Savage Wild Preview

CHAPTER ONE

THIEVES

On the day of the heist, I tasted death.

It was the first Fireday of the month, and the booths of Pantmawr’s bustling downtown market were crowded with overpriced jewels, lush embroidery, and decadent food from across the Valley. A blazing sun augmented the smell of fresh bread, strong spices, and rich cheeses. It was full of so much life and vibrancy that no one would notice four troublemakers.

A statue of a misshapen trout spitting water from its mouth marked the entrance of the town where I grew up and served me for years as a place to meet with my fellow mischief makers. Leaning back against the stone, singing to himself, was my best friend, Willow, a mountain nomad from the distant north. His hair was the color of a cloud brightened by a yellow sun, and the blue scarves wrapping around his arms could have been cut from the sky.

The sun flashed in his eyes when he noticed my curly head bobbing down the street.

“There’s my fellow criminal!” He leapt high and floated over to me on an invisible breeze, attracting the attention of everyone in the pavilion. Like many northerners, his natural power allowed him to move like a feather in the wind, and he was more than happy to show it off.

When he landed next to me, my arm lurched snakelike around his neck. “You can’t escape me!” I declared, ruffling his coiffed hair. “Surrender or face the consequences!”

He tugged at my arms to no avail. “Let me go! Rotten Valley-boy!   Ratcatcher!” He made a noisy show of choking and fainting. I let him go, and he toppled to the ground, laughing.

“How’s the view from down there?” I asked, leaning forward with a self-satisfied smirk.

He popped up and brushed dirt from the front of his tight black shirt. “I prefer the view from up high. I’m not surprised to see you here first, Badger. If you’re not ten minutes early, you’re late!”

“I have standards,” I said, straightening the ornamental pins on my satchel handle. “Now cut to the chase. What is this great heist you mentioned yesterday?”

His ocean-dark eyes glistened, and Willow jumped on the nearest breeze and floated away, above the crowd that grew with the dawn. I jogged after him, but not before cursing him under my breath. My friend had a nasty habit of leaving me in suspense.

The sweet, cloying smell of the Fireday market complemented the raspberry sunrise. I whisked around the corner and onto the polished, brick lane leading to the town square, past other groups of people heading the same way, holding empty shopping baskets and the hands of their children. Willow danced in circles above their heads, turquoise scarves spiraling around as the children giggled and pointed.

In the heart of the market, Willow landed in front of a cart selling cooked hazelnuts coated in honey and sugar. My mouth watered at the irresistible aroma.

“Hey! It’s little Badger!” The wrinkled vendor revealed a gappy smile at the sight of us. “And the nomad with the lovely voice! Can I interest you in something delicious, muh boys?”

“Silly question, Manta,” I teased.

Willow floated upside down. “Give us your biggest order!”

He waved his ring-crowded hand towards the market center. “I saw your Mama Robin setting up about two streets over. Tell her hello!”

I'd lived in the town of Pantmawr for my entire life, so I knew almost everyone. Manta Of-the-Jungle had sold his signature honey hazelnuts in the exact same place ever since Willow and I were little. My friend made a bit of a show digging in his pockets for money, but Manta slapped his hand and gave us the food for free.

We walked away, through the archway of green and yellow trees, savoring our delicious treat, and when we were out of earshot, Willow said, “It won’t be easy pulling off this heist if your mom is here. You should have said something.”

I smacked him, lovingly, on the back of the head.

“Hey what gives!” The pitch in his voice spiked. “That's twice today I've been slapped! Not a good omen.”

“My mother is here every week,” I reminded him, with a swift roll of the eyes. “On that note, tell me what the deep hell we’re doing!”

Willow’s crooked teeth made for a wild grin. After shoveling more roasted hazelnuts in his mouth, he grabbed the edge of my sleeve and pulled me along. “Please, let's meet with the others before I unveil my genius. If Robin is on the town hall street, we won’t run into her. Trust me, this is a good idea. A harmless crime. Barely a crime.”

The others Willow spoke of loitered around a stall selling fresh- caught Jewel Fish, glittering blue and pink on a bed of ice. Some were still flopping.

