01.18 - Potion Store in Another World

Apparently, the other shop had finally folded, after three months of desperate struggle to carry on, leaving the Tria Prima family's workshop as the last alternative in town.

Thus, either on the authority of Lord Isaac, or the local branch manager, ‘The Great Works Company’ had finally decided to start an all out war on their last remaining rival.

I probably should have been more on my toes after a letter from them arrived at our house, promising to double my current salary if I decided to jump ship and join their ranks.

Guess the old employees of the Tria Prima family's workshop were lured with a similar approach.

It was tempting for a minute or two, or it would have been, if it wasn’t for my more than generous salary, combined with the bonuses and the adventuring side hustle on my days off, which was most of the week.

Then again, it was reassuring that they were apparently ignorant of all these factors. Not surprising, given that only Tia, Isabella, and Geber knew of the details of our secret arrangement.

The rival shop started a special discount policy two weeks after my official decline of their offer.

The reductions were ridiculous.

They sold most basic potions below market price, same for their more refined goods.

At the same time, someone pressured our usual sources into increasing their prices and lowering the overall supply.

Luckily, they seemed still unaware of my side hustle and its impact on our material acquisition.

After a month of pressure, which did not lead to their desired result to sharply reduce our number of customers, ‘The Great Works Company’ decided to finally take off the gloves.

While they had captured most of the market with cheap, less potent potions and antidotes, the Tria Prima family's workshop was kept afloat by fairly priced, high quality products.

Back then, it seemed like our efforts had finally paid off, when we received a contract for a very large order of various potions and antidotes, plus some of the less talked about elixirs for certain other occasions.

The order came straight from the office of the local governor and included deliveries to the Magic Academy, Officer’s school, the local military, and various other related institutions.

It seemed like a dream come true for the Tria Prima family's workshop.

Yet the contract included strong repercussions for a failure to adhere to the agreed upon deliveries, in terms of quality, quantity, or shipping date.

That part in particular was what would come back to bite us.

But at the time, the offer looked great. It would secure the workshops income for the next couple of years, allow us to ramp up production, and get out of the direct competition for customers on the streets.

Two days after Geber had officially signed the contract was when the plan of the local branch manager of ‘The Great Works Company’ snapped into action.

A gang of five masked individuals followed me and Tia on our way home.

We deliberately engaged in evasive maneuvers which led us into a far off side street where our followers finally decided to cut off our supposed escape route and confront us.

Tia’s tail swipe married the foremost attackers with the nearest wall, which almost crumbled under the impact.

I made quick work of the other three, dodging their knives and disarming them in an instant.

Suffice to say, the fight did not go as they seemed to have expected.

To our great regret, the five of them did not spill the beans about the people behind the attack.

They were used by a middle man.

No way to trace it back.

But the real shock came the early morning of the next day.

Isabella arrived at our house, completely beside herself.

“Dad…” she said. “The shop…” Shacking visibly.

“Calm down,” Tia said, in a similar fashion she had used to console Dawn back in the day. “You are safe here. Take your time to relax, then tell us what happened.”

“Those bastards,” Isabella said. “I can’t prove it, but I am sure it was them!”

“Prove what?” I asked. “Did someone follow you too?”

“Worse,” Isabella said. ”A bunch of tugs broke into the store and took off with most of our stuff.. Dad tried to stop them, but they…” she began to cry again.

Apparently, the assailants had gravely injured Geber when he tried to fight back.

Luckily, Isabella herself was out on an errant at the time of the break in.

The three of us arrived at a completely trashed shop as the sun rose on the horizon.

The windows were broken.

Glass shards filled the floor.

Most potions and ingredients were stolen.

The few others destroyed or left trampled on the ground.

The ground itself was soaked with various liquids from the shattered antidotes.

What was left of the workshop looked and smelled terrible.

It took the better part of three days to restore at least parts of it and get the workshop back in order.

Meanwhile, the condition of Isabella’s father took a turn for the worse.

They could barely afford the hospital cost, let alone the intervention of a local Cleric, after most of the few remaining funds that weren’t stolen had been used to cover the repairs.

Potions generally, even most of the high end ones, did not usually repair broken bones or regrow amputated fingers.

So far, so bad.

But the worst was yet to come.

With a barely restored workshop, no ingredients to speak off, and the master of the shop out of the equation, the real sword dangling above our heads was the contract with the governor.

The first delivery was due in two weeks.

Suffice to say, there was no way to fulfill it completely.

Heck, even a single High Health Potion seemed impossible to come by right now, let alone the enormous quantity the contract demanded.

Breaking the contract was sure to throw the workshop in even steeper financial depth.

‘The Great Works Company’ had played their hand, and they were sure to secure their final victory less than two weeks from now.