282 Skollwood Adventures Part 4: It Comes At A Prize

"Welcome to Skoll Boutique! We have a wide range of outfits for you to choose from so please take your time to have a look!"

Vy screened through the dresses that the booth had on display. One in particular quickly caught her eyes as took it down from the clothes rack for a closer look. It was a midi length dress that cinched at the waist with a belt and flared at the bottom. 

A mix of solid back coloured fabric was used under a mesh fabric with sewn-on gold and silver stars. Seeing that Vy was interested in the dress, the lady who owned the booth brought her a matching pointed hat. 

Unlike most of the others she had seen, this hat had a longer pointed tip at the end. It was all black in colour with a strip of shimmering gold stars around its band. 

"This would match perfectly well with the dress," she recommended to Vy. 

Looking into the mirror, Vy imagines what she would look like with the dress and hat on. A pair of matching pointed tip boots with a star buckle on the side matched perfectly. 

"I'll take these two and the pair of boots over there." Vy decided swiftly. 

After making her purchase, Vy turned around to realise that her brother was nowhere to be seen. A sudden feeling of dread washed over her. She looked around everywhere and finally heaved a sigh of relief when she finally saw him. 

Lycster had wandered off to see the other booths. He found a stall filled with various different costumes that would fit his size. 

"Miss! Miss!" The lady of the booth Vy had just purchased from called out to her, "If you would like to complete your outfit, you can proceed to the wand booth over there."

"Thank you, I will go there to take a look," Vy replied with a smile before she headed over to where her brother was. 

She arrived just in time as he was making payment for his purchase, which were all placed into a huge paper bag. Seeing as he was so engrossed with what he was doing, Vy crept up behind him in hopes of successfully scaring him. 

But before she could, he quickly turned around and leapt onto her. 

"I caught you!" he called out in victory, "you thought you could scare me that easily. Ha ha ha ha!" 

His sister was caught off guard, a little annoyed that she had failed in her attempt. She resolved to work harder next time to give him a proper good scare. 

Changing the topic, she asked, "So, did you manage to find a suitable costume?" 

"Yes I did! But I guess we would need a few more right? Since we're going to be here for a few nights."

Vy realised that he was right. Since they were going to be on the island for a few days, they were going to need more costumes. So for the rest of the night, they spend their time shopping at the different booths in preparation for their costumes. 

Bonetimer also gave them more insights on what to expect during the scavenger hunt. The rules of the game were simple, they needed to head to a total of four different locations in the corn maze and complete a task in each. 

Upon completing each task, they would receive a gem piece. The first person who completes all four tasks and reaches the centre of the maze will be awarded with a prize. 

"What sort of prize?"

"The prize is different every year. This year, the prize is a wishing spell request."

"A wishing spell?" Vy asked out of curiosity.

Bonetimer explained that it was their tradition on the island to award the winner with something unique. Some years, they awarded the winner with a magically enhanced weapon forged on the island. Other years they awarded the winner with special potions that could not be found elsewhere. 

This year, was a highly anticipated year where they would award a wishing spell. This allowed the wisher to summon someone they knew to the island until the end of the festival.

"It could be anyone? Anywhere?" 

"Yes that's right."

It did not seem like a very useful wish to Vyrena. Who was she going to wish onto the island?

"Has this prize been given out before? What did other people wish for?" Lycster asked out of curiosity.

"It has. From what I have heard and recall, there were some who wished to see the loved ones that they had lost. Others wished to meet their lover and whatnot." 

"There was one year, where a man wished to meet his soul mate and no one turned up, it was really sad."

Vy spat out her tea and burst out laughing. Aether, who had wanted to stifle his own laughter ended up laughing too. Lycster was the only one who felt sad for him. 

"How can the both of you laugh at that! Isn't that sad? He does not have a soul mate…" Lycster chided them. 

Bonetimer quickly clarified, "Well, we were perplexed as well. Because everyone technically does have one. But we found out later on that there was a reason as to why his soul mate did not appear."

"What was the reason?"

"His soulmate was already on the island."

"Oh… that makes more sense."

Vy wondered, "Interesting… in that case, Lycster, you should give it a shot. Then we can find out who your soulmate is."

Lycster blushed beet red. 

"Unfortunately, Master Lycster will not be able to join the scavenger hunt. He is too young to participate in it." Bonetimer added. 

Lycster heaved a sigh of relief. 

"Looks like someone is disappointed," Vy teased. 

Lycster quickly deflected with a comeback, "Who said I was disappointed! Anyways, shouldn't we find out who your soulmate is before finding out mine?"

-We already know who Vy's is.- 

"Yeah that's right," Vy readily agreed with her Familiar. But as soon as she realised what he had said, she quickly rebutted, "Wait no. What do you mean by that?!"

"What do you mean by you already know who my soul mate is!"

Aether chuckled. -I mean, I thought you knew too but I guess…oh well.-

"Hey no don't you oh well me. You better explain yourself!"