Ero-Game: Power and Sword

Maura knocked on my office door.
“Dammit, Sterling,” I was mumbling to myself, “Your shenanigans cost me 20 points.” In front of me, on the desk, were 3 completed bracelets. I’d managed to make two of them 160+ charm, but one of them turned out with only 142 charm. It was the one Sterling had made me screw up. “Haa.” I sighed. “I guess I should sell it.” I scrutinised the bracelet with 142 charm. I have to find the right time to sell it.
“Madam, there’s a woman here to see you. She says you’re her friend.” Maura’s voice came through the door.
“Friend?” I raised an eyebrow and tossed the bracelets in the desk drawer; no one came to mind. “Come in.”
“Yes.” She opened the door. “She was very demanding. So I made her wait in the living area.”
“What does she look like?” I curiously asked while I got out of my chair.
“Ah, black hair - might be dark green. Looks around the same age as me, maybe a little older. Oh, owl-like eyes.” She held her hands over her eyes like binoculars.
“Oh.” I immediately knew who she was talking about. It was the woman I had been waiting for, after all.

I walked into the living area. On the couch was Madelief, nervously scratching her arms. She looked disoriented. The poppy tears was working wonderfully.
“We meet again.” I smiled.
“Yes.” She stood up and hugged me. “It’s nice to see you again.” She smiled. “Can we talk somewhere private?” She looked at Maura.
“I’ll go see how lunch is coming along, master.” Maura excused herself.
And I said to Madelief, “Sure, come to my office.”

***

She put the empty bottle on my table and said, “I need more.” She didn’t sound right. Her eyes were shaky; they were desperate yet ferocious.
Before presenting the contract, I wanted to test the waters, so I said, “Maybe you should lay off it. I use it very rarely, you know. You should do the same. Try not to rely on it too much.”
She clenched her jaw, “No, I can’t…” She hesitated to say the words… “I can’t get… you know… wet… without it. I need it. It doesn’t work without  it.”
“I’m the same way sometimes, but-”
“Not sometimes!” She shouted and left a dent on my table with her fist. Her face had instantly turned red, and her nose flared wildly like a beast. I instinctively backed off when she slammed her fist. It was scary. Clearly, there was no need to test her any further; the drug had  rotted her brain. A governmental worker acting so beastly in public… It reminded me a bit of how she was in bed.
“I see.” I kept my cool and took out the contract. I hadn’t thought of a good lie to tell her but had thought of several bad ones… So I decided to Gish gallop till her rotten brain forsakes reason and submits to its desire for poppy tears. Though, she seemed at that stage already. “This  is a non-disclosure agreement.” I lied. It was a slave contract, but non-disclosure was part of it. “The potion I gave you-”
“Alstro.”
“Yes, it’s quite rare.”
“I know.” She barked.
As I expected, she’d looked into the potion. “It’s from my hometown. The recipe is a family secret.”
She took the contract from my hand and started reading. It made me nervous to watch her read, though I had no reason to be. The contract  was so densely worded that I doubted anyone other than a lawyer could make sense of it; a woman disoriented on poppy tears had no chance. Virginia, the law magician, had done an excellent job with the contract; she had created exactly what I wanted.
Nonetheless, it made me nervous to watch her read, so I spoke up. “My mother wants you to sign it. She’s a very paranoid woman. Maybe you’ve heard of her, Clara Hooper.” I didn’t care if I had to drag my mother into this; I didn’t care who I had to drag in, as long as she signed  that contract. It was all lies anyway.
“Clara Hooper, the owner of the All-day Vitality potions.” I was happy to see her stop reading but not so happy to hear that my mother had gained fame off my hard work. How many business deals did she get thanks to me?
“Yes, the same! It’s amazing you’ve heard of her.” I displayed a cheerful expression while I walked around the table, leaned my ass on  the table’s edge, and casually handed her a pen.
“She was in the news a few years ago.” She nodded.
“Yes, she was.” I nodded along. “A few merchants set up their businesses in Hoopersville thanks to those potions.” Did I get to see any of that tax revenue? Of course not. “Alstro isn’t one of the potions we sell readily, but one we make when requested.” I seamlessly switched  the topic back to the contract. “Alstro feels amazing, doesn’t it. I love using it too, but my mother’s very strict about its distribution.” I frowned. “She’s a very shrewd woman. The contract is a formality, an issue of trust. The contract forbids you from spreading information  about the potion without my mother’s permission. And obviously, you can’t get it analysed by an alchemist, sell it, donate it, mimic it, disclose it, repackage it, advertise it…” I was repeating myself, but I wasn’t speaking to provide real clarity. No, I spoke to disorient an already disoriented druggie. Confused, she looked at the contract again. “I’m afraid I can’t give you any more of the potion without your  signature.” That got her attention; though she continued to look at it, I could tell she wasn’t reading it anymore. “My mother was furious when she heard I gave it to you without telling her. She might cut off my own supply.” I smiled.
“So I can’t get any more if I don’t sign?” She stared at it with a shaky hand. A clear symptom of withdrawal.
“Yes. I’m afraid that’s the case.” I frowned sympathetically.
“I can’t pay for it?” She asked. “She can name her price.”
“No. It’s only a silver coin, but I’m afraid it isn’t something we sell.” I shook my head. “I wish I could tell you why, but I am obliged not to.” That was another tactic of mine; pretend to hide a secret  inside a secret. “I wish I could tell you about the ingredients, but I can’t till you sign it.”
“You’ve signed the contract as well?” She was confused.
“Yes.” I nodded to make her feel more comfortable about signing.
“But you gave the potion to me.”
“Ah… My contract is more lenient; I am her daughter, after all.” I smiled. “But it’s very similar. I only gave it to you because I thought I could trust you. I can trust you, right?” I looked at the contract.
“I see… Yes, you can.” She put the contract on the table and brought the pen close to the dotted line, then she stopped to ask, “So I just have to sign this, and I can have one.”
“I’ll order some as soon as you sign it.” I made it sound like I didn’t have any Alstro and that the sooner she signed the contract, the sooner I could work on getting it, which created even more pressure for her to sign.
“I see.” She groaned. “How long will I have to wait?”
“Not very long. I’ll go out of the house later today, and perhaps I’ll contact my mother while I’m out.”
“Please do.” She said and signed the contract. “How much will it cost me?” I forgot to answer and simply stared at her signature on the contract. “How much are the potions?” She repeated her question.
Everything, I thought, everything! But I answered, “Oh, think nothing of the price. We’re friends. You’ve fucked my boyfriend, after all. Just  buy me a beer when we meet again.” I spoke listlessly since I was still lost in the glow of success. I have done something that was impossible in the game. My heartbeat quickened, and I felt… incredible…
“Oh, right.” She smirked. “I ran into him a few days ago. He’s a stud, always going after a new woman… Hope you don’t mind me calling him that.” She chortled.
“Call him whatever you want.” I smiled.
“Though… Ah, never mind, I won’t pry into your personal life. So I don’t need to pay?” She raised an eyebrow. “You must want something? I wanted to give you a present for this.” She held up the empty bottle. “But I’ve been having a hard time without that damn potion. I find it hard to think. What’s in this stuff.” Poppy tears, I thought. “I know, I know, it’s the sex. I might be becoming addicted to sex. If that’s possible.” She laughed.
“Right.”
She scratched her arm and smiled nervously. “So when can I get a new bottle?”
“Soon. I’ll message my mother today.”
“I see…” She nodded her head. “You must have a bottle of your own. Oh, I don’t want to take the whole thing. I only need half. You do have some, don’t you?” She stood up and gripped my bicep. Because of the poppy withdrawal, there was a strange frothiness to her words that really made me uncomfortable. Her grip wasn’t painful, but nonetheless, she frightened me a little, but then I looked at the contract and remembered that she couldn’t hurt me. If she tried, her heart would explode, but she didn’t know that…
“I’ll bring you a bottle from my personal stash tomorrow. 45 Crocker St., correct?” I knew her address from the game.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“You told me,” I said with a blank stare.
“Did I?” She scratched her head.
“Yes, you did.”
“Oh, I can’t recall.”
“You were drunk on Champagne.”
“Oh, I see.” Then she quickly cheered up and said, “Yes, come tomorrow. I’ll have a present ready for you. But can I have the potion today? I want to go to the Flower Mary later-”
“I’ll see you tomorrow Madelief.” I insisted. “Let me see you to the door.”
“Ah, but…” The damn druggie obviously didn’t want to leave without her drug.
“I’ll show you to the door.” I pushed her hand off and saw her out.

