Potion 319: Part One

     "We understand this predicament, but when something this serious happens, we must investigate," the Gelert said, scribbling notes onto a loose sheet of paper.

     "I told you, not one of these potions ever would harm anybody! He must have added something or tampered with it," Kauvara insisted.

     "Perhaps you should read this article from this week of the Neopian Times," said the Mynci, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, with the bolded headline reading 'Potion Tainted?'

     Kauvara began to read:

     Purchased on the Second Day of Eating, Kyrii resident Grayson D. Stevens insisted on being sold a different, and perhaps deadly potion from the Magic Shop, run by the famous Kauvara. Grayson insisted he purchased a Starlight Potion, but it most certainly wasn't, as he later found out. Investigations are still being held, and Grayson is currently having the green boils and extra limbs removed at the Mystery Island Clinic for Magical Mishappenings. An inventory is to be held on the Fifth Day of Eating at the Magic Shop for any further information on this horrible event.

     "Filth!" Kauvara blurted out, throwing the article to the floor. "I promise you, I have no potions on stock that would harm anybody!"

     "On stock you say?" asked the Gelert, furiously writing details down on the papers.

     "I meant, of course, to say that I wouldn't sell any poisons. Not that I have any or anything," Kauvara muttered.

     "We have to take inventory of all of your items whether you like it or not," the Mynci demanded, glancing at his watch. "We only have a few hours until we have to investigate that Faerie food that a person insisted made his weightless."

     "And what happens if I don't let you in?" Kauvara asked suspiciously.

     "We will have no choice but to shut down your shop," the Mynci declared, and for a moment there was silence.

     "All right, but don't you even think about sneaking anything out of my shop without paying," Kauvara warned, admitting them inside the dark shop.

     The interior was much like entering a cave, only various potions and dim lights illuminated the area. Various beakers contained differently colored liquids, ranging from a light blue to a violent shade of red.

     "You search over on that side of the shop, I'll take this side," the Mynci instructed, and the Gelert walked off into darkness.

     As the Mynci was walking, he noticed there was a small leak sprawled across the floor. He took out a vial from his pocket, and scooped it up. It was a light green liquid that smelled oddly like cleaning solutions.

     Then, nearing the end of the shop, he noticed a small, wooden spiral staircase descending downwards into darkness. The Mynci stepped onto the first step, glancing behind him to ensure Kauvara wasn't watching him. He took the next step, and this one creaked a little bit. He quickly vanished from the main floor and reached the basement.

     The sight was breathtaking. There were thousands more potions here than upstairs. The Mynci looked at the rows and rows of oddly shaped beakers and strangely colored potions and liquids. These looked a lot more complicated than others. There was a label on each potion, followed by a number, and a description of what it did.

     He glanced at each potion carefully.

     Blinding Stafritis
     Potion 23
     'Beware this potion of blinding,
     for if you can't find the antidote,
     you will soon run out of timing.'

     Static Flitnis
     Potion 172
     'The feeling of volts is horribly shocking,
     and if you ever doubt its effects,
     then you are in for some mocking.'

     Boiled Limbnitious
     Potion 319
     'One of the most gruesome potions ever made,
     you will be unpleasantly given,
     a few extra limbs and boils with green shade.'

     "This is what Grayson ingested, but how?" muttered the Mynci to himself. "Perhaps there is an antidote somewhere in here."

     The Mynci browsed along the aisle until he came upon something that was clearly the antidote.

     Limbnotious Curiousa
     Potion 349
     'If you have stumbled upon 319,
     you have gone through some tough pain,
     however, drink this and you will be cured,
     and sometimes seen but never heard.'

     "What does that mean, sometimes seen but never heard?" asked the Mynci to himself, grabbing the vial and cramming it into his pocket. The Mynci began to feel very heated, and reached for something to drink. He grabbed a vial, and drank a quick sip, putting it back into his pocket.

