t wait to see clearly again,” he said, then shot Lykou a half-amused look. “At least you look a little more normal up close. When you’ve only got the one head, anyway.”

Lykou gave him a sympathetic smirk and rubbed his hand some more. “Want me to get you some water or something?”

“Mm… that sounds good actually. Damn fever’s keeping me pretty thirsty. Don’t forget to get yourself something to eat, though.”

“I will, but I’m surprisingly not very hungry,” the konuul said as he fetched some water for the sereva. “Mostly just exhausted.”

“I bet. It’s been a damn long day.”

“No kidding. I’ll be so glad to get to that arch and away from this place,” Lykou commented, then shot a brief glance at their host. “Uh, no offense-”

“Hah! None taken,” Algrytha replied in amusement. “The Kryck’s nobody’s idea of a good time. I’m just weird fer settin’ up my garden out here. Fact ya don’t wanna be here shows ya got some sense. That’s sadly lackin’ in a lotta folk that come through here anymore.”

“You, uh… mind if we sleep in tomorrow, though?” Kuna asked.

“I’d be surprised if ya didn’t. I insist ya do, in fact,” the witch replied. “Ya both need ta rest up, especially you. Once ya got this potion in ya, the fever should break pretty quick, but you’ll still be a bit weak fer a day or two.”

“Ugh, great…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Lykou assured him. “Whatever it takes to get you better. Leave any heavy lifting to me.”

Kuna frowned. “You know I hate leaving everything to you.”

“Yeah well I don’t mind. All I need is your company,” the konuul reminded him, giving him another hug, careful not to knock over his cup of water or put pressure on his shoulder.

“You’re such a sweetheart, Kou,” the sereva said, blushing and smirking again. “Ya big fluffy sap.”

“Alright you two, need a little quiet so’s I can focus,” Algrytha said as she stirred up the fire and filled a pot with some water. She then started the incantation after a moment.

Lykou arched a brow up at Kuna after pulling back from the embrace, while the witch recited an incantation behind him. “Better keep drinking that water. I think your fever’s gotten worse,” he whispered, then leaned in for another gentle embrace. “Seems like it’s got your heart rate up a bit, too.”

The flush-faced sereva glanced away with a small, bashful grin. “Y-yeah, fever…” he replied quietly. Before Lykou had returned, he’d been thinking over a certain conversation with Hoku to pass the time, so certain things were freshly stirred up in his mind. Definitely the fever, not cus you’re close again… hurry and get up here with me, dammit__.