Last night’s bingo game ended a few games after Barry had abruptly left to go back to his room. Everyone went off to bed for some zzz’s, but Sherry decided to stay up a bit longer to work on Barry’s mutagen he had brought back in order to convert it into a beneficial potion. And when she told Ron, he offered to stay up with her if she needed help, to which she gladly accepted.
So the two had worked overtime throughout the rest of the night, leading to the morning after inside Sherry’s personal alchemy room. The place was somewhat of a mess because Sherry and Ron scurried around the room to find and gather the right materials/ingredients as they followed the instructions provided by one of Sherry’s recipes.
Barry’s mutagen potion was finished, being contained inside a flask on a lab table. Sherry’s head rested on the table, still sleeping soundlessly despite the morning sun rays peaking through the curtains on her face. Ron was the first to wake up, finding himself laid out on the hard floor with a stiff neck.
“W-What? Where am I-” He realized that he had stayed up with Sherry to help her with Barry’s potion. His eyes shifted to Sherry and the sun rays beaming down on her face. ‘I should probably get her to bed, she’s worked so much for us.’ Ron thought, wanting to show some gratitude.
He was hesitant at first about moving Sherry by himself to a bed, he didn’t want to have any misunderstandings if she happened to wake up. Being extremely careful, Ron put Sherry on his back and carried her, placing the alchemist into bed. “That wasn’t so difficult.” Ron mumbled quietly.
“What wasn’t so difficult?” Sherry said with a sleepy voice, her dreamy eyes opening up slightly to look up at him. Ron felt like his heart dropped from sudden shock, thinking she was completely asleep. “Oh, you put me in bed. How kind of you…you weren’t planning on doing anything indecent were you?” She eyed him with playful suspicion.
Immediately, as if pleading for his life, Ron shook his head with embarrassment while waving his hands. “N-N-NO! No, I-I just wanted to make you more c-comfortable, s-so I-”
“Haha, you’re so innocent. Relax, Ron.” Sherry slightly brushed his arm to ease his worries, which made him both stop freaking out, yet also made him even more nervous internally. “Thank you for being a gentleman.”
“O-Of course…just…trying to be a good friend.” Ron’s cheeks were flushed red as he spoke, trying his best to hide his one-sided crush on her. His eyes then shifted around the room for something to distract himself, eventually falling upon something that was within the cluttered mess. “Hey, what’s this!?”
Ron bent down to pick up a cute little crystal iridescent butterfly figurine; but when he did, the figurine cracked in pieces. “Agh! I didn’t mean to do that! I’m so sorry Sherry.”
As she watched Ron pick up the pieces, Sherry couldn’t help but laugh again. “Haha, Ron it’s alright. I can always mend it together quite easily, there’s no need to apologize over an easy fix.”
“That’s not true.” Ron replied sounding both serious and sincere, this caught Sherry off-guard which made her fall silent. “Although you can mend it together because of your magic…it was still something that you made with love and I broke it. That shows how careless I was, that I didn’t even consider how fragile something this amazing is. I would feel terrible if I kept going to you to fix everything that I broke of yours…” Sherry could see and hear the honesty he was showing. “...I…I wanna show that I can…be reliable.”
His words resonated inside Sherry deeply, never had she heard someone tell her something that meaningful. During her time in Haglethorn with her grandpa, there were men that tried to woo her over, but she never gave them the chance because she knew they only cared about her looks and easy-going personality. “Ron…”
“Ah! I must have sounded so corny, talking like a fool!? Listen to me blabbering nonsense.” Ron got nervous again, he gathered the shattered pieces in the palm of his hands and looked at it. “I really need to be more considerate before touching something without permission. Um…”
“Give it here…” Sherry asked in a calm voice, waving a hand to tell him to come closer. Ron did so, walking over to her bed carefully. She didn’t know why, but her heart sped up just a tad-bit faster than usual.
