At last the unicorn and the wizard had reached the sea, barely at dusk could they hear the soft gushing of it in the distance and had opted to set up camp near the dunes. The unicorn herself had slunk off during the night, gone for a long walk along the shoreline. The sea held something mysterious even to a creature such as her, something intriguing and unknown. Dawn comes in all its orange glory but Xiana is still not back, in fact outside the horses and some random gulls trying to find leftovers around the cart, the area around Edward's cart seems completely deserted.
Edward, while always an early riser, soon comes shuffling blearily out of his cart a few hours early, still in his night shirt, to answer nature's most disruptive call. He shoos the gulls away for some privacy, goes and picks a plant a safe distance away from the horses, and it is only then that he sleepily realizes with small, uncertain worry that the unicorn is still not back, and with a twinging joy that they are so very close to their destination, and that Eriu lies just across the sea. Caught between these thoughts, his eyes wander what he can see of the skyline over the sea (his plant is, unfortunately, not very tall) and linger with appreciation on the slow sunrise.
As the wizard's eyes scan the horizon he'd suddenly notice something. At first it might have seemed like an oddly shaped dune, it has the colour of sand after all, but if the wizard looks long enough he can make out something that looks like the pointy top of a tower, just somewhere past the dunes.
Edward blinks and squints, puzzled. His eyes are not very good, but they don't usually show him things that shouldn't be there, and dunes are not particularly common on coasts. When the strange sight does not disappear, a firm conviction fills him, and he nearly runs back to the wagon to untidily stuff himself into his robes and come back out again armed with his staff and a healthy curiosity. He cannot travel forward without Xiana, and so he coaxes Maire up from the grass to climb onto her and ride her out towards the mystery on the skyline. As a wizard, why, to ignore it, he feels, would be a mistake.
The dune is not particularly steep, just a low hill where the grasslands crosses over into beach-sand. As soon as he crosses the hill he sees it clearly, looming over the beach with the sea far behind. It is a large elegantly shaped tower with a tall pointy roof and large slightly open gates. The strangest thing however is that everything about the tower, from the roof to the very gate, seems to be made entirely out of sand. It seems more a sculpture then a building, but who could make a sculpture so large? Outside some gulls there seems to be no sign of life around the tower, not a trace of Xiana either.
Edward marvels at the strange castle as he approaches it, all the way until he stops and even still as he dismounts, for having never seen anything like it before in his life. He leaves Maire a short distance away, closer to the remnants of grass by the hill, and treks through the sand towards the structure, staring at it affixedly with wonder, as though it might vanish if he were to dare remove his attention from it for a moment. He strides past the gulls up to the very gate, and it is there that he finally hesitates. Rather than walking through, he slowly extends a hand towards the sand, endeavoring to merely touch it.
It is not hard for the wizard to sense a certain magical aspect to the structure, in fact, even to the sand he'd crossed to get here. This whole area seems seeped in magic although the strongest source of it is the large tower. The surface of the tower itself feels also distinctly of sand, kneaded together into a coarser more solid form, but still sand. Were the wizard to peek inside he'd see a large hall, and might catch a glimpse of the far end of a wide cobblestone staircase.
Edward withdraws his hand again. Noting the look of the sky, takes a breath as though he were about to dive under the sea and steps through the gates, alert and eager and apprehensive all at once.
The sky is slowly taking on a bright blue colour as dawn passes into morning. Inside the wizard comes to a large hall, most of the floor is sand except for a large carpet that predeces a wide flight of stairs. The stairs lead up to a landing flanked by two other staircase climing against the round wall to the higher levels of the tower.
Edward slowly approaches the stairs, and goes to ascend them, entirely captivated. It doesn't even occur to him to try to first test them with his weight, or to wonder if they might collapse beneath it.
The stairs are out of cobblestone and as such can easily carry the spindly wizard. When he arrives at the landing he sees something of a reading area, with a long wooden bench and a low table. Although the walls are still clearly of sand, it seems everything else is more familiar stone and wood.
It occurs to Edward that this is entirely odd; he pauses to survey the area, mystified, and after a short debate with himself, opts to instead climb the next flight of stairs, careful and steady, as though still afraid the odd 'building' possessed fragility.
As Edward climbs the stairs he hears Maire whinny, first from afar, a distant whinny, but then the beasts wails grow louder and sharper, as if somehow the horse is getting closer. As this happens the wizard might feel the strangest upsurge in the magic energies of the tower, although it is not immediately clear why that is as nothing moves or changes within the tower.
As Edward climbs the stairs he hears Maire whinny, first from afar, a distant whinny, but then the beasts wails grow louder and sharper, as if somehow the horse is getting closer. As this happens the wizard might feel the strangest upsurge in the magic energies of the tower, although it is not immediately clear why that is as nothing moves or changes within the tower.
This combination alarms Edward instantly, and he trips and falls flat on his face in his haste to leap back down the stairs, his first instinct being to find his horse. He scrambles clumsily up to his feet again and bolts back towards the gate.
For a moment Edward would feel it hard to move, as if his clothes don't agree with the situation, brief but certain. When he comes to the gates though he hears a strange noise outside, a loud sniffing as if something huge is smelling at the door. The gate doors have been closed again by a gust of wind, and through the little gap Edward can make little out.
Edward presses right up against the gate, desperate to see what's beyond it, but the sound of the sniffing rather quickly causes him to backpedal again and flee back towards the stairs, terrified out of his wits. This time, he tries to run up them all the way, perhaps hoping to find an exit elsewhere, or merely desiring to place as much distance as possible between himself and whatever was outside.
Edward, whether he goes for the stairs leading up right or left from main stairs would find himself against a oakwooden door. The door is unlocked.
Edward flaps at said door (he went left) until he remembers how to use handles. He promptly does so and pushes through with blind abandon.
The room Edward enters is a large study of sorts. The walls have two tall bookcases against them. The subjects range from magic to mundane matters. In the middle of the room is a strangely shaped table, the round top is as large as the round foot, making it seem more like some kind of large spool then an ordinary table. At the far end of the room, between two bookcases is a small window. The room is rather dark as the sun doesn't shine through the window just yet, but light enough that Edward can make everything out. A few ladders on the wall where the doors has a wide ladder in the middle, leading up to a higher level of the room.
The wizard pauses with his back pressed against the door to catch his breath and stare at the dim room, listening to his own rapid ticking and slowly processing what he sees. Books! Books say more about a man or a place than either ever would tell by themselves, but Edward is not yet trustful enough of his situation to even think about sitting down and trying to read them. He spots the window, and hastily he scampers towards it to press his long nose against it and try to see outside.
The wizard is greeted by a startling sight, it seems like below the tower is the head of some kind of huge monster. He can see the neck reach up to some shoulders much higher up then the window. The neck seems to be covered in thick long chestnut hair like the mane of some horse. The head of the beast is a lighter brown, with less long fur, two large ears twist and turn as the creature seems to be sniffing at the door below. It doesn't seem to have noticed him yet.
Edward stares, astonished and paralyzed by the sight--but after a short while, he does something absolutely silly. He taps on the glass for the beast's attention!
The beast's two ears turn at the sound of tapping glass at once, and the head rears up to regard the wizard through the window. That is when Edward notices it, the creature is none other then Maire, although the wizard would be like a mouse compared to her now.
