When a person is too conspicuous, no matter what they do they will never be able to avoid attention. Because she fell into this category, she decided to switch things up. Since she and her company stand out no matter what, she decided to tune things up. The best way to stand out while avoiding suspicion was to be eccentric. To achieve this, her usual persona had to be cast out in favour of a flamboyant one.
Being a mage in Lethia was mostly frowned upon, if not outright distrusted. The reason for this was likely the relationship between it and neighbouring Ysh. Whatever the cause for the animosity between the two nations was, it had long been confined to the annals of history. These days, there was probably no one who remembered the reason, so they hated each other because it had always been so in living memory. Considering this, it took some effort on her side to not groan at this common example of human stupidity.
The only type of sorcerer that was socially acceptable in the so-called Warrior Kingdom, was one who practised alchemy. This likely had to do with the fact that, since the Church of Light had no presence in the country, Light Magic- and by extension, healing magic- was practically non-existent. Therefore, the only way to alleviate ailments was through herbs and potions. A normal person was capable of brewing a draught, albeit with a lacklustre effect; however, only sorcerers with their active mana could create real potions of potence. Because of this necessity, Lethia was actually a better place for alchemists than Ysh.
Another- much more important- reason why alchemists were not shunned, was probably because they were the innovators of the methods to temper one’s physique.
Thus, she had decided to take on the persona of an alchemist. She might not be able to brew for shit, but it was not like she would be required to showcase her skills. All she had to do was sell the twenty or so diluted potions in her possession and people would naturally believe her. If ever she ran out of them and was asked to make more, she could always cite the looming Equinox as a reason not to before making a run for it first thing after it passes.
On the morning after leaving the weary village, they reached the settlement of Tima. This was a small unwalled town with what appeared to be several hundred buildings. A fair distance from this settlement, sitting on a hill in the most clichéd manner, was a castle with grey walls. Sage only glanced at it momentarily before returning her attention to the town; a place like that, she would make sure to avoid at all cost.
While focusing on the town, she ran through her goals in her mind. First off, she had to go to the square and try to draw people’s attention with her potions. Then, she would go around looking for bookshops. If there happened to be one in town, she would see if they had detailed maps of Lethia. Before that though, it would be wise to look for a blacksmith and request a helmet for Isaac, having to look at his unpleasant façade from time to time had the adverse effect of souring her mood; covering it up would fix that.
Speaking of the bastard-
“Stop the horse,” she ordered.
There was a grunt from both knight and horse before Isaac tugged on the reins, bring them to a halt.
Taking the opportunity, she untangled her hands from his abdomen and grabbed the cat on her shoulder. After setting him down on the horse’s back, she told Nyx to let her into the {Void Space}, which had grown even further after she reached 8th Order; also, it could now accommodate six tonnes.
The Space was filled with all sorts of items, from clothes to books and hundreds of gold coins; the enchantment on the Cryptmaker’s storage ring was beginning to wane, so she had long moved its contents to Nyx’s {Void Space}. There was also the glaring ice block, which she wilfully ignored. Giving everything a onceover, including the vials she planned to sell, she reached for a cotton shirt. Then, using [Telekinesis] she tore a neat strip from it before leaving the space.
She should probably have told Nyx to find ground before expelling her, because she almost tumbled off the horse after exiting the Space; luckily there was flight magic to catch herself. After regaining her balance, she thrust the cloth holding hand over the Isaac’s shoulder.
“Here,” she offered. “We don’t want to freak anymore people out, so tie it around your eyes. We can think up some excuse for why later.”
The pale man peeked over his shoulder with an intense glare. She on the other made no effort to recognise this as she casually held out the cloth. The stare down lasted mere seconds, before the man accepted the cloth with a resigned expression similar to the one he had worn in the previous settlement. After he tied the cloth around his eyes they were on their way once more.
As expected, their entrance into the town did not go unnoticed, even though there was no checkpoint to pass. Upon seeing them, the residents of Tima immediately began casting suspicious looks their way. She paid no heed to their gazes as she ordered Isaac to steer them towards the nearest plaza.
The place they found was modest, with several stalls already set up; she counted five such stands. Two of them were fruit and vegetable stands. Their produce was probably from nearby farms, they had passed several such establishments on their way here. The rest were food stands, with products still cooking over the fire.
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The looks these stall owners sent their way when they picked a spot near the plaza were enough to melt ice. Of course, those looks did not evolve into something physical. It probably had less to do with her masked appearance and more Isacc and the horse. Even though the undead knight’s eyes were now covered to avoid scaring the masses, his armoured stature was enough to frighten people off. Standing at over one point nine metres, the top of Sage’s head did not reach his shoulder.
