"I call it magical convergence," Serendipity explained.

They and their apprentice were high in the air once more, sitting atop the broom at a gentle cruising speed. They had departed Hidden Haven the morning after the birthday party, opting not to visit Rhythm and their fiery companion before leaving. Seren was hesitant to interrupt their first day together, and Prim raised no objections. They agreed to pay a visit on the way back from the Witchual Ritual.

"It's impossible to really refine magical energy. We can... direct it, and coax it into performing certain tasks. But it is intangible, unpredictable, and largely unknowable. My guess is that Rhythm had been using some kind of fire spell in their smithing, and all that magic had a left a... residue of sorts in their hearth over the years."

"Residue?" Prim asked, tilting her head.

Seren nodded. "It is my understanding that powerful spells can leave traces behind. And all that residue can collect and build up over the years, until it..."

Their gaze shifted past Prim to the horizon.

"...converges. And says 'hello'. That's what we witnessed at the birthday party last night."

Prim didn't know what to say. Seren continued.

"Even before the party, Rhythm must have noticed something going on. Something in that flame they always kept with them on a single candle. Maybe it was moving strangely, or expressing itself. Maybe it was hopping candles and following them from room to room. We gave that flame an abundance of magic candles and emotional energy, and... coaxed it out. Coaxed them out."

Seren trailed off after this, and the two of them sat in thoughtful silence as the broom slowly drifted through the sky.

