Hey, hi, hello, hola, bonjour. Welcome to another chapter. I am happy to say that, um, according to you all, the last chapter thankfully succeeded in living up to your expectations. Thank goodness for that. I have a little tad bit of anxiety, so I was imagining the worse possible outcome. But, that didn't happen, and we got more reviews to check out. Two of them are on the shorter side, so I'll avoid covering them because the most I would say is "Thanks!" But, with that being said, feel free to leave shorter reviews; I notice them and take in what you say, no matter the length. Okay, anyways.

My response to LightDusk16's Review: Hey, thanks! Glad you liked the chapter. Yeah, Oliver will go on quite a few solo adventures while the main cast does what they do in the show, but there will be far more group adventures, so that isn't really the main focus. Sometimes, it's going to be a strange mixture, like these next two chapters, for instance. Part of it with the group, the other completely solo. I'm also glad you like the little headcanon I added for Amity; I was a little... scared to put that in, but it seems to have worked out well enough. It's going to change quite a bit, and you'll see that whenever I get to what would normally be episode 3. As for your prediction... well, I won't spoil whether you got it right or not. I can tell you for sure that it doesn't happen in this chapter, but in the future? I'll leave you to figure that out.

My response to Kagaminelover657's review: Thanks for yet another review. I really appreciate how you dived into each element of the chapter you found interesting and broke apart why exactly that is. I'm glad none of the characters were out of character; that is in my top five priorities for this fic. As for what you said about Oliver using the jacket for magic... you got me. That wasn't the original purpose by any means. It was introduced more so I didn't have to write every single time Oliver changed into an outfit; he has a portable wardrobe now, essentially. But after thinking about it, I realized that him using glyphs just like Luz would make him way less original. So, I came up with a balanced way for him to use magic without him becoming essentially a Witch with extra steps. It won't be introduced for quite a few chapters, but I'll give you a brief run down anyways. Basically, when Oliver is directly hit by any sort of spell, his jacket will absorb the magical energy from it and store it for later. This gives him the ability to cast a spell like any other witch would; by drawing a circle in the air and thinking about the spell. But, the catch is, he can only cast as many spells as he has been directly hit by. Once all the stored magic is depleted, he'll go back to being a regular old human. I think the system works well and keeps him from being boring; now he has to use a mixture of glyphs and normal magic instead of just one or the other. Anyways, back on track, thanks again for the review. It inspires me to continue writing.

And there we are. Thanks again for sticking around. I don't have much warning to throw out, so just enjoy yet another long chapter. It's uneventful this time, though, so don't get your hopes up.

Oliver's eyes slowly drifted open, heavy and covered in crust. He picked off his eye boogers as he looked around the room, slightly confused. It looked like a closet of sorts, with junk Oliver couldn't even begin to name on the floor all around him. Halfway through his search, a loud... snore entered his ears. He quickly spun towards its source, his eyes meeting a sleeping Luz. She was huddled into a sleeping bag, laying on her side that faced the boy. The dog-like creature that was King sat laying at the end of her bag, sound asleep. Oliver rubbed his face, letting out a sigh of relief. So yesterday wasn't a hallucination caused by sniffing too many fungus spores, he thought as began to stretch. Thank fucking god.

He attempted to sit up, but was quite surprised to find significant resistance. He looked down to see that he had... gone into a sleeping bag? He couldn't even recall what happened after he walked up the stairs, let alone going to sleep. It was a dark blue in color, made of a material that seemed so familiar. He was so surprised at this discovery that he said his thoughts aloud. "When did I get in a sleeping bag?" he asked to open air. The moment he finished his sentence, the feeling of the sleeping bag laying on top of him almost completely vanished. He looked down and saw that the bag... it was doing something quite recognizable. Morphing and molding, almost like a liquid. He didn't need to know much more than that to figure out what was happening. It slowly crawled up his body, latching around his chest and compressing down. Before long, he wore his jacket once again. He stared at it, deep in thought. "Why Eda ever stopped using you is something I'll never understand," he eventually mumbled.

Turns out, he must have been mumbling quite loud considering rustling started to come from beside him. He looked over and saw Luz tossing and turning about, stuck in between dreamland and the real world. Deciding he'd do her a favor, Oliver reached over and gave her shoulder a little shake. It didn't take her long to respond to his shaking, quickly jolting up out of her sleep in a second's notice. Her waking up process was far different from the boy's, almost instantly being on her feet and looking around the room; he was still sprawled out on the floor despite his lack of a bed. Her energy seemed to double when her eyes met Oliver's. She looked up to the ceiling, punching the air in front of her. "Yes!" she shouted.

The boy, somewhat confused yet entertained with her antics, pushed himself off the floor with a smirk on his face. "Yes to… what, exactly?"

