Previously in Frankengeld. The test of the Priapus Potion concluded successfully. Damion has been given a dagger by Lord Mutunus and an enhanced 'weapon' by Euryale. Una has been given a vagina blessed with supernatural resilience. Damion was worried about showing Helena his new enhanced phallus, but her love for him is not diminished by its greater girth and length. The next day Gerda arrives to test the Elixir of Pleasure.
Now read on...
24th June in the year 1784, mid afternoon.
It was time to start the test.
"Gerda," I explained. "Please listen carefully. This is how we will proceed."
She looked at me with her big eyes, made even prettier with her long eyelashes, and I felt a jolt of unexpected feelings. Compassion for this woman in her loveless marriage, and a little frisson of desire for her glorious body.
"I am going to give you some sweets, and have a musician play for you," I continued, trying to keep my feelings under control. "I would like you to choose three sweets and eat them. Then rate the pleasure you get from them in the same way you did for the relations with your husband. Then I would like you to listen to some music and rate it similarly. I will then give you a dose of elixir and we will repeat the process. If it is working then you should experience more pleasure and the second numbers will be higher than the first."
Yani arrived and offered the plate to Gerda. She smiled at the lad. She had completely forgotten that she had been pleasured by his tongue at the kitchen table the other day. Alicia's instructions to forget the event had clearly worked. She looked over the sweets on the plate and carefully selected three of them. Then she sat and, with an expression of great concentration, consumed them one by one. She then scribbled numbers on the paper I had provided.
Yani took the plate away, and I removed the sheet of numbers. I did not want her to look at them when she rated the experience with the elixir active in her body in case they influenced her. I then asked Max to come in and to play her two tunes, one happy and one sad. I needed to see if the elixir had a greater effect with one emotion over the other. Gerda dutifully listened to the music, and seemed to be entertained. She tapped her foot to the happy tune and sat with a wistful expression for the sad tune.
I asked Max to sit in the dining room with Una while Gerda rated the feelings from his performance. I didn't want him to see the numbers she wrote in case that influenced his second performance. I wanted him to simply repeat his recital, not try to outdo himself. Then I took the scrap of paper from her. Yani arrived with the second plate and stood quietly in the corner as I gave Greta her elixir.
I had thought carefully about the dosage and had decided to give her two spoonfuls. That way, if the dose was too strong I could recommend one spoonful in future, and if too weak, three. More than three would suggest I had not concentrated the ingredients enough and it would be back to the laboratory to start afresh. My experiences suggested people wanted their medicines in a concentrated form, and not to feel like you're eating a three course meal.
"Here Gerda," I said. "The Elixir of Pleasure."
I could not resist the opportunity to make a grand statement, fool that I was. All my medical knowledge and I did not anticipate what was about to happen.
"Thank you Damion," she smiled and took her medicine like a lamb.
I watched her for a moment then gestured for Yani to proffer his plate of sweets. As she took three there was a brief contact between their hands.
"Ooh Damion, I feel a little hot and breathless," she said.
I realised that I had no medical equipment here, it was all downstairs in the treatment rooms.
"I will be back presently," I tried to sound reassuring though, if the elixir created strong side effects as soon as this, it was quite serious. "Eat your sweets, please, then rate the pleasure you get from them."
I ran down the stairs and into the first treatment room, grabbing my thermometer. But where was the stethoscope? Probably in the other treatment room. It was, but concealed by a linen cloth, no doubt put under there by Anya as she made the room tidy. I lost valuable seconds desperately glancing around and around the room, until I thought to look under the cloth. Then I ran back upstairs hoping to see Gerda writing down her pleasure numbers for the sweets. She wasn't.
"Help!" cried Yani, looking desperately in my direction.
Sweets were scattered all over the floor and, with a disgusting squish, I trod on one. I hardly cared. I knew Anya would be very disappointed in me tomorrow for making a mess, but I could cope with that. The sight in front of me was much more concerning.