11-07-2011, 03:35 PM
Day 2
Iro blinked his eyes sleepily, and then blinked them wide open. There was a head of a small giraffe in front of his face. Even as he looked, it tilted its head and nuzzled his nose. Face twitching, Iro turned his head and followed the path of the giraffe’s elongated neck to see its body just visible at the top of the bed.
It was then a loud clatter sounded from outside the room. Iro jumped and looked at the door, startled. The black ghost from yesterday (oh, great, it wasn’t a dream?) poked its head into the room through the door.
“Don’t worry about the noise. It’s just some trays,” said the ghost.
“O-Oh, okay,” said Iro. He looked back at the giraffe only to find it gone. Sitting up hurriedly, he clambered to the side of the bed where it was moments ago and looked down. There was nothing there. He then looked quickly around the rose-patterned wallpapered room in search for it to no avail.
“Where is that giraffe?!” exclaimed Iro.
“What giraffe? There are no giraffes here,” said the ghost, puzzled.
“It- It was here a moment ago, I know it was! It even nuzzled my nose!”
There was a terse silence.
“I think you need some food. Why don’t you come down when you’re ready?” said Iro, before disappearing back out of the wall.
Confused but definitely hungry, Iro grabbed his feathered cap from the bedside table and got out of bed.
After lighting up the fireplace of the chilly bakery, Iro sat awkwardly at one of the tables in the shop as the ghost served some of its freshly baked pastries. It hovered near the table clutching its tray, staring expectantly at him. After a few seconds, Iro looked up at the ghost and spoke.
“Er, you mentioned a village yesterday? Would it be heavily guarded? It would be terrible to spend a whole day traveling there only not being able to go in.”
“Last I know, it has rather porous borders. I can bring you there in seconds, if you like,” said the ghost.
“You can what?!” asked Iro, uncomprehending.
“I could move to places in a flash, although I have my limits,” explained the ghost.
“Right,” said Iro. After a pause, he continued. “Sure, that would be great.”
The ghost grinned, and then inclined his head towards the pastry.
“Oh! Oh, yes,” said Iro. He took a bite, chewed a few times, swallowed and choked. “Wha- Custard?!”
The ghost tilted his head. “Yes, is something wrong?”
“I’m allergic to custard!”
“Oh.”
After a trip to the toilet, lots of water and an apology, Iro stood ready with his equipment behind the counter, the ghost hovering beside him.
“Are you ready?” asked the ghost.
Iro nodded.
“When I said I could move places in a flash, I meant it quite literally. Be prepared,” warned the ghost.
Iro didn’t get the time to shut his eyes even as the ghost started shining like a beacon of light, literally. Before he knew it, he was stumbling, disorientated. All he could see was black.
“Hmm, I appear to have gone blind…” mumbled Iro.
“No, you’re not. You’re standing in me,” said a familiar voice. Iro jumped in shock for the second time of the day.
“I’ll move,” assured the ghost.
As soon as Iro was able to see again, a knife lodged into the wall beside him. Barely a moment later, he narrowly avoided a spatula flying towards his face.
“WOAH! That was close!” yelled Iro in shock.
“GO AWAY, YOU MONSTER!!” screamed a rabid woman who was grabbing anything in the kitchen within her reach to throw at Iro and the ghost.
“What the pickle, ghosty!” shouted Iro, dodging the frying pan. “Well?!”
“My teleportation skills are sporadic, it works arbitrarily,” explained the ghost, the thrown objects flying conveniently through it.
“That’s great, now could you get me out of here?!”
“Hold on tight.”
The ghost shined brightly again. This time, Iro landed ungraciously on his behind. Wincing in pain, he got up and felt a strong draft. He found himself in a wooden hut. There was a giant hole where a wall was supposed to be.
“Where did that hole come from!” exclaimed Iro.
There was an oink as a small pig trotted out of the house through the hole. Iro raised an eyebrow.
“That’s random,” said the ghost. “And by the way, please call me ‘Ee’”.
Iro jumped again.
“Could you please stop doing that?” said Iro. “You’ll give me a heart attack!”
Ee said nothing but looked at a distance with its round eyes.
It was then, they heard a small voice. “Excuse me, could you tell me where I could find a pig, please?”
Iro turned towards the voice. There was a young girl in a yellow dress peeking in from the hole in the wall. Iro looked quickly at Ee to find it gone.
“Er, sure, little girl. I saw a pig here earlier. He went out the hole in the wall. Is that the one you’re looking for?” said Iro carefully.
The girl nodded. “Thank you, sir!” she said, before going back out the hole.
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"This is turning out to be a very weird day."
