The Stegosorcerers

Chapter 3

"What the fuck have I gotten myself into..."

"You, good sir, have gotten yourself some fine help!" Mister Hache said, complimenting himself.
"So please explain to me, because I clearly don't understand, what exactly is Cushion?" Asked Gus. Appendix looked at him with a baffled expression. She scoffed.
"Cushion is my pet!" She said. Cushion made some clicking noises. "He says that it's Couch Cushion to you."
"Oh, uh sure, Cush-" he began. Appendix glared at him. "Ah, sorry! Couch Cushion." She stopped glaring. "I would like to ask, though, what do we need to get a stegostaff?" Gus asked.
"Haven't you done this like, what, 5 times?" Asked Appendix.
"Appendix, I wholeheartedly agree with you, that is stupid, he should know, but in his defense, it's always been prepared for him," Mister Hache said. "Oh, also he's an idiot."
"Okay, what the fuck?" Gus replied, then, turning to Appendix, said, "For the record, it's only been 4 times!"
"That's not much better." Gus huffed in annoyance.
"Welp, we best get goin'," Mister Hache said. The other two nodded and they headed out.
"So what do we need?" Asked Gus. Mister Hache pulled out a map.
"Well, we'll need three things. One: a stick from Lugar de Palo. Two: a drop of your blood, and no, I'm not kidding. And three: a pinch of ash." Said Mister Hache.
"That doesn't seem too bad," Gus replied.
"The thing is we want the stegostaff to be strong and heat resistant, right?" Gus nodded. "To do that, the ash with need to be phoenix ash, which, if you didn't know, isn't the easiest thing to come across."
"Oh..." Gus mumbled. Appendix's eyes widened.
"Lucky for you two, I've done this once or twice! And I highly doubt anyone would refuse to give us the phoenix ash when Jasper's around." The two nodded and they continued walked.
Eventually, they came to the entrance of Lugar de Palo.
"Fuck!" Mister Hache yelled. In front of them stood a large... thing.... That's honestly the best way to explain it in one word. It stood on two legs and had a large, feathered body with a big beak and teeth.
Not only that, but the legs were that of a horse, the body looked like a bird's, and the teeth were sharp, kind of like a very sharp pencil.
"What?" Asked Appendix. The creature glared at them and growled. Mister Hache suddenly smiled before turning to Appendix.
"This is the guardian of Lugar de Palo. Look at his eyes: stone gray with black dots. That means he's being controlled." Mister Hache explained. The two gasped. "Only two people could snap him out of it: the one who's controlling him, so presumably Jasper, or a master of spectation spheres!" Gus also smiled.
"I don't understand... why are you smiling?" asked Appendix.
"You are a master of spectation spheres!" Gus exclaimed. It dawned on her.
"So... eyes?" She asked. The two nodded. "Why didn't you just say eyes?" Mister Hache shrugged.
"I felt like being funky," he replied. Appendix sighed.
"Okay, so what do I do?"
"Just look him in the eyes and snap," Mister Hache instructed.
Appendix looked the creature in the eyes and snapped and... nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing.
"Appendix, focus!" Gus said.
"I'm trying, dipshit!"
I wonder... it's super cliche, but it's worth trying....
Appendix though of how desperate they were, how badly they needed in Lugar de Palo. She looked him in the eyes, snapped and... the creature blinked. It stopped growling. It looked confused. It made a chittering sound, similar to the ones Cushion made. It looked at her and she could almost swear that it smiled. It took a step to the right after recognizing Mister Hache.
"Thank you!" Appendix said.
"Thanks," said Gus.
"I appreciate it, fucker!" Mister Hache said in a joking manner and the group of three entered the gates to find a stick.