With the focus and confident stance of a scholar with something to prove, the third member of our band scrutinized the sapphire eyes of the trout. Her name was Sharp Of- the-City, and she was hard to miss, being noticeably taller than most Pantmawr locals. Glossy black hair reached her elbows, and she held herself like someone much older and wiser, though her face was all youth and beauty. Her ensemble was just as imposing, a pristine set of silver armor, lined with plum-colored leather, and a blade of silver and bone holstered on either hip.

Sharp caught my eye and waved. From behind her, the fourth and final member of our group revealed themself and locked a pair of threatening orange eyes on Willow.

“Blondie! My nemesis!” they chirped, with a dangerous smile. Piranha Of-the-Jungle, an androgynous feline with dark brown skin and large eyes that could hunt a moth in the dark, pulled back an arrow with frightening speed and shot it straight above us. Willow caught it one-handed.

“Excellent form!” the archer praised, striding over to us on catlike limbs hidden inside loose black pants. A ruffled, vermillion shirt clashed with bronze hair braided in tight rows.  

The Jungle was deep in the south, a much more treacherous place than the peaceful Valley. I had never been, but I knew it was full of people blurring the line between human and animal, as well as lines of gender. I’d never known if Piranha was male or female, so we addressed them like they were two people in one.

Piranha slinked an arm around my shoulder, orange eyes close to my face. The pupils widened into saucers, and they spoke with a nasal inflection. “I’m surprised Willow convinced you to come with us, freckle-face. I didn’t think you’d be down for petty crime.”

They tried to lasso me with their sunset scarves, but I poked them in the stomach and ducked away.

“Nice try!” I teased. “I’m not stealing anything unless feather-boy here tells me what it is. Something tells me you need my power.” I narrowed my eyes at Willow, my arms crossed proudly.

He offered a smarmy grin, hair flopping over deep blue eyes, and said, “Let’s move a bit further out of the crowd first.”

We followed our frustrating friend as he floated to a vacated spot behind Rhino’s Variety Store. The attractive smell of the market was replaced with the scent of mold and rotting fruit, and a family of fattened rats perked up from their pile of old food to observe us.

Willow crossed his legs and hovered a few feet in the air. This ability was called Feather. He was born in a Northern Mountain tribe that neighbored a Wind Kingdom built on an inaccessible towering plateau. In order to reach it, most northern people had some capacity for flight.

He beckoned the group close with hypnotic eyes. “You see, I heard a rumor about a traveling vendor from Pavv, a guy with blond dreadlocks who sells fruits of all sorts. He does a lot of business with the people Of-the-Wilds.”

Willow exchanged a glance with each of us, as if he expected us to fill in the blanks.

“So?” Sharp twirled one of her thin, silver swords in a circle. “Half a dozen vendors are from the Wilds.”

“Because…” he trailed off to ensure we were hanging on to his every word, “this guy is selling Wild Fruit.”

My eyes widened, finally seeing the extent of his plan. Wild Fruit was a rarity at the Fireday market, as it could only be found in the deepest parts of the Savage Wilds. If normal Valley people like us consumed it, we’d be charged with Divine energy for several hours.

Pir’s wild, pointy grin contrasted with the sour frown on Sharp’s face as she stopped twirling one of her blades in a circle.

“No need for that look!” assured Willow, pushing his own mouth into a goofy smile. “We can all have a good time! Come on! It's the exploration season!”

“I know that.” She tapped her foot and checked her surroundings. “It's not technically legal Willow.”

“The other way around.” He crossed his hands to illustrate his point. “It’s not technically illegal. Age restrictions are only required to be enforced in the Wilds because of all the Divine mumbo jumbo.”

“I think she means the stealing,” I added, “and just because they don’t have to enforce it doesn’t mean they won’t.”

He snapped a finger. “I have a way around all that. Trust me. Here, take this.” From somewhere within his scarves, he unearthed a small purple bag jingling with coins. “Listen, we aren’t going to steal anything per se. We’ll pay for it secretly. They’ll only sell it to Wild people or people with at least four earrings, so this is the only way to get our hands on it. What do you say?”

For all his life, Willow was on the hunt for the next big experience, insisting the rest of us come along with him. Sometimes, it got us into trouble, but other times his mischief would turn to magic. My mothers warned me not to make friends with mountain nomads if I wanted my life to be peaceful. Maybe they were right.

I took the money anyway.

