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October 5, 2016

Just on the outskirts of Barton Town sits a quaint home belonging to none other than Reuben Rothmore, a self-employed herbalist who has a knack for coming up with strange and potent remedies for whatever plagues his clients. It is here that he calls home. Oftentimes, he spends his days outside in the garden, tending to his many plants and relaxing in the beauty of nature or working on combining the right set of herbs to create new concoctions for sickness.

Reuben always started his days before sunrise as to welcome it with open arms. This beautiful autumn day was no different. He made his way out to the gazebo and listened to the sounds of the birds chirping in the early morning. A soft breeze brushed against his skin as he made his way there.

A pond sat just beyond his lot and a cobblestone path led him to the small white wooden gazebo he had fixed up from it's prior run down state. It was adorned with a few wind chimes, a small desk, and many beautiful flowers and herbs planted around to freshen the air with their scent. It was the perfect place to meditate. He grabbed his favorite deck of tarot cards from a large chest he kept out under the gazebo and sat down in the center of it. He then sat the cards, which were encased in fine satin cloth, in front of him on a small meditation table whilst he made himself comfortable.

Reuben sat cross legged with his eyes closed and his hands dead in his lap. Deep breath in, slow exhale. Deep inhale, slow breath out. He focused until he came to the conclusion that his mind was clear enough for a satisfying read. He opened his eyes and grabbed the deck from in front of him. Unwrapping the cards from the cloth that kept them together, he began to speak aloud, "Cards, share with me information the universe wants me to know right now."

Reuben shuffled the deck and repeated the sentence a few times before he felt the cards were shuffled thoroughly. He cut the deck and held it in his left hand, grabbing the top card, he turned it over to reveal "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" upright. He then plucked the second card from the top of the deck, revealing "THE FOOL" card reversed. A bit of disappointment grew within his heart as he set down the second next to the first. Finally, he grabbed a third card, revealing "THE STAR" upright. A small smirk grew upon his face as he set the final card down in the line.

Looking over these cards, Reuben squinted a bit. "Well, a stroke of good luck, some carelessness, and finally...a fresh perspective and renewed purpose in life..." he mused. He stared down at the cards, but kept an air of positivity about him. He wondered what the cards could be trying to say but kept in mind their meanings. With those thoughts in mind, he picked up his cards, thanked them for their service with a cleansing shuffle and put them in the chest before going back inside.



The day went on like any other and Reuben decided it was about time he head to the market. He gathered his wallet, keys, and cell before opening the front door only to reveal a rather large brown package sitting on his doorstep. Surprised, Reuben's brow furrowed. He took a quick look outside. "Huh, must have been delivered while I was out back," he muttered under his breath.

Upon looking at the return address, his eyes widened. Could this be? He had all but forgotten about Lab 305, as it had been a month and some change since he applied. He quickly pulled the hefty package inside and heaved it up onto his dining table. He grabbed a knife, cut open the top, peeled back the tape and the four flaps of cardboard to reveal a silvery metal briefcase. Opening said briefcase revealed a letter addressed to him with accompanying paperwork, an empty glass bottle with a lovely yellow to red ombre cloth decked in white little spots throughout as well as a beautiful jar with a stunning array of colors all focused and emitting off of a single sphere floating in the center. Looking at the jar, he instantly felt drawn towards it. He began to get lost in the swirling colors and little sounds. Shaking himself from his thoughts what seemed like only a few moments later, Reuben forgot what he was doing only to remember once seeing the paperwork still sitting on the table. "Right," he said, picking up the letter and flipping it over quickly to open it up. It read:



What was this? Was it a mistake? Was he really given the opportunity to care for a raevan? Nerves instantly overcame him. Reuben couldn't believe that he was actually chosen to be a guardian. He even looked over the letter and the accompanying paperwork a few times in disbelief.

Reuben took the briefcase out to his workroom but upon leaving the house, realized that evening was upon him. The herbalist looked at the clock as soon as he entered the workroom in complete shock. Had it really been an hour since he found the package? It had only felt like a few minutes. He shook the thought from his head before deciding to continue on with what he was doing. He found a wooden crate full of miscellaneous herbs and simply dumped them into a large cloth bag before taking some velvet cloth and lining the inside of it. Taking the glass bottle from the case first ever so delicately, he placed it in the newly cleaned wooden crate with ease, setting the crate itself on the far end of his desk. 'Ah, a perfect fit,' he thought, taking the jar and placing it directly next to the wooden crate. There they both sat, the beautiful jar and a lovely glass bottle ready for a soul.

