Becoming the Witch’s Familiar

“You’ve never answered my question,” Bellamy turned to the woman around the same height as her, “What exactly is a witch?”

Trees and all other plant life, much similar to the base of Altenheim mountain, was cleared in a circular pattern around this ruined marble white building. It surprised them the first time, but as they continued in the direction provided to them, these ruins became much more commonplace. At first, they only saw one every few hours and now it seemed they found around three an hour. This late in the day, only a short time before sunset, they had run into quite a few already.

Only an eighth of the size of a small town like Thistlebrook, they held one, possibly two, marble structures in their clearing. Some had roofs, others have lost various key structures to the winds and rains of time. To much appreciation of the slime, this one had plenty of shelter.

Ashara sighed, still not completely enamored by traveling with the slime, “A woman who has formed a pact with a devil to perform magicks.” She defined as if in class.

Appearing to have more questions, Bellamy stopped, seeming pleased to have drawn something from the normally leering witch.

Turning back to Sara, the slime continued her series of inquiries, “Initially, I expected ‘witch’ to be a stand-in for this era’s ‘alchemist’, but it seems that is not the case. My question is, why would someone want to form a bond with a devil? What sense would that make?”

Before the succubus could answer, Ashara spoke up instead, “Some people are just desperate. If you need power quickly, what easier way is there than to offer something you don’t need, like a bit of your humanity?”

“I see…” Bellamy nodded, her form now taken to slithering on the ground rather than the hops she had done as a much lighter oblong blob, “And what devil did you offer yourself to, witch?”

Ashara stopped.

Taking the point in the group, her back was the only thing visible to the two monsters.

The slime immediately knew her mistake of pushing too far. It was a miracle she got one answer out of the witch, let alone two, but it seemed there was no hope for any more than that.

“A witch is never to reveal that information.” She answered calmly.

Sara opened her eyes in shock.

Both her and the slime shared a glance, expecting a much more dynamic outburst. The best case scenario was that Bellamy would get a strict chiding, while in the worst case…

“Not only does it make the devil visible to those who hear the name, but it unveils the witch’s powers. She would become exposed, or worse, vulnerable to those who know how to take advantage of that knowledge…”

The succubus nodded. It appeared there was a third miracle after all.

- - - -

As if on cue, the rains began to fall upon the roofed structure, turning it into a drum being battered over and over again as the torrent fell onto the thin alloy that provided the shelter through this storm.

With the small fire providing heat to those that needed it, both the witch and her former familiar huddled around the open flame while the slime took watch, thankful for the ample space this time to comfortably avoid the bullets that hailed from above.

“So, snot.” Sara called from beside the fire, “So how do you… work?”

Turning away from the cascading curtain, the alchemist broke away from her musings, “I am still not very appreciative of the nickname, miss…” Looking down at her slimy form, it was plain to see she had no organs whatsoever, save the eyeball: no heart, no lungs, not even any bones nor nerve endings. “Well, to put it quite simply, the sphere functions as a sort of ‘brain’, coordinating all my-”

“Wrong.” Ashara stated bluntly, never once tearing her eyes from the flame.

Bellamy stammered, “Excuse me, Miss Witch? I’ll have you know I have researched the very vessel I wished to upload my mind into-”

Without a word, the tiny woman stepped out into the rain, causing the brim of her hat to be weighed down with both the pressure and the absorption of water that poured onto it. Stopping out by the treeline, she bent down to scoop something from an already decaying log before returning with a yellow mass in her hand.

“Tell me, alchemist, were you the one who invented slime mold?”

The now bemused intellectual stammered once more, “N-no! But while my current composition is quite similar to the-”

“Your body is a singular cell. Pulses of calcium cause your cell walls to expand and contract to create movement. While your core is the progenitor and holder of your soul, i.e. your personality, your body itself, formed of independent nuclei, is doing some heavy lifting as the ‘brain’, or the part that controls your unconscious functions.”

“My ‘soul’?” Bellamy spit, sending a chunk of herself into the fire, “Don’t tell me that load of refuse has become the leading theory around here! Next you’re about to prognosticate that the rain will end when Beluit decides her bathroom break is finished?”

Running her free hand through her now drenched black hair, Ashara’s eyes grew wide, “Oh geez… And to think I used to be like one of you…” Straightening herself up, she locked eyes with the alchemist, “You need to wake up, you old geezer! I literally used the same technique two months ago with our friend here!” She shouted, pointing to Sara.

