[Stomoxys]

Grogg said they wanted to talk with Kra at a distance while Wolfram wanted a new suit of armor. The mogg was clearly able to communicate with spirits and animals and both of those could be useful. After a bit of speculation, I decided that spirits would probably be more useful. Hylda thought a bottle that would never go empty would be handy. It would be practical, but I suspect they wanted a bottle filled with liquor. Nuur-Karif remained silent.

Keri and Munir knocked on our door. We let them in and Munir wondered what had happened. They thought we would be very lucky if the mogg granted us a wish and this was a rare event. Grogg told them we had been granted four wishes which shocked Munir. The mogg's name was Moggarif and they were one of the most powerful moggs in existence. For them to grant more than one wish was unheard of. Grogg thought it was perfectly normal that they had payed a good price for the corpse of a dragon. Considering how willing the mogg was to increase the price from three to four wishes, I suspect we undersold the remains. I also doubted that anything good would come from handing over the remains to an apeoid like Moggarif.

Munir warned us that we should not tell anyone about the wishes. In Anabel, even the lowest slave would know who Moggarif was. If it got out that they had granted wishes, there were many who would try to take them from us. After giving us the warning, Munir left and said they would rather forget about the whole affair.

After Munir left, Grogg and Wolfram continued to discuss their wishes. Grogg wondered if they wanted boots that could make a troll fly, while Wolfram wanted armour for their bear shapes. They had not quite decided, but we set off for the tent again. By the time we arrived, Grogg were discussing with themselves whether they wanted a better maul or the ability to communicate with Kra.

Moggarif did not appear to have moved, but the bag of scales were gone. Wolfram said they wanted a suit of armour that fit their bear shapes. Moggarif said that might be possible, but they would like a demonstration. Wolfram agreed and turned themselves into the star bear and then the demon bear.

They then did not turn back into their human shape, but instead began to grow massively in proportions. For a while, I thought they would outgrow the mogg's pavilion, but they stopped when their back scratched the ceiling.

The new shape looked down at us with vacant eyes and I worried if the beast still recognized us. It was mostly hairless, but tufts of long gray fur covered parts of its thick, wrinkly skin. Unlike Wolfram's other shapes, this one had six legs. It gave the impression of being ancient. The jaguars acted as unsettled as I, but Moggarif appeared unfazed and said it was an impressive display. However, they wondered how they were supposed to make one suit of armour that fit all these different shapes.

The bear stared dumbly at Mogariff until Nuur-Karif asked them to turn back into human shape. The simple instruction seemed to penetrate and Wolfram began transforming again.

In the meantime, I said I wanted to be able to communicate with spirits. Mogariff said that it was simple enough and that my wish was granted.

Nuur-Karif wanted an amulet that would turn them invisible. This was not specific enough for Mogariff and they asked what Nuur-Karif wanted to become invisible from. Nuur-Karif said everything, but the Mogg was not pleased with this answer and told them to mull it over. I guess becoming invisible to spirits or the stars or normal eyes are completely different things.

Grogg wished that they and Kra would become powerful enough to fight dragons. Moggarif instructed Grogg to kneel and took a skull from their necklace. They then threw the skull down on the ground hard enough to shatter it and studied the pieces intently. After a while, they asked Grogg if they wanted a magical weapon. Grogg said yes, preferably their maul. The Mogg said it would be possible if Grogg could be without the maul for a few days. Grogg said yes, but Wolfram wondered how long it would take. The Mogg said it should not be more than a few days.

Nuur-Karif asked the rest of us what the mogg meant when the asked for specifications. They thought perhaps it might be for physical beings or spirits, or perhaps it was if the invisibility was permanent or not. According to Wolfram, there were mages in The Cities of the Prince that could turn themselves invisible. They achieved this by creating a kind of illusion. This sounded plausible and I decided to try it later.

Wolfram had decided that they did not want bear armour, but instead armour that protected against spirits. They were a bit vague, so Moggarif asked if they wanted to make their armour protect against spirits or if they wanted a new piece that gave protection. After mulling the question for a while, Wolfram decided they wanted a new piece of armour.

Nuur-Karif explained to the Mogg what Wolfram had said and said they wanted an amulet that could do the same. The mogg said that mages in The Cities of the Prince were an untrustworthy lot and this was not their specialty. However, they could make something that would turn Nuur-Karif unrecognizable or invisible in shadows. Nuur-Karif thought this was acceptable.

We had all given our wishes, so Mogariff summarized. When they got to Grogg, they asked if Grogg was sure about their wish. As far as Moggarif could tell, Grogg had already fought a dragon. Grogg reconsidered and said that instead, they wanted to see spirits or dragons. Again Moggarif thought that this was something Grogg was already capable of. Grogg considered if they should wish for Kra to become more powerful, but then decided that they wanted shoes so that dragons could not escape. Moggarif warned that dragons were powerful creatures and they could not guarantee that it would work. However, they would do their best to create something that kept dragons from escaping. It was a dangerous wish though and they wondered if there were any specific dragons Grogg were hunting. Grogg immediately answered that they were hunting Palongi.

The mogg said we should return after Ajaw had risen four times. Then we should find what we were looking for. Hopefully, we would never see each other again. If that happened, the wishes could be twisted in unpredictable ways.

It was late at night, but Wolfram wanted to go into the desert and test their new shape. Nuur-Karif was not interested, but Grogg, and I joined them. A few hundred meters from the inn, Wolfram stripped down and then transformed into the enormous beast. I looked at their aura and it looked surprisingly normal. If it were not for the other auras lurking in the background, the telltale sign of a shapeshifter, I would have thought it was a normal beast. The thick, gray skin reminded me of mountains and I believe it could blend in with such an environment.

Through a lot of awkward grunting and shaking of paws, the beast communicated that it wanted Grogg up on its back. It was large enough to easily carry the troll and they set off into the desert at full speed. Each time an enormous paw hit the ground, it gave a deep boom that must have been heard all the way to the inn. Soon after, I heard a ruckus from that direction and saw Munir and some of their guards were arming themselves and mounting camels. I began to think up some story to calm them down, but Nuur-Karif shouted from the window that it was fine and Munir did not need to investigate. Munir was doubtful, but obliged, saying that they wished this was the last time something strange happened.

Nuur-Karif came running from the inn towards me. I intercepted them and we set off towards the sound of the bear. It had not gone very far, but were running around in circles with Grogg hanging on. Grogg saw us and signalled to the bear, making it to stop. Nuur-Karif walked up to it and were greeted by a big lick, leaving them covered in drool. Nuur-Karif was not amused and told Wolfram to revert to their human shape. When they did, Nuur-Karif scolded them and insisted they had scared Munir.

When Nuur-Karif were done, Wolfram said we no longer needed any camels. While the bear was rather hideous, it would be nice to not have to deal with more beasts than necessary. Wolfram thought that their bear shape would be able to carry everything we needed and should handle the heat well. To test their abilities, they wanted to go out in the desert the next day. Nuur-Karif suggested that I joined them so they would not get lost. While the bear was rather unpleasant, it would take me away from the apeoids, so I agreed.

Back in the room, Keri had left a note telling us to not bother Munir any more. Grogg stabbed themselves with the needle and passed out while Nuur-Karif took the first night watch. Grogg had ripped up the winter clothing they were making to get to the dragon scales, which would require some mending, but at least it looked like they had gotten all the scales.