Phony Potions

Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

The next morning, after returning my carriage to the stables I set up shop again. This time I felt significantly guiltier than the night before. I had done the math, and Mallow had been in the prison long enough to make bail unnecessary. Still... I had to sell these, and Mallow, if around, wouldn't let me.

Since there was no crowd of people disappointed by the Avalons today, the sales took much longer. I was competing for attention with all the other sales people around. I felt a certain nervousness that one of the other Assistants would notice me. Although a few waved and nodded at me as they hurried through town, however, not one of the Enchanted or their Assistants stopped to actually speak to me. Most of my customers were from out of town. As part of my sales pitch, I always talked to customers. Many of them were charmed by the city of Blythe; they'd never seen magic in any form before (which explained why I was able to sell my obvious fakes when there were real potions across town). For my easily impressed customers, seeing such casual casting by sorcerers clothed in gems and fine fabrics was draw enough, even if the Divinis of this town hadn't set up so many entertainments, like the music, dramas, puppet shows, and games. Every customer left happy and glowing, excited to have magic to take home with them in the form of my potion, some to put on the shelf, some to feed to a sick loved one, and some for more oblique reasons.

It was past noon when I finally finished. I had a handful of potions left, but decided to save a few instead of waiting to move the stragglers; it took ten times as long to sell the last 10% of a product. People preferred buying from shelves that were well stocked for some bizarre reason. I closed shop. The person that let me borrow their stall this time wasn't as grateful as Egg Lady yesterday, probably because I didn't pay half as much. Though... I had told Mallow I was broke. I mulled over one story after another as I made my way to the city's dungeons, which were in the nicest part of town near the manor house of the Divinis.

There had to be a good reason I didn't leave to get her until today, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was. Let's see, the first night I was angry because she yelled at me. The second night was that lady. Definitely wouldn't share that with Mallow. The third day had been the potion sales... again, best keep that on the secretive side.

As I got further uphill, the crowded streets fell away to the finer shops and restaurants, interspersed with fine houses, complete with glass and vividly colored garden boxes hanging from the windows. The manor house wasn't locked behind a wall, but the sprawling green lawn acted as a separator. It must have been painstaking to keep it so short and even... though maybe there was some charm that kept it that way? There were no scythe marks or the signs of animal grazing that usually kept the ungifted wealthy's lawns neat.

Passing by rows of flowering trees and waves of swaying flowers, I went to the smaller fortified doorway that led to the dungeons. It couldn't have held much more than a single room, and I wondered how tiny the dungeons in this city were. Today there were two guards posted instead of the one.

"Hello!" I said to the guard I had spoken with yesterday. His thumb cocked back his helmet a little bit. His color was healthier and his breath wasn't as congested. "Ah, you're not feeling ill today?" Sometimes it was possible to small talk enemies into submission.

"Ay," he said. "The cold remedy my boyfriend's been making for me finally worked."

"Oh? Your boyfriend good with medicines?"

"Not especially. The instruction from the Mediceum book in the library had drawings though. I was half convinced he was going to poison me, but he was right, as usual."