Adventures in the Boiling Isles

Really Small Problems

Luz called Willow and Gus one day, showing them a classic human realm magic trick. "So they said I couldn't remove my thumb but look at that." Luz explains. "You sliced it off! You sliced off your own thumb!" Gus panicked. "You make doing homework actually fun." Willow laughed. "And they say humans can't do magic." I said. "Guys, you've been talking to them all morning." King complained. "Don't forget about our Comedy Hour." "Please, no. Not the comedy hour." Eda begged. "This week, I've been working with props." King explains. "Oh, dear, I've gotten a tube stuck on my nose. Will I ever eat again? Looks like I'm toast." Luz and I chuckled. "It just goes on like this for an hour." Eda complained. "Hey, you doughboy. Quit loafing around." Luz joked. "C'mon, Luz." I said. "Why don't you bake him?" Luz and King laughed at my joke as the alarm went off. "School time, see you guys in class." Luz waved. "Bye." Willow said. "But what about the thumb?" Gus asked. "Hey, don't worry. We'll finish the comedy hour when we get home." I reassured King as we headed to school. "Try not to miss us while we're gone." As we were about to leave, we received a message from an abomination. "What's it say?" I asked. "Attention all students of Hexside, the school has been closed due to an infestation of pixies. Your school journalist, Alexandria Blight." Luz read. "I guess we're out of school for a while. I opened the door to the kitchen and King climbed up on my head. "I didn't miss you at all." King said. "Apparently some pixies invaded Hexside, so school's been canceled." I explained. "That's sounds like a crumby situation." King joked, making us laugh. "Hey, guess what's been in my mouth that I'm about to throw up?" Hooty asked, gagging on the mail. "The mail!" "Junk. Junk. Death-hex." Eda said, going through the mail. "Ooh, a carnival's in town today." "A carnival?" Luz asked. You know, Peter and I have been so busy with school lately, what do you say we take this comedy hour on tour?" "It'll be a Luz, Peter, and King day." I added. "That's my kind of day." King replied. "Let's all four of us go." I suggested. "An adventure with friends. I'll go pack my stuff." Hooty said. "Carnivals bring crowds and crowds bring suckers. This could be the perfect chance to try out my new get-witch-quick scheme." Eda commented. "I'm in. To the carnival!" "To the carnival!" We shouted, running out the door before Hooty could catch up with us.

At the carnival, it was a pretty big crowd. "Well, here we are, kids." Eda said. "Look at all that fresh meat." "And smell all the fresh meat." Luz added, accidentally swallowing a bug. "I don't know if I like the sound of that." I explained. Owlbert tried to escape from Eda, but she stopped him. "No games for you, Owlbert." Eda said. "We've got scams to run." "Friends, welcome!" Tibbles greeted. "I see you've got my postcard. "Tibbles, you sent this?" Eda asked. Tibbles nodded. "Aren't you pissed off at us for destroying your stand?" I asked. "Ooh, and destroying his life!" King added. "That was the best part." "No, no, no. I should thank you." Tibbles replied. "After my stand was destroyed, I reevaluated my life and found my true calling. I'm now ringmaster of Tibbles's Tent of Tiny Terrors." "Aw! It's like a regular circus, but adorably small." Luz complimented. "I don't buy it." Eda said. "What kind of con are you running?" "No cons here, Owl Lady. Only pros." Tibbles explains. "In fact, why don't we toast our newfound friendship with this totally innocent bottle of water." Eda took the bottle away from Tibbles and tossed it. "I know poison when I see it." Eda replied. "You can't scam a scammer. Now speaking of scams, beat it, loser! Step right up to Eda's Human Horror House. Humans shed their skin and I've got proof." "Has she been taking pictures of my dick while I was asleep?" I asked. "You should really put a lock on your closet." King said. "And a lock on your pants." "You know what, Eda can pick through my socks and Peter's underwear all she wants." Luz explains. "Fuck that!" I snapped. "I care!" "Because today is all about having a great time with my partners in crime." Luz continued. "Me! I like crime." King said.

We walked around and saw multiple attractions to choose from. "Now this is my kind of weird." Luz said. "So what do you want to do first?" "We could brave the molar coaster." I suggested. "Or eat a mysterious blob." "Ooh, what's that?" King asked. "Huh, some kind of deadly string weapon." "No, silly. That's a friendship bracelet." I corrected. "Is that a type of deadly weapon?" King asked. "A weapon of love." Luz explains. "It's basically a declaration to the whole world that you're the best of friends." "That's way safer than becoming blood brothers." King said. "We must have those bracelets!" "Sorry, folks, if your bone son wants these bracelets, you'll have to play the games." The ticket merchant said, taking the three bracelets. "You know, carnival rules." "Beat up the man and steal his things for me!" King whined. "Or let's just play the games." I said. "Oh, okay." King agreed. Before we could play our first game, we bumped into Willow and Gus. I froze in fear. These last few days, I might've discovered that I had feelings for Willow. Her green eyes shimmer underneath her glasses, and she has one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen. "Friends!" Luz cheered, hugging them. "Hey, guys." Gus greeted. "Oh my gosh. I didn't think I'd see carniv-y'all here." Luz joked. "Boo." Gus groaned. "I got an invitation from Tibbles. Alexa couldn't make it, though." Willow explains. "We figured it's a trap since we squashed his stand with a walking house." Gus said. "But who cares." Willow added. "This place has a Scarris Wheel." "What the hell is that?" I asked. "It's like a human Ferris wheel, but it gives you long-lasting nightmares." Gus explains. "Yes! This mama is ready for trauma!" Luz shouted. King cleared his throat. "Oh, right. We're on a very important quest to win a special prize for King." "Oh, we can help with that." Willow said. "Aww. Does the little guy wanna win a prize?" Gus asked. "What do you think, King?" Luz asked. "The more the merrier, huh?" "Um, sure. Whatever you want." King sighed.