“You first.”

  I turn to Clutter as the words finish leaving his mouth. “You can go invisible to scout it out. Are you sure you don’t want to go first?”

  He nods seriously. “I’ll be right behind you, but you have the shields. Just… um… just in case, you know?”

  “Sure. If you’re going to stay close, stay close enough that one shield can protect all of us.” I flip a coin into my palm and start walking towards the doorway. “Keep an eye open for anything strange. Even if it’s just a scratch on the floor or a slightly misaligned tile–anything could technically be a clue here.”

  “I can do that.” He says as he turns transparent. Then he clams up completely, stiffens his back, and walks as lightly as possible just a few inches behind me. He’s really taking the possibility of a threat seriously. Not that I’m not worried, it’s just that… it feels like we’re not at the point where the quest’s trying to kill us yet.

  The plastic leeches felt like a warning. Maybe they’d just work like a localized purification–shutting off our Class Cards and draining whatever spell they could’ve gotten their mouths on. That’d be one hell of a warning, and it’d get the point across right away. But it definitely wasn’t meant to do anything other than inconvenience us. If this was a quest just for me, I’d think I was being lulled into a false sense of security.

  But it isn’t. This is a quest that was available to everyone–without any apparent clearance requirement. I have no doubt that it’ll ramp up eventually, but that’s just it; it’ll naturally ramp up. Not jump to an absurd level just because the system wants to kill me.

  So as I put a hand on the edge of the doorway, grey magic pooling in the perfectly lit room it leads into, only the normal amount of anticipation worms its way down my spine. And excitement actually has the freedom to tug at my lips for once. Before I go in unaware, though, I stretch my awareness to its limits to get a preview of what we’re walking into.

  More tiles decorate the floor, just like the ones in the hall, but it isn’t… perfect. The room’s a half-circle placed up against the hall, and from what I can see, it’s about as wide as the hall itself–which means some tiles are cut to fit the curved wall. But the cut ones don't fit flush with the wall–they’re dinged up along the edges, with chunks filled in by grout, almost like someone didn’t know how to cut them and just compensated after they already messed up.

  I slowly take a step in to see the place with my own two eyes when I don’t sense anything dangerous. The curved wall itself is perfectly bare–no markings, scratches, or anything of the like. Same with the ceiling–perfect and untouched. And… that’s it. Aside from the magic that collects near the center of the room instead of on the ceiling, there’s barely anything interesting about this room.

  “Is it safe?” Clutter whispers worriedly. “There’s a big cloud of… something… right in the middle. Should we run?”

  I raise an eyebrow. “You can see the magic?”

  Clutter tilts his head. “That stuff’s magic?”

  Pearl nods. “We’ve been seeing it since Shelby took out her Class Card. But this stuff isn’t any more concentrated than the rest of it… which means…”

  “The quest wants you to see this.” I finish as I step into the room and beeline for the magic. “An otherwise empty room with a bunch of magic at the center. It’s either the most obvious trap I’ve ever seen or an obvious reward for connecting the two plates together.”

  “I hope it’s a reward.” Clutter murmurs, still from right behind me.

  So do I, buddy. And it seems like that’s the case, since the closer I get to the smoky cloud of magic, the more I’m sure it isn’t dangerous. Nothing shoots out to attack me, my awareness isn’t sending off any warning bells, and there isn’t a single sign of plastic life to be seen. Question is, how are we supposed to turn this… smoky mass… into something useful?

  I take a deep inhale as I step right up to it. The magic doesn’t respond to it at all, so it definitely isn’t enhanced smoke. Doesn’t feel like it’s hiding anything inside, either, so that option’s out. We… also didn’t bring the catalyst along, which in hindsight, could’ve been a mistake. One that’ll only cost me a few Worth to remedy, but a mistake nonetheless.

  “Pearl?” I roll my shoulder to get her attention. “Any insight here?”

  She shakes her head, then pauses. After a short second, she nods instead. “Actually, yes. This grey magic isn’t the same stuff that was in the catalyst–unless the makeup of the magic changes drastically when it condenses. It feels like… um… honestly, I don’t know. But I’d bet my favorite schematic that some plastic is going to be involved somehow.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Aw.” Clutter whines. “I was hoping for an easy reward.”

  I snort in amusement. “This is an easy reward. Here–take this just in case, and if I start freaking out, crush it under your foot.”

  I hand him a purification coin, which he takes with a solemn nod. One that's a little too serious for the moment, but the intent is appreciated. Then I reach up and pat Pearl’s shell.

