Cabinet of Mischief

Author's Note: This story was written in an interactive format with the participation and engagement of the live audience through chat. Throughout this story you'll find text formatted in this manner: I.E.: <Wishes to sponsor the Character an item name.> This is how the chat interactions look like. These are messages written by the people who were in the audience on the night of the story.

She pushed her window open; a gust of fresh and chilly morning breeze washed over her like a wave of freshness. She took in a deep breath, savoring the fresh air and filling her lungs with it, waking her mana and body alike. She rejoiced in the refreshing freshness, but that triggered a certain uncertainty within her. Her body morphed into male’s body for a moment, and then into a young girl’s body, then again into a cat, and at last back into her original form – a red-haired young witch.

She poured herself a herbal brew, a tea of sorts that had mythical properties that no one could fully grasp, including herself. There was a word engraved on her wooden cup, ‘Max’. She traced it with the tips of her fingers, a faint smile formed on her face.

“I’m Max, and this is my story.”

Her gaze darted to a black ingredient’s cabinet lining the wall next to her cauldron.

As per usual, it did not take long for her first client to appear. A soft knock on the door that sounded almost hesitant. She pried the door open, it resisted at first and then swung open with a loud squeak. On her porch stood a young girl, a teenager. Max ignored the obvious signs that would point at her being anything but an average girl. Velvet robes, pointy hat, all the signs that said she was a witch as well. Max smiled warmly.

“Come in, what seek you today?”

The girl glanced up at Max and arched an eyebrow. Her expression was cold, stern, emotionless. Max stepped aside.

“Come in, don’t be shy. I am Max the traveling witch, here to serve all and any. What is your desire?”

The young girl threw a glance at Max and entered her hut without hesitation, making her way into the large open space next to the kitchen and circling around the cauldron. She pointed at Max, then at herself. Max squinted, trying to grasp her request.

“Ah! Gotcha gotcha!”

Max quickly made her way to the ingredients cabinet and tapped on it a few times, awaiting the ingredients to appear magically within it, as they always did. In her mind she whispered, and her thoughts were heard by those who provide the ingredients. ‘Little girl wishes to be like me, little girl needs a potion of power. That would require truly otherworldly ingredients.’.

N.T. let's see what our sponsors have in store!

. <BREAKM

F.A.: ooh she'll definitely need this! Sweet and Sour Frogs' Legs

A.H.: Power usually comes in the form of a Cracked Novacluster, tough she might need to get creative with that.

C.N.: Hmm…something otherwordly…the most potent magical item I own is this. I gladly give it to Max: Phönixfeder

L.L.: 100% needs a Happiness Juice !!!

R.A.: Some protein in the form of Smoked Chicken can go a long way!

A.K.: A magical bauble of unknown properties Pearl of Tides

N.N.:

R.T.: mayhaps a tincture to enhance it Grade 1 Gemdraught of Intelligence

Max heard an all too familiar to her rattling within the cabinet as various ingredients got stored on the shelves. She grasped the handles and swung it open, marveling at the beauty before her. Items she had never seen before, items that radiated power that made her curious.

She grabbed the frog legs and threw 1 into her mouth, chewing on it as she proceeded to pick up the other ingredients. The young, unnamed witch stared at her in sheer terror, fascinated but also petrified by the items that Max had just acquired. Max made her way to the cauldron, spat out the bones of 1 of the frog legs into the liquid and then proceeded to toss in a feather that radiated light, the rest of the ingredients followed soon after.

Some of the potions and fluids she tossed in with the flask, others she poured in and kept the empty flask. She glanced at the last item in her hand, a pearl, and then smiled, pearls were pretty, she liked pearls, so she chose not to toss it in but use it as a topping.

The young girl in velvet robes could hear the liquid within the cauldron bubble furiously and crackle ferociously. Max paused, thinking for a moment.

“I forgot… a…. this…” she approached the cabinet yet again and tapped on it curious as to what will appear in it, uncertain what the potion she is brewing will actually do.

