The sky turned purple when I entered the emporium, its thick brick walls contained the musk that flowed in from the ventilation grate positioned in the unfortunate position next to the door. A deranged figure gave me a wave as she went back to work on her newest potion… well vial of horror.
“So Theodore, how’s packing going?” Her young face turned to regard me, no matter how many time people thought of her as an old witch, I kept to myself that she was only twenty. Her blue eyes continued to question me as I struggled for a response.
“Swimmingly,” I replied attempting to keep my dignity in the stinking room, “My bags can’t fit the extra luggage which you offered.”
“Shame, there was a love potion in that package.” She said, fiddling with the dial to turn the fire off on the distillery.
“You know I don’t need that Piper.” I remarked as I set a small box on her table, “Cake, I thought you’d want to make something fiendish with the baked goods of our village.”
“How nice…” her voice lost some of its spry young hop as she grabbed the pitch black boiling vial of what appeared to be death. “Clear the path lover boy.” She continued, making a beeline toward the cake.
“Don’t ruin the cake.” I say sarcastically as I take a step backward receiving a face full of the green mist. I noticed that the liquid death trickled slowly down the bench that she poured the liquid onto the cake, “Want me to come later? I depart after noon.” I say noticing her now bewildered expression.
“Yes, I’d appreciate that.” She replied her voice drifted away as her focus returned to the cake, which was bubbling like magma on the thick stone table. She reached for the wooden potion rack as I began to leave the room; I heard a crash as mist floated out the door, “I’m okay!” she shouted, preventing me from checking on her.
I stumbled through the mostly brick establishment, I came with intentions of bidding my teachers farewell. However, they all glared at me as if I was a traitor, I was only going to the ‘Academy’. Piper Merases was the only person who I managed to bid farewell, she taught the alchemy class in our village’s own school of magic’s and arcane arts. Piper had graduated from the Academy; she was an honours student too. Apparently, the Academy offered her a position as a teaching associate at the northern branch of the academy, Academy North Soul. She declined politely, she mentioned in a class when one of the several students brought it up. However, this contradicted our anonymous source that claimed she made a huge fuss on her leaving day, begging for the Academy not to send her to North Soul.
Shanon.C