Sign: Snake

  Buffs: Serpent’s Kiss (Romance twice as easy)

  Debuffs: Curse of the Unspecified (Start the game with no gender, no name, and no other identifying feature)

Fantastic Breakfast (1 day): All prices are 20% better. Earn double EXP.

EXP: 1,213

Alchemy

  Coagula (LVL 0, 24 SKP)

  Solvé (LVL 0, 19 SKP)

  Theoria (LVL 0, 23 SKP)

Botany

  Sowing (LVL 0, 5 SKP)

  Tending (LVL 0, 10 SKP)

  ?

Cooking

  Fire (LVL 0, 31 SKP) Ready to level up!

  Water (LVL 0, 11 SKP)

  ?  

Homesteading

  Fire Tending (LVL 0, 7 SKP)

  Tidying (LVL 1, 39 SKP)

  ?

Speech

  Logic (LVL 1, 13 SKP)

  Linguistics (LVL 0, 17 SKP)

  Cajoling (LVL 0, 10 SKP)

Total SKP: 269

Inventory:

  Auros: 0

  Cards of Destiny: 5 of ?? Discovered

Names: 3

  Vitas, The Wind Thief (Sparrow)

  Gillygad, The Stiched-Up Wonder (Pitchfork)

  Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress (Snake)

Passive Skills:

  (Tidying LVL 1) Dirt Buster: The magical branch of Purification lends this Sorcerer the ability to ‘Bust Dirt.’ Dust and grime accumulate at an infinitesimally slow rate on objects you have cleaned.

  (Logic LVL 1) Rhetoric: The magical branch of Entreatment lends this Sorcerer the ability of heightened ‘Rhetoric.’ The structure of your arguments is smooth, regular, and orthogonal. Spirits and people are more likely to agree with you.

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I picked up an envelope, at random, and opened it. I must have picked it from the most recent bunch which Cheerful brought because it was another letter from Bernard Caskard, the fish merchant for whom I have brewed Winter’s Kiss.

Dear Sorcerer,

I hope that the fish you've been buying from me has been to your liking. Unfortunately, I write to you with another problem.

My breath is fresh enough, I suppose, but the issue is that I simply haven’t been able to work up the courage to ask Miss Mary to the February Festival. The Festival has come and gone, it is now March, and Miss Mary remains ignorant of me.

I have tried many times to simply go up to Miss Mary, and start talking, but I always seem to lose the ability to speak in the woman’s presence. Do you have something that could help me?

All the Best,

Bernard C.

I already knew what to do next. I opened up Old Toad’s Grimoire and thought of what I needed: something to help Mr. Caskard with speaking (since he lost his ability to talk when in the presence of Miss Mary).

All the entries erased themselves, and I was left with three.

Drops of Night

Dancing Tongue

The Hiss

I looked at the first one:

Drops of Night

One must be very careful with the dosing. One too many drops will induce an eternal slumber. Two too many will stop your heart. The perfect amount of drops will immediately bring on a Vision, and allow one to Speak with nether-things. Mix with red wine, for a pleasant taste.

Locked! Do you wish to Unlock? (Master Difficulty)

I didn’t think Mr. Caskard was looking to speak with dog and bird-headed monstrosities. I skipped Drops of Night and went on to the next potion.

Dancing Tongue

The words of the Poets and the Bards will fill the brain and spill out of the mouth. Sentences will dance on the tongue like fireflies, and speech will be like music.

Locked! Do you wish to Unlock? (Novice Difficulty)

That sounded more like what Mr. Caskard needed.

I decided to unlock it. As I mentally answered yes to unlocking the potion, I noticed a piece of paper in my hands. It was a riddle:

When Music Speaks

A drum might beat a stony song

A violin may cry,

But I sound like the birds yearlong

Who sing in trees and fly.

A high voice is my trait

And even if you’re mute

Just put your lips upon the plate

And know that I’m the -----.

My solution to the riddle is below:

Reading through the riddle, I gathered that I was looking for the name of a musical instrument. The first two lines of the riddle make comparisons to drums and violins.

