Somewhere far far away ... Part 7

Somewhere far far away ... Part 7 by CaylaCatz https://budgetpixel.com/u/CaylaCatz and @panos https://budgetpixel.com/u/panos Index to all chapters: https://budgetpixel.com/blog/somewhere-far-far-away-all-chapter-links here: Chapter 13 (by CaylaCatz): Chief, are we still going to blow up and die? here: Chapter 14 (by CaylaCatz & panos) : Why is it always Krakens!!@!! Part 7 comments Chapter 13: Chief, are we still going to blow up and die? Chapter 13 images and text by CaylaCatz Cat's chapter: The regulator pulsed a deep purple like a heartbeat gone wrong. Cat eyed it with some trepidation as she stood beside Chief Musten, holding out the sub‑etheric formulator. Cat, Xenya and the two teen boys stood at the ready for whatever Musten needed next. His wolf’s fur was still matted with blood from the harpy fight, but his hands were steady as ever. Cat noted that the sword wound in his side was barely leaking blood now. "He must be a fast healer," she thought Chief Musten swiftly a few dials within the service panel. Next, the varghan grabbed the tool from Cat. “Good lass,” he said, voice gravelly and Scottish. “Now stand back all of you. This’ll either fix it… or blow my whiskers clean off.” Chief Musten flipped the switch on the formulator. It quietly projected a sub-etheric field temporarily exciting the bent metal where the harpie's sword had slightly dented the regulator. He knew an aether regulator is highly sensitive. The swordhit's miniscule dent meant the internal aether currents were pinched or leaking somewhere but not from the dent. From the sound, he was sure it was pinched although there seemed to be a bit of a leak too. He carefully used the formulator. Even a tiny miscalibration of the sub-etheric field could cause the compressed, leaking aether inside the regulator to violently destabilize, risking a localized reality tear or a massive energy feedback explosion right in his face. Well, it would take out the whole airship too so my face won't matter, he thought mordantly. The dented casing visibly rippled, almost as if liquified without heat for a split second, and then snapped smoothly back into it's former flawless shape as if it had never been hit. The regulator’s violet pulsing slowed, steadied, then settled into a soft, rhythmic thrum. The wisps of purple faded away into nothingness. The crew of assistant mechanics clustered around Chief Musten exhaled at once. But Musten didn’t relax. He still had to find the leak. He leaned in, sniffed the machinery, gently touching a cracked housing plate with a claw, and growled low in his throat. “Bloody hell. This part’s done for.” Cat’s stomach dropped. “Can we fix it?” “Aye. If we had a replacement.” He straightened, wiping grease on his vest. “But we don’t. Not on this ship.” Xenya’s face fell. “How long will it last?” Musten gave her a grim look. “A day. Maybe two. Then we’re fallin’ out o’ the sky.” He turned toward the door. “I’m off to tell the captain we need to stop at the nearest city or market. No choice in it.” Cat watched him leave, guilt twisting in her chest. Everything felt like her fault lately — the harpy, the wizard’s punishment, the chaos. The captain looked like she was ready to kill the wizard when all Cat had wanted was not more killing. She could still smell the burnt chicken odor from the dead harpy although the body had been removed. Probably thrown overboard, she thought. She swallowed hard. Then the alarm bell rang. A shrill, metallic scream echoed through the ship. Xenya flinched. Cat’s heart lurched. The wizard, who had been leaning against a bulkhead watching the proceedings, muttered darkly. “Never a moment’s rest on this damn airship…” He pushed off the wall, shouting toward the deck. “Coming, Captain!!!!” As the wizard ran, Cat, Xenya and the boys ran after him like he was a pied piper. Chapter 14: Why is it always Krakens!!@!! Chapter 14 images by CaylaCatz text by CaylaCatz & panos (this chapter is unique in that the dialogue happened in previous conversations between panos and I across several images on BudgetPixel. I pulled it into the narrative as I thought it was fun) The moment the wizard burst onto the deck, he froze. A massive sky‑kraken writhed above the ship, tentacles whipping through the air like storm‑lashed ropes. Its purple‑blue hide shimmered with bioluminescent veins. Its beak snapped at the rigging. The wizard’s face drained of color. Kraken! It had to be a kraken! Damn. “Awww… what in Belial’s name is the matter with the skies in THIS corner of the Multiverse?!!!” He took one step back. Then he sighed. “… Is there some kind of LANDship I can sign on? … On second thought… DON’T answer that!” But despite the terror flickering behind his eyes, he squared his shoulders, pulled himself together, and strode forward like a man marching to his doom. “Right then,” he muttered. “Let’s dance.” He lifted his staff, throwing a sharp