Story [Isekai Hell] - January 2024 Entry - Fledgling

[The Last Curse]

Character used: Cayde Whitinger (See here)​

Link to Event Page:

Fantasy - [Isekai Hell] Resolutions Writing Event

This collection of written works in part of the Isekai Hell setting, and meant for the Isekai Hell January 2024 Community Event. More information regarding the world and its denizens can be found [here]. W.I.P

www.rpnation.com

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Skill Applied: Appraisal​

 

[The Last Curse]

Fledgling​

Spoiler: Cayde Whitinger

---

Uncle Zane would call these dog days.

That, Cayde decided, languidly staring into the cloud-spattered sky, was the perfect description of today's events. A dog's day - in every meaning of that adorable idiom, except for location, perhaps. Nothing at all about these woods felt exhausting. In fact, this was, irrevocably, his element: The balmy, Ryke breeze flowing gaily between the tree tops, the comforting scent of dew resting amongst the clearing's leaves, the nostalgic aroma of pine trees wafting into his nose, a quaint little creek, not too far north from here, softly burbling as it meandered downcountry into the See.

This was his muse, the backdrop before any whimsical creation.

And yet, lately, there was this fog. A nasty, imperceptible thing that hung low to the ground and crawled instead of floated, bringing all sorts of dreary scum along with it. It would climb into your nose at night - into your ears. It would dig its way into your brain, sitting amid your mind like a lazy dog, snarfing away at any creative thought it could find, leaving nothing but empty space.

"Dog days..." Cayde muttered, shifting to peer at his grimoire beside him.

It was open to one page, a small summary of the recent outsider phenomenon occurring in every country in the New Continent. Whereas all other entries - from summoning familiars to warding off diseases - had been dutifully filled with notes and ideas, this one was blank. And for good reason, Cayde thought grumpily. The damn thing covered nothing about their ability. The magic to see things for what they truly were: Appraisal.

See, magic is quite simple. Take away all the bits and bobbles, and you only have two things: intention and technique. Or, what you want your magic to do and how you do it. Want a fireball? Picture a swelling inferno in your mind, conjure it into a palm, and let it loose at the nearest goblin, drunkard, whatever. Wanted to turn invisible? Collect your mana, let it seep within every pore, and then picture yourself obscure, hidden from the world's prying eyes. Boom. Easy.

Alchemy was similar. Intention was latent within materials and how you drew it out: brewing, boiling, distilling, etcetera, that was your technique. He understood this.

Yet, Appraisal felt completely otherworldly. The intention made sense: scrying something and learning its intrinsic qualities, but how was the technique formed? Staring at someone hard enough until you knew something about them? Saying a prayer to some long-gone god? Chugging a mind-opening potion?

Yawning, Cayde rolled onto his back. He should've asked Kalina when he had the chance. She'd just evolved in Wildersia, sprung out of a cramped cocoon to become something greater than just a monster right before his eyes. A beautiful metamorphosis for an invaluable friend.

He could've asked her a few questions. He could've asked what knowledge came from finally being new again.

"Cause everyone's a teacher," Cayde stated to no one in particular, parroting another of his uncle's expressions, "Cause sometimes, knowledge just walks right up to ya."

He yawned again, his eyelids growing heavier with each second. Knowledge was unavoidable, fat, and ripe for the taking, but other, more pleasant things couldn't be ignored. A quick nap in your element was one of them.

And so he did.

---

Something collapsed deeper in the forest.

Cayde could hear it, a subtle noise, oddly tumultuous in his light slumber. He opened one eye and scanned the ocean of trees ahead of him, now slightly darker with sunset on the horizon. Nothing was there. And nothing probably was there, he reckoned. Things fell in the woods all the time. It was just another facet of the outdoors, along with all the other stuff that bumped, crawled, and skittered between the trees. Soon enough, he'd hear the birds scrambling away, too. And right on cue, they did. The bewildered calls of crows, the fluttering of their ink-black wings taking to the sky filled the air.

Business as usual.

Or, it was, until another sound graced his ears.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" A pause, then a longer, primal sound, "HEEEEEEEEELP!"

Cayde shot up quicker than he could open both eyes. His head swam with a small bout of nausea, but he had no difficulty finding his crossbow, Caudeceus, lying on the other side of him. The thing in the woods bellowed again, "SOMEONE HEEELLLP!!!"

