Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah and Violet came to a stop before a red brick building right at the edges of the slums. It wasn’t quite all the way into the nicer parts of Treadon — if such places even properly existed — but it wasn’t completely overrun by streetlords and starving demons either.

The building stood two stories tall, nestled in the shadow of a rickety tower. All but one of its windows were boarded over with large pieces of what looked to be hard leather tacked in place with metal spikes.

There was no sign to mark its purpose and the door was crafted from a single piece of roughly carved stone. It looked like it should have been far too heavy to remain in place with just a few hinges and, judging by how it had broken off at the top hinge and was leaning against the ground instead of properly suspended, it was.

“This is an apothecary,” Violet said. She cleared her throat. “I think. I’ve never gone here. Edda got really sick once when she ate something she shouldn’t have, but they wouldn’t let us in. I’ve seen people coming out of here with vials before.”

Right. So this is either a potion shop or a drug dealer. Actually, I suppose those are basically the same thing. If you can mix some fancy demon meth, I’m sure you can find a way to make me a mind meld potion.

Noah put a hand on the door. It was about as mobile as it looked to be, which was to say it was a giant slab of stone that had absolutely no place anywhere near a doorway. That was mildly problematic.

He was nowhere near as physically strong as a demon even half his rank. There was no way for Noah to move huge things around without just straight up destroying them, and blowing up the door of a merchant didn’t really seem like a great way to make a good first impression.

“Is something wrong?” Violet asked, chewing on her inner cheek. She glanced up at the door. “I swear an apothecary was in here. I haven’t been in the area a while but it looks exactly the same as it did when I last came by.”

Noah let his tremorsense sweep across the ground. It instantly picked up on a form standing just a few feet to the side of the door. They weren’t moving beyond their breaths, but that was enough to outline a blobby shape about a foot taller than Noah.

His eyes narrowed. The figure was in a position where Noah wouldn’t have seen them until he stepped inside, which was generally not the location a shopkeeper stood if he wanted to meet a potential client.

That’s more like somebody preparing to ambush me. Tremorsense doesn’t give me enough detail as to specific shapes and forms when they aren’t moving more.

Noah activated his domain. There wasn’t going to be anyone able to feel it out in the boonies of Treadon anyway. His magical senses passed through the large openings at the bottom and side of the stone door, brushing through the front portion of the store.

It only took him an instant to get a considerably better feel of the demon on the other side of the door. They were holding a rough blade at their side. Even though Noah couldn’t see their face or make out any detail about their expression, he could practically feel the tension rolling off them.

Scared? Angry? Something in between? I don’t think anyone here should have any reason to be pissed at me yet unless we got unlucky enough to find the one apothecary that happened to be related to someone I’ve blown up.

I can’t just stand around here forever, though. Violet is going to get confused. I don’t know if I want to buy potions from someone trying to kill me either though. Leaving could work… but leaving without finding out more just feels lame.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Noah said with a shake of his head as he came to a conclusion. He nodded to the door and raised his voice slightly. “I’m just waiting for the good apothecary to open the door for us.”

Violet blinked. Then her cheeks colored. “Uh… Spider, sir, they don’t open the doors for you here. You have to do that yourself.”

“You might have before,” Noah said, tapping a foot on the ground impatiently. “But the kind apothecary lying in wait with a little toothpick in their hand is going to open this door for us so I don’t destroy it and his building along with it. Isn’t that right?”

The demon on the other side of the door froze. His head tilted down slightly as he looked at the weapon in his hand. It looked like he needed a little bit of extra motivation to get moving.

Noah sent a tiny ripple of energy from Natural Disaster out through his feet, making the ground beneath them shudder slightly. The demon hurriedly set the blade down and grabbed the door. Noah let his domain fade away as the door ground open to reveal a male, purple-skinned demon with mushroom-like growths running along his back.

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The demon stared at Noah with wide, white eyes completely devoid of an iris. His dark tongue slipped out to wet his lips as he took a step back, holding his hands above his head to show he was unarmed.

“I — I didn’t know who it was,” the demon stammered. “I meant no offense.”

“He knows you?” Violet asked in shock.

“Not personally. I wouldn’t dare to claim such a thing. But I’ve heard the runners going around today. It would be hard not to hear about what’s going on. There isn’t anyone connected to a streetlord on this half of the city that doesn’t know yet.” The apothecary’s eyes lowered to meet Noah’s. “You’re Spider.”

“Very good,” Noah said with a nod. “And I have it on good word that you may be able to help me. You are an apothecary?”

