Master Of None

With their errands finished the three headed back. The entire walk back to the mansion Walker took notice of every single guard. There were five patrols that passed them by which was nearly triple what would normally be in the area for the time of day. They were not actively searching but instead were just remaining vigilant and talking to the nobles as they passed. From what Walker had learned this was their strategy to put the citizens at ease after some criminal mischief.

”Looks like they caught those other stone gang members.” Walker made the offhand comment. 

”How would you know? Did you hear a guard say it?’ Remey was right there to Butt heads with him since she knew he hadn’t gone to ask anyone about it.

”Well from what I have learned from my father, the guards will send out patrols like this to put people at ease. They would still be searching and not talking as much if there were still dangerous criminals on the loose. I will ask my father when he gets home tonight. I’m willing to bet that all of them will have been captured.” Walker was very confident in what he had learned but Remey didn’t appear to believe him.

”Fine, But if they haven’t been captured you need to make training dummies for me tomorrow after we get back from the cathedral. Since you’re forcing us to go.” 

”Deal, and if I win you have to go with us every time until we leave for the next journey.” Walker and Remey had struck their bet. 

”Oh, you are all going to the cathedral tomorrow? Then I will go as well. I need to work out a proper contract for the high healing potions they would like me to make them. I can also assume he will want to learn about that sunshine honey he bought.” The old man mostly wanted to go chat with a friend but he knew business would be discussed first, It was only to be expected when it came to the organizations they were part of.

Remey and Walker were too caught up in their bet and trash talking to focus on what the old man was saying. ”Ugh, you’re both just kids. I forget you two need tough lessons. You will both be cleaning the cauldrons after I make potions too.” This put a stop to their bickering instantly. The rest of their walk home was in silence. They were afraid another chore could be added. 

Once they returned the old man had Walker roll the elemental cauldron in to the alchemy lab. The first step he took was to place some sugar in the bottom of the pot. ”This will act as a scrubber against the surface. The herbs that get blended in to it will make sure that anything it doesn’t scrape away is dissolved.” The old man narrated as he went. 

He grabbed a wooden tool with a rounded end. This he used to grind the sugar and herbs against the inside of the cauldron. Soon the dried herbs had been crushed in to a gritty powder with the sugar. The small parts were all over the inside along with some burned on bits that had started to fall off. ”Now we will add regular water, we need to heat the cauldron very hot so that it will cause the rest of the things stuck on to come off.” The fire underneath the cauldron was soon reaching up to the sides in a wild manner. 

Walker stood there watching as it burst in to a violent boil. The smaller burned on flecks were peeling off in to the water at a quick pace bringing the clean smoothness of the inner side of the cauldron back. ”Now we add this and this.” The old man tossed in a few other herbs before putting the lid on and placing a weight on top of it. ”The steam that builds up will clean the lid and force what is inside to cook hotter and hotter.” The old man watched the pot intensely looking for any escaping steam. ”If any steam was escaping we would need to have a new lid made. There are some potions that become useless if certain things evaporate from them.” 

The old man waited as the pressure in the cauldron built up higher and higher. Walker could tell that the violent boiling had become less and now there was a a feeling of pressure in the whole room. ”Go open that window, the herbs and water should have pulled out all the caked on impurities from years of sitting here.” Walker pushed open the window and checked to make sure the smokestack was still open.

The old man grabbed the same wooden tool as before and pushed off the weight. The lid jumped off the top of the cauldron and rolled to the floor. The pressure inside let out a bellow of black and white steamy smoke. The smell was burning Walker’s nose like nothing he had ever smelt before. He started to cough and tear up, unable to handle the burning smoke and steam. 

”Haha, you’ll get used to it, now, open that door too we will need to start to empty out the cauldron and kill the fire under it.” The old man grabbed a hanging chain and attached it to the cauldron. He used a handle on the wall attached to some weight to lift it easily. The cauldron tipped in to a channel carved in to the floor which caused the blackened liquid to runoff outside in to a deep hole that was created for such drainage of the lab. 

”How nice it is to have a first floor lab again. I hate having to call for an apprentice to drain a cauldron for twenty minutes since it needs to be brought multiple floors down. Here it is a bit more old school and can be put in to a deep hole in the earth where it will become part of the soil.” The old man was very happy having this small luxury. 

Walker was blurry eyed and watching all this the best he could. He had assumed that they would need to wait for the cauldron to cool to do anything but he was glad that the lab was designed for this. He had not paid much mind to why things were designed in such a way since he lacked the knowledge, but now it was looking very thought out and efficient. 

”Why does it burn so much!” Walker finally couldn’t handle it and rushed outside gagging on the toxic fumes still in the air. 

”Whooo, yea! You did a lot better than I did the first time I was in a lab and he cleaned out a cauldron.” Remey was outside the door watching the scene before her unfold. She had only lasted halfway through the boiling process before she couldn’t handle the fumes any longer. The muffled laughter of the old man was coming from their lab just as it had from his years ago.

”That is like a gas attack. How can he stay in there so long?” Walker couldn’t fathom how any human could sit in such toxic air for so long.

”Well the old man is a master alchemist, he has a skill that cleans the air he breathes so he can stay near potions when the brew no matter what fumes come off them.” Walker looked at her defeated.

”Come on system! Why couldn’t you have given me that skill!?” He yelled out at the world with the hope that he could somehow convince it to give him such a skill. His shout went unanswered though. Walker grumbled under his breath as he went back in to the lab this time with Remey next to him. The air had cleared enough to be bearable for the two of them.

”So, what do you two want to see first? A healing potion? A high healing potion? Or should I just start playing around with the sap that oozes out of the leaves on the oozing vines?” The old man had already gathered four vials of the sap from the oozing vine leaves and was more excited to play around with them than anything else. 

”Up to you, I already have seen your health potions and can guess what you did with the pure water to change things up. Walker can’t make that anyway so it would be better to try and learn the simple experimenting skills like extraction and dilution.” Remey had already chosen the two she thought were the most useful to a newer alchemist.

”Good choices, I need to use extract to remove the poison to see if the painkiller in the sap can be separated and made in to a pellet form somehow. Then I will try to make a liquid form and dilute the pain killer so it can be used in other potions. It could be very good for long term healing.” The old man had already started to move and gather equipment.

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