Unicorn Lost

Presents

A	pallid hush had fallen over the companions as they neared the top of the canyon.

Still well below the timberline, the canyon's stones were bleak and devoid of life. Their walls failed to show the striated reds and oranges of a slot canyon, stripped lifeless by frequent flash floods. Even the biting black flies, which should have been swarming around such a delightfully fleshy meal, were noticeably absent.

Whispering and somewhat dazed, Kathy turned back to face the group she led. "We must be near the castle. I can hardly move; my alicorn is so heavy."

Florence nodded, the light taken completely out of her step and the shine in her eyes replaced by despair. The despair was mirrored in the eyes of each member of the rag-tag group. As they turned a final bend, the canyon opened out into a shallow valley at the top of the mountains. Trees had once blossomed here, and life had flourished between them. All that remained in testament were piles of bleached, naked bones, burnt stumps and the hulking skeletons of once mighty lodgepoles.

A stench of evil, not quite identifiable as any particular smell though, strongly suggestive of rot and decay, offended the noses of each group member. Its source was clear though; in the center of this desolation, so high that it stabbed into a ring of dark menacing clouds, stood the giant's castle. The sinister towers twisted and loomed upward. From the center of the dense tangle, three great spires shot up into the clouds, ringed with turreted balconies, daring any who entered the valley to attempt to reach the gates unnoticed, and unharmed.

Yet that was exactly what the adventurers must do. Their desire to speak even of revulson oppressed by the deadly evil hovering over the valley; they silently lurched forward, doing their best to keep fallen trunks between themselves and the fortress beyond.

After a half hour, Kamida managed a cry of relief; a narrow ravine cut through the deadly wasteland, its lower reaches hidden from view by the remains of dense brambles. An oily stream ran through the center, but it seemed passable. The others greatfully followed her into the trench and folowed its course onward to the center of the valley.

Finding no relief from the sense of evil, they pressed onward, hardly noticing the accumulation of crystaline butterflie descending from the brambles to light weightlessly on their heads. As the crystal insects accumulated, the party fell into dreamstates where their reality was twisted by the false memories. Each cursed butterfly creating a series of nightmares to infect the minds of its victim.

When they finally crawled out of the ravine, each member of the group believed herself so deeply wronged by the others that a hatred had grown between them. Olivia was the first to react. She turned to Florence, plodding on her left, and slapped her. "You would dare tell us you want to rescue the White Pony, when you enslaved it like you have?"

Florence, shocked at what she knew must be a lie, deflected the blow by blaring back, "Why are you worried about me? It's Kathy we should be afraid of! She's no Unicorn, but a Basilisk in disguise!"

Immediately, the fellowship decayed into a mob, each member screaming of obscene acts. The hatred and bile dripping between them.

Every member except Pence, who remained untouched and unaffected by the butterflies. The Dragonlet had been staring at the castle gate just beyond the end of the ravine. Suddenly aware of the corrupting infestation, he reached into his magical haversack and pulled out a small wire cage. Inside lay a hungry-looking blue gecko. He opened the cage and held it near a particularly low hanging bramble. At once the gecko shot out of the cage and darted up the branch. The purple butterflies flitting about the group were drawn to the gecko, who began to devour them without inhibition.

"If we make it out of this," promised Pence, "I'll give you a good, strong beer to wash them all down, my magical amphibian friend." Indeed he was magical, for no matter that he had already eaten more butterflies than his body should be able to hold, his appetite for them was yet unquenched.

As the butterflies disappeared into the gecko's gullet, the group roused themselves from their enchantment, stunned that they could say such evil things of each other; and more than one carrying bruises or scratch marks.

"Now is not the time," Pence said, putting the Marmoe Gecko away, "to try and undo what was said. We will have time later to smash pottery jars and heal hearts. For now, we must set aside false insults and work on the gates. Your true memories are restored and we must advance. The noise of your fight was sure to alert some dark minion!"

-page oo59-
written by Tora Kiyoshi

Copyright and Credit:
  · Florence from "Freefall" © Mark Stanley.
  · Magic Gardener © Hortmage.
  · Jeanette © Jeanette Isabelle.
  · Kathy from "Carry On" © Kathy Garrison.
  · Kamida © Guest #1.
  · ToraKiyoshi - Writer.
  · Tiger_T. - Writer.
  · White Pony from "Cross Time Cafe" © S.Kidwell.
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