Tristan

Much to Tristan's surprise, Billy was just as chipper as he'd been the day before. "Oh, look who finally decided to get out of bed!" the driver said upon seeing Tristan.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm, uh... No, I really don't have a good excuse for yesterday, or this morning."

Sophie shook her head. "You do have a good excuse, Tristan. It's okay to have feelings. Moreover, when they're especially intense like that, it's most important to not bottle them up or push them down, or you'll only end up in an even worse state! If you're one of those that thinks you're supposed to be all tough all the time, well, we've got to change that! Especially as we keep rising in levels, I think it might actually be even more important to keep in touch with what you're feeling, or we'll risk becoming like the monsters we're hunting."

Billy scratched his chin. "So I'm missing something, I think. Why aren't we all celebrating? You're still alive, while your quarry isn't. And you gained a boatload of experience and levels. What exactly is the problem here?"

"You're not wrong," Tristan admitted. "Not about any of that. It's just... complicated."

"We're working on it," Sophie added. "It's a process."

Billy shrugged. "No problem. I can see you want to keep some things close to the chest. I just never took you two--or three," he corrected quickly, "as the types who'd rather be sad than celebrating their amazing achievements. You guys took down a tier 4 time mage. At tier 2. Gods among us, I'd be celebrating if I even got to chauffeur one. It's not like Jamal goes anywhere."

Sophie smiled as she looked at Tristan. "He's got a fair point, you know. It was pretty amazing."

"I know," Tristan said with a strained smile, "and so I am here, to try and start celebrating. We have earned it."

Poof energetically meeped her agreement, although Tristan noticed that her extra energy also happened to help her slide the bright pink bow off the top of her head.

"Celebration time then!" Billy said, beaming. "While there aren't all that many ways to handle that here in Surdenholm, I do have a few recommendations, if you'd like to hear them. Alternatively, if you'd rather leave town, then I can guarantee you that the festivities will really get more exciting, things that would delight even the gods themselves! Which would you like to do?"

Tristan looked uncertainly at Sophie, hoping she'd have some set of preferences while his were sorely lacking.

"Sure, I say we've done what we came here to do, and I'm definitely not feeling tied down to staying. I could get out of here! What do you think, Tristan?"

"Sure. I agree."

Sophie: At least try to sound excited, for Billy's sake.

Tristan sighed and put on a better smile. "I mean, you're the expert, Billy. Your recommendations have been great so far. Whatever you say you think would be good, that's what I say we do."

Sophie: Much better. Thanks, Tristan. Tristan: You were right, and I'm sorry. But I am trying. Sophie: I know. I really think a fun day could help. I hope so, at least.

"Outstanding!" Billy was saying. "Then I have just the place to go. We're going to need to hop into the coach quickly, though, to make it there by nightfall. Especially since we're getting such a late start on the day." He gave Tristan a gentle wink. "Going to have to use a cooldown as it is."

"Oh? Where are you taking us that you'll need a cooldown, Billy?"

"It's a fair piece," the driver answered noncommittally.

"Uh huh. And what exactly should we be expecting here? Or what are you willing to tell us about this place?"

The driver's eyebrows pulsed upward a few times. "Oh no! I don't want to ruin the surprise. You're just going to have to trust me--and seriously, let's get to the coach quickly. We're burning daylight, and you'll want to at least see the place before the lights come on. The after-dinner crowd is also a very different sort. Not worse or better, just different. Well, maybe better, as most of the ironic hecklers tend to be gone by then. They tend to ruin the fun. Anyway, even using my best skills and pushing the pace, you're going to miss a lot even if we leave now!"

Sophie laughed and began following Billy out the door. "Okay then. I have no idea what all this is about, but at least you're making this mystery place sound exciting."

"Trust me, it is!" Billy doubled down.

"Then I'm just going to sit back, relax, and hope for the best!"

"That's the spirit!"

Tristan had basically kept quiet throughout the exchange, mostly because he wasn't feeling the same excitement about going into the unknown that Sophie was showing. He was more on the anxious side, and while the two were similar, he was still trying to bring his experience to the more positive side.

