Standing in Divine Square, Jake Delta had to admit that The Spire was more impressive when you were close up. The white marble casing on the building seemed to reflect the bright noon sun and make the whole square seem brighter than anywhere in the city. The sunlight caught the veins of gold that decorated the giant tower, connecting the tapestries that represented the gods.

It wasn’t like Jake hadn’t seen The Spire before. It was impossible not to see it no matter what part of Hollowcrest you visited. Sometimes you could even see it on a clear day from the hill near the village where he had grown up. And every time he visited the city, you couldn’t avoid seeing it.

Never this close, though.

But his dad had made him promise that before he went anywhere, he should visit Divine Square and see it for himself, close up. He could see why. The place that represented the gods that were such an important part of all of their lives was truly an impressive sight.

“Jake!” a voice called out, causing Jake to turn in that direction. Of course, he knew who was calling his name. They had grown up together in a way, their fathers being partners. And the owner of the voice was the reason he was relocating permanently to the city.

Drak Douglas was about a head taller than Jake. When it came to Dragonkin, clothes went one of two ways - very little or lots. For Drak, he favoured the second option and was currently wearing a variation of his favourite outfit - a white shirt, brown waistcoat, brown trousers and work boots.

Of course, topping it off with a flat cap that he adapted to fit around his bright red frill was a step that made him look even more distinctive.

He moved through the crowds towards Jake, a beaming smile across his face. He waved an arm as if Jake could somehow miss his presence, almost knocking one of the people walking past him in the face. He muttered a quick apology, the grin returned and he reached where Jake was standing.

“It’s great to see you again, my friend,” Drak announced, his deep voice carrying just a touch of sibilance. “How was the trip?”

“Pretty uneventful,” Jack confirmed. “How have you been keeping?”

Drak’s smile faltered for a moment. It has only been two months since his dad had died and the death was still something that the Dragonkin was coming to terms with. “It is what it is,” he replied. “Dad had a good life doing what he enjoyed. I just wish he’d had a little more time. But what the gods will…”

Jake nodded. While he hadn’t been raised to follow any particular god or goddess, his parents had always taught him to respect all of the pantheon.

“So shall we head back to the store, and get you settled in?” Drak asked, his upbeat smile returning.

“Sure, sounds like a plan,” Jake replied, reaching down to grab his two bags from the floor where he had set them to enjoy the view of The Spire.

The two turned to leave the square when a new voice called for Drak. They both turned and for a moment, they were unsure who called. Then the crowds in front of them abruptly parted to reveal a pale-skinned gnome.

Gnomes were one of the shorter races to occupy Hollowcrest and were sometimes viewed as a soft target for thieves and muggers. But this one certainly dispelled that stereotype pretty sharply. Not only did he dress entirely in black but he carried enough weapons that he had probably doubled his own body weight.

“Borass, how are you doing?” Drak asked upon seeing the gnome. “Hey guys,” he added to the two characters behind the gnome. One was an Orc and the other looked to be a Firbolg, although Jake hadn’t spent much time around the race.

Both of them nodded to Drak, standing behind Borass with their arms crossed, bodyguard style. Not that the gnome really looked like he needed a bodyguard with the number of daggers and weapons strapped across his chest.

“Need to talk business,” the gnome said. “Not here, of course.”

Drak nodded. “No problem, how about later tonight at the usual place? About 9pm? Jake just arrived in the city and I want to get him back to the store first.”

“Sounds good,” Borass replied. “Don’t be late, I’ve got other business to get to.”

“No problem, my friend,” Drak replied and Jake realised that his smile and cheerful tone were just a little forced. His friend wasn’t really keen on this gnome but tried to hide it as best he could.

The two bodyguards parted and the gnome walked through the gap they created. They turned and followed him, the trio quickly vanishing into the crowd.

“Who was that?” Jake asked once they were out of sight.

“He’s called Borass, he’s an occasional customer, usually for simple potions. But he’s the kind of guy that Dad always said to try to accommodate where possible. He knows how to use all of those weapons. And then there’s Jeff and Geoff,” he added, a slight smile twitching his lips.

“Seriously? They are called Jeff and Geoff?” Jake replied, laughing.

“Yeah I bet there’s a story there but Borass isn’t the kind of guy you ask. I don’t think I’ve seen him smile once, let alone laugh or crack a joke. Deadly serious isn’t just a turn of phrase for that guy,” Drak added.

