A Hollow in DC

Baba Yaga as a hunter of children had the strength of ten average women so she could easily rip the limbs off the children she hunted. But in the hands of a true hunter a true monster. Her resistance was worthless with my hair lengthening to bind her before my knife hand was shoved through her neck and out the back and with a final grunt, I popped her head off like the metal cap being shot off a glass soda can.

With Baba Yaga's house now fully risen and pissed off at the loss of their master, I hummed in thought before I jumped off the porch and down the dozen or so meters to the ground as Baba Yaga's house attempted to stomp me to death with its muscular bird-like feet.

I quickly dodged around the stomping feet before the house went to adjust itself and then I dashed forward with a Sonida and kicked what amounted to being the knees of the house creating a terrible loud crunching noise as the house tittered over.

"Don't just shatter!" I cursed as I helped the house fall to the ground slowly and only mildly break rather than completely collapse into a pile of debris.

As to why I wanted to save the house was because for one the Baba Yaga was old and a well 'respected' member of the Fae lands and thus would have items I could trade with and use around the Fae markets.

"Amongst all the stuff around here, I rather just burn all this shit." I cursed seeing the filthy interior filled with the remains of Baba Yaga's captures over the centuries. But finally, I managed to find a bag full of coins made of different materials and sizes that I believed I could use.

As I exited the house, I saw the magic or whatever that animated it was still working as the broken legs beneath the house were still twitching despite their broken status so as I reached the path again, I simply shot a small Cero which engulfed the house with an explosion that blew it to pieces and coated the remaining pieces with flames.

With Baba Yaga being vanquished for a while before she inevitably reformed as most Fae beings did, I continued on the path through the foggy forests towards my ultimate destination of the Fae Market.

-

I continued my undaunted walk no matter what appeared on the edge of the path whether it was a whole new realm I had never seen before with a massive woman piercing the sky holding up the plane in which people lived in her hands, the realm of Dreams briefly passed by, and so many other ethereal things that taunted my eyes as I walked the path as though beckoning me from my destination.

But eventually, as I crossed over a hill in the middle of a large valley was my destination, The Fae Market.

The Fae Market was a massive sprawling supernatural old-style marketplace sandwiched between two utterly massive trees that should someone have told me they were a cutting of the Yggdrasil or something, I wouldn't doubt it.

The thing was that I actually wasn't here to directly buy something as the person who had the Mundane Stone, I needed wasn't even a merchant here. He was a con artist who got it and didn't know its value.

"Now this is definitely the Fae Market," I muttered as I took in the inhabitants of the land walking around and frankly even with my pale complexion and crown of bones atop my head. I was by far the most human-looking of the things around here.

Not to mention the sheer inhumanity of the people walking around as there was giant sized men escorting fairy size woman with insect wings on their back and being barely a foot tall as though they were their wives, but it was clear none of the inhabitants were bothering to look human or even act that way.

They were all dressed up regardless of the type of monster they were in either medieval western clothes or even some more old-style eastern clothes but as a whole anyone that looked to be of note was well dressed. But the ones who weren't of note were drastically in worse condition as they wore little but rags to show their inferiority to the more powerful Fae around them.

Not to mention the casual nudity and sexual acts I saw in the shadows of market in the alleyways and such, but frankly I wasn't interested in touching some kind of witch if I was lucky. And if I was not and they were wearing some kind of Glamour I may fall into some sexual monster's trap as succubae and other things were very much a real threat here with Hell and all monster species being real.

I made sure to not to be pining my Pesquisa around as I saw plenty of examples of casual magic and I knew that doing that little ability would be the equivalent of throwing a boulder in the lightly bubbling magic around here, in other words, it would cause a huge ruckus and would drive my prey off, so I played the part of dumbfounded tourist while keeping in mind the rules that bound the fey.

Finally, once I did find some interesting nonmacabre stuff taken from some hapless human, I managed to find a table of enchanted amulets of all things. Looking to see who was running it I saw the owner looked to be some kind of dwarf maybe and they were currently asleep. "Hello?" I asked trying to get his attention to see if I could get some info from him about whether he had or could make something for me.

But as I paid attention to the dwarves body, I could only deadpan see the large tankard being hugged jealously in the sleeping dwarf's arms, so I gave up and moved on as I had absolutely no plans of just stealing the amulets as I had no idea if they were cursed or something.

A loud snapping noise rang out followed by a shrill scream as I pulled out the goblin-looking male being who was about to mess with the back pockets of my jeans, and I hummed as the market noise died down as the occupants looked on expectantly looking at the outsider dealing with a situation.

"You were going to put that bracelet in your hands into my back pocket, weren't you?" I asked softly as I let go of the goblin's arms who fell back to the ground.

"No sirs! You assaulted me with no due cause! I demand reparations!" The man screamed as he cradled his broken wrist as I huffed and looked around.

"I Jake, of Earth, request Lord Glory the Warden of the Fae Marketplace to give arbitration," I spoke with my spiritual energy flaring out and then a heavier weight dropped up as the man who could keep even gods honest in his domain appeared behind us both with the goblin-like being whimpering in pants shitting terror.

"Lord Glory! I seek no compensation there is no need for your presence great lord!" The wretch all but cried as he threw himself onto the ground searching for mercy.

"As the Market Warden, all disputes are within my purview, and young man should you come here again don't flare your soul so flagrantly lest you send certain... Beings into a frenzy and I won't protect them or you from one another next time." Glory warned me and I took in the man.

Lord Glory looked just like a human man in his fifties with his greying hair and an old-style formal suit but I could feel the reality-warping power radiating off him.

"I will do so next time Lord Glory," I said respectfully but I didn't thank him as that would make me owe him a favor for merely doing his job. "I have called upon you as this wretch as attempted to place a bracelet within my pockets and for his offense upon my person, I broke his wrist," I said explaining the situation.

"That's a bald-faced lie! He is an outsider!" The goblin screamed but with a snap of Glory's fingers the goblin's face melded to lose his mouth and from the way his throat slimmed down somehow, I knew for a fact the goblin had even lost his voice box so he couldn't even scream or groan through the smooth expanse of flesh that covered where the goblins face should have been.

"I see the true perpetrator in this situation... So, in this case, should he had succeeded in planting the bracelet upon you and let you leave his area he would called you a thief and for that crime, you would have been Geas bound to being his servant for seventy years." Glory mused before continuing.

"But seeing as his plot has been reversed, I doubt you wish to take him within your household as a servant for as many years, correct?" He offered and I firmly shook my head denying him, making Lord Glory hum in thought for a moment before he looked back to the goblin. "In that case Snout, take us to your burrow. Sir Jake will take three things from your burrow in compensation for your crimes and that will be the end of it." He ordered and I couldn't help but mentally snorting at the reminder that this little example of pond scum was named Snout which fitted a goblin.

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