As for the helhurst, it too was so tall her overall height was less than the beast’s back’s. Another thing about the horse was that, unlike Isaac, there was no believable explanation they could come up with if they had covered its eyes, which was why she left their whiteness on display. With the frosty breath it was constantly spewing, it was easier to pass it off as a tamed arcane beast; that could work in her favour to add mystique to the alchemist act.
Fortunately, Isaac no longer did the same thing or that explanation would be nulled as well.
Having already decided to go the eccentric route, when she dismounted she cast [Flight], allowing herself to levitate for a few seconds before landing. Then, with [Telekinesis] she took Nyx into her arms and made him expel the diluted vials in the air, which she managed to telekinetically catch before they could fall to the ground. In that instant, her gaze momentarily left the floating vials and swept across the plaza. If there were those who had not been paying attention to her before, she now held their focus.
Although many of the older folks seemed appalled by her display of magic, the younger onlookers seemed fascinated. One thing Sage had learned in her previous life about people, was that they were drawn to the most eccentric acts, even if they were outlawed. This was probably the reason why many reasonable people sometimes found themselves warming up to cult leaders and influencers. The only difference between those people and who she used to be, was that they scammed people in the open.
Her goal was not to be an influencer or cult leader though, simply to pass herself off as an alchemist in order to make her stay in this place easier. She somewhat had experience, as her criminal days had begun with her selling stolen items on the streets.
She made Nyx cough out a jersey to use as a makeshift carpet to set the potions on. When everything was set, she stopped concentrating on the vials and looked around at the gathering crowd. Then, with her hands raised, she began in a loud voice.
“Citizens of Tima, gather around for Maven Shade, alchemist extrodinaire’s vigour concoctions!” she yelled. “I promise you; this will be well worth your time!”
The people in the plaza, somewhere around three dozen, gravitated towards her. Although they appeared hesitant at the sight of the emaciated-looking, eyes-covered Isaac and the overly large mount, when the two made no action to do anything they were reassured and stepped closer. Only when they were crowding around the potions, did she resume her speech.
“Behold! These special potions of mine are capable of not only sealing wounds, but preventing diseases as well,” she declared.
The first statement was kind of true, although the effect was severely diminished; but the second one was an outright lie. She did not plan to be here when they figured that out.
“How can we be sure you’re not selling us poison?” one of the people gathered, a skinny man in overly large clothes asked.
“Good question my good man!” she responded, maintaining a light-hearted tone.
As expected, there were sceptics. She was ready for them. Using [Telekinesis] again, she lifted a vial and caught it.
“My bodyguard Isen will drink this and prove to you all it is safe for consumption,” she declared. Then she turned to the pale knight and cheerily offered him the potion. “Go ahead Isen.”
She did not know if it was just a trick of the morning light, but she could have sworn the corners of his mouth twitched when she had introduced herself with a fake name. When she called him by an equally false one and handed him the vial, he failed to conceal his frown. Still, he took the potion and downed it in a single gulp.
Contrary to popular belief, vigour potions were not harmful to the undead; in fact, they did not have the slightest effect on them. Isaac showed no reaction after drinking the potion.
“As you can see,” she said, turning back to the crowd. “There are no adverse effects to drinking the potions.”
“But does the potion truly heal?” the plump man asked.
“Of course,” she replied. “However, the two of us do not have any wounds. Is there anyone in the crowd willing to demonstrate the potion’s effect? There will not be any charge for this of course.”
After much hesitation and pushing among the crowd, someone stepped forward. It was a young man with bloody bandages wrapped around his face; if she had to guess, his wounds were most likely incurred in a brawl. She called the youth forth and offered him one of the vials. This particular one was one she had strategically placed among the others. Its contents were undiluted and covered up using [Light’s Trick], a 2nd Order Illusion spell. When the young man downed the potion, he instantly gasped in surprise before removing his bandages to reveal rapidly healing wounds. The crowd gasped at the scene.
“As you’ve witnessed,” she spoke up, bringing the attention back to herself as she struck a pose. “The potion does what I have told you it does, and for the affordable price of five silvers you could own one to give it to a wounded relative; or maybe you plan to keep it for yourself in the case of an emergency. Now, any buyers?”
The townsmen demonstration seemed to have satisfied many of them as several hands shot up. Some of them looked hesitant though. For a commoner, five silver coins was affordable, but it was not cheap. Although her aim was not to make money, Sage would not lower the price any further in case they got suspicious. This was also the price of the lowest potency vigour potion, which was the excuse she would use if dissatisfied customers approached her before she could leave town.
Four hours later, amidst a diminishing crowd, sixteen vials had been sold. After that, no buyers seemed to be coming forward, which was a good enough cue for her to pack up. The looks sent her way as she did so were laced curiosity instead of suspicion, evidence that her gamble had paid off. She was bound to have an easier time in Tima after.