“Do you want me to come to the meeting with you tonight?” Jake asked, secretly hoping his friend would say no. The tiredness from the trip was starting to catch up with him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” Drak replied confidently. “It sounds like his usual type of order. Simple stuff we can create in an afternoon and keep him happy.”

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The two made their way to the edge of the square and the nearest station of The Loop. This was Jake’s first time using the unique underground transport system that connected the different parts of the city. Usually, when he visited the store with his dad, they arrived on Vine Road and simply made their way quickly to the store.

They walked down the stairs to the humid platform where crowds were gathered, waiting for the next arrival. The Loop was still new technology, having been running for around 10 years, but the locals had quickly adapted to it.

There was no sound as the train arrived but Jake felt a momentary movement in the air as it was pushed ahead of the high-speed carriage. The sleek cylinder of the Loop train arrived silently at the platform and the doors slid open, allowing a rush of people to leave. Once they had cleared, Jake and Drak walked on and took a pair of seats.

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Moments later, the doors shut and the train started to move. Not that you could feel anything, the magic that propelled it made it almost impossible to tell you were moving at high speed. The darkness of the tunnel was largely unbroken apart from a few momentary glimpses of surroundings as the train exited tunnels in short bursts. But the whole trip took place underground.

The trip from Divine Square to the station nearest Drak’s store was a short one. The train stopped at the platform, again without any real feeling of movement and the pair left the train. Drak gave a nod to one of the undead workers who kept the Loop running smoothly and they headed up the steps to the outside world.

Stepping out of the station into Vine Road, you could easily be fooled into thinking you had travelled a much greater distance and were far outside the city. There was nothing urban about this part of the city - it looked and smelled like a jungle.

The station stood alongside The Vein, the main road that ran through the whole area. It was viewed as the safest part of Vine Roads but even that had to be taken in context - this wasn’t somewhere you casually wandered around on your own. While The Husk was the most unpredictable part of Hollowcrest, Vine Roads could be said to be the most dangerous.

You were equally likely to run into a corpse collector or a wild leaf jaguar, be mauled by some hungry mammal or be attacked by one of the giant birds of prey that called the trees their homes. Vine Road was as far from an urban area as possible yet was still within a half-day’s walk from Divine Square.

While Jake wasn’t a native to the area, he’d visited enough times over the year to be passingly familiar with the ‘rules’ of the place. Drak was a native of the sector and had the confidence of someone who had dealt with the peculiarities of Vine Road all of his life. That wasn’t to say he was unaware of the many dangers, it was just a part of how things were.

The store stood on The Vein, a short walk from the station. It didn’t look like the most impressive establishment, it had a stone and wood front with the sign looking a little faded and unkempt. But Jinx and Tonic was the business that their fathers had built together and it was also going to be Jake’s new home.

The name came from the nickname that Drak’s dad had picked up at some point before his son was born. It was one of those things, he was known for having abnormal luck, even surviving alchemical accidents that would have killed other people. So, of course, everyone knew him as Jinx. When he and Jake’s dad opened the store, using the nickname was inevitable.

After Drak’s dad had died, his mother decided to move in with her sister who was also a widow, leaving the two-bedroom apartment above the store half unoccupied. The two young men had decided that it made sense to work together on developing their alchemy skills by living and working together, so Jake had packed his most important belongings and made the trip to the city.

The store had a simple layout. There was the main entrance that led to the store area. There was a short hallway separating the store area and the workshop above, with a set of stairs leading off it and up to the living area. There was a side exit that led to an alley between the store and the neighbouring property, which was currently undergoing some renovation. It was in better condition than the neighbour on the other side - that property had suffered some kind of attack and only half the storefront and the side walls remained.

To Jake, walking into the store meant he was greeted by scents that reminded him of home. Potions, ingredients and even some of the equipment used to make the potions were all things he would find in the workshop at his parent’s house. He did notice that the store was a bit low on inventory with gaps on the potion shelves and spaces in the ingredients racks.

It could also do with a bit of housekeeping - they were significantly outnumbered by the spiders hanging in the dark corners. He just hoped none of them was the poisonous types that sometimes ventured out of the jungle that surrounded them.

“I’m a bit behind on re-stocking and the housekeeping,” Drak commented with a slightly sheepish grin. “I’ve been working on keeping the customer base in place. After all, they’ve worked with Dad for years. I just wanted to ensure they knew we were up for the job now he’s gone.”

