Klarion and Greta: On the Darkside, chapter 9: A Little Help

Jason Blood looked at Klarion. "Back there on the ship. You spoke like you knew how to make necronium. Do you?"

"Erm, sort of. I know the process, yes, but I can't do it alone. I'd need help." He brightened. "And, it just so happens, I know exactly where to go to get it."

…..

In LimboTown, Beulah Bleak heard a knocking on the door. "I'll get it, Mother." But the sight that met her eyes momentarily stunned her. Then, "Mother! Klarion's back!" And she took a quick glance at Greta's exposed knees. "And he's brought some harlot from Blue Rafters with him! Do you want to get the switch, or should I?"

Greta turned to Klarion, hands on her hips. "What did she call me?"

Klarion sighed. Yes, he was most definitely home.

…..

Over dinner, which Mrs. Bleak had been kind enough to offer them, they went over their recent adventures. Beulah kept sneaking glances at Greta, as though trying to catch her in some ungodly act. It was beginning to get on the latter's nerves. "So you see, Mother, why I'm here. I need to get Blacksmith Zechariah's help to make this necronium. We don't have any information on the Taker, so time is of the essence."

"Hm. Old Zechariah's been getting along in years. It shan't be long before he goes to the Grundy fields himself. He's been training an apprentice, young Uriah…."

"Oh, no. Not him. Not the same one who followed me to Blue Rafters, is it?"

"I'm afraid so. You may have some difficulty persuading him to help you. You two do have a history, as the saying goes. Anyway, for now, everyone eat up. You'll need to keep up your strength."

After dinner the adults sat around the living room, while Greta, Klarion, and Beulah shared an uneasy silence in the dining room. Beulah sewed, but kept making snarky remarks to Klarion about his posture, mannerisms, and pretty much everything else. By the way she cut her eyes at Greta, it was clear she regarded the Blue Rafters harlot as being the cause of the downfall of her little brother.

Finally, Greta got up and marched over to where she was sitting. "Miss Beulah, correct me if I'm wrong—"

"Which you probably are," muttered Beulah.

"—but don't you have to recite a spell properly, with proper pronunciation, in order for it to work, as intended?"

"That's correct. Your point?"

Greta stuck her face in Beulah's, and looked her in the eye. "So if I dislocated your jaw, you'd not be able to cast any spells, would you?"

For a moment, Beulah ceased her sewing and gazed at Greta with wide eyes. Then she smiled. "Croatoan be praised. I was afraid he'd brought home some weak thing with no spirit. You'll do, after all." After that, the talk became much more civil.

The next day, the four went to the blacksmith's. Just outside, Greta turned to Klarion. "Klarion, do you trust me?"

He looked surprised. "Of course. Er, why do you ask?"

"Just….let me deal with this Uriah, okay? Mr. Blood and I will have a talk with him and Zechariah. You and Miss Stephanie just….kinda make yourselves scarce."

"Greta, I—"

She put her fingers to his lips. "Sh. You trust me, remember? Just let me handle this Uriah, okay?"

"O-okay. Stephanie? Maybe we could visit the bonding tree. We should be able to get across the Grundy fields now, I understand no-one's been buried there for weeks.."

Jason Blood accompanied Greta to the blacksmith's shop. Old Zechariah was indeed old, and becoming more feeble, but a lifetime of hammering iron tends to build one up. He conferred with the two. "Hm. So you need necronium, do you? That's bad business indeed. How do you propose to use it? I've heard of this 'Taker'; it's spoken of in our Book of Shadows, and I agree, necronium may be the only thing to give it indigestion."

"We're working up a delivery system. I understand it tends to sap any energy field, correct? So maybe someway of launching it by sheer ballistic force might be our only means."

"Well, first things first. The making of necronium is not without certain hazards. Let me confer with my apprentice. Uriah! Come in here."

In came a tall young man with impressive shoulders. "Yes, master?" He caught sight of the two upworlders. "Hm. You must be Klarion's friends. Tell me, has he wrecked anyone's plans lately? I don't think he can sleep at night without causing at least a little property damage."

Greta ignored it. "Ooo. Klarion…didn't tell me you were such a….handsome…young man, Master Uriah." Jason looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Uriah puffed up a bit under Greta's praise, slicking his hair back, which had become tousled from working. "Well, I've grown a bit since Klarion and I met, way back when. He certainly has never told me anything about you. As you probably know, we don't exactly get along very well."

