The Peddler stopped speaking and viciously stomped down on something at his feet. The wet squelching sound under his boot was quickly followed by a pained shriek. He stooped down and scooped up the offending party from the mist. Squirming in his grasp was a small six-legged lizard with a thick-scaled exterior perfectly suited for camouflaging into the rocky landscape.
A blighted basilisk. That one only looks like it’s still only a hatchling, but I wonder if it’s related to the one responsible for taking my parents.
Loathing filled him as Jax glared without a shred of sympathy at the tiny legs scuttling as the basilisk twisted to find purchase on the Peddler’s sleeve. He dextrously flipped over his wrist and then flicked the lizard up high. He fluidly took his elaborate top hat off in the same motion and tilted his head back, stretching his mouth open to exaggerated proportions. Jax’s eyes fixated on the basilisk tumbling through the air with bated breath.
Suddenly, the Peddler’s serrated teeth audibly clamped shut, swallowing the creature whole. He gave Jax a side glance after noticing his gaping expression of disbelief. Licking his lips with an alarmingly long forked tongue, the Peddler turned towards Jax with a flourish of his hat. It moved with a mind of its own to roll head-over-tail to affix itself back to his head, teetering with a lopsided lilt.
“Burp, delicious. You look shocked but it’s simple, really. When a magical critter utilises its innate bloodline Hex, it crosses over into the Nether and makes itself easy prey. Which means… this cunning little nasty just used your body as target practice and turned your flesh to stone. We better stop wasting time then, you don’t have much left!” The Peddler enthusiastically said, reaching his arm deep into the shadows once more, ignoring Jax’s mounting unrest.
This time when the Peddler removed his arm, he clutched a large round object. Bracing a foot against a gnarled tree stump, he gripped it with both hands and hauled on it with obvious effort. With a pop, the wheel sprang free of his grasp and rolled in an arching circle. It spun to a stop, miraculously standing in position ready for use.
Is this the Wheel of Fate? Can it really give me another chance at life? Well, there’s only one way for me to find out, I need to give it a spin.
Jax didn’t hesitate and weakly reached out towards the prize wheel, only for the Peddler to slap his hand away.
“Nah-ta-ta, none of that, my dear boy. Only I touch the wheel. Can’t have anyone trying to cheat now, can we?” The Peddler playfully reprimanded with a devilish grin, gripping two pegs above his head height. With a mighty heave, the Wheel of Fate began to rotate with blinding speed. Jax’s eyes got drawn into the hypnotic pattern forming on the surface while in motion. It was a stylised image of the Peddler’s face widening into a grin that never seemed to turn upside-down, only swaying from side to side like a pendulum. “Let us sit back and watch what happens next, the Wheel of Fate is set in motion. Only the Many or divine intervention can stop it now… huh?”
The Peddler’s hat jostled on his head like it was trying to get his attention, coming to a stop and pointing out of Jax’s sight behind the tree. The Peddler leaned out to the side to investigate past the trunk, his glowing red eyes going round with incredulity. Whatever it was made a lot of ruckus, causing Jax to become aware of scratching footsteps racing towards them accompanied by the sound of disgruntled screeching.
“Bwuk, bwuk, bwuk!”
“Blight, it looks like our previous customer has found and caught up to us fast, hat. What do we do now? We’re still in the middle of something and can’t scamper just yet. Sigh, there’s only one thing for it… we confuse it!” The Peddler declared, decisively throwing a finger high in the sky. He immediately started rhythmically tapping his feet and bobbing his head while screwing his face into an expression of concentration. A moment later, his shoulders and hips started to sway and bounce.
Is the Peddler… dancing…?
Next, the Pedller dropped his hands into a clap, simultaneously hopping to face away, flaring his elbows out wide like chicken wings. Keeping his fists in line, he started swishing his elbows in small circles, making imitation pecking gestures while kicking his heels back. Jax noticed the elegant overcoat was stuffed full to bursting with something under the Peddler’s armpits.
Like a chicken?...
The Peddler’s display only served to aggravate and provoke the angry chicken further, it flew past Jax’s position in a flurry of beak and claws. But the target of its ire was no longer there, the Peddler disappeared in a flash of billowing white smoke. A single golden feather was dislodged in the carnage, floating to rest on the confused chicken’s beak. It twisted its neck to balance the feather, maneuvering its neck to follow, inadvertently stomping around to face Jax.
The chicken's eyes went crosseyed as they both maintained their focus on the golden feather teetering at the crest of its beak. Jax suddenly noticed the distinct lack of feathers covering the naked poultry, leaving it looking like a plucked chicken ready for the roasting pot. Its beady eyes slowly shifted their attention to a spot next to Jax at the base of the tree.
Jax followed the bald chicken’s gaze, discovering the Peddler reclining beside him, hands resting comfortably behind his head with a satisfied grin. More golden feathers visibly poked out of the seams of his coat. The Peddler’s smirk suddenly faltered and he snapped forwards.
“Hey, that’s mine!” The Peddler objected, pinching the lone feather resting on the bird’s beak between two fingers. The bald chicken’s eye began to twitch and blink in agitation.
“Bwuk!” the chicken shrieked with murderous fury, lunging to tear the Peddler apart with razor-sharp precision. Except it missed, the evasive deity disappeared once more, leaving behind a golden shower of feathers raining down on the chicken’s face.
