#the troubles and woes of a bookworm

[lemonlamblaura]

My Huband is the God of Pestilence - chapter 9

Kallamar and Lilybell go on their first date, though it doesn't really become a date until the end, lol. And a certain kitty cat makes his first appearance...

Lilybell was quiet for the rest of the day, and the next day after the trip to the surface. She spoke very little and ate even less. Kallamar was gracious enough to give her time alone, at Trenaty's suggestion. But by that night he was at his wits end.

"I don't know what to do," he told Shamura as they walked about the spider's temple. Even Shamura, bookworm as they were, didn't spend all their time in their study. They checked in on a room from the doorway, filled with spiders weaving, working looms and making lace, all from their own silk. "She barely speaks to me and spends much of her time in her room. I can't make her leave. How do I make her stop? How do I make her speak to me?"

"You cannot force her to do anything, brother, if you want this to end peacefully and keep her devotion," Shamura said, stepping up to a loom to examine the worker's progress. The tiny spider picked up the pace nervously, knowing they were being watched.

"That doesn't help me," Kallamar complained irritably, "maybe another present will help? What do you think?"

Shamura was quiet for a few moments, moving on to the next loom. "I think you are too attached to her. I blame myself for that, as I told you to keep her close to you. There's nothing to be done, now. Even I am not above choosing favorites." They seemed to contemplate something for a second, before walking over to a rack of finished clothing, taking a simple, short blue dress with puffed sleeves off it and passing it to Kallamar. "Perharps a change of scenery is what she needs. She told me when we first met that she would enjoy seeing more of Anchordeep. My advice is to take her for a long walk so she may forget her troubles."

Kallamar took the dress, feeling the soft silk against his fingers. "Thank you, sibling, for listening to my woes. I only wish there was something to be done about her wretched mother..."

"In my experience, those who grasp too tightly to their children are always rebelled against eventually. There is nothing you could have done, so do not dwell on it. She no longer has Lilybell in her clutches; that is punishment enough."

*

I should probably get up, Lilybell thought, not moving an inch. She couldn't remember the last time she had moved, honestly. She woke up not too long ago and her body was stiff all over, her head facing the window. It looked like a nice sunny day outside. Maybe it would be good to get out. Heaven knows she hadn't left her room much in the last couple of days.

After a few more moments she rolled over slowly and sat up in bed, wincing as some of her joints cracked and her muscles ached from disuse. It took a few more moments before she could stand up and stretch, more joints popping in protest.

As she removed her night gown and pulled on her standard robes, she wondered if Kallamar or Trenaty would come to check on her soon. The squid had a hard time leaving her alone lately, because he knew she was upset. She wasn't doing a very good job being his assistant, was she? Guilty tears formed in her eyes and she sniffled, feeling pathetic. She should have known her mother was up to something. She didn't feel bad about leaving her; she felt worse for her father, who had to stay with her. Before she knew it she was crying again, wiping at her eyes with her sleeves. She should have never bothered to go. Now everything was ten times worse.

When she was done crying, she realized she was a little hungry, so she pulled herself together as best she could and headed out. To her surprise, Kallamar was slumped against the wall beside her room, waiting for her. He shot up as soon as she opened the door.

"Good morning, dear," he said, trying not to look too enthusiastic at seeing her. "Did you sleep well?"

Lilybell just shrugged. "I guess so."

"Good, good. Listen, darling, I have a surprise for you. But first..."

He pulled the dress out from inside his robes and held it out for her. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, and she took it in her hands, feeling the fabric and studying the stitching. "It's beautiful..." she whispered not able to look away. It was one of the most glamorous dresses she'd ever seen (not that she had seen very many).

Kallamar grinned wide, "I'm glad you like it. Don't wear those old robes anymore, darling, they don't suit you. Go get changed, and meet me in the courtyard."

"Why?"

"I told you, it's a surprise. Hurry, now."

Lilybell changed faster than she had in a long time, and ran out to the courtyard, hunger completely forgotten. Kallamar was waiting for her, with a few followers at his side. He appeared to be talking to them, but hushed up when he saw her coming.

"I'm here," she panted, coming up to him, "what's the surprise?"

He smiled down at her. The dress definitely suited her better than those old rags. Not only that, they made her stand out more against the faceless, hooded figures. He would even dare say she looked cute in it. "You told Shamura you wished to see more of Anchordeep, so today we are having a little excursion. We will go as far as you like, and see everything you wish to see."

Lilybell's face slowly lit up as he spoke, and it looked like some of her spark had come back. "Oh, really, Lord Kallamar? Really?" She asked, grinning with excitement.

"Of course. Come along, now. We have the whole day to ourselves."

They left the courtyard, heading into the sand and water, as Trenaty watched them go from the temple. Finding those specific followers had been a chore, but when Kallamar explained that he had something planned for Lilybell, she knew it was worth the effort. They disappeared down a hill, and Trenaty went back into the temple to take care of things...

*

Cats are easily found in Silk Cradle, being able to adapt to the dark environment and thriving on insect meat and small creatures. A few cats even served Shamura, though they were carefully selected, most being adept warriors and assassins. They mostly kept to themselves, not venturing near others unless they were approached first. Silk Cradle was a dangerous place, after all, and it was better to be careful than dead.

Shamura was interrupted from their studies a feline couple, the mother carrying their baby in her arms. The child, with fur black as coal, looked no older than two years old, and terribly weak.

"Oh, great God of knowledge and wisdom, we seek your guidance," the father spoke, head down out of respect. "Our child has been struck with an illness we have never seen. He is weak, and sleeps almost all the time. We don't know how to heal him. Please help us."

The god regarded the kitten with a knowing stare. They knew the problem, but they would never say it.

There was no cure that they knew of. The child was as good as dead with them. But they could prove useful under the spider's care.

"Please accept my sincerest apologies," said Shamura softly, "your child will pass soon. There is nothing that can be done, even by me."

The look on the parent's faces said without words that they had expected this. Still, their eyes welled with tears, and the mother hugged her baby close.

"An unholy curse has been placed upon him that may only be removed through a specific ritual. After which the body will be lifeless, and will need to be disposed of. I will give you a few moments to say goodbye."

Shortly after, they took the baby from the mothers arms, wrapped in a warm blanket and sleeping soundly. The spider turned to them one final time. "Tell me, what is his name?"

The mother wiped away her tears and choked out, "Narinder."

*

Just past the courtyard was a small sandy hill that led to a higher point in the ocean, where light was able to filter more freely through the water. Lilybell had no idea what was beyond it, having arrived at the temple from the opposite direction. Climbing the hill, they were met with an array of colour, the likes of which Lilybell had only seen in flower gardens back in the mountains. Corals of all kinds filled the ocean floor, seaweed and algae moving about with the currents. Fish of all kinds swam about, and light cascading down from the surface danced on the corals, making it seem as it they were moving.

Lilybell gasped in amazement, stepping forward, when suddenly the ground shifted underneath her foot, and a large brown stingray swam out from the sand, annoyed at being trodden on. Kallamar took her hand, and they walked among the coral, as he pointed out different varieties.

"Take care not to touch them," he warned, "some are toxic, and some are deceptively sharp. Not to mention many of these corals are likely hundreds, if not thousands of years old."

"Look!" Lilybell cried, watching as a clownfish swam amongst a sea anemone.

"The anemone helps protect it from predators. They sting other fish that get too close, but this little one is protected by a coating of slime."

Kallamar looked to his left and nudged her gently. "See this one?" He asked, gesturing to a peculiar anemone that looked like a tube with feelers at the edge of it. "Watch." He poked one of the feelers with the tip of his finger, and the anemone attempted to close around it. Kallamar pulled his finger away with some resistance, and Lilybell realized it had been stuck to the feeler. "Had my finger been a small fish, it would have been swallowed and devoured."

"That's so cool!" Lilybell touched the anemone herself, and watched the creature close up again. "When I lived on the surface I never knew there was so much stuff living down here. I thought it was a bunch of fish and stuff."

"We have many varieties of fish," Kallamar said, pointing out a small group of fish that were swimming by, their scales glittering in the light. "There is much life here. More than you can ever know."

They continued on, Kallamar telling all about the different varieties of coral around them and answering the many questions Lilybell asked. In no time, Lilybell felt like her old self again, the beautiful surroundings helping to take her mind off what had happened a few days before. Kallamar loved seeing her open up again, smiling down at her happily as she trotted along beside him, looking so lovely, her hand in his. He realized, then, he enjoyed her looking better, and more than that, wearing his gifts. How would she look with expensive jewelry, he wondered...?

After a while, they came to a small clearing, where they stopped for a break. Kallamar ordered the worker's to lay out a blanket, and treats were served. Lilybell was surprised to find cookies, tarts and fruit cake being handed to her on a plate, and she bit into one of the tarts, overjoyed to find it had strawberry filling. As she enjoyed the food, two followers pulled out a recorder and a small harp, and began to play soft music.

"Mmm!" Lilybell exclaimed with her mouth full, pointing to the follower with the harp, "what's that?"

"It's a harp, darling."

Lilybell swallowed the food, "I read about those! It sounds really pretty!"

"You like it? I'll get you one if you want."

"Really?"

"Of course. Anything you want is yours."

