AQW Fanfic Chapter 4: Cysero

Cysero bounded out of his Forge, dashed around the fountain in Battleon Square, then down the street and into the Inn. "Mornin' Yulgar!" he called.

The Inn's owner turned from the smoothie-bar to him, smiling a greeting under his beard. "The same to you, Cysero. Do you have my order?"

"Yeah," Cysero replied, as he reached into a pouch, made of a sock, on his belt, then placed half a dozen Chicken Cow eggs on the bar. Yulgar hesitated, eyeing the sock-pouch, before handing the eggs to Serenity, the Inn's pretty blonde waitress.

"Here's your promised payment." Yulgar gave him a trio of his famous moglinberry smoothies in to-go cups before they said goodbye, and Cysero continued on towards his destination.

He burst into the Magic Shoppe with a grin and a "Heya Warlic!"

"You forgot to knock, Cysero," the Archmage intoned, without looking up from his scroll.

"Well, you know I'm here now, anyways."

"I would've never noticed," Warlic replied dryly as Cysero kicked the door shut, but when the Blue Mage turned to face the Mad Weapon Smith and saw the smoothies he carried, his purple eyes lit up. "Ooh..."

Cysero laughed, "They're Yulgar's, not mine, so no Chicken-Cow eggs in 'em!" He handed one to Warlic, then sat down in a chair to slurp his, placing the remaining smoothie on a table. Warlic gestured to it, beginning to say "Is that one for--?"

"Hi Fledge!" Cysero interrupted, greeting the sleepy Celestial Angel standing in the hall, barefoot and clad in a loose blue-gray tunic with black leggings, running her hand through messy light brown hair. "How does breakfast sound?" he asked.

She shrugged, then settled herself in an armchair near Warlic. "Mornin’," she greeted them. She turned to Cysero. “Please remind me of your name? I can remember a face, but names are harder.”

“No problem; I’m Cysero, the Mad Weapon Smith,” he replied, then took another slurp of his smoothie. Yum, Yulgar did a good job with these!

Warlic handed the remaining smoothie to Fledge, saying “Here, this one is yours.”

She curiously examined it. “What is it?”

“Moglinberry breakfast smoothie. Trust me, it’s amazing!” Cysero grinned.

She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “What’s a moglinberry?”

Warlic answered, “It’s a berry of magenta color that grows on forest shrubs; they’re called moglinberries because they’re easy for moglins to gather, since the shrubs are small.”

“What’s a mog--” Cysero cut Fledge off as he stuffed the smoothie’s straw into her mouth. “--Gaahhh!!!!” She took a small sip; her expression became blissful. “Mmm…”

“You’re welcome,” Cysero laughed.

Warlic allowed himself a slight chuckle, then said to his fellow mage, “It’s time we start working on the matter at hand, Cysero.”

Cysero looked back and forth at his right and left hands. “Which one?”

Warlic stood with a sigh, then elaborated, “Creating a portal to Maxifrey.”

An hour and a half later, Cysero was sitting on the floor of the Magic Shoppe, staring at this pile of socks. He had reorganized their magic to aid in teleportation spells, although they’d still retain their random abilities. Warlic was at his desk, inscribing another spellscroll to add to the stack he and Cysero would have to test. Fledge and Jimmy perched on the shelf, watching them. “Is there something else I could do to help you both?” she asked, adjusting her ponytail.

Warlic looked up at her, responding “There’s not much else for you to do.” After considering, he added “Unless you want to bring me the Ephemeral Dust from the storage room. Cysero, will you show her where I put it, and would you bring my staff, please?”

“Sure thing,” Cysero replied, adding to Fledge, “C’mon; it’s just outside the room you sleep in.”

Fledge followed him down the hall and into the storage room. He pointed to the desired jar. “The Ephemeral Dust is the pale blue sparkly stuff on the top right of the shelf. If you’ll grab that, then I’ll get Warlic’s staff from his room, okay?”

“Okay,” agreed Fledge. Cysero went down the hall and up a short staircase to Warlic’s room. He found the jeweled staff quickly, but he realized that the room lacked its usual cleanliness; the window facing Greenguard forest was open and scrolls and books were strewn about carelessly, as if it had been searched. Nah, must’ve been the wind, Cysero shrugged, then headed downstairs.

