A Play Of Light And Shadows

Chapter 6: Out Of Nowhere

Two days had gone by, filled with walking, trudging and traipsing and the occasional inside joke, but none of the adventures, wonders or discoveries they had set out to find in the first place. Then again, in time they would learn to be careful what they wished for.

Although veritable discoveries were still nowhere on the horizon, the forest Nyx and Selene were currently travelling through still proved to be a welcome change of scenery for the pair. They spotted animals that were only seen around Brim on rare occasions, like the curious moon hare or the rune foxes that liked to pay tricks on inattentive smaller creatures. The undergrowth was a lot less thick as well, which was a fact much appreciated by the pair of newly initiated explorers.

They had just started walking again after a quick lunch, when the sought-after adventure presented itself once more, in the form of a disembodied voice.

"Young people, young people... They're always so hasty to leave again, after only just arriving," the voice spoke, a slight lilt to it.

Nyx and Selene stopped dead in their tracks, eyeing their environment warily, but neither found the origin of the voice. Just when Nyx started to draw the blade she always had strapped across her back, it started speaking again.

"Now, now, no need for weapons. I'm not going to harm you, I was just hoping to engage in a little conversation."

"I usually prefer to see whoever I'm talking to," Selene responded, while she kept scanning the forest with narrowed eyes. "Some would even dare to call that common courtesy."

The disembodied voice now started laughing, and strangely enough, even that sound seemed to have a lilt to it. "You get straight to the point, I like that. You also look like a ray of sunshine personified, so just for you I'll show myself, just this once."

Within seconds, a big cat seemed to appear out of thin air, resting on a nearby branch, limbs and tail elegantly draped over the side. His brown fur had patches of bright blue in it, but his eyes shone with a green that was almost blinding to the eye. He looked down on the pair of travellers quite haughtily, clearly enjoying the attention and the fact that they had to look up.

"So, what do you think? Quite the sight for sore eyes, am I not?"

"Indeed you are," Selene replied diplomatically while Nyx snorted, "But I'd rather you not refer to me as a ray of sunshine, personified or otherwise. I might be a wildmage, but I'm still just a human being."

"A wildmage, you say? You're one of those two-legged creatures who can fling around some pretty sparkles, then?", the cat asked, almost lazily curious.

"Not exactly. You see, we can control different elements. And each wildmage's ability is different, probably even unique. Nyx' power doesn't even sparkle at all", Selene replied, displaying some impressive patience in dealing with the strange cat.

The cat himself looked down on Nyx rather unimpressed, like the lack of sparkling magic only confirmed his suspicions about her.

He cleared his throat of what the two could only presume was a hairball, and continued to speak. "Well, sparkles or not, the two of you seem like terrific candidates of what I was... ordered to do."

"What are you ordered to do, then?", Nyx inquired, curiosity prompting her to finally participate in the conversation. "Surely no one can order around such a handsome beast like you?"

The sarcastic tone was not lost on Selene, who shot Nyx a warning glare, but the same could not be said about the large cat. He looked at Nyx with a gleam in his eyes, and purred.

"Well, it seems like I may have misjudged you. See, these forests have a life of their own. This one required me to offer weary travellers - like yourselves - a challenge, and quite possibly a reward, if I wanted to dwell here. And this spot has some incredible branches for sleeping, so unfortunately, I felt I could not refuse. So here goes: solve my riddle, and you will get your ever so magical reward. I'll even throw in three tries to sweeten the deal."

Selene looked over at Nyx, eyebrows raised. "That's an offer we can't refuse, no?"

Nyx merely shrugged, her patience with the egotistical creature dwindling by the second. "Let's just get it over with, then. What's the riddle?"

"That's the spirit!", the dishevelled cat cried out gleefully. He scraped his throat again. "My riddle goes something like this: what gift could you wish for, that would keep on giving? Guess right, and that gift is exactly what you two lucky girls will be receiving."

Nyx and Selene looked at each other briefly; this might be worth it after all. That is, if they found the answer within three guesses.

And so they put their minds to work.