extradimensional space

[thaumobabble]

Here is a house.

It is pretty and trim and green-and-cream and really ought not to be able to hold itself up like that, and yet here it is, somehow defying the laws of architecture. It is surrounded by a neatly bordered garden of ornamental and useful plants of all sorts: here vegetables, there herbs, there spell components, there rows of flowers.

There is a sign out front. It says only: Magic. Not, Beware, Magic or Magic Emporium or anything like that. Just: Magic.

Sitting on top of this sign is a cream cat with smoke-dark points of color on each paw, his ears, and his face and tail.

All in all, you could be forgiven for thinking that a witch lives here.

Comments

[calendarofcrime]

That is quite enough for Sherlock, who steps forward and swings her sword at his neck.

[thaumobabble]

Apparently he was expecting the frost to do more to stop a part-fire-witch than that, because he has nothing further up his sleeve - in his staff - whatever - he's dead now.

Meanwhile, Bella is wondering aloud to Tony: "Should we catch up with her and see if she needs help?"

[allthebrightest]

"Probably," Tony agrees, and traces Sherlock's path.

Although Sherlock is not doing anything more out of the ordinary than cleaning her sword when they arrive, Tony takes one look at her and frowns worriedly.

[thaumobabble]

"...So, are you okay?" Bella asks. "Also, can I have his staff? I can wrap it up so it doesn't try to grab any forest magic."

[calendarofcrime]

"He used a frost spell. I am uncomfortable, but will survive. Do what you like with the staff," she says, sheathing her sword.

[allthebrightest]

"Sherryyyyy," says Tony. "That's horrible!"

[thaumobabble]

"...Do you need - I have some - if you want -" Bella sets about rummaging in her left sleeve. "Brightwort and goldflower and a little sorcery, if you want me to patch you up?"

[calendarofcrime]

"Yes," she says. "Thank you."

[thaumobabble]

Brightwort and goldflower are both produced. "I don't suppose either of you can set these on fire for me? I also have matches, somewhere, I think but am not sure..." Rummage, rummage.

[allthebrightest]

"Sure, just say when," says Tony.

[thaumobabble]

"Soon, soon," murmurs Bella, and she gets out a glass plate, arranges the herbs on it, and says, "Sherlock, I'm going to need to hold your hand - or something, but hand's easiest."

[calendarofcrime]

Sherlock divests herself of a gauntlet and offers Bella her hand.

[thaumobabble]

Bella clasps Sherlock's hand in both of hers and tries not to blush, mostly successfully. "Now, Tony?"

When the herbs are aflame, she says:

"Mulaglarby!"

And Sherlock should feel much better now.

[calendarofcrime]

She lets out a soft sigh of relief. "Thank you."

[thaumobabble]

"You're welcome," says Bella cheerfully, letting Sherlock's hand go with a pat and blowing herbal ashes from her glass plate before she tucks it into her sleeve again. "Lucky thing I have so many healing trigger-spells set up. Comes of wanting to be immortal." She goes up to the staff cautiously, puts her spectacles on, and starts peering at it through various lenses in search of traps to disarm or work around.

[calendarofcrime]

Sherlock spends a moment smiling before she puts her gauntlet back on.

[thaumobabble]

"This will take me about two hours to make it safe to pick up and put away, or I could destroy it right now," Bella finally announces. "Do you two object to waiting that long?"

[calendarofcrime]

"What would you do with it once you had it away?"

[thaumobabble]

"Hang onto it until I got home, and then study it!" says Bella cheerfully. "There's no good way for non-wizards to learn about wizard spells, but the best way is to take apart the staffs and see what's in them. The next best way is to marry a wizard and pretend to be deaf so he'll talk to his friends in front of you, and some fine books on wizard magic have been produced that way, but I do not care for the methodology."

[calendarofcrime]

...She laughs.

[allthebrightest]

"You go right ahead and pack it up, then," says Tony.

[thaumobabble]

"All right then," says Bella cheerily, and she settles in to work.

She wears her spectacles the entire time, flicking occasionally between lenses, and performs an eclectic series of procedures, occasionally swearing at the staff under her breath. At one point she produces what looks like a piece of another wizard staff and waves it in a detailed pattern through the air. Something that makes her sneeze convulsively is involved a bit later on.

Finally, about two hours later, she whips out a few yards of red cloth, wraps the wizard staff in it, and stuffs it lengthwise into her right sleeve. "All right!"

[calendarofcrime]

"Excellent. Shall we continue?"

[thaumobabble]

"I do believe we shall."

[calendarofcrime]

Sherlock continues to lead them, then.