A Tiny Adventure

     On the 27th day of Collecting, in Year 8, I did my 257th experiment. It was a strange brew, a potion that would grant eternal happiness to anyone who drank it. At least, this was the result I was expecting.

     Having nothing to lose, I started drinking a vial full of this mixture. After drinking about half of it, I felt somehow queasy.

     “Fatigue,” I thought and decided to go to bed. Indeed, falling asleep did not take long, as expected. However, some weird dreams reached my Wrought Iron Bed and managed to penetrate my mind. Really strange, they were. I could see myself cornered by Ghost Spyders and Vernaxes, while they attempted to trap me in their webs...

     ***

     The next day, I woke up at eight o’ clock, like I used to on weekends. Being a bit sleepy, I couldn’t identify my “condition”. My bed was softer, whereas the house seemed larger. It took me a whole minute to realize that I was lying on my Furwitch Pillow, just like every other day. The difference, though, was evident: my pillow seemed ten times bigger than me.

     “It can’t be true,” I thought, but then I remembered the potion. That was when I started to realize what was happening around me. It was not the house that had grown bigger and larger. I had shrunk so much so that even a Snowglobe Pencil looked taller than me. Apparently, it was the potion that had shrunk me. What a feeling that was!

     I sat down to take in the size of the problem. On one of my expeditions to Mystery Island, I had heard of a wise Techo that could shrink Neopets, but I'd never believed it. The funny thing was that I had produced the same potion, by accident. Thank Fyora, my species and color hadn’t changed! I still remained a Halloween Zafara, bearing the same thunder-like scar in my tail that I got from a clash with Jhudora.

     “Life is really strange sometimes,” I thought.

     Without delay, I ran to my lab and after herculean efforts, I managed to climb on my Cauldron Table. Luckily, the half-filled vial was still there. All of a sudden, a thought trespassed my mind. If I still possessed the shrinking potion, what could prevent me from brewing its antidote?

     In just one moment, the sun was shining for me again! I knew that my Casket Bookcase had the answer to my problem. Then again, my size was not helping me at all. It took me four hours of constant book-searching, until I found a Bound Magic Book. It was a big, dirty book about long-forgotten spells and potions. Jumping from page to page, I reached the chapter “Advanced Potion Making”, written by Helladius the Judicious. Fortunately, my salvation stood on the seventh line of that page: “Bumroot Recuperative Glug”.

     “I can make it,” I thought. “I only need some herbs from my garden!”

     ***

     I rushed to my garden, as fast as I could, in order to cut a Fumpu Leaf. Once again, picking ingredients from a plant is no easy task for even a dwarf, let alone a shrunk witch, like me. I figured out that I couldn’t cut it with my bare hands, so I resorted to magic.

     “Rescindum!” I whispered and a purple flame tore the Fumpu bush, dropping a leaf, just in front of my feet.

     ***

     Second on the list of ingredients was a nail from a Skeletal Bush. That challenge was far more difficult than the previous one. Skeletal Bushes are malicious plants. Go near one of them and chances are you won’t survive to tell the tale... Now I needed something more than my Rescindum spell... While I was pondering, I heard a familiar howl. It was my loyal Zomutt!

     “Why, hello there, little fellow! Remember me?”

     The grey creature purred sweetly, hardly recognizing me. When it was sure about my identity, it bowed down, letting me ride it.

     “For the nail!” I shouted and the Zomutt started galloping towards the Skeletal bush. When we arrived at a safe distance, I jumped off the petpet’s back and ordered it to dig carefully. As I had been taught in Fyora’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the only way to immobilize a Skeletal Bush is to dig out its roots, causing it to wither. Undeniably, after a lot of digging in the garden’s ground, the Bush resigned, lying down hopeless. So much for its nail, therefore!

     ***

     The final ingredient was a Gwernial. It is a rather rare, hideous-looking fruit that I luckily cultivated in my garden. I could even remember the exact spot I had planted it, four months ago. Riding my Zomutt, I started my little trip to the eastern part of the garden.

     Three and a half minutes had passed, when I found myself looking at a big tree, full of Gwernials!

     “How can I get one now?” I thought. I didn’t want to cut the whole tree down and the Zomutt was not trained for climbing rough areas. I needed something new and effective...

     “How could I forget?” I screamed. “I shrank because of that potion I brew. So, if I pour some drops on the tree’s roots, it won’t be able to support the fruits’ weight and they’ll fall to the ground!”

     Riding my loyal servant, I reached the kitchen’s table and I ordered the Zomutt to grab the vial with its mouth. Our next destination was the Gwernial Tree. Everything went as planned: three drops of the vial were more than enough and soon, a Gwernial was placed in a bag, along with the Fumpu leaf and the Skeletal Nail.

     ***

      “To the Laboratory!” I howled, riding my Zomutt for the last time. I had finally accumulated all the ingredients required for the Bumroot Recuperative Glug. It was a matter of time before the shrinking effects of the vial got disabled.

     I hadn’t realized that we had arrived, when I saw my Cauldron Table, waiting for me to mix the potion ingredients.

     Following the potion instructions, I crushed the Skeletal Nail with the flat side of my Obsidian Dagger and dropped its remaining in the cauldron, which was now looking yellow. Afterwards, I chopped the Fumpu Leaf, causing the mixture to turn maroon. Subsequently, I cut the Gwernial into pieces and dropped them in the cauldron, always with the help of my Zomutt. Finally, I stirred clock-wise seven times, until the potion had the color of a Plum Chia. At last! The Bumroot Recuperative Glug was finally ready!

     I stood frozen for a couple of minutes, gazing at my creation. It was the antidote to my “condition”. Everything I suffered would now be gone. It would be a thing of the past to remember... This tiny adventure taught me to be more careful with potion-making, but also the importance of my loyal friend, my Zomutt. I would never forget about that little fellow anymore. It helped me when I was most desperate, when I was looking for help with no one else near. I had become wiser...

     ***

     Moving slowly but surely towards the cauldron, I sipped a few drops, hoping that they’d work properly. After five seconds my head was aching terribly. I felt that my legs could not support my body; everything was turning around me... I fainted on the table...

     When I woke up, the first thing I saw was my Zomutt. It stood next to me, trying to lift me. I looked around me; everything looked normal. I was lying on the Cauldron Table, which was barely long enough for my body to fit on. I jumped for joy! I was in my regular size again! Nobody could understand my happiness. At the beginning of that adventure, I was trying to brew a potion that would grant me eternal happiness. Now I knew that it did its job perfectly. What I lived gave me far more happiness than anything else on Neopia. I found a new experience, but most importantly, a friend I could trust! My beloved Zomutt!

The End