Chapter 9 - Rodrik

Techno music thundered through the building in the city center. Rodrik wandered through the rooms with interest. Young adults stood close together in the rooms, swaying to the beat of the music. Rodrik used an analysis spell, but realized that the intoxicated impression was not caused by active magic. He joined the rest. He received a brief scrutinizing glance everywhere and mostly a kind of satisfied nod. Apparently he had chosen the right clothes and was accepted by the locals. Long black hair, black studded jeans and a black T-shirt with the symbol of a so-called heavy metal band were what he and a fellow student had chosen especially for such leisure activities.

On the dance floors and in the corridors, he noticed several couples snogging and sometimes making out wildly. Compared to the orgies in the truly depraved or extremely decadently rich districts of his home dimension, however, things were quite tame here. He missed the naked slave dancers. The smell that hung subtly in the air here, on the other hand, seemed very familiar to him. Sweet and slightly narcotic. Some kind of intoxicating herb. There was no barmaid at the drinks counter, but Olaf. Two meters tall, fat and extremely friendly. Rodrik ordered a drink that had been recommended to him. A "Jacky Cola". Olaf understood him easily despite the noise. Rodrik was pretty sure he could read lips. He reached blindly to the side, grabbing two already open bottles with one hand. With the other hand, he picked up a glass and poured both ingredients at the same time. Rodrik slid a banknote across the bar and waved it away when Olaf started to get change. Although he preferred a prettier and female waiter, he always appreciated it when someone did their job well.

He wandered through the building until he found a quieter corner. A few old leather armchairs stood around in dense groups, allowing guests to have a halfway decent conversation. To one side of the room was the staircase to the upper floor, where, according to the plans he had obtained, there were private apartments. He chose an armchair from which he could keep an eye on the stairs and made himself comfortable. Sipping his drink again and again, he didn't attract any attention. Several people came and went down or up the stairs, but always one at a time. At one point, a couple wandered up, but were immediately escorted back by a tall man. The guy was clearly older than the average visitor. He was broad-shouldered and his shirt looked thick and taut. He was probably wearing a protective vest underneath. Rodrik couldn't make out a sword or dagger. The man complimented the couple out of the room very professionally. Strictly but politely. Then he disappeared back upstairs out of sight.

Rodrik occasionally saw students he knew from sight in the crowd and exchanged a friendly nod or wave. Then the thing he had been waiting for happened. A female student leaning heavily on a lecherously grinning guy. A quick clairvoyance spell confirmed Rodrik's suspicions. The aura around her head flickered under the assault of a confusion spell or elixir. Her pupils were dilated despite the dim light and she seemed only vaguely aware of her surroundings. Rodrik heaved himself out of the armchair and sauntered towards the blond guy. Conspicuously unobtrusive, he stepped into his path. "How much?"

The guy looked at him in surprise: "Hey, what do you want? Move aside."

Rodrik looked demonstratively at the students' curves for a moment and then repeated his question: "How much?" He took a wad of banknotes out of his pocket and held it so that only the blond could see it. The latter licked his lips greedily and looked around quickly: "Three hundred. But you'll be gone in two hours."

Rodrik nodded and supported the student from the other side. Together they took her up the stairs. He nodded to the guard leaning against the wall at the top and was let through without comment. The blond picked out a key and opened one of the apartments. After a careful look up and down the corridor, they took the student inside. Inside, they went into the bedroom, where the blond dropped her on the bed.

"Who sent you?"

"One of Odwin's followers was a bit talkative. He had some good arguments as to why it's worth joining you. Thought I'd take a look without obligation. Your place of worship here makes a good impression. And the membership benefits seem interesting too."

"Don't talk so pompously. Just hand over the money and get out before she comes to. Don't worry if she sees you. Her brain can't form memories for the next two hours. She won't remember anything. Make sure you don't damage the clothes and don't make an unnecessary mess." Rodrik counted out the agreed amount, pressed it into the blond's hand and then walked him to the door. With one last lecherous look at the student, he said goodbye and left.

Rodrik locked the door. He took off his shoes and slid across the bed on his knees. Grabbing the student under her arms, he pulled her into the middle of the bed and laid her head on the pillow. Then he took off her shoes and placed them next to the bed. He let his eyes glide over her body. The style of clothing worn to dance events here was very revealing by local standards, at least as far as he could tell, but even with the crop top and short leather skirt, she would have passed for adequately dressed almost anywhere in the southern city states of his home. He pulled the blanket over her and then went into the bathroom. There he took a toothbrush mug and half-filled it with water to stabilize it. He placed it on the bedside table and pulled a few sticks of incense from a hidden pocket on his shin. He placed them in the glass and lit them.

