>>5284841You feed a larger morsel to the nameless not-kobold. It eats the second one with less gusto than the first. You note that its rearmost teeth are long, sharp, jagged affairs, while its front ones are flatter, almost (but not quite) rodentine. What IS this thing? More importantly, what are you going to do with it?
It’s then that a wicked idea strikes. The strange creature eyes you (insofar as its eyes can focus on ANYTHING) as you begin to laugh, nervously clutching its spoils.
You return to the Novice’s quarters with a spring in your step, working hard to stifle your amusement so that it does not explode forth. It’s she that catches you off-guard, however, rushing you.
“Titans’ Strength!” she exclaims giddily.
“…I do not understand,” you admit, taking a step back and lightly kicking the dogbold behind you, to prevent it rushing ahead of you and spoiling your surprise.
“The potion that I generously deigned to analyze for you, the one you uncovered in the underdark.”
You’d almost forgotten, but you don’t let it show. “Yes, right. It confers…?”
“Titans’ Strength!” the Novice repeats, gesturing to the bottle atop her desk.
Beside it is a small beaker, above a faintly-glowing crystal in a wire holder. The fluid, a subtly different shade than the original bottle next to it, bubbles and boils. The Novice explains, with eagerness and no shortage of pomposity what you are looking at: a reagent test, meant to determine by alchemical reaction what sort of magical or medical ingredients are in the potion.
“It took many tries, but I am persistent,” the Novice boasts. “Nearly as persistent as intelligent.”
“But nowhere near as persistent or intelligent as humble,” you mock, drawing a glare.
“The potion, when consumed, will confer the strength of a being five, maybe ten times your size and mass for a time!”
“How long?” you ask, picking up the bottle and looking at it with renewed respect.
The Novice hesitates, then admits: “I… Cannot say, not for certain. It depends on potency, age… Other factors I cannot test for. A minute? Ten? An hour, at most, but a half hour or less is more likely.”
Still, this is no mean thing.
