“That would be fun,” Vanessa commented.
“Yeah,” the rest of the four agreed.
“Very well then,” Hale acknowledged.
After everyone had finished eating, Mr. Hale led the four out of the penthouse and into his car.
He drove for a while until he reached the middle of the city. He dropped the four off at a sidewalk and gave them twenty crowtins each.
“These are for you to spend, make sure that you either travel in pairs or all together. I will be back in a couple of hours so please wait here,” Mr. Hale instructed.
The four nodded and Hale drove off.
“Where do you guys want to go now? This is Crow City, even the post office would be exciting to visit.” Vanessa chuckled.
Olivia looked to the stores next to the sidewalk. One sign: Wintergreen’s Ice Cream Parlor, caught her eye. She was never allowed to eat ice cream but something about the sign pulled her to it.
“I think I would like to go to that ice cream parlor,” Olivia replied pointing to the sign.
“Me too,” Eric added and smiled.
“As I said, anything in Crow City is exciting,” Vanessa commented.
She looked around to see if there were someplace invigorating to visit. Someplace that she would enjoy. It wasn’t long before she found one. It was a fantastic building with a sign: Crow City’s Gem Institute.
“I want to go to that gem museum, I wonder what enchanted or cursed jewels there will be.”
“So do I,” David responded.
“It’s settled then, Olivia and I will go to the ice cream parlor, and Vanessa and David will go to the gem museum. After that we will come back and wait for Mr. Hale,” Eric clarified to the group. The four nodded and they split up.
As Olivia and Eric walked towards the ice cream parlor, they both talked.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? Just a few weeks ago, we were on Earth thinking that nothing special was going to happen to us and now we are on a magical planet,” Eric said to Olivia.
“It is, isn’t it? I would have never expected that this would happen to me of all people,” Olivia replied.
Eric smiled. “Me neither. How do you feel about all this?”
“Honestly, I don’t know anymore. At first, I was terrified and still kind of am, but less so now. I am also excited like I have never been before. This planet, Magia, feels like home more than my life on Earth with the Kims ever did. How about you?” Olivia said.
“I was also scared, but sadder. I had many merry times with my family, but nothing ever happened to me. I wanted to do something but didn’t want to lose my family. I didn’t know what I wanted. Now, though I do miss my family, I am happier than I ever was before. Magia seems so exciting to live in. There are so many places to explore and things to learn. I have a question, what do you think of Mr. Hale?” Eric said.
“At first I didn’t trust him. My stepparents taught me to not trust anyone. However, now I have faith in him. He is very kind and caring and I think we are safe with him. What do you think of Mr. Hale?” Olivia replied.
“I trust him too. But what do you think he meant when he said to our adoptive parents that the sake of Magia depended on us? I mean, I don’t see the danger in this place, if anything it seems perfect. Even if it is in danger, how can we do anything?” Eric replied.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure Mr. Hale will tell us,” Olivia answered.
Eric nodded. It wasn’t long before they reached the ice cream parlor and entered. The inside of the ice cream parlor was very ostentatious. The ceiling was painted green and the walls were painted blue. The floor was made of pink tiles. The tables and chairs were yellow.
“It looks like a rainbow threw up in here,” Eric remarked.
“Yeah,” Olivia concurred. “It seems very welcoming though.”
Two employees were behind the counter with the ice cream flavors. One was a tall man who had a brown complexion and dark black hair. The other was a female figon like Ivy. She had green skin and blue eyes.
“Welcome to Wintergreen’s Ice Cream Parlor, one of the many around the world! What can we get you?” the figon asked.
Eric and Olivia walked towards the counter. They looked over and saw that there were many gelato flavors similar to the ones they had seen before on Earth, such as chocolate. However, there were many unusual flavors that neither Olivia nor Eric had ever seen before, such as impish-fig. Olivia and Eric decided to play it safe. They both ordered a plain vanilla ice cream cone. The other employee scooped up some vanilla and handed it to the children.
“That would be five crowtins please,” the man said.
The children gave him the money. As they both licked their scoops of ice cream, something peculiar happened. The kids couldn’t feel the ground anymore. As they looked down, they realized that they were floating in the air! The kids kept floating up and up.
“What’s happening? Please get me down,” Olivia fretted. She desperately wanted to get back on the ground and the ceiling was getting closer.
“So this is what flying feels like, I kind of like it,” Eric said with a little excitement. Being in the air was kind of enjoyable for him.
“O-o-oh my gosh! We are so s-s-sorry! We don’t how this keeps h-h-happening, but for the past c-c-couple of days, something s-s-strange has been happening to our gelato. The factory is being s-s-searched but we still haven’t found anything. Here, have a r-r-refund,” the figon spluttered as she helped the kids down.
She then gave them both back their money.
“Did this ever happen before?” Eric asked.
“Why isn’t the factory shut down?” Olivia inquired.
