Dark in the Dollhouse Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Friend

Read chapter 12 of Dark in the Dollhouse by Haspberry on NovelPedia.

The majestic garden swayed amidst the frolicking winds. The butterflies and the bees danced atop the bed of ever beautiful flowers. Yet, unbefitting of this nectarine noon, the wilting flower rustled not. Her cackles halted and shaking receded; as if dreading... A dark silhouette raised up from the shadow of the front door as Yuliana’s body appeared out of it. She looked around and noticed she was at the entrance of his house. The same place from where they had left. Oh? So he made his front door the Way Marker for his house. I thought we just teleported last time because of his Artistry. Isn’t that kind of risky? What if someone breaks it? Well, knowing him, he probably has a precaution in place if such a thing were to happen. Another Marker hidden somewhere perhaps? Yuliana thought as she put down the sack. Her Attraction and Repulsion Artistry allowed her to control the objects with her mind but it was much easier if she chose a specific body part—mostly the hand—as a ‘magnet’ for the Artistry and then used it in tandem with it. However, since her hands were occupied by the flower, she had no choice but to levitate the sack with her mind only. It was bit troublesome, but nothing very difficult. “Oh? Back already? How did the first day go?” Evander said as he walked up to her. He was wiping his hand with a towel which was covered in a dark, tar-like liquid. Yuliana’s interest was piqued but she didn’t pry. She replied, “Pretty good. I got forty six herbs. Is that alright?” Evander raised his eyebrows. “That’s a lot more than I expected. I thought it’d be twenty something or thirty at best. Great job!” he said as he gave her a big thumbs up. He added, “But what’s that flower for? Where did you even get it?” Yuliana smiled and replied, “Hehe, I got this from a meadow near the Way Marker. Don’t you know?” Evander’s face tightened. He said slowly, “No? I have scouted that place multiple times and I don’t recall there being any flower meadows near my chosen spot...” Yuliana became confused. She said with her brows furrowed, “Huh? But I got it from there though? It was very close by. I am not lying okay?” Evander raised his hands and assured her. “It’s alright. I don’t distrust you. In fact, I’m inclined to believe you. The Maha Mounts are an ancient place where mystical occurrences are commonplace. There can be many possibilities for such a thing to happen. That could’ve been the illusion of a powerful spectral Corbeast or perhaps a magical teleporting garden?” Yuliana’s eyed widened. She looked down at the flower in her hands and said, “Then what about this? I got this from that meadow, and as far as I can tell, it’s very much real.” “Hmm, maybe it’s not an illusion then. Still, I don’t want to dismiss it just yet. Some illusions can be long lasting and fool observers beyond the period of getting afflicted. But then again, I doubt there’d be any illusion out there under the high Stage 3 level which can fool me, so we can probabilistically disqualify it.” Yuliana tilted her head with a frown. She said, “Also, I was pretty sure I didn’t cross the boundary you told me not to cross, but now that I think about it, I was kind of in a trance back then. I was enchanted by a nice scent and drawn towards it. Could I have been under some sort of uncanny Artistry?” Evander thought for a second. He replied, “Good guess. Perhaps instead of the garden appearing out of thin air, it was you who was hypnotized and brought to the garden. Hehe, reminds me of the time I got lost in the Maha Mounts and had ended up looping back to the same place at least twenty times. But that was very deep into the Mounts. The place where my Marker and the herbs are is relatively safe. And my warding repellent is no child’s play. It should’ve kept most of the abnormalities in check.” He sighed and added, “But most is not all. Plus, you’re quite special. The air of abnormality that hangs around you is nothing to sneeze at. After all...” he trailed off. Yuliana waited