The next morning, Fritz, Ada and Neva, found themselves outside of Zola's mansion. Fritz eyed the cottage as he began to walk around it.

"Dimension magic is so intriguing. It's like a pocket dimension." Moving back towards the door of the cottage he opened it and peered inside. The elegant mansion was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the weather damaged boards of the rundown cottage spoke of years of neglect.

"Precisely so. One of a kind too." Neva replied rather blandly.

"I know so many who thought the stuff was impossible. So many who would have killed to create something like this." Fritz said. Suddenly a buzz of magic spread through the clearing.

"Stop gawking and get back Fritz." Neva warned.

Not wanting to be caught between dimensions, Fritz quickly jumped back and repositioned himself near Ada and Neva. Shrugging his shoulders he re-adjusted his supply pack. A door of impenetrable darkness appeared in the frame of the cottage.

A black chitinous leg appeared from thin air. Zola appeared from the dark door. She walked calmly, a small duffel bag of red dyed spider silk was draped around her shoulder.

"Greetings, Fritz. It is a fine morning." Zola said with a nod. Fritz merely smiled. Zola looked around the clearing. Her red eyes scanned the clearing. "I do not see my apprentice.... I instructed her to be early to join your party."

"She's a no-show." Neva said gruffly. She reached for her pipe.

"My apologies, I spent most of the night giving her instructions." Zola frowned. "I will just be a moment. Please wait. I shall fetch her." Zola said. Waving her hand in front of the cottage, she opened the door to her pocket dimension before disappearing inside.

"What's her apprentice like?" Fritz asked. Neva shrugged before answering.

"Difficult."

"She's a handful." Ada said. She let out a sigh. "Do we really need her?"

"Someone has to look after her while Zola's traveling."

"She sounds like a child." Fritz commented. Ada let out a short giggle. "So what's her deal?" Fritz asked.

"Uhh, where do I start?" Ada groaned out. "One time, she started raising money for alchemical ingredients by trying to sell love potions and strength potions. Regus then bought up a stockpile of strength potions and tried to challenge Neva."

"Did he win?" Fritz asked.

"Hah. No." Neva responded with gruffly. "Not even close. Though he did make me draw my sword then. The love potions were more annoying. Half the town suddenly falling in love with another person? It was pandemonium." Neva shook her head from side to side.

"She pranked the village once too. Our Maidentime festival was ruined with spiked liquor! Half the town was puking their guts out. All because people kept calling her Moody Marcelle. Another time she tried to steal from a traveling merchant. She consumed a potion of invisibility and tried to rob his pack in the middle of the day! Zola had to come into town and apologize on her behalf."

"Don't forget about the time she tried to break into my house." Neva said. She breathed a small ring of smoke into the air.

"For what?"

"To perform experiments with my sword collection." She replied nonchalantly. "Luckily, Ada caught her snooping around in time."

"She sounds...." Fritz said before trailing off.

"Obsessive. Dangerous. Impulsive. Moody. She's dangerous, when angry. It's best to keep away." Ada replied.

They stood around waiting for Zola's return. Minutes passed before the same dark door was opened from within the cottage's door frame. Zola's blackened chitinous legs appeared as she traveled through the space between. Trailing behind her was a long thick thread of silk carrying a wrapped wriggling mass. Ada let out a long laugh, as she watched Zola drag her apprentice out. Neva let out a long suffering sigh, before reaching for her pipe. Fritz looked on in utter confusion, as a large body wrapped nearly completely in webbing was dragged out of the ruined cottage. The large body cocooned within writhed and lashed out in anger. Her arms were bound behind her. Purple scales peaked between the webbing where her legs should have been. Her inky black hair was covered in dust and grime. A large mass of webbing had been threaded around her face to prevent her screaming. Muffled curses escaped her lips as she wrestled with her restraints.

"Forgive me." Zola said coolly. "My apprentice can be quite difficult." Zola shot Fritz an apologetic smile. "I've already explained the situation to her. Really, I have no idea why she is being so difficult. Your quest is important, yet she refuses to see the truth."

"Is she all right?" Fritz asked hesitantly. The wriggling sack containing Zola's apprentice raged against the silken threads.