And when he reached her, chills went down Ron’s spine in response as Sherry placed her hands together underneath his. “W-Wait, Sherry why are you-”
He tried retracting his hands back, but she wasn’t letting him. “Easy Ron, you’re going to break it some more if you drop it.” Sherry warned, wearing a charming smile that made him feel flutters in his stomach. Ron nodded and did his best to stay cool, allowing Sherry to work her miracle.
Ron felt Sherry’s transmutation magic flowing through his hands. It was a weird, yet good feeling that he didn’t mind. They watched as the shattered crystal pieces radiated a shimmering rainbow color as it hovered over their hands while swirling around. The pieces connected to one another like an unfinished puzzle until it was completely put together, becoming whole once again.
“That was really cool, Sherry.” Ron admired her talent in transmutation magic, it was something extraordinary and to behold. “I’ll be careful and put this away for you.” He tried to move his hands away from hers, but she wouldn’t let him. “Hmm? Sherry-”
“Hold on, Ron. Didn’t you tell me that you wanted to show how reliable you are?” Sherry questioned him, sounding mischievous. “If you really mean that…why don’t you take this with you. It’s yours to keep.”
He couldn’t believe what she was saying, Ron was bewildered. “Y-You want me to keep this!? But this is something precious to you, isn’t it? I’ll be leaving with the others, what if I break it and-”
“You won’t!” Sherry’s voice was full of confidence, Ron listened. “You want to show that you are reliable, right? So if you take this with you, and bring it back without breaking it, then it’ll show how considerate you are of my feelings…correct?” She gave a warm smile.
Ron was stunned for a moment, but quickly gathered himself together and nodded. “Y-Yes, I do want to show how reliable I am. I promise I’ll bring this back as a whole.” He was locked-in, Ron was not going to break his promise to her.
“Good! Then just in case, since you sound so serious. I’ll make it extra special…” Sherry then manifested her magic again, carving her name on one of the butterfly’s wings. “There, now take it with you. But know this, if you break it again, I’ll fix it…but you’ll get a scolding in return. Understand?” Sherry told him in a sarcastic, yet serious tone.
Ron wasn’t sure if he was understanding when she was being serious or not, but regardless, he vowed that he wouldn’t shatter her gift another time. “I understand…” He looked down at the butterfly, admiring it some more with disbelief. “I’ll be delicate.” Ron smiled back at her, showing his commitment.
Sherry couldn’t help but feel her ears getting hot red, so she turned away while pretending like she was tired. “Oh, man. I still feel exhausted. I’m going to get some proper sleep in bed, why don’t you check on the others. I’ll only be asleep for a few more hours.” She then tucked in her bedsheets, facing against a wall.
“Oh, um, right.” Ron stowed his gift inside his system inventory, he would admire it another time. The illusionist then walked towards the door. “Sleep well, Sherry.” He said, but before he exited, he had an idea as a way to express his gratitude. Using his own illusion magic, Ron scattered her room with dozens of beautiful butterflies.
Once she heard her door close, Sherry peeked over her shoulder and noticed the mesmerizing butterflies scattered about. Her heart pounded even faster, face flushing red now, Sherry looked away and buried her face into her pillow. ‘Why am I feeling so nervous all of a sudden? Ron…why did you have to say and do something so cool…’
Ron exited Sherry's house, still retaining a bit of his nervous emotions from what had just happened. “I really hope this isn’t a dream.” He spoke to himself, while pinching his arm to realize that it wasn’t. “Damn, it’s really not…okay, I just need to keep her gift safe and all will be well.”
“Morning Ron!” Luna shouted energetically, instilling fear and shock inside him. Anna and her had just appeared, wanting to get a start on making breakfast. “Did I hear something about a gift?”
“Uh- No! You heard wrong.” Ron tried his best to hide the fact that something happened. “What I said was, I need to lift more. Yeah, I realized that I need to work on my physical condition more. As you all know very well.”