Looking at the rhyme scheme, I also figured that the name of the instrument would rhyme with ‘mute.’

The first thing that popped in my head was ‘lute,’ but when I said it, nothing happened.

I re-read the riddle. The instrument sounded like birdsong and had a high voice. I thought about it a moment longer before the answer came to me.

I said the answer, of which I was now confident: flute.

I tucked the riddle-page in my pocket as I got the message declaring that I had solved it.

Riddle: When Music Speaks (Novice Difficulty)

Complete!

  +14 EXP

  14 Skill Points to Linguistics (Speech)

I opened the Grimoire again and pulled up the entry for Dancing Tongue. It was now unlocked and I read the method of preparation.

Dancing Tongue (Difficulty: Moderate)

The words of the Poets and the Bards will fill the brain and spill out of the mouth. Sentences will dance on the tongue like fireflies, and speech will be like music.

Ingredients:

Amara Dulcis

Dill

Belladonna (optional)

Method of Preparation:

The method of preparation shall be a physical wine. Other methods are far less suitable, and this is one brew where I suggest the Alchemist follows instructions to the letter.

Phys. Wine: Take one handful each of Amara Dulcis and Dill. They should be fresh for better taste, but if dried ingredients are to be used, only take half a handful each. Pour into a suitable vessel and add one bottle of an inferior wine according to the purpose of the potion.

Red Wine: the aspect of the Snake will be more present; use this if Dancing Tongue is brewed with the aim of tempting and seducing.

White Wine: the aspect of Water Lily will be more present; use this if Dancing Tongue is brewed with the aim of inspiring song and poetry.

After the wine is added to the herbs, seal the container and let it stand for two nights. Strain the resulting concoction. Add one leaf of Belladonna to strengthen the aspect of Snake. If the aspect of Water Lily is to be strengthened, leave the Belladonna out, and simply pour the concoction into the finest crystal or glass vessel available.

Speak the Name of the applicable aspect (Snake or Water Lily) and use the sign of Opening.

Dancing Tongue is more effective at dusk and should be imbibed in the evening.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I had Belladonna, but that herb was optional.

What I didn't have was Amara Dulcis, Dill, or wine (red or white). I wasn’t sure where I could get some either. I could hardly write Agatha K. and Mr. Beaugiron again to request more ingredients.

I had no money, so I couldn’t buy wine. And I wasn’t sure that the herbs were something I could purchase on the market.

Tess had said I could go out and look for herbs, but I had no idea what either herb looked like. And, I didn’t think I would find a bottle of red wine just laying about.

I was stuck.

I reread Bernard Caskard’s note. He hadn't given me a timeline, which was good. Even if I had the ingredients, it would take two nights for the herbs to steep in the wine.

When I had brewed potions during my initiation, my To-Do list had populated with the request and a deadline. But, since my initiation ended, my To-Do list was completely gone. Maybe the time constraint was only part of my initiation and I didn’t have to worry about it anymore? I would have to ask Tess when she came back.

I put Mr. Caskard’s note aside and looked at the stack of envelopes. I could always put Mr. Caskard’s order on hold until I figured out where to source the ingredients for the potion. Maybe I could look through some of the other orders, and see if anyone else wanted fresh breath. I still had Balm and Sage, and could reliably make Winter’s Kiss.

I could also make Nestor’s Bitters, although my version would be a tea and not a troche.

I made a note to myself to keep my eye out for the ingredients for Dancing Tongue, and then I started looking through the rest of the envelopes.

There were many different requests. One had a persistent stomach ache, one had an issue with a sore back.

Then others requested courage or love. One lady wrote a feverish request for the return of the affection of her fiance, which seemed waning, and requested that I brew her a potion as quickly as possible. I frowned. Much as I wanted to help her, I decided to skip it for now.

The seventh envelope which I opened had a pleasant surprise. Another person was asking for Winter’s Kiss!

