Chapter 13.

The sun hadn't moved since they landed, locked in a murky sunset that turned everything gold and dusty. The wind carried the scent of lavender oil, parchment, and occasionally—burnt lemon pie. Talia wasn't sure whether that last one was comforting or concerning.

She tightened the straps of her magical tote bag, which now pulsed gently like it had opinions.

DING!

Her HUD flickered.

[Ingredient Retrieval Protocol – Active]

Required Base Ingredients (Tier 1-2):

• Salt (x1)

• Sugar (x2)

• Eggs (x4)

• Flour (x2)

• Butter (x1)

• Tea Leaves (any variety, x3)

• Milk (x1)

• Optional Bonus: Rare Herbs, Spices, or Magic Essences

Reward: Ingredient Generator Charm + Pantry Expansion Upgrade

Talia groaned. "We're doing grocery shopping on hard mode."

"We need to split up," she said finally.

Jasper was poking a moss-covered sundial. "Please tell me you mean emotionally."

"No," Talia replied, adjusting her apron. "I mean efficiently. This whole place is huge. We'll cover more ground if we divide."

Rain crossed her arms. "Is it safe?"

"No," said the cat on Talia's shoulder.

"Of course not," Talia agreed.

Rain sighed but nodded. "Fine. Who's with who?"

"I'll take Kai and G2. And... the cat," she added, glancing sideways.

"You mean the cat that hasn't said a single word since we landed?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah," Talia said carefully. "It prefers to communicate psychically. Through vibes."

The cat yawned and flicked its tail.

Kai immediately clung to her leg. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

Talia smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're with me."

Rain turned to Xander and Jasper. "Then we'll go together. We can scout north."

"North?" Jasper echoed. "How do you know where north is?"

Rain pointed toward a crooked spire barely visible through the mist. "That building is casting a shadow in the wrong direction. The sun here isn't real. Which means the distortion is coming from that way."

Jasper blinked. "...That made both more and less sense at the same time."

"Perfect," Rain said, already walking.

Xander grunted his approval and followed without a word.

Jasper gave Talia a dramatic, two-fingered salute and jogged after them, muttering, "If I die, I expect a book dedication in my honor."

"Wait—before you go," Talia called out.

The system pinged again in her vision. She opened her tote, pulled out two folded scrolls that hadn't been there a moment ago, and handed one to Rain.

"I've split the list," she said. "You're looking for: sugar, flour, milk, and eggs. Preferably not fossilized."

Rain nodded. "Got it."

"What about you?" Jasper asked.

"We'll look for salt, butter, tea leaves, and any rare herbs or spices," Talia said. "If you see anything glowing but humming off-key—walk away."

---

They headed down a winding path made of cracked cobblestones and dandelions that glowed faintly whenever Kai stepped on them.

"Are these plants giggling?" he asked.

"Only a little," the cat said. "You're ticklish in the soul."

Talia sighed. "Focus. We're looking for any ingredients that still look usable. Roots, herbs, sugar shards, glowing chickens…"

"Wait," Kai said, stopping. "Is that… music?"

They turned a corner and found a clearing where dozens of teapots floated through the air, whistling softly as if humming to themselves. Steam spiraled upward in calm, elegant trails. A small stall sat at the center, manned by a woman with tangled silver hair and eyes like melting butter.

She wore a bonnet stitched with teacups and waved as they approached.

"Travelers!" she called. "Would you like to barter for a steeped secret or two?"

Talia hesitated. "We're actually gathering ingredients."

"Perfect!" the woman beamed. "My teapots grow their own leaves. I've got fire-root ginger, songmint, void lavender, and existential chamomile."

The cat narrowed its eyes. "Don't trust anything labeled 'existential.' It usually tastes like regret."

The woman plucked a kettle out of midair and poured a glowing red liquid into a cup made of pressed sunlight. "Free sample?"

Kai took it before Talia could stop him and sipped.

Then his eyes went wide. "It tastes like... a hug."

G2 fluttered excitedly, chirping in approval.

"Let me guess," Talia said. "You want something weird in return?"

"Oh, just a memory," the woman said sweetly. "Preferably something mildly embarrassing. I collect them like buttons."

"Nope," the cat said.

But Talia's system blinked.

[Barter Opportunity – Safe Exchange]

Cost: 1 Trivial Memory

Reward: +3 Rare Herb Ingredients

Confirm?

She tapped "Yes."

The memory it chose? The time she slipped on spilled syrup during a breakfast rush and face-planted into a customer's bagel.

She felt it vanish like a popped soap bubble.

The woman clapped her hands, and three satchels dropped into their hands: fire-root ginger, void lavender, and a single silver spoon that glowed with warmth.

[Inventory +3]

[You received: Steeping Ginger, Void Lavender, Silver Spoon of Simmering]

"Thank you," the woman said. "Watch for the spice thieves three roads over. They wear salt hats."

As they walked away, Kai giggled. "You fell on a bagel?"

"I don't remember that," Talia lied.