She spun to him and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him onto his feet; she's way stronger than she looks. "It wasn't a dream!" she nearly shouted right at him. She dashed on over to the window in the room, of which was stained glass, and pushed it open. "We're actually in a horrific, terrifying, fantasy world!" She closed her eyes and leaned on the windowsill, taking a deep breath through her nose. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Just as she finished, Oliver noticed something... something, well, horrific and terrifying in the distance. A green... sea monster, maybe? They had long tentacles, whatever they were, and were currently using them to wave at the two humans. They had many eyes, and two big horns. They began to slowly submerge back into the bubbling water, all of their eyes locked right on the boy, before completely disappearing. The boy slowly pointed at where the creature once was. "I'm like... 75% sure that thing will eat us if we walk by the coast."

Luz opened her eyes, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. "What thing?"

Oliver attempted to answer, but just eventually brushed away the air in front of him. "You know what? Nevermind. Just don't go by the coast without Eda."

She squinted at him for a moment before rolling her shoulders, leaving the window. "Okie dokie, I guess." Her eyes quickly lit up again as she headed for the door. "I wonder if she has witchy clothes," she nearly mumbled as she reached for the doorknob.

Didn't take her long to forget about that. Oliver scratched his chin, thinking over her words. "Witchy... witchy clothes?"

She spun back around to face him. "Yeah, you know-" she made gestures to represent the clothing she was speaking of. "Black, crooked hat, black dress in tatters..." She looked to the floor as her voice trailed off. "I think that's it, actually."

Oliver quickly recognized what she spoke of, recalling his little adventure from yesterday. He still vividly remembered him and Amity's talk. With a little shake of his head, he made his way next to Luz and opened the door. "Yeah, she does. They're right down here."

Luz punched the air yet again as she followed the boy. "Yes!" she attempted to whisper, but it came out as more of a raspy shout.

It did not take long for them to reach their destination; it was only down a flight of stairs, after all. Oliver walked up to the familiar closet and pushed the door open, presenting its interior with his arm. "Tada," he said with obviously fake enthusiasm. The contents had not changed, minus the lack of the jacket he was now wearing.

Luz looked like she wanted to scream as she ran over to one of the ruined dresses. She picked it up and examined it on all sides. "I can't believe witches actually wear this!"

Oliver let out a little chuckle as she tried to grab one of the hats on a shelf; she was just a tiny bit too short. "Yeah, I thought the same thing." She eventually accomplished her mission, but only after jumping up to get it. She put it on her head, adjusting it so it was right in the center. "Wasn't nearly as happy though," he mumbled.

The girl ignored his comment, looking up at the hat on her head with wide eyes. "This is so cool!" she full-on shouted this time around. She reached up and gave it a little knock, a hard plastic-y sound coming from the supposed "hat." She scratched her chin. "Huh. I didn't think they'd be so hard."

This discovery couldn't be pondered for long before Oliver heard a creak from the floorboards behind him, making him slightly jump. He spun towards the noise only to see a tired Eda, hair even messier than it already was and in a red shirt with a blue skirt. She was slumped down, showing a clear lack of interest for… well, everything in that moment. "That's because you have a traffic cone on you head." The girl looked up at the supposed traffic cone with a confused expression as Eda chuckled. "And a filthy one at that."

Luz finally took off the ridiculous hat and used her arm to brush at it. After a little scrubbing, her jaw was on the floor; a thick layer of… something completely covered the instantly recognizable orange and white. She dropped the cone and backed away from it, making sure to hold her arms back. Meanwhile, Oliver let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I was not looking forward to wearing that."

Eda walked straight into the kitchen, clearly disinterested in the two human's antics. "Could one of you wake up King?" she shouted out at them. "He get's cranky if he get's too much sleep."

That seemed to cut Luz's disappointment short. She quickly rushed out of the closet with a newfound pep in her step. "I got it!" her voice echoed from the top of the stairwell.

Oliver looked at the stairs with wide eyes; I don't think I've seen anyone move that fast before. "Why didn't you run that fast when we were chasing the owl?" he asked to no prevail, for she had already entered the closet. When a few moments passed and he didn't get a response, he shook his head before entering the kitchen. Eda now had a coffee cup in her hand, but the liquid in it clearly wasn't coffee judging by its bright red color. He began to speak as she took a sip of whatever it was. "So, what's the... training regiment you have for today?"

The Owl Lady scratched her head, squinting at him as she took yet another sip. "The training what?"

He was surprised she didn't know such a basic word, but shrugged it off. "You know, what will we do today as, uh, witch apprentices?"

She walked over to the dinning room table and put her cup on it as she leaned against it. "Well, the girl… Luz is going to go out and sell some of my wares since my main snail makers are in pieces right now." I'm… I'm going to assume snails are the currency here. Eda brought her skinny finger up and pointed right at the boy. "And you are still going to stay here and clean."

The boy almost collapsed as all his enthusiasm left his body. "What?! Really?" Her expression never changed, causing the boy to sigh. "Why do I have to do it again?"

She looked from side to side. "Because we both know you didn't stay here and clean all day yesterday. You swept a little, but that was it."

Oliver was shocked at this newfound discovery. "How did you..." He paused for a moment before realization spread all over his face. "Hooty told you, didn't he?"

"No," she said as a smirk spread across her face. "You just did."

