For a Magical Thirst

If It Were Only A Dragon [Chapter 10]

The elf gathered us inside the halls of the barracks, right at the center around the stone ground of the cooking pit. He held a couple of vials of the alchemical tonics in each hand, pulled from the full pallet outside.

“Greetings all, properly and for the first time, and certainly with no ill feelings. My name is Grendl, and I come with concoctions to aid you in this quest to slay this dragon sieging our lands. Now, I’m sure you all know of a dragon’s deadly capabilities. Of all of them, what might you guess to be the one that, historically, the most people have fallen to?”

The elf spun about slowly, waiting silently for a response that never came.

“Fire is correct,” he answered his own question. “The flames that it spews from its mouth. For demonstration’s sake, I shall now summon burning flames of my own. Sir Gladius, young Eriques, if you could?”

We both ended up with the bottles cradled in our arms. Grendl stepped back and summoned a staff in his hands, which he began to trace in a circle around the stone area.

“I shall bring forth my licking flames of magic. While as hot as the real thing, these flames shall not melt off your skin nor leave residual burns, and no smoke shall clog these halls. But contact with them will certainly feel like the real thing. That is unless you make use of these tonics. Us alchemists have perfected them over the course of many decades, you should know. Listen and watch carefully.”

With a click of his fingers, the mage lit the center of the barracks ablaze with orange flames that reached the height of my waist. The other knights stepped back, feeling the heat about the room.

Grendl wasted no time. He grabbed up one potion from Eriques, leaving the squire with the other. The thin glass vial held a deep orange potion, glittering with what could have been a precious metal, or even tiny jewels.

Eriques studied the remaining concoction in his grasp. He thumbed the cork stopper until it popped open. “It looks like the richest of honey, doesn’t it?”

The elf went on with his speech. “To protect thy precious gear, you may smatter yourself and your garments with these contents of these flasks,” he said, pouring some over his opposite hand. It flowed out across his palm, through his fingers, and onto the floor, causing the flames to spatter and withdraw from the tiny section before him.

I heard Eriques cough and sputter. “I though that potions were for drinking?”

The elf jerked back. “Oh no, not this one. We call it a topical potion. Not poisonous to consume, but not exactly tasty. It is made from a creature we call ‘forge beetles.’ You may have witnessed them… tiny insects that live off the sparks and glowing flames of a blacksmith’s hearth. Quite durable creatures.”

Eriques’ cheeks swelled. He dropped the half drunk flask and dashed for the door. The sound of him losing his rations could be heard from the road.

“Next,” Grendl demonstrated, wagging the half-full vial about my face. “Sir Gladius, might you demonstrate your bravery for us? There is nothing to fear.”

“Of… course.” As it was my duty the lead, I had no choice but to agree. I walked up to the flames, ready to step into them, but the elf grabbed at my arm.

“Not so fast, boy!” He hissed into my ear. “As brave as you are, I’d like to save myself your screams of pain.”

I ignored the indiscretion of being called a boy and stopped. “I was under the impression that I am protected.”

Grendl clicked his tongue. “Your gear, but not your skin. That shall take another potion.”

I rolled my eyes at the idea. “Two potions? That seems to be a hassle of the greatest measure.”

The elf shrugged, both hands to the air. “You may take the topical potion and protect your belongings in exchange for your skin, or the opposite and end up naked on the battlefield. Alchemy is science, not magic.”

“To some those are the same,” a knight muttered.

The elf glared back before dowsing my shoes and leggings with the remaining golden concoction. “You may choose to use these potions however you like, but I am obligated to show the uses of both. Sir Gladius,” he nodded at the bottle in my hand. “Please, drink it all down and let the effect take you, while I explain further.”

The drink was mostly clear, with only a slight pale cloud to it. It touched my lips like jelly, but traveled into my throat with much ease. All about my mouth came a cold, tingling feeling.

“When battling flames, set alight by a dragon or any other natural force, the heat is unceasing,” Grendl worked the crowd of guards. “But this potion of cooling will protect the body. Sir Gladius, speak to us of the sensation.”

The hairs on my arms stood up. My neck, as well. Even down to my toes, I felt the coolness starting to spread. “It is as if winter has come early,” I dared to say, feeling a bit poetic.

The elf urged me onward toward his enduring collection of flames. “Perfect. Will you attempt this, then?”

I nodded, holding my arms across my chest. I was nearly shivering as my feet touched the flames. There was not a single ounce of pain, nor heat. The flames parted as my shins dragged through them. My teeth chattered. I span about, demonstarting my unscathed state to my men. I stopped being able to feel my fingers and toes.

“A final note,” Grendl added, finger to the air. “For extreme conflagrations, apply the orange tonic to any hair you wish to keep. With that, this demonstration has ended. Thank you all, and good luck.”

With a click from his fingers, the magicl fire extinguished itself, leaving no sign that it had ever burned. I fell to the ground, my knees knocking against each other.

“Blanket… please…” I begged through blue lips. “Elf, is it… necessary… that this effect… be so… exaggerated?”

“Again, alchemy is not magic, my good sir,” Grendl shrugged, gathering up the emptied vials. “And both are quite far from miracles. Think of it like this… you will not mind the effect when the dragon is upon you.”

After the elf’s departure, I was left under a blanket, sipping the dregs of that morning’s gruel, reheated into an even worse consistency. While I considered inducing my own bout of vomiting, Eriques returned from expelling the strange potion.

“I remember, Gladius!” He said, weakly stumbling in, face pale. “I remember what came up this morning. Before we got trapped in here!”

“Is it really so important?” I said with one last shiver.

“They are at the castle! They are protesting our campaign against the dragon!”

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