18 July 2012
There is more, but its not the most interesting. I would appreciate some feedback, and guesses on what you thin will happen next! Thanks for reading! The old, gnarled wizard worked furiously, snatching things off of shelves, tossing them aside, nuzzling through cupboards, shoveling objects this way and that. The room was dim, cluttered, and candlelit. The only window was open, a warm breeze brushing the curtains to and fro. Every now and then the twisted man would exclaim in surprise, holding up a vial or small, dusty box and set it on the small desk in the middle of the room. After some angry mumbling, cussing, and opening doors and tossing papers about he turned and stopped, then gasped hugely, staring at the billowing curtain. He clutched his heart as if having an attack, but his leathery face held the look of purest, insane joy. His eyes glittered, and his lips drew back like a wolf smiling at it's prey, revealing a brown smile full of black holes. His shriveled hand snatched foreword faster than what seemed possible, then held up a small yellow pouch that had been sitting on the window sill. He cried out gleefully and triumphantly, his heavy gray sleeve falling down to reveal loose skin covered with prominent, spidery veins. The shabby, bent man hobbled out of the room cackling elatedly, arms full of vile poisons, chemicals, and other strange concoctions. He went three steps down a tiny hall to what looked like a closet. Using his cloak like an apron, he gathered all of the ingredients in one hand and opened the closet with the other. He closed the door with a flourish and disappeared.
In the magicians basemet, it was damp, stale, and stagnant. It was full of neatly arranged equipment set in cabinets and on tables. The sets included beakers, tongs, knives, scalpels, spoons small and large, measuring cups, scales, gloves, vials, more queer substances, animal parts in jars, stacks of books, hand drawn pictures and notes, various anatomy pictures and chemical charts posted on the cold stone wall. The wizard danced down the stairs barefoot. He dragged a work table to the center of the room, then tipped it over. Books lost pages and fell open, glass shattered, and and the knives clanged on the floor. The table slammed back down on all fours. He spread the objects on the table eagerly. He skipped over to the iron cabinet and threw open the doors carelessly. Grinning, he picked up a small kettle and slammed it onto the table. Humming an ancient folk song, he worked with adept efficiency. He unstoppered a medium vial of a thick, bile-colored goo, and coaxed it out into the cauldron with his unprotected finger. It made his skin instantly redden and heat up, but he didn't notice. He added a handful of the fine, white powder that was in the pouch. Bustling over to the stove in the corner, he quickly lit it with a match in his pocket. He set the kettle inside and closed the door briskly. The goop bubbled malignantly in the heat. The man grabbed a large, circular beaker and set it on the worktable. He looked at all of the items lain out before him, and suddenly became intensely focused and steady. Measuring carefully, he began to add everything together.
Quick Flash Fiction (unfinished) • Opuss № I