Chapter 43 (1/2)

Tafel and Vur sat in a corner booth in the adventurer’s guild. A chocolate cake the size of Vur was on the table in between the two. The fairies stared up at the towering confectionery with their mouths gaping.

“You traded our tears for this?” Rella asked, still staring at the cake with wide eyes.

“And some gold,” Tafel said as she pat the cloth sack next to her. “We also finished our first mission.” Tafel smiled.

“I guess that’s okay then…” Bella said and scooped out a piece of chocolate with her hands. “It looks like lizard poop. This thing is edible?”

Vur nodded. “Try it,” he said and smushed a piece of cake into Yella’s mouth.

Yella struggled at first, but then her eyes widened and sparkled. “It’s amazing!” Yella said. “I never knew my tears could taste so good!”

Bella licked some frosting off her hand and had a similar reaction. She pushed the piece of cake into Rella’s mouth. Rella’s wings flapped and she was lifted off the table.

“You have to make us cry more often,” she said to Tafel and flew next to the cake with drool leaking from her mouth.

The adventurer’s in the guild all looked at each other and then looked at the cake next to Vur.

One of them whispered, “Didn’t he make that huge crater because of a sugar rush from too much cake?” Their faces paled and a few scrambled out of their seats as they hurried to pay and leave. The receptionist looked at the growing pile of money on the counter and watched the adventurer’s flee in a steady stream. The guild soon emptied and he was the only one left with Tafel and Vur in the building. He whimpered as he sorted the change and ducked under the counter when he finished.

The sound of a door opening came from upstairs and footsteps resounded through the almost empty building. The guild master looked at the receptionist hiding under the counter and then swept his gaze over the guild. His eyes narrowed as they locked onto Vur and the cake. He inhaled and held his breath as he walked over to the receptionist. He tapped him on the shoulder and motioned towards the door with his head. Tears sprang into the corners of the receptionist’s eyes and he nodded as he took the guild master’s hand. The two tiptoed out the building as the fairies chattered with Vur and Tafel.

“Let’s go find Exzenter,” Tafel said after the five devoured the cake. The fairies looked like bloated spheres with arms and legs. Drool leaked from Rella’s mouth as she laid on her back.

“I feel sick,” Yella said with a green face. Bella moaned and tried to stand on her feet, but she couldn’t move.

“No parents?” Vur asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Tafel shook her head. “They probably went back to Niffle already,” she said. “And if they didn’t, I wouldn’t want them to know what we’re going to do.”

Vur nodded. “Let’s go then,” he said. “I want to do something fun.” He stretched his arms above him and his fingertips crackled with electricity.

“Wait for us,” Bella said as she raised her arm.

“I’m going to pu-. Urk,” Rella said and covered her mouth. She tilted her head to the side and a rainbow fountain of liquid jetted out of her mouth. Her body diminished in size until it was back to normal and her projectile vomiting ceased.

“Phew,” she said. “Much better.”

“That was so gross,” Yella said. Rella rolled her next to Bella and shook the table. The two fairies repeated Rella’s performance and slimmed down.

The guild master and receptionist stood across the street from the adventurer’s guild.

“Do you hear that?” the guild master asked. “It sounds like water magic.”

The receptionist nodded. “Well, the building hasn’t collapsed yet,” he said. “That’s a good sign, right?”