Open Magic's Brew

[Asterope]

Night of the 8th of Winter, 519 AV

She wasn't sure where she was, but it was beautiful.

Aster walked forward in somewhat of a daze; trees spread densely to either side of her, a path of grass leading her forwards. Fireflies in a multitude of of colours drifted around, flicking their lights in the evening air. Glancing down, she was delighted to see a path of flowers trailing her, small blooms springing up wherever she stepped.

She giggled to herself, then tilted her head back to peer up at the sky; it was dark, but light up brightly by stars that seemed much bigger and brighter than she ever remembered them being. There was hardly a dark spot in the sky, and across them all danced an ethereal wave of colour, shimmering greens and pinks and purples drifting like a sheer curtain over the background of glimmering stars.

Aster stood for a moment, staring in awe; something in the back of her mind wondered why she was wearing her celestial seeming if it was night, but she was too preoccupied to give the thought much attention.

"This way," a voice called from the woods suddenly, breaking her enraptured gaze from the sky. Aster tore her eyes away from the stunning lightshow; the woods around her seemed to have crept in closer, plunging her into shadows, and when she frantically glanced back up again, long, gnarled branches had blocked out the sky almost completely.

"This way!" The voice came again, more urgently. The atmosphere had shifted dramatically. Aster spun around, looking down, but there was no longer a clear path, and the flowers that had been growing from her steps had all wilted and died.

As she looked around frantically, a passage through the twisted undergrowth opened up, thorn bushes pulling aside and dark, withered trees creaking as they bent out of the way. It was narrow and dark, but it was better than nothing. "This way..." Came the voice a third time, from within the passage.

"Who are you? Where are you leading me?" Aster called, uncertainly, as she stepped towards the revealed path. There was no answer.

[Asterope]

Peering down the passage of trees and thorns, Aster couldn't see much of anything except for darkness. She squinted; was there a door at the end? It was hard to say. Around her, the trees seemed to be pressing in impossibly closer, and a lone wolf howled somewhere eerily close by, sending the hairs on the back of her neck straight up as a shiver ran down her spine.

Swallowing hard, Aster stepped into the passage; branches and twigs and tendrils of plants grew over head, closing the passage in and turning it into a tunnel of sorts. It was just slightly too short for her with her horns, so Aster ducked her head as she entered, having to keep her shoulders hunched as she walked forward. Behind her, she could hear the creaking of trees, and she was suddenly plunged into pitch blackness as the trees and bushes covered the entrance.

She couldn't help the small whimper that left her as she stumbled forward, pausing; the ground was covered in twigs and stones and tree roots. If she kept going in the darkness, she'd fall and hurt herself for sure; but she couldn't just stay there.

As she stood hunched in fear, Aster could see a glimmer of something up ahead. The tunnel seemed much longer than it had before, but there at the end, there was a door. Plain and wooden and unassuming, it emitted a soft orange glow, just enough for her to see by.

Mindful of her footing, Aster started the trek down the tight hallway towards the door, hurrying as much as she dared, clutching her cloak tightly around herself. Her cloak? When did she put that on? She was certain she hadn't been wearing it a moment ago...it was the exceptionally lovely and soft one that she'd taken off the monster's body from the crypt, as well, not her usual day-to-day rough cloak that Alard had given her. How strange.

Still, there wasn't time to dwell on it; Aster buried her fingers in the soft wool and hurried onwards.

[Asterope]

After what seemed like an eternity and much stumbling over twisted tree roots or loose stones in her path, Aster reached the door. Reaching out, she hesitantly grabbed the tarnished brass knob, and found it turned easily in her hand; the wooden door swung open surprisingly silently, for how ancient it looked.

Inside there was more darkness. Aster stepped inside cautiously; the door swung shut behind her, ruffling her hair with its movement and thudding shut ominously. A click sounded, indicating that it had locked.

Before panic could set in as she stumbled forward a few steps, a light above her suddenly flickered to light. Aster's head felt soft and fuzzy; she blinked, staring around the room she stood in. A lantern swung overhead from the ceiling, illuminating a circle around her, showing her a few things. Beyond that, darkness stretched on, so deep and black she thought maybe she wasn't in a room after all, but an endless void.

Where was she? How had she gotten there? Surely it was impossible for such a room to exist in the middle of the forest she'd been in. Still, there were more pressing curiosities now that she had a source of light and could see what was around her. To her right was a shelf, overflowing with all sorts of strange ingredients and objects. Bottles of liquids, dead insects, live insects, stones, jars with unidentifiable substances, bags of candy...a whole assortment of things. Even more tempting than the shelf was the cauldron.

