To The Underworld
Grundy awoke in the morning when someone tapped his shoulder. "Uhh?" he said groggily. He opened his eyes slowly, and the sun burned them. Slowly, they refocused, and he saw Lyndsey standing over him, Day and Night not too far off. Guinever was still sleeping, looking cute as ever. "Wassa matter, frogface?" he muttered.
"We need to, um…well, we need to…" Lyndsey stuttered.
"We have to…" Day started, shifting uncomfortably. Blinking, Grundy got the message.
"Over there," he said. "Use the toilet-trees." The girls ran off, and he sighed. It was a brand new day, but Grundy wasn't ready to start it. Sure, he was a Companion in the game, but this wasn't really like the game anymore. He was now traveling with three sorceresses! Speaking of them…
"Ahh, much better," Day sighed. "Now all we need is some breakfast to get us going!"
"I can get that for us!" Night said. Suddenly a few pies appeared, and some fresh fruit, and milk pods from milkweed.
Everyone ate, including Grundy and Guinever, who had decided to rise for the occasion. It was a good meal. When they were done, they sat in an awkward silence.
"Well…what should we do now?" Day asked, breaking the silence.
"I dunno," Lyndsey answered. "I guess we wait for the demon X(A)(N)th to summon us."
"Wait, did you say X(A)(N)th ? I thought it was (X)(A)Nth!" Night said, confused.
"No, it's X(A)(N)th," Lyndsey answered. "We must have had a miss-spell on us yesterday, which cause his name to be misspelled."
"Oh," said Night.
"How long do you think it'll take for him to summon us?" Day asked. "I hate to wait around all day."
"And it could very well take all day. I'm sure the demon really has more important things to do than talk to us. In fact, I wonder why he wants to talk to us at all?" Lyndsey said. She looked thoughtful.
"Maybe we could…you know…go see our parents. I was thinking about it before, and…well, maybe it would be a good idea," Day said hesitantly. She looked around, waiting hopefully for approval.
"Oh, I think that's a great idea!" Lyndsey said.
"Yeah, it would be good to see our old Mom and Dad!" Night said enthusiastically.
"I don't know…" Grundy started. But as always, it didn't matter what he thought.
Day smiled, happy that her idea had gone over well. "I guess we should freshen up a bit first. I don't know about you guys, but my clothes are starting to smell a little funky." The others nodded, except for Grundy, who was confused again. Funky?
"Grundy, do you know where there's a stream, and some new clothes?" Night asked.
"Oh, sure," Grundy replied. He was still a bit dazed by some of the language, but he understood it well enough, not speaking really proper Xanthian himself. He used to be a lot more crude, until he fell in love with and married Rapunzel. "There's a stream just a little down the path. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to walk there."
The girls looked stricken. "Well, if you don't mind, I think maybe I'll just use my talent to transport us there," Day said. "I think we're all anxious to get cleaned up." The other girls nodded.
"Alright," Grundy said. "But I was wondering one thing. If, when you left Xanth, you could only move yourself, and Night could only move small objects, then how are you so advanced now? There's no magic in Mundania." Poor Grundy always had something to be confused about around these two.
"Oh, that's simple enough to explain. You see, we always knew we had talents. We never forgot. So, we studied all the Mundane magic we could. There's a lot more than you think. They have false-Magicians, but the concept is still there. And they have something called science, which we also studied. Neither of us really liked it, but we knew we should," Day explained. "So when we got back to Xanth, we just applied those concepts to our magic, and it worked great!" She smiled.
"Yeah, our studying paid off!" Night said. She was smiling too. Obviously they were both pleased with themselves.
"That makes sense," Grundy said. He wasn't sure if it really did, but he thought the best thing to do would be to agree.
"It sure does," Day said. "Now let's get going!" She lifted her arm up, and suddenly- Grundy blinked. He was in a different place.
"You do that so fast!" he exclaimed. "All I did was close my eyes, and we were here!"
Day, perhaps re-learning some of the Xanth style, bowed her head, blushed, and said, "Thank you."
"Hey, there's the stream!" Lyndsey said excitedly, running towards it. Guinever toddled behind her.
"Let's go!" Night called, already following. Day ran to keep up. Grundy stayed behind.
The three girls, and one penguin/elf crossbreed reached the stream. Eager to get in, they didn't even remove their clothing. They simply jumped in, and started splashing each other. The giggles carried all the way over to Grundy, who was sitting down again. When they were all thoroughly splashed, they got out. Drenched, the walked slowly over to Grundy.
"Did you have fun?" Grundy asked, mockingly.
"Haha…we could use those clothes, now," Day said. All of their clothes were plastered to their skin.
"Well, there's the clothing tree. Help yourselves," Grundy said, gesturing beside him. The girls looked up, surprised.
"Oh, cool!" Day exclaimed.
"I forgot that the clothes grow on trees!" Night said.
"That's so neat!" Lyndsey added. Guinever jumped up and down beside her, sharing in the excitement. They all chose an article or two (or three), of clothing, and found a tree to change behind. This took a little bit of time, as wet clothes are difficult to remove. But the end result was worthwhile.