"Can you at least tell us which direction we'll be headed?" Sophie asked as she hopped through the open door into the coach.

"Once the wheels start turning, I suppose you could figure that out yourself, right?" Billy asked with a laugh. "Don't you guys have that fancy map, after all?"

"Fine, fine," Sophie replied, at last noticing and replacing the bow on Poof's head. "Keep your secrets, mister sneaky driver man! But they better be worth it!"

- - - - -

From his very first glimpse of the aptly-named Flights of Fancy, located just within the border of The Embrace's domain, Tristan knew that it was unlike any place he'd ever seen. He also knew that Billy hadn't overpromised. It was similar to the old traveling carnivals that had come and gone through Woodsedge every year or so, but it was also much more than that, in the same way that dungeons were similar to raids. They had a similar function of sorts, but raids were far larger, longer, more varied, and just overall more challenging.

Their group arrived at what Billy called "the perfect time," before any of the lights had started to come on, and it looked incredible. There were elements of it that made it feel like a playground, but it definitely was not intended for children. At the front were all sorts of multi-colored tents, varying not only in color but shape and size as well. A couple were even taller than Tristan's house had been. One, at the center of the sprawling area, was so tall it resembled a castle made of tent posts and fabric. Tristan could only imagine what it must contain.

Each tent seemed to offer a new and fabulous opportunity or experience. Right up front there was a tent where he could see people playing a magical version of the hopscotch game he'd enjoyed as a small child. The difference here was that every time a player jumped into a different square, some new effect happened. The very first square of one game made all of the girl's hair stand totally on end. Then the next square seemed to change the color of her entire body--clothes, hair and all--to a deep purple, but only until she landed in the third row, which was double-wide. The girl stepped on both squares at once and immediately began to shoot out bubbles any time she moved. By this point the girl was laughing so hard and clearly having such fun that she just held still and enjoyed the experience. She began waving her arms in fun, looping patterns, producing bubbles the whole time.

At Tristan's side, Sophie giggled right along with the girl, and Tristan realized that the hopscotch girl probably wasn't that much younger than Sophie had been the first time they'd met. But Billy nudged them forward, and Tristan spared it no more thought.

"It's cool, I admit, but we absolutely cannot stop at the first attraction. Trust me on this. We've got to continue onward. It only gets better!"

Tristan took the man at his word and followed, already feeling that the darkness was starting to lift somewhat. He wondered what fun opportunities lay ahead of him.

As it turned out, the next tent Billy led them to contained what was apparently termed "Whack-a-Dragon." There were several booths set up within the tent, each with a bunch of holes evenly spaced in three or four rows in front of the player. There were also padded mallets off to the side, and as Tristan watched one man playing, the game was immediately clear: puppets or toys in the shapes of various dragons would pop up at random-seeming intervals from any number of the holes at a time, and the player's task was to literally whack them back down with the mallet. From the grins of the people currently playing at several of the games, Tristan could tell it was both intense and fun. He wondered if this wasn't the kind of game that Chessa especially would love, as it was clearly a test not only of skill and focus but also reflexes. He watched one man long enough to see the game end, and a string of tickets simply appeared, floating in mid-air, before the man, who took them with a proud grin.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

But just as Tristan was wondering, What are the tickets for?, Sophie asked the same exact question aloud.

"There's a whole prize tent right in the center of everything," Billy explained, "and you can exchange tickets for all sorts of things. We'll check it out in a while, if you want, but for now I recommend saving your coin for what's just a bit further in."

Not one to argue, especially given the wonders Billy had already introduced them to, Tristan kept pace with the driver.

"This is my favorite attraction!" Billy finally said as he stopped before one of the widest tents in sight. Upon closer inspection, Tristan could actually see that it wasn't just one tent but a series of several that were all expertly connected or crafted together to seem like one.

"But what is it?" both he and Sophie asked in unison.

Billy's grin spread as wide as his face, and he rubbed his hands together. "Let's walk in and find out!"

The man could hardly contain his excitement, because only moments after they'd all walked through the tent's wide opening, the driver raised his hands toward the skies and proclaimed, "PUTT PUTT!" as loudly as he could.

