Westland, NY, Friday, July 19, 1929
At the Exotic Tea and Spice Shop
Jack Barnes at the Tikhoosue Club had suggested speaking to Sue Wu at the Exotic Tea and Spice shop behind the China Palace restaurant. The four found their way to the restaurant, which was on the lake near the mouth of the Wooley River and the train station. They entered the restaurant and the waitress directed them to the shop around the back.
A wind chime tinkled as they opened the door to the to the small store. The investigators were immediately overwhelmed by the variety of unusual fragrances. It was crowded and dark in the shop. Behind the counter, tall shelves lined the walls with large tins labeled presumably in Chinese. There was a door at the back of the shop. Sounds from the kitchen of the restaurant could be heard behind it. Sitting on a tall stool behind the counter was a youthful-looking, dark haired Asian woman wearing a tight, sleeveless, red silk dress.
Sam asked if she was Sue Wu. She replied that she was Xu Wu. Sam mentioned that Jack Barnes had sent them saying that they could get rare plant extracts from her. Xu Wu asked what they were looking for. Mookie replied dragon’s blood, goat’s rue, and the Five Leaved Flower of Light.
“Dragon blood is pretty generic name,” she said. “I have many things that might meet your needs. Can you give me any more details? What are you supposed to do with it?”
They told her that they were seeking to banish an ancient evil summoned fifty years ago. The woman tapped her lips with her finger for a moment, produced a small ceramic bowl from beneath the counter, and then turned and walked into the shadows at the rear of the shop. When she returned a few minutes later, the bowl was filled with some yellow roots and reddish leaves.
“Dragon blood has been used for centuries for digestive problems. This was imported from Persia.”. She began to grind the contents of the bowl with a marble pestle. “The Five-Leaved Flower of Light is the name for several herbal remedies. Some believe that the wild strawberry is such an herb, but they are wrong. These roots produce a hallucinogenic effect said to reveal the spirits. The usual method is to ingest or smoke it.”
“Have you heard of anyone looking to commune with the spirits?” Sam asked.
“It is not uncommon for people to come here looking for access to the supernatural.” She examined the bowl and continued grinding. “But few have such specific instructions, and fewer are sent to me by Jack Barnes.” Sam asked how she knew Barnes. Xu Wu said that he acquired hard to get things for her.
Sam asked about the goat’s rue. Xu Wu said that it was common in ancient times to include unnecessary ingredients in order to reveal the imposters from the real sorcerers. Goat’s rue was a common weed that would add nothing to the compound. If anything, it would dilute it.
“The ingredients are not the spell,” she explained, “they are the medium. The real magic comes from the caster.” Without warning, a needle appeared in her hand. “You must each provide a drop of blood to empower the mixture and assert your control over it. Without the blood, it will not work.”
Sam explained to the shopkeeper that they were working on behalf of the late Jason Longborough. Xu Wu mentioned that Longborough owned the building and arranged for the restaurant and spice shop to opened in Westland.
She flicked the thumb of her other hand into the forefinger, and a small blue flame burst from the tip of the thumb. The investigators were shocked at the sight as there was no sign of any burning on the thumb or anything unusual on the long, slender fingers. .
She held the tip of the needle into the flame until it glowed. Mookie volunteered to go first. She poked the needle into his fingertip and quickly pulled it out. A single drop of blood fell into the bowl and sizzled briefly.
Eric was next. As she poked the needle into his finger, he fell faint for a moment. The blood fell into the bowl and sizzled as well. Sam and Otis followed. Their blood also sizzled, but they suffered no ill effects.
Xu Wu extinguished her thumb with a gesture. She then poked the needle into the once burning thumb and added a drop of her own blood to the mixture. This time, there was a bright flash and a cloud of smoke burst from the bowl. When it cleared, the brown and red contents of the bowl had been transformed into a white, crystalline powder.
“This will do what you seek,” she said, pouring the contents of the bowl carefully into a paper packet. “As I said, the usual method is to incorporate the power into your body through food or smoke.” She handed over the packet to Mookie and held out her hand. “That will be twenty dollars.” They were surprised at the amount, but managed to come up with it among the four of them.
Eric and Otis went home. Sam and Mookie stayed behind. Sam wanted to learn how to produce the flame from his thumb. Xu Wu replied that she could not teach him. It required years of training, focus, discipline and meditation.
Mookie asked about a preparation of Xanth root and Tamarand seed. Xu Wu replied that such a mixture would be unpleasant and asked why they wanted it. Sam said that they feared the entity there were trying to defeat and wanted as many weapons against it as possible. Xu Wu said that she could produce the mixture.
Mookie asked what it would cost. He negotiated with Xu Wu to provide the compound in exchange for a favor. Mookie agreed. The flame reappeared from her thumb, and the needle in her other hand. She poked herself and pressed the blood onto a piece of paper. She then poked Mookie and pressed his thumb to it. When she lifted his thumb, the blood had mixed and transformed into Chinese characters that she said was like an IOU.
She asked questions about the entity. They told her that it was ancient. She asked about its form. They said it would not be corporeal until they hit it with the other compound. She said that she could make a mixture to affect the entity once it was corporeal. Mookie agreed.
Xu Wu reiterated that the compound would be very unpleasant and that they should take care. Then she collected the ingredients and carefully mixed them by shaking a sealed container until she was satisfied. Then she asked for more blood. This time, however, the blood would activate the compound, enabling it to affect the target, but those who contributed the blood would suffer any consequences from using it.
Mookie and Sam agreed. When the blood was added to the mixture it boiled, and ultimately reduced to a reddish powder. Xu Wu poured it carefully into a small mason jar and suggested casting it with a spoon as they should not touch the compound with their skin.
Once that was completed, Sam asked Mookie to grant him some privacy to ask Xu Wu a question. Mookie obliged and left the shop. Sam asked if she had anything that could calm their nerves and keep them focused for their coming ordeal. She asked how he felt about facing the unknown. Sam replied that he was confident, but that not all his friends were necessarily up to the task.
Xu Wu suggested ginseng. He asked if she had something stronger. Xu Wu suggested the Juice of the Poppy. Sam agreed, but had to give all of his remaining cash to get enough for one dose per person. She warned against anyone taking more than one dose as it was concentrated. She then wished Sam good luck and asked him to return and tell her how the compounds worked. Sam said that they would, if they survived.