Hey guys, surprise! This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I hope you still enjoy! Praise the Lamb!
Boiled Lamb
~|o|~
"Nope, sorry kid! Can't help ya."
"Are you certain?"
"Don't know what to yell ya. She's always popping in and out, selling as much of her crazy stuff as possible before she takes off. Even if I did know where she lives, I wouldn't tell you. I've seen the piles she leaves the guards in and I don't fancy getting boiled to gas." The pile of slime burbled, its dozen eyes blinking.
Lambert pursed his lips and rolled up the poster. "I see. Thank you, regardless."
"Take it easy kid." The gelatinous mass returned its many eyed gaze to its shelves of jarred preservatives.
Lambert pushed past the tent flap and groaned.
He had been busy all morning asking around for clues to the Owl Lady's whereabouts. Walking up and down the streets, he questioned any individual who would give him the time of day. Aside from the guards of course, who he imagined would take issue with a child asking about a notorious criminal. Pedestrians occasionally pointed and cooed as they passed but to a lesser extent than the day prior, most of them distracted by their shopping. Which was both good and bad. He was harassed by doting grandmothers less, but now ran the risk of getting pushed around as patrons rushed for bargains.
Thus far his search hadn't bore much fruit. Very few citizens didn't know about the Owl Lady, but very few actually had any useful information. All he knew so far was of the wild witch's business habits and the name of her domicile, The Owl House. Which would be helpful if they would also tell him where it was! As it turned out, most people he asked had no idea as to its location. The two who did would clam up immediately, fearing the wild witch's reputation.
The second specifically just froze with a look of abject horror on his face, muttering something about hooting and owl pellets.
Lambert sucked in breath through his nose and marched on, looking for the next person to question. He had come this far and was not going to give up. He was close, he could feel it!
His eyes flitted about then finally landed on a small group of large, broad shouldered demons in clean suits and wide brimmed hats. The small gang were talking amongst themselves in low voices, too silent for him to pick up. Lambert briefly noted the wide berth other bazaar patrons were taking around the well dressed demons, giving them nervous looks.
'Well, they are as good as any.' Lambert shrugged and stepped over.
"You guys hear from the boss yet?" One demon asked. Another shook his head.
"Nah, he's collecting the last few payments from the stalls on the East end. He'll let us know when we move."
Lambert raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"
The demon's lifted their heads and glanced around.
"Who said that?"
The little god grumbled. "Down here."
All four demons lowered their eyes. "What do ya want squirt?"
Lambert resisted the urge to drive his sword through the demon's stomach and unfurled the wanted poster. "Do you gentlemen know where I can find the Owl Lady? I must speak with her."
The demons looked at each other, then immediately burst into laughter.
"Did I say something amusing?" Lambert asked in a deadpan tone and a raised brow.
"You better get going, kid." A demon in shaggy red fur wheezed, flicking a tear from his eye. "The Owl Lady doesn't like getting disturbed, especially from children."
"Yeah, people tend to end up pummeled as soon as they step near her house." Another demon with swords for fingers piped in.
Lambert perked up. "So you do know where her home is?"
"I mean, yeah. Going to pay her a little… house call in fact." The third demon answered from one of it's five mouths, just to get an elbow in the side.
"Shaddup Clancy! Kid doesn't need to know that!"
Lambert lowered the poster and planted his fists on his hips. "If you are going to visit the Owl Lady, I insist you take me with you! I have been chasing after her too long just for the whole cursed town to become a gaggle of quaking tadpoles!"
The demons glanced at each other in confusion.
"Tadpoles?"
"Must be a tourist from the elbow with that fancy talk."
"Sounds like he's got some unresolved business with the Owl Lady like us though."
"Kinda admire his brass to come all this way after her. What say we take him along?"
"Certainly can't hurt." They debated amongst themselves. The leader turned back to Lambert. "You know what kid, you convinced me. You can tag along if you want. Never too early to learn about debt collection."
"Oh, so she owes you money?" Lambert asked and the demons nodded.
"Oh yeah. The boss has been trying to get a hold of her for years. Today is the day that we finally, eh… close the account."