"Maire?!" Edward squawks, his voice higher and more shrill than usual. Good heavens, what had happened? Perhaps the horse recognizes him, because she whickers quietly at him through the window, her large eyes just as afraid and confused as his own. Edward tries to see if he can't open the window, the better to lean out and see if all the rest of the land around had grown with her.
Edward can easily unlock the window and when he leans outside he can see it, a gull walking around near Maire has the correct proportions, unless they both grew, it is he and the castle that have decreased in size. Then suddenly the sound of a door clicking open from overhead and some high-pitched mutters drift down from the higher levels.
Edward inhales sharply through his teeth as though someone had stepped on his foot, and then the new sounds that suggest he's not entirely alone cause him to squawk, appreciate the fact that he had already relieved himself this morning, and run away from the window, back towards the middle of the room. He scuttles around urgently, in search of a place to hide.
He could easily hide behind the table or go back to the previous room. Now that he sees the table it looks even more like a giant spool. The chippering continues from the higher levels, and the sound of claws scratching wood becomes apparent. ".. supposed to be a secluded spot. Bloody travellers. Grrr.." The wizard can already make out.
Edward settles for the table, unwilling to make any loud noises or creaks with the door. He trips over himself on his way to it, falls gracelessly on the floor behind it, and hastily folds in all of his limbs and pulls any scraps of purple fabric out of sight.
From his spot, a bad hiding spot as he is totally visible around the thin body of the spool he might see a figure in a red robe climb down the ladder, cursing in some strange language every step he takes. On top of his head is a very large wizard's hat, much like Edward's own although much much larger in comparison to whatever is wearing it. A long naked tail swooshes left to right, mottled with grey here and there.
In retrospect, Edward realizes, this entire thing had been a bad idea. Of course, now it's too late to try and hide somewhere else, so he stays quite put and quite still with the silly hope of being taken as little more than a lifelike ornament that just so happened to have appeared out of nowhere. He begins to regret having worn his hat today, and then very quickly perishes the thought.
The creature turns around, revealing itself to be an ancient looking shrew, eyes were little more then wrinkles upon wrinkles with the hint of an eye squinting out them. His large pointy nose is especially wrinkled and slightly crooked at places as well, underneath it the old shrew wizard has a beard of whispy white hair, running all the way till into his neck. The shrew seems to miss Edward entirely, and just walks to the window where the horse is probably still peering through. "Away! Away with you! Stupid horse!" He whips his hands. "Can't you let an old shrew rest! Hup hup! Your master is calling!" The old rodent squeaks angrily.
Maire doesn't answer, of course; she just stays there, with one sad eye regarding the interior of the room. She makes a weary noise at the shrew. Edward, spotting his chance, unfolds himself from his weak hiding place as stealthily as possible and clumsily attempts to cast a spell. It turns out that that was a bad idea. Edward stuffs one of his hands in his mouth to keep himself from vomiting Paradox all over the shrew's floor, and loudly scampers towards and hopefully out through the door, forgetting all attempts at trying to be silent.
The shrew whirls around at the sound of the wizard and scurries after the wizard. "Wait right there you stupid dumb imbecilic rascal! Invading my tower will you!? No.. no! You're staying right here young man!!!" He chippers angrily as old shrew attempts to snatch the the time wizard at the robe. Weak and weary as the old red-robed wizard is though, if Edward really wants he can easily fight free from his old grasp.
Edward does try very hard to struggle free, though not at all with the intention of avoiding retribution. He succeeds enough to open the door and stumble through it, and proceeds to lean over the railing, barf an unpleasant stream of black goo, and then tip over backwards with a pathetic 'whump'.
The wizard slips out of the shrew's grasp but the old rodent doesn't give up so easily. Only when Edward pukes the stream of black goo he bounds backwards, although his anger doesn't disappear, in fact, in grows. "And now you start puking all over it too!!? Come! Give me that hat! Yes I've seen it! You're not worthy of it! Come on! Give it right here you young crazy failure of a wizard! Go back to filling buckets!" Making his threat true the shrews next intention is to snatch Edward's hat from his head, he seems an angry little fellow.
Edward isn't in much of a position to argue or fight back. He just sort of lays there with every type of regret in the world on his face. :'(
The shrew snatches the hat up, portruding his lip in anger. "There. You'll get it back if you behave!" The shrew throws it towards the table, it flies right over and lands next to the bookshelf. "Now start behaving! Why are you here? Did you come to rob me? Is that it!? Huh!? Do wizards take up banditry these days!?" The shrew chippers, stomping his foot against the floor as his anger triples.
"Urgh," gurgles Edward, who very dearly wishes to have been able to say more, but his mind and innards are still rebelling against him for his failure.
The shrew wizard taps his foot impatiently waiting for Edward to answer. "Urgh?" The old one repeats. "That's no answer! At least raid when you aren't ill. Whippersnappers. Back in my day people thought before they leapt!" Then the rodent notices Maire, still peering through the window. "And whats with you! I told you to scurry off! Don't make me make you! I can! Don't underestimate me for my age!" His anger and attention moved, this is an opportune time to escape should the wizard wish to do so.
Maire gloomily withdraws her head from the window, but she doesn't otherwise budge. Edward, in the meantime, starts scooting along the floor towards the stairs, waiting for the strength to stand up. What a mess this is!
The shrew starts waving its arms as he sees that his anger is affecting Maire. "Yes. Go! Go! Go! Hup! Hup! Hup!" His brows wrinkles, which basically makes him close his eyes. He throws a brief look behind him, but it takes at least a minute before he notices that in the haze the wizard is gone, then he notices the actual haze. "Oh by the..! Stupid! Old, old, old! I forgot my glasses upstairs!" He paces towards the ladder and climbes it two bars up, until he remembers something. "Oh! Oh oh ooooh! That wizard! Owldonkeys he's getting away!" He stumbles down and then makes for the closed door first. "No...." He turns around and finally makes for the right one. "You're not getting away from me!" If by this time Edward isn't long gone yet though, the wizard must've really slacked off.
Thank heavens! Under any other circumstances, Edward might have liked to ask questions or even attempt a conversation, but now simply is not the time, and he knows that better than anyone! He finally manages to stagger up to his feet and all but falls down the stairs in a mad, half-dazed rush aimed towards the tower's gate.
The wizard gives chase, and his hands begin to crackle with magic. "Youuuu!!" He shouts, then casts a purple bolt, to an area somewhere around that moving purple haze he'd been seeing. It would not be hard for Edward to dodge the spell.
But Edward had not expected it, and so he doesn't. He makes a strangled, miserable squawk on impact.
The spell's effect is minor, but immediate. Edward's clothes would start to thighten around his body until the wizard is unable to move. The shrew himself runs down the staircase, steaming with anger. "There Dumbface! You can't move I think." He isn't sure he casted the spell me meant to cast. "Now tell me what you are doing here! Or I'll keep you there till tomorrow!" His little old fists tighten, cracking as they do.
The spell does two things. The first thing it does is fling Edward up into the air and at a wall as though he were a ping pong ball that had been struck by a particularly enthusiastic five year old. He smacks into it and collapses in a heap at its base, and at that point the other wizard's intended effect occurs and keeps him stuck there. He groans dizzily, coming to grips with the new pain and only barely understanding the shrew. His lack of response must be getting very frustrating. Somewhere above them sounds a thunderous whinny from Maire.