***

“Woo.” I exhaled as I watched her carriage drive off my property. Getting her to leave was harder than getting her to sign the contract. “Poppy tears are the real thing.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “So tomorrow I have to explain to her the real terms of the contract…” I ran my finger over the shield-shaped pendant that hung between my chest. The contract should also make it impossible for her to hurt me… “Let’s take it a day  at a time, Sherrie. Let’s take it a day at a time… I should celebrate my success with some cake.” With that thought, I went to the kitchen.

***

“What are you looking for?” Otto asked as I searched through the contents of the fridge.
“Where did you put it?” I asked as I opened up a container. “No.” I put the container of vegetables back in the fridge.
“Where did I put what?”
“The cake!” The other day, he’d made a delicious strawberry cream cake. It melted in your mouth. “I just completed a self-created quest. I want to celebrate.”
“Self-created quest?” He shook his head. “I told Maura’s kids they could have it, so they finished it.”
“You did what?”
“The kids really enjoyed it.” He smiled.
It was hard to deny that handsome smile. “Okay.” I frowned.
“Just wait an hour. Lunch is almost ready.”
“You know,” I pressed my breasts against him, “you could help me celebrate in another way.” My hand fondled his package.
He pushed me away. “I still have a lot to do.” He saw that I was disappointed and gave me a peck on the head. “Tonight, if you don’t go into that smelly lab of yours.” With the constant brewing of potions, the lab had taken on a peculiar smell.
“But I have to work.” I moaned.
“Then go bother Sterling. Maybe he can give you some dick.” He said as he took out a bunch of ingredients from the fridge.
“But he’s outside with Benard.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you.” He shrugged. “I’m busy. If you haven’t noticed, I’m the head cook.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Aren’t you busy too?”
“Yeah, there are a lot of things I should be doing, but I just completed a new quest.”
“I don’t know what that means, but good for you.” He was barely paying attention to me.
“Okay. I should go put the contract inside the safe anyway. I’ll see you later.” So I left the kitchen with no cake and no dick.
“Yeah, see you later.” He said without even looking at me, then yelled, “Hey! Don’t add so much oil!” At one of Maura’s kids.