Inconceivable Cheese

Mahgin glared at the bird. She had seen creatures like this, but they were much more humanoid. Never to the point where they looked like... Whatever that was. The way it moved reminded her of Lellis, which was rather disappointing. If this was the guide, they were most likely getting lost.

Mahgin walked behind Nakion and poked at him, "Watch where you point that thing, this could be our guide for all we know."

Vessyr stared at the bird, unamused.  She wasn't at all intimidated, and was mainly wondering why Nakion was.  There was nothing threatening about the bird at all, except perhaps its unusual voice, and that was more annoying than dangerous.


Shade recognized the creature as an owl, a type of bird he had grown used to long ago.  He liked owls, and this one was apparently sentient.  He answered it with little hesitation, 'hello, are you our guide?'

Wev found it plausible for this to be their guide. Some things just make you feel like you can trust them, and for Wev, this was one of them. Wev walked to where Nakion was standing.

The owl swiveled its head around to look at the party, occasionally shuffling its feathers. There was a long silence during which Nakion lowered his weapon. “Well?” Nakion asked, impatient. He didn’t like the look of this bird. Its eyes were unblinking and he almost felt as if it knew what he was thinking.

“What?” the owl asked back, cocking its head to one side. “Lellis?” It seemed to be trying to ask them something. It looked over at Shade.

Valliance, in the meantime, couldn’t see anything due to a seven-foot-tall lizard creature and Wev blocking the way. He snuck up beside Wev and attempted to climb onto his back.

Mahgin held up a gesture, "Lellis said that he would send a guide. Are you that guide?" She never liked birds. They were like flying rats to her, especially the ones that weren't sentient.

“What guide,” the owl answered Mahgin. It bobbed its head up and down.

“…A guide for the woods,” Nakion growled. “Are you our guide or not?”

The owl peered up at Nakion. “What guide,” it repeated confidently.

“I don’t think it’s asking us,” Valliance said quietly, afraid to speak up to the intimidating Flareling.

Vessyr rolled her eyes at the bird, irritated.  Clearly it was not going to be helping them, it couldn't even speak properly.  She decided to give it a moment longer, though, if only because she didn't want to leave the group just yet.


Shade nodded at the owl, as if he understood completely.  And, in fact, he did.  'Lellis asked us to destroy some stones,' he said, 'do you know where they are?'

The owl bobbed its head again. “What guide,” it repeated for the third time. “What what. Guide. Lellis.” It spread its wings and took off, gliding down the left path a few feet and coming to a stop. It turned back to look at the party, and seemed to wave them on with one wing.

“It wants us to follow!” Valliance said excitedly, pointing at the bird.

Wev chuckled. He found it funny that Valliance's first reaction when he was in the way was to climb on his back. Wev didn't mind it though; Valliance was starting to remind him of his little brother Vin, who he gave piggyback rides to all the time. Wev started following the owl.

Nakion was sure he was the only one in the party who thought this idea was completely insane, but nonetheless he found himself trailing behind Wev and Valliance, following the bird creature to who-knew-where.

As they walked, the owl would fly ahead a twenty feet or so and wait for the party to catch up, alighting on a branch protruding over the path. It seemed to be enjoying its sense of leadership, and would chirp “what what” happily to itself every now and then.

“I’ve never heard of a bird that said ‘what’ before,” Valliance commented aloud.

“I’ve never heard of a bird talking at all,” Nakion sighed.

“What do you think Shade?” Valliance asked, turning.

Nakion eyed Valliance carefully. The kid was curious. And then there was the matter of the sword on his belt. From the looks of it the sword was of real make, and not just a wooden toy. Why did a kid have a sword? Could he actually be any sort of decent swordsman? Nakion doubted it, but why else carry around a real sword? Could it be for decoration?

Vessyr had no idea why they were following the bird.  Maybe it was the guide, or maybe she should have left the rest of the group long ago.  Maybe she was a little more scared than she cared to admit.  But not much.  Definitely not much.  Though, she decided, even if the bird was the guide, she wanted to know why Lellis would hire such a useless creature for the job.


Shade nodded at Valliance, 'Its name is What,' he replied, 'and it knows where we are going.'  He didn't know much more, but it seemed to be more than what everyone else knew.  He wasn't sure if the owl simply wasn't speaking the same language as everyone else, or if it was something else, but apparently no one else could fully understand it.  It was sort of nice, he admitted to himself, to be needed, but not forced to help.

Mahgin summoned a broom, and like the witch she was, rode on that instead of walking. She didn't have it between her legs, and instead sat on it facing left. She floated slowly to the right of Wev and Valliance. "So, what can you tell me about yourselves?" The look on her face contradicted the reason why she asked. She stared at them, with a slight tilt to her head.

Wev turned to look at Mahgin and was about to smile when he saw how incredibly bored she looked. After he had decided for sure that he wasnt just hearing things, he responded as best he could in the given situation.

"Hey, I'm Wev...I uh...I'm a Vith. I do the...the music. "

Wev hated it when people on brooms flew up to him, asked him a question, and then look at him like they didn't actually want to know. Or at least that is what he decided a few seconds after it happened. He managed an awkward smile.

"Hi," Valliance said politely to Maghin after Wev had spoken. "My name is Valliance, and I'm a pirate!"

