Wraithvine's Wanderings

Challenge #04724-L342: Free as a... Prince?

Wraithvine and anyone ze believes will help with the task (possibly meaning no one) must infiltrate a ball and rescue a prince from the clutches of his evil (yet, alas, overwhelmingly popular and powerful) Queen Mother. All without being recognized or exposed during the escape, and before the clock strikes one in the morning, for some reason… -- Deathshead419

[AN: Pure evil requires dedicated choice, and I don't believe anyone living is pure evil. Not even in fiction. They have motives and reasons for doing what they do. And they almost always believe that they are doing good]

An expensive ball lead to expectations. Glitz. Glitter. Cloth-of-gold and every display of wealth and power. Gemstones, gold, and everything that could be worn in display. Exotic dyes. Exotic cloth. Complicated hairstyles that took teams to accomplish. That was for the invited guests.

The letter Wraithvine carried was not such an invitation, but it did contain a plan and people who could help. Of course a grand ball would have entertainment, and the play on offer to the gilded lords included hirself. All they needed was to make Wraithvine look like a mummer.

"You're too authentic," complained one of the crew. "Too real. You need to look fake." They hustled hir through a gauntlet as they changed Wraithvine from the skin out. Artfully threadbare shoes, one wheeze from falling apart. Trousers with multicoloured patches where no patches should ever go. A robe with orchestrated tatters and trailing threads. Also patched. A coat of many pockets.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Prompts remaining: 33 Submit a Prompt!
Ask a question

Challenge #04724-L340: One Weakened Link

Whilst in the woods, (alone or with someone(s) at the author’s discretion) Wraithvine comes upon a dying man, a double-crossed messenger with an arrow through his chest. He begs Hir to deliver his letter. But, a dying man is not necessarily a righteous one, not all treasons are unjustified. Wraithvine must decide if fulfilling the promise is correct, and ze does not have much time… -- Deathshead419

On a road less traveled, more of a deer trail, there's only a

Challenge #04720-L336: Learned Something Yet?

It's been twenty and one years. Wraithvine comes to see if the little turd has finally learned some humility. The allied Duke, a peaceful, and honorable elf, joins hir to see his future son-in-law as well. He would never let his daughter wed one who would mistreat her.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04581-l197-attitudes-adjusted-while-you-wait -- Anon Guest

One can wander very far on assorted quests during twenty years. Especially if a few Dragons or deities decided to relocate Wraithvine to different continents.

Challenge #04718-L334: Haunting Recall

An older elf, though far from elderly, spent their days deep in wine and dandelion. Their nights in tears and regret. They had done so many terrible things they were unable to forgive themselves for. The humans asked Wraithvine to help. This elder had only been a child when this all happened, they didn't deserve this kind of sorrow. -- Anon Guest

The Xenophobia Wars were not one war, as evidenced by the plural. They were not one event, nor between one

Challenge #04713-L329: Unseen Miracles

A farmer asks Wraithvine and Birbrid to come fishing with him. He needs a few more hands to pull in the nets as he's stocking up for winter. Crops are almost harvested, and he'd need help with that as well. He'd usually have help from his sons, but many have caught very bad colds, and the season for snows is fast approaching. -- Anon Guest

The autumnal weather should have been frightful. There should have been strong winds, threatening storms, and an

Challenge #04708-L324: From Menace to Midwife

Trudy the Goose-Girl has become obsessed with travelling to a mountain lake and will not take no for an answer. Alas, there is a terrible danger around the lake, one Henkar and Molys feel ill equipped to face on their own. So they seek out Wraithvine, begging hir to aid them in reaching this place of strange magic. -- Deathshead419

[AN: Most recent previous installation of Trudy the Goose is https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04636-l252-girl-goose ]

Trudy the Goose did not remain

Challenge #04702-L318: High Volume of Problems

A small child tries to grab Bribid to carry off what they thought was a cute little gnome. The parental was distracted by trying to help two other children who were very sick. Fortunately, he and Wraithvine are very patient people. -- Anon Guest

"Small" is relative when including children. Gnomes tend to top out at three feet high, so their children are terrifyingly tiny when compared to -say- Humans and Elves. Or the large Harukh'a offshoot from the verdant valleys, the

