The vote is over and your winner has been crowned! At least metaphorically so, the Baby Ghast is surprisingly picky about their choice in tiaras. Or maybe they just didn’t like my DIY creations. What can I say, I didn’t have time to wait for the glue to dry on all the popsicle sticks, I had an interview with the winner to conduct!
I tried my best to convince the Baby Ghast to reveal its roots. I tried begging. Pleading. Cookie-shaped bribes. Assuring it that this request was not wig-related. But that last one really backfired on me, literally. However, after a few hours and one staring contest, I did manage to get a story out of the Baby Ghast. We sat around an accidental campfire, the guest of honor may or may not have burped, and I was told a tale that the Baby Ghast claimed had been passed down for generations. Is there a nugget of truth in it? Who’s to say, that Baby Ghast has a stoic poker face. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, my apologies for not being able to punctuate with a baby fireball.
Baby Ghast Presents:
The Illager’s New Robes
According to the adorable Baby Ghast, this tale took place deep in the Pumpkin Pastures, there once lived a group of powerful illagers. They spread fear throughout the local villages, defeating any hero that crossed their path. One night, a hero out for a moonlit walk with their pet ghast happened to wander into the illager danger zone.
An evoker that had been lying in wait emerged and prepared to attack, but the hero was none the wiser. They stayed on the path, chatting happily to the Baby Ghast. The evoker was about to cast a levitation spell when, to their surprise, the hero quickly took out their bow and fired an arrow. Caught off guard, the evoker froze in surprise, which allowed the hero and Baby Ghast to escape. Before the evoker strike back, the hero quickly got out a bow and arrow and fired before they made their escape with the Baby Ghast.
The evoker returned to the lair, telling the other illagers of the event. They all started to argue, hrrrrming and harrumphing. The evoker retreated to a corner and sat quietly to ponder the events in peace. This was most puzzling, what could it be that set this hero apart. Gasp! The Baby Ghast! They had never met a hero with a pet before, this must be the key. Quietly, the evoker slipped out of the lair and began their search. They had to see the Baby Ghast again, so it could be studied closely.
After a few days, the evoker finally spotted the hero and the Baby Ghast. They were frolicking around the pastures, laughing and playing in the sun. The evoker was mesmerized. The translucence that revealed the ghast’s little red core must have been what scared the mage. There was no other explanation. And just imagine what one could do if they too held this terrifying appearance, but also had the advantage of a larger size.
The evoker returned to the lair and got to work. They went through all the robes in the lair, comparing the stitching in the battle robe to their evocation robe, borrowing the pattern from the splendid robe and so forth. The other illagers were not allowed to disturb the evoker, so they went about their business of capturing villagers and spreading general terror.
Finally, the evoker emerged in their new creation. The other illagers gathered around to witness the see-through spectacle. They hrrrrmed to each other. The evoker’s robes were a bright white with a red square pattern stitched into the midsection. They were opulent, but opaque. But since the evoker was slightly larger than the rest of the illagers, none of them dared to comment. Instead, they loudly admired the robes, and reassured that the villagers were not going to know what hit them.
The evoker swanned out of the lair and set out to strike see-through fear into the local villagers, and their little pets too. But before they had gotten very far, the hero and Baby Ghast jumped out from behind a bush. The evoker was caught off guard but quickly recovered, the confidence of their Baby Ghast-fit making them feel extra bold. They paused for effect, which gave the hero a perfect moment to attack.
As the dust settled, and the hero and Baby Ghast set out to free the local villagers, the evoker was left dumbfounded. What had gone wrong? The robe had impressed the other illagers. As the evoker was pondering this, the Baby Ghast flew back. It circled the evoker as it faded in and out of invisibility. The evoker looked down at their robes again, this time seeing the truth. Without the translucent elusiveness of the Baby Ghast’s invisibility, the evoker had effectively painted a big red target on their chest.
The evoker returned home and changed back into their own robes. None of the illagers ever spoke of the incident again, yet it somehow got passed down from generation to generation. Who knows what details were lost or changed as the story was told and re-told, but the one thing we can know for sure – no matter what you’re wearing, your true colors will always shine through.
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