The Basilisk Arc: Two

Animals of the World written by Wellbam Gloom.

Page 128: The Basilisk

A creature that can grow well over more 3000 feet in length and 200 to 500 feet in width, this creature is found within the moist reasons of the world spanning as far east as the region of Lockwood to south of Canas, North of Nadia, and as west as Roadjin.

A powerful creature thought to even be strong and brighter than dragons tend to dwell and live in solitude. Only coming out every fall and possibly winter to mate.

Extremely dangerous to approach and defeat, encountering this animal may turn you to stone or food for the large serpent. With a life span of more than 600 years, their numbers isn't alarming in some regions but absolutely critical in others.

Not sought after as adults beyond their powerful eyes, their unmatched eggs are used for various means and items including potions and remedies-

"Sous...Sous..."

Sous awoke groggy and light headed. She had an imprint of the book on her right cheek, for she fell asleep while reading about the creature last night.

"Sous, we're at our first stop. Help me with the barrels." It was one of the few times when Shadow's voice was calm and soothing, but she looked so small while she slept.

She gently roses to her feet, wiping her eyes.

"Go wash up then come to the deck." He told her with her nodding her head in response.

He waited on the deck that dawn, predicting it was about five or so in the morning. The fog had come over the river and it was like they were on some sort of ghost ship. He heard the light footsteps of Sous coming to the deck still in her pajamas they had purchased yesterday. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair less messy than normal.

She walked back to the tug boat and pushed some of the barrels. Shadow took another end.

"Here, we'll lift together on three. One-two-three!" The two of them lifted the barrel, putting it toward the docking plank. They walked it down. "When we're done with this set. Learn the lifting spell. It should be in the first basic book I got you."

Sous nodded her head as they both went back and forth bringing forth barrels to land. It was around an hour or so later when their clients came to the the dock.

"Yo Shadow, long time, no see, yeah."

Shadow walked down the plank and slapped hands with a man who was quite burly with red curls. Sous watched from the boat and the man noticed her.

"Whos that?"

Shadow looked back, waving at Sous. "She's a child I'm watching for a moment before she goes off to Hacate."

"Oh," pouted the man. "We have such good schools all over. Why settle for Hacate?"

It was a good question, although Hacate was a marvelous school with a rich history, other schools were also notorious: Liam's School for Spell Casters, Red Woods located in Canas, was just a couple Shadow thought at the top of his head.

"What do you plan to do with the eggs?" Sous asked. Both men jumped, not knowing the little girl had snuck up on them.

"Well, I use them for my restaurant. The yolk is a delicacy that many far and wide come for," he said with the brightest smile. "I'm not sure just how long ye plan to stay but come down to the restaurant for a bite to eat."

Shadow frown, shaking his head. "We can't leave the boat unattended. Not with the bandits and everythang."

The man crossed his arms. He looked at Sous. "Ain't this the one that fought the Alpha of Apex?"

Shadow and Sous' eyes got wide and the man gave a haughty laugh, his buff chest rising and falling as he did. "Oh yeah, people talk, the wind carries. Some small child managed to fight the Alpha, ole' big Doureena, lasted about half the fight is what ye say." He bowed a little to reach Sous' height. "The daughter of Puimo, they say. Quite the legacy ye have, kid."

"Puimo was my Daddy's name!"

The man shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Never understood why he went back to Red Woods to be treated like a scoundrel. He had everything up he'."

They finished up with the barrels to the man named Rick. Sous thought of him of a nice man but wanted to get a little bit more sleep. Shadow granted her the right if she cleaned up in the back of the tug boat.

With the broom in one hand and the dust pan in another, she swept up. Yawning, the broom hit something that rolled off, coming to a stop at the wall of the boat. Sous looked.

"A basilisk egg!" He must have came out of one of the barrels while they were carrying it. She looked around, knowing she could easily throw it in with the other barrels but thought against it. The egg won its freedom. She picked up the egg and took it to the cabin below. She got a large mug from the kitchen and placed the medium size egg into and filled with water. Just in case, she read the book that was on her desk.

