Chapter Text
“Hey Emily?”
Rhizotomist looked up from her handiwork: a bandaged hand that was slowly turning red from blood.
“Yes?”
“Do you ever want more from your life?”
She sighed softly.
“Of course. Everyone does. Why do you ask?”
Magic Item Keeper rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
“I feel like somethin’s missing,”
“Hmm…”
There was a brief pause.
“Are you single?”
The blonde raised a brow.
“I hate to break it to you Emily, but you’re not exactly my type,”
“I’m not asking you out, stupid, I was asking if you had someone significant in your life. Maybe you’re lonely.”
“I’m not exactly the dating type, and besides, I have Eli to keep me company,”
The doctor finished patching up the injured man and sighed.
“If you say so...You’re all done,”
“Thanks.”
Magic Item Keeper lightly rubbed the bandage and stood up.
“Here’s some salve to rub on that later. And don’t forget to change the bandages! I don’t want to see you here again for a long time, Norton Campbell!”
“Yes mom!”
Norton called sarcastically on the way out of the clinic.
He wasn’t alone per say. Eli, his familiar, was bound to him for life, so he would always have that companionship. Emily asked about a lover, and his thoughts traveled to the shapeshifter. Eli was just a good friend, a business partner, not someone he could hold in his arms.
Norton pulled out a small medallion from his pocket, and tossed it a foot away from where he stood. There was a shower of blue spirals and sparks of red, then a black void appeared from the midst of the cacophony of colors. It slowly broadened enough to where a horse could run through. Norton stepped through the portal, and entered the Magic Item Shoppe.
“Eli, I’m back!”
Norton said, coughing into his sleeve. A cerulean owl swooped down from a bookshelf, and quickly melted into a man before the blonde.
“Welcome back. How was your visit to Dr. Dyer’s?”
“The bite from the goblin wasn’t too horrible, Emily says-”
But before Norton could say another word, the other slapped him in the face.
“Norton Campbell, I swear, stop being so reckless! You always put yourself in dangerous situations! You’re lucky that the goblin didn’t bite your whole arm off!”
Eli was more of a nagging parental figure than a magical assistant. Norton rubbed his cheek where he had been assaulted. It stung.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry...but the gold that we got from that expedition was worth it,”
Norton replied with a mischievous smile. Eli frowned and shook his head.
“You need to worry less about what you’ll gain and more about what you could lose,”
The hooded man turned from the other, and disappeared into the clutter of the magical shop. Norton picked up his medallion off of the hardwood floor, and followed his familiar.
-
The fire was too hot. He was suffocating in the smoke. The dragon’s calls deafened his ears. He was extremely burnt, and his whole body screamed in agony. He weakly muttered a prayer to end his suffering.
“Norton, wake up!”
The blonde opened his eyes. He was no longer in the charred village. Eli was stooped over him with a concerned frown on his half masked face.
“You were-”
“Having another nightmare? Yeah, don’t have to tell me twice,”
He leaned up and wiped some sweat off of his brow. He took some deep breaths.
“Had any late night customers?”
Eli sighed.
“No...Would you like some chamomile tea?”
“Nah, I think I’ll go out for a walk. Thanks though,”
Norton threw his legs out of bed and stood up. He laid an unsteady hand on Eli’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m okay,”
Eli said nothing, but nodded, and returned to the shop downstairs.
With shaking hands Norton pulled on some shoes, and left the shop.
-
The ocean was indifferent to everyone. It did not matter if you were poor or wealthy, if you were hideous or stunning, if you were youthful or old, the water would chew you up and spit you back out as if you were nothing.
Norton loved the sea.
The blonde abandoned his shoes and allowed his toes to sink into the sand as he walked along the shoreline. The cool night air and the ocean breeze calmed him in ways that no potion nor person could.
Crabs scuttled along out of the man’s way as he crossed the sand, and the moon hung beautifully in the clear night sky. It’s reflection caught the water in a silvery sheen, and the light bounced all the way to the shore.
Norton’s eye caught sight of a mass lying on the beach a few feet in front of where he stood. He was just passing by, he didn’t need to stop to investegate, however, something was off about the form on the beach. The blonde decided to take a closer look.
He leaned over it, and pulled away some of the sea weed that had clumped up and covered the mass. Norton jumped back in shock as he realized what he had stumbled upon.
-
Eli’s head turned curiously to the formation of a black void in the middle of the shop.
“Norton?”
He inquired.
Magic Item Keeper stepped out of the portal, carrying a beautiful, unconscious creature. A mermaid.