Fan Fiction - What About Anderson?

 This is a bit of non-canon fanfiction I wrote and posted, via Goggle docs, on the Discord server for a podcast my two younger kids are doing with friends/ spouses.  It's a Disney-Inspired campaign-style game that's been going since 2020, and you can find it on Spotify under 'The Keys to the Kingdom'.  I need to delete the Google docs file...storage issues, LOL  So, as this is the very reason I started this blog, I'm posting it here and will replace the link on the Discord.  For those interested, there are some spoilers contained here and to avoid them you will need to listen all the way through the episode titled 'Order of the Paragon - The Paragon of  Strength' which was released 8/7/24.  And, yes, my Discord nickname is 'The Momliest'....

What About Anderson?

By The Momliest

It was well after dark, and the raven sat high atop the battlements of the castle situated on the rocky outcrop of History Island.  From his perch, he could see the shadows of a series of covered wagons cross the Bridge of Beneficence, the two-mile connection to the mainland, and circle up in the courtyard to discharge the prisoners being delivered to the castle.  The raven was much too high to have attracted any notice from those being pulled out of the wagons, but he could certainly see the motley collection of folks taken from across the entire land in the torchlight.  Prisoners were pulled from all the wagons but one, secured together and taken deep inside the castle.  After the large group was completely inside, the occupants of the final wagon were pulled out.  The raven cocked his head slightly at the last three prisoners…a cowering merman, a hulking half orc, and a small gray dog that looked to be a toy come to life, walking upright.  The three of them were prodded along through the great doors, which were shut behind them.

The raven spread his wings, lifted into the air, circled the castle, and flew between the bars of  a high window and disappeared.

The room with the high window was, in fact, the office of the commanding officer of the citadel, a burly, sharp-eyed minotaur, who was seated behind a sturdy desk reviewing the lists of new prisoners.  The raven glided down to the floor in front of the desk, landing in a puff of dark smoke which the lantern light cast into crazy shadows. The minotaur jumped to his feet as the smoke cleared, leaving a tall figure in a black hooded cloak with white trim.  

“Sir!”  the minotaur exclaimed.  “I believe we have the, ah, individuals you were interested in.”

“Good.”  The figure replied, pulling the hood back from his head, revealing a black aarakocra with a golden beak, bright yellow eyes, and stark white feathers slicked back on his head. “I believe they will do nicely.”

As he spoke, the door to his right opened and a pair of guards brought in a sniveling blue and green merman, who quailed at the sight of the two of them. “Oh, no…,” he whimpered.

The minotaur nodded at the guards. “Well done.  I will let you know when we are done…interrogating…the prisoner.”  The guards nodded, then exited, closing the door behind them.  The room was silent for a moment as the guards’ steps retreated down the hallway.

The merman took a deep breath, and straightened up from his cowering pose, turning slowly from his blue and green coloration to a dusky purple as he pulled prosthetic gills from his throat.  Three crests with pink tips slowly rose from his head and a second pair of legs along with a lizard-like tail appeared on the floor, as the camouflage markings matching the flagstones  faded to the dusky purple. Likewise, a second pair of arms became visible at his waist.  “I know we were going for full immersion, but it would have been nice if the guards had been instructed not to abuse the Queen’s agent,” he commented dryly.  “I had to endure one of them attempting to knock the teeth from my head, just so I wouldn’t blow my cover.”

The aarakocra smiled, a thin, squint-eyed smile.  “Randy, you are the best at blending in with your surroundings.  I sincerely appreciate the sacrifices you made, knowing we cannot tell the foolish guards anything.”

Randy smiled back, a wicked grin wrapping two thirds of the way around his head and showing twin rows of pointed teeth, looking nothing like the simpering merman now. “As always….at your service.  I am ready to make my report.”

The minotaur sat back down at his desk, pulling out a notepad and fountain pen, ready to take notes.  The aarakocra noticed and gave him a small nod, then turned back to Randy.  “So, my friend, what have you learned?”

