Succubus Quest Ch. 8

It was still dark when Vivian opened her eyes. She wrestled herself out of bed, fighting the urge to rest a little longer.. She was exhausted from the day before, but exhaustion was an old friend from late nights in Kyoto and Prague.

Hunger was a less familiar sensation, one that was gnawing at her belly with each fumbling movement she made to dress. In her past life Vivian had barely been able to feed at all, and none of mother’s trials, rituals, or experiments had improved the situation. But because her powers hadn’t awakened properly, Vivian had lacked the appetites of her peers. The thin flow of energy she’d been able to drain from her various partners had been dissatisfying in the sense that she should have been capable of more. But now, with the first crack in the flood gates of her succubatic hunger, Vivian was beginning to realize what she’d been missing in more ways than one.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if she let the hunger go too long. She’d heard stories about succubi who lost control, but she also didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. If an opportunity to feed came up in the village… well, she’d figure that out when the time came.

The inn was two stories tall, with Vivian’s room facing away from the street, and if tying sheets together was good enough for fairytale princesses, it was good enough for her. She skidded awkwardly to the ground, skinning her knee when her foot slipped, but managed to escape the inn without alerting anyone to her presence. Vivian winced at the patch of tender skin, ran a finger over her knee, and winced again.

“Why the hell did I do that?” Vivian muttered.

Pre-dawn light was illuminating the tops of the tallest trees outside of town as Vivian snuck through the village. She waited for a man to draw water from the covered well in the town square, then later for the night guard to finish his patrol past her hiding space, before rushing across the street and taking cover in the shadow of what she assumed was the alchemist’s workspace. There was a sign outside that read Mia’s Concoctions - that was the name Jericho had said yesterday, right? Vivian mentally reviewed her plans for if the woman was awake, if she threatened to call the guards, or if she got aggressive. None of the options were exciting, but lacking better ideas they would have to do.

The building had a narrow entrance, widening out as it went further back. There was no light coming from inside. More out of curiosity than in belief that it would work, Vivian tried the door first and was surprised to feel the handle turn smoothly in her hand. After taking a furtive glance to confirm no one was watching, Vivian eased the door open with her shoulder before pressing it closed behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, the succubus took a hesitant step forward and began to look around.

Smudged shapes materialized into a pair of tables containing neatly organized glassware. Shelves lined the walls, stuffed with bottle and boxes full of mushrooms, molds, powders, slimes, flowers, murky liquids, and dead insects. Vivian wrinkled her nose at the strong, earthy scent.

There was a closed door tucked away at the back of the room - probably where the alchemist was sleeping. If Vivian was lucky, she could be in and out before that changed. The various supplies and substances were meticulously labeled in a neat, careful script, so the succubus set to work. She examined each label on the shelves, checking against her short list as she went.

“Dryfish scales… wolf’s bane…” Vivian spoke under her breath as she delved into the collection, trying not to let the task daunt her. How could there be so many things to mix with other things? It would have been easier if they were ordered alphabetically, but the collection seemed to have its own system of organization that was entirely unhelpful. It took ten minutes of searching to locate the blisterwort: a stoppered glass jar three-quarters full of geometrically-patterned leaves and tiny yellow flowers. But after reading every label, the black salts that Granny had requested had yet to materialize.

The door creaked.

Vivian froze. She was hunched over a sack of unlabeled bottles, three held in her left hand as she rifled through the remainder.

“Jericho?” The voice coming from the cracked door was feminine. She sounded irritated and half-asleep. “You have to knock. I’ve told you so many times…” The door opened, revealing a brunette woman in her late twenties dressed in an oversized shirt that reached to her knees. “Oh. You’re… not Jerry.”

Vivian forced a smile. “Um. Hi?”

The woman folded her arms across her chest, face drawing into a line. “Did he send you, then? I don’t recognize you from the village.” She glanced around the room before locking eyes on the bottles in Vivian’s hand. “Looking for something, are we?”

Vivian’s mind was racing for the right thing to say. “... black salts?” That probably hadn’t been it. She put the bottles back into their container, straightening up. “Sorry. I’m Vivian. I didn’t mean to. Well…”

The woman sighed, taking several seconds to exhale air and annoyance. “Break into my house in the middle of the night and rifle through my belongings?” It’s… fine. Or rather, it isn’t fine, but I’m sure that asshole didn’t tell you I lived in my workshop.” She shuffled over to a box, rummaged, and withdrew a vial of what looked like black sand. She held it out to Vivian. “Here. I’m Mia. And your name is…?”

Vivian tried not to look over-eager as she snatched the salts, tucking them into her tunic. “Uh, thanks. Vivian.” She glanced at the door. This is your chance to leave, she thought to herself. Just go. Don’t keep talking. She took two steps, turned, and squinted at the house’s owner. “Isn’t Jerry your patron, or something like that? You don’t seem very fond of him.”

