( Chapter 16 was huge, so here is part two. ) 

The next morning, I had simply awoken in my room with hazy memories of how I'd gotten there. Perhaps one of the workers of the hotel had carried me. I did remember lots of little tidbits about actual Assistant life, and as I did my morning routine, ran through those thoughts again and again until they were locked into my memories forever. None of these included Mallow, and as my hungry stomach demanded attention, she was pushed even further from my thoughts. I descended the incredibly long staircase to find food.

Instead of resisting the wave of partying, this time I went out and enjoyed it all fully. It was actually kind of liberating to not have Mallow around to think about. Sometime during a breakfast consisting of gooey, salty, and unusual carnival food on a stick, I realized that people were for once seeing me. Usually they saw Mallow and then me second, if at all. The masses of confused, craned necks, the involuntary wincing away, all of that was gone. I actually made eye contact with a pretty woman just as I was tossing away the stick my meal had been on. She smiled back at me.

I'd been avoiding the ladies both out of respect for Mallow, and since ladies had been avoiding me out of terror of Mallow. So, it really couldn't be expected that I would pass up such an amazing opportunity to work my wiles. And, my attention being totally consumed by charming, cajoling, and ultimately convincing this pretty lady that sleeping with me was a great idea, I lost track of time. It was an all-day endeavor, involving getting to know her, than taking her on a date through the town, letting her show me her favorite spots and being a good enough listener to repeat what she said but in different words later so that she would think that we were a great match.

It wasn't until my woven tale of tragedy and lost riches became unspooled in the post-coitus pillow talk that I even realized night had fallen. I had, while in a relaxed state with the woman in my arms, embellished the backstory I had constructed specifically to exploit her personal biases and preferences too much. She raised an earlier contradicting point. If this had been a sale, I could have wormed out of it. I could have covered effectively. But... I was so content, that the effort seemed not worth the potential reward of staying on her good side. I'd only be in town another day or two. I could weather her ire.

It was when I admitted it was all made up, and laughed, that she got angry. She thought I was laughing at her, which wasn't true at all. I did like her, in a shallow manner. I was laughing at myself for making such a basic mistake, getting caught in an easily avoidable contradiction. But... again, it didn't matter much either way, did it?

As she gathered up her clothes, she yelled at me. It reminded me of something. And that exact moment is when I remembered Mallow had spent the previous evening yelling at me for spending the money on the orange, from which I had no chance to defend myself and explain that I hadn't spent it. I tried to remember what had happened to the orange.

I sat up several minutes after the door had safely slammed shut. First, I checked my pack. The orange was quickly getting past edible quality, but would probably be good for another day or two. I peeled off one more sliver and slipped it between my lips. It tasted sweet, but the skin was drier and wrinkled. I slid my slippers onto my feet, then realized I hadn't yet put on my pants. It was really too much bother to try and go all the way to the dungeons this late at night. I kicked my slippers back off. It'd be a waste to not to bask in the pleasure of this moment.

The next morning, free from the relaxing effects of a whole day's worth of party drinking, I felt a pang of regret along with the pang of a headache. Last night I had considered it Mallow's own dumb fault she was in the dungeon. And it was. But I did lots of dumb stuff myself, yesterday's incidents included, and Mallow had never punished me on purpose.

I counted what I had left of my coin, shaved all but my signature golden chin patch of beard, and washed my face. Then I wiped all the stains off of my clothes with a wet rag, and checking myself one last time in the looking glass, set off for the dungeon. I wanted to leave a good impression, after all.

I was in such a cheery mood, a gleeful whistle passed my lips the entire way toward the dungeon. My arms swung, the sky was blue with promise, and the third day of the noisy, raucous festival dragged on. It'd been a while since I'd been involved in a festival this energetic. I passed by the animal display Mallow had mentioned, and slowed my gait to check out the massive tusked, trunk legged, floppy ear animals with long drooping noses.

Okay, so I didn't slow my gait. I stopped completely, turned around, paid my admission fee, and took some time out to pet and interact with the fascinating animals. I learned their names were elephants, and after about two hours I vowed that when I was rich I would have half a dozen.

The sun had progressed quite a ways in its journey across the sky by the time I caught attention of it again. Embarrassed, I determined to make it to the dungeons twice as quick. Mallow might have been a little bit uncomfortable, but I was putting a stop to that right now...

I came across one of the massive, bubbling crowds that I knew belonged only to charity. My burning curiosity made me climb to the top of a stack of crates, and then from those, onto the roof of a small merchant stall. My foot slipped a little, but I managed to catch myself by digging my hand in between two clumsily attached planks. Grunting, I regained my position. I definitely had to get Mallow back. Usually she'd pick me up, a lot less risky to my health.

