“Welcome!”
The chipper greeting makes me smile and look for the greeter. It takes me a moment to find her. “Hi there.”
“Oooh, can I try that again? Welcome to Sally’s Alchemical and Magical Emporium,” the gnome, because really, that’s what she looks like announces. 4 feet tall, bright purple hair that comes all the way down to her tiny, shapely ass and clad in a smock, Sally bounces with pent up energy. “Was that better?”
“Yeah, better.” I can’t help but return her smile, looking around the insides. The shop is filled with rows upon rows of potions and bottled ingredients, a weird mixture of a spice shop and liquor dispensary. “So, what do you sell?”
“Alchemical and magical ingredients galore. If you name it, I have it. Well, except for Tier I, II and III ingredients right now, and I’m missing some Tier III ingredients too for strength potions, but otherwise, I got it all!” Sally nods emphatically, waving her hands around.
I ponder what I recall of magical potions and give a shot, “So, you have some health potions?”
She nods emphatically, walking over to a corner and pointing at an array of bottles. The first shelf consists of bottles in different tints of orange, the second in purple and the third in blue. “They are all Tier III to V. I even have a few Tier II potions, but those aren’t on display.”
Seeing my hesitation, Sally smiles and continues on, “I bet you haven’t seen these before have you. These are potion regeneration, body regeneration and straight healing potions in order. The first heals using the ingredients inherent in the potion itself, the second boosts the recovery rate of your body and uses your body’s physical resources. The last and most expensive tap into ambient mana and the System to generate direct healing of your body, much like a healing spell.”
Beneath each potion, the credit costs display. The cheapest starts at 50 for the body recovery potions and rise from there, going up to a staggering 2000 credits. Considering these are consumables, I can see my Credits burning through at an astronomical rate. And these aren’t even the good stuff “How much do they heal?”
Sally pauses and then admits, “I’m not entirely sure for the regeneration potions. I haven’t had any human customers yet, so the effects might vary. The potion regenerators should be anywhere from 20 to 50 health for the lower end. The body regenerators have always been dependent on the individual, but should be between 2-4% increase on the low-end again. As for the System Health Potions, well, those are regulated and will heal you a minimum of 25 and increase in increments of 25 per size and tier.”
I might not be Ali, but I can sniff out a deal myself, “So, you need a guinea pig don’t you.”
Sally’s eyes widen and then a playful grin crosses her face, “Well, that depends. I’m sure those Raven Circle humans would be happy to work with me too.”
Unlike Ali, I don’t live for the haggling, but I do well enough to get a bottle of each of the potions for only 50 credits. Of course, I have to promise to actually use it within the next day and report back, but I don’t expect that to be a problem.
Soon afterwards, Ali and the Elder make their way out of the Shop with the Elder heading off to speak with some others at the school. I escort her most of the way there but not before she drags a promise for me to pick her up the next morning. Seems like she has a lot to discuss. After that, Ali and I take a walk back to grab Sabre, stopping long enough at the river to get in some target practice before we pick her up and head home. I also learn the mechanic’s name at the same time, though I can’t even attempt to speak it. We settle on Xev.
What a strange couple of days I can’t help but think as I drive home. It certainly turned out so differently from what I had expected or planned for. Then again, at least it provided sufficient distraction.
My head twists slightly as the slap comes in, moving in what seems to be slow motion. I turn to let the blow slide along my face, cheek feeling just the lightest of brushes as Lana clutches her hand. “What the hell! Are you made out of rocks?”
“I’m sorry. Didn’t realise not showing up was a problem,” I say, smiling slightly at the buxom redhead. Good lord, where the hell did she find that fragrance? I rub at my nose covertly, trying to get rid of it. She smells divine but that’s so not the right thing to be thinking as she glowers at me.
She shakes her head, “Don’t you dare disappear again.”
I raise an eyebrow at her, a part of me wondering when I managed to get myself a wife before I speak, “Yeah, sorry. I’ll make sure to leave a note next time I head out. I just figured that I should take a look for some more survivors since I have the only working bike.”
Gorgeous blue eyes narrow at my words and then she draws a deep breath, taking visible control of her emotions. She rubs at her eyes, head down before she speaks, “It was a good idea, John, it’s just…”
“Yeah,” I hesitantly reach out and give her a hug before looking around the empty house. “It’s late, isn’t it? Where’s Mikito and your brother?”
“Out,” replies Lana, waving her out to where the school is. “Seems like the hunters are busy bonding.”
I nod at her words then grin, “Got a gift for you. Come on.”
In the kitchen, I pull up my inventory and note that Ali’s swapped out the food stores from the Hakarta for human appropriate ready-meals. Good – I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to try eating whatever it was that the Hakarta ate. I pull the stove out and lay it on the counter with a flourish, spoiled only by the confusion on Lana’s face.
“It’s a stove that is fueled by mana,” I explain.
At that, she grins and hurries over to poke and prod at it. I say my goodbyes, wanting to get washed up. In my suite, I find myself standing in front of the bathroom half-naked by sheer habit. Gah! It is a chilly day today, barely above 5 Celsius. I have no desire to go outside and take a bath from the rain barrel but even I can smell myself.
Well, I do have some money…
89 Alsek Rd. (Residence)
Current Ownership: John Lee, Adventurer
Current Occupants: 4
Upgrades: None
I concentrate on the Upgrades, curious to see what is available:
Upgrades Available
Grounds
Structure
Add-On Buildings
A quick perusal shows that add-on buildings, even the existing workshop is well out of my price range. Grounds are particularly interesting, especially the ability to add some much-needed security options like a wall. On the other hand, if we can make the entire city a safe zone, I wouldn’t have to worry about the occasional random spawning or mutation. Upgrading the Grounds would also mean I have to worry less about the mess the dogs are making of the front lawn as they guard the house. Lastly, I’d really, really like to get something a bit more interesting than a stone wall – those force fields mentioned in here would be amazing.
After playing with the other options, I pull the one that I’m most interested in.
Structural Upgrades Available for 89 Alsek Rd.
Security
Structural
Utilities
Décor
Miscellaneous
I’d love to look at Security a bit more, I’m sure there’re fun things to have but funds are limited and Utilities make more sense. I pull it up and after scanning the information available find what I want. An atmospheric hydro generation machine that connects directly to our existing plumbing, providing both drinkable water and showers. Cheap too at less than 2,000 Credits after I add the upgrades to make it possible to produce hot water.
Nothing seems to happen after I confirm the prompt and for a moment, I wonder if nothing actually happened. A quick check shows that the upgrade is there, but then I notice the rather annoying notation that the generator would need a few hours to fill the tanks.