F.A.: ok, here goes my most potent item Maiden's Heart

The cabinet rattled. From within it a pained, agonizing scream echoed, muffled, fortunately for all, by the cabinet’s door. Some red liquid dripped out from the bottom of it. The young girl recoiled, concerned by what she had just witnessed. Max opened the cabinet. Within it in a puddle of red, dripping liquid, laid a heart. She smiled, her grimace twisted into a menacing grin. The young girl held her breath, scared.

R.A. <looks worried

M.F.: oh thats where nik got the heart

M.F.: i see

A.H.: Oh heavens…

A.H.: Please continue!

M.H. has been delivered. Thank you generous sponsors!

N.N.: if i knew it was that easy to get a heart, i wouldn't need all those knives

F.A.: now it will be a strong potion

F.A.: or pudding, dunno what this witch is cooking ^^

C.L.: Mmm puddinggg…

Max approached the cauldron, with a still beating heart in her hand and tossed it into the liquid. It boiled and then hissed, the fluid evaporated rapidly, filling the room with pink fog, and the remaining few drops within the cauldron rolled around. Max carefully picked them with a dripper, and dripped them into a glass, tossing in the pearl and handing the glass to the petrified girl.

The girl took it into her shaking hands. Her eyes were as wide as full moons, her gaze was glued to the questionable substance she had just received. Max smiled at her.

“Drink up, be like me and then be on your way. I have other clients to tend to.”

As Max turned, the girl, without hesitation, tossed the glass over her shoulder. The pearl shot out like a bullet and disappeared through the window, the few drops of fluid within it, each resisting merging with the other, splattered around the room and the glass itself disappeared into the floor.

A.H.: Now that is a curious drink.

Max threw a glance over her shoulder after hearing the sound of breaking glass. A round hole in her window made her puzzled but did not bother her.

“Very well then! Off you go, chop chop, I just heard a calling of a new client, must be on my way.”

She pushed the young girl to the door, opened it, pushed her out, and then slammed the door behind her.

A.K.: This is one half-assed witch. Or perhaps exactly what one would expect

R.A.: was the intended effect to traumatise the girl? LOL

The hut twisted, rotated, turned inside out and folded in on itself a few times before popping into existence elsewhere. Somewhere dark. The air that blew through the window was not fresh, it was damp and stale, a scent of a cave. Max sniffed it and sighed.

“Ew, caves.”

A moment later, a knock on her door was heard. It surprised her, she did not expect a new client that soon but assumed she had nailed the teleport, which she did.

At the door stood the same girl. Max pondered, glancing her up and down.

“Back for more!? Come on in.”

The girl entered again, without a single word escaping her tightly sealed lips. She glanced around the room. Nothing changed, well, mostly. The chair seemed to wink at her, but she ignored it.

“What now?”

Max pondered. The girl pointed at herself, and then the floor. Max thought about it long and hard.

“Do you want to be… turned into a floorboard?”

The girl gasped, shocked by Max’s assumption and then shook her head.

“Then… what?”

The girl sighed again and pointed at the cabinet.

“Oh you want…” but her thoughts were interrupted by another knock.

Max opened the door and gazed upon 2 distressed men. One that looked like the most stereotypical detective – tall, pink hair, hat, long coat, a notebook in hand. And another that resembled what could best be described as an incompetent sidekick. Totally out of breath, a perplexed look on his face, confusion sowed into his eyes, and his mind likely in disarray.

“My, what an esteemed client, please come in,” she stepped aside gesturing them in.

“Oh thank you great traveling witch. We have heard many tales of you.”

The detective smiled brightly, showing off his charisma. His sidekick struggled to utter a single word out that max disregarded. Sidekicks were never of importance anyways and she knew that.

“Flattery,” Max commented.

“Honesty!”

The detective insisted.

“Right! So what’s the issue, detective…?” she queried him for his name. The pink haired detective ran his fingers through his hair, combing it back and smirking confidently at her.