The Avalons were doing a demonstration on different components that could be used to treat common festival related injuries, such as black eyes from drunken brawls, a tonic for hangovers, and several other remedies for booze. I folded my legs and watched, interested. The Avalons credited the recipes to the Mediceum, the foremost healer training school for ungifted. I consulted some of their pamphlets often. Very effective even though they all worked on non-magical properties, which means that they weren't only useful for sorcerers. Some of the plants were familiar from when I'd go into the woods to find ingredients to mix medicines and salves for the cows on my family's ranch. I mentally made notes of the names of the more exotic plants and components they were listing. By sprinkling these names into my fake potions, it would lend legitimacy to all of the unobtainable ingredients I often listed as components.

As the demonstration ended, they handed out bundles of the mentioned herbs to those that were near the front, grasping. These were not as precious as potions, again not having to be crafted by people wielding magic. The Avalons Assistants probably mixed these up. Still, despite the huge supply, there weren't quite enough for the entire group. I knew that soon the Avalons were going to be done and packed up, leaving masses of disappointed people. ...or... Did they have to be disappointed?

Having a charming idea, I quickly descended from the roof and caught a horse-drawn carriage giving rides. Before I knew it, I was outside town, and I grabbed Flatchert, my horse, saddled her up with potions and signage, and hurried back to the crowd. The merchant stall I had climbed onto had one bored egg seller sitting inside. I bribed them by buying two dozen eggs, and then rented use of their stall for the next hour for an additional fee. Then I offered more coin if she would play along, and an even bigger bonus if she brought a friend or two. Her eyes were locked onto the coin I was offering her. She eagerly agreed. I gave her ten minutes to get changed, get back here, and fed her a few lines so she'd know what her cue was. Cackling nefariously, the old woman ran back to her house.

As I moved my belongings from Flatchert to the stall, I only hoped that her acting was as good as her malevolent laughter. I tied Flatchert to a post across the street where I kept an eye on her. She was happy to be out of the confines of the stable, even if she wasn't running freely. Her tail swished in the breeze.

I knew the crowd would begin scattering in miserable disappointment at not getting the freebies any second now. My sign went up with a few quick strikes from my hammer. 'Potent, Powerful, and Proven Potions Priced for You!' I had painted it myself with an unusually steady hand, and the black letters popped with yellow outlining. I set out all of my potions, utilizing the small egg-sized shelves for the most delicate and using the large front area for the most broad bottomed of the bottles. As the Avalons left, I watched carefully, before clearing my throat. I would have to cut it close to not lose the crowd but not be caught by the Avalons, so when I was sure they were out of earshot when I began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" I declared. Most people continued to drift away "Don't go home ill and empty handed!" This turned considerably more heads, and if I wasn't such a pro I would have begun to grin with satisfaction. "Yes, that's right. Listen to me, people! Perhaps the Avalons didn't have enough remedies for us all, but I have quite a few here!" I gestured to the potions in front of me. "And they're all absolutely affordable!"

"What do they do?" one man asked. I threw out an arm toward him.

"These are your standard assortments of cure-alls and quick fixes." I lifted a purple one from the shelf and held it up to show the crowd. A beam of sunlight hit the intricately carved flowers along the flute of the bottle, highlighting its beauty. I couldn't have planned something so amazing if I'd tried. "This one here is for crippled limbs. Drink two spoons a night for two weeks, and before you know it, the affected limbs will begin to strengthen! Within a month, with proper movement exercise, no sign of the previous impairment will remain."

The crowd consulted hesitantly with one another, skeptical eyebrows on some of the older faces.

"If it can do all of that, why is it so cheap for us?" a girl near the front asked. Her hair was tucked behind her ears beneath a handkerchief.

"Because it's priced to sell!" I said. "Only three hundred coin for this whole bottle!" A burbling of outrage, shock, and delight flew over the crowd in a perceptible wave. I feed off their energy instead of leaning away from it. I wanted them in a frenzy. The worst thing they could do was sit there and quietly listen.

"That's impossible!" an old man with one eye shouted at me. "There's no way!"

"I hate to contradict a future customer, but I assure it is possible and even guaranteed!"

"You can't afford to sell it for that! The local Potioneer sells his for one thousand coin," another citizen barked, and there were lots of murmuring and angry head nodding in agreement. This was too easy. They were bringing up my sales points without me even prompting.

"That's because he buys his from the sorcerers, doesn't he?" I asked. They conspired with 'of courses' and 'naturallys', the words running over each other like tiny currents in a stony stream. "The reason I can afford to sell so cheap is that I don't buy them."

"You're a thief?" An outraged accusation, and now scandal was seen on each and every face. My lips pulled into a mortified triangle and my eyes went wide, before I laughed. The laughter threw them off, and some laughed themselves while others backed away a little.

"No, no, no my friends! You've got it all wrong! Though, speaking of which, you might feel like a thief getting this potion so cheaply! No, I am a sorcerer's Assistant! I simply gathered up the remains of his potions when cleaning his lab at night, sorting them into vials, and combining them when I have enough." I swiped a hand across my brow. "It is hard work, but hardly a thousand coin a vial hard."