A few feet in front of her, the dark iron cauldron bubbled, despite hanging over empty floor with no discernible heat source. Mist flowed from the top of it, sinking down onto the floor and rolling away. Aster approached tentatively, peering inside. The liquid inside shifted colours, deep purple, sickly green, glowing orange...bubbling all the while. A ladle sat in the cauldron, as if inviting her to stir, but something stopped her. Not yet. It wasn't ready. Suddenly, she felt herself overtaken with an intense need to fill the cauldron with the right things.

The shelf of ingredients suddenly made more sense. Aster walked over to it, perusing the shelf for a long moment. Certain things called to her, beckoning her, and unresistant, she allowed her hands to pluck them off the shelves before she returned to the cauldron...a lantern with a warm yellow glow, a white feather, and a white candle.

It needed something else, though. Her hand wandered to her throat, where Navi's tooth sat on a cord. Instinct told her that it was too precious an item to risk in this strangeness, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to listen; she just knew quite suddenly that she needed to use it. Carefully, she pulled it from where it sat around her neck, and gently lowered the maledicted dog tooth into the brew, followed by the white candle, before giving the liquid a few stirs with the ladle. Something else...that would do, but there was another brew to make, more magic to do. She could feel it.

Satisfied with her first stirring, Aster unfastened her cloak and pulled it from around her shoulders, then carefully bundled up her newfound soft woolen cloak and pushed it into the bubbling liquid, mindful not to get any on her hands. The warm glowing lantern and a white feather followed, and Aster gave the brew another few stirs, finally feeling satisfied.

That would do. Two separate sets of ingredients for two separate brews...for what, she didn't quite know. She peered down into the pot, expecting to see the bubbling liquid, but it was quite suddenly very empty except for two things at the bottom.

[Asterope]

There was still moisture clinging to the inside of the cauldron, but whatever had been brewing inside it was gone. Aster could see what seemed to be her cloak, folded neatly at the bottom, and on top of it something gleaming.

Reaching in, Aster's fingers snagged the shining item first; from the cauldron she pulled a silver chain. On it, Navi's tooth dangled, maledicted symbol carved into it still staring back at her. She'd had yet to truly explore and discover what it could do, but somehow, she felt it was better. Satisfied, she slipped the chain around her neck, the tooth settling as a comfortable and familiar weight in the hollow of her throat.

Reaching back into the cauldron, Aster pulled out her cloak, shaking it out. It was miraculously still dry, and for all intents and purposes, appeared exactly as it had been before she'd dunked it into the bubbling cauldron. Swinging it back around her shoulders, Aster fastened it again, and was startled to find the cloak emitting a soft, warm glow.

It was difficult to tell how far the light went inside the lantern's circle, but she could tell that it was bright enough to see by. A truly comforting item to have. She suddenly felt more confident, as well, though she couldn't quite place why. The remaining properties would have to be discovered, it seemed.

Behind her, Aster heard the door creak open, and she knew that her time was up in the room. Turning, she exited the way she had come. Outside, the forest was not nearly as dark and twisted as it had been, and open sky stretched up above her. The trees were still cast in shadows, but her gently glowing cloak illuminated the area around her enough to see by.

She began the walk back. Back where...? She couldn't say. Ahead, though, she could see a break in the trees. She hurried forward, steps more sure with the light that enveloped her along with her cloak, and exited the forest.

Aster blinked her eyes open and stared up at the ceiling in the dark. Her head still felt fuzzy and strange...what an odd dream. She shifted on her cot, reaching her hand up to grasp Navi's tooth, and startled when her fingers brushed a cold metal chain.

She sat upright, staring down at the chain around her neck; she knew for a fact that the tooth had previously been on a cord. Her head snapped towards the closet, where inside she'd found a loose floorboard where she was keeping a small stash of belongings she wanted to remain hidden from Alard.

The cloak was among them, bundling up the rest of her items. Was it...? It was too risky to check; the door would creak, as would the floorboard, and if she was right, then the light from the cloak could be bright enough to wake Alard. He was a heavy sleeper, but it was too risky. Still...

Somewhere inside her, Aster knew the cloak would be altered as her necklace had been. But how? Surely it was just a dream, a very odd dream...it was strange, and sent goosebumps prickling up her arms, but also a thrill of excitement through her. How strange this season was turning out to be so far, yet not necessarily in a bad way.

She supposed it remained to be seen how the rest of the season would go. Still, she vowed to herself to test out her cloak the moment she had some privacy in the apartment. Settling back down, Aster closed her eyes, but the excitement and confusion thrumming through her meant that sleep did not return until the very late hours; or perhaps it was early? Either way, the Eth slept restlessly that night, though when she finally did fall back asleep, she dreamed of nothing but darkness.