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Book 3: Chapter 18: Test Subject

Most of the space—shelving, counters, and a good portion of the floor—was occupied by similarly sized jars containing herbs. The rest was cluttered with tools such as tiny clippers, scissors, tweezers, scalpels, and other vaguely alarming medical equipment.

"Sit, sit," Flossie all but shoved Arthur onto a cluttered chair. He quickly scooped up a stack of paperwork before dropping down on it, and tapped it straight, his tidying instincts itching at the back of his mind as he took in the messy surroundings.

"Now," Flossie said, "I can offer you above-standard rates—that's what we have for all test subjects."

"Test subjects?" Arthur repeated, mildly alarmed.

She waved an errant hand. "That's what the Council insists I call them, but—well, there is some human testing, but it's as safe as we can make it. We'll go into that later. Actually, you're coming in at a good time; it's been a while since our last subject quit, and things were starting to get backed up."

"Hold on," Arthur said. "Don't you want to know exactly what my card does first? And how I can help you?"

Flossie blinked. "Oh, of course. Forgive me, I got excited and forgot to put the harness on the dragon before jumping on." She laughed a little too shrilly for politeness' sake.

Arthur got the impression she spent far too much time with her herbs and far too little interacting with other people.

He decided to be as vague as possible about his card. "I have a card that gives me updates about the status of my body. Part of its powers includes providing me with updates on my physical condition."

"Oh!" Her eyes went wide. "I was hoping you would just be willing to record your experiences, but that is certainly helpful."

There was a pause.

"How much is the pay?" Arthur asked.

"One rare shard per newly identified herb."

Arthur choked. It was extraordinary pay—well, it would have been if he hadn’t been living off Wolf Moon Hive’s Legendary Dragon stipend. Brixaby would certainly appreciate the shards. That kind of pay wasn't why Arthur had volunteered, but it didn't hurt.

He decided to be a little more candid. "The other part of my card is that I gain resistances to herbs. That means if there's something—"

"Oh, you'll be perfect for the poisons," Flossie said, happily. She might not be great with people, but she seemed to take note when Arthur grew still. "Oh, don't worry, it won't be anything extraordinarily poisonous. We test those on rats ahead of time. Anything above LD50 is ruled out."

"LD—?"

"Also, we have one of these in case something goes wrong." She rummaged around behind some of the jars, apparently where she kept her supplies, and pulled out a tiny, vivid red vial. "This is a Rare-rank healing potion. For emergencies only."

"A healing potion?" He had seen one before, but only in the possession of royalty. And he severely doubted that this woman was royalty. "How did you get your hands on that?"

"Oh, I'm very rich and connected," she waved casually. "You have no idea how lucrative growing extraordinary herbs can be."

Arthur thought about the lengths his old cooking boss, Barlow, went to bribe growers to get the first pick of the harvest. And that had been for regular fruits, vegetables, and meats. "I can believe it."

"Excellent," Flossie said, standing. Then she proved herself no fool as she added, "But of course, before you are officially hired, I require a test of your abilities."

Flossie's test was simple. She ground up several herbs in the back of the cave, tapped the powder onto a piece of paper, and presented it to Arthur. The tiny piles were varying shades of green and brown.

"Please tell me which of these herbs has what we call 'extraordinary properties'. You may think of them as what others call," she almost rolled her eyes, "magical properties."

"There’s a problem with magical properties?" he asked.

"Magical properties can only be found in cards," she answered with the air of someone who had a very strong opinion on a very niche subject.

"Well, what about potions? Those are magical."

"Potions are made through alchemy, which is granted by a card power. What makes potions so incredibly expensive is that not only does someone have to have an alchemist card, and the practice and the will, they also have to have a compatible card with the potion they just made." She pointed back at the healing potion that she had left on the counter within Arthur's easy reach, having turned her back on him several times to prepare the herbs.

Not that Arthur had noticed or thought about stealing it... Several times.

"The person who made that healing potion not only has a pair of Rare alchemy cards, but also a pair of Uncommon healing cards. And he can only make healing potions. If he wishes to make non-healing potions, he would have to have the appropriate card to infuse its magic in there."

"An alchemist can't make a blank potion and have someone else infuse the appropriate magic?" Arthur asked.

"Of course they can, but why split the cost? Plus there are other considerations, but I'm not an alchemist," she waved her hand again, her gesture flighty. "Now, what were we talking about? Oh yes, the test. Please identify these herbs and tell me which one of these has extraordinary qualities. Don't worry, none are poisonous, and of course, you will be compensated if you indeed identify the correct one."

With a nod, Arthur looked down at the powders. He suspected he knew what the base ingredients already were.

Carefully, he tapped his finger on the first one, greenish-brown, gave it a sniff, and then tasted it.

"Sage," he said. "Not extraordinary."

She nodded. He went to the second one, which was a bright yellow.

"Turmeric," he said. "Not extraordinary."

Lastly, he examined the third.

"Cinnamon," he said, and then frowned, realizing that he had not received a notification at all. "Not... extraordinary."

Flossie beamed. "Excellent!" Then she yanked the papers away, stood up, and went to prepare some more. Apparently, that had been a trick test. "I'm impressed that you were able to identify those by name. Oh, the cinnamon was obvious, but not everybody can verbalize what taste they are experiencing."

"I… used to work as a cook," Arthur said.

Flossie returned shortly with three identical herbs, all the same reddish-brown color.

More cinnamon. He could tell that much on sight alone. Arthur glanced at her, but she just looked at him expectantly.

