The Heir Who Wouldn’t Drown
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 28: A Thorn in Their Trust
He had recovered the [Tempest Signet], but he still had a job to finish.
With Two-Short in tow, Julian hurried into the crooked, haphazard alleys of the pirate city. He picked a few shops and, relying on his “professional expertise,” exchanged all the remaining jewels for gold pounds or bank deposit certificates.
The port imposed no restrictions on small private transactions, so long as they were not bulk sales made on behalf of an entire pirate vessel.
On the surface, Oswald had entrusted Julian with the task as a mark of favor. If he failed, however, the crew’s anger would naturally turn on him.
He had no intention of taking that risk.
Following a four-quadrant priority matrix, Julian dealt with the most important and urgent task first. Only then did he allow himself a small sigh of relief before hurrying off to buy what he needed.
“Ten milliliters of bear bile, two milliliters of horseshoe crab blue blood, thirty milliliters of virgin blood ... And a bottle of absinthe. Put that in a wineskin so it’s easier to carry.”
These peculiar ingredients were, of course, for recipes he had read in Agnes the Crimson’s Gourmet Cookbook.
Redgaze Oswald had made a thoroughly losing bargain, handing his own advantages straight to someone else.
He had intended to use the cookbook to devour this exceptionally fine “cook” and brew a superior batch of [Blood of Transmutation]. He had never imagined that Julian would exchange the seemingly inexhaustible recipes in his head for vast amounts of forbidden knowledge from Agnes the Crimson’s Gourmet Cookbook.
In only a few days, Julian had acquired dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of recipes for different bloodbrews. A few more days might be enough to drain the cookbook of every scrap of forbidden knowledge it contained.
For instance, he had traded tomato and egg soup for one of the most representative bloodbrews, [Agnes the Crimson]:
Main ingredients: Blood of Transmutation; 15 milliliters of pure virgin blood; 30 milliliters of vodka aged for at least three years; one drop of devil’s hot sauce; two drops of Spring of Life.
Additional ingredients: 15 milliliters of lemon juice; one drop of hot-and-sour oil; ground black pepper and salt to taste; tomato juice; one lemon wedge (one eighth of a lemon).
Blended with special techniques and spirituality, these ingredients produced a bloodbrew cocktail that would keep a woman’s face from aging for an entire year.
It could also be used in a forbidden rite to summon a malevolent spirit named Agnes the Crimson for divination.
Other recipes included [Hero’s Frenzy], which could send a warrior into a half-berserk state; [Ecstatic Desire], which offered blissful oblivion and earthly ecstasy; and [Blueblood Spring], which could treat all kinds of external injuries. The list went on and on.
Apart from the indispensable base ingredient, [Blood of Transmutation], these bloodbrews were made from the blood or bodily fluids of various creatures and the six principal base spirits: whiskey, brandy, vodka, gin, rum, and tequila.
The system was undeniably crude compared with the specialized discipline of alchemical potions. Yet its variety and simple preparation methods could greatly expand a supernatural practitioner’s capabilities, improving his chances of surviving complicated situations.
How did that saying go?
The most gifted person might not be the warrior who had already reached the summit, but a boy who had starved to death in some forgotten corner before he ever had the chance to grow.
Reality was not a game. There were no second attempts. Anything that kept him alive had to rank among his highest priorities.
[Bloodbrewing] might fall short of an alchemist’s potion-making discipline, but it was convenient, reliable, and easy to learn.
Better yet, Julian was paying for these supplies with the extra money his jewelry sales had brought in. He had not spent a single copper Fur of his own.
That made the experience all the more pleasant.
His only reservation was the price of learning forbidden knowledge.