Chapter Nineteen - Blue Skies

Chapter Nineteen - Blue Skies

Mister Blue the glowing blue pixie was a good travelling companion. Sure, I couldnt understand what he was saying unless he pantomimed it for me with many chips and the occasional bleek, but we made do.

We kept to the road, travelling at a much slower pace than I was used to even though Mister Blue was much faster than I was and would likely outpace me even at my best. Truth was, I was enjoying the company a little too much to want to hurry towards our inevitable departure.

And then what happened? I asked.

Mister Blue had been telling me of some great, ferocious monster that had invaded his forest and that he had single handedly defeated. He gestured grandly, both arms before him scissoring up and down to mimic the jaws of the great beast. Chirrrrr! he roared savagely, as if someone had stepped on a squeaky toy.

Mister Blue flew around and faced where he had been, hands on his hips and body straight as if imitating a real life Superman. The floating certainly helped the look. The lack of clothes did not. He waved his hand in a banishing gesture, and a crack of lightning shot from his fingers to the ground with a firecracker pop.

Orange jumped within the pocket of my bandoleer, the noise enough to awaken her and drag unamused eyes over to Mister Blue, who was now pretending to be the great beast scampering away.

I watched, a hand pressed over my mouth as Orange floated up behind Mister Blue and started stalking him through the air. Mister Blue was orating his victory with many a chirp when he turned around and froze in mid-flight.

Orange wiggled her little kitty bum, then pounced.

What followed was a chase scene out of a cartoon, with Orange darting this way and that through the air, her little paw-paws running as fast as they could while Mister Blue flew circles around me.

The tables turned when Mister Blue spun around and started flying after Orange while static shocks ran across his body with little Geiger-counter-like tics.

Giggling, I put an end to the game by snatching Orange out of the air by the scruff of her neck and sliding her back into her spot in my bandoleer. She glared at Mister Blue, who preened in the air--quite proud of himself--but at least the fight was over.

So, Mister Blue, I said some little time later. Ive been looking for rare and valuable plants. Mostly for making tea, but I wouldnt mind finding flowers that I could sell later, or that might be helpful. Since this is your territory, do you happen to know of anything like that?

The pixie tapped at his chin and floated alongside me while making a strange humming noise. Then he nodded and zipped ahead. I lost sight of him almost as soon as he dipped into the forest, and chose not to try and follow.

Instead I slowed my walk down a little, but kept moving.

My patience was rewarded when Mister Blue came chittering back while pointing at something I couldnt see.

Grinning, I followed after him as he flew at a much more sedate pace through the woods and over thick brambles. The woods grew darker as he led me away from the road, then up a fairly steep hill that would have been impossible to travel without Jumping from big rock to big rock.

I tried to keep an eye on more or less the direction the road was in, in case I got lost. But that soon faded away when Mister Blue chirped in victory and circled around a bush. It was growing on a patch of healthy looking dirt under a rocky overhang. Its vines were a deep, wine red and its leaves were a faded crimson. Each flower had seven large petals around a waxy stem in the middle. And atop of that was a faint, flickering blue flame.

Whoa, I said as I watched the three dozen or so burning flowers lighting up the rocky alcove. So pretty, I said.

The air smelled like the sulfur of a recently struck match, but also like... oatmeal. It was a distinct scent that took me a while to place, though it certainly wasnt bad.

I lowered my pack and pulled out my book. Pages flew by as I searched for the plant that I was certain I had seen illustrated already. Mister Blue hovered over my shoulder and bleeked appreciatively at all the pretty pictures.

Ah hah, I said as I landed on the right page.

Nothing kept Broccoli Bunch down, not even losing a fun new friend that she had just made! I would find more friends along the way, I just knew it.

At least the parting had only been bittersweet. I could visit Mister Blue again in the future, maybe with even more honey. I laughed and imagined how heroic he would look coming to all of his friends with a second full jar of honey behind him. Unless he snuck it away to enjoy it all for himself, the little ruffian!

The woods started to change as I moved through them. The air wasnt quite as vibrant and the trees werent as brilliantly green and full of life, even the birdsong wasnt quite as chirpy and happy.

I hopped up to the branches of a nearby tree to be higher, and took in the world around me as far as I could see. That wasnt very much, as it turned out. I was in something of a dip in the landscape with hills all around. The distant rumble of a river or stream sounding just a few hundred meters away.

Looking up, I caught sight of a plume of smoke, then realized that it was a few of them meeting together to form one column, but it was still far away. Too far to reach before the sun set.

I hopped over to the next tree, then the next, aiming for the top of the hill where my line of sight wouldnt be nearly as obstructed. Maybe there was a town like Threewells out there, but inhabited?

I paused between one jump and the next when I heard something below. At first I thought it was some creature moving through the woods, but creatures didnt swear so much.

Why am I always ze one sent out to clear ze path? someone said after saying some words that were very impolite.

Ze question ought to be why I got picked to babysit you, another, deeper voice said.

People! Close enough for their voices to carry even. I jumped in their direction a few times, aware that I was moving back towards the road and the river at the bottom of the hill.

Zeres a nettle bush over zere, the gruffer voice said. It was clearer now that I was closer. It definitely sounded like a man.

Zut. Could have told me earlier, Ive got some of zose ball zings stuck to my pants. The other voice was also distinctly male, though it sounded a few years younger.

I was getting so excited I almost missed my next jump.

Good luck removing zem. Zeyre a right pain to get out. Also, zeyre called burrs, not ball zings.

Grinning from ear to ear, I dropped down first one branch, then another, until I could see my new potential friends. They had long knives that were flashing out as they cut through the branches and brambles across the road. One of them was focused on chopping while the other tossed the branches to the side.

At first I thought they were human, but a look at their smooth, greenish skin, thick legs and squat features revealed otherwise. Their clothes had strange cuts to fit their strange proportions, but looked fine otherwise, the sort of thick robust clothing you would want to wear for trekking through the woods. One--the older, I guessed by the better quality of his equipment--had articulated leather and metal armour over his legs and shoulders and a breastplate gleamed under his jacket.

A bored Grenoil Swamp Ranger, (level ?).

A nervous Grenoil Fencer, (level 9).

I had just met a pair of frog people!

With one last hop, I landed on the road before the two wide-eyed adventurers and grinned.

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