Working on his own potions

The low, constant bubbling of the light brown liquid within the alembic reassured Kazex that the concoction was progressing correctly. A few minutes and then he could add the stamens of Pale Light he'd gathered the other day to the mixture, which should adopt a reddish hue after that. Returning to his mortar and pestle, Kazex kept grinding the stamens into a fine powder, having chopped them into little bits not long ago. This way, they'd release their properties to the mixture more evenly, making its effects more concentrated.

It was just a simple aphrodisiac of mild strength, but he suspected he'd need those quite a bit in the coming days. A few drops with each usage should be enough for the full effects to take hold, though since it was in liquid form it'd have to be ingested orally. He didn't think it'd be really problematic if he could make it tasteless, but he'd have to consider the worth of making one in gas form just in case. The fumes from it could affect the women around him with no distinguishable trace and they'd be unable to understand what was happening as they started feeling quite hot and uncomfortable.

"And with a very sudden and powerful need for dick," Kazex laughed out loud, already imagining the fun he could have with that. Good thing Helga was currently out of the tower in some business or other, he could be as loud as he wanted.

Alright, so he was good on aphrodisiacs, what else was there?

Hm, fertility enhancers would be a must, of course. They would ensure that the broodmothers he picked would give him two or three sprogs each time, which would cut considerably into the time needed to form his tribe. Yes, three should be the limit, he didn't want to strain their bodies needlessly. Still, those were quite common and simple to do, just like aphrodisiacs; Kazex knew them inside out and he wasn't worried about the production rate.

No, the more... exotic brews would be more difficult and yet, offer the more interesting possibilities. Potions that temporarily changed the physical appearance of the user to that of a goblin, brews that tremendously increased the body's hormone production process to give different types of effects, like inducing a milking state in those with breasts, for example, or heavily stimulating the production of either fat tissue or muscle tissue to enlarge breasts or grant muscles to the user regardless of gender...

Hell, he'd found out at some point that such potions, when taken to the ****, were able to grant sexual organs to the opposite sex, if only temporarily.

Kazex shuddered. He still didn't quite understand how that worked and he'd rather not remember that particular instance...

The bubbling of the mixture reached a boiling point, grabbing his attention and Kazex looked down at his work; the grinding was done. Opening the upper lid of the alembic, the goblin added the powder into the liquid and let a pleased smile spread over his face as the liquid turned into a noticeable reddish-brown.

"Good. Now it's just a matter of letting it rest and suffuse during five minutes."

And he had just the perfect target in mind for the aphrodisiac's trial of fire. With Helga currently out of the tower, her personal chambers were empty. He could finally test the **** collar and see how much leeway he really had.

Once the sublimation process was finished and the potion done, Kazex swiftly bottled it before cleaning his tools from any leftover product. With that done, he grabbed the small vial with the aphrodisiac and rushed towards Helga's quarters with a wide grin, eager to begin his experimentation. It wasn't until he was in front of the door that he remembered the fact that Helga usually locked the door whenever she was outside.

"Damn it, what am I supposed to do now?" the goblin grumbled, punching lightly the door in his annoyance... only to gape in surprise as the door was flung open from the hit. "What unbelievable luck, she must've been in such a hurry that she forgot to lock the door. The spirits smile on me today!" he happily exclaimed as he walked into the room.

He wasn't planning on breaking into Helga's private quarters on a regular basis, but now that he was inside due to a sensitive matter, he figured he should make use of the situation to satisfy his curiosity and see if there was anything of note inside.

A life-sized mirror was propped up on one of the walls, which had an ornate golden frame decorated with leaves and small birds in low-relief. With a chuckle, the goblin stood in front of it as he struck a silly pose while flexing his muscles; he really had to thank his genetics and his parents, they'd given him a considerably more muscular frame than most goblins. A taller body, too.

With his ego now temporarily satiated, his attention shifted to the king-sized bed placed against the wall opposite to the mirror. It was obvious Helga appreciated her comfort; while the bed didn't look obnoxiously expensive, it looked sturdy and comfy. He had plenty of ideas for things to do on such a big bed once he seduced his Mistress. Beside the bed was a small nightstand but the drawers were probably magically sealed; as much as he pulled they didn't budge one bit. There was a mix of knick-knacks placed on top of it, like a small hand-painted constellation globe, but nothing that really caught his attention beyond the half-filled jug of water.

There were several rows of shelves next to the window, filled with books that covered a wide range of topics and random decorative objects. To the side on a corner of the room stood Helga's wardrobe, next to a door that Kazex guessed led to her bathroom. The wardrobe was bursting full with her clothes: there were plenty of dresses and robes like the ones he'd seen her in, but there were also a couple of plainer outfits and a few others that would probably awaken the urge of the flesh even in the most devout of priests.

Picturing Helga in those outfits, Kazex knew that there would be nothing in this earth capable of stopping him from immediately ravaging her if the witch suddenly appeared next to him in that very moment.

Well, better get on with his task, he didn't really know when would Helga return. Kazex shivered; whether it was from anticipation or the slight cold, he didn't know. Uncorking the bottle, the goblin approached the jug of water and stared at it for a moment. This was the moment of truth, time to see what would happen.

Raising his hand, he slightly tilted the bottle right over the jug so the aphrodisiac would fall into the water, arm shaking... but did he really want to do it? The thought crossed his mind, quick as lightning, and he lowered his arm as if physically struck. Helga had quickly amended her initial unpleasant attitude when she collared him the moment she'd gotten over her shock of an intelligent and reasonable goblin and though she hadn't quite apologized for it, she'd heavily implied as much with that discussion they'd had the following day.

Was he really willing to jeopardize that just... for what, a nice tight cunt to fuck and a womb waiting to be bred, as if he was a just like any other mindless goblin?

'I could build something nice here, with a woman that acknowledges my intelligence and is already starting to appreciate it,' he thought as he took an involuntary step backwards, dropping his arm.

His eyes suddenly narrowed. Wait, what? What was he saying, of course he wanted to do all of that! His goal was to creae a goblin tribe! Why wouldn't he try to take any advantage offered to him in order to see that goal fulfilled?

"Ah, I see what's going on now..." he muttered as realization settled in. Going for the collar, he fiercely tugged at it with a growl to no avail. Now that he was away from the jug and not actively trying to push the boundaries of the **** collar, he could clearly see what happened; drawing from his own thoughts in a subtle manner to make it seem as if they were truly his own, the collar enforced a compulsion, for lack of a better term, to change or modify the wearer's behavior.

Damn, that little inconspicuous device on his neck was more insidious than he'd ever expected. It didn't quite border on conceptual magic, but it definitely was a more powerful artifact than he'd initially believed. Assuming Helga was the one that created it, he'd be incredibly impressed with her if it wasn't for the fact it just became a huge pain in the ass for him.

This would just complicate matters further.

With a groan, Kazex quickly left the room. He'd have to approach the issue from a different angle, then. He could do that.

Note: I know that the alembic has etymological roots in languages like Greek or Arabic, which wouldn't really exist in a fantasy setting, but in such cases, one can only invoke the reader's suspension of disbelief.