This could mean two - no, three things, Cayde thought. One: Bandits. Most of Ryke's wilderness was relatively lonely; the blackguards often kept near the trails, crouching in bushes or hiding in trees, waiting to catch a rube unawares and shake them down for a few rykes. That's what the polite ones did, at least. The real sick bastards would set traps. They'd use their own, maybe a poor traveler if they'd gotten lucky, and leave them in the woods, screaming bloody murder, hoping someone with a heart would come and save the day, only to pounce on them moments later. Sometimes they'd take more than just rykes - just for the hell of it.

Two: A hidebehind. He was pretty close to the See. One of those loping, slender monstrosities, massive claws yearning to rip and tear, could've snuck into Ryke for a hunt, tired of fae flesh. It'd position itself right behind a tree, blending seamlessly into the shadows, and make that haunting call, knowing all too well curiosity was the biggest bane of its prey.

Three: It could've been an actual person who needed saving, perhaps from the other two.

That, Cayde decided, made the most sense. Or, instead, it was the option that made his heart sink the most.

He quickly loaded a bolt into his crossbow with renewed vigor and shoved the grimoire into his pack. Then he looked west, where the scream had come, and took a steadying breath. "For the love of everything holy, please don't be a hidebehind."

Furrowing his brows, he pushed through the trees...

---

Sunset had finally fallen. Beams of ochre-colored light streamed to the forest floor, birds darted above fervidly, seeking a place to roost, and Cayde stalked under them, stepping around dried twigs and holding his crossbow close. One misstep could give him away, he realized with nervous conviction. Just one lowly stick, and he could be the one needing saving. He peered ahead, straining his eyes in the growing darkness. The forest opened up to an innocuous clearing. Cayde stopped and raised his crossbow a little higher. Maybe this was where-

From the clearing, "GET AWAY!" A shrill voice cried. A cacophony of low, rumbling growls followed, a few vicious snarls punctuating whatever's displeasement. A heady musk filled the air, wild and angry. Wolves. Cayde breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Finally, something familiar.

He crept closer to the edge of the opening and concealed himself behind a tree. He peeked over the trunk, and lo and behold, three wolves, their bodies low to the ground, grey hackles raised, lips peeled back to reveal terrible fangs, and ears stuck up like silvery horns. They pointed their ire at a black, quivering humanoid shape on the floor, one paw slowly moving in front of the other. Cayde looked even closer at the shape: A black beak, glossy black feathers, short stature, and eyes as wide as apples yet dark as sin. He'd no doubt about it. A kenku!

Spoiler: Harvey

"SHOO! SHOO!" The kenku hollered, kicking one thin leg at the encroaching beasts. The wolves responded with another agitated snarl before finally losing patience, inching even closer. That was quite well enough, Cayde thought and marched into the clearing.

He whistled, high-pitched and loud, "Here, pups!" He drew closer and whistled again, "Come heeeere, puppies!"

In an instant, it felt like the whole forest had turned its rheumy eyes on him. The wolves' ears perked up, swiveling back and forth before they finally turned around. Their eyes looked gazed at him, curious for a split second. Then, back to their fearsome display, completely separated from the kenku. Cayde heard the beastman gasp, hitched but relieved. "Yeah, you see me, don't ya? What ya gonna do about it?" Cayde grinned, holding one hand out as he advanced. He bit his tongue as his focus steeled.

The wolves had decided he'd gotten close enough. One rushed forward, a harsh snarl escaping between its savage jaws. The two others quickly followed suit.

Cayde had already closed off the incoming threat in his mind. Instead, he pictured a wave of howling effluvium, caustic and searing. Mana tickled his outstretched palm as he imagined the gas flowing, engulfing, enfeebling. The wolves first saw it: a dark ball of purple smoke formed within the alchemist's hand, splitting into three and rushing at them quicker than they could bound away. They collided, a choking smog of magic exploding all around them.

The beasts wheezed and whimpered, attempting to block the burning gas with a paw to their nose - to no avail.

Mortified, the wolves shook their heads violently before darting back into the trees, pitiful whines and coughs signaling their departure.

Cayde watched them go, rolled his shoulders, and snapped a finger. Immediately, the gas went into stasis, rising to the canopy and dissipating from view. He nodded to himself, "That's that, yeah?" He assuredly said before softening his gaze to the kenku, "You alright?"

The birdman, eyes still fastened on Cayde, stammered a shrill reply. It shook its head and picked itself up from the floor, "Y-yeah, thanks, I've got to hand it to you, but..." It spun around wildly, surveying its surroundings, stiff and unsure. Cayde recognized the look immediately. "Where the hell am I?"