With a bright smile on his face, he turned off the light to his workroom, locked the door and made his way back into his house. Ah, how the cards were right. The Wheel of Fortune did play a major role this day. A wonderful stroke of good luck! It was now time to get started filling out the paperwork.

October 7, 2016

Reuben always had a process. Lengthy research by delving into his many books and saved internet web pages before gathering the ingredients necessary to create whatever it was he was going to create. He decided to dedicate today to the woman and the special infusion she had requested.

Looking through his encyclopedia of magical herbs, he created a small list that helped with divinatory and visionary mediums. Those under the planetary bodies of the moon for prophetic dreams and mercury for divination, and then looking towards those which fell under the category of the air element for visions and the water element to further the prophetic dreams.

With this research, he wrote out a list of ingredients.



Going to his cupboard, he shuffled through the multitudes of herbs, spices, and other random things on his shelves only to realize that all he currently had for this infusion was agrimony, mugwort, crocus and an orange. Thus, it left him yearning for the top three ingredients he was needing for this tea: orris root (the main ingredient), at least one agaric mushroom, and some meadowsweet. With a sigh, he realized the only way to get these items was to go to the market for them and hope he could find what he was looking for.

With that information in mind, he set out on the adventure to the market.



'Goddammit,' Reuben thought to himself as he pushed his way through the crowded marketplace. Drifting through the sea of people, the sounds of the crowd were overwhelming. Pushing past people in the center just trying to get through was the roughest part of this little excursion, he just couldn't wait to be home after this was all over.

After a good deal of time wasted and a bit of searching, Reuben finally found a perfect stall. An elderly woman was selling all kinds of spices, herbs and potions of her own.

"Why hello there, youngster. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, do you happen to have any orris root, agaric mushrooms or meadowsweet, by chance," he asked curiously.

The woman's wrinkled face grinned as she got up from her chair and walked over to the other side of her stall. She grabbed something and brought it back to Reuben, holding it out. "Here's the meadowsweet and some orris root. I'm sorry to say I don't have the mushrooms, but I have plenty of these if you'd like them."

Reuben smirked, but let out a slightly distraught sigh, this just meant more searching deeper into the abyss that was this crowded market. "I'll take them, thank you. Do you happen to know of any stalls that may be selling the toadstools?"

The woman's face crinkled a bit as she contemplated the question. "You know, there is this one woman down this street, around the corner and at the end of the block. She has some very fine wares, but she is a rather...eccentric woman," she said.

Reuben nodded and thanked the woman before paying for the herbs and continuing down the road just as she advised. Finally, he came to the small street that she spoke of. It seemed as though the crowd began to dissipate completely as the street went on towards the final stall at the end. But, just as the elderly woman predicted, there stood a figure at the end of the block at the last little stall. This woman was mounted upon a soapbox doing what could only be described as a strange dance, chanting, "Welcome, welcome, one and all, please stop by my little stall! I have wares, yes I do, I have wares that are just for you!"

Her chant, though rather annoying, caught Reuben's attention. The elderly woman was right, this lady definitely had some screws loose. As he approached her stall, she jumped off of her platform and scurried behind the table.

"Hello there! What can I do you for!?"

Reuben smirked. "I'm actually looking to see if you happen to have any herbs for sale.""

The woman belted out a deep belly laugh. "Do I have herbs!? DO I HAVE HERBS!? You bet your a** I have some fantastic herbs! The rarest of the rare. I definitely have what you're looking for!"

Reuben couldn't even keep back his own chuckles as she began to speak. This woman had lost her mind, maybe she was eating a few too many magic mushrooms herself?

"Uhh, hahah, I...umm...I'm looking for some agaric mushrooms. Do you happen to have any?"

"DO I!? I..." she began, pausing a moment after looking under a small tablecloth, "...one second," she stated, scrambling through her many sets of herbs and different wares. It was a disheveled mess to say the least, but if she had some toadstools, he'd take them.

The woman began to frantically look through her cases which she had hidden underneath her tables which were draped with fancy cloths. "I...I have to have it...somewhere..."

The woman began tossing boxes aside and rummaging through everything she had to no avail. "B-but it's gotta be here! It just has to be!" she exclaimed, throwing down some rags she held in her hands in a fit of fury.

Reuben sighed slightly and spoke, "Well, it really isn't a big deal, it's just-"

"It's a huge deal! What do you mean no big deal!? I cannot find my prized toadstools! They're said to be magical! You have no idea the powers at play here."

