Let's Write Together Catfishman Wizard Part 2

This is an experimental Creative Write/Free write. I wrote this in the Hive.Pizza DiscordPizza Guild Discord while sharing my screen and asking for input/direction/whatever from the community. I think it will be an interesting way to construct a post and have no idea how this will turn out!

Rules!
They are few:

Anyone else in the voice channel's input overrides mine- I will type and incorporate ideas and input as I do- ANYONE in voice can make me edit or whatever!

Pizza Tips for participants throughout the event

Other than that this is a standard free writing format! So lets GOOOOOOO!

The first people to join voice insisted we do a continuation of a previous Let's Write Together Event so let's see how it turns out!

It was a fine Sunday afternoon and for the first time in history the peasants were bored. There was no sign of the Priest, in fact there had been no one to gather the tithe the weekend before. The King had not been seen in weeks. All anyone could say for sure was that there had been a loud explosion the week before at the King's Banquet.

We know what really happened- Vogon the Catfishman Wizard had sought revenge after the fisherman had attacked him in the woods. The King was dead, as were many of his courtiers.

Unfortunately the Prince remained and though he had no idea how to rule in his father's stead he had seized power and instructed the few remaining servants to build him a new form of entertainment. He was a lazy Prince and had never had to work for anything in his life. His name was Zaphlebrox and all he cared about was having fun. In order to effectively punish Vogon, he had set the servants to work on a game of his own devising. He would toss a certain part of the Catfishman's anatomy down a long alley in the village to knock over a series of pins that had been specially crafter for the occasion. The alley was between a pig stye and the local tavern. It was awash with the terrible stench of the taverns outhouse and the earth stink of the pigs.

Zaphlebrox could think of no more fitting a punishment for Vogon's terrible actions than this. The whole village had been invited to watch this new punishment which the Prince had been calling "Balling" once the fisherman Arthur Riddle had captured him. The locals had hilariously named the alley that had been chosen for this punishment the "Balling Alley". Some said that pursuing vengeance on the Catfishman would only bring trouble, but magic had caused the Prince to lose everything he cared about- namely his nice palace, easy life, and ability to never do any work. With his father dead he was slowly getting used to the idea that he would actually have to rule or nothing would get done and there would be no tasty fish dinners, or rocky mountain oysters to be served to him.

With the knowledge that this alley would be the scene of a most dreadful punishment the villagers had stopped using the passage and it became even more derelict and unused.

Months passed, Zaphlebrox began to rule more effectively, and eventually people began to forget that the cordoned off alley had such a sinister use planned for it. As people refused to use the alley, it became the perfect place for a local herbalist to set up a temporary shop. She was known to dabble in the darkest of chaos magicks, but the villagers had always tolerated her because she had healed the village of their ills during the plague of Crippling Ennui and Scarlet Fever several years before. There were even members of the palace courtiers who had been treated by her. She set up shop there in Balling Alley and sold her tinctures and herbal tonics. The villagers began to forget that there had ever been a dark purpose planned for the alley, and even slowly forgot it's true name. The witch was known to the villagers as Scarlet Mora and they were perfectly happy to let her fill the empty space between the pig stye and the tavern.

Scarlet's customers grew healthier and happier than ever- she was known to slip a special ingredient in her concoctions that would put a spring in anyone's step and lift their mood. Soon many villagers were regular customers and at times even the tavern grew jealous of their patronage. She was quite young and attractive, as far as witches go, at least that is what the young men of the village said and nearly as many stopped by her ramshackle stall just to chat and waste time as did to buy her tinctures. Even the Prince began to notice the beautiful girl as he rode through town on hunting trips.

Unbeknownst to the villagers or Zaphlebrox, Scarlet had a secret. Each night when she left her stall to return to the rude hovel that was her home outside the village she changed. As she approached the hovel and crossed the small stream that separated her dwelling from the village her form began to blur and shine. Scales appeared along her fingertips glistening in the moonlight and at the peak of the bridge she always made certain that she was unobserved before diving headfirst into the water below. Scarlet was in fact Vogon's daughter. She had been observing the villagers for months and waiting for the best opportunity to complete the revenge so desired by her and her father.