“Hey, I’ve got the staff!” he announced as he entered the storage room, but stopped when he saw Fledge glaring icily towards him, crouched as she slowly unsheathed her talons. “Fledge?” his voice trembled.

The back of her tunic tore as her wings burst through, opening with a whoosh!!!

He turned to make an exit, yelling “Warlic, somethin’s wrong with--” but he ran into a figure in the doorway. It was another winged being like Fledge, but this one’s eyes were entirely black, horns sprouted from his head, and strange bloodstain-like tattoos covered his skin.

Cysero stood petrified, like a rabbit that had just realized the presence of the fox, until “AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” Without thinking, he held out the staff as he attempted to focus his mana, but the ensuing explosion of butterflies from the staff’s head wasn’t what he expected (even if his typical magical results were not). Simultaneously Fledge flew at the intruder with a battle-cry; he was ready for it and launched himself at her, roaring like the wind.

“CYSERO!!!!!!” Warlic came charging down the hall, undoubtedly infuriated with the explosions in the storage room. Good thing he had a ball of elemental energy in his hand, because as soon as he marched in, the intruder shifted his attacks from Fledge to Warlic, aiming a leg at the Archmage’s head.

Fledge rammed sideways into the intruder, blocking him from the mages. Both yelled at each other in a language not native to Lore, sounding like voices of air-elementals. Cysero had time to dart to Warlic and thrust the staff into his hands, saying “Happy Frostval!” Blue robes and silver hair whipping in the wind caused by the beating of two pairs of wings, Warlic held up his staff, casting a mana shield; he had to shout to be heard “Who is he and what is he doing here?!”

“I don’t know, Warlic! But I suppose you want him gone?!” Cysero yelled back as he grabbed his sock-pouch. Whispering quickly to it “The sock-gorilla is lucky enough to hold the hammer of the Mad Weapon Smith,” he then released it to run out of the room. (Of course the sock-pouch could run; how else would his sock-assembled primates move?)

Jimmy had flown in, and whacked the intruder over the head with a darkness spell. Landing briefly, the intruder cackled as he visibly grew a few inches. Fledge yelled “Not darkness spells! He’s a Fallen and that’s what his kind thrive on!” The intruder flung a magic fireball at her; she added, “That and fire!” She returned to using wind-language.

As Warlic cast light and ice offensive magic, Cysero popped a piece of gum in his mouth, then blew a giant protective bubble around themselves that would still allow them to perform spells.

Cysero's sock-gorilla appeared bearing his hammer; handing it to his master, he too joined the fight. The utilitarian mage gripped his hammer, closed his hazel eyes (yes, that’s their color), as he thought about how nice a warm cookie would be after this battle. Opening his eyes, he spat his gum onto the metal, raised his hammer, calling upon any random thing that could give mana, then burst the bubble as he hurled a blast from his hammer, striking the intruder in the stomach.

Fledge nodded gratefully, then slammed her opponent into the wall of the room with such force a few scrolls, leaves, and rocks fell off the shelves. Rendering him immobile, she ran a talon lightly down his neck, tracing his jugular as she spoke, voice still like the wind, but in the language the mages knew. “Tell me, Fallen one, what is it that brings you to Lore?”

He snarled back in the same way, “It does not concern Risen such as yourself,” he sneered, “Your Highness.”

She placed her forefinger and thumb, talons out, upon his his neck, replying “The concerns of the Infernal Realm are my own.” Her eyes narrowed.

“Of course,” he smirked. “The high and mighty Celestial Throneholder must be concerned with the Infernal plans.”

Her grip tightened, drawing blood from his neck. “Answer the question, you son of a Harpy. Why are you on Lore?”

“The Infernal Realm no longer has a Throneholder, Highness. We serve her Majesty the Queen of All Monsters now.” With a maniacal laugh, he exploded, destroying the storage room and a third of the Magic Shoppe, plus sending Fledge, Cysero, the disassembled sock-gorilla, Warlic, and Jimmy into the streets of Battleon.