Within the pentagram lay two writhing, howling, and spasming humans, their faces contorted in pain. The man was wearing a pair of thick glasses and a grey robe. An apron was tied around his waist, and he resembled a herbalist. The lady was beautiful and wore a blue silk robe, reminiscent of a palace servant.
"What's your name?" Coral was breathing heavily. Lifting two Artefact Compressions at the same time took a lot of effort and mana at the same time.
The decompressed figures were clutching their stomachs, their pain clouding all their senses.
"Answer me!" Coral hissed.
"So-Sonia… AAAHHH!!!"
"Va-Varsili… Freya help me!"
They thumped their fists against the ground and retched, but there was nothing to worry about. Those were normal decompression symptoms. Roy had cast Observe on them, and fortunately, these two were fine aside from some lethargy. And they were regular humans.
Coral heaved a sigh of relief. They can understand my questions and answer them. Good. Their brains are still intact. She whispered something into Roy's ear, and the young witcher left the room only to come back with two big glasses of water.
The screams eventually stopped. The man and woman instinctively held each other up and looked around them curiously. They didn't seem to be fazed by the mage and the witcher, but their eyes lit up when they saw the water.
The pair crawled like babies and lapped up the water greedily. It didn't take too long for them to finish the water, and both of them heaved a sigh of relief. They were lucky they came back from a near-death experience. Then they sat together and stared up at the strangers.
"Wh-Who are you people?" the woman with grey eyes muttered. "What happened to me?"
"It's Ildiko. That treacherous snake did this to us!" The man's face fell, and veins on his neck popped. "She cast a spell on us!" he shouted.
"Lady Ildiko did this?" The woman's eyelid twitched, and she curled up in fear and hatred. "I remember now. She waved her hand, made an odd gesture, and chanted something in a language I couldn't understand. And then I-I passed out? I don't remember anything besides hunger and thirst."
"Constant hunger and thirst…" the man repeated.
"Congratulations, your memories aren't scrambled. And no part of your body is turned into artefacts." Lytta smiled. "You should be fine if you just take a break. A long break. But now it's time to repay your favor." Coral said, "I exhausted myself just to decompress you two."
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"You were stuck in the form of statuettes for at least three months. That's why you felt so disoriented, to say the least." Coral looked into their eyes. "If I hadn't decompressed you, you'd have remained as Ildiko's statuettes. Something for her to play with for the rest of your lives."
Sonia and Varsili shuddered. Just a few moments ago, all they could feel was darkness and the void. They had no idea what was going on outside, but their bodies still hungered for food and water. It was a fate worse than death, and living like that their whole lives would be a death sentence for them.
And then they looked at Coral and Roy. "Who are you people? What reward would you like?"
"All you have to know is we're enemies of Ildiko, and I want her to pay." Lytta said, "Now tell me her dirty little secrets. I know it's why she turned you into statuettes. Tell me what she's hiding, and I'll let you leave."
Sonia and Varsili remained silent. They were still not out of their predicament. The mage before them might have saved them from a fate worse than death, but she was equally capable enough to inflict that kind of fate on them once more. Just the thought of that made them shiver in fear.
"You promise you'll let us go if we speak the truth?"
Roy looked at Coral. He wondered if the mage would keep her promise.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Lytta spoke in an alluring voice. And then she threatened, "Besides, what choice do you have?"
***
"My name is Sonia. I was Lady Ildiko's servant for ten years. Been working for her way back in Brugge, when she was still the lady of a family." The servant licked her lips. "I was in Aretuza with her, and I'd create opportunities for her to hit up anyone she liked. I witnessed her falling in love with Viraxas at first sight."
Sonia shook her head. There was pity in her eyes, but hatred also stood alongside it. "But everything changed after Lady Ildiko married Viraxas in 1261. She started getting paranoid and scared. Scared that her husband would fall for another woman. Scared she might lose his love and the position of queen. She lost sleep over that insecurity."
Roy gave Coral a knowing look. Oh, no wonder she hates Coral's guts. It's not only because of what she did to her in Aretuza, but because she's also jealous. She doesn't want any woman around her husband, especially not pretty ones.