"Ryke." Cayde said simply, "Southern Ryke, to be exact. A hop, skip, and a jump away from the See's border." His head quirked inquisitively, "The trail's quite a ways from here. You lost?"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean-" The kenku sniffed and looked around again, clumsily, as if it'd never walked on two feet, "I was just in my apartment a few seconds ago. Then I was falling, and how'd I - What's this?" It paused and reached to his face, leathery talons feeling its beak. A shuddery gasp escaped it, "What's THAT? What the fuck! What happened to my face?!"

Cayde stared and raised his palms innocently. Behind this gesture, he swore his heart was about to blow from his chest. This could've been a poor, delirious beastman, sure. Or it could've been something better. Something so astronomically unimaginable he wasn't even sure he could believe it. Like the other beast he'd seen fall from the sky, he'd have to make sure. "You're okay, sir. I promise!" Cayde assured, "I've got medicine right here in my pack. If you could just tell me how you... fell from the sky...?"

"Hell, if I'd know!" The kenku said, angrily clacking its beak, "I wasn't like this; I was like you! I had an apartment, a phone, a computer, a TV, and..." The birdman paused, fervidly patting itself, searching for something. When it found nothing, its arm fell limply to its sides, "Oh god, this is hell, isn't it? I got sent to hell, didn't I?!"

It'd taken some serious willpower to keep Cayde's face straight. He was right. HE WAS RIGHT! HE WAS RIGHT! HE WAS RIGHT! The confusion, the falling out of the sky, the talk of nonsense words like phones, computers, and TVs. This had to be an outsider. Right here! Right in front of him! "Nonono! You're not in hell, sir! Far from it, actually!" He replied enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically.

The birdman took one step back. Cayde grimaced and took a small breath. "Look, can I just guess how you ended up here?"

The kenku slowly nodded. Cayde cleared his throat, "You were somewhere before here: a city, town, village, whatever. Then, something happened. I'm guessing it all went black, yeah? Couldn't feel much of anything?"

The kenku's arms crossed, eyes distant in memory, grunted in weary agreement.

"Then, boom! You're falling out of the sky right into the woods." Cayde said quickly, gesturing to the trees around you, "You notice something's not right with you. You've changed. But before you could do anything, three hungry wolves come out of nowhere, trying to take a bite out of you." He lowered his palms slightly, "Does that sound right?"

Silence. It hung in the air for what seemed like hours.

"Holy..." The kenku gaped, "How did you know that?"

Adrenaline spiked through Cayde's bloodstream. This couldn't be real. This couldn't have been real. "This isn't the first time I've seen someone like you." He brought his hands to his sides, fighting back the deluge of questions that manifested in his mind, "First time was a kitsune - a fox lady - in a country far south from here. Fell out of the sky and everything, just like you did." Cayde offered a meek smile, "Do you remember anything? Take a deep breath."

The kenku, easing up, did so. It looked at Cayde with wide, bewildered eyes, "Yeah... I was - I am Harvey," He said wistfully, nodding curtly, "I lived by myself, and I-" Harvey paused and gave an apologetic look to Cayde, his voice growing woeful and anxious, "You don't wanna hear this. God, it's so pathetic..."

"Humor me."

After a pause, Harvey continued, "I had a mom. She ran a food pantry down the block; always called me to come and help. 'Step out of my cave,' she'd call it." He gave a low, reminiscent chuckle, "I don't think I liked it. Not at first. The people were so loud, and everyone wanted to talk to me. But...I got used to it, I guess. Something about all the smiles. All the thank-yous. It made me feel like I was a part of something. Like I was really making a difference in the world."

Cayde nodded along. He'd already surreptitiously slid his grimoire out from his pack.

"I was on my way there now. I went down the stairs, texting mom I would be there in five minutes. I must've missed a step - I just remember falling... "He said drearily, planting a palm on his head, "I kept hitting something. Everything went dark - everything hurt. But then, my body didn't hurt anymore. Nothing did. I guess that's-"

"That's when you died."

Another silence, so thick it could've been cut, hung between them as they stared at each other. Cayde caught Harvey's gaze before it whisked away into the woods: distant, rheumy, lost. His own eyes stung at the corners. An unfair fate for a golden soul. Such abhorrent, painful ends came to good people even in different existences. But that's where they'd stay - in their previous life. This was a new beginning - the start of another story. He'd be the one to push it forward. For Harvey. For every outsider.

