Spirit was dozing off at his desk, his head buried in his arms. Emerald had taken up residence on his bed, snoring bubbles throughout the room the last time he looked up. They had an otherworldly look to them as they reflected off the low lap light. Eventually falling asleep while counting bubbles.
He wasn't sure what jolted him awake, but he felt a pressure close him. Raising his head from his arms, he noticed an inconspicuous book on the table in front of him. He reasoned that one of his parents might have sneaked in and left it there, but he couldn't shake the sense that he ought to open it. Looking at the book, he noticed that the pages were blank. Closing it, the book began to glow a brilliant, sickly green color, and the cover would change to a visage of a Dragon's Wings. Following that, a draconic skull shape erupted from it, with the eyes burning that awful green color before dying out again. He reopened the book, his curiosity getting the better of him yet again. Words began to fill the first page, and only the first page with an ingredient list. The document appeared to be an ingredient list for an unknown concoction as I read it. He had no idea what this particular mixture could produce, despite coming from a line of herbalists and owning a potion business. A fact that both intrigued and excited him.
Ingredients:
- Mandrake root
- Amazonite
- Blood from a Draconic Creature
- Clay Dug-up and/or Created by Magic
- Hydrangeas: Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Red, Orange
- Air Crystal
- Halflings' Leaf
- Myrrh
- Step 1: Crush up a Mandrake Root, a small Air Crystal, Halfling's Leaf, Myrrh and colored hydrangeas and whisk it with the Blood of a Dragon until a fluffy rainbow colored whipped paste has formed.
Step 2: Take clay that has been dug up with magic or created by magic and form it into a bowl.
Step 3: Place Amazonite in the bowl with the whipped concoction.
Step 4: Concentrate and focus magical energy into the bowl until it morphs and become a liquid.
Spirit would turn to Emerald, who had awoken and was staring blankly at him. The two just stared at one other, bewildered, for a time. She would eventually speak up.
"Are you going to tell me what was going on there?" Spirit still had no idea, and it occurred to him that his parents were out of town with his sister for the weekend, so it couldn't have been them who had left the book.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. The book was there, but it was empty. The book shifted and morphed after I closed it." Trying to be sarcastic and funny
"Oh, and you open a random book, but I need to focus on not being so inquisitive about."Maybe he was being ridiculous, he reasoned, but the Magician would interrupt him before he could finish his idea.
"I lost a lot of my ancient wisdom when I linked myself to this dimension and to a descendant. I do, however, have a vast range of information. I believe you've discovered an Omninomicon page. Each book is nothing more than a single page. Nobody knows what the book is about in its entirety, but the prevailing notion is that it includes life and death lore. If every page could be uncovered, it might even contain magic equivalent to my power in my prime. All you'll get to view is what you're seeing right now. If you want to know what it does, it's up to you. There's always the possibility that it's a set-up."He'd look over to Emerald and repeated what the Magician had said. She was aware of his ancestry, which made things easier than if people assumed he was living alone or had a fictitious companion. Emerald would also have the chance to express herself.
"Of course, he is correct, but it's also possible that it was a present from something you've done previously. You've already started looking into the disease that killed your companion at the abandoned cabin. Maybe this has something to do with it?"Both of them had valid points. He'd consider it for a bit before deciding to give the recipe a shot to see if he could figure out what it accomplished. The choice was easy after realizing that there were easier ways to build a trap for him than slipping a page from a book, which resembled a book, into his room with him and Emerald as a prospective danger, he made the decision.
He would close the book, or page if the Magician was correct, and put it safely away in his hidden safe after memorizing the ingredients. He'd go downstairs with Emerald after turning the last knob on the safe and then putting the picture back over it. When he looked around the shop, he realized he had most of what he needed. Dragon's blood appeared to be the only element that was missing. Emerald, of course, was only too happy to share some just out of curiosity about what might happen.
He'd start funneling his magic into the bowl on the last stage, till it converted into a rainbow colored liquid, as per the instructions. When he looked over to Emerald when it was finished, he noticed that she was on the floor, completely passed out, her body almost white. This was the first time he'd ever seen anything like it. Her body had been stripped of all its magic. He'd instinctively reach for the medicine he'd made and poured a few drops for her.
She'd ultimately regain a smidgen of her power, but it would take some time, and she'd be out of it for at least a week. He'd store the potion in his haversack upstairs and tend to Emerald for a while after bottling it.
During that period, he had to dig deeper into what he had built. It appears that you must steal the magic of a dragon to make the potion, and it may only be used on another dragon to restore it from near death. Emerald would have needed the entire concoction if she had been a full grown dragon, but because she was so small, she only needed a few drops.
He wondered looking at the picture on the wall...why him?
Word Count: 1066