Striking Deals

Despite the distance they had to travel, the group reached the clearing before Estelle could wander off anywhere else. The witch was more appropriately dressed for a forest excursion, discarding her dress for jeans, boots, a t-shirt and a light denim jacket. Clashing with the casual outfit was her witch’s hat perched perfectly on her head, shading her eyes from the climbing sun as she cast her eyes to the top of the world tree.

As they approached, her attention snapped to them and her lips stretched into an excited smile.

“Hello there!” she cheered, waving an arm high as she jogged towards them, her breasts bouncing slightly as she moved.

“General Kenobi,” Beth muttered under her breath, causing John to grin slightly.

“Oh, you like those movies too?” Estelle asked, the happiness in her tone infectious.

Taken aback by the witch’s response to her memeing, Beth sputtered, “Um, yeah, they’re okay.” Then, under her breath, she whispered, “Was I that loud?”

“Oh, no, that was something of my doing,” Estelle answered before touching the top of her right ear with her index finger and dragging the digit down to the lobe. “A little spell that helps with picking out distant sounds without making anything else too loud.”

She said that with pride, her green eyes practically glowing.

“It does sound like a useful bit of magic,” Vivian agreed. “Do you think it could be modified for eyes?”

Estelle tilted her head slightly in thought. “It’d need a bit of work, especially if you want to see more than the standard visible spectrum and zoom in on stuff. Oh, let me write that down.”

She righted her head and pulled her hat off. Then she reached inside it and pulled out a small notebook. With a deliberate flick of her wrist, she cast it into the air, where instead of falling, it floated open before her. She also retrieved a pen, then put her hat back on.

“That’s some pocket space you’ve got there,” Aeolia remarked.

“Thanks.” Estelle grinned as she began to jot down Vivian’s idea. “I’ve got a lot of gear up there. Mostly vials and jars to collect samples right now. Just waiting to see Verida to get her permission about that. Don’t want to take anything that could disrupt the ecosystem.”

She finished her notetaking then looked up, right at Teri. “Or make things hard for anyone. You must be one of the folks living here, right?”

John could tell Teri was thinking something along the lines of his assessment being an understatement before she offered out her hand. “I’m Teri, shaman of the Golmerk Clan. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, you don’t need to be so formal with me,” Estelle said as she shook Teri’s hand. “Always found causal hugs better. Anyway, I kind of expected Verida to show up not long after I stepped in. Is she busy?”

“A bit,” John answered. “Not with anything time-sensitive or anything, but…”

“I was preoccupied with showing Brenda around,” Verida smoothly interjected as she and Brenda stepped into the clearing from one of the nearby paths. “Though, I had no idea you would be paying us a visit or that you would wish to speak to me.”

Estelle chuckled and scratched the back of her neck. “I suppose that’s on me, though if you have a phone number, you didn’t share it. And if you’re busy, I can come back.”

“Oh no, you don’t need to put your plans on hold on my account,” Brenda said with a kind smile. “I’m just here for the tour.”

Estelle looked at Brenda, then over to John before her eyes lit up with realization. “I didn’t interrupt some sort of private thing, did I?”

“Nothing of the sort,” Brenda quickly replied before walking up to Estelle. “Just a little informal tour. I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Brenda, John’s mother. And I take it you’re one of the people that helped Kiera yesterday?”

“Yes, I did.” Estelle perked up at Brenda’s insistence before throwing a smile Kiera’s way. “It wasn’t anything too hard and we’ll be happy to help again. Not that we wait to happen again! Please try to keep healthy.”

“I-I’ll try,” Kiera squeaked out, flinching slightly at the sudden attention.

John caught his mother sending him a look and he recalled the conversation they had before he did his part in the ritual. He nodded slightly, a silent promise to her that he would broach that topic at some point. For now, they had the more pressing matter of getting something so K’mels could understand them tomorrow.

“Estelle,” John said, catching the witch’s attention, “we actually need to ask you about something. If you don’t mind us taking up your time.”

“Oh, really?” she asked. “Well, isn’t that a happy coincidence! What’s up?”

“We need something that will let someone understand English,” John explained.

“Preferably something that can last a good while with one dose,” Vivian added. “We don’t know how long we’ll need it to work and would prefer to not have to bring along extra.”

“Ohh, that’ll be a bit tricky,” Estelle muttered. “Not the translator part but the duration. Mind-altering effects can be finicky. Most stuff you can get from the Auction will only last for an hour or so if it's a potion or be really expensive and mana intensive if it's some object. Not that potions would be much cheaper.”

Then the witch grinned, her green eyes sparkling. “But luckily for you guys, I think we’ve got just the stuff needed to make a potion. Just need to hop back and check.”

“How long do you think it’ll take to make?” Vivian asked. “If it’s not some ‘need to **** away all day’ sort of thing, we could help you gather those samples you wanted. Help save some time.”

