Elise had me start with the skeleton first, before moving onto the cardiovascular, nervous, lymphatic, and muscular systems. Then came individual organs, and a parade of questions to see what else I could remember about biology. Which unfortunately wasn't much.

"I'm sorry, Elise." I can only apologize. "If you wanted to know about plants, I could bore you to tears with the details. But, aside from those few bits of trivia I've already given you, I can only relay what I can see."

"No, no." She shakes her head. "This is more than enough. Do you have any idea how rare it is for someone to be able to scan the body with such clarity? Let alone be able to paint it in such detail?"

"I can only assume that it's my race's natural propensity for nature magic." 'That and a bit of a divine bonus to that propensity.' I add silently. 'Thanks again VeeGee.'

"Even so, I still have to thank you." She pulls out a very fat purse and drops it into my hand. "This is all I have on me right now, but I'll be sure to have Erick get you the rest soon. I never imagined you could make so many paintings of such high-quality in such a short amount of time."

"I'm glad I was able to be of service." I store the gold away with a laugh. "Though, I think Anne might have been a little traumatized by the whole ordeal."

"She did volunteer for it." Her mother laughs along with me. "And, I think the extra chocolate you gave her should more than make up for her squeamishness, and her embarrassment."

I got through most of the test batches and the big batch based on the second roast while I was painting. I still need to experiment some more with different blends, and growing the cocoa in different types of soil. But, on its own, the number two roast holds up pretty well. I got lucky finding a good one so quick.

"..." Anne doesn't comment.

She was distracted by getting a big bar of milk chocolate when I started on the reproductive systems. And, boy did she ever blush a bright pink once she figured out just where my attention was centered.

Luckily for her, Holt had just left to deliver a few bars to his father. And, Granville and Edsel were preoccupied with making a batch of their own without my nature magic cheats.

"How's it going over here?" I ask the duo that are still grinding their test batch.

"Slowly." Edsel breathes out in frustration. "I tried speeding it up, but Gran told me I was heating the mixture up too much. And, this is only part of what needs to be done? If I hadn't tasted the stuff myself, I'd never believe anyone would go through all the trouble."

"Want to try working on the bicycle for a bit?" I start building an over-sized model of a working chain-drive, along with a second copy of all the mechanisms in regular size. They won't hold up to much wear and tear, but should give him a base to work from. "They're not very complex as things go, but if I hadn't spent a summer working at a repair shop, I'd be completely lost."

"Oh, this is marvelous." He goggles as I adjust the derailleur on the big model. "The chain just locks onto the new path, meaning you can change gears on the go."

"I went with a basic three-speed model here, but even this is probably overkill in a flat city like Riverton, I just wanted to demonstrate the shifter for you." Derailleur is a bit of a mouth full, so shifter it is. "As you can see on the smaller model, adding a front shifter gives you a lot more options. But, more parts means more hassle."

"Do you know how useful this design could be?" He plays around with the gears, changing from one speed to the next.

"Very, I suppose." I shrug. "But, I don't know any earth magic of my own... yet. And, I'll likely be riding one of these around just to avoid the hassle of stabling a horse. The design is going to get copied sooner or later, so I figured 'why not work with someone known and trusted by the baron's household'."

"I take it you want some sort of partnership, then?" He sends an inquisitive look in my direction.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a trade, but a partnership could work. Especially if you want to make a lot of bicycles." I pull a ball of rubber out of storage. "After all, every good bike needs a good tire."

"What is that?" His question is repeated several times over when I bounce it off the floor.

"It's called rubber." I hand the ball over. "This is the raw stuff, but it can be treated alchemically to make it much tougher. Tough enough to provide a cushioned wheel that can last for thousands of kilometers."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You're an alchemist too?" This question comes from Elise.

"I know a few tricks when it comes to plants." I'm really wishing I hadn't slept through so many chemistry classes, or that I had at least added eBook versions of my textbooks to my library. "But, this stuff is dead simple to work with, provided you know how and where to get the raw ingredient."

"Which you obviously do." She smiles a wry smile. "Any more surprises hiding under that spiky red hair of yours?"

"Oh, there might be one or two more." I grin back at her. "But, the chocolate and rubber are easily the biggest. It can pretty much do everything leather can, and then some. Plus, it's waterproof and can be molded into almost any shape you want. It has some drawbacks, but they can be mitigated with the right additives."

"You know, my cousin has already taken an interest in you. You don't need to keep selling yourself like this."