Anna eyed Ron with suspicion, with her enhanced senses she could tell that he was hiding something from them. ‘Workout? You train alright, but you mainly work on improving your proficiency with magic rather than your muscles, hmm…’
“Say, didn’t you stay up all night with Sherry to help prepare for today’s trip?” Luna pointed out, Anna didn’t want to bring that up because she knew whatever he was hiding had something to do with his time with Sherry.
Her question sent shivers down Ron’s spine, he really didn’t want to spill the beans of what happened. “Y-Yeah, I did. B-But all we did was focus on making necessary preparations. I promise you.”
Luna doubted Ron’s words and continued to press him for an honest answer, squinting her eyes. “If that’s really all you did…then why are you acting so- Ow!
“Stop trying to get into other people's business, mouse.” Anna bonked her sister’s head to stop her from making Ron nervous, she could see the redness starting to form on his ears. “If he doesn’t want to share, then stop asking.”
Her act of mercy to get Ron out of fessing up made him feel grateful. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry for asking. Let’s just go make breakfast, I’m craving pancakes right now anyways.” Luna said, rubbing her head as she walked away.
Ron turned to face Anna, giving a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Anna. I’m sure you doubt my words as well, I just…”
Anna nudged his shoulder with her elbow in a friendly way to put him at ease. “You don’t have to explain yourself, Ron. You're right, I don’t believe nothing happened. But I can tell that something good must have happened while you two were spending time together, I’m happy for you.”
He scratched his ear, a bit embarrassed that he was caught, yet also felt good that Anna was supportive of him. “I appreciate it, Anna. Maybe I’ll tell you later…maybe.”
“I’m dying to know.” She responded with a smirk. “Well, me and the brat are whipping up breakfast, so show up in about an hour for first grabs. Oh, and get the grouch out of bed, will ya? I want him to make it a routine to eat on time himself.”
“Will do.” Ron nodded before seeing her off. ‘Come to think of it, I am curious myself what the true reason is for Barry to sleep so much? Does he really get stronger the more he naps, because that would be ridiculous.’
He strolled over to Barry’s building, waving good morning to everyone else around as he went. Once Ron arrived in front of Barry’s room, he knocked first but received no response, so he assumed that he was still sleeping and opened the door, taking a peek. ‘Ah, still sleeping like a troll…oh, there’s Puck.’
Beside Barry’s bed was Puck sleeping at the other end of his bed, unconscious as well. Ron stepped in and decided to wake up Puck first. “Hey, Puck. Anna’s making those fluffy pancakes you love so much.”
After slightly nudging Puck a bit, and hearing the words of his favorite breakfast food, the Kobold woke up. “Pan…cakes?” Puck yawned and sat up. “Ah! Good morning Ron. Did you come to wake Barry up too?”
“Yeah, Anna told me to wake up Barry. But you just so happened to be here as well.” He then looked at Barry then back at Puck. “Could you try waking up Barry for me? I think he’d be happier to see you first today, rather than me.”
Puck nodded and shook Barry like a child waking their parent up energetically. It wouldn’t take long for them to see life from Barry, his eyes flew open and looked at Puck. “Oh, hey Puck. Good morn-” He then noticed Ron. “Uh, what’s up, bookworm?”
Ron sighed, his nickname was forever set in stone to Barry. “Good morning to you too, Anna told me to wake you so that you can be on time for breakfast when she's done.”
“I’ll try, but no promises. I still don’t know why she’s wanting to act like a mom all of a sudden.” Barry stretched and sat up on his bed, a question appeared in his mind that he was curious about. “Ron, I don’t think I’ve asked you this before. But where are you originally from? You couldn’t have been living in secret inside of Puck’s treehouse.”
The elf wasn’t expecting Barry to ask him something personal. “That’s a random question to ask me all of a sudden, I didn’t take you to care about learning more about another person’s life than what is necessary.”