It took him a moment, but he nearly face palmed as he realized. His brain scrambled for an excuse "Yeah, about that. I was just…" He put on his best fake smile. "...joking?"

Judging by her face, she wasn't buying it. She looked down to the floor as she grabbed her coffee cup. "You really need to work on your lying." She chugged the rest of the liquid before slamming it on the table, wiping off what little had gotten on her lips. "Besides, I was just pulling your leg. The more of you there are, the less likely you'll be eaten alive."

He felt a little relief at first, but after her last comment went through his brain, he scratched his shoulder in an attempt at hiding his hesitation. "Thanks for the reassuring thought."

Her smirk grew as she looked down at the boy. "What? You said you wanted an adventure yesterday."

The conversation didn't get a chance to continue as rapid footsteps began to approach the kitchen. They rounded the corner only to reveal Luz, King in her arms, holding him up like how Rafiki did Simba in The Lion King. "He's awake!" she shouted.

King struggled in her hands, trying to pry them off of him. "Put me down and let me eat my breakfast!" he said in that high-pitched voice of his.

Luz smiled as she brought the creature over and dropped him on one of the chairs. "Okay, okay." She reached down and ruffled his fur. "You little cutie pie." Instead of protesting her comment, King simply sighed and rested his head on the table. She turned to Oliver and Eda, resting her hands on her hips. "So, what's the training regiment we're going to do today?"

Olive looked over to Eda very matter of factly and gestured over to the girl. "See? I'm not the only one who knows that word."

The Owl Lady quite literally brushed away his comment. "Yeah, yeah." She turned to the entrance of the kitchen and walked through it. "Follow me," her voice now echoed from the hallway. The two humans glanced at each other before chasing after her.

It did not take the three of them long to reach their destination considering it was the living room. Eda walked over to the corner where the suitcase from yesterday flew out of and crouched down, beginning to search through it. "Witches usually learn magic from schooling, but since the school would probably dissect you if you stepped a foot in it..." She threw a few things out from the corner before eventually finding what she was looking for. She reached down and pulled out two big bags, glass clanking around on the inside. She turned to the two of them. "You'll be learning magic a bit... differently."

Oliver seemed to catch on to what she was saying as she approached them. "Oh, like Karate Kid style."

She stared at him blankly before sighing. "I have no idea what that is," she said with a plain tone as she threw the bags their way. Oliver was able to catch his while Luz's went falling to the floor. Her bag partly opened, revealing to Oliver that they were filled to the brim with different colored liquid bottles. "You'll have to work for it."

Luz reached down and picked her bag up while Oliver dug into his, pulling out a random bottle. He raised an eyebrow as he read the label. "Quack Remedy?"

Eda punched the air as she began to speak. "Let me tell you, a duck that can't quack is a real tragedy."

Luz looked into her bag, squinting at its contents. "What even is this stuff?" she asked.

The Owl Lady grabbed her staff from the fireplace as she looked from side to side. "Potions, elixirs, remedies." That didn't seem to settle the girl's confusion. "It's my side gig," Eda eventually clarified. "Most of the time, I'm selling human junk, but all my junk is in pieces right now thanks to our boy in blue." Oliver scratched his neck, a little flustered at her words even though he knew he couldn't help it. "So, when I don't got human junk, I sell my homemade concoctions."

Luz scratched her chin as she continued to stare at the liquids. "I don't get how this teaches us magic, but... okay."

Eda looked like she had a big speech to let out. "Well, for starters..." As her voice trailed off, Oliver realized it was just a facade. She paused for a moment before using her staff to push the humans forward. "We'll say it teaches you patience, which you're gonna need a whole lot of." She stopped pushing right in front of the door to the house. "Now then." She turned around towards the hallway and cupped her hands around her mouth. "King! Get your butt over here!" she shouted. It took a few minutes, but the small creature did eventually round the corner into the Living room, stopping a few feet away from Eda. "You're gonna help guide our two lost souls over here to Bonesborough." So that's the name of the city.

Judging by his face, King instantly disagreed. "What?! I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

The Owl Lady rolled her eyes. "That's what you get for waking up late." She reached over and twisted the doorknob, pushing it open and pointing to the outside world with her staff. "Now get to it."

He sighed. "Fine." He walked over to the exit, pointing up at Eda as he passed her. "But I expect a hot plate of food when I get back!"

She chuckled. "In your dreams." King left the house, leaving the two humans inside. Eda stared at them dumbfounded, waiting for them to leave. When that never happened, she gestured at the exit with both her hands. "Well?"

That seemed to snap the two out of whatever trance they had entered. Luz was the first to leave, hesitantly tiptoeing out into the outside world. Next was Oliver, who was not scared in the slightest due to his solo adventure the day prior. He spun around and looked at The Owl House one last time before Eda shut the door, revealing Hooty's ever blank face. "Good luuuuuck," he said in that... long voice of his.

Surprisingly, those words made him feel even worse. He gave a thumbs-up, attempting to smile, but it came out as more of a cringe. "Thanks, Hooty." He quickly spun around and chased after King and Luz, who had already stepped onto the path he walked down yesterday. As he reached Luz's side, he was surprised to see that she was deep in thought. "You seem nervous," he said, dragging her out of her mind.