Coral noticed the look Roy was giving her, and she replied with a gentle smile.
"Lady Ildiko's worries were not based on nothing." Sonia stopped for a moment. There was disdain in her eyes. "She sacrificed herself and strangled Belohun with the necklace just so Viraxas could ascend to the throne. But the truth remains that she still slept with the late king. Viraxas let that fact get to his head after he ascended to the throne, and he started pushing her out of his life."
His woman sacrificed herself so he could ascend to power, and the moment he did, the guy dumped her. Viraxas is a piece of shit, Roy thought to himself while massaging his temples. If the king has problems with his wife sleeping with his dead father, then he wouldn't sack his consultant like Ildiko wants. We have a chance.
"Lady Ildiko tried everything to gain the king's love back. Magic was one of them, but any mage worth their salt wouldn't help someone whom Aretuza expelled."
Coral shook her head. "I've never heard of anything that can make anyone fall hopelessly in love with someone else."
She looked at Roy and made a cryptic comment. "Love has nothing to do with magic. That is something Destiny weaves."
"Yeah." Roy pretended to nod in agreement. Nope. The elementals have the power to tie someone to someone else.
"After she was denied by the magical community, Lady Ildiko turned to the regular citizens. Money and her royal status helped." Sonia took a second to look at the man beside her. "And eventually, she found him."
"I'm a herbalist. My father and my father's father worked in Kerack and places around it, healing those who needed it. Our ancestors passed down their skills for generations, and thanks to that, life is pretty good for us." The man's muscles looked stiff after living as a statuette for too long. His smile looked almost bitter. "But healing common diseases isn't what I do best. I have a certain secret formula that has been passed down for generations." He looked at the pair before him. She's beautiful, and he's handsome. "My love potion can create undying love between a couple. Anyone who drinks it will remain loyal to the man or woman they love, no matter how little their love to them used to be. And they will never have eyes for anyone else."
"Okay, that's interesting." Roy crossed his arms. Wonder if Full Recovery can clear that debuff.
"I swear to Freya I’m telling the truth." The witcher scared him, so Varsili insisted, "If even one word of that was a lie, I'll turn back into a statuette and live with the hunger and darkness until they consume me."
"Freya again?" Roy and Coral exchanged a look and cast away their doubts.
People who live by the sea put their faith in Freya, a goddess who had similar duties as Melitele.
Varsili sighed. "But most people who buy that potion only want to use it on the people who don't love them at all. Of course the potion won't work, and I've never made a name for myself with the potion."
"How does this potion work?" Coral asked curiously.
"Blood from the couple, mixed in with some special components. Doesn't matter what kind of relationship you're in, both sides have to drink that potion and sleep for a night. Once they wake up and approach each other, their bodies will produce hormones that keep them attracted to their partner. They'll cast aside any misunderstandings, and hate will no longer interfere with their love." Varsili's face was red, and his voice was passionate. It was as if he were announcing an incredible invention. "Only love remains, until death does them part."
Silence fell upon the room, shadows flickering on the occupants' faces.
Roy cleared his throat and pretended he didn't see Coral staring at him. "So Ildiko fed the king your family's love potion, and that's why he fell in love with her? That's why he's doing everything he says?"
"I saw him making the potion." Sonia nodded. "And it works. His Majesty's love for Lady Ildiko is magnified almost infinitely. They fell madly in love once more and wouldn't stay away from each other."
"So she turned you two into statuettes because she was worried you guys might leak her secret?"
"That's the only reason." Varsili shook his head and gritted his teeth. "But there was no need for that. Even if Viraxas found out what she did, he would just brush it aside out of love. But she had to go the extra mile and set us up. That woman is a witch."
Sonia looked a little dazed. "She could have killed us, but she didn't. Maybe there's some good in her."
"Good? Turning us into statuettes and letting us die a slow death is anything but good!" Varsili glared at Sonia. That witch is not worth her sympathy.
Coral and Roy sorted the information they got.
"Love potion? More like love poison. Keeping love alive through a potion is cheap." Coral turned her attention to Varsili. "One more question. Do you have anything that can reverse the effects of your love potion? Can we destroy a love that's built on falsehoods?"
***
***
