The Guild of The Future

Stéri could barely see in the glasses Puerile made him wear. Lillian guided him by the wrist as he felt the landscape change underneath his feet.

They seemed to be on a road, but an archaic one given the feel of dirt beneath his shoes.

“Does anyone want to describe the sights?” he asked, “I would like to know.”

“I want to know what the headgear’s for,” Lillian said.

“Our doe-eyed friend can force the truth through his eyes, can’t he?” Puerile asked.

“That is my burden, yes.”

“What happens when someone who can force the truth looks at a world made of manipulated reality?”

“Are you saying he could destroy this place?” Lillian asked.

“He destroys my creations on Earth, and this place isn’t called Unland just because we wanted to confuse.”

Stéri looked down, as if he could see much more than the hint of ground.

“Don’t stare like that,” Puerile said, “I’d rather not die from you creating an endless pit that doesn’t have those we’re meant to rescue in it.”

“Where am I supposed to look then?”

“Don’t cause an existential crisis,” Void said.

“Of course not,” Puerile said, “Where’s the fun in that?”

Lillian tightened her grip and pulled him forward.

“It’s fine,” Stéri said, “He’s nonchalant as a defense.”

“Did he tell you that?” she asked.

“I notice more things than I force out.”

He could tell she was rolling her eyes. Lillian was strangely cynical for joining the Guild of her own volition.

“Don’t separate too far,” Splash warned.

Lillian stopped.

“Does anyone else hear that?”

“No,” Puerile groaned, “Of course this would happen in a forest.”

“We’re in a forest?” Stéri asked.

“It’s a recent change,” Splash said.

“Look behind you,” Puerile said.

Stéri turned around. He could see the vague outlines of trees. It seemed like they went back rather far.

“How the—” Lillian began before being interrupted by a growl.

“Wow,” Flare awkwardly laughed, “It must have been longer since I’ve last eaten that I thought.”

“What do you mean?” Spark asked, “That was clearly—”

“A long time ago,” Puerile announced, “We should sit and eat so hopefully our stomachs will stop growling.”

He was trying to force the reality of a creature about to attack them to be starvation instead. Stéri agreed with the plan.

“It might have been my stomach as well, for I am starving.”

As he spoke, it solidified into reality as his stomach growled louder than it ever had before.

“That was definitely a stomach,” Sprout said, “Now I’m hungry.”

“It’s settled,” Puerile said, “We eat.”

He clapped his hands, probably changing another thing Stéri couldn’t see.

“Is that a picnic blanket?” Spark asked.

“Is all of the food going to be bugs?” Lillian asked, “Live ones?”

Everyone shushed her.

“Just think about what you want to eat, and you’ll find it,” Puerile explained, “You and Stéri may struggle a bit though.”

“Why me?” Lillian asked.

“How often have your dreams come short of your sensory awareness?”

“That’s common,” Void said.

“While actually in this reality, you all are bound by it, but as everything is made from the mind of someone with less acute senses than Lillian…”

“It won’t feel right,” she finished, “Like Chardri’s Domain. Is that why you asked me to stay untransformed?”

“No,” Puerile said, no explanation incoming.

“And is Stéri struggling because of the blindfold?” Lillian asked.

“No, Stéri is struggling because his mind is hard to read, so I can’t make his wishes come true as easily.”

“You can’t read my mind,” Void said.

“No, but you, Tetra, and Flare are mages. Reality manipulation is natural to you. You don’t need as much assistance.”

Puerile had thought this out, more than most would expect. Stéri was proud of him.

“Stop smiling at me. I’m just being practical so we can get out of here faster. I hate it here.”

“Why?” Lillian asked, “It’s scary as hell, just like you like it.”

“I prefer my fear seasoned with guilt. This is just fear of the unknown, if it’s fear at all. Some people would consider this merely an adventure.”

“Wait,” Spark said, “We’re not in nightmare territory yet?”

“No,” Puerile said, “Someone just likes forests.”

Lillian was on edge after such a pleasant meal, not sure when Puerile would turn the tables and make them all throw it up as frogs or some such. She kept Stéri between Puerile and herself in the meantime, justifying it because she had taken charge of guiding him.

“Your imagination fascinates me, Lillian,” Puerile said, still refusing to call her by a codename when she wasn’t transformed. Most people didn’t, but it was even more annoying from him.

“How so?” Flare asked.

“Let’s just say we’re all very lucky that she is neither psychic nor mage.”

“Oh!” Void said.

“Get out of my head, asshole.”

“Think quieter then,” Puerile said.

She heard a growl again, distant enough that she was probably the only one that heard it.

“It’s just digestion,” she muttered, thinking back to biology class.

“What?” Stéri asked.

“Nothing,” she said.

The growl came audible to everyone else now.

“Just digestion!” she yelled.

“That strategy was only going to work once,” Puerile said, “Now is the time to prepare for battle.”

“Unless it’s just a fluffy bunny,” Sprout said.

“Bunnies get chased,” Void said.

“Oh, c’mon.”

