Chapter 23: Ruins and Flattened Scroll Friends
"Some people have special eyes that can see the souls of the long-dead," said Sewell.
Since you can't change death, then change yourself.
"I do know such a potion. Your wisdom is admirable." Darien cast an approving look on him.
"Crows are indeed very intelligent creatures," Sewell said modestly.
Darien saw a peacock that wanted to spread its feathers.
"So this way we can see Anna's soul. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for me to lose Anna. Thank you for saving a fragile man," said Claude.
"I must also say thank you. This is indeed the best solution. It allows me to be with them in another form. Elvira, it would be a pity to miss your childhood. I think you will be a very lovely girl." Anna touched Elvira's cheek.
Elvira rested her head on her shoulder and rubbed it.
Claude looked at them hugging each other and sighed a little, a rare emotion. "I'm not even married yet, and I already have a daughter this big. I'm still surprised. Elvira, call me daddy."
Avella raised her face a little and called out reluctantly, “Dad.”
Claude immediately responded with a smile, "Hey, my dear daughter."
Darien coughed lightly. "I don't mean to interrupt your family's tender moments, but I must say this isn't a free service."
Anna said, "Of course it must not be. Please tell us what you need."
Darien liked straightforward and generous customers. "For just making magic potions, there's no need for special fees. Just gold coins are enough. One bottle of Soul Manifestation Potion costs 200 gold coins, and two bottles are 10% off, for a total of 360 gold coins. Also, to stabilize the soul upon leaving the body and prevent it from dissipating, I suggest buying a soul-gathering necklace and a soul-replenishing potion. These two items cost 400 gold coins."
The Master happily quoted a high price, which he believed his new guests could afford.
Anna glanced at Claude and said, "Then I'll pay the 760 gold coins. Can I use gems to offset part of the bill? I have a pink gem in my jewelry box that's worth 600 gold coins."
Darien couldn't resist a good gem. "Of course, I can't wait to see it."
Claude quickly said, "No, no, dear, I should be the one paying."
Anna said, "Aren't you afraid your father will break your legs? I have the dowry under my control. If you touch your property, your father will know."
Avella shrugged: “Dad, it turns out you were so poor when you were young.”
Claude narrowed his eyes: "My dear daughter, you should know that you haven't been born yet, so..."
Anna coughed.
Darien thought it was no longer suitable to stay here, so he quickly led Sevier to a strategic retreat.
The entire manor became a bit messy. All the furniture had to be covered with dust sheets, the carpets had to be rolled up and put in the storage room, and all the utensils and ornaments had to be put away...
Mrs. Fitch acted as under-housekeeper in this room, standing on a footstool and directing her little mice in their work.
"Oh no, you should go upstairs. Carpets can't be placed in the downstairs room!"
"Be careful! This is precious and fragile porcelain!"
…
Darien and Sewell had to walk carefully past her, and Mrs. Fitch thought they were quite a nuisance.
"Hey, walk faster and don't block the road. We still have a lot of things to sort out!" Mrs. Fitch gestured at them with the ostrich feather duster in her hand.
Watch your attitude! How dare you be so disrespectful to the great Master? I'm going to scratch your feather duster!
Darien was driven back to the alchemy room.
A mature and steady mage who carries the heavy responsibility of supporting his family must learn to regulate himself, so he must turn his anger into motivation and start refining medicine now!
"Lily of the Valley Juice, Holkinson's Fluid, Apatite, Firethorn..."
The herbal medicine catalog was flipping through the pages with a rustling sound. This old thing that had been passed down for hundreds of years might come to an end today.
"We are out of fresh calamus juice." Seville had to interrupt the wizard from scratching the herbal catalog.
"That's terrible!" Darien slumped in his chair, covering his head. "Will irises bloom in this season?"
"Yes, I'll let the crows find it," said Sewell.
"Let's do it this way. Find all the materials and prepare the necklace first." Darien opened the drawer and took out a beautiful gem.
Anna was beautiful, but a beautiful woman with ugly jewelry was like a flower adorned with a toad, and Darien would not allow that to happen.
He'll make it look good.
Sewell agreed, and in his pocket he carried a lens made of ground rock crystal, set in a solid gold ring and hanging from a thin gold chain ending in a gorse brooch, also the work of Darien.
