Zurbit

Zurbit
Details
Race	Homunculus
Birthplace	Shandalar
Lifetime	Mending Era
Sources

Zurbit is Relno's faithful homunculus attendant on Shandalar.

History

Zurbit couldn't believe his single eye. The bookshelves in Relno's tower were bare, papers were everywhere, flasks and beakers lay broken, and puddles of seawater pooled along the floor. It was an utter disaster. Merfolk had to have done this. A window was shattered, its frame bent from a pry bar. Zurbit wondered how in the Five Sacred Blazes they had gotten up the side of the wizard's tower, as it was hundreds of feet to the rocks below. There was no rope, no ladder, no carved-out handholds. How had they done it? Zurbit was sure he had locked the levitation potion up last month.

The merfolk had made off with a lot of Relno's valuables, and the wizard was going to kill Zurbit when he returned. Zurbit had to get everything back, fast.

Zurbit knew the merfolk who did this. There was a small group of them that lived in a small reef offshore, stealing from the land-dwellers along the shores of the Kapsho Sea. As far as Zurbit was concerned, these finny folk were robbers and cutthroats — not to be trifled with. He paced around the lab for a while Relno's beloved orange-striped cat, Pip idly watched motes of dust in a ray of sunshine. Then, it hit him.

He grabbed a flask; a piece of parchment; pen and ink; and a thin vial of sparkling, green fluid from within a small, wooden box. He put everything in a pack, which he slung over his shoulder, then he scooped up Pip and headed off down the long stone staircase for the docks far below the tower.

Zurbit set out onto the waves in a small rowboat. Another smaller boat was towed behind them. Pip looked over the side, a paw at the ready for the scintillating fish that darted and dashed below the surface. Zurbit rowed with a purpose, hoping they wouldn't get spotted by a seacoast drake or something worse under the waves.

They reached the reef. Zurbit tossed the small anchor overboard and watched as the hooks caught on the coral below. He muttered to himself as he took out the pen, ink, and parchment, and hastily scrawled a message, announcing that the merfolk should give back the stolen goods or they would be sorry.

He stuffed the message into a flask and made sure that it could be read. Then he put the stopper in it, tied a bit of fishing line around it, attached a weight, and after a quick look to check for position, he tossed it overboard. Now it was time to wait and see.

A merfolk surfaced, looked at Zurbit, and growled something. The merfolk's eyes were cold and smug as they submerged under the waves with a final hiss of contempt. Zurbit resolved to go through with his plan. He pulled on the rope that attached the two small boats and hauled the empty one alongside. Then he unstoppered the vial of sparkling green fluid and touched a few drops to Pip's nose. The cat promptly licked them up, and Zurbit poured more and more of the green vial onto Pip's tongue.

Zurbit picked then picked Pip up and set him in the smaller boat, untethered the rope that connected them, and pushed Pip's boat out over the reef. Then Zurbit began to row with all his might, while Pip slowly grew to the size of a small whale, while the tasty fins of merfolk shimmered in the waters below.

Later, when Relno returned, he found his lab full of drying books and scrolls, as a strong breeze left the room. When he demanded to know what had happened, Zurbit just said that he was letting in a little sea air.

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
Zurbit's Day	Adam Lee	2013-07-31	Magic 2014	Shandalar	Relno, Emina, Zurbit, Pip