It was just after sunset when the sound of a trumpet blared through the forest, startling him awake. He heard an announcer bellowing, "This is a proclamation by the king. If the escaped apprentice by the name of "Varian" does not return or is not returned to our king by tomorrow by noon tomorrow, the servant who helped him escape will be hanged in the castle courtyard." The trumpets blared again and the announcer repeated his message, then the woods were finally silent once more.
Varian shuddered. Now I definitely have to do something. And fast. Maybe I shouldn't wait 'til tomorrow to think of something. He looked down at the bottle in his hand and an idea started to form in his mind.
Carefully holding onto the bottle with one foot, he thrust himself into the air with his other foot before quickly grabbing the bottle with both feet. His flying was still clumsy, but at least he stayed airborne. I think I know where Frizfrazzle keeps his potions.
Thankful for the night camouflage his black feathers provided him, he flew along the castle, trying to visualize the inner layout of the castle in his mind. This might have been a tricky task for someone who did not possess a powerful brain like Varian's. But Varian found it after only ten minutes. That corridor led to that window facing the inner courtyard, so then the tower would be right here, and just beyond that would be…perfect!
There were countless small windows to choose from, but he only made his way towards one. As carefully as he could, he flew up to the window and landed on the edge. The bottle clanked a little against the stone, but thankfully the room was dark and empty. He looked around at all the supplies until he saw a shelf full of potions against the wall. His heart leapt as he saw the "spell" book on the shelf just below them. This might work. This just might work. He glided to the floor. With his beak he pulled the cork from the bottle and spilled its contents onto himself. He transformed back into a human, his arms and legs hitting the floor with loud thumps. I hope no one heard that, he thought, freezing in place. He waited for an eternity, but couldn't hear any shouts or approaching footsteps.
Alright, Varian, you've got this. He grabbed the "spell" book from the table and flipped to the latest page, where Frizfrazzle had scribbled down the rough recipe of potions that he'd mixed to create the dragon. A dying candle on the wall gave him just enough light to make out the words.
"Alligator, ram, snake, bat, phoenix...wow." Varian took out the specific potions matching the creatures described in the list and poured them, one by one, into an empty glass tube. Frizfrazzle had written down estimates of the amounts, and he tried to match them as well as possible.
The heavy, even footsteps of a guard swiftly approached the door. Startled, Varian nearly let go of the glass tube in his hand and took deep breaths to calm himself. He's just passing by. Stay calm.
Thankfully, the footsteps continued on down the hallway, and Varian allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. He placed the bottles back on the shelf slowly so they wouldn't clank together, leaving the mixture he'd made, along with another raven potion. He stared at it, going over his plan in his mind to make sure he was accounting for everything.
This is my best chance at saving her and getting us out of here. I'm sure of it.
He poured the raven mix onto him and quickly placed the bottle onto the table to avoid the disaster that had happened last time. Within seconds he'd transformed back into a raven. It was a struggle to get airborne again, but once he did, he wasted no time grabbing the bottle and fleeing back through the window.