Darien opened his small toolbox and took out a small hammer to hammer away at it, the fire to melt the gold, and the small chisel to carve out the dents.
Under his hands, the gold nugget gradually took the shape of a rose. It was then carefully hammered, quenched, and finally thrown into water, and an exquisite base was completed.
Engrave a rune on the back of the gem, fix it into the base, and finally hang it on the chain. The necklace that helps to concentrate the soul is ready.
The crows summoned by Seville found the blooming iris flowers, picked up the purple flowers and squatted on the windowsill, just like placing a row of coal balls by the window.
Darien was originally leaning on a chair for a break, but when he turned around, he saw several crows lingering on the windowsill and refusing to leave.
Mr. Crow now had his back to him, grinding calamus flower juice on the workbench.
I haven't touched a crow's butt for a long time. I really miss the feeling.
Darien got up from the chair quietly and walked to the window sill step by step.
The crows were not afraid of him. They squatted in a round ball and tilted their heads slightly to look at him.
Darien reached in.
The fluffy crow ball felt warm to the touch, and the surface of the feathers was a little slippery. My hand slowly moved to the abdomen, and the warm and fine fur was soft.
It feels so good to touch!
Darien touched one crow and then another, and the crows were very cooperative. They raised their wings, stood up, and showed him their soft bellies for him to touch.
So happy.
The grinding sound on the workbench suddenly stopped.
The crows on the windowsill, whose eyes had been closed by the touch, cried out, spread their wings and flew away.
Not even a feather was left.
"Now you have to think carefully about how you should compensate me." Darien looked over expressionlessly.
Seville originally wanted to pretend nothing happened, but the wizard's eyes were too sharp, and his crow's intuition told him that he couldn't get away with this matter.
"I'm more touchable," said Mr. Crow.
Darien was gifted with a large, fluffy raven.
The crow fluttered into his arms and squatted down, raising its head to look at him. It said nothing, but the expression on its face indicated that he should touch it.
Wow, what a pleasant surprise.
Darien took action on the crow's butt that he had coveted for a long time, touching it again and again, and felt extremely satisfied.
Mr. Crow said nothing, as if he was a stuffed crow, letting Darien do whatever he wanted to him.
Darien was determined to touch as much as he could, so whenever Mr. Crow lifted his butt a little and showed any intention of leaving, he would push him back into his arms and touch him as much as he could, because he didn't know when the next time would be.
Finally, when the evil hands reached under Mr. Crow's belly again, Mr. Crow, who could no longer bear it, quickly stood up and flew out of the window and disappeared.
Probably won't be coming back anytime soon.
Darien was generous enough to allow his assistant a little privacy, and he continued to brew the potion in a good mood.
Seville laid out all the materials needed on the workbench. The weight had already been measured and could be poured directly into the crucible. It didn't matter if he was not there.
The flame lit up and Darien happily threw the ingredients in, stirring everything until it melted into liquid medicine.
Because he was in a good mood, he was willing to make this potion taste good, and also gave such a free service as a discount. He is really a kind magician.
After stirring the ingredients randomly until they became liquid, Darien turned the flame to the highest setting and made the potion in the crucible bubble.
Once it smells good, it's ready to go. Making magic potions is that simple.
Darien filled the potion in the cauldron with a bottle and hurried to make another potion.
Before I knew it, I had spent most of the day in the alchemy room.
Seville was still nowhere to be seen, and only Elvira was left in the living room downstairs. Elvira said that Anna and Claude had gone back in a carriage to get the money.
Mrs. Fitch sorted out all the items in the manor and picked up Leon, who was lying on the carpet in the library upstairs and seemed to have fainted from hunger.
It turned out that what Mrs. Fitch said was right. Drinking pine oil alone could not fill the human body's stomach. She gave Leon a large cup of hot milk with butter and sugar.
Anna and Claude returned not long after, bringing a box filled with gold coins and gems.
"The quantity is wrong. You gave too much." Darien only took a glance and found that the number of gold coins in it far exceeded the amount on the bill.
"Please accept it. This is a little gift from us." Anna smiled and pushed the box over.
"Then I won't be polite." Darien gave up his reserve.
"This necklace is so beautiful." Anna stroked the soul-gathering necklace made by Darien.