“Detective Herpida, the finest gentleman in all the lands, the wittiest detective, problem solver, and so much more, whatever you desire me to be.”

Max’s expression turned from gentle and smiling to annoyed very quickly.

“Uhuh…”

“Ahem, anyhow. We were on a case of a missing maiden, however, our search led us to this cave, a whole underground maze created by cultists… We found her bloodied corpse, with her heart ripped right out of her chest.”

Max gasped, genuinely surprised.

“Ah! That’s… terrible.”

The young girl shot a glance at Max, then at the ingredients cabinet that had a puddle of blood beneath it, then sighed and inconspicuously shuffled her way toward the cabinet, to cover the blood on the floor.

F.A.: better hide the evidence, with an Invisible Crayfish!

The detective continued to explain their findings, that despite the discovered corpse they have failed to find the murderer, the weapon, or any other evidence. That they needed help, a potion of enhancing senses so they, like search hounds, could find the culprit. In the meantime, a miniature invisible crayfish crawled out of the cabinet, armed with a mop, and per the young girl’s command, began to clean up the evidence.

C.N.: but when the crayfish is invisible…uhm..does it even hide anything then? *ponders*

V.M. agrees wholeheartedly with Full AhoyAlpha.

F.A.: hadn't thought about that, but eh we will see

F.A.: guess this is what happens when you gift your most powerful items on the first opportunity xD

The young girl kept checking but there still much blood that remained to be cleaned up, and the detective’s tale was coming to an end. The young girl tapped the cabinet nervously, ‘something, anything, now, do it now.’.

A.H.: Now that is the right time for some quality Realm Reborn Red.

C.A. expected of Herpida's famous brother!

L.L.: Prismatic Heart (Right) !! :3

A bottle of wine appeared in the cabinet, and then another dozen. A few of them broke, spilling out from inside it onto the floor and the puddle of blood on it. The young girl gasped, stepping out of the puddle. Max turned to face the cabinet.

“Hey you, don’t touch what’s not yours.”

The detective’s eyes caught a glimpse of the girl leaving behind blood red footsteps.

“Hold right there!”

A.K.: A whole bunch of Terebinth

A.K.: Maybe some magic ink could help hide something Enchanted Mythril Ink

C.N.: just hire some bozja veterans and pay them with Bozja-Goldmünze

. Accepted!

A.H.: Bribery!

F.A.: I love bribery!

O.F.: It's crazy to thank that a witch like Max doesn't have a Magicked Stable Broom stowed away somewhere.

C.L.: Bribery pays the bills

A.H.: And what would Max do, sweep up a liquid?

C.N.: Matoya probably stole all of them out of rivalry

Max gasped, “My floors!” the girl shrugged and tapped the cabinet again. From within it, with a lot of cursing and grunting poured out 3 men armed with brooms and mops, into the blood and wine fell a few golden coins. The men quickly poured various fluids onto the floor and began cleanup, cursing in a language that no one in the room could understand.

The detective, along with Max stared at the scene before them in awe. Within a few minutes the floor was cleaned up and the men climbed back into the cabinet, somehow fitting into it and disappearing as soon as they did.

“So, sensory enhancing potion?”

The detective nodded silently.

“On it!”

Max trotted up to the cabinet and tapped on it. ‘Let’s see what we’ve got. We really have to blow their senses up so they can solve this mystery.’.

C.N.: xD

F.A.: this calls for… Potentially Body-enhancing Materials

A.K.: An enchantment for one's eyesight Heavens' Eye Materia X

O.F.: Dunno if a Rathalos Scale+ can blow up senses, but it certainly can blow up something, yus!

C.N.: having some Revitali EX , is never a bad idea

F.A.: oh, also found some Blood Red Eye Drops

R.T.: Can never go wrong with this beauty Thavnairian Onion

R.A.: how about some Orange Juice for flavour and vitamin C? C for See

R.A. grins.

A.H.: From my personal experience, Hand-poured Coffee is good at enhancing senses.

