Hannah's POV
The air in the Wizard's Tower always smells like damp parchment and something burning—incense maybe, or possibly bat wings. It's dark inside, lit mostly by flickering candles and the eerie green glow coming off his massive cauldron in the corner. Shelves sag under the weight of dusty tomes, crystals, and jars full of things that twitch when you look too long.
Razmodius stands beside me, staring at the egg in my hands like it's a Rubik's Cube he's trying to solve with his mind.
"So what's wrong with it?" I ask, shifting my weight as my fingers tighten around the strange, still-glowing egg.
He strokes his chin like a wizard straight out of a bedtime story. "It's not wrong. It's... rare. This is a void egg."
I blink. "A void egg? That doesn't sound even remotely comforting. Is there a chicken in it?"
"No." He leans closer, peering into its faintly pulsing surface. "Not a regular one, anyway. You should definitely incubate it. See what hatches. And let me know what it is." Then he straightens, tone darkening. "But more importantly—this means the witch is back."
My stomach drops. "What?! You mean the witch? Your unhinged ex-wife witch? Are you saying she was on my farm? What if she turns me into a goat? Or worse—Abigail?!"
The Wizard laughs softly, like I just told him a joke, which I definitely didn't.
"She won't turn you into a goat. Probably," he says casually, which helps nothing. "She pulled a similar prank years ago—left a void egg in Shane and Marnie's coop. They discarded it at the Egg Festival, and I had to convince Marlon to keep people from panicking. They thought it was something from the Arcane."
"It is an item of the arcane," I mutter, eyeing the egg like it might explode.
"Exactly. Which is why I had to lie."
He turns toward the bubbling cauldron, the green light flaring against his long robes. "But yes... this confirms her presence. She can't cross into the town, but she can fly over it. And she can hex your livestock if she feels especially dramatic."
I blink, trying to process the fact that my chickens are now potential targets in a magical divorce.
"So... what does this mean for the talisman thing?" I ask.
"Not yet," he says, cryptically. "But this egg is the key. I knew she wouldn't be able to resist causing trouble—it's her love language."
"She... pranked me?"
"Think of it as a cursed love note," he says with a shrug. "Do you make mayonnaise on your farm?"
I stare at him, baffled by the whiplash in conversation. "...Yes?"
"Good. You'll need to make void mayonnaise. The dwarf who guards her lair has a taste for it. That's your ticket in when the time comes."
I press my fingers to my temple. "So, to recap: the witch left me a cursed egg as a prank-slash-message, I now need to make void mayo to bribe a dwarf, and eventually, I'm going to infiltrate her evil lair."
"Yes," he says simply, as though we're discussing grocery shopping.
"I miss when my biggest problem was whether or not to till the east field," I mutter.
"You'll be fine," he says, stepping toward his cauldron with renewed purpose. "You have forest magic in your blood. Her dark energy won't touch you."
"I don't have forest magic," I reply flatly.
"You do," he insists, pouring a ladleful of glowing green liquid into a small glass. "You just need help unlocking it."
He turns and hands me the cup. The liquid swirls like molten emeralds. It smells like moss and mint—and something electric. I look at him skeptically.
"Is there, like... a nutrition label on this? A side effects warning? I'm pretty sure I saw this exact substance in your cauldron a month ago."
He raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to read the Junimo scrolls or not?"
With a sigh of deep regret, I take the cup, close my eyes, and throw it back like a shot of regret-flavored tequila.
Instantly, my vision tunnels. My stomach lurches like I've just dropped off the edge of a cliff. The room spins. I feel weightless—and then, weirdly, wonderful. Calm floods my body like sunlight after a storm. My fingers tingle. I want to hug a tree. I want to be a tree. My farm is beautiful. My animals are perfect. Suddenly I see Sebastian, I wonder if Sebastian likes hugs. Wait, was that Alex just now?
The Wizard's voice floats through the magic-induced haze. "Give it one more minute."
"I want a million minutes," I mumble, eyes barely open.
And then, just like he said, everything slows. The magic recedes like a tide pulling back. My body feels heavy again, my vision clears, and the dizzy euphoria fades into memory.
"Now," Razmodius says, pulling out a golden scroll, the same kind I'd seen at the Community Center. "Read this."
I squint at it. For the first time, the symbols make sense:
"We are the Junimos... Keepers of the forest.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJgGIg40rz
This house was empty for years... The trees moved in and so did we.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhtlBIYyfC
We're happy to help... It's not our house, after all.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ4nZgMgta
So many wonderful bundles... thank you! Thank you!26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0EsfcZ9Cz
When we're done here, we'll return to the other world."
I gasp softly, staring at the glowing scroll, a dumbfounded grin on my face.
"Did your creepy little potion just make me bilingual?" I ask, still buzzed on whatever woodland voodoo I just ingested.
For the first time since I met him, the Wizard actually laughs. Like, a real one. Not a vague chuckle. It makes me weirdly emotional.
"Now you can understand the Junimos. You've taken your first real step."
Then he turns back to his cauldron, already distracted by something else.
"You've been here too long. Go. Rest. And prepare."
He waves me off with a dismissive flick of his wrist. I take one last look at the glowing scroll, then at the void egg cradled in my satchel.
A prank from a witch.
A cursed egg.
Forest magic.
Void mayonnaise.
What is my life?
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIROygYJ60C
