Ace in the Feywild part 2 - Suit of Coin
12/31/2020 - 01/26/2021
This is part two of a five part story about Ace, Jub, and Egg and their adventures in the Feywild.
Part 3 will be start being put out on Feb 17th on my instagram.
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Thank you for supporting me~
Ace of Coin
Ace and Jub returned home and life seems to continue almost as normal. Ace is much more comfortable flying following the Sphinx's lessons and she and Jub spend an equal amount of time in the air than on the ground.
Egg is growing more accustomed to riding on Ace's shoulders when she flies, however she definitely prefers the ground and has inadvertently given Ace's shoulders quite a few claw marks during their excursions.
Ace is very happy to be home and to put her adventures behind her. Egg is rather surprised that Ace is able to act like almost nothing happened... Ace is still her happy, simple self with wings.
Though Egg can't really see a difference, Jub notices that Ace is much more daring than she used to be. He used to stop himself before telling her about one shocking or scary event or another, but now she doesn't seem to be bothered by those at all. She also seems to be less like a young child who needs his protection and looks up to him and she is stronger more like his equal. Jub finds himself trusting her on a much deeper level than before and feels like he should be indebted to Ace- despite her insisting that it was what anyone would do and never bringing it up.
One night while Ace slept, she dreamed of a dry, desolate place filled will a red haze and harsh earth. The Butterfly, who had not spoken to Ace since just after her rebirth, speaks to her now and tells her that Ace must go to the Red Court and help retrieve part of the Butterfly's stolen treasure. When Ace wakes she finds a Jar of red dust beside her and a note that says that this will be valuable where Ace is going, but not to inhale the contents.
Two of Coin
Ace wakes Egg up and tells her about her dream. Egg still doesn't know if the Butterfly is even real but agrees to come with Ace rather than let her go without Egg. The two of them get ready, deciding they only need Ace's sword, the red dust, and the map. When Ace tells Egg that they are headed to the Red Court, Egg stops still and seems to be lost in memories. Ace tries to get Egg to share what she is thinking about, but before Egg can find words, Jub comes in.
Jub notices that Ace is preparing to leave and Ace explains the dream to Jub and that she and Egg were going to go. Feeling a little shocked, Jub asks if she wasn't intending to tell him. Apologetically, Ace says that she didn't think of it, but that she supposed she should have let him know that they were leaving. Jub is still a little afronted and insists with no further discussion that he is coming with them.
Though she had originally forgot, Ace is happy Jub will be coming with.
Ace and Jub fly in the dawn sky heading east towards the Red Court. Egg rides carefully on Ace's shoulders. Egg tells them that she spent along time in the Red Court many years ago and that if they all stay together they will be alright. Egg also explains some of the tenuous politics of the Red Court, including the reigning anarchy. Supposedly there was a queen hundreds of years ago, however she was driven into isolation in her quarters after some unfortunate political fallout. No one has seen her or even knows if she's still alive. Nowadays the Red Court is simply a mass of exiles, runaways, and misfits who preferred to live without rules. Everyone in the Red Court is victim to a hopeless addiction to the red dust which is pumped into the air. Residents live in a constant state of elated stupor dancing, eating, stealing, and murdering for a stronger hit.
Three of Coin
Ace and Jub land a few hundred meters away from the Red Court's entrance, there are a few shops scattered along the side of the road. One little hovel is selling mouth pieces to filter air and Egg insists that all three of them purchase and wear one though Egg said that she might or might not wear one. On the path there were curved rock claws that grew larger the farther down the path you looked and giant ones could be seen curving cruelly over what appeared to be dark, smokey hole in the distance.
Ace and Jub don't fully understand what this was until they draw closer to the Red Court. The Red Court was sunken deep, deep into a trench with simple structures that appeared haphazardly stacked on top of each other like a young child's stack of toy blocks. There were caves and tunnels in the sides of the court and the entrance itself was simply a steep incline down into the belly of the dark city. A heavy, red haze rose from the trench and floated sickly in the air surrounding everything.
Egg reminded them to check each other's face masks before heading down into the court, reiterating that if one is not accustomed to the air that they could completely lose their minds by breathing deeply. Ace had secured Jub's mask and as Jub finished checking Ace's, Egg stared over the inclining path down towards the ground.
In the distance, Egg thought she saw something blue. Barely calling over her shoulder, Egg took off down the path after this thing that she might've seen. Ace and Jub are startled, running and calling after her, but in the unfamiliar territory they soon lose sight of Egg and find themselves alone. Well, no where near alone, but in an overwhelming environment with no one but each other who might have good intentions towards them.
Four of Coin~
Ace and Jub lose Egg in the chaos of the Red Court. Ace is drawn in by the beautiful, saturated colors. The haphazard buildings shimmer with haze and the shadows give mysterious definition to the towering architecture. At the bottom of the entrance, there was no sky to be seen, just stacked buildings rising up until they disappeared into a black-red smog. The only contrast to the red was the sickly gold lights that shown behind silks and curtains and in under merchant tarps.
Ace stares around her almost forgetting Egg as blurry figures crowd and rush around them.