The first time the shrew's anger seems to fade is when he scratches the underside of his droopy muzzle, what remains of his brows furrow as he sees the blur shoot away and towards the wall. "That doesn't do that!" The shrew hoots, a bit dumbfounded, had he used a different spell after all. He runs after the shape, more towards the source of groaning. "Well. Well that is what you deserve for snooping! A wizard's wrath is not brought upon you lightly as you should know." The old man clicks his fingers, and a comfy chair appears behind him, the old man lets himself drop it in lazily. "Come to first and then you are going to tell me what you came here for." The old one says, not shouting this time but still very angry. Due to what the spell seemed to do, he seems unaware that the wizards clothes did tighten.
It takes Edward a while, but eventually he does regain his senses enough to blearily regard the shrew with the gloomiest look in the world. "I," he starts, sounding raspy, "I-I was--w-was..." What did he come in here for? No reason in the world sounds justifiable to him right now. "...c-curious," he finally manages, sounding as miserable as he looks.
The shrew waits impatiently, tapping his foot and more than once he breathes a curse. As soon as the wizard does speak up he leans forward and regards him strictly. "Was..?" He repeats. "Curious? Curious!?" The wizard grumbles but then lets himself fall back in his chair again. His hat slides comically over his nose as he does, and with another curse he readjusts it. "Curiousity. A disease of the young. In my day..." The wizard starts, but when he starts thinking about it his expression changes, for a brief moment Edward might even spot a soft smile on him, before it it swiftly replaced with a scowl. "Well... Nevermind..." The old grew sighs. "My name is Genn Cornhead." The shrew finally says, his voice a bit awkward as if he's no longer used to introducing himself.
"Oh, v-very good," Edward replies unhappily. "My--m-my name is Edward, a-a-and I don't f-f-feel very g-g-good at all."
"Pfft. So young and already can't take a little hit." The shrew complains as he pushes himself out of the chair. He scuffles forward carefully and then stoops to where he thinks the wizard is. "Ugh, what's wrong?"
(00:43:55) Edwarde: "Everything," the wizard sulks. "I-I-I can barely move, for--f-f-for one!"
The shrew's brows rise and he feels at the wizards robe. "Thightened? Did it work after all?" The shrew mumbles, thinking aloud. He mutters a soft word and the clothes return to normal. "Here! Everything alright now." The shrew groans, feeling his back complain against his stooping. "Dumb thimblewipe.."
Edward sighs when the spell releases him, and, after gingerly working the feeling back into his fingers, rubs his aching head. He straightens his own glasses and seriously regards the shrew for the first time; the sight of his magnificent hat immediately brings him a pained longing for his own. "Th-thank--thank you," he squawks. "I-I'm, er--I--p-p-perhaps I should, uh, g-g-g-go."
Genn humphs. "Perhaps!? Make that certain! Come on hup hup! Get out of my tower!" The shrew snaps at the wizard as he straightens up. Another soft curse is uttered as he turns around and walks away, he is already at the stairs before he remembers something. "Oh hold on... Oh no you can't. Lest you want to be like a shrew for the rest of your days. Hmm.." The shrew turns around, hand reaching to his beard to scratch it as he moves back to the purple wizard again. "You shrank? Hmm Interesting. But of course you would."
"I-I was--I-I was normally s-s-sized, er, f-for me, when I c-c-came in," Edward babbles, using the wall to clumsily push himself up to his feet. "Also, er, w-with--with all d-d-due respect, sir, I--I-I-I should like m-my, uh, my h-hat back. I-I think it would make me feel better, to--t-to have it," he adds glumly.
The Shrew frowns, and then with a squeaky sigh beckons him. "Oh come. Come. We'll talk in the study." When the shrew mounts the steps he starts to explain. "You are now as tall as I'm supposed to be. It's not easy being like this. This tower I made after long and tenacious work changes it's size every dawn, useful tool to gather things without being pestered by gulls and foxes." Genn pauses, as if pondering if he forgot to mention something.
Edward hesitates, but then follows, making a point of ignoring the puddle of Paradox he had unceremoniously deposited on the floor earlier. He knows, of course, that it will go away when he does, but is not keen on drawing any sort of attention to it before then. He fixes his own on the shrew's words, and feels himself go pale and cold. "Oh," he says. "Oh, s-so I'm--I-I'm v-v-very small, now. Oh. Oh--o-oh dear." He brings a hand to his mouth to gnaw on his nails, but then hopefully adds around his fingers, "So, er, I-I need only wait until tomorrow, th-then, to--to return to normal?"
Genn gives a nod as he climbs the stair to the study. "Yes. Only at sunrise tomorrow the tower will grow again, hopefully growing us with it and you can take your curiousity elsewhere." He walks through the door and towards the spool-table. "And watch your words! V-v-very small. Who says you aren't the tall on eh?" The armchair the old wizard had summoned remains where it is, he doesn't seem to mind, or has just forgotten.
"Oh, no," Edward groans, stumbling along after Genn. "The--th-the unicorn will wonder where I've g-g-gone! And I-I-I shall miss an entire day of t-t-travel, and we're so close!"
Genn grumbles at first. "Too bad for the unicorn." And starts climbing the ladder. "I'll get some tea fo-.." The shrew freezes. "Unicorn?"
"Er, y--y-yes." Edward sounds all the more nervous, having not actually meant to say that aloud.
Genn climbs back down again, squinting at the haze that is Edward. "You got yourself a unicorn young'un? Travelling with you?" The shrew comes closer, looking menancing although he truly only means to see Ed's face clearer.
Edward leans back, alarmed, and even holds his hands up, palms forward, in some sort of frail defense. "Y--er, yes!" he squeaks, fearing that he had gotten himself into a new mess. Wasn't it a wizard who had captured her to begin with?
After a long stare Genn gives a weak smile. "Perhaps I will lay eyes upon it then. I'm so old and have seen so much. But never a unicorn." The wizard peers down at his clawed toes then. "Well. Per'aps we can pass by your camp. First tea." The shrews voice returns to its trusty grumble as he climbs the ladder to the upper levels.
The older wizard's words cause Edward to relax, and he feels ashamed, for a moment, for having doubted him. A fragile smile of his own appears, and he nods once in an encouraging way before watching the fellow go, unsure of whether or not to follow.
The shrew soon returns with tea, and his glasses. They look weird on the shrew, located down his long nose it seemed they should not actually work. Still, when the shrew look at his purple guest now it's clear that he sees him. "Take your hat back yourself." He nods to where it lies against the bookshelf. "Curiousity or not, you still wandered into my home uninvited.." He peers up at the window, still darkened by the giant mare. "So young'un. You settled down not far away from here I hope." Genn wills his eyes back to the wizard.
"Oh, I-I-I didn't mean to," Edward defends half-heartedly, sounding ashamed. He hangs his head and gloomily goes to pick up his hat, ignoring his own smarting back and glancing at Maire on the way. "I-I didn't even know if it w-w-was real, and the g-g-gate was--w-was open," he continues as he puts the article back on. "I-I'm, er, r-r-really very sorry." While the shrew is eyeing him, Edward is trying so hard not to look back at him. "A-a-a short... h-horse's run away," he mumbles in response, and then adds hastily, "Er, f-for--for me. When I'm, uh... wh-when I'm... bigger."