The chameleon-like creature rocked back on his tail.  “The little dog is quite interesting.  You were right…she is an exile from the Hundred Acre Wood, no doubt related to the debacle that was the last invasion attempt a few weeks ago, as she departed the portal just after.  Our watchers around the Wood alerted the patrols in the area and they picked her up shortly after she left.   It is highly remarkable that she had, and can use, a bow, although the bow she was carrying was much too large for her.  I did manage to briefly touch her head but didn’t get enough of an impression to know what her actual task might be. I only caught that she was sad and frightened.”

The aarakocra nodded as the minotaur’s pen scratched across the paper.  “She is interesting indeed.  And the other?”

“The half-orc was pulled from the sea near Cinderellasburg just hours after the privateer working under guise of pirating was…eliminated.  Apparently, he was the only survivor.  But he matches well enough the description of Captain Hook’s mysteriously missing mate, who disappeared a number of years ago…allowing for the passage of time.  I couldn’t manage to even bump into him in character…Anderson was, of course, terrified of him.  So, I have no readings for you other than he seemed rather…resigned…to his state.”

“Excellent.  Randall, you’ve done well.”  The aarakocra looked back at the commander.  “So, the prisoners have been put next to the genie and the gargoyle?”

Randy had a question as the minotaur nodded..   “I don’t quite see the point of putting a genie in a simple barred cell?   Or was there some barrier spell I couldn’t detect? Otherwise, she won’t stay in there long, for sure.”

The aarakocra chuckled.  “Oh, she’s not meant to.”

“What?”  The chameleon was shocked.  

The aarakocra and the minotaur exchanged smirks, then the aarakocra replied, “I have plans for this little group, and, unless they disappoint me mightily, they will likely be heading out of the castle and across the bridge within the hour.”

Randy was shocked. “But…nobody es..”

The aarakocra and the minotaur chimed in together as Randy finished the common saying, “…capes History Island!”

“Yes, isn’t it rich?”  The aarakocra laughed.

Randy crossed both pairs of arms.  “Please, explain?”

“We have put them in a minimally secure area, with our least competent guards on duty.  There are at least half a dozen ways to escape from those cells; between the four of them they will surely land on one.”

“Who are the other two?  The genie and the…gargoyle?”

“Other persons of …interest.  The genie in particular.  She mysteriously showed up in Lone Keep some time ago, took a waitressing job and kept a low profile.  But we have it on…good authority…that there is much, much more to her than she shares.  The name she gives is not her true name; she has gone to great lengths to keep her identity hidden.  Like you, Randy, she can appear to be someone…other than who she is.  The gargoyle is interesting because he, like the genie, has abilities he keeps hidden.  And the four of them together share secrecy, regret and a certain amount of shame.  They will each feel responsible for the rest and so they will band together.”

“And why would you want that?”  Randy wasn’t seeing the point.

The aarakocra looked rather smug. “Because, one, they will be easier to track all together, but, more importantly, I suspect that between them they will bring us to our goal of finally conquering those pockets of resistance, like the Hundred Acre Wood and King George Town, by leading us to those individuals who are key instigators.”  The aarakocra’ scowled, obviously thinking of specific individuals, but he shook himself and continued. “The fact that they escaped History Island! ...should provide them with the notoriety and credibility they need to gain the attention and support of those who oppose Her Majesty.  And that will be the bait in our trap to pull those individuals out and eliminate them once and for all.”

Randy began to grin, once more displaying the pointed teeth.  “That’s a delightfully …unexpected…plan.”

The aarakocra and the minotaur exchanged glances again.  “Isn’t it, though?”  The aarakocra replied, a smug smile once again on his face.  He looked over at the minotaur. “Captain, give our friends a good three or four hour start …let them get well on the other side of the bridge before you sound the alarms.  I want them to have already decided to travel together; if we frighten them too soon, they might split up.”

“Yes, sir,” The minotaur replied.

Smoke began to billow about the aarakocra as he pulled the hood back over his head.  “This is going to be fun,” he commented as the smoke closed around him.

The raven flew around the room once and then disappeared through the high barred window into the night.