Challenge #04701-L317: Follow the Bouncing.... Orb

Some children try to get Wraithvine, Birbid, and anyone traveling with them to come play. They had balloons that one of the kids' parents had enchanted so they wouldn't pop, so they could play catch and bounce the toys between them. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Balloons take a long time to exist in Alfarell because latex takes longer to launch so I'm handwaving some magic]

Someone had cast several iterations Tinrak's Bouncing Orb in the plaza. The brightly-coloured bubbles easily rebounded off

Challenge #04696-L312: Important Gifts

A family gives Wraithvine a large pouch of catnip seeds for hir to grow the plant, not only as a medicinal tea, but a treat for Lilbit. -- Anon Guest

Gratitude comes in many shapes. Gifts as simple as a hug, or as complicated as an artefact that could prove useful in varied eventualities. This family could not spare much more than a small pouch of seeds. Of course they wished they could give more. Compared to how Wraithvine had changed their

Challenge #04687-L303: The Price of Prophecy

Divine clues convince a town that a boy and his friends must complete a daring quest to avert world ending disaster. That may be true. But the Hero’s parent knows the children will face potent foes none could survive without aid. So the parent, willing to pay well, begs Wraithvine to watch over the young heroes from the shadows and keep them from harm without being seen. -- Deathsead419

Langdon was born with the blaze. Prophecy declared that the boy born

Challenge #04685-L301: Slaughter Underwater

Well drat, Wraithvine’s unexpected island vacation will have to end sooner rather than later to help free the merfolk from having to make sacrifices to the Whijioght, though ze will likely have to get very damp doing so in this follow-up to:

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04588-l204-a-knack-for-finding-trouble -- Deathshead419

Obviously, whatever Whijiought was, it needed to be stopped. Sacrifices to something that needed a pronounciation guide were never a good thing. Wraithvine used every atom of hir acting skills to

Challenge #04677-L293: Nein to Nine

Every night for nine weeks a queen dreams of herself being surrounded by nine hooded figures she almost recognizes in the deepest sanctum of an abandoned castle. Each stabs her once until the ninth drives his blade through her heart. Terrified, she begs Wraithvine, and anyone ze might need to help, to find the truth of these nightmares haunting her sleep. -- Deathshead419

It had to be a portent. Every night for nine weeks, the Queen Chrysanthemum had the same dream. A

Challenge #04662-L278: An Acceptable Chain

Wraithvine's cat, Lilbit, climbs into the lap of a youngling who is, sadly, very allergic to cats. When the youngster starts to have a severe reaction, the furball is quickly sent to the tower, the child's symptoms are treated, and a special band is given to the child so this doesn't happen again. It was, after all, accidental. Even the parental didn't realize it had gotten this severe. -- Lessons

Cats are magnetically attracted to people who are allergic to them. Mostly

Challenge #04659-L275: Seeking Assylum

The 'pretender prince' had, had time to settle in with his new husband and new role as the king of this land. Bringing it to a place of peace and welcoming rather than being gilded cages. Now, came the hard part. To speak to his father. To tell his father who he really was, and as for his prison? He would plead to Wraithvine to make it larger on the inside than the outside. The man, after all, was still his father.

Challenge #04658-L274: What Lies, Beneath

A vision from Ereshkygal herself has brought Wraithvine to a region of wine, olives, and seemingly nothing wrong. The reigning duchess accepts her trans daughter as heir, the taxes aren't high, and there are no charlatans or curses running amok. Yet the Goddess has called hir here with startlingly vivid visions. What could it mean? -- Deathshead419

The visions had been very clear. This was the right realm. The architecture was a direct match. Wraithvine even stood at the exact spot that

Menu

A 179-post collection

Challenge #04724-L342: Free as a... Prince?

Challenge #04724-L340: One Weakened Link

Challenge #04720-L336: Learned Something Yet?

Challenge #04718-L334: Haunting Recall

Challenge #04713-L329: Unseen Miracles

Challenge #04708-L324: From Menace to Midwife

Challenge #04702-L318: High Volume of Problems

Challenge #04701-L317: Follow the Bouncing.... Orb

Challenge #04696-L312: Important Gifts

Challenge #04687-L303: The Price of Prophecy

Challenge #04685-L301: Slaughter Underwater

Challenge #04677-L293: Nein to Nine

Challenge #04662-L278: An Acceptable Chain

Challenge #04659-L275: Seeking Assylum

Challenge #04658-L274: What Lies, Beneath