Mia propped herself against the nearest table, recrossing her arms, raising an eyebrow. “‘Not fond’ would be an understatement. I realize you’re the latest girl he’s lured to Kampi with the promise of ‘work opportunities’, but he’s a grade A prick. And I wouldn’t need patronage in the first place if he hadn’t bought every place to live in this stupid town and tripled the price to stay there.”

Mia looked at Vivian. Vivian looked at Mia. Silence hung in the air between them, thick and awkward, like regifted wool socks.

“I’m not actually working for him,” Vivian offered at last. “ I just appeared yesterday.”

“Appeared?” Mia’s expression moved from irritation to surprise. “Wait, are you from the other world too?”

The succubus nodded carefully.

Mia wrinkled her nose, paced back and forth once, then sat back down on a stool. “I am so sorry,” she said. “I had no idea. I didn’t realize she’d sent you. I was pretty sure she’d send a dream when someone new was coming. And you didn’t look like you were… well, nevermind that.”

Vivian cocked her head to the left. “She?”

“The goddess. You met the goddess, right?”

“Yes…?”

Mia nodded. “Great. And he’s not with you, is he? Jerry?”

“I don’t think he’s even in town,” Vivian said. “Somebody told him about a problem and he ran off. He told me he’d be back tomorrow.” She frowned. “Well, later today.”

The alchemist’s words were coming faster as she continued to talk. “We don’t have that much time, but we can get you acclimated. I already tried poison…” She glanced nervously at the door. “But he barely noticed. The man thought it was food poisoning. I hope you’re an assassin or something similar. The man may be an ass, but he’s ungodly difficult to put in the ground.”

Vivian held up her hands. “Wait, wait. Hold on. You’re trying to kill Jerry?”

Mia’s eyes widened. Her hands stopped moving. “How much did Cerulea tell you?”

“Almost nothing. It was more: welcome to the world, I don’t like you, get out of my house.”

Mia’s fists clenched and unclenched. “You… oh.” Her face paled. “I didn’t.. about Jerry, I was just…”

“Don’t worry,” Vivian said in her most reassuring tone. “I just met the guy, and I can understand why you’d want to murder him.”

“It’s not that - it’s what he’s doing in the forest. At the lake.” She ran a hand through her hair, fidgeted, then repeated the motion. “I understand this is a lot to take in at once, especially if you just arrived yesterday. But Cerulea did say she’d summon another hero, and that has to be you. There isn’t anyone else. I promise, I’ll explain everything as we go - you’ll have to train before we can make our move anyway.”

Vivian looked Mia up and down. “Wow. Uh.”

“At least hear me out,” Mia pleaded. “Stay in the village for a few days. I’ll convince Jerry to let you travel into the forest - we’ll have more space to talk freely and I can explain the details.” She frowned. “As much as Cerulea has told me, that is. She only speaks in dreams, so it’s difficult to retain everything.”

“Okay!” Vivian said, holding up her hands. “Alright, I get it. I’ll hear you out. But I promised someone I’d meet them in the forest today, and the mayor has the guards keeping me in the village. I really need to go.” She glanced at the early morning light streaming in through the windows. “Basically right now.”

“Yes, fine.” Mia smoothed out her eyebrows with both thumbs. “I won’t press about the reagents - it’s nothing I can’t replace. Just come find me once you’ve returned.”

Taking her cue, Vivian had the door open and was halfway through before a thought occurred to her. “Before I go… did you ever forget how to do things? Things you used to be really, really good at in the other world?”

Mia nodded. “Mental fog isn’t uncommon for newcomers - I’ve done some research into the matter. For me, it came with knowledge that didn’t align with this world. Mathematics in particular was a struggle. Actually, wait there a moment.” She disappeared into her room, emerging a minute later with a small glass bottle labeled Memory Potion. “I haven’t brewed any in months. It does get better as you work through things, but it will take time and effort. Sip sparingly - that’s my last bottle, and I don’t have the ingredients to brew more.”

Vivian eyed the sloshing red liquid, shrugged, and deposited it into her satchel. “Thank you,” she said. “Really. I was worried there was something wrong with me.”

“Technically there is,” Mia said. “The gods dislike so-called forbidden knowledge. Which I have always thought odd - why draw champions from another world, then punish them for their imported wisdom? But we can discuss philosophy later - go run your errand. If Jerry arrives back before you do, I’ll make up an excuse.”

“Right. Thanks.” Vivian gathered herself, double-checked to make sure the reagents were still with her, and slipped out the door. The gate leading to the forest was in eyesight, and it was open. Russel was nowhere in sight. Nervous but determined, Vivian began walking quickly toward the forest.