Each night she raced along the narrow stream towards the millpond in which she and her adopted father had hidden since the events by the leet the year before. Her father, injured in form and pride had not ventured beyond the water ever since. He had taught her the secrets of his shapeshifting and given her the ability to disguise herself well enough to enact their revenge. As she approached the pond she dove deep seeking the secret entrance to their underwater dwelling.

She rose from the water and shifted back into her human shape before she landed in the dry space that had been carved out for her. Vogon was still asleep, which of course meant that he had to remain in the water in order to breathe. He could not perform magic on himself to maintain a human form while he slumbered. This was his biggest weakness and a secret that only Scarlet knew. She busied herself preparing the tinctures and tonics for tomorrows journey back to town. Just as she sat down to rest, Vogon rose from the water behind her and bellowed:

"GLIB BLUG GILBER GLUG." His catfish mouth refused to form proper speech and though it was often hard to understand him, Scarlet had grown accustomed to the strange sounds and understood most of what he was trying to say.

"No, father, I did not see the Prince today, though many young men stop by to waste time and flex their muscles at me. I have seen him looking at me as he passes through the village but he has not yet approached."

"GLIBBER BLUG GLUBBER GLIB GUBB" His Catfish whiskers flapped wildly around him as he glubbed and showered her with filthy water.

"I know I know I must seduce him in order that our revenge can be completed! What do you think I am doing there every day? Do you think I like being ogled by these yokels? If not for the drugs I add to the tinctures I fear I would not be able to fend some of them without injuring them!"

"Glub blhug gilber gulberglhug gluhg" He responded despondently. It was clear that being stuck in the cave for so long was getting to him, and even though he had never shown her the true affection she might have experienced if she were raised by her human parents, he was all she had and so she felt some measure of his suffering.

"If I can't get Zaphlebrox's attention soon we can try a different plan." She knew he would not want to hear this but she had already put other schemes into motion. "I can make a potion that will make him infatuated with me and follow me to the water- that would be much easier than this long winded approach. What would a Prince want with a Witch anyway?"

"GLUBBBBBERRRRRRRRRR, Glib Blub! BLUGGER GLug FLUBB gLUG bLIBBER" He looked at her protectively as he blubbed and she knew that he meant it.

"Ok, father, tomorrow we will try another way." With that she turned and put the final ingredients in the cauldron of simmering herbs and magical ingredients that constantly bubbled and boiled in a corner of the cave. She reached for a vial of frogspawn, and dropped in a couple of the tiny eggs, then she grabbed a nutmeg seed and crushed it against the wall of the cave before dusting the powder into the cauldron. There was only one ingredient left. A piece of the Prince in order to bind him. It did not matter what part of the Prince, it could be anything as long as it contained his essence.

With her work done she prepared to sleep and lay on the rude mattress that was her bed.

The next day the two of them left the safety of the cave with reciting the powerful incantation in her mind in order to begin infusing the potion with energy.

Ravioli Ravioli grant me a love potionoli... Ravioli Ravioli grant me a love potionli... Ravioli Ravioli grant me a love potionoli...

They swam quickly along the stream in the early morning light. The deep darkness of the night had passed and the sun was barely risen as they approached the village. Scarlet signed for Vogon to remain in the water as she went about her normal routine until they could isolate Prince Zaphlebrox. As she approached her stall she was surprised to find someone already in Balling Alley. Still she approached as if it meant nothing and went about her business. The mysterious stranger simply ignored her until she had passed and began to set out her tinctures and tonics as usual.

He approached as she did, and grabbed the vial of love potion from her pocket before she could stop him.

She turned to face him and saw that he was ancient, gnarled and filthy. She sensed a distinct aura of magical energy around him. This man was powerful. More powerful than her or her father combined. He had a predatory glint in his eye as he nimbly danced back from her snatching fingers attempted to reclaim the precious vial.

"Easy, girl, easy, I mean you no harm and I will return this to you if you choose, after I have told you the truth." The man croaked in a vaguely birdlike way. He sounded like a crow or Raven mimicking human speech. The thought struck Scarlet that he had hopped away from her almost as if about to take flight. Perhaps he is a shapeshifter like Father and me! he thought, and calmed herself long enough for the man to settle.

"I am Marlin and I knew your birth parents well. I was your father's assistant and faithful servant."