Arthur tested the first one—nothing.

"Still just cinnamon," he said, privately thinking it was from the same bottle as before. It had the same sharp-spicy taste, the same strength to it.

He dipped his finger in the second pile of cinnamon and brought it to his tongue. Immediately, pain exploded through his body. No, it was more than pain; it was shock. His body seized up briefly, his back arching and the paper with the cinnamon flying away. It only lasted for a second, and Arthur relaxed, breathing hard.

Thanks to an infusion of Lightning Storm Cinnamon, you have gained a lightning resistance. This is a temporary effect and will result in a 2-point temporary backlash once the effect wears off. You will be more susceptible to lightning during that time.

Time left: 4 hours 59 minutes, 59 seconds.

New Body Enhancement gained: Lightning Resistance – Level 3

Due to your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this skill at level 3.

"Lightning?" he gasped.

"Correct. How are you?" Flossie said. He looked at her and realized that she held the bottle of healing potion in her hand, ready to give it to him. Before he could answer, she pressed her two fingers to his throat. "Ah. Normal pulse."

"I’m fine.” The pain had been intense, but brief, with no lingering aftereffects. “But that was, well, shocking."

"We call it Lightning Storm Cinnamon," she said. "Back in my day, teenagers around here used to dare each other to take tastes. It's harmless, though unpleasant, with very occasional heart stoppages. Very occasional," she repeated. "I wouldn’t worry about it. However, I am impressed that you immediately identified it."

He shrugged, though inside he wanted to grin. Not only had he identified it, he’d gained a level 3 resistance from it.

This meant, after the backlash wore off, if he were ever to be hit by someone's lightning power or perhaps even be struck midair during a thunderstorm, he had that much more chance of survival.

I wonder if Brixaby would be interested in this.

He looked at Flossie who watched him warily. This was, he guessed, the part where most people quit.

"What else do you have?" Arthur asked.

As far as he was concerned this was paid resistance training.

The next thing Flossie had him test was her new batch of Fire Peppercorns, which was ironically what he had come for in the first place. However, this breeding was a bit too strong because it did indeed burn the top of his mouth. He didn't ask for the healing potion, knowing how expensive those were. Instead, Arthur's minor healing card almost immediately went to work.

Better yet, his Fire Resistance moved up to a permanent level 5.

After his mouth was healed, he had some tea—with no extraordinary herbs in it; he asked twice—and his mouth felt better. He then went for the next test, which was a weirdly purple apple.

Flossie cut a sliver from the apple. "It's a shame that we don't have a way of keeping this fresh. Using a bit uses the whole apple," she lamented, cutting a sliver from it. "But I recommend that you only take a small portion. I must tell you upfront that this one is tricky. There is no toxicity, per se, but there have been odd effects. I won't tell you about them to keep the test fair. Some people report effects, most report nothing. So, hopefully, you can finally identify what is going on."

The sliver was so thin that it was practically transparent. Arthur took a cautious bite.

Thanks to an infusion of Psychic Apple, you have gained a temporary Psychic resistance. This is a temporary effect and will result in a 2-point temporary backlash once the effect wears off. You will be more susceptible to mind magic during that time.

Time left: 4 hours 59 minutes, 59 seconds.

New Body Enhancement gained: Psychic Resistance – Level 3

Due to your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this skill at level 3.

He looked at her, eyes raised. "I'm getting psychic resistance." Too bad it hadn’t directly influenced his other mental resistance skills… but he would take it.

She inhaled sharply. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, that's what my card says."

"This is amazing. That explains why we received inconsistent results." She turned and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

He waited for a beat, then realized that she wasn't going to volunteer the information, so he asked, "Why?"

"Oh, it's theorized that some people are naturally more inclined to psychic resistance than others. And before you ask, it’s not a card power, but more about how a healthy mind is structured. Though there is much debate among the scholars and those who study the, ugh, humanities.” She gave a large eye roll and went back to scribbling.

A shadow fell across the cave, and the silver dragon who had noticed Arthur before poked his head in.

"Excuse me, Flossie, I need to take this boy to see the Council. They have requested him regarding a matter—"

He said more, but Arthur wasn't listening. He suddenly got a flash of Brixaby's voice reaching out to him. Not in his mind, exactly, which was good because of his recent psychic resistance gain. But it came from the connection through his heart deck.

Arthur… Help… Along with a vague flash of the crafters' cave.

He stood up, startling Flossie and the Silver. "Brixaby?" Half frantic, he looked to the silver. "My dragon needs me. Which way to the crafters' cave?"

"The Council has requested your presence," the dragon began.

Arthur straightened and stared at the dragon, unimpressed. "My dragon comes first. Once I ensure he’s safe, we will meet the Council together. If you want to make it fast, then you will take me to the crafters' cave."

The silver’s eyes narrowed. Then he snorted. “Fine.”

"Wait,” Flossie said, “Your shard payment--"

"It's fine," he said. "I'll come back shortly." He paused, desperate to reach his dragon but knowing he’d kick himself later if he left behind a valuable ingredient. "Can I take the rest of the apple for testing purposes?"

"Oh, yes. It will only go bad within twelve hours. It’s useless past that—"

He took it, shoved it into his Personal Space where it would stay fresh forever, and hurried out.

Grumbling, the silver dragon crouched to offer Arthur a place to sit astride him.

I'm coming, Brixaby, Arthur thought fiercely back at his dragon, hoping he could hear him.