I raised my hand to knock, but before I could, the door creaked open on its own. A voice like dried leaves rustling in the wind whispered from within.

"Enter, if you dare."

Not exactly the warm welcome you'd want, but what can you expect from a witch, I guess. We exchanged glances, then stepped into the witch's domain.

The interior was a sensory overload. Bubbling cauldrons lined one wall, their contents ranging from neon green to midnight black. Shelves crammed with jars, vials, and boxes of mysterious ingredients covered every available surface. Bundles of herbs hung from the ceiling, filling the air with a heady, almost intoxicating aroma.

Cages of various sizes were scattered throughout the room. Some housed creatures I recognized - bats, toads, black cats. Others contained beings that defied description - things with too many eyes, not enough limbs, or skin that seemed to phase in and out of existence.

And there, in the center of it all, stood the witch.

Or rather, she stood, then sat, then loomed, then shrank. Her appearance shifted like smoke, never settling on a single form. One moment she was young and beautiful, with flowing raven hair and piercing green eyes. The next, she was ancient and withered, hunched over a gnarled staff. Then she was something in between, or something else entirely.

It was dizzying to look at her, so I focused on a point just past her left ear.

"Welcome, travelers," she said, her voice changing with each word. "I am Melissa."

I blinked. "Your name is Melissa?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"It's just not very, you know, witchy."

She cackled, the sound morphing from a young girl's giggle to an old crone's wheeze. "And what, pray tell, is a 'witchy' name supposed to be? Grizelda? Morgana? Esmerelda? I didn't realize you were in charge of which names were appropriate for a witch!"

"Right. Sorry."

Melissa's ever-changing gaze swept over our motley crew. "Now then, what brings you to my humble abode? Love potions? Curse removal? Wart cures?"

Gilly stepped forward, his knees visibly shaking. "We heard you buy parts from magical creatures."

"Ah," Melissa said, her form settling briefly into that of a shrewd businesswoman. "Indeed I do. And what might you be offering?"

Gilly gulped, then turned around, presenting his tail. "I'm an axolotl. I heard our tails fetch a good price."

Melissa's eyes gleamed with interest. She reached out a hand - young and smooth one second, gnarled and spotted the next - and ran it along Gilly's tail.

"Yes, yes. Axolotl tail. Potent regenerative properties. Useful in healing potions, youth elixirs, even some forms of necromancy." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I could offer you... 3,000 gold pieces."

Gilly's eyes widened. "R-really? That's even more than I expected!"

I felt a surge of relief. This might actually work out.

But then Melissa's shifting gaze landed on Plop. Her eyes narrowed, then widened, then changed color entirely.

"Wait just a moment," she said, her voice taking on a tone of intense curiosity. "What manner of creature is this?"

Plop, still in his mini-Stanley form, waved cheerfully. "Plop is Plop!"

Melissa circled Plop, her form flickering rapidly between different ages and appearances. "Fascinating. A slime with intelligence? I've never seen anything quite like it."

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. "He's not for sale."

Melissa turned to me, her eyes glinting with something that looked like greed. "Oh? But surely you understand the value of such a unique specimen? The alchemical possibilities are endless!"

"Doesn't matter," I said firmly. "Plop's our friend, not a commodity."

Melissa's form settled into that of a cunning merchant, all sharp angles and calculating eyes. "Perhaps we can make a deal. Instead of the axolotl's tail, I'd be willing to pay 10,000 gold pieces for just a small sample of your slime friend."

Ten thousand gold pieces was more than enough to cover our debt and then some. But the way she looked at Plop, like he was nothing more than an ingredient to be used up.

"No deal," I said.

Melissa's form flickered. "No? Perhaps you didn't hear me correctly. Ten thousand gold pieces for a mere sample. Think of what you could do with that kind of money."

Effie zipped close to my ear. "Stanley, Plop can't regenerate lost parts. We don't know what taking a 'sample' might do to him."

"I said no," I repeated, more firmly this time. "Plop isn't for sale. Not now, not ever."

Melissa's form began to shift more rapidly, her features blurring together in a dizzying swirl. "You fool," she hissed, her voice distorting into something inhuman. "Do you have any idea what you're turning down?"

