Saintess Summons Skeletons

Pestle slept for longer than usual, only waking up when Sofia presented her with her favorite food, the ‘leg’ they had gotten from the same street food stall the previous two times.

“Finally up? Here’s your food.”

“LEG!”

“So? Discovered anything during your rampage? What happened?”

Pestle gobbled up the entire bird leg in half a second, making pleased noises, and wiped her mouth with her arm before answering. “Break city! Found Prett!”

“You found Pareth?!”

Pestle nodded, “Prett found Pesle. Talk but Prett not answer. Then we am die.”

“You both died?” Sofia asked, trying to understand Pestle’ broken sentences.

“Yes!”

“How? The same man who killed us last time?”

“No,” Pestle answered, shaking her head, “big.”

“Big?” Not a human, then?

“Yes!”

“How big? Can you show me?”

Pestle tilted her tiny head up, looking at the sky. “Hmmmmm…” Then she jumped off from Sofia’s arms. Landing on the cobblestone-paved alleyway, she bent down and grabbed two tiny pebbles, which she lined up in front of Sofia, who also crouched to watch what Pestle was trying to do.

Pestle pointed at the smaller of the two pebbles, “Pesle,” she said, looking up to Sofia, then back down, before pointing at the second pebble, “Prett.” Lastly she pointed at herself, “Big!” She then got down on all fours, beating her wings and unleashing a cute roar, before crushing the two pebbles with her right hand, leaving a small handprint in the pavement.

“That’s what happened?” Sofia asked.

“Yes! Like big. Then we am die,” Pestle stated matter of factly, slapping her hands together to get rid of the dust.

“Was it a Dragon?” Sofia asked. That certainly explains the quakes…

“Dragon?” Pestle repeated, apparently not understanding the word.

“Like a big lizard with wings? Do you know what a lizard looks like?”

“Like a big! Yes!”

“It must have been Izzaro… All the destruction might have forced him out of the palace. Do you think you could beat the Dragon?”

“Hmmmmmm… No…” Pestle answered, dejected.

“That’s fine. We’ll figure something out. Chances are we won’t even have to fight to get out of here. What about Pareth?”

“Prett help!” Pestle answered, starting to mime a fight with voiced sound effects, she waved an invisible sword, and shot an invisible bow, “Clang, bang! Pew! Pew! Knight am all die! Then I talk Prett.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Pesle tell with Sofia, leg big! Palace no, very kill! Prett nod, finger show, then we am die.”

“That’s… This is what you told him, word for word?”

“Yes!”

Poor Pareth… So close to reuniting yet so far, that must have been frustrating. His mutism didn’t stop him from getting weapons, at least, so he hopefully is not struggling too much, and now he knows for certain I am here too.

“Can you show me what you mean by ‘finger show’?” Sofia asked next.

“Like show,” Pestle answered, pointing at Sofia with a finger.

“Show what?”

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“... We am die. Very kill. Pesle no see,” Pestle answered, sounding embarrassed by her answer.

“Oh… Well… Let’s go sleep at our usual place, we’ll investigate that tomorrow, I’m getting too sleepy…” Sofia told Pestle with a yawn, holding out a hand for her to climb onto.

Yes. Change of plan. Pareth first, Oviron’s spire second.

The following night was almost a perfect recreation of the one in the previous loop, quickly stealing food and clothes from the manor then proceeding to steal all the food they could find in other houses for Pestle. The only difference was that they now knew which houses had too little food to be worth looting, which they avoided, allowing them to finish a lot earlier even though they checked a few new wealthy-looking houses’ pantries.

They were caught in the act by a guard this time, when they carelessly broke into a house without checking the surrounding streets, but he tragically also became food for Pestle before he could even raise his voice to call for help.

Shortly before dawn, Pestle started leading Sofia toward the general direction where she thought she had met Pareth.

After a long search and a lot of turning randomly on Pestle’s unclear instructions, Pestle stopped Sofia at the entrance of an inn around noon, “Here! Very leg! Prett here!”

Very leg, huh. Even while busy destroying the city you were looking for more food?

“That’s a long way off from the Queen’s rest. Not even in the palace district anymore. Think Pareth is here?”

Pestle answered with a shrug, and climbed down Sofia’s shoulder to hide in her clothes, because someone was coming their way.

“Well… Worth a try.”

Sofia entered the inn. The smells of booze of meat were strong in the air, it seemed some people were already drunk in the lively common room despite the early hour. Sofia walked up to the innkeeper, exchanging a few words, asking about a mute man and describing Pareth’s appearance in the light world. The innkeep said he knew nothing about him, but suggested that he could pass on a message to the man if he saw him, for a fee.

Sofia quickly scribbled a note for Pareth in Elvish, so that the innkeeper wouldn’t be able to read it, and left the inn. Since Sofia had seen Pareth read some of her elvish books, he would also be able to read that.

Afterwards, going into the inn’s back alley, Sofia asked Pestle to show the direction where Pareth was pointing.

“Hmmmmm… Here,” Pestle said, pointing in the general direction of the palace.

“Are you sure?”

“Hmmm… Follow!”

Saying so, Pestle jumped out of Sofia’s arms, and started to walk around the Inn, looking through every window.

After checking the entirety of that side, she started checking the next one, and eventually stopped, “Here!” She said, her face pressed against the glass, “Prett here, finger show!” She stood on the windowsill, and pointed in a direction, looking inside of the room again, then adjusting where she pointed. “Here, yes!”

Sofia followed her finger, comparing the direction with the highest spire of the palace that she could barely see in the distance over the rooftops.

That direction would be… The playhouse!

Sofia had to run all the way to the poorer district again, buying food for the orphans with the little money she had left on the way. She gave bread to the kids and went right to the black market.

This time she did not knock, simply calling out for Ronas, which she knew was hiding somewhere nearby, thus avoiding the entire knife to the throat ordeal she had gone through the first time. She was quickly in and out after selling her stolen jewelry without even negotiating, since she already knew the price the fence would accept.

With all the money she could need secured, she made her way to the playhouse.

Here again. Sofia looked at the nearby bell tower, a house right underneath it was undergoing repair, though nobody was working on it right at the moment.

That’s the same tower the Dragon jumped at us from… And it must also be where I start all my loops…

It’s already dusk… People are lining up in front of the playhouse. But they’re all holding some sort of ticket? Hopefully I can still get in.

“Excuse me!” Sofia called out to an old lady at the end of the line, “I’m new here, I have a friend waiting for me inside, do I need one of those to get in?” She asked, pointing at the ticket in the old lady’s hand.

“Ah! That you do, young lady. But I’m afraid you won’t be able to join your friend tonight, the tickets for the Diva’s show are long sold out!”

“Would someone sell me theirs?”

The old lady looked Sofia up and down, “I do not doubt you could afford it, but the tickets are name specific.”

“I really need to see my friend inside…”

“Hmmm…” The old lady looked around, “Ah! Do you see that young man in yellow, out there?” She said, pointing at a man near the entrance of the playhouse.

“Yes?”

“That is the Reimsal family’s youngest. They own the playhouse,” the old lady told Sofia, taking a step closer and whispering, covering her mouth with her fan like she was saying something outrageous, “with your looks, you might just find a way to have him let you in,” then she took a step back, “That is all the advice I have, good evening.”

“Good evening to you, thank you for the information…”

“Of course.”

Sofia quietly pulled away from the line of people waiting.

She looked at the man in yellow waiting next to the entrance.

Yeah… Yeah, no. Screw this.

Sofia slightly opened her jacket and whispered to the Fairy hiding inside.

“Pestle. Be ready to help open a door when I tell you. We’re breaking in.”