Clock Barrens.

"Aren't you a cutiepie!" I cooed, squishing a rabbit against my face as I walked into a clearing.

"Cigarettes." The bunny demanded in a hiarse voice.

"Of course, of course." I petted it and dug into my bag pulling out a pack of Marlboros I had prepared just for this eventuality.

Why was I carrying a talking bunny across the forest?

Because it was my escape route out of here.

Especially now, since my cape had been discharged and I could neither fly nor go invisible.

And this was no ordinary bunny. Those don't talk after all.

This was a magical messenger bunny, a species native to Fillory.

Not only can they talk, they can also burrow into the cracks in space and slip through to other worlds.

They could be used to relay a message, deliver small items, and even in some very creative cases, time travel!

And for some reason they like cigarettes?

I dont remember why, though.

No, I wasn't planning having it drag me out of Fillory. Of course not. It's a bunny. It can't carry heavy loads.

It had a more conventional purpose.

I stuffed a cigarette into it's mouth and lit his smoke with a snap.

"Now, let's talk business, bunny." I told him.

"I want you to deliver a message to the Great Cock Of The Darkling Woods for me." I said.

My conversation with the great Cock had been very fruitful. My wish there was less a desire and more of a test to check the limit of a questing creature's power. Among other things.

And I found out a lot of useful information.

I knew a questing creature couldn't revive the dead.

But what else it couldn't do, I knew not.

Until today.

A questing creature cannot make someone a god. That's a no brainer of course. They were created by a pair of gods. Their power obviously can't surpass their creators'.

But apparently, even fake gods like Bacchus and his kin, who gained their powers artificially via a stone organ, an artifact that sealed the essence of the Nameless Monster's sister, are beyond their reach.

So becoming a god the easy way os out of the question. Not that I would have woshed for it even if it was possible. It just doesn't sit right with me, wishes that is.

Secondly though, it showed me indirectly that anything the questing creatures provide can't have the capability of killing a god. Not at all.

That is good to know.

Another thing I found out is that the wishes had to be reasonable in nature and grounded in logic. Illogical wishes like bevoming a Traveler without changing anything are not possible. Going by that logic, all infinite and anisotropic paradoxical existences are off limits too.

As he said, can brew tea without brewing tea.

Basically, keep the wishes simple.

Thirdly and most importantly, I learnt that I am free of the library's influence.

They have no books on me and they cannot manipulate me or my fate in any way that is indirect. Even better, they don't even know I exist.

Heh!

That's what happens when you bury your nose in books all day and never touch grass!

And more good news just jept popping in. The reason the library didn't know I existed was because of my code.

That means my code of immortality isn't gone. It just needs repairing.

I was afraid when I had started to age again, even though it wasn't noticeable.

And when I noticed my regeneration was basically a little better than a regular human.

I near damn freaked the fuck out.

But now, knowing that my code of immortality is still there, and working, that's a relief. A whole ass load off my chest.

I knelt down on the ground as we cane upon a clearing in the forest and put the rabbit down on the ground, before walking a few steps further until I hot a bounded field of magic.

Yup. Here it is. Invisible to the naked eye.

Jane Chatwin's Clock Barrens. Well one of them at least. This one is the one where she made a cute little cottage and where she stores all her important time manipulation devices.

Now I hear you asking dear viewer. What are the Clock Barrens?

Let me explain!

The Clock Barrens are a series of pockets of space isolated by Jane Chatwin and turned into junctions that exist simultaneously at all points across time using her magical watch, built by the dwarves, that alongside one of the seven magic keys, allows her to fuck with time on a cosmic scale.

She has quite a few of them on Fillory and perhaps even some on Earth.

I'll find them all and loot them in due time. But for now, let's immunize myself from time manipulation.

I cracked my knuckles and readied my acting chops.

"Now, rabbit. I'm going to go in there. And in the meantime I want you to wait here for me. The moment I come out of there though, I want you to deliver a message to the Great Cock Of The Darkling Woods from me.

Tell him, I wish to be sent back to the alley beside the McDonald's Eatery nearest to Brakebills University Of Magical Pedagogy on Earth. Preferably out of soght of anyone."

The rabbit nodded.

"Good." I smiled and patted it's head.

"The next time I return, I'll bring you more cigarettes."

That seemed to cheer it up as it hopped in a circle like a two pound fluff missile.

I smiled at the fluffy cuteness of what was in all likelihood the rabbit equivalent of a middle aged, potbellied, middle eastern man.

Something to think about eh?

And no, I'm not saying that just because the rabbit is brown.

Shit's just weird sometimes!

I looked back at where the magic was coming from, walked forward, extending a hand and touched the boundary of the Clock Barren.

It was an odd but familiar sensation.

Loke putting your hand through a curtain of water.

I could even see the ripples in the illusion wards around the place.

I removed my hand and put it back in.

Hmmm....I like this.

"Come in."

Her voice can pass through the time barrier?

Interesting!