With that, Willow walked us through the plan. As I suspected, it relied on the natural ability I inherited from my mother, a common power called ‘Lucent’ that made me invisible for five minutes. The first part involved Sharp, who would talk to the shopkeeper and inquire about the Wild Fruit. As she did this, I’d be watching for my chance.

Willow put two hands to the side of his head. “Sharp looks older, so he’ll likely show you where he keeps it. Don’t let him see your ears until he asks.”

She concealed them with her long black hair. Citizens of the Vast United Continent customarily added piercings to their ears at certain ages: five, ten, thirteen, eighteen, and then each year ending in zero. At sixteen, we still had three.

“He’ll ask you to move your hair at some point.” Piranha mimed the motion whilst making a kissy face. “That will be the signal for Willow and yours truly to cause a little distraction.”

I reached out my hand and wiggled my fingers. “Got it. Then I take the Fruit and leave the money. Give me a bit extra, for my tip.”

Willow held the bag out of my reach. “Here’s a tip. Sometimes a day of fun is payment enough. Can’t you just be cool for once in your life?”

I lunged for the money and fell on my face as he drifted further away.

“Knock it off,” Sharp scolded, pulling the collar of my red shirt. She tapped a foot on the plan written in the dirt. “Are we doing this or what?”

Piranha pointed a clawed finger back to the square. “Let’s go! Adventure awaits!”

When we returned to the market, Sharp and I separated from the others. The fruit stand in question was close to the center, displaying a saturated rainbow of produce, overflowing with both color and scent. It had everything, including fat greens grapes from the Padlock vineyards and the spiky white melons that could only be found in the Jungle.

“We should go back to the alley,” suggested Sharp, “unless you were planning on disappearing in the middle of this crowd.”

“Right. Good call.”

As we doubled back, she leaned in to talk a little softer, smelling of leather and sweat. “Are you sure you want to do this, little chameleon? You don’t have to do everything Willow wants.”

I sputtered with indignation. “That idiot can’t make me do anything. I’m honestly curious about the Wild Fruit.”

Her mouth tightened, not convinced but not about to argue. Willow did tend to drag me along on his exploits, but deep down, I counted on it. Without him, I’d be too afraid to do anything.

“If you say so.” We reached the corner of the alley, and she scanned our surroundings for wandering eyes. “Okay, you should hide. Make sure you stay by my side.”

“I know.”

“Try not to say anything.”

“Got it.” I mimed zipping my lips.

And then I was gone, at least to the human eye. I was still physically there, so my body could be detected by any of the other senses. When we reentered the crowd, I had to dodge a barrage of market goers. A gaggle of children nearly trampled me, their hands full of sweets and mouths full of laughter.

The man running the fruit stand was stocky, hunched, and his straw-blond hair reached his shoulders. A long earring with a red apple charm dangled from his left ear. He had a face locked in a frown, but it brightened as he saw Sharp approaching in her glistening armor. People across the continent respected Warriors like her, especially the ones with suns engraved on their chest plates and uncut black hair.

“Heya! A girl from the City, huh?” He gestured her over, smiling wide and squinting. “If you like, I have some fancy truffles at a reasonable price! I sense a sophisticated palette.”

She bought three and traded them for a gold flat. This gave the man a reason to trust her despite our mischievous intentions. Her tone, which was usually on the abrupt side, became soft and sweet like the cotton candy being sold around the corner. “Sir, do you have any Wild Fruit?”

A sinister smile curled away the frown. “Do you dare eat the Wild Fruit?” He ducked out of sight, unaware I watched from the other side. He opened a hidden drawer containing a bizarre looking plant, like a neon blue artichoke with smooth flat petals. It was small enough to eat in one bite.

“How pretty!” Sharp chirped, her eyes fixed. “How much for four?”

He gestured towards her ear, but it was clear from his expression he wasn’t fooled. She pushed her hair back and sighed with defeat. “Worth a shot. Thanks for the truffles anyway! Godspeed!”

She made a quick and pointed exit. With impeccable timing, Willow flew above the crowd, his movement creating a light breeze. Piranha shot an arrow in his direction, and to the chagrin of the onlookers, the flying nomad caught it with his teeth. The two singers joined in harmonious chatter, which transitioned into a beautiful little song:

“Can you meet me for a minute

In the magic meadow blue?