Okay, this woman was more than just eccentric, she, in Reuben's humble opinion, could be classified as clinically insane. He could tell why the crowd didn't like coming down this way. He slowly began to back away. He, too, believed in magic but was never as over the top about it like she seemed to be. She was, being completely honest, making him slightly nervous for his own safety by the way she was acting.

As she continued to rummage, he slowly backed away and finally turned around to begin walking away completely. He'd just have to find it elsewhere.

"AHA! HERE WE ARE!" she exclaimed, jumping over the counter. "COME BACK! I FOUND WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR!" she called.

Reuben stopped in his tracks and let out a large sigh. He donned a fake smile and turned around only to see the woman barreling up the road towards him. When she arrived, out of breath, she handed him a small wooden case. Upon opening it, he saw a few very well preserved agaric mushrooms in it. His fake smile transformed into a smile of hope. They were real.

"I told you I had it!" she said. "You better take good care of those mushrooms, now. They're magical and very powerful, you hear me!? THEY ARE MAGICAL!" she huffed, instantly turning around and walking away. "AND DON'T FORGET POWERFUL!" she screamed, throwing her hand in the air as she continued to walk away. All that could be heard after that was her muttering words as she made her way back to her stall.

Reuben's face cringed as she walked away. What had just happened? He shook his head and looked down at the exquisite wooden case. Who would keep mushrooms in a case like this? Oh who cared, at least he had them now. He turned and walked away towards home.

He stopped only when he came to a realization. He looked down at the wooden case in his hands and thought, 'I...didn't even pay for these.' He took a big deep breath and contemplated going back. No, no, another day perhaps, he had had enough of the market for one day.

October 8, 2016

Awaking from a much needed sleep, Reuben opened his eyes completely ready to take the tea back to his new client. He sat up, stretched, and slipped on a pair of slippers before slowly making his way into the kitchen. He poured himself some much needed earl grey and sipped it. The heat warmed his body and instantly gave him a sense of purpose for the day. Most people liked their coffee and couldn't live without it. Reu, on the other hand, loved his tea. Black teas in the morning and green teas in the evening. It was a perfect cycle.

Sipping his cup, Reuben went outside and took a deep breath. Luckily it was still warm enough to only need his shorts on. It was time to start his daily ritual. He went to his gazebo and sat his tea down on a small meditation table he had there. He lit some dragon's blood incense and went to the small chest he had setup in one of the corners of the gazebo. He pulled out his Fountain Tarot deck and listened as the soft sounds of wind chimes clinked together as the breeze blew the smell of incense all about. He sat in front of the small table and crossed his legs, laying his hands in his lap.

Deep breath in. Hold. Slow exhale. Deep breath in. Hold. Slow exhale. The man repeated those steps a few times to help clear his mind. He focused solely on the sounds of the chimes and the smell of the incense as well as making sure his thoughts were floating on by him, not focusing on a single one.

When he felt his mind was completely cleared, he slowly opened his eyes and grabbed the deck from the table. Unwrapping the deck from it's satin cloth, he held the cards in his hand a moment, saying, "What information do I need to know today?"

Reuben shuffled the deck a few times, cut it into thirds, put it back together and took a deep breath. He grabbed the top card and flipped it over revealing the "KING OF WANDS" card upright. His first thought as he looked down at the card was "life is a growing adventure". A powerful card to be drawn any day of the year. Of course life was an adventure. He drew a second card in order to get more insight. "ACE OF CUPS" card upright. A smile grew upon his face. These two cards gave him the insight that was for today. A new, emotional adventure was about to begin. With a nod of his head and a small chuckle, he wasn't entirely sure what would happen today, but he was excited to see. With that, he picked up the two cards, gave the deck a cleansing shuffle, and wrapped the deck in it's protective cloth before putting it away. He leaned against the gazebo to take in the sunrise that glistened through the treetops and onto the small creek that led behind the house.

Glancing down at his watch, Reu noticed it was a bit later than he had anticipated. He quickly ran inside, grabbed his keys, the slip of paper which had the address of the delivery, the flask of "divinitea" as he called it and ran out the door.



Returning from the delivery, Reuben sat his keys on the small table he had next to his front door and took the small bag of money to the kitchen counter. With a huge, delight-filled smile, he emptied it onto the counter and began to count it. Wonderful! It was all there, and he couldn't believe what coin this client had. Hopefully she enjoyed her tea.

