A Soldier's Life

My week alone was better than expected. Konstantin only bothered me for short evening weapons practices and spent the rest of his time with Gilda, trying to uncover other hidden monsters in the goliath city. The old man really needed to learn how to relax and take a vacation. We would be hunting manticores again soon, and Konstantin was also on the lookout for Navek’s return, who was on a solo hunt.

My daily trips to the markets and apothecaries helped break up the long sessions of watching and managing alchemical processes. The innkeeper said other patrons complained about the smells, but a few large silver coins persuaded him not to room anyone on my floor, and I agreed to keep the windows open. The inn was less than half full, so it wasn't costing him anything in business.

The pendant of clarity was just as advertised. It perfectly complemented my alchemy, and I felt a heightened, focused awareness and insight effects as I worked. However, running more than one alchemy refining process at once was difficult. It was doable as long as all the processes were focused on a single product. However, trying to make a healing salve and spearmint mouthwash simultaneously gave me a splitting headache—pun intended.

The purification and freshness of the spearmint mouthwash ingredients made them catalyze brightly when I added aether. The more visible the aether reaction, the stronger the brew. The mouthwash had more of a menthol flavor. It also opened the sinuses, cleared a stuffy nose, and healed teeth and gums, with breath-freshening effects lasting about three days after use. I preferred peppermint over spearmint, but none grew on the island.

The healing paste was a simple antiseptic and healing accelerant. The ingredients were common and relatively easy to purify, but once again, the catalyzation process was more intense than expected. I found the resulting paste had significantly extended its shelf life. This healing paste could stop bleeding and prevent infection, but it wouldn’t close a wound; it would only enhance the body's ability to do so, so a bandage was required to wrap the wound.

The healing salve I tried next was more potent, as it could knit flesh back together in addition to the benefits of the healing paste. It resembled a weaker, topical, lesser healing potion. Once again, the ingredients seemed to combine much better. I began to suspect the plants on the island might be contributing to my successes. I was sure I was doing a better job refining compounds from ingredients—but not by much.

On one of my shopping trips, I found a halfling alchemist in the city to ask for some guidance. Walking into his alchemy shop, he abandoned his lab in the back room to talk to a potential customer. The graying halfling had a smile too big for his face. “Aren’t you just all muscle! What can I get for you today? A stamina brew? Some infused tallow to improve your complexion? Oh, I know! You need a draft of love potion after angering your woman!”

“Um, no. I was hoping to discuss alchemy with you,” I said, a bit stunned by his exuberance. Self-consciously, I rubbed my skin. face. Was my skin complexion bad?

The halfling deflated. “I am not taking apprentices.”

He seemed about to return to his work, but I stopped him. “I was just wondering if the island flora and fungi are more potent than elsewhere,” I asked, causing him to stop mid-stride. He turned, looking me over with a different eye. He walked up to me, his eyes level with my belt, and sniffed me. I was certain he was trying to smell if I was an alchemist.

He nodded to himself, confirming I smelled like I had been near a smoker and had soaked my clothes in a dozen different plant juices. “Yes, the ingredients are easier to work with here on the island. That’s why I settled here with my wives. The flora on the islands is not as potent as dungeon ingredients, mind you, but they’re better since there’s a strong ley line nexus under Voleta Mountain. You need to be cautious when harvesting them in the forest slopes, as dire creatures have evolved there. The bears are truly horrific,” the halfling said.

I knew Voleta was the local name for the biggest mountain on the north side of Stone Mountain Island, and it had a more temperate climate than the tropical climate here. He walked behind his counter to step onto a platform so he wouldn’t have to look up at me to talk. “I am Alchemist Firaan Softbough. Ask your questions,” he waved his hands somewhat impatiently, glancing at his lab.

After introducing myself, I led with my biggest question: “Eryk Marko of Fortuna’s Chosen. My final stage catalyzation has been stronger than expected.”

