Vampire Potionmaker Ch. 6 - Baby's First Drain

With a violent crack, Nara split the muzzle’s metal cage in two, the disjointed pieces collapsing onto the floor. She could feel a faint flicker of pain rocket through her fingers, but the Starving effect blocked out every nerve ending or physical sense – everything was dull except for the Thirst.

She licked her lips. Without the muzzle, there was nothing coming between her and that delicious neck.

Everything went bright red as she dashed forward. All she could hear was the sound of blood rushing under Alessia’s skin as she latched onto her nape, pressing her teeth into flesh. The knight didn’t even put up a fight, breathlessly accepting it as blood rushed into Nara’s mouth.

Oh. Oh wow, she thought, her mind going completely blank. Nothing had ever tasted that good. It was like a perfectly good steak: savory, rich. And yet – somehow as fresh as a berry smoothie, mango plucked right from the tree.

Quest Complete! Baby’s First Drain

This is a Race-Based Quest.

As a nascent vampire, you have to feed, or you’ll die.

You should probably go find something to eat.

• Drain your first victim (1/1)

Quest Rewards:

• 100 XP
• Cowl of Nascent Vampirism

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed – seconds, hours, days – when she regained control of herself. All she knew was that suddenly, everything was normal. Her stomach had settled, her brain wasn’t on the brink of insanity, and her vision wasn’t some weird thermal heat map.

She was just her usual self, with one minor exception.

Her mouth was streaked with blood, and there was a corpse lying in front of her.

“Oh my god,” Nara sputtered. “Shit, shit, shit.”

She urgently squatted in front of Alessia, pressing a hand to her pulse. Nothing.

“I killed her,” Nara whispered, her entire body vibrating. She was still coming off her blood-high. “I just… drained all of the blood out of her body. I seriously did that.”

Alessia gasped for breath.

Nara jumped, watching as the woman resurrected from the floor like a walking zombie.

“Gods,” Alessia said, blinking quickly as her jaw hung open. “What a rush.”

Nara stared at her, totally white in the face.

“How are you…” she trailed off. “Is this a joke?”

Alessia pressed her hand to her own neck, feeling for her pulse. “Still there,” she remarked, matter-of-fact, before her gaze met Nara’s. She didn’t seem disturbed in the least.

“Diabla was right,” she said, looking with annoyance towards one of the potion bottles scattered on the floor. “I should have gone for the Master-grade potions. Your bite is way more powerful than the typical nascent vampire. Jeez.”

“I’m sorry – what? Potions?” Nara blinked, tongue still tangy with the taste of blood.

Blood. The same blood that was pooled around Alessia’s neck, dripping down onto her collar bones. Not that the knight seemed to care.

Nara’s stomach turned unpleasantly, nausea washing over her. She was still going through the full cycle of grief. She had gone from hungry, to murderous, to regretful, to utterly confused. Now she just wanted a nap.

Using the walls as leverage, Alessia slowly heaved herself off the floor. Nara offered her a hand, but Alessia waved her off, too proud to take it. Her legs were shaking as she sat herself down by the dining room table.

“Potions of Resist Vampirism,” she clarified, grabbing a bottle off the floor. “No idea what they’re made of. They taste like shit, so probably that. But I keep them stockpiled in the closet. Never know when you’re going to run into a hungry one.”

She smirked up at Nara. Nara had no idea what to do with that information.

“Should I be running?” Nara asked. “I feel like I should be running. I just tried to kill you.”

“No, you didn’t. Your body did,” Alessia said, uncorking the potion in her hand. She tipped her head back, guzzling it down. “I can tell the difference. Even now, you look like you’re about to faint from the stress of potentially killing someone. It’s a little bit hilarious.”

Alessia’s smile widened. Nara glared at her.

“I’m – I’m so fine,” Nara said, her trembling voice giving her away. “Okay, I feel a little – I feel a little sick.”

“First Bite Syndrome. You feel amazing, then you don’t. I’d take a seat.”

As Alessia said it, another wave of nausea passed over her. It felt like she was sixteen again, sitting by a campfire with a bunch of teenage drifters, passing around beer cans and undosed edibles. It was an ungodly mix of euphoria and revulsion.