Lilybell grinned, shoving more tarts in her mouth, taking in the surroundings. This was such a nice day so far. Kallamar really went all out, nice food, music, a wonderful tour of Anchordeep...

...Wait...

Lilybell slowly stopped chewing as something dawned on her. Nice food, nice music, nice walk, a new dress?

Good heavens. This was a date.

"What's wrong, dear? Is something wrong with the food?"

She finished chewing and swallowed, putting her plate down on the blanket. She wanted to be sure, maybe she had read the situation wrong. "Um, Lord Kallamar... is this a date?"

The musicians missed a note. Kallamar stared at her. "Huh?"

"I mean, if it's not, that's okay, but..."

Oh dear. This wasn't his intention, but now that he thought about it, it was obvious why she thought that. He cleared his throat.

"Do you... want it to be?"

Lilybell fussed with her hair nervously. "I don't know... I've never been on a date before."

He leaned over, "Do you want to know something? Neither have I."

"You're kidding!"

"No. This would be my first date, too."

Lilybell smiled at him. "I guess that makes it okay, then. We both had our first date together!"

Kallamar smiled back. "I'm glad it was with you."

*

Shamura laid the kitten down on their desk somberly. For a few moments, there was only quiet.

"Come out," Shamura demanded, "I know you have taken over the boy's body. You will not escape me."

Seconds later, something stirred inside Narinder's chest, moved up his throat, and a long, black snake with a blood red eye came slithering out of his mouth. The creature sat upon the kitten, staring up at Shamura.

"You waste no time, Red Crown. Your last bearer has not yet begun to decompose, and you have already chosen another to take on your curse."

The crown only stared back.

"I suppose if the mother and father had not brought him to me, you would have allowed the child to waste away to nothing. Whether you choose this boy or not, he will stay here with me. I suggest you make your decision."

It continued to stare at Shamura, before the eye rolled down to look at Narinder. It slid up the boy's head and formed a crown with two points, settling between his ears. The boy stirred and opened his eyes, and saw the spider looking down at him. But he didn't seem afraid. In fact, it seemed like he had heard everything Shamura had said.

"Greetings, Narinder. I am Shamura. I shall be looking after you from now on."

*

A few hours later, Kallamar and Lilybell returned to the temple, tired from the long walk. Two supervisors met them at the entrance to the courtyard, looking alarmed.

"Lord Kallamar, an incident happened while you were gone! Strangers came to the temple and tried to force us to denounce you. When we didn't, they threw bombs at the windows and destroyed them!"

Kallamar immediately went back into God mode, wearing a serious expression. "Show me."

The followers showed him the windows in the temple lobby, glass being swept up off the floor by the janitors, and some shallow craters in the floor from where the bombs exploded.

"Do you know who did this? Were they wearing anything to distinguish them?"

"No. They wore simple black cloaks with hoods and did not reveal their faces. Lord Kallamar, some of the followers are worried that this will happen again. What should we do?"

Kallamar thought for a moment, trying not to show his worry. Why would anyone do this? Who would want to do this? Whatever the reason, it seemed like the temple would need protection if he left.

"Is there anyone here with combat experience?" He asked to the followers who had accompanied him and Lilybell.

One follower stepped forward. "I have used a sword before, my lord. I have some experience."

"What is your name?"

"Saleos."

"Saleos, your new job is to find those who can fight and train them. If I must leave the temple again, we need guards to protect everyone."

While they spoke, Lilybell looked around the lobby to see if she could spot Trenaty. She thought the starfish would have welcomed them back, but she was nowhere in sight. Where was she?

[ttawoabw]

World’s Finest: The Collection – Wonder Woman Box

So I’ve taken a bit of a break from book subscription boxes, I just wasn’t feeling satisfied with the contents and there haven’t been many books that were releasing that caught my interest and fit various subscriptions services themes.  So here I am with a very different subscription box unboxing and review.  A DC collectors box.  Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been reading a lot of comics this year, I’ve always loved MARVEL movies and DC TV shows.  But this year through my reading slump comics have honestly been a godsend (without them I wouldn’t have reached my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal) and relief.  I found I much preferred the DC characters and have been really enjoying the Rebirth series’ (mostly Super Sons), so when I saw the unboxings for World’s Finest Batman box (their first box) I decided I had to get it myself.  Unfortunately I missed out on the Batman box but I got the Wonder Woman box and I’m so happy with it!  The contents just fit more into what I want to be getting from subscription boxes, there is really unique and useful items.  In the Batman box there was a grapple umbrella.  I mean that in itself sold me on the box.  Anyway, I’ll stop babbling on and get on with the unboxing and review.

As always we start with the box itself – I am so impressed with this box.  I love it.  Is that weird?  I’m totally going to use it for other stuff, like storing my comic issues or bookish/nerdy goodies.  It’s sturdy, and the shipping sticker was attached to a layer or plastic covering the box so there’s no ugly sticker.  The design is great and it’s just overall an awesome box.  Yes, I know I’m weird.

The first thing in the box was this fierce Wonder Woman t-shirt. Now I’m not sure how many guys would wear this but I think it’s pretty awesome.  I’m not that keen on the type of collar it has, but that’s not a real problem.

Next up we have an item that made me laugh real hard.  They’re sweatbands but they’re like Diana’s crown and (kind of) bracelets.  I’m actually starting to workout a lot more so these will be SUPER useful, and funny.  And they’re soft.

Followed by your own real life Invisible Jet! Well, Invisible Jet ice cube (trays) anyway.  But ice is practically ‘invisible’ or clear so it’s almost the same thing, right? This is actually really cool, I don’t see myself using it while I still live with my parents, but when I have my own house and my own freezer you bet I’ll be using them!

  Up next we have a twelve pack of Wonder Woman comic cover postcards.  There’s two of each so six different covers.  They’re classic and retro and since there’s two of each I’ll actually be sending some postcards!  I typically hoard them, if I only have one of something I like I tend to hold onto it.  But since there’s spares I’ll share.

Then we have an exclusive vinyl figure.  I haven’t ever collected these types of figures (I have kind of started collecting Funko Pops!) so this was something new for me.  I like it a lot, I’m not sure about the sculpt on the face or the size of the boobs but I guess it’s the boobs are more accurate to the comic portrayal and well.. It’s a small figure and face details are so tiny I can’t really fault them.  I’m a perfectionist so it’s probably just my personal view.  But yeah, this was cool.  I think every box has an exclusive figure like this (so they all match) featuring the character from the theme.

  Now the following (or should I say above) item included is one of my two favourites from this box.  It’s this Lasso of Truth mug and it is AWESOME, I never would have thought of doing a mug like that but it’s so cool and it’s like her lasso has been coiled into a mug.  I don’t really drink hot drinks so this will probably hold pens or bookmarks but I adore it.  It’s officially my favorite mug.

      Second to last we have this pin set with three different pins.  A portrait, her shield emblem and her crown.  I think these are really cute.  I’m not sure I’ll actually use them since I’d be worried about loosing them – I did put one on my bookbag though.  So if I ever get around to the bookstore or library at least one of the pins will see the outside.

Now for the last item and my personal favorite.  The letter opener!  Yep, this is a letter opener.  I am TERRIBLE at opening letters.  I’ve torn so many important pieces of paper and lost so many codes and such because of my poor letter opening skills; and I was going to buy a Wonder Woman one in the new year – but then I got this!  It’s not as big as the one I was planning on getting, but it works perfectly and it’s just so cool!  I love this.  This is the kind of unique practical novelty stuff I’ve been wanting from subscription boxes (not this size necessarily but this kind of usefulness) and it just makes me so happy.  If I ever end up in an office job you better believe I’ll be taking this with me to put on my desk.

  Obviously the shield and sword come out of the stand.  I’m not sure what purpose the shield has but it fits on my finger so maybe it’s like a finger guard from the sword – if you’re clumsy like me and holding even a dull tiny sword is a risk then this makes sense, otherwise I probably sound crazy.

  Final Thoughts:

I loved this box.  It is on the dearer side, but it’s quarterly and the curating of the box and quality of the items justifies the cost.  I really loved it, it was filled with practical useful items that have a novelty comic spin on them.  As I said above the stuff in this box is the sort of stuff I want to be seeing in subscription boxes, useful everyday stuff (yes candles, lip balms and bath bombs are useful but there’s only so many of each you can have before you get sick of them).  I’ll definitely be keeping my subscription and I can’t wait to see what the next box has!  I bet the character will be Superman, followed by either The Flash or Aquaman.  Depending on which box comes out when the Aquaman movie comes out.  They should time it so they correlate. I definitly recommend this box, maybe not if you aren’t a huge comic fan, but if you’re starting a collection or are already a collector I’m sure you’d love this box.

You can actually get this exact box, since they’re done quarterly there is plenty of time for you to get in your order.

You can order your DC World’s Finest: The Collection box HERE for $48.99 USD (not including shipping). If you want to check out past boxes click HERE. 

  My Links:

Goodreads : Becca Winter

Instagram : bookie_becca

Twitter : @Becca_Theory

Facebook : The Troubles And Woes Of A Bookworm

Affiliate: Book Depository

Referral: OwlCrate

Referral: The Bookish Box

Becca

xxx

  The opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone.  This post is not sponsored I paid for the box myself.