Dear Sorcerer,

I run the bread stall right next to Mr. Caskard, in the town market. I frequently chat with the gentlemen, and I have noticed that recently, he has a pleasant minty aroma, and I asked him after the cologne he uses (my husband could use such a cologne!).

To my surprise, Bernard informed me that the aroma was actually due to a magical potion and that it was his breath that was the cause of the fresh scent. My husband could also use something like this! Would you be so kind as to send me whatever you made for Bernard? I would be more than willing to compensate you 6 Bones (although I know you only took 3 from Mr. Caskard) as well as a loaf of my finest Sourdough.

Yours,

Galatea Summerby

I could help Galatea! I still had all the herbs which I used for my first batch of Winter’s Kiss.

I thought I remembered the recipe well enough, but just in case, I checked the Grimoire page, and re-read the instructions.

To my surprise, my last attempt at preparing the brew was recorded.

Previous Concoctions:

Winter’s Kiss

2 of 10 Quality Points (Awful Rating)

Quality Improvement:

Using Distilled Water

Using Fresh Herbs for Simples

Using More Herbs

Imbuing with a Name

Using More Potent Opening Gestures

I carefully read through the quality improvement suggestions.

I couldn’t do much about distilled water or fresh herbs, (I still only had dried sage).

But, I could try to learn about the Winter Lady tonight, when I did my research for Tess.

I closed the Grimoire and got to work.

I did everything like the first time, filling the Alembic with water and herbs in the appropriate compartments. I used about twice as much Balm (as that had been another quality improvement) and hoped that maybe it would influence the quality of the potion.

Once everything was set up, and the Alembic was surrounded by hot coals, the tube of the contraption poised over a clean mason jar, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

Nodding at my work, I decided that it was time to break for food.

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There were still eggs left, so I tried to recreate the delicious breakfast Tess had cooked me that morning.

My attempt was fine, but it didn’t even come close to what the Sorceress was able to whip up.

I got a message when I plated the fried eggs.

New Recipe Unlocked!

Fried Eggs (Breakfast or Lunch)

I also got 10 EXP for preparing the eggs. I checked my character sheet, and realized that I could level up cooking!

I navigated the menu options to level up my Fire skill in the Cooking tree.

Do You Wish To Level Up?

Fire Level 1 Grants ‘Ignited’ Passive Effect

I answered yes.

Ignited!

The Elemental branch of magic lends this Sorcerer the ability to cook faster using fire. Prepare fried or baked meals twice as quickly. Get burnt less.

Immediately, I jumped out of my chair and went over to the fire.

I had seen Mistress stick her entire arm into an open blaze. I was scared to do the same, but I did get a passive skill that would let me get burnt less. I wanted to test it out!

I held my trembling hand out to the fire. The flames felt pleasant, and as I kept inching my hand closer, it didn’t feel overly hot. My fingertips were being brushed by the orange flames, and I steeled my courage and plunged my hand deeper into the fire. I withdrew it just as quickly, as it had begun to hurt, but nowhere near what I expected.

I looked over my hand. It was slightly red, but I had no burns. It was only a matter of time before I could reach in and take out the burnt heart like Tess had shown me during the Closing Ceremony!

I went back to my meal, sharing my eggs and bread with Cheerful. I told him about the potion I was making, and he chimed in (at least three times) that he would love to help me deliver it when it was complete.

After we finished our food, I got another message:

Fantastic Breakfast and Filling Lunch (second meal) (1.5 days)

All prices are 20% better.

Earn double EXP.

Cool! If I ate two meals, it prolonged my buff! I would have to remember that!

After cleaning up the dishes (and getting another 6 EXP out of that), I wanted to curl up in my bedroom and read Ma Chère, the slim pink volume that Tess had gifted me.

But I still had research to do! Maybe, after I had completed Tess’s assignment, I could find a little time before bed to read for enjoyment.

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Tess's assignment was more difficult than I imagined.

I had brewed a pot of tea and brought up a cup to the small library on the second floor of the house. I started looking through the dusty volumes, which ranged on all manner of subjects.

