Sunlight (On Hold)

Chapter 8: The Revival Of Arrrgh

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Arya
~~~~~

I handed the glamour mask over to Toby, the lot of us deciding he was best suited for this.
We waited near the crystal stairs for him, no one speaking.
I began chewing at my nails, looking around at everyone as Blinky twiddled his thumbs, Claire and Jim exchanging looks every now and again.
Draal was even here with us, waiting patiently as he sharpened his axe.
I couldn't help but notice how often he did it.
Finally, Toby arrived, causing us to race up the stairs and out of Trollmarket.
Draal waited by the door as it closed, the rest of us standing in the center under the bridge.
Blinky finally spoke.
"Dealing with these vile agents... I dearly hope we are doing the right thing."
I sighed.
"If we do this, not only do we save Arrrgh, but we can save Skylar. If there was any other way... I would take it in a heartbeat, even if there was, we don't have the time tp search for it." I spoke, receiving a solemn nod from the others.
"Besides, whatever they want with Vendel's Staff, we'll stop them." Jim stated, causing me to raise a brow before nodding.
Draal suddenly moved over as three cars pulled up.
He only had to exchange a look with Blinky for the six-eyed troll to hand the staff over to him.
Jim was quick to clamp a hand over Toby's mouth as Otto pulled out a piece of paper.
I sighed, Draal walking forward with a glare.
I followed him.
"Paper?" He questioned.
"It's a list of what you need to make the antidote. Take it or leave it." Otto spoke, making me narrow my gaze.
I took the paper as Draal handed over the staff.
They were quick to leave and we began walking back.
"What is that?" Blinky asked, face slowly morphing into a glare.
I quickly explained it before handing it over.
"It's not what we agreed on." Blinky muttered, reading over it.
"But, with this, if someone else is affected by creepers sun, we'll be able to reverse it. I think this is a better bargain than what we agreed on." I pointed out.
Jim's eyes widened a bit as he nodded, briefly glancing at Draal.
My own gaze narrowed again, this time on him.
What was that look for?
Why was he still with-holding information?
Though, with the way things were going, how he had no idea Skylar would go to the Darklands, maybe things were changing.
Maybe he no longer knew what was going to happen.
I removed my gaze from him.
"So, where do we begin?" I asked, gaining Blinky's attention.
"Well, I know most of these, however. Where might we find the tears of one untouched by love's first kiss?" Blinky spoke, looking to the humans.
I separated myself from them, looking them over.
The two looked to Toby, causing him to form a look of betrayal.
"Very well." Blinky stated with a nod.
"I've been kissed. Many times." Toby defended, crossing his arms.
"Your Nana doesn't count." Claire stated, emitting a defeated 'oh' from the red-headed boy.
I could only sigh and shake my head.

We were separated into groups to gather the ingredients while Draal guarded the heroes forge to make sure no one came across what we had gathered so far.
I was teamed up with Blinky while Claire, Toby, and Jim were a team.
Honestly, Blinky and I could have used the third person.
Some of these ingredients were difficult to acquire.
"I really hope this is worth it." I muttered under my breath, sticking my hand into the goo-filled crevice.
"My sincerest apologies, Arya. If I could do it myself, I would." Blinky spoke, truly looking regretful.
"But your hands are to big, I know." I replied with a groan, the goo sticking in between my fingers.
"Talk about something else. Anything else." I pleaded, pushing my arm further into the crevice.
"Did you know that most trolls actually enjoy lathering themselves with this goo? Not only does it help give a luscious sheen to our skin, but it exaggerates the Krubera trolls glow." He spoke.
"While I didn't know that, I did ask to talk about something else." I stated, fingers finally grazing over the soft, squishy surface of the fungi secreting the goo.
I pushed further into the crevice, grabbing onto the mushroom before gliding my fingers down the stem.
"We need the whole cluster, right?" I asked, finding the main stem.
"That would be correct, be careful not to damage it." Blinky replied.
I nodded, pulling the stem up.
The goo suddenly spit out of the crevice, covering my entire side and barely missing my eye.
I pulled away from the crevice, looking over at Blinky with a narrowed gaze as I handed him the fungi.
"I'm guessing it's hard to wash off." I stated.
He only nodded, a sorry look on his face.
I sighed, shaking my head.
"Let's move on to the next item." I muttered, causing him to read over the list and cringe once more.
"I'm guessing it's worse." I stated.
Another nod.
"Let's get it over with." I stated, following after him.

Finally everything was gathered up and I had changed out of the goo covered clothes.
"What took you guys so long?" Toby asked when we arrived.
"I had to change." I replied, setting down the bag of ingredients.
"There is no time to waste." Blinky stated before quickly putting the items together.
I took a large step back when he pulled out the fungi, some goo still squirting from it.
Blinky squished it in his hand before dumping it into the cauldron, rubbing the excess goo over his hands like a lotion.
I let out a breath when he dumped in the last ingredient.
"Now, Tobias. If you could." Blinky spoke.
Toby looked around, trying to figure out how to force a tear.
Jim and Claire exchanged a look as Toby began asking how they should do this.
Jim stomped on Tobias' foot while Claire punched the shorter male's arm.
"Ow! Why would you do that?" He whined out, lifting his foot as he rubbed his arm.
I placed a hand over my lips, a small laugh escaping me.
I didn't enjoy people in pain, I just found it amusing how they both had the same idea.
A tear slipped from Toby's eye and he wiped it off, flicking it into the cauldron.
A dark mist then began to form around Arrrgh, the lot of us stepping back.