Kestra rose to greet Master Alchemist Sung, a pleased smile on her face. As at their last meeting, the Zonzhi Association's Master of Alchemy appeared to have come from her lab, but this time she had also brought along a second person, an older man in his own work leathers, a bemused expression on his face.
"Master Sung, I expected an appointment time, not you in person! I trust there isn't any problem with the technique I licensed to your association?" Kestra said, her smile dimming as she thought of the worry.
"No, no, nothing of the like!" Master Eliza said. "Well, not on our part. Please allow me to introduce Senior Master Nam Fujarl of the Alchemist's Guild, my mentor. Master Fujarl, these are Honored Divine Graemire, Elemental Emperor of Wood, and Miss Kestra, author under the Heavens of the Water Extraction Technique."
Graemire suppressed a sigh, and slid off Kestra's shoulders to stand beside her. He shifted from his viney glory to this humanoid form, his clothes settling onto his body from his storage so naturally they appeared to be part of his transformation. "A pleasure to greet you once more, Master Sung. I hope it shall be a pleasure to meet you, Master Nam. Would you be here to save us the trek to the Alchemist's Guild?"
The older man smiled. "Quite right, Honored Divine."
Manager Scarlet's eyes bulged, fixed on the Divine Elemental to whom she hadn't known to offer hospitality, but she managed to collect her calm facade a few moments later and provide everyone tea.
The two Master Alchemists gave the tea interested looks, but did not comment. Fujarl's gaze was drawn to the cup of brumi juice sitting beside Kestra still, obviously curious, but that wasn't what he was here for.
Once it was polite to do so, he stated, "Your Water Extraction technique has been quite a powerful refinement in Alchemical processes, and so I went to the Zonzhi Association to obtain a sub-license on the Guild's behalf. Their Contracts Office sent me to my former apprentice, and upon review of your contract with them, it was determined that the specific mention of intending to provide the same terms of license to the Guild and the lack of a confidentiality clause regarding the contract gave the Zonzhi Association room to act as your broker in this matter. If you have reviewed your updated Accounting Token, you will have seen that your report now includes listings for the reports of sales by the Guild."
He produced a contract and passed it over to Kestra. "The Guild's Contract Office had this drawn up more as confirmation of the current arrangement, a mere formality."
Graemire's expression went very flat. For her part, Kestra looked at Master Fujarl with a touch of sardonic amusement as she picked up the contract. She checked the contract terms with Inspri, caught a few changes of phrase that were not to her advantage, and contemplated burning it. She did not, but she did tear the scroll down the center.
Fujarl's expression turned pained.
Inspri had checked the sales report, and returned the opinion that it wasn't worth quibbling over what had been. For that, and that Graemire had been the one to specify licensing the technique to the Guild, Kestra pulled out some paper and ink and began to use Control Water to scribe out a contract that was a very close analog to the one with the Jade Pearl, with a clause allowing the previously made sales to stand.
"Master Sung, is the Zonzhi Association agreeable to continuing to act as my collections agent for this matter? Or should I make other arrangements?" Kestra asked.
"We would be honored to continue. I should mention that your account is of a sufficient balance now that we will need time to make arrangements to remit all payments due you before your Ascend into the Transcendental Realms," Eliza said.
Kestra finished her offer to the Alchemist's Guild and then drafted a quick addendum to her license contract with the Zonzhi Association to cover the details. She returned the documents to the respective Masters, who read them through.
Master Fujarl's pained expression turned curious. "Aren't these the terms that I just gave you?"
Kestra pointed out the differences, her ire especially bright over the rewording that would have prevented her from teaching her own technique as she pleased.
While they were talking, Graemire had finished his tea and switched his empty glass for Kestra's unfinished juice.
Kestra caught the sly appropriation, chuckled, and pulled out her jug of juice. She also added some more cups and poured for the two Masters.
"Manager Scarlet mentioned that this brumi juice was a bit mana-strong for her," Kestra causally explained away not including their host in the libations.
That derailed the conversation for long enough for the two Masters to try the juice.
"Oh, that is nice!" Eliza said. "You called this brumi juice? I've never heard of a plant like that. Is it a regional name?"