I had found a few volumes that I thought might be useful, but not for researching the Names as Tess had instructed.

I had found a very old tome called The Book of Nurture, which had diverse recipes. I put it aside.

There were books on farming, astronomy, raising cattle…

I must have sorted through dozens of volumes. It was not always immediately obvious what the tomes were about. I had to check the contents and read a little of each one before I discarded it as useless for my present task.

I found a book about herbs, which had color illustrations as well as recommendations on where and when these herbs could be gathered in the wild. I put Culpeper’s Complete Herbal aside. I would be able to use that one!

After sorting through another dozen books, I was starting to lose hope. If only Aleister was here! The cat seemed very bookish. He would surely be able to help.

I called out his name, but no one answered, and the cat didn’t show up.

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The sunlight was fading when I finally found a gray, slim volume called Footsteps of the Snow Maiden. I would not have known it to be about Names, except that I had an inkling it might be referring to the Winter Lady, who was the Name patron to the Sign of Holly. I had tried to contact her when I brewed Winter’s Kiss the first time. Instead, I got the Midnight Spirit and the whole mess that followed.

I settled into the reading chair, got cozy, and cracked the book.

I was right, in that the subject was indeed the Winter Lady.

The Sorcerer who wrote, remaining anonymous, seemed to have an obsession with silence, cold, and winter. And he did not write a historical treatise. Instead, what I had found was a book of poems.

And, not good ones.

I read through the first couple, and although the lines weren’t particularly rhythmic, and metaphors rather contrived, I did feel the stillness and cold that the author described as the effect of the Winter Lady’s presence.

I started scanning the poems.

I ended up flipping through the entire book. Mercifully, the very end had a conclusion, which was added by the editors.

In it, I found what I was looking for.

The editors claimed that the manuscript was mailed to them, so they, unfortunately, had no information regarding the author. However, they were kind enough to include a brief biography of Evengeline Givre, the Lady who is presumed to be the Name behind the sign of Holly.

Evengeline, The Pure Snow

Evengeline was the daughter of a Baron, who spent most of his time away from their expansive castle, in a cold, northern country. She grew up alone in the huge castle, as her mother had died, and the servants which waited on her were scared off by the Baron from being friendly with Evengeline.

The girl had little company, and the only friend she had was in her mirror. She would pretend the girl on the other side, her reflection, was her dear friend, and she shared all her joys and woes with the glass image.

As Evengeline grew into a young woman, the servants reported seeing strange things. Sometimes, they caught sight of Evengeline’s reflection in windows and mirrors when the girl herself was not present.

The years passed, and the servants became more and more concerned.

Due to her isolated upbringing, the girl had grown odd. She talked to shadows and stole small animals from the Houndmaster and the Cook. No one saw these animals again.

In manner, she was exceedingly cold, almost cruel. The only thing she seemed to enjoy was her reflection, and taking walks during the coldest winter mornings.

One night, the Cook saw a reflection of Evengeline in the window, the inky night behind the glass turning the panes into a mirror. He did not spot the girl and had no idea how the reflection came to be, but he watched the image. He watched the girl-reflection take one of his hens (which had gone missing!) and lay her hands upon the bird. The chicken had been clucking and walking about, but as soon as Evengeline touched it, the hen became still. An icicle formed on its beak.

The Cook became very scared.

He told the Butler, who told the Sealmaster, to quickly inform her father, the Baron, to come back to his home. Something was not right with his daughter, Evengeline!

The Baron, upon receipt of the letter, did just that and brought his entire retinue home with him. He also brought an assortment of young princes and lords. He aimed to marry one of them to his daughter. The Baron thought it was high time for his daughter to have a husband. Surely, this would put the girl to rights.

Evengeline avoided all company, as much as she could, when her father returned.

This did not please the Baron.

He told Evengeline that she would have to marry one of the young princes. And for good measure, he had the servants smash or cover every reflective surface in the house so that Evengeline could not spend more time with her reflection. Privately, the Baron was also concerned and even scared by the phenomenon of the girl’s mirror-image having a mind of its own.

