"Ah! How is my little girl doing?" Gertrude spread her arms wide as Edith walked through the shack dressed in a crisp white sleeping gown. She held Mister Cuddles with one arm while her other hand rubbed the sleepiness out of her eye. The witch lowered herself and gave the little girl a few pats on the back.
"Tired," Edith replied with drowsiness.
"I know, sweetie. You had a long day today. Once we finish up this spell, you can head right to bed. Don't worry about your chores. You can do them tomorrow."
"All right mother." Edith released herself from the hug and stood by Narrita's side. Her eyelids were still heavy, struggling to stay open but she still looked up at Narrita with a smile. "Are you excited, Rita?"
The thief smiled back. "You know it, kid." Narrita then reached down and ruffled Edith's hair again. While the Cutthroats awaited the ritual, Gertrude scurried around the main living area of the shack, sifting through various shelves and flipping through an assortment of books while mumbling to herself.
"And that is in order. Then I just to make sure that this is so..." Gertrude peered into the wide black cauldron propped against the shack's wall. She gave the interior a thorough wipe with a rag. "Can't be too careful. Don't want the residue of the last spell interfering with this one," the witch said to the gang as they watched her continue to dart around the room.
"Hey Edith," Narrita whispered. The girl turned her head. "Does your mom do a lot of spells like this?"
"Yeah."
"All right. I know she said that she hasn't done something like this in a while. I'm just kind of worried that something might go wrong."
"Don't worry about that, Rita. Mother is the best witch within all of Farrowport!"
"Because they executed all the rest," Horace added quietly. Narrita stomped on his toes with her heel. He sealed his mouth, but a yelp still escaped.
"If you say that your mother knows what she's doing, then I've got faith," Narrita said Edith. The girl grinned as she watched Gertrude take a pail of water and begin to fill up the cauldron.
"Can you get your friend's body ready?' she asked of the Cutthroats as she watched the crystal-clear water rise inside the cauldron. The two men reached under the table and carefully lifted the bag and placed it on the table. The bottom of the sack had turned dark and was dripping a gooey brown substance onto the wooden surface. "Don't put it there! My daughter and I use that for eating!"
"Oh, sorry." Horace and the other Cutthroat hoisted the body of the table and it cradle between them. Gertrude watched the pair sway back and forth, trying to keep Pierce's limp corpse still.
"Just... drop his body in the cauldron. Before you two break something."
The pair of Cutthroats obeyed, with Horace untying the rope that kept the bag shut. Standing over the cauldron, Horace let the lower half of Pierce slide out. The snake's remains landed with a plop. The witch peeked inside, turning her head away in repulsion once the smell got into her nose.
"Ugh... how long has he been dead?" Gertrude asked. Edith stood on top of stool, staring at the lower half of Pierce with awe.
"Couple of days," Narrita replied shyly. "He's been in the shed. In the heat."
"Ah. That explains it." The witch then waved towards the other two Cutthroats. "Go ahead and dump the rest of him in there. I want to finish this spell so we can get that repugnant odor out of here!"
Gertrude's command was obeyed. Together, the two men lifted the bag high and let the upper portion of Pierce's body plop into the cauldron. Along with the rest of the snake was a sticky brown liquid that filled the bottom of the black pot. With the entirety of the bag's contents emptied, the two men stepped away, leaving Pierce's hand dangling off the giant bowl's edge with his dark black eyes staring straight ahead. The mouth remained opened while the tongue drooped straight downwards.
"I don't know how you two could manage to mess up something as simple as putting a dead snake into a cauldron!" Gertrude picked up a crooked stick off the wall and poked the snake's head with it so that it slipped inside of the cauldron. "Now it is time to set up the ingredients. Edith?"
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"Yes, Mother?" the girl took her eyes away from the contents of the spell to look at Gertrude.
"Go and get me the Ivory Aster, please."
"Yes Mother." Edith hopped off the stool and eagerly darted to the shelf. As she went to pick up the flower, the witch tossed in the other parts of the spell into the bowl, one at a time.
"I hope I get the incantation correct," she said aloud. "It has been a while since I've last done this, so my dialect might be off."
"This isn't one of those spells where you only get one chance, is it?" Narrita asked.
"Oh, it is. You can't just keep recasting the same spell over and over again on the same body if you mess it up the first time! Necromancy isn't some exam at a university where you get to cross out your mistakes and try once more!"
