HA
I opened my eyes, and saw that my To Do had been updated. As I read the new items, I felt my heart trying to beat its way out through my throat.
To Do:
1. STAY UP LATE
2. LIGHT THE CANDLE
3. FINISH THE GAME
I blinked, trying to dispel it. But it stayed there, hovering in the corner of my vision. Taunting me.
This thing just wouldn’t leave me alone!
Thankfully, I had things to distract me in the morning. I tried my best to ignore the To Do list, but sometimes, I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering over to the left corner of my vision, and gliding over the letters.
I briefly considered drawing a Card of Destiny, but decided against it. I didn’t want to take chances now. I couldn’t handle a debuff on top of everything else that was going on!
Cheerful was back with replies from the other Sorcerers, and it looked like both had sent something back. There were two papered packages, with notes.
I read the first note, the paper slightly trembling in my hands.
I wish I could help you, but all I have is this tea. It’ll have Comfrey and and Allheal, mixed with the tea leaves. I highly recommend it!
-Solomon Beaugiron
My face fell. Well, that wouldn’t do me any good. I looked inside the package and found a colorful tin about half full of the tea. I opened the top and stuck my nose in, inhaling. It did smell very nice; a pleasant woody aroma that sharpened my senses.
I read the other note:
Thank you for the potion. I will help you. I have a lovely Valerian (known as Allheal in Old Toad’s) growing in my garden. Here is a cutting.
-Agatha K.
Inside was a short branch of a plant. There was scarcely enough to use in a potion.
“You ought to put the cutting in water. You’ll be able to replant it later.” Aleister advised. I took his suggestion and did just that. I stuck the branch in a glass jar, half filled with water. I put it on my windowsill, to join Belladonna and Balm. The sunlight sifted through the water, and fell onto the kitchen floor in a mosaic pattern.
Both the Sorcerers were kind enough to help me. Unfortunately, as far as I could see, their help didn’t amount to much.
I sat down heavily in a hard, wooden chair, my back still aching from sleeping on the floor. I guessed that Ms. Flynn might not be getting her request on time, if ever.
My mood was foul. I had to keep my focus, and not get freaked out about my To Do list. While I opened the packages, it had started spamming text.
To Do:
1. STAY UP LATE
2. LIGHT THE CANDLE
3. FINISH THE GAME
4. FINISH THE GAME
5. FINISH THE GAME
6. FINISH THE GAME
It went on like that. I had no idea what I would do about it.
And, I had no clue how to brew the next potion either.
I decided I would at least make Mr. Beaugiron’s gifted tea. I filled the kettle with water, and put it over the crackling fire.
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“We have something that ought to cheer you up.” Aleister said.
As I was stoking the fire, the two animals confronted me with news.
“Make you cheerful, cheerful, and happy!” Cheerful added.
“What’s that?” I asked, curious.
“I know you are upset about your potion. You’ve been acting off all morning. More off than usual.” Aleister continued.
“So we’re going to name you! Give you a name, a name of your own!” Cheerful broke the news.
“Right. People don’t generally name themselves. And since we’re the only ones around for a while, we figured we might as well.” Aleister said.
I sat back in my chair. I felt warmed in my core by the gesture. And, it would be nice to have a name, any name.
“We’ve thought long, so long, and hard, and we thought, and we thought, and we each came up with some names!” Cheerful said.
“You see, we couldn’t agree at first.” Aleister said.
“I wanted to name you Skye! Wide, blue, open, beautiful Skye! So pretty!”
“I wanted something more esoteric. Perhaps Aivas.”
“But we decided! We decided, and agreed, agreed between ourselves!”
“I thought we needed something more traditional. And gender neutral, obviously.” Aleister said.
I nodded. I didn’t have a gender, per se. And I wasn’t sure which one I would even pick, once I got the opportunity to fix my genderless predicament.
“So we thought, and we decided on Adrian. Or, Adrienne. Really it’s mostly a matter of spelling which differentiates the two.”
“Adrienne! So pretty! Such a nice name! Adrienne!” Cheerful coo’d.
“Right, Adrian, a strong but nice sounding name.” Alesiter said, then nervously added, “You don’t have to accept it of course. But we thought you might like it.”
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Adrian. Adrienne. It was nice. I liked the sound of it.
“I love it!” I said to the two, beaming. Maybe for short, I could be Andy.
Andy.
A ripple went through me. Andy. Was that name important to me? Did I know an Andy?
I felt like I had been stumbling in pitch darkness and had accidently fallen onto the path I was seeking.
I didn’t even think that Andy was the proper diminutive of Adrian, but somehow the name appeared in my mind, like a perfect leaf floating on a puddle, after a rainstorm.
I thanked the two animals extensively. Really, it was the best gift anyone could have given me. I now had one scrap of an identity. I would hold it close, and treasure it forever.
The tea kettle whistled, and I went over to take the ancient thing off the fire.
As I poured the scalding water into a teapot, the steam tickling my face, I thought I saw something in the corner of my vision. I looked at the corner, where I had seen it, but the thing winked out of existence when I fixed my gaze on it. I thought I had seen a smile. Not a beneficent, kindly smile. A terrible grin, too stretched out, too wide to be human.
I held the hot tea cup in my hand, letting the warmth seep into my finger tips. The tea cup softly shook in my hands, the reddish water sloshing dangerously. I tried very hard to mask it.
The messages kept coming, and I didn’t know what I would do about it.