“Hmm,” Estelle hummed, tilting her head back a bit. “A long-lasting cognitive imprinting potion does need some time to settle once brewed to achieve maximum potency, but as long as we give it at least eight hours to ferment, then it’ll be golden. And putting it all together won’t take more than ninety minutes, two hours tops. So if you need this tomorrow, as long as we get it all brewed up before nightfall, then we’ll be good.”

“Is that you saying you’d like to collect stuff now or later?” Beth asked.

“Oh, either way works for me,” Estelle answered with a carefree smile. “I do wonder what all this looks like during the sunset.”

“I don’t think we need to rush it,” Vivian said. “You’ve already come out this way with the stuff to gather things, and as long as we leave time to get supplies if we need them, then things should work out.”

Estelle beamed. “That sounds like a plan! I was just going to wander about and pick things that looked interesting though, so I don’t think it’d take too long.”

Seeing an opportunity, John spoke up, “I can use Observe to I.D. stuff if you’d like.”

“‘Observe?’ Is that some scrying magic?” Estelle asked.

“Oh, um, yeah,” John replied, mentally hitting himself for forgetting that they hadn’t explained his magic to either witch. “I can get a readout on pretty much anything.”

“Oh! Can you do me?” Estelle asked, the earnestness in her voice a clear indication she did not catch the innuendo her question presented.

‘She really is oblivious to those sorts of things,’ Senka noted as a protracted silence stretched over the clearing, a harmless mirth coloring her words. ‘I think you should say something before she realizes something’s amiss.’

John coughed slightly and said, “Yeah. Just need to do one thing so I can share the readout with you. Invite Estelle to ‘Party’.”

The witch blinked as the invite screen appeared before her face. “Oooh, that’s what you mean by ‘readout’. Mental projection with a feedback system.”

She regarded the display for a second longer before accepting the invite, her body swaying back and forth excited on the balls of her feet. “Now what?”

“This,” John said as he cast Observe.

Skill Level Up: Observe Lv. 8

“Now, there’s something I have to…” John tried to say but Estelle practically leapt at him and draped herself over his shoulder to read the display.

“Oh! It’s so detailed,” she said in amazement. “A little personal, but this is amazing.”

“I was trying to tell you about that,” John muttered, trying to ignore the pleasant plushness pushing up against his back.

Estelle seemed to not care all that much about that and instead pointed to the ‘Stats’ section. “What do these stars mean?”

“Um, it’s a comparison of your stats to mine,” John explained. “Like you’re somewhere between twenty-five and fifty percent weaker than me physically, but have twenty-five to fifty percent more mana than I do.”

Estelle nodded before grabbing John’s arm. “Okay! Let's go harvesting! There were some interesting flowers I saw that way yesterday!”

Before John could say anything, the witch dragged him towards those flowers, the difference in their strength not mattering in the slightest.

---

“Oh, that does sound like it’ll have some good applications,” Estelle remarked as she read the first display, one detailing how a violet flower had a degree of innate mana generation. “Lot of potions need some constant mana to keep active.”

She plucked the flower from where it grew and carefully placed it in one of her containers. As she did, the underbrush near her shook slightly and a gnoshroom walked out of the foliage. It was the largest she’d seen, not that she had much to compare to.

“Just taking one, little buddy,” Estelle said. “Is that going to be okay? Verida was fine with me taking some samples.”

“Is that the same one I took with me yesterday?” John wondered as the gnoshroom nodded at Estelle before turning towards him and repeating the motion, sliding over to stand slightly behind Estelle’s leg. “You sure hit a growth spurt.”

“Hmm, wonder if the ritual did that?” Estelle pondered. “The surge of magic could have promoted it. Would need to see all the ones that helped us.”

The witch looked around as she stood up. “Huh, where’d everybody go? I thought we were doing this as a group.”

“I asked Senka to hold them back for a bit,” John said, nervously shifting in place. “I’ve got a question to ask and don’t want an audience for it.”

“This doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a fun talk,” Estelle remarked, her expression dimming.

“It’s nothing like that,” John was quick to attest. “It’s… I don’t want to raise hopes.”

Estelle cocked her head to one side, an act mirrored by the gnoshroom. “What sort of question is this?”

John took a breath and said, “Do you think it’s possible for someone mundane to gain magic?”

Estelle blinked. “Well, that’s not the kind of question I… Oh, I think I see. You’re a late bloomer. And that means your mother doesn’t have any magic.”

“Yeah,” John sighed, awkwardly rubbing his arm. “I’m sure I could equip her with stuff, but…”

“Having power of her own would make you feel better,” Estelle finished his line of thought. “Plus magical items can still require mana to use.”

“Yeah,” John muttered. “So, any ideas? Or precedent for this sort of thing?”

