“Your blood pressure is skyrocketing,” Imani said at the same time, also examining me. “Carl, something just happened,didn’t it? You can’t...” She paused, taking a step back, eyes suddenly wide. “Oh, snap,” she said.
“What? What?” I asked.
A tiny fairy appeared right in front of Imani, swirling in a sparkling circle around her head. This one was about the size of my fist, and it moved so fast, I couldn’t catch it with my eyes.
“Imani, why did you summon him now?” Donut asked.
“I didn’t,” she said drily. “I just received a notification that he is now permanently summoned and can no longer be used as a card.”
Elle came floating up. She eyed Quemada warily and then looked at the spinning, chattering fairy zipping around Imani’s head. “Why’d you let that little psycho out?”
“I didn’t,” Imani repeated. She looked at me and crossed her arms. “Carl did something.”
“Wait,” I said. “That’s your eighth-floor card? And it said it’s permanent now? I didn’t do that!”
The fairy zipped toward me and stopped, hovering right in front of my face, quickly jerking back and forth like a hummingbird. I had a moment to examine him. He was a tiny, ridiculously buff humanoid with flowing blond hair. His wings buzzed so fast, I couldn’t see them. He only wore a white loincloth.
He’d been permanently summoned due to the effect of my Scavenger’s Daughter patch.
Jacobus. The Reverse Tooth Fairy. Level 90.
This mob was formerly a Legendary card summon but is now permanently activated due to something Carl did.
Many cultures have a creepy tooth fairy tradition designed to acclimate children to the idea they may eventually have to sell their body parts for money. In Denmark, where Jacobus originates, theTandfeenisvery similar to other tooth fairy legends around the world. You lose a tooth, you put the tooth under your pillow, and at night, the tooth fairy comes and collects their prize, and in exchange, they leave a krone or two under the pillow, depending on how rich your parents are.
It’s a bizarre and weirdly sadistic ritual. But then again, it’s one that’s pretty tame compared to some of the other Scandinavian customs, like the one where you’re supposed to let your baby take their afternoon naps out in the cold like they’re Siberian huskies. Or this weird thing where Danes drown unmarried 25-year-olds in cinnamon.
Anyway, Jacobus here isn’t a tooth fairy. He’s areversetooth fairy. He doesn’t buy loose teeth from children. He does the opposite.
He had a deep, accented voice.
“Vis mig dine tænder.”
“Uh,” I said.
The little fairy nodded.“Betal mig trehundrede og tyve guld.”
“Jacobus,” Imani snapped, “no! We’re in a safe area anyway. You’ll get in trouble.”
The little fairy grumbled and then zipped to Imani and landed on her shoulder opposite of Donut, who raised her paw like she was going to swat him. The tiny fairy turned and saw Prepotente walking up, and started to fly away again, but Imani moved faster than I thought possible and caught him in her hand.
“No,” she repeated. “You will not be doing that with any of my friends.”
The fairy started cursing in Danish.
I knew this particular card was fast, had some really messed-up spells, and had been a terror on the battlefield during Faction Wars. The only problem was his summoning time had been particularly short. That apparently wasn’t the case anymore.
“Wait, I didn’t know cards could be turned real,” Donut said. She looked at me. She almost said something else, but she held it back. I was thinking the same thing about poor Paz, whose card we’d ripped at the end of the eighth floor. Instead, Donut said, “Do you think we can set Raul free forever?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “This was a god thing.”
“What is the holdup?” Prepotente said, looking at all of us. His gaze lingered on Olga. “A Grulke? Well-met!”
“This is the one that says I’m a frog?”
“Yes! Hi, Prepotente!” Donut said.
“I’m waiting,” Imani said to me.