Once he had finally realized the gravity of his situation, Eric didn’t feel like asking any more questions. It’s all fun and games until someone tells you you’ll never see your family and friends again, no matter what happens. Suddenly, winning or losing an argument didn’t mean that much.

After a while, even Phisola had noticed it. She paused the tour of her lair for a brief moment to face Eric:

“Why did you get so quiet all of a sudden? We’re almost done with the tour, and I’ve yet to hear a snarky remark.”

“Huh?” He looked at her absent-mindedly.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I like you more when you’re obedient and attentive, but that’s not really the case, isn’t it?”

“I don’t understand?”

“You’re not paying attention to what I’m talking about. You’re just responding with lame ‘uh-huh’, ‘uh-huh’ to everything.”

“But, there isn’t much to say. I’m just getting to know my new home.”

“And that’s exactly why you need to pay attention! Tell me, where have I stored the poisons? The poisons that I’ve made?”

“Uhh …”

Phisola smacked herself in the middle of her face really hard.

“Listen! Yes, you’re acting like an annoying, overly inquisitive brat most of the time. And it’s pushing my patience to the limits. But even that is better than just shrugging off everything I say! What’s the point of taking my time and making an effort to show you around if you aren’t listening to what I’m saying?”

“I’m sorry, I just …”

“And I know you’re not doing it on purpose! I’m not dumb! So tell me what’s on your mind! If there is something you’re uncertain about, let me know! If something is worrying you, tell me about it! Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”

Eric scratched his head shyly, “I … I’m sorry. It’s just that there’s so much to take in. Not what you’re showing me right now, but in general. I thought that once I got out of here, I’d just find my way back home somehow, but now the reality is starting to kick in. So I’m just … I can’t help but think about home. About what can I do to return home … if anything at all.”

“The answer is very easy: you can’t do a god-damn thing about it! If you’ve been summoned here against your will, then there’s no way for you to go back.”

Eric smiled weakly at that: “Thank you for your consideration.”

A deep frown set on Phisola’s face as she pointed a finger at him: “I’m not here to consider you, fool! I’m telling you how it is! If you’re here against your will, that means you’re prey! You were never meant to return!”

“But I can get out of here using your portal, right?”

“And will that return you home?”

“Perhaps. I mean, you know about Greadinall! Is it possible to reach it somehow? A boat … or maybe a different teleport once we’re out of here?”

“Huh!” She crossed her arms with an air of superiority, “You can’t afford the teleport, so that’s out of the question. As for the boat, Drow do visit Greadinall from time to time. They go on raids here and there. You may ask them to take you, although you’ll probably end up as their slave.”

“Drow?”

“A race of particularly nasty elves who mostly live underground. If you think I’m harsh, then you’re in for a shock. But I don’t think that’s something you should concern yourself with. You’ll die long before we collect the blood needed for the spell.”

He gave her a look of disappointment before answering, “… your words may be heartless, but they are true.”

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“I understand that I’m not the most pleasant person to be around, but I’m not a liar. Regardless of how harsh it is, you’ll hear nothing but truth from me.”

“Thanks … I guess. But wait, we haven’t tried adding my blood yet. That could speed up the process!”

“It could. Most likely won’t, but it could.”

“And, correct me if I’m wrong, but you said you know some healing magic. Can you stop some bleeding?”

“Yes, but you do realize that takes energy, right? I’d literally be using blood to gather blood, and I’m not sure if it would be worth it.”

“And is there a way to test how potent my blood is?”

“Of course. But I’d need to prepare some reagents first.”

“I don’t have two hundred years, so I’ll do everything I can to speed it up. Letting some of my blood from time to time is nothing if you can heal me properly after that.”

Phisola slumped with a sigh: “Fine, fine, I’ll get to work so we can test it. But really, you’re trapped in a dungeon with a hot babe, the hottest one you’ve ever seen, and who is, by the way, completely naked all the time. On top of that, she has no one else to choose from. You’d think that would make a guy happy, but no! No, you must constantly complain and try everything to get out of here! Most males would kill for this, you know.”

