Very short A/N: I know that the cover image doesn't look very good. I'm a better storyteller than I am an artist. Unless you consider storytelling a form of art. In that case I'm incredible at it.
Chapter 1: The Arrival
Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a village of tiny blue creatures that called themselves The Smurfs. They were a happy little bunch who mostly just kept to themselves in relative peace and harmony. Then there was the evil wizard Gargamel who hated The Smurfs with a fiery passion and mostly stayed cooped up in his hovel. However, the normally quiet forest would be receiving a very mysterious new visitor on this most lovely of days.
A strange man in a long orange and red robe with an attached hood that obscures his face wanders into the forest. He looks around as he ponders aloud. "They said that I could find the fabled den somewhere out here in this forest," said the man as he continued to look about. The man kneels down towards the ground, and using a dagger that he pulled from his robe he cut some plants as well as some lavender and gently placed them into the satchel that he had strapped around his waist. He then proceeded to climb a tree and cut off a moderately sized branch before climbing back down. "Alchemy is quite the daunting task, but I wouldn't have become an alchemist if I wanted things easy," said the self proclaimed alchemist with a chuckle as he walked off towards the nearby mountain.
Little did this humble alchemist know that at that very moment he was being watched by a little blue man who had just seen him collecting his ingredients from behind a large tree stump. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this so called alchemist, but he was sure that this was important enough to report to the other Smurfs. He dashed through the forest all the way back to Smurf Village and tripped a few times along the way.
Running as fast as he could the little Smurf barged right into Papa Smurf's lab without even knocking first. "Papa Smurf! Papa Smurf! I saw something strange in the forest!" frantically shouted the little Smurf.
"Calm down Clumsy. Stop smurfing so loudly. And please do knock next time," said Papa Smurf in a calming tone.
"Oops, sorry about that Papa Smurf," said Clumsy looking a tad bit embarrassed.
"Oh, it's quite alright," said Papa Smurf before giving the other Smurf a dismissive hand wave. "Now what was it that you wanted to tell me smurf-xactly?"
"Well, you see I was taking a walk through the forest since it was such a smurfy day and all. Then I heard this noise so I went to smurf it out. So I smurf over there and see this tall figure who I at least think was human wearing a long orange and red robe. He was using this dagger to smurf some plants and a branch. Then he said something about alchemy, chuckled to himself, and smurfed off towards the mountain," said Clumsy as calmly as he could muster.
"Hmm… and are you absosmufly sure that you heard this figure say something about alchemy Clumsy?" asked Papa Smurf while deep in thought.
"Yes, Papa Smurf. I'm as sure as a Smurf can be," said Clumsy with an affirmative nod.
"Well then this is a great cause for concern. We already have our smurfs full with Gargamel. We don't need another Smurf obsessed sorcerer smurfing up shop in the forest," said Papa Smurf sounding a tad bit worried.
"Well what should we do about it Papa Smurf?" asked Clumsy.
"Go and get all of the other Smurfs Clumsy. Go and tell them to gather in the centre of the village. We'll have to smurf together a team to go spy on that alchemist and see smurf-xactly what he's up to," said Papa Smurf as he pointed at the still open door to his lab.
"I'll get on it right away Papa Smurf. I won't smurf you down!" declared Clumsy as he ran out the door to Papa Smurf's lab. He tripped again on his way out, but he quickly got back up and went off to spread word of the gathering.
"I hope for all of our sakes that this smurfs out to just be some loon. A real alchemist might cause a lot of trouble. And if he's after Smurfs then… well I'm not sure if we could smurf on another evil wizard. We're already barely keeping out of Gargamel's clutches. Another threat like him might overwhelm us. Oh well, we just need to smurf for the best I suppose," said Papa Smurf as he prepared to head to the village and tell his little Smurfs about the possible new danger that lurked in the forest.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain The Alchemist was making preparations. He pulled out the lavender that he had previously obtained and poured some liquids from several vials on it. He then let it dry before putting it inside of an ornate metal ball attached to a chain that he had pulled out of his satchel. He then set the dried lavender plant alight with a spell. As The Alchemist ascended the mountain he gently swung the ball back and forth while tightly gripping its chain. The scent of sweet incense spread across the base of the mountain and out into the forest. Although nobody could see it The Alchemist grinned. The scent of lavender incense always got him in just the right mood for performing complex alchemy.
Quote of the Chapter:
"Alchemy is quite the daunting task, but I wouldn't have become an alchemist if I wanted things easy." - The Alchemist
