The Familiar

Part 3: The Wildlands

The Wildlands had been appropriately named, to say the least.

Aster stood at the very edge of the foothills, regarding the mass of trees so thick and tangled, they all looked to be one massive entity. Vines curled around the trunks and dangled from the canopy. Tall grass and wildflowers of every color sprung up in randomized locations, making it a forest of so much color and wonder, he actually found it hard to look at anything else. Not that there was much else to look at, considering this natural work of art dominated the horizon. If Aster strained his hearing, then then he could hear the chitters an growls of strange creatures.

As Aster padded up to the edge, he wondered how the Witches could find a home in here. It seemed like a rather hostile place to live. He strode along the edges of the trees, looking for access into the wall of foliage.

It was not long until he found the entrance he sought. It was only large enough to fit one Human, but that was more than enough room for him. Aster crept into the shady maw, ferns brushing his fur. He lowered his nose to the ground, sniffing. Mostly, he did this out of habit to see what might've been through here before him. Among other unfamiliar scents and very few familiar ones, he caught the faint traces of a Witch's scent, which smelled heavily of earth, and then something sweet mixed in. He couldn't think of better way to describe such a scent.

Aster assumed he was going the right way, then. Otherwise, why would he be smelling faint traces of witch? So, with his nose low to the ground, he continued his journey.

Several hours had passed of his dull trek through the Wildlands, with only the teeming buzz of the forest to keep him company.

He came across a stream running across the path. Sitting at the edge of this stream, was a small, chubby little creature. His skin was pale, and he had glowing amber eyes. He caught sight of Aster.

"Oogah!" It shouted, darting over to Aster. Aster retreated, unsure of how to treat the troll. He proceeded to come up to Aster, tugging on his fur.

"Oogah! Mi chao!" Aster was completely baffled. He touched his mind to the troll's.

What do you seek, troll?

The troll looked around as Aster spoke in his mind. "Oogah? Chi chi yaaaaa!" It howled... What was it even doing?

"Chi chi yaaaaa! Mo ga gushi!" It screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Aster.

Please, calm down! He said to the troll. This seemed to only infuriate it more.

"Chi chi! Yo da gul!" It shouted, and before Aster really had a chance to do anything, the little Troll was pulling out a bone needle and plunging it into Aster's paw. He howled as his vision began to fade to black. The last thing he saw was a very angry troll.

Aster's first thought was about how much his paw hurt. His eyes fluttered open, a bright fire assaulted his eyes. He shut them immediately after. Where was he?

"Oogah. Ba le tro jaun. Kiyak mal jo dul." He didn't recognize that Troll's voice, but he imagined he was perhaps in some sort of village. He opened his eyes gradually, rapidly blinking them every so often as his eyes adjusted to the firelight. A glance upward told him he was in a clearing of sorts, as he could see the sky. It was a dark orange color painted with wispy lavender clouds.

A figure shuffled into his line of view. He was the size of a regular troll. Maybe only reaching up to the waist of the average Human man. He was garbed in a vine-like robe colored a deep purple and black. He sported at a tweed pointy hat, like the stereotypical witch might wear in the eyes of a Human. The troll's face was completely shadowed, and Aster could only see the bright yellow glow of his eyes. This was possibly more terrifying than Gawaine. At least with a dragon he could hope for a quick death. Trolls, on the other hand... He would be worried about what they would do to him before he died.