"Thank you for the compliment. It's very easy to use. You can just wear it with you. The two purple bottles are revealing agents that can help the eyes see souls. Drink them directly. The side effect is that you will see all the deceased souls. The green one is a soul-replenishing agent. Sprinkle it on the soul when using it." Darien said.
"Okay, I'll remember that." Claude nodded and gave one of the bottles of revealing agent to Elvira.
Elvira took the initiative to suggest that since changing the past can affect the future, she would leave only one bottle of soul-revealing agent to Claude. Only in this way would she come here to find her mother whom she had never met.
"I think this decision should be the right one. Just now, I figured out why I have never won the game of hide-and-seek since I was a child, and why I would be discovered no matter where I hide because I was unhappy. Mom has always been by my side, telling Dad about the news." Elvira said with a smile.
“Avra.” Ana called her name, then held her in her arms and ruffled her hair.
"Then it's time to say goodbye, Elvira. Don't stay here too long. Time is not static for you, and you will grow old with time." Darien reminded.
"Well, I know. I plan to go back after attending Anna and Claude's wedding. It probably won't take long." Elvira said.
"Our wedding date is set for half a year from now. We will cherish this time," said Claude.
"Then I wish you a happy wedding in advance. We will meet again if there is a chance in the future," said Darien.
"Goodbye," Anna said.
"Once again, I solemnly express my gratitude to you." Claude placed his hand on his heart.
"See you later." Elvira waved her hand.
Goodbye, and have a nice holiday, Elvira.
After seeing them off, Darien stood by the window and coughed, "Come out, we're going back."
Seville pushed open the door next to him and walked in: "Okay, Master."
Darien had seen him sneaking around among the crows outside, but he didn't expose him.
Now they were going back to the tower.
"I really can't bear to leave this place and these lovely little mice," said Mrs. Fitch.
The mice squatting on the ground also squeaked, and some even raised their hands to wipe away tears.
"Let's go. We need to make dinner when we get back. I need to take my rabbit and chicken, as well as my herbs," said Darien.
When they came, they only brought one cart of stuff, but when they left, they filled two whole carts.
No one expected that things would progress so tortuously and strangely smoothly. The plan was to stay for a few months, and now all the extra things purchased have to be taken back into the tower.
But this is also a good thing. At least there is no need to make any additional large purchases in the last two months.
"Oh, my freedom, my unruliness, my yearning." Kenneth sighed.
"I can also set you free," Darien said.
"Forget it. I'll go back when the arrest warrant is revoked," said Kenneth.
The mice in the manor were reluctant to leave and followed them everywhere, from the kitchen to the living room, and from the living room to the flower bed outside.
Small handkerchiefs waved in the mice's hands, occasionally using them to wipe their tears or dry their noses, and they watched them cross the garden gate until they disappeared completely.
The life of a mouse is not that long, and perhaps we will never see each other again, but we can tell the story of our encounter to our descendants and wait for another new encounter.
Darien had only been away for a few short days, and less than an hour had passed since he returned to the tower.
But during this hour, trouble came knocking.
Darien had just instructed Sewell to hang Leon back on the wall when he turned around and saw a paper crane stuck on the chandelier, flapping its wings and making a faint breeze.
It's that troublesome guy again.
Darien waved at the paper crane, and the chandelier shook twice, knocking the paper crane down.
When I took the paper crane apart, I saw the words "Help" written crookedly on it.
"Let's go, Seville. Come back and pack your things. There's a troublesome guy waiting for us to rescue. Kenneth, plant all the herbs before I come back. Plant them in the empty herb garden and don't dig up my other herbs." said Darien.
"I know, I know. Jenny and I will try our best." Kenneth hugged Jenny, who had turned back into a pink pig, and hummed weakly.
"Who is that troublesome guy? Does he need to bring anything?" asked Seville.
"A penniless fool. No need, let's go." Darien said.
The gorse door opened and they walked out together into a room filled with junk.
The owner of this house seems to be a hoarder. The messy things are piled from the floor to the ceiling. The small house has been turned into a maze. The remaining space is the walkway, which twists and turns and no one knows which direction it leads to.
Seville looked at these miscellaneous items. A large part of them were books on herbal magic, boxes of unknown contents, and some magical tools of unknown function.
