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In the previous chapter, Violet lost her balance after drinking her regular healing potion.
Chapter 11
Get High
Underground Inn
Violet plopped into the chair and leaned on the table, supporting herself on her elbow. The glimmer of the candles lit her weary face. Her fluttering eyelids struggled to stay up.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“I feel a bit… good?” She slurred her words before smacking her face against the table.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Mistress?” Lorely called out with a trembling voice, then she glared at the apothecary.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“What’s the meaning of this? What did you do to her?!” She hollered while lunging towards Violet. Her mistress zoned out no matter how much Lorely rubbed her cheeks.
The dark elf picked up Violet’s unfinished cup and shoved her pinky in the leftover liquid. Licking her finger, her expression soured.
Realizing that the bottle was mislabeled, she searched her box and took out a new bottle. She took a sip to check that it was a healing potion, then she swapped the labels.
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“I’m sorry, the potions have been mislabeled. Your friend drank a painkiller, but given the dosage and her weight, she’ll be high for an hour or two.”
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“As an apology, let me give you the correct potion. Free of charge, of course.”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“... Isn’t that a bit convenient?” Lorely’s mind raced with questions. Her opponent was a long-lived dark elf, a species known for their deceitfulness. Her hand rested on a sheathed dagger, ready to fight the apothecary.
The atmosphere grew heavier, but the dark elf shrugged it off.
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“It’s no excuse, but I didn’t expect the new hire to mislabel things. I thought the minotaur was passionate, but I guess he just wanted to get high on herbs.” The dark elf sighed.
She laid out multiple potions on the table to advertise her products.
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“Alright, for today’s discount, everything is half price! I have healing potions, poison, dru- painkillers, and all sorts of stimulants.”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Can’t you just give me something to wake her up?”
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Maybe a healer could wake her up, but it’s not something I can do safely…”
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“Just buy my products instead! I can give you a free sample of each. The Underground is a dangerous place, where you can face a crisis at any moment.” Her words were almost threatening.
Stimulants
Acumen 14 silver
Ironskin 17 silver
Haste 18 silver
Increase mental fortitude for an hour. Side effects: Anxiety, sleepiness
Soothing powder from butterfly wings
Poisons
Scorpicore Venom 14 silver
Manarupt Coating 17 silver
Anaesthetic 18 silver
Battle-ready
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Potion of Warding 11 silver
Potion of Lesser Cure 38 silver
Smoke Bomb 42 silver
Drugs
Psylicin 3 silver
Wirlblood 7 silver
Buttersand 7 silver
Azo 9 silver
>Buy
>Sell
>Leave
Where are you going? This is your room.
What the- I need to escape!
After a half an hour of intense haggling, the dark elf pocketed Lorely’s coins and reclaimed the unsold products.
The leftover medicines piled up into a small hill on the table, a sight that left Lorely dumbfounded.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Did I buy this much?” Lorely exclaimed in disbelief, struggling to comprehend whatever happened.
Dark Elf
Apothecary
“It was a pleasure to do business with you! See you later!” The elf left with light footsteps. Her parting words rang like a distant chirping in the ears of the perplexed harpy.
Lorely locked the door and could finally relax with her drooling mistress.
However, a troubling realization washed over her. She picked up a potion and glanced at the expiration date. One week left.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Damn it, Lorelyyyyyy!” She threw her head back at the disastrous turn of events.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“I bought too much. You won’t get mad at me, right?” She poked Violet’s cheek.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Gnnnh-” Violet’s reply came as a hardly reassuring groan.
Lorely inspected the new stash of drugs with a sigh.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“The tonics are fine, but all these drugs… How am I supposed to use them? I don’t want to suffer from the inevitable crash.”
Her nose wrinkled at the smell of the chewing paste that promised euphoria and resilience. The thought of putting it in her mouth made her stomach churn.
As Lorely attempted to tidy up their room, the door made clicking sounds, leaving her perplexed. The inn owner wouldn’t have entered without knocking.
