Merchant Crab

Blue’s charge missed its target and her talons closed on nothing but the air where the witch had stood a moment before.

Swerving to the side in order to avoid hitting Balthazar, the drake crashed against the bed, causing the wooden frame to break on impact.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Velvet hissed with malice, purple arcana swirling rapidly around her fingers and palms.

Blue struggled to get back on her feet, wings tangled in a mess of sheets and bed covers, but the witch gave her no time to recover.

The mana took shape in Velvet’s grasp, and she formed a glowing whip of pure magic in her hand. With a swing of her arm, the witch sent the arcane whip at the winged creature, hitting her directly on the torso with a loud snap that made Balthazar wince and clench his pincers.

“Blue!” Suze shouted from the wall she was still restrained against. For once, the crab detected real concern and panic in her voice, instead of her usual carefree and breezy demeanor.

Balthazar prepared to throw caution out the same window Blue had crashed through and just run to her, when the purple glow retreated to its caster and the merchant realized the drake’s state.

She appeared completely fine. Her azure scales where the whip had connected were unmarred, and the drake stood back up with no signs of any damage taken.

Of course! Her natural magic resistance.

“Hah! You think I can only rely on direct magic in a fight?” she said with a boastful grin.

Blue’s pupils narrowed with fury at the woman. When she started opening her mouth and taking a deep breath, the crab knew what would come next.

“Blue, no!” Balthazar shouted. “The girls!”

The drake’s gaze followed the direction he was pointing. Unleashing her fire breath in that room, so close to the two bound humans, would risk catching them in the blast.

Blue held back from attacking, but Velvet showed no such restraint.

Cracking her glowing whip in the air, the witch called more of the textiles in the room to life.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The velvety covers of the bed closed around Blue like a Venus flytrap catching an insect, before the mattress underneath wrapped around the confused drake, trapping her within. As she struggled to break free, the bear fur rug on the floor swept over her, tightening around the whole arrangement and pressing the creature down against the floor and the remains of the broken bed.

With wings and legs tightly pushed against her bound body and only her head sticking out of the restraining fabrics, the azure creature could do little more than move her neck.

“Blue!” the merchant exclaimed, running forward with pincers open and ready to cut.

“Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast!” Velvet said, cracking her whip on the floor between the crab and his drake as a warning. “We still have unfinished business, Balthie.”

The witch started walking toward the merchant, whip in hand and ill intent in her eyes.

Balthazar gulped nervously. “Uh, say… weren’t you telling me about your ingenious plan? I’d love to hear more!”

[Gift of the Crab: failure. Insufficient Charisma]

“You may be charming, Balthie,” Velvet said, “but you’re still not charming enough to trick me.”

The back of the crab’s shell bumped against an armchair as he tried to back away from her. He didn’t want the witch coming closer to him, as he knew that she could affect him with her witchery long before she came close enough for his claws to reach her.

“Don’t worry,” said the devious adventurer as the magical whip disappeared from her hands. “I’m not going to damage you… much. I need those legs in pristine condition for my recipe.”

Reaching for the pendant on her neck, Velvet pressed the jewel at its center, which produced a droplet of a thick liquid against her fingertip.

“You will understand soon. Once I complete my formula, you will see how much it was worth it. You and everyone else.”

The witch reached forward with her hand, moving it as if she was about to cast a spell, but no words were said or mana weaved. Instead, Balthazar felt a sweet and overwhelming aroma wash over his antennae, numbing every sense in his body and making his leg joints feel weak.

With his chemosensory setae flooded with the witch’s bewitching perfume, the merchant’s worries and cares slowly started slipping away as he was lulled into a sense of comfort by the cozy smell of freshly baked pie.

Hey, maybe this isn’t so bad after all… She just smells so nice… and wow, her eyes look even shinier up close. So shiny, so pretty…

“That’s right, Balthie,” Velvet whispered, tracing a black nail between his eyestalks. “Just focus on the nice scent. Doesn’t it smell just like your favorite thing in the whole world? Everything will be fine…”

As the witch came closer and got her clutches around the witless crustacean, the drake over by the remnants of the bed growled and struggled against her restraints, trying to get free—but to no avail. Her wings were too tightly pressed against her body, and her talons unable to claw their way out.

