Dory’s Potions & Alchemical Supplies was not far from Thimbleden’s Sundries. It was situated in the back of the market district, near the wall where there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic. The building stood alone, made of bricks with black painted windows and a large, red door. One wouldn’t even know what it was for if it wasn’t for the small sign announcing what was inside.

Trevor stood in front of the door for a moment, remembering Thimbleden’s words about how Dory hadn’t caused an incident in several years, before entering. The heat inside was much more intense than he had felt elsewhere, and a small bell chimed as the door opened. The young man returned his coat to his inventory.

“Dory, he’s here!” Greer said from behind the counter before approaching Trevor and bowing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Greer, I’m the apothecary’s assistant. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Trevor Anderson,” he greeted back, bowing before looking around the shop.

The interior was set up like some kind of fruit stand, with boxes full of various items lying ready for shoppers to look over. It was somewhat sparse, which Trevor attributed to winter being over soon, but he saw all kinds of plants, bones, and things he wasn’t sure on. The smell lingering in the air was unpleasant, something sulfuric if he had to guess, but wasn’t overpowering.

Against the far wall, the divider between the storefront and workspace in the back was a series of beads that clicked and clacked against each other as the alchemist entered the room. Trevor immediately saw why he had been warned as he gazed upon the snakes.

Standing in front of him, wearing heavy work clothes and a pair of dark goggles, was a green-scaled woman with a braid of snakes coming out of her head. The name Medusa immediately came to mind, and his body froze for a moment before he realized that she was wearing her protective gear.

Despite her thick clothes and goggles, Trevor noticed a compulsion that he wanted to see more of this enchanting woman in front of him. It wasn't very strong, and it disappeared the moment he realized it was happening.

He relaxed and offered a nervous, but hopefully friendly, grin.

“Good morning, ma’am,” he said. “I was told that you had a quest for me?”

“Good response. Most don’t get over seeing me so quickly,” Dory replied as she moved towards the young man. She was graceful, seeming to glide more than walk, and stopped in front of him to bow. Her hair raised to watch him. “I am Dorimy, but you may call me Dory.”

“Trevor Anderson, ma’am,” he stated as he bowed back.

“Yes, I do have a quest for the new inventoryman in town,” she said, resting a hand on her braid. Trevor tried not to wince at the title he had given himself without realizing it. If Dory noticed, she didn’t mention it, and gestured for him to follow her to the back. “I have been working on a concoction for Melvirn for the past two months, and I need someone who can safely transport it to him on the other side of town.”

“Did something happen to the courier who was supposed to pick it up?” Trevor asked.

Dory shook her head, and the snakes shifted to stay still. “No, Melvirn himself was supposed to come and retrieve it, but he’s probably deep into his research and simply forgot. He does that. I would send Greer to let the wizard know it’s ready, but I need him to watch the shop and I would freeze the moment I stepped outside.”

“That sounds terrible, ma’am,” Trevor said sympathetically. “Is there a reason why someone else can’t take it? Not that I’m complaining, of course, I’m just curious about why it’s worth a quest.”

The medusa smirked and guided him towards the back of the workspace to a bench far from the others. Sitting on top of it was an open volumetric flask. The liquid inside rapidly changed color, shifting from top to bottom to create a rainbow reminiscent of a lava lamp. Sparks flew from the top, disappearing before they had a chance to hit anything flammable.

“This is a mix of magic and alchemy created exactly to Melvirn’s specifications,” she said, standing a fair distance away. Trevor did the same. “He came to me months ago with a list of instructions, saying that he couldn’t possibly tear himself away from his research long enough to give it the attention it deserves. I owed him one for the amped up Heating Stones, so here we are now.”

“That looks very unstable,” Trevor noted. The snakes tried to make their way to him, but Dory gathered her braid back, absently petting them.

“Bump it around too much, and it just might blow up,” she said. “Which was why he was supposed to get it himself, and now I want it out of my workspace.”

“Kind of sounds like nitroglycerin,” Trevor stated warily.

“Close, but it won’t be used for making anything explosive, if you’re worried about that” she said with a chuckle. “Melvirn’s a pacifist, he’s not making any magical super weapons.”

“Okay,” the young man said with a nod. “I can transport it without it jostling about.”

“Excellent, then how does seven silver and three healing potions sound as a reward?” Dory asked. “Each healing potion costs a silver and five coppers, in case you didn’t know.”

Trevor wasn’t doing it for the reward, and was about to open his mouth to agree when a thought struck him. “Do you have anything… like an energy drink?” he asked hesitantly. “Something that’ll reinvigorate whoever drinks it, I mean.”

Dory tilted her head. “I do, though it’s more expensive. What did you need it for?”

“Well, there’s this woman, and-“

“Lady troubles, say no more,” Dory said with a wave of her hand.

“No, no, not lady troubles,” Trevor said in a slight panic. “I mean, kind of, but not, like, lady troubles. My friend’s just been working overtime a lot, is all. I was hoping that I might be able to help her out.”

