A white Lupe draped in messy leather robes stood at the counter of a dimly lit apothecary. The windows were dusty and neglected, covered in Aboogala cobwebs, yet still it was clear by the faint sparkle of starlight that it was very late.
A flurry of tatty feathers and dust scattered on the floor as a pair of large, clawed talons clacked towards the Lupe. The scowling figure of a haggard looking mutant Lenny took form through the flickering light of a candle as she bent her head downward. Two scaled fingers protruding through the tip of her wing rose up to scratch the bare skin of her neck. A Mazzew, dressed strangely in a robe and pointed hat, leapt from the feathered ruff of her shoulder onto the counter.
"Curses are complicated afflictions that not any simple potion can cure. You pay for my expertise, which I defy you to find anywhere else in this blasted countryside."
"Yes, I understand that, but pure is so hard to come by now. I have other things of value that-"
"If you can't afford to pay me," she sneered, cutting him off abruptly, "then find somewhere else to peddle your sob stories. You've already wasted enough of my time having me make this potion, which will now sit unsold on my shelf until the next poor sap is afflicted."
"If you would only consider my offer..."
The Lupe leaned down and opened a leather satchel tucked between his feet. From it he produced a large, speckled blue egg which he set on the counter between them.
"A Driak egg?" Spezini hissed. "What do I look like to you? I said payment in pure ONLY. I don't make exceptions, and certainly not for illicit goods like this."
"Please," his ears pinned back tightly against his head. "The matter is dire. You have my word, this one is a slug, a dud. It is easily worth three times what you've asked for in pure."
Her neck snaked back in the form of an agitated S. "You've already conned me once, scoundrel, outrageous to think I should believe you now!"
"On my honor!" the Lupe shouted, his clinched fists slamming down with a bang and sending the Mazzew skittering nervously behind a stack of bottles on the counter. "Bring me a lantern and I'll prove it myself, but do it urgently! My wife has already fought to the last of her strength, and every moment here only delays her suffering. I fear tonight will be my last chance to see her smile, so if you are to reject me, at least do me the dignity of getting it over with so I may be at her side as she draws her last breath as the woman I knew!"
Zini's face was twisted in a scowl as she paused in a moment of contemptuous silence. "What are you, some kind of poet? Spare me the theatrics, you're scaring Mipsy."
His lips curled back in a painful grimace as his eyes clinched tightly shut. "Please. My wife and this egg are all I have to my name. I can lose one, but..." his words quivered, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I can't lose her."
The Lenny's eyes rolled back deep into her skull as her beak clattered in agitation. She lifted a wing to rub her temple, murmuring something inaudible to anyone but herself. Finally, after a long pause, she exhaled a powerful sigh and turned around to a table behind her. From the mess of herbs and bottles, she produced a slender vial that was filled with a thick, iridescent liquid.
"You listen to me, Lupe. If I ever see you in my shop again, I will turn you into a Mortog, cook you, and eat you. That isn't a euphemism."
She slid the vial across the counter, where the Lupe, wide-eyed, snatched it up instantly. "Madam witch, you have no idea what this means. Whether it works or not, you will never see my face here again."
Zini exhaled sharply in offence. "The gall to imply one of my potions would not work! See yourself to the door and do NOT look back at me, mutt."
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Zini lifted the egg above her, turning it in her wings as if inspecting it for blemishes.
"Three times as much... BAH! If I can find a buyer for such a foul thing, I'd be lucky to get half my price." She set the egg down on the potions table and returned to slouch messily over the front counter. Beside her was the Mazzew, who seemed to be gleaming at her with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Don't give me that look. I've not gone soft. I just couldn't stand the sight of a grown man blubbering. It's distasteful... plus it'd ruin the finish on my counter."
Mispy's face scrunched up in a wry grin. Zini sighed and rubbed the tip of her beak with a clawed finger. "Do you really believe a single word of his story? Something about his eyes, I could tell. He's full of dung."
Mipsy chattered softly.
"Yeah, well. If it's true... that's a powerful curse. Hard to say if he made it in time or not."
Her petpet's gaze was still glued to her in an adoring sort of way that was making Zini visibly uncomfortable.
"I suppose we do know a thing or two about difficult curses." She extended a wing to scoop up her companion and shuffle away from the oval-shaped problem sitting on her potions table. "Regardless, we'll deal with that thing tomorrow. I need my beautyrest. Imagine what I'd look like with even less sleep."
Mipsy snickered as the two exited the front room of the apothecary, clacking slowly down a hallway that led to the rest of their home.
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A large pile of branches, straw, and blankets was clustered in the corner of a room that, in the soft glow of dawnlight, was just as filthy as the rest of the home. In the center was a mound of feathers tucked tightly into what appeared to be a ball with no discernible features, other than the little Mazzew curled up neatly on top.
CRASH!