“I can’t really recall anything like that happening,” Estelle replied before quickly adding, in a hopeful tone, “But I’m not too well versed on that sort of history so don’t take that as a definitive answer. From a theoretical standpoint, people do get stronger with magic over time, to a certain point, and there are instances of people experiencing sudden surges of power in times of distress.

“But I don’t think that’s something we’d want to test,” she quickly continued. “And I don’t think you’d be too keen on something that would require an outside entity to bond with her.”

“Hold on a second there,” John interrupted. “What sort of stuff would that entail?”

“A bonding?” Estelle inquired. When John nodded in confirmation, she continued, “The general idea is that some people merge with incorporeal entities to increase their potential. Generally, elementals are the usual ‘partner’ but I’ve heard that contracts with things like demons and gods follow a similar process. But I don’t think that sort of thing would work here as my understanding of those sorts of things build off the recipient’s base. No base, no way to empower.”

“But the elemental one could work, right?” John asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

“It could, in theory.” Estelle bit her lip. “But, from what I remember, this sort of thing isn’t like plugging in a battery. It’s more like a fusion. The human body remains, but the soul inside is a mix of the two.”

That caused John’s expression to darken. “That’s not going to work then. Fuck, I was hoping we could substitute a spirit.”

“A spirit?” Estelle repeated, her mind starting to whirl. “Hold on, that might change things.”

“How?” John asked before his eyes widened. “Wait, do you think that because spirits don’t really have the same mental power as a person usually, that the elemental fusion route might leave the person intact?”

Estelle beamed. “Exactly! Without a personality, there shouldn’t be any major change beyond the development of magic! People probably didn’t consider spirits for this sort of thing due to how much weaker they are overall and their occasional scarcity.”

“Do you think something like this could help?” John asked before a display appeared before him. He stepped close and showed her the screen. “It’s not a solution because it needs mana for upkeep but it could be a step one.”

“‘Infuse’,” she read aloud the first word before silently reading the rest of the skill. “Hmm, yeah, seems pretty clear this’ll only work on ‘things’ not ‘people’. But if we get some readings of you using this, then maybe with more information on the elemental fusion we can develop a spirit version that fits your desire.”

“I’ve got more spirit related abilities that could shed more light,” John revealed. “If I use Senka’s mana while holding the object she’s connected with, I can manifest the mana like a sort of armor around it and my arm.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting,” Estelle exclaimed. “I think if we analyze that, we could uncover something in how that mana interacts with your body. With all this, we might have everything we need for this.”

John beamed at her. “That’s great! I know trying to rush things could go really bad, but hearing that you think we’re actually close really makes me want to get to it.”

“Well, take it from someone who’s experienced their fair share lab mishaps, sometimes it’s best to take things slow.” Estelle laughed. “A lot more at stake with this than just a dress.”

“Yeah, we have to make sure everything’s as safe as it can be before we try,” John remarked before sighing.

“Something wrong?” Estelle asked.

“No, but I’m about to give Senka the go ahead to let everyone follow us,” John said in a grim tone. “And I’m not all that good with public speaking.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Estelle tried to ease his discomfort. “It’s not like these are strangers.”

“Sometimes, that makes it worse,” John wryly grumbled. “It actually matters what they think.”

Estelle patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine,” she reiterated. She glanced down and noticed the gnoshroom had moved closer to John and was patting his leg with its tendrils. “See, you’ve got the two of us believing in you.”

John chuckled before he took a step back and turned towards the clearing. He took a breath and let it out right as Senka led the rest of the girls towards them.

“Alright, John, the suspense is killing them,” the spirit said with a grin.

“Not like you were helping with that,” Beth grumbled, her arms crossed. “What’s with all this secrecy crap?”

“It’s nothing I meant to keep secret,” John attested. “I just didn’t want to ask Estelle about what I had on my mind with an audience.”

“And that is?” Vivian asked.

“Whether it’s possible for someone to gain magic,” John answered. Almost immediately, everyone besides Senka turned their gaze to Brenda, who handled the pressure better than John, only flushing ever so slightly.

“So,” John continued, “before we did the ritual yesterday, Mom and I had a talk about if we had the chance to give her magic, if she would take it.”

“And I said I needed to think on it and talk to the people John thought could make that possible,” Brenda added, prompting Estelle to wave. “Which I think we still need to properly do, especially if my hunch is right and you two have been brainstorming.”

“Guilty as charged,” Estelle cheerfully admitted. “Actually, we’ve already got a good idea on where to start. But I’m guessing you’ll want something with a little more proof.”

“That would be preferable,” Brenda said firmly.

“Yeah, Nephele would be able to better explain everything,” Estelle muttered. “Well, I’ll need to head back anyway to brew up that translation potion, how about we actually get to collecting samples then we hop over to the lab so you can talk to her and we can hit two birds with one stone?”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.