Grundy blinked. He could barely believe he was seeing the same girls. Where before stood two tom-boy style girls, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and one girl in a tattered, ragged dress, now stood three regal-looking young women.
Day was garbed in a pale blue dress, quite the same colour as her eyes. It had a bright golden-yellow ribbon tied around the waist, which caused the dress to pinch in there, and billow out at the bottom, and be just loose enough at the top. It had the same golden colour around the neck, arms, and hem. Her shoes were a slighter darker blue colour. And she had tied her golden-yellow hair back with a blue tie, too. Grundy liked the effect.
Night, in contrast, was wearing a dark blue dress. It was exactly the same as Day's in every detail, except for the colour. Where Day's was light blue, Nights was a rich, deep blue colour, and where Day's was golden, Nights was silver. But it had all the same contours. And Nights hair was a bit different, as she had used a ribbon to pile it up on her head. Some of it was falling out, making little wisps of hair framing her face. Grundy liked that effect, too.
Next he looked at Lyndsey, who wasn't following suit of the two other girls. She hadn't picked a dress the same colour as her eyes. Instead, she was wearing an amber dress, that was lined with violet. It was much the same as the other two, except that where Night's and Day's had a rounded, lower cut neck, Lyndsey's had an attractive bib neck. The colour effectively intensified her looks, nicely bringing out her violet eyes. In fact, Grundy would swear that they were ultraviolet. She had also done her hair in a braid, and it was quite nice, if Grundy could say so himself. But being a married man, he couldn't.
"Ahhh, I feel so much better now," Day sighed.
"Me too!" Night said similarly.
"I feel the most better!" Lyndsey exclaimed. They all laughed. Even Guinever was donning a little blue bow on his ear. Everyone seemed to be looking better. While the girls were changing, Grundy himself had also changed, but his clothes weren't exciting. Just ordinary brown trousers and a shirt. He was clean- that was enough.
"So, where to know?" Day asked.
"I think we should go to Lyndsey's parents first," Night suggested. "She's been gone longer."
"That makes sense," Day agreed. "So, you wanna go there, Lyndsey?" she asked.
Lyndsey looked pensive. "Yah. I guess it's time." Day and Night understood her hesitation. After so many years, it was hard to go back. But it had to be done.
Mya raised her arm to transport them all to the village, when she felt her talent being overpowered. When she and the others blinked, they were in a huge cave. Looking around, they felt the presence of X(A)(N)th. They had been summoned!
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Grundy awoke in the morning when someone tapped his shoulder. "Uhh?" he said groggily. He opened his eyes slowly, and the sun burned them. Slowly, they refocused, and he saw Lyndsey standing over him, Day and Night not too far off. Guinever was still sleeping, looking cute as ever. "Wassa matter, frogface?" he muttered.
"We need to, um…well, we need to…" Lyndsey stuttered.
"We have to…" Day started, shifting uncomfortably. Blinking, Grundy got the message.
"Over there," he said. "Use the toilet-trees." The girls ran off, and he sighed. It was a brand new day, but Grundy wasn't ready to start it. Sure, he was a Companion in the game, but this wasn't really like the game anymore. He was now traveling with three sorceresses! Speaking of them…
"Ahh, much better," Day sighed. "Now all we need is some breakfast to get us going!"
"I can get that for us!" Night said. Suddenly a few pies appeared, and some fresh fruit, and milk pods from milkweed.
Everyone ate, including Grundy and Guinever, who had decided to rise for the occasion. It was a good meal. When they were done, they sat in an awkward silence.
"Well…what should we do now?" Day asked, breaking the silence.
"I dunno," Lyndsey answered. "I guess we wait for the demon X(A)(N)th to summon us."
"Wait, did you say X(A)(N)th ? I thought it was (X)(A)Nth!" Night said, confused.
"No, it's X(A)(N)th," Lyndsey answered. "We must have had a miss-spell on us yesterday, which cause his name to be misspelled."
"Oh," said Night.
"How long do you think it'll take for him to summon us?" Day asked. "I hate to wait around all day."
"And it could very well take all day. I'm sure the demon really has more important things to do than talk to us. In fact, I wonder why he wants to talk to us at all?" Lyndsey said. She looked thoughtful.
"Maybe we could…you know…go see our parents. I was thinking about it before, and…well, maybe it would be a good idea," Day said hesitantly. She looked around, waiting hopefully for approval.
"Oh, I think that's a great idea!" Lyndsey said.
"Yeah, it would be good to see our old Mom and Dad!" Night said enthusiastically.
"I don't know…" Grundy started. But as always, it didn't matter what he thought.
Day smiled, happy that her idea had gone over well. "I guess we should freshen up a bit first. I don't know about you guys, but my clothes are starting to smell a little funky." The others nodded, except for Grundy, who was confused again. Funky?
"Grundy, do you know where there's a stream, and some new clothes?" Night asked.