The succubus had no choice but to nod along, “It’s way beyond me, but I can confirm, soul transfers are real.”

Soaking wet, Ashara stood proud, triumphant.

“Ugh…” Bellamy groaned, still trying to frame her argument, “I- I refuse to believe in the concept of something so mundane as a ‘soul’! What is it made of, then? How does that even make sense?”

“It’s because that’s the way it is.” To punctuate her thesis, the witch shrugged, showing she had just as much clue as the slime.

The smell of burning filled the area.

Barely visible through the rains, thick black smoke rolled out from the edge of the trees and into the clearing their building inhabited the center of. A lone figure limped out of the brush, seemingly beaten by the onslaught of rain that pounded him from above.

If it were not for the column of smoke nor the fact that his body appeared to be made of embers, it would look like an average adult male tallman.

“Help… Me…” He groaned, edging closer and closer to the women.

Taking point, Sara held out her only full arm out, putting herself between the strange man and them, “Who are you?”

Her question was only answered by the sound of the rain being evaporated on his searing hot skin. The closer he got, the more apparent that the outer shell of his skin was hard, almost like rock, as veins of pure heat webbed between the cracks.

Continuing to stumble forward through the clearing, steam billowed off of him, the downpour of water evaporating against his skin made of coals, “Help me…!”

“Twelve hells.” Sara swore, deciding what to do with the man. He appeared to be suffering, and if he got any closer, so would they. “Witch, do something about him!”

Shook free from her slight daze, Ashara uttered a light incantation before slicing her hand forward.

The burning man stumbled, landing on his right arm, as a blade made from the following drops of water sliced down after a moment of delay from her own arm motion. Solidifying into a single slash, the rains coalesced into a thin cleaver, slicing the man’s left arm clean off his shoulder.

Letting out no utterance, no scream, the burning man stood once more before lumbering forth once again.

“Wh-what are we going to do about him?” Bellamy asked, taking longer to come out of her own surprise. Between the falling knives outside of the shelter and the flaming man attempting to walk in, she probably had more to worry about than either of the two with her. “What even is he?”

Making another slicing motion, this one missing the man as he stumbled again, the witch furrowed her brow in frustration, “Another onomantic monster…” Taking up a different hand motion, a ball of water formed above the suffering man before easing over him. The creature seemed nonplussed by being surrounded by water, rapidly boiling within the sphere she contained him in. “Looks like he’s been imbued with far too much fire mana.”

“Then it appears you made the correct choice-” Bellamy was interrupted with the flaming man simply walking out of the magical prison.

“I’m done!” The witch threw her hands up in frustration, retreating further into the shelter, “Sara, go suck him dry!”

Looking over at the man made of pure fire, Sara turned back to the witch, “And how the fuck do you propose I do that?” She shouted over the sizzling sound of steam that grew louder. Looking at his body, now only a few dozen hands away, he had no phallus to even entertain.

“I’unno!” Ashara lounged on the ground, her clothes still wet from the mold demonstration she made. “Show me some of those new spells ya got!”

“I would, but I-”

Sara was snatched up in an instant.

The culprit began to recede back to the tree line, a massive snake, able to strike from the jungle, “Who daresss draw upon the den of my massster…?”

A deep sound filled the air around them. Pressing upon the air, the group felt as if they were being constricted by the very air around them.

Rumbling only half as deep as the slithering sound, the voice echoed through the trees around the clearing. Without any around them, the team was exposed as to whatever threat presented itself this time. As the burning man continued his approach, Ashara finally stood once more.

“Wh-what is going on?” Bellamy asked, now incredulous at the sequence of events.

Pushing the slime back, the witch ran out into the rain once more, “Deal with hot hands, I gotta deal with the other guy.”

As she ran by, the flaming man reached for her, but by the time he lurched forward, she was well past him. Seeing the slime in the shelter, he resumed his pained saunter “Help… Me…!”

“O-of course! Of course!” The slime backed up to the wall, her hand to her mouth, “What’s the problem? How can I help you? I-I hate the rain, maybe take a respite in here where it’s nice and dry?”

The man finally made it to the edge of the shelter, his eyes like burning coals.

“There we are! Nice and comfortable…” Bellamy held up her massive hands to soothe the flaming man.

However, he did not stop, continuing to walk towards the slime.