Shadows' encyclopedia - The Prodigies of Arahsmurd book 1

First mission 2/2 🎀

The path was very dark, with a little fog and a dark grey sky. Rebecca walked with her head down. There were stones marking the route to the hospital through the woods. Following the signs to the psychiatric hospital, she scanned the area carefully. As she walked faster and faster, she detected a mysterious smell. She could recognise it anywhere: Ortysse was nearby. She was carrying a sack of potatoes. Rebecca caught sight of the maid's exhausted face and discreetly went to meet her. 

"Rebecca?" stopped Ortysse, dropping the sack of potatoes.

"Shhh! I need your help. I've got to get past the Peacekeepers to sneak into the psychiatric hospital..."

"It's madness!" murmured Ortysse, transfixed. "I can't help you... I risk being detected."

"I need to divert their attention, you're the only one who can help me," begged Rebecca, full of hope.

Ortysse was thinking. Rebecca looked hurried and determined. Ralph's maid pulled a small flask from her sleeve. There was a liquid inside. Rebecca was curious and took it.

"It's a metamorphosis potion, I can't pronounce its exact name without my master being present," shared Ortysse, her eyes riveted on the potion. "Otherwise I risk being detected."

 "What should I do?" asked Rebecca, worried.

"This potion will turn you into a mouse. I only use it when I'm in the big city and want to get something to eat... I'll take you there."

 "But there's still a risk that they'll detect you, isn't there?"

"No," assured Ortysse. "When I'm in town, Ralph helps me! Don't forget, you're a vampire, so you can't be easily detected, and with me around, they won't suspect a thing if I go with you... Final warning..."Rebecca listened carefully.

"To regain your normal appearance, you'll have to say: "Undo the spell", Ortysse said slowly.- Very well, then.

Rebecca trusted him. She drank the potion in one gulp. The mixture tasted like rotten fish. The young girl winced, disgusted by the foul texture of the liquid. Immediately, the potion took effect. Rebecca felt a tingling sensation and turned into a tiny mouse. Ortysse hid her in his pocket, dragging the sack of potatoes across the floor. In the distance, the school rose up. There were thunderstorms above and Peace Guards posted at all the entrances. Very few citizens passed through. Ortysse was stressed, but she had to look natural. One of the Peace Guards stopped her a few metres from the gate.

"Ortysse Glasstail? What are you doing here, servant? Where's your master?"

"I've come here for an express delivery," said Ortysse, exhausted by the weight of the goods.

"What are you talking about? Nobody ordered a sack of potatoes," said the guard, his voice terrifying.

Ortysse let the sack of potatoes slip from his hands. Claiming it was heavy, she crouched down to pick it up. Rebecca slipped out of her pocket and into a burrow overlooking the hospital courtyard. The ground was covered in pure earth, with a few maggots crawling around. A nurse in white and green striped scrubs came out to take a break. She was holding a broom that she had just retrieved from the storeroom to clean a patient's room. Rebecca watched the woman smoking from the foxhole. She camouflaged herself in the bristles of the broom as the nurse left. The Peacekeepers watched Ortysse's every move, oblivious to Rebecca's presence. The maid sat up slowly, reassured that Rebecca could enter the establishment.

"I made a mistake... I wasn't supposed to deliver it here. I'm so busy at work that I didn't realise!"

"If you don't want us to report you to your master, get out of here! threatened the Guards, furious."