Genn drinks from his tea, giving the wizard an angry look again. "So if you walk through a town. And you see an open door? First thing you do is go in?" The shrew asks. "But you're sorry at least! Hmph. Got yourself more in a mess then me anyhow." Again the rodent's eyes travel outside, this time looking at Maire. "We'll need to walk under the horse, or you'll have to get it to lower its head so we can climb up. There's a lot in these dunes that will pick you as an easy prey before you can scream." He chuckles. "Most know to stay away from me."
Edward continues looking embarrassed, but doesn't say anything more on the subject, though he honestly had not expected to find anyone in the tower. He glances up at the mention of Maire, and then looks through the window at her. The shrew's discouraging words introduce a knot into his stomach. "I--oh, I-I-I don't s-s-suppose we could just wait until e-everything grows big again?" he pleads sheepishly.
With a indignant harrumph the Shrew glares at the wizard once again, it' a wonder he'd been smiling just a moment ago.. "No of course not! Hrmm. You don't let a unicorn wait, or worry." The shrew empties his cup of tea, fuelled by renewed anger. "Young'uns, neither courage or manners." Genn quickly rises, he doesn't want to risk losing this chance. "Empty your tea, I'll get my coat and my pipe."
Edward might have liked to point out that Xiana had gone off first and not the other way around, but he doesn't have the energy or the will to argue. He frowns and shakily does as commanded, privately entertaining the disgruntled feeling the shrew is very good at encouraging and nervously eyeing what he can see of his horse. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad?
The shrew soon returns, climbing back down the wooden ladder with a furry coat over his red robe. When he turns around Edward can see the strangely bent pipe made out of bamboo, a trail of white smoke emerges from the end. "Good, Fumbleface. I'd propose that your horse presses her snout against the tower below the window so we can walk over the muzzle and onto the head.." His muzzle curls in an almost arrogant smirk. "But you tall folk aren't so good at doing things like that."
Edward regards the shrew over his glasses with the expression of a kicked puppy for a moment, but it is quickly replaced with exasperation. "D-different... sizes, different s-s-skills," he defends dully, shuffling over towards the open window. He leans out of it and barks something up at the brown head so far above them, which slowly lowers to level an eye with the wizard. Edward smiles weakly and pats Maire's cheek, for all the good it'll do.
Genn squints and puffs on his pipe a few times when Edward's back turns to him. Moving neither his hands, or making any sign of casting the shrew aims a spell at the wizard. The spell should be barely noticable, but would give Edward's hands the adhesive qualities of a bug.
Edward doesn't particularly notice until he lowers his hands to the window sill and has to make a bit of an effort to take them off again in order to turn around. He looks entirely puzzled when he finally succeeds. Being an intelligent beast, Maire turns and lowers her head so that it is easily accessible, her breath as loud as a gale.
The shrew chuckles under his breath, then regains his grumpy demeanor and steps forward. "Well then! We have all day but that doesn't mean you have to take it. Nice and steady thumbledork." He pulls his fur coat a bit closer when a gust of cold sea wind washes into the room.
"I-I-I have a name," Edward announces stiffly, adjusting his hat against the wind and then stepping away from the window so the shrew can go first. Whether it's respect or cowardice is hard to discern.
The old shrew chuckles, raising his brows smartly and puffing his pipe as he strides forward. He doesn't have to admit he'd forgotten it almost minute after it had been told to him. With a groan and a crack of his back the shrew climbs on the window sill, he mutters a soft curse and then skillfully steps over Maire's head and towards her mane. Old as he is, as soon as he's on the thin wobbly surface his instincts kick in and his old molded tail keeps him balanced. As soon as the shrew reaches the mane he tucks his feet in between the strands and then sits down.
Edward approaches the window, and then hesitates. He glances between the horse, the shrew and the ground, and his frown progressively evolves until it is the most impressive illustration of chagrin he has managed the entire morning.
The stream of smoke trailing from Genn's pipe darkens. "Get on with it already! You want to walk under your horse? I'd say this short climb is the safer option." The shrew wheezes, then shakes his head in woe. Tall people aren't used to anything.
Edward's consternation turns into bitter disdain, and he takes a grumpy step up onto the window sill, only for the frustration to vanish quickly in favor of a fresh wave of fear. He stumbles onto Maire's face, causing the horse to snort in surprise, and he may have fallen off if it weren't for Genn's odd spell. Several shades paler than he usually is, then, the wizard scrambles up onto the mare's head and clings to a lock of the mane between her ears.
Genn raises his brows when the wizard finally arrives. "You've been born lucky. Were you a shrew you'd have died a long time ago with that agility." He comments, puffing rings of smoke into the air. "Hope your horse listens to squirts."
"I-I-I don't like heights!" Edward retorts shrilly, sounding increasingly agitated with the shrew's constant jabs. "And I've never been--b-been small before!" He fumbles for a way to secure himself, and doesn't find much of one. Maire lifts her head, then, and the distance to the ground drastically increases. Edward clings to one of her ears. She tries to flick him off.
Genn holds thight on the mane, and watches the wizard closely. The spell should help him hang on for a while. The shrew doesn't trust the wizard to survive even the journey to his own camp on his own horse without it. "Come, come." The old man grumbles, jabbing Maire's head with his old foot. "Behave."
Maire doesn't appear to notice the jab, but she does begin to slowly turn around, and the whole, great world spins with her. Edward tries very hard not to look at anything, especially not the seagulls, and certainly not the ground. The horse hesitates, and then begins to proceed at a leisurely walk that is nonetheless jostling due to her uncertainty over the sand.
Genn doesn't seem bothered, he just smokes his pipe and enjoys the view of the distant ocean. When the two finally reach the camp they find it much like before, with the other horse still waiting and not a unicorn to be seen.
Maire delicately lowers her head towards the seat on the front of Edward's wagon, and the wizard is glad and hasty to tip clumsily onto it. He then proceeds to scamper to a corner, sit in it and hug his knees, willing his nausea away. Muiredach makes an inquiring noise at them from the other side of the camp.
Genn hops down into the seat as well, legs cracking every so slightly as he lands. After cursing time a few times, the old wizard mouse flops down, he finally takes the pipe out of his mouth and spits it out. "Unicorns probably don't like smoke." He mutters, mostly to himself.
Genn's comment causes Edward to look up, and then glance around with worry. "She--she still hasn't come back?" He stumbles up to his feet and wanders to the edge of the wagon to get a proper look at their surroundings, and it doesn't take long at all for him to confirm a clear lack of unicorns. He turns back around again, beginning to panic; she had never been gone for so long before. "She s-s-still hasn't come back!" he squawks, beginning to fidget with urgency.
It still takes a while, time creeps on until it's easily past midday already. Occasionally curious sparrows or tits land on the cart to check the odd pair out. Some fly away immediately when they recognize the shrew. Then they hear it, the horses first and then Edward. Genn is snoring softly by the time. ".. keep 'er. Watch it! Had almost cut the rope there! C'mon y'louts, pull those ropes!" It is a loud and husky voice, answered soon by a squeamier one. "T-T'is not easy! Oh, oh, oh. Pull the rope thighter Mubber!" The voices argue loudly for a moment, over the sound of soft clopping.