“The factory isn’t shut down because no one who has eaten the ice cream has gotten hurt. So far, all the effects have been harmless, but the factory still has to be searched until they find the cause of these strange events. As for whether anything like this ever happened before, I believe not. However, for the last couple of days, our gelato has been tampered with. We don’t know what’s happening with it, but we think we will soon since the people who are searching the factory are professionals. Or so they say.” The man sniffed.
“Can we visit the factory?” Eric asked curiously.
“Why do you want to go to the factory?” Olivia whispered to Eric.
“I want to know what’s happening to the ice cream and I’ve read lots of detective novels back on Earth. I think it will be fun, don’t you?” He grinned.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Olivia admitted.
“Of course you can visit the factory, our generous CEO gives free tours along with free samples,” the figon explained.
“Can you point us in the right direction?” Eric asked.
“Sure,” the figon directed as she let the kids out of the parlor. “The factory is just a few blocks to the right, you can’t miss it.”
“What do you think is happening to the ice cream?” Olivia wondered as they both walked towards the ice cream factory.
“I don’t know, but it’s probably going to be something unbelievable,” Eric concluded. “It’s never what you’d normally expect in detective volumes.”
They soon reached the factory. It was a building that was as tremendous as the Corvo Power Factory, but this one had a much more cheerful demeanor. There was a profusion of cars parked outside and many people who were walking inside. Near the front doors was a giant statue of an ice cream cone with three pink scoops.
After Olivia and Eric went into the factory’s main entrance, they saw that it was just as flamboyant as the parlor. The walls had a broad mural of vivid ice cream scoops painted on them. The ceiling was pink with painted sprinkles. The flooring was made up of assorted tiles. At the front desk was someone who the pair recognized.
“Lauren? It’s funny seeing you here,” said Eric.
“Um
, y-y-yes. I w-w-work m-m-multiple jobs you see, and my name is Laurel. I can never seem to find time to fix the error on my name tag,” Laurel mumbled.
“Well, sorry about that. Anyways, we were told by one of the employees at the ice cream parlor that we could have a free tour. We’ve heard about the ice cream problem, and my friend and I are very curious. We would like to find out what has been happening with all of the ice cream. If it’s not too much to ask, is it okay if we look around?” Eric asked.
“So you have heard of this place’s ice cream problem, I don’t think there is much you can do since corporate has already got professionals looking around. Well, to be fair, they only call themselves professional. From what I can see, they don’t do much except take advantage of the free ice cream, yet they still ask for a lot of money for their ‘efforts’. Even still, corporate is desperate. I’d say you could look around, but it’s not my call. You should ask our CEO. His office is the next room,” Laurel clarified and pointed at the door.
“Thanks, we appreciate it,” Eric said as he and Olivia walked towards the door.
“Do you think the CEO will let us look around?” Olivia asked Eric.
“I don’t know, but this sure is exciting, isn’t it? Trying to solve a mystery,” Eric chirped.
“Yeah, but I would never think that ‘ice cream’ and ‘mystery’ could be in the same sentence together,” Olivia joked.
Soon, they had reached the door. As they both entered, they saw that the office wasn’t like the ice cream parlor or main entrance of the factory. Instead of being gaudy and bright, it showed off a professional and serious atmosphere. The walls were painted black and the floor was made of wood. On top of the door was a round clock. On the walls were many framed certificates. There were also shelves covered with assorted books. At the back of the room was a black desk. On the desk were papers neatly organized. Everything in the room was in order.
Sitting behind the desk was a tall man with a fair complexion. He had dark green eyes and slick blonde hair. He looked up from his papers and saw the children. He smiled.
“Hello, and how may I help you?”
“I’m Olivia, and this is my friend Eric. We have heard about something happening to your ice cream and is it okay if we maybe looked around?” Olivia queried.
“I’m Everett Wintergreen, founder and chief executive officer of Wintergreen’s Ice Cream. It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I didn’t know that kids like you are into solving mysteries nowadays. Time flies by, doesn’t it?” the CEO uttered kindly.
“What can we say? We like being sleuths. Can we look around?” Eric asked.
The man grinned. “Of course you can. I am so glad that kids are taking an interest in these things. Not many children come by, which is a shame because I love kids. I will show you around the factory. I’m not sure it will make much of a difference in the search, but we never know.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wintergreen…,” Olivia started to speak.
“Please, call me Everett, all my friends do,” Everett interjected fondly.
Everett led the children out of his office. He kept walking until he led the two out of the main entrance and further into the factory.
“This is where the ice cream is made,” Everett said as he led the duo through the factory.
As the two kept walking, they saw how inexhaustible the facility was. There were many workers including humans, figons, and many more creatures. The workers were operating the labyrinthine machines to create colorful ice cream of all flavors. The ice cream was so vivid, it brightened up the entire room.
It not only looked mouthwatering, but it also smelled delicious. Olivia and Eric smelled the richness of chocolate, the pleasing smell of vanilla, the fresh aromas of the fruit flavors such as strawberry, and more.