Zini's head shot up from under her wings, sending Mipsy tumbling into the nest below them.
"What in the king's name was that??"
She sprang up from the nest and flapped angrily down the hall, talons ripping into the ancient wooden floorboards as she tore towards the apothecary.
"What FOOL would dare break into the shop of SPEZINI the WITCH?!" she squawked, exploding into the front room in a tornado of feathers and dust. The reds of her eyes were huge as she furiously scanned the shop, but ultaimtly found only an empty room before her. "Huh... perhaps... just a Psimouse..."
A frenzied chatter suddenly erupted behind her. Zini zipped around and rushed to the counter, where Mipsy was frantically bouncing and pointing towards the potions table. Many of the bottles were strewn about and busted, with liquids of varying colors and consistency dripping down to the floor below. Zini's eyes grew wide as she let out a miserable groan, shuffling behind the counter to take better stock of the damage. As she did, she caught sight of a strange object on the floor which she snatched up into her claws. It appeared to be a shard of something, wet, white on one side with an unmistakable blue speckled hue on the other.
"No.... NO!" She roared furiously, followed immediately by a faint "THUD" ringing out from just below the table. Zini stooped downward and twisted her snake-like neck to peer under the lowest shelf. The disgust on her face was immediate and visible.
"That RAT," she hissed, "that SCOUNDREL. I KNEW he was full of dung!" She swiped her wing below the table, pulling out untold and ancient filth, cobwebs, and the soft, wet form of a newly hatched baby Draik.
All of the feathers on Zini's body were roused in such a way that she appeared more like a startled Splyke than a Lenny. She plopped the baby down on the counter.
"A dud! A DUD! And I was the fool who bought that! Oh, If I ever see him again... Mortog Stew is too good for him, I'll pluck out his eyes and eat them raw!"
Mipsy gently wrapped her paws around the baby as Zini paced, sloshing through the contents of the busted potions as she stomped back and forth.
"I'll have to leave it somewhere. What time is it?" She glanced towards the window and surmised that it was still in the early dawn.
"Hmm... those buffoons at the castle will be getting up shortly. If we hurry, we can get in without being seen."
With a flourish Zini raked her wing under the apothecary counter, retrieving a large burlap sack. She eyed Mipsy. "Old friend, I hate to ask this..." she said in a pathetic tone, peeling open the bag with one claw and sweeping the infant into it. She then shuffled the opening to face her Mazzew. "... but it might be better if you ride with it. Make sure it keeps quiet."
Mipsy looked aghast and chirped angrily.
"I KNOW! It's not ideal, but nothing about this is ideal! We have to hurry if we want to be rid of this problem before things get even worse."
For a moment the two locked eyes in a willful staredown, but ultimately Mipsy growled and begrudgingly crawled into the sack beside the Draik.
"I'll be as gentle as I can be."
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Spezini stood with the sack clutched tightly in one talon. With a deep breath she flapped her massive wings as hard as she could, slowly lifting into the air, and gradually rising above the treeline that surrounded her secluded cottage. Silent wingbeats carried her higher until she picked up enough altitude to see far into the horizon, where the sun was still rising. In the distance the faint silhouette of Meridell castle was visible.
The barracks stood just outside the castle grounds. Small pockets of pines dotted the area around the buildings, which Zini used as cover for her landing. With one leg outstretched as far as it could go, she tapped the earth with a toe before plopping down onto the full pad of her foot. Gingerly she lowered the bag to the ground from her other tallon. Mipsy burst out through the opening, shaking vigorously and looking ready to say a mouthful before a flurry of feathers covered her face.
"Shhhhhh... we can't make a sound. The guards will be up any moment now. With some luck, the only thing they will find is this," she gestured to the sack, "problem."
Mipsy skittered up Zini's wing and perched atop her back, still looking quite indignant. Zini crouched down to pick up the sack and carefully poked her head outside the cover of the trees.
"That building there," Zini gestured to a small house set aside from the larger rectangular barracks. "That's where the captain of the guard is posted. We'll leave it there."
The group crept quietly towards the guardhouse, with Mipsy keeping sharp watch for any signs of unwelcome eyes that might spy them. Zini moved slowly but with purpose, keeping an eye both ahead and below, ensuring no wrong step would alert the guards to their presence. Finally they reached the front door of the tiny cabin, and Zini carefully laid the sack just in front of the door. Using a clawed finger she pulled at the opening string, exposing the tiny Draik within.
"Good luck, you little pest."
With a heavy puff and the pounding of wings, Zini took flight once again, heading directly up into the clouds as quickly as possible.
As the last hints of her outline disappeared into the skyline, a loud chorus of trumpets sounded. First from one tower of the castle, then another, and another. The sounds of gruff voices barking orders and feet pattering to and fro could be heard within the barracks.
The door of the small guardhouse swung open.