Fun fact, the heroines of The Alchemist of Middlesbrooke (and hero, too, I guess) were first introduced in these short scenes, which means this scene is actually one of the first thing I ever wrote with them as characters.
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J.B. Norman
The three female adventurers — Lucia, Apolline, and Petra — decide to celebrate their recent successes in and around Middlesbrooke with their new companions. Given the time of year, a Heroes’ Eve party seems to be in order. Lucia has never really liked the dressing up part of Heroes’ Eve — it’s always seemed like a waste of time and money. Especially now, when the three of them aren’t exactly rolling in money. But she’s never been one to turn down a good party.
With only five of them, it’s not a very large party, but it’s enough to keep them in a sufficiently celebratory and festive mood. They’ve gotten onto good enough terms with the owner of the coffeehouse that has become their unofficial base of operations in Middlesbrooke that she has allowed them to use it after hours.
It took some doing to get to this point, but Middlesbrooke feels like it’s finally starting to grow on Lucia.
As Roland and Alda step into the coffeehouse, the girl looks up at Petra “I like your costume,” she says.
Dressed in fuzzy yellow clothes, the Troll-Amazon smiles. “I am a duck,” she declares. “Quack.”
As a Wilderling, Lucia never quite knows how to feel about other people dressing in animal costumes. On the other hand, she’s never met many duck Wilderlings. Besides, for all her attempts to keep it secret, Apolline and Lucia are well aware of Petra’s affection for small, cute animals.
“You need more practice,” Alda notes.
Petra nods. “Yes. I am not used to being a duck. I do not normally need to quack.”
“I’m Princess Adelaide,” Alda says, showing off her warrior princess costume and striking a pose with her wooden sword.
“I’m a princess, too,” Apolline says, showing off her pink gown and crown.
Alda’s eyes widen with glee when she sees the dragon doll Apolline is holding. “You’re Astraea!” she declares. She points to the dragon. “That must be Orm!”
Apolline nods. “It’s one of my favourite stories.”
“Mine too,” Alda says.
“Here,” Lucia says, handing Alda a fistful of candies. “Happy Heroes’ Eve.”
“Wow. Thanks!” the girl says, happily accepting the candy. “What are you dressed as, Lucia?”
“I’m a tiger,” she explains. “The costume was easy. I’m already a cat.” She points to her black-and-orange tunic. “I just needed the stripes.”
“Can I have some candy?” Roland asks from behind Lucia.
“Are you eight years old?” Lucia asks, turning to face him. “Are you — wearing a mop?”
The musclebound alchemist nods. “It’s my costume,” he explains. “I’m Uncle Chuck.” He points to the mop perched haphazardly on his head. “This is my hair.”
Lucia stares at him, trying to make sense of the details of his homemade costume. “And what’s that on your face?” she asks.
“Oh, I pulled the stuffing out of a pillow,” he says. “For my beard. I look just like him, if I do say so myself.”
“Well, the shield looks good,” Lucia offers.
Roland nods. “Yeah. I, uh, borrowed it from Uncle Chuck’s armoury. But maybe don’t tell him that.”
The biggest challenge with writing Petra has historically been distinguishing her Falcata, while also making them similar enough to reflect having the same Amazon upbringing.
Basically, I’ve decided that Petra is a little more casual and uses more contractions and slang in her speech, which wasn’t really established until after this scene.
The rest of my writing exercises are here. This scene was originally published as part of the lead-up to Halloween 2021.
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