"No, that's the Heavenly Records name," Kestra said. "I've got a few saplings growing, but I don't expect them to mature for a few more years. Frankly, without Honored Divine Graemire's aid, the one that is fruiting would still be at that stage, too."
They finished sorting out the contracts for her Water Extraction Technique license.
"Now that that's seen to, Master Sung, I had a few things I was hoping for the Zonzhi Association's evaluation," Kestra said. While turning an assessing gaze on Master Fujarl, she added, "I'm comfortable with the Zonzhi Association's honor on these matters. I am less familiar with the Alchemist's Guild. May I seek your opinion, Honored Graemire?"
Graemire said, "Were you a Guildsman, I would say you could trust them with your work. That you are not could lead to more subtle snubs as in the attempts to usurp your rights in that first contract version."
Kestra nodded. "By that light, I think I shall prefer to allow the Zonzhi Association to issue sub-licenses for any of the future techniques or methods they license from me, with a right to renegotiate that point should I choose to seek admittance to the Alchemist's Guild. Master Fujarl, I do not hold you to this account, but you may inform the person who drafted that contract that they are the reason for my hesitancy to deal directly with the Guild at this point."
Fujarl pinched his lips together, but nodded. "I can very much see your point. Master Sung, I shall call upon you when you return to Rhoke." He added polite farewells, and departed.
Kestra turned to Manager Scarlet. "Is there a convenient room where Master Sung and I may bring out our laboratory equipment and go through the various matters needing evaluation?"
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The lab facilities were nestled in the building's basement. Master Eliza, Kestra, and Graemire adjourned to a cleared room.
Master Eliza waited until they were private to say, "My main reason for wanting to meet with you is that I want to license your acid tempering method. As a method, I doubt it will sell for as much as a technique, and there aren't any current formula that I'm aware of which it would update; it opens a new branch of experimentation, which means it could be wonderful, or a flop. I don't know how to price it, so I would suggest taking the average of auction prices for a year as the basis for in-house prices."
Kestra nodded. "Well, how about the Technique to compliment the method?" She produced a scroll. "I accept on the honor of the Association that you won't teach this technique to others without a contract between us that addresses the licensing. I hope I've captured a few of the more interesting applications of the Earthen Temper Technique that make it more useful than just the method."
Eager joy filled Eliza's features, but she hesitated. "Are you sure? The scrolls the Realms gifts are more potent than most scribes can make."
"I used the Transmute Knowledge Calligraphy technique to make this," Kestra said.
Eliza's eyebrows shot up, but she took the scroll and used it.
She used a few of the stocked ingredients in the room to try out the technique, and nodded to herself.
"Oh, we'll absolutely want to license this. It's got the same issue with the method; a lot of experimenting involved."
"Well," Kestra produced a crate of potions. "These are completed potions with repeatable results. I wrote down my formula to use both the Earthen Temper technique and the acid tempering method, providing samples achieved through both means. I've also written up the water extraction method.
"Now, the green bottles are the tempered Root Extract of Dragon's Breath Fern that prompted our first meeting.
"The yellow is a potion of Minor Grace Under Fire, one minute of plus 5% to Reaction with a mild stimulate that helps ease the transition to and from the increase statistic.
"The red are weapons I call Burning Air. You need the Control Air spell to safely produce this.
"The blue glaze are ... Well, the formula isn't going to be of benefit to most because the ingredients are currently only available in my garden. However, I have a few ideas on potential substitutes based on my readings, but I'll need to get samples to work out the ratios. And figure out how to condense the material as well as the mana."
Eliza held up her hand. "Wait," she said. "You haven't figured out condensation, but you're creating new techniques? What is your Alchemy rank?"
"Sixty-eight. I've done a lot with plants, and exploring the ingredients. Most of the potions and powders I've made formula for don't require condensing, mainly because the materials simply aren't suited for the increase in magical potency."
The Master Alchemist set the potion jars to the side and pulled down materials. "I am going to show you how to properly condense a pill, because it's just criminal your Master never taught you properly!"
"Eh, books can only do so much," Kestra said.
Eliza stilled and looked over. "You don't have a Master?"
