Master Of None

”It is very nice to meet you. I am Walker. Thank you for allowing Remey to join you.” Walker made sure to be as polite as possible. He had the feeling that it would go a long way with this woman.

The smile she gave in response proved his point, ”I was happy to have a guest. It has been some years since I took an apprentice. Also, her system is fascinating. It is very rare for the world to create a new system or fuse them. I have only heard of it two times in my entire life.” This was an exciting thing for all of them to hear. Remey was lucky enough to have a system that even long lived elves would see as rare.

Remey was paying no mind to what they were talking about. Her full attention was on the boiling pot. Walker had expected to see a full cauldron but instead saw the pot. ”Can I ask what you are making?”

”Of course you can. This is the crystal ginger and a few other things mixed together. I call it the crystal mana potion. You might also hear it called a mana sealing potion. It has the ability to seal the body parts that are leaking mana. I call it a crystal mana potion because when it cools it reflects light like a crystal.” She said this while adding some small handfuls of herbs to the pot. 

Remey watched intensely at every little change that occurred. ”I was pleasantly surprised when your friend here came. I had expected a very small knowledge base, but I dare say she knows as much theory as I did a hundred years ago.” This compliment was able to get Remey to come out of her focus and join in the conversation.

”I grew up watching the old man play around with his theories. I know most ingredients and potions we can create in our kingdom. Thanks to the journals left behind by a previous owner of our mansion I was even able to learn some of the darker sides of alchemy. The practices are terrible, but the knowledge is worth knowing so I can apply it to other more positive experiments.” 

”She is an official member of the alchemy building in our kingdom. They are not a guild like the adventurers or tamers. But she got to know many members and one of the current master alchemists. As far as I know, he is at the top of our kingdom’s alchemy.” Walker  explained some left out details to smooth things over. 

”Ah, so this old man was like your teacher then?” Trish was trying to find the connection between Remey and the master alchemist.

”He is my family. I watched him but could never do alchemy. But then we got a quest and I got this new system and I love it. He has helped me turn the theory and practices in to reality lately. I could say I am an apprentice, but it’s more.” Remey was getting a little worked up, her emotions ready to overflow again since she was so happy to be an alchemist in any form. 

”So a father passing knowledge to a daughter. You are right, that is much better than an apprentice. I hope to meet him one day. I have never met an alchemist from another kingdom. I spend most of my years away from even my elven brethren. I need to experiment and find the next breakthrough.” Walker took note that she had the same mentality as the alchemists from their kingdom, it was nice seeing a common trait.

”The old man does that too. He once locked himself in his lab for a week straight. When he finally opened the door I needed to feed him by hand and give him a mana potion. He was so dumb, what if I had stayed home?” She hadn’t talked about this story before and Walker was caught off guard by the lengths the master alchemist would go to experiment.

”Of course, that is why you have apprentices, they can check on you while you create a tough concoction. The longest I have ever had to simmer something was a month. I didn’t move from that spot the entire time. I had an apprentice bring me something to snack on and some additional firewood.” 

This brought a thought to Walker. ”I may have missed it, but we are in a tree made of wood. How is the fire burning on it without causing a forest fire?” He was worried this was a dumb question, but Remey nodded her head. 

”I asked the same thing. It didn’t make any sense but Trish explained it all.” 

”A wise observation, the wood layered on the floor is made from an aqua sapling. When they are about fifty years old they produce an oil that resists extreme heat. It will only produce this through its core for a few weeks before it spreads to the leaves. We harvest those leaves and layer them between the wood. The oils absorb in and you have a completely fire proof base.” She was proud to share the elven technique that she had long used.

The ideas were hitting Walker left and right, ”How does it do against other elements? Is it resistant to them?” 

”Yes, most elements are resisted by the oil. The only element that it has an affinity with is the water element which is usually attracted around but but not absorbed. The earth element is usually a tough thing for the oil since it is absorbed. That is minimal though. The items treated with it are usually very durable against all elements, even darkness elemenent.” She had studied the ingredient a great many times and was even responsible for a few crafting breakthroughs using it.

”Is this an oil that I can purchase and bring back with me? I am slowly gathering materials for a special magical staff That I can make with my own two hands.” Walker’s imagination was expanding the more he learned in the elf kingdom. He would need skills to make the staff but that would come when he gathered the proper materials. He couldn’t practice unless he got to know the materials and learned about them to the highest degree.

”Of course you can. We have plenty of it to make our homes fire proof. We grow the aqua saplings in a flat plane of water. The growth process is a little slow since the oils are lower quality when we speed the saplings grow up. But after  few years we started to get them in to a good rotation.”

”It became a farming operation. That is interesting. If you and your people sell it to other kingdoms you could make the elf people a lot of gold and respect. My party recently assisted with a fire in the kingdom. It was only one building, but the carpenters lost a great deal. I would be happy to see things change for the better.” The thoughts of the children without parents or the families that had lost loved ones weighed on him.

”Then that will be exactly what I do. I will speak to those in charge and have it sent to your kingdom as one of the first products we sell in trade. I work every day to improve the potions for my people. I would be proud to help other people as well.” Trish nodded with each word. 

She had become an alchemist after trying to make a potion for her brother, that small gesture had set her entire future in to motion. If she had not thought to help him or even try then she would be a system-less elf and could not be the best she could be for her people. ”That’s perfect. The old man will lose his mind trying out new things with it. I can show off what I leave here too.” Remey became ten times more excited at this possibility.

”You’re so eager to learn. If every apprentice I had was as eager I would have an army of master alchemists by now. I a sure you are told every day how studious you are.” Remey avoided eye contact and pretended not to know what to say. Walker couldn’t hold himself from laughing. He knew all too well the arguments and insults thrown between the old master alchemist and Remey.

”Back to this crystal ginger you brought me. I would estimate it was there for about eighty years. That makes it high tier easily. It will nearly finish the treatments for the queen’s little problem. She will be very thankful. She would be fine without it, but to an elf, it is annoying to feel the loss of mana, we are very attuned to mana.” Trish said this full of seriousness, she knew all too well the lengths the queen had gone to try and solve the mana bleeding disease before accepting the fact that she would always need the supply of natural mana from the forest.

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