"Is it a magician who lives here?" he asked.
"Yes, his name is Hawkins. He's a gopher-like guy who never leaves his room but likes to carry things around the house. He also often does magic experiments, which often fail and make him look weird," said Darien.
Every once in a while, you'll need help.
"Mr. Hawkins may need an extra-large storage room." Sewell said after thinking for a moment.
"What he needs more is to stop his crazy ideas. His laboratory is upstairs, if I remember correctly, it should be here... Damn it, there are more things piled up here, completely blocking the road!" As soon as Darian turned the corner, he encountered a huge pile of debris.
"Next time we come to Mr. Hawkins's house, we should consider bringing a shovel." Sewell started to move these things away.
It was hard for Darien to disagree with the proposal.
It took them a long time to get from downstairs to upstairs, overcoming the obstacles, and after going through untold hardships, they finally arrived at the door of Hawkins' alchemy laboratory.
Just as Sewell put his hand on it, ready to open the door, Darien stopped him: "I think we should stand on both sides of the door and then open it."
Otherwise there would be a mountain of things piled up behind the door, which would pour out and bury them all as soon as it was opened.
Darien didn't want to recall that painful experience.
Sewell stepped aside and opened the heavy wooden door.
As expected, the thing leaning against the door poured out with a loud crash, causing the opposite wall to tremble twice.
"Hawkins, where are you? If you're not dead, just answer me. If you're dead, I'll leave first." Darien stepped into the laboratory.
The storage of miscellaneous items here is a little better than downstairs, but there are still a lot of things, and there is a flame burning on the workbench, causing a set of distillation equipment to sizzle and smoke.
Darien quickly ran over to put out the fire, then searched around the laboratory for the missing Hawkins.
Sewell was also helping to look, but there were so many things in the room and they were so messy that he didn't know where to start.
Darien had a terrible headache. He didn't know what kind of troublesome thing Hawkins had turned him into again. Last time he turned into a fly, and the time before that, he turned into a flower that could spit fire...
The room was too big and there were too many things in it, so it was difficult to find them all at once. They had to start searching from the corners.
Until Darien turned around and accidentally knocked over a pile of books that were already half collapsed.
Half of a human face appeared from under the pile of books, and the eyes were rolling towards him.
And this face is a flat surface.
Darien took two steps back in shock, but because of the surrounding debris, he accidentally stepped on the face.
It's been a very dark day for Hawkins.
He researched a new potion formula, which, based on the efficacy of the various ingredients, should be able to remove wrinkles on the face and smooth out the skin.
But he didn't know what went wrong. After drinking it, his skin did expand, but it expanded too much. His whole body turned into a flat piece of skin and fell to the ground.
Before the medicine had fully taken effect, he quickly sent out a call for help using a paper crane.
However, before rescue could arrive, a gust of wind blew in through the open window, causing half of the already precarious pile of books to collapse, and he was buried inside.
"Come here and help me move all these books away. I found him." Darien felt a little guilty. There were his shoe prints on half of Hawkins' face.
Sewell hurried over to help, moved all the fallen books away, and finally pulled the flattened Hawkins out.
"I'm finally saved." Hawkins cried with joy.
"Where is your formula? I have to think about how to help you get back to your original state." Darien looked at his friend who could roll something into a scroll with just one roll, and his head started to hurt again.
"It's on the workbench over there. If it hasn't been burned, you should be able to find it," said Hawkins.
"Mr. Hawkins, you really should clean up your room," Sewell suggested sincerely.
"I think so too, but I don't have much time. There are still many formulas waiting for me to verify!" Hawkins sighed.
Sewell had a feeling that there would be many more opportunities to dig out Mr. Hawkins from the ruins. He hoped that he would be easier to find next time.
"Unfortunately, half of your workbench was burned by the fire, and I can only see half of the recipe." Darian stood in front of the workbench, and the burnt utensils were still emitting black smoke.
"Oh no! This is my favorite workbench!" Hawkins cried out in horror.
"You're lucky, at least the whole house wasn't burned down," Sevier comforted.
"How do you know he didn't?" Darien sneered.
"Let me recall carefully, I should remember what materials I added in it..." Hawkins thought hard.
