The Academy Of Space And Time

Where I am astride between two worlds

Thankfully, the herbalist shop wasn't far from the Academy, and the streets weren't crowded because almost everyone was in the streets, celebrating.

The owner had elfin features and I couldn't really tell if she was young, or the same age as Vitaly, or neither. She had high cheekbones, almond shaped eyes and pale pink hair. She smiled at us.

"Come in! I have a few products I want you to see."

"How do you know who we are?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm close to Vitaly Malinov, and everyone knows who Jeff Tanaka is."

Jeff blushed, and we made ourselves comfortable. The shop seemed to be Annika's house. There were tables, chairs, even a fireplace. Annika made us sit near the fireplace.

"I don't live here alone," she explained, gesturing at the cozy furniture and opening a door to what looked like a warehouse. "I have a wife, but she's out buying groceries for tonight's Feast."

Annika came back from the warehouse and showed us a few ampoules.

I grabbed one that contained something yellow and sticky.

"That is an antidote against the wounds of nature that belong to other worlds," she explained. "After all, you're going to change the world, as I heard it. Your quest will be in another dimension."

Then, she showed us an ampoule containing a dark blue liquid. It was the same colour as her eyes.

"This cures most wounds. It won't make you impossible to kill, but almost... pour it on the body part where you were wounded and this will heal it nicely."

"I thought panacea could do all of that and more," I said.

"Panacea can cure you mostly from diseases, like cancer for instance," Jeff explained. "Or wounds that are not so deep. I'm sure the liquid in this ampoule works better on the deep wounds, the ones that would fester if you don't cure them."

I was starting to feel nauseous, though I'd never admit it. Why couldn't this be a quest where you used intellect instead of strength? Not that intellect was my forte. It was just how I'd told Edgar — I relied on it, but it betrayed me. My hyperactive mind was too overcrowded and I lost focus too easily.

And there was more — I'd tried not to think about it, but there's only so much time you can keep the thought that you're about to enter a new, unknown dimension away from your mind.

"That's cute, but we need a tonic for Jeff," Raegan said. "A special kind. He was jinxed during his last quest, and now using his magic gives him pain."

"I've got something that could help him," Annika's eyes shone. "It won't cure you at once, Jeff Tanaka, but it will help you with the pain. And if you finish the whole bottle, I have a good guess that your curse will be either lifted, or become more tolerable."

The tonic inside the ampoule looked slimy and green.

"One last thing," she added. "Brady and Vitaly want to help you space-shift. You don't have the coordinates, do you? They said if I ever met the four of you, I should warn them, and you could proceed immediately. You're missing an Aeon, and an Enlightener. I'm the Enlightener."

"I've always wanted to know what an Aeon was," I said, without thinking. The truth was that we should have told them about Jake.

"Only Jophiel, or whoever is hosting the powers, can be an Aeon. A non-binary person who can stop space and time is always required for space-shifting. So without the god's help or blessing, no one could do it," Annika smiled. "You should count yourselves lucky that Vitaly is on your side."