O.F.: Is it weird that I want some coffee with onion now?

A.K.: Yes

R.T.: lol yes

N.R.: ok you can start

C.N.: Carrots improve your eyesight apparently – Coerthan Carrot

F.A.: I feel like making a many-layered joke, but I can't think of one right now

The cabinet rattled, groaned and burped, then settled down. She opened it with a sly smirk, admiring the strange new items and curious what’ll come out of it. She threw a dragon’s scale over her shoulder, it plopped into her cauldron. Then with a snap of her finger she made the rest of the ingredients float out, form a line, and make their way to the cauldron as well. Each vial spilled its fluids, and each solid object diced itself up and fell into the liquid beneath with a gentle ‘plop.’.

A.H.: If that concoction doesn't induce blindness or temporary madness, I'll be impressed.

Detective admired the witch’s magic, he had huge respect for the wizards and witches, knowing full well what they’re capable of.

“So, uhm, what’s this going to do?”

Max smirked excitedly and replied in a playful, hang singing tone as she swirled her finger, making the massive spoon in the cauldron spin, swirling the mess below.

“Not~A~Clue.”

The detective raised his finger in a protest but his words were muted. He spoke, he spoke a lot, he was protesting the entire time she was brewing the potion but not a single sound escaped his lips.

“It’s fine it’s fine I’m a professional.”

Max pondered as she stirred the brew.

“Hey, girl, what makes witch a professional?”

The young girl glanced at Max, shrugged, sighed, and then sat down on a chair, not the 1 that winked.

Max nodded, “yeah that’s what I thought as well, nothing really. We make things, do magic, sometimes magic does us…” the cauldron bubbled violently. The lights went dim, as if the energy from the light crystals was sipped by an unseen parasite. Max stared at the cauldron.

“Uh-hoh… that’s a new one for me.”

The detective’s gaze filled with terror, he stared at the contents that began to swirl on their own, resembling lava in appearance.

C.N.: Anni Kedontaus: Something something Lava Toad

From deep within the cauldron a roar was heard. It escaped the cauldron and shattered windows, deafening all those in the room. A roar of an apex creature, a beast of legends, a monster of unfathomable power. From within the lava-like swirling substance emerged a beak, and then a scaly head of a read lizard. A moment later the rest of its body emerged through the opened portal. It hissed, spat a flame, though small in size, Max could tell it was a mighty creature.

F.A.: a lizard that can read, oh my

A.K.: A beaked lizard?

O.F.: That Rathalos Scale+ did more than it was supposed to >.<

F.A.: quick, use the Lizardsbane Oil!

Barely larger than a kitten in size, the beast glared at 1 person at a time and then flapped it’s mighty, albeit tiny wings and took flight, it swirled around the room wrecking chaos upon the detective and his sidekick before darting for the ingredients cabinet out of which a lava toad leapt out, and then disappeared into the tiny dragon’s mouth.

Vikiridi Mikwel bursts out laughing at Full AhoyAlpha.

The beast grew slightly in size from its meal, landed on the cabinet and then stared at the detective.

“Who dareth call upon the great Paithyss?”

Max shrugged.

“These two clowns needed aid, figured what’s better suited than the finest of search hounds in all of myths and legeneds?”

The dragon snapped its gaze to the witches’.

“What?”

Max grinned, “seek out what they need and I shall grant your wish.”

O.F.: HAHAHA, I can't… that killed me – tiny Paithyss XD

A.H.: Dare I ask who Paithyss is?

A.W. dragon, among the wisest ever!

C.N.: Orlena Frex: The mighty and wise dragon Paithyss, who Ashy and Luna played some huge chess with.

A.H.: My memory seems to be as sturdy as a swiss cheese…

Max knew that dragons were greedy, and their greed was their weakness. Promise to fulfill their wish and they’ll obey. Promise them a mountain of gold and they’ll sit and give you a paw. The dragon eyes her for hints of hesitation and deceit, but found none.