The man tossed the cash back into the bag and left it on the kitchen table. He'd definitely have to take it to the bank at some point. As he sat down in the large leather recliner in the living room, Reu looked out the window at his workshop, only to realize that he had yet to clean up. With a sigh of anguish and reluctance, he decided to get out there and begin cleaning.

As he picked up the used bowls and pestles, he noticed something different and out of the ordinary. The sacred bottle, the one that was supposed to steal a soul, it...was filled?! Wide eyes stared at the swirling red and orange smoke encased in glass. He frantically looked about the room. What on earth could the bottle have sucked the life out of? Then, he saw it. The bottle still sat upon that same velvet cloth inside of that same wooden crate that was on the floor next to his desk. Upon closer inspection however, wedged between the glass and the velvet cloth was a small, very dried up toadstool. How on earth did that mushroom get in there? A quick flashback of him knocking over the wicker basket of mushrooms flew by in his mind.

"Oh ******** toadstool? Really?" he said, looking at the bottle of floating smoke as he scratched his head. How could he be so careless as to leave such an exquisite piece of magic out in the open like that. He couldn't believe how careless he was. He could have gotten the soul of a beautiful fox or a powerful magical soul, but alas, his carelessness led the bottle to none other than that of a fungus. Now he had a magic bottle...with a toadstool soul inside. With a deep breath, his mind flashed to the first set of cards he had drawn a few days prior.

"THE FOOL" card was the only one flashing before his eyes. 'Definitely foolish,' he thought to himself with a shake of his head.

Then the cards from today's reading came to the forefront.

"KING OF WANDS" and "ACE OF CUPS". 'An emotional new journey through life.' That much was for certain. It certainly filled him with a certain emotion already -- just not the emotion he was expecting.

Reuben glared at the bottle and rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath and picked it up in disbelief. Well, what could one do? It was time to turn it in, apparently.

October 28, 2016

A few days passed since the courier came and picked up the package for Zeke. No word was sent to him at all. Reu knew that he had ******** up and that he wouldn't be hearing from the lab ever again. Why would they contact him when he ruined and wasted a soul bottle like that? He had done enough sulking. He had to deal with the facts and move on with his life.

Reuben decided that a good reading was what he needed to do now. He got himself up out of bed, a cup of tea in hand, and out to the gazebo he went. He lit the incense and grabbed his favorite deck from the chest. A few moments of meditation later, he picked up his cards, gave them a good shuffling, a cut of the deck, and drew a card.

To his surprise, it was a very telling card that he had pulled. He set it down upon the meditation table and began to chuckle a bit at the power of the cards. As he looked down at it, "THE FOUNTAIN" card upright stared him back in the face.

"Just be," he said aloud with a small chuckle. The one card that told him to forget his worries, just relax, just "be". He definitely had needed that in that moment.

It wasn't hard to realize what the cards were trying to tell him, but just for kicks, he flipped another. "THE SUN" card upright. A card about happiness and the power of positive thinking. Things would get better. It was always so telling when he read the cards. They were always there to calm him down and bring him back to earth.

So what if he wouldn't be called back? His life would go on. If they called, that'd be wonderful; but it wasn't the end of the world if they didn't. A smirk grew upon the man's face. He knew what he needed to do now was just chill, relax, think positive, and "be".

October 31, 2016



"Are you ready yet?" a voice rang out from the living room. It was piercing to the ears and filled to the brim with an undertone of utter annoyance. The woman was clad in witchy attire from head to toe. A large witch's hat adorned her head with dark lips and makeup, as well as a dark short dress with a broom. Your stereotypical witch costume.

"Almost," he stated with a roll of his eyes. A sigh escaped the new guardian's piercing red lips as he flipped the cape over his shoulders and tied it around his neck to keep it in place. His face was decked out with pale cream makeup and darkened eye shadow with a small drip of fake blood flowing down the sides of his mouth. He wore two fangs and bright red prescription contacts. He was a vampire for the evening, that much was obvious. He actually recycled an old vest and suit pants for the occasion and wore a white collared shirt underneath with a red necklace medallion that Calista had let him borrow. This was her favorite holiday, and one that was only mediocre in his opinion.

Reuben normally enjoyed a quiet evening at home on Halloween. If any children dared venture out past Barton Town to his cottage, he was armed with some candy to pass out. But tonight he'd have to turn out the porch light, because Calista forced his hand this year.