Six of Coin
Egg stumbles through the street. Neither Egg's former or current ward are to be seen and Egg wonders if she's just imagining things. Dazed, it comes back to her how much she used to enjoy this place and the regretful moment all those years ago when she looked away and Ghost was gone forever.
Relief sparks at the edge of Egg's consciousness as she realizes that Ace and Jub have found her and are speaking, asking her where she went? For some reason, this is incredibly annoying at the moment and Egg snaps that she is fine and falls back into silence. She sees a worried glance between her two friends and sighs.
Egg pulls enough of her thoughts together to guide them to a familiar location where the three of them could sit and plan.
The establishment they enter has an aged sign hanging from a half-broken hook that reads, "Oysters’ Brine" in a faded green script. Egg is grateful that there are few patrons inside and hops up to a bar stool with Ace and Jub settling on either side of her. Their concerning gazes spike Egg's hair and she hunches her shoulders, focusing intensely at the counter hoping they will get the hint that she doesn't want to talk.
Perhaps the most obnoxious of the company was surprisingly not part of the party at all, but instead, was the walrus bartender who inserted himself into their presence and continued to rattle off about shoes and ships and sealing wax with hardly a care in the world to the polite nods Ace gave him or the awkward turning away the Jub attempted to use to disengage with this inebriated server. Gus offered them some of the house blend brewery to which he poured and promptly drank both cups before setting them in front of the confused onlookers. Ace tries to ask after the Red Queen, wondering if the walrus might be able to point them in her direction. However, Gus stares at her blankly for a few moments before replying that no one has seen or heard of Leo for years and lets out a reverberating belch. Following this poor demonstration of host manship, Gus hiccupped something about either cabbage (or Kings, no one could really tell) and slumps over a barrel keg.
With this Ace looks back to Jub who is still taking in the concerning image of Egg hunched over in her stool looking distant and defeated. Unsure of what to do, Ace goes to remove the buckles of her mask, but a hiss from Egg stops her.
Egg explains, in a voice very distinct from her sharp, confident tone, that even though they are inside with much less red dust in the air, there are unscrupulous pushers that hire runners of sorts who will blow fistfuls of concentrated red dust into the face of newcomers to raise the rate of addiction to the drug and increase the sales for their product.
With this concerning new information, Jub tests the security of his mask and Ace hesitantly reaches out to comfort Egg.
Seven of Coin
From a door in the far-back corner, a gray figure gracefully approaches the walrus and leans close to whisper something in his ear, keeping her big black eyes fixed on the three at the bar.
Egg is the first to notice the flit of blue behind the counter and her stance immediately shifts to alert and intense, her eyes fixed on Ghost as though they might fade away into the walls. This change causes the other two to jump slightly and they follow Egg's look to the small gray-blue creature who finishes her converse with Gus and smiles at them. Speaking in a airy, matter-a-fact voice, she says that the Carpenter would like to help them out and that if they would like a visit to the Red Court free of any unwelcome trouble, that they should follow her.
Eight of Coin
Ace and Jub's first thought was to think why this newcomer's presence had incited such a reaction from Egg. However, the teal-haired's words had ushered in an army of new concerns each hoping to be louder than the last.
Egg showed little to no hesitation when the small figure turned and headed towards the back of the bar and so Ace and Jub followed cautiously, Jub positioning himself in a protective way besides Ace, and both of them prepared to run for the door if anything unpleasant happened.
The back room was longer than the bar with a blacksmith's furnace and a strange array of hammers and saws along the walls and dim floors. There was a shadowed gathering of wooden boxes and barrels back behind a desk with two candles on it and the three guests stood on a red carpet that led to the figure sitting confidently behind the desk, his gloved hands folded in front of him and welcoming them like a shark might welcome a school of fish.
This lanky man introduced himself as the Carpenter and explained himself as a seller and procurer of information. As part of his job, he was aware that the three of them were new to the Red Court and had brought with them something that was of great value to him. "See," he went on, "not only do I gather and sell information, I also keep tabs on all of our most valuable product, red dust. Now, I am sure that you are aware as evidenced by your face gear, that you are aware of the value and potential harm this may cause. So I would like to offer you a trade..." The Carpenter offers them the Red Queen's current location in exchange for the red dust Ace carries from the Butterfly.
Ace is immediately grateful and begins to agree- however Jub cuts her off and bravely questions the Carpenter whether or not he can be trusted and isn't simply leading them on.
The Carpenter's milky green eyes narrow and a carved smile spreads his lips as he asks, barely audibly, what Jub would consider a mutual trade.
Nine of Coin
Jub is caught off by this question and stammers quickly that he wants proof that the Carpenter knows where the Red Queen can be found and a guide to her location.
A silence hangs in the air and Jub shifts apprehensively while the Carpenter stares mercilessly at him. Suddenly the silence is broken by a barking laugh from the Carpenter as he agrees and motions for Ghost to collect the jar from Ace. As Ghost comes and then disappears beyond the room, Egg hardly hears anything as her eyes follow Ghost until she is gone.