Considering her words, he looked to the side, “… now that you mention it, I never thought about it that way. But then again, you’ve missed the part where I get a club to the head whenever I do something wrong. And the fact that you’ve never asked me for consent about anything.”

“Are you going to nag me about it for the rest of your life?”

“I think I have a right to …”

The cold look on her face made him realize she was no longer in the mood for his complaints.

“Look, I’m … I’m just trying to be funny in a stupid way. I recognize that you’re treating me better now, and I greatly appreciate it.”

“Good,” she nodded deeply, “You should.”

-----

Phisola spent a good portion of that day (or night) preparing the necessary tools and reagents. Eric offered to help several times, but she had none of it. Alchemy isn’t something that you can help with, the smallest of mistakes can drastically reduce, if not completely nullify reagent’s properties. Unaware of that (because Phisola didn’t feel like getting into details), Eric kept insisting from time to time, stopping only once she pointed the knife she used to chop up a mushroom straight at his throat.

That finally made him realize his help was unnecessary, maybe even counterproductive, so he settled for simply enjoying her naked form while sitting on some furs. While at it, he realized how strange it was that he didn’t seem to notice her nakedness whenever they’d have a conversation. His diplomatic training and experience taught him to ignore the looks of his interlocutor, no matter how weird their appearances and clothes were to him. Strangely enough, the experience also worked with people who had no clothes at all.

“Alright, it’s done,” she said, “We can test your blood now.”

“Ok,” he stood up, “How does it work?”

“It’s very complicated, so much so I’m not sure if you can understand it. I may have to explain it to you several times.”

“Start with the first time.”

“You put a drop of your blood in a bowl, and that’s it.”

“…”

“Should I explain it again?”

“Ha-ha, very funny,” he said in a level voice, “But how are we going to draw my blood? Will you cut me, or is there a more sophisticated method?”

“I’ll prick your finger with a sharp dagger. That should be enough.”

“My finger?”

“Yes. Do you have issues with it?”

“There are a lot of nerves on the finger. I’m more comfortable with getting pricked in the vein.”

She gave him an unamused look, “… is this some lame joke?”

“You have healing magic, right?”

“Yes, but I’m not going to waste it on this stupid test. I prick your finger, give you this clean cloth, and the bleeding stops on its own.” She said while holding a piece of cloth in front of his face.

“What about disinfection?”

“Disi-what?”

“Is there some kind of alcohol in here?”

“… you’re speaking gibberish now.”

“Ok, let me … do you have some liquor?”

“Do you want a cheer for being a good, strong boy? As a motivation to handle one small prick?”

“No, it’s to kill the bacteria and stop the infection.”

The look she gave him made Eric think she’d slap him right in the face, but she did give in, “… I do have some liquor. Not much, but I do have some.”

“I’ll just put some of it on the wound once we’re done. I need very little.”

Rolling her eyes, Phisola went to fetch the bottle: “Ok, come here. Here’s your liquor.”

“Thanks.”

“This is the bowl,” she said while placing a ceramic bowl in front of him, “There are all kinds of stuff mixed in it, so don’t breathe into it! Once a drop of your blood falls into it, it may react with some reagents. If nothing happens, your blood is useless, but I expect to get at least something. The type of reactions we’ll get will tell us what type of blood we’re dealing with, while the intensity of the reaction will tell us how potent it is.”

“Thanks for the explanation.”

“You’re welcome. Now, are you ready?”

“Bring it on.”

She took his hand in hers, grabbing it firmly and bringing the knife to his finger.

“It will sting a bit … ok. You aren’t crying, so that’s good. Now let’s squeeze some of it.”

As soon as the first drop of Eric’s blood had hit the contents of the bowl, tiny crimson bubbles started forming on top of them, followed by a sizzling sound.

Fss …

… Fffsssss …

… FFFFSSSSSSSS!!!

“What the fuc …!!!