They were apparently supposed to go to the Halloween bash in Durem, his home town. Calista, also being from Durem, always loved the people and the scene. Reuben, on the other hand, always avoided the place at all costs. Somehow, even unbeknownst to Calista herself, Reuben agreed to attend the festivities.

Giving himself one last glance over in the mirror, he licked his teeth and went out into the living room to see Calista standing there on her phone scrolling through tumblr, no doubt.

"Okay, lets go," he said, standing at the hallway's entrance.

"Finally," Calista stated, looking up to see the entire costume put together. "Wow, Reu, you really clean up well. I'm impressed."

"What is this? A compliment? Coming from you? It really must be an odd day of the year," he jested.

"Oh shut it. Lets go," Calista stated with a cracking smile, taking Reuben by the hand and leading him out the front door to her truck.



Crowds of people lined the streets of the halloween fair. The night was definitely upon the world and people from all over came to Durem for their annual Fairytale Fair. Orange jack-o-lanterns lined the streets with dim lights strung up from telephone pole to pole. Even the buildings were decorated with cobwebs and some terrifying cheer. Everyone was in a good mood...except Reuben. He rather regretted the decision to come out to Durem. The last thing he wanted to do was be seen by anyone he used to know growing up.

Calista, on the other hand, was drawn to the night and loved the festivities. She acted as though she was a child running from booth to booth, playing the little games and such and gathering candies for herself.

Reuben sat on the sidelines at almost every station. Oh, how he had wished he stayed home and lit some candles, meditated, and read some tarot cards instead.

Out of the corner of his eye, a couple walked past. They were both dressed in "Dia de los Muertos" attire. Half face skull painted on the man's face whilst hers was done up more intricately and entirely. The couple walked by them and the man glanced at Reuben as he sat on the bench and smirked with a quick nod.

Reuben's heart skipped a beat a second. It wasn't that type of smirk you'd give a stranger. It was a "checking you out" sort of smirk and nod. Reuben shook it off, yet began to blush behind the makeup. He decided to distract himself and check out his phone instead. Finding that Tumblr was far more entertaining than just sitting there.

Suddenly, a presence joined him on the bench. Out of the corner of his eye, it was just a large figure. Reuben quickly glanced up to see the same man from a few moments earlier sitting there, looking straight on at one of the games. Reuben quickly looked back at his phone and only acted busy to keep from becoming too awkward.

"This is a little lame, isn't it?" the stranger asked, still looking forward.

Reuben was caught off guard at the man's voice. "Y-yeah, a tad bit, heh. I'm waiting for my friend over there to finish her game," he said, looking over at Calista who was unashamedly bobbing for apples.

"Same here," the man said, turning to look at Reuben straight on. "I'm Evan, by the way. I'm really diggin' your costume," he said with a smile, eyeing Reuben up and down.

"Ah, yeah? Thanks, I appreciate it," Reuben began, a smile growing on his face. "I really like you and your girlfriend's costumes as well. They look really nice. And I'm Reuben; though you can call me Reu."

The two shook hands quickly and Evan spoke up, "Thanks, it took her a few hours to paint them. Very nice to meet you, Reu. So, what brings you to the fair? Your girlfriend over there?"

Reuben chuckled a bit. "Yeah, she's been hounding me to go out for a while now. I don't know why I agreed to come out; but I did."

"Yeah, same here, man. Ah, looks like she's done. It was nice meeting you. Have a wonderful evening," he said with a smirk and a wink, patting Reuben on the back. As he stood, he looked over at his girlfriend who ran up to him with a stuffed jack-o-lantern she had won. The two hugged. Before leaving, however, Evan turned, winked once more and waved at Reuben as they walked into the crowd.

Reuben smiled as the man patted his back and just nodded when he was told to have a good evening. Did that really just happen? Was he being slightly hit on by a random stranger...with a girlfriend no less? Stranger things could have happened. Reuben couldn't stop smiling a moment before he got up, waltzing over to an unhappy, soaked Calista who just couldn't seem to get an apple.

"Goddamn these games. I can't stand this," she stated, looking at the obviously goofy smile on Reuben's face. "What's got you in such a good mood?" she asked.

Reuben looked off in the direction Evan walked and shook his head with that same smile. "Nothing, just enjoying my time here," he said.

The two spent the rest of the evening at the Durem Fairytale Fair laughing, playing the games and visiting the booths. All in all, coming out this halloween was a very good idea, Reuben decided. A very good idea indeed.