YOU WILL PLAY
YOU DON’T HAVE ANY CHOICE. YOU WILL PLAY
LIGHT THE CANDLE
I WILL MAKE YOU PLAY MY GAME
I closed my eyes, trying to clear my head. It was difficult to think through the pounding of my heart.
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I don’t want to play your stupid game!
I could no longer access my character sheet, or my inventory. When I tried, I was only reminded that I was not supposed to play other games.
Thankfully, Old Toad’s book still came up. It was the last of my menu options that I could still access. And there were no creepy messages when I read it.
I didn’t truly intend to ever play this thing’s game, but out of curiosity, I pulled up the Grimoire, looking for a potion. Something to help me win a game.
All the entries disappeared until I was left with only one:
Silly Gillygad
What an odd sounding name for a potion.
I closed the Grimoire. I wasn't really thinking I would give into this thing’s demands, was I? Engaging it had been a bad idea from the get go. Surely, encouraging it further would only lead to more and more trouble.
And the way things were looking, I wouldn’t even be able to brew Arabella’s potion, much less a second one.
I took a sip of Mr. Beaugiron’s tea. Blissfully, I felt my nerves calm. There was tension around my neck and eyes, and as I took another sip, it melted away.
This tea was really something!
And just like that, I had another idea.
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I took a small, cast iron pot, and tossed some of the Comfrey and Allheal tea in there. I added a few leaves of my dried Sage, and filled it to the top with water. Those had been the three ingredients for Nestor’s Bitters.
The method of preparation had suggested I make some sort of herbal cake, called a Troche.
Method of Preparation
The most suitable preparation for these Bitters is a Troche, also known as Plakentula. It is said that Nestor himself invented the portable, herbal cake, when he left on one of his many crusades. Troches keep well, and lose little potency in transport or storage.
That was the most suitable method of preparation. Were there others, less suitable? I didn’t think Ms. Flynn was going on a crusade, so was there any need to make a Troche?
I didn’t want to make a Simple, like Winter’s Kiss, because all the herbs I had were dried. And, I was no closer to figuring out how to make distilled water.
I put the pot with the three ingredients over the fire. I didn’t have too many options. In fact, as I saw it, I only had one.
I would make a very strong herbal tea for Ms. Flynn. It probably wouldn’t even count as a proper potion. But maybe it could help her?
As I stoked the fire under the pot, I looked at Aleister and Cheerful.
They were my last life lines. I really didn’t want to tell them about the messages, and my menu being blocked, and all the other things this horrible spirit was putting me through. Cheerful and Aleister trusted me. They even liked me, I think. They gave me a name! How could I tell Aleister now that this thing had its claws in me? That everything was not okay. And that I had lied, and not told either of them about what was happening.
The very air of the house felt stale and bitter. Every breath was like a gulp of freezing water.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw other shadows grinning at me, that same inhuman, horrible smile. When I looked at them dead on, nothing.
It was getting worse, quickly. And I had no help.
Andy. Adrienne. Adrian. I clutched my new name like a talisman, trying to fortify my mind against the encroaching darkness.
I focused on my work. The ‘tea’ started bubbling. I took the pot of the flames, and left it close to the hearth, to simmer. I shoveled some coals around it to keep it hot.
“I have no idea what I’m doing here…” I whispered to myself. Aleister picked up on it.
“You’re making Nestor’s Bitters. A heavily modified version, or so it seems to me. Obviously, a Troche would be far superior. But, pardon the expression, there’s more than one way to skin a dog.” He sided up next to me.
After I thought that the tea had simmered enough, I let it cool by the window. I poured the whole pot into a mason jar, and twisted on a shiny, metal lid.
“Do you think I’ll get any payment for this?” I asked the cat, trying not to think about what would come next, after I had sent off the tea.
“I can’t be sure.” Aleister answered shortly.
Before sending off the mason jar full of ‘Nestor’s Bitters,’ or more accurately, my best attempt at making it, I need to trace the sign of Opening. Another idea struck me. There had been a line in the preparation that I could maybe use for my heavily modified version.
Shape the resulting dough-like mixture into any form you wish (although Nestor prefers an arrowhead).
I couldn’t very well shape liquid, now could I? I didn’t have paint, so I couldn’t paint on the glass of the jar. I looked around my kitchen.
The hearth. There were a couple of sticks, at the edges of the fireplace, which were singed and blackened on one end. I picked one up carefully.
Pressing down hard, and bending the thin metal lid of the jar, I traced an arrow head on the shiny surface with the blackened end of the stick. The ashes clung to the metal for only a moment. Maybe it warmed slightly to my touch, but maybe the liquid inside was still hot. I held the jar in one hand, and traced the sign of Opening with the other. My clothes billowed, and I felt the familiar tingling feeling. That, at least, definitely did something.
Nestor’s ‘Tea’ Bitters
Complete!
+15 EXP
+5 Water (Cooking)
+10 Theoria (Alchemy)
Then, the follow-up message:
Nestor’s ‘Tea’ Bitters
2 of 10 Quality Points (Awful Rating)
I didn’t feel as bad this time. I hadn’t gone down in quality! I was reliably making Awful potions. Maybe that counted for something.
Quality Improvement:
Follow the Suggested Method of Preparation
Thanks, System Obvious. I wrapped the jar with paper, and sent Cheerful on his way. I told him to take only half the money Arabella Flynn offered. Cheerful said he understood, and was gone.
Now came the hard part.
I sat down heavily.
“Aleister, I have something I need to tell you.” I said, staring into the fire.
HA