Test Subject

The three were able to share the money from medicinal herbs by dividing the 3000 and keeping the 450 for their miscellaneous expenses for food, storage, and tools during harvesting in the future.

Theron created a low but wide shelter for the invisible quails similar to the environment of the grotto they found them in. So far taking care of them is not hard and all 9 birds are chirping enthusiastically, especially whenever they see him. He set them in between his firewood shed and sundries shed at the back of his house which was protected with a 3-meter-high hardwood fence against ferocious animals. Right now he doesn't know if these are like regular quails which mature at 2 months before laying eggs. Anyway, they are not in a hurry to know.

A week has passed.

Meara just got back from her usual morning duty in the main house. She went straight to the kitchen where she heard Calla humming an unknown rhyme.

Calla just finished preparing their breakfast when they heard their alarm bell ringing.

So what was that alarm bell?

Since they knew the convenience of the service gate and the latch opens from the inside, they attached a string connecting to the gate outside. It is attached to a small bell near the kitchen when pulled from the other end. If Theron visits without prey, he will just ring from the service gate to signal to Meara or Calla that he is outside. To make it inconspicuous, the string is hidden among the clotheslines for laundry.

Calla went out to the service gate and let Theron in.

They had breakfast together while making sure the door was closed. Though their friendship is innocent, they wouldn't know if other servants have malicious thoughts. Also, they need to be cautious since they have secrets.

After breakfast, Meara set up her experiment tools for the potion. Today her priority is to test Theron's supposition regarding specific finger-pricking.

According to previous experiments, she can only "harvest" three blood drops twice from her index finger. So for today, she pricked and got three blood drops from her ring finger and middle finger.

She cooked the blood drops separately. They were stunned when they saw that the potion created from her middle finger was green. It is safe to say that this could be vitality and healing.

Next is the blood from her ring finger. After a quarter of an hour, three sets of eyes eagerly waited for the steam to dissipate. They were dumbfounded when they saw two red potions at the bottom of the pot, half a centimeter in diameter.

"They look like a set of red eyes! What is it for again? You have found a reference for all known essences, right?" Calla asked Meara.

"Yes, it's for blood replenishment. Wait," Meara reached for the book beside her while looking through the last pages.

"I remember in theory, it helps in replenishing blood maybe for critical blood-loss situations. However, there are only three known cases of it." Meara showed the page to Calla and Theron.

"Alright, first things first. Shall I wound you with a knife? To check this green potion?" Theron casually removed a small knife from his boots.

"Wahhhh I don't want to, I don't like it!" Calla cried nervously and hid behind Meara.

Meara and Theron laughed at her. Calla pouted when she realized she was being teased.

"You're both mean!"

"We're sorry Calla." Meara patted her head and shoulders to keep her calm.

"Hmmm, how many bottles do you still have there? If you don't mind, I will take the green and red. I can test it if the need arises." Theron suggested.

"I only got 10 bottles from the cook. I already used three. Using the two for you will leave me with 5. For today and tomorrow Calla and I will start experimenting with combining it with food." Meara took 2 bottles from a basket from the counter and started pouring and the round jelly-like potions rolled into each bottle.

"One thing is sure, your fingers can produce 3 different potions according to your essence colors. What about we test Calla today? Also, see if the limit of blood extraction is 6 per day or 6 per finger" Theron said while reaching for Meara's record notebook and giving it to her to start writing notes.

"Oh right!"

Meara tried pricking her index finger this time and no blood came out. It is confirmed. She can only get 6 drops of blood per day regardless of which finger she pricks.

Next, they tried Calla's blood, and true enough, she produced blue potions too.

"Heh, you try it!" Calla asked Theron to taste her blue potions this time.

Theron popped one in his mouth. After tasting and pondering for a minute…

"Hmmm interesting… well it has a relaxing effect like Meara's but the taste is… not milky but it is sweet like sugarcane." He delivered his review.

"Maybe it has something to do with the source's preference? Like, I have a sweet tooth and Meara loves milk so…"

"Yeah… it should be… thank you, Calla. Your essence has a nice feeling to it too."

Theron continued on another topic. "Anyway, we forgot to get honey from our hunt last week. What do you plan to use for the food combination?" He asked Meara.

"I'm thinking, for now, sugar…? Like, make a literal candy. I just need to figure out the perfect ratio to create a solid candy but not too big. Or milk... I will try different ingredients. If it is combined with flour to create pastry it will function as a food and essence supplement right?" Meara asked the two.

"Alright, just don't stress yourself out. Take it slow. It's not like we have a deadline for this." Theron reminded her.

"Before I forget, here's the catalog for the upcoming auction a week from now. The ginseng is the highlight along with Vesper Blue Diamond and one other old painting which I am not familiar with. You can see it there.

Mr. Whorl arranged a carriage to pick us up before noon. He wants us to be early to avoid meeting the bidders. He also wants to show us the ginseng he will showcase in a glass-covered box with a red velvet bottom. We will sit with him in his private box on the second floor of the auction house. We can also bid since he is confident we can make a lot of money with that ginseng."

"Do you think I can also show him some of my possessions? I have jewelry and stones." Meara suddenly pondered this.

"Mia, those are your treasures. The money we make in this auction should be enough for us to last a long time, if not a lifetime, even divided among the three of us. Granted of course we spend it well. If it's not enough for you, we can always go back to the mountains." Theron assured her.

"Let's buy that mountain!" Calla exclaimed.

The three laughed heartily.

"Maybe we can do that. Let's see first how much we can make in this auction." Meara forgot her idea earlier.