Potions Master Chapter 6:
Chapter 7 is outlined but I'm probably going to take a break and try to get the next couple of chapters of College>Cottagecore finalized and published.
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By Jon McGee, cottagecore.stories@gmail.com
"Unicorns?" asked the Prince, looking up owlishly from the book he had been reading. "Do you know, this Tome has sections on unicorns? I've skipped them over, marking them for a time when I can enjoy a little light reading."
"Surely this is no coincidence," I said. "From my what I know, I know there are unicorns nearby. Your Tome was written to explore and explain this land. May I know what it says."
"Before I describe the Tome," said the Prince, "tell me of what you know."
"While an apprentice, I found reference in an ancient scroll to unicorns near what became the Southern Road, just below the Great Pass. I came here, following the notes, and collected unicorn hair, which is a powerful healing agent and very expensive to purchase."
"You would show me the collection site, and hope to see evidence of a unicorn?" asked the Prince.
"That, my Prince, and perhaps more," I said. "In the Royal Library, I learned an enhancement to the Spell of Seeking I cast on my last visit. My vision will be stronger, and may lead to the unicorns themselves. The spell is obscure, but I believe I will see more on this visit."
"What would you do if you encountered a unicorn," asked the Prince warily. Suspicion from the Prince was uncommon.
"Were I so lucky, I would observe so as not to disturb the animal. Unicorns are creatures of exquisite magic but also great purity. It would be a chance of my lifetime simply to see one, but I would not want to cause it any harm."
"Then know you this," said the Prince. "The Royal Tomes suggest an affinity between the Brooks Line and unicorns. I will join you eagerly, and read this Tome tonight." He did not elaborate, but was awake until nearly dawn reading and making notes.
The next evening, with the full moon on the rise, the Prince and I approached the site where I had collected unicorn hairs in the past. We followed a narrow trail, unseeable from the Royal Road, just after a great square boulder that stood beside a cataract.
The trail led for a distance between great stone cliffs, just a few paces wide, a thin, deep crack. It was inky black save the were-light from a jar I held before me.
The trail opened suddenly into a glen the size of the Grand Ballroom in Gloucester Castle, walled by granite cliffs on all sides but open to the sky far above. The naked branches of silver maples towered above an understory of poppy bushes that had not yet started to bud.
I cast the Spell of Finding.
Unicorn hairs blazed white, incandescent in the dark, snagged on the shrubs' branches and the shaggy maple bark.
As we moved through the clearing, I plucked the hairs from the bushes with my right hand, collecting them in my left. By the time we reached the back of the grotto, I held a skein the thickness of my smallest finger—a treasure to be sure.
"No unicorns tonight," said the Prince sadly. "But your collection is a boon to us."
"No unicorns, yet," I replied. "With the Spell of Finding I see thin facets of rock where unicorn hooves must have left deposits as they entered this space from above. They must be as agile as mountain sheep and live somewhere in the reaches above. If you are willing to climb, there may be more to see."
The Prince laughed darkly. "The Small Council would hang us both by our thumbs if they knew you were taking me up the face of a cliff in the middle of the night. I'll go first."
"No, my Prince," I said, "please allow me. I am an experienced climber and I can see the cracks where the unicorns have trod. I carry chalk in my belt, in case I needed to cast runes, and can mark a trail for you to follow. Once I am secure, I will lower a rope in case you slip."
"And if you slip first?" asked the Prince.
"Then you will need a new Potions Master," I said darkly to his widened eyes.
"I'm rather fond of you," he said. "I would not like to think of you dashed to pieces at the bottom of a cliff. Perhaps we should return in the daylight."
"I was joking, my Prince," I said. "Give me a moment and I'll drink the Steel Skin. That way, if I slip, I am hopeful I will just bounce down the cliff with nothing harmed but my dignity and trousers."
"Perhaps I should reconsider my aversion to potions," said the Prince with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smile.
As I waited for the potion to take full effect, I marked the rock faces we would use for hand-and toe-holds close to ground level.
As I did, the Prince said, "leave anything that could serve as a weapon behind. Unicorns are creatures of peace."
The Prince had come wearing a belt dagger and backsword, which he removed and placed behind a rock. I did the same with my staff and some more offensive potions. I even left my paring knife behind.
Once the potion had full effect, I shouldered my pack and began to climb. As I went, I said to the Prince, "watch how I place my weight, Sir. Make sure your feet are set before you release your hand-holds. This rock does not require you to pull yourself up with your hands—let your feet and legs do the hard work and use your hands for balance and stability."
In fact, the cliff did not continue as such for more than ten times my height, when the cliff started to curve back towards a broad bench. It was imperceptible in the dark. I found an anchor, secured the rope, and dropped it down to the Prince.
