After exploring the dilapidated manor belonging to the town's Burgomaster, Jasper found themself unconscious in a locked closet, in a locked room, with no one aware of their whereabouts or predicament.
Following such an eventful end to a Dungeons and Dragons session, I realised I would not be able to make the next one, and rather than holding the game up I wanted the other players to continue on with the story without me, knowing this meant that Jasper would have to find a way out of the closet by their own volition. And hey, I really love Alice in Wonderland. This was too good an opportunity to pass up...
Part 1 of 2
It was tight inside the cupboard. As a cockroach they had fit easily, but now, a 5’8” bundle of fur, limbs and claustrophobia, the small corner cupboard of the upstairs bedroom of the Vauchter household seemed much smaller than it did an hour ago.
And it was locked. All the shelves were torn apart from the impact of their transformation, leaving splinters on the narrow floor and embedded in their orange fur. Releasing a shuddering breath, Jasper blinked and tried to straighten their mind. Eyes adjusting to the dark space, Jasper noticed that the chest whose keyhole they had attempted unsuccessfully to crawl through, had been torn open, twisted metal looking like the teeth of a mimic. Jasper shifted aside splinters and shards of tired wooden shelving to peer inside the shell and found within a small golden crown.
The crown was no wider than a cow’s eye and as tall as Jasper's thumb. They recognised the single gem in its face, deep burnt orange, smooth and dull, the very one after which they were named. Jasper cupped the tiny thing in their paws and shivered under a flood of memories. They smiled softly, tucked their antler tiara into their bag and placed the new crown on their head, where rather than nestling into their soft fur, it bounced slightly, hovering an inch above their head. They grinned, and a crack of light caught their gaze, coming from an opening in the wall that they were sure wasn’t there before. They pushed against the wood, and swung open a tiny door. A door in the outside wall, of the corner room, on the second floor of this tired house. And through it, a tiny corridor, stretching on and on, away from the house, and the fog of Barovia.
***
Through and through and up and up Jasper crawled, and then stepped, and then climbed. The walls and floors and ceiling of the square corridor were rough wood, the same of the house they left behind. The wood twisted as the incline increased, splitting and splintering into the rungs of a ladder that carried them up into thin air. Mist began to fill the passage, soft and pleasant at first till it grew and grew into a white fog, static in their vision. The drop below them must have been several hundred feet at this point but jasper could not see more than five feet below or above them, till suddenly a thud to the top of their head, squashing their sensitive ears, let them know they had reached the passages end.
Gasping for air and grasping for a handle, Jasper pushed upwards and flung open a trap door, bright warm light spilling into the cold. They scrambled, bare feet flailing out of the column, and tumbled down to a soft floor. They looked up to see they had fallen out of a squat, cobbled chimney, attached to a squat, cobbled cottage, perched on a fluffy cloud.
They took a minute, and tried to catch their breath, till a tremendous shadow feel over them, causing the non-existent ground to shake.
“And who might you be” boomed a deep and terrible voice. Jasper rolled over hastily and hopped to their feet.
“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry for intruding. Was that your chimney?” Jasper inched back. Before them stood a large figure, 10 feet tall with blue grey skin, and feathered brown hair. They wore silver clothes that shimmered in the bright sunlight, and held a wooden spoon like a great club.
“You didn’t answer my question”. Jasper flinched.
“Jasper!’ Jasper blurted, ‘My name is Jasper.”
“And what is such a tiny kitty doing trampling through my mist garden?” Jasper tentatively lifted a foot to see dandelions and daffodils made out of the vapour, squashed beneath their over sized paws.
“Oh geez, I’m sorry.’ Jasper winced. “I fell from your chimney, I was locked in a cupboard and that’s the only way out I could find.”
The giant paused and pondered.
“That crown on your head…”
“You know it?”
“I do. The Midnight Crown. It means you have somewhere very important to go” They scratched their round chin with heavy fingers. “We’d better get you prepared then. Come in, you’ll need to rest before your journey”.
The great man turned and with laborious steps, returned to his stony house. He swung open a large wooden door and stepped back so that Jasper may enter before him.
“Well, thank you very much for your hospitality Sir.” Jasper curtsied and bowed their head before hopping into the cottage. The air outside had been thin and clean but in the dim and cosy space it was warm and sweet, it was soothing to the lungs and relaxed the mind. Jasper gazed around at the single roomed house, aghast at its size. Drawn over to the roaring fireplace, Jasper sat down, cross legged on the floor, rubbing their tired paws for warmth.
“Do you like apple pie?” Asked the friendly giant, removing a tray from a rickety old oven.
“Do I? I love apple pie! I haven’t had any for ages!” Jasper could already smell the sugar and cinnamon waft through the thick air. They could practically taste it. “You don’t have any lemonade do you?”
