77 V2Ch77 New Concoction

With my prize in hand, my last venture in the assassin's hideout was to check tasks. If there was an easy one, I could make up some of the gold I lost for the poison.

I arrived at the task board and started searching through the parts tasks. Since photos aren't really a thing in Eyse, drawings and excessive info on the target were all I had to go on. Luckily for me, I never had to worry about that.

As I flipped through a thin stack of papers, I came across one drawing that was unbearably bad. It looked like a kid had drawn it. The hair was all scraggly, the eyes were huge and the mouth was just a circle. I suppose it indicates the mouth is open? It made me wonder if kids were allowed to post or join the guild. The request is for the target's tongue. How am I supposed to know who the target is?

I huffed at the monstrosity and finished my search. No tasks fit my parameters. It was time to leave. As it stands, I have no reason to return. I planned to leave tomorrow. For now, my next destination was the poisoner across from the church.

It didn't take long to get to my destination. I found the large church and followed an invisible line across the ground until I found the shop directly in front. It was an herbalist's shop. That makes sense. People can sell and buy herbs. The owner can make use of edible, salve and poisonous herbs. I walked in and made sure there were no other customers before I opened my mouth.

"I'm from the Assassins Guild."

An old hooded woman raised her head and eyeballed me with her one open eye.

"That poison seller owes me money!"

I wasted no time in removing the additional gold I got from my room at the Trackers Guild. I handed it over and she quickly rooted through.

"There's extra in here. Why? Does he want extra supplies?"

"He said it was interest."

"Hmph. What are you doing, hanging out with that wannabe?"

"Wannabe? I just buy from him. This gold was the remaining gold I owed him for my recent purchase."

"That much? I see. It must be the vial of poison lightning. What for?"

I sighed in annoyance.

"I already went through that with him. I'm experimenting with it. I don't plan on killing anyone."

The old woman removed her hood, exposing large fluffy bunny ears.

"Experimenting? Hah! Don't tell me. Trying to make your body immune to poisons?"

I was about to admit it was true when she cut me off.

"You must not be planning to take a lover. The only way to make yourself immune would also make your body poisonous to others upon a simple touch."

"Yeah... I don't want that. Shit. I should have asked more questions."

"This is the best possible scenario for you. He wouldn't know this. That stupid poison seller. He just buys and sells. He knows how deadly they are and nothing else. I can show you what you want."

She moves as fast as her old body could. She opened a cabinet labeled "healing salves." She pulled a lone bottle off of the top shelf and shakily placed it on the table between us.

"This is the real thing. Kills a single man dead by using the entire bottle at once. Used over time, it can imitate a deadly illness."

"Bu..."

"But that's weak, you say? It's not how deadly a poison is. It's how it interacts with the body. By consuming the entire bottle over a long time, your body will become used to various ingredients and understand how to process them without changing the nature of your body. This bottle isn't cheap. But, you have something almost as valuable."

She reached out and indicated that she wanted me to hand her something. In my hurry to get the gold from my room, I had already forgotten about the bottle in my pocket. I handed it over to her.

"Yes. This is too much. Even if you survive the first injection, your body would begin to change within the hour. There would be no going back. I'll give you a deal though. Give me the bottle of poison lightning. I'll consider this 40 gold from you and not the poison seller. Give me ten more gold and the poison of immunities is yours. I'll set that idiot straight the next time he comes for supplies."

Either she was an amazing con-woman or she knew her shit.

"What's the ideal method for using this new poison to immunize myself?"

"Simple. This poison is specifically designed to help someone get immune to most poisons. A drop on the tongue, once a day. Ideally an hour away from any food consumption. Try not to make out with any honeys within three hours of your dose. By the time you finish half the bottle, you won't be killable by most poisons. If you continue taking doses after that, the effects of poisons will further diminish. And don't be an idiot. Taking more than the recommended dose will take away from the desired effect."

She took a breath.

I handed her another ten gold coins. She pushed the bottle toward me. I picked it up and removed the lid. It had a tiny metal rod with a specially curved tip hanging down. It was designed to retain a single drop as I remove the lid. I took my first dose on the spot. It was almost sweet tasting.

"The sweet flavor is to cover the sour and putrid natural taste. It's supposed to prevent a reluctance to take further doses. It's been refined over several hundred years. A lot of experience went into its creation."

'Ask if there is Kerrid leaf in it'

Rage chimed in. I suppose potions are his specialty.

"Do you know if there is Kerrid leaf in this?"

Her eye popped open in astonishment. She turned and began to scavenge through old dried bundles of herbs. She pulled one out with red leaves that had black edges. She took the bottle out of my hand and placed it on the table. She pulled out a mortar and began to mill three of the leaves. Before they could be fully powdered, she started searching through clear vials of liquid.

'Tell her to use sapphire willow sap.'

"Do you have any sapphire willow sap?"

She stopped and turned halfway toward me. She stared at the ground. I could almost see the wheels working in her head as she shook a finger toward me.

"Yes, yes."

I could see a grin on her. She was enjoying this. She moved to a new location and pulled out a small vial from a box. The liquid in the vial was almost gold and almost blue in color.

She mixed a few drops into the mortar and continued milling for a few minutes. I began to browse the shop while she worked. I heard the lid pop and watched as she poured the substance into the bottle. It increased the volume inside the bottle. It looked as though it might overflow when the lid goes back on. She was good at this.

'She is. She has a passion like I did when I was young. If she gladly took my suggestions, then you can trust her poison to do what you want. A con artist would simply question why you would suggest any alterations.'

I appreciated when Rage would chime in like this. It made me feel comfortable that I had reliable information about this world.

'You're welcome.'

It still felt weird that he could read my thoughts.

"Here. It is done."

She began swirling the bottle from the neck as she came closer. I met her in the middle.

"That addition should reduce any discomfort from taking doses without reducing effectiveness. In fact, it may give you better results by the time you finish it. Normally a revision like that would cost extra. I like you. You seem to know more than you let on."

She turned away and waved at me.

As I left the herbalist's shop, I noted the position of the sun.

It was almost time for the brawl.