Enchanted Brew

Fire, bright and hot,

Heat our potion pot.

Bubble and roil,

That over which we toil.

Liquid rich and dark,

Aromatic and so stark.

Impart unto we,

Your abundant energy!

To our magic, give birth,

With this offering from the earth!

The chanting fell silent after the crescendo of the spell and all eyes remained fixed on the bubbling cauldron and its dark contents.

‘Sister Rita....’ Orla hissed. When the silence continued, she hissed again, a little louder. ‘Sister! That was your cue!’

‘Oh! Right!’ They had discussed a graceful, grand sweep of the arm, sprinkling the final ingredient into the potion, hopefully resulting in the perfect Brew they had been working to concoct for months.

That was, unfortunately, not how it happened. Reet fumbled the small pouch at her hip and most of the contents spilled over the ground at her feet. She swung her arm clumsily in an arc a tad too flat, sending grains flying over the pot to land over the opposite rim.

‘Sorry! My bad!’ Reet stepped forward, tipping the pouch up over her cupped hand to get the last of the granules out of the bottom before swiping her palms together to dust it into the slowly bubbling liquid.

Orla groaned and shook her head as her Sister stepped back into the circle. She sighed heavily and decided to put the best face on it. ‘Well, my Sisters, the moment of truth. Whose turn is it to try our brew?’

She looked around with a raised eyebrow. Annie swayed backwards a little as if she could hide from Orla's gaze if she moved further out of the circle. Sarah avoided her eyes while Tay stared at the ground.

‘I suppose it must be my turn.’ Orla straightened her shoulders and stepped towards the cauldron. Trying not show trepidation, she picked up the ladle and dipped it into the bubbling surface before lifting the dark liquid to her lips to take a sip.

It may not be Lady-like to spit but has anyone ever called a Witch, Lady-like?

Orla made a face as she expelled her taste-test sample onto the ground. ‘Ugh, that’s even more bitter than the last one! We have to tip it out and try again! Sister Rita, are you sure that silly boy told you we were missing salt?’

‘Oh yes, Sister Orla. He said, if when your brew is too bitter, add a pinch of salt, it will take away the bitter edge.’ Reet nodded emphatically as she spoke, looking quite serious.

‘I’m not sure you heard him right, Sister.’ Annie ‘s brow furrowed a little as she sniffed at the aromatic steam. ‘It still smells bitter.’

‘No, no. He most definitely said add salt if it is bitter.’

Sarah sneered. ‘What would a Warlock Whelp know about brewing? The boy was probably just trying to impress a pretty face by sounding knowledgeable.’

‘I don’t think he was a Warlock Whelp.... I’m fairly certain he was a young Alchemist.’ The youngest Sister frowned a little, missing the not so gentle reproaches of her Sisters.

Heading off Sarah before she could say something else unbecoming of a Coven Sister, Annie cocked her head and asked, ‘What makes you think he is an Alchemist, Sister Rita?’

‘The delightful brew he carried was in a cup with The Alchemist Cave written on it and he wore an apron with the same words. Surely only a trained Alchemist would be allowed to work on the Enchanted Energy Potion?’ Reet raised an eyebrow and looked to Annie for support.

‘Well, I suppose, there is some evidence to support your theory, Sister. Perhaps, Sister Orla, this boy and his possible knowledge is worth looking into?’

‘The silly boy told Sister Rita to put salt in the Brew! Clearly, a failure. What on earth could he possibly know? Alchemist or not, he is clearly no Witch!’ Sarah folded her arms across her chest and scowled at the failed potion attempt.

Orla contemplated the cauldron for minute, mulling over the options.

The Coven could attempt to brew the Potion again. For the eighth time. Waste more time, more ingredients.

They could admit defeat, do some more research or ask advice from another coven. A horrible thought. To have to admit to another Coven they couldn’t get a simple potion right? Not an appealing option.

Or they could take a little time out to track down Reet’s mystery boy, who may or may not be an Alchemist and find out what he knew that could help them with their failed potion.

‘Come Sisters! Let’s go in search of the Alchemist!’

‘I don’t know about a Cave,’ the gentleman Sarah had accosted in the street of the village looked like he would rather be anywhere but under the scrutiny of the five Witches between him and his car, ’but I seem to remember a shop with Alchemy in its name a few blocks over, down that street over there.’ He pointed and all five of the sisters turned to look.

‘Oh! Yes!’ Reet squealed in delight. ‘I remember that funny gnarled old tree on the corner! That must be it! Thank....’ Turning back to the man, she was confronted with empty space. ‘Oh, he’s gone.’