I passed my hand through the barrier again.

"Come in." The voice replied in the same tone.

Wait, is it an automated message?

I passed my hand in and out again and again.

Come i-comcomcomcomcom.....

Eheheheheheheheh-whoa!

Suddenly, something or rather, someone grabbed me, pulling me into the Clock Barrens.

"Will you stop that please! That was very childish of you. Are you a child? No? I thought so too." A younger Jane huffed cutely.

Man, she really is pretty!

Even more so as a what....mid twenties lady here.

That hair, that face....reminds me of Wanda.

"Do you not speak English?" She saw me staring blankly at her face and I chuckled.

"No. I do not." I replied cheekily.

"Of course." She shook her head in resignation, muttering to herself, "The first visitor I get in a long time and it's one of those people."

"Aww! I'm hurt you think of me that way!" I stepped closer, leaning over her playfully.

"I'm sure you'll like me once you get to know me again!" I stared into the beautiful pools of her eyes with as much dreaminess I could muster.

Thinking about Offee even helped me add a tinge of sorrow and nostalgia to it.

A perfect hook.

"Maybe we'll even fall in love a second time." I said, softer this time.

Of course, it was all one big lie!

I just had to make her believe that we were together in the future so she let's me into the house without a fight.

It's a warded house after all. I can't fight her and pick the wards at the same time.

Not yet at least.

And killing her would have complications I'd rather not go through.

"Uh.....I don't know you." She said, but I didn't let go and wrapped a hand around her hip, pulling her closer.

"Not yet...."

She blushed a little and pushed me off with Woven Strength as she stumbled back.

"Or you're lying-"

I cut her off.

"You have a mole on the lower back above your left buttcheek."

X-Ray glasses for the win!

"W-what?!" She muttered, flustered.

"Need more proof?" I smirked even as I prayed inside.

Please don't ask for more proof. Please don't ask for more proof!

Please don't-

Thankfully, she just huffed again, blushing deeper this time.

I sighed in relief.

"Let's uh....why don't you tell me more about this in-inside?" She asked, looking away shyly.

Oh goodness! Young Jane is hella cute!

And so goddamn naive.

Such a plump target!

I smiled gently.

"Of course. How about over some tea?" I gestured at the cottage.

"Of course. Come." She said, waving her hand as the wards around the house went down and we entered.

The cottage was a simple 4 room house.

The living room was nice and cozy, if a bit small.

A turquoise persian rug lined the floor, intricate patterning running across it.

In a niche by the door wasa small, low sofa, yellow green and old, while the lion's share of the room was taken up by a small dining table by the window, made of a dark wood.

Ebony?

Maybe.

Opposite to that was a shelf woth time manipulation devices, time bridges, wayback stamps, permanence perfume, and even a better version of a time reversing device used in the show called the quarterback, which allowed one to go back 15 seconds in time.

"Take a seat. I will be with you shortly." She pointed at the small dining table in the room.

I nodded and took a seat as she disappeared into the kitchen, amd waited for a second, listening to the noise of her clumsily shuffling through the cupboards before I got to work.

First things first.

Time Immunization.

I picked up the permanence perfume and speayed myself with it.

Permanence Perfume.

A magical perfume that made it so that any changes in the timeline, caused by time travel into the past or future didn't affect the individual wearing the perfume.

Now, even if someone went back in time and killed me the moment I stepped onto the Brakebills campus, I'd still be fine here as the timeline adjusted around me.

It basically made you immune to time-space fuckery.

With that done, I opened my bag of holding and just stuffed everything in.

"Hey! What are y-Stop!" Jane came out and spotted me, red handed.

But it was too late!

Even as she raised a hand to cast a spell at me, it reflected back onto her, throwing her back into the kitchen, the tea spilling onto her.

Emerson's Alloy really works wonders huh?

I grinned as I stuffed the last of the items into my bag even as I could hear her scream in pain from the tea likely scalding her right now and made my escape.

Out the door, before Jane could try anything else.

After all, why fight when I don't need to?

As I exited the Clock Barrens, passing the time boundary, I saw the rabbit perk up as it jumped up at disappeared into a small, nigh imperceptible crack in space.

And thennext thing I knew, the world around me shifted, the smell of garbage assaulting my nose.

Ah, the disgusting stench of New York!

Just what I needed.

A bad thing to waste a wish on, I know, but eh, I can just catch him again for another wish.

I did plant micro-trackers on him back there.

Shouldn't be too hard to squeeze another wish out of him.

For now though, I need to get back to Brakebills ASAP, before Quentin does something really stupid.

No, not to stop him. Just to watch him fuck up.

I smiled.

Time to destroy the Future Key!

And then, the Beast.

____________________

Alright guys.

I'm releasing today's chapter early.

Just a special thing.

So I want you to do something too!

Eight more powerstones to 800!

We are this close to greatness!

Let's do this! Let's set a new record for this fic my dudes!

Donate your powerstones!

Thanks for reading.

Bye~