Chương 22: Chapter 21

The inside of Magatha's cottage was simultaneously everything I expected it to be, and far more boring than I had hoped. When I heard the term Hedge Witch, I had thought there would be more insect and animal body parts along with a giant cauldron. There was a cauldron, but it wasn't gigantic. More like a large pot really, with silver streaks through the black metal which told me it was likely enchanted.

The cottage itself was one big room, with a sleeping area tucked away in the corner, a trapdoor that smelled like it led to a larder, and a wooden table that looked like it could seat four and was meticulously cleaned. That same cleanliness was mirrored throughout the single-room home, only marred by some plants that were hanging from metal wires embedded in the roof. The greenery and scent of nature gave the room a warm feel despite the darkness, as the room only had a couple of small windows.

Magatha busied herself around a cooking pot filled with quickly boiling water, this one also streaked with a couple of lines of silver. As she worked, I explored. Along one wall, in carefully constructed racks, were small flasks filled with a variety of different coloured liquids. None of them were labelled so I had no idea what each one was, but I could feel Magatha's eyes on me as I brushed my finger along each potion bottle. It was the third, a dark purple one, before the tips of my fingers felt a faint buzz.

Far fainter than the duskpetal I had held in the garden, but more than enough apparently to progress my Path of Aethersensing.

"He really is quite talented," Magatha noted to which my mother readily agreed.

"Is he interested in herbalism and alchemy?" probed the Hedge Witch as she poured the boiling water into a decanter filled with a variety of dried leaves. It seemed to me that the love of tea was universal, crossing worlds. I, for one, had never seen the appeal. Though maybe I had just lacked the palate to enjoy it in my previous life.

"He's three, Magatha. He's mostly interested in playing and causing mischief," countered my mother. I could tell she was lying, since she knew very well just how dedicated I was to working on my Paths. A glance at Magatha's face told me the Hedge Witch suspected as well. I supposed you didn't learn a spell like Lower Inhibitions without understanding a little about how people functioned. Either way, the Hedge Witch pressed on, clearly taking an interest in me. An interest, I might add, that was not reciprocated.

Alchemy was fascinating to me, but only in the outputs. I was interested in what potions, tonics, and whatever else an alchemist concocted could do for me. Not in the process of creating them.

"Well, maybe you could bring him by more often? He might develop an interest if he spends some time in my garden. I'd be happy to teach him a little alchemy too." My mother raised an eyebrow, but I was just confused. Why did Magatha care about teaching me? I had always gotten the sense that the Hedge Witch didn't like men overly much, though admittedly, I had a very limited number of interactions with her. Thankfully, my mother mirrored my curiosity.

"That's awfully generous of you, Magatha. What's in it for you?" The Hedge Witch smiled coyly at my mother over the rim of her mug as she blew on the hot tea.

"Well, I assume as he's so young you'd want to stay and supervise. I'd get the benefit of a little teaching and the pleasure of your company. Your son might unlock some new and interesting Paths in the future. That sounds like a win-win to me, don't you think?" Magatha sipped her tea as she finished her explanation, watching my mother with green eyes that had been fiery about the state of her garden only five minutes ago now smoldered for an entirely different reason.

While Magatha was waiting for my mother's reply, I was making as much use of my time with the potion rack as I could, fingers moving from one potion to the next. I was almost done, having found another four aether-infused potions when my mother chose to answer.

"I'll think about it, Magatha. Though I admit, it's all going to depend on how you apologise to Bastian." My mother sipped her own tea while I tried not to laugh out loud. I knew my mother loved me, of course, but to see her abuse Magatha's interest in her to extort a more expensive or useful apology gift out of the Hedge Witch for me was something I wouldn't have expected. Magatha seemed to accept my mother's suggestion and strode over to her potion rack, pulling out three bottles.

I noted that all three were ones I had recognised as aether-infused which meant Magatha was taking my mother's offer seriously. From left to right, they were a dark green, a dark red, and finally a pale purple. The last one had been the easiest to sense. Magatha drew my attention to her face as she lifted the bottles up slightly.

"I am sorry, Bastian, for using a spell on you. As an apology, you can have one of these potions. The first is a bug repellant. It needs to be applied every three days but it will keep bugs up to one metre away from wherever you drip it. You only need to do one drop, so, knowing the size of your mother's garden, this would last your mother a month or two and keep all the nasty little biteys off your mum's plants." She put the dark green one down on the table and held out the dark red one.

"This is a minor healing potion. It will heal small cuts and scrapes. You drink most of it and apply whatever is left to the injury. It takes a few hours to work, but that's better than the days these things normally take." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She added the dark red one to the table, placing it next to the dark green one. Finally, she held out the pale purple one.

