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

[thaumobabble]

"It's nice armor."

Ah, an excuse to check Sherlock out. That's nice.

[allthebrightest]

"It's great," agrees Tony. "I'm proud."

[thaumobabble]

"Do you tend to have much call to be armored, if you avoid everyone before you could get into a fight with them even if they were unfriendly?"

[calendarofcrime]

"It is always possible I might detect someone or something I would prefer to intercept."

[thaumobabble]

"Like what, a wizard? I'd expect wizards to mostly be terrified to come into the Enchanted Forest, let alone as deep as this. Have you been having elf trouble or something that I've not heard of?"

[calendarofcrime]

"I don't have particular candidates in mind."

[thaumobabble]

"Fair enough. Ever-vigilant warrior princess. So Tony forges armor, Sherlock wears it, that seems very tidy."

[allthebrightest]

"Yup," says Tony. "I mean, I'd wear it too, but she's way scarier than I am."

[thaumobabble]

Bella looks assessingly at Sherlock. "Should I be scared of you?"

[calendarofcrime]

"Only if you represent a threat to Tony, the royal family as a whole, or this forest. Otherwise no."

[thaumobabble]

"I do not represent a threat to any of those persons or political entities," says Bella serenely. "I am just a magician who magics magic magically. And quite harmlessly."

[calendarofcrime]

"Then you need not fear me."

[thaumobabble]

"Excellent, I hate it when I have to fear stuff, especially traveling companions."

[calendarofcrime]

She laughs.

[thaumobabble]

Did someone say "wizard"?

[calendarofcrime]

Someone did! Someone did say 'wizard'!

[thaumobabble]

Gosh! This wizard over there about fifty yards off on a course that's likely to meet theirs perpendicularly actually has nothing to do with that, but what a coincidence!

[calendarofcrime]

"Soon we will encounter a wizard," says Sherlock.

[thaumobabble]

"Oh dear," says Bella. She starts rummaging in her sleeves. "I do not actually have anything on me to counter a wizard if he decides to be unfriendly - I don't expect them in the forest - I might be able to talk my way past him if you'd rather not get into a fight, though."

[calendarofcrime]

"Oh, but getting in fights with wizards is such fun."

[thaumobabble]

"Do you do it often?" inquires Bella.

[calendarofcrime]

"Only when the opportunity presents itself."

[thaumobabble]

"All right, then I won't attempt to distract him by conspicuously saying something incorrect about Zemenar's Third Principle and then paying rapt attention when he corrects me."

[calendarofcrime]

She chuckles.

[thaumobabble]

Bella allows herself to fall behind Sherlock a bit, and starts murmuring nervously to the marble strung around her neck as they approach the wizard

The wizard does not see them coming until they're nearly on top of him.