Faced with uncertainty, Lorely made the last-minute decision to position herself near the entrance. She unsheathed her dagger with trembling hands.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
‘Alright, I can do this.’ She braced herself for a possible confrontation, determined to cut down any intruder.
Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing a group of armed pawns. But they only took an aggressive stance when attacked or under orders. If the infernal troglodytes had eyes, they would be staring blankly at her.
???
Intruders
“That’s the one! Capture her!” Voice erupted from behind the pawns. Their attention focused on the dazed Violet, tripping on her seat.
Without hesitation, Lorely swung her daggers at the nearest pawn. Her first stroke shattered a translucent warding aura, and the second beheaded her victim.
Chaos ensued as the pawns recognized her as a hostile threat. They crowded the room’s entrance and couldn’t use their spear effectively.
???
Intruders
“Drop your spears and use your claws!”
The pawns obeyed, throwing themselves at Lorely to swarm her.
But even using their claws wasn’t enough to overcome Lorely’s deadly slashes.
With the last pawn falling on its knees, Lorely found herself exposed to the line of sight of the commanding mages.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
‘It’s the mage guild!’ Lorely's heart sank at this dreadful realization.
Fearful without their pawns, the mages conjured a couple of magic arrows aimed at Lorely.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Bastard!” She couldn’t dodge and expose Violet to stray spells.
She deflected the arrow, sacrificing a wing in the process.
Fueled by anger, she lunged at the opponents and pummeled them.
Non-blessed humans had a very low manaload to equip artifacts, so human mages favored magic auxiliary over warding artifacts. Lorely’s punch was enough to shatter their flimsy aura.
And just like that, Lorely knocked them out.
Time was of the essence. Still out of breath, Lorely removed the lockpick stuck in the door and barricaded the entrance.
It was the first time she had harmed a native of Hekalys. Until now, she only fought pawns or animals for food.
Her heart pounded, her hands trembling with tension, but she knew the battle was far from over. They needed to fly away as far as possible but her wing was damaged.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“W-we’re screwed!” Lorely collapsed into a chair. It was a desperate situation where the mage guild could seal the Underground’s exits to catch them.
Staring at the mountain of potions and stimulants before her, an idea sparked inside her mind.
Lorely cleared the table and poured Buttersand into a heap. It was a soothing powder known to fortify the mind against ailments, often consumed by gladiators entering their first battle.
With a mixture of apprehension and determination, she buried her face in the pile, inhaling deeply. She coughed and blew the pile into a messy cloud. The powder clung all over her face.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Crap. Again…” This time, she poured the buttersand into a rail and sniffed it.
The urge to cry faded away, leaving the poised resolve to face the crisis with all her being.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” The next drug would be the chewing azo. She pinched a knob of the paste and put it in her molar’s gum. This time, her foreboding uneasiness walked off and came back as adventurous excitement.
Just like that, the peace-loving maid turned into a cold-blooded huntress.
Lorely packed her bags with the leftover consumables. She couldn’t help but think that the dark elf intentionally gave those battle-enhancing substances, despite selling their information to the mage guild. But there were more pressing matters at hand.
The next challenge was tending to Violet.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Come on! Wake up!” She slapped Violet’s cheeks to rouse her.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Gnnnn- Hmm?” Violet raised an eyebrow as the only response.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Good enough. Drink this, please.” Lorely boldly fed her healing potion mouth-to-mouth.
Violet’s smooth skin returned and her swollen cheeks recovered. She looked like she had shed ten years in an instant.
Recovering her mind, Violet blinked as she acknowledged Lorely’s presence.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Uh… Who?” Violet’s blank stare met Lorely’s determined gaze, ready to take on the world.
Violet’s POV
Screams and approaching footsteps from the mage guild’s reinforcement grew louder in the corridor.
Lorely scooped Violet into her arms and rushed towards the open window.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Let’s goooo!” With a daring leap, she dove into the street, determined to carve her way to the Surface.