She looked over to him, nodding slightly. "Yeah, a bit, but I'm also pretty excited." She looked back forward, her eyes lighting up. "We're going to be the first humans to step on this land in... well, forever!"

King, who was leading the way, shook his head, looking back at her. "We've had other humans, you know. It's just been a really long time."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "How long is 'a really long time?' "

He did a little roll of the shoulders, focusing back on the path. "Well, at the very least it was before Eda was born."

Luz never lost her enthusiasm. "That's close enough to forever for me." As silence gathered, Luz seemed to go right back into thought. She eventually turned to the boy, something clearly on her mind. "Hey, Oliver," she said, causing him to look her way. "Have you seen my book? I was going to ask you last night, but you kinda... collapsed before I could."

He was confused at first, but almost shouted when he realized what she was talking about. Oh shit! I never got it back from Amity! His brain scrambled for something to say as he began to sweat. He came to the conclusion that it was best to act like he didn't know; the book clearly meant a lot to her judging by how she went to another dimension for it, and telling her he gave it to a person he just met probably wouldn't end well. He wiped the collecting water off his forehead. "W-what book?" he asked in one of the most unconvincing voices he had ever heard.

She squinted at him. "You know, the Good Witch Azura?" The boy tried his best to keep his clueless facade up. "We chased an owl for it?"

This strategy clearly wasn't getting them anywhere. He pretended to gain realization, taking a deep breath. "Oh! You're talking about t-that book!" He put his hands behind his back, over dramatically shaking his head. "Nope. Haven't seen it since we got here."

That surprised the girl. "Really? You didn't see it while you cleaned yesterday? Because I don't think I brought it with me."

He nodded, squeezing his hand down into a fist in an attempt at lowering his anxiety. "You must have It was nowhere in the house."

She stared at him for a few more moments before looking to the floor. "Huh." Thankfully, she seemed convinced, entering her mind once again.

The boy let out a sigh of relief, wiping even more sweat from his forehead. I got to get that thing back today, he thought, feeling the guilt rise in his stomach.

The rest of the walk went similar to the day prior, minus the whispering, of course, which still baffled the boy. That is to say, it was quiet. Oliver would ask the occasional question to fill the silence, and Luz would quite commonly speak about how there wass something special about the Boiling Isles as if that wasn't obvious enough, but besides that, only the clanking of glass from the two human's bags filled the silence. It only took a short walk for Oliver to see the familiar city off in the distance. He had been in it, so his reaction was significantly dulled. Luz, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to explode as they got progressively closer, almost jumping up and down with each step. The sight of one of the green, crooked hands reminded the boy to put his hood on, of which he quickly did. Luz saw what he did and replicated his action, her two cat ears flopping up; it must have been a hand-made hoodie considering Oliver had never seen anything like it.

A short walk later, the trio had reached the familiar entrance. Oliver's eyes locked onto the creatures walking by, not entirely noticeable, while Luz was leaning into each one that passed. It got so bad that even King, who had his back turned to them, noticed. He looked over his shoulder to the girl. "Is it not rude to stare where you come from?"

That thankfully pulled her eyes away from the passersby. She stared at him for a moment, more than likely shocked that he had noticed, before eventually shaking her head. "Yeah, it is. I just…" Her voice trailed off before she gestured at their surroundings. "I can't believe we're the only humans here!" she said louder than Oliver was comfortable with

He quickly put his finger up to his lips, making a little shushing sound. "Not so loud!" he yell-whispered. His arm gestured over to one of the many guards around them. "We're dead if they hear."

Her eyes got wide for a moment before she quickly looked away from the guard. "Oh yeah. Sorry." It took her a few moments before she eventually continued with her previous sentence. "Anyways, I've only see stuff like this in my dreams."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle at that comment. "I thought the same thing," he mumbled.

He clearly needed to work on his mumbling because Luz quite obviously heard him. She squinted at him. "What do you mean? You said that like you've been here before."

The boy's lie was quickly falling apart. He quickly waved his hands, trying his best to get her attention on something else. "N-no, I didn't mean it like that!" He scratched the back of his neck, attempting to look casual. "I just thought the same thing when we went with Eda yesterday." It was partly the truth, but he didn't really feel like he was in a dream until he entered this city.

Any suspicion she had quickly vanished. "Oh." He almost did a dance because of how much relief flooded his body.

Feeling the approaching silence come closer, and knowing he had to get Luz's book, AND not wanting Luz to get any more suspicious than she already was, Oliver searched for something to say that solved all three of the problems. He eventually found it. "Why don't we split up?" he said out of the blue. Both Luz and King turned to the boy, confusion written all over their faces. He shrugged. "I mean, it makes sense. We'd sell a lot more of these potions that way."

King was the first to get anything out. "Well, yeah, obviously. But aren't you worried about getting lost or, I don't know, eaten?"

