Lorianus was sitting on his small oak chair behind the counter, diligently wiping the dust from a potion bottle with a ripped piece of cloth. He was so absorbed by the way the wide silvery cap was reflecting in the bottle’s green glass that he hardly noticed the ironclad knight marching in through the shop’s door.
“Are you Lorianus?” asked the knight in a loud voice.
The small bearded man jumped from its oaken chair and greeted the knight with the slightest bow and the widest smile, while his wrinkly hands were still busy cleaning the green bottle.
“Indeed. And how may I be of service, my lord?”
“I am Sir Agandir of the house of Paltrinon, and I seek your aid in performing my quest.”
“What quest will that be, my lord, Sir Agandir?”
“Slaying the cursed beast that roams the skies of Wellos.”
“I would gladly assist you Sir, but I am afraid slaying dragons was one of my weakest talents and it has decreased with age.”
“Don’t play with me, old man!”
The knight leaned over the counter and grinned through his thick scruffy black beard.
“I NEED POTIONS!”
Lorianus took a step back and laid the green glass on the counter while still fidgeting with the cloth.
“Ah, yes, potions… I am afraid we don’t really sell a lot of those here.”
“Nonsense! It says right there, on the sign above your door: Lorianus’ Magic Potions Emporium. Now, the dragon of Wellos it feared for its ability to breathe fire, so I need a potion that will make me immune to flames.”
“A fire resistance potion? Yes, I do believe I have it right here!”
Lorianus disappeared under the counter and spring back up victoriously with a greasy yellow roll of paper sealed with a medallion of red wax.
“There you go! It will be two gold coins.”
“What is this?” said the knight, grabbing the roll and holding it in front of him like it was the first time he laid his eyes on such an object.
“I don’t really have the potion itself, but I can provide you something even better.”
“A spell?”
“No, the potion’s recipe!”
“The potion’s recipe? How is that supposed to help me, old man? I am not an alchemist!”
“No, no, no, it’s pretty simple, you see. You just need to combine the ingredients written here by following the instructions, and you’ll have the elixir in no time. And the best thing is that once you’ve finished the potion, you can prepare yourself another one. It’s really a bargain.”
“I suppose you’re right. Even though, in my opinion, it’s a wonder how you can keep your shop open if you’re selling your clients the secrets to your mixtures. Fine! Let’s see what we have here…”
The knight broke the wax seal and unrolled the piece of paper to reveal a set of calligraphically written letters that he began to recite.
“… acquire these ingredients: Five drops of goat’s milk, a lump of burning coal, two large leaves of plantain, a bunch of chamomiles and… a recently killed dragon’s heart.”
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He starred down at the old man, crumpling the paper in his fist.
“Is this a joke? How am I going to acquire that?”
“Well, actually, you can skip the chamomile. I just added it there for flavor.”
“Not the bloody chamomile, you senile old man! I’m talking about the dragon heart! The RECENTLY KILLED DRAGON’S HEART! Are you saying that in order to kill a dragon I first need to kill another dragon and prepare a potion
out of his heart?”
“The potion is not really for killing a dragon. It just makes you impervious to fire.”
“It’s of no use to me! Unless you are also selling hearts from a freshly killed dragon.”
“I am afraid no, sir. We are a magic potion shop, we only provide the potions, not the ingredients.”
Agandir threw the roll of paper on the counter furiously.
“What else you have? Maybe something that will make my skin as tough as stone?”
“Sure, as soon as you pay for the Fire Resistance Recipe? Only two gold coins.”
“But I have no use for your Fire Resistance Recipe!”
“But you acquired the knowledge of preparing it.”
“The knowledge doesn’t serve me at all since I lack the main ingredient which is a bloody dragon heart!”
“Yes, but you might find yourself in possession of said ingredient somewhat in the future, especially since you mentioned you were on your way to slay a dragon. If I provide you with the means that will help you acquire the fire
resistance potion without you paying for it, I am merely robbing myself.”
“Fine!” said the knight and handed Lorianus two gold coins from his pouch. “Now hand me the potion that will make my skin as tough as stone!”
Lorianus produced another roll of paper from under the counter.
“Are you truly mocking me, old man?”
“No, no, no, I assure you, this one is even easier to prepare.”
Agandir snatched the scroll from the counter and tear up the seal.
“… nettles… sheep loins… feather of a goose… Ah, yes, hooves of a unicorn. A really common item indeed. And I suppose the sheep loins are there for flavor?”
“Well you need not kill the unicorn. Any hooves from an unicorn, regardless their age and condition will do.”
“And while I wander around searching for unicorn hooves, the dragon is free to scorch the lands of Wellos.”
“I also have…”
“Enough with this! Just give me a dozen health potions.”
“As soon as you pay for the Potion of Stone Skin Recipe.”
Agandir grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew an inch of his blade from the scabbard.
“Don’t test your luck, you old fool! I have no intention in chasing unicorns, nor do I need a fire resistance potion AFTER I defeated a fire-breathing monster. I already gave you two gold coins; I will give you one more and you will bring me a dozen health potions. That is a fair deal. And I want the potions this time, not the instructions on how to prepare them.”
“Fine, fine, as long as it is for a good cause, I suppose I could allow myself to be cheated like this…”
Lorianus opened a dusty cupboard mounted on the wall and produced a medium size wooden chest with delicate engravings that he presented to the knight. To reassure Agandir of his intentions, he lifted the lid of the chest and revealed a dozen small bottles carefully lined up, separated by dried grass.
“A dozen health potions as you requested.”
Agandir threw a gold coin on the counter and took out one of the small bottles. He lifted it and held it against the sunlight.
“These are green. Usually health potions are red or pink in color.”
“Yes, well that is because I use a special brewing method. I first take the…”
“I don’t care what color they are. I want to know if they work.”
“Off course they do. These right here are the very best and fastest working health potions you will find in this kingdom.”
“How long does it take to produce their effects?”
“Well, as long as you use them twice a day, maintain a healthy balanced diet and get plenty of sleep and exercise you will notice the first changes in just four weeks.”