Book 2: Chapter 11 (1/2)
Erin bit her lower lip as she flitted through the human town, making her way to the adventurers’ guild underneath a bubble of moving smoke. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. The spring she had laid out for her future children had disappeared from her senses. She crashed into an adventurer on the way into the building, knocking over his hat.
“The heck? Is there a fairy here?” the man muttered as he picked up his hat and dusted it off.
“You always say that,” his companion said and rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to wear it properly?”
“No, no. Something really knocked into me.”
Erin ignored the squabbling couple and flew in front of the receptionist, cutting ahead of the line. She dropped her veil, causing the receptionist to blink as he stopped mid-sentence. “Please proceed to the back of the line if you need something,” he said, unfazed by Erin’s sudden appearance.
“Who was it!?” Erin shouted, flying forward and tugging on the receptionist’s hair. “Who destroyed my spring!?”
“Ma’am,” the receptionist said as he winced. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, but if you can calm down, I’ll be—baaaaa.”
His voice was cut-off as he was transformed into a goat. Erin shook her fist at him before flying past the counter and into the back room of the guild. The guests stared blankly at the receptionist who fell over onto his side and bleated.
“I told you there was a fairy!” the man with the hat said. “And a queen by the looks of it.”
His companion knocked his hat off. “Just because you were right one time doesn’t mean your hat isn’t not on properly!”
In the backroom of the guild, Erin rummaged through the pile of commissions. On the floor surrounding her, there were a dozen bleating goats lying on their sides. None of them were used to being polymorphed. “Fairy spring, fairy spring, fairy spring,” Erin muttered as she scattered papers about, ripping files off their shelves and tossing them on the ground when they weren’t what she was looking for. “Not here, not here, not here!”
Erin barged out of the room and flew to the mission board hanging on the wall of the guild. She tore down all the papers while the adventurers watched. When the board was clear, her hand was engulfed in a purple aura, and she wrote on the board, leaving sticky letters. The message said, “Wanted!!! Valuable information pertaining to the destroyed fairy spring located in the Peaceful Forest! Deliver a message to 99 Fairy Drive. Reward: Ten-use polymorph staff! All ranks welcome.”
Erin floated a foot back and placed her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork. That should do it. Whoever ignored the message on her gate was going to pay.
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