Even though the boy made the plan on the spot, his brain had seemed to already come up with all the reasons why. "I'm a good solo navigator, so we can just meet up here in..." He pulled his jacket sleeve back and looked at his broken watch; while the hour hand was still frozen, the minute hand worked fine. It was in the "20" position right now. "... thirty minutes or so." He put his arm down. "You know the way around the city, King, so guiding Luz to its entrance should be a cake walk for you."

He stared at him for a moment before eventually shrugging. "Good enough for me." He turned to Luz, gesturing the girl to follow. "Let's get this over with already. My breakfast is getting cold."

She didn't seem as willing to leave the boy behind, turning to him. "Are you sure? I don't think a few extra bucks is worth your life."

The amount of concern she had for him despite them having only met the day prior... she was certainly one of a kind. Oliver nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine." That didn't seem to quench her apparent worry. He dropped his confident facade for a moment, giving her a light smile. "Look, don't be worried about me. I can handle myself."

Thankfully, that finally seemed to end Luz's worry. She stared at him for a moment. "Alright, if you say so..." With that, she turned around, her and King slowly beginning to walk off. The two humans shared one last glance before they were separated by the growing crowds.

Oliver let out air he didn't even know he was holding in, rubbing his face as he slumped down. Thank god, he thought to no one but his mind. He took a few seconds to regain his composure before standing up straight and going down the path that lead opposite to where the other two went. He walked down it a bit before his eyes eventually caught a human-like creature; he still wasn't quite comfortable talking to the literal blobs. They looked like a man, having a long, gray beard. Clearly, they didn't have the best living situation; their torn clothes were more than enough proof for that. "Excuse me!" he shouted at the man, but they didn't seem to notice. Most likely because there were far more creatures around them. With a sigh, he went up right next to them and tapped on their shoulder. "Sir!" he shouted, finally causing him to look his way. They had big eyebags under their eyes. "Do you have a duck that can't quack?"

The man raised an eyebrow at the boy's question. "By Titan, what do you mean boy?" His voice was considerably deep, far deeper than anything Oliver thought possible.

He didn't really know how to respond to that. "I, umm..." His brain eventually came up with a temporary solution as he raised his bag of potions. "I'm selling potions and remedies," he said, pointing to the clanking bag.

The man's eyes quickly grew wide. "Oh!" Judging by how he was intently looking at the bag, he had gained his interest. "Do you perhaps have a healing remedy of sorts?" He pointed up to his shoulder. "I have a fierce cut from a blade, you see."

He spoke surprisingly formal for a man that looked homeless. The boy quite literally shook off the thought, reaching down and searching through the bag. "Let me see..." If Video Games had taught him one thing, it was that red potions were healing. He pulled out the first one he caught a glimpse of. Imagine his surprise when he read "Healing elixir" on the label. He handed it out to the man, an air of confidence around him. "Here you go."

The man quickly took it out of his hands. "Ah, thank you my boy." He stuffed the potion in his pocket before pulling out a jingling bag. "And how many snails will that be?"

Oliver had gained so much confidence that he didn't even process what he said. "It costs..." His voice trailed off as he realized. Eda never told me a price. All his confidence left in a moment's notice as his mind went into a panic. It took him a minute or two to get a number out. "3 snails?" He wasn't even sure if that was the standard price for a flower, let alone a high-quality (maybe), homemade elixir.

Judging by the man's reaction, he aimed too low. "Goodness gracious is that a steal if I've ever heard one!" He pulled out three little gold coins from his coin purse, dropping them into the boy's still open hand. Yeah, I aimed way too low. Oliver was still stuck staring at the coins in his hand while the man looked completely done with the exchange. "Well, you have a good day fine young man," he said as he began going down the road.

The interaction happened so quickly that he almost forgot the real reason he stopped the man. He rushed up behind him, tapping his shoulder yet again. "Hold on just a second! I need to ask you a question!"

The man stopped in his tracks, turning to face Oliver. "Well?" he asked. He wasn't expecting him to respond so fast "What is it?"

He pondered the best way to ask his question for a moment before continuing. "Have you seen a... green-ish haired girl around here?"

The man stared at him before letting out a hardy chuckle. "You'll have to be more specific, my boy, for I've passed at least a dozen that match that description!"

He sighed, rubbing his face; his formal way with speech was really starting to grind his gears. I forgot people have wacky hair colors in fantasy worlds. No, wait. That's anime... eh, same thing really. He pulled himself out of his thoughts, staring dead-on at the man with tired eyes. "Her name is Amity. I heard her family owns a really big company, so you should have at least heard of her."

The man glanced around at the streets, no doubt only seeing complete strangers, before leaning in close to the boy. "Are you... are you speaking of the young Blight?"

That name did ring a few bells in his head; it's what her Mom said. He slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I am."

He yet again looked around his surroundings, a little bit of panic in his face as he stared at the boy. "Is this some sort of test? Because, if it is, I can assure you that I have no business with the Blights?"

Oliver sure as hell wasn't expecting that, recoiling a bit after he processed what he said. "What? No!" He slumped down, shaking his head. "Look, man. I just need to know where she is; she has something of mine."