Edward, while always an early riser, soon comes shuffling blearily out of his cart a few hours early, still in his night shirt, to answer nature's most disruptive call. He shoos the gulls away for some privacy, goes and picks a plant a safe distance away from the horses, and it is only then that he sleepily realizes with small, uncertain worry that the unicorn is still not back, and with a twinging joy that they are so very close to their destination, and that Eriu lies just across the sea. Caught between these thoughts, his eyes wander what he can see of the skyline over the sea (his plant is, unfortunately, not very tall) and linger with appreciation on the slow sunrise.
As the wizard's eyes scan the horizon he'd suddenly notice something. At first it might have seemed like an oddly shaped dune, it has the colour of sand after all, but if the wizard looks long enough he can make out something that looks like the pointy top of a tower, just somewhere past the dunes.
Edward blinks and squints, puzzled. His eyes are not very good, but they don't usually show him things that shouldn't be there, and dunes are not particularly common on coasts. When the strange sight does not disappear, a firm conviction fills him, and he nearly runs back to the wagon to untidily stuff himself into his robes and come back out again armed with his staff and a healthy curiosity. He cannot travel forward without Xiana, and so he coaxes Maire up from the grass to climb onto her and ride her out towards the mystery on the skyline. As a wizard, why, to ignore it, he feels, would be a mistake.
The dune is not particularly steep, just a low hill where the grasslands crosses over into beach-sand. As soon as he crosses the hill he sees it clearly, looming over the beach with the sea far behind. It is a large elegantly shaped tower with a tall pointy roof and large slightly open gates. The strangest thing however is that everything about the tower, from the roof to the very gate, seems to be made entirely out of sand. It seems more a sculpture then a building, but who could make a sculpture so large? Outside some gulls there seems to be no sign of life around the tower, not a trace of Xiana either.
Edward marvels at the strange castle as he approaches it, all the way until he stops and even still as he dismounts, for having never seen anything like it before in his life. He leaves Maire a short distance away, closer to the remnants of grass by the hill, and treks through the sand towards the structure, staring at it affixedly with wonder, as though it might vanish if he were to dare remove his attention from it for a moment. He strides past the gulls up to the very gate, and it is there that he finally hesitates. Rather than walking through, he slowly extends a hand towards the sand, endeavoring to merely touch it.
It is not hard for the wizard to sense a certain magical aspect to the structure, in fact, even to the sand he'd crossed to get here. This whole area seems seeped in magic although the strongest source of it is the large tower. The surface of the tower itself feels also distinctly of sand, kneaded together into a coarser more solid form, but still sand. Were the wizard to peek inside he'd see a large hall, and might catch a glimpse of the far end of a wide cobblestone staircase.
Edward withdraws his hand again. Noting the look of the sky, takes a breath as though he were about to dive under the sea and steps through the gates, alert and eager and apprehensive all at once.
The sky is slowly taking on a bright blue colour as dawn passes into morning. Inside the wizard comes to a large hall, most of the floor is sand except for a large carpet that predeces a wide flight of stairs. The stairs lead up to a landing flanked by two other staircase climing against the round wall to the higher levels of the tower.
Edward slowly approaches the stairs, and goes to ascend them, entirely captivated. It doesn't even occur to him to try to first test them with his weight, or to wonder if they might collapse beneath it.
The stairs are out of cobblestone and as such can easily carry the spindly wizard. When he arrives at the landing he sees something of a reading area, with a long wooden bench and a low table. Although the walls are still clearly of sand, it seems everything else is more familiar stone and wood.
It occurs to Edward that this is entirely odd; he pauses to survey the area, mystified, and after a short debate with himself, opts to instead climb the next flight of stairs, careful and steady, as though still afraid the odd 'building' possessed fragility.
As Edward climbs the stairs he hears Maire whinny, first from afar, a distant whinny, but then the beasts wails grow louder and sharper, as if somehow the horse is getting closer. As this happens the wizard might feel the strangest upsurge in the magic energies of the tower, although it is not immediately clear why that is as nothing moves or changes within the tower.
As Edward climbs the stairs he hears Maire whinny, first from afar, a distant whinny, but then the beasts wails grow louder and sharper, as if somehow the horse is getting closer. As this happens the wizard might feel the strangest upsurge in the magic energies of the tower, although it is not immediately clear why that is as nothing moves or changes within the tower.
This combination alarms Edward instantly, and he trips and falls flat on his face in his haste to leap back down the stairs, his first instinct being to find his horse. He scrambles clumsily up to his feet again and bolts back towards the gate.
For a moment Edward would feel it hard to move, as if his clothes don't agree with the situation, brief but certain. When he comes to the gates though he hears a strange noise outside, a loud sniffing as if something huge is smelling at the door. The gate doors have been closed again by a gust of wind, and through the little gap Edward can make little out.
Edward presses right up against the gate, desperate to see what's beyond it, but the sound of the sniffing rather quickly causes him to backpedal again and flee back towards the stairs, terrified out of his wits. This time, he tries to run up them all the way, perhaps hoping to find an exit elsewhere, or merely desiring to place as much distance as possible between himself and whatever was outside.
Edward, whether he goes for the stairs leading up right or left from main stairs would find himself against a oakwooden door. The door is unlocked.
Edward flaps at said door (he went left) until he remembers how to use handles. He promptly does so and pushes through with blind abandon.
The room Edward enters is a large study of sorts. The walls have two tall bookcases against them. The subjects range from magic to mundane matters. In the middle of the room is a strangely shaped table, the round top is as large as the round foot, making it seem more like some kind of large spool then an ordinary table. At the far end of the room, between two bookcases is a small window. The room is rather dark as the sun doesn't shine through the window just yet, but light enough that Edward can make everything out. A few ladders on the wall where the doors has a wide ladder in the middle, leading up to a higher level of the room.
The wizard pauses with his back pressed against the door to catch his breath and stare at the dim room, listening to his own rapid ticking and slowly processing what he sees. Books! Books say more about a man or a place than either ever would tell by themselves, but Edward is not yet trustful enough of his situation to even think about sitting down and trying to read them. He spots the window, and hastily he scampers towards it to press his long nose against it and try to see outside.
The wizard is greeted by a startling sight, it seems like below the tower is the head of some kind of huge monster. He can see the neck reach up to some shoulders much higher up then the window. The neck seems to be covered in thick long chestnut hair like the mane of some horse. The head of the beast is a lighter brown, with less long fur, two large ears twist and turn as the creature seems to be sniffing at the door below. It doesn't seem to have noticed him yet.
Edward stares, astonished and paralyzed by the sight--but after a short while, he does something absolutely silly. He taps on the glass for the beast's attention!
The beast's two ears turn at the sound of tapping glass at once, and the head rears up to regard the wizard through the window. That is when Edward notices it, the creature is none other then Maire, although the wizard would be like a mouse compared to her now.
"Maire?!" Edward squawks, his voice higher and more shrill than usual. Good heavens, what had happened? Perhaps the horse recognizes him, because she whickers quietly at him through the window, her large eyes just as afraid and confused as his own. Edward tries to see if he can't open the window, the better to lean out and see if all the rest of the land around had grown with her.