Can we dance just for a moment

In the starlight, me and you?”

THE CROWD APPLAUDED. They were used to this type of tomfoolery, lived for it even. Most of them knew me, but everyone knew Willow Of-the-Mountains and his characteristic acts of whimsy. He wanted nothing more than to be a traveling musician, and impromptu performances like this had become something of a specialty. The four of us together made an impressive band, if I do say so myself.

The vendor was happy to step away and enjoy a momentary distraction from his sweltering stand. I swooped down and put four of the Fruit in the pocket of my jacket, leaving behind a little more money than necessary.

After weaving my invisible way through the market, I headed for the edge of the trees near town and made it there before the vendor even turned around. A wide pathway beyond the trees opened to a meadow on the hill. For a moment I was alone, my power fading away and my bare feet cooled by the long, dewy grass. I pulled the four strange fruits from my satchel and twirled them in my hand. The words of the vendor flashed in my head.

Do you dare eat the Wild Fruit?

I think back to this moment a lot. I should've heeded his words. I should’ve listened. If I wasn’t so curious, I might have remembered the other warning I had been given, when I was just a kid:

Wild Fruit is dangerous for people like you.

Sharp ambled up the hill next, inspecting the quality of the truffles, her nose scrunched. Willow and Piranha bounded close behind, high fiving and whooping.

“Cool it!” I snapped, showing off the results of the victorious heist. “Save your energy for the wildest hike ever!”

With utmost grace, Willow landed next to me, blue eyes burning and legs bouncing with excitement. “I don’t know what we’d do without you, Badger. Whatta ya say? Should we start this party?”

I pulled my hand away as he reached for it, laughing at his childish jittering. “Don’t you ever stop to take a breath? You’re a freak of nature.”

He wiggled his fingers and eyebrows. “Yeah, yeah. Just hand it over.”

The long, soft grass of the small meadow connected to a narrow pathway, peppered with tall green and yellow trees. As we began our walk, I gave the illicit fruit to each of them.

Sharp held the strange thing up to the light and murmured, “Small but powerful. Do you know what these things can do?”

Piranha laughed aloud, tossing their own fruit back and forth. “No, but I bet you’re going to tell us, huh?"

She glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It just means what it means.”

“I think Pir is trying to say you’re a bit of a know-it-all,” I snarked.

“Well at least I know something,” she responded, and it wasn’t far from the truth. Sharp was the smartest, and always took twice as many courses during the education season. We tried our best to keep her ego in check.

Willow juggled the Fruit with his feet and broke into a cackle. “No bickering! Try to keep up!”

Off he flew, Piranha hopping after him, leaving Sharp and I behind to exhale a long-suffering sigh.

The clearing of trees formed a perfect circle. Willow flew to the top of the tallest tree in less than a minute, then fluttered back down like a feather. “Let me go first,” he insisted. “I think it will turn me into a god!”

“We’ll have to race to the top!” suggested Piranha. “And maybe a footrace, to keep things fair.”

“You’re on!” He snapped a finger theatrically. “What about you Badger? What do you think you’ll be able to do?”

I shrugged and twisted a finger through my hair. “Stay invisible longer, I guess.”

With a wild clap of his hands, he exclaimed, “Oh! Oh! Oh! That just gave me an idea! After we eat the Fruit, let's have a game of advanced hide and seek!”

The summer-swelling sun peeked from behind a cloud to watch the event unfold. When the four of us were younger, and I had learned to use Lucent, we invented a game called advanced hide and seek. Only I would hide, and the other three had to find me within the time limit. We played hundreds of times, and I lost only once. A technicality.

“Now we’re talking.” I concentrated Lucent in my hand, making both it and the glowing fruit invisible. “This time, I’ll give you an entire hour to find me.”

They were more than happy with these terms. Willow flipped backwards and landed on a low tree branch. “Pir and I will see how it works first. After that, it's Sharp's turn. We should save Badger for last, and as soon as it takes effect, the game begins!”

Piranha joined him, all four limbs gripping the wood. “Let’s get wild!”

With that, they tapped their fruits together in a toast and put the entire thing in their mouths.

“How’s it taste?” I asked.

Sharp smirked. “I hear it's supposed to taste like death.”

