In 1552, I assisted my good friend Jakob Leonovich with the publication of his memoirs. The book was banned almost immediately in most kingdoms and free cities, due primarily to the presence of multiple chapters detailing his plentiful and scandalous sexual adventures. Finally, these chapters have been compiled for your reading pleasure.
- The Wizard Eremon, 1681
I was down on my luck, sleeping rough or wherever I could find shelter, and doing whatever work I could find to get food. I had just wandered into the town of Berrevar having heard they were paving nearby roads, and I hoped to find a few weeks work helping out. As you know, a lifetime of hard labour, travel, and fighting has given me great strength and stamina, and a day placing stones is hardly the worst lot I've ever had. To my dismay, the work was already done when I arrived, although the new paved road did make my travel easier for a couple days. Counting the meager coins in my pocket and thinking about my last paltry meal, I planned to continue on towards the Free City of Monfords and hopefully catch up to the work crew along the way, when I encountered Dr. Lily.
I walked through the narrow streets of the town, passing by a stopped wagon, when I heard a woman's distressed cry. From the back of the wagon, I saw her stumble forwards and lose her grip on a small but heavy-looking wooden box. Barely thinking, I lunged forwards and caught it before it hit the ground - its contents shook and rattled as I grabbed it. "Oh, thank you!" the woman exclaimed, and she placed an enthusiastic kiss on my cheek. I was a little startled, but not displeased when I looked her over. She was short and curvy, wearing a light grey coat over a pretty blouse, and with wavy light brown hair twisted into a messy bun. Her expression was a beaming grin that accentuated her plump rosy cheeks, although her eyes had a hint of a sexy glint to them. "That would have been a disaster if you hadn't been here," she explained. "So much of my work, so many valuable components lost! Thank you so so so much!"
"You're welcome," I said. "Think nothing of it."
"I'm moving my laboratory to a new site here, and I've been so tired and distracted lately," she continued to explain. "My name is Dr. Lillibeth la Montannier, but you can call me Dr. Lily."
"Very nice to meet you, Doctor. I'm Jakob." Moving heavy boxes would do for work, so I asked, "How much do you have left to move?"
"Not much," she said, and I thought she blushed a little. "I should be done in an hour or so, if nothing else goes wrong."
"An hour? Let me help you." I suspected that she wanted assistance, but was just reluctant to admit it.
"Would you really? That would be so good of you," she admitted. I couldn't help but enjoy her doe-eyed look as she finally asked for assistance.
"It's nothing," I told her. "And I couldn't allow you to risk any more of your valuable collection trying to lift it." Her kiss had startled me slightly, but I was used to women coming on strongly with me. My roguish appearance oft attracts women, with my short beard and longer blond hair, and the eyepatch with which I cover my right eye, lost in battle, apparently gives me an air of mystery. I am nearly six feet tall, with strong, muscular arms and legs and a broad chest. Those who aren't impressed with my body are sometimes won over by my quiet charm. I hoped I might develop enough rapport to get food and shelter with her for a night, and if it went further than that, I didn't mind. She was a gorgeous woman, just my type with a little curve to her hips and tummy, and she was educated and classy besides. "All I ask is for something to eat when we've done."
"Thank you again," she said. "You can take all this up the stairs, and I'll set it in place in the lab." She lifted the cloth covering the back of the wagon, and underneath was a tremendous pile of furniture, metal strongboxes, and wooden crates and barrels sealed or flowing over with books, jars, candles, and more. I hoisted up the first heavy box and followed her into a narrow hallway and up a steep, rickety staircase. She almost skipped up the stairs, her arms empty, as I climbed methodically behind her. "OK, that can go over there," she directed me as I reached the top of the stairs and entered a spacious but dusty room lit by a pair of small windows over the street. I set it down as she directed and went back outside, as I started to suspect there was more to do than she had let on.
We chatted as much as we could as I came in and out of the house and Dr. Lily engaged herself with unpacking what I brought up. She told me of her education at the Academy of Allenther, and her studies in natural history and alchemy, while I recounted my days serving in Karl Klassen's Lions Brigade, and then my wandering life since then, from Markenwald in the far north, to the South Sea Islands. By the tenth trip up the stairs, laden with Dr. Lily's things, I was starting to sweat. On the twentieth, my arms were beginning to get tired. Finally, after climbing the stairs twenty-six times I had brought up everything from the wagon and sat down with a sigh. "Is that the last of it?" Dr. Lily asked.
"Finally," I said.
"So I owe you supper now, do I?"
"That was our agreement. I hope you're a lady of your word."
"Of course," she smiled. "Follow me," she said, and we left her lab. She locked the door behind us and we walked through the streets for a few minutes until we came to a small tavern. As soon as I could smell bread baking and soup simmering, I felt my stomach rumble and realized how hungry I was. Inside was cramped, but it smelled just as good as it did outside. The tavern keeper brought us soup with chicken and vegetables, and fresh bread with it, and I barely paused to breathe until it was all done. It had been almost eight hours since I last ate and fresh, warm food felt like it was bringing me back to life.
"Hungry?" Dr. Lily grinned.
"Not any more," I smiled back. "Thank you, Doctor. So what brings you to Berrevar?"
"The pursuit of knowledge - I require certain reagents, minerals that are quarried in the hills to the north. They are known as saturnines and are not found near the Academy of Allenthar, but only in the underwater caves in this region. My latest project has been the development of rain powder, that when burned, will bring clouds of rain, and I expect this is what I have been missing. But I have other things I dabble with too," she said. "In fact, you might be able to help me with something."
"Oh?" I asked
"This requires a strong, healthy young man." My dick twitched slightly. "Watching you work, I think you have what it takes, but it could be dangerous."
"Go on," I said. She looked excited, and I was attentive - she said it was dangerous? What sort of job
was
this?
The tavern keeper returned and Dr. Lily paid him with a few silver coins. When he was gone, she leaned in closely. "Let me explain," she resumed. "One of my other projects is a potion meant to enhance vitality and energy, for a sexual purpose. Most alchemists study this at one time or another, as rich folk are always happy to pay for such things. I have an experimental new recipe, but it must be tailored to either men or women, and I have no male test subject. All you would need do is drink the potion and then describe the effects while I make a few observations, and you can have ten silver pennies for your time."
"And the danger?" I asked.
"Well, the potion shouldn't be poisonous, but it may place great strain upon the heart. I think your level of fitness should be more than sufficient to survive, though."
"How about for fifteen pennies?" I probably would have done it for free, but I didn't see any need to tell her that. Dr Lily's unconventional flattery, in such forward terms, had my blood rushing already.
"Don't get greedy," she chided me. "I'm sure I can find another volunteer easily enough."