The healing potion he made never left his mind, not even when Agnes pretended that there was nothing so special about it.
However, Aubrey was not stupid, nor was he someone who'd stop suspecting something once it was dismissed by others. He knew for certain that he did something to that potion, and it was most likely a spell that he casted without knowing.
Casting a spell on things to make them have a certain effect was common, and potions were no exception. Aubrey did have magic, he just didn't have the ability to cast any spells.
Or so he thought.
The question is how, and why did it occur then?
So many things were left unanswered by Agnes - and Kellen - who seemed to know exactly what was happening, but the two of them were not willing to share what they knew. Frankly it was frustrating, but Aubrey tried not to focus too much on that and decided to figure it out himself like Agnes told him to.
He was looking down at the palm of his hand feeling the way his magic flowed but refused to surface, and that's when Toby walked in looking around the place in loss before he sighed heavily.
It seems like he was disappointed that only Aubrey was there, and for some reason Toby always made sure to avoid him. The reason was a mystery to Aubrey who decided to ask about what was troubling him because Toby did look troubled.
"Need something?"
When Toby looked at him, he opened his mouth to answer but did not utter a word. He was hesitant to speak, but it was more out of nervousness than dislike. That confused Aubrey, but he didn't comment on it as he waited for the tall man to speak.
He did not.
Instead, he walked towards him and showed him a drawn picture of something. The drawing was terrible, and that was putting it nicely. Toby watched the confusion on Aubrey's face as he looked up at him in loss. He seriously couldn't figure out what exactly he was looking at.
"It's a plant I am supposed to find." Toby finally clarified, making him look at it again.
Honestly he wouldn't have guessed. "Are you sure it's a plant?"
"That's what Kellen told me. He said Agnes needed it."
Everything became clear with those words. "Ah."
It seems like Kellen did it again, and lied to Toby who believed his words without ever questioning them. Toby was just incredibly gullible sometimes, and he has yet to realize that Kellen was not someone whose words should be trusted. It was nearly impossible to tell if he was speaking the truth or not.
This time, he was totally sending Toby on a wild goose chase and probably laughing about it.
It irked Aubrey.
"You know what? I'll help you find it." He said getting up from his seat, and while he knew that the plant did not exist, he was planning on finding a similar one and do his best to make it identical to whatever monstrosity Kellen had drawn. It won't be easy, but poor Toby deserved a victory over the cruel deceiver.
Pleasantly surprised but equally as grateful, Toby nodded his head as he folded the drawing and put it back into his pocket. He didn't expect Aubrey to be so willing to help him as they walked out of the cottage together.
"I think he said something about the plant being near lakes." Toby supplied not knowing that this detail was as pointless as it was unhelpful, they were not actually looking for that plant, but Aubrey thought that it wouldn't hurt to try their luck there. After all, they both didn't actually know where to look.
Aubrey was equally as clueless. Plants just weren't something he's well-informed about.
"Do you know your way around the forest?" Aubrey asked as he treaded down a random path not caring where it would take him. Directions were also one of his weaknesses, but to his delight, Toby nodded his head with a small smile appearing on his face.
"I'm actually good with directions."
Smiling back at that, Aubrey felt more comfortable to venture in. "Perfect."
They spent over an hour just searching for lakes and examining every plant they came across, but nothing was even close to the drawing Kellen had drawn. It was even more exasperating when Aubrey knew that this plant did not exist, but every time they stumble on a plant, Toby would have this hopeful look on his face that would soften Aubrey's heart.
The moment that look appears, Aubrey would just forget all about giving up and pull him away from another expected disappointment, and would lead the both of them away to another location.
"Seems like this plant is rare." Aubrey told him trying his best to ease the other's growing frustration, and Toby nodded his head in agreement as he let out a tired breath. "Just how much do you owe Agnes?"
This time, the giant groaned at the reminder. "Around a thousand coins."
A thousand coins were a meager amount for the wealthy Whitlock, but to someone like Toby, it was a very large amount. Feeling sorry, Aubrey couldn't help but offer. "Want me to help you with that?"
Toby immediately rejected his offer, shaking his head vigorously. "Not that I do not appreciate it, but I would owe you instead." Aubrey was about to tell him that there would be no strings attached before Toby added another detail to his whole situation, sounding hopeless. "Besides, Agnes said she didn't want money."
"She's making you work for her for free?"
To his surprise, Toby shook his head. "No, she's actually paying me. She just wants me to work for her until she decides I did enough for what I owed or until she 'gets tired of me'."
Aubrey smiled amusedly at that. "Is that what she said?"
"Yeah." Toby sounded so tired as he hung his head low, and Aubrey let out a soft laugh not knowing if he should feel entertained at Agnes' antics, or sorry for his predicament.
"Hey, isn't that a lake? We should find something there." Aubrey said tugging Toby's sleeve to get his attention, he didn't mean to instill false hope in him, but he himself was hopeful that they would find something. "I hope it's there."
"I hope so, too, I am not planning on spending more time on this." Toby grumbled walking towards the lake, and as expected, they found nothing there but the usual common plants, rocks, and some weird-looking frogs bouncing around.
A cat was lounging on one of the rocks there, and it stared at them as if it was judging them before it jumped off of the rock and sauntered away not paying them any mind. There was only the sound of crickets and distant animals that filled their silence, and the disappointment was heavy in the air as they stood there with sagging shoulders.
"We did try." Aubrey sighed planning to head back, but then Toby gasped and dragged him somewhere as he excitedly approached a tree with something bright orange poking out under it. Whatever it was, it was obscured by the bushes around it, but Toby seemed to think that it was their nonexistent plant.
And he was right.
"Finally!" He cried letting go of Aubrey as he bent down to examine the admittedly weird-looking plant. Aubrey had never seen anything like it before, but he was incredibly surprised that they actually found it.
It looked identical to the drawing, just a little more realistic-looking. Seems like this wasn't a lie made up by Kellen, and the two of them high-fived, happy with their achievement.
When they headed back to the cottage and presented Agnes with the plant, one of her eyebrows rose comically high as she looked down at it. "What's this?"
"The plant that you asked for..." Toby told her sounding confused before he gave her the drawing Kellen made. "I was told you wanted this."
Aubrey was just as confused as him as he watched understanding dawn on Agnes' face. "Kellen gave you this?"
Toby nodded his head.
"I see. Good work." She smirked with her eyes moving to Aubrey. "Weren't you supposed to work on your potions?"
This time it was Aubrey who nodded his head, but he also nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "I thought he could have used some help. I'll get straight to my potions."
And Agnes let him without saying any more as she looked back at the drawing with a shake of her head. The plants that were brought to her were not ones she had any known use for.
They shouldn't have been found to begin with.
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