"Doesn't matter," I said. "We're leaving. Now. Come on guys, we'll find another way to get that gold."

But as I turned to go, the door slammed shut with a bang. Melissa's laughter filled the air, no longer anything close to human.

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere."

Before our eyes, Melissa's form twisted and grew. Her skin turned a sickly green, covered in warts and oozing sores. Her fingers elongated into razor-sharp claws, and her mouth stretched impossibly wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"If you won't give me what I want willingly," she snarled, "I'll take it by force!"

She lunged at us, her claws slashing through the air. I dove to the side, crashing into a shelf of potions. Glass shattered around me, spilling mysterious liquids across the floor.

"Run!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet.

But there was nowhere to run. The hut, which had seemed cramped before, now felt impossibly small. Gilly yelped as he narrowly avoided Melissa's claws, his tail knocking over a cauldron of bubbling purple liquid.

Effie darted through the air, her tiny form making her hard to hit. "We need a plan!" she yelled.

"Working on it!" I shouted back, ducking behind a table.

Plop, still in his mini-Stanley form, looked around frantically. "Plop help! Plop fight!"

"No!" I yelled. "Plop, stay back! She wants you!"

But it was too late. Melissa's eyes locked onto Plop, and she lunged for him with terrifying speed.

Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest object - a heavy brass candlestick - and hurled it at her head. It connected with a satisfying thunk, momentarily stunning her.

"Nice throw!" Gilly cheered.

But our victory was short-lived. Melissa straightened up, her eyes blazing with fury. She raised her gnarled hands, and suddenly the entire hut seemed to come alive.

Books flew off shelves, their pages flapping like angry birds. Jars rattled and shook, their contents swirling ominously. Even the furniture began to move, chairs skittering across the floor on their own.

"You dare attack me in my own domain?" Melissa shrieked. "I'll show you true power!"

A swarm of glowing insects burst from one of the shattered jars, filling the air with a terrifying buzzing. They dive-bombed us, their tiny bodies burning like embers where they touched skin.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Gilly yelped, swatting at the insects.

I grabbed a broom, swinging it wildly to keep the swarm at bay. "We need to get out of here!"

Effie zoomed around the room, dodging flying objects and searching for an escape route. "The windows!" she called. "If we can break them-"

But before she could finish, a thick vine burst through the floorboards, wrapping itself around her tiny form.

"Effie!" I yelled, abandoning my broom and rushing towards her.

Melissa cackled. "You're all mine now!"

More vines erupted from the floor and walls, writhing like tentacles. One wrapped around my ankle, nearly pulling me off my feet. I grabbed a nearby broken broom handle, using it to desperately hack at the vine.

Gilly had climbed up onto a high shelf, but the animated books were pecking at him relentlessly. "Help!" he cried, his eyes wide with panic.

And through it all, Plop stood in the center of the room, looking utterly bewildered. "Plop not understand! Why witch lady so mean?"

Melissa turned towards him, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "Come here, little slime. I promise I'll make it quick."

"No!" I shouted, finally freeing myself from the vine. I threw myself between Plop and Melissa, my arms spread wide. "You want him? You'll have to go through me first."

"With pleasure."

Melissa's claws slashed through the air, barely missing my face as I stumbled backward. The hut was a whirlwind of chaos - flying objects, writhing vines, and that infernal buzzing of the ember insects.

"Stanley, duck!" Effie's voice cut through the mayhem.

I dropped to the floor just as a massive spell book soared over my head, smashing into the wall behind me. Effie, still wrapped in vines but wriggling furiously, shouted, "The witch's power comes from her staff! If we can separate them-"

A vine lashed out, cutting off Effie's words. Gilly, perched precariously on a high shelf, called down, "I'll distract her! You go for the staff!"

Before I could protest, Gilly launched himself off the shelf, latching onto Melissa's face with his suction-cup hands. The witch howled in rage, clawing at the axolotl attached to her head.

I scrambled to my feet, eyes locked on the gnarled staff clutched in Melissa's left hand. But as I lunged for it, a swarm of ember insects engulfed me. Their tiny bodies burned against my skin, and I could feel my HP dropping rapidly.

