Their route brought them to the Fountain of Infinite Wishes.
Its sign promised one wish per person per lifetime, no take backs.
Astrid leaned over the water.
“I wish for a pony made of fire, oh, wait, no, wait…”
The wish changed halfway through.
Whatever she had meant to ask for vanished into the fountain’s peculiar arithmetic.
Bubble Gurl examined a scrap of contract with mounting alarm.
“Who throws an active spell contract?”
“What did you wish for?” Hexcel asked Astrid.
Astrid frowned.
“Recursion clarity.”
No one knew whether that was an answer or a symptom.
Edgar stepped forward and addressed the fountain with admirable precision.
“I wish for, more punch.”
A magical notice flashed: PUNCH ACHIEVED.
Edgar flexed.
Somewhere, the universe made a note to reinforce its doors.
At Uncle Sneezy’s Elixir Emporium, a smiling proprietor assured them everything was cursed.
He reconsidered and announced that everything was cured.
Astrid had barely stepped inside before she found herself walking in a way that was unmistakably wrong.
The shopkeeper declared, “No lids.
Only vibes.”
It sounded like a threat, or possibly a store policy.
Edgar inhaled the wrong vapor and transformed into a hovering armored torso.
Hexcel stared up at him.
“Oh good.
Now he’s a balloon hover-torso.” Edgar punched the air to see whether that still worked.
It did.
Outside, the city had grown stranger in their wake.
Inflatable animals roamed the street, and a whole building wore a swollen, smiling face.
Astrid waved at it.
“Is it weird I love this?”
“Whoever did this gets us,” one of the others said.
Edgar tasted a coin.
“Money tastes sparkly.”
“Crime scene?
More like slime queen!” Astrid declared.
“That didn’t even make sense,” Miriam told her.
It was hard to argue.
It was also hard to stop laughing.