“The ingredients are shipped in and these machines transform them into the tasty ice cream which you can enjoy right now,” Everett explained as he guided the children further through.
The children kept following Everett until he stopped at a small table. On the table were two tall glasses with mint chocolate chip parfait.
“These samples are for you, fresh from the factory,” Everett said serving the kids the dessert.
The kids took the parfait and ate it. It was among the most flavorsome things the pair had ever tasted. The mint and chocolate chips together created a very tasty combination.
Eric remarked, “It’s amazing!”
Olivia beamed and nodded her head to this.
“Thank you, no expense is spared when it comes to the quality of our frozen treat,” Everett responded.
“How come there’s nothing wrong with this ice cream, unlike the one in the parlor?” Eric asked, baffled.
“We are very certain that nothing out of the ordinary happens to the ice cream after it’s made. It’s actually tested before it’s put in the containers to be shipped,” Everett answered.
“Where are the containers kept?” Olivia queried.
“In that room,” Everett said pointing to a door at the back.
Suddenly, men in cheap-looking suits walked over to where Everett was. When the two kids looked closer, they saw that on the coats of the men was the same, worn-out emblem: Carson’s Search Department.
“We have finished searching the factory, Mr. Wintergreen, but we haven’t found anything,” one of the men said.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate, thanks for trying though.” Everett frowned.
“You’re welcome, now when do we talk about payment?” the man greedily asked.
Everett sighed. “We will discuss this later, I have to deal with something else right now.”
The men nodded and left.
Once they were gone, Olivia winced. “So those were the so-called ‘professionals’ who are charging tons money to search this place?”
“Yes, they seemed qualified when I hired them at first, but now I’m not so sure. They haven’t found anything and yet they still charge five hundred crowtins per hour. These days it’s almost impossible to find quality service,” Everett commented.
“Who recommended Carson’s Search Department to you?” Olivia asked curiously.
“That’s a great question, Olivia. The person who recommended it to me was the owner’s sister, who is a close friend of mine. When I told her that I needed someone to search the factory, she said that her brother would be able to do it. She probably didn’t know how much her brother charged because she is a wonderful and kind woman. This just goes to prove that siblings are quite the opposites. Anyways, we can still attempt to solve this mystery, follow me,” Everett said.
The children nodded and followed Everett as he led them into the room.
After they finally reached the door, Everett declared, “I must warn you that it might be a little chilly, this room must be kept at a temperature well below freezing so the ice cream won’t melt.”
The children nodded and Everett opened the door.
The room was freezing. Olivia and Eric shivered. The room was also very spacious and had many shelves with ice cream boxes.
“W-w-well h-h-here w-w-we a-are, f-f-feel f-free t-to l-l-look a-around,” Everett said.
“Y-you s-s-said t-that t-t-the i-ice c-c-cream w-was p-p-perfectly f-f-fine u-until i-it c-came h-here, right?” Olivia interrogated Everett trying to stay warm.
“Y-y-yes…”
“I-is it o-okay if w-we sample a-a-another one?”
Everett looked confused but nodded.
They all walked towards one box of ice cream. The box had a label: Chocolate. Olivia opened the box to reveal the brown ice cream.
“T-too bad we don’t have s-spoons.” Olivia sighed.
Everett smiled and pulled out three spoons from his pocket.
“Ice c-cream 101, always carry e-e-extra spoons.” He winked.
They a
ll scooped up a small piece of ice cream and slowly swallowed it.
The ice cream didn’t taste any different, but all three of them felt something strange happening. Olivia and Eric looked at the ground, but they weren’t floating. They all then looked at each other and were shocked. Slowly, they were changing! They all looked at their hands and indeed, they were transforming into something black. As they looked closer, feathers were rising out of their skin. Their mouths slowly became beaks, their hands became wings, and their feet became claws. After a couple of seconds, they finally finished their transformation. When they did, they saw what they had all turned into.
“We just morphed into c-c-crows,” Eric said, shocked.
Even though they had all changed into birds, they could still talk with their normal human voices.
“I feel d-d-dizzy, how do we turn back to n-n-normal?” Olivia anxiously flapped her wings.
“I don’t know, but keep c-c-calm,” Everett gently said.
Shortly after he spoke, all of their feathers were magically returning to skin. They all kept changing and changing until they were human again.
“Thank g-goodness the e-effects are only t-t-temporary,” Everett uttered, relived.
“Yeah, being a crow is so s-s-strange,” Eric agreed.
“If the ice c-c-cream was normal until it got here, then I think s-s-something inside the room c-c-changed it,” Olivia theorized.
“I think you’re r-r-right, Olivia. We should all look around the room,” Everett slowly stopped shivering.
“What do you think changed it?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know but it’s probably someone or s-s-something,” Olivia shivered and not because of the cold.
All three of them split up and looked around the room.
Eric and Everett had no luck finding anything, but Olivia heard something.
“Achoo!”
“Guys, I think I found the culprit,” Olivia announced.
Crow Page 8
