Monsters at The Gate

My friends had done a good enough job delving the dungeon that no monsters immediately emerged from its depths. Now the great wound was busy repopulating its rooms. I busily spent the rest of the week sealing the cave up with as much wood as I could spare.

Another party came by the area yesterday, thankfully with no dowsing crystal to sniff out its location. They asked me if It'd seen it, even as evil lurked just being me. They’d been less prepared than the other party, and so were willing to pay for a few potions, corrupted with lust of course. Later in the day they must have gotten into some kind of scrape, because I received a total of (9CP) from their antics. It’s good to know that I can harvest that type of thing from far away.

In fact that’s what reminds me that I have a date with dear Daliah from the alchemist’s store. Daliah +3CP(-47 corruption.)

Late in the night when she was sure no one was watching she stole from her master so I could teach her about potions. Of course the vile mother sees all that we seek to hide.

That means a return to town, with a half finished hut, a half empty dungeon, and a half-baked goblin at my back. What could go wrong?

I leave Cyrus with a long list of tasks, before I go and promise I’ll whip him if they’re not all done by the time I get back. Ya gotta keep goblins busy or else they start to burn or stab stuff.

I’ve been turning over the matter of the dungeon in my head. I think my best shot is to have Elizabeth provide with with a fresh **** of goblins, and send them into the dungeon. It’s a good twist in the usual goblin filled dungeon I think.

Only problem with that is that I’ve moved so far out into the woods, her spawns can’t find me. They should have come to me by now, but no luck. They most likely ran afoul with the adventurers flooding the forest. It’s only a matter of time until one of them finds the cave again. I thought the party dying in the dungeon had been a boon for me, but now I’m sure it wasn’t. If they made it out alive I wouldn’t have a dungeon full of monsters behind me and a forest full of adventures in front.

I guess if I get **** I could sell the location, unbolt the door and let a group in. The thing is I just don’t really trust people, plenty of evil people besides me are out there. I could divulge the location and just as easily leave with a knife in my gut rather than coin in my purse. Need I remind you that the first person I saved in this world, punched me in the dick and stole all my stuff?

Plus I really wanted whatever was in that dungeon. They contain more than just treasure. Completing one is usually enough to earn you a star. That is to say, become an actual power player in this world.

I put all of that out of my mind as I arrive at Daliah’s house. Well it’s a hut really, one roomed stowed way away from this business district. This is the type of place where I’m supposed to be plying my trade. Everyone knows the slum dwellers are the most ready for revolt, but honestly people around here are kind of icky, and unfuckable.

Anywho, I knock on her door and she lets me in. There’s an empty cauldron over a fire, and the whole thing looks very witchy. “Good to see you.” I say in my usual charming manner. What did I have to worry about? Monsters? Adventures? The cavalry?

“Yeah thanks for coming.” She quickly takes her seat by the cauldron and reveals the materials I’d instructed her to steal. “I have everything you asked for…”

I can’t help but notice she’s not wearing her nice robes. They’re hung up on the door. She’s just wearing a simple dress that looks like it belongs in the slums with her. The robes must be a uniform. “Nice, let’s get started.”

She nods, glad to get to work, and thankful I didn't ask any questions. Equally glad I’d given up flirting with her. I have other plans for Daliah and don’t want to risk not being as charming as I think I am.

I have a seat on the dirt floor, and start sorting through the loot. “Today I’m going to show you the basics for making a healing potion. Our bread and butter.” I pull out a pouch of red powder and show it to her. “At its most basic a healing potion comes from combining any medicinal herb, and this…”

“Red Sodium.” She says, taking my queue. Alchemists can be as secretive as they like, but the shop keeps will always learn something about the craft.

“That’s right. Red Sodium is the key, you can basically use any plant you want so long as you include this stuff. Obviously more powerful plants get better results, and there are other things you can add to increase its effects, but these are the basics.” Now for politics. “Red Sodium is actually pretty rare. In the kingdom we only have three mines that produce it. Those mines used to be owned by three different houses, known as the Red Sodium Consortium, but now they’re known as the royal family.”

Daliah tilts her head in what I think is interest.

“These houses used to work together to keep the price high, but there was a problem with that. Faith healing. Many religions gave out healing for donations, or even free to members. When the consortium took over the country, they sought to weaken the power of churches, so that the merchants could move in. So they began to lower the price if the salt, and with it the cost of healing.”

“Why do that? There’s no way they can beat free healing.”

“That’s true, but church healing isn’t really free. You gotta pray, fast, be part of the church. Things people would happily pay a few gold to avoid.”

“So there became less healing houses, and more apothecaries.”

“That’s right.” After that I start to show her how to actually make the potion. There’s a lot of grinding, and boiling, and distilling, but after a few hours we have three bottles sloshing with red liquid. I’m so thankful for my own cauldron. I didn’t realize how easy it made a lot of these mundane processes.

“I actually did it.” She says with a grin, quaffing the cherry-like scent off of the potion.

Now here is where I reach my dilemma. I do so very badly want to dose her with a little lust potion. One, so I can fuck her and get it out of my system. Two, because thanks to her new trait, she’ll start permanently producing the potion for me leaving her in an eternal state of lust. Imagine the prostitute I could make out of her. Ever horny, and just a lick of her sweat would drive you to lust.

It’s the right and holy thing to do!

And yet!

I need her as a spy in that shop. Which means not dosing her, or doing anything that would make her suspicious.

In other words I had to be patient.