"I've heard. But I've also heard you may be the only one who can help us with this project of ours." And she filled him in on the Taker, and the latest of their adventures. "So, you see, we need some necronium. Can you help us?" She gave him a pleading look, eyes wide, crossing her legs.

"Hm. Necronium. Dangerous substance, that. Very dangerous. It normally involves utilizing necromancy, death magic, since nothing can touch it and live. It," he cleared his throat, "would be rather costly."

Greta smiled. "Yes. Let's discuss cost. Mr. Blood? Can you give Master Zechariah the details? I'd really like it if this fine young man were to show me around his master's shop. I've never been to a blacksmith's before; we don't have them in Blue Rafters, you know, not the same way. I'd be fascinated to see what you do here." And she led him out into the working area itself.

Jason Blood smiled. Women had their own magic, and usually men were powerless against it. But he hoped she wouldn't go too far….

Meanwhile, at the bonding tree, Stephanie was learning about how familiars were "born." The process had to do with imparting a small bit of blood to the tree, which in turn produced a bloom. Once the bloom blossomed and broke open, out came the familiar. "Here, Stephanie, wouldn't you like your own familiar?" Klarion was guiding her hand towards a sharp thornlike extrusion on the tree.

"Uh, Klarion, I'm not sure I—ow!" He'd pricked her finger on the thorn, with immediately soaked up the blood, and, in rapid time, like a time-lapse movie, produced a large pink bloom. "Uh, Klarion? What have you done this time? Is this gonna, like, hurt me or something? Turn me into a witch-woman or something?"

"Well, not unless you want it to. Our personal draagas are bonded to us; only death can break that bond. They're the focus of our magic, but if you don't use magic, I imagine it's kind of a moot point. Just think of it as having a friend for life. Not a pet; draagas are not pets. They're equals. Hm." He watched the sequence, the eggplant-like bloom getting bigger and bigger with each passing second. "You know, I don't know exactly what's in season this year. Guess we'll find out soon enough." He looked worried. "Stephanie, I'm concerned."

"About what?"

"Greta. I hope she's not…..you know…..getting in over her head, as the saying goes. I mean, I rather got the idea that she intended to sort of persuade Uriah; hence her reason for wanting me gone. And I guess I worry about that."

He was so cute when he was jealous. "Klarion, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Greta's grown up a lot lately; I guess she's had to. And she knows enough not to give Uriah any sort of leverage on her, like a lock of her hair or something. I've seen the way she looks at you, too. I don't say everything's going to be a bed of roses from now on or anything, but I think, at least for now, she knows where her heart lies."

He sighed. "I hope so." Then he brightened as the pod grew to what was obviously its full size. "Well, we'll soon see what sort of familiar you'll have."

The pod grew to about a foot and a half in diameter. Small cracks appeared around the gourd-like pod; this was followed by the pod simply breaking and opening up, to reveal….

Nothing. There was nothing inside the pod.

Klarion moved closer for a better look. "Hm. That's strange. Stephanie? Do you feel anything?"

"No….maybe it didn't work?" She'd unconsciously been somewhat excited about getting her very own familiar, and was now feeling something of a let-down.

And yet…..there was something….

Klarion was moving his hands in ritual gestures, all the while muttering something under his breath. She couldn't quite hear him. Which was just as well; some of the words she was able to catch hurt her head. "Well, it worked, all right. But I've never heard of this happening."

"Why? What's happened?"

"Your familiar, Stephanie, is invisible. Or maybe that's the wrong word. I think….I think it's visible, but, but….hm." He frowned and thought for a moment. Then, "I think it may be a color the human eye can't perceive. That is unusual. Well, in any case, try seeing through its eyes."

"How?"

"Just close your eyes and concentrate. It ought to come naturally." She did, and was surprised by the images that cascaded through her mind. She could see herself, and Klarion, but from a perspective of only a few inches off the ground. It was like nightvision; she…no, it…could see in the infrared range.

But what sort of creature was it? A cat, dog, bird? She couldn't tell. She could see through its eyes, and sense what it smelled and heard, but about it itself, she couldn't make out any details. It seemed to be about the size of Teekl, or a large rabbit. "Well, this is, as you say, unusual, Klarion. At least I won't have to explain it to my landlord. I've got a 'no pets' clause in my lease, but I don't have to explain what he can't see." She smiled.

Klarion grinned. "Why, Miss Stephanie. We'll make a proper Lord of Chaos out of you, after all."

…..

To be continued