Chapter ??? – The Wish 1

Elaine was walking back home from another mission. Auri was with Plato, safe at home, and the roads were strangely empty for the early evening. Just one of those flukes of traffic.

 

As Elaine walked at a brisk clip, a lamb emerged from the trees around the road, bleating pitifully. Only slightly unusually, its wool was entirely golden, although with how many [Shepards] had weird skills, it wasn’t that weird.

 

At least it wasn’t on fire, spitting venom, or followed by thousands of insects. Some [Shepards] got real weird.

 

Elaine looked around, and not seeing anyone near, sighed.

 

“Why hello there.” She approached the lamb, gently stroking its head. “Are you ok? Are you lost?” She slowly soothed the animal, while banishing thoughts of tasty, tasty lamb ribs from her mind.

 

The lamb’s mouth opened, and instead of bleating, wispy smoke came out of it.

 

What weird skill is this? Elaine tried to [Identify] the lamb, but nothing came back. The skill didn’t even seem to activate, like she’d tried to [Identify] a rock or something.

 

Then the smoke solidified into a man with no waist, just more smoke leading into the lamb’s mouth.

 

“Yo yo yo! Genie’s in the HOUSE! Whuzzup, you’ve just won yourself THREE SPARKLING WISHES! Tell me what you want, what you really, REALLY want in that little heart of yours!”

 

Elaine took one look at the genie, turned around, and walked away.

 

“Yoooooooooooo that’s not cool!” The genie easily kept pace with Elaine’s superhumanly fast, System-enhanced speed. “Anything you want! Only three rules! No bringing anyone back from the dead, no making someone fall in love, and no wishing for more wishes! But anything else you want, you can GET! Just say it!”

 

Elaine paused. Pallos was a world filled with magic and monsters, dinosaurs and gods. She’d snuck into the lair of a dragon, and healed an angel. Krakens and leviathans ruled the ocean, why was a genie suddenly causing her to pause?

 

What was the worst that could happen?

 

“If I wished for ten thousand gemstones, you’d make it happen?”

 

“Baby, I can give you a MILLION gemstones! But I wasn’t born yesterday! No tricks! You can’t pull wool over my eyes! Gotta start your wish with ‘I wish’, or it won’t work at alllllllllllll!”

 

Elaine clicked her tongue. It had been worth a try.

 

“I wish my friends were all here.” She said, and the genie snapped his fingers.

 

“Your wish is myyyyyyyyyy COMMAND! Let it be DONE! There is NOTHING this genie can’t do!”

 

With that, four portals opened up.

 

From the first – Ariane. A pale vampire with long blonde hair and too much junk in her trunk.

 

From the second – Cat. Not the loveable fluffy murder type. Well. She was a fluffy loveable murder type, but not THAT kind of fluffy murder type. Three quarters of a person, the rest cybernetic. Her arm and eye were artificial, and sadly her brain remained entirely organic. That one could use the upgrade.

 

From the third – Edmund. A wooden door with no frame swung open to reveal a black abyss from which emerged a dark-haired man who looked way cooler than any of these other characters, I promise. He wore mismatched armor in varying states of disrepair, and wielded a dagger, a segmented spear, and a sour look on his face. That latter he brought to bear upon the assembled strangers without hesitation.

 

From the fourth – Maud. A woman appeared, her eyes an uncanny blue. She was wearing a frown, enormous pauldrons and a velvet skirt embroidered with little pink skulls. What flesh was visible was gaunt. A bloody axe balanced lightly between her finger and thumb.

 

“Yooooour wish is granted!” The genie roared as everyone looked around confused. “And I! Am! A! Generoooooous GENIE! You four get one wish each!”

 

The five of them traded glances with each other.

 

“Liam! This violates the fairness clause!” Edmund shouted into thin air, then started muttering to himself.

 

“Five people, that’s the party limit size. There’s gotta be a secret here, somewhere. Gotta be…” He took his spear, and started poking at every inch of the road, completely sure that one spot would spring up a fantastic treasure chest, or a deadly trap.

 

“Myalis. What’s going on?” Cat asked, cocking her head as she gazed off into the distance.

 

Great. Elaine thought. Two weirdos that talk into thin air.

 

“New world? Unknown to the Protectorate?” Cat muttered. She blinked a few times, as if hearing a response that she alone understood. “Is there anything I can’t buy?”

 

Elaine continued to look around, and saw a familiar face.

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“Ariane! It’s great to see you again!” She bounded over to the vampire, who was cradling her head.

 

“Is it too much to ask that my tender feet remain on Earth?” She groaned. “Every other decade, some force or another sees fit to wretch me from my domain. Is this Sinead’s doing?”

 

Elaine cocked her head.

 

“Decades…? It’s only been a few years here. Anyways! Probably mine, sorry! I asked for my friends, and the genie, well… has a weird definition of friends, what can I say. Need a bite?” Elaine offered her wrist.

 

“Supplicant?” Ariane wondered. “What do you wish?”

 

“I’m being polite. It’s my fault you’re here.” Elaine responded. She got an impish grin. “Plus, you don’t have to worry about draining me dry. You’d explode from drinking too much blood first.”

 

Ariane gave Elaine a flat look, then chomped down on her wrist. Elaine went a bit pale, but color quickly returned to her cheeks as the vampire felt waves of delicious power course through her.

 

“Can’t get a single break.” Maud grumped. “The moment I get home, the very second I sit down with some knitting, and I’m pulled here! The sheer nerve of you, young lady. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

 

“Yeah. I made a wish.” Elaine flippantly countered back.

 

“Harumph.” Maud crossed her arms. “Well, figure out how to fix all this. I’m Maud. Lich.”

“Elaine. Healer-mage.” She touched Maud, flashing healing through her. Not much happened, since Elaine’s healing wasn’t well-geared towards liches, no matter how much Maud looked like a grumpy old lady.

 

Old as Elaine saw things. Maud was, like, 30 tops. Practically ancient.

 

“Cat. Samurai.” The young woman with the mechanical arm and eye introduced herself. “Where is this?”

 

“Pallos.” Elaine answered.

 

Ariane tore herself away from Elaine’s wrist, her belly unusually distended.

 

“That was delectable most.” She said, slurring her words slightly as the vampire, unbalanced by both her large stomach and even larger derriere, swayed.