Chương 16: Guide Mippo

From the dark green sludge bubbles began to appear — sparse at first, solitary, then more and more frequently, more densely, until the entire surface around him was churning like boiling water. The sound was strange — not the familiar gurgling of drains, but something cleaner, almost musical. A thin, silvery ring of a bell, rising from below, from beneath the sludge, climbing upward together with the bubbles — quiet but distinct, unexpectedly pure in this damp and rotten place. Lloyd instinctively stepped back.

The sludge underfoot squelched. The greenish light of the tunnel pulsed slightly faster — or so it seemed to him. And then something leapt out of it. A small creature landed directly in front of him — precisely, confidently, without a single unnecessary movement, as though it had done this hundreds of times. Splashes of dark sludge flew outward and fell back with a quiet smack. The creature didn't even sway — it simply stood there, as though it hadn't jumped at all.

Its head was round and wooden — real wood, with natural grain patterns and fine cracks that spread across the surface like fissures in old bark. In the greenish half-light of the tunnel these cracks cast tiny shadows — and because of this the head seemed even older, even more ancient, as though the creature had been here long before anyone had built this tunnel.

Two large eyes glowed green — brightly, distinctly, with that particular inner light that doesn't reflect another source's illumination but produces its own. In the dim greenish gloom of the tunnel they looked almost hypnotic — two green flames on a dark wooden face. On top of the wooden head were fixed three feathers — of different shades, from deep emerald to pale lemon, slowly swaying after the jump, settling. The creature wore a long dark green cloak with a deep hood thrown back.

The fabric looked old and worn — not worn from carelessness, but genuinely old, with history, as though the cloak had been sewn from something of the forest — from leaves, from moss, from something that had once grown and lived somewhere else, far from here. The edges of the cloak were uneven, frayed in places — but this didn't look like damage, more like part of the design, as though it was meant to be this way.

At the waist, cinched with a thick rope, hung a small metal bell — the very one whose ring Lloyd had heard a moment ago. Now it swayed quietly and was silent. In its hands the creature held a lantern — antique, with an ornate metal frame touched by the patina of time, inside which a bright golden crystal pulsed. The light from it was warm and alive — soft, almost cosy — and completely unlike the lifeless greenish glow of the tunnel.

There was something almost mocking about this contrast — a warm golden flame amid the damp, the rot, and the darkness. Green hands and feet poking out from under the cloak harmoniously completed the overall impression — a forest, ancient, slightly otherworldly creature that had clearly no business being here in a sewer. And yet — it stood here as though this was precisely where it belonged. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The creature looked at Lloyd with its bright green eyes — calmly, without fear, without surprise. Simply looked. As though it were the one at home here, and Lloyd the uninvited guest who had nevertheless been allowed in. Lloyd, for his part, didn't manage to do anything — his body reacted before his head did. He jumped back, slipped on the sludge and dropped to one knee, throwing a hand out in front of him. His palm sank into the sludge up to the wrist.

Lloyd didn't immediately get up — he simply stared at the creature from below, not moving. And then it spoke. The voice was childlike — high, soft, slightly slippery, as though words rolled out of its mouth on their own, without particular effort. There was no threat in this voice. None at all. Which somehow didn't make it any less strange. — Shouting wasn't necessary. Lloyd nearly said something loud and unflattering — but common sense held that impulse back at the last moment.

He slowly got up, looked with distaste at his sludge-covered palm, wiped it on his trousers — a pointless gesture, given that his trousers were already in sludge up to the ankle — and asked the only logical question: — What are you? The creature tilted its head slightly — the wooden head swayed smoothly, the feathers swayed after it.

It raised the lantern a little closer to Lloyd's face, and the golden light of the crystal lit him from below — picking out his cheekbones, the shadows under his eyes, the expression of someone who hasn't yet decided whether to be afraid or not. — Ah, yes. Completely forgot to introduce myself. It quietly cleared its throat — seriously, with dignity, as though preparing for an important address. — I am Mippo. I am your Guide. The one who will be helping you. If you have questions — I am here. Mippo fell silent.

The golden light of the lantern pulsed softly. The sludge underfoot gurgled. Somewhere in the darkness of the tunnel water dripped — methodically, as always. Then the creature raised a finger — as though remembering something important it had almost let slip. — Oh, and yes. I cannot help you physically or directly. You might say — I guide newcomers and help them with simple questions. Mippo fell silent again.

It shook its head with the air of a creature that had honestly completed its part of the work and was now waiting for a reaction. Lloyd stared at it for several seconds, not looking away. The golden light of the lantern trembled between them. The tunnel was silent.

"So he's like an assistant in a game. The kind that helps you figure out the mechanics and keeps you from getting lost in the settings." Not that this was bad. It was just... he had expected something different. Something more imposing, perhaps. Or at least something that didn't climb out of sewer sludge to the ring of a bell and then look at you with green eyes like a tired librarian. Lloyd kept his eyes on Mippo.

The creature, meanwhile, slowly turned its wooden head and looked around — calmly, unhurriedly, as though surveying a familiar room. Dark walls with their greenish coating, a low ceiling, sludge underfoot, murky half-light ahead. Then it looked back at Lloyd. The green eyes glowed steadily and calmly.