He didn’t let me finish before answering, “Yes, yes. Fresh ingredients catalyze much better. The issue is transporting brews to the continents. They lose their efficacy on the long ship voyages.”

“Why not set up portals like they do in the Telhian Empire?” I asked.

He blew a raspberry. “Pssssshhh, as if there are any powerful displacement mages among the goliaths. Or any powerful mages at all! There are very few goliath alchemists, too, yet there are hundreds of potential synergistic flora and fungi in the jungles, forests, shoals, and rocky slopes unexplored!” The halfling’s excitement mounted as he spoke.

This halfling was not one of the prominent alchemists in Eternis that I had learned about, but he appeared extremely competent. “Do you have a local lesser healing potion formula, then? The goliath alchemist I talked to said there was no reliable combination on the island.”

“It is not a large island, dominated by mountains running down the center, but there are giant bees. Their honey can serve as the base.” I nodded, as that was a standard base for lesser healing potions. It really depended on which flowers the bees got their pollen from to determine the potency of the refined honey.

Firaan continued, “As for other active ingredients, guava and passion fruit work, just not well. Cacao beans work, but they need to be roasted and pressed for a liquor that the goliaths prefer to drink rather than use for alchemy.” Firaan actually had to show me pictures of cacao, guava, and passion fruit as the words were unfamiliar to me in the Elvish we were speaking.

I began taking notes from Firaan. He was experimenting with various local plants and fungi that weren't in the books I already had. Unfortunately, his focus wasn't on healing potions; he was looking for recipes for anti-aging and curing diseases. This was challenging because when you encountered a new ingredient, there were multiple compounds you could purify from it, some just as deadly as they were beneficial.

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His best original recipe was for infused mountain goat tallow. It wasn’t anti-aging per se, but it did rejuvenate the skin, making you look younger. Unfortunately for Firaan, goliaths were not vain, and elders were respected. His goat fat cream also had a very short shelf life of four months. He gave me a few purifications I could try, all using the giant bee honey as a base for a potential lesser healing potion that could be drunk. Any potion that could heal internal injuries would be very valuable.

To thank Firaan for his time, I bought the entire stock of his goat cream, thirty-two jars, not that I thought I needed it, but maybe Castile would appreciate it since she was developing age lines.

I purchased the ingredients and conducted numerous failed experiments, most of which produced a weak potion. I was an ideal potion tester with my self-purify and self-healing spell form. Still, it was not fun when your body rejected an alchemical brew, and I learned to keep a bucket close by.

Konstantin found me in the market near the end of the week. “Navek is back in the city,” he said while inspecting my baskets of herbs with mild curiosity.

Konstantin slipped me just over a hundred gold coins. “Your part of the reward the Eternis Council granted for the doppelgänger. They managed to save three women who were going to give birth to those monstrosities.” I nodded, sending the gold and baskets to my space.

I followed Konstantin across the city to talk with Navek. During our training sessions, I had told Konstantin everything the Seer had told me, and he didn’t trust her—but he did like the crotchety goliath hunter. My guess was that he saw a lot of himself in the independent manticore hunter.

An hour later, we were buying Navek a feast at the same tavern where we had met him. He looked a bit thinner, but in good spirits. As the food started to flow, Konstantin asked, “How was your hunt?”

“Not good. I briefly trapped one bull, but it thundered off into the woods. Had some scars on its hide, so I think it was one I had almost trapped two years back. Then I came back here to resupply and found that Honored Maveith has taken down a dozen manticores in a month!” He eyed us angrily before offering a slight grin. “I don’t mind; the only good manticore is a dead manticore. I don’t care who kills them.”

Konstantin and Navek exchanged hunting tales. Navek was impressed with the doppelgänger kill and eager to learn more about the werecat in the city. So far, the werecat hadn’t killed anyone, which made Gilda anxious. I contributed where necessary, but my mind was focused on my alchemy, planning out more combinations to try in my head.

Getting a little tired of the huntsman talk, I pressed forward with why we were here. “Matron Namao, the Seer said you were looking for the dungeon on the second-largest mountain.”