“Any?”

Max nodded. The dragon glanced at the detective.

“Speak.”

Suddenly detective’s words were audible again. He apparently hadn’t stopped talking and so when his words could be heard again, they were naught but a violent waterfall of thoughts, emotions and swear words in the most unfiltered manner imaginable. An esteemed detective cursed worse than a sailor. Max couldn’t help but enjoy the scene as she sipped on her herbal tea.

The dragon listened attentively, ignoring most that was said and only picking out the key points that were of importance: murder, heart, blood, cult, body.

“Fools you be for not seeing the truth.”

The detective paused midsentence.

“And it’s… huh?”

The dragon tapped his foot on the cabinet.

“The heart lies whether you are looking.”

Max recoiled as the detective’s gaze fell on her.

“No, mine is pre-occupied, don’t look at my heart.”

“Has the killer been in this room all along?” the detective queried of the wise dragon.

“No, the killer is far beyond your grasp and this realm,” the dragon replied, sneering.

“But the evidence you so seek has been wiped before your very eyes.”

The detective glanced at the floor.

“It was wine?”

The young girl sighed, leaned back in the chair and with amusement observed the scene unfold.

“Was it?”

The dragon smirked and glanced at Max.

“What say you, o’witch o’travel.”

C.N.: Full AhoyAlpha: Augmented Murderer

Max shrugged.

“Not guilty, it was just another ingredient that, I’m not even sure what it did.”

The young her pointed, without looking, behind Max. When Max turned, she could see her kitchen cabinet hungrily devouring yet another set of plates.

“Oh, amusing, oi give me that.”

She reached her hand into the cabinet’s mouth, taking a grasp of a small plate and pulling it out.

Paithyss opened the ingredient cabinet’s door with his claw and peeked inside. There lied half of another heart, a fresh, right half of a heart, bloodied and still warm, and beside it laid the murder weapon, labeled as such as well.

“See?”

The dragon sneered. Max yawned.

“I don’t know where that came from, actually no clue…”

Detective turned to face her.

“That’s what they always say…”

Max smirked, “I know right? So cliché, I love it! Always wanted to be a part of murder mystery, but now that that’s solved, you may be on your way.”

She smiled excitedly, genuinely happy to have been a part of the murder tale. The door opened, the floor boarded creaked and catapulted the detective out the door, and in an instant, the hut was gone, along with the detective’s sidekick.

Knock on the door, a welcome and a smile. In the room now stood a young couple that were resisting each other still. The young man smiled every time he glanced at the girl, she in turn kept rolling her eyes, but every time she averted her gaze, a smile appeared on her lips, albeit faint, but obvious enough.

“So, what brings you here?”

Max queried, feeding half the bloodied heart to her newly acquired mimic kitchen cabinet whose hunger seemed insatiable.

The man glanced at the young woman and smirked.

“Uhmm, we wanted, I wanted, a.. lo…” as he began to speak he felt an elbow dig into his ribs.

“Friendship binding! Potion or something. This dork here keeps saying he wants to know more about me, so can you make it easier to share things among us?” she spoke calmly for the most part, continuing to jab him in the ribs with her elbow.

“That…” the guy agreed, his gaze nervously traversed the room, and his jaw hung open wider with each oddity he saw. An all-devouring kitchen cabinet, a tiny dragon that sat upon a cabinet. Further in was a bedroom of sorts, with a very confused and terrified looking guy staring anxiously at the couple, and a bored young girl that was leaning back in a chair, swirling her finger around in the air.

“Got it. Binding, relationships, ah, young love…” she smirked at them and walked past them. The woman protested but her words were silenced just as the detective’s were before. Max walked up to the cabinet.

“Please, take a seat, this’ll take a few minutes,” she replied softly and knocked on the cabinet. In the meantime the man took the woman’s hand, guiding her to the nearest chair and offering her a seat. Unbeknownst to him, the chair smirked.

O.F.: HAHAHA

R.A.: is the chair feeling hungry too?

