I danced around the clearing, doing what I assumed was one of those pirouette things. Don’t hold me to it though, I’m no ballerina. The bottle of fine poison was still clutched tightly in my grip, the stopper of the bottle pressing firmly into my chest.

The Witch of Evermore let out her bell-like laugh, filling the brightening clearing and blending with the musical chorus of countless birds greeting the day. The magical moment was short however as that same laugh mutated into the guttural hoot that always seemed to follow. It was odd the way her mirth was twofold, one musical and one almost grating. It matched her personality and the way her mood seemed to shift and change at the drop of a hat. The sound of it should have made me cringe but instead, it only added to my burst of buzzing energy.

The moment Cassie’s laughter reached its end the witch let out a heavy sigh and turned her twinkling purple eyes on me. “I miss those thrills of a brand-new concoction. I envy you.”

“What do you mean? You’re a hundred times better at brewing than me,” I said, stopping my awkward flapping about to focus on her.

“It has been a long time since I felt that feeling. Let me see what you’ve made.”

I hesitated before I handed it over. Cassie turned the bottle over in her hand, unplugging the stopper to take a whiff before wiping her pinky finger along the edge and sticking it in her mouth. I swore and rushed forward, my heart thumping so hard and fast it felt like a herd of horses charging across the plains. The sheer potency should have hit the witch hard. I waited for her health bar to flash up and drain. It did appear but the damage dealt was almost laughably minimal. Was it because she had tasted little more than a drop?

Cassie smacked her lips and replaced the stopper. “Not bad. Needs a lot more refinement but you’re on the right path."

The thrill sputtered like an ill-fed flame and died inside of me. Pride was a fleeting thing, slippery and quick like a damn fish. At least it was for me. I’d met plenty of people who brimmed with it on a daily basis no matter the criticism thrown at them. It was hard to tell which was better.

“I guess I’ll keep trying,” I said, snatching the poison back and cradling it.

“Oh, don’t be like that darling. You did very well. There’s always room for improvement though. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Yeah, right,” I said.

I returned to my scattered belongings, unable to muster the drive that had kept me going before. A wave of exhaustion washed through me. Slowly, biting back a yawn, I packed up my equipment into the cedar box it had come from, being careful to keep the alembic and the mortar and pestle as far from each other as the box allowed.

The banging of Cassie’s spoon on the side of the cauldron made my jaw clench.

“Not too long now and this masterpiece will be ready. Get some beauty sleep darling, I’ll wake you if I need you.”

Stella huffed in her sleep and rolled, kicking her legs in the air as she did. Muttering to myself I spread my hammock, preparing to drop my ass into it when a slimy tentacle slapped across my face.

“Boopzy, not now. It’s bedtime.”

A second tentacle joined the first. Countless suckers tugged at my skin, spreading my mouth open in an uncomfortable way as the tiny monster tried to drag me into the swamp.

“No Boopzy,” I said, my words mangled. “Bedtime.”

Screee!

The Tentarat screamed and yanked. My feet fell out from under me as I was dragged across the wet bumpy ground, reminded all over again of the strength of the tiny monster. I reached out for Stella but all she did was lift her head, glare at me for being noisy, and go right back to sleep.

“Okay, stop. Come on. Enough.”

“Bye-bye,” Cassie called after me.

Boopzy didn’t stop until we were well into the swamp. The light of early morning was blocked by the dense foliage all around me. This far in the sound of animals was replaced by the sound of dripping water and buzzing insects that crowded my face and filled my nose.

Boopzy finally released me. The small creature chittered and raced in a small circle, lifting himself up on his tentacles to stare with those enormous wet eyes into my face. Insects surrounded him as well but Boopzy didn’t so much as flinch at the nasty little bites.

“What do you want so badly?” I snapped.

The Tentarat chittered more aggressively. I sighed, running my hands down the front of me to try and dislodge some of the muck covering my battered armor. My finger caught in a small hole sitting over my right hip. I frowned and inspected the tear, muttering about the disappointing durability of my leathers. Back in Oliver’s Rest, there had been Crafters who could repair equipment. They were a rarity but they’d existed. If I was lucky, Nora would have managed to find one of them in her frustrating little sidequest. If not, then I’d have to visit the Smith or find Red to replace it.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I took the time to open my menu while Boopzy screamed angrily at my feet, navigating to the image of my armor and eyeing it all over again.