“As a matter of fact.” The giant lent over a large icebox that sat beside the counter top and pulled from it a thin and tall blue bottle. Jasper lolled their head and let their mouth hang open.
“No way. Mr, you are like my favourite person right now.” Jasper wiggled their tail and bounded over to him, clawing their way up a kitchen bench and standing on tippy toes to look up onto the counter. He chuckled and pulled out a thimble. He poured in a few drops of the lemonade and sat it on the bench beside Jasper. They grinned and sipped politely from the bucket sized thimble.
“Why are you being so nice to me? Surely you haven’t had cats fall from your chimney before?” Jasper sipped. The giant chuckled.
“No no, I’m afraid I’ve never seen anyone quite like you before, but I have a good feeling that you’ll be needing all the help you can get soon.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“Well, we always need friends, little cat, and you have some very good ones. Just remember that they’ll help you if you ask.” He smiled softly to himself, and turned to cut a sliver of pie. “Here eat up. Those are Mist Apples. The sweetest on this plane.”
Jasper took a bite of the pie. It was rich and warm, gooey and soft. It was the most content they had felt in months.
“What was your name again, Sir?” Jasper asked through sticky mouthfuls.
“Vernard Shellmore, and you my dear?”
“Jasper. Jasper under the Autumn Sun.”
“It’s lovely to meet you Jasper Autumn. I do hope I see you again sometime.” Jasper's ears twitched and they tilted their head.
“Am I leaving Sir?” So soon, they thought.
“I’m afraid you are. Look,’ he gestured, ‘you’re already beginning to melt.” Jasper looked down and saw that indeed, their hands were transparent, light from the fire reflecting through them like water. The apple pie had slipped through their hands and through their liquefied legs, pooling on the bench. Jasper felt their back begin to buckle and their head fall and hit the wooden floor. A puddle on the ground, Jasper began to seep through the cracks in the floorboards, as Vernard looked down and waved.
“Good luck little cat. Say hello to the Word Smith for me.” And Jasper began to rain down from the clouds.
***
Jasper collected at the base of a mountain, on a cool dark night. The moon was waxing and chuckled down at them. They pooled by a deep forest, that cackled and cooed in the cold starry air. Jasper was only a small pond, barely enough to see a reflection in, but large enough to see out of. The mountain towered over them, purple and old, barren but great in the flat landscape.
Jasper sat for a good while. It was awfully relaxing being a body of water. They sat and watched the suns rise, one after the other. They listened to birds call and chat and mingle. They didn’t need to worry about the placement of their hands or tail. They didn’t need to worry about what they said, if they’d accidentally blurt out important secrets again. They didn’t need to worry about being attacked in the night, and no one expected a pond to rescue anyone. It was awfully relaxing. But after three days, relaxing turned to boring, and boring turned to maddening.
On the third evening Jasper was approached, a tired looking donkey, and a much smaller younger looking donkey, advanced looking for something to drink.
“Oh hell no, don’t you dare!” Jasper said, and would’ve raised an eyebrow if they had one to raise.
“Oh please,’ said the donkey, ‘please pond, we’re so thirsty.”
“Geez, I’m real sorry guys but I’m not actually a pond. I’m a cat, I’m just stuck as a pond.” The older donkey tilted its head, ears flopping as it did.
“Well why don’t you just turn back?” it asked.
“I’ve been trying,’ Jasper retorted, feeling more frustrated, ‘I don’t know how to.”
“Have you tried the magic word?” asked the little donkey
“The magic word? What, please?” The little donkey laughed.
“No silly,’ the little donkey shook its head, ‘that’s not the magic word. I mean your magic word.”
“I don’t have a magic word” Jasper replied.
“Of course you do, everyone has a magic word. The word that turns you back.’ Isn’t that right Mummy?” The little donkey looked up at the older.
“That’s right my dear, but you do not know yours do you, pond?”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Well, you’ll have to speak to Muddy then.” The donkeys nodded to each other.
“Who is muddy?’ Jasper asked, ‘can you bring them here?”
“Hmm, we know where Muddy is, but if we are to do you a favour you must do one in return,’ Jasper sighed, ‘Our family is awfully sick, we have been too ill to travel for water, and the thirstier we get the more difficult it is to find rivers. If we bring you Muddy, can you bring us something to drink?” Jasper didn’t know where they could find water, but surely at the base of a mountain, surrounded by a lush forest, they could find some somewhere.
“I promise I’ll bring back some water for your family.” The donkeys smiled.
“We’ll be back soon then.” They turned and disappeared into the forest.