What's your favorite comic book character? World's Finest: The Collection - Wonder Woman Box So I've taken a bit of a break from book subscription boxes, I just wasn't feeling satisfied with the contents and there haven't been many books that were releasing that caught my interest and fit various subscriptions services themes. 

[rallis-fatalis]

A Soul’s Bane (And Boon)

Long before Rallis was any kind of proper adventurer, she was getting wrapped up in all kinds of messes equally as convoluted. Learning human language and history with her bookworm of a ward was only so exciting, it was inevitable the dragon would eventually run off and stick her nose in far more complicated matters. To be fair, investigating the sudden disappearance of multiple dig site students was definitely more interesting than another history lesson in an old boring book. It was time for a field trip! And hey, a little hands on learning never hurt anyone, right?

If there was one thing Rallis loved more than anything in all of Varrock, it was the museum and its dig site. Learning how to read and write with her 'ward' Reldo was hard and boring, but going on field trips with Reldo was the best thing ever! He knew SO MUCH and could explain anything to her. Every time he took her to the museum or on a field trip to the outskirts of town for some hands-on learning was the best thing ever! And she would argue she learned more too, if only so she could have an excuse to go back out again with him sooner. With her fascination of the museum and the dig site and with his coaxing and careful use of words, Rallis was able to get 'lie-sensed' (why telling the truth when digging up old junk was so important she didn't know) and approved to help out at the dig site and be privy to any cool news. She helped with digs every day she could after that, digging up old bones, artifacts, and even underground caverns with shrines and ritual grounds from an age long past. It was great, though Reldo would argue the amount of dirt was not worth the trouble. Reading history was much more preferable to washing it out of your clothing and hair all night.

One day on their usual outdoor excursions, Rallis and Reldo came across a cluster of grumbling worried individuals by the dig site gate closest to town. It was a group of dig site workers and museum staff, all panicked and at a loss for what to do. The two listened to the group's woes to learn a group of students from the dig site had gone missing and search parties had been making no progress with finding them. With her desire to help out and explore, it was no surprise that when they explained the situation, Rallis immediately volunteered to help investigate.

"Do you know when or about where the students went missing?" Reldo asked the workmen who had brought the case forward to the staff.

One sadly shook his head. "When, a few days ago now," the other said. "Where though, no one is exactly sure. This elderly woman hanging around the museum shared something interesting, though. Apparently her son disappeared too and he was playing a bit northwest of the border of the dig site, near the forest before the limestone mines. We've looked around but can't find anything."

"Maybe you just need better eyes!" Rallis proclaimed. "I can go look!"

"What she means to say is a fresh look over couldn't hurt!" Reldo corrected before the men could grow angry at the snarky comment. "We can investigate as well. If an outside source happened to also bring forth a similar set of information, it certainly merits further investigation."

The two men nodded. "Alright, we'll leave it to you. Please let us know if you find anything."

Later that day, Rallis was sprinting along to the spot in question in search of adventure while Reldo trailed after her, completely out of breath and tired. "There's no... reason... to run!" he panted. "The clues... aren't going anywhere!"

Rallis threw the gate open that separated the dig site from the main road. "Adventure though, bookman! People are missing and we gotta find them! Ooo maybe they're in another hidden underground god circle like the one I found!"

"A shrine?" he tried.

Rallis snapped her fingers. "Yes, that! A 'shrine.' They could have found one and got stuck! We almost did when I dug that Zaros one up."

They found themselves in a more forested area of the site where no digs were going on. It was too close to the road and deemed void of finds to warrant clearing the trees and setting up shop. It was around here that seemed to be the most probable spot to find clues about the missing students according to the reports. Rallis gave the air a sniff. "Well, it smells like humans if that helps. Humans and dirt. It's small though. Not big like the actual dig."

"Its 'faint,'" Reldo corrected. "They did say the students have been gone for a few days now. That could be why it's not strong." The two poked around more hoping to find anything, maybe footprints or a valuable or something that would show people were here recently. But there was nothing. He was about to suggest checking elsewhere when Rallis piped up about something. He ran over to find her getting excited about dirt.

He sighed. "That's dirt, Rallis. We are in a dig site. There's always dirt."

She shook her head. "No, look!" she snapped while tracing the dirt. "It's in a line. Like when you fix clothing. You know, the line?"

Reldo bent down to get a closer look. "Like a seam," he mumbled as he parted the grass to investigate farther. Rallis was right. It was an unnatural formation to be sure. The dirt folded over itself like a long sewn scar, hidden in the grass. It was really quite hard to see. He was impressed she found it.

Rallis started to dig at it. "Underground god circle, I'm telling you!" She made quick work of ripping away the grass and digging away at the dirt below.

"Well if it is another shrine, digging it open like this might not be the best idea!" Reldo warned. Rallis ignored him and continued until she hit something hard, recoiling with an 'Ow!' as she shook out her hand. The ground rumbled in response, growled even, and in the blink of an eye, the entire length of the dirt seam opened up and swallowed her whole, cutting off a startled yelp as it sealed itself back up as if she were never even there. The scenery went back to its quiet normal self, there was simply one less person in the picture.

"Rallis...?"

She was gone. Vanished. Like she had never been there. Disbelief was gone, panic set in. "Rallis?!" Reldo scraped at the dirt frantically, trying his best to replicate whatever she had done. The dirt wasn't soft and malleable anymore, however. Reldo hissed as he found himself scraping against rock, fingers coming away gritty and bloody. "What just...? How...? Rallis... Where did you go?!"

------------------------------

It was hot. Really, really hot. Rallis wobbled up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. Her skirt earned a new hole but other than that, she was fine. She looked around her new setting. There was no more open sky, nor trees or grass or humans that smelled like old books. Instead, there was a cave, a hot sweltering cave illuminated by fire that blazed in every corner and along every wall. The walls and floor were a dark red, an angry color. Rallis walked around, trying to find a way out.

"Reldo? Are you here?" No response. Hissing whispered in her ears, like that of many serpents talking at once. It sounded like words but there were so many talking it just gave her a headache. She shook her head. "You're not Reldo! I'm looking for my friend, not you!"

Another voice spoke in her ears now. Well, more shouted really, a man's voice but he was whining like a child. "Why am I to be trapped in such a wretched place?! It's not fair! It's! Not! FAIR!" The fiery cavern started to shake and crack, flames spurting out of the walls and ground. "Feel my anger!" One last monstrous shake threw Rallis to the ground. She yelped as she quickly stood back up, dancing from foot to foot as she tried not to step on the floor. It was blazing hot! Sure she had been used to rock heated by lava back home, but this was a whole new kind of heat, an abnormal kind.

From the jets of fire in the walls and ground, forms started to take shape. Out of the inferno, beasts stepped forward. Unicorns, bears, rats, and goblins made of living fire, furious and ready to kill anything that dared move. One of the beasts, a bear, noticed Rallis and sped forward to attack. She easily slid out of the way and raked her claws across its furry side and came away screaming. She huddled in on herself as she fell to the ground and gripped her shirt, her hands stinging like she'd stuck them in a hornet nest. She pulled them away to take a look and found them scorched, blistered, and bloody. The bear turned around to strike again and Rallis booked it. She was not getting burned again!

She sped around a rocky corner and found an alcove hidden away from the fire and beasts and sat down. She hissed as she looked at her scorched hands and gave them a lick. The pain stung so badly, worse than when she'd dunked her foot in lava back home in Taverley and couldn't walk for over a week. She ripped most of her shirt off and wrapped it around her hands, tying the torn pieces into makeshift bandages. She whined as she poked her head around the corner to find the angry fire beasts roaming around. "What is this?" she cried. "What am I supposed to even do? Why am I here? I don't want to be here. I was just looking for some kids!"

Something hissed in her ear, making her turn around to the wall. "Weapons?" Sure enough, hanging on a rack on the wall were four different weapons. A sword, a spear, a mace, and an axe. They were like nothing she had ever seen before, spiked and angry looking. She picked up the sword and carefully set back out to the monsters. They noticed her immediately and came charging, this time a unicorn striking first. Rallis waited for it to get closer, and closer, and there! She slid underneath it and ran her sword across its stomach as it ran. The horse screeched before erupting in a burst of flame. Next one of the giant rats came at her. Rallis stabbed down at it with her sword but nothing happened. The blow bounced off like she had tried to stab a bar of mithril with a stick.

"What?!"

She leapt back before it could give her a nasty bite and kicked it away, foot singeing in the process. She hissed and growled at the monsters, more spawning from the flames. She went after a bear but yielded the same result, as did attacking the goblin. She stared them down and roared a horrifying roar. "I'm thrown down into this pit of fire with no warning, burn my hands and feet, have creepy people talking in my head, and now I can't even kill what's trying to kill me? I DON'T THINK SO!" She threw the sword down and ran back to grab the remaining three weapons. She held the spear in one hand and axe in the other, sword and mace on the ground. With a battle cry, she ran at the beasts and cut them down one by one in a mad frenzy. When one weapon didn't work, she dropped it for another, striking out at everything in the room with whatever she had in hand. The infernal beasts were starting to run in fear from this crazed monster, cowering in a corner. One of the bears was too slow in running, Rallis launching the spear into its back and reveling in its combustion. She turned her attention to the cowering flaming beasts, hissing in her ears egging her on. With a monstrous shriek, she cut them down with a single blow and grinned as she watched the fires dim and disappear.