Perhaps it was a show of how normal such expressions were around the Flights of Fancy that no one, from the other guests to the workers, even turned to look at Billy.

"What in the world is putt putt?" Tristan dared to ask, intending it to be a whisper only Sophie heard.

Apparently he wasn't quiet enough though, as Billy immediately spun around, a look of pure horror on his face. "Are you serious? Wait, are you serious?! Have you really never played--or even heard of--putt putt?!"

"Yes...?" Tristan answered, a bit confused if he'd even answered the question correctly.

The driver just stared at him, jaw completely slack.

At Tristan's side and resting in Sophie's now-excitedly quivering arms, Poof made a few sad meeps that Tristan thought sounded like, "You poor thing."

Sophie, practically bouncing up and down, laughed outright before straightening her face and clearing her throat. "Yeah, Poof clearly shares your surprise, Billy."

"Is it really that big a deal?" Tristan asked, suddenly feeling a bit defensive.

"I suppose it's not as well known where you're from," Sophie offered.

Billy had finally come back around and was now shaking his head. "But, seriously? I thought this was well known realm-wide! I've never met anyone who wasn't excited for putt putt."

Tristan scratched the back of his head. "I guess now you have. So... what's so special about it?"

"Oh, there's absolutely no doubt about it," Billy began. "We have to play now! That way you'll get to see for yourself. Trust me, man, this is the day you'll learn what true joy is!"

Tristan was a bit hesitant at first, mostly because of how overblown the claim sounded. But over the course of the next two hours, his eyes were certainly opened, and he learned just how much fun putt putt could truly be.

Part of the attraction was that the game itself was a simple enough concept. Each of them, including Poof, was given a little round ball, no bigger than his thumb and covered with countless dimples. Then all of them except Poof got a club with a large, flat head shaped like an L. Tristan was told that they were meant to hit the ball with the club into a specific hole on the ground of each little area, which was also apparently called a 'hole,' in as few 'strokes' as possible. Why each little course was called a hole instead of the actual hole at the end didn't quite make sense. Whether it was reused terminology or just the way Billy had explained it, Tristan decided to just go with it anyway.

Tristan's chosen ball was green, but it was so unexpectedly light that as Billy first tried to hand it to him, Tristan somehow didn't quite grab it right, and the ball slipped through his fingers. But just prior to when it should have hit the ground beneath their feet, the ball simply stopped. It just hung there in thin air, completely motionless, until Tristan bent down to take it.

"That was cool," he murmured, more than a bit surprised.

Billy just winked at him. "The balls are a big part of the magic! This is a game that was originally designed for children, they say, though it's definitely gotten a lot more inventive since then, often using some of the same functions that were built in as a result of its simpler origin in clever ways."

Given the way Billy winked at him, like he'd just shared a secret, Tristan was starting to wonder if there was more to discover here than just that the balls didn't bounce.

Or maybe they might? Would it bounce if it was struck by a club?

Suddenly he had a lot of questions, and the game was starting to seem more interesting.

As they approached the first little course, Tristan could easily see the target hole that they'd all be aiming for. It was just around a gentle, right-leaning bend. It really seemed like a simple course, especially with the small walls surrounding the green carpet, clearly meant to help guide the balls toward the hole.

But before Tristan could think about it more, Billy stepped up with a twinkle in his eye. "I'll go first!"

Tristan was fine with that, as he figured there had to be more to this game than what he was seeing. Maybe watching Billy would give him some sort of clue as to what he was missing.

Sure enough, as soon as Billy's club struck his little red ball, the driver said, in a voice clearly full of fake pain, "Oh, no! I seem to have mishit my ball!"

And then the whole game changed. What actually happened was that the course itself began to shift and come alive. The green, carpet-like ground began to bubble, almost like boiling water in a kitchen pot. The red ball began to jump this way and that as the bubbles pushed it all over, only stopping when the ball itself came to a complete halt. As he watched, however, Tristan realized that there seemed to be a few narrow pathways across the ground that had been totally unbothered by the bubbles.