“I have been called such,” the demon said, swallowing and stumbling over his words in his haste to force them out. “I thought you were from the — uh, from another gang. I did not realize Spider himself would come to my door. If there’s anything I can do for you, consider it done. Free of charge, of course. A gift.”

Noah glanced over the apothecary’s shoulder at rows of shelves behind him stuffed chock full of ingredients. There weren’t any glass vials sitting around in plain sight, but it definitely looked like the type of store he was looking for.

“Have you heard of a Mind Meld potion?” Noah asked.

The apothecary blinked. His eyes flicked to Violet before returning to Noah. “Of course. Is that what you seek?”

“It is. How many do you have?”

Coughing into a fist and pointedly averting his gaze, the demon backed a step into his shop. “Five, I believe. Would that be sufficient? I have not known any who can manage to use more than three in a row. Not to doubt your prowess, Master Spider. I—”

“Just… give me the potions,” Noah said.

What is this guy on about?

The apothecary gave him a series of short bows as he continued backing up. He bumped into a counter at the back of the store and hurried around it, digging through his stores before locating a bone crate. He set it down on the counter with a grunt and pulled the top off to reveal five glass potions.

Each one was full of a sparkly pink liquid. Flowing swirls ran across the surface of the glass in an oddly artistic manner for what should have been a pretty mundane potion and the caps of the potion were some form of bright pink gemstone.

That is not a Mind Meld potion.

“What is that?” Noah asked, tilting his head to the side. “I asked for Mind Meld potions.”

The apothecary paled. “I — I apologize. These are what you request. Their quality may not be to the standard that you are used to, but I assure you that they work perfectly. All sensations and effects are the absolute best that you’ll get in this area of Treadon.”

Sensations? What the hell do the demons use Mind Meld potions for? Actually, I think I’ve got an idea — but come on, guys. These things have so much potential. Is that really the best you can do with them?

Noah grunted. There was no way to verify the apothecary’s words here, but he could ask some of the demons back in the camp. He flicked a gold coin onto the table and took the vials from the demon, piling them into his bag.

“Is there anything else—” the apothecary started, but Noah was already walking out of the store. Violet hurried after him.

They strode down the street in silence for a minute. Noah caught Violet sending glances at his bag and suppressed a sigh.

“That’s not what they’re for.”

Violet’s face paled. “Can you read—”

“No. Your face was just really obvious. Just because everyone here is a degenerate doesn’t mean I am too. You’d do well to keep in mind that nothing is limited to a single purpose. Especially magic.”

Violet nodded hurriedly. She’d reacted too quickly to have actually considered his words, but with any luck, she’d think over them when she was a little less terrified.

Noah’s tremorsense prickled and he looked up, making eye contact with a demon crouched at the top of a low roof near them. The demon froze in place as Noah made sure they knew he’d seen them, then slunk back and out of sight.

Definitely not the only one watching. We’ve got a fair amount of attention now. Probably shouldn’t talk about anything too important until we’re back at camp.

“How’d you get your name?” Noah asked to break the silence. “Not that it’s a poor one, but it’s a bit… different. Aylin, Edda, Torick. They’ve got a… style, I guess.”

A small smile pulled across Violet’s face as her mind drifted off in thought. “That’s because I gave them their names. Aylin gave me mine. It’s because my eyes turn violet when I’m really concentrated on something. It took him nearly a week to decide on it. I swear he watched me like a Sand Wyrg for an entire week. I was expecting some really in-depth and fancy name. He decided on Violet.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I love it. Our names were the only things we’ve had for a long time,” Violet said absently. She spoke casually, seeming to have lost some of her fear of Noah — or perhaps her fear receptors had just burned out. “It was just funny. After all that research, he chose what I would have chosen after about ten seconds looking in a mirror.”

“If you ask me, ending with a simple answer after doing a lot of research shows understanding, not lack of effort,” Noah observed. “That speaks well for it. Violet is an excellent name.”

And that’s quite interesting. When I was in Aylin’s mind, he wanted to know about how a lot of things work. I wonder if he’s figured out what he feeds on yet. I should ask when we get back to camp.

Noah glanced down at Violet, whose smile had grown slightly at his words. There was an undeniable comradery between her and the other young demons. It was mildly surprising. He hadn’t expected to find anyone that cared so deeply for each other in the Damned Plains, but that went to show just how little everyone truly understood about demons.

I can’t shake the feeling that the key to figuring out Lee’s Runes is determining how to help these kids as well. That’ll rely on making sure they grow strong and get the confidence and power to defend themselves.

Speaking of which… I wonder how Aylin is doing with Vrith. I hope she isn’t making things too difficult for him.

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