"I see. So long as I get a turn afterwards." He said with a smile. Finally, his luck had turned! He found a fine group of businessmen who could lead and help introduce him to his quarry.
"Hey guys!" All heads turned to a fifth formally dressed demon waving at them from down the street. "The boss says we're moving in on the Owl House! Let's go!"
"Alright! You heard him boys, let's get 'er!"
"YEAH!" The demon's cheered, brandishing and raising a variety of clubs and blades over their heads as they marched down the street.
Lambert blinked owlishly. Weapons to a business meeting? A bit concerning. But then again, maybe that's how such matters are conducted on the Boiling Isles.
'Well, do as the locals do.' He shrugged and smiled, pumping his fist. "Yeah!" He cheered, running to catch up.
Unnoticed by Lambert or his new compatriots, a brown haired witch wearing a funnel shaped cap watched them leave from his shop window. He hummed and frowned deeply.
"Guess I better close up shop early." He muttered to himself. He flipped the store sign and pulled the shutters closed. Slipping out the side of the shop, he pocketed his earnings and ran down the street.
"I can only hope I'm not too late!"
~|o|~
"Here you go, one human frozen prison sphere!" Eda said, handing the snow globe to the kid across the desk.
"Woaah…" He grasped the human trinket with reverence befitting of holy relics, twisting the small key on the back. The globe started playing a cheery tune as fake snow rained down on the miniature city inside. He slapped some Snails on the table. "I can hear the screams of the damned trapped inside for all eternity! Wicked!" He laughed, carrying the glass ball over his head.
Eda waved after him, slipping the bills into her voluminous hair. "Zero refunds, returns or exchanges, so be careful with that! Have fun! Ahhhh… another satisfied sucker."
Business had been doing very well for the last hour. Even without Luz's human expertise, Eda was raking in the cash. Another hour or so and she could make a new nest out of her earnings! (Not that she was going to. She had tried it once before and had a terrible sleep and papercuts to show for it.)
'Still, usually when things are this good is when something has to throw a wrenchmonkey into the works.' Eda thought, then smiled and shook her head. 'Meh, whatever.'
She glanced up to the nearby clocktower. 'Luz and King should be back soon, then we can really get this show on the road!'
On that note Eda returned to her stall, replacing sold merchandise with new items. Needed some new human doodads to lure in the rubes.
"Did you hear what happened over on Raker Street?"
Eda's pointed ears perked up and she noticed a pair of teenage witches passing by.
"No, what?"
"Apparently someone burned down the Kitty Cafe last night!"
Eda jolted. 'The Kitty Cafe? That's the place those geriatric banshees tried to trap me when I was stuck in King's body in that Twisted Tuesday "episode" as Luz called it! Someone burned it down?' She leaned in a little closer, cupping her ear.
"Seriously?! What the heck?! I'm all for a little arson as much as the next guy, but who destroys a place like that? With all the cute little demons!" The second teen whimpered.
"Hope they all got out okay. The Emperor's Coven is looking into it, so they'll definitely catch whoever did it."
"They better! I was gonna go there tomorrow after school!"
Eda's eyes narrowed. At least that explained why the guards and coven scouts weren't around trying to arrest her.
'Silver lining I guess.' She shrugged as the teens continued on her way. She didn't feel particularly bad for the two grannies that had forced her into a bumblebee costume. Probably would have torched the cafe herself if she was slightly more vindictive.
"Whatever." She shook her head and moved to return to her business.
"Hey, Eda!" A familiar voice called out.
She looked up and smiled at the witch running up to her stall.
"Morton you son of a slug, how are you doing?" She smiled, standing up and crossing her arms. "Funny seeing you from this side of the counter. You doing deliveries now? Would save me the hassle of running into town every time I need elixir."
The alchemist gave her an annoyed look while he leaned heavily on her table, struggling to catch his breath. "I-I would if that bird tube you call a door knocker didn't try to crush the life out of me every time I see him."
Eda snorted and waved it off. "Pssh, can you blame me if Hooty is a hugger? Well, if you aren't here to make my life easier, what is it? Want some human realm lip polish?" She offered, holding up a tube labeled "Chapstick".
