“How did you acquire this crystal?” Henrietta asked, while holding the red crystal in her palms.

“Magic,” I said.

Knowing that it might be possible to produce the crystals in large quantities made Henrietta euphoric. Her eyes told me she was eager to create more now.

“Do it again,” Henrietta said, as I predicted. She began poking me. “Do it again. Again. Again.”

“I can't do that. To recreate the spell, I require at least one flask. Currently, I have none.”

“So what? I have a few of them in my dungeon. Let’s go.”

That made me feel stupid. But when we were back in Henrietta’s dungeon, she pulled three flasks.

“You only have these?” I asked.

Henrietta looked confused. “Why would you need more?”

There was only one way to answer her question. I filled the flasks with water and thought about Henrietta, her eyes, the way she smiled when she thought about profit, and… Yellow potions were formed.

“Henrietta!! This is your fault. Why did you have to be so greedy!?”

I threw away the potions and thought about Henrietta again. The result was the same. Fine! Any potion should be fine, for any color is better than none.

At last, I attempted to craft a crystal from two stones. There was no dust.

“That crap is only worth two hundred rocks, or a hundred gray crystals,” Henrietta said.

“Hey! just yesterday you were happy picking up just rocks.”

“Times change.”

****

Had I known Henrietta was going to be this greedy, I would’ve kept my mouth shut. My feet hurt. The demon made me march across rough terrain all the way to Anna’s hut. Henrietta marched so fast that I was a few meters behind. After sprinting the last few meters to the hut, she began pounding on the door.

When Anna did not open. Henrietta began shouting foul words.

“Isn't she a piece of work?” Anna asked, whispering in my ear, “It is a good thing that my house has a backdoor.”

“Since when?” I asked.

Anna did not respond. Instead, she smiled. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Maybe I just want to say hi,” I said.

“Darling, I do not doubt you. But if that was your ONLY reason to be here - then - THAT beast over there wouldn’t be here. That demon only ever thinks about money.”

“I told her that brewing potions might prove profitable,” I said. This was not a lie.

Anna smiled. “Excellent! I see that my little investment has paid off.”

She was so loud that Henrietta heard.

“So there you are,” Henrietta said. Before throwing more insults at the witch.

“Demons aren't very civilized, as you can see,” Anna said. “Maybe learning their language was a bad idea.”

My cheeks redden in embarrassment. But it was unlikely that Henrietta understood what happened. The Witch purposely only spoke Common while talking to me.

“But anyway, I’ll listen to your request. What types of supplies do you need?” Anna asked, while switching to Demon-Speak.

“I need Twenty flasks,” I said, hoping that Anna would not ask why.

“That is a rather high number, darling. Why would you even need that many? Could it be that you wish to make a rainbow?”

I giggled hard. The anxiety was killing me.

“Perhaps,” Henrietta said on my behalf.

“Is that true?” Anna asked, staring at me directly in the eyes. Perhaps trying to see if it was a lie.

“They could be used for that purpose, yes,” I responded. Unlike Henrietta, it was hard for me to lie under pressure.

“Alright, but wishes have a price, sweetheart. You can have all twenty of them for 10,000 crystals.”

That number almost blew Henrietta’s socks off.

“But that is more than 10000% of the price!” Henrietta said. “Count us out. We will go somewhere else for the flasks.”

Henrietta grabbed me by the hand and began to pull me away.

“Aww, if you are thinking of traveling to Karlin to buy flasks from Vela. Let me remind you that it’s a twenty hour walk. By the time you arrive, her prices might be same as mine.

“You witches are like a mafia!” Henrietta said.

“I doubt you understand that word,” Anna replied.

Then the two began bickering back and forth.

We ended up buying the flasks from her, but the witch sent me off with a warning:

“Be careful. Learn your own worth. If you do not know it, others will take advantage of you. Particularly, Henrietta. She will work you to death for as little as two hundred crystals.”

*****

Henrietta ranted the entire way back to the abandoned dockyard. This was the second time we marched in one day. By the time we arrived, I just wanted to take my boots off and rest on the floor.

“The investment better be worth it,” Henrietta said. “Else we are bankrupt and you are sleeping outside.”

Fritzer

This chapter was shorter than what I wanted. To make up for it, I will also post a chapter tomorrow (Tomorrow = September 7)

Update: Ended up with a headache, I guess we will just roll with the regular posting schedule. Expect the new chapter on September 8