He squinted at him. "Hmm..." They had a mini-staring contest before he continued, the suspicion in his eyes slightly diminishing. "Okay, she normally frequents the library." He stood up straight, scratching his chin. "I don't suppose she is awake at this time though."

Oliver was over the conversation, not even caring to hear the man's last comment. "Alright, thanks," he said, walking off and giving them a little wave. "Enjoy the potion, I guess." The man didn't get to respond before the boy had already vanished into the crowd. Halfway through his walk, Oliver realized he never got directions. He looked towards one of the many creatures leaning against the buildings around them, eventually deciding to go up to one of the more human ones. "Excuse me, do you have a duck that can't quack?"

After an unsuccessful sale, he got the directions he needed. Before long, he stood in front of what, to him, seemed to be a really fancy library. If he hadn't been told otherwise, he would've assumed it was a castle. Huge towers made up a corner of each wall, with stairs leading up to a door at least the size of a two-story building, framed by a marble arch. A huge stained glass window sat right in the center, giving the entire thing this mystical feel. To every other creature there, though, they acted like it was nothing. It was so big to him that he felt even a little uneasy walking into a place you're meant to read. Still, he had to go in there; he owed it to Luz. With a deep breath, he slung the bag over his shoulder and made his approach up the stairs.

There were a lot of stairs. Like, A LOT. But, it didn't stop him from reaching the top. The door loomed over him; he had to crane his neck to see the top. It was closed. He went right up to it, unsure if he could even make it budge, and began pushing on it. Surprisingly it was really light, almost instantly swinging open. It was so light that he lost his balance as he leaned forward. He went falling headfirst into the library, the door slamming shut behind him from its own weight. "Ow," he let out with his face still buried into the ground, his voice booming around him due to the size of the room.

He pushed himself off the floor, finding himself in awe as his eyes passed over everything. It had two stories, and the roof was simply huge, way up into the sky. Bookshelf after bookshelf filled the room, not too tall, but very dense. They REALLY care about their libraries, huh? he thought with his jaw agape. Before long, he shook his head, snapping himself out of his strange trance. He turned to his left to find the check-in/out counter, a really big, almost looming character behind it. They were, or resembled to be, a bird, having a long mustache and glowing yellow eyes. A really, really big book floated underneath them, giving them some extra height, but even without it, they'd still greatly outsize all humans.

Oliver began to approach the creature, very hesitant with each step. They seemed to be focused on something on the desk in front of them, not evening paying the boy a glance. Oliver eventually stood in front of them, the creature still not doing so much as to look up. Oliver coughed into his hand. "Um, excuse me..." He squinted at the creature, trying to decipher their gender. "... sir, maybe?"

Judging by how they slowly looked up at him, he finally got their attention. Their eyes got wide as they stared at the boy. "Oh! Like, sorry dude!" Any and all intimidation they gave Oliver left him almost immediately; they had a very similar voice to that of a surfer dude. He leaned down, still being far taller than Oliver. "What can I, like, do for you?"

The boy tried to process the insanity in front of him before eventually just giving up, deciding to roll with it. "I'm looking for Amity... uh, Blight. Is she here?"

The bird creature shook his head, leaning back. "Sorry, little dude. Todays her day off."

He gained a tinge of rage, making a fist and throwing it towards the floor. "Dammit," he mumbled, this time actually succeeding at no one but him hearing it. Nothing was said for a short moment, then Oliver realized he had the potential of turning this bad situation into something slightly better. He brought the bag off his shoulder and presented its contents to the strange creature. "Do you, by chance, have a duck that can't quack?" he said with the fakest smile he could force.

Another failure of a sale later, Oliver was strolling out of the library's door. He was pissed off now, maybe even a little more than that. How would he explain to Luz that he just gave her book away without a second thought to a person he literally just met? Simply put, he couldn't. The anger kept building up, and he had to find a way to release it, so he strolled on up to one of the pillars and drove his fist into it. He quickly brought it away and grabbed it with his free hand, pain now surging through his body as the bag fell below his feet. "God fucking dammit," he said to himself as he inspected the self-inflicted wound. He had torn part of his skin from how hard he had punched, but there was no blood. "Why did I do that?" he asked to no one but himself... or so he thought.

His little... thing was cut short by a familiar voice coming from behind him. "Oliver?" they asked, causing him to turn to their direction. It was the one person he had been looking for; Amity. She had a concerned yet clearly confused look plastered all over her face. A book sat resting under her arm, but it wasn't the book he was wanting. "Why did you... punch that pillar?"

Oliver shoved his damaged hand into his jacket's pocket, reaching back and scratching his neck. "O-oh, Amity!" he said with fake enthusiasm. His head turned over to the pillar he so wrongly abused. "I was, uh... mad." He stared at it for a few more moments before turning back to the girl, her confusion still very present. "Really mad."

She gave him a raised eyebrow for a few more seconds before waving air away from her. "Whatever." She casually pointed to the bag that was still on the floor. "What's up with the bag?"

Oliver glanced over at it before facing her again. "I'm selling potions." His inner businessman saw the opportunity for a sale and quickly took advantage of that. "Speaking of, do you got a duck that can't quack?"

