If there ever was a malicious-sounding name for a ritual, it would certainly be the ritual of non-existence, most likely described in a book right between the summoning of disappearance and the conjuring of demise.
"Umm... What sort of spell is that exactly?" Jin asked from a position somewhere on the edge between curiosity and concern.
"I thought the name was quite obvious," the man said as he began grinding the herbs down in his mortar.
"It sounds..." Airo tried to find the correct word.
"Evil," Cia finished his sentence.
"Ah, hehe, I suppose it might." The man smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Apologies if I scared you. Never occurred to me how it might come across. Rest assured that it is not a harmful spell. It merely allows me to hide my little hut from anything and anyone who might wish to hurt me." His hands reached for a small knife with a glistening edge, with which he began separating the undesired pieces of certain ingredients.
"That kinda sounds like you have enemies," Jin spoke his mind without a hint of sugarcoating. The other friends turned to him, their eyes speaking of worries.
"Every wizard has enemies, dear boy. I have been protecting this island for a few decades now. Some want to colonize it, but I desire to preserve its natural beauty. These two wishes clash, and so sometimes, I get visitors much less pleasant than the likes of you." The elder grabbed a flower from the package and squeezed it above the mortar. Thick yellow liquid dripped down into the container, where he quickly began mixing it with the rest of the contents, creating a soft paste.
"Please, believe me when I tell you that I am not some horrible hag living in a bog, eating children for dinner. Even though I admit that I might share the appearance of one, hehe. I am merely protecting my home. Nothing more, nothing less."
As the quartet watched the spectacle of the ritual being prepared, Jin couldn't help but think back at the people he met in the city and the crypt. The similarities in their appearances simply wouldn't give his mind a moment of peace.
"Now that we've got the mixture prepared, it's time we perform the actual spell," the elder spoke a moment later, once the ointment lay prepared in a bowl in front of him. He raised his hand up to his face and made a single circular motion with his wrist before his loose fingers quickly clenched into a fist. It was as if a fire had exploded from his palm, spreading outwards until it covered his whole hand. The edges of the magical aura first reminded the children of spilling ink, due to its dark colour and shapes that could have most likely been classified as excellent calligraphy. This effect, however, quickly faded, turning into something that moved like the dancing fire on a lit candle out in the wind. Its colour, however, was faint green and transparent like stained glass. The man held his fist up at his eye level before thrusting it down into the ointment.
The energy surrounding his hand shot out and shook the bowl. For a moment, it seemed as if the contents were about to jump out, but with his other hand circling the wooden container, the druid managed to calm the raging magic and press it back inside, where it soaked into the balm.
"There, the enchantment is finished," he commented and smiled.
"That's it?" Jin asked, raising one eyebrow. His expectations were not quite met.
"What did you think was going to happen?"
"I don't know. Something fancier."
The elder sighed. "Unfortunately, I am not Manuel Lizardi. I do not make my magic look prettier for showing off. In truth, every spell needs only two steps. You gather the magic from the world around you, condensing it, and then you write the intended purpose into its very fabric."
"And the cream?" Kaili asked.
"The cream contains it. Otherwise, the spell would disappear if I didn't maintain it. Different objects work well as vessels for different spells. These herbs will perfectly maintain the enchantment for days to come before I will have to create a new batch." He picked up the bowl and carried it to the door. "Now, I'll just have to smear it on some places around the house. That is the most annoying part." He headed outside, leaving the door open, and began giving the house a thin coat of the enchanted concoction.
"Feel free to stay or leave as you wish. However, do keep in mind that I don't have much food around, so hospitality won't be my strongest suit."
Upon hearing that, the children decided that it was just about the right time to leave. They had seen all they wished to and the warm fire dried them just enough to make travelling back home not feel so unpleasant.
"Thanks for–" Jin turned around to offer at least some words of gratitude to the kind stranger, however, as soon as the door shut behind him, it was as if the entire hut had disappeared. The boy reached forward with his hand, but it passed right through the place where the tiny house should've been.
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"Huh. Guess it really worked," he commented before urging the others to move on.
The path back was, fortunately, not as unpleasant as their first trip through the bog. They managed to remember which patches of mud they should avoid, but that did not mean they would manage to stay clean and dry the entire way. The mud seemed to cling to their clothes, unwilling to let go, and sometimes, their feet would slip and slide right into murky puddles.
By the time they reached the portal, they were already feeling fed up with their prolonged exposure to such an uncomfortable environment, and that was even before they realized that the gateway back home floated above the surface of the water, just out of reach.
"Apologies, I did not consider that it might lead straight into water. Guess I'll have to perform some adjustments to the Cordicon," Manuel sang as he led the way back to the tower. Fortunately, he was indeed listening to the children's calls, and so when Jin angrily shouted at him to open a better portal, it didn't take long for the wizard to arrive.