"Of course! She's just having a hard time accepting her new task." Zola shot her apprentice a dark look, before continuing her awkward smile at Fritz. Ada laughed even harder now, as she doubled over. Her pack moved forward, as tears began swelling around her eyes. Neva crossed her arms as she waited for the farce to continue.

"Doesn't look like she wants to come along." Neva said.

"Of course she does. Don't you Marcelle?" The woman behind Zola struggled in her confines, as Zola dragged her towards the others. "I've explained everything to her multiple times. She knows your destination quite well. Her help will be instrumental. She's just being silly. Despite her emotional immaturity, she is quite handy." Zola flashed Fritz another smile. Her long, sharp, incisor's crept out from between her thin lips. She crossed her arms over her chest. A long, sharp finger tapped nervously against her arm. "Almost forgot, I need to pack up. Does everyone have all their belongings?"

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Neva and Ada nodded. Zola moved back towards the cottage. She held out her hand towards the entrance of the cottage. Fritz watched her materialize a large onyx gemstone into the palm of her hand.

"What's that?" Fritz asked.

"Ah, this is the mansion from earlier. A lovely bit of magic, we happened to stumble upon, didn't we Neva?"

"Quite useful, a shame I couldn't get one as well. Makes traveling much nicer." Neva said.

"What about your apprentice?" Fritz asked as he looked down to the large struggling cocooned mass. "She isn't coming like that is she?"

"Don't worry, I can drag her around like that." Ada joked.

Marcelle's purples eyes glared daggers into her master. Zola approached her slowly. Whatever fake warmth she displayed to Fritz was noticeably absent as she reached down. The red eyes of a merciless predator glared down at her apprentice. A sharp chitinous finger sliced into the silk wrapping around Marcelle's mouth. The spider silk fell away, freeing her lips.

"Give me back my laboratory! Right now! Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!" Marcelle screamed at Zola. "I'm not leaving! I'm not going! You can't make me! I'm not your servant! I have the right to refuse!"

"Enough child! You are leaving with them!" Zola's stern voice briefly cut down Marcelle's torrent of words.

"I'm not going! You can't make me!" Marcelle hissed out.

"I've explained the importance of this a million times." Zola leaned in closer and jabbed her finger into Marcelle's head. "Get it through your thick skull child. You will be under Neva's care until we reunite in Fehrenn. Until then keep the man alive. Above all else, keep him alive." Zola jabbed her finger back into Marcelle's head as if to make a point.

"Vile witch! Why should I care about your moronic machinations? I've far more important things to work on! My experiments cannot linger! Give me back my laboratory! Give it back! Now!"

"Your experiments?" Zola threw her hands up. "Oh, Goddess bless your soul. Your pointless experiments can wait? Lead to gold? Panacea? Immortality? Transformative elixirs? Hah, child, who cares?"

"I will do it! You hag! You dare doubt me?! I am a genius alchemist! Unparalleled! Give me back my laboratory! My lab! Give it back!" Marcelle screeched. Fritz winced as her voice rose higher. In the nearby trees, birds took flight.

"Your lab?! It's in MY mansion, and you won't be getting it back until far later! Maybe never, If anything happens to that man over there." Zola pointed a finger towards Fritz. Marcelle's frantic purple eyes followed Zola's finger.

"Him? What the hells is so important about him? He looks like an idiot! He's an ugly nobody!" Ada frowned at her words. Neva rolled her eyes as she continued smoking her pipe.

"Stop! If she doesn't want to join. I don't agree with forcing her." Fritz yelled out hoping to cut their arguments short. A smug smile wormed its way across Marcelle's face. Long black hair obscured her face, giving her a haggard unkempt look. Dark circles underscored her purple frantic eyes. Pale, barely sun touched skin reminded Fritz of the necromancer.

"Forgive me Fritz, but I do. She will attend you regardless if she wants to or not. On top of her not receiving her precious laboratory. I might do something quite drastic, if she doesn't deliver you safely to Fehrenn. I might turn her into a toad so she may never practice alchemy again."

"You wouldn't!" Marcelle hissed.

"I would." Zola said leaning into Marcelle.

"She would. I've seen it myself." Neva seconded.

"Vile bitch!" Marcelle hissed.