Was he supposed to know that before he hit it? Unless there was some way to tell, other than experiencing it...

It was a realization that gave Tristan new eyes, at least with regards to the course. Suddenly he began to see that there were subtle clues and visual indicators of all sorts along not only the green felt of the hole's floor but also along the walls to let people who were in-the-know see what they were meant to be aiming for.

It's not just a test of physical skill, he realized. It's also a kind of puzzle!

Suddenly putt putt seemed much more interesting, and he quickly started looking around at all the different points of interest near and around the hole that might serve as indicators of... something.

"Ohhh," Sophie said, grinning, "I think he gets it!"

"Can I go next?" he asked.

"One of you has to," Billy quipped, "but not until I've finished my hole! I've got to sink these putts!"

Tristan mouthed the words, 'sink these putts', which caused Poof to meep in a cute, but clearly laughing, way.

In only two more hits, Billy's little red ball dropped into the hole, and the driver gave an exaggerated fist pump. "Alright! One down and 17 more to go!"

More exciting, at least in Tristan's view, was that Billy's ball shot straight upward into the air as he walked over to the hole, supported by a thin pillar of water that presented the ball almost exactly at Billy's waist level.

Billy plucked the ball with a bit of a bow and said, "Well, three strokes on the first hole definitely isn't my best, but it's not too bad either. Let's see if you can do better, Tristan!"

Tristan, still eying the different markers around the wooden walls and trying to recall exactly where the 'safe paths' had been, placed his green ball carefully on the middle of the "starting green," as Billy had told him it was called. He tried to line up his swing so that it would push the ball directly down the safe path. But it didn't go exactly as he'd planned. Perhaps he'd swung a bit lopsidedly, or struck the ball off center. Whatever the cause, the result was the ball veered just far enough off the path to find itself amid the boiling ground, just as Billy's red ball had. At least Tristan's shot was closer to a safe line, which meant that it went markedly farther and ended up surprisingly close to the target hole. Close enough that it only took him one more hit to get the ball in the hole.

"Wow, Tristan, two shots!" Billy said, sounded genuinely impressed. "Are you sure you haven't played this before? No? Well, that'll teach me to go easy on you. No more mister nice driver!"

Tristan chuckled. "Oh yeah? You were taking it easy on me?"

"Indeed, my dear swordsmith. It would be unseemly for me to smoke my passenger on his very first hole!"

Sophie shook her head. "Boys, please. Tristan, can you go and remove your ball so that I can ace this hole now?"

Tristan's grin widened as he did as Sophie requested. It was pretty cool that the fountain lifting his ball up seemed to go higher for him than it had for Billy. It meant that the magic clearly adjusted to the height to the player. "Wait, 'ace'?" he asked. "Is that official lingo?"

Before she could respond, Poof ran ahead of Sophie with her little pink ball. "No! My turn!" It immediately became crystal clear why the astral had no club, as she lined herself up several paces behind the ball and took a running-rolling leap toward the ball, bonking it with her head. Of course the ball went nowhere near the hole, but that only seemed to delight the little mage even more.

"Gods, here we go," Sophie said. But Tristan couldn't help noticing that she was smiling broadly the entire time.

All in all, it took sixteen putts before the little pink ball just disappeared, apparently having been automatically moved on to the next hole. Poof's reaction to that bit of magic was a storm of curses that Tristan felt disappointed he couldn't yet understand.

Shaking her head, Sophie stepped up to the starting green, placed her ball, took a stance that Tristan immediately recognized looked very practiced, and swung with such certainty Tristan wasn't even alarmed when the ball cruised exactly down the middle of a safe path, struck the wall in precisely the right spot, and proceeded to roll, calmly and surely, directly into the hole.

Billy's mouth gaped. "So that's how it is?"

Sophie grinned and lifted her club over her shoulder. "What? It might have been a lucky shot."

Billy shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not believing that for a second!"

Tristan laughed. "Yeah, me either. But you know what? So be it! Game on!"

And just like that, much of the stress Tristan had been carrying was forgotten. It wasn't gone--not for good--but at least for a while, it was no longer actively weighing him down.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.