As if to prove her point, they burst into a frenzy of unpleasant retching. Willow spat on the ground a few times before saying, “No kidding! Blech! Remember when we found that dead horse on the river? This tastes how that smelled.”

My lips curled at the memory. “Great. Can’t wait to eat it.”

“Give it a few minutes to kick in,” instructed Sharp. “None of us are Of-the-Wilds, so the bad taste should be the only negative side effect.”

 “Negative side effects?” I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean? I thought it just activated latent power.” The way Willow had spoken about it, I had assumed this would be an adventure with no consequences.

She frowned. “Sort of. The Savage Wild is one of the most powerful sources of Divine entropy on the entire continent. For people that live in that region, the effects are random, and in rare cases, dangerous.”

Pir and I exchanged nervous glances.

“Don’t be like that.” She popped the fruit into her mouth, chewing and swallowing with surprising ease. “For people like us, it’s about as dangerous as a cup of coffee.”

I held my own fruit up to my mouth, waiting as Willow suggested. Despite Sharp’s reassurance, I felt a gnawing anxiety. Like an idiot, I push it away.

It took about five minutes for any of them to notice a difference, when Sharp looked upward and asked, “Do you smell that?”

I sniffed the air but smelled nothing. “What do you mean?”

“That’s weird.” She touched her nose. “I can smell the rain on the horizon.” Her eyes widened and turned glassy. “Whoa. I can hear the market.”

A similar expression washed over Willow’s face. In a glorious moment, he twirled his blue scarves, and instead of floating ten feet above our heads as usual, he managed to match the height of the tree in a single effortless hop.

The ATMOSPHERE began to change.

“No way! So cool!” Piranha punched a fist in the air and jumped all the way to a branch in the middle of the tree. They were no match for Willow when it came to height but beat their personal record with ease. Pir’s natural Jungle power was called Wildcat, and due to unique muscles in their limbs and tough, lightweight bones, they moved around with more speed, power, and control than the average person.

“Come on Badger!” shouted Willow, flitting about like an energetic jaybird. “It’s your turn. This is awesome!”

Under my breath I mumbled, “Yeah, awesome for you.”

“I heard that!” said Sharp, which was perplexing, since she was standing twenty feet away from me, practicing the swing of her dual blades. “He’s right! You should give it a shot! I didn’t think it would make a big difference, but I feel like I could catch up with those two for once.”

The two in question landed in front of us. Piranha’s fangs were exposed in a malevolent grin, and Willow’s arms were akimbo, his hair a windy mess. “You heard the boss. Eat the nasty death fruit.”

I held it up to the sun. It was dense and smooth, like it was made of a rare blue stone, getting heavier the longer I waited. I popped it in my mouth, attempting to consume it faster than I could taste it. No good. As soon as I swallowed, the taste hit me hard, and I doubled over gagging.

Willow floated over and patted my back. “Are you choking? Or is it just nasty?”

“That horse…yuck…” I grumbled. “Better be worth it.”

Sharp flipped her hair over her shoulder with the dull side of the bone blade. “Before we play, let’s figure out how it alters Lucent, or else we won’t have a chance.”

“There’s no way you’ll get me,” I jeered. “Get ready to be a bunch of losers.”

We teased each other for a few minutes before I started to notice a change. The greens of the leaves sharpened and grew more distinct, and the air thickened with the smell of rain and the distant marketplace. The grass under my feet warmed.

“Whoa.” I leaned back my head and took in the clear blue sky. A bird flew past my gaze, and I heard the notes of its traveling song.

“Feels cool right?” Piranha chirped. “Have you ever felt so powerful in your life?”

“It feels… like I could run for miles,” I whispered, inhaling the warm afternoon air, “like I’ll never get tired.”

With an imperceptible flourish, Sharp returned one of her blades, but pointed the other at my face. “You should activate your power and revert it before we start.”

“Why?”

“What if the Wild Fruit makes you stuck like that?”

“What?!” I balked. “Are you saying I might be invisible forever?”

She flicked my ear. “Doubtful, but just in case. We could do something else, if you’re too scared.”

“Fat chance. I’m committed now.” I met Willow’s gaze, which was soft and concerned. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine, and I promise to come right back.”

“Famous last words,” joked Piranha.

Sharp held up her hand. “Count to five and then reappear. Alright?”

I nodded.

And then I disappeared.