---

The road north twisted like a question mark carved into the land.

Rain led the way, her boots silent on the mossy path. Jasper walked beside her, fiddling with a floating compass that spun uselessly no matter how many times he tapped it. Xander brought up the rear, silent as always, though his eyes never stopped moving.

"So," Jasper said after a while, "do we have a plan, or are we just wandering until something yells at us?"

Rain pointed ahead. "There's movement up near that collapsed archway. Flickering. Faint. But something's there."

"Is it friendly?" Jasper asked.

Rain didn't answer.

They climbed over a broken wagon wheel and passed through what remained of a wrought-iron fence. The moment they crossed, the air shifted—cooler, thinner. The mist thickened.

Then the stalls appeared.

A dozen of them, lined in a perfect grid across an old cobbled square, each marked with a crooked wooden sign:

"EGGS – Soulbound & Cage-Free"

"PASTEURIZED MILK – No Haunting Since Tuesday"

"FLOUR (Curse-Free, Mostly)"

Jasper blinked. "Is this... a market?"

Rain raised her hand. "Stay close."

As they approached the nearest stall, a translucent figure in a bonnet appeared behind it. It didn't move at first. Then its head turned.

"Welcome to the Crescent Hollow Market," the ghost said in a lilting tone. "We accept coin, bone tokens, or music."

Rain stared. "We don't have any of those."

"Bartering is welcome," the ghost replied.

Xander stepped forward, eyeing the stall's contents: a crate of faintly glowing eggs, each one etched with runes.

"How do we know those are safe?" he asked.

"They're apocalypse-laid, dear," the ghost said. "They'll survive anything. Omelets taste like dreams and trauma."

"…Comforting," Jasper muttered.

Another ghost emerged, this one wearing a butcher's apron. "We have flour milled from memory grain. Milk drawn from the last cow on the timeline. It moos in Latin."

Rain's system-less instincts were screaming. Still, they had to get something. Talia's list needed four eggs, two flour, and a bottle of milk.

"We'll trade," Rain said. "I can enchant your barrier field. It's fraying at the edges."

The ghosts exchanged a glance.

"One enchantment," the butcher-ghost said, "for one milk, one flour, and a bonus loaf of despair bread."

"Deal," Rain said.

She pulled out a piece of chalk, murmured a soft spell, and inscribed a stabilizing rune on the ground. The ghost let out a happy little sigh as the barrier shimmered back into balance.

Jasper handled the items like they were radioactive. "Do we have to eat the despair bread?"

Xander shrugged. "Might be useful in negotiations."

Rain opened their conjured supply bag and packed everything inside.

"We still need one more flour and two more eggs," she said. "Let's move before something notices us."

Behind them, a third ghost vendor whispered as they passed, "Beware the Jam Witch. She hoards the butter."

Jasper blinked. "The what?"

Rain didn't answer. She was already walking.

---

Meanwhile, Talia's Group.

Ding!

> [Rain's Group Acquired: Milk (Latinate), Flour x1, Despair Bread, Apocalypse-Laid Eggs x2]

Talia looked at the screen and mumbled, " Nice..."

Back on the southern trail, the wind had changed. It now carried hints of rosemary, scorched earth, and... citrus.

Talia was scanning the surroundings when her HUD pinged softly.

> [Nearby Ingredient Detected – High Magic Concentration]

Source: Unknown

Classification: Rare

Distance: 130 meters southeast

She turned toward it.

The cat on her shoulder leaned slightly. "That direction feels cursed."

"Everything here feels cursed," Talia said. "But my tote says it's rare."

Kai tugged her sleeve. "Do we have to go toward the creepy fog swirl?"

"Yes."

"Okay," he said, hugging G2. "But if I get turned into a salt statue, I'm haunting your next coffee mug."

The fog grew thicker as they approached. The plants were taller here—dead sunflowers leaning like broken soldiers. The ground beneath their feet turned soft, squishing slightly with every step.

Talia's HUD blinked again.

> [Unstable Ingredient Detected – Approach with Caution]

Essence Source: Undiscovered Threat

Risk Rating: Moderate to High

"Stop," she whispered.

Kai froze mid-step.

There, just ahead, crouched beside an old stone well, was a creature.

At first, Talia thought it was a person, but then she saw the antlers. The long, velvet robe. The apron stained with what looked like jam. It held a butter knife the size of a sword and was muttering to itself while carving symbols into the ground with what looked like... a cinnamon stick?

The cat whispered into Talia's ear.

"That's the Jam Witch."

Before Talia could move, the creature's head snapped toward them.

It smiled.

And the fog behind it began to churn.

> [WARNING: Combat Optional – Dialogue Possible]

Potential Reward: Wild Butter, Spiced Sugar Cube, or Curse Immunity Tincture

Potential Risk: Cursed Tongue, Exploding Eyebrows, or Emotional Whiplash

Talia took a slow breath.

"Stay calm," she whispered.

The Jam Witch stood.

"I smell breakfast."