Everything EveryWIP All At Once
Everyone has been WIPing so hard you guys, I'm just going to tag everyone at the end and consider it an uno reverse if you've already posted and tagged me!
I've been bouncing back and forth on a couple of things but my main thing is editing the next chapter of Further Research Required so I can get it up!
In this chapter, Gale and Alyss meet the occupants of the mansion they've stumbled into and get into a little mischief where they end up doing as newlyweds tend to do (and cause me to need to update my tags). So let me introduce you to their new friends.
As they left the room, the cat got up too, darting between them to set off down the hallway before them. His tail swished as he walked, and after a few steps he stopped and turned back, mewing insistently.
"He wants to keep showing us around," Alyss said. "Maybe he knows where the books are. If he's going to be our guide, we should call him by a name. What do you think of Larloch?" She ostensibly asked it of Gale, but she was looking directly at the cat as she said it.
"Larloch," Gale repeated, with the tone of a man choosing his battles. "You want to name the cat after the most powerful lich in the history of Faerûn." He paused. "A creature of ancient and terrible power, whose mere name causes scholars to lower their voices."
"Yes," said Alyss. "Look at him, he is a Shadow King if I've ever seen one." The cat flicked its tail once, mewed happily, and with great dignity, turned to walk down the corridor. "See? He likes it," she observed.
"He's a cat," Gale said. "He likes it because you said it in a kind voice." But he fell into step beside her, watching Larloch lead them with the unhurried demeanor of a creature that had never once doubted its own authority. "I'll admit his attitude is appropriate," he conceded.
Just then, there was a high-pitched giggle from the branches of a nearby tree, followed by another from a different direction. Alyss whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the laughter, but she saw nothing. She looked around for Larloch, but he was nowhere in sight. "Gale, did you hear—" Something swooshed past her face. She saw nothing, just felt a rush of air, like a giant bird had flown past her.
She heard that soft giggle again and in her mind, in Elvish, she heard: stay and play with us. An exhale of warm air hit her face. Her vision went sparkly and then everything went kind of wobbly. "Gale?" She cast around for him, suddenly disoriented. The smell of the flowers seemed to grow stronger.
Over there, said the voice in her head and she heard Gale's voice coming from her left. She turned and stumbled toward it, the sparkles still clouding her eyes and the scent making her dizzy.
The kitchen was warm and smelled of something savory and soothing. A vast iron stove dominated one wall. Tables and racks filled the rest of the space, hung with gleaming pots and pans in orderly rows. Every surface was spotless. With a flap of small wings, two figures dropped from somewhere above and landed on the nearest table.
They were perhaps eight inches tall and roughly humanoid, with oversized eyes and small clever hands. They landed in a coordinated bow so low their noses nearly touched the tabletop.
"Honored guests!" said the one on the left, in a voice like a very small bell.
"How wonderful!" said the one on the right.
"How delightful!" the left one continued.
"We are Cumin," said the one on the right.
"And Coriander," finished the first.
"And we are entirely at your service!" they said together, with an enthusiasm that was very welcome, but after the faerie dragons Alyss thought they couldn't be too cautious in this house.
Gale stared at them. His head tilted slightly, the way it did when something had engaged his curiosity."They're speaking," he said, in an undertone to Alyss. "Homunculi don't typically speak. They're not constructed for language. Why, the laryngeal apparatus alone would require extensively detailed sculpting." He straightened and addressed them directly. "I am Gale Dekarios, and this is my wife, Alyss. We've found ourselves rather unexpectedly resident in your mansion and we—"
"Bread!" cried Coriander.
"You must be famished," they said together, and were already in motion before either Gale or Alyss could respond.
"Oh, we couldn't possibly ..." Alyss started, but both her stomach and the little creatures were so insistent that she gave in before the thought completed itself. "But if you insist," she said, shrugging at Gale, "I suppose we could take a break for a short while. It has been some time since we've eaten."
This story is inspired by Candlekeep Mysteries.
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