CHAPTER 48: SLAP OUT OF IT!

The Glimmerfen road glittered like a unicorn had thrown up on it, then invited its sparkly cousins for a glitter-fueled rave. The Order of the Sparkle Wyrm turned our miserable trek into a dazzling nightmare, their wands spraying shimmering clouds that stung like wasps and stuck like glue from a toddler’s art project. My crew fought like legends—Lilith’s scythe carved through cultists like a hot knife through butter, leaving sparkly robes in tatters. Vorren tossed Sparkle Wyrm devotees like they were ragdolls at a discount sale, roaring, "Stay down, you bedazzled lunatics!" Jex’s apples exploded into sticky, glittery messes, one splattering a cultist’s face with a SPLORCH as he wailed, "My beard! My fabulous beard!" Yvra’s daggers flew with royal precision, pinning robes to the ground like she was decorating for a deadly fashion show. Mister Fog’s mist dulled the worst of the sparkle assaults, though it smelled like burnt sugar and broken dreams. Even Sir Thrain and Sir Gorrim, bless their useless hearts, tried to help. Thrain swung his upside-down lance, shouting about "the crown’s eternal glory," only to trip over a root and roll into a glitter pile with a WHUMP that sent sparkles flying like a disco avalanche. Gorrim, still hilt-less, waved his arms heroically, accidentally knocking a cultist out with his elbow in a THWACK of pure, dumb luck, then declared, "The elbow of justice prevails!"

I sat in the wagon, a lump of mud and self-pity, my coat sparkling against my will like I’d been dunked in a vat of fairy vomit. Without the Loaf’s power, I was just Cecil—a guy who once lost a bet to a pigeon and had to wear its feathers for a week. The glitter stung my skin, but I didn’t care. My hands, once glowing with bread-summoning glory, were as useful as soggy toast in a rainstorm. I stared at them, muttering, "What’s the point? I’m nothing now. Just a sparkly nobody with a rap sheet."

The Sparkle Wyrm leader, his beaded beard jingling like a cheap wind chime, pointed his wand at me. "The dull one weeps! Perfect for the Wyrm’s altar! Seize him!" Two cultists lunged, their robes shimmering like they’d raided a costume shop during a clearance sale. I didn’t move. Let them take me. Maybe the dragon would choke on my misery and we’d both be free.

Lilith spun, her scythe slicing one cultist’s wand in half with a CRACK

that echoed like a snapped twig in a quiet forest. "Cecil, get up!" she snapped, dodging a glitter blast that sparkled like a migraine. "You’re embarrassing us in front of these tacky weirdos!"

I slumped lower, sinking into the wagon’s muddy floor. "Why? I can’t do anything. I’m not the Loafbearer anymore. I’m just... sad glitter bait."

Vorren, wrestling three cultists at once, roared, "Stop whining and fight, you idiot! Or I’ll use you as a sparkly battering ram!"

Jex threw an apple, missing the leader but hitting Thrain’s helmet, which spun like a top with a CLANG. "Cecil, mate, you’ve still got... um... us! And maybe some mud!" he yelped, ducking a sparkle wave that coated his hair in shimmering gunk. "Oh no, I’m a shiny fruit merchant now!"

Yvra, pinning another cultist’s robe to the ground with a dagger, glared at me with eyes sharper than her blade. "You’re embarrassing me again, Cecil. Do something, or I’ll tell the dragon you’re its lunch and I’ll serve you with a side of glitter sauce."

I shook my head, sinking deeper into my gloom. "I can’t. No powers, no point. I’m just a guy who smells like failure and sparkles."

Mister Fog floated closer, his tea steaming ominously, like it was plotting its own revenge. "Cecil, power is not your essence. You’ve survived without it before—smuggler, troublemaker, chicken-tripping fool. Fight, you soggy lump."

I ignored him, staring at the wagon’s muddy floor, now speckled with glitter like a sad party decoration. The cultists chanted, their wands glowing like a budget light show. The dragon’s distant roar echoed from Glimmerfen’s hills, but it all felt distant, like a story I wasn’t part of. I was just a side character now, not the hero. Not even a funny one with a quirky catchphrase.