"Nope," Kestra agreed. "I stumbled across my first formula, got it to work, got the skill, and everything since has been book learning and experimenting."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Can I adopt you?"
♦•♦•♦ You Have Been Offered Adoption ♦•♦•♦
Sung Eliza has offered to adopt you as her heir and daughter, making you a member of the Sung clan.
Do you accept?
YES / NO
♦•♦•♦ ▲▼▲ ♦•♦•♦
"Ah, what?" Kestra asked, blinking at the Living Scroll.
"Can I adopt you? You would become a member of the Sung clan. We're small, true, but that's because we mostly adopt our heirs as we're all rather dedicated crafters. Our skills mean that there aren't many of us who aren't in positions of authority, and those who aren't are dedicated researchers. You would fit right in, and you'd have a clan to welcome you into the Transcendental Realms."
This was a serious offer. Kestra looked to Graemire, but he had his blank face on. She turned back to Eliza. "I have to say no because I don't actually know you that well, or what being part of a clan would entail, but I am deeply flattered by the offer."
"Well, we'll just have to fix that, but I won't press you now. Now, you're going to watch me show you how to condense these Base plants."
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Kestra didn't realize when Graemire returned to his cloak disguise.
She and Eliza went through the Novice grade formulary that she had picked up at the Reward Store on one of the dungeon runs the Divines had taken her through. After a few minutes of asking about its origin and whether Kestra would be willing to sell it, they started working through the book, Kestra paying vigilant attention to how Eliza managed her condensations. There were a few efficiencies, but nothing that Kestra saw as all the different from her own actions.
At a point about a quarter of the way through, Eliza commented, "There are one or two rarer formulas in here, but they all seem more focused on training up the foundational lab skills rather than turning out powders and potions that people would actually buy."
Kestra's response was a curious, "You haven't used potions or powders as reagents for other potions and powders?"
"Harmonizing their effects across batches is problematic enough that no one bothers. It's more work at the time, but less destructive to your stocks to work on a formula from start to finish."
"If they work," Kestra began.
Eliza shook her head. "Raw, uncondensed, maybe, but you need that harmony during the condensation stage or everything plumes up in a befouled mess."
Kestra's eyes lit up as an epiphany blossomed in her comprehension. She moved to a bit of free space, pulled out a worktable and her tools, and then the ingredients for her Moh-origin Healing potion.
Eliza stepped to the side, intently observing. Her gaze took in the array of unfamiliar plants, and Kestra's actions, but that didn't matter so much to Kestra right then.
This world's Elements had a yin, or increasing, cycle and a yang cycle of destruction, or blockage of that increase. Each cycle had a harmony, and the back and forth of yin and yang, creation and destruction, growth and decay, that cycle had a harmony as well.
Kestra began to pick apart the plants grown from the seed stock she brought from Moh, where the Elements were closer to "States of Being" than "Expressions of the Cycles". She used her Elemental Control spells, focusing on the cyclical Elements: Wood feeding Fire (yin) and breaking Earth (yang), Fire's ashes building up Earth and melting Metal, Earth containing Metal and absorbing Water, Metal enriching Water and cutting Wood, Water feeding Wood and extinguishing Fire.
She knew these plants by their Moh affinities: Liquid Water, Vaporous Air, Temperate Fire, Solid Earth, Radiant Light and Consuming Shadow. She knew those affinities so well that even after Graemire and Natspri had shared their observations of the Myriad Realms affinities of the Moh-born plants, Kestra hadn't stopped thinking of them as they worked under the Elemental comprehension of Moh.
Verifying their balances and affinities under the comprehension of the Myriad Realms didn't take a lot of time, but it did explain why the condensation stage needed her to add another catalyst, and why her brumi fruit was such a cheat. Discovering whether the Single-Seed variants would prove as alchemically useful in the Myriad Realms would have to wait until they matured, but the Five-Seed fruit? It actively sought balance.
Comprehension achieved, Kestra began mixing her oh-so familiar Healing potion recipe, but this time she focused as much on getting them to balance in their Elemental affinities as their healing properties, and when it came time to condense the mixture, well, it still took nearly ten minutes of finicky application of mana pressure, but this time she succeeded!
