Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

47. Druid Dunce Apprentice

"Okay, I'll bite, what on Gaia's green earth are you doing?" Cal pinched the bridge of his nose when he found Seamus.

After getting done with his first meeting with his parents Cal needed some fresh air. He had heard that Seamus was seen running around town chasing a creature of some kind. He hadn't gotten the full story but sometime this afternoon he had recruited Naomi to his cause and they were on the fringes of the forest constructing something.

Whatever that something was, it had a lot of sharpened sticks.

"Master!" Seamus was so absorbed in his project that he hadn't even noticed Cal approaching. He let go of something and the branch he was bending smacked him in the face. On a nearby stump Naomi had a knife and a half-sharpened stick. She also had the word 'oops' on her lips.

"I can explain!" Seamus panicked.

"I certainly hope that you can." Cal tapped his foot.

Seamus stammered as he tried to explain how a weasel stole the seed he was given and how he had chased it all day with no results and now he was building a trap for it.

"Seamus, do you know what a druid does?" Cal pinched his nose again.

"Heal people?" Seamus asked unsure of the answer.

Cal sighed. "I guess I can't really expect you to understand perfectly since we've been on a ship this entire time." Cal cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted. "Caw-Caw!"

"Druids 'Caw-caw'?" Seamus quirked an eyebrow.

"Shut up and pay attention," Cal snapped his fingers and vines overgrew all of his traps, effectively reclaiming them.

Seamus's shoulders sagged when he saw all his hard work go to waste. But by the tone of Cal's voice he wasn't goofing around.

Cal held out his arm and a small creature landed on his forearms. It was the size of a housecat with wings and the head of a bird. Cal smiled. "At least some things here are still the same."

The creature cawed, and Cal's smile disappeared. "He didn't..." Cal pinched his nose. "Seamus, this is a micro-griffon, they are indigenous to this island. And they are not 'filthy rotten vultures,' among the Avian they are actually some of the best groomed. Cabin boy you are a druid now, I don't know how you used to do things, but you can't run through the forests screaming profanities at everything in sight."

"But that weasel-"

"That 'Weasel' is a Raiju and the servant of the guardian god of the forest. HE is the equivalent of a Sylvan knight in Calphian. Not only do I highly doubt you could catch him with one 'those' but if you harmed him I'd have to punish you." Cal's cold eyes told Seamus everything he needed to know, and he was glad Cal had stopped him when he did.

"I'm sorry master."

"Don't apologize to me. That said, you will be apologizing." Cal pulled out a tarot card, when he put a little magic into it his equipment changed. His clothes changed to the tattered earthy robes. "Hmm... I can't afford to wear any of my familiar masks and I can't go without one..." Cal pulled out a plain wooden mask he held it out to the Micro griffin. "You want to go on an adventure?"

The griffin cawed.

"I got a bunch of seed in my pocket... yes it's a bribe... three and I made them all top tier. One is a divine rank and two are clan leaders with human form... well I can try, but I have to survive first... oh you are going to make me blush... I'll introduce you to them when we get the chance but none of them are here... Well one is here... but she's busy... okay chill... no, I mean calm down... you can even help knock some sense into my apprentice... Awesome welcome to the family." Cal held an entire conversation with the griffin as if he were talking to himself.