"Oh, sure," Grundy replied. He was still a bit dazed by some of the language, but he understood it well enough, not speaking really proper Xanthian himself. He used to be a lot more crude, until he fell in love with and married Rapunzel. "There's a stream just a little down the path. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to walk there."
The girls looked stricken. "Well, if you don't mind, I think maybe I'll just use my talent to transport us there," Day said. "I think we're all anxious to get cleaned up." The other girls nodded.
"Alright," Grundy said. "But I was wondering one thing. If, when you left Xanth, you could only move yourself, and Night could only move small objects, then how are you so advanced now? There's no magic in Mundania." Poor Grundy always had something to be confused about around these two.
"Oh, that's simple enough to explain. You see, we always knew we had talents. We never forgot. So, we studied all the Mundane magic we could. There's a lot more than you think. They have false-Magicians, but the concept is still there. And they have something called science, which we also studied. Neither of us really liked it, but we knew we should," Day explained. "So when we got back to Xanth, we just applied those concepts to our magic, and it worked great!" She smiled.
"Yeah, our studying paid off!" Night said. She was smiling too. Obviously they were both pleased with themselves.
"That makes sense," Grundy said. He wasn't sure if it really did, but he thought the best thing to do would be to agree.
"It sure does," Day said. "Now let's get going!" She lifted her arm up, and suddenly- Grundy blinked. He was in a different place.
"You do that so fast!" he exclaimed. "All I did was close my eyes, and we were here!"
Day, perhaps re-learning some of the Xanth style, bowed her head, blushed, and said, "Thank you."
"Hey, there's the stream!" Lyndsey said excitedly, running towards it. Guinever toddled behind her.
"Let's go!" Night called, already following. Day ran to keep up. Grundy stayed behind.
The three girls, and one penguin/elf crossbreed reached the stream. Eager to get in, they didn't even remove their clothing. They simply jumped in, and started splashing each other. The giggles carried all the way over to Grundy, who was sitting down again. When they were all thoroughly splashed, they got out. Drenched, the walked slowly over to Grundy.
"Did you have fun?" Grundy asked, mockingly.
"Haha…we could use those clothes, now," Day said. All of their clothes were plastered to their skin.
"Well, there's the clothing tree. Help yourselves," Grundy said, gesturing beside him. The girls looked up, surprised.
"Oh, cool!" Day exclaimed.
"I forgot that the clothes grow on trees!" Night said.
"That's so neat!" Lyndsey added. Guinever jumped up and down beside her, sharing in the excitement. They all chose an article or two (or three), of clothing, and found a tree to change behind. This took a little bit of time, as wet clothes are difficult to remove. But the end result was worthwhile.
Grundy blinked. He could barely believe he was seeing the same girls. Where before stood two tom-boy style girls, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and one girl in a tattered, ragged dress, now stood three regal-looking young women.
Day was garbed in a pale blue dress, quite the same colour as her eyes. It had a bright golden-yellow ribbon tied around the waist, which caused the dress to pinch in there, and billow out at the bottom, and be just loose enough at the top. It had the same golden colour around the neck, arms, and hem. Her shoes were a slighter darker blue colour. And she had tied her golden-yellow hair back with a blue tie, too. Grundy liked the effect.
Night, in contrast, was wearing a dark blue dress. It was exactly the same as Day's in every detail, except for the colour. Where Day's was light blue, Nights was a rich, deep blue colour, and where Day's was golden, Nights was silver. But it had all the same contours. And Nights hair was a bit different, as she had used a ribbon to pile it up on her head. Some of it was falling out, making little wisps of hair framing her face. Grundy liked that effect, too.
Next he looked at Lyndsey, who wasn't following suit of the two other girls. She hadn't picked a dress the same colour as her eyes. Instead, she was wearing an amber dress, that was lined with violet. It was much the same as the other two, except that where Night's and Day's had a rounded, lower cut neck, Lyndsey's had an attractive bib neck. The colour effectively intensified her looks, nicely bringing out her violet eyes. In fact, Grundy would swear that they were ultraviolet. She had also done her hair in a braid, and it was quite nice, if Grundy could say so himself. But being a married man, he couldn't.
"Ahhh, I feel so much better now," Day sighed.
"Me too!" Night said similarly.
"I feel the most better!" Lyndsey exclaimed. They all laughed. Even Guinever was donning a little blue bow on his ear. Everyone seemed to be looking better. While the girls were changing, Grundy himself had also changed, but his clothes weren't exciting. Just ordinary brown trousers and a shirt. He was clean- that was enough.
"So, where to know?" Day asked.
"I think we should go to Lyndsey's parents first," Night suggested. "She's been gone longer."
"That makes sense," Day agreed. "So, you wanna go there, Lyndsey?" she asked.
Lyndsey looked pensive. "Yah. I guess it's time." Day and Night understood her hesitation. After so many years, it was hard to go back. But it had to be done.
Mya raised her arm to transport them all to the village, when she felt her talent being overpowered. When she and the others blinked, they were in a huge cave. Looking around, they felt the presence of X(A)(N)th. They had been summoned!
************************************************************