Cedric's Giant Curse

Chapter 1: Amulet Switcharoo

Chapter 1: Amulet Switcharoo

Patience is a virtue, a value that almost every child is taught growing up. The important life lesson is that if we wait long enough and never give up, good things will come to us in the end. There surely must be some truth in that sentiment. Waiting for years, patiently waiting for that one opportunity that would prove to lead to a great victory. For the last couple of years, these supposed lucky opportunities would arrive only to be thwarted at the last minute by some unforeseen blunder. But now it seems that patience has come through to claim its prize and wear the crown of victory for at last that one grand opportunity had arrived.

Cedric would finally have what he needed to take over the kingdom of Enchancia.

Drawing the attention of many Dunwitty villagers passing by on the streets that morning, a strange object came soaring through the sky over the small town. What looked to be a red cart with paper kite wings flapping up and down, and barrels with spinning propellers strapped to its sides whizzed noisily above the heads of the villagers, causing many to stop and look at the strange contraption for no one had ever seen such a machine before. Dipping and gliding through the sky, it finally slowed and bumpily landed behind an old white washed brick building on the far side of the village, slowly skidding to a halt along the dusty ground.

The driver that jumped out of the flying machine seemed no less strange than the contraption itself, though most people knew who this person was. Probably a good reason why they thought he was so strange. Clad in a voluminous purple robe with a large yellow bowtie, most knew this to be the royal sorcerer of Enchancia, Cedric the Sensational. Not so "sensational" to some perhaps, but no less a man of magic. Dusting himself off, and brushing some scattered debris from his black and white hair, he flicked out his wand and cast an enchantment on his flying machine that would render it useless to anyone who tried to take it. Then he strode towards the front of the building, pocketing his wand back into his large sleeve.

Excitement coursed through him as he approached the front of the shop. While it wasn't often that he left the confinements of his workshop back at the castle, this was probably the one place he visited most often. Passing towards the front door, he gazed into one of the large windows that stood on either side of the door, grinning as he noted the shelves upon shelves of the menagerie of magical ingredients that lay inside. Now barely able to contain his excitement, he bounded up the short climb of wooden steps that lead into the shop. A long wooden sign hung above his head, stating the name of the shop in gold curly writing: "Charmancy". Without pausing to see if the shop was even open at this early hour, Cedric hurried inside. Immediately the lingering smells of herbs and incense tickled his senses to which he happily inhaled their fumes.

Gently closing the door behind him, he began to walk across the wooden floor to the back of the shop, the heels of his black shoes clicking loudly as he went. He walked slowly, his hazel eyes browsing the selection of ingredients the shop had to offer. Several wooden shelves filled with dark tinted glass jars of various sizes lay before his view, each containing a unique magical ingredient for potions and spells. Jars of newt's eyes, frog tongues, fairy wings, unicorn hair, flowers and herbs of all colors and types lay before his gaze, but not the one ingredient he was looking for. In the back of the shop stood a spruce wood desk with an assortment of scales and beakers littering the surface, and a small machine with stout buttons used for storing currency. But as he approached the desk, he noticed that there was no one standing behind it.

In fact, there did not appear to be a single soul in that small shop besides himself. Perhaps the Charmancy was not open yet and the shopkeeper just forgot to lock the door? Wondering whether he should leave and come back later, Cedric took a few more small steps towards the desk, noticing even more how loud of a sound his shoes seemed to make in the empty shop. A small bell lay on the counter and he hesitantly laid a gloved hand down on it to ring it. The tiny ding rang throughout the shop, but not a sound received its call. A little worried now that the shop might indeed be closed, he raised his hand over the bell to ring it again when he noticed a peculiar glass case sitting on a shelf behind the counter. Inside the domed glass lay a single white flower, its petals seeming to glow faintly even in the bright morning light. Cedric gazed longingly at the flower, his sole purpose for making the trip that morning. He was about to step behind the counter for a closer look when a voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.