Seeing that he couldn't think of a solution for a while, Seville began to clean up the room until he found an empty chair and a slightly cleaner place around it so that Darien could sit down without being hit by anything that suddenly fell.
"I remember now! The ingredients used in the recipe include snake scale fruit, burning flower, and water drop grass... Darian, can I borrow your assistant for two days? I think he is very capable of putting my entire house in the right place." Hawkins said.
"I suggest you have a different dream," Darien said.
"Really? I can pay, and it will be convenient for you to come to me next time." Hawkins said.
"I don't care about your few copper coins, and you dare to do it again?" Darien narrowed his eyes with murderous intent.
"I don't dare anymore." Hawkins immediately lowered his head and looked submissive.
Sewell's smile grew a little more vivid.
Hawkins's workbench was as messy as his house. Darien didn't like making medicine on this table, but in order to quickly get rid of this troublesome guy, he still used this workbench and the crucible on it.
Since this was the umpteenth time he had encountered this situation, Darien quickly figured out the formula for the antidote, found the ingredients, and stirred out a viscous potion.
It looks like boiled slime and smells like squashed slugs.
"Drink it while it's hot." Darien turned his head away, not wanting to see the pot again.
Seville didn't see any bottles or jars to put things in, so he simply took the whole pot over.
"Can I not drink it..." Hawkins' taste in food was relatively normal, and he was very resistant to this pot of stuff.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hawkins." Sewell pried open his mouth and poured it directly into his mouth.
An hour later, they were sitting in Hawkins's kitchen, the only peaceful spot in the house, savoring pie.
"The only good thing about Hawkins is that he makes delicious snacks," said Darien.
"I always feel that this sentence is not a compliment but an insult to me," said Hawkins, who has recovered.
What surprised Seville was that after Hawkins became three-dimensional, he was a thin and handsome man with two or three wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, instead of being as flat and round as when he was flattened.
The clean and tidy kitchen was warm and lovely. The table was covered with a red and white checkered tablecloth, and a hot fruit pie with blackberry filling was steaming.
After Hawkins was rescued, he invited them here to drink tea and wait for his freshly baked pies.
With a crisp sound, the knife blade sank deeply into the pie. The golden pastry cracked where the blade fell, and dark purple blackberry jam slowly overflowed from the concave part.
It looks delicious.
Hawkins is terrible at magic experiments, but he sure looks good making desserts.
Darien got a big piece of the pie, which is why, even though he despises Hawkins, he's willing to save him again and again.
"Although this experiment failed, I have found a very important direction for improvement..." Hawkins talked about his experiment.
Darien was completely absorbed in the pie.
The puff pastry is crispy enough and still a little hot when it comes out of the oven. The butter tastes like oily milk and eggs, while the blackberry filling inside is pickled and boiled with sugar, but it retains the sweet and sour flavor of the blackberry itself to a certain extent.
I dipped the pie crust with a fork in the thick blackberry jam and put it in my mouth, chewing it with happiness. My heart was warmed at this moment.
Sewell savored the pie more carefully, his taste buds not missing any small details.
He had just carefully observed how Hawkins made the fruit pie. Such a delicious dessert should appear in the kitchen of the tower.
No one was listening to Hawkins's long speech. He was already immersed in his own world, which was just as well.
"Your pie is delicious. Remember to clean up your room. I'll be leaving first." Darien finished a large piece of pie, and it was time to say goodbye.
"Don't go yet. I've figured out how to improve my new formula. Let me show you how!" Hawkins hurriedly tried to persuade them to stay.
"No, thank you. I think it's time for me to leave." Darien didn't want to witness another experiment fail.
"I promise it will succeed this time! When it succeeds, I will make you pecan pie to celebrate!" said Hawkins.
"It's indeed a very tempting condition." Darien was a little tempted.
"It's about time for Miss Elvira to come back," Sevier reminded.
"I have another business waiting for me, so I'll take my leave first. I hope that next time you invite me, you will just come to taste the snacks instead of digging you out. Goodbye." Darien picked up the remaining half of the blackberry pie.
"I'll try my best. Remember to bring the plate back to me next time you come," said Hawkins.
When they returned to the store, Elvira was already sitting at the counter. They had stayed at Hawkins's for a long time, and Elvira had been back for a while.