"Then maybe you should do a practice run," Narrita replied. "Pierce only has one body. If you mess that up, then it's all over."
"Hush. I know what I'm doing. Just because my memory is a bit foggy doesn't mean that I'll mess up the rest of the spell! I've been doing this since before you were born! If I didn't think I'd be able to get it right on the first time, then I wouldn't have made the offer."
Narrita stood with her arms crossed alongside the other two Cutthroats. She watched as the witch continued to fill the cauldron with an assortment of exotic plants and animal parts. Gertrude then lifted her hands above her head and closed her eyes. The witch then tilted her head back and took in a deep breath through her nostrils. Her pasty and wrinkled fingertips glowed a blinding white. The aura then covered her entire hands, turning them into bright lights.
As Gertrude waved her hands around, the light in the room became dimmer despite the sun shining directly through the window. The Cutthroats looked around the area in shock as a light wind coursed throughout the room. "What's goin' on?" Horace moaned as he fortified his stance and put his hands in front of his body in a defensive position.
"It's the spell, you dolt!" Gertrude barked, keeping her eyes shut. "Did you think I would say a few words and the spell would be done?" Her hands continued to move in graceful and intricate patterns through the air. Bubbles began to form in the purple liquid of the cauldron while the contents sizzled from a sudden increase in heat. "Necromancy requires a great deal of energy! This is not something that your run-of-the-mill mage would be able to do!"
"Are we gonna be safe in here? I don't want any of that necromancy juice gettin' on me and turning me into that something like that rabbit your kid is holding!"
"Narrita! Silence your men!" Gertrude shouted. The wind turned into a gale as the room became darker. Books fell of the shelf. Pieces of furniture rattled. The broth inside the cauldron began to splash, sending waves of the liquid onto the ground. "I am about to start the most important part of the spell! So I suggest you keep them quiet if you want everything to turn out properly!"
The leader turned around, raising a fist and giving Horace a mean scowl. He stepped back, covering his stomach with his hands as he turned his eyes away from Gertrude and towards her. With her other hand, she put a finger to her lips and said 'hush' in a simultaneously loud yet discreet voice. Once she returned to watch the spell continue to unfold, the winds intensified, almost blowing her back. An aroma soon flooded the air, an uncomfortable combination of sweetness and rot. The putrid liquid began rise like tidal waves before crashing back inside the Cauldron.
Gertrude remained unfazed, keeping her eyes shut as the loose strands from her bound her were shot back the gusts. Her hands continued to move elegantly in intricate circles while the glow provided the only light in the entire room. As the chaos around her ensued, she said the same four words in a calm voice.
"Lemerm... Arputus...Ulograni...Bupri..."
The witch continued the incantation while a giddy Edith stared on from her stool in awe. There was a small explosion from inside the cauldron, sending the morbid broth splattering across the ceiling. Gertrude opened her eyes wide, staring at Narrita with her dark pupils.
"Toss in the Beacon!" she ordered from the top of her lungs, overcoming all the noise in the room. Having been broken free from her trance, Narrita felt around her body and quickly pulled out the necklace from her jacket's pocket. She darted towards the black pot, holding onto the piece of jewelry by the chain. The thief stuck out one arm to avoid getting doused in the strange substance as her shaky hand hesitated to release the Beacon.
"Just drop it!" Gertrude shouted again.
With the flick of her wrist, she tossed the necklace into the concoction. She watched it soar through the air before disappearing inside the cauldron. The bubbling increased, soon overflowing the container with dark green suds. Narrita, Gertrude and Edith all stepped away as the foam continued to rise. It sizzled and steamed as it expanded, not taking long for it spill onto the floor.
"Is it working?" Narrita cried.
"Yes!" Gertrude responded. "This is exactly what's supposed to happen!" As bubbles took up more volume, soon engulfing the entirety of the cauldron. "But I say we all go outside!"
Horace and the other Cutthroat sprinted outside first, with the former holding the door open for the other three. Once outside, the cool rush of wind from the spell made the blades of grass shake. With the door open, everyone peered inside as the bubbles all burst simultaneously, sending slimy green foam scattering everywhere with a hefty blast. A trail of green sludge escaped outside through the ajar door, painting the tip of the dirt trail towards the entrance.
Everyone stared in the inside in silence. Nearly every surface was coated in a slimy film, now visible with the lighting back to normal.
"So..." Narrita said quietly. "Did it work?"