The walk back to the nearest Loop station was a quiet one as Ell sensed that Jake was utterly worn out. His own feelings were mixed - he knew he had had a near miss because he’d been lucky enough to be taken with someone that had people who valued him enough to rescue him. But he was a little worried about his new friends, who were still deep into a complex situation and he had no real idea how to help out.

They arrived at the station just as the sun was setting. Jake went to use the facilities before they jumped on a train while Ell sat on one of the slightly dilapidated benches that were found just outside the Loop entrance.

After a moment, he became aware of a guy standing off to one side. Ell didn’t like to stereotype people, but the guy looked like a criminal of some sort. He’d known enough of the type over the years to recognise them. Question was, what was the guy up to?

He got his answer quickly enough. The man gave several attempted sly glances in Ell’s direction, which really weren’t all that subtle. Then he pulled a knife from a pocket.

“Well shit,” Ell muttered, watching the man approach. He gave a quick glance around but knew what he would see. There was no help anywhere in sight.

“Give me that crate!” the man demanded, waving the knife in an unsteady way at Ell. The knife cracked with strange green sparks.

“You don’t want his crate, my friend,” Ell said calmly, holding up his hands but keeping the crate wedged between his feet.

“Yes, I do! Got to be worth something,” he replied with a clear note of desperation in his voice.

“It belongs to an important man, the kind of person you don’t want as an enemy,” Ell warned. “You’d be better off looking for another way to raise some gold.”

“I don’t care who owns the crate,” the man snarled. “They’ll never find me. So hand it over!” he added a gesture with the knife to the second sentence that came a little too close to Ell for his liking. The knife emitted a strange ozone-like smell as he waved it backwards and forward.

Abruptly there was a loud crack and the would-be thief fell to the ground in a heap. Ell studied the fallen figure, wide-eyed and shocked, unsure what had gone wrong with him until he looked up.

Jake stood behind the man, holding a half-brick. His expression was flat and almost bored. “I’ve had enough of this shitty day,” he announced. “There’s no way I’m getting robbed on top of everything.”

He promptly dropped the brick on the man, where it hit him in the stomach and made him grunt with the impact.

“Shall we go and find the Loop train?” Jake asked Ell, stepping over the prone figure and heading towards the station entrance.

“Sounds good to me,” Ell replied, glancing once more at the unconscious thief before grabbing the crate and following Jake down the steps to the station.

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Ell had never spent much time in Vine Road before and was a little surprised at just how wild the place seemed for a part of the city. He followed Jake from the Loop station for a short distance until they reached an impressive-looking bar that sat in the centre of the road.

As they reached the entrance, a loud shrieking scream of some large animal filled the air. Ell tensed, expecting problems but Jake seemed oblivious. He gave a jaw-cracking jaw and pushed open the door to the bar.

“Come on,” he said to Ell. “Let’s find Asher.”

The inside of the bar was impressive, with the goldleaf plant for which it was named, making a centrepiece of the large room. It was definitely one of the nicest bars that Ell had ever visited.

Behind the bar was a wood elf, talking to a couple sitting on bar stools. He wore expensive clothes, including a stylish waistcoat with gold thread. Ell liked nice clothes and knew that he would probably never be able to afford something like it. But then elves did live a long time and tended to build up plenty of gold in those years.

“Jake!” the elf said with a grin, tipping an invisible hat in their direction. “Great to see you again! And you have a new friend?”

“Asher, this is Ell,” Jake said, gesturing from one to the other.

“Lovely to meet you,” Asher said.

“You too,” Ell replied. He crossed the room and placed the crate carefully on the bar.

“As agreed,” Jake said.

Asher made a sharp gesture and a plank of wood from the bar lifted up, taking the crate with it and sliding it perfectly into an unoccupied slot above the alcohol shelves.

“Don’t you want to check everything is there?” Jake asked, frowning.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I trust you, my friend,” Asher replied. “Now, would you both like a drink?”

Jake sighed, stifling another yawn. “Sure, why not? It’s not like it has been a difficult day or anything.”

The two sat at the bar and Asher pushed a couple of colourful drinks toward them. Ell sipped his carefully and was surprised to note it was sweet and delicious. It also had a slight burn as he swallowed, making him sure there was probably some potent alcohol in there somewhere.

“So I have the ingredients you need, as agreed,” Asher said. He reached under the counter and lifted out a smaller crate, similar to the one they had retrieved for him. He placed it on the bar and slid it across to Jake.

Jake took a swig from his drink, winced at the alcohol burn, then reached out to bring the crate to his side of the bar. “Thanks.”

“There’s just one thing I wanted to chat with you about before you head home and get that much-needed rest,” Asher said.

Jake rubbed his eyes. “I’m not doing anything else today.”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Asher replied with elaborate horror. “I would never add to your burden before you had properly recovered and rested. And this is more of an additional reward for a job well done.”

