The ability to find some entertainment in the form of work in the laboratory made Bruno decide to spend most of his time there, especially when he realized that the King wouldn’t be as easily swayed as he originally thought.
From that moment, two days passed. Two days during which Katyan didn’t feel sick, so the young alchemist was not summoned to provide the medicine, and this made his days very uneventful. Under room arrest, with limited things to do, going to work was a blessing.
He prepared a portion of medicine, then asked one of the guards to relay a petition to the old man Bahir to transport more ingredients and some of the equipment from Zor. To his surprise, it was all already done and waiting for him in the city, as the treasurer clearly wished for Bruno to keep working, although under supervision, and in Razun.
The fact that while he was busy, trying to find the culprit responsible for the King’s health, he found time to respond to the young alchemist’s petition was quite surprising. Bahir still saw him as the one responsible, which was hinted at by the number of guards roaming the vicinity of his room and the laboratory, but also explored other options looking for them with his own two eyes.
‘Try, you old fool. You will never solve this puzzle,’ the young alchemist thought to himself each time he saw the treasurer rushing through the corridors in pursuit of his new obsession.
Thanks to this, Bruno could busy himself with refining the efficiency formula for workers, to help them endure the heavy labor in mines. The old alchemist, although now unable to work since all his equipment was taken, found himself a new job. That was to watch Bruno carefully and make notes from his experiments to later report everything to Bahir.
Although quite annoying, the young alchemist did his best to ignore the man. The presence of the overseer also limited his ability to work, as he didn’t want to share every secret. In such a way, he was spending time, enjoying the warmth of the rays of the morning sun falling inside the chamber through the two large windows while he mixed a few pre-prepared concoctions, hoping to make a slight breakthrough.
The older alchemist stood in front of him, a single step away from the table covered in equipment, and was noting every detail in a book. They both got interrupted when a soldier barged in, quickly sweeping the interior with his eyes until his gaze locked onto Bruno.
"The king is sick again. He requests medicine,” said the man.
The young alchemist nodded immediately before his eyes moved to the overseer. "I have to go. Please make sure nothing will burn or explode when I’m gone,” he smiled at him before grabbing the bottle with the remedy and pouring it into two flasks, specially prepared for this moment. Then he rushed outside, to be escorted by the soldier to the King’s chambers.
The older alchemist looked at him in shock, but before he was able to squeeze out any word, Bruno was gone. This prompted him to quickly check all the processes undergoing at the moment with fear in his eyes, expecting that something indeed could explode at any moment.
Meanwhile, the young alchemist walked with a smirk on his lips through the dimly lit corridors, happy with the little joke he made. It was payback for all the frustration he had to suppress while working.
Soon he arrived at the door and was let inside by two guards who protected the room.
Inside he found the king, sitting by the table, and a woman with long, brown hair, tightly wrapped in a blanket. She was definitely naked underneath, just like the king was under his long fur coat.
Similar to Katyan, she was pale, with sweat on her forehead, clearly in pain.
„Finally,” the ruler gasped. „This time it was not only me, but she also got sick,” he explained.
„Then it’s good that I have two portions,” Bruno retorted. Although his instinct was to first serve the lady, he had to stop the automatic reaction and instead bring the flask to the King, who immediately drank everything. Only then could he serve the remedy to the concubine, if she could even be labeled as one.
He collected the flask from her and then approached Katyan to do the same. „I already said it last time, but now, when more people than you got sick, I think it’s worth the trouble to explore the possibility that somebody is indeed trying to poison you, Your Majesty,” he whispered. „She ate and drank with you, didn’t she? Did she eat the same food as you?”
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„Yes,” Katyan groaned, the discomfort painted all over his face.
„Then it’s most likely the food that is poisoned. Probably it is something you eat in large portions. I would say meat, as the women probably don’t eat as much of it as you, to stay pleasant for your eyes.”
The king nodded to those words.
„Go back to your chamber, or the workshop I arranged for you. I’ll summon you later. And tell the guards outside to come in,” he said, his expression deadly serious.
„Of course, Your Majesty,” Bruno bowed slightly, then left the room.
He relayed what he was told to relay, then allowed the last soldier to escort him back. Upon entering the laboratory, he was greeted by a smile of relief on the lips of his fellow alchemist, who got strongly disturbed by sudden responsibilities for the undergoing processes, which Bruno took with a bit of satisfaction, that showed in the form of a smile on his lips.
