She stood atop a mountain, gazing down at the world below. Despite the late hour, the city was bustling with activity. The warm glow of lanterns and torches illuminated the city as the inhabitants attended the Lunar Festival. The irony was not lost on me.
The world was constantly changing, and with it, the gods and goddesses rose and fell as they lost popularity. She had watched as other deities had faded away, their names forgotten, their power diminished until they were nothing but myths and legends. Our continued existence depended on these fickle travelers.
She could not help feeling a sense of sadness and loss as she watched her followers dwindle over and her influence fade away.She wondered what would become of her, once she was no longer needed. Would she simply fade away, like so many others before her? Or would she continue to exist, a silent witness to the changing world below?
I jerked as my head slipped off of my hand and I nearly tumbled into the smoking embers of my fire. I was confused as to why I was sleeping outside when I remembered that I was supposed to be drying out the last component for the potion.
"Shit!" I scrambled over the wrapped cloth and carefully unraveled the twine binding it. Blessedly, the fish gill was only slightly tacky. I only needed to let it dry in the sun for a few more hours before I could grind it. I carefully re wrapped the gill and tied another length of twine to hang it up in my hut.
The fish gill produced only a few spoonfuls of powder and I was heedful of the fact that I only had enough for a few attempts.
I stirred the bubbling mixture in the cauldron while gradually pouring in the tree sap. Adding too much at once would destabilize the mixture and I would have to start the process all over again. It was almost complete; I could tell that this one would be successful. All I need was to carefully-
"Hey you!" The loud shout startled me and the jar of tree sap slipped out of my hand and straight into the cauldron. Almost immediately, the mixture violently bubbled and spilled over the edge.
You have failed to brew your potion!
A few moments later, the volatile liquid in the cauldron disappeared with a flamboyant puff of smoke.
I gazed blankly at the bottom of the cauldron as disbelief and anger rose within me. It took me almost two weeks to gather and prepare the ingredients and it was gone just like that.
"Witch! I need some potions." I grit my teeth in annoyance as the maker prodded me to greet the traveler. Reluctantly, I plastered on an insincere smile and turned to the adventurer, xXShadowLordXx.
"Greetings, traveler! Welcome to my humble abode. How might I be of-"
"I need 5 health potions." My teeth scraped against each other so hard that I was afraid they'd break.
"That will be 25 gold-"
"Here." The adventurer shoved 25 gold coins in my hand and held out his hand expectantly.
I willed the coin away to my inventory and summoned the requested 5 [Lesser Healing Potions]. They were barely tangible before xXShadowLordXx snatched them from my hand and made his way back into the outskirts of the forest.
I petulantly stomped my way back into my hut to sulk. It took me days to gather and prepare those ingredients and I was annoyed that I had to start all over again. I was so close to finishing. I was lucky that I had extra ingredients. I don't know what I would do if I had to get another gill.
I flopped down into my bed to take a quick break from brewing. The transformation potion was a complicated process and I knew that I had to recollect my thoughts before attempting to make the potion again.
As I lay there, staring up at the thatched roof of my hut, my mind drifted back to the strange dream I had. The feelings of bitterness and resentment I felt were strong as if they were my own. I wondered for a moment if the dream was a vision, but scoffed to myself.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
I'm not an oracle.
I began gathering materials to attempt making the transformation potion again when I realized that my only jar of tree sap disappeared within the contents of the failed potion. I felt annoyed once more at the slight inconvenience, but fortunately for me, I was surrounded by trees. I grabbed my wooden spile, auger, and an empty bowl and made my way outside.
I went to a tree a bit of distance away from my hut and began the arduous process of drilling a small hole. Others could probably do this much quicker than I, but strength was something that I lacked. When the hole was deep enough, I inserted the spile and helped the bowl under the spout to collect the thick sap. The liquid flowed at a leisure pace and I leaned against the tree to relax as I waited for the bowl to fill.
When I was satisfied with the amount I collected, I set the bowl down carefully on the ground and retrieved my tools. I wiped the excess sap off with a cloth and stored them in my pouch. I grabbed the half filled bowl and turned to go back to my hut and almost screamed inf right when I almost bumped into the traveler standing right behind me.
"What are you doing?" Ayanna stared at me curiously and I started panicking internally. I didn't hear her at all and the maker didn't deem it important to inform me of her arrival as she hadn't approached my hut.
Furthermore, she caught me doing something that I "shouldn't" be doing. How was I supposed to react?
"G-greetings, traveler. I was gathering materials for my potions."
"Hmm. Interesting." The traveler stared at me for a few more moments before turning around and heading into town. I wanted to scream. Why did she come back? The travelers called this place the "starting" town, and once they left, they usually never came back. She didn't even ask me for a potion or quest so what was the point of approaching me.
Out of caution and worry, I decided to brew the potion at night when there would be less distractions and my fears turned out to be true. Little less than half an hour later, Ayanna came back accompanied by a short elf girl. Her long blonde hair was contained by a single long braid and she wore a simple white dress with gold accents. The only weapon she carried on her was a staff with a simple, pale blue gem embedded in the tip.
"Talk to her. She has a quest." Ayanna gestured towards me with a nod. One hand rested on her sword guard while the other stood on her hip. The elf girl, Eira bounced over to me excitedly and I almost took a step back in apprehension when she got a little too close.
"Hi there!" Her green eyes seemed to sparkle with anticipation and I grimaced.
"Greetings, traveler. How may I be of assistance?"
"Do you have a quest for me?"
"I am in need of materials for my potion." I mentally sent a quest prompt to Eira and she immediately accepted.
"10 elfroot? Thats easy. They're everywhere." Ayanna gave me a sharp look and I realized my blunder. I gave her a different task, and for a NPC like me, we typically only had one quest. She didn't say anything but stared at me with a suspicious gaze as she was dragged away by the arm by her elf companion.
The elfroot was gathered quickly, and once they were delivered to me, the duo made their way through the forest towards their next destination.