Barry understood why he would say that. “Fair to assume so. But it’s been on my mind for some time, all I know from what I’ve been hearing from others of this world is that elves tend to keep close to themselves and avoid humans. So given that information, what caused you to draw a part from your family?”
“Yeah!” Puck was wondering the same thing, he had no idea that Ron was hiding within his treehouse while impersonating a dragon. “Why did you live in Puck’s treehouse?”
Ron tried his best to explain how he got there at the time, but when he did try to recall the events leading to his time inside Puck’s treehouse, it wasn’t clear. “I…I actually can’t remember where I was originally from. However, I do know that I had left my clan when I was young. And during that time as a child…I think my reason for leaving was because I was bored and wanted to build a kingdom of my own, so I left and came across Puck’s clan to which I decided to take advantage for my own personal gain.”
His reason for leaving sounded likely, Barry still couldn’t get over the fact that Ron wished for building a kingdom from the ground up. “Right, you wanted to build a glorified kingdom with tons of riches. But what about your family? Did they all specialize in illusion magic like you?”
“No…whenever I try to think back on how life was back with my clan, I can’t recollect as much as I remember. But I have a feeling that my family specialized in something else…damn, what was it?” Ron searched his mind, but found nothing at the moment.
Barry could see Ron struggle to look back on his past, it was bothering the mage somewhat. ‘So I’m not the only one with poor memory, but I’m sure he can piece his together a lot better unlike mine which was taken by the gods. Still, I am curious what sort of people his family is like. Sherry, Ron, and Oswald are the only elves I’ve met so far.’
The two then heard Puck’s stomach rumble, who then became embarrassed and tapped his stomach. “Puck getting hungry, Puck going to go help make breakfast.”
After seeing Puck sprint off to join Anna and Luna, Barry suggested that they see Calista in case she’s seen any new info from scrying. They walked over to her home, knocking on her door.
A few moments later, the door was opened by Abe, unexpectedly. “Well, hey there youngins. Good morning, I take it you both didn’t come here to see the Great Abe, but rather Calista?”
“Yeah, we wanted to know if she found any recent info while we’re waiting for breakfast to be ready.” Barry explained.
“Well, she’s in her workspace at the moment, doing her mystical witchcraft shenanigans. I don’t think she would mind y’all bugging her. Come on in.” Abe replied, opening the wider for the two to enter.
Abe guided them to Calista’s workroom which was decorated with a classic witch theme. She was currently immersed with her crystal ball, it sparkled with a dark purple magic as she channeled her magic to it. Her eyes glowed with its distinct color, prying through the land of Scion in search of more clues in relation to what was mentioned yesterday.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Ron and Barry didn’t want to disturb her at the moment, but were too late once Calista noticed they were standing by the door, ending her time of scrying. “I wasn’t expecting to see you two here, how long were you both standing there for?”
“Not long, Calista.” Ron answered, feeling a bit rude for causing her to stop what she was doing. “We wanted to kill sometime before breakfast is ready, so we figured we’d pay you a visit in case any new info was picked up.”
Rising from her seat, Calista walked over to greet them with a pat on their shoulders each. “Then let’s take this chat to the kitchen over some tea and biscuit.” She then looked at Abe. “Would you please be a dear and prep them please.”
The spirit animal handler agreed to do so, and they all walked over to her kitchen, taking a seat at her table. Calista resumed talking, sharing some new information that she had gathered in relation to what was discussed yesterday.
Calista glossed over the overrun city of Haglethorn, now literally a breeding ground of dense, violent, and treacherous vegetation. Living plant beings of monstrous creations now reside in it, no longer a home to the ones before their arrival. Once Barry mentioned the possibility of a beautiful plant woman being one of the four villains to oppose them, she figured that it must have been that plant woman’s doing that resulted in the city’s downfall. But despite trying to seek out its conqueror, she experienced difficulties prying any deeper within its stronghold and lost transmission. Calista knew that this villain must have possessed some deep and powerful magic capable of rejecting her recon ability.
