Page 84 of A Taste of Torment
“Well, in my world, there are fighting rings and traveling talent shows that serve this purpose. Many royals seek out servants or friends from these. Some royals prefer beautiful companions. Some search for artists. Some fighters. So, we present our talents in any way we can. I wasn’t looking for a royal host; I was simply rebelling against my parents, to be honest. Part of me planned to die in that city. Without the magic of my home soil, I would have eventually withered away. There were gambling dens, where I spent too much of my time. But in that time, I learned many things. I learned to cheat. To misdirect and to lie. That was my talent. That was what Jarron chose me for.”
My eyebrows shoot up. He chose Laithe for his ability to lie?
“He tells me he chose me for my intelligence. My shrewdness. I also know he likes that I wasn’t seeking a royal host.”
“I thought your world was thriving with the current king and queen?”
“Our world is large. Overall, things are well. Most have plenty, but it is impossible for every mile to be prosperous. I happen to be one of the unlucky ones.”
“Thank you for telling me all of that.” It’s a lot to take in. I just imagined this black void with a few cities and monsters in the pits between. Obviously, it’s more complex than all of that.
I come to the section I’m looking for and focus on my most pressing matter: potions.
After an hour of scouring through the few books I’ve found, I have a list of ten potential potions to try.
Offensive potions:
Stunning—something stronger than we brewed in class.
Confusion.
A weakening poison—not to kill, but to drain my opponents’ strength.
Dizziness.
A speech stopper—for witches specifically.
All of these have instructions for skin absorption. I can’t exactly force my opponent to drink something in the middle of a battle. I also have a book with detailed instructions of different ways to project these kinds of potions.
Defensive:
Invisibility.
Silencer—to go with my invisibility. Wolves have quite apt hearing.
Healing.
Mirror—will rebound spells, for a few minutes only.
Scent alterations.
There are alsoa few more barbaric potions I jot down, just in case. These are the sorts I’d only use against my sister’s killer, not some wolf shifter with too much attitude.
A rotting potion—basically leprosy in a bottle.
A mind eraser—spins the truth and mixes it up so rapidly it often leaves the victim mindless.
And of course—instant death.
“OMG,” someone mutters nearby. “Did you hear what Jarron just did?”
My head whips in the direction of the two witches whispering a few tables over. “What did he do?” I ask loudly. Did he not follow my instructions to not harm Tommy too badly?
The girl with dark hair spins to face me, her lips parted. “Oh,” she says. “Well, I kinda assumed you’d know.”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to be involved. But I’d like to hear the story if you don’t mind telling.”
The dark-haired girl glances to her redhead friend, who basically pushes her in my direction. “You too,” I prompt, motioning to the open chairs. Laithe sits back, a knowing smile on his face.