Morton groaned and shook his head. "Not interested. No, I came to warn you Eda."
Eda blinked, leaning closer. "Warn me? About what?"
The alchemist glanced over his shoulder and whispered. "Someone's been asking around for you. Some little wooly demon with a weird looking crown on its head. He was going up to people with your wanted poster, asking where he might find you. Get on someone's bad side?"
"Not anymore than usual." She muttered, scratching her hand and racking her brain. "List of people I know who wear crowns is fairly short and typically they're after me because I stole them."
"Well it gets worse. He met up with a bunch of ISG thugs. They're on their way to your house right now!" Morton hissed.
"Aw, is that it?" Eda guffawed, leaning back in her chair and putting her feet up. "Looks like I'll have to get the wheelbarrow to cart those poor saps away after Hooty is done with them."
Morton narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think you are being too blasé about this? It sounds like the guild is serious this time."
Eda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well they were serious the last four times as well. Those tight suit chumps can't hurt Hooty with bats and macho crime threats. Trust me Morton, everything is going to be juuuuuust fine!"
"EDAAAAA!" The witch's chair pitched backwards when the familiar screaming reached her ears.
"Ah toads, I asked for that one." She muttered, her and Morton turning to see her apprentice sprinting in a panic. She slammed against the table, knocking several human baubles to the floor. The girl was drenched in sweat.
"EdameandKingwerewalkingaroundandwemetthisspookybirdguywhogavemeacardthatsaidIwasgoingtodiethenhevanishedinacardnadoandweranintosomebigguys-"
"Woah woah, calm down Luz! Remember to stop and breathe! I can hear your heart about to punch through your chest and I don't think humans are supposed to do that." Eda said, grabbing Luz's shoulders so she wouldn't collapse.
Luz sucked in a huge breath and wheezed, coughing and choking a little.
"There… that's better. Now what's got you so wound up?" Eda paused, her eyes flicking up and down. "Wait… Luz, where's King?"
Luz gasped, meeting her eyes with a guilty expression. "T-That's what I was trying to tell y-you! King and I ran into these big suit guys! One was wearing a hat over his eyes! T-They… they took King!"
Eda's blood ran cold. "The guild." She snarled. A trace of black flickered across her pendant.
"So… is everything still fine?" Morton asked, looking concerned.
"Not now Morton!" Eda snapped, making him flinch. She returned her attention to her student. "Luz, did they say where they were going to take him?"
She nodded. "The Owl House!"
"That's not good. Hooty can handle whatever those morons can throw at him, but he's a terrible hostage negotiator." Eda said, grinding her teeth and clenching her fist.
"E-Eda, King's going to be okay, right?" Luz asked quietly, lip trembling. "I-If anything happens to him a-and it was because of me, I-I…"
Eda put a finger to her student's mouth, silencing her. "Nothing's going to happen to anyone Luz. Except those knuckle dragging extortionists when I get my hands on them. You didn't do anything wrong. So don't worry, Eda's got this." She said, then removed her hand.
The human smiled a little, with no small amount of wobbling. "O-Okay."
Eda returned the smile before putting on a determined scowl and holding out her arm. Owlbert slapped into her palm and she straddled the staff. "Get on!" She ordered and turned. "Morton, you're in charge. Don't let anyone steal anything and I'll owe you."
Normally she wouldn't just let anyone handle her belongings unaccounted for, but she knew Morton enough to trust him not to steal anything, the businessman that he was.
The alchemist nodded, albeit reluctantly while he moved behind the stall. "I guess I can do that much for someone who's family is in trouble. Just… none of this stuff is going to hurt me, is it?"
"Just don't stick anything in your mouth, especially the bowl marked human candy." Eda warned as Luz boarded the magic staff behind her. "Home Owlbert, top speed!"
The wooden owl hooted and flapped his wings. The witch and human witch in training shot into the air and away in a blink.
Morton stood there awkwardly. He glanced at the candy bowl and couldn't help picking up a white bar of some kind of waxy substance. He gave it a sniff.
"Ooh, fruity." He gave it a lick.
Immediately his mouth twisted up and he bent over spitting out bubbles.