I laughed cheekily. I heard some murmuring of appreciation, and the phrase 'waste not, want not' and, 'Why don't other Assistants do that?' 'Even a few drops is valuable, after all' and my least favorite to hear 'What if he didn't mix them right? Can't that be dangerous?'

"Of course, I can see some of you have doubts. It sounds too good to be true." I hugged the potion close to my chest. I simpered under my eyelashes at the crowd. "Though, one has to wonder, if you run from things because they seem too good, how many great things you end up missing."

I slammed the potion down on the table. The bottom was thick enough it did not shatter, as I knew it wouldn't.

"But of course, I don't expect you to accept this without evidence. It's just a shame the potions take two weeks to really work, otherwise I would demonstrate right now..."

"Oh, Azark?" The egg seller from earlier had come back. She was completely different, donning clothes that were tighter than her usual fare. An outfit from when she was ten years younger, perhaps? "You didn't tell me you were in town!"

A toothy grin broke out on my face.

"Ah, Melissan!" I declared. "I saw you last month in Yules!" I waved good naturedly. The crowd parted for her, and I had to admire the good job she did dressing herself up to be different. Money was such a great motivator. "I'm afraid I don't have time to chat, though. I'm giving these good people a demonstration!"

"Demonstrate this!" she declared. She pulled up her skirt, and my face blanched. What was she-? Oh, she stopped a little above the knee. "Look it! The potion I was taking for my pox worked like a charm!"

Her left leg was normal, the usual wrinkles and hair of a woman of her age and weight. However, the right was covered in brilliant red spots.

"My left leg is completely cleared up!" she said. "Problem is, I need the potion for my right half now."

"Didn't I tell you if you didn't buy both you were going to regret it?" I chastised, wiggling a finger at her. She grinned and laughed mischievously, swaying a little bit in place.

"You know how it is." She grinned at me. "Tried sleeping on my right side, than my left, and then my right again. I guess I was hoping if I did it that way, it'd somehow get both of them."

"Ah, Melly, you know they don't work that way! Even with potions powerful and infused with magical creatures and ingredients like they are, the rules of dosage still apply!" I scolded.

"I'm ready to have a pretty pair." She plopped the coin down. "Give me the second potion, Azark! I got places to go!"

I bit my lip, and avoided eye contact with her.

"If only you would have bought it when it was on sale..." I demurred. "Problem is, I sold it since Yules."

"You sold it?" Melissan asked me in outrage. I gazed up to meet her eyes.

"Yes. You're not the only one with an outbreak of pox on the continent." My shoulder slumped in despair. "I guess that's the one bad thing about doing potions the way I do. Since I don't order them, they're on a first come first served basis, so when they're gone..." My eyes met with the audience as I said this next part. "They're gone forever!"

The egg lady had brought her friend as a second witness, but the additional testimony ended up being unnecessary. From that moment forward I was flooded with sales as people pressed against the tiny opening of the stall I'd borrowed, throwing coin in my face and shouting out the names of what they wanted cured. I kept the charm on the entire time I was handing out concoctions. Every single customer got an encouraging word, and treated as if they were the most amazing person in the world. One woman in particular, a freckled redhead apparently named Lillian, began sobbing when I handed her a potion. She clutched the bottle until she was white-knuckled, thanking me again and again for giving her husband back the ability to work, that this was going to make everything better. She was hustled out of the way by more eager customers, but I heard her shout over them in tear-soaked gratitude that "The guards will never forget this!"

Just like with the Avalons earlier, I was out of stock long before they were satisfied. People begged, pleaded, and cajoled for me to make another sale, although I insisted that my inventory was completely out of stock. Hungry for more but seeing the plate was empty, the remainder dispersed.

I wrenched my sign off of the stall, and then closed the shutters to show I was done with a bang. Once inside the dim light of the shop stall, I cleaned up the few small vials that had gotten knocked over carefully with a rag I kept in my pocket. I never touched the stuff with my own hands, especially when it'd been cross mixed with another concoction. There were actually bits of real potions in them, which while usually so diluted as to be as effective as ale, could mix in weird ways.

I didn't even have any empty bottles to sweep up this time, so I cleaned up the broken shards and found an out of the way place to dump them where hopefully not too many people would step on them. I untied and climbed atop Flatchert, taking her for a small trot around town. The sound of the fresh coin jingling at my side with each clop of her hooves was more satisfying than the best music.

(( Eager to see what happens? Check out the e-book here: http://a.co/1dIrbe5 All chapters included, naturally. Or get into a time machine and travel to the future so you may read it after its been all uploaded at one chapter a week. But I can pretty much guarantee ( 99.5%) that picking up the e-book will be less hassle then that whole time machine business. Thank you for reading! :D ))