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Day 3
“Where were you and where are we, Ee?” asked Iro tiredly. He had walked out of the hut to find it surrounded by trees.
“I never left, I just vanished. Wouldn’t want to scare the child,” said Ee. “We are about 40 miles East from my bakery.”
“Right,” said Iro, gritting his teeth. He had travelled about an hour into the forest to find a pond with bamboo shoots growing around it. He knelt down beside the pond and washed his face. “What’s beyond those trees anyway?”
Ee looked up, staring at a distance with a blank expression.
“There seems to be a waterfall ahead with several catacombs behind it, shielded by the wall of water. Oh, hey! That’s Toerag in there, I’ve not seen him in years! He looks healthy, for a ghost. I remember he had a fondness for mushrooms. Can’t get enough of them, he s-”
“Ee!” screamed Iro.
“Oh, sorry,” said the ghost.
“No! Eeee! Help me! A snake just fell on my head! It might be poisonous! Get that thing away from me!” shrieked Iro, rigid with horror.
“Oh... I wonder what will happen if I poke this,” said Ee, eying the snake now slithering down Iro’s neck.
“Ee! If I die from this I’ll make sure to haunt your bakery and burn it down no matter how many it’s rebuilt!”
“I’m so sorry! I’ll get it off now!” said Ee apologetically, hovering closer towards Iro, reaching a clawed hand out towards the snake.
“Don’t touch me, you ssilly ghosst! Sseriously, you ssstupid people can’t even tell a grasss breed from a poisonousss one?” hissed the snake, now coiling around Iro’s shoulder.
“Oh, well thank you very much! I’m so relieved to know that! But if you don’t mind, could you get off me, please? The idea of a snake coiling around my body is not a very comfortable thought!” exclaimed Iro, still stiff from fear.
“Then don’t think!” The snake sniffed derisively and slithered down. The moment it was on the ground, Iro shot up and backed away.
“You’re welcome,” hissed the snake.
“Where did you come from?” asked Ee curiously.
“Thiss forest, of course! I’m a grass sssnake, I can’t go far. What kind of sssilly question is that?” retorted the snake.
“I- I think Ee meant how you came to f-fall on my head,” stuttered Iro, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
The snake turned its head to look at Iro. “You terrified of sssnakes, boy? I’m not even harmful, you coward.” When there was no answer, the snake huffed and gestured above. “I was climbing a bamboo sshoot to retrieve ssomething before I fell. It’s sstill sstuck up there.”
Iro and the ghost looked up and saw a small chest tied to a fairly large balloon stuck in between bamboo branches.
“How did that get up there!?” exclaimed Iro.
“A kid was running around with it floating beside her before the thread broke off her yarn. I’ve been trying to retrieve it for her but she ran off when her pig escaped,” said the snake.
“What’s in it?” asked Iro.
“How would I know? It’s not mine, sssilly,” hissed the snake impatiently. “Do you want to help get it or not?”
“I can do that,” said Ee. It glided towards the chest and tugged it free from the branches. The thread around it uncoiled and drifted away with the floating balloon. Ee glided back down and handed it to the snake. The snake looked contemptuously at the ghost, hissing. “How am I ssuppose to hold that without handss, geniusss?”
Ee blinked. “Oh,” it said, passing the chest to Iro instead. Iro looked at the box now in his arms.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” asked Iro.
“Well, it’sss back down now, ssso no longer my problem,” said the snake, slithering off into the forest. Right before it disappeared between the trees, it turned around and called back, “By the way, red-headed sssilly, your fangsss show when you’re terrified.”
Iro blinked in shock. “I have fangs?!”
Right on cue, thunder sounded. Iro looked up and noticed dark clouds fast approaching. When he looked back down, the snake was gone.
“Great. A smart-mouthed snake and a storm incoming with no nearby shelter AND I find out I have fangs, this day keeps getting better. I wish I’ve never left home in the first place,” groaned Iro.
“I can help,” offered Ee.
“Oh, no, you don’t. The last few times you ‘helped’, I almost got killed!” said Iro angrily.
“I know where I’m headed this time, trust me,” said Ee, starting to glow.
“No! Wai-!”
“Oof!” Iro staggered, clutching the chest tightly. Getting his bearings back, he immediately checked where he’s landed. He seems to be in a small alley in between stone houses. Distantly, he could smell the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread and hay.
“Welcome to Midtown,” said a voice directly behind Iro.
Iro jumped and turned around. “Would you please stop doing that! And must you always come with me when you port?”
“Yes,” said Ee, its blank face looking steadily at Iro. Iro groaned.
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