"Welcome back, you look like you're doing well. Would you like a fresh pie?" Darien put the pie on the counter.
"No, thank you. I have gifts for you. Dad and Mom helped prepare them. They asked me to say hello to you on their behalf." Elvira stuffed the two large gift boxes at her feet into their hands.
Everyone got their own gift, the Fitches', Kenneth and Jenny's, and Leon and Pluto's.
Before returning, she made a special trip to the manor on the other side of the river and brought a lot of cream cakes for the mice.
"Thank you for the gifts you prepared. I'm glad you thought of me. Are you ready? If you can start, you should start to fulfill this contract." said Darien.
"Don't worry, Miss Elvira, it will be fine soon. There won't be much change." Seville took out the contract.
"I'm ready." Elvira was still a little nervous.
She couldn't help but wonder if she would become a mute, but what should she do since she hadn't learned sign language yet?
Darien took a small bottle from the shelf, uncorked it, and the words on the contract floated, turning into pieces of light and shadow that flew to Elvira's throat.
The light was warm and gentle, like a hand gently caressing Elvira's neck, making her feel itchy and a little like laughing.
The spots of light only huddled together for a moment before slowly floating away and being led into the bottle by Darien.
"Is this all right?" Elvira said.
The unfamiliar voice startled her.
Her voice was no longer as pleasant as before, but like sand hitting the window glass, with a low and rough sound, not too unpleasant, just a little strange.
It was much better than she had imagined.
"Yes, that's all. Go home quickly. You've been gone for the whole day. Your family must be waiting for you," said Darien.
"Okay! See you then, I can't wait!" Elvira jumped off the chair happily and trotted to the front of the gorse door.
Before she opened the door and left, she turned around and said seriously, "Thank you. Today will definitely be the most memorable day of my life."
After saying that, she ran out.
"It feels good to do something good every once in a while," Darian said.
"Aren't we always doing this?" Seville's flattery had reached the point where Lyon had to close his eyes.
"You're right." Darien accepted it calmly.
The magic shop was closed for the next few days. Darien thought that since the bills were not urgent, he should take more rest and the business would not be affected if he waited a few more days.
Thanks to Anna and Claude, whose gold coins were a great help, Seville quickly crossed out several imminent bills.
Mr. Mage closed his business, and the one who felt most anxious was King Sauron.
He was desperate for a new, younger body, and his older sons were too old to be used.
And if he wanted to keep his throne, he had to get rid of these older sons one by one.
He knew what they had done behind his back. He had more spies than they imagined, and he was not so old that he could not use ruthless methods.
So he picked out the most arrogant and licentious one, exposed his faults before the people, and cut off his head.
The treatment of another was relatively mild. He whipped his mother, who was imprisoned in a convent, and fabricated evidence that he was a bastard. That night, he was forced to hang himself in his bedroom.
As for those who have neither merit nor demerit, there are always accidental deaths or assassinations that happen, and falling off a horse and breaking your neck is also a good way to die.
Of course, their blood was also collected carefully.
King Sauron lost several sons in a short period of time. To outsiders, he seemed to have become older because of the loss of his children, but in fact, he just didn't cherish his current old body because he was about to get a new one.
I'll get a new one anyway, so it doesn't matter how dilapidated this body is.
But when he finally cleared the obstacles in front of him and paved the way for his new body, he found that he had no way to enter the magic shop again.
He was rejected by that door.
The old lion was very angry, and bloodshed broke out in the palace again. Lady Mary's intuition was correct. She should stay away from the palace at this time, otherwise bloodshed would happen to her.
An unfortunate noblewoman and her husband were stripped of their titles and driven out of the palace. Although their property was not confiscated, their faces were wiped clean, which foreshadowed their future fate.
After Darien had rested enough, he finally remembered the old guest who had been turned away for many years.
He asked Sewell to reopen the Plantagenet Gate so that they could open for business.
So on the same morning, King Sauron woke up from his bed, opened the door, and came to the magic shop again.
Although he had been looking forward to it for many days, he was not happy because every time he made careful preparations, he missed the opportunity, and his unassuming appearance in his bathrobe and slippers was often shown to the owner.
The king's dignity was gone.
"Welcome back again, you are ready, right?" Darien said with a smile.
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