Jake practically dripped suspicion. “What is it?”

Asher produced two small cards with an elaborate flourish. “These are two invites for you and Drak. I’m sorry, I don’t have one for you, my new friend Ell, I didn’t realise you would be accompanying my favourite alchemists.”

“That’s okay,” Ell replied. “I understand.”

“I would like to offer you a free meal and drink here at the bar any time you like though, for helping my friends,” Asher added, producing another smaller card with his other hand that he held out to Ell. “Take this just in case I’m not around when you do come to visit, although I hope I am available to welcome you.

Ell took it, nothing the stylish handwriting in almost gold-coloured ink. He almost slid it into his inner pocket when he realised that it had his full name on it. Since he met them, he hadn’t even used his full name to either Jake or Drak. How had the eld known? “That’s very kind, thank you,” he said, aware this was probably the most expensive meal he’d eaten in years. And it would taste twice as good when it was free.

“Invite for what?” Jake asked, pulling the elf’s attention back to the two cards in his first hand.

“A very special social event, the kind of place that all the important people in the city would love to be seen at. You and Drak can come along, make some new acquittances and start building a network of contacts to improve your business. It is a must-attend event if you are serious about becoming a premier alchemist in the city,” he added.

“Sounds boring,” Jake admitted. “I’m not good at social situations.”

“Of course it will be boring,” Asher replied with a wave of his hand. “But the most important events always are. Say you will both come along?”

Jake sighed. Even Ell knew what Drak’s answer would be. Jake’s business partner would practically salivate at the idea of mixing with the big shots of the city. It was definitely more his style of thing but Jake clearly realised he needed to come along too. Unless he wanted to risk a repeat of their current situation where Drak’s lack of knowledge had landed them in so much trouble.

“Sure, we’d love to attend,” Jake said finally with a pained smile. He reached out and took the invites, slipping them into his jacket pocket.

“Excellent. You’ll have a few days after dealing with this potion business to have some rest and get those black bags out from under your eyes. Then get your best clothes on and meet some important people!” Asher added, grinning.

“Can’t wait,” Jake replied with no sincerity at all.

Ell finished his drink and Jake did the same. Both stood and Jake picked up the crate.

“Thank you for doing business with me!” Asher announced, with a slight bow and mock salute with his invisible hat. Ell couldn’t help but wonder if there really was an invisible hat on his head and what the point of that could be. Or if the elf was simply that eccentric and he pretended to gesture with a non-existent hat. Either one made his head hurt a little, or that could be the sweet drink he’d just finished.

“Thanks, Asher,” Jake said. “I’ll see you soon, I think.”

“That you will!” the elf confirmed with another beaming smile. “And lovely to meet you too, Ell.”

Ell nodded and followed Jake out of the bar.

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Ell was honestly a little underwhelmed when he saw the store that Jake and Drak operated, but he did remember them saying that they had only recently taken over full ownership. With a coat of paint, a bit of cleaning and a good restock, he had no doubt that the shop would be an impressive one and he already knew that at least Jake was talented enough to make a go of it.

If Drak didn’t somehow get him killed first.

Jake entered the store and went to head to the workshop behind the shop area but almost tripped over something on the floor. He grunted and looked down to see his partner slumped on the floor.

“Is he okay?” Ell asked, concerned.

Jake gave him a nudge with his foot and Drak gave a little mutter. “Sound asleep,” he muttered, shaking his head. Jake reached out and grabbed a pair of metal mixing dishes from the counter and bashed them together like a pair of cymbals.

The noise was loud enough to wake the dragonkin up even with his hearing problems. He yelled loudly, jumped to his feet and abruptly grabbed the counter to steady himself as he swayed.

“What the hell?” he demanded.

Jake gave a tired shrug. “We made it, we got the stuff from Asher and we’re still alive.”

Drak relaxed a bit. “That’s amazing. I never doubted it.”

“How are you feeling?” Ell asked Drak.

“Sore and weak, my hearing is getting better, though. Or it was,” he added, throwing a glare at Jake.

Jake ignored him and put the ingredient crate behind the counter. He reached into his jacket pocket and took out the cards that Asher had given him, handing them to Drak. “You’ll like this.”

Drak read them for a moment and broke into a huge grin. “That’s an amazing opportunity! Everyone who is anyone will be there!!”

“That’s what I thought you would say. But there’s a rule,” Jake said sternly.

Ell knew what was coming here.

“Okay?” Drak said.

“You don’t agree to any commissions, projects, partnerships or anything else unless I’m with you,” Jake said sternly.

Drak gave a sheepish smile. “I wouldn’t do that…” he started to say but saw the sour look on Jake’s face and stopped. “Sure, no problem.”

Jake nodded. “Then we’ll go. But right now, I have a potion to make.” He grabbed the box of ingredients and headed into the workroom.