The Mimic Becomes a Merchant King

The two men parted in the morning, agreeing to meet again by midday after their respective business was dealt with. Elijah had guided Coin toward Scylla's shop, which sat on the base of Wheat Valley's central street.

The sign hanging above the door was an iron framed piece of varnished wood, depicting a black cat sitting in front of a pile of gemstones. The shop was named, quite appropriately, 'Black Cat Arcana.'

A bell rang above the door as Coin pushed inside, the smell of incense and dusty old books swiftly hitting his nose. The mimic scanned about, blinking in the smoky light that seemed to dominate the interior. Candles were lit about the place, sensibly placed away from anything that could have been set alight, giving the shop an ambience that reminded Coin of the temple.

A quick scan around the interior of the shop revealed that all the products were neatly arranged in specific areas. One stretch of the room was dominated by bookshelves, laden with tomes that looked every bit as good at bludgeoning as the Guild charter had been. Another section of the shelves was littered with gemstones of varying hues and sizes.

Coin was no stranger to gemstones, there had once been plenty in the temple. Though, admittedly, the number of gems had grown slimmer and slimmer over the years. But, even from where he stood, Coin could tell there was something different about the gemstones on sale here. A cloudy light swam in the crystals, casting a multicoloured glow that hummed in the gloom.

Then, to the opposite end of the room, Coin could see mason jars filled with ingredients and bottles containing a variety of potions. Whatever was in the containers, the various liquids reflected all the colours of the rainbow (and several colours Coin had never imagined before). Some of the liquids looked rather tasty. Others gave him the distinct impression that all of his insides would become outsides if he drank them.

Finally his eyes fell upon the figure seated behind the counter at the heart of the shop. A pale woman, roughly the same height as Coin, adorned in a flowing black dress. The tips of her ears were partially pointed, but not to the same extent Illyana's had been, her raven hair falling in a plait over her left shoulder. A wide brimmed pointy had sat atop her head, the hat band marked by a pair of silver crescents that swayed whenever she moved her head.

"We don't brew love potions here," she flatly said, not looking up from the book in her hands.

"I don't follow," Coin replied as he entered. The rosewood door clicked shut behind him, without anyone laying a hand upon it.

"Whenever I get a fresh face in my store," the witch said, lazily flicking another page, "particularly when they are men in your age range, they expect me to solve their romantic woes." She glanced up to meet his eyes, a light violet hue shining in her pupils.

"Well, that sort of thing doesn't interest me," Coin said, venturing further inside. "But I was hoping to ask for some information on... alchemy, I suppose."

The witch nodded, closing her tome. "A consultation, then? Fine, we can do business in that case. Especially seeing as you're cute. Call me Scylla."

"Call me Coin," he replied, making his way to Scylla's counter.

Her lips, painted purple, formed into a smile. "Interesting," she simply said. "Well, consultations aren't free. What do you need to know?"

The mimic hesitated, biting the inside of his cheek at the prospect of giving up his money. He probably would have bitten clean through the flesh if he hadn't reflexively hardened it. But he needed answers, he needed to understand what had happened to him. "How much?" he asked.

"Depends on what you wish to know."

Coin nodded, his posture tense. "Then, what can you tell me about potions that can make a person smarter?"

Scylla tilted her head, still sporting an impish smile. She offered a hand up to him, her fingertips curling toward her palm. "Fifteen ducats. And that's me giving a discount," she said, batting her eyelashes at the mimic.

Money shifted from the inside of Coin's biomass, perfectly preserved, and emerged from the 'pocket' by his left hip. He counted all fifteen coins, then slowly handed they money to Scylla with all the effort of a man chopping his own arm off. She made no move to count the coins, simply sliding them into a pouch on her belt.

"What do you wish to know?"

"I have a few questions. Firstly... do potions like that actually exist? How do they function?"

"A potion that can make a person smarter. Yes, such a thing exists," the witch said, leaning against the counter. "It's commonly called an Elixir of Brilliance. Wizards are fond of them, gives them a temporary boost that helps in studying magic, or sharpens their minds for magical duels."

"Temporary?" Coin replied, trying to keep a flat expression. But inwardly he felt his guts churn with anxiety.

"Usually lasts for a few hours. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on factors like mental strain, magical exertion, or the volume of elixir imbibed."

Coin slowly nodded at her explanation. Well, suffice to say he had ingested that potion more than a few hours ago. If the effects hadn't worn off by now, perhaps they never would? "And what would happen if a wild animal were to drink one of those elixirs?" he asked.

