Psilocybin Four
had been on the edge of a nicer part of the city but as the rougher neighbourhoods expanded it was starting to be crowded out.
I suspected that they'd be closing up soon. There was a lot of need for alchemical solutions to all sorts of problems in the slums, but the sick and dying rarely had coin to spare on the tinctures and potions that would solve their ills.
It was far more profitable to try and work with those of means.
Bet and I chatted as we walked along. The people we encountered gave us looks, but we were just two innocent children moving along. Maybe we weren't as grubby as the average local, but it didn't take long in this part of town to gain a nice sheen of grime.
The shop was along the main road, which wasn't a bad place to be. It was still actively patrolled by the bullies, and even some small groups of union members who loitered around businesses and kept them 'safe.' It was called The Boil & Bottle according to the sign painted above its entrance.
We stepped in to the jingle of a brass bell above the door, and I was hit by the strange earthy smell of a dozen different tinctures and products. The shop had a few stands with rows of bottles, more to one side with hygiene products, and some medical supplies as well. The makeup section was possibly the largest in the shop, but I wasn't here to pretty up.
Instead I walked over cracked flooring tiles to the back, where a shuttered wall blocked access to a wall filled with cubbies. Each of them was carefully labeled with a piece of paper, the reagents and active ingredients within marked for any prospective alchemist to peruse.
I didn't have a license to buy anything here.
From the state this place was in, with its buzzing lights, dusty floor, and dirty windows, I strongly suspected that a few coins in the right hands would mean that it didn't matter.
There was a thriving business, keeping backyard alchemists stocked, and I imagined that the Boil & Bottle was a central hub for that business and would remain so until its doors were boarded up.
Who was I to refuse to participate in a bit of clandestine trade? All I needed was the right mushroom, and there was a good chance I'd find it here.
***