The Way Back Home's
Spiders
Bliss took them to the back of the tea room. There Farrell saw a similar arrangement of stones in the garden. They were arranged in the middle of the hallway to the kitchen. Actually Farrell was intrigued to ask why Bliss had such a portal to another concoction shop. But, his hunch said he would soon know upon their arrival there.
Farrell felt a similar sensation that he felt just a moment ago. The change in air is accompanied by wind from below. Next, they arrived at the other side of the city. The atmosphere is quite different. They are no longer in the middle of the city. This place is quieter. Only a few people seem to be passing by. The building is old and looks duller. The road is paved but has been hollowed on several sides.
They stood on the edge of the sidewalk overlooking a gloomy three-story shop. The walls are composed of red brick without plaster, making it different from other rows of gray. The windows are cloudy and decorated with spider webs in various places. His glass door was clad in wood which began to blacken. That's where the name of the store ‘Blub says. Potion and Poison’.
“Milo will definitely comment on the name of this store,” Farrell murmured. “Blub? Seriously?”
“If this problem is resolved, we can take your sister around the world of magic. We'll see how long he'll last commenting on each store name.”
Farrell circulated his views and realized the name of the other store was no less unique. Store right next to Blub named ‘Tick Tock, Knick Knack’. Afterwards, there is a ‘Ckris’ shirt store and a ‘Eat cake shop us meat’. “They are creative.”
Christo had already walked over to the door. When he opened it, there was a sound of bells coming from above the door. Inside the store, a long storefront stretches from each side, confining visitors in a nine-meter square space. The glass storefront contains various bottles containing various colorful ingredients. There are also thick leather-bound books, parchment scrolls, skulls, candles, and various jars. Behind the storefront itself, there is still a row of thick shelves towering up to the top. They load various boxes and baskets, leaning against each wall.
Before long, Farrell began to hear the sounds of the crowd. He knew clearly because Bliss had already warned them before. The spider. He began to see various types of eight-legged animals emerging from various angles. Slit walls, behind cabinets, up from the ceiling of the room. Size varies. Some are as big as dinner plates and some are as small as sugar cubes.
“It looks poisonous,” whispered Farrell as he glanced at one orange-colored spider walking on the display case approaching Christo's position.
“The spider in your shoes is the same,” whispered Christo, looking up at Farrell's shoes.
Farrell gasped but did not dare to move. A spider the size of a fist moved up his shoe. Just like the spider in the display case, this spider also has feathers along its body. It was bright red with black strokes.
“Are they not beautiful?” An old man emerged from one of the cupboards. Apparently the cupboard in the middle can rotate, double as a door to the inside of the store.
“Good day, you must be Hendrick,” greet Christo.
The man nodded. “Dan, you must be Bliss's acquaintance. I've worked with him for a long time. He ordered some special herbs from me, hair and eyebrow growth herbs, for example.” Hendrick took off his beret hat, revealing his thick, gray hair. He chuckled afterwards, making the frown on his face even more visible. The body is small, slightly bent, wearing a long-sleeved grey checkered shirt with a brown suspender. “But, it looks like you guys don't need a hair-growing potion from me. So, what can I do for you?”
“We need antidote potion.”
“Ehm, before that, sir Hendrik sahut Farrell before talks go further.
Hendrick laughed again. Farrell thinks his teeth are a lot of dated, it turns out old Hendrick teeth are still complete. Hendrick called his pet, “Kinky, come here. Others, too, do not bother first. I have a guest. We want to chat.”
Somehow the spiders understood. One by one they began to go and return to where they had been. The spider at Farrell's feet went down. He went down the wooden floor and was lost in one of the holes on the lower wall.
“The antidote of mind influence potion,” Christo replied.
“Oh, it will be a little difficult. First, I need an example of the potion. I have to know what mix the potion was used to be able to make the antidote. The price will depend on the rare or not the ingredients composing the antidote.”
“How about without sample potion? Is that impossible?” ask Farrell. He wasn't so sure if they could bring Denise's potion to Hendrick. At least right now, Farrell has no way of doing it.
Hendrick nodded. “If I make it original, the antidote could turn into a deadly poison. It was worse than the thoughts that others influenced. By the way, the herb is called a mannequin herb. The effect makes the drinker obey the wishes of the maker. Herbs are used to control people or extract information from them. Yes, but not a few people also call it a herb of mind influence. The more often you drink it, the stronger the effect.”
“Indeed, from the beginning we suspected that if the herb was drunk continuously, the effect would be permanent. Is that true? Bliss also said the closer the color red, the stronger the potion. Mannequin herb we saw magenta color,” Farrell ensure.
“Magenta... what color is it like?” Hendrick scratched his forehead.
Farrell pointed to one of the violet colored potion bottles tending to red, “Like that.”
“Not so strong apparently, but quite potent origin drunk periodically three times a day.”
Farrell murmured softly, “Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. They got more potions from the dosage.”
“Then, you must be fast.”
Farrell approached Christo and half whispered, asking, “How do we get back there and take it from Remy? Is it possible if we ask Gizmo for help?”
Christo turned and smiled at him. “No need to ask, let's just try.”
They rushed back to the starting place of everything, Eden’s Lodge. To get back there, the two walked quite far into the middle of the city. Farrell thought they were going to use the portal again, right and wrong. They could indeed use the portal in the middle of the city to return to the small town near the inn. But, to reach the portal, they had to walk first.
Upon their return to the small town, even before Farrell could ask where Gizmo was, Christo suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Farrell was enough to catch Christo's point. Something bad happened. After they turned off the highway, Christo let go of his grip and walked quickly, leading. They cross paths with a horde of tourists, walk among them, then immediately separate themselves at the intersection.
“They're here, I see it,” said Christo as he walked, but not so fast.
“Jim and Joe?”
“Tap.”
