“You wish to go through the Lanaan Gauntlet?”

Lady Frashina was as ornately dressed as always. Layers of grey and blue cloth covered slender curves. Like most elves, the noble of the Sleeping Empire was of lithe stature, tall and long-limbed. The grace of such a figure was elevated further by the many gemstones that covered the expensive fabric of her dress and the jewellery she wore on top of that. A large pendant suggestively settled between her, for an elf, unusually large breasts. The dark-grey cleavage was proudly presented.

Apexus focused on her face regardless. The long sidelocks that framed her aristocratic beauty had been put into curls. The rest of her dark hair had been woven into a crown braid. Dark blue eyes observed the Inevitable party, seated across from her.

Frashina was one of the leading nobles of the Sleeping Empire in the city of Drowse. She was not THE leading noble, that honour went to her uncle, the appointed margrave, but she had power through merit, familial connections, and wealth. She was a good noble, someone who had been raised for the position from birth and lived according to the expectations of populace, peers and superiors.

Apexus nodded stoically at her question. They had been received on short notice, a fact they had to be thankful for. Previous dealings with the lady had been pleasant for both sides. In the first instance, she had been the one who had decided who would get the lucrative Quest to deliver diplomatic gifts to Summerdawn. Apexus had not gotten the job, but the manner in which he had failed had impressed the noblewoman. Admitting his loss in a spar when no one had noticed he had been struck first was an act of character few were capable of when there was a princely sum on the line. The second time, they had saved the lady’s nephew from a Horroboar.

A debt that Frashina had repaid with a huge monetary sum. She owed them nothing, both sides were clear on that. Yet, she had met them within half an hour, a delay created so she could first inform herself on the events in motion. It was the duty of a noble to at least appear informed about all ongoings in their realm.

“The plight of lord Tarath is a topic I am knowledgeable about. He refused our help to fund his Quest before… men can be peculiar creatures.” The dark elf waved air into her face with a plush-trimmed fang. “Your desire to help him for such little recompense is commendable. To go through the Lanaan Gauntlet as well… are you certain of this?”

“We are,” Apexus stated clearly. They had been through the debates, now only action remained.

‘I would not complain if you offered to add to the reward secretly though,’ Korith thought.

Lady Frashina hid the lower half of her face from the party with the fan and considered. “An out of season voyage across the strait costs a considerable sum… that I cannot offer you… but…” She snapped her fingers and a servant stepped up to the coffee table of the opulent meeting room. “…bring me the ledger of supply runs.”

“Yes, your ladyship,” the servant answered readily. Within three minutes, he returned, presenting the noblewoman with a book.

She took it and began to scan the newest entry. She nodded to herself. “One ship is scheduled to leave tomorrow noon. To delay them until your departure is of no consequence to me. Does this find your agreement?”

“We are in your debt,” Apexus said and bowed his head.

“Return successful and consider it repaid,” the noblewoman stated. “You will do me a service twofold. The prestige of the Sleeping Empire demands that none of our nobles relinquish their land to outsiders… not to mention the numerous issues that inexperienced adventurers in the administration of the land will cause.” She waved off. “Secondarily, you will verify the existence of the flower. Only your teacher ever brought one back. Rumours of its existence can thus be trusted. Still, it is best to know.”

“We will do all we can,” Apexus assured.

“Of this, I am certain,” the noblewoman let his gaze wander over all four of them. “Your reputation is honourable. Continue on this path and the Sleeping Empire will wish to employ you in due time.”

The party had no interest in such employment, but the compliment was taken with another bow of the heads of Apexus and Aclysia.

“I will leave the remaining organization to my servant here,” Frashina stated and rose. “Other work demands my attention. I anticipate hearing of your exploits, Inevitable.”

After she had left the room, the servant sat down and swiftly went through the planning. It was pretty simple. The ship would remain docked until the day and depart once they boarded it. All the party had to be aware of was which ship and where it lay.

Once all of that was sorted out, the party left to attempt other preparations.

_____________________________________________________________________

Why had Apexus chosen the yellow path?

Because it was the most dangerous.

They currently had near level parity with the Atlas party. Assuming they caught up or even exceeded their level somewhat, they would still be behind tremendously. Simply put, Atlas and his allies were loaded. They had money, several enchanted items each, and a massive stockpile of consumables.

At level parity, they would lose the race. Apexus had decided that they needed to play to their strengths. Growth of personal power was where they excelled. A gauntlet would force them to expand their power rapidly.

That was the short view. Expanding their current situation into the future, to their eventual goal of facing or aiding in the removal of Apotho, made clear that growth was required. Rapid growth? Not necessarily. Knowledge in fighting superior opponents? Absolutely.

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Last and least was a purely personal reason. Apexus reckoned he could get a permanent Growth on this route, maybe even two or three. That depended on whether his instincts considered the individual Lanaan Hives as their own ecosystems to conquer, or all as part of one. If they cleared the Trauma Dungeon first, then that would net him another Growth as well, in theory.

Life as an adventurer was inherently risky. After several months of safe Quests, this would make them keenly aware of that fact.

____________________________________________________________________________

Alchemy did not come naturally to Apexus.

The humanoid chimera looked at the wooden boxes. Most were simple, containing various pieces of metal, porcelain, or thick glass. Other boxes were lined with velvet, keeping the fragile instruments within from experiencing too much rattling. There were containers, connection pieces, funnels, tubes, wires, and the means to connect everything.

