Published: October 17th 2021, 10:59:02 am
"So, uh, what is the yellow potion supposed to do exactly? I mean I've tried the red and green potions, and even the blue one, but yellow?" The hero shifted his belt to a more comfortable position as he looked at the strange yellow concoction bubbling in the witch's cauldron.
"Oh, you know... a little of this a little of that," she said. "I'll give you a sample if you like... it's free..." her raspy voiced explanation did little to entice Bink, but the word 'free' certainly helped.
"It's not going to... you know, turn me into a toad or something, is it?"
"Oh, heavens no. What do you think this is, magic powder? No, dearie, it's just meant to put a little pep in your step... It's an essential part of my beauty regimen. Keeps me looking young and vivacious, as you can see."
Bink looked at the warty, wrinkled witch and had several thoughts, all of which he kept to himself. "Ah, you know, I think I'm good. I was just curious."
"Suit yourself," said the witch, shrugging. "It's not something for young ones like yourself anyway. Come back in forty years. Then you'll see. One cup of my golden potion will restore you to looking as young as you are now!"
"Wait... are you saying that's a youth potion?"
"Yeah, that's what I said," the witch looked at Bink with a frank expression. "But a little dab can, you know, make up a night's sleep or something. That's what I use it for. Eye bags. That and a little keese guano is all you n-"
"Okay," said Bink, "That's more than I needed to know. Look, all I'm wondering is... could it work on enemy combatants? You know, toss a little golden juice on em and watch em get tiny?"
"Oh, no, it's much too dangerous for that." said the Witch, shaking her head. "You don't want to go throwing this stuff about all willy nilly."
"Lady, I keep a bag of bombs on my back. Dangerous is my middle name. Would it work?"
"Well... I suppose so..." said the witch, rubbing her chin. "Answering your question as only a philosophical exercise mind you. I mean, if you're going to go turning your enemies into defenseless little ones, you certainly couldn't slay them... or leave them to fend for themselves in a dangerous dungeon... could you?"
"No, I guess not," said Bink, crossing his arms and frowning. "But what if they're like, you know, really evil."
"Do you truly believe that a child can be evil?" asked the witch, pulling up a 'toad' stool and sitting with her legs crossed. She pulled out an old twisted pipe to puff on, and Bink could see that this was shaping up to be a very long conversation.
"Short answer? Yes. But I really don't have time to hash that out now. Would you sell me some of that potion?"
"Are you going to use it for your eye bags, or enemies?"
Bink touched his face. "I don't have eye bags... do I?"
"Then I guess you don't need the potion," said the Witch, taking a puff from her pipe.
"How much?" asked Bink.
"It's not for sale," said the Witch. That just made him want it more.
"You just said it was free, didn't you? Come on. Be a pal, will ya?"
The witch sighed. "Well, well, hmm... I'll tell you what. Get me the ingredients to make more and I'll cut you a deal. This is my personal supply, you know." She patted her eyelashes at him, and Bink rolled his eyes.
"Oh, fine. What do you need?"
"I've got a list," she said, smiling sweetly and pulling a long rolled up piece of parchment out of her sleeve.
"Let's see," said Bink taking the list and holding it up. "Oh, only a hundred ingredients or so. Piece of cake." He said this in the most sarcastic way possible.
"Well, if it's too hard for you, mister hero, then give it back. You're too busy anyway, aren't you? Didn't you just say you didn't have time for this conversation."
"Touche," said Bink. "Fine, I'll get the stuff. It might take a while, though. Some of this stuff is really obscure."
"Don't worry. I've got a guide book as well." The witch hopped off her stool holding up her skirt and skipped to her shelf of old moldering books to grab a large leatherbound volume.
"Yikes," said Bink. "How heavy is that thing? Oh well, into my magical knapsack it goes..."
"Listen, since you agreed to help, here's the free sample I told you about."
She took a bit of the yellow potion and mixed it into a hasty salve, then wrapped it in a leaf and handed it to him.
"Put a little on your eyes and anywhere else you want to freshen up," she said. "It'll do wonders."
"Thanks," he said. It really wasn't enough for him to test his little hypothesis out with, but he never said no to a rare item. "Can I try a little out here? Just so I know I'm using it right?" he asked.
"Sure, dearie." said the Witch, stifling a giggle as the young man put it on carefully. "Oh, it's not that dangerous, young man. Just slather a bit on, you'll see."
"Wow, this really is refreshing. Will it polish my sword too?"
"Yeah, but you might end up with a short sword," said the witch. Bink blushed at that comment, knowing full well what she meant.
"Well," he said, after a few seconds spent trying to tamp down his embarrassment, "I'll see you later, I guess."
"Sure thing, dearie," she said. She saw some wet spots appear on his breaches just before he turned and left. She uncrossed her legs and recrossed them, eliciting a loud crinkle from beneath her robes. "Probably should have mentioned the side effects... oh well, my sister's magical diaper shop is the first stop on the list."
The witch's high cackle could barely be heard echoing over the lightly wooded meadow as Bink made his way toward his first stop, but he barely noticed it. He was to busy thinking about what he could do once he had his hands on that yellow potion.
-Written by ChampTehOtter