Chapter 14: Life Steal I and Desire I
“Any other formulas?” Asker asked through the voice amplifier.
“I don’t have the formula for Life I, but I have a lead,” a voice from booth number ten replied. “Forty pounds.”
“Deal,” Asker said.
The shadowy tendril snatched the money and, moments later, returned with a slip of paper.
“Go to 44 Dorok Road in the slums at midnight tonight. The Life I formula you seek awaits you there.”
“Is this… an invitation?” Nuo asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.
“Hmm, I vaguely remember this,” Asker mused. It seemed like a side quest from the game.
“Remember?” Nuo frowned, confused.
“Don’t worry. I’ll accompany you tonight,” Asker assured her.
Nuo relaxed, tucking the note away safely.
Asker repeated his request for other formulas, but no one responded. Just as Medea and Peggy were about to give up hope, the host spoke up.
“Life Steal I and Desire I… those are elixirs for the vampire and succubus paths, correct? I happen to have them. But what price are you willing to pay?”
“Cash?” Asker asked.
“Certainly. One thousand pounds per formula.” The host leaned back in his chair, his voice laced with amusement. “Ten times the usual price for a level I formula, I know. But it’s a seller’s market, and I’m not exactly hurting for money.”
“Perhaps we can offer something other than cash.” Asker knew he was being targeted, but he wasn’t about to be fleeced. “Information, perhaps?”
“Write down a brief summary of the information you deem valuable,” the host instructed. “If I find it interesting, we can discuss the details and finalize the transaction.”
“Very well.” Asker scribbled a sentence on a piece of paper and handed it to the shadowy tendril.
The host unfurled the note. It read:
The location of the Shadow Blade.
“A historian, I see.” The host’s unfiltered voice, no longer distorted, echoed through the tendril. It sounded like a man in his prime. “If you’re referring to the blade Brutus used to assassinate Caesar at the end of the Third Era, I’m definitely interested.”
“Information regarding the Shadow Blade, regardless of its authenticity, should be worth two thousand pounds,” Asker replied.
“Indeed. Provided it’s not an obvious fabrication.” The host chuckled. “Write it down.”
The girls exchanged confused glances, but they didn’t dare pry. The host’s tone made it clear this was a valuable artifact. If the mere mention of its location was worth two thousand pounds, the blade itself must be incredibly powerful, likely reserved for high-level Transcendents.
“Done.” Asker handed the note to the tendril. It snatched the paper and, moments later, returned with two new notes.
He accepted it? Could Asker’s information be genuine? The girls stared at each other, speechless.
“Isn’t this a bad deal?” Medea finally asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “Two level I formulas for a lead worth two thousand pounds? I could acquire those formulas for five hundred pounds, maybe even less, after attending a few more gatherings!”
“It’s just a lead,” Asker replied calmly. “Whether we can actually acquire the blade is another matter entirely.”
His tone suggested obtaining the Shadow Blade wouldn’t be easy. The girls relaxed, their attention shifting to the two notes in Asker’s hand.
The formula for Life Steal I read:
– Ingredient –
Mash of Golden Leech
– Subsidiary –
Fruit of Eden x1
Olive Oil of Corfu x1 tablespoon
Ferrous Oxide Powder x1 pinch
– Processing –
Place 1 Fruit of Eden in a stone bowl and crush it with a pestle (Note: Do not use any metal utensils). Strain the juice and add 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil of Corfu. Stir clockwise until thoroughly mixed. Add a pinch of Ferrous Oxide Powder and continue stirring counterclockwise. Once the viscous liquid turns red, add the Mash of Golden Leech and stir counterclockwise until it solidifies. Consume the solidified mixture.
“Does this formula look familiar, Asker?” Peggy asked, her voice laced with anxiety.
“It seems genuine,” Asker replied. “Leeches represent stealing, the Fruit of Eden represents life, ferrous oxide represents blood, and olive oil represents flesh. It aligns with occult principles. The Fruit of Eden and Olive Oil of Corfu are both produced in the Syris Province. As for the Mash of Golden Leech… I have a lead. We can acquire it.”
Peggy sighed in relief. They turned their attention to the second note, the formula for Desire I:
– Ingredient –
Panopea Abrupta of Bathnia Gulf x1
– Subsidiary –
Menophania of Human Virgin x2 tablespoons
Lithocarpus Pachylepis with Purgatory Smell x1
Medical Alcohol (75%) x10 ml
– Processing –
Crush the Lithocarpus Pachylepis with Purgatory Smell and dissolve it in 10 ml of Medical Alcohol (75%). Strain the mixture and add 2 tablespoons of Menophania of Human Virgin. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture evenly over the Panopea Abrupta of Bathnia Gulf and consume by biting and chewing.
“If this formula is real,” Nuo said, trying to sound nonchalant, “at least I can provide the medical alcohol.”
“Panopea Abrupta of Bathnia Gulf?” Medea frowned. “What’s that?”
“The Bathnia Gulf is located within the Northern Kalmar Empire,” Asker explained. “The Panopea Abrupta is a highly sought-after aphrodisiac in Constantinople. Consuming an elixir made from it has a potent effect on men.”
“I see.” Medea blushed, understanding the implications. “I’ll leave that to our esteemed Captain Asker. I’m familiar with Lithocarpus Pachylepis. We can inquire with merchants from the Ilania Plateau.”