The leader raised his wand, and a massive glitter blast shot toward me, a shimmering wave that promised a sparkly grave worse than a craft store explosion. I closed my eyes, ready to be buried in sequins and forgotten. Then—WHOOSH!

—Lilith leaped in front, her scythe spinning like a deadly windmill, deflecting the blast into a nearby tree, which exploded into a cloud of sparkles and splinters with a BOOM. She landed, panting, her eyes blazing like twin daggers dipped in fury. "You owe me a new scythe polish, you glittery jerk!" she shouted at the leader.

The cultists charged again, but my crew was relentless. Vorren snapped a wand in half, using it to club another cultist, growling, "This sparkles less now!" Jex, out of apples, grabbed a rock, which turned out to be covered in glitter and stuck to his hand, making him scream, "Cursed pebbles! Why is everything sticky?!" Yvra’s daggers flew, pinning cultists’ robes to the ground like a royal sewing project gone rogue. "Stay pinned, you shiny disasters!" she snapped. Mister Fog’s mist thickened, choking the glitter clouds, giving the crew breathing room, though he muttered, "This is undignified for a mist spirit." Thrain, back on his feet, swung his lance, accidentally knocking over a cultist’s torch cart, which erupted in flames with a FWOOM that lit up the road like a bad bonfire. Gorrim, still in the bush, stood triumphantly, only to realize his mustache was on fire. He dove into a puddle with a SPLASH, screaming, "Dishonorable flames! Betrayers of my facial hair!"

The leader, undeterred, pointed at me, his cape flapping like a glittery flag of bad taste. "The dull one is ours! The Wyrm demands his boring soul!" He fired another glitter blast, bigger this time, a shimmering tsunami of sparkles. Lilith dove in again, but the sparkles grazed her, coating her scythe in shimmering gunk. She cursed, shaking it off, yelling, "This is why I hate festivals!" The cultists closed in, their wands glowing like a disco apocalypse ready to ruin my day.

I sat there, useless, muttering, "I could’ve stopped them. Could’ve buried them in a rye avalanche or a scone storm. Now I’m just... a sparkly nobody."

Lilith spun, her face a mask of fury hotter than the burning cart. She stormed over, dodging a glitter blast with a twirl, and grabbed my collar, yanking me up like a soggy rag. "Cecil Dreggs, you pathetic lump of dough!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. Before I could blink, her hand cracked across my face with a SLAP that echoed louder than the dragon’s roar, stinging my cheek like I’d been hit by a brick wrapped in glitter. My head snapped back, and I swear the glitter on my face rearranged into a shocked expression.

"Snap out of it!" she growled, her eyes burning like a forge. "You’re not the Loafbearer, fine. But you’re still Cecil—the idiot who buried a knight in cake, survived a dragon with a stick, and keeps dragging us into chaos and somehow out again. Get up, or I’ll slap you so hard you’ll wake up in next week’s tavern brawl!"

I blinked, the sting cutting through my fog like a knife through stale bread. The glitter, the cultists, the burning cart, Thrain’s clanging armor, Gorrim’s soggy, smoldering mustache—it all rushed back, vivid and chaotic. My crew was fighting for me, for us, while I sulked like a soggy scone in a glitter storm. Lilith’s slap wasn’t just a hit; it was a wake-up call louder than Thrain’s battle cries.

The leader laughed, raising his wand for another blast. "Too late, dull one! Prepare for the Wyrm’s sparkly embrace!"

I stood, wobbly but upright, my cheek throbbing like it had its own heartbeat. "Not yet," I muttered, grabbing a stick—because apparently, sticks were my thing now. I didn’t have powers, but I had a crew, a bad attitude, and a face that still stung from Lilith’s reality check. Maybe that was enough.

The crew rallied, driving the cultists back with a flurry of scythes, daggers, and badly aimed rocks. The leader fled, his sparkly cape flapping like a defeated disco banner, yelling, "The Wyrm will remember this!" Glimmerfen loomed closer, its dragon waiting in the hills. I wasn’t the Loafbearer anymore, but Lilith’s slap reminded me: I was still Cecil, still in the fight, and maybe, just maybe, I could still make a mess worth remembering.