A Scent of Chaos | ONC 2024

Chapter Eight

The next morning, I walked down the halls of the Velux Emporium with gifts and cards bundled in my arms. As soon as I entered the building, Nalyn and Salris cornered me like an animal who had escaped its cage because they were concerned. According to the gossip they had heard, a lot of people had seen me being carried by Corvin through the emporium to get to the infirmary and the word was travelling faster than a newly-born Phoenix soaring through the sky.

Nalyn had gotten me a small, plush dragon with a velvet heart sewn into its chest. The words 'be careful' and 'get lots of rest' were embroidered into it with cursive lettering and glittering, white thread. Salris had handed me a card which both apprentices had signed with stunning typography on the front. I had seen them being sold in one of the shops outside of the emporium and the artist was amazing at what she did.

They fussed over me, warning me I shouldn't have come back just yet, but I managed to convince them I was fine. I did feel a little weak still but I was determined to keep working on the perfume for the Miracles Festival.

When I eventually snuck away and finally reached the workshop, I wasn't greeted by the boxes and desk I remembered. Instead, a forest had taken its place.

A woodland scenery unfolded before me, a dark forest clearing with clusters of trees surrounding it. Everything from the ground which was adorned with mud, broken branches, and fallen leaves to the darkness filtering between the trees was perfect. However, some parts of the illusion were off. The odd patch of shadow felt too dark and noticeably fake, distracting you from the rest of the magic, and parts of the forest were transparent, letting the workshop show through.

Despite its flaws, it was an amazing effort. Maybe I didn't need to be worried about us completing the perfume on time after all.

Corvin looked up when I entered the room, turning his attention away from the perfume he worked on. "I thought I told you not to come in early." He crossed his arms with a thin layer of sweat shining on his forehead.

"What do you mean early? I slept in for a whole extra hour today." Placing my gifts down on an empty corner of the desk, I pushed over a sealed box for me to sit on.

The Head Perfumer's brows narrowed. "What time do you normally get here?" He picked up the toy dragon and assessed it, admiring the spikes running along its back and tail.

"Earlier than now," I offered, watching him put the toy back and pat it on the head. I never really kept track of when I came into the emporium, I was always focused on the jobs that needed doing.

"Is the sun usually up?"

"It depends on the time of year." Corvin sighed and I continued before he could think of a way to reprimand me. "It looks like you've made excellent progress on the illusion. What time did you get here this morning?"

"Who says I ever went home?" While I gaped at him, wondering how he could be so hypocritical, he explained his progress so far. "I managed to perfect the fireflies so now I'm working on the scenery, but I can't quite get it to fill the room properly. If I can't master this then I have no hope of transforming the entire festival. I haven't even thought about merging all the magic together or the scent that could pair with it yet."

Picking up the bottle to my left labelled 'fireflies', I sprayed it into the air to see what Corvin had accomplished. There wasn't any fragrance to the perfume like he had mentioned, but balls of glowing blue appeared around us. As they filled the forest illusion, the sketch of the scene from Corvin's notes came to life. There were several more fireflies compared to the last attempt of his I had seen, giving an enchanted feel to the area, but it was clear they were a separate perfume added on top. None of the stunning glow was reflected onto the surroundings and the insects phased through the trees, breaking the magic Corbin had put into it.