The Carpenter assures Jub and Ace that he can show you where Leo is at that very moment and that Ghost will see that they get to her location successfully. He also offers them a small vial of “prinately packed” red dust as a show of good faith and motions for the three of them to approach his desk and he begins to weave a scrying spell as Ace and Jub look on nervously.
Egg doesn't watch with them and instead trains her eyes to the place Ghost disappeared and listens to the faint sounds of Ghost laughing and tripping over some audibly breakable objects.
Ten of Coin
Ace and Jub see the Red Queen. Her surroundings are blurry but there is a bright case behind her that Ace assumes must be the treasure the Butterfly wants retrieved for her.
Jub is surprised by the appearance of the queen... She does not look grand or royal, or anything else you might assume of a queen. Her outfit seems to clash between a leather chest piece and a silk maroon skirt that appears torn to its current length. Lonely might be the best word to describe her, Jub thought. Her posture was despondent as as they look on, Leo lifts her head up and a tear seems to fight its way down her cheek.
Page of Coin
As per the agreement, the Carpenter calls Ghost out of the backroom again and she escorts them through the Red Court to the Queen's castle. Much like the vision of Leo from earlier, her castle looks much the same. The entire place looks overrun and unkempt. Some of the towers are collapsed and pictures that may have been on the walls were fallen or frames were torn over the walkway.
Some creatures were passed out here and there and they appeared to be squatters and trespassers rather than courtiers, but they didn't seem worried and there wasn't anyone of authority to move them along.
As Ghost leads them on, Egg struggles between wanting to talk to her and the self-conscious fear of confronting her failure as a protector.
The three follow their guide deep into the recesses of the palace where the scarce inhabitants became even fewer and desertion was more prominent than destruction. Finally, they turn down a corridor with a great circular door at the end. Scrolled up and down the walls were carved and sloppily painted warnings to stay away and keep out. However, Ghost lead them straight up to the door and presented it to them as their destination.
Ace makes Egg jump as she lightly pushes her towards Ghost. Ghost looks back to Ace but her friend urges her to go on and says she can tell Egg has something to say to their blue friend. Egg knows that Ace couldn't possibly know who Ghost was to Egg and rebukes herself for being so readable to Ace as she slowly approaches her old apprentice.
Jub looks on with Ace as Ghost and Egg share some quiet words. He looks to Ace and asks what they were discussing. Ace continues to watch the pair, shrugs, smiling, and says simply that she doesn't know, but that she knew Egg needed to say something to Ghost. Ace reminds Jub that Egg has been to this court before so maybe Ghost was an old acquaintance. Jub assumes they must've had a falling out that Egg must feel the need to make right and silently joins Ace in observing their friend from afar.
Knight of Coin
Ghost leaves them and the three enter the red door.
They find the Queen in a guarded position in front of a tall glass case held up by tree roots. She demands they leave and that she will force them out if she has to. Her stature is much shorter than they expected and though she still appears intimidating, she stands at least 12 cm shorter than Ace.
Seeing Leo's weapons drawn, Jub immediately pulls out his nunchucks and prepares for a fight. But Ace holds up her hands and attempts to offer the small remaining vial of red dust to the Queen in exchange for whatever is behind her.
Queen of Coin
Leo is outraged by Ace's attempt at a deal and curses the red dust, saying that it was the downfall of this court and that she would die before Ace would take the relic.
With a warrior's cry the Queen leaps towards Ace and Jub. The concealment spell breaks on their wings as they brace for combat. However there is a sharp shattering sound and the air around the Red Queen is blighted with dark red grain. Jub looks at Ace and sees that her arm had thrown the vial hard at the ground in front of their attacker. The dust disrupts the Queen's landing and she rolls coughing and retching on the floor.
Jub is in shock and looks from the drugged queen to Ace and asks in impressed awe, "Did you plan that?" Ace says that she's not sure, that she just did it.
Ace and Jub conceal their wings again and step around their fallen foe. Ace approaches the case and, not seeing a handle, reaches straight through it.
King of Coin
Ace withdraws her hand and following her open palm is a thin circlet that rotates gently in the air and gives off a strong silver light. Ace and Jub stare at it and Jub reaches out to touch it. His hand goes through the circle as if it's water and reforms into the same thin band.
From behind them they hear the queen coughing as she struggles to pull herself onto her elbows and claw her way towards them. In a delayed voice full of effort and desperation, she chokes out that that should be impossible, to put "it" back and that they didn't understand what they were doing. Ace seems not to hear her and is captivated by the object, she puts her wrist through the circle and the object narrows to her wrist and dims in light, securing itself there. Leo makes one last cry, "No, no no no.." And passes out.
When Jub looks back to Ace from the Red queen Ace is inspecting her wrist and the new ornament there which now appears to simply be a thin silver bracelet. Jub grabs her hand and inspect the object, asking it it hurts. Ace shakes her head and says that she doesn't think it will come off easily. Jub asks her if she's concerned about what the Queen had said and Ace gives him a questioning look. She had apparently not heard anything the Queen had said and explained that the Butterfly had been telling her that Ace should wear the object until Ace could return it to her.
Outside the room Jub explains what had happened to Egg and Ace, hearing the Queen's protests for the first time through Jub, wishes the Queen could have told them more.