Jake nodded, mentally listing a few important potions he could make in the next few days with what was already in store. Truth of it was, Drak was a good alchemist but a better salesman, the talented one had been his father. Jake also knew that he was a better alchemist than his friend and not far behind both of their fathers, despite being only 26 years old.

The two headed into the living area of the store and Drak showed Jake to his room. It was the smaller of the two as Drak had taken his parents’ room but Jake was still perfectly content. There was enough room for the basics and he kept things simple. Aside from his alchemy, he didn’t have a lot of hobbies or much free time to work on them. So it didn’t take him long to get settled in.

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After eating their evening meal, Jake found himself starting to stocktake and make his jobs list for the coming week. In no time, Drak appeared in a fresh black waistcoat, black trousers and a startling red shirt.

“I’m off to meet with Borass, see what he’s looking for. Sure you don’t want to come?” the Dragonkin asked.

“I’m good,” Jake replied. “Have fun and I’ll catch you later or in the morning.”

Drak left with a wave and Jake returned to his notes. There was definitely a bit to do but he liked to keep busy.

It didn’t seem like more than half an hour when the front door of the store opened and Drak came in, a slight wobble to his step and a big grin on his face.

“We have our first big commission!” he announced excitedly.

Jake put his notebook to one side. “What did Borass want?”

“The Chameleon Light potion!” Drak said. “I know you said you were on the cusp of Tier 4 with your alchemy so this shouldn’t be too far out of your reach.”

Jake felt the blood drain out of his face. “Where did you get the idea I was nearly Tier 4? I’m on the edge of Tier 3 but I’m years away from Tier 4!”

The Dragonkin’s grin faltered. “But you said in your letters!” He rushed across the store and reached under the till, pulling out a pile of handwritten letters from Jake he’d kept there. He sorted through them to find their last conversation, finalising the details of their partnership.

It wasn’t so much that the Dragonkin paled as his skin tone didn’t alter. But he seemed to drain of something vital as he re-read the letter. And re-read it again. Then he placed it carefully on the counter, staring at it as if the paper had somehow betrayed him.

“Well, shit,” he said. He then sat down heavily in one of the chairs behind the counter, almost overbalancing.

Jake could see the letter from where he stood and it said what he knew it did - that he was at the cusp of Tier 3 and with a short, intense period of work, should pass this threshold quite soon.

“Can’t we just tell him you made a mistake and we can’t make the potion?” Jake said.

Drak shook his head violently to signal a negative. “This isn’t the kind of guy you let down. I told you, deadly serious isn’t just a phrase with him. He will skewer us both and burn the store to the ground. Probably with our dying bodies still in it.”

“That’s a little melodramatic,” Jake said with a little laugh. But he caught himself seeing a look of genuine fear on his friend’s face.

“It really isn’t!” Drak replied. “What can we do?”

Jake picked up his notebook and turned to a fresh page. “Okay, here’s what I know about Chameleon Light. It makes the drinker invisible including their clothes, which is something that not all potions do. It also ensures the drinker can see properly and masks any distortions that their presence creates.”

“Okay,” Drak said. “But you can’t make it?”

“Not at my current level, it is too far ahead of my abilities. But what if we could make another potion that worked in a similar way?”

Drak brightened a little. “There’s a lower level potion that does the same thing?”

Jake shook his head. “Not the same but the Shifters Orm Skin potion does make the skin of the person mimic the environment around them. It also works on their clothing. Plus it has the effect of making people want to look away from the individual so they are less likely to realise someone is there.”

“That sounds pretty similar,” Drak said enthusiastically. “What do you need to make it?”

Jake grabbed a book from the shelf and leafed through it. Put it aside and picked up another one. On the third attempt, he found what he was looking for and wrote down three ingredients. It needed giant octopus skin to create the visual effect, Shifter skin to stabilise and Orm skin for the mesmerising effect to make people look away.

The first two were common but the third was the one that was going to cause the problems. He read the list to Drak, who seemed to deflate again.

“Orm skin is very, very hard to find,” the Dragonkin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen it.”

“But not impossible,” Jake pointed out. “Which makes it more possible than my casting of a Tier 4 potion.”

Drak nodded. “Okay then, let’s see if we can find ourselves some Orm skin!”