shard of lightning at the gargantuan skybeast. The kraken shook it off as if it ate lightning of breakfast, which it might. The wizard's eyes narrowed as the kraken moved closer to the ship. He smiled. "Well, come on in then. Let's give you a taste of our hospitality. This is my cousin's favorite vodka." The wizard deftly uncorked a bottle of green‑glowing vodka — radioactive, volatile, and absolutely not meant for casual drinking — and when the kraken's tentacle he poured out the bottle liberally, coating the purple limb in shimmering emerald liquid. The kraken screamed, jerking back the tentacle as if it had been burned. Undeterred, the wizard raised his staff. He spoke a single word of power that reverberated like a storm. Reality hiccuped. The kraken shrank. And shrank. And shrank. Until it was the size of a kitten — a wriggling, purple, tentacled kitten with enormous eyes and a squeaky little roar. The cute little beastie dropped down on the deck glaring at its nemesis, the Wizard. The children screamed in delight. The adults not so much although the Wizard did preen a bit. That bit of wizardry did go off better than he expected. The Wizard smiled, "Wow!!!! Hooray for me!! Damn, I make everything look so easy — but they are NOT! … Am I good, or am I GOOD?! " He was not about to admit that he didn't know what the combination of his cousin's vodka and that word was going to do. Sometimes in a fight, you just try things out on the fly. This time it worked. He glared down at the mini me kraken. Well, that was still there. Cat agreed smiling, "You are a very, very good wizard." The Wizard whispers back, " … Don’t forget very, VERY handsome…" It always made people smile when he said that, cutting the fear and tension after watching a magical battle. Her earlier terror fading a bit at the familiar phrase, Cat laughed, "Oh no! How could I forget that! My bad. And yes, a very, very handsome wizard." She glances over at Xenya and the boys who are scooting closer to the admittedly adorable tiny kraken, "Now we just need to talk the kids into believing that." The Wizard glanced upward to the steering wheel where the captain stood, "… Actually, I had the… uhh… captain in mind…" He would still make the same stand that he had and disobey the captain to keep his promises. After all, a wizard's power and honor is rooted in his words. A magic user had to believe absolutely in the reality their spells pushed. A slight moment of disbelief could have disastrous consequences. It was no light thing that a wizard's honor and word were bound so tightly together. Nonmagic users did not understand that. For them, promises were easy things to be bandied about. Cat smiled at the man who had become her first friend on this strange world, "I think this captain is going to give you an award for saving the ship so quickly! Good job. She may also try to steal that green vodka, tho, to see if it can shrink other things." Wizard grinned, "Well… I made a good impression, then! But, no, she won't be taking the vodka. The green‑glowing vodka MUST be handled with extreme care! It could cause problems with runaway ship parts. It's been known to bring the inanimate alive." "Oh," Cat contnues, "I think you need to explain to the captain the importance of keeping all kids from your room — and how, while the vodka is very good at clean‑up, it can also inadvertently bring random things to grumpy sarcastic life. If her steering wheel starts talking back at her, she’s not going to be happy with you. Pausing a moment, a thought flashed into Cat's mind, "Ooh! I just thought of something! Do spells wear off??? This is permanent, isn’t it?" The Wizard is disappointed in Cat's evident lack of ability in his maginificent prowess, “Do spells wear off??? This is permanent, isn’t it?” … FTHAGN!!!!!!" Cat misreading the Wizard, feels her anxiety returning at this strange new world, "Oh my god! You’re cussing!!! Cussing is not a good sign!!!" Cat look looks anxiously at the purple tentacled mousey thing the children are cooing over… and feeding it bits of candy and bread. Was that even safe? she looks at the wizard, "It’s going to be alright, right?" The Wizard glares at the adorable little kraken, saying, "I TOLD the damn brats to throw it overboard!!!!!" Cat facepalms . " We are in so much trouble!!! The Captain threw the witch overboard after one mistake!!!." Cat looks at the weird purple mousy thing, " It is kinda cute. And it seems to like cheese. ... I just wish it wouldn’t grab it with those tentacle mouthy bits. ... Ewwww!" Exasperated, the Wizard said, "Awwww… yeah, it’s SOOO cute!!! REALLY, now, Cat?!!" Defending her opinion, Cat replied, "Well it is! A bit creepy too with those tentacle thingies everywhere. But look at those big purple eyes— .... Ewww! Did it just grab a bug and swallow it whole? Yuck!" The Wizard exclaims, "See, now? When I say: “Trust me. I’m a Wizard” … TRUST me! I’m a WIZARD!!!" Comments