O.F.: A Immutable Solution might come in handy!

C.L.: Perhaps Prismatic Heart (Left) might jazz it up

A.K.: They just need some Heart Chocolate

C.N.: together with lucy's right half, we would even have a full one 😮

V.M. winks at Cin NamonAlpha.

F.A.: whats this? Note Concerning an Airship Flying Low probably not important…

C.N.: Azeyma-Rose the flower of love might come in handy as well

The woman tried to scream, but as her voice was still silenced, the man remained oblivious as to why she was squeezing his hand tighter and tighter, his gaze was glued to the witch as she picked ingredients out of the cabinet. One could say he was dense, too dense to realize that something was wrong. She pulled on his hand, and then bit it. But he remained ignorant, only smiling like an idiot to what he assumed to be her signs of affection for him, and perhaps nervousness.

A.H.: HA! A little bit of nibbling, eh?

C.L.: Little noms never hurt

M.F.: Damn she dodged a bullet by getting eaten tbh

Max held a left half of a heart, then shot a glance at her kitchen cabinet to which she had fed the right half a moment ago.

“CABINET!?”

The dragon laughed. The man’s gaze darted to the kitchen cabinet that hung lazily off the wall, seemingly well-fed and in food coma. Max stormed across the room to it, pried its jaw open.

“Hold this,” she demanded, handing half a bloodied heart to the young man and then shoving her hand into the cabinet.

Her hand slipped over its slimy tongue and into its guts. Rummaging through the shredded kitchenware, clay and wooden alike. Splinters dug into her skin, but she ignored the pain. The client was of higher priority. At last she felt something soft and squishy, and pulled it out. In her hand she held a still intact right half of a heart.

“Aha! Thank you.”

She swirled on her heel, grabbing the other half from the man’s hand and combining them into one.

“Oh, your girl uhm…”

F.A.: and then he fell in love with the mimic 😮

C.L.: I could see that

V.M. bursts out laughing.

C.N.: Nothing beats a comfortable chair

F.A.: maybe a comfortable cannonball

C.L.: But a cozy blankettt

The woman’s voice finally came through in a discomfortable scream.

“MY ASSS!!!”

She shouted, her voice echoed through the hut and the forest beyond it. The man glanced down, his eyes flung open.

“YOUR ASS!”

He echoed her words, panicking on the spot, seeing the chair’s teeth-like growths biting into his woman.

“Does it hurt!?” he almost cried out.

“No, it’s just… well, imagine someone nibbling your cheeks… GET! ME! OUT!!!”

Max gritted her teeth and recoiled.

“Ugh, remind me never to sit in that chair again… ew… Anyway…” she tossed the heart into her cauldron, and then a pack of heart-shaped chocolate. She examined closely a note concerning an airship flying low and tossed it on the table, ignoring it for now. Then waited patiently.

A.H.: Nibbling cheeks isn't that unpleasant. A-at least I heard as much when strolling through Limsa.

F.A.: twenty pillows!

C.L.: uh huh…

R.A. raises an eyebrow, suspicious.

C.N.: w…which kind of cheek?

The man in panic tried to pry the mimic chair’s jaw but failed. The creature was clearly enjoying itself too much so the man did what men do best, he fought for his woman, for the one he loved. He kicked the chair, and then jumped on 1 leg since it hurt his shin more than it hurt the chair.

A.H.: Both, if you ask the right person. Probably, I-I am just making asumptions after all.

C.L.: …right, assumptions

C.N.: Aha aha…mmmh…speaking of Limsa…I have my own assumptions as well…right ^^

R.A.: …

C.L.: Effervescent Water?

R.A.: i love this guy. he really is doing his best

C.N.: Atheris Hispida: Ok, that guy is amazing!

He poked it in the eye but the chair simply moved its eye elsewhere. He poked it with a knife, but as expected, the wooden chair did not care. Max watched the scene before her with a bemused look, sipping on her tea and fiddling with a rose in her other hand. The man, being a problem solver that he was, searched for a solution, and found it. He dashed off, jumped, grabbed the tiny dragon but it’s neck, and then sprinted back.

