Terror Twenty-Three - Road

　　"Road!" I call out.Felix and I stumble across the grassy expanse just outside of the forest, and towards the edge of the road. There`s a small ditch there, but it`s barely an inconvenience to jump over it, and Felix is light—and happy—enough that she hops over in a single bound."This is good, right?" Felix asks."It`s great," I say. And it is. The road means we have a direction. It`ll be basically impossible to get lost now. As long as we head westward, we should stumble into the capital eventually. Also, I like being able to walk on solid ground. No roots, no bushes, nothing to trip on, and clear sight for a long way in at least two directions--which is better than the no directions in the woods.Felix smiles and points down the road. "That way?""Yup," I say. "That`s west.""I never get lost in Santafaria, but I think I might get lost out here.""No landmarks?" I ask."Landmarks?"I walk next to Felix, keeping pace. "A landmark is a large thing that`s easy to see and that can help guide you.""Oh. Do landmarks count if they`re noises?" she asks."I... have no idea. I guess so. As long as it helps you figure out where you`re going." I tug my cloak off, then fold it over an arm. It`s nice out, warm. Monsterra is a hot place. Or at least this part of it, around the Kingdom of Heroe. Mom`s place to the north of here is actually warmer, despite being further away from the equator.I don`t know enough about geography to know if that`s normal or not."I`m happy you`re here," I tell Felix. She tilts her head to the side, an obvious question. "It makes it less lonely. If you weren`t here, it would just be me and some monster pals, but they`re not too talkative, not unless they`re in their upper levels.""You`re welcome, Miss Valeria," Felix says."Just Valeria, I told you... Miss Felix."Felix laughs. "I don`t think I can look like a Miss.""Looking like a Miss isn`t important. It`s the attitude. Mom gave me a few lessons about it; she thinks that it`s very important, and I trust her when she says that.""The attitude?"I nod. "Yup. A good-enough actor could walk into a town naked and have people snapping to attention. I`m pretty sure Mom has convinced people not to mess with her just by walking into a room the right way. She keeps telling me that being an evil person is easy, but being a good villain requires a lot of hard work.""You want to be a villain?""Well, yeah, my Mom`s the big bad of this world. Do you know how many books have her as the bad guy? Well, I guess you don`t. But yeah, no one likes Mom, even though she`s really cool and awesome. So I don`t really have much of a choice. I`m going to be the best bad guy ever, for Mom."Felix is quiet for a while as we walk on. I`m starting to worry that maybe I said something wrong. I was a little enthusiastic about the whole villainy thing, but it`s basically true. I look like a monster, and unless I want to hide for the rest of my life, I don`t have much of a choice.Not that I mind. Sure, I think--and Mom agrees--that my natural way of acting leans more towards helping people. But that doesn`t mean that I can be a good Dark Princess of Evil if I don`t put in the work!"If you become a villain, can I be one of your thugs?""A thug?" I ask."Yeah, like Fancy has."I scoff. "Felix, Fancy isn`t a villain, he`s like... some profiteering guy. He`s barely a footnote. No, no, Mom and I—well, mostly Mom—are capital V` Villains. Villains don`t have thugs, they have minions.""What`s the difference?"I hum in thought for a moment. "Mostly it`s in level, I think. Thugs are pretty common, and they`re not that impressive. Goons and minions are a lot rarer and stronger.""Oh," Felix says. "If I get a class like that, maybe I`ll take it."I nod. "You might get some looks for having two classes.""But if I act like I deserve them, it won`t be a problem, right?" Felix asks with a grin.Stolen story; please report.I laugh. "I guess not." Two classes isn`t so uncommon. Most people with an important job will get one, and I think most full-citizens can get a second class. It`s really hard for a woman to become a citizen though.Maybe Felix can pass for a boy later? Or a noblewoman with a bit of make-up and a nice dress."We`ll figure something out," I say. "Especially if you come home with me.""Home, you mean where the Dark Goddess lives?" Felix looks apprehensive, and I can totally understand her. I`d be nervous about meeting a friend`s Mom too, especially if she was the best mom ever."My Mom`s ni--"Felix raises a hand before me, then turns her head around to look behind us. Her steady walk slows down a bunch. "There`s something coming," she says.I listen, but I can`t hear anything in the distance. Still, I`m not going to just stand around out in the open while trouble comes running. "Let`s get off the road," I say.Felix nods, then gives me her hand so I can help guide her off the road and over the ditch on the other side. The boundary space between the road and the woods isn`t too thick here, so we don`t have far to go before we`re half-hidden by a few trees.I pull on my cloak, just in case. If there are humans coming, it would be best that they don`t see us.The problem is, I can`t see anything coming, and the road is clear for a long way."Are you sure?" I ask Felix.The girl nods. "I can still hear it. I think it`s a cart?"A cart means people. It might also mean slow people. "We have some time, then," I say. I find a fallen tree that can serve as a bench, then fetch one of my little friends from my clothes. They don`t like it when I`m moving around too much, but they`re usually pretty good about complaining. "I`m going to need a minute or two. I want to do something.""Sure," Felix says as she sits next to me.I send one little friend up into the air on a mission to find something. Meanwhile, I grab another, a small beetle friend that isn`t always useful in a fight, but he has great wings and a good head on his... well, he doesn`t have shoulders, exoskeletons being what they are.I whisper a message to my little friend, just something to relay to Mom. I`m okay, though my adventure is more complicated than I`d expected it to be. I tell her that I could probably use a tiny bit more help, but that I`ll be fine. I spent a lot of my gold, but I still have a little. Oh, and she doesn`t need to worry! I`ll get her books back, and make sure to find out as much as I can about the people who burned her temple down!My little friend returns, and he brings a strange new friend with him. A moody-looking raven monster, the sort that will caw at people from outside a city wall until they go mad. "Hello," I say. "It`s a pleasure to meet you.""Caw," the monster replies."Indeed. I need a small favour. I have this friend here." I show the raven-monster my little beetle monster. "And he needs to be brought to Mom—that is, the Goddess of Darkness."The raven monster eyes me critically. "Caw.""I know, it is pretty far. And I don`t really have anything to give you."He looks at my shirt, with all of its shiny embroidery. "Caw.""No, not even a shiny." I do need my remaining gold, and I`m not about to go around shirtless! "But I`m positive Mom will be very pleased with the brave bird that flew so far to deliver such an important message. She`s sure to reward you. You can even tell her that I told you as much."I rub at the monster`s head for good measure.It looks to Felix. "Caw.""No, you can`t have a snack for the flight. Here, open your beak."I slip the beetle in, the entire thing too big to be swallowed by accident. "Chaahw," the raven monster says past a full beak."Yup," I reply. "Now go, fast! It`s important that you deliver this as quickly as your wings can take you."The monster bows its head, then takes off in a flutter of pitch-black wings.Now we just need to see about the oncoming company.***