"Call it nerves." I shrug, not entirely sure why I'm putting myself on display like this. "I'm far from home and looking to start a new life from scratch. Making allies of the local nobles just seems like a good idea."

"Hah!" Reinholt snorts out a laugh as he rejoins us in the kitchen. "You're an honest one, aren't you?"

"I try to be." I laugh back. "It's just easier to keep things straight that way. And, I feel that you should get a heads up since I will be making this stuff. It's just too useful not to." I get the rubber ball back from Edsel and bounce it over to the baron's son.

"Well, since we're being honest." He turns somewhat serious. "Then anything that can bring more money into the city is always welcome. We're a trade city, so there's a lot of coin passing through, but not much is actually generated here."

"Hmm?" I stroke my chin to give me a second to think. "I had thought about partnering with a local alchemist. Any recommendations for one that's both trustworthy and ambitious?"

"Melanie might be perfect for that." Elise answers for him. "She's skilled, but came back to help at her masters shop when he became ill. Unfortunately, he died recently, and his son is just going to sell everything off. If you like, I can send a runner to go fetch her. I know she's probably just moping away her time."

"Yeah, I'd like to meet her." I nod. I still don't know what I want to do with my life, but having some coin sure won't hurt. And, if rubber takes off here like it did back home, I'm sure to make plenty.

"Enough business." Granville harrumphs. "It's almost lunch, and I want to see if you can cook like this one says you can." He points his chin at Apricot.

"Hmm?" I look around at all the people in the kitchen and push my senses out to count the people in the house. "How hot do these ovens get?"

"As hot as you need." He answers with a hint of challenge to his voice.

"Alright. Get some large baking stones pre-heating." I start issuing orders. If he wants to see me cook, then he's gonna see me cook. "I'm going to need wheat flour, tomatoes, cow's milk, lemons, sausage, both spicy and sweet, bacon, ground beef, chicken breasts, any smoked cheeses you have, spinach, button mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions, black olives. You don't have to eat them if you don't want to Amelia." I add when she groans at the mention of the Mediterranean fruit. "Yeah, that should cover the basic toppings. Gonna need more milk than that though."

"What on earth are you making?" The chef asks while looking from the mountain of food he just provided to me, who's growing some thistles and a few other herbs I'll need.

""Bread and thistles!"" The girls start cracking up when they give the same joke answer I once gave them.

I just smile at everyone's confused looks and get to work. Several large batches of dough get mixed up first using magic. My vines start making some cheese, while my hands are working up some bbq sauce for the chicken.

"Oh, right." I turn my head to look at the earth mage. "Edsel, do you think you can make a blade just like this?" My wooden pizza cutter materializes in front of him.

"Uh, okay." He lets out an amused laugh. "And, you can just call me Ed."

"Thank Ed." I turn back to the food.

"Not a problem." He chuckles again. "It's worth it just to see this look on Gran's face."

The bread is kneaded and rising, and the cheese is curdling. So, I start cooking the barbecue chicken, ground beef, bacon, and tomato sauce. While those are going, I test the various sausages and cheeses and find a few that should do alright. But, I'm really going to need to commission some pepperoni.

By the time all the meat is done cooking and the toppings have been chopped, the bread has risen. "My sister Lily used to get a kick out of it whenever I did this." I say while twirling some dough over my head and rolling out some more with my vines.

Once the dough is rolled out and docked, I cause it to rise again and ladle on the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, and carefully place the toppings. Some spare firewood gets turned into a large paddle, and the pizza gets shoveled into the oven, each one only taking a few minutes to cook.

"Well, I'd say he can cook. Wouldn’t you Gran?" Ed laughs at his friend.

"Pizza." I finally answer the chef's question. "With all the most popular toppings, including a no cheese and low cheese version for Reinholt. Typically served with a green salad and beer or a sweet drink." I set out a couple bowls of salad and a few large pitchers of iced tea.

"Can you teach me that quick rise spell?" I have to laugh at the first words out of his mouth.

"I can try, but it's nature magic." I shrug. "So, Seymour might have a better chance at learning it. Ed, are you done with the cutter?"

"Oh, yeah." He hands it over, and I deftly slice each pizza into twelve perfect slices. "Okay, now you're just showing off." His joke draws a laugh from the room.

"Well, help yourselves. There's more than enough for everyone." The girls have already grabbed a few slices while everyone else was just staring at the feast. "I think it's best hot, but it's just as good after sitting in the icebox overnight."

"Let's store these up and call everyone into the dining room." Granville starts doing just that before anyone else can get a plate.

***