     Then, something horrible happened. The Mynci began to sprout green boils around his arm, then the other arm. It spread down to his legs, until his whole body was covered with the boils. He then sprouted two extra arms, and four extra ears, until he looked like some deformed Spyder.

     "Oh no, I drank that liquid I found upstairs. It must have been Boiled Limbnitious I scooped up! I need the antidote," the Mynci gasped, grabbing for the vial labeled Limbnotious Curiousa, and he began to drink until the bottle had been cleaned. Slowly, the limbs vanished, and the boils cleared from his body. The Mynci sighed in relief, and climbed up the stairs, pretending nothing had happened.

     "Did you find anything?" asked the Gelert.

     "No, unfortunately I didn't," the Mynci lied, trying to hide the bulge in his pocket.

     "I told you! You wouldn't find anything to harm anybody in this shop," Kauvara said, the Mynci shifting in his spot.

     "We better get going; we have to make it all the way to Faerieland," the Mynci muttered, and the two left the shop at once.

     ***

     Arriving at his Neohome, the Mynci crashed onto his bed, drifting into a deep sleep. It had been a busy day for him, not at all like usual days. Tomorrow would be different, though. Much different. The change would be hugely noticeable to him, but others wouldn't be able to tell, if they ever saw him. He was incredibly worried, and he didn't know what to do. He wished he had never meddled with the potions. Why would he just take a drink of a random potion he had found on the floor? Now he didn't know what to do, or why he was invisible.

     The sun shone through the window panes, and the Mynci got up and stretched. It was a beautiful day, but it was also another day for work.

     "Isaiah, reporting into work," the Mynci said, the assistant taking no notice of him. This was normal; nobody was ever attentive in the morning.

     "Good morning, Blake," Isaiah said to the Gelert as he opened the door, which was his usual morning greeting. Blake looked up, but didn't respond. While leaving, Isaiah could have sworn he heard him mutter, "Must be a loose hinge or something."

     Isaiah stepped into his office, and glanced into his files. Nothing huge seemed to be happening today, so it appeared it would just be an office day.

     Blake walked into the office, and stopped before he stepped two feet into the room. "Oh, where is Isaiah? He's late!" Blake then walked out of the room, leaving Isaiah dazed. He grabbed a mirror, and saw nothing in the reflection. His heart sank, and began to grab for anything, soon realizing he couldn't see his arms. Looking down, he couldn't see any of his body.

     Isaiah ran into Blake's office, and began to speak. "Blake! Blake! Can you hear me?"

     Blake sat unresponsive, filing papers at his desk, not even glancing upwards. Isaiah grabbed one of his folders, and picked it up into the air, Blake's eyes following. "Now that I have you attention..."

     "What is this?" Blake asked, grabbing at the folder levitating in midair.

     "Blake, it's me! Your partner Isaiah! I don't know what is happening, but I seemed to have been turned..."

     "Security! Some invisible pet is playing some practical joke on me," Blake interrupted again, pressing a red button. Isaiah dropped the folder, and darted out of the room, exiting the building.

     Isaiah walked back to his home, and found the bottle that had once held the antidote to the horrible condition he had. He read the small piece of parchment tied to the bottle:

     'If you have stumbled upon 319,
     you have gone through some tough pain,
     however, drink this and you will be cured,
     never seen and never heard.'

     "Of course, sometimes seen but never heard! This potion wasn't going to cure me without giving me some sort of side effect," Isaiah muttered to himself, throwing the bottle aside. "This antidote has turned me invisible, and I cannot be heard!"

     Isaiah thought aloud, wondering what this meant. If nobody could hear him though, he would have to investigate how to cure himself, without any help from anybody else. This was going to be difficult, and he was going to have to search Neopia high and low for any chance to cure himself.

     The first step was to go back to the Magic Shop, and look for anything that may cure invisibility. If that didn't help him, Isaiah was going to be in some deep trouble, even if people didn't know he was there.

To be continued...

Please send me comments! This is my first NT series! :)