Edward can easily unlock the window and when he leans outside he can see it, a gull walking around near Maire has the correct proportions, unless they both grew, it is he and the castle that have decreased in size. Then suddenly the sound of a door clicking open from overhead and some high-pitched mutters drift down from the higher levels.
Edward inhales sharply through his teeth as though someone had stepped on his foot, and then the new sounds that suggest he's not entirely alone cause him to squawk, appreciate the fact that he had already relieved himself this morning, and run away from the window, back towards the middle of the room. He scuttles around urgently, in search of a place to hide.
He could easily hide behind the table or go back to the previous room. Now that he sees the table it looks even more like a giant spool. The chippering continues from the higher levels, and the sound of claws scratching wood becomes apparent. ".. supposed to be a secluded spot. Bloody travellers. Grrr.." The wizard can already make out.
Edward settles for the table, unwilling to make any loud noises or creaks with the door. He trips over himself on his way to it, falls gracelessly on the floor behind it, and hastily folds in all of his limbs and pulls any scraps of purple fabric out of sight.
From his spot, a bad hiding spot as he is totally visible around the thin body of the spool he might see a figure in a red robe climb down the ladder, cursing in some strange language every step he takes. On top of his head is a very large wizard's hat, much like Edward's own although much much larger in comparison to whatever is wearing it. A long naked tail swooshes left to right, mottled with grey here and there.
In retrospect, Edward realizes, this entire thing had been a bad idea. Of course, now it's too late to try and hide somewhere else, so he stays quite put and quite still with the silly hope of being taken as little more than a lifelike ornament that just so happened to have appeared out of nowhere. He begins to regret having worn his hat today, and then very quickly perishes the thought.
The creature turns around, revealing itself to be an ancient looking shrew, eyes were little more then wrinkles upon wrinkles with the hint of an eye squinting out them. His large pointy nose is especially wrinkled and slightly crooked at places as well, underneath it the old shrew wizard has a beard of whispy white hair, running all the way till into his neck. The shrew seems to miss Edward entirely, and just walks to the window where the horse is probably still peering through. "Away! Away with you! Stupid horse!" He whips his hands. "Can't you let an old shrew rest! Hup hup! Your master is calling!" The old rodent squeaks angrily.
Maire doesn't answer, of course; she just stays there, with one sad eye regarding the interior of the room. She makes a weary noise at the shrew. Edward, spotting his chance, unfolds himself from his weak hiding place as stealthily as possible and clumsily attempts to cast a spell. It turns out that that was a bad idea. Edward stuffs one of his hands in his mouth to keep himself from vomiting Paradox all over the shrew's floor, and loudly scampers towards and hopefully out through the door, forgetting all attempts at trying to be silent.
The shrew whirls around at the sound of the wizard and scurries after the wizard. "Wait right there you stupid dumb imbecilic rascal! Invading my tower will you!? No.. no! You're staying right here young man!!!" He chippers angrily as old shrew attempts to snatch the the time wizard at the robe. Weak and weary as the old red-robed wizard is though, if Edward really wants he can easily fight free from his old grasp.
Edward does try very hard to struggle free, though not at all with the intention of avoiding retribution. He succeeds enough to open the door and stumble through it, and proceeds to lean over the railing, barf an unpleasant stream of black goo, and then tip over backwards with a pathetic 'whump'.
The wizard slips out of the shrew's grasp but the old rodent doesn't give up so easily. Only when Edward pukes the stream of black goo he bounds backwards, although his anger doesn't disappear, in fact, in grows. "And now you start puking all over it too!!? Come! Give me that hat! Yes I've seen it! You're not worthy of it! Come on! Give it right here you young crazy failure of a wizard! Go back to filling buckets!" Making his threat true the shrews next intention is to snatch Edward's hat from his head, he seems an angry little fellow.
Edward isn't in much of a position to argue or fight back. He just sort of lays there with every type of regret in the world on his face. :'(
The shrew snatches the hat up, portruding his lip in anger. "There. You'll get it back if you behave!" The shrew throws it towards the table, it flies right over and lands next to the bookshelf. "Now start behaving! Why are you here? Did you come to rob me? Is that it!? Huh!? Do wizards take up banditry these days!?" The shrew chippers, stomping his foot against the floor as his anger triples.
"Urgh," gurgles Edward, who very dearly wishes to have been able to say more, but his mind and innards are still rebelling against him for his failure.
The shrew wizard taps his foot impatiently waiting for Edward to answer. "Urgh?" The old one repeats. "That's no answer! At least raid when you aren't ill. Whippersnappers. Back in my day people thought before they leapt!" Then the rodent notices Maire, still peering through the window. "And whats with you! I told you to scurry off! Don't make me make you! I can! Don't underestimate me for my age!" His anger and attention moved, this is an opportune time to escape should the wizard wish to do so.
Maire gloomily withdraws her head from the window, but she doesn't otherwise budge. Edward, in the meantime, starts scooting along the floor towards the stairs, waiting for the strength to stand up. What a mess this is!
The shrew starts waving its arms as he sees that his anger is affecting Maire. "Yes. Go! Go! Go! Hup! Hup! Hup!" His brows wrinkles, which basically makes him close his eyes. He throws a brief look behind him, but it takes at least a minute before he notices that in the haze the wizard is gone, then he notices the actual haze. "Oh by the..! Stupid! Old, old, old! I forgot my glasses upstairs!" He paces towards the ladder and climbes it two bars up, until he remembers something. "Oh! Oh oh ooooh! That wizard! Owldonkeys he's getting away!" He stumbles down and then makes for the closed door first. "No...." He turns around and finally makes for the right one. "You're not getting away from me!" If by this time Edward isn't long gone yet though, the wizard must've really slacked off.
Thank heavens! Under any other circumstances, Edward might have liked to ask questions or even attempt a conversation, but now simply is not the time, and he knows that better than anyone! He finally manages to stagger up to his feet and all but falls down the stairs in a mad, half-dazed rush aimed towards the tower's gate.
The wizard gives chase, and his hands begin to crackle with magic. "Youuuu!!" He shouts, then casts a purple bolt, to an area somewhere around that moving purple haze he'd been seeing. It would not be hard for Edward to dodge the spell.
But Edward had not expected it, and so he doesn't. He makes a strangled, miserable squawk on impact.
The spell's effect is minor, but immediate. Edward's clothes would start to thighten around his body until the wizard is unable to move. The shrew himself runs down the staircase, steaming with anger. "There Dumbface! You can't move I think." He isn't sure he casted the spell me meant to cast. "Now tell me what you are doing here! Or I'll keep you there till tomorrow!" His little old fists tighten, cracking as they do.
The spell does two things. The first thing it does is fling Edward up into the air and at a wall as though he were a ping pong ball that had been struck by a particularly enthusiastic five year old. He smacks into it and collapses in a heap at its base, and at that point the other wizard's intended effect occurs and keeps him stuck there. He groans dizzily, coming to grips with the new pain and only barely understanding the shrew. His lack of response must be getting very frustrating. Somewhere above them sounds a thunderous whinny from Maire.