That wasn’t the only place that the witch checked, she tried scouting out different locations and saw multiple battles erupting across the land that involved other contestants and the villains units sent out to search for the other prisms. But even so, she could not find anyone or anything resembling a major leader of each faction. They had just learned of 4 total villains, with one of them still being unknown.
“How far are Oswald, Ned, Edward, and Sylvia from reaching their destinations. Should we be expecting them to encounter the prisms soon?” Barry asked, hoping that they’d be successful in the end.
“I’ve been tracking their progress, and to my astonishment, it seems like they’ve been gathering a bunch of other contestants for help. Soon I believe both parties will arrive at their goal, and we might see a quest update soon.” Calista mentioned, the sight of Edward and Sylvia working with other non-nightwalkers made the witch feel hopeful for a better outcome once this entire game was done.
Barry then looked at Ron and back at Calista, he wanted to know if something was possible. “Calista, by chance do you think other races like elves will eventually work together with humans in this predicament we’re all in? I mean, we have a better chance of winning if everyone works together.”
The witch sighed, thinking about the possibility and shrugged. “I honestly don’t have a clue. The elves that I know are all too prideful and reject the collaboration with most others, mainly when considering working with humans. Dwarves are more likely to join forces for a bigger cause, especially one as life-threatening as the one we’re in now. As for other races, I’d say they are more willing than elves to collaborate with humans. Which is why I hope that once this is all over, and we win this quest, that the relations with one another can improve.”
“I see…” Barry pondered about the past of this world he was in, when Thalia and Claude were alive and defending their kingdom during a dark age filled with more monsters than before. How they had to unite all forces to fight against the wicked to make for a better future.
Suddenly, Ron received a message from Anna via the system, telling him that breakfast was ready, and he relayed that info to everyone else. They all ended their discussion and moved on outside to get some breakfast, Abe tagged along just for the heck of it.
As they drew in closer to their usual breakfast area. The smell of cooked eggs, tasty pancakes, and sizzling bacon and sausages wafted through the air which woke up everyone within its vicinity. Luna was using her clone ability to offer an extra pair of hands in regard to cooking with Anna and distributing plates of food to those wanting to eat. She took this as a form of mental training when it came to multitasking.
Upon entering the scene, two of Luna’s clones greeted them and had them seated. There were bowls of fruit for them to snack on as they waited to be served soon after. Puck was helping out as well but stopped by Anna, telling him to sit with the others. The Kobold did as told and sat next to Barry, getting head pats from him.
Not long after, Kat showed up with Sherry at her side who was more rested than the last time Ron had seen her. Sherry glanced at Ron and the two locked eyes on each other for a second until Ron broke away out of nervousness, she gave a slight smile and sat next to Kat.
Abe was given a cup of apple juice and raised a brow at it, Kat was curious if something was wrong with it so she asked. “What’s wrong Abe? Why are you making that face?”
“Well…I don’t really have a physical body unlike you living people, sooooo…” Abe pointed at everyone else then back at himself, causing the group to understand what he was trying to say.
Even after realizing what he meant, Kat wondered exactly what would happen if Abe tried drinking the juice. “Just because I’m curious…could you…still drink it? I really want to know if it will phase through your body.” She asked in a shy voice, this got everyone else’s attention who wanted to know.
Now being put on display, Abe felt like he had no choice but to accept the young lady’s request for everyone’s interest. “Fine, but I think it’s very obvious what you all think will happen.” He swiped the cup up and took a swig of it. The whole group witnessed the juice slowly phase through his body until it spilled on the chair he was sitting on. “There, I told y’all it would be obvious. I don’t need sustenance unlike everyone here.”