F.A.: let's power him up!

F.A.: Max-Potion of Strength

N.S.: Start cutting some Thavnairian Onion to make him cry!

M.F.: but that only works on Max

F.A.: oh shit, I thought it was short for "maximum"

R.A.: maybe her full name is maximum…

He held the dragon’s snout against the chair’s leg and screamed, “LET GO OR BURN!”

The dragon coughed, shocked by what happened, and then screamed as he felt his tail pulled. From his mouth a plume of smoke came out, following by a roaring flame that charred the chair, leaving black soot behind on its flesh.

The chair spat his woman out, she fell out of the chair, the tip of her shirt smoldering. The panicked man threw the confused dragon away, kicked the chair over to assert his dominance, then noticing the smoldering he grabbed a bottle of water that appeared out of the thin air and poured it onto her lower back.

“Oh gods, are you alright?”

He knelt beside her, checking on her.

“Well, I got chewed up, burned, spat out and then watered… how do you think I feel?”

The man’s lips curled into a sincere smile.

“Like… a beautiful flower that you are?”

At that moment he heard Max spit her drink out as she choked on her drink. The woman just glared at him, left speechless by his words. As she contemplated what to say, he suddenly felt a thorny stem in his hand, and brought it out, holding a rose before her.

“You’re beautiful…” he said hesitantly.

R.A.: ok thats adorable :(((

C.L.: Cuteee…he poked himself.

M.F.: no NIK!!!!!!

O.F.: Ok I take it back, not adorbs. He's way too… too much 'Vik'.

F.A.: that's a one way-ticket to a thousand years sleep

L.L.: ewwwwh

C.L.: ohhh you're right…cringe…

V.M. smiles at Celia Lune.

F.A.: gonna need some Potent Liquor to wash away this cringe…

C.L.: Will Purified Coke help?

“And it’s done, congratulations,” Max clapped her hands.

“What?”

The woman hesitated.

“The potion, what else.”

Max hurried to pour it into 2 cups and handed them to the lovers.

“Now now drink up, we haven’t the time to waste.”

The man sniffed the drink.

“What? Uhm, I’ll drink first.”

He insisted, and before the woman had a chance to respond he chugged his drink and looked her in the eyes.

“Well?” she inquired. The man tilted his head to the side, “I think I lo…” but before he could finish his sentence he felt her hand on his lips, shutting him up as she chugged her drink.

“Ahh, that, tasted well?”

Max nodded.

“Not a clue what was in it but was probably sweet, not as sweet as you 2 though.”

She smiled, waving her hand to open the door.

“Now it’s about time for it, so be on your way.”

“Time for what?” the man asked and Max responded with handing him over a note of some airship flying low.

“Get your rings and happiness and all the joy in the world to you or something.”

She smirked, hurrying them out of the door. The man felt something appear around his wrist, and so did the woman. A moment later they felt weight and heart a clank. Max glanced down, and then smiled.

“Well I suppose it’s ring in shape…”

A.H.: Now that is the burden of commitment taken quite literally.

They glanced down at their hands that they were holding. A chain hung between them, attached to newly shaped bracelets on their wrists.

“Erhm, is that…?”

The man began but was interrupted by a sailor shouting.

“TOO LOW! PULL UP!”

The sails fluttered, the crew rushed to their positions, and suddenly the ship got jerked up. The woman lost her footing, falling, dragging the man down with her.

She looked him in the eyes, he replied in kind.

“I… think you fell…” she rolled her eyes and sighed, “yeah, onto the floor you idiot.”

He smirked, “I also fell…”

And thus began their journey anew, bound together by a chain that was a physical representation of their emotional bond.

Related Stories / Same World stories

Max, first story: Accidental Mischiefs

Accidental Mischiefs pt 2

World of witches, wizards, mages and all things magical