Leather armor

Armor: 198 (112)

The damage was worse than I’d thought. Looking at it now I realised just how measly the armor rating was on it. I’d gotten used to wearing this stuff. It was one of the few items I owned that actually matched my class and had the added benefit of a built-in sheath for my sword. Maybe it was time to retire it though.

Boopzy, furious with my inattention slapped me again. He used the grip to swing up and yanked on the hair sprouting from the sides of my head.

“Get off you rat,” I bellowed.

Boopzy melted at my shout, sliding off my head and into a pile on the muddy ground. His two front paws along with four of his tentacles covered his face so only his whiskers were on display.

I nudged him with my foot and said, “Come on, don’t be like that.”

My own words rang in my head. An echo of the same ones Cassie had used on me when she’d deflated my pride in less than a sentence. I bent, scooping the creature up and dumping him in my pocket, mud and all.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

Screee!

The cry was muffled. I shook my head and straightened, eyeing the dense swamp around me. There was nothing here unless you counted a thin break in the vegetation. The only proof of my passage earlier was the drag marks left in the thick mud.

I moved to follow the trail back to Cassie’s clearing when a small noise drew my attention. I frowned, reaching for my sword as I eyed the darker patches between the trees.

“Who’s there?” I demanded.

The sound rang out again. A small rustle off to my left. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and edged toward the spot. Was it a creature I could turn into breakfast or something a little more sinister?

I pulled my sword and with it at the ready pushed through a patch of thick emerald green leaves as big as I was. I made it to the other side when a brightly painted face appeared in the darkness. The hooked nose of the man was so close to mine that I could feel the heat of his breath on my cheek.

I screamed and stumbled back, yanking my sword around so it was between me and the clown. Man, I hate clowns.

The painted man followed me, prancing through the leaves to beam at me all over again. His hands, covered by ridiculously long lace from his flowing white sleeves, appeared empty but I could not be sure he wasn’t armed in other ways.

A colorful flowery mask covered the clown's face, leaving only the tip of his nose, his grotesquely painted lips, and his large bloodshot eyes exposed. Dragging across the ground behind him, held by a matching pair of thick ropes was a fancy-looking chest. The clown flashed his yellowed teeth at me and danced from foot to foot.

“Step forward and present the mark.”

I blinked, the tip of my sword dropping half an inch. “What did you just say?”

The clown giggled and flounced around, flicking one arm up to expose his hand and the misshapen plastic gun he held in it.

“Step forward and present the mark.”

My eyes dropped to Boopzy who was poking his pink nose out of my pocket. “What have you dragged me into little guy?”

“Step forward and…”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m not doing this again. Here.”

I thrust my arm out and waited for the clown to scan my tattoo. He did, his feet still flinging about as he did the simple task.

“Welcome Jackroller. The guild needs your assistance.”

I sighed and rubbed at the dampness of my bald patch. This guy was about as contrary as someone could get from the last contact I’d met.

“Welcome…”

“No. Just give me the quests.”

The clown giggled some more and stuck his hands into the sleeve of the other arm. I waited for the same angry-looking magpie that had appeared last time. The clown refused to play ball though and instead pulled out a peacock.

I could only stare at the enormous bird perched delicately on the man's palm. The peacock trilled and unfolded its fan of glorious tail feathers before sticking out a leg. A single pink note was tied there with a glittery ribbon.

New Quest Received: Lightning Bug Harvest

Description: The guild is running low on Lightning Bugs. These zappy little creatures are useful for our craft. Collect twenty of the glowing creatures to bolster our supply. 0/20 Collected.

The note lit with a burning flame and disintegrated in my hand.

“Seriously, you want me to collect bugs? What bullshit is this?”

The clown wiggled his fingers at me and said, “Happy thieving.”

“This is not thieving!” I bellowed.

The clown disappeared back into the shadows of the swamp without so much as a backward glance, the fine chest dragging along the ground behind him. I looked at Boopzy who shrugged his little shoulders and reached out for the path we’d left in the mud. I yawned and focused on the quest icon in the upper heights of my field of vision, taking a moment to mark the new quest as active rather than Cassie’s.

When I shifted to my map so many markers appeared it made me dizzy. From the look of it, the bugs were spread wide across the swamp from the inner depths to the outer ring. It would take me a ridiculous amount of time to collect them all, and for what? The quest hadn’t offered any rewards.

“What do you think Boopzy, do the quest or go to bed?”

Screee!

Boopzy slid out of my pocket and climbed atop my head, stretching out a tentacle in every direction. My shoulders slumped. I wanted to find the hammock, not a bunch of bugs.