After being guided by the wonderful scent that was a delicious morning breakfast, Buford appeared just in time to see Abe sitting in a chair with what looked like a misunderstanding. “Oh good! I’m just in time for- Huh? Um…Abe…I had no idea that spirit’s could-”
“THIS IS NOT PISS! IT’S APPLE JUICE!” Abe shouted out, causing the group to break out laughing. “Gah…at least I cracked a couple of smiles this morning.”
The entire table was served their breakfast and gave thanks to Anna as her and Luna seated with them. Barry quietly ate while everyone had their own conversation.
Kat’s talk with Calista yesterday about witchcraft made her realize how everything that she had learned back on Earth was wrong, she felt like a total idiot when Calista explained to her the meaning and rules behind black magic. Yet still Kat wanted to know everything there was about it and conversed with Calista, who also was amused by her world’s view on magic. Buford, Luna, and Abe shared crazy stories with each other mainly about stirring up harmless trouble. Anna chatted with Sherry, picking an easy topic relating to good books that they’ve read, so that Ron could hop in as well and talk to Sherry.
As he was eating, Puck tapped Barry’s shoulder, getting his attention before speaking. “Puck had another dream with big, giant glowing dragon.”
“Really?” Barry was all ears, slowly taking bites now. “What did it tell you this time?”
“Mmm…” Puck gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts. “It showed Puck a weird forest with floating orbs, and creepy noises. Puck thought it was a nightmare, but then Puck felt…sadness? Puck not sure what dragon was trying to show Puck, but the forest looked like the one Ron showed before.”
‘Sadness? I don’t understand what would be so sad about that forest, but if this dream dragon was showing Puck the exact same forest as the one we planned on finding, then that’s all the more reason to scout out that area.’ Barry acknowledged Puck’s dream and told him to keep him informed of any new dreams he has with Valkynox.
About 20 minutes passed and everyone was finished eating at the table and helped clean up. When they were done, Barry informed everyone that they would be leaving in a few hours to start their journey. With that said, Buford was asked by Calista to stay behind in the event that the moderators launched a formidable attack on their base all for the sake of entertainment for the gods. This was fine, Barry and the others thanked Buford for his help for their first travel.
Sherry went ahead and returned to her room to retrieve everything that was prepared for their leave, she would take her time to think over anything that might have been forgotten. Barry was interested in what sort of potion Sherry made out of the leviathan mutagen.
As they waited, Kat recalled last night when Barry was acting a bit off since he could have won a round of bingo had he not zoned out thinking about something. Mustering up the courage, only wanting to show concern, she brought it up to him. “H-Hey Barry! How’s your morning been so far?”
Barry replied back, sounding a bit nonchalant. “Same as any other, expecting more bullshit to happen to us…” His voice trailed off because he noticed Kat’s ghost, Dusk, messing with her hair as usual without her noticing. “Dusk is playful as usual it seems.”
“H-Huh, what do you- Ack! Dusk!” She waved her hands at her ghost to shoo it away because now wasn’t the time to play. “It’s embarrassing every time he does that, I’ll just have to get used to it.”
“Well, you’ve been working hard at effectively using your powers ever since you’ve unlocked your Class. That’s something to be proud of, especially Dusk, he’s been helpful to the group as well. I’d say you should have nothing to be embarrassed about.” Barry’s words made her feel better, she wanted to show her worth to everyone.
“T-Thank you, Barry. I’ll continue to show effort, and also make sure to train Dusk properly eventually…” She then questioned him about yesterday. “So…yesterday…”
“Yesterday?” Barry was puzzled, thinking it was about their talk about Puck again. “Are you referring to what Puck told-”
“No! No!” Kat waved her hands while shaking her head, continuing to explain what she was trying to convey. “Bingo night, I noticed that you could have won easily after all those unfortunate losses…you kind of…zoned out. I just wanted to know if you had something on your mind at the time.”