With the monsters gone, the room cooled. The floor didn't burn and the walls weren't ablaze. The weapons in her hands disappeared into smoke as well, and at once exhaustion hit her. Rallis gasped as she fell to her hands and knees, dizzy and sick and boiling hot despite the now cool room. "Why... how... did I do that?"

The hissing and the voice from earlier echoed throughout the room.

"Feel my rage, for what they did!"

Her head continued spinning, things moving at a nauseating pace, and everything was so hot and burning and horrible. Her head hit the floor as she collapsed on the spot.

---------------------------- There was a dream about someone. A boy running off from his parents to go explore the dig site. He wanted to join as an archaeologist but his parents said no. They were poor. It cost money to join as a member of the museum and dig site. You had to go to school and take tests and all these things that cost money they didn't have. So he ran off to do it all himself. And he disappeared. That was 25 years ago...

Hissing. There was more hissing. It was quieter this time, and not as angry as before. Rallis hissed back, a 'shut up' in Wyvernic, and surprisingly the voices listened. Rallis groaned as she opened her eyes, her head still aching from the frenzy earlier and whatever bits of dream flashed through her head. She blinked the grogginess away and took in her new surroundings. It was really dark wherever she was. She couldn't tell if the place was lit or if it was her ability to see in the dark that was helping her make shapes out. Either way, the lighting was a bit disorienting. She crawled up from the floor and timidly looked around. There were large square shapes, pillars almost, around this circular room. Outside of that, there were no other features that were easily distinguishable. Rallis investigated one of the square pillars up close. They seemed to be hollow, and as she ran her hand across its surface, she felt gaps. 'It feels like bars,' she thought. 'Kinda like... oh! Oh! That thing in Varrock where they throw tomatoes at people, the rude place! What was that called? Jail?'

A slam against the bars startled her out of her thinking. Rallis yelped and jumped back against the wall, or what she thought was a wall but was really a hole in the wall. She tumbled in, banging her head as she fell, and watched in horror as a long thin pale arm reached through the bars of the pillar. More followed suit, and more, and more, until hundreds of ghostly limbs grabbed at the cage and shook. Rallis crept further back into the hole in fear. "What are you?" she whispered mostly to herself. At once, the hands stopped grabbing and shaking the cage and in unison pointed to her, or rather behind her. Her blood ran cold. She slowly turned around and what greeted her was not the shadowy depths of the hole in the wall. No, it was something unnameable, something that made every fiber of her being shout 'RUN.' It was a pale white face floating in the darkness, skin grotesquely stretched over an oval shape. The mouth was stretched open in a permanent scream, the blank eyes wide open in fear. The pale face lifted open like a mouth unhinged, and underneath where a chin and neck might be was an endless gaping maw full of row after row after row of needle sharp blood stained teeth. It screeched like a banshee, Rallis flinching and covering her ears as she sprinted out of the hole and to the opposite end of the room as fast as she could. She clawed at the cage walls and screamed.

"SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She tried climbing the walls to get out, but that simply enraged whatever was caged inside. A pale hand reached out of the shadowy depths of the cage and grabbed her by the leg. Then another grabbed her by the arm, and another by the tail and another and another and another until she was pinned against the bars unable to move an inch. She wriggled and writhed and tried her best to break free but to no avail.

"Let go of meaugh-!!"

A hand closed around her throat, ceasing her shouting in a strangled gurgle. The arms held her against the wall as the monster crept closer. 'Let me go! Please, let me go! Let me-!'

The monstrosity was right in front of her now, its shadowy body floating off the ground and fading into the darkness of the background. An arm appeared from its cloaked figure and brought a long clawed finger to her face, nicking her cheek as it dragged its finger down. Suddenly, it grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, pale captors letting go. The lack of air and sheer terror of it all made her feel so heavy and useless, completely unable to move. The monster's face lifted open once more to reveal the endless pit of teeth and brought her face closer. Through the fog and fear, one thought managed to pierce through and set every nerve on overdrive.

'Move or die!'

Like a spark of lightning, Rallis jolted into action, kicking at the creature and sending it flying. She was surprised it had any solid form at all, honestly. The thing looked like a ghost with a mask. It screamed from where it had fallen and darted forward once more, nearly sending Rallis into that same frozen panic. She shuddered and shook her head. 'No, don't freak out! Don't be scared! If you can hit it, you can kill it!'

The monster slashed at her with its claws but missed spectacularly. Rallis snuck up behind it and jumped onto its back, chomping at what she assumed was its neck. The creature yelled as it rammed its back against the wall, knocking her loose. The thing picked her up and slammed her against the ground once, twice, thrice. If her head didn't hurt before, it certainly hurt now. Dazed and stunned, Rallis laid on the ground and glared at the snarling visage staring her down. She had one shot left before she was either dead or passed out then dead. The beast brought its mouth closer and closer, ready to rip her face clean off, and in a last ditch attempt, Rallis jumped from the ground and nabbed the thing's neck in her jaws. Its cries ended with a crunch as she bit down, its dead body fading into the shadows of the room.

The room seemed to brighten a bit with the beast gone. It was less dark, less unknown. The cages were empty, the shadow beast was gone, it was just an empty room as if everything was a terrifying illusion. Rallis slumped down to the floor, leaning against the wall. Her head felt like it was going to split open it hurt so much. The hissing and the voices were muttering something, surprised, but she couldn't really tell what. "You don't gotta be scared," she slurred, trying to make sense of all the voices. "Look, see?" She motioned to the now empty cages and lack of monsters. "You turn on the lights and it's all gone." Her eyes started to close. "All... gone..."

--------------------------------

There was another dream. That boy was back. He was all alone in a dark pit, sobbing and wailing, wanting his parents. Something slithered around him, something that was one but many. It hissed as it encircled him, smiling as it watched the boy scream and flail as he tried to get away. Countless glowing eyes glared at the terrified child and the creature smiled. "Feel my anger, feel my pain! Feel this death your kind gave me!" The boy screamed himself hoarse as the beast strangled him and turned him into a monster.

Rallis jumped up with a start. Between the angry fire beasts, the horrifying masked monster, and the weird nightmare snippets, she was more than a bit on edge. She hardly had a moment to think about the boy and the monster in her dream as the new scenery all but assaulted her senses. It looked like a rainbow puked all over the room, pale pinks, blues, yellows, and purples decorating the floor and walls in haphazard splotches. Green and orange bands twined with blue and yellow ones to create some startlingly unsafe hazards akin to tree roots. Other than the bright and sickening color scheme, the room smelled weird too, like acid and... sugar? In the distance, there were five lumpy shapes rolling around the floor and five warped doors with nothing holding them up, both just as brightly colored and patchy as the room.

"This just gets weirder and weirder!" Rallis said, watching the shapes roll around and ignoring the doors. One seemed to notice her and rolled over. Wary from the last two encounters, Rallis readied for a fight. But the odd looking creature simply rolled up to her and stared. "Whoa you look weird!" It was like someone took a human doll and switched the arms and legs around and stitched them on backwards. They stood on all fours instead of two and cartwheeled and rolled around instead of walking. Their joints moved in every direction, and its head seemed to slowly rotate in a complete circle as time passed. The thing didn't attack, just stared up at her and drooled and moaned. Rallis got on all fours as well, just like the beast. It moaned and rolled away to rejoin the others. "Wait!" she called after it and began to roll over. She giggled as she rolled like a dog in the dirt over to the beasts and flopped beside them. They all looked down at her, confused.

"Hello!" she laughed up at them.

At once, they all spoke in a cacophonous uproar. Rallis bolted up and covered her ears. "Whoa whoa whoa!" she shouted. "One at a time!" She shushed them all, covering their mouths until they stopped talking. "Phew, much better. One at a time, okay?" She pointed to the first of five. "What's wrong?"

"Who am I?" it cried as its head turned on its axis.

Rallis blinked. "Uhhhh... Iunno?" She shrugged. "We'll come back to that." She pointed to the second one. "What about you?"

It slowly looked around as if it had never seen this place before. "Where am I?"

"Hmm, okay, good question. Let's hear them all first."

She called on them all like a patient teacher hearing her students' questions. Who am I? Where am I? Where's mom and dad? How long have I been here? Am I still who I once was?

She thought for a moment. These were some tricky questions. And it seemed she couldn't get any more information as they only seemed to speak in these questions. She didn't have any clues either. How tricky. "Hmm... roll with me, funny friends!" She rolled across the floor and the five confusedly followed suit. They rolled around the unstable crooked doors, Rallis contemplating the matter as she raced her weird new friends. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. "When I don't get something, I usually go with it until I get it. You don't know who you are or where you are so don't worry about it! You know what you can do right now? You can roll!" She laughed as she continued on, faster this time, rolling across the weird patchy floor that smelled like poisoned sugar and trying not to get snagged on the weird rainbow roots. She rolled up against a wall with a huff and splayed on the floor with a giggle. The five surrounded her and watched her antics.

