Stella frowned and furrowed her brow. She was hovering over a red boulder with an arrow stuck inside of it. You alright, Sheryl?
Do I look alright? Sheryl asked and whimpered. Theres an arrow in my butt!
Stella tilted her head. Rocks have butts?
Shes an elental, not a rock, Vur said from his place on the table. The chains were still tying him down. While the elentals were attacking the army outside, rvin was working on setting Vur free with the drill he used to poke holes in people who wished for larger mana channels. Unfortunately, it didnt seem to be working.
I cant do it, rvin said and shook his head. The drill in his hands disappeared with a poof as he sighed. The chains arent wrapped around you. Theyre coming out of you and wrapped around the table. Theyre snaking out from inside your body like the spawn of botflies wriggling out of gaping holes in
Stop, Stella said and threw a bit of red boulder that had fallen off of Sheryl at him. I dont want to hear it. If you cant free Vur like you said you could, then its your job to distract the army while Sheryl heals.
rvin scrunched up his forehead. Im just a single genie king. How am I supposed to stop an army of millions that even three really strong magical rocks couldnt?
Theyre not rocks, Vur said.
Stella placed her hands on her hips. If Vur wished for you to stop those people, could you do it?
Well, yeah, rvin said and nodded.
How? Stella asked.
Id go out there and
Stella threw another piece of Sheryl at him. Then do that! Every second you spend arguing is a second closer to my hos impending violation!
rvin rubbed his forehead where the red rock struck him. Alright, Ill do it, he said and smiled at the angry fairy queen. He darted out of the cell, disappearing before anyone could say anything.
Sheryl stopped tugging on the arrow embedded inside of herself and blinked at Stella. Why does he listen to you when youre so an to him?
Stella sighed and lowered her hands from her hips. Her wings slowed, and she landed on top of the red boulder. You see, Sheryl. So people, so people like being treated like that. It makes every part of their body happy. Stella nodded. We call those people freaks.
Oh, Sheryl said. She pursed her rocky lips before grabbing onto the arrow again and tugged. That stupid, stupid archer. When I get this arrow out of , Im going to fly out there and stick it up his butt and see how he likes it!
Stella pursed her lips. Why was she the only normal one here?
***
Ralph wiped away at his forehead with the back of his hand. He didnt feel exhaustion anymore as a being made of blood and magic, but going through the motions let him feel human again, if even for a brief mont. A tremor shook the ground and the frontline of the army tripped, delaying the whole procession. A tiny, high-pitched voice that seed to be floating along the wind pierced his ears, Greetings!
Ralph and the other soldiers swiveled their heads, looking for the source of the voice. Lord Briffault pointed an arrow at a tiny figure in the sky. There.
Ralph squinted at it. Isnt that a genie?
Thats right! rvin said and pointed at Ralph. Soone give this man a dal. I am rvin, a genie king! And all of you are now participants of my riddle. Solve the riddle, and youll be free to proceed. But if you fail, lets just say those earthen spears that attacked you earlier will look like tiny toothpicks compared to whatll happen, alright?
This is nonsense, Lord Briffault said and nocked his arrow.
Ah! You there, the big fellow with the bow, rvin said, his body bobbing up and down in the air. I wouldnt do that if I were you. The last person to assault a genie king had his whole family cursed for the next thousand generations. You might not face any consequences, but you had kids before you beca like that, didnt you? Itd be a sha if your lineage suddenly disappeared through a series of unfortunate accidents. Itd be even more of a sha if it was because of you, right?
Lord Briffault unnocked his arrow and lowered his bow.
Thats better, rvin said and nodded. Now, since theres so many of you, its only fair if there are many questions for you to solve as well. Well start off with sothing simple, but theyll get harder and harder with every question you answer. The gas will begin when all of you sit down.
Five minutes passed as word spread. When the whole army was sitting, rvin nodded. Alright, first riddle! He pointed at the sky. Whats big, blue, and vast?
The army waited for more. Lord Briffault cleared his throat. Was that it?
Yep, rvin said. I said wed start off with simple riddles first, right? Whats big, blue, and vast?
The sky! soone shouted.
Ding, ding, ding! rvin raised his arms into the air. Congratulations, you got the wrong answer! It was actually the ocean. Deedee, get em.
The soldiers scread as the ground split apart, swallowing up a tenth of the army before closing.
rvin sighed. I didnt expect you to fail the first riddle, he said. Since I feel bad for you and my owner mistreats , Ill make the next riddle even easier than this one. He placed his hand in front of his mouth before clearing his throat. Is a waterlon a fruit, or is it a vegetable?
The soldiers fell silent, all of them turning their heads towards Lord Briffault. He scratched his head. Is that the whole riddle?
rvin nodded. Yep.
Isnt that, uh, not a riddle?
Says who? Im the genie king. I declare what is or isnt a riddle. If you dont like it, you can turn around and leave.
Well, alright then, Lord Briffault said and crossed his arms over his chest. I thank you for giving us this easy question. A waterlon is a fruit and not a vegetable.
Ding, ding, ding! rvin raised his hands into the air again. Congratulations, youre wrong again! I really thought youd get it this ti. A waterlon is both a fruit and a vegetable.
Lord Briffault fell over onto his back. Wait, what? Thats impossible!
Nope, rvin said and shook his head. Look it up in the imperial library. He shrugged. Though, I do feel bad since you got the question half-right. Ill only take five percent of your army this ti instead of ten. Deedee, youre up.
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