„I hope everything proceeded smoothly,” he said.
„Y-yes,” the man responded with a hint of pride in his voice as if he just made it clear to everybody that his skills were on par with the foreigner.
„Good,” Bruno stated, approaching, while the man came from behind the table, grabbing the book on the way, to resume making notes.
As if nothing had interrupted his work, the young alchemist returned to the experimentation on the formula. It only lasted a moment, since loud shouts, muffled due to the distance, reached the laboratory, briefly earning some of his attention, but only a little. Contrary to the guards observing him, and the overseer, who even stopped making notes.
They all didn’t have to wait long to find out what was the cause of all this ruckus since a soldier barged in. It was the same one who previously came to summon Bruno.
„The king wishes to see both of you,” he said looking at the two alchemists.
The older one was surprised, contrary to Bruno who hid his emotional state quite well under a slight smile. „Of course,” he said, quickly moving a few things on the table to make sure his work wouldn’t be ruined by the interruption, then headed straight to the guards, so the sentinel could escort him.
The local leech was slightly slower, due to the confusion of the sudden audience. He even tried to find the reason behind the ongoing situation on Bruno’s face, but didn’t, as the much younger man kept his emotions at bay. Then he glared at the guard who was awaiting them and still didn’t get the answers; only then did he finally move.
The group of three quickly walked through the corridor. Upon reaching the staircase, they began climbing to the higher floor. The alchemist seized the opportunity to ask some questions.
„What is this about?” he whispered to the soldier, who ignored the question.
It was a signal clear enough not to try again, so the man went silent. Not too long later, they arrived in the corridor leading to the king’s chambers. It was filled with guards. Several of them stood on both the left and right sides. Some were flanking the door to the room with Katyan, while others leisurely patrolled the vicinity. All of them focused on the group of three when they appeared, but nobody said a thing.
In such an atmosphere, Bruno, accompanied by the older alchemist, was led inside the chamber, where the king, now looking much better, was sitting by the table. It was cleared, except for a single, average-looking bottle.
The woman from the bed was gone, but there was somebody else in the room as well. Bahir was in shackles, seized by two guards who stood on his left and right, holding him by the arms.
„It was him! It's his plot!” the old man shouted as soon as the young alchemist appeared.
„Silence!” Katyan snapped, slamming his fist on the table. The bottle jumped, but it didn’t fall. „Bruno, come here,” he said, with a much lower tone.
The young alchemist pushed his way to the front, approaching the king. „Yes, your majesty?”
Katyan, with an open hand, pointed at the bottle. „Tell me what this is. It was found in Bahir’s room. It’s not alcohol.”
„Of course,” Bruno nodded, then seized the bottle. He uncorked it and took a big whiff before slightly turning it to the side. He decided to put his little finger inside to get a bit of the liquid. He tasted it with the tip of his tongue before spitting it on the ground. „Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I had to. I believe it's a poison.”
„I knew it!” Katyan snapped again, smashing his fist on the table. „Was it you?! Did you make it?” He jumped to his feet, making two steps toward the older alchemist with accusingly pointed fingers.
„N-no. I… I’m j-just a-a h-herb-ba-li-list,” the man stuttered.
He was about to piss himself, but Bruno stepped in to save him. „I don't want to criticize, Your Majesty, but this man doesn’t appear to have the skills to make such a poison. I believe this had to be ordered from somewhere else. From a very skilled alchemist. Not as skilled as myself, but definitely an able person, who knew what they were doing. It's a slow-working toxin. It first gives you a stomach ache, but later burns through your guts and causes death. It’s good that I was here because my medicine was actually a quite decent solution to fight this poison,” Bruno informed.
„Lies! It was he who made it! He put it in my chambers!” Bahir screamed.
„Silence!” Katyan yelled at him. „To the dungeon with this old man! And, you, alchemist,” his gaze shifted back to Bruno, „you will make sure I regain my health back.”
„Of course,” the young alchemist bowed. „Good that I have now an able assistant,” he turned to glance at the older alchemist and smiled at him.
„Y-yes,” the man stuttered.
At the same moment, the guards escorted Bahir out. He was clearly furious, but it only showed through the angry expression on his face.