Barry remembered his memory fragment of the True Barry and Puck enjoying a party with what could have been friends in a city. He figured that even if he told her, it wouldn’t make any sense and be redundant information to know. “Oh that, at the time I was just really pissed off from losing so much that I sort of mellowed out. I realized it was time for me to pack it up and head to bed.”
Although the possibility of what he said might have been true, Kat had a gut feeling there was something more than what he was letting on. “O-Oh, then I guess I was mistaken…” She accepted his false truth, but still decided to add in something else. “B-But in any case, if there was something that troubled you…then…I…I-”
Suddenly everyone received a notification window via the system, Barry’s attention shifted to the screen with complete focus. ‘Main-Quest update related to…oh, shit. They both made it at the same time!?’ His thoughts went wild upon reading the info given.
Apparently the two crystal prisms were discovered at roughly the same time by two parties of contestants. It only made sense that Oswald and Ned were able to find one of them, while the other was discovered by Edward and Sylvia. Barry opened up his map and saw two pinged locations far away from each other.
Calista sat down on a table and brought out a crystal ball, now in the process of scrying to observe the situation going on at both sides. Everyone gathered near her while giving her space to focus on peering through the land. They all patiently waited to be fed info about what was going on for a couple of minutes in silence, the anxiety and suspense filling the air.
But as time continued to go on, Calista made painful expressions for a few moments until she broke out her trance. “What’s wrong?” Barry asked. “Were you able to see anything?” Everyone was dying to know what was going on.
The witch shook her head, troubled by a throbbing pain in her body due to some sudden strain. “No, I tried to take a gander at both locations, but I felt like my presence was being rejected the same way I tried taking a deeper look at Haglethorn. I believe it’s the moderator’s influence on the events taking place, they must not want uninvited spectators like me from taking a look-see.”
Upon hearing this, everyone became nervous. “These fucking bastards, we’re not even allowed a peek.” Barry cursed. “I guess we can only hope that both sides emerge victorious and retrieve the prisms.”
“Then we should get a head start and investigate that area for the 4th prism.” Anna suggested, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
“Our carriage awaits for our expedition whenever y’all are ready.” Abe informed, snapping his fingers and manifesting his spectral carriage into thin-air. “I’ll be waiting for our next grand adventure.” He then went off to take a seat in his coach box.
Sherry rushed back to the group after gathering all the necessary supplies for the group, she was worried about the events going on at the two prism locations and was even more anxious about it after being told that Calista couldn’t see anything from her crystal ball.
Kat didn’t get to finish telling Barry what she wanted to say, who then walked off to talk to Sherry about the mutagen he gave her. ‘Maybe whatever was on his mind yesterday is resolved…but still, I didn’t get to tell him that I’m here to listen to anything that’s troubling him. I know so little about him…’ She thought, just wanting to be a good friend.
The alchemist exchanged everything she had prepared for Barry’s group, stocking them with healing potions, antidotes, even some potions to temporarily enhance their capabilities. Sherry made sure to provide them with a lot of good stuff that made them all impressed.
Finally, Sherry showed Barry the thing he had requested before. “Now listen, I’ve taken precaution if things go wrong with this potion by crafting some remedies.” She told Barry, in her hand was a green and light-blue liquid potion that had weird floating amoeba’s inside. “Unlike last time, don’t chug this like a maniac. Take it slow.”
“This is the result??” Barry had to admit, he was weirded out by how it looked. “This thing doesn’t even look safe to drink. Are you sure it’s done?”
“Yeah, I know what I did. And I know that this looks oddly disgusting, but I promise you, it’s ready for consumption. But like I said, I’ve taken precaution, so here you go.” Sherry then handed the potion into Barry’s hand and quickly transferred some remedies in both hands.
Barry eyed the potion then back at Sherry, as well as everyone else that was watching on the sideline. “Well…if you say so. Fine, fuck it.” He popped open the potion and took a small sip as told. Needless to say, he was grossed out and everyone a bit at his expression. “Don’t you have some control over the taste? It tastes so fishy.”