♦•♦•♦ Congratulations! ♦•♦•♦
You have successfully created a High Journeyman grade Pill of Delayed Regeneration.
♦•♦•♦ ▲▼▲ ♦•♦•♦
That wasn't what Kestra expected, so she used her Identify spell.
♦•♦•♦ Pill of Delayed Regeneration ♦•♦•♦
High Journeyman grade Healing Pill - Regeneration. Used to recover from crippling wounds, poisons, and diseases.
The Delayed nature of this pill means that it may be taken up to one year prior to experiencing otherwise crippling damage, at which time the pill will aid the user's body to prevent and quickly recover from such damage. Will not be triggered by non-crippling damage.
Maker: [Unmarked]
♦•♦•♦ ▲▼▲ ♦•♦•♦
"You should put that in a jade box to prolong its usefulness," Eliza said, joy in her gaze.
Kestra grinned back at her, even as she boxed the pill. "Thank you!"
Knowing the delight that her fellow alchemists on Moh had taken at finding new ingredients, and seeing a familiar interest in Eliza's gaze, she pulled together a sampler of her more profligate seeders from Moh and put them in a small bronze box, along with a few notes on their preferred growing conditions.
She needed more jade; it was a much better mana-insulator than bronze, but also more prized for that quality. Mutton-fat jade was a step up from common jade, and lustrous jade even more so, to the point where it was a prized commodity in the Divine Realms, according to the Divine Creatures.
Worries over acquiring more storage boxes were for the future, though. Kestra cleaned up her mess and then turned to Eliza, presenting her with the bronze box. "Please, accept these seeds as a token of my appreciation for sharing your insights with me."
Eliza had raised her hand in a warding off gesture, clearly about to demure, but on hearing the word "seeds" she paused, then had to work to keep from snatching the box out of Kestra's hands.
Kestra added, "I do consider this a matter between fellow alchemists, and not between myself and the Jade Pearl Auction House or the Zonzhi Association, though I would not presume to dictate your considerations. As I see it, we got side tracked in crafter talk. I would still appreciate your appraisal of my formula, but we should probably include an addendum to any that you like as they are. I'll be revisiting the formulas based on my new understanding of the condensing process, and I expect there may be a few minor changes to proportions to make the condensation process easier."
"Before that, are these proprietary seeds? May I propagate them?" Eliza asked, clarifying at Kestra's questioning look.
Kestra shrugged. "Have fun. In fact, you might find the Vining Mana-Fed Creeper to be a nice compliment to Alchemist's Friend."
Eliza smiled her thanks, tucked away the gift with obvious delight, and set about clearing off the work bench, the powders and potions they had made set to the side.
When there was space to make her examinations, Kestra restored her crate of potions to the table and repeated her introduction for each.
She had recreated a very close recipe for Manager Holla's digestive aid tea, which she used to demonstrate the benefits of the Root Extract of Dragon's Breath Fern, getting an approving nod from Eliza.
The Minor Grace Under Fire potions also proved of interest, if only because Kestra's formula relied on plants that were common to the Mortal Realms. Eliza knew another formulation that achieved similar results, though at a plus 8% and a more certain aid to mental clarity.
Burning Air, on the other hand, "I can't evaluate it; not here. If you will trust in our honor to test the formula at our facilities in Kuruk, I will personally arrange the proper evaluation there. I don't see this being a formula that we would license to others, though. We would be more likely to produce it for the Battlefields, in which case we would pay you a royalty for each sold portion. In fact, I would prefer that this not be a licensable formula, not even to the Alchemist's Guild."
"I will trust in your honor, but we should set up a contract in the event you want to move forward with production before I'm available for another meeting." Kestra still had crafting things she wanted to do, and no real idea how long it would be before the itch to explore would shift to exploring the Realms for more reagents.
That brought them to the potions in the blue glazed bottles. "These are for sale as they are, not the formulas?" Eliza asked to be sure.
"Yep," Kestra confirmed. "Right now, so far as I know, most of the key ingredients are only found in my garden, and identifying less unique substitutes will require experimenting."
She watched Eliza make her study of the potions, knowing what an Identify spell would reveal:
♦•♦•♦ Potion of Borrowed Immortality ♦•♦•♦
Low Journeyman grade Healing Potion - Rejuvenation. Used to prolong life.