"You know!" she started. "I don't know much, but I'll take what I got. You!" she exclaimed and pointed to one of the beasts. "You wanted to know who you are? I think you're a little kid! A little boy who ran away from his parents because he was mad. Why else would I have dreams about someone I never met? Am I right?"

A moment of clarity flashed across the creature's face. It sat down and stared blankly at the wall before muttering something. "Tolna. I'm Tolna." And with that, it vanished in a puff of rainbow smoke, and one of the crooked doors with it.

"Oh, that's your name?" she said to the other four. "Nice to meet you! I'm Rallis." She pointed to the next one. "If you're really that boy from the dreams, you fell down a hole near the dig site when you ran away. That's where you are right now. You're in the hole." It mumbled 'yes' before vanishing as well. She pointed to another. "I don't know about your dad, but your mom is at the museum and she's been asking about and looking for you. She's just a short walk away! It sounded like she was really worried."

The beast started to tear up. "Mom?" And it vanished too.

Two beasts and doors were left. She pointed to one of them. "25 years! You've been here 25 years!" It vanished with an 'Oh.' Now it was just the existential one left. "You tell me. Are you what you used to be?" It could only spin its head in a circle but it seemed to nod no. "Well I think you are! You're a boy named Tolna who fell down a hole by the dig site 25 years ago and has parents who have been searching ever since. That's still you. The rest of you seemed to think so anyway! You just look a little different right now." It seemed unsure. Rallis put a hand on what she assumed was its shoulder. "Hey. Despite everything, it's still you." That answer seemed to make it happy as it disappeared as well. Only Rallis was left now, her and one now unlocked door, not five. "Guess we can go."

The door was small and crooked, fit for more of a child really. She opened it and despite it standing in the the middle of the room, what she saw through it was not the other side of the room, but rather an unending darkness. She shuddered, remembering the masked monster and the dark room from before. 'Nope! That's done! Move on! Don't worry!' She cautiously stepped through, door shutting behind her and leaving her in pitch black.

She walked for awhile in the dark nothingness, keeping a hopeful eye out for anything of interest. Something caught her attention after walking, but it wasn't a sight, it was a sound, hissing from all around her. It tried whispering something in her ear and she whirled around to face whatever it was, but only found the young blond boy from the flashes of dreams she had in this place. She was about to say hello when he spoke. "What's making me feel so bad?" he asked. "The hissing monster? What is it?"

He looked like he was going to start crying. The poor kid was obviously scared. Rallis didn't know how to answer. "I'm sorry," she started. "But I don't know."

The boy sighed and looked away. "No one does. It's so frustrating! It's so confusing!" The boy grabbed his head with a cry as something coiled around him and pulled him into the shadows.

Rallis reached out to help, but the floor vanished from under her. "WHA-?!" She screamed as she fell further into the darkness and away from the boy.

"Stop screaming. There's no escape. It's hopeless."

----------------------------

For 25 years the lost child warped in the shadowy pit in both body and mind, a force beyond his control turning him into a monster. He grew angry at the flashes of life he could see of the world above. There were all these people doing what he wanted to do, but here he was rotting in a hole. No one cared he was gone, no one was looking for him, and it made him furious. He lured people into his abysmal dark cell with hints at a treasure that didn't exist, hoping to pique their curiosity, and one by one people went missing, left to rot in this inescapable hell with him. Everyone would suffer with him, everyone! And the many voices in his head assured him he was doing the right thing.

Rallis flew up from the floor with a start, the feeling of falling startling her awake. She woke to another weird room, this time grey and drab and boring. There were some rock formations jutting out of the ground in various spots around the room and in the center was a massive hole, like a slice that cut it in half. On the other side was something that looked very much like an exit. "If all I have to do is jump across, I'm doing it! I'm getting tired of this!"

She walked closer and her ears drooped more with each step she took. The ravine wasn't as small as she thought. It looked to be 20 feet across, maybe more. That wasn't something she could jump. 'Maybe if I get a running start?' she thought. She glanced back at the other end of the room and realized that wasn't likely. There wasn't much room to run. It was as if the room shrank from her feelings of doubt.

"What's the point?" a voice wailed, snapping Rallis out of her thoughts. "There's no way across. No one will help you."

Rallis looked around and found a young girl slumped up against the wall, sadly staring at the pit. She ran over to take a look and found two others, two boys around the same age. One was on the ground, face planted in the floor, and the other was on his side, like someone threw him and he hadn't bothered to move. "Are you okay?" Rallis asked worriedly as she looked them over. The girl had a satchel with the end of a rope and a cleaning brush poking out, while the two boys had rockpicks strung to their belts. 'That's museum gear!'

"'Okay,'" the girl moaned. "Is anyone really?"

"Ooo Reldo had a word for that! What was it? Angsty?" Rallis laughed as she tried to mimic his voice. "Stop being so angsty, we have work to do!" She tried to pull the girl up but she wouldn't budge. Rallis frowned. "You're from the museum, right? Students of the dig site?"

She looked at the dragon with mild surprise. "Yeah... how'd you know?"

She pointed to the satchel. "Dirt tools! We've been looking for you, you know. People that have gone missing. We found you though so now we can get you all home!"

"And how do you expect we do that?" the girl moaned. "Look." She motioned to the exit. "There's a ditch in the way and no way across. We're going to be stuck here forever."

Rallis dismissed the thought. "Oh that's silly. No ones gonna be stuck here forever. We just gotta get to the other side!" The girl didn't seem convinced. "C'mon! Get up, let's go!" Rallis pulled on the girl's arm until she finally budged, begrudgingly staggering forward. "What have you tried so far?" Rallis asked.

The girl shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Rallis all but growled. "You been here all this time and you've done nothing?"

"Well look!" the girl cried. "There's nothing here and there's no way across. Maybe we should just roll into the pit and end it all. There's no point in anything anyway." It was like with every negative comment the girl grew more hopeless and grey.

"No no no no no! No one is jumping into the death hole! Jeez you need some sunlight." Rallis pointed to the pack. "Anything in there that's useful?"

The girl lazily opened the bag and pulled out a brush, some rope, and a doll. "Not really," she said. "Nothing that could get us across."

Rallis took the coil of rope from her. "Well I wouldn't be so sure about that. What about your friends?" The girl shrugged. Rallis rolled her eyes and bent down to wake them up. "Hellooooooo!" she shouted at the boy with his face in the dirt as she shook him. "Time to get up!" She flipped him over and slapped his face.

"Ow..." the boy mumbled, groggily opening his eyes. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

"Sleep later, work now," Rallis commanded. "We need your help. What have you got on you?"

He closed his eyes again. "What have I got? I've got the pain of the world, the shame of living a lie, the knowledge of misery."

Rallis sighed. "Y'all need help. We really gotta get you outta here." She noticed the rock pick on his belt and took it. "Got anything else like this?"

The boy sighed and nodded as he pulled more rope from the back of his belt and handed it over. "Thank you!" she chirped. "Now I really need you to get up, okay?" He groaned but complied, slowly dragging himself into a sitting position. She moved on to the second boy and pulled him upright. "You too. Time to get moving. What have you got?"

He undid a second rock pick from his belt. "Just this," he muttered. "Nothing useful."

Rallis took it and looked it over. "Oh I think it is. Come on you three, time to go." As the three shuffled over to the ravine's edge, Rallis took the rope pieces and tied them together, making one long continuous piece. Next she tied both ends to the rock picks, tying a firm knot through the hole in their handles. With a tug test she determined it to be as sturdy as she could make it. 'Hopefully that'll do.' The rope seemed to sparkle with her hint of optimism.

There were some dull stalagmites on both sides of the ravine. With the rope and picks, Rallis had a plan. Aiming for one of the rocks on the other side, she twirled the rope in the air, rock pick swinging dangerously close over the students' heads, and launched it toward the rock. The pick hit its mark, wrapping around the rock a bit before snagging. Rallis gave it a hard yank but it did not budge. She grinned and tied the other end to a similar rock nearby. There was now a makeshift tightrope swaying precariously over the bottomless pit.

She held her hands out to her feat as if she were presenting a masterpiece of art. "There we go! Easy!" The students were not impressed, drab stares looking at the pit in front of them.

"We'll never get across," one of the boys said.

"It's too dangerous," the other agreed.

"We'll just fall," the girl chimed in.

Rallis groaned. "No you won't! It'll be fine! Here, watch! I'll even go across first and show you how it's done. I can hold the rope down too once I get across if it'll make you feel better."

The three watched intently as Rallis got on her hands and knees and grabbed the rope firmly. She then slipped into the ravine, nothing but her grip on the rope keeping her from falling. Like a monkey, she swung across, grabbing the rope as she sped along. "I like doing it like this instead of walking," she called back to them as she continued. "That way I don't have to worry about losing my balance and falling!" The three were impressed, watching her every movement. Once Rallis reached the end, she hooked her claws into the rock and kicked off, easily hopping the ledge. She immediately tied the rope and pick down more securely. It had started to come undone from her swinging but she was not about to tell them that.

"There, see?" she called back. "Easy! One of you come on too!"

