Potions

A group of men came downstairs, arguing loudly about who won in a game of something Serenica could have won blindfolded. The men were burly and many of them had beards. There was a definite traditionally masculine energy about them. Serenica didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

They noticed Spade and got oddly quiet.

"Relax, fellows, I'm not on Theod's business," the captain said, motioning the mutineers to come closer. "Or, you know what, I am. I'm going to get that bastard killed. What say you to that?"

The dark man who had apparently won the game laughed nervously. "I say, I'll buy Captain Spade a drink for that. Though he has no need for my money..."

"Maybe not your money, but your muscles would be useful," the captain said. "Come. Take a seat. I might be friends with cannibals but I am not one myself."

Several of the men got seated. A tattooed sailor with only one eye cast a lustful glance at Myorka.

"I wouldn't look at her that way if I were you," Serenica said.

"Is she the captain's wife?" the man asked, sounding scared.

"She's his wife and I used to be a he," Serenica replied, joking darkly to upset the man. Rum had made her witty and willing to have fun on someone else's expense.

The one-eyed mutineer didn't dare to look at the bookkeeper again.

Spade made some arrangements with the leader of the sailors who didn't seem half as dim-witted as the rest of them. They would receive a share each until they decided to leave the Princess, and this was thought of as fair, as the mutineers were willing to admit, since the captain made more in a month than most made in a year.

"If only I had more power, we could have a retirement fund already," Myorka sighed.

"The boys would get bored," Spade said.

"I must be going now. I hope the rest of the crew accepts them," Serenica said. "If they don't..."

"Oh, cutthroats and mutineers are brothers, don't you worry, lass," the captain said. "Do you want to come back later for a party?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Serenica said and smiled.

The streets opened up in front of her gaze, hungry and full of hustling. A group of people in red silk passed by, holding live birds in their hands, singing in a manner fit for some ancient ritual. A couple of lovers were kissing while perched on an impromptu bench made from an empty barrel. Their necks bore their combined weight in diamonds. The buildings themselves were far from uniform. Some had just curtains for doors, some were made of white stone and dark wood and some were the most exquisite demonstrations of architectural innovation.

She was downright euphoric about the possibility to explore Aja Vana on her own. Of course she would have loved to have Helen with her, but she found herself thinking of the socialite less and less as time passed by. Helen could have protected her. It had been a matter of arrangement, not something impossible. Now Serenica was making her dreams come true and Helen was suffering from self-inflicted poverty in Neul, asking money from Roinar or someone else who was just as filthy.

"A beauty potion for the missus, not that she needs it, but for the sake of vanity? Very affordable, I have to sell this before it goes out of date."

Delighted to have someone talk to her so nicely in this blessed city, Serenica turned around to face the speaker.

The man was barely old enough to be a proper merchant, maybe in his early twenties as Little John had been, but Serenica recognized the tattoos on his left forearm. They were a traditional way of showing off one's offspring in the North, a line meant the bearer had been blessed with a son, and a dot signified a daughter. This man had two of both.

Serenica smiled. "You are working hard for your family. Show me the potion."

"They deserve the best." The man took a bottle from his bag. It was full of something tantalizingly green, a very radiant, alchemic shade indeed. "This uses the common green panacea as a base and has some secret ingredients. Missus looks like a witch - perhaps she will take this as a project and try to replicate it?"

"Looks like a witch," Serenica repeated, deep in thought. It was a compliment in Aja Vana. Not so much in Neul.

"Aye, with them curious eyes. Tell me if I am wrong, though."

"You are right, young gentleman," Serenica said and brushed her hair back. "Let me smell it."

The man screwed the cork off and brought the bottle closer to her nose.

The green panacea was indeed the base, but Serenica smelled something tart as well, wrapped in a luxurious note of incense.

"How do I apply this?" she asked.

"It is applied on the skin or mixed with coffee. The taste is strong, I have tried it." The man grimaced.

Serenica became suspicious. "Drink a little bit yourself first."

"Does the missus not like my face?"

Serenica chuckled. "There is nothing wrong with your face. It's managed to gain you two daughters and two sons, after all. I want to see if it's poisonous."

"I see. Very sensible." The man took a small sip from the bottle, grimaced again and swallowed. "The taste is terrible, can't lie to a customer. Want it?"

Serenica asked to test a small amount on the back of her hand.

The skin on the area seemed to get a little clearer, almost as if it had returned to the glory of her earliest years, taking on a dewy glow that would have pleased any lady, high or low.

"What the heck," Serenica said, as she had received her first pay and was eager to get rid of it. She could gift the rest of the bottle to Helen once things were settled with Kinley.

They sealed the deal and she asked if he knew of anything to protect someone in a dream.

"I know a woman," the man said. "Follow me."