Sarah frowned after his retreating back. ‘Rude. Typical Village dweller. Makes me so very grateful to live in the woods.’

‘The Villagers have their uses. And as long as we don’t see any Burning Stakes or Ducking Stools, we will stay out of their way and they out of ours.’ Orla looked up the street the man had pointed to. ‘Though perhaps Sisters Tay and Rita should question the next Villager we make enquiries with. The Village dwellers tend not to find our younger Sisters quite so intimidating.’

The five Sisters set off in the direction indicated, black cloaks billowing in the wind, scanning their surrounds for any indication of a cave or hint of an Alchemist's work.

‘Oh, look! That girl has a cup, just like the one the boy was carrying!’ A giddy Reet pointed and changed direction to intercept the young woman.

‘Hello there, kind friend! May I ask, where did you come by that wonderful Brew in your hand?’

The Village girl smiled at Reet before casting eye over the Sisters who had halted a polite distance behind their more amiable Coven member.

‘Um, Hi. You mustn’t be from in town. Everyone here knows it is the best cup around. Keep following this street, you are headed in the right direction. Up the top end of the street on the left. Just follow your nose!’

Reet thanked the young woman and the Sisters set off again.

A short distance later, Annie abruptly threw her arms out stopping her Sisters so suddenly they all ran into one another.

‘What in the world of Magic did you do that for!’ Sarah snapped, as she picked herself up off the path.

‘Do you smell that!’ Annie sniffed at the air again, prompting the others to do the same.

‘That divine aroma!’ Tay gushed like a love-struck teen.

Rita inhaled deeply and gave a serene smile, while the frown lines on Sarah’s forehead smoothed out making her look younger than she had in years.

‘By the generosity of Mother Earth, just the smell makes me feel like my bones turn to water! That is what our Brew should smell like!’ Orla felt her stress begin to melt away. ‘A powerful potion indeed. Lead the way Sister Annie!’

Following her nose in the direction of the enticing smell, Annie lead the way.

It did not take long for her to sniff out the source.

The five women crossed the street to the shop.

‘Hmm, Sister Rita, is there any chance you misread the name on the boy’s cup?’ Tay asked her Sister a little wryly.

‘Ah, yes there is certainly a chance. But look! It’s him! I told you he works here!’ Reet bounded up to the counter of the Alchemist’s shop.

‘Well, hello there pretty lady, so nice to see you again!’ The young man smiled brightly.

‘Ugh, enough flirting.’ Annie muttered under her breath before shouldering other customers out of the way. ‘Tell us, the secret to your perfect Brew boy! We must know!’

‘Ah, ok. Well, I did study for two weeks to learn to do this properly, if you’d like I can give you the details of my teacher.’

‘Two weeks?! That was all it took? We have been working to perfect our Brew for months!’ Annie threw her hands in the air in disgust.

‘Don’t be too hard on yourselves! It is an art and so many little tweaks to get it right.’

Orla put her hand on Annie’s shoulder. ‘Calm, Sister. We are here to find out just these things.’ She turned to the boy behind the counter in his apron. ‘This great hissing, silver contraption – it is your cauldron?’

‘Sure..... if that’s what you want to call it, that’s my cauldron. The Brewer’s Friend 2000 with inbuilt grinder. Not the latest model but treat her right, keep her clean and she will do right by you! A Barista’s best friend is his machine!’ He patted the top of the machine affectionately.

‘Sister Rita.... I believe you mistook the word Cafe for Cave. The name of this establishment is The Alchemist’s Cafe, not The Alchemist’s Cave.’ Tay’s eyes were narrowed in on the apron the boy wore as a uniform.

All five Sisters simultaneously stepped back from the counter to look at the name of store emblazoned on the front.

‘Well, yes, it does look that way doesn’t it?’ Reet blushed and looked sheepish.

Orla sighed and put her hand to her forehead to massage the start of a stress headache. ‘We will take five cups of your finest Brew please... Brett, the Barista.... and then perhaps you can tell me where to find one of those Brewer’s Friend machines.’

'And maybe lessons on how to use it.' Tay pipped up. 'This fancy silver cauldron looks more complicated than our old one and we couldn't use that one!'

- Pro Tip - if your coffee is bitter, add just a pinch of salt: it brings out the flavour of the coffee and takes away some of the bitterness (usually caused by scalding the beans with water too hot to brew coffee).

- A Ducking Chair - a torture device used historically in the trials of suspected Witches. If an accused drowned when tied to the chair and dropped into water, she was innocent. If she survived, it was seen as proof she was a Witch and subsequently burned at the stake.