“Nothing in these,” he said, picking up the stack and carrying it to the bookshelf that had been ransacked. As he placed them back on the shelf, he noticed a book that hadn’t been on the floor. Seeing that there was no title on the spine, he pulled it off the shelf. Opening the unmarked book, he found it to be a sort of recipe book. “What kind of recipe calls for hen’s blood?” he muttered under his breath.
“What’s that?” Britt asked, carrying another stack of books to the shelf.
“Oh, some kind of recipe book,” Max said, closing it.
“Did you say hen’s blood?” Britt asked, setting her stack down.
“Yeah, I wonder what kind of dish that would be?” Max asked.
“Can I see that?” Britt asked.
“Yeah,” Max said handing her the book. “Are you going to tell me that you’re a professional cook now?” he joked.
Shaking her head, Britt took the book from him. Max watched as she flipped through the pages, a look of realization crossing her face.
Max asked, “What is it? Did you find something?”
“This book,” she said. “It’s a recipe book.”
Max eyed her curiously, “Yeah. That’s right.”
“A recipe book for potions,” she said.
Max’s eyes widened.
“Solomon used to make potions, didn’t he?” Bo asked, rising from the table.
“Can I see that again?” Max asked, taking the book from Britt. He flipped through its pages, looking at the recipes and seeing the detailed notes Solomon had written in the margins. “Bo, are you finding anything over there?” he asked, suddenly snapping the book shut and eyeing his brother.
Bo looked up from his stack of books and replied, “No. This is the second pass through them, just to make sure. But so far I’ve only found sections about goblins’ desire for objects of wealth. Could explain why they were attracted to Grandwood, but I’ve found nothing about their venom or bites.”
Placing the potions book in front of his brother, Max said, “I want you to start looking through these for any potions relating to healing or curing infections.”
Bo set aside the book he was reading and opened the potions book, “How will I know which are healing potions?” he asked.
“I was hoping you could figure that out,” Max said. “I have a very distinct memory of Solomon hastily putting away bottles.” Max turned and walked toward the kitchen, “Perhaps Solomon still has some potions lying around.”
Max pulled open cabinet door after cabinet door, peeking into them and then running his hands around the back corners as he searched. Britt handed him a candle to light his endeavor and he thanked her for the help. She grabbed another lit candle and assisted him in the search.
“So you’re looking for bottles?” Britt asked.
“Yeah, anything in a bottle, marked or unmarked,” Max said.
“Is this place always this messy?” Britt asked, tiptoeing around the mess in the kitchen.
“No,” Max said, his voice echoing inside an empty cupboard. “Sol isn’t tidy by any means, but this place looks like it’s been turned over.”
“Like someone was searching for something,” Britt added.
“Yeah,” Max said. “It’s kind of troubling. I hope Solomon’s okay and didn’t get himself arrested or worse.”
“Maybe he’s joined the revolution?” Britt suggested.
“He’s not a fighter,” Max said. “I mean he isn’t one to be violent.”
“Nothing here,” she said, stepping back from the open cupboards.
“Nothing here either,” Max said, taking his candle back into the living room. Looking around the small space, he spotted a little cabinet alongside the bookshelf. It was tucked neatly behind the shelf in a corner of the room that would be easy to miss if someone was in a hurry. Max crouched to look through the frosted glass panes on its front doors. He smiled and said, “Over here! I found them.”
Reaching into the cabinet, Max began pulling out bottles. The unlabeled bottles varied in size, color and quantity. Consequently, he had little idea of how to identify which might be helpful. He tried to recall more memories of Solomon’s potions from his childhood, but struggled to produce anything useful. The only helpful thing he could remember was Solomon warning him not to play with them, as they were very dangerous. He hoped the potions book would give them clues about which were healing or harmful. Britt joined Max as he pulled the bottles out and placed them carefully onto the table where Bo continued to read.
The bottles were coated in years of dust, suggesting Solomon hadn’t used them or added to the collection in a very long time. Max wondered if potions left unused would turn sour or unstable. Choosing to focus on lining up all of the bottles so they could scrutinize them, Max pushed any negative thoughts from his mind.
“How do these work?” Britt asked, placing two clear bottles of different colored mixtures on the table.
“I’m not sure,” Max answered while making sure the bottles were placed on the table in the order in which they’d been removed from the little cabinet. “But I’m guessing one of them treats poisons or toxins of some kind.”
“And what if we can’t find one? What do we do then?” Bo asked, looking up from the book.
Max shrugged, “I’m open to suggestions.”
Bo thought for a moment, then shook his head and focused back on the book in hand, “There’s got to be something in here.”
“How do we know these are still good?” Britt asked blowing at the dust collected on the bottles.
“I think, if we find a healing potion or one that treats poison, we should test it first. Pour it onto the table and touch it or something,” Max suggested.
“You want me to touch a random potion? What if it blows up?” Britt asked.