[HP: 63/100]

[Status Effect: Burning - 2 HP/second]

"Plop help!" The familiar voice rang out, and suddenly a wave of cool slime washed over me, extinguishing the burning insects. Plop had transformed into a protective coating, shielding me from further damage.

Melissa finally managed to pry Gilly off her face, hurling him across the room. She turned her fury towards me, eyes blazing with otherworldly power. "Enough games!" she said, raising her staff high.

A bolt of dark green energy crackled from the staff's tip, arcing through the air straight at me. I dove to the side, but not fast enough. The spell caught me in the shoulder, sending white-hot pain lancing through my body.

[Critical Hit! -50 HP]

[HP: 13/100]

[Status Effect: Arcane Poison - 1 HP/second]

I hit the ground hard, my vision swimming. The hut spun around me, and I could taste blood in my mouth. This was bad. Really bad.

"Stanley!" Effie's voice seemed to come from far away. "The potion rack! Look for something red!"

Red potion. Right. I forced myself to focus, crawling towards the shelves Effie had indicated. My hand closed around a small vial of crimson liquid.

[Item Acquired: Minor Health Potion]

I uncorked it with shaking hands and downed the contents in one gulp. A warm sensation spread through my body, dulling the pain.

[HP restored: +25]

[HP: 38/100]

[Status Effect: Arcane Poison - Neutralized]

"How touching," Melissa sneered, looming over me. "But it won't save you. I'll drain every last drop of life from your pathetic bodies, and then I'll have all the time in the world to experiment on your little slime friend."

She raised her staff again, dark energy swirling around its tip. This was it. We'd tried our best, but we were outmatched. I closed my eyes, bracing for the final blow.

But it never came.

Instead, a strange tingling sensation washed over me. My eyes snapped open to see a shimmering blue barrier surrounding me, pulsing with energy.

[New Skill Unlocked: Magic Nullification]

[Passive Effect: 30% chance to reflect magical damage]

Melissa's eyes widened in shock as her spell rebounded off the barrier, slamming into her with full force. She staggered backward, her magical defenses shattering like glass.

"Now, Stanley!" Effie shrieked. "While she's vulnerable!"

I didn't think. I just acted. My hand closed around the handle of my pickaxe, and I hurled it with all my might. It spun through the air, end over end, and buried itself in Melissa's chest with a sickening thud.

For a moment, everything went still. Melissa looked down at the pickaxe protruding from her body, her mouth open in a silent scream. Then, like a sandcastle caught in a wave, she began to crumble. Her form dissolved into swirling motes of dark energy, spiraling into nothingness until all that remained was a pile of ash on the floor.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Suddenly, the animated objects dropped to the ground. The vines withered and retreated. The ember insects fizzled out of existence. We were left standing - or in my case, crouching - in the ruins of the witch's hut, battered, exhausted, but alive.

"Holy moly," Gilly said, sliding down from the shelf he'd climbed back onto. "We did it. We actually did it."

Effie fluttered over to me, her tiny form sagging with relief. "That was some quick thinking, Stanley. How did you know you had that Mana Nullification skill?"

"I didn't," I said, wincing as I stood up. Every part of my body ached. "It just happened."

"Plop confused," our slime friend said, reforming into his usual shape. "Scary witch lady go poof. We win?"

"Yeah, Plop. We won."

As the adrenaline faded, the full weight of what we'd just been through settled over us. We'd faced down a powerful witch, one who'd been willing to kill us all just to get her hands on Plop. And somehow, against all odds, we'd come out on top.

I looked around at my companions - Gilly, nursing a few nasty scratches but grinning from ear to ear (or whatever the axolotl equivalent was). Effie, her wings slightly crumpled but her eyes shining with pride. And Plop, blissfully unaware of how close he'd come to being some witch's science experiment, happily oozing around the room.

They weren't the teammates I would have chosen for myself. But standing there in that destroyed hut, surrounded by the aftermath of our impossible victory, I realized something important. They were exactly the teammates I needed.

"So," Gilly said, breaking the silence. "What do we do now?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, a new notification popped up in my field of vision.

[Quest Complete: Witch Hunt]

[XP Gained: 500]

[Level Up!]

[New Skill Available: Choose Your Reward]