"Harvey, I'm so sorry. That must've been terrifying..." He said solemnly, peering down into his grimoire. He shut it closed. Knowledge could wait. "Look, I can't tell you this world is perfect either. Plenty of folks need help, and plenty more are willing to keep it from them. But there are good people. Troves of them. And I know there's some exactly like you."

Harvey's head turned slightly in Cayde's direction, something new starting to shine behind his eyes. Something hopeful. "They can help you adjust," Cayde added, "It'll take a while, but you'll like it. The world won't seem so dim anymore. You'll know you're not alone."

Silence. But Cayde could've sworn he heard the smile form on Harvey's beak. "Yeah." Harvey said, "That...That does alright. I guess."

Cayde grinned in quiet sympathy. A core moment birthed. One to be passed to every Whitinger. That he'd make sure of.

A few minutes passed before Harvey started again with a chuckle, substantially more jovial than before. "God," He said, shaking his head incredulously, "This is so stupid. All of it is."

"How so?"

"It just reminds me of something I used to read back then. Stupid little books." He scoffed; it sounded like a muffled caw, "Isekais."

For a moment, Cayde felt his heart skip a beat. "Isekai?" He repeated.

"Yeah, it's a book genre, like horror or fantasy, right?" He pointed one talon at himself, laughing sardonically, "It goes exactly like this. Some guy dies, falls down the stairs or some shit, then gets thrown into a brand new world!" He said in an overly lively, showman-like manner, even flouring an arm to boot, "Sometimes they even get these weird powers."

"You mean like your powers?"

"I don't have any powers."

"You do."

"Bullshit."

A curious thought crawled into Cayde's head. Before he could fully unravel it, it'd blossomed into an array of stunning, innovative colors. Perhaps this was it, he'd thought. Harvey was the teacher he needed. The god-given muse to unlock technique. The empyrean mold for a key to a fog-obscured lock.

Cayde grinned heartily, "Don't believe me? Try this then." He took a step closer, and Harvey cocked his head curiously. "Look at me, and I mean really look at me. Like you're trying to figure out someone at first glance. See them for who they really are." Cayde tapped his foot on the ground, scouring his mind for any technique. His mind groped into the dark. He remembered those strange, outsider-ish words. "And imagine you see everything on a... TV. Their name, race, feelings. All laid out before you."

Eyeing Cayde skeptically, Harvey gave a half-hearted shrug and stepped forward, "So you want me to stare at you like a three-year-old?" He snickered, "Yeah, sure, alright."

Cayde could see the beast's eyes squinting, scrying him. There was nothing in those dark orbs but a void of a pupil surrounded by dark brown. There was a little bit of frustration in them, a hint of embarrassment, perhaps, but something else. A violet light, only a pin's width, growing amidst those eyes. He opted to lean in for a better look, but then the light grew. It devoured Harvey's pupils, poured out of his iris', and overtook his sclerae. Soon, only two glowing purple orbs were staring right back at him. Nothing but knowing shone behind them.

"Holy shit!" cried Harvey, "Holy- you're right! I-I can see it!"

"What can you see, Harvey?!" Cayde exclaimed, the knowledge there ripe for the taking, "Tell me what you see!"

"You! You're Cayde Whitinger! You've got these titles - [Honorary Beastman], [Patient]... you know magic?!" He blinked, and the light was gone in an instant, "Tell me I can learn that too!"

Harvey's excitement was virulent, Cayde nodding gleefully to his ambition. "Yes! Yes, you can! There's a city called Ryken close to here. Definitely a wizard willing to teach a spell or two, y'know?!"

"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?" Harvey cawed, "Take me there!"

Cayde watched him for a while, reveling in the wave of dopamine. Oh, how it'd been so long since such a feeling - sparking another's thirst for knowledge! Only a certain ratkin had done that. Kesh, away, thriving however she pleased. His dear apprentice.

Finally, with a wistful grin, Cayde said, "My pleasure." He made a gesture to his eyes, circling them with a finger. "Just keep practicing that along the way. And tell me ALL about it."

---

And Harvey did. The student taught the teacher and vice versa until the trail turned to cobblestone, the forest turned to hamlets and inns, and the warm, inviting orange lights of civilization brightened the twilight sky.

Uncle Zane would love to meet this outsider, Cayde thought cheerfully.

No! Outsider was such a brusque word. What did Harvey say again?

Isekai? Would that make him and the other outsiders Isekai'd?

Definitely.