"Look at this mess!" Jin yelled out and gestured over his shorts, whose original colour could no longer be identified.
"Oh please, I can clean those quite quickly if you give me a few minutes," Manuel dismissed the boy's remark.
"And what about us?" Cia growled and showed how the mud had stained her fur. Everything from her knees down lost its original grey-blue tone and turned into a brown mess of hair clumped up together.
"Not to worry!" the wizard exclaimed and snapped his fingers. There was something disturbing about his means of teleportation. Seeing everything around simply change all of a sudden was disorienting. At one moment, the children were standing in the cellar, and in the next, they were in the middle of what seemed to be a large, circular study room, with several tables in the middle, surrounded by circles of bookshelves, which ran around the room in at least three different diameters. Behind them then stood a massive glass door, which led to a balcony so large and with a railing so beautifully ornate that not even the mansion of Airo's family could compare.
"I have spent today preparing everything for your ideal stay here at the tower. Guest rooms have been cleaned with the most thorough of magic. Now they are purer than the thoughts of a priest, hehe. The bathroom is down that way so you can wash yourselves of all this... filth," he said and scrunched up his nose when he saw the countless patches of dirt staining Airo's pale hair. "And I have also made sure to bring you some nightwear from your homes." He took off his pointy hat and leaned forward. "And see? This time, I knocked, so no more wild attacks from Mrs. Cloudhopper." He pointed to his bumpless head and gave Jin a wink. "Once you get changed, please, put the clothes into the bin over there. I will try my best to clean them and fix any damage." His eyes slid over to Cia's torn-up cloak.
With nothing more to add, the wizard disappeared with a snap of his fingers, leaving the quartet some privacy.
"Dibs on the bathroom!" Pecker shouted and shot out of Airo's back, pretty much dragging him away.
If there was one of them who was used for luxurious showers and pampering, it would be the young Cloudfolk. After all, a noble like him had to look presentable to the people in the village. However, not even his experiences granted him any knowledge regarding Manuel's bathroom. There was no tub, a showerhead, or even a water tap. No sink, no nothing. Only a gigantic mirror hanging on the wall, a couple of hangers with towels folded over them, and a single drain, which was sitting in the lowest point on a slightly slanted ceramic floor. The marine blue colour, which was adorning the entire place, gave Airo a feeling as if he was drowning.
After a brief look around the room, he took off the dirty clothes and placed them, along with his prepared pyjamas on one of the hangers. His next goal would probably be looking for the source of water, but this mission was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large blue butterfly, with a wingspan that could easily hide the boy's entire head. It was fluttering above the drain, giving off light of the same colour as the rest of the room.
"Yeah, that's gonna need something aromatic," the creature spoke, prompting the boy to freeze startled. "A Cloudfolk, eh? Okay, nothing that would harm that sensitive little nose of yours, eheheh. And a shampoo too. Conditioner wouldn't hurt. Hmm... yup, got it. Now come here, get a bit closer."
Airo looked around for a moment before quietly pointing at himself.
"Yes, yes, of course you! Doubt you're expecting a company in here." He did as the creature asked and stepped onto the inclined floor. "Excellent! Now stand still."
The boy had no idea what was about to happen, and even after the entire ordeal was over, his memories of it were but a blur. A geyser of water shot out of the drain and formed itself into a perfect bubble around him. The stream lifted him off his feet, causing him to float inside the liquid. He instinctively held his breath, before noticing that a small bubble of air was surrounding his face, still allowing him to breathe.
Soon, his vision got clouded by a sea of bubbles. He felt the water whirling and splashing around him, almost as if he had stepped into a dishwasher instead of a shower. The entire place shook him around like he was being carried away by ocean waves. He felt the powerful stream flow through his hair as if someone turned a garden hose on him. The entire experience happened so fast that he had no idea what had transpired. Within a minute or two, he was once again standing on the floor, dripping wet, while the water crawled back into the drain.
The boy barely had enough mental capacity to say a word. The sudden surprise simply took all his vocabulary away. Next thing he knew, the remaining droplets of water brushed through his hair like a comb, removing all tangles, and the towels from the rack floated his way, wrapping around his body and head.
"Okay, all done. Send the other one in," the voice said and the blue butterfly once again disappeared.
Although Airo could barely bring himself to process what had just occurred, he had to admit that the feeling was rather pleasant. He took a moment to look into the mirror. All signs of the dirt were gone and he was now back to his usual clean self.
Moments later, he left the bathroom, dry and dressed. Cia was already waiting for her turn outside.
"What's with that smirk?" she commented on the sudden grin that appeared on his face as soon as he emerged.
"Nothing. Just was a nice shower. I think you'll enjoy it," he replied, his mind laughing at the idea of how surprised his friends will be.