“Blue,” Suze whispered from her own bindings. “Get her dress!”

The azure creature followed the little girl’s nod to the tail of the witch’s gala dress, dragging on the floor behind her.

Sticking her neck out as much as she could, the drake breathed in, doing her best to aim as precise of a jet of flames as she could in order to avoid hitting Balthazar too.

A small spout of blue fire shot out of the drake’s mouth and onto the distracted adventurer’s dress, setting it alight instantly.

“What—” Velvet screeched as she looked back, the flames on the tail of her dress quickly spreading up through the fabric.

“Woah, velvet sure is flammable!” the street rascal on the other side of the room said.

The witch screamed and yelled, trying to put the fire out by swatting it, which only caused the frilly ends of her sleeves to be scorched as well.

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Finally smothering the flames by stomping on the lower end of her dress with her boots, the fuming woman turned her irate gaze to the drake.

“You little…”

Swiftly moving behind the creature, Velvet called another curtain to life and commanded it to wrap around Blue’s mouth with her hands.

The drake protested with muffled growls, but the tight muzzle around her jaw and snout prevented her from opening her mouth again.

Meanwhile, Balthazar stumbled slightly where he stood, still dazed by the effects of the witch’s hex, but drifting in and out of his full senses now that she had moved some distance away.

Ow. I could swear I was about to get my pincers on a delicious slice of pie. Wait…

His foggy vision focused on the drake across the room, bound and gagged by the witch standing above her, clutching her fingers as the drapes tightened around her victim.

Blue! Balthazar thought. Damn it, I need to do something, but I can barely think straight when that witch is near me. Because of her witchcraft. Not because she makes me nervous or anything.

Velvet stepped over the drake and started making her way back to the crab.

Ah, crap. If only I had the magic resistance Blue has.

His spinning eyestalks frowned slightly.

Wait a minute…

Rushing through the menus of his system as his vision bobbed from side to side, the merchant found the screen for the members of his party, specifically the part with Blue’s natural traits.

[Mind Scales]

[Trait]

[Owners of strong personalities, sturdy wills, and well-balanced minds, draconic creatures show great resistance to all manner of illusion or mind-altering magic. Has the ability to resist most psychic effects.]

Mind-altering magic! That’s it!

With the witch coming closer and closer, Balthazar navigated back on his system as quickly as he could, every sense in his body growing numb as the scent from the medallion began reaching him again.

The screen with his skills scrolled up into view and focus began fading as the lull of the charm grabbed hold of the crab once more.

[Copycrab]

[Skill - B tier]

[Requirements: 40 CHA, 15 INT]

[Cost: 10 mana]

[Be a little more like those around you. For 5 minutes, gain the properties of a unique trait from a nearby ally.]

Putting what little focus he could still muster into his drake, Balthazar hoped he had recovered enough mana since using his Imbuing skill in the corridor. Because if he hadn’t…

“Enough playing around. Time for me to collect that leg, Balthie,” Velvet said as she leaned down in front of the merchant and caressed the top of his shell.

“Blub blub,” the crab said, making tiny bubbles with his mouth as he looked at her with an empty gaze.

“Good,” the witch said with a devious smile. “That’s how I like my prey. Docile and very agreeable.”

“You know…” Balthazar muttered as the woman stood at eye level with him. “You’re not really that charming without this.”

Velvet’s expression turned into a frown, but as realization hit her and she attempted to pull away, it was already too late.

[Charm of the Witch resisted by Mind Scales Mind Chitin]

With a swift jab forward, Balthazar snapped the fine strand necklace holding the charmed medallion around the witch’s neck.

“No!” the woman exclaimed as she pulled away from the crab and clutched her neck.

With a crunchy pinch of his pincer, the merchant cracked the amulet and the jewel in it. A purple liquid dripped from within but evaporated into nothing before even hitting the floor.

“My charm!” Velvet screamed, horror overtaking her expression as she stumbled back.

“Lady, you never had any to begin with,” Balthazar said before dropping the broken medallion.

The witch grabbed her face with both hands and started groaning in what appeared to be pain. The front of her hair started rapidly turning gray and then white as the skin on the back of her hands dried out and shifted a few shades darker.