'Eggs are often found in nest surrounded or even within water,' it read.

She placed the mug under the bed, yawning once more, she went back to the deck and continued on with cleaning up.

Later in the afternoon, they were able to reach their next destination down the river. Shadow mumbled to himself about the lack of bandits. Apparently he wanted to test his new weapons on unsuspecting enemies.

"Maybe they know you're the one driving the boat. They don't wanna risk it." Sous said walking down the plank, stretching her back.

The Witching Salons, was the name of the place they were in. A place mostly consisting of witches and warlocks, sturdy and capitalistic, about the size of a small city.

As they stood on the docks waiting for their clients, Sous looked to see how many more barrels were on the boat. When she counted, it came to be about thirty. Thirty barrels.

"Hello, dreaies!" Three women came walking toward them, women dressed in dark colors, nothing bright about them.

"Who do we have here?" One asked.

"Lives the girl with little fear," the other retorted.

"They say she travels with a wolf vampire hybrid," said the third.

"The daughter of the wolf fairy who lost death's bid," finished the first.

Sous corked an eyebrow at the three women. "Do you know these women," she asked Shadow.

"Demon child, I 'bout know everyone in Nadia or...they at least know me."

"Demon child?" Squealed the witch that had purple highlights in her natural blonde hair. "Is that the name the folks are giving her?"

"With the way she handled Doureena, I believe it," said the witch who wore a black dress that went to her knees with dark brown boots with a short heel.

With the way so many clients spoke about Doureena, Sous was coming to terms with just how powerful this pack truly was.

"Glinda, and this is my sister, Gortrius and Gladian."

"The three G's we're commonly known as," Glinda, the one with the purple highlights.

"We see you're using the lifting spell, levare, to bring the barrels down. Impressive, what school do you go to?" Gladian asked; she was the one with the dark brown boots which left Gortrius who had several tattoos on her neck and arms.

"You're a sealer," Sous pointed out when she saw the tattoos. They weren't just any tattoos but seals. There were many types of seals, most associated with the dark arts including the transportation seal Shadow had shown Sous some time; it wore him out. Sous wasn't too sure what the body seals did though.

"She doesn't have a school, she's only eleven. She's also not a Nadian so she's gonna need a sponsor," Shadow provided.

"And that's going to be you?"

"No," Shadow said. "My mother."

While Shadow was out on the deck probably drinking a mug of beer, Sous sat on the cabin floor watching the basilisk egg. There was a high chance this beast was going to kill her once it got older. As an infant, they were docile and relied heavily on their mother for the first six months to twenty months.

She shoved the mug toward the back under her bunk when she heard Shadow's footsteps. She went to her desk and continued to read the Animals of the World book and would soon start on the Witches of Nadia book written by Candice Jorgen and illustrated by Jay Conwald, a book Gortrius gave to Sous as a going away gift. When Sous had asked what the eggs would be used for, the witches sorrowfully said they were going to be used for wands specifically used for hexing.

Unlike Rick who didn't feel any type of rapport with the basilisk eggs, the witches seemed to feel bad for killing them for illicit reasons. When they had finished with them, Shadow had comforted Sous telling her Nadia could be a bit capitalistic regarding their treatment of animals.

"Sous," Shadow said, coming down into the cabin. "Let's lock it down for the night. Our first drop off is pretty early then we'll be heading to The Valley of Trey for the rest of the ride."

Sous turned and nodded her head at Shadow, putting her books away. She pulled her pajamas from under her bed and went to the restroom to take a shower. Shadow was about to turn back to the deck when he smelt something. Sighing, he walked to her bunk and got on his hands and knees. There it was, the mug with the egg. He reached for it but then decided against it. If anyone could become friends with a basilisk, it would probably be Sous. He smiled, chucking to himself. If all went to hell then he'll transport the basilisk to Red Woods. He bursted out laughing, making his way up the deck.