She titled her head slightly. "Umm... no. No, I don't."

The boy sighed, looking to the floor. "Someone is eventually going to say yes to that." He reached down and picked up the bag, waving it around a bit. "Apparently, selling stuff is really hard. I've only gotten one off my hands."

Amity shrugged. "It's better than none." She got a little closer, looking down at the liquids in the bag. She picked one out and examined it on all sides. "Who made this stuff anyways? They look... thrown together." She gained a bit of panic, looking up to the boy and waving her free hand. "No offense if you made them."

Oliver shook his head. "No, it wasn't me. I didn't even know potions were real until today actually. They were made by-" He rolled his eyes. "-The Most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles." Amity looked away from her bottle just to give him a raised eyebrow. "Eda the Owl Lady? She said she's well known." The eyebrow stayed raised. "Gray hair, yellow eyes, torn up dress? Any of this ringing a bell?"

The eyebrow eventually went down, a tint of realization entering her eyes. "Wait, are you talking about the lady that digs through my trash?"

Oliver smirked, already able to imagine Eda's response. "One Witches trash is another's magical concoction," or something like that. "I mean, maybe. I don't know what she does in her free time."

Amity crossed her arms, gaining a smirk as well. "Weird person to work for." Silence crawled in, almost ending the interaction, but then Amity finally came up with something to say. "What exactly are you doing here? I thought you would've gone home by now."

He leaned against the pillar, finally getting a chance to relax. "You first."

She brought the book from under her arm out, presenting its cover to him; he didn't bother reading it. "I'm returning this book." She paused for a moment. "And I also need to talk to my boss about my hours."

"Your boss is the big bird looking creature. right?" She nodded, the boy looking down to the floor in response. "He's hard to bargain with... or I'm just a bad slaseman."

She chuckled. "I'd vote for the later."

Oliver smirked a little before focusing on the matter at hand. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to say. "I'm actually here for you. I need something of mine back from you. The book I gave you to be exact, because the other human I came here with..." He shook his head a little bit. "She really wants it."

Amity's eyes got wide, her hand coming up like she was about to facepalm. That didn't happen though as she slowly lowered it. "Oh yeah! I never gave that back to you." She looked around at the surroundings as if the book would fly towards her... actually, on second that, Oliver could see that happening. " I could go get it, but it's at my house, so you'd be waiting a while."

He was willing to do that. "How long exactly?"

She looked up to the roof for a moment. "About an hour."

He was about to say yes when he realized something; he had to be back at the spot soon. His eyes drifted down the watch, the minute hand now at the "40" position. He let out a long sigh, slumping down a little. "Yeah, I can't wait that long. I got to meet back up with the other human."

The conversation halted for a moment, Amity clearly in thought, before continuing with her words. "How about we meet here tomorrow? I should be able to give you the book then."

He was surprised; that was a great idea. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."

"Just come here in the evening instead; I have school tomorrow."

The boy felt the sudden urge to rush out of there, probably due to the fact that the time they said they'd meet back up was fastly approaching. He quickly nodded. "Alright, yeah. Sounds goode." He took the potion that was still in her hand and threw it in his bag, heading to the stairs and quickly jogging down them. "Sorry for the rush! I have to go," he shouted back at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he reached the bottom. "Alright... see you tomorrow, I guess." Little did she know, Oliver couldn't hear her; he had already dived back into the crowded streets of Bonesborough.

It didn't take him long to get back, mainly due to the fact that he was full-on sprinting. When he did eventually get there, though, much to his dismay, neither King nor Luz was anywhere in sight. He was worried he was too early, but when he glanced down at his watch, he knew that wasn't the case. It had reached "50;" a full 30 minutes had passed. So why could he still not see them?

He waited around five minutes just to make sure they weren't being slow, then, when he was still the only one sitting at the entrance like a lost child, he knew he had to go looking. He headed down the path he saw them go, keeping his eyes out for any cat-eared hood or tiny dog-creature. Unfortunately, no figures in the crowd stuck out to him. A few minutes had passed before he gave up, looking down to the floor and sighing. Where the hell are they? he thought. Someone had to have seen them, but most of them would be way ahead of him. If only he had someone stationary to ask...

That's when an idea popped into his head. A terrible one at that, but an idea nonetheless. The guards; they never move from their spots, just leaning against the wall staring at whoever passes. If he just asked them, he'd get his answer. But, of course, there was the risk that they'd notice he's human. At that point, though, he was willing to take it. He walked up to one of them, their appearance being essentially identical to the one who chased him yesterday. Then again, that was most of the guards he passed. They had yet to notice him, giving Oliver time to come up with what to say. He had to be very careful, one slip of his words and he'd be going to prison. He took a deep breath through his nose, ready to let out whatever scheme he had come up with, but just before he got it out, he heard a voice echo down one of the alleyways next to him. A voice very recognizable to him.