The minty smell spread through the room in concentric waves. A clear sign of the alchemical magic that was bound in the sticks. The elixir would have worked faster in liquid form, but in his experience, that often led to violent vomiting when the patient woke up.

The black mage fetched a reasonably comfortable chair from the living room and pulled a smartphone out of his pocket. He took a while and looked carefully at all the icons before tapping them carefully with his finger. He successfully got a game going. The aim was to match three or more identical symbols on a colorful game board by swapping adjacent symbols. These then burst with colorful effects and more symbols fell from above onto the board. Combinations with more identical symbols formed special effects. The combination of tactical work and luck was quite amusing for a short time.

Half an hour later, the student jerked to her feet: "What's going on? Where am I? What..."

Rodrik turned the smartphone in his hands until he found the small button that changed the colored area to black. He pressed it, made sure it had the correct effect and then looked up: "Don't worry. Everything is fine. You probably had a drink at that dance?"

"Yeah, a few..."

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"One of them contained an alchemical elixir. A mind-numbing and narcotic effect. Presumably based on alcohol and some kind of intoxicating herb. Personally, I wouldn't consume anything at an event hosted by Odwin, aspiring demigod of party drugs."

"They put roofies in my drink? Assholes!" She looked around and frantically lifted the blanket. When she saw that she was still fully clothed, she calmed down a little. "Did I..."

"One of Odwin's cultists was planning to have fun with you here in a very carnal way. I offered him money to buy this privilege."

"But we didn't..."

"No. We didn't. I put you to bed, lit incense with a counter-elixir and... here we are."

"My mouth feels like something has died in it."

"A common side effect. Comes from either too much dog hair or stale flavored salts. It's hard to get the exact right ingredients here. The pharmacies in this world are appallingly ill-equipped. When I ordered hair from a dog that had bitten a person, they just looked at me strangely. They didn't even have dried mandrake! I mean, everyone usually has that in stock. At least they had destilled water and various essential oils. Admittedly, the selection there was really good."

She threw the blanket aside and stood up. She swayed briefly, but then managed to catch herself. "I'm going to kill this guy!"

"I would advise against that. There are supposedly very restrictive rules on vigilante justice in this world. You don't need to go to the trouble of reporting him. Magical drugs would not be recognized by the local city guard. Non-magical analysis probably thinks it's a normal alcoholic drink."

She growled softly and then struggled to regain control. She looked at Rodrik with a strange expression. She hesitated, then asked, "Tell me... Weren't you tempted... you know..."

He shrugged his shoulders: "No more than usual."

"I don't understand..."

"I know several spells that have a similar effect. One of them is the reversed version of a fear spell that most magicians learn for self-defense. Reversing spells is difficult and you have to understand a spell very well before you can get a new effect out of it. I was actually planning to develop a courage spell. Instead... well, the spell now creates a very strong and acute feeling of emotional and physical affection. I have also been extensively trained in alchemy. Among other things, I know three different recipes for love potions, four sleep potions and a very complex one for the sleep of living death."

"The name of the last one doesn't quite match the others."

"It's pretty much exactly the effect you were just under. Administered regularly, the effect becomes permanent."

She grimaced in disgust. "Do you have a girlfriend here? Or in your home country?"

"Are you volunteering?"

She looked at him in astonishment. His expression was neutrally curious. For the life of her, she couldn't tell if he was serious.

"I..."

"Leave it alone. Most people don't find me particularly likeable. I got used to it."

"Your eye patch looks a bit creepy. Maybe you should try a good glass eye?"

He took off his eye patch. A sparkling surface appeared underneath. Glass in which tiny sparks shimmered silver.

"Wow. Cool. But creepy. What if you use a normal glass eye for this?"

"I'm attached to the crystal ball. Protects against the undead and warns of attackers."

"Warns of attackers? Like a spider sense?"

He raised his eyebrow questioningly. She waggled her hands indecisively: "You know... Spiderman? Oh yeah, you're from one of the medieval worlds?"

"Early Renaissance is more accurate, as far as I interpret the local history books correctly. We also have magic and consecrated people with divine powers. In terms of medicine and some of our capabilities, this world is much more primitive. We have a few spider cults, mainly among the forest people."

"Spiderman is a comic book hero."

"Ah, I see. A fictional character from those graphic novels. How does this spider sense work?"

"Well, he usually flinches, turns around and is then hit by the danger. The warning is usually just too short to react in a meaningful way."

Rodrik grinned. "Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what usually happens." He pointed over his shoulder at the door with his thumb: "Do you want to go?"