Lillian grabbed her talisman.

“Don’t transform!” Puerile yelled.

She scowled. She was functionally a civilian while untransformed. She’d drag the group.

“Nightingale is immune to psychic abilities, right?” Puerile asked.

“Not exactly.”

“What?”

She decided not to transform after that sound of concern. Luckily her talisman was multipurpose. Yes the nightingale was a bird like the talisman normally was, but Nightingale the hero famously used a staff.

Lillian twisted the bird charm between her palms. It turned into a cylinder, which she was able to hold as it lengthened to a staff much like the original Nightingale’s.

“Please let me know how to use it,” she prayed to the spirit within.

“Keep Stéri safe!” Spark ordered.

Lillian nodded, holding her staff in front of her like a blade.

They heard a scream as a rabbit’s corpse was thrown into the road. Lillian was somewhere between smelling it and knowing it had no scent at all.

You’re holding it wrong, Nightingale said in her mind. Lillian’s hands adjusted on the staff as she moved into an unfamiliar stance.

“You normally seem so competent,” Puerile commented.

“Nightingale was hypercompetent when she was alive!” she whispered in defense, “I normally stick to what I’m good at.”

Footsteps were approaching, she pushed Stéri further behind her.

Of course though, the steps were behind Lillian, with Stéri between them.

Luckily everyone jumped in front as the thing came out.

Lillian suddenly understood old descriptions of angels. The thing looked like everything and nothing. From one angle it looked like it had four legs, then three, then none, then nine. Its face was expressionless, and not quite right to be any animal, but also many faces with varying expressions.

“What is it?” Stéri asked.

“Incomprehensible,” she answered.

Void grabbed it, trying to toss it off the road, but then it got wings that changed from feathers, to skin, to the gossamer of insects. The scene ended with Void underneath the creature.

Sprout turned to their elemental form and wrapped vines around it, but then the vines turned to snakes that attacked them back. They returned to mortal, free from the attack, but the thing’s tail had turned into snakes.

“What the fuck is this?” Lillian asked Puerile.

“Adventure!” he announced as the ground beneath the creature opened. She pulled Stéri back. The wings briefly disappeared on the creature as Flare and Spark focused flaming efforts on it.

Then its wings were made of fire.

“Oh fuck me,” Lillian said.

Splash tried to douse it, but instead his water evaporated, as the monster flew toward Lillian and her charge.

It’s all pretend, Nightingale reminded her.

She lost all form with the staff, whacking the creature like she was wielding a bat. To her surprise, it didn’t adapt, but instead whimpered as it was knocked into the trees. The ground closed up again.

Everyone else stared at her.

“Let’s go!” she ordered.

They all ran. Lillian kept one hand dragging Stéri, and the other on her staff, trying to remain alert of when the thing would come back, because it definitely would.

Their pace didn’t slow, and the forest never changed. She couldn’t let herself get tired, however much she wanted to pass out. She was the only one that landed a hit on that thing without it changing to something worse. She hated whatever Pan had made this vista. If she met them, she was going to punch them in the face, forget any transformation.

She heard the crackling of the flaming wings as it started to come down. She jumped in the middle of the group, smacking it out of the way as they started running.

But of course it only worked once.

The monster had been moved, but this time it hit a tree, setting the forest ablaze too quickly to be real.

Running just sent them toward more fire, and they couldn’t go backwards.

Flare and the three remaining Tetra were trying to stop the flames, but it was clearly a losing battle.

Puerile was muttering things as he made a small amount of headway in granting them more road. They took it, further sure with each well-fought inch that they would die before the tourists could lose hope for help.

“I’m going to kill something!” Lillian yelled.

“You already did, and now we’re stuck relying on emergency measures.” Puerile yelled.

“What emergen—”

He grabbed Stéri from Lillian, pointing him ahead of them.

Everyone immediately voiced their objections.

“Sorry, but otherwise, we’re fucked!”

He removed Stéri’s glasses, destroying the forest, ground, and all in front of them. Then he started turning him.

They all ducked as if they were in danger of disappearing with the rest of the landscape.

The creature appeared for one last effort, only to be dissipated in Stéri’s gaze.

Once all they had was the small amount of ground beneath them, the glasses returned to their place, and Puerile cracked his knuckles.

“Sometimes what you need is a blank canvas.”

He spread his arms, and the forest road in all its glory appeared, with nothing at its sides. They cautiously moved forward, deeply afraid of another attack.

“Beware,” he admitted, “Something like that will surely grab attention of the domain lords.”

“Like Chardri?” Tetra asked.

“Chardri’s too occupied tormenting our companion. I mean the rest of them. If we’re lucky, it will be a nightmare lord.”

“Why is that a good thing?” Void asked.

“Because as one of their fellows, I can negotiate with them. The others will just cause more problems.”

As if on cue, the landscape around them turned to ice-cream peaks, and the ground became sticky.

Puerile’s expression looked terrified.

“Or we’re very unlucky,” he said.

“Who is it?” Flare asked.

“My progenitor.”