 

~~~

"Let's see... We're heading out of the maples now and into proper hill country," Seren explained, pointing at their map. "We're actually quite close to Chiasmus, which is our next stop. It's a wonderful little trading post where one can find magic ingredients."

"Hey, that's great!" Prim replied. "We might be able to get some, uhh...! Some... uhh!"

She screwed her eyes shut and scratched her head.

"...Lubiloom!"

Seren perked up. "Say, that's a great idea, Primrose! We could look for camera ingredients! Or new books! Or cool rocks!"

Prim blushed a little. She loved cool rocks.

She reached into her pocket and clutched her magic rock. Well, it wasn't technically magic, but she was determined to do some magic with it someday. It was her future magic rock. And it was still fun to fidget with.  

Seren turned away from Prim to properly direct the broom and accelerate toward their next destination. After a short flight through the late morning sunlight, past the green-and-yellow hills undulating the landscape, the witches made their way back down to solid ground. Seren stopped the broom next to a large wooden sign that read:

Welcome to Chiasmus! To Chiasmus, Welcome!

Seren and Prim hopped off the broom and began walking down a worn stone path. The path soon split into two separate paths, with another wooden sign at the fork reading:

<---- TRADE FOR ITEMS
ITEMS FOR TRADE ---->

Prim looked at the sign and scratched her head. Sensing her confusion, Seren spoke up.

"What do you think, Prim? Which way speaks to you?"

"Uh... hmm..."

Prim looked up at Seren. Their eyes were earnest, and they weren't wearing that mischievous smile they wore when they were acting up. Prim closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to clear her mind. She found herself fidgeting with the magic stone again as she calmed down. Once she felt comfortably free of all anxiety-ridden hyperlogic, she opened her eyes and pointed.

"That way. Right is right."

Seren grinned. "Right is right!"

The two of them leisurely made their way down the path on the right, past some hacklewood trees and a pretty hillside view. They eventually reached a large plaza populated with wooden stalls of all shapes and sizes. Most of these stalls were unoccupied.

"Hmm... Chiasmus can be quite busy," Seren observed, "but I guess it thins out during the colder months..."

Weaving their way through the unoccupied stalls, Seren and Prim made their way to the closest person they could see. This person seemed to be here for trade, as they were standing at a stall surrounded by a variety of strange and shiny goods. They were reading a book, but quickly perked up at the sight of potential customers.

"Hello, fair visitors~! Welcome to~"

Her elegant, singing voice came to an abrupt halt. Prim watched three distinct emotions cross her face: shock, suspicion, rage.

"...Dipity?!" she cried, voice cracking.

Serendipity grinned sheepishly and waved. "Hello...!"

"Oh! Do you two know each other?" Prim asked nervously.

"Know each other?!" the vendor shot back, "Dipity is my sworn nemesis!"

Prim gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Seren was still grinning unconvincingly. "We, um! We met in Hartke Square-"

"What brings you so brazenly to my fair trade boutique?" the vendor interrupted, looking down her nose at Seren.

"W-well... we were just wondering... would you happen to have some... lumibloom?"

"Hmph! Of course I have lumibloom! It is essential for my work as an alchemist!"

Prim tugged on Seren's sleeve. "What's an alchemist?"

"An alchemist is a witch who doesn't wear a hat," Seren replied, adjusting their own.

"You there, small rabbit!" The alchemist pointed a finger at Prim. "Would you like to know why I detest Dipity with a fiery disdain?"

Seren spoke up. "Call me Seren!"

"Ah. I see. Would you like to know why I detest Seren, et cetera?"

Prim nodded fervently. "What happened?!"

The alchemist swept her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she began. "Many years ago, soon after graduating from Ten's Magic Academy, I decided to set up an atelier in Hartke Square, up north."

Seren leaned over to Prim and whispered. "An atelier is like a witch's house, except the people who work in them don't wear hats."

"Soon after opening, who else but Serendipity, the witch I see before me, visited my atelier and asked for some slipwick - which I had, of course."

She dramatically pointed at Prim again. "And do you know what they asked me?!"

Prim was shaking. "What?!"

"They asked me what my name was! As if they had never heard of me!" The alchemist swooned and collapsed dramatically over her stall.

Prim was confused. "Well... what is your name?"

She looked up at Prim with an expression of incredulous rage. "Lorelei!! The famous alchemist!! Graduated top of her class at Ten's Academy!"

She was gesturing wildly now, her face red as a rose. "Only the most talented and prestigious magic user to grace this sordid continent in the past century!!"

"Eep!" Sensing the boiling rage, Prim scurried behind Seren, who patted her head.

"I'm sorry, Lorelei. I never meant you any disrespect, I promise!" Seren pleaded.

The alchemist took a deep, heavy breath and pushed her hair out of her face. "Your ignorance is no excuse, cat witch."

Seren took their hat off and clutched it nervously. "Is there anything I can do for you? We're hoping to trade for lumibloom - I could make you something, or give you some of my rare ingredients?"

"No! Of course not! No way! I refuse to work with rude witches." She crossed her arms and turned up her nose.

Seren sighed and put their hat back on. "Very well. Come on, Primrose, let's see if anyone else is willing to trade."

Prim nodded and the two witches shuffled off. Lorelei watched them go, sighing and opening her book.

"...I overdid it again," she mumbled to herself.

 

~ ~ ~

Seren and Prim found themselves southwest of Chiasmus, down the hill and at the edge of the lake. The witches had no luck finding lumibloom in either the Items For Trade plaza or the Trade For Items plaza, but they did pick up a few interesting books in exchange for some of Wren's mapples. Seren felt a little melancholy after their run-in with Lorelei; she had been just as hot-headed back when they first met. Seren had vainly hoped that time would douse her flames of righteous indignation, but the alchemist seemed perfectly content to hate Serendipity forever. They were disappointed by this, as well as in their failure to pick up some lumibloom for Prim's camera.

Prim, examining the odd surface of the lake, turned to Seren and noticed the glum look in their eyes. She was a bit put off by this, as she had never really seen them in a bad mood before. Sympathy washed over her like a cold rain, urging her to cheer up her teacher.

She approached carefully. "H-hey, teach... what's uh... what's with this lake? It looks... weird!"

It did, in fact, look weird. It appeared to be saturated with some kind of substance she didn't recognize. Tiny shiny pearls drifted in the lake, darkening the water and coating the lakeshores. 

Seren looked up. "Mm? Ah, yes. This is Tapioca Lake."

They stood up and approached the water. "Some unique seagrasses grow on the lakebed, releasing starches as they photosynthesize."

They turned to Prim, who was not understanding these big words. "Basically, the seagrass spits out these little pearls."

"Ooooooh..." Prim knelt down and scooped up some lake pearls. She expected them to be cold and solid, but they were slippery and squishy.

Seren reached into their coat and retrieved the magic bag. "I should fill some bottles while we're here. Tapioca could be useful for food synthesis..."

They grinned at their apprentice, who was still inspecting and squishing the strange pearls.

"Did you know, Prim? Some people put these tapioca pearls in their tea!"

Prim whirled to face them. "What?! But they would just melt, wouldn't they?"

"Mmm-hmm. That is why they put them in cold tea, and drink it through a straw!"

Prim stuck her tongue out. "Blech! This stuff would just clog up your straw! Or shoot down your throat!"

She shook her head and returned the pearls to the lake. "Cold tea with... grass balls! Gross!"

"What are y'all doing?"

Seren turned to their left to address the unfamiliar voice. There, they saw a short figure clad in a large baggy coat and a... witch hat! His long fuzzy ears hung down underneath the hat and almost reached his knees.

Seren greeted him as Prim hurried over. "Ah, hello! We were just collecting some tapioca from the lake."

The small witch nodded sagely. "Mm-hm. I'm here for the tapioca. Too. Goes great with cold tea."

Prim reflexively scrunched up her face again. "Blech!"

He offered a friendly wave. "I'm Ramikin. I'm a witch."

Seren tipped their hat, and Prim followed suit. "Hello Ramikin, I am Serendipity, and this is Primrose, my apprentice."

Ramikin nodded. "You are witches too. I see your hats."

"Do you come here often? For the tapioca?" Prim asked.

"Not really. I'm here for Chiasmus. And the tapioca," Ramikin explained, pointing up the hill toward Chiasmus.

Prim shuffled around nervously. "There aren't too many people up there."

"Yes, I think the trade slows down a bit as the weather gets colder," Seren clarified. Ramikin simply nodded.

Seren observed Ramikin and thought for a moment. "Ramikin, were you looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really. Just cool things. And tapioca."

"Would you be willing to trade with me?" Seren opened their magic bag and fished around a bit.

"Ooh. What do you have?" Ramikin scuttled closer.

"I've got... some mapples, and some birch beer, and some potato cakes, and... I believe this is maple bark..."

"Do you have any. Cool rocks?" he asked, standing on tiptoe to peer into the bag.

Prim was stunned. She couldn't give up her magic rock, but she had a second rock from the woods around Hidden Haven.

"What about this?" Prim piped up, holding out the rock. It had shiny purple striations on its surface.

"Wow. Woah." Ramikin hurried over and was quickly engrossed with its beauty. "Can I have it? What do you. Want from me?"

Seren knelt down to his level. "I was wondering if you could run a small errand for us?"

 

---***---