Nakion snorted at Valliance's declaration. A pirate? That was a laughable fantasy. Well, at least he'd learned the kid's name from eavesdropping.

Mahgin sighed at Valliance, "A pirate huh? Does that mean you're a liar and a thief as well?" She chuckled sarcastically, "From the looks of it, you don't seem to be that type."

Mahgin seemed to become more interested in the most slight amount about what Wev had said. "From where I come, music isn't widely used for entertainment; it's used mostly as propaganda."

Vessyr was pretending to ignore the conversation going on behind her.  She didn't understand why these people felt the need to introduce themselves.  If all went well, none of them would ever see each other again.  Still, some of it was interesting.  Valliance claimed to be a pirate- wait.

"You're a pirate?" she asked abruptly, "what kind?"


Shade was a bit concerned by Mahgin overall.  She kept using magic for no reason other than to impress people, even though she didn't seem to care what people thought about her.  He flinched when Vessyr suddenly inserted herself into the conversation.  She was suspicious of something, but he didn't fully understand what.

Wev was a little surprised to hear that Valliance considered himself a pirate. There were pirates on his homeworld that stirred up all sorts of trouble, but he was still a little offended at Mahgin calling him a liar and a thief, though he checked his satchel briefly none the less. Admittedly its contents were more of personal value than anything, but he figured if Valliance was intending to steal anything he would have already. Everything was still there. Wev frowned slightly.

"He's seemed honest enough to me so far."

Valliance was slightly insulted by Mahgin calling him ‘a liar and a theif,’ even in jest. The fur on his neck stood up a bit. “I’m not a theif!” he protested loudly. He was soon distracted by Vessyr’s question, and turned to frown at her for a moment. “Uh… Nice pirates?” he answered, a bit cluelessly. “My father says we’re space pirates, but I’ve never seen any other kind of pirates.” He gazed at Vessyr curiously for a moment. Something about her seemed almost… familiar.

“Space pira--?!” Nakion muttered. He decided to break into the conversation. “Sspace pirates are not real,” he stated, falling into step beside Wev. Half-joking, he added, “Your father is lying.”

Unfortunately Valliance did not see the humor in this. He stood up on Wev’s back with amazing fluidity and grace, managing even to keep his balance as they walked. “I am not lying and neither is my father!” he insisted loudly.

Vessyr narrowed her eyes.  She glanced sideways at Nakion and mumbled, "they do where I come from."  She then turned back to Valliance, looking at him with some suspicion.  He looked- There was no way.


"Valliance?" she asked cautiously, "who is your father?"

It was at this point that Shade realized he had even less of an idea what was going on than he had originally thought.  Everyone was angry or confused, and he didn't like it very much.  He began edging away from the group, though unwilling to go too far.

Mahgin raised her nose in the air and crossed her arms as looked at Nakion suspiciously. Her voice began to sound snobby, "Who are you to say space pirates aren't real? The universe is a vast place after all." She was beginning to dislike Nakion. He seemed so negative about everything, too cautious as well.

“Parrath Paletail,” Valliance answered proudly, some of his initial boyish charm returning. It was evident he loved his father very much. “Pirate Lord of the Third Moon of Rathor.”

“You can’t be sserious,” Nakion hissed, sounding unsure of himself. He noticed Vessyr with the odd look on her face.

Wev looked around nervously. He didn't like the idea of one side of a fight starting on his back. He hunkered down a little trying to subtly suggest that Valliance should get off of him.

Vessyr took a step back, shaking her head.  She had almost expected that answer, but not really.  That was impossible.  "Parrath..." she started, then paused to think, "..Parrath doesn't have kids.  I've seen him, and it was far less than eleven years ago."

They were, of course, both telling the truth, as far as Shade could tell.  He still didn't fully understand what was going on, but he got the distinct impression that no one else knew either.  He continued backing away, until he had quietly slipped behind the nearest tree, still watching the group.

“Wait a moment,” Nakion interrupted, “Vessssyr, his father really is a pirate?”

“I told you!” Valliance insisted. “That’s why I have a sword!” He scrambled off Wev’s back and drew the blade to show it off. It was a thin, pearly-white, perfectly straight blade that caught the light and reflected it back in colorful glints. It was an obviously well-maintained blade, built specifically for someone of Valliance’s stature.

Nakion looked at Valliance incredulously, almost refusing to believe his eyes. The way the kid held the sword; it actually looked as if he knew what he was doing.

Mahgin hadn't noticed the sword until now. It was much whiter that hers, which concerned her. What was it made of? Surely the metal wasn't strong if it was that white.

She hopped off her broom and took it from out of the air while murmuring a spell to herself. The bristles on the broom formed into a handle, and the stick both sharpened and blackened til the point where it was a black chrome blade. The blade wasn't all that long, and looked somewhat like a wakizashi--straight and short. The handle had a simple look, but it was still sci-fi looking.

The blade was made of a special metal that emitted an immense amount of spiteful energy. Although it was suppressed with a few hundred cruses, it still managed to kick up a startling presence, at least regarding Shade. It was subtle to everyone that wasn't involved in magic, and they would've felt a very cold presence being let loose from the sword if anything else. Lellis might have even been able to sense it if he were that powerful of a mage, although he would have had to be exceedingly familiar with magic to be able to sense it.

Mahgin looked over at Valliance, holding her sword lowly and how one would hold a torch, "Wow, what's it made of?"