A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer. Glad you liked it. More on the Witch right now. ;)
Chapter 7
After visiting the butcher, the three headed back to the mayor's office. The butcher could not recall anyone asking for entrails but he did note that he gave one of the old timers some blood for soup. Elphaba made a face but she did recall the recipe for Duck Blood Soup that Fiyero had once mentioned. It was a very old dish served by his ancestors but it was not always made with duck blood. Sometimes goose or pig blood was substituted if that was more readily available. When he said they did not waste any part of the animal, they were not kidding.
"Miss Elphaba, Doctor Howat, Corporal Roth, how goes it?" Mayor Smythe asked as the trio entered his office.
"Well, we've made some progress, but I need to look at that list of stolen items, if I may," she asked Chief Celli. The lawman was sitting at one of the chairs in front of the mayor's desk, Fiyero was next to him, and the three men had been chatting.
"I had one of my deputies write it up for you. I also had the body of the dead goat brought to the undertakers. It's pretty smelly though, so I had it put outside in a barrel. Do you really think this is all connected?" The Chief wondered as he handed her a piece of paper off the mayor's desk.
"Honestly, I'm not sure, but I do think there is a thread to be pulled. Someone used magic to prevent Sarah's body from decomposing. That is not a spell that you just whip out. There's also a chance that they performed a shape shifting spell. Those are extremely difficult and take years to master. They can also backfire horribly. Many don't even try to perform them," the green woman explained. Fiyero had remained quiet so far and gave her a look. More and more it sounded like a powerful witch was behind all of this.
"What is the backfire?" Doctor Howat asked.
"Typically, spells expire and then all goes back to normal. Most are quick but as I mentioned earlier, some have longer time limits. Stopping the decomposition of a body is one of the longer spells, as is a shape shifting one. Most of the shape shifting type last about an hour on their own but unlike other spells, this one doesn't wear off. If the person does not cast the reversal spell before the hour is up, they will become the altered shape permanently," Elphaba told them.
"Why would that kind of spell need a reversal spell?" Smythe asked.
"This type of spell is complicated. It takes a lot of power to cast it. Therefore, it takes a lot of power to reverse it. After the reversal, it isn't uncommon for the caster to pass out," she explained.
"So, if you changed into a bird, you would only have an hour to shift back or become the bird," Corporal Roth spoke up.
"Exactly so… Mayor Smythe, do you have a map of the area?" The green woman asked.
"Yes. The maps are stored in a room upstairs," he said.
"We need to see one," Elphaba had an idea. Fiyero could tell what she was up to.
"I'll head to the undertakers and look over the goat. We're losing evidence as it decomposes," Doctor Howat said.
"I'll go with the doctor. Corporal, help Elphaba," the Prince told them.
"Right this way," the mayor took them over to the staircase as the doctor and Fiyero scooted out of the door.
"Ok so what are we looking for exactly?" Smythe asked once they reached the room. He opened the door and turned on the lights.
"We need one that shows the road where we found Sarah's body and town," Elphaba said. The mayor nodded and went to one of the large cabinets and pulled open the drawer he was looking for. He gently pulled out a map that Chief Celli helped him move onto the nearby large table.
"So, the road you're looking for is here," Smythe pointed out the Yellow Brick Road.
"There is town," the Chief pointed out.
"Forty minutes by foot," Corporal Roth noted.
"Or about two minutes if you have a very large wingspan," Elphaba frowned.
To Be Continued…