***
Jasper sat, a puddle at the base of a mountain for four more days. They watched the suns float by. They sang with the Ravens that frequented Jaspers clearing. Through their week as a pond, Jasper had noticed the clouds gather at the top of the mountain, they grew darker as each day passed but no rain seemed to fall. The sky was a cool grey when the donkeys returned, and with them strolled a frog, walking upright, a crown of bones upon his head and a cape of leaves at his back.
He croaked.
“Hello?’ Jasper asked tentatively, ‘you must be Muddy then”
He croaked again.
“I seem to have found myself in a bit of a predicament,’ Jasper started. The frog pointed a decorated stick at them. ‘See I was up on a cloud with a giant and-‘
The frog stepped forward and wacked his staff down hard on Jaspers surface.
“Ow!” Jasper exclaimed. It didn’t hurt.
Jasper felt themselves began to swirl and twist, flowing as if down a drainpipe. They spun and spun and fell over, catching themselves on their paws.
Paws! Jasper hopped back, startled and excited. They grinned wide and looked down at their hands to see they were black. They stretched their spine and twisted at every angle to gauge their appearance, realising quite quickly that they were indeed a cat again, but not a Tabaxi. They were a regular black cat.
With a small golden crown beset with Red Jasper, floating an inch above their head.
“Meow!” Jasper said to the frog.
“Ribbet” replied the frog.
“Meow! Meeeoow!!!” Jasper explained gesturing to their decidedly less humanoid form.
“Ribbet” shrugged the frog, who then lifted his stick and tapped Jaspers crown. It bobbed slightly in the air but remained in place.
“Meow?” Jasper questioned.
“Ribbet,’ the frog said with certainty, ‘ribbet ribbet” And with that he turned back to the forest, waiting for Jasper to follow. And they did.
***
Jasper followed the frog through the dark and misty forest. They found it refreshing. It wasn’t like the forests of Barovia that were cold and dry and stale. This forest was squirming and flowing and alive. It was dark but vibrant, greens and browns and reds.
As they walked the donkeys left them and as the frog continued to lead, his legs grew with each step. His back arched and within an hour he turned into a tall, pale man, who glided silently through the forest like the wind.
They came to a riverside and followed the water along. Jasper had never been fond of the water, but now they walked with it flowing around their ankles, a little more comfortable with its foreign feel.
The crickets and stars joined them after a few hours and eventually the river dipped down a hill and they came to a small village assembled from hanging pods which acted as houses, never touching the damp forest floor.
The man led her to a staircase that wound around the trunk of a tree and led to one of the pods. He nodded, bowed, and silently left. Jasper looked up at the pod, green and textured like a grapefruit. They began to climb the stairs and upon reaching the landing, sat before the rounded door, not knowing how to continue, without a means to knock.
“Meow,” Jasper said softly, unsure what awaited. The padding of footsteps made them flinch but they held still. The door before them opened tentatively and the face of a small girl peered around it. Upon seeing Jasper, a smile spread across her face, and she flung upon the door and made to pick them up. Jasper reared and hissed, the idea of being picked up was not very pleasant. The girl slowed and stopped. She lowered herself, knees bent and on the balls of her feet. She held out a hand.
Jasper settled themself and reached out a small paw to rest beside the girls, shaking it gently. The girl giggled, and turned to show Jasper inside.
The girl gave Jasper an assortment of foods to try. Nuts and berries, fruits and fish. She arranged a pile of blankets by the fire for them to rest and they curled up, tired from the walk to the village, and cold from the water of the river. The girl stroked them softly, and they fell to sleep.
***
Jasper woke early the next morning to whistling across the room. The pod was a single space, kitchen, dining, entertaining in one room with small platforms carved from the pods thick shell making beds for the family. Jasper saw the girl and her mother and her father preparing breakfast in the light of the morning. They whistled and hummed and her parents told her of the hunt they went on the previous night. They looked over at her occasionally and eventually Jasper joined them.
“Peculiar isn’t it?’ The mother said, ‘Did you put that crown on its head Maisie?”
“Wasn’t me,’ said the young girl, ‘she had it on when I found her. And besides’ She took a bite of the bread in her hand, ‘It’s just floating there, I don’t know magic like that”
“Are you sure you’re ready to have a pet yet sweetie,’ chimed the father, ‘you’ll have to feed it every day.”
“I know I know, I’m ready, really I am. Surt and Mika both have pets already.”
At the word pet Jasper flattened their ears to their head and reared back, hissing their tongue through their teeth.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry!’ begged Maisie, raising her hands, ‘you’re a friend, aren’t you? Just a friend.” She smoothed Jaspers fur and calmed them down. The mother and father looked to each other, speaking wordlessly with wide eyes.
“We’re going to be best friend’s kitty. We’ll go on so many adventures together.’ She smiled and Jasper settled. ‘How about I call you Midnight, hey? Your fur is so dark I can practically see the stars in it.” She giggled.
Jasper rather liked it here.
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