MH2 - Chapter 8: Fizzle, Pop, BOOM

Dolli tweezed another thread of Kelzoul’s hair from the sterilized beaker holding the bunch. She’d cleaned the hair and removed the beads to ensure there were no contaminants interfering with her magic. She didn’t want to accidentally target the potion at whoever’s blood had last splashed over him.

With practiced care, she brought the hair to her workstation and set it on the metal tray. She took a deep breath and looked at her notes, then the waiting ingredients. She mumbled the steps as her finger traced the page, “Two drops Firefern sap, one pinch dried Oriono, heat to ash, mix in purified starlight water to result in a stable Essence Isolator. Once isolated, boil to a concentrate and mix in any elixir for targeted potency modifiers.”

She eyed the ingredients, mentally working through each step. Then, she followed her mental story. She pinched the end of the dropper gently, squeezing out just two drops of the Firefern sap onto the hair. The silvery strand wriggled and curled in on itself. She sprinkled the dried Oriono over the sap, then mushed it together to a cakey mess.

With practiced motions, she moved her goggles into place and clamped the tongs on the sides of the metal tray. She moved to her heat-controlled oven and slipped the tray into the top slot, the hottest.

She mentally tapped her non-existent foot as she counted to twenty. When the tray came free, there was a little pile of smoldering ash sitting at the center. Dolli moved quickly, not wanting any of the essence to escape.

The pre-filled vial of liquid starlight waited at the finishing station. Dolli set the tray down on the heat pads and scooped a bit of ash into the vial. She corked it and shook the vial in a side-to-side motion to swirl the ingredients together.

A thick, orange smoke wafted off the surface of the darkening liquid and Dolli felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps she’d gotten it right this time. The pressure in the vial mounted and Dolli pressed her corporeal thumb down on the cork harder.

The vial trembled and Dolli held it still, pushing both thumbs down on the cork to hold it in with a prayer.

The vial shot out the bottom of Dolli’s grip with a corky thhhopand smashed on the stone floor.

“Bloody widows!” Dolli shouted.

The orange smoke wafted up from the shattered glass and blackened liquid. Dolli used Fold Reality to eject the foul-smelling smoke from her alchemy lab. She got the broom and mop, then set about cleaning her mess while she muttered curses.

There was a knock at the door and Dolli composed herself. “Yes?”

Rufus poked his head inside. “How is it coming?”

Dolli gestured to the bin full of broken vials, then put her hands on her hips with a sigh. “I’m getting closer. I think I need to make a larger batch so I can use thicker glass and clamps for the cork, that should do it.”

Rufus nodded. “Can I help?”

“If you’re not too busy,” Dolli replied. Rufus was always very busy, for which Dolli was very grateful. He handled so much of the rest rotation schedule and many other important responsibilities so Dolli could focus on the potions, quests, and battles.

Rufus grabbed one of the black aprons hanging on the wall and a pair of goggles. They got to work, this time with larger portions and a bigger vial. Dolli was hesitant to use so much of the limited ingredients—Kelzoul’s hair in particular—but she was confident in her solution.

“So, there’s been some talk,” Rufus started.

“Oh? Juicy rumors about my affiliations with heroes?” Dolli mused. She mashed the ingredients together and Rufus opened the oven door for her.

“No, other talk. The dungeonfolk are scared, Dolli.”

Dolli hummed. “That’s to be expected, but we’ve been having great success in our battle rotations—nearing dungeon level eight already.”

Rufus rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s more than that. Some are feeling hopeless. They don’t know why you don’t surrender yourself to save them.”

Dolli jerked the hot tray from the oven and set it at her workstation with a clang. “Well, if they’d seen what I’d seen in Kelzoul’s camp, they’d know why.”

“I know,” Rufus said, exasperated. “I’m telling them why we’re doing this, it’s just…”

“Not enough,” Dolli finished for him. She scooped the blackened powder into the thick potion bottle and corked it, then clamped it with the fire tongs. “Hold this firmly,” Dolli said as she passed him the ends of the tongs.

Rufus grabbed hold and Dolli began the gentle swirling motion. The potion bottle trembled just as the vials had and the orange smoke filled the empty space. Dolli focused on the potion, willing to settle. The cork pressed out against the tongs but Rufus held tight. With a burst of light, the ingredients settled. The bottle ceased its trembling and the once blackened liquid was now a dark copper after fusing with the smoke.

“Yes,” Dolli whispered. “This should give them some hope, but I know it won’t be enough. Who’s been particularly hopeless? I want them to come with me to deliver the potion.”

Rufus scowled. “We agreed this needed to be quick and stealthy. I don’t think you should make a field trip out of it just to prove a point.”

“I do. If they don’t know what we’re fighting for, they won’t fight hard enough. If they know there’s another option, they’ll give in instead of doing what’s hard—I know from experience.”

Rufus looked down, his brow furrowed with pain and frustration. “Dolli, this doesn’t seem smart.”

“I’ll take three more, only doubling the party size. Stealth only; Stagarth, Noctaves, and Destratos. We’ll be quick and go unseen.”

“If you fail—”

“We will all die, I know!”

They were quiet for a moment as the flare of anger dissipated. Dolli set the potion on the table and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but if they don’t understand, Monster Haven will fare worse than death. The dungeonfolk will be enslaved and worked to the bone. They’ll be forced to assault other dungeons and do the same things to them.

“It will not just be death of their body; it will be the death of their anima. And then Kelzoul will suck that ruined anima right out of them, making them truly gone for good. No Hafhaven, no Nevheröld, nothin’. Just part of Kelzoul forever.”

Rufus set the tongs down and put a hand on Dolli’s shoulder. “You’re trying to do what’s best for them, I get it. But is showing them the camp—risking this quest—what’s best for them?”

She thought of all the options, all the outcomes. If they couldn’t believe her and Nubiri, or the fear in poor Bakreh’s eyes, how would they know what was at stake? How would they fight as if their animas truly depended on it if they thought there was another way where just one person—Dolli—sacrificed themselves? If it was that simple, Dolli would’ve done it already.

She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t want her people suffering more than she feared death. They had to feel that same drive. They had to understand why she was doing this for them.

“Yes. I believe this is the right thing to do. We won’t fail, but if we do, I know we can come up with another plan. Look at all we’ve been able to do in just a few days,” Dolli said, pride swelling in her from everything they’d accomplished. They had to be unified. They had to stick together through this.

Rufus nodded. “We’ve lost another group dungeonfolk. Vilhelm and Henrietta among them.”

Dolli dropped her head, allowing the weight of his words to show through in her exhaustion. She was coming up on her twenty-four-hour mark and needed rest, soon.

She pulled herself together and looked Rufus in the eyes. “They’re just the same as the other defectors. They won’t stop us from doing what needs to be done to save Monster Haven.”

Rufus nodded. “I just thought you’d want to know.”

“Thank you.” She took a seat on a nearby stool. “I need to rest in the Lifestream. Select two or three higher level stealthers to come with me, some of those who may not be feeling so good about our plan.”

“It’ll be done, Overlord.” Rufus dipped his head.

Dolli opened her Overlord menu in half her vision, watching Rufus leave in the other. Her intent hovered over the “Recall” button next to her name and watched him go. The door slammed, leaving Dolli in silence with a final echoing thought: what if she’d never been Regnant? Where would her people be now?

She shook her head. The thought was useless. Too many possible scenarios could’ve come from the plague event alone to know where they’d be now. She had to do the best she could with what she had, and save as many lives as possible. Just like with the plague, inaction was the only wrong path. She wouldn’t sit around waiting for doom to come to her doorstep.

One way or another, Dolli would put an end to Kelzoul.