Elysian Fields: Uh Oh. - Elysian Fields

Xanth poofed out of no where, her hair flying around her like a purple cloud that had a life of its own as fury raged in her eyes. Her wings were in full view, showering purple sparks everywhere that smouldered on the asphalt.

This was one peeved goddess.

Apparently ignorant of your presence, or even where she was, she tipped her head back and let loose with a roar that made the earth tremble.

KIRIL! SYLOPE! COME TO ME NOW!

There's a small cloud of black smoke and Sylope comes walking out of it, rubbing her head.

"Jeeze, could you yell any louder?" the Vampire mutters. "What's up Xanth?"

Unable to contain her anger, Xanth turned on her Aides, her glare accusatory even though what had occurred was not their fault.

Dazadi is in trouble. The two Aides looked at her askance and Xanth sighed. I am in your heads all the time, dearlings. You do not notice it because I keep the touch light, but the instant you get yourselves in trouble I know. Dazadi was fully aware of this and has done her best to avoid me whenever she can, but she cannot evade me for more than a few hours. I did not worry over her because of this habit she has - yet it has been far longer than usual and I still cannot contact her.

Worry clouded the goddess's features and thunder rolled across the clear blue sky.

You are going to England to find her, and explain to me what can possibly harm any of you.

"Yeehaw! Carnage!" Sylope punched the air as though she was three centuries old again. "Don't worry Xanth, we'll find Miss Featherbrain. She probably drank too much and fell down a hill or something. England has alot of those, right?"

Xanth rolled her eyes. These silly creatures and their notions of privacy... Still, she supposed she should have told them... yet being a goddess meant that she could keep secrets and not feel guilty about them so she shucked off the question and turned to more important matters.

Sylope, no. You are not going there to fight. If this creature can harm an assassin such as Dazadi, you two will be vulnerable too. You are simply going to investigate. If you should find Dazadi and can do so, bring her home. If you encounter the creature she was tracking, stay away from it and study it as much as you can so we know what we are dealing with.

Xanth watched the two Aides, wondering if she was doing the right thing in sending them.

She was in Derby the last time I heard from her. You may start there. And hurry.

Sylope winked and blew the Goddess an irreverant kiss+ "yeah yeah, later Xanth."

And if her head hurt just a tiny bit as she 'poofed' away, it wasn't because she was thinking of carnage.

See "A Day In Derby"

Xanth listened to the undertone of Kiril's voice more than his words. She knew things were bad. Sylope had been clawed by the creature and Xanth could tell there was something in the vampire's blood. Something nasty. Something that had set out to kill the Aide, and that Xanth wasn't sure she could stop.

In order to make anyone an Aide she had to feed them her own blood. Not enough to make them a god, or even a demi-god, but enough to make them stronger and fairly invincible. The only way they could be hurt then was by either a demi- or a true god, or by one other creature Xanth had thought long gone...

Stepping away from her Aides carefully, she said Explain.

Sylope shivered, it felt like her insides were freezing and breaking apart. Not that she needed a set of lungs or a heart but they made nice accessories. She knew externally, she was burning. Hadn't been this hot since that trip to Hades in eighteen fifty fi- Enough. Focus vampire, focus.

"We went to England," she began, telling her fangs that chattering didn't encourage gum health. "We found the thing that took Daz in Derby. I- I could smell her blood on it. But not enough to prove she's d-d-dead."
When did the world get so fuzzy? She blinked rapidly, seeing through the shimmer of hot air, "It had got a human. We tried to kill it but...but it was too strong."
Stronger than anything she'd ever met. It had cut her down as though she was a mewbie again. She was Sylope and she was strong, and nothing was meant to defeat her.

Something had.

She sank to the floor, a shaking pile of old bones, wrapped up in a pretty shroud. "Please Xanth," she begged, hating the helplessness, hating the weakness, "please help me."

Sylope's pain clawed at her but Xanth did not dare tend to her as she wished to. One of the things she vowed whenever she made a new Aide - whether they knew it or not - was that she would not allow them to die unless they wished it. In fact, she often made them jump through many hoops in order to beg her to let them die, just so she could be sure they really did want it. Too many spirits wandered the Earth because she was stupid in her youth.

Yet healing Sylope would no doubt kill Xanth herself, for she knew now what creature had taken Dazadi.

I cannot help you, Sylope. Kiril, take her to her home and make sure she is comfortable. Then, grab the nearest, highest-level Elysian you can find and make sure they tend to her. I need you to come back once she is settled, I have a new task for you.

She did not bother to explain herself, that would take too long. Sylope needed to sleep, that way the poison in her blood would not spread so quickly. Hurry now, she commanded gently, waving them off.

To make things short, Kiril goes to the Vampire Sanctuary. What happened there is only for Vampires to know.

Xanth paused, in two minds as to whether or not Kiril really needed to know everything there was to know about the creature they were dealing with. But then she remembered last time something like this happened, and that part of the ensuing problem was ignorance, and decided to tell him everything. What he imparted to others then was his choice.

Walk with me, Kiril.

She turned Kiril and they started walking as Xanth searched her memory for a good place to start.

A long time ago, back when there were more active gods on Earth, one of them decided it would be fun to create a poison that could kill other gods.

It worked, too. Not in the way he expected though. He accidentally created a beast whose blood was the poison, and that beast had a very violent grudge against his creator. Other gods too, actually, which is where the problems really started.

I think this is what we are dealing with now. Something I have kept from the Shapeshifters for this very reason is that once they reach a high enough level they can assume the form of any mythical being. I was always afraid that if they knew this, they might choose to assume the form you encountered in England.

But Kiril, tell me more of it. Describe it to me in detail. The impressions I got from your time there were not of the original Hind, but something... something else. I need to know more if we are to combat it.

Xanth nodded as the demon described the beast that had injured Sylope, increasingly concerned. Though it was not entirely the same as the original Hind, it was most definitely the same danger.

Last time this happened, my father used... Oddly reluctant to even mention her father to Kiril even though he was a trusted Aide, Xanth hesitated. Particularly since what she had to say was rather gory... Not that it would faze a Demon but it was still something she did not like to think about. He used body parts from a rare scorpion out in the desert. That is the reason the Scorpion Desert was created, really... as a place for this particular creature to inhabit without causing danger to the people of Earth. It is rather vicious. And huge, actually. I am glad now that I could not destroy that particular pocket of a dimension.

She stopped walking and turned to face Kiril directly. We need the blood of this creature in order to both save Sylope and Dazadi and kill the Hind. More, the blood will only weaken the creature, so we will need... other parts too. Parts that cannot be reached easily because of its shell. The heart, liver, eyes and stomach all contain properties which are poisonous to the Hind in the proper proportions.

But Kiril, I dare not risk you. If anything should happen to you while Sylope and Dazadi are... injured... I cannot afford to waste my blood turning new Aides. You must not endanger yourself, do you understand me?

The Demon nodded warily and started to leave, but Xanth caught his arm quickly. It was a rare touch and his eyes widened. Kiril, hurry.