Evengeline was very sad. She missed her friend in the mirror.

But she was even sadder that her father was making her marry. She did not want a husband. She had grown up alone, and alone was how she wanted to be.

The night that Evengeline would finally have to choose her husband, she found a small mirror hidden in an attic. Her friend was back! Better yet, her mirror-friend told Evengeline that she could help.

When everyone was asleep, and the wind and the snow were howling outside, Evengliene slipped from her bedroom with the small mirror.

She went to the bedrooms of each of her suitors. She slipped half of her mirror inside, under the door frame. After a few minutes, she took it back out and went on to the next bedroom. She visited each of the five young princes and lords, who were Evengeline’s suitors.

The next morning, the castle was in chaos.

The five young princes and lords were found dead, in their own bedroom. Each had been frozen solid.

The Baron was furious. He did not know how she could have done it, but he knew that his daughter was responsible.

He ordered his petrified servants to fetch his daughter. The Cook and the Houndmaster, shaking and afraid of being frozen solid like the suitors, opened Evengeline’s door, and called out.

There was no answer.

They looked through her room. They looked through the attic. They looked through every room in the huge castle that Baron Givre’s ancestors built in the cold and cruel land of the North.

Evengeline was not there.

The Baron sent out search parties. Perhaps Evengeline tried to run away?

It took three days, but eventually, the searching parties found Evengeline.

She was frozen solid, on the bank of a lake, and her beautiful fair skin had turned blue. They found her looking out over the water. Across from her, a perfect reflection in pose and posture was an identical Evengline, made of pure, clear ice.

Many Sorcerers presume that the Spirit of Holly is Evengeline Givre, but it is the opinion of this humble editor that the patron of Holly is not just Evengeline. Rather, it is the young woman and her animated reflection, which the girl, obviously possessing enormous magical talent, breathed life into, as one does when one enchants any other object.

It is not known if any other Sorcerer has been able to replicate this feat and enchant their reflection, giving it a mind of its own. Evengeline remains the only known Sorceress to date, who has been able to accomplish such a task.

I finished the story. Truthfully, it had given me the creeps. I had imagined that the Winter Lady was a benevolent spirit, maybe related to winter holidays, maybe she made hot cocoa appear magically on a frosty night.

I shivered, and as I exhaled into my cold hands to warm them, I saw my breath billow out in a small cloud. It was freezing!

I looked up at the library window, the night behind the panes making the glass into an inky, black mirror.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but did I see someone else there?

I stood up and walked to the window.

No, it was not imagination. There was a girl, a little taller than me, standing right behind me.

I whirled around, but just as I suspected, no one was there in the library.

I must have been having a Vision. Finally, I was being visited by the Spirit of the Winter Lady. I should feel a sense of accomplishment, but I felt empty and cold inside. And lonesome.

The girl in the reflection held up her hand. In it was a mirror.

Take an ice-cold bath, and look for me in the glass. The words crackled like frost as the girl in the reflection spoke.

Call me if you wish to find stasis and acceptance. Call me if you wish to find the Cold. Call me if you wish to heal an illness of the mind.

After saying the words, the girl put her hand on my shoulder in the reflection. I was suddenly freezing. I needed to get to a warm fire right now! Or get under the blankets! I turned to go and jumped in fright. She was right in front of me!

She was dead beneath the sheen of ice on her cheeks. Her eyes were half-closed and had the empty look of two marbles. She didn’t move an inch.

I backed away from Evengeline. I wanted the Vision to end!

I slowly tip-toed around the frozen girl trying to make my way to the door. As I moved around her, the frozen girl stood still, but I still kept my eye on her.

I was almost out the door when I heard a noise, like something being drug on the wooden floor of the library. She turned around! She was facing me, her dead and frozen eyes staring at me.

“Uh, th-thank you for coming.” I stammered out, “I’m going to go to sleep now.” I said, pointing to the door.

The girl didn’t move, so I ran out of the library. I practically jumped under the covers of my bed, and quickly, I was asleep.