Nestled adjacent to the dusty streets of the town of Durmrin, Rizzik sat in his small alchemy shop, his nose buried in a large tome and his torso hunched over a workstation with a most curious-looking vial of liquid.
Having aspired since his youth to become a court wizard, Rizzik had dedicated most of his life to the study of the world of the arcane. Sadly, he possessed little innate magical ability, and while he petitioned the Elder Council of Magicians on several occasions to accept his application to the High Wizard Institute, he had neither the pedigree nor the talent to impress the stodgy old conjurers.
Despite reaching an impasse in the cultivation of any natural magical power, Rizzik found an outlet much more accessible: that of potionmaking. Relying more on science than on nature, the discipline was not considered the most prestigious among the magic-wielding community, but it was still widely popular. There was no lack of citizenry, regardless of social or economic standing, who were drawn to the notion of having a little bit of portable sorcery they could carry around in their pockets.
It was one such citizen who had submitted the special order which Rizzik was now focused on fulfilling. The Lady Estrel Ravenwind, younger sister of the Baroness Ravenwind, had heard rumor of Rizzik and his shop, which she visited the week prior. As word had spread of Rizzik’s willingness to provide certain elixirs not normally available through the set-in-their-ways court wizards, he began receiving an increased number of requests from nobility, the Lady Ravenwind far from the least among them. Arriving in an earthen-brown cloak and hood to appear inconspicuous (“Always about appearances with these folk,” Rizzik thought wryly), she had been up front about her request.
“Wizard, I want a potion to make me beautiful. I’m not talking about these paltry salves found in any shop that simply deepen the hue of hair or erase a bothersome pimple. I want your best work, a complete, full-body transformation. I wish to be the envy of every lady of the court and have every male gaze fixed on me. I am paying you a significant sum in advance, so I expect this to be your highest priority. I will return in one week to claim my purchase and provide the second half of your payment.”
Despite his own personal opinions on the vanity of the nobility and that the Lady Ravenwind was not particularly ugly to begin with (perhaps just slightly plain-looking), Rizzik was keenly aware of the importance of the request, not just for the satisfaction of his patronage but his own reputation. Over the next several days, he delved deep into his repertoire to perfect the mixture. Now, with time nearly up, he made his last adjustments. “Essence of dourvine...two pinches of vendiroot...lightly swirl...and...”
He stared at the vial in anticipation as the last of the ingredients settled to the bottom and slowly dissolved. When the last flake of material had dissipated, the entire liquid brightened with a reddish-pink glow, illuminating Rizzik’s excited face.
“Success!” He crowed. “The dourvine must have activated the inert ether present in the saturated quillasp venom I added yesterday! It’s the only way this specific color could have been produced! This should provide considerable enhancement to all desirable traits of the female form. The Lady Ravenwind will be most pleased with her elixir, but before she arrives, I must record my findings! The Council can’t ignore me forever, especially with a breakthrough like this!”
The giddy wizard rushed toward his desk upstairs, hastily closing the door behind him; however, in his eagerness he closed it a bit too hard. The rather rickety walls of his small shop shook from the impact, giving a shelf next to the workbench a small jolt. That jolt caused a rack of various test tubes of liquid to topple over, spilling the contents of each and causing them to coalesce and splash right into the vial on the bench. The vial inside reacted immediately, violently bubbling and foaming as it threatened to overflow from the top of the container. Small sparks spit out sporadically and the color shifted across nearly the entire visible spectrum, but then the liquid subsided and returned to its original consistency and hue. The entire rack slipped off the shelf and onto the darkened floor, out of view. Rizzik, too absorbed in his notes to hear anything from upstairs, continued his writing unwavering.
A few quiet minutes passed, until the front door of the shop slowly creaked open, revealing...
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