They watched the slightly swaying rope, hesitant. "C'mon you can do it!" she called to them. "Trust yourself!" The girl stepped forward, slipping down and grabbing the rope like Rallis did. It was hard, but she began to swing across. Rallis held the rope down as she went, and the girl soon reached the edge. Rallis lent a helping hand and pulled her up. The girl was smiling, showing an actual emotion.

"You can do it, guys!" she shouted. "It's not that bad! Hurry up and let's get out of here!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Rallis cheered with her. "You can do it!"

The rope almost seemed to shimmer with light as they encouraged the others on. One of the boys followed their example and monkeyed across, grinning wide as he was pulled onto the other side. It really was easy! He called back to their friend. "Let's go, man! We're finally getting out of here!"

The last student laughed and readied to swing across. He began his trek across, the rope bouncing every which way as he sped over. The movement was too much, however, and once he neared the other side, the unattended rock pick came loose. It fell into the pit, taking the rope and boy with it. Without thinking, Rallis lunged and grabbed the boy by the arm before he could fall to his doom. She was gripping the dangling rope with her foot as the other two students had hold of her tail. The boy she had ahold of was terrified, staring wide eyed at the pit below.

"Don't look down!" Rallis snapped. "Look up here. Everything's fine."

The two students up above were slipping, edging closer to falling in themselves. "They can't pull us up," the boy whined. "This wasn't going to work from the start. You should just let me go."

Rallis growled as she hefted him closer. "I. Think. Not! Don't give up so easily! You just gotta believe!" Without warning, she threw the boy up with all her strength. The other two let go of her tail, letting her fall to grab hold of their friend. Rallis fell all but a few feet before managing to grab the rope, gripping it for dear life as she started to have a small breakdown over what she just did. She was too scared to move, the fear of that feeling of falling taking over. Luckily she didn't have to. With the strength of three people versus one weight, the three pulled their saviour to safety. Rallis flopped onto the ground, hugging the stalagmite the rope was tied to.

"A-are you all okay?" she asked shakily.

They all nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you," the girl said.

"That's good," she replied. "You should probably get out then. The exit is right there and you've got people looking for you. Go home."

They nodded in excitement. "Yeah! Thank you again for all the help." And they vanished, happily sprinting through the exit.

Rallis sighed as she lay on the floor, gripping the rock and trying to calm down from the near death fall. It was so quiet now that she was alone, so empty. That was until a voice spoke in her ear.

"You were faced with an insurmountable obstacle and yet you sought to face it," the voice said. "Why? How could you continue when no one else would help you? What made you think you could get out of the situation?"

"I don't know what in-sir-mount-whatever means," she told the voice. "But I know that you can fix every problem if you just try and never give up. Sometimes all you need to build a bridge is a little rope and hope." She smiled as she sat up and showed off the now glowing rope. The voice disappeared with a thoughtful hum, and with that Rallis walked through the exit, ready to bring an end to this adventure.

---------------------------- The students had been found and rescued and Rallis thought maybe everything was done and dealt with now, so she was rather surprised to find another room through the exit and not the forest and dig site up above. The floor wasn't burning hot and red or a shadowy void of black or a variety of pastels or grey and drab. It was just normal dirt, maybe a bit of clay mixed in too, and it was cracked and filled with holes, like cheese after a rat had gotten to it. Some of the holes were huge too, ones you could easily trip and fall in. Other than that, nothing else was there. Feeling gutsy, Rallis called out.

"Hello? Anyone or anything here?"

The room suddenly felt very heavy, like the air was replaced with iron. Hissing echoed and bounced off the walls, deafeningly loud. The ground started to shake and crack, throwing Rallis off balance. She fell to the ground to see three snake-like and also almost human-like heads slither out of the ground, towering over her in anger. They snarled at her, fangs dripping with venom. Rallis scooted away, more than a little frightened at the beast in front of her. One of the heads slithered down and over to her, stopping mere inches from her face.

"Drak, kinsvet, dragon," it hissed in twelve voices at once, unable to decide how it wanted to speak. "Wah stah eehr, yho thehs et, why are you here?"

"I'm here to help," she replied. "You have someone who needs help, and I think you might need some too."

"Heeehel! Help!" it exclaimed before screeching. "You can't help it," it continued, this time in just one voice. "You can't help it or me."

Rallis stood up and pat it on the head. The beast did not appreciate the gesture. "I'll be the judge of that!" There was a strip of earth that sat neatly between all three of the angry slinking heads, and that's where Rallis plopped back down. The three slithered closer, curious about the person who had bested their dungeon and was still unafraid, even in the face of this new horrifying-looking beast. "Your name is Tolna, right?"

One of the heads said yes while the others said no.

"What's your other name then?" she asked.

One of the heads coiled back as if in pain from thinking about the question while the other two slumped down into their respective holes. "Loarnab," it finally hissed.

"Nice to meet you then, Loarnab," Rallis said with a smile. "Are you a snake beast? A haisarah? I don't think humans can hiss like that!"

"Haisarah... me... ohhct... K I L L E D!!!"

The three heads thrashed about, screaming and roaring and slamming against the walls, chipping into the rocks and sending more cracks in the walls of its prison. "Whoa, hey, calm down!" Rallis shouted at them. They showed no signs of stopping and they were starting to hurt themselves too. With a huff, Rallis jumped at one of the flailing monsters and grabbed tight, climbing up to its head and covering its eyes. It stopped moving so wildly, the other two slowing down in curiosity as well. "Just calm down, you two! There's no need for that! Talk it out instead!" She uncovered its eyes as it seemed to calm down, sinking back down closer to the floor. Rallis hopped back onto land. "Much better. You have some problems too, huh?" The monster seemed to nod. Rallis thought for a moment before snapping her fingers with a plan.

"How about this? I'll listen to both of you and help you both out. But Tolna first!" The heads hissed at her, though one smiled a bit at the end. "Sorry Loarnab, but your anger buddy has been away from his family long enough. He needs to go home. I'll stay with you instead!"

They hissed, unsure, but relented. Nothing had changed for the better down in this pit for a long time. Maybe this new visitor really would help. She listened to Tolna's story, other heads hissing with interjections here and there.

"Well I think there's nothing to be upset about!" Rallis proclaimed. "If you're mad your parents said no to you going to school, ask them why! Maybe you can find out why they said that. There's no need to be scared of new things, either. Everything is new once! Even exploring a hole you fell into and finding an angry haisarah." The heads laughed at that. "And there's no reason to be scared to ask why your parents said no. The worst they can do is just not answer, but I bet they will. New things might be confusing at first too, but that's okay! You just learn them! It might take a few tries but you gotta keep at it. Never give up hope. Things always work out, whether it's finding a way home after falling into a hole, finding a way to go to school, or any other problem that happens. It always works out and everything ends up fine."

The heads seemed happier, having someone to listen and talk to that wouldn't just fuel their rage. "You should go home, Tolna. People miss you."

The heads hissed and smiled and vanished, as did the rest of the room. Nothing was left. Just inky darkness and the sounds of hissing and slithering. "Did you let him go?" Rallis asked the shadows.

"Yesss..." twelve different voices said.

"Then it's your turn," she said. "You've got a lot going on, don't you? Dragging people down here and making them crazy."

Something stepped out of the nothingness. Something big. Its details were hard to make out in the dark, but Rallis could see a large scaly body with a long lashing tail and twelve hissing heads. The beast sat in front of her, waiting. Rallis got comfortable, leaning back on the ground she could feel but not see.

"So tell me, Loarnab the haisarah. What's got you so upset?"

-------------------------------

It was quiet, the only sound being the rustle of leaves in the breeze. The ground was comfy, the grass feeling extra soft and cozy. With the sun setting too, it was the perfect setting for a nice little nap...

"RALLIS?!"

Rallis lifted her head off the grass with a groan. Pieces of grass and small flowers were stuck to her face where she had drooled on the ground in her sleep. She looked up to see a familiar bespectacled face in the form of her mentor. "Hi Reldo," she yawned. He was shaking with, what was that? Anger? Shock? Relief? He pulled her off the ground and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Where have you been?!" he shouted. "I have been looking for you all day and scared half to death! And now that I've found you you're asleep in the flowers?! Do you understand how worried I've been?!"

Rallis flinched and covered her ears. "Mmmmno more shouting," she groaned. "I just woke up. I had the craziest dream."

"Oh, not as crazy as what I just went through, I assure you! First you fall down a hole and vanish. Then I run off to get help and come back to the missing students asleep on the ground! So hooray, mystery solved I guess, but how? We take them back to Varrock and I come back and there's ANOTHER person on the ground! The missing person the woman hanging around the museum was talking about no less! He wouldn't stop spouting nonsense about some ancient city and a hydra god holding him captive the whole walk back to town. And now this third time, you're here. What, does this forest just spawn missing people all day?!"

Rallis turned away from the shrill shouting man and looked at the ground, as if she would find her answers there. "Rallis, are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah," she said with another yawn. "I've had an adventure too."

Now done with his rant, Reldo took a good look at her. There were holes in her skirt and bruises on her neck. Her shirt was nearly gone and ripped dirty cloth was tied around her hands, reddish stains marring the wrappings. There were small scrapes in a few places on her too. He took one of her hands and undid the dirty wrappings, revealing the bloody burns underneath. She hissed as the air made it hurt again. "What happened to you?" he asked, concerned.