The first time the shrew's anger seems to fade is when he scratches the underside of his droopy muzzle, what remains of his brows furrow as he sees the blur shoot away and towards the wall. "That doesn't do that!" The shrew hoots, a bit dumbfounded, had he used a different spell after all. He runs after the shape, more towards the source of groaning. "Well. Well that is what you deserve for snooping! A wizard's wrath is not brought upon you lightly as you should know." The old man clicks his fingers, and a comfy chair appears behind him, the old man lets himself drop it in lazily. "Come to first and then you are going to tell me what you came here for." The old one says, not shouting this time but still very angry. Due to what the spell seemed to do, he seems unaware that the wizards clothes did tighten.
It takes Edward a while, but eventually he does regain his senses enough to blearily regard the shrew with the gloomiest look in the world. "I," he starts, sounding raspy, "I-I was--w-was..." What did he come in here for? No reason in the world sounds justifiable to him right now. "...c-curious," he finally manages, sounding as miserable as he looks.
The shrew waits impatiently, tapping his foot and more than once he breathes a curse. As soon as the wizard does speak up he leans forward and regards him strictly. "Was..?" He repeats. "Curious? Curious!?" The wizard grumbles but then lets himself fall back in his chair again. His hat slides comically over his nose as he does, and with another curse he readjusts it. "Curiousity. A disease of the young. In my day..." The wizard starts, but when he starts thinking about it his expression changes, for a brief moment Edward might even spot a soft smile on him, before it it swiftly replaced with a scowl. "Well... Nevermind..." The old grew sighs. "My name is Genn Cornhead." The shrew finally says, his voice a bit awkward as if he's no longer used to introducing himself.
"Oh, v-very good," Edward replies unhappily. "My--m-my name is Edward, a-a-and I don't f-f-feel very g-g-good at all."
"Pfft. So young and already can't take a little hit." The shrew complains as he pushes himself out of the chair. He scuffles forward carefully and then stoops to where he thinks the wizard is. "Ugh, what's wrong?"
(00:43:55) Edwarde: "Everything," the wizard sulks. "I-I-I can barely move, for--f-f-for one!"
The shrew's brows rise and he feels at the wizards robe. "Thightened? Did it work after all?" The shrew mumbles, thinking aloud. He mutters a soft word and the clothes return to normal. "Here! Everything alright now." The shrew groans, feeling his back complain against his stooping. "Dumb thimblewipe.."
Edward sighs when the spell releases him, and, after gingerly working the feeling back into his fingers, rubs his aching head. He straightens his own glasses and seriously regards the shrew for the first time; the sight of his magnificent hat immediately brings him a pained longing for his own. "Th-thank--thank you," he squawks. "I-I'm, er--I--p-p-perhaps I should, uh, g-g-g-go."
Genn humphs. "Perhaps!? Make that certain! Come on hup hup! Get out of my tower!" The shrew snaps at the wizard as he straightens up. Another soft curse is uttered as he turns around and walks away, he is already at the stairs before he remembers something. "Oh hold on... Oh no you can't. Lest you want to be like a shrew for the rest of your days. Hmm.." The shrew turns around, hand reaching to his beard to scratch it as he moves back to the purple wizard again. "You shrank? Hmm Interesting. But of course you would."
"I-I was--I-I was normally s-s-sized, er, f-for me, when I c-c-came in," Edward babbles, using the wall to clumsily push himself up to his feet. "Also, er, w-with--with all d-d-due respect, sir, I--I-I-I should like m-my, uh, my h-hat back. I-I think it would make me feel better, to--t-to have it," he adds glumly.
The Shrew frowns, and then with a squeaky sigh beckons him. "Oh come. Come. We'll talk in the study." When the shrew mounts the steps he starts to explain. "You are now as tall as I'm supposed to be. It's not easy being like this. This tower I made after long and tenacious work changes it's size every dawn, useful tool to gather things without being pestered by gulls and foxes." Genn pauses, as if pondering if he forgot to mention something.
Edward hesitates, but then follows, making a point of ignoring the puddle of Paradox he had unceremoniously deposited on the floor earlier. He knows, of course, that it will go away when he does, but is not keen on drawing any sort of attention to it before then. He fixes his own on the shrew's words, and feels himself go pale and cold. "Oh," he says. "Oh, s-so I'm--I-I'm v-v-very small, now. Oh. Oh--o-oh dear." He brings a hand to his mouth to gnaw on his nails, but then hopefully adds around his fingers, "So, er, I-I need only wait until tomorrow, th-then, to--to return to normal?"
Genn gives a nod as he climbs the stair to the study. "Yes. Only at sunrise tomorrow the tower will grow again, hopefully growing us with it and you can take your curiousity elsewhere." He walks through the door and towards the spool-table. "And watch your words! V-v-very small. Who says you aren't the tall on eh?" The armchair the old wizard had summoned remains where it is, he doesn't seem to mind, or has just forgotten.
"Oh, no," Edward groans, stumbling along after Genn. "The--th-the unicorn will wonder where I've g-g-gone! And I-I-I shall miss an entire day of t-t-travel, and we're so close!"
Genn grumbles at first. "Too bad for the unicorn." And starts climbing the ladder. "I'll get some tea fo-.." The shrew freezes. "Unicorn?"
"Er, y--y-yes." Edward sounds all the more nervous, having not actually meant to say that aloud.
Genn climbs back down again, squinting at the haze that is Edward. "You got yourself a unicorn young'un? Travelling with you?" The shrew comes closer, looking menancing although he truly only means to see Ed's face clearer.
Edward leans back, alarmed, and even holds his hands up, palms forward, in some sort of frail defense. "Y--er, yes!" he squeaks, fearing that he had gotten himself into a new mess. Wasn't it a wizard who had captured her to begin with?
After a long stare Genn gives a weak smile. "Perhaps I will lay eyes upon it then. I'm so old and have seen so much. But never a unicorn." The wizard peers down at his clawed toes then. "Well. Per'aps we can pass by your camp. First tea." The shrews voice returns to its trusty grumble as he climbs the ladder to the upper levels.
The older wizard's words cause Edward to relax, and he feels ashamed, for a moment, for having doubted him. A fragile smile of his own appears, and he nods once in an encouraging way before watching the fellow go, unsure of whether or not to follow.
The shrew soon returns with tea, and his glasses. They look weird on the shrew, located down his long nose it seemed they should not actually work. Still, when the shrew look at his purple guest now it's clear that he sees him. "Take your hat back yourself." He nods to where it lies against the bookshelf. "Curiousity or not, you still wandered into my home uninvited.." He peers up at the window, still darkened by the giant mare. "So young'un. You settled down not far away from here I hope." Genn wills his eyes back to the wizard.
"Oh, I-I-I didn't mean to," Edward defends half-heartedly, sounding ashamed. He hangs his head and gloomily goes to pick up his hat, ignoring his own smarting back and glancing at Maire on the way. "I-I didn't even know if it w-w-was real, and the g-g-gate was--w-was open," he continues as he puts the article back on. "I-I'm, er, r-r-really very sorry." While the shrew is eyeing him, Edward is trying so hard not to look back at him. "A-a-a short... h-horse's run away," he mumbles in response, and then adds hastily, "Er, f-for--for me. When I'm, uh... wh-when I'm... bigger."
