Drink the black potion

You nodded and reached out your hand for the vial. Amulette's eyes curved into crescents as the whites of her fangs grew more visible. "Ke he he he he... You'll drink it? Just like that? I'm a deserter demon and double, a devilish deviser of drinks. You just saw one of my bottled brews brittle the bones of that bony bastard, and still you want to drink this?" Her fingers brushed against yours as you accepted the bottle, despite her warnings. "So brave, my bold squire!"

You weren't sure if "brave" was how you were feeling, but you did know one thing: it wouldn't do to make rejecting a gift from one of the saintesses your first step in courting her. You examined the contents for just a moment longer, thinking that the stuff looked more at home fueling a golem than feeding your stomach, before downing the entire bottle in one go. Amulette clapped, looking giddy, as the contents all slipped out of the thin vial and into your throat.

It... actually didn't taste too bad. It was spicy... not just spicy, but spiced, like a foreign wine you remembered smelling at the tavern once upon a time. In fact, if you didn't know better, you'd say this was ****, not a potion.

"Tis no treacherous tonic, but idle inebriation, " she admitted at last, throwing her hands out to each side with a jovial grin. "Keee he he he! That is my favorite Bael's Black Brew, an original concocted by yours truly! Humans do not tend to have a taste for this, but I suspect their tongues would twist after a time." The witch chuckled a little more to herself, then placed one hand up upon your shoulder. "Tis not many who would trust a trickster like myself, in truth. Explain..."

You wiped your mouth, still tasting the surprisingly fruity flavor on your tongue, before answering: you knew that Geod wouldn't choose a saintess who would kill her squire with poison on first meeting. She might have been a demon once, but you knew she must have humanity's best interests at heart, if she was chosen for this purpose. You left out the part where you were just the type to do anything for a pretty girl.

Amulette crossed her arms and cackled again, lowering her head slightly so that her hat's brim hid her eyes. "Keee he he he... You will learn, lovable Vin, that I live in the light not of that lout, but only of myself. I have no love for Geod! If he sees something in me that serves his stupidity, then so be it, but my designs serve only one deity: me!"

Heresy like that would have been a call for the inquisition in the old days, but you supposed Amulette was free to think what she liked. In honesty, it was comforting to have someone like her here in the camp. It meant she wasn't out there brewing potions for the demon lord, after all.

"You and I will serve one another swimmingly, silly squire." She stood on her toes for a moment to give you a little peck on the cheeks, sparing you her fangs and forked tongue and using just her lips instead. She turned, her cloak spinning around her for a moment, before she walked back to her work. "The irritating others will be interested in introductions! Go and amuse them for now."