Like all tools, the utensils laid foreign in his hands. Apexus was a creature of his own means. Everything he could do, he did with power innate to him. At least, that was how he preferred to operate. He had to acknowledge the usefulness of craftsmanship, even if it was his nature to grow his own solutions.

The idea of making constructions of glass and metal all to create some substance was odd to Apexus. The theory behind it, he understood. Artificially recreate circumstances that lead to chemicals reacting and infuse that process with esoteric energy through rite, intent, and application of mana. That was straightforward enough. Much like with maths, him understanding the underlying principle did not help much with getting into the actual application of more advanced ideas.

Alchemy did not come naturally to Apexus.

Neither had going hungry come naturally to Apexus.

Magical circuitry had not grown easily inside Apexus.

Wisdom had not been granted easily to Apexus.

The humanoid chimera picked up one of the three books that had come with the starting kit. Their names were in gold letters on a dark background: ‘Esoterica Flora’, ‘Esoterica Fauna’ and ‘Esoterica Silica’. Together, they made up the three volumes that every aspiring alchemist was expected to read. The Esoterica Flora was the typical start and the opening page of the book reflected this.

Aspiring artist of the alchemical art,

You are about to delve into the realm of Ouros. Alchemy is one of the oldest arts of the Omniverse and reflected in the 9th of the 33 original gods. Ouros is the lord of Alchemy and Ambition, for the pursuit of alchemy is in and of itself an ambitious task. Knowledge and wisdom tailored to you and you alone will be found in this craft.

This may sound enticing to you. All desire to carve out their special niche in the world – but take heed. What makes alchemy so interesting also makes it so dangerous. What you will learn is your knowledge. You may attempt to teach to others, you may attempt to learn from others, and perhaps it can even work. Most of the time, you will find that their methods do not serve your goals.

In that, alchemy is a lonely art. It is not like smithing or carving or leatherworking, where common methods grant you good results. Following recipes in alchemy makes you inferior. They are nothing more than crutches that you rely on as you learn to walk. Hold onto the crutches and you will hobble all your life. Discard the crutches and you will walk alone.

You will be irreplaceable. You will be confined to what you intuit. You will be incapable of relying on the wisdom of others.

And thus, what you are about to read, the Esoterica trilogy, is knowledge to be gained and rewritten by you. Over the course of these three books, you will be introduced to working with plant matter, animal parts, and finally inorganic materials like metal, stone, and gems. You will be challenged, step by step, to take on ever more complicated works.

You will be taught to think like an alchemist. Method and creativity will intertwine. Logic and magic will wrestle in your mind. It will hurt you, for to be an alchemist is to unify inherently contradicting modes of thought.

Most alchemists turn into eccentrics. This is for a reason. Do not believe yourself the exception. If you are not fine with being strange, you must put away this book now. The craft will change you or you will not succeed in the craft. Such is the truth of esoteric knowledge.

Contemplate this, before you turn to the next page.

Apexus put the open book on the floor in front of him, then crossed his arms. He closed his eyes and contemplated. ‘What a strange foreword,’ was the first thought. ‘An eccentric by his own admission. What does all of this mean for me? I am already strange to others. They deem me other and they are right. My origin is different. Being a Monk makes me think differently and I am a Monk because it resonated with me.’

The humanoid chimera tilted his head one way. He felt the muscle fibres in his neck shift. The joint rolled smoothly on its socket. There was no heartbeat inside him. He sat still and was still within. The temperature level within was nice and even. Inside the warm room, he barely needed to provide the Heat Core with energy.

‘What would it mean for me to become even stranger in the eyes of others?’ he asked himself. ‘Will I or is this book targeted at one who comes from a normal background?’

Apexus’ mind went from one question to another, circling around itself until he resolved that he did not know. The only way to find out was to forge ahead. At the very least, he was curious. He finally turned the page.

‘If you just spent the last thirty minutes actually contemplating, know that you are not a natural alchemist.’

Apexus stared at the sentence for a solid ten seconds, before reading on.

‘As written: the learning of alchemy is a personalized journey. You took an instruction and you took it to heart. You follow authorities without thinking. You are better suited to be a smith and learn tables on melting points.’

‘You annoy me, book,’ Apexus thought and read the rest of the page with growing frustration. It continued on and on to chastise him for being an overthinker. Sentence after sentence rhetorically lashed him for thinking rather than doing and how such an approach could never work if there was a brew cooking in front of him.

‘If, being unworthy as you are, you still want to continue learning, then turn to the next page and follow instructions like the naïve, predictable thing you are.’

Apexus put the book down again, crossed his arms in an annoyed gesture, and glared at the page. The urge to prove the writer wrong by moving straight to the chapter on transmutagens was intense. At the same time, Apexus’ thorough nature urged him to do things properly. Between the desires was the thought: ‘what do I want my path to be?’

Unresolved on that question, he turned to the third page. Only a singular sentence was written across the double-spread.

‘Whatever you choose to do next, remember that it was your choice.’

That, the Monk could agree with. ‘I have chosen the gauntlet... then I shall choose the gauntlet again,’ he thought and flipped through the pages straight to the page with the mutagens. ‘It is time to grow further.’

Alchemy did not come naturally to Apexus.

That was what he thought.