"With the blackest of hearts." Zola pressed forward, driving a finger into her apprentice. "But if you are successful, perhaps there will be a reward, dearest apprentice. Perhaps, there is still some shred of charity within me after all. Perhaps there is a shred of good lurking deep within my heart after all."

"What? Shall I be treated civilly for once? Maybe even with some basic decency?" Marcelle shot out sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't know.... Perhaps, we could upgrade your laboratory." Marcelle's eyes grew wider as Zola kept speaking. "Your ingredients too have been lacking. We can relocate closer to the cities to acquire rarer ingredients. An assistant of your own perhaps as well. Maybe, just maybe, I'll let you in on some of my own secrets. Maybe, I will introduce you to my coven as an equal."

"You're terrible." Marcelle grumbled. She chewed her lip. "Take him to some city? What am I, a courier? My genius will be wasted. My experiments will suffer. Travelling will set me back months!"

"You can practice some of your more basic potions along the way." Zola reached behind her grabbing a small bag no larger than a fist. She dropped it on Marcelle's stomach. "A bag of holding containing a large assortment of herbs, rare materials, and of course your equipment. Supplies for your journey, and your potion belt can also be found within, so you have no excuse to delay. Your notes and journal as well." Marcelle grumbled to herself as Zola drew herself taller. The woman with the lower half of a spider towered over Marcelle. "It's either that, or I'll leave you to the animals here." Marcelle scowled. "This task is more important than you realize."

"Who cares? I am above such things." Marcelle shot back.

"I do, and by extension, you will as well." Zola said gravely. Drawing herself up to her full height, she towered over her apprentice. Waiting, Fritz watched Marcelle's face as thoughts formulated with her mind.

"Only if you are serious about updating my laboratory!" Marcelle spat out.

"I am."

"With new ingredients!"

"I will find them."

"Fine. You win. Let me out." Marcelle grumbled.

"Say it." Zola said sternly.

"I'll go! I'll go! I shall honor your wishes mistress! Happy?" Marcelle whined.

"Excellent, I knew you'd come to your senses!" Zola said. A sadistic smile crept across her mouth as she clapped her hands together. She reached down and cut the threads releasing the woman's legs. No. Legs were the wrong word. A snake's tail whipped energetically through the air, as Marcelle stood up. Her upper half was human, but where her legs would have been a large snake's tail resided. As she stood up, she smoothed out her long robes and cleaned out some of the dust of her long inky black hair. Fritz watched the large tail flick about, as it removed the last of the spider silk clinging to it.

"Now that we've got that show out of the way." Neva started, she paused to smoke her long pipe. "We can start with proper introductions. Fritz, meet Marcelle."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Fritz." Fritz said while approaching and offering his hand. The inky black hair, covered in dirt and grime, obscured Marcelle's face. Her skin had a slight purplish hue to it, yet otherwise, she was pale like she hadn't seen the sun in years. Her eyes moved away from Fritz, as she looked at the ground. Fritz's hand hung awkwardly in the air. Ada stepped behind him.

"No funny business. I have my eye on you." Ada said to Marcelle. Marcelle's scowl deepened, as she kept grumbling. With a sigh, Fritz let his hand fall back down.

"Come on youngsters! We're wasting daylight." Neva said loudly. "Zola, it was nice to see you. But, can you do one last thing?"

"Yes?"

"Deliver this letter to my next in command in Falken. May is the next in line. I'll be stepping down, and they'll want to know why Ada, and I are missing."

"Is that wise? Are you not traveling south?" Zola asked.

"We'll head north to Trira. It'll be quicker to head down along the river. The letter states we are delivering him to his family in Yuntrau. Completely opposite of our intended path. If there are any spies in Falken, hopefully they will be thrown off." Zola nodded in understanding.

"Farewell, then. Till next time." Zola said as she accepted Neva's letter.

"See you around." Neva said.

Fritz and Ada thanked Zola, before her eight long legs carried her quickly away. Marcelle said nothing as she glowered a little ways off from the others. Zola never looked back to check on her apprentice. Soon, her eight legs exited the clearing and Fritz lost her form between the trees.

"Finally progress!" Fritz thought to himself.

The four set off into the woods, following a trail picked out by Neva. Marcelle slithered morosely behind the others. Ada stuck close to Fritz. Her spear hit the ground between strides, as she kept within arm's length of Fritz at all times.