1. Macabre Marmalade (COMPLETED; EDITING)

V (2.2)

 The only difference to what he imagined was that there were four other people already there. Mia Lanternglow, shy human student obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons. She was so in love with a game that she risked breaking the law so she can play it in the first person. Todor only knew she came recently to the city and that she had a problem paying off her student loan. The second person was pureblooded Morg warrior, Torug Mordonglosh. He was basically a gun nut who thought Anadori controlled all international laws and that they should build a magical wall around Moriganhold before Anadori High Meet decides all free cities must be under their control. Good fellow but a bit on the nutty side. The third was Anadori mundane. She has a rare genetic disorder which prevents her from casting magic. So she found solace in a place that responds to her will. The fourth was the most mysterious of them all. They only knew the person under the name Meek. Species, gender or anything else was a total mystery. Since they could look and sound like anything they imagined, this person always showed as a shadowy figure with glowing pink eyes.

 Todor always took a form of a muppet Count von Count from Sesame Street. At first, he thought it was funny, after a while he just got used to it. Only John Miles was missing but he told them that he will be busy with homework.

 "Oh, look who it is! It's a sock puppet," Torug said once he saw Todor approaching. The other three turned to regard him.

 After a short bout of greetings and 'how do you dos' they started chatting on what happened to them during the week and all the gossip and news around town. Todor stayed mostly quiet. He knew only tidbits about this people, they weren't friends or anything similar. Just correspondences.

 Somebody asked him what was going on with him and he thought of saying he found the maharoon and managed to open it. But Ezezu sent a pulse of panic and fear at the thought. What is it, buddy? You don't want me to reveal that? He sensed approval at that. Alright, but I don't know what you are so afraid of.

 "Oh, nothing. I will attend Sunhawk ball this Sunday."

 "Oh, big baller," and "Big shot," resounded among the group.

 Usually, he found these gatherings incredibly interesting but now he just wanted to take a peek at Ezezu. So after the talk and chat died down he excused himself and disconnected from the shared space. He opened the eyes and met Mihos feline stare. The cat was sitting on his chest mewing and licking his nose.

 "Oh, I forgot to feed you, didn't I. Poor thing," he said snapping the stone off his forehead and hiding it in the hurry.

 He fed the cat, showered and went to bad. His desire to grab the book and read it got overwhelmed by yawns.

 Todor woke up to amusement coming from Ezezu. He looked at the nightstand where he left the book and had something to see. Mihos was licking the covers and purring.

 "Well alright. That is weird," he said getting up "Good morning, Mihos. Good morning Ezezu. I hope I am not interrupting," he chuckled at his own lame joke and went downstairs hafting the book under his arm.

 Entire Saturday morning passed by with him leafing throw the book. But he knew that just staring at the strange symbols will not help him understand it.

 "If only I could at least see the magic or maybe have an idea what magic even is," he murmured in frustration. His voice startled Mihos who jumped off the table knocking Ezezu on the floor. Todor sighed and knelt to pick it up. The Book fell at some page with writings annotated with bullet points and ... letters which he did understand.

 "What a hell?" he gasped staring at the list of written ingredients. On the page, written in plain English stood a text he could read. It was a recipe for some kind of alchemical potion. The title of it said 'Spectral Eyes' and below in tiny neat handwriting was an explanation. 'Imbiber of this concoction will be granted the sight of the wraith. Seeing the auras of magic and lay lines of Great Beyond. WARNING: Only works on humans. In Morgothlites it causes lust and in Anadori wrath. NT' Todor read in amazement.