Rallis took her hand away and pressed it against her skirt, covering it back up. Her groggy mind went back to the conversation she had with the hydra. The poor beast had grown into a monster over its death and neglect. What was once a magical creature like any other grew warped and evil as its home was taken from it before being slain and its body and soul used for horrible unspeakable things. Its restless spirit haunted the grounds it died upon, luring lost creatures in to become a part of it or slowly wither away in its solitude. The beast had grown into the personification of negativity and foulness, and it wasn't likely to get much better after ages of neglect, but Rallis tried her best anyway.

Rallis looked back down at the ground and sighed before starting off towards home. "Well if that was all real, this time I've got a story for you."

[starblood]

xel is, for all of her bookworm ways, a genuine creature of compassion and kindness towards those she knows and cares for. she seldom bears grudges or ill-will for anyone - even her enemies, be they former or current. it’s part of what makes her a good hero. she genuinely, truly wants to help people. even after being ground down so hard by events in stormblood and shadowbringers, that hasn’t left her.

she’s not a mother hen and she won’t be overbearing or overwhelming with it -- but if you are someone she cares for - and she cares for a lot of people -- then she will take time to sit with you, listen to you if you need to speak, and offer any advice she may feel is relevant to the situation if advice is wanted. she’s equally as happy to listen to woes or troubles on someone’s mind.

she is, however, the type to gently and lovingly bully you into taking care of yourself, be it sleeping or eating or anything else. she worries if that fails to be apparent in others.

[thesmithsfiend]

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES REFERENCE GUIDE

Golden AGE Of Looney Tunes  Volume 1 Disc #1 Side 1:    •    Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931)      •    Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933)      •    Page Miss Glory (1936)      •    I Love to Singa (1936)      •    Have You Got Any Castles? (1938)      •    Speaking of the Weather (1937)      •    Katnip Kollege (1938)   Disc #1 Side 2:    •    The Wild Hare (1940)      •    Daffy Duck and Egghead (1938)      •    Odor-Able Kitty (1945)      •    A Tale of Two Kitties (1942)      •    I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)      •    Life with Feathers (1945)      •    Walky Talky Hawky (1946)   Disc #2 Side 1:    •    Cinderella Meets Fella (1938)      •    Hamateur Night (1939)      •    Thugs With Dirty Mugs (1939)      •    Cross Country Detours (1940)      •    Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939)      •    The Bear’s Tale (1940)      •    The Crackpot Quail (1941)   Disc #2 Side 2:    •    Wabbit Twouble (1941)      •    Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)      •    The Hep Cat (1942)      •    A Corny Concerto (1943)      •    Kitty Kornered (1946)      •    The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)      •    The Big Snooze (1946)   Disc #3 Side 1:    •    The Night Watchman (1938)      •    Old Glory (1939)      •    Sniffles Takes a Trip (1940)      •    The Dover Boys (At Pimento University) (1942)      •    My Favorite Duck (1942)      •    The Aristo-Cat (1943)      •    Inki at the Circus (1947)   Disc #3 Side 2:    •    Rhapsody in Rivets (1941)      •    Pigs in a Polka (1942)      •    Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)      •    Duck Soup to Nuts (1944)      •    Hare Trigger (1945)      •    Back Alley Oproar (1948)      •    Tweetie Pie (1947)   Disc #4 Side 1:    •    The Heckling Hare (1941)      •    Hare Tonic (1945)      •    Hare Ribbin? (1944)      •    Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (1944)      •    A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947)      •    The Unruly Hare (1945)      •    Gorilla My Dreams (1948)   Disc #4 Side 2:    •    Nasty Quacks (1945)      •    Hair-Raising Hare (1946)      •    The Bashful Buzzard (1945)      •    Daffy Doodles (1946)      •    Little Orphan Airedale (1947)      •    Baby Bottleneck (1946)      •    Book Revue (1946)   Disc #5 Side 1:    •    The Coo Coo Nut Grove (1936)      •    Daffy Duck in Hollywood (1938)      •    Hollywood Steps Out (1941)      •    What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)      •    Hollywood Daffy (1946)      •    Swooner Crooner (1944)      •    Slick Hare (1947)   Disc #5 Side 2:    •    Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)      •    Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)      •    Rabbit Transit (1947)      •    Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)      •    The Old Grey Hare (1944)      •    Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)      •    Haredevil Hare (1948)  

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 2

Disc #1 Side 1 - Musical Madness:

   You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931) *    Goopy Geer (1932) *    Three's a Crowd (1932) *    We're in the Money (1933)    Honeymoon Hotel (1934)    The Lady in Red (1935)    The Penguin Parade (1938)

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Wabbits:

   Prest-O Change-O (1939)    Hare-um Scare-um (1939)    Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)    Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)    Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941)    Hold the Lion, Please (1942)    Fresh Hare (1942)

Disc #2 Side 1 - Frank Tashlin:

   The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938)    Cracked Ice (1938)    Brother Brat (1944)    Plane Daffy (1944)    A Tale of Two Mice (1945)    Behind the Meat-Ball (1945)    Hare Remover (1946)

Disc #2 Side 2 - Chuck Jones:

   The Little Lion Hunter (1939)    The Draft Horse (1942)    Flop Goes the Weasel (1943)    Lost and Foundling (1944)    Fair and Worm-er (1946)    What's Brewin', Bruin? (1948)    Rabbit Punch (1948)

Disc #3 Side 1 - Bob Clampett:

   Goofy Groceries (1941)    The Wacky Wabbit (1942) *    Buckaroo Bugs (1944) *    An Itch in Time (1943) *    The Gruesome Twosome (1967) *    Draftee Daffy (1945) *    Bacall to Arms (1946) *

Disc #3 Side 2 - McKimson & Davis:

   Acrobatty Bunny (1946) *    Hollywood Canine Canteen (1946) *    The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946) *    One Meat Brawl (1947) *    Mexican Joyride (1947) *    Mouse Menace (1946) *    Catch as Cats Can (1947) *

Disc #4 Side 1 - Fables & Fairy Tales:

   Beauty and the Beast (1934) *    Little Red Walking Hood (1937) *    A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938) *    Robin Hood Makes Good (1939) *    Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940) *    A Gander at Mother Goose (1940) *    Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943) *

Disc #4 Side 2 - The Art of Daffy:

   Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943) *    The Wise Quacking Duck (1943) *    Daffy - The Commando (1943) *    The Stupid Cupid (1944) *    Birth of a Notion (1947) *    To Duck....or not To Duck (1943) *    What Makes Daffy Duck (1948) *

Disc #5 Side 1 - Best Supporting Players:

   The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940) *    Hop, Look, and Listen (1948) *    Roughly Squeaking (1946) *    The Goofy Gophers (1947) *    Scent-imental Over You (1947) *    Crowing Pains (1947) *    Of Fox and Hounds (1940) *

Disc #5 Side 2 - Variations on a Theme:

   Tick Tock Tuckered (1944) *    Good Night Elmer (1940) *    Bedtime for Sniffles (1940) *    A Pest in the House (1947) *    Trap Happy Porky (1945) *    The Unbearable Bear (1943) *    Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948) *

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 3

Disc #1 Side 1 - Harman-Ising:

   One More Time    Red-Headed Baby    Pagen Moon    A Great Big Bunch of You    The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives    One Step Ahead of My Shadow    The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon

Disc #1 Side 2 - Bugs Bunny:

   Wackiki Wabbit    Hare Force    Super-Rabbit    Herr Meets Hare    Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears    Stage Door Cartoon    Easter Yeggs

Disc #2 Side 1 - Chuck Jones:

   The Squawkin' Hawk    Inki and the Mynah Bird    From Hand to Mouse    Fin N' Catty    Fresh Airedale    The Eager Beaver    House-Hunting Mice

Disc #2 Side 2 - Fritz Freleng:

   Pigs is Pigs    The Cat's Tale    Lights Fantastic    Ding Dog Daddy    The Wacky Worm    Peck Up Your Troubles    Racketeer Rabbit

Disc #3 Side 1 - Early Avery:

   I Wanna Be a Sailor    Circus Today    Aviation Vacation    Aloha Hooey    Holiday Highlights    Crazy Cruise    The Cagey Canary

Disc #3 Side 2 - Tashlin/Clampett:

   Little Pancho Vanilla    Booby Hatched    I Got Plenty of Mutton    Farm Frolics    Falling Hare    Birdy and the Beast    Russian Rhapsody

Disc #4 Side 1 - Sports:

   Freddy the Freshman    Boulevardier From the Bronx    Along Flirtation Walk    Sport Chumpions    Greetings Bait    Screwball Football    Baseball Bugs

Disc #4 Side 2 - The Evolution of Egghead:

   Egghead Rides Again    Count Me Out    Johnny Smith and Poker Hontas    A Day at the Zoo    Believe It, or Else    A Feud There Was    Confederate Honey

Disc #5 Side 1 - Porky and Daffy:

   Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur    Slightly Daffy    Ain't That Ducky    Wagon Heels    Along Came Daffy    Nothing But the Tooth    The Up-Standing Sitter

Disc #5 Side 2 - Politically Incorrect:

   Wake Up the Gypsy in Me    He Was Her Man    Sioux Me    The Mighty Hunters    A Feather in His Hare    The Early Worm Gets the Bird    Inki and the Lion

