If you haven't read our previous news post please take the time to do so. There are important updates to be found there about the state of the site and what our plan is moving forward. Thank you for sticking with us, and we look forward to improving on the site together with your help!
Deep in a kingdom that smelled faintly of mold and sawdust, a nightmare foxusha crept through the underbrush looking for scraps of food. It sniffed at what looked like some kind of bagel when its ears pricked up at the sound of shouting.
“Where is it?!” King Mephitic shouted angrily. The two imp scouts looked at each other, the color draining away from their faces as a metal goblet smashed through the window and scared off the little pal. “I have searched high and low for it! That blasted mirror must be somewhere!”
The scouts looked at each other and wordlessly held out their fists, shooting a game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who would have to go. The one who picked paper while the other had scissors groaned and headed off to the royal chamber to see their king. She approached slowly, almost tiptoeing forward and doing her best to keep her voice from shaking when she finally spoke.
She took a deep breath and put on a brave face. “King Mephitic--”
“Did you find my mirror?!” he interrupted, irritation lacing his tone.
She looked mildly annoyed, but quickly hid it, lest she incur his wrath. “No,” she shook her head. “I have another matter to discuss entirely.”
“Well, unless it pertains to my mirror, I don’t particularly care about any other matters!”
Another sigh escaped her; she seemed to be full of them today. “Sir, it might be important. The sprites wish to speak to you about something.”
“Tell them I have bigger caribyss to fry.”
“But the royal twins themselves wish to speak to you. They have sent you a formal summons...”
“Tell them not now!” Mephitic flipped over a serving tray with toast sending food flying everywhere.
The scout brushed the crumbs from her pants, a faint shrug lifting her shoulders. She was far too used to this sort of treatment. “They’re already here.”
“They’re what?!”
“Should we turn off all the lights and pretend we’re not home again, sir?”
Mephitic looked like he was searching the room for something else to throw. “No...send them in,” he said in defeat when he could find nothing within an arm’s reach.
The doors opened and a daydream belragoth carrying a large glowing orb entered. The belragoth stood still before the king and stared him down. As one of the sprite royal’s fiercest warriors, he feared no imp.
The white glow of the orb faded and was replaced with the visages of the royal twins themselves. “Mephitic,” the elder said in a serious tone.
“Aislin. Arman,” Mephitic replied. The tension in the air was clear, so the imp king opted to get on with it in order to ensure this conversation ended sooner. “Speak up, I haven’t got all day!”
“Mephitic,” Aislin repeated, emphasizing the importance of their visit. “We are here to discuss the matters that are going on in Mistica lately.”
“What matters?”
The twins looked at each other, wondering how anyone could really be this clueless to the chaos. “Well,” Arman piped in, “It would seem that some rogue imps have started a rather vicious...er...'prank war' with our people.”
“Is this what you came here to talk about? What care should I give to what a bunch of riotous little upstarts do with their spare time?” Mephitic asked with disinterest.
“Well sir,” Aislin said, “there’s the matter of rumors that they seem to be in possession of a magic mirror of sorts. It's how they've been managing all the trouble, and apparently there's something about a book regarding the origins of dayadreams and nightmares--”
From all surrounding areas of the forest down to the deepest and coldest of dungeons, the land shook like an earthquake with Mephitic’s angry response of “WHAT?!”
“It’s just a rumor, of course. If this mirror even exists only the imps have seen it,” Arman pointed out, brushing off the interruption much more gracefully than the previous scout had. If he was intimidated by the outburst he certainly didn't show it.
Mephitic flew off the handle instantly. “Who leads this bunch? What’s his name? Where is he? I order an official arrest warrant and a bounty on his capture! Hell, I'll capture him myself!”
“I believe he calls himself Robin,” Aislin offered, her face twisting into a thoughtful expression as she tried to recall the name. Mephitic froze in a wave of shock as a sudden bout of realization seemed to hit him. His gaze was empty as it looked past the twins. “Are you alright? Do you know this Robin?” she continued, a flicker of almost concern crossing her features.
Mephitic spun around on the balls of his feet and pointed at the scout still standing nearby. “Grab my coat! I’m going out!”
“Why do you need a coat? It’s a hundred degrees outside...” she pointed out.
“Then grab my sunscreen and the tacky T-shirt with the pineapples on it! Top drawer, next to the socks! I’m going out to get my darling son and when I find him, he’ll be grounded until he’s 375!”
-------------------
Don't forget to vote in the poll to decide where the plot should go next! You will recieve plot points and a little bit of MC for your input.
-------------------