“You still admit that it's lady trouble, Trevor,” Dory claimed mischievously. Her snake hair hissed in an amused cadence. “But how about three silver, one healing potion, and a vial of Full Night’s Rest, which is the strongest I have available right now. Once you drink it, you feel as though you’ve had its namesake. I usually make it for the guards, but I can part with one for a good cause.”

“Oh, that sounds great,” Trevor said, ignoring her teasing. He was losing out on a few silver and two other potions, which meant it had to be expensive, but he didn’t mind at all. Thinking of Adabelle, he offered the medusa his hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

Smiling, Dory took his hand and gave it a firm shake as the Quest Master chimed in.

[[New Quest! Deliver this bubbling brew to Melvirn the wizard!

Melvirn, Tosa’s premiere and only high wizard, had asked Dory to create this alchemically magical mixture in order to imbue a few of his new experiments with strange and wondrous spells. These days, his research has to deal with extradimensional spaces like safes, wagons, and bags.

Sounds like someone you know, doesn’t it? Except he got his abilities the hard way: community college.]]

“Oh, dimensional stuff,” Trevor said as he read through the quest. “That’s neat, and basically what I can do.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Dory replied. “Do you need anything special in order to take it?”

“Just need to touch it,” he said before looking back at the sparkling flask, which was now also bubbling and fizzing. “Is it… supposed to do that?”

“Yes, nothing to worry about,” Dory said with a wave of her hand. “I recommend going low, though, where the sparks are disappearing. Do you know where you’re going?”

“No, but I’ve got a Trinket for that.” Taking a breath, Trevor did as Dory suggested and slid his hand over the table before poking the flask with his finger and drawing it in.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It immediately disappeared, though he felt his inventory bubble for a moment before settling down. That was a new feeling. The thought that this was for something related to extradimensional spaces fully formed in his mind and he looked at Dory.

“Sorry to run, but I think I need to get to him as quickly as possible,” Trevor said as he bowed again. His inventory seemed fine now, but he didn’t want to risk it. “It was very nice meeting you, ma’am, and thank you for negotiating.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Trevor,” Dory replied as she bowed back, her hair raising to maintain its altitude.

Running out of the back room, Trevor stopped long enough to bow to Greer before running out into the streets. The cold assailed his body, and the young man pulled his coat and PathGuider 5000 out of his inventory. He was immediately wrapped in warmth, and ran through the streets.

The market was full this morning, and the PathGuider wanted him to jump over the stalls to take the shortest path to Melvirn’s. Trevor did not do that, instead running around the plaza. The Trinket continued to point him in the direction of the river, so he knew the quickest path there at the very least, and headed straight there.

Now that he had spent a few days in town, his presence was fairly well known. He had been polite, which was something not all Summoned had been, and even people who didn’t know him reacted with a nod or bow as he passed. Trevor did the same, not wanting to shun anyone, as he made his way through town.

He couldn’t help but think about how much of a far cry that was from Earth. Trevor hadn’t grown up in a big city, but it was still larger than this. Generally when you walked through the streets, people were distracted or in a hurry or simply didn’t care to look at anyone else. It wasn’t something he realized he needed, but being validated by so many people wasn’t the chore he thought it would be, and he felt seen.

The good feelings stopped as he came to the bridge, however, where the PathGuider wanted him to veer right and cross the river itself. Its green arrows jumped from log to log, constantly shifting as it lead him to the other side.

“Screw that,” Trevor said with a half-laugh. He turned his eyes to the bridge and slowed to a stop.

The entire bridge appeared to be backed up and crowded beyond belief. People who were done shopping for the day were returning to the residential district with their goods. They all seemed frustrated, so Trevor listened in to figure out what had happened.

It didn’t take him long to get the information he wanted. In the middle of broad daylight, the gremlins appeared, swooped in, and spooked the wracors leading a wagon over the bridge. It had crashed into the wagon in front of it, which caused the wracors leading that wagon to panic, and now there was a very small path to get across while everything was being fixed.

Trevor felt his inventory bubble uncomfortably. It wasn’t painful or anything, but he did feel as though he wanted it out if only for his own mental health.

Taking a breath, he looked around for any alternative that wasn’t jumping across the river. He glanced towards the next closest bridge to see a similar situation there, and could easily see the glint of steel from the guard’s armor. People were funneling in from the third bridge, grumbling when they saw how backed up this one was.

Making a decision, Trevor went around the crowd to the riverside.

Not to jump over the logs, of course. In this cold weather, he figured that would be the death of him.

Instead, he jumped and grabbed onto the lip of the bridge and pulled himself up. The orc on the other side carrying a crate of goods gave him a strange and concerned look, but Trevor just gave an uneasy grin. “Pardon me, friend.”

The wall of the bridge was roughly eight inches across and made of solid stone. He balanced on one knee before cautiously standing up, one foot in front of the other, and his arms out to keep himself level. The moment he was there, he realized how foolish he was acting, but he wanted this to get done without taking a dip in a freezing river.

It only took him two steps before he realized that he might end up taking that plunge anyway. Sucking in a breath and ignoring the crowd that watched him, some yelling about waiting his turn and others telling him to be careful and get down from there. He waved nervously but continued on. The logs traveling in the river beneath Trevor caused him to rethink his decision, and he stopped.

