Just as your legs fully extend to make the jump the birdman pushes downward with is massive six foot wingspan. A torrent of air gusts past you and stirs up dust from the boardwalk.
With this single wingbeat your stomach drops into your bowels and you are both thrown ten feet above the railing. At the apex of your arc the birdman opens his wings and you begin to glide instead of falling.
Wind pushes your hair around and whistles over your ears. The phrase 'Don't look down' injects itself into your train of thought but you immediately ignore it, unable to avert your eyes from the gaping drop below you. Your feet dangle underneath you as industrial buildings drift between them.
Having gotten over your moment of stunned silence you let out a quiet "Woah."
You can hear the birdman smiling as he talks;
"Never gets old"
His talons press against your armpits while you hold your grip on his thin avian ankles.
You glide quickly, hardly losing any altitude. A gentle bank points you towards the back left corner of the lower level, right where the card is pointing. As the lower level comes better into view you see that the buildings are all much shorter, only a few buildings have more than one story. Most buildings are gray stone, with lots of flat roofs. As you lose altitude you feel the temperature dropping, the huge walls around you block the sun and keep the air cool. Like above, the streets are cobble, but the ones down here have a green tint due to moss and algae.
You look behind you and see the great white upper wall slowly being eclipsed by the lower one.
"So what's the giant wall up there for? Another layer?"
"Yep, sure is. You really are new around here aren't you?"
"Yes, in more ways than one I think"
You are now much closer to the other side of the hole, and low enough to hear the sounds of busy people on the streets below. Some look up at you, but the rest don't bat an eye as your living taxi sets you down in the center of a cobbled street near the far back left corner of the hole.
The birdman hops off your shoulders and points across the street.
"Right over there"
"Thanks for the ride"
He winks
"Any time"
He gets to the center of the street and bends his knees, then launches into the air and towards the wall you were just standing on.
You watch him fly skyward for a moment, then check the card once more. Flashing slowly the arrow points in the direction the birdman did, to a small building across the street from you. There is no trace of a sign or any indication that it's a business other than the word "Hexarium" flashing on your little card and the group of people sitting beyond the open front door.
A female centaur waits outside the door to the small place.
She stands about 8 feet tall from hoof to head, much taller than the door to the tiny house. On her human half she wears a tunic similar to yours under a leather breastplate. On her horse half she wears a thick tan caparison covering from breast to flank, with a break at the thigh and resuming to cover her tail and rump. Over that is a set of saddlebags, resting on her equine shoulders. Resting above the right side saddlebag is an unstrung longbow
She stands outside the door and twiddles her thumbs.
You approach the door slowly and come to a stop next to the antsy centauress. You peer in the door and see a dark cave like living room with a fire burning on one wall. People fill up the limited seating room inside, waiting in a general circle around a door on the back wall. You turn your head to the centauress.
"This is the Hexarium?"
She nods.
"Where's the… Hex person?"
She gestures to the door.
"Helping someone"
"Ah, what does she do exactly?"
The centauress shrugs.
"Hexes."
"Right."
You both stand quietly for a moment.
"Is there a queue or something?"
"Not sure, I just got here"
You give her a once over and shift your weight from foot to foot.
"So, What's your hex?"
She cuts her eyes at you;
"You ask a lot of questions"
Uh oh, you've annoyed her.
"Sorry, I'm new here."
She scoffs sarcastically;
"Wouldn't have guessed."
"And I also don't even remember my own name so I'm just a little confused at the moment."
She raises an eyebrow;
"You don't remember your name?"
"Nope, or really anything else."
"That's quite some hex."
"So I've been told…"
The door inside the Hexarium opens and an old woman emerges, she is very short, several heads shorter than you. She wears a black tunic and her eyes are milky white.
A young boy with a beak follows her out of the room, holding a spherical glass bottle filled with a brown elixir.
The woman's voice is commanding… And Scottish.
"Drink that at exactly midnight tonight, when the magic's the strongest, and the hex'll wear off by sunrise"
The boy nods and thanks her, then runs past you and down the road.
The woman puts her nose in the air and sniffs around the room.
"All right, oo's next, lets see…"
She gives each person in the room a sniff. Although it's obvious she can't see them, she seems to know exactly where they are.
Her nose points to you and she stops dead.
She takes another whiff, a look of disbelief on her face.
She points a knobby finger at you
"You, come 'ere"
You check behind you, she's definitely pointing at you.
"Me?"
"Aye, come now, quickly."
Everyone in the room watches you inquisitively as you duck through the tiny door. The ceiling is tall enough for you to stand, but barely. Inside, countless smells blend together, creating an amalgamated mean that makes your head swim.
The Hexoligist holds open the door on the back wall, you see a cauldron on a fire inside the room.
"You'll get useta the smell, just mind yer 'ed fru da door."
The full weight of the smell hits you and you bang your head on the door frame.
The woman rolls her milky eyes and ushers you into the room.
"Alroight, come come."
She pulls you into the room and shuts the door behind you. Shelves of herbs and potion ingredients of all types line the plain stone walls of the brewing room. The woman comes closer to you and takes a deep drag of the air around you, like a dog sniffing at a cat.
"Uh, what is that-"
"Shut it"
You obey.
She takes another smell, her face becomes even more grim.
"Oh my… Oh my oh my."
"Is there something-"
"I said shut it!"