This potion extends the user's lifespan by rejuvenating the body through purging accumulated impurities, much as occurs during the natural ascension transition to ageless immortality. This potion's effects are limited to a single application, and results will vary based upon the amount ingested and the buildup of impurities within the user's body.
Maker: [Unmarked]
♦•♦•♦ ▲▼▲ ♦•♦•♦
Kestra didn't know how to put her maker's mark on her items, but this was something she was happy to leave unsigned. If Graemire's observations of the Ascended races held true, having her name so blatantly applied to a product like that would pin a target on her. Anyone who could track her back through the Zonzhi Association, on the other hand, would be someone with the kind of connections and political pull throughout the Realms that she would likely want to come to amiable terms with.
She wasn't going to presume that the Divine Creatures enjoying the hospitality of her personal realm would intervene on her behalf as she made her way through the Myriad Realms. Even if they would, she still had to establish her own kind of strength to stand among them, if for no other reason than her own internal harmony. Kestra could receive within a community, but she had to be able to give, too.
As with the Root Extract of Dragon's Breath Fern and the Potion of Grace Under Fire, Eliza cast her spell, considered the results, and then took out a sample with a glass pipette she pulled from her storage, using a drop to gauge the potency of the potions.
"If these are the full product of a once in a decade batch, they should go to auction in the High Transcendental realms, for a starting bid of five Earth grade mana stones. We would arrange it as part of a special auction, and notify certain individuals in XiTian of a treasured find. That prestige would be worth reducing our regular commission to one percent.
"If, however, you are able to provide a more certain supply, these potions are worth making you an Honored Independent Crafter within the Zonzhi Association. There are some details to negotiate, of course, and each offer of that position has its own quirks, as befits the individuals granted the protection of the Zonzhi Association. The general starting terms are that you provide a certain quantity of the goods the Association is looking to sell, and you may call upon us to shelter you from anyone up to the level of a Divine being seeking to harm or coerce you."
----------------------------------------
Kestra and Master Eliza negotiated contracts for the methods, new technique, and formula, using the licensing contract for the Water Extraction technique as a guide. Kestra put in a confidentiality clause, and they worked out an agreeable arrangement for the Zonzhi Association to have the freedom to sub-license the things Kestra came up with. All of the contracts, including the original Water Extraction technique license, had a ten-year review written in.
Ralouf had quite a bit of mercantile experience, at least according to the other Divine Creatures, and what he had said when Kestra brought up licensing more of her methods made sense. When Kestra raised a few of the points that Ralouf had coached her to pay attention to, Master Eliza seemed mildly impressed.
They also set up terms for Kestra to send Master Eliza samples to evaluate and add to the Zonzhi sales roster without her having to head down to whatever realm Kestra was currently on.
While they were negotiating, the Formations and Smithing appraisers arrived. Kestra handed them the samples of Su'ami's smithing, and went back to working out the licensing details. The pair, an older man and a younger-appearing woman, were quite respectful toward Master Eliza, and by consequence to Kestra.
They were happy to provide Kestra a written evaluation. She took a moment upon receiving it to send it off to Ralouf with a warning it was incoming. He wrote down a few questions, and she handed them to the appraisers.
After another two cycles of that, the note that came back started with, "Sell under these terms", which she passed along. They seemed rather happy, and Manager Scarlet provided Kestra a Broker's Token with Su'ami's name written as Su-Ami. A short consultation with Ralouf had her accepting the token as it was.
By the time all the contracts were taken care of, the outside light was fading. Manager Scarlet had arranged a room for Kestra at Tang's Hospitality Inn, and a meeting mid-morning with the healing house. She promised to pick Kestra up in time.
At Tang's, Kestra asked for dinner in her suite for two, and she enjoyed the flavors of the savory grain dish they served. That prompted her to add to her shopping itinerary gaining seed stock for some of the various local vegetables and grains, to Graemire's interested agreement. Honestly, it hardly surprised Kestra that anything growing interested the Elemental Emperor of Wood.
They retired for the evening after that, though neither had much want or need for slumber.