"Secure the rope and climb on," I called down. In a few short minutes he was sitting beside me, looking back in the direction of the Road.
"This plateau cannot be seen from the Road," said the Prince. The path through the crack curved back away from the Road. "We may be the first people to sit here since one of my forebearers read of this place in the Tomes."
"You knew?" I asked the Prince.
"Suspected is more like it. Hoped, perhaps. The Tomes are often obscure, but they have been correct so far, and I expect we have much more wonder in store. We should move."
I followed the unicorn signs—hoof marks and the occasional hair—further and further up the mountain, mostly over bare granite, as the trail curved further away from the Royal Road. We paused where the trail led to another thin crack in an otherwise smooth cliff-face.
"Prepare yourself, Master Green," said the Prince. "If the Tomes speak true, expect to see miracles soon. Lead on."
The path was barely wide enough for me to pass without walking sideways and it went on for hundreds of paces. The floor was smooth of rocks or even gravel, which made me think it was a watercourse some times of year.
As suddenly as the trail below opened into the grotto, we emerged from the crack into a vast meadow. Even in the light of the full moon, now high in the sky, it was hard to tell how large the space was, but it stretched as far as I could see and, it felt, much larger. I estimate it might take the better part of a day to walk across.
Unlike the world on the other side of the crack—and below, along the Royal Road—here it was full Spring. White barked lily trees were in full bloom, and linden and rowan trees too. The grass was thick and wildflowers grew abundantly.
I was nearly blinded by the glare of unicorn signs. Slowly my eyes became accustomed to the glow. There was unicorn sign everywhere.
"My Prince," I said, "surely this is paradise. Should I turn back? The Brooks Line has a right to be here, so say the Tomes, but I am not of that line."
"The Tomes tell me you are my guest and therefor welcome here," said the Prince slowly. "But we must proceed with caution and the utmost respect. For the time, collect nothing, just observe. Let's have a look around."
We followed a path in the deep grass, which led up through the middle of the vale. The air was warm and fragrant and the full moon cast enough light that the Prince could follow me with ease. Glowing white unicorn hair, and hoof scuffs, and piles of dung, lighted my way.
After some time, the Prince laid his hand on my shoulder. "Soft." said the Prince, "I have a Sense." He passed me on the trail continued on for perhaps ten paces.
Bight as the midday sun, a unicorn stepped from behind a boulder and faced the Prince.
Smaller than a horse and finer boned, but larger than a donkey, she was a creature of pure white, with a flowing tail and mane, silver hoofs and a single horn of braided silver and gold.
The Prince halted as the unicorn tossed her head, the horn as long as my arm and sharp as a needle. She whickered what sounded to me like a greeting, although perhaps it was a challenge.
"Greetings from House Brooks," said the Prince gravely. "I am Linden Brooks, Crown Prince of the Realm and the Scion of the Brooks Line." The Prince bowed formally at the waist.
When he rose, the Prince spoke in a language I did not recognize. "Tokanu franka al makara shangan goru."
The unicorn pranced with her front hooves and neighed a greeting, like a chorus of children laughing on a Spring morning. She turned on the trail, looked back over her shoulder, and squealed again, and pranced up the trail.
"That went . . ." said the Prince thoughtfully ". . . as well as I had hoped it might. We will follow."
For thirty minutes at least, we walked fast to keep up with the prancing unicorn. Suddenly the mare turned from the trail under the boughs of a massive sycamore tree, its trunk as thick as the length of a draft horse and with leaves the size of trenchers. She neighed again.
A cave was hidden in the cliff behind its massive trunk, its mouth nearly obscured with flowering vines. As the Prince and I turned to follow, I was greeted by three more small suns which emerged from the cave: a larger unicorn, a stallion with the bud of a horn emerging from his forehead, and two colts, not much larger than retriever dogs, also showing just the bud of developing horns.
The mare neighed loudly, a sound as pure as silver bells on a cold winter night, and the stallion responded with a deeper whinny, more like trumpets heralding welcome news. Warmth spread from the mouth of the cave, washing over the Prince and I.
We both bowed instinctively, and the prince repeated the greeting he had given when we met the mare, or so it seemed. I sensed small changes, perhaps related to the stallion's pronouns.
Both the mare and the stallion pranced again, and the colts gamboled around the cave's mouth. If I never again saw joy such as this, I could die saying I had seen pure happiness.
The stallion turned and entered the cave, emerging almost immediately with a unicorn's horn between his teeth. He laid this at Prince Linden's feet and nodded his head three times.