"This is a nightvision potion, made from the crushed duskpetal you found in my garden. It lasts for less than an hour, but while it's working, you'll be able to see in the dark." Magatha placed the final potion on the table before looking down at me.

"So, which one would you like?" I knew what I wanted immediately. The problem I was having was whether I should ask for the one I wanted, or the one that would help my mum. I knew that from time to time mother would have issues with bugs eating some of her plants or getting into her vegetables. I could help her by being a good and dutiful son and choosing the bug repellant potion. Or I could ask for the one I really wanted, which was the nightvision potion.

As for the minor healing potion, what did I care about a few scrapes and cuts. Those were my training wounds and definitely not from my attempts at stick-based swordplay in the backyard and tripping over rocks! I looked at my mother and she smiled at me encouragingly, which was no help at all! What I had hoped to see was her longing for the bug repellant potion, after which I would have admitted that my mother deserved all the help she could get, and easily picked the green potion.

She slipped out of her chair and moved over to crouch next to me.

"You like the nightvision potion, don't you?" she asked, hand on my back. I nodded slightly, a little ashamed of myself for not choosing the potion that would help her. My choice didn't seem to bother my mother though as she stood and motioned to the nightvision potion.

"He likes that one, Magatha." The Hedge Witch casually handed over the pale purple potion to my mother who tucked it into a pocket in her dress. Magatha replaced the other two potions in her rack and busied herself cleaning up.

"So, they're gone then?" Magatha asked.

"The Shining Light Guild? Yes, they left this morning to return to Ajinport," answered my mother.

"I don't know how you can stand them." My mother looked out the slightly ajar door.

"I know that some of them are simply people who joined for an excuse to commit violence and lord their position over others," agreed my mother.

"But others, like Halkur, the one leading them, are good men who are just seeking to protect us from the demons lurking in the darkness." A shiver went up my spine at her words. Demons lurking in the darkness sounded an awful lot like my own experiences with the fiends. It didn't help that I had a Path of Soulstealing, which while I didn't understand yet, certainly didn't sound good. That and my unusually high Affinity for Shadow were causes for concern. Just how did I relate to demons?

I didn't think I was one, even if I seemed to have some of their traits. I'd just have to make sure that any lurking I did was for good, and not ill. My mother and Magatha finished up their conversation a few minutes later, and we began the walk home, which I of course filled with questions and play.

"Mum, how come some plants had aether in them and others didn't?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, well, most plants don't have any aether. In fact, it's probably only a rare few that do. Usually, reag…plants for alchemy, which is making potions, among other things, are harvested from dungeons. In dungeons, aether is in the air itself and so the plants become infused with it."

"How come Magatha's duskpetal was like that then? Did it come from a Dungeon?" My mother shook her head.

"No, Magatha was likely infusing them herself. She has a similar amount of aether to me and skills for improving and infusing the plants in her garden." I mulled over the new information. The fact that plants didn't naturally produce aether was interesting, which begged the question about animals.

"Do animals have aether?" I wondered out loud as I jogged back and forth near my mother, unwilling to waste time on simply enjoying the stroll when numbers for my Path of Running could be going up!

"Most," my mother answered.

"Though it's rarer for them to have more developed aether cores like your grandpa. With smaller animals, or bugs I guess, it becomes less frequent. Hmm, do you know what a bee is?" I grinned.

"Little yellow bug with stingy tail!"

"They aren't always yellow, but yes. Well, most bees won't produce aether, but the queen usually does."

"How come?" I demanded in my childish voice. My mother simply shrugged, smiling at the empty road and me.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I am sure some people do though, or at least they think they do." She paused for a moment, and when I didn't voice another question she chose to ask one of me.

"Magatha offered to teach you a little about plants and potions. Did you want to learn from her?"

"Don't care," I replied easily, running around my mother.

"Up to you, Mum!" She seemed happy with my answer, reassuring me that she'd ask me again in a few months. I hoped she didn't though. While the potion was interesting, tending a garden wasn't really what I had in mind for my future. There was a great big wide world out there for me to explore, and I intended to see as much of it as I could. The outpost finally came into sight almost twenty minutes later and while my feet were tired, the sound of an axe or hammer striking wood out back filled me with excitement.

With my nightvision potion in hand and admonishments from my mother to be careful with it, I ran upstairs to hide my new prize in my secret stash. Then I climbed up on the chest filled with my clothes and peered out the window. There, in the backyard, was Griselda, chopping wood as my obstacle course slowly came to life. I jumped down off the chest and started doing push ups, impatient to begin using my new obstacle course. The numbers had to keep going up, no matter what!