“Not as much as you think, but stop complaining about it and finish it off. You're the last person I expect to complain, so toughen up like usual.” Sherry poked fun at him, trying to provide some encouragement.
He sighed and continued taking small sips in between. Barry could feel something in his body as he continued, as if he was undergoing a change inside. ‘I’m definitely downing some juice or anything to wash off this taste from my mouth.’
When he finished, Sherry took the empty flask from his hand and observed his condition with intense focus. “Feeling strange? Anything at all?” She pressed a hand on his forehead for temperature, then stretched his face with both hands that made everyone even more amused. “No nauseous feelings or-”
“I’m fine!” Barry waved off her concerning gestures of playing doctor, bothered by the act of being treated like a patient. “I’m not feeling sick, but I do-” His breathing then started becoming a bit irregular. “Crap.”
He sat down on a chair, trying to adjust to his bodily changes. All eyes were on him now, concerned for his well-being. “Don’t worry, I’ll be…okay.” Barry reassured the group, trying to focus on maintaining his composure.
Soon after, the intensity going on inside him began to diminish into nothing and his body settled down after being regulated. A notification window appeared in front of him, and upon reading it, he was both relieved and thrilled to see what it was. “Looks like I’ve obtained a useful ability, yet again. Thanks, Sherry.”
He noticed that every take of fresh air was cleaner and a lot smoother.
“Uh, of course. I’m assuming you received a system notification about an ability you received. Care to share to us what it is.” Sherry asked, peaking everyone’s interests.
Barry looked at the lake, he honestly wanted to test out his new ability before he left and decided to do so. Everyone then watched as he sprinted off towards the lake and took a dive, submerging underwater.
A couple of moments later, they witnessed Barry jetting high up into the air after breaking the surface. Jets of water from his feet propelled him upwards for a brief moment before ending, letting him fall back down to the lake. “This is awesome!” He couldn’t help but express a small look of excitement on his face, to which everyone caught a glimpse of. It was one of the very few times that he had shown enjoyment.
He then jetted across the lake with amazing speed. An idea came to mind and he brought out his trident. Now in his hands, with the combined abilities granted from it and his new skill, he was zooming with astonishing speed that stunned his audience.
“H-He’s pretty fast all of a sudden!?” Luna commented with a look of shock.
Puck wanted in on the fun and rushed over to get Barry’s attention so that he could enjoy the thrill of going fast. Barry figured why not and placed the Kobold on his back and blasted off, the cheers of Puck echoed through the air.
After having his moment of fun, Barry and Puck returned back with the others who were saying their byes already to the rest of the base. Barry’s group which now consisted of Abe, Anna, Luna, Kat, Ron, Puck, and Barry, all got ready to board their carriage.
Anna volunteered to give Abe directions to the suspected location of the 4th prism so she sat up front with him, while everyone else went on inside the carriage.
Ron was the last person to enter the carriage, but before he did, the mage paused briefly and hesitated to look back because he wanted to see Sherry’s face one last time. That was when he heard her voice call out to him from behind. “Hey, Ron!” his ears perked up and looked back.
“Be careful out there.” Sherry said with a beaming smile that sparked motivation inside of him. “And remember, reliable, got it. I’ll still be here, so do your best!”
The bookworm had trouble containing the happiness he was feeling, his face getting redder by the second. “R-Right. I’ll be back, reliable as ever! Take care, Sherry!” He really wished he had more time to stay and talk with her but knew the quest was more important.
As Ron went inside, Anna was curious about what really happened between the two but was content in knowing that something good must have occurred. She then turned to face Abe and nudged him on the shoulder. “We’re all ready to go, oh Great Abe.”
The specter grinned and tilted his hat, taking the reins of his horses in each hand. “Alrighty, finally someone calls me by my proper name.” He then cracked the reins, commanding his horses to gallop out of the gates. “Another crazy trip, here we go!”