"Bandon corda chapsu," said the Prince gravely, bowing deeply before he picked up the horn with both hands. "Bandon gandol aptcha," he concluded. The stallion bowed again and withdrew.
The colts skipped forward and bowed. The Prince kneeled, bowed forward, and placed his forehead on the colts nubby horn buds. He whispered a greeting I couldn't hear and the colts squealed in joy and then backed away.
The mare stepped forward then and lifted her rear leg that was facing the Prince. "Green," said the Prince quietly, trying to keep the strain out of his voice. "I need a clean stoppered vessel, as large as you have."
I suddenly understood what the mare was offering.
"Yes, my Prince," I breathed, unshouldering my pack and reaching in to pull out a large glass jar I had used for collecting moonstones in the past.
The Prince took the jar, and faced the mare. "Bandae cordey chapsah." He bowed again. "Bandae gandol aptcha." He then knelt beside the mare. The mare whinnied again and the Prince reached out and began to milk her, nearly filling the jar before he was done.
Absent-mindedly, the Prince licked a drop of spilled mare's milk from his finger as he stoppered the jar. The Prince inhaled sharply and his eyes went large. He groaned, swayed, and then steadied himself.
"Green," whispered the Prince, "here." He held out his knuckle, on which another few drops of milk had spilled.
I leaned forward and licked the drops from the Prince's hand.
The moment my tongue touched the drops my body was on fire. Energy coursed through my veins. It was past midnight and we had been walking or climbing for hours, but all tiredness washed from my mind and body. My hair stood on end and I was instantly, powerfully, painfully erect.
"Is this the elixir you mentioned?" I asked, trying to compose myself.
"No," said the Prince. "The elixir is a concentrate. I will explain later." I wondered if I could survive contact with something so powerful.
The Prince performed the rite of thanks for the mare and handed me the stoppered bottle and the unicorn horn. "These are more precious than you or me," he said reverently. "Protect them with your life, as will I."
The unicorns stood to face us, backs to their cave. The stallion stood on the right, the mare on the left, and the colts between. As one, they bowed again to the Prince, dropping to one knee.
They nodded gravely to me as they stood.
The Prince and I repeated their gestures. "Ka natha be-shaga," said the Prince.
The unicorns neighed in unison and backed into the cave. We had been dismissed.
"We have their blessings and they mine," the Prince said solemnly. "We should go. Our Affinity has been confirmed for another Age. Would that I have the chance to bring my children here."
The Prince was deep in thought as we walked back towards the crack that would lead us away from this Paradise. With the Prince's assent, I collected more unicorn hair, ultimately holding a skein as thick as my thigh.
Still turgid from the taste of unicorn milk, mine was a slow and uncomfortable walk. The Prince seemed similarly afflicted, but I did not ask.
As we neared the exit from the unicorn's meadow, my condition became unbearable.
"Your Majesty," I said, "I am sorry. My taste of the unicorn's milk was remarkable. I feel stronger and fresher than I ever have. But I am left with a condition that will make progress off this mountain difficult."
"Oh thank the gods," moaned the Prince. "I did not dare ask if you were so affected."
"If I may take your leave for a short period," I said, "I will take matters in hand to see if I can relieve my condition."
"Or," said the Prince, "you could finally accept my offer and we could relieve our conditions together."
I smiled at the Prince, the same smile I gave every time he made this offer. This very tempting offer.
"You know my thinking on this, my Prince," I said. "I would like nothing more than to stay with you. But until my charge to you is complete, and you have an heir, I will not complicate our relationship. Would that I could!"
"I should not have asked," said the Prince with a sad smile, "for I know your thoughts, and they are correct. But here, in this special place, I hoped things might be different."
"This is a special place, a magical place," I said with a sigh. I briefly imagined laying a blanket in the sweet grass and spending a night with the Prince, under the full moon and beside the sweet night flowers. Paradise withing paradise, I thought.
"There is no one I would rather spend a night here with than you," I said wistfully.
"But you will not?" breathed the Prince.
"Someday, perhaps," I smiled. "After our work is done, and you are King, and we have got you an heir." I sighed. "Until then, I must follow my head and not my heart. Or my loins," I added with a laugh, "because that's what's driving me now."
The Prince chuckled darkly. "Mine too, I assure you."
"With your leave?" I asked. The Prince nodded and I walked away and found an alcove in the rocks where I did what needed doing. I thought of the Prince and it was magnificent. When I heard the Prince begin to whistle in the distance, I knew he had done the same.
Many years later, when I again visited the Valley of the Unicorns, I noted a massive linden tree rooted exactly where I believe the Prince to have completed his business. No special plant marked the location where I planted my seed, but the valley was very green.