She continues to smell your aura. After getting her fill she walks away from you and begins muttering under her breath and gathering materials from around the room to throw into the cauldron, seemingly at random. Each jar she opens seems to add another layer of scent to the air.
"E- Excuse me?"
The woman freezes and looks directly into your soul with her unseeing eyes, a chill runs down your spine. Suddenly her voice changes, now much more eloquent;
"Silence, asker, all shall be answered in time, which is not a luxury you or I can afford to spare."
Her gaze loosens, it takes you a few seconds to recover. In that time the woman scoops some of the freshly made elixir into a spherical glass container.
This one is a dark green.
You blink off your momentary stupor and watch as granular pulp settles to the bottom of the flask.
"Wait, are you helping me or not?"
The Hexologist extends her arm to you and taps her thumb and fingers twice
"The card."
"The.. Oh."
You take the card from your pocket and extend it to her, she doesn't take it.
She does the motion with her fingers again.
"'Urry up I 'nt got all day"
You place the card between her fingers. She grabs it and turns to a small table against the wall.
"Thank you, I'm blind ya know"
"But you-"
"Shhh"
She places the card on the table and puts her palm over it. She mutters a phrase in a tongue you don't understand and the words on the card glow red through her hand, outlining spider veins and bones
The glow subsides and she picks up the card and the elixir, then hands you both.
"This is for your friend outside, she must drink it as fast as possible"
"My friend?"
Though the crack in the door you see the Centauress, still waiting outside.
"Oh, we're not-"
"And for you, this… I can't help you with your quest for your name, but the card will lead you to someone who can"
Again you look at the card, now the arrow points to the exit.
"How did you know about-"
"Seein' ain't always lookin' lad, now get a move on, I got more customers need servin"
She opens the door and shepherds you back into the waiting room. Nose in the air she begins her selection process again.
"But how do I-"
"Hush hush, Give the world a chance to answer yer questions before ye ask em"
She points to the elixir.
"'Member, fast as possible"
"Okay, thank you"
The woman smiles, then points to the door.
"Now shoo"
You turn and duck out of the tiny door.
The centauress is in the same spot as before, still twiddling her thumbs. You look at the green liquid swirling in the container, then at the centauress. She looks at the liquid too.
"That was fast, maybe not such a complex spell after all"
You hold out the bottle to her.
"Actually she said it was for you"
The centauress hesitates;
"For me? How did she know what I needed?"
You do a bad impression of the old woman;
"'Seein' doesn't always mean lookin'' apparently"
The centauress dawns a faint smile.
"I suppose she's right"
She looks through the green liquid and swirls it around, just as you did.
"I'm supposed to drink this?"
"Yep, as fast as possible"
She uncorks the bottle and smells the contents, the smell makes her wrinkle her nose and hold the bottle away from her face.
"It's putrid… I don't think-"
From inside the old woman's voice addresses the centauress;
"Drink it all dear, fast as ya can. Tastes like hell, but better n' livin' with that 'ex ferever."
She slowly brings the container to her lips.
She hesitates and looks down at you.
"Here goes"
She tips the bottle up and starts draining the liquid. Her face contorts as the taste hits her. Four labored gulps and a pained expression later she's finished the contents. She looks back down at you, her face a bit green. Her four legs waver and she takes a step to steady herself, dropping the bottle and shattering it on the wet cobble street. Her human half curls over and she ejects the bottles contents atop the shards of bottle with a retch.
She takes some deep breaths, then straightens and gives you a betrayed look, holding her sides.
"What the hell was that?"
"I have no idea! It's the exact potion she gave me, and she made it very clear that you're supposed to-"
Suddenly the old Hexologist pops out of the door and finishes your sentence.
"Drink it fast as possible aye, seems to 'ave worked quite well too, I can smell the 'ex burnin off"
She points to the pool of vomit, which is rapidly evaporating into a black mist. You stick out your tongue.
"Yuck"
"Aye, twas a nasty 'ex. Blessed ya came ere when ya did or it mighta gone permanent"
The centauress takes a deep breath through the nose, and exhales, then smiles.
"She's right, it really is gone"
She draws a few more deep breaths.
"Wow, I haven't been able to do that in weeks"
She turns back to the Hexologist and bows.
"Thank you"
The hexologist's wrinkled face twists into a smile.
"You're welcome dearie, an ye best be thankin yer friend ere too… Ya wouldnt a been able ta afford that spell with only what ya got in that bag"
The centauress bows to you as well.
"And thank you as well."
The Hexoligist addresses you again.
"Now, you'd best be makin yer way topside, just follow the arrow, it'll take ya where ya need ta go"
You look at the card, it points down the street you came in from.
"Okay, thank you ma'am."
"Of course, now both of you shoo, i've got things to attend to."
The old crone goes back in and continues working on her next customer.
You turn to the centauress;
"Well, like she said, I should get moving… it was nice meeting you, what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Gaiva"
She does a polite bow;
"Pleased to meet you, sorry i seemed so on edge before, I thought that hex would never go away"
"Oh, no problem, I wish I could tell you my name"
You look at the card, now the text in the middle reads 'Spell Emporium'
"Hopefully the next person can help."
"Indeed… in fact, to repay you for your generosity I'd be happy to accompany you until you get your name back."
"You would?"
Gaiva nods.
"Sure, as thanks"
"Oh, well thank you"
She smiles, then points at the card;
"I believe the card will point the way"
Indeed the arrow points down the road, the opposite way you came from, unwavering.
"I believe so"
You both set off, following the arrow.