He took a glance at the guard, who had thankfully still failed to notice him, then turned to the alleyway and ran to the voice as fast as he could. It didn't sound like they were in danger, but you could never be certain with alleys. He turned the corner and, there in all their glory sat Luz and King. Luz had gained a rolled-up scroll, and King was in the process of rolling his eyes, but otherwise, they were exactly as how he had left them. Although, her bag did look significantly smaller compared to the boy's. Guess I really am a crappy salesman.

Luz's eyes got wide when she glanced over Oliver. "Oh, hey Oliver!" She jogged up to me, tilting her head at my presence. "What are you doing over here?"

That wasn't what he expected to hear. He brought his wrist up and gestured to it with his head. "It's ten minutes past the time we were meant to meet up, so I went looking for you." The two of them squinted at the boy, causing even more confusion in him. "Did you guys not know thirty minutes had passed?"

King stretched his arms out. "Does it look like I have a watch?"

Oliver looked at the two, slightly baffled. "Then why did you guys agree to split up?" They looked like they were about to answer, but he stopped them. "Okay, it doesn't matter." He shook his head for a moment before focusing back on Luz. "Why are you guys back here? I don't think there are many people to sell potions to in an alleyway."

Luz was going to say something, but King got his words out first. "Alright, first of all, we're not selling potions. We're delivering them."

He looked over to the dog-like creature, raising an eyebrow. "Delivering?"

He nodded. "Yeah. There's a list of names in your bag..." Oliver bent down and began digging through the bag frantically, only causing more confusion for King. "You were trying to sell them?"

The boy was confident he wouldn't find anything, there was no way he hadn't noticed something as simple as a list, but when his fingers brushed against a piece of paper, he felt like screaming. He pulled out the paper and looked it over. It was filled to the brim with names and their appropriate locations. "Yeah, I just... I just thought that..." His voice trailed off, not being able to come up with a reasonable argument.

King nodded. "Alright, note to self. No more splitting up."

Luz stared at him for a moment before turning back to Oliver. "Anyways, we were back here because one of the customers lives here. And, well..." She paused for a moment before her eyes lit up, bringing her scroll up and opening it. "You're not going to believe this, but-"

Oliver shoved the list back into his bag, dropping it on the ground. "We're in a fantasy world." He crossed his arms. "Try me."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, so we were delivering the potions, right? But it turns out, the last customer actually is a, get this-" She jumped up, nearly crushing the scroll in her hand. "Wizard!" She handed over the now slightly crumpled scroll to Oliver, giddy with every breath. "He lives in a castle and gave me a magical quest to get a witch's staff!" Oliver squinted at the paper as he looked it over. It was a map of sorts, with a tall, white staff at the very end of it. Looked like something straight out of a cliche fantasy movie. "He said I'm a Chosen one!"

That last comment really got his attention. Luz was certainly... unique, but a "chosen one?" He doubted that was even a real term. Judging by the eye roll from King, he felt the same. He brushed the air away from him. "Don't listen to that crazy old fool. Chosen ones don't exist! They're just fairy tales." The two humans both looked over to him with squinted eyes; I didn't think they'd use the same term for made-up stuff. "You know, stories fairies tell people." Oh.

Oliver turned back over to Luz. "So, assuming this guy isn't crazy like King said, why did he think you're chosen?"

Luz looked from side to side. "Well, he was kind of cryptic about it. But, from what he did tell me, he said he could feel it from me, that I was special." She scratched her chin. "He also knew I was human even though I had my hood up."

He looked back down at the map. "Hmm..." He looked over it for a few moments before handing it back to Luz. "You guys go ahead without me."

Both Luz and King squinted at him. "Where did that come from?" asked the girl.

Oliver shrugged. "I just want to talk to this Wizard without holding you guys back any longer." They both continued their squinted session. "Trust me, I'll be fine. I know the way back"

They stared at him for a bit longer before King walked ahead. "Alright then. If you get eaten though, don't blame it on me."

Luz was a little more hesitant, but did eventually join his side. "We'll come looking for you if you're not back."

He gave a thumbs up. "Sounds good to me." And before long, they had rounded the corner, leaving Oliver to his own devices. He turned to where the two had come from; a cloth cover stood in the way of the supposed castle Luz had spoken of. "Alright, Wizard." He looked down at his bag of potions, eventually deciding he'd pick it up on his way back. He walked in front of the cloth cover, readying himself to walk through it. "Let's see what you're made of."

A/N

Oooo, cliffhanger. Sorry to do you dirty like that, but I think this was the best place to split it off. I'll probably be doing that with most "episodes;" splitting them in half, that is. I could technically combine them together, but then you'd have a 20,000 word chapter on your hands, and not only is that way too much for me to write at once, but also just too long to read. Might do it once or twice though.

Now, I know I said I have big plans for this chapter, and I did. But, said big plans have been moved to the next chapter for length reasons, leaving this chapter to be mostly filler. I can assure you, next chapter will be anything but filler. Plot points that will be used for the rest of the fic will be introduced. So, yeah, hopefully Oliver just exploring Bonesborough and failing at selling anything is good enough for you for the time being.

That's enough from me for now, so until next chapter, hopefully I'll see you next time.

Adios