Scylla hummed at the question, tapping her chin with an elegantly manicured fingernail. She lifted that same finger and motioned toward one of the tomes on her shelf. A spark of umbral light shone from her digit, wreathing the distant book and then pulling it from its moorings in an elegant telekinetic flourish. She caught it, and leafed through a few pages.

"This is 'Uplifting of the Beast', a book of experiments written by Deinyse of Oldspire. Fascinating fellow, completely off his chair, but he did conduct many intriguing experiments. In particular, within this book, he recorded his attempts to 'uplift' animals and monsters with samples of the elixir." She looked up to meet his eyes, her eyes half-lidded. "The results were rarely good."

A chill raced down his spine. "In what way?"

"Well he attempted to increase the intelligent of things like dogs and rats. Admittedly the potion had a longer effect on them than it did for humans, but not without drawbacks." She flicked through the pages and seemed to settle on a particular paragraph. "Migraines, hallucinations, blackouts... when you take a creature and suddenly make it as smart as a human, without the time to acclimate or steadily adapt, it's a lot for their grey matter to take. They were smarter, yes, but many of them were lucky to last for a year."

"I... see."

"Would you like me to read the passage about the mountain chimp who hung himself when he was taught about existentialism?" she asked, smiling. Her eyes shone with interest at the prospect.

"I'd... rather you not," Coin replied, visibly wincing. "Still, did this Deinyse try these experiments on monsters?"

Scylla's eyes brightened, her smile growing a fraction broader. "My. What an interesting question. You certainly have some intriguing tastes, Mister Coin," she said, speaking in a voice that made the skin on the back of Coin's neck prickle. "Deinyse was curious, and a lunatic, but not stupid. Giving human intellect to an ogre, or a manticore, or suchlike? Beyond dangerous. So he did experiment a tad with smaller creatures like goblins and kikimoras. The results were generally better. The goblin, apparently, composed a lengthy ballad about urinating on mushrooms."

"So he never used that potion on anything like, say, a slime? Or a mimic?" Coin asked, trying to maintain a calm tone.

The witch stifled a laugh as it rose in her throat. "Goodness no. Only a maniac would risk giving higher intellect to creatures like that. Could you imagine what a shapeshifter would do if they were that smart? Terrible to consider."

Well, she wasn't wrong, but it was still hurtful to hear it phrased in such a way.

"This is a fascinating line of questioning. But an oddly specific one. If you don't mind me asking... why are you so interested?" Scylla asked, her gaze meeting his with a burning intensity.

Coin managed to maintain a cold expression, betraying none of the anxiety bubbling up inside of him. "Asking for a friend. He was doing some looting in a tomb, and lost one of his potions. Guess he's worried about a monster eating it and getting smart." The mimic shrugged. "Or, at least, that's my understanding. He was skittish and vague on the details," he said, being skittish and vague on the details.

Which was perhaps not the best lie ever, but Coin considered it good enough. And it wasn't entirely untrue either, he reasoned. If one considered a random dead wizard to be his friend. Who indeed 'lost' a potion by dying abruptly with the potion hitched to his belt.

The witch scoffed, motioning the book back to its original position on the shelf. "Is that all? It's nothing to worry about. No animal is stupid enough to bite a glass bottle. Especially if they can pick up on the chemical scent therein."

And when Coin thought about it, his old self would have ignored a potion bottle entirely if he saw one lying in the open. If it wasn't shiny, or didn't have a meaty scent to it, a mimic would hardly be interested. Goblins, similarly, weren't interested in human loot if it couldn't be used to murder someone, or to protect their green hides from getting murdered.

Still, he felt some sense of relief. By the sound of things, monsters didn't suffer a 'time limit' after being exposed to that elixir. His intellect, for the time being, seemed to be safe.

"Is that all you want to know? Truly?" Scylla asked, venturing back to her counter. She reached for a cup of tea on the varnished wood, which steamed as if it was still freshly brewed. "I sort of expected... more out of you, if I'm being totally honest. Considering the vibe you give off."

A chill raced down Coin's spine. His... vibe? Had she seen through him? He clenched his fists subtly behind his back, willing power to surge through his muscles. "What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

She took a long sip of her tea, as if relishing keeping Coin on edge. Though her face betrayed no emotion. "I assumed you were coming to me on wizardry business. After all, you're absolutely brimming with magic," she stated.