Hestor's Magic Cottage

The inside of Hestor’s Magic Cottage was warm, due to the fire burning in the fireplace on the far end of the room, but outside was a very different story. It was winter in the Farlands, which meant it was bitterly cold everywhere except near a fire. Snow was falling, adding to the usual fog, so any poor individual who happened to be outdoors wouldn’t be able to see their hand in front of their face.

Hestor was sitting on his favorite armchair, comfortable as could be, and drinking a warm mug of cherry cream he had just finished making. All four of the magical doors were shut and locked, and there would be nothing to bother him for at least a few hours. 

Or so he thought. The calm of the house was shattered as someone burst in through the front door, bringing an awful lot of snow and fog in with them. Hestor jumped to his feet, spilling some of the cherry cream onto his robe as he did so. Hestor scowled at the intruder, putting his mug down with a bang that clearly expressed how annoyed he felt. 

The trespasser brushed snow off of their clothes and hair, showering the floor with it, then stood up straight. Even with a blank white bone mask covering their face, Hestor knew exactly who it was.

“Veran.” Hestor said, scowling even harder. 

“Hestor.” Veran replied, her masked face staring directly at him. Even without eyeholes, it was easy to tell where she was looking. Veran had one of the strongest gazes of anyone Hestor knew. She now turned this gaze to the pink stain on Hestor’s robe, which was slowly spreading. 

“I thought you said you would leave me in peace.” Hestor growled, crossing his arms over the stain. 

Veran looked with interest at an intricately painted clay pot sitting on the table next to Hestor’s unfinished mug of cherry cream. “That was years ago. I thought you might be happier to see me now.” she said flatly, picking up the pot. Hestor glared at her and she put it back. 

“I made it very clear you are not welcome here any longer. Or have you forgotten that already?” he said snidely. Veran was silent. 

“Are you going to tell me what you are doing here, or did you only show up to make a mess of my house?” Hestor questioned, indicating the large piles of snow Veran had let in. Veran flicked her long dark braid over her shoulder, an old habit that indicated she was about to start giving some sort of announcement or talk longer than usual.

“Hestor, your magic cottage is giving off some big readings. I mean, really big. Magic detonations have been getting more frequent, and the others in the Coterie think your cottage might be next. You have been keeping an eye on your magic layers, haven’t you?” she asked, her voice almost sounding concerned under the official tone she was using. “Of course I-” Hestor began, before being interrupted by a loud cracking noise. 

The third magic door, on the east side of the house, had a long crack in it, which had definitely not been there previously. Something was pounding on the other side, creating more and more cracks. Veran stepped forward, summoning her spear as she did so. Hestor picked up the clay pot and raised his arm, poised to throw the pot if necessary. Veran crept toward the door, silent as the snow, and signaled with her hand for Hestor to stay back. 

“Hyah!” Veran cried, throwing open the door. For a moment, nothing happened, and she lowered her spear, shrugging at Hestor. “I guess-” she began, before a huge black shape leaped out of the open door and knocked her to the ground. Veran screamed as the black shape growled at her, its large claws pinning her to the ground. 

“A Breghest!” Hestor said in alarm. “Don’t move!” Veran didn’t listen, instead choosing to stab the creature’s scaly leg. The lizardlike beast screeched and moved backwards, away from the two humans. “Okay, fine, move! Let’s get out of here!” Hestor shouted over the Breghest’s screams. He threw open the front door and followed Veran out of it. 

Hestor’s Magic Cottage was on the top of a steep, snow covered mountain, with no clear way down. Hestor had made it that way to deter potential visitors, but now he was regretting his decision. 

“We don’t have time to climb all the way down. That horrible thing is destroying my house, and I’d rather not get destroyed with it!” Hestor said, pointing back to his cottage, which was indeed being torn apart by the Breghest. Veran waved her spear in a diamond shape in the air, and summoned a large sled. 

“A sled? We aren’t five years old anymore. You and I both know neither of us has touched one of those in years!” Hestor cried, panic edging into his normally stern voice. “Well, stop acting like a baby and get on. Any five year old knows the fastest way down a snow covered mountain is to sled. Now get on.” Veran commanded. Hestor obeyed, sitting awkwardly down on the wooden sled. Veran followed suit, gripping onto the side with one hand, the other clutching her spear. 

“Now what?” Hestor asked, looking anxiously back at the Breghest, which was almost through destroying the cottage and would soon turn its attention to livelier prey. 

“Hold on, obviously!” Veran answered, and she stabbed her spear into the ground. The resulting magical shockwave blew the sled down the mountain at a high speed. Hestor screamed rather uncharacteristically, and Veran concentrated on keeping the sled going straight. The mountain passed by them faster and faster every moment, leaving the ruined house and the monster behind. 

As the sled raced down the mountain, it hit a large rock covered in snow, and flew into the air. With a crash, a crack, and a splintering of wood, the sled came to a rest at the bottom of the mountain at last. The short-lived sled was broken into pieces, but the two humans were unharmed. 

“I suppose I should be grateful.” Hestor grumbled, brushing snow off of his robe. Veran got to her feet, somehow without so much as a snowflake on her hair. “You have to admit, that was fun.” she joked, de-summoning her spear. Hestor only grunted in reply. 

“Oh, don’t worry about the Breghest. I’ll send some of the Coterie people over to get rid of it. And I’ll try to get them to fix your house, too.” Veran said. There was silence for a moment. “And...I’m sorry for barging in on you. Maybe the next time we see each other it’ll be on better terms.” she added. 

Hestor sighed, relenting. “Oh, all right. Maybe. But don’t make me ride a sled again, we’re both too old for that.” 

Veran laughed, and turned to leave. “All right.” And with that, she disappeared into the snow. 

Hestor stood alone for a moment, before turning toward the streets of the nearby town. He might as well stop by and get another cherry cream from the cafe. It’d been awhile.