Genn drinks from his tea, giving the wizard an angry look again. "So if you walk through a town. And you see an open door? First thing you do is go in?" The shrew asks. "But you're sorry at least! Hmph. Got yourself more in a mess then me anyhow." Again the rodent's eyes travel outside, this time looking at Maire. "We'll need to walk under the horse, or you'll have to get it to lower its head so we can climb up. There's a lot in these dunes that will pick you as an easy prey before you can scream." He chuckles. "Most know to stay away from me."
Edward continues looking embarrassed, but doesn't say anything more on the subject, though he honestly had not expected to find anyone in the tower. He glances up at the mention of Maire, and then looks through the window at her. The shrew's discouraging words introduce a knot into his stomach. "I--oh, I-I-I don't s-s-suppose we could just wait until e-everything grows big again?" he pleads sheepishly.
With a indignant harrumph the Shrew glares at the wizard once again, it' a wonder he'd been smiling just a moment ago.. "No of course not! Hrmm. You don't let a unicorn wait, or worry." The shrew empties his cup of tea, fuelled by renewed anger. "Young'uns, neither courage or manners." Genn quickly rises, he doesn't want to risk losing this chance. "Empty your tea, I'll get my coat and my pipe."
Edward might have liked to point out that Xiana had gone off first and not the other way around, but he doesn't have the energy or the will to argue. He frowns and shakily does as commanded, privately entertaining the disgruntled feeling the shrew is very good at encouraging and nervously eyeing what he can see of his horse. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad?
The shrew soon returns, climbing back down the wooden ladder with a furry coat over his red robe. When he turns around Edward can see the strangely bent pipe made out of bamboo, a trail of white smoke emerges from the end. "Good, Fumbleface. I'd propose that your horse presses her snout against the tower below the window so we can walk over the muzzle and onto the head.." His muzzle curls in an almost arrogant smirk. "But you tall folk aren't so good at doing things like that."
Edward regards the shrew over his glasses with the expression of a kicked puppy for a moment, but it is quickly replaced with exasperation. "D-different... sizes, different s-s-skills," he defends dully, shuffling over towards the open window. He leans out of it and barks something up at the brown head so far above them, which slowly lowers to level an eye with the wizard. Edward smiles weakly and pats Maire's cheek, for all the good it'll do.
Genn squints and puffs on his pipe a few times when Edward's back turns to him. Moving neither his hands, or making any sign of casting the shrew aims a spell at the wizard. The spell should be barely noticable, but would give Edward's hands the adhesive qualities of a bug.
Edward doesn't particularly notice until he lowers his hands to the window sill and has to make a bit of an effort to take them off again in order to turn around. He looks entirely puzzled when he finally succeeds. Being an intelligent beast, Maire turns and lowers her head so that it is easily accessible, her breath as loud as a gale.
The shrew chuckles under his breath, then regains his grumpy demeanor and steps forward. "Well then! We have all day but that doesn't mean you have to take it. Nice and steady thumbledork." He pulls his fur coat a bit closer when a gust of cold sea wind washes into the room.
"I-I-I have a name," Edward announces stiffly, adjusting his hat against the wind and then stepping away from the window so the shrew can go first. Whether it's respect or cowardice is hard to discern.
The old shrew chuckles, raising his brows smartly and puffing his pipe as he strides forward. He doesn't have to admit he'd forgotten it almost minute after it had been told to him. With a groan and a crack of his back the shrew climbs on the window sill, he mutters a soft curse and then skillfully steps over Maire's head and towards her mane. Old as he is, as soon as he's on the thin wobbly surface his instincts kick in and his old molded tail keeps him balanced. As soon as the shrew reaches the mane he tucks his feet in between the strands and then sits down.
Edward approaches the window, and then hesitates. He glances between the horse, the shrew and the ground, and his frown progressively evolves until it is the most impressive illustration of chagrin he has managed the entire morning.
The stream of smoke trailing from Genn's pipe darkens. "Get on with it already! You want to walk under your horse? I'd say this short climb is the safer option." The shrew wheezes, then shakes his head in woe. Tall people aren't used to anything.
Edward's consternation turns into bitter disdain, and he takes a grumpy step up onto the window sill, only for the frustration to vanish quickly in favor of a fresh wave of fear. He stumbles onto Maire's face, causing the horse to snort in surprise, and he may have fallen off if it weren't for Genn's odd spell. Several shades paler than he usually is, then, the wizard scrambles up onto the mare's head and clings to a lock of the mane between her ears.
Genn raises his brows when the wizard finally arrives. "You've been born lucky. Were you a shrew you'd have died a long time ago with that agility." He comments, puffing rings of smoke into the air. "Hope your horse listens to squirts."
"I-I-I don't like heights!" Edward retorts shrilly, sounding increasingly agitated with the shrew's constant jabs. "And I've never been--b-been small before!" He fumbles for a way to secure himself, and doesn't find much of one. Maire lifts her head, then, and the distance to the ground drastically increases. Edward clings to one of her ears. She tries to flick him off.
Genn holds thight on the mane, and watches the wizard closely. The spell should help him hang on for a while. The shrew doesn't trust the wizard to survive even the journey to his own camp on his own horse without it. "Come, come." The old man grumbles, jabbing Maire's head with his old foot. "Behave."
Maire doesn't appear to notice the jab, but she does begin to slowly turn around, and the whole, great world spins with her. Edward tries very hard not to look at anything, especially not the seagulls, and certainly not the ground. The horse hesitates, and then begins to proceed at a leisurely walk that is nonetheless jostling due to her uncertainty over the sand.
Genn doesn't seem bothered, he just smokes his pipe and enjoys the view of the distant ocean. When the two finally reach the camp they find it much like before, with the other horse still waiting and not a unicorn to be seen.
Maire delicately lowers her head towards the seat on the front of Edward's wagon, and the wizard is glad and hasty to tip clumsily onto it. He then proceeds to scamper to a corner, sit in it and hug his knees, willing his nausea away. Muiredach makes an inquiring noise at them from the other side of the camp.
Genn hops down into the seat as well, legs cracking every so slightly as he lands. After cursing time a few times, the old wizard mouse flops down, he finally takes the pipe out of his mouth and spits it out. "Unicorns probably don't like smoke." He mutters, mostly to himself.
Genn's comment causes Edward to look up, and then glance around with worry. "She--she still hasn't come back?" He stumbles up to his feet and wanders to the edge of the wagon to get a proper look at their surroundings, and it doesn't take long at all for him to confirm a clear lack of unicorns. He turns back around again, beginning to panic; she had never been gone for so long before. "She s-s-still hasn't come back!" he squawks, beginning to fidget with urgency.
It still takes a while, time creeps on until it's easily past midday already. Occasionally curious sparrows or tits land on the cart to check the odd pair out. Some fly away immediately when they recognize the shrew. Then they hear it, the horses first and then Edward. Genn is snoring softly by the time. ".. keep 'er. Watch it! Had almost cut the rope there! C'mon y'louts, pull those ropes!" It is a loud and husky voice, answered soon by a squeamier one. "T-T'is not easy! Oh, oh, oh. Pull the rope thighter Mubber!" The voices argue loudly for a moment, over the sound of soft clopping.