  “Might want to go back inside for a minute.”

  She gets to her feet with a nod. “Good idea–no point having three targets instead of two. See you in a minute, Clutter.”

  “Mmhm.” He confirms, though his entire focus is split evenly between the coin in his hand–and on my expression. “Have a nice trip.”

  Pearl raises an eyebrow as he squeezes back into her shell. “I’m not sure if I should praise his focus or point out his tunnel vision. Just let me sit down, and… okay, I’m ready. Go for it.”

  I take a steadying breath, raise my hand, and slowly waft it through the cloud. The magic barely reacts to my hand, though a sort of… spark follows me on a second or so delay. That spark definitely has an effect on the magic–clumps of the stuff grow dark as the night sky, while others puff up and turn as bright white as freshly bleached clothes. Neither of the options feel dangerous, per se, but they definitely feel activated. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen very soon.

  “Are you still here?” Clutter whispers. “Should I use the coin?”

  “No. I’m still fine.” I reply and remove my hand from the cloud, then instinctively take a step back, pushing Clutter with me. “Pay careful attention. We don't know how long this’ll last.”

  He nods and takes one more step back. I focus on my awareness to try and feel whatever the chaotic cloud of visible magic is getting ready to spit out, but aside from the sensation of magic in general, it really doesn’t seem like anything’s going to change.

  Crunch.

  A lump of something hits the ground. But the magic didn’t spit it out or turn into it–the thing just appeared from nowhere. Just like the leeches. I hold an arm out to stop Clutter from getting any closer, but it’s completely unnecessary–he’s perfectly happy to watch from a distance.

  “It’s formless.” Pearl mutters to herself. “Just a lump of magic and plastic inside of more magic. What’s the quest getting at? Does it want you to make an art project?”

  I frown at the thought, but a shudder that rolls along the surface of the plastic drags me back to the possible threat at hand. It starts like a series of ripples from a stone skipping across a lake, forcing a little bit of the plastic to displace along with the movement. But as the ripples reach their furthest reach, they don't just disappear into nothing–they stay there. A ring of displacement embossed on the surface of the plastic.

  More and more ripples appear on the mound until there isn’t a single inch of it that’s gone undisturbed. It goes deathly still–sitting there like a gravestone. With a ringing snap, all the ripples forcefully condense on themselves–squeezing the plastic under them until the visible rings snap together at random points on the mound. Points that, when put together with the almost spaghettified mound of plastic… almost look like joints.

  Pearl grimaces and looks away. “I don’t like where this is going.”

  I can’t say I do, either, just from the unnerving spectacle of the plastic’s formation. A mass of strands coils together at the bottom of the thing like all the collected stems from a bouquet of flowers held together with a choking elastic band. Snaps and crunches echo out as that bouquet breaks off into four, then spreads violently to pull the mound into a more rectangular shape.

  Like straw being spun into a doll, the remaining strands weave together to form something like a body for the mound. My initial instinct is that the thing is turning into a plastic painted dane, but that can’t be right. If this is where the painted danes used to live… well… they weren’t really smart enough to make all this. Unless… no. It wouldn’t make sense.

  But as the strands of plastic twist around themselves, the back ‘legs’ of the thing grow more muscular. The front legs shrink ever so slightly, and the ends of them form into something closer to hands than feet. Even the back elongates, at first into a tail that looks like the painted danes I killed so long ago–and then into one that I have an example of standing right behind me.

  Finally, the body twists into a much more humanoid version of the painted dane’s that it once was. The head shifts only slightly, and a plastic-y version of a generic paindne face stares at me through the magic. I swallow hard, mind racing to try and understand what the hell I just saw. And then the thing opens its mouth–a simple split like a clay brick sliced in two–and a voice cracks free.

  A cold wind blows in from nowhere, and the cloud of magic simply flutters away. Leaving nothing behind but a plastic facsimile of a paindne that I’ve never seen before. Clutter gasps in shock. Pearl sets her jaw in an expression that I can’t read, but from how tightly she’s clenching her fists, I can tell she has very strong opinions on what we just saw.

  “Thank you-you-you-you-you for visiting the… Yunrov… district. I a-a-a-am an information construct here for your convenience.” Some of the plastic paindne’s words repeat like it’s getting stuck in a short loop, and its voice itself sounds… pained. “Unfor-for-fortunately, our services have been placed offline following (ERROR: CAUSE UNKNOWN). If you ha-ha-have questions following your (ERROR: CENSORED BY QUEST), I will answer them-them to the best of my diminished ab-ab-abilities.”