Navek dropped his wooden utensils. “That old woman is a deceitful witch,” he said, spitting out the words. Konstantin and I looked at each other. Navek continued, “She knows where the dungeon is but won’t tell me. What did she tell you?” His tone was aggressive, and the veins on his gray bald head throbbed.

Konstantin nodded to me to answer. “She said you were getting close to the dungeon entrance on the second-largest mountain on the island. She said we should seek you out to lead us there.” Okay, so maybe I was stretching what she had said a bit. But it did cause Navek to lean back and relax a bit, contemplating.

“Did she now?” he said. I could see his thinking behind his green eyes. “The last time I climbed Nashota was a year ago. Reached the snowy, icy slopes and didn’t find a thing.”

“Which face of the mountain?” Konstantin asked, pouring Navek some goat cream mixed with rum.

“The sunrise side. It took me two days to climb, and there’s no clear path once you get past the jungle. You’re just as likely to die in a rockslide, avalanche, or freeze to death. If the manticores spot you climbing, you’re cooked. The smarter ones will trigger a rock slide or avalanche to bury you under, and dig out your corpse after.” He downed the drink and licked his lips, making a puckering sound.

“Suppose you two will be escorting the Honored Maveith up the slope to find the dungeon now?” Navek said after savoring the drink.

“You are welcome to come with us,” Konstantin said. I looked at him, a bit surprised, but he just shrugged.

“I work alone,” Navek said flatly. “But your group does seem competent and has been successful. You shouldn’t hold me back too much.” He said in an obviously joking tone. “I have never been in a dungeon. Have you?”

“A few,” I replied quickly. “I don’t know how to kill a dungeon, though.”

“I am sure we can figure it out once we find it,” Navek said, hiding his excitement but offering his first hint at a smile. I think that was his way of agreeing to accompany us. Maveith and Raelia were due back in two days, so I let Konstantin and Navek work out the preparations for the expedition.

I returned to my alchemy and studied the spell form for the mind fortress. I was getting closer, learning both in the dreamscape and from the physical book, but I still hadn’t imprinted it in a week.

I could hear Baldo’s claws clacking on the wooden floorboards in the hallway, and I was sure Raelia’s soft footsteps walked beside him. The door swung open, and Baldo stood there with a black saddle that was too big for his frame. He was still preening, showing it off to me. Raelia was grinning behind him.

“It looks majestic,” I offered, putting down the spell form book and moving to turn down the heat on some processes in anticipation of a spirited reunion with Raelia.

“It smells like a dryad’s ass in here,” Raelia said as the smell hit her. She coughed and covered her nose.

“You have got to tell me how you know what a dryad’s ass smells like,” I retorted playfully. “Keep him away from the tables.” I indicated at Baldo.

She just rolled her eyes at me. Baldo was sneezing and reluctant to follow. “Baldo will grow into the harness. The strap cinches can be let out and the saddle shifted if needed. It is the perfect size for me.” To demonstrate, she swung onto Baldo’s back, and he took her weight with ease. Keeping her aloft in the air would probably strain him, but he was strong enough now.

“Is Maveith back too?” I asked as I approached Raelia for a kiss. Baldo sneezed, covering me in griffin spittle and snot. He was most likely allergic to something in the room.

Raelia quickly removed the harness and saddle as she answered. “We traveled back together. I think Myra wore him out, and he’s ready to get some rest hunting manticores,” she said coyly. She indicated the griffin rider saddle. “You can store these for us, and after you take a bath, I can show you how well-rested I am.” She looked around, audibly sniffing the room. “But maybe we should get another room.”

Later that evening, in a different room, and after getting reacquainted in clean sheets, I told Raelia about our quest to find the manticore dungeon. She was excited until I told her we would have to climb a mountain. She was still committed to joining us, but didn’t want Baldo to be exposed to manticore attacks. Baldo joined his saddle two days later, and my group, with Navek, set out to climb Nashota Mountain.

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