[Hexa’s POV]

I strolled into the Potion Master’s shop noticing Bud to be the first one here with bags under his eyes. The shop was in a different state than yesterday. Shelves were laid back up neatly with multi-colored potions assembled onto them. I analyzed the potions Presto had for display, lots of healing potions, and some curing diseases. This is exactly what I wanted to do!

Maybe I could be Presto’s new partner and report to him all my findings of potion making! I look down at black pulsating veins… No, I’m a monster… I can’t be anyone’s partner until I get it removed…

I gloomily sit next to Bud, who has been staring at his feet the entire time.

“Hi Bud, how are you doing?”

Bud doesn’t look up at me and whispers, “Don’t talk to me”.

Oookay. Nice talk Bud.

Soon after Saaxol and Baldr walk in, both smiling. Saaxol cheerfully says, “Ayo! What’s up?”

Bud looks up and says, “The ceiling, stupid”.

Saaxol tilts his head, “What’s with your bad mood, Bud? You wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

Bud looks at Saaxol with bloodshot eyes and shouts, “I DIDN’T SLEEP! I HAD TO FIND THIS SHOP”

Baldr reaches in to pat Bud on the back but Bud slaps the hand away, “Don’t touch me”.

Baldr sits next to me and says, “There are signs that give directions here, why didn’t you follow those?”

Bud laughs, “I don’t understand your symbols!”

Baldr changes the subject away from the grumbling Bud, “Oh… Uh… Well where is Mansoon? He was the one who was so demanding that we would get paid for this job right?”

Saaxol laughs, “Yeah where is that guy”

Presto walks in from the back of the shop with a big bag that makes a sweet clanking sound when placed on the table, “How are my favorite adventurers doing?”

Mansoon slips in while Presto is talking.

I look at Mansoon, “Ah there you are, we thought you might’ve forgotten your payment”

Mansoon raises his eyebrow at me, “Why would I ever do something like that? Seems out of character for me”

The group at the table and I laugh as Mansoon cracks a smile, he sits next to Presto and Bud.

“Say how about I serve you guys something to drink?” Presto grabs a glass with thick black liquid.

Mansoon calls out, “I only drink Elvish Ale, thank you very much.”

Presto looks over at Mansoon, “I think I have some in the back, oh and your payment!”

Presto throws each of us a bag of silver coins. Bud pulls out the silver coin and looks at the Kingdom’s symbol of a unicorn on the front of the coin and on the back is the royal castle with the words, “Gloire à la Reine”. Which is the old Stellaic language for “Glory to the Queen”.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“It’s a bag with 50 silver coins! Help yourself to the drink while I get Mansoon his precious Elvish Ale”. Presto runs off into the back of the shop as Bud looks at the thick black liquor Presto left.

“Is that even drinkable?” Bud says.

Baldr looks at it and pours some of it into a glass, “Probably…”

Bud takes a glass and pours himself some, Baldr takes a sip and immediately starts coughing, “Oh god it burns”.

Bud stares at Baldr as he quickly pushes the glass away from him like it was going to bite him. Mansoon starts cackling, Baldr turns to Mansoon and shouts,

“I’d like to see you try and drink it Mansoon!”

Mansoon continues cackling, slapping his knee, but it comes to a halt when the door of the shop opens.

I saw Mansoon’s smile drop and his eyes widen as a tall man in a half orange and half purple suit walks in, shining obsidian hair with a sharp clean jawline. Two royal yellow eyes land onto our table as he gives us an ambivalent smile.

He closes one eye as he elegantly states, “Ah, how lucky of me to find the wonderful heroes of Qork”. He gives us a bow, “Truly an amazing job you all have done”.

I cleared my throat, “Thank you sir, we did it out of the kindness of our hearts”, my eyes traveled to Mansoon, “well most of us did”.

Mansoon had his all his focus captured by the man, he didn’t even acknowledge my insult, what was with him?

The man let out a loud hearty laugh, “My name is Constantine Flavius and I would like you all to work for me. I see you all have great potential, and there will of course be a lot of benefits for working for me as well, good payment, free housing in my private estate and even maybe a change in social class”.

Mansoon stumbles out some words, “Constantine Flavius… Like the man who helps run one of the possible future candidates to become ruler of this country?”.

Constantine nods, “That is correct, we can go over more details of what you’ll be doing in the carriage ride back to my estate”.

Perhaps this offer was a good thing for me, to find out how to get rid of the strange black veins from my arm… I’ll have a lot of resources from the deep pockets of Constantine.

“I’ll take the offer” I step up to Constantine.

“Splendid! Welcome aboard!”.

Saaxol and Baldr raise their hands, “If Hexa is going then we will go”

Mansoon looks away for a moment and carefully steps his way over, “I’ll come along”.

Bud looks at Constantine dead in the eye, “Are we going to be traveling around the world?”

Constantine nods with his unchanging smile.

Bud strolls up to Constantine, “Then I’ll go too, I want to see the world”.

Constantine claps his hands together with a wider smile as he opens the door for us, “Let’s head to my estate right away, my new partners”.

As we are heading out I turn around and yell, “Presto! We are leaving!”

I heard a loud crash in the back as he shouts back, “Wait! What? But I just found the Elvish Ale”. This makes Mansoon rush to the back with Presto, and then I heard Presto yell again, “HEY!” As Mansoon dashes out with the Elvish Ale.

I step outside to see a large carriage that has a sparkling pearl color to it, golden lacings surrounding the ends of the carriage making a curved pattern. Up in front of the carriage there is a nervous looking young man with silver hair and a bright grass green suit, he is the driver of the carriage with two black horses carrying the carriage.

Constantine opens the door to the carriage revealing fluffy purple seats, we take a seat in them and sink into it.

“I’ve never sat in something so soft” I whisper

Constantine smiles as he sits in a seat towards the front of the carriage, “Well, I think it is about time I talk about what you’ll be doing, you all will be entering into service for the fair lady, Elwen Flavius. She is your new master, but you’ll most likely be receiving jobs from me. Elwen is very busy with work to try and capture the throne”.

The carriage continues down a dirt road for a few hours until we reach a small cozy town with some of the townspeople using their skills in the fields, some of them wave to the carriage with happy expressions, as we pass the town we start to go up a hill and then the carriage stops. Constantine opens the door to reveal beautiful long henges with bright flowers past them leading up to a large white stone mansion with thousands of windows covering the house. I counted five stories, not counting the six towers that are built inside of the mansion! There is one long tower with narrow windows on the left side and the right, then two in front and back. The whole mansion is covered in a perfect black roof.

The only words I could muster up were, “wow…”