“Quest Master, can you please put a point into Dexterity for me,” he muttered under his breath.

[[Stat increase complete. Dexterity is now 2. You still have two (2) banked points remaining to be used at your leisure.]]

It was like night and day. One moment he was struggling to hold his balance and walking one foot in front of the other, and the next he was moving across the bridge’s wall at a speed just short of walking pace. Balance had never been Trevor’s strong suit, and he couldn’t help but laugh as he made it halfway across the bridge before he knew it.

Several workers were attempting to move the wagons, but the wracors were laying on the ground, sleeping. That might have been another gremlin curse, though Trevor realized that he knew very little of fey magic. It didn’t look like anything he would have been able to help with, so he kept moving with a few words of encouragement.

His feet touched the ground on the other side of the bridge, and he paused before throwing his arms in the air. “Take that, PathGuider,” he said triumphantly.

The Trinket continued to point him towards the residential district quietly, and he followed it.

From there, it was smooth sailing. The foot traffic wasn’t nearly as heavy since the people that were coming from the other side of the river were doing so in a slow trickle, and it didn’t take long for Trevor to make it to his destination: an empty alley between two houses.

“What?” he asked, scratching the stubble on his chin as he looked around. There was a big house to the right, and a big house to the left, and in the middle was a big empty space. He crossed his arms as his inventory bubbled again.

“Are you looking for Melvirn’s, mister?” came a small voice from behind him.

Trevor turned to see a small, black-haired human boy wearing a thick winter coat behind him. He gave him a smile and nodded. “Yes, I am. It’s supposed to be here, right?”

“It’s magic, mister,” he said. “You gotta be looking right at it to see it.”

Frowning, Trevor looked at the alley again before shaking his head. “I don’t see it.”

The boy approached Trevor and gestured for the man to kneel down. He did so, and the child took the young man’s head in his hands and pointed his eyes towards the alley. “Concentrate, mister.”

Getting over the surprise manhandling of his head, Trevor narrowed his eyes and stared at the alley. A few seconds passed, and then a few more, and just as he was about to ask this kid what was going on, a tower sprung into sight.

It was tall and made of gray stone like the turret of a castle. Trevor nearly fell backwards when it appeared. “Whoa! How come I didn’t see that?” he asked the kid.

“Magic, I suppose,” the boy answered. “I live across the street, so I’ve known about it for a long time.”

“That’s good,” Trevor said. “But, shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I’m sick, mister.”

A quick glance at the child told Trevor that this was probably malarkey. “Funny, don’t look sick to me.”

“And you don’t look lost to me,” the boy said, giving the young man a toothy grin. “Guess we both got what we wanted today.”

Trevor couldn’t help but chuckle as the child started walking away, whistling to himself. That was an easygoing way of looking at things, for sure.

Standing up and approaching the tower, Trevor noted the thick wooden door in front of him. He reached up and knocked on it.

“Who’s there? What do you want?” a nasally male voice asked, seeming to be coming from the door. “I’m very busy, you know!”

“I’m Trevor Anderson, sir,” he replied. “Dory sent me with your sparkling potion.”

The door paused. “That was today?”

“Yes, sir, but I’ve got it for you.”

“All the way here? From Dory’s? In one piece?”

“Yes, sir, though I’d like to get it out of my pocket dimension as quickly as possible,” Trevor stated as it bubbled again.

Another pause. “You have a pocket dimension?”

“I’m a Summoned, new in town, with the Power of Inventory.”

“Fascinating, truly fascinating. Please, put the mixture on the metal table in the foyer. Would you be able to come back in two or three hours? To talk about your Power. I’ll make sure it’s well worth your time!”

The door swung open, revealing a simple room with a single metal table and another door as thick as the one Trevor had knocked on. He entered and placed his hand on the table, releasing the potion onto it. A spark landed on his coat, and the young man jerked his hand away to pat where it landed.

[[Quest complete! You’ve made another delivery!

Seems like you’ve got a knack for smuggling dangerous materials into places they’re supposed to be. With this, Melvirn will be able to continue his research into extradimensional spaces and find a way to make them better in every way. And it’s all thanks to you and your willingness to put strange things into your inventory.

Reward! Three silver coins, a healing potion, and a Full Night’s Rest have been added to your inventory.

Level Up! You have gained one (1) stat point. It has been added to your bank, which has three (3) stat points left.

Notice! Your next level up will be the last one that will take one quest to complete. You will also be able to pick up a new Skill.]]

“Yes, sir, that sounds fine to me,” he said, perking up from the message as he took a few steps back onto the road. The fact that level ups were going to be harder stung, but he got what he wanted and could be getting a new skill to boot.

“Phenomenal! Then I’ll see you again soon, Trevor Anderson.”

“Have a good one,” Trevor replied, but got no answer.

Which suited him just fine. Now that he didn’t have to worry about some strange potion bubbling up his inventory, he could get on with a mission just as critical as this one.

Returning the PathGuider 5000 to his inventory, he started heading towards the nearest restaurant to place an order to go.