“What the…” the perplexed crab said.

“My dame! I will save you!” a booming voice yelled.

The bedroom doors burst open and the commander of the Marquessian guards heroically rushed in, baton in hand, cape flowing behind him, and heart-print pantaloons still on full display.

Balthazar, the girls, even the drake, all turned to look at him with weirded out faces.

As the man looked around the room, his expression changed and he blinked rapidly a few times before shaking his head.

“Wha… What am I doing?!”

Dazed and confused, the commander suddenly looked down at his own legs.

“What in the name of Crea!” he suddenly yelled.

His cheeks turned several shades redder and he ran out of the room, trying to wrap his cape around himself as he shuffled away.

“I really wish you’d have covered my eyes again, Balthazar…” Suze said from the other side of the room. “I’m never going to unsee that now.”

Unfortunately for them, Velvet did not let the sudden distraction go to waste.

“Hey!” the crab shouted as he turned to see her running for the window.

Still covering her face with her hands, the rapidly shriveling witch threw herself over the windowsill, shifting back into a cat midair as she vanished past the parapet.

Balthazar ran to the window, but he saw no signs of either cat or witch in the pitch black of the outside.

Damn it! I still needed her to reverse Henrietta’s curse!

Muffled grunting and protesting came from behind him, reminding the merchant that he still had other friends in more urgent need.

“Yes, alright, I’m coming, Olivia,” he said, skittering across the room.

With a few skillful snips, the crab freed the young woman, who fell to the floor and quickly removed the gag around her mouth.

“She got away!”

“Yes, we all noticed,” Balthazar begrudgingly said. “Cut Suze loose while I get Blue, will you?”

With the precision of a surgeon, the crustacean began cutting the bonds restraining his drake.

Loud steps came from the corridor outside, quickly approaching the room.

Oh, great. What now? A shirtless bandit sobbing for his maiden?

Captain Leander rushed into the room, fists up, with Druma right behind him, staff at the ready and wizard hat falling over his eyes.

“Are you guys all right?” the veteran asked. “Your winged companion flew out of the cellar door so suddenly that we thought she might have sensed something terrible happening. And why did we just pass a half-naked commander on the way here?!”

“Trust me, Lee,” said Olivia, “That’s one long story that I’ll have to tell you later.”

“What about our mystery woman? Did you not find her?”

The young woman scowled as she pulled the last of the now lifeless curtains off Suze. “We found the witch, but she managed to escape. I’m going after her.”

“No, you are not,” Balthazar said as Blue stood back up and stretched her wings. “It’s my fault she slipped away. Again. I’m the one who has to find her again. But don’t worry, I have a feeling we won’t be seeing her for a while, especially not around Marquessa.”

“You should listen to Mr. Balthazar,” said Leander. “Besides, I need your help here.”

“The mangoes,” Olivia said as if only now remembering what started the whole ordeal. “Did you find them?”

The captain smiled.

“They’re down in the cellar, along with several unconscious bandits and a few rogue guards. Some of the fruits have gone bad, but I think a large portion of the harvest is still salvageable.” He looked down at Druma and gave him a pat on the back. “Couldn’t have done it without the help of our goblin friend here and Ms. Blue over there. Quite the companions!”

The green assistant grinned with great pride at the captain’s words, clutching his staff with both hands. “Druma happy to help captain!”

“And of course, can’t forget the key piece in all of this,” the man said, looking at the crab. “You’ve successfully solved our mango crisis, Mr. Balthazar.”

The merchant looked at him with a slight frown. “But… I let the witch slip right between my pincers.”

“And?” said the captain. “You uncovered the ongoing conspiracy, those involved in it, where the stolen cargo was, helped us recover it, and it appears that the one behind it won’t be daring to set foot on our city again after your confrontation here tonight. Quite the list of feats!”

“I… guess you’re right.”

“Take the credit for the win, my crab friend. You’ve definitely earned it.”

[Quest completed: Marquessa’s Mangoes]

Balthazar’s eyestalks perked up as he saw the system notification, but it was what the captain said next that really put a smile on his face.

“I believe it’s time we talk to the mayor about your rewards.”