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 4

Disc #1 Side 1 - Bugs Bunny:

   The Wabbit Who Came to Supper    The Hare-Brained Hypnotist    The Case of the Missing Hare    Hare Conditioned    Buccaneer Bunny    Rhapsody Rabbit    Any Bonds Today?    A Wild Hare - original version

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Chuck Jones:

   The Good Egg    Ghost Wanted    Snow Time For Comedy    The Bird Came C.O.D.    Dog Tired    Fox Pop    The Weakly Reporter

Disc #2 Side 1 - Friz Freleng:

   The Trial of Mr. Wolf    Double Chaser    The Sheepish Wolf    Hiss and Make Up    Holiday for Shoestrings    The Gay Anties    Of Thee I Sting

Disc #2 Side 2 - Cartoon All-Stars:

   Tom Turk and Daffy    I Taw a Putty Tat    Two Gophers From Texas    Conrad the Sailor    Doggone Cats    A Horsefly Fleas    Hobo Bobo

Disc #3 Side 2 - Radio Daze:

   Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee    The Woods are Full of Cuckoos    Let It Be Me    Little Blabbermouse    Malibu Beach Party    Quentin Quail    Hush My Mouse

Disc #3 Side 2 - Frantic Forties:

   Hop, Skip, and a Chump    A Hick, a Slick, and a Chick    Meatless Flyday    The Foxy Duckling    Bone Sweet Bone    The Rattled Rooster    The Shell-Shocked Egg

Disc #4 Side 1 - Wacky Blackouts:

   Land of the Midnight Fun    Wacky Wildlife    Ceiling Hero    Fresh Fish    Saddle Silly    Foney Fables    Bug Parade

Disc #4 Side 2 - Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton (and Private Snafu):

   Love and Curses    Gold Rush Daze    Bars and Stripes Forever    Hobo Gadget Band    Fagin's Freshman    Busy Bakers    Snafuperman    Spies

Disc #5 Side 1 - Sniffles:

   Naughty But Mice    Little Brother Rat    Sniffles and the Bookworm    The Egg Collector    Sniffles Bells the Cat    Toy Trouble    Brave Little Bat

Disc #5 Side 2 - Merrie Melodies:

   The Queen Was in the Parlor    I Love a Parade    The Organ Grinder    Billboard Frolics    Flowers For Madame    September in the Rain    You're an Education

           GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 5

Disc #1 Side 1 - Black & White Classics:

   It's Got Me Again! (1932)    Moonlight for Two (1932)    A Great Big Bunch of You (1932)    You're Too Careless with Your Kisses (1932)    I Wish I Had Wings (1932)    Young and Healthy (1933)    I Like Mountain Music (1933)

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Avery:

   don't look now    i only have eyes for you    ain't we got fun    a sunbonnet blue    the sneezing weasel    the mice will play    detouring america

Disc #2 Side 1 - Freleng Follies:

   she was an acrobat's daughter    sweet sioux    the lyin' mouse    my little buckeroo    the fighting 69 1/2th    rookie revue    fifth column mouse

Disc #2 Side 2 - Musical Madness:

   the merry old soul    mr. and mrs. is the name    into your dance    country mouse    bingo crosbyana    the fella with a fiddle    now that summer is gone

Disc #3 Side 2 - Pesky Pets:

   the cat came back    country boy    dog daze    dog gone modern    the curious puppy    stage fright    snowman's land

Disc #3 Side 2 - Objects d'art:

   those beautiful dames    little dutch plate    i'd love to take orders from you    toy town hall    my green fedora    streamlined greta green    shop, look & listen

Disc #4 Side 1 - Animal Antics:

   pop goes your heart    i wanna play house    i'm a big shot now    when i yoo hoo    at your service madame    a star is hatched    plenty of money and you

Disc #4 Side 2 - Supplemental material (CAV):

   hare ribbin' (director's cut)    the return of mr. hook (U.S. Navy)    the good egg ( U.S. Navy)    tokyo woes (U.S. Navy)    my dream is yours (excerpt from film)    two guys from texas (excerpt from film)

[ttawoabw]

Wrap Up: May 2018

Wrap Up: May 2018

May was a much better reading month for me than April was, fingers crossed the same can be said for June!

LINKS LEAD TO GOODREADS PAGES

A Court of Frost and Starlight (#3.1 A Court of Thorns and Roses) by Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★★ – YA/NA Fantasy Romance

A thousand times over yes to this entire novella and the sneak preview for the next book!  Devoured it in 4 hours, loved it, especially Feyre’s…

[ttawoabw]

Cover Reveal: The Hook-Up Experiment by Emma Hart

1.Hate-screw my high school nemesis. 2.Remember to hate him. 3.Prove my brother wrong. It should be easy. It isn’t.

Release Date: 13th of March, 2018

I’ve been slightly obsessed with Emma Hart for a few months now, so I’m very happy to share with y’all the cover reveal for her next book, The Hook-Up Experiment.  This is technically the first book in a companion/standalone duet but it features characters introduced in The Upside of Being Single, so if you want to get to know Peyton a little before picking up…

[ttawoabw]

Book Babble: Bookish Gift Exchange

Seeking: Bookworm Buddy to do Gift Exchange with.

Hey guys, a little something different this week.  I’ve been toying around with the idea of doing a bookish gift exchange (like a surprise box of our favorite books from the year, book swag, bookish goodies and maybe some local stuff) for Christmas 2018 and I’m looking for someone to do this with.

We’d need to have similar book and interest tastes and I’m more than happy to ship internationally –…

[ttawoabw]

Book Tag: Ben 10: Alien Force

I challange YOU to do this Ben 10: Alien Force inspired book tag!

I love cartoon teen TV shows.  So I made a few book tags inspired by some of my favorites to combine my two interests. Feel free to do this tag yourself (I don’t really know any book bloggers to tag myself), I’d love to read your responses and if you do this tag on your own blog please remember to give me credit.  Hope you enjoy!

Alien X: A Book/Series Featuring Gods.

Percy Jackson and the…

[ttawoabw]

Bookworm Update: Where I've Been

Yes, I'm still alive, so is the blog; how have you been?

I suppose I should explain, it’s been 2 months since I posted here.  I haven’t forgotten about this blog, or decided to never post here again.  I simply haven’t felt inspired or motivated to write anything.  As some of you may know I’ve had a pretty bad reading slump throughout this year.  In the past three to four months it’s been its worst – and I simply haven’t read anything.   However I…

[ttawoabw]

Book Subscription Box Review: FairyLoot

Book Subscription Box Review: FairyLoot

 FairyLoot: June ‘Elementalists’ Box

Okay, so if you don’t know what a book subscription box then;

Where have you been?

Check out my blog post about them HERE. (I really need to update this…)

Let’s just jump straight into the unboxing/review.

The Introduction/Information/Spoiler card was as always easy to read and well done.  Still not a fan of the art style by as I’ve said previously since it’s…

[ttawoabw]

#WaitingOnWednesday

I’ve decided to start making a Waiting On Wednesday post each Wednesday.  I didn’t come up with this and I don’t know if I’m allowed to use the name or whatever but with my reading slump I’ve been lacking in things to post so I wanted to try something new.  Basically each week I’ll highlight an upcoming release that I’m anticipating.  That’s it.  Simple enough.  So here we go.

I See London, I See…

[ttawoabw]

Book Tag: A to Z Book Survey

(The date in the header image is wrong; I know)

I’ve been in not only a reading slump of sorts, but also a writing slump.  I’m like 70% sure its because of my anxiety or the typical depression you get as a side effect of other invisible illnesses, but whatever the case I just seem to be drawn to book tags, so here’s another.  This tag was made WAY BACK by Perpetual Page Turner. (I wrote this a…

[ttawoabw]

Book Subscription Box Review: FairyLoot

Book Subscription Box Review: Fairy Loot March 'Myths and Monsters' Anniversary Box

FairyLoot: March ‘Myths and Monsters’ Box

Okay, so if you don’t know what a book subscription box then;

Where have you been?

Check out my blog post about them HERE. (I really need to update this…)

FairyLoot is the UK’s most popular book subscription service, they’re basically the UK’s version on OwlCrate but they don’t include contemporary books like OwlCrate does.  I’ve had two boxes from…

[ttawoabw]

Book Tag: Run Away To The Circus

This Tag was created by the OwlCrate team for their February box theme ‘Run Away To The Circus’.  I’ll link the original video below, be sure to check it out!  Also check out my review of the box HERE.

Ring Master: Best Main Character

Percy Jackson.  Percy Jackson is my Harry Potter.  I’ve grown with him, I’ve seen him mature and become stronger as a person and as a hero and he’s awesome.  He’s…

[ttawoabw]

Book Tag: The Fictional Boyfriend Tag

Book Tag: The Fictional Boyfriend Tag

To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year I thought it would be fun to do a tag, this tag was created by RachelReads (previously known as RayKayBooks I believe?) on YouTube. I’ll include the original video at the bottom of this post if you want to check it out.

1. Most Romantic Boyfriend.

Okay this isn’t necessarily the most romantic book boyfriend, to be honest I read it a while ago and can’t…