Nara reached for a chair, all but crash landing into the seat. She laid her head on the dining room table with a thud.

“Oof, be careful,” Alessia said.

Nara heard a scuffling in the background. Alessia raised her head carefully, shoving a dusty pillow under her neck.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Nara groaned, her head pounding. “God, I feel awful.”

“I’m not being nice. I’m being manipulative, actually. You’ll see.”

Footsteps thudded against the floorboards as Alessia looked around for something. Her boots hit the ground like two trucks taped to the soles of her feet.

“Open your eyes,” Alessia commanded. Nara wearily obeyed, groaning as light hit her corneas again.

Alessia was dangling a wrinkled piece of parchment in front of her face.

“What’s this?” Nara mumbled, too nauseous to read the words.

“A contract,” Alessia said. Nara could hear her smiling. While I’m in pain? She is evil. “For a Sanguinat.”

“Is that some kind of venereal disease?”

Alessia snorted. “No. It’s a third rank vampire. Each rank comes with a name.”

“And what am I?” Nara groaned. “A Level 0 blood-failure?”

“Nope, you surpassed that. You’re nascent now.”

“Wonderful.”

“For me, yes,” Alessia nodded. “Diabla has been making me potions for years to protect me from my targets, especially vampires. But Potions of Resist Vampirism only do so much. The queen jewel of protection elixirs is the Potion of Pureblood Infusion.”

Despite her nausea, Nara’s ears perked up.

“What makes it so good?” she whispered. Alessia smiled.

“The main ingredient is Blood of a Firstbite,” she said, gesturing to the blood seeping out of her neck. While Nara had her eyes closed, Alessia had cleaned the wound, capturing most of the blood in one of the now-empty potion bottles. “And let me tell you, it is not often you come across a vampire who hasn’t eaten yet.”

“I can imagine,” Nara said, glaring. “I’ve only been here a few hours and I already went feral.”

“A few hours?” Alessia said, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t look like you were born this morning.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“I’m calling you older than an infant.”

Alessia grinned and happily rapped her fingers against the dining room table. Nara could tell she didn’t typically host guests – both from the gross display she called a kitchen, and also from the wide grin every time she got to tell a joke. The girl clearly needed a long monster-hunting vacation.

“Whatever, shut up,” Nara said, and she could slowly feel the energy seep back into her body. “No, I wasn’t born this morning. I got to this world this morning. I’m still half-convinced I’m dreaming, but I haven’t woken up yet, so I’m probably going nuts in some insane asylum. Either that, or I really did fall through a witch portal and end up here.”

“A witch portal?” Alessia paused, her fingers stilling. “You’re an Outsider?”

“That’s not a particularly classy way of putting it, but sure.”

“No – that’s the technical term,” she said. “People who come from other worlds. Outsiders. I’ve met a few. I didn’t know Outsiders could be vampires, though. That’s new.”

“Well, I’m happy I could provide you with an original experience,” Nara said flatly.

“Me too,” Alessia said, smiling. “Now I’m feeling a little bad about luring you to my home to have you eat me for breakfast. You must be totally confused.”

“Oh, only now you feel bad?”

“Well, not really. You still got to feed, and I got the ingredient I needed.”

Nara sighed. “I don’t get it. Were you just trolling the woods looking for nascent vampires? That seems insane.”

“Of course I wasn’t,” she laughed. “Coming upon a first-feed vampire is like finding a knife in a swordstack. I was just out looking for some other ingredients for Diabla. The demon never wants to go scrounging for her own stuff. It was just my luck that I found a rare one.”

Ah. Nara nodded. “And this Diabla… makes potions? Is she a potionmaker?”

“Obviously.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, Nara’s eyes widened, her stomach turning with excitement. Maybe she can make me a potion to delay the Thirst process. My dreams of loitering here won’t be very attainable if I have to go find people to eat.

“I have a proposal for you,” Nara said, reaching her hand across the table. “You let me clean this horse stall you call a kitchen, and I’ll help you find the last ingredients you need for your potion. Deal?”

“Not sure what you get out of that –”

“Be quiet. Deal?”

Alessia’s eyebrows lifted, her cheeks going a little pink.

“Sheesh. Deal.”