“Well, from what I last heard, Clara might be somewhere in the swamplands down south.” Holly explained. “You know, where all of those alchemists live?”
“Right…I’ve never been, but I know what you’re talking about.” Jet hopped to her feet. “Well, I suppose that there isn’t any time to rest.” Grabbing Holly’s hand, Jet led her best friend out of the village, using their trusty map to guide their way to the southern swamps. They knew the journey would take a few days, at least, and they didn’t want to give Clara a bigger head start than she already had.
The travel was simple at first, and Jet and Holly were almost having an experience one could define as “fun”. The weather was nice, and the roads were well-traveled and easy to follow. Jet and Holly were able to joke and look on the bright side of their situation. They were making great time, and would approach the alchemist swamps in only another day or two.
The trouble started the morning of the third day of travel. Jet’s cursed luck, all thanks to that shattered mirror, kicked in. Jet woke up in total darkness, having no idea where she was. It turned out that, during the night, Holly had rolled over Jet, squashing her flat. Then, the next morning, Holly had unknowingly folded Jet up and packed her into the bag of supplies she carried with her.
When Jet’s body reformed back to normal size, she exploded out of the bag, ripping the bag in half. The contents of the bag, including all of their food, fell onto the dirty, trodden ground. Holly had, of course, apologized quite profusely, but they were still in a particularly sticky situation without any provisions.
That evening, Jet and Holly went out to scour for some food, managing to get the jump on a horde of wild pigs. It didn’t take long for the stampede of pigs to trample Jet underfoot, squashing her onto the ground. Her own partner did the same moments later, desperately trying to catch a pig before they all escape. Jet had stuck to her boot, and was dragged along the ground behind her for the better part of half an hour.
Jet had insisted on sleeping away from Holly that night to avoid another accident. Unfortunately, Holly was stirred awake by her growling belly, and she fumbled blindly around their camp looking for food. She had stumbled into Jet, accidentally squashing her face. In her drowsy, craving brain, Holly had confused Jet for some doughy bread. Jet woke up with half of her head crammed into Holly’s mouth, and it had taken all of her strength to shove Holly away.
Horrible accidents plagued the remaining two days of the trip, not in the least limited to Holly stepping on Jet, sitting on Jet, leaving Jet behind, and unknowingly getting Jet stuck to various parts of her body or clothing. Nature itself was also cruel to Jet. She was flattened and blow for miles by the wind, trapped in quicksand, and struck by lightning. She would have most likely died without Holly’s healing magic.
Finally, the weary duo entered the alchemist swamps, and a large building came into view. Not really having any other plan, Holly and Jet pushed through the doors and stepped into the strange building. It was a place like nothing they had ever seen. Alchemists bustled left and right, running all over the place. Chemicals and magic spell books were everywhere the eye could see. Complex machinery lined the walls, and boggled their minds. Jet and Holly were reeling, when a voice shook them from their thoughts.
“Excuse me. May I help you?” A kind voice asked, Jet and Holly turned around towards the source of the voice. A girl in her twenties stood behind them, and she was dressed in a tight brown coat and miniskirt. Her chocolate colored hair flowed down past her shoulders, but was pushed out of her face by two cute hairpins. She was wearing glasses that seemed to really accentuate her piercing, hazel eyes.
“Oh…uh…” Holly stumbled over her words.
“We’re…explorers.” Jet ad-libbed. “And we’re looking for someone by the name of Clara. Do you know her?”
“Hm…I can’t say that I do.” The alchemist rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’m sorry. If she’s in the swamplands, there are many places that she may be hiding.”
“Right. Makes sense.” Jet sighed, feeling defeated.
“But, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to helping. My name is Dahlia.” Dahlia pushed her glasses up and smiled cutely. “What might you need?”
“Food.” Holly admitted, rather bluntly. Jet was surprised. “And a place to sleep.”
“Certainly. We have all sorts of delicious food here at the School of Alchemy! Right this way.” Dahlia took Holly’s hand and began leading her down one of the various corridors. Holly looked over her shoulder at Jet, who was still not moving.
“Are you coming Jet?” She inquired. Jet waved her hand at her.
“In a minute.” Jet assured her. A few moments later, Dahlia and Holly disappeared from Jet’s view. Jet was far too enraptured by the School of Alchemy to care about food at the moment. The building was huge and magnificent, and all of the marvels contained within fascinated Jet. Secretly, deep down, Jet was considering stealing something. Surely most of what this School contained could be sold for a fortune!
Trying her best to act inconspicuous, Jet glanced around at the various doors and corridors in the School’s lobby. There were passages leading to labs and experimentation rooms, as well as libraries and study areas. Hundreds of alchemists scurried about, not paying more attention to Jet than their work. Jet smiled mischievously, wondering where she should go, and hoping that there wouldn't be any guards to catch her.
Foolishly, she didn’t stop to think how her cursed luck might turn her little exploring into a life-threatening accident. What happens next?
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