“As for the Menophania… you’ll have to handle that,” Asker said, coughing awkwardly.
“Of course. You wouldn’t want to provide that yourself, would you?” Medea teased, her eyes twinkling.
“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t,” Asker replied dryly.
The gathering continued, with more items being traded: a copy of Democritus’s classic occult text, “The Grand System of the Universe”; a gold necklace said to bring good luck; and an ornate crown, allegedly worn by a queen of Pontus, containing a clue to the formula for Storm III.
One booth even offered a high-resolution photograph of Princess Theodora. This mundane item, devoid of any supernatural properties, fetched a surprising price of two hundred pounds, purchased without hesitation by the deep-pocketed individual from booth number thirteen. Perhaps they were connected to the royal family and wanted to retrieve the princess’s image.
“I have a valuable piece of information for sale,” a voice from booth number four announced as the gathering neared its end. “Five pounds per person. Not cheap, but worth every penny. It concerns your fate for the next few months, perhaps even the fate of the entire Empire. Host, if anyone declines to purchase this information, please use your Shadow magic to shield their booth.”
“Very well.” The host nodded. He had seemed distracted ever since Asker had sold him the information about the Shadow Blade, as if eager to conclude the gathering.
“So, anyone unwilling to pay?” the voice from booth number four asked, a hint of amusement in his tone.
Silence met his question. Five pounds wasn’t cheap, but the promise of valuable information, especially concerning the Empire’s fate, was too tempting to resist. The previous transactions, involving hundreds of pounds, had also skewed their perception of value.
The host, with a wave of his hand, summoned countless shadowy tendrils. They snaked through the booths, collecting five pounds from each participant and depositing the money into booth number four. Then, silence. After a moment of impatient grumbling, the voice from booth number four finally resumed.
“Apologies for the delay. I was collecting the money. The information I have for sale is this: at two o’clock this afternoon, Emperor Constantine’s campaign against the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia ended in defeat. At the Battle of Manzikert, the Seljuk forces employed a crescent-shaped ambush formation. The Empire’s Ironclad Paladins and light cavalry were harassed by succubus fire magic, provoking them to charge recklessly into the trap.”
“To rescue the cavalry, the Emperor ordered the main force to advance towards the center, leading them straight into the Seljuk encirclement. The Cuman mercenaries’ betrayal was the final blow. As of four o’clock this afternoon, the Imperial army has been routed at Manzikert. The Seljuk invasion of Anatolia is now inevitable.”
Some Transcendents failed to grasp the significance of this news, but others, understanding its implications, immediately bombarded booth number four with questions.
“How many escaped?”
“What about the Emperor? Did he escape or was he captured?”
The voice from booth number four replied with a sigh. “I don’t have further details. The news reached me just as the vanguard of the retreating Imperial forces arrived back in Manzikert. However, you must understand the implications. Anatolia is the Empire’s eastern breadbasket, a vital source of resources, manpower, and soldiers. The Emperor’s defeat at Manzikert leaves Anatolia virtually defenseless. What will happen to prices in Constantinople if we lose Anatolia? And what about the millions of Imperial citizens living there? Even if only a tenth of them flee west to Constantinople, imagine the social unrest it will cause.”
His words silenced the room. Asker, familiar with the main storyline from the game’s public beta, knew the situation was far more dire than the speaker realized. In two months, the Seljuk army would reach Nicaea, conquering all of Anatolia. Within a fortnight, the Seljuk navy would transport troops across the Aegean Sea, landing on the Thracian plains west of Constantinople, cutting off the city from the West.
Two months later, Constantinople would fall, the surviving nobles fleeing to the Syris Province. From the defeat at Manzikert to the fall of the capital, the Eastern Solomon Empire would collapse in just five months.
This was why Asker had sold his family’s shops and invested everything in weapons and supplies. The Battle of Manzikert alone would disrupt trade between East and West, crippling Constantinople’s economy. Two months later, with the Seljuk army at Nicaea’s gates, property values in the city would plummet. No one would want real estate in a doomed city.
The gathering concluded. Following the host’s instructions, the booths were opened one by one, and well-dressed attendants escorted the participants outside. This was to prevent ambushes, as rival Transcendents might be waiting outside.
Asker’s group was escorted all the way to the Golden Gate subway station, likely on the host’s orders. They boarded the train, their minds preoccupied with the newly acquired formulas.
Upon returning to their neighborhood, Asker led them to the blacksmith’s shop. He sold Eleanor’s old armor and commissioned a new gambeson and cloak to conceal the dark green hue of her meteoric iron armor.
“We’ll split up now,” Asker instructed. “Medea, Peggy, you’ll search for Eastern merchants within the city. Try to acquire a pair of Eyes of Shadow Insects and a Lithocarpus Pachylepis with Purgatory Smell. Here’s five hundred pounds. Eleanor, Nuo, you’ll head to the Golden Horn and purchase synthetic diamond powder and ferrous oxide powder from the factories. Industrial materials are relatively cheap. Here’s fifty pounds. I’ll handle the remaining ingredients.”
“Remember, ethereal materials are closely monitored by the Church. Avoid attracting the attention of merchants controlled by Church informants. Medea, use your Mind I abilities to screen potential sellers.”
“Understood.” They knew the importance of acquiring these ingredients for their elixirs.
