After seeing the guardsmen, and women, off with a wave and a hearty "If I run into any more criminals, I'll be sure to send them your way." I turn to Ed.  "Hey, man.  What can I do for you?"

"Do you always run the guard into the ground like that?"  He laughs ruefully at their retreating forms while I send their empty smoothie cups into storage.  "And, did you know there was a hole in the shop wall?"

"Oh, yeah."  I bring out some material and start repairing the wall.  "We had a burglar last night; I used the wood to wrap him up for the guard.  It completely slipped my mind to fix the wall afterward."

"Shit."  Ed spits out the oath while looking back at the lab.  His worry for Melanie clear in his eyes.  "They didn't get in did they?"

"No, Apricot spotted them as soon as they entered the yard."  I shake my head and glance over my shoulder to make sure that none of the farmers are close by.  "I haven't told them yet, but it was the same bastard that was responsible for Myra getting burned.  I came this fucking close to popping him like a zit."  I hold my thumb and forefinger up with barely a millimeter's distance between them.  "Been working off the anger ever since."

"Gods."  The man covers his mouth with a hand.  "I've barely even met her and I might not have been able to stop myself if I was in your place."

"Yeah."  I let out a deep exhalation.  "So, what can I do for you?  Or did you just come to spend the day with Melanie?"  His cheeks pink up just a little bit at the teasing.

"Ahh."  He hesitates slightly.  "Well, you remember how you showed me the aluminum?  I've been able to do the same for the other metals I'm familiar with, but... I was kinda hoping you could go over my stock of ores and separate out the other metals you wrote about."

"No problem."  I nod, happy to help.  "But, you've got to show me the trick to working with metals.  I tried gold, silver, and copper yesterday and couldn't get anywhere."

"Heheh.  You tried coins, right?"  He chuckles when I nod.  "Yeah, the royal mages do something with them, it's more than a spell, but less than an enchantment.  There's a trick to overriding it, but it's easier just to melt them down."

"Huh?"  I jingle a handful of pocket change trying to suss out what they did to it.  "I thought that was just how metal reacted."

"No, they each have their own properties, but those three are probably the easiest to work with."  He materializes a small ingot of copper and starts molding it into fanciful shapes.  "Without the coinspell in place, you should be able to work them just like stone.  Which, if the lab is anything to go by, you have no problems with."

"Mhm."  I shrug, not sure what to say.  "Well, why don't you show me what you've got, I'll work through the periodic table trying to separate everything I can."  I materialize a large table and fill the edges with bowls, leaving the center clear for ores.

"You, uh might need a bigger table."  He chuckles and starts to bring out rock after rock.  "I brought everything with me."

"Oh, just chuck it all on the ground then.  Have you removed the silica yet?"  I ask, getting ready to make a barrel for what's likely to be the bulk of the stone.

"Sorry, no."  He shakes his head.

"That's alright, I'll just pull that out first."  I go ahead and make the barrel and start filling it from the samples he's already produced.  "Oh, I almost forgot.  But, can you tell me if there's a mine or a quarry nearby?  It's a little annoying having to jump in the river every time I need a little stone."

"If it's bulk stone you need, then you can just head off into the grasslands and dig up all you need."  He gestures off to the west.  "You might even luck out and find some ores.  There's a few critters to watch out for, but something tells me they won't be a problem for you.  But, if you want an actual mine, then you pretty much have to head up to the teeth.  That, or much farther west."

"What about buying ores?  I know this is a trade town."  The barrel is already full by now, so I compress the powder down into a solid block of quartz.

"You might find the odd prospector who's willing to sell you something, but not many people ship raw ores."  He explains.  "It's just a lot easier to smelt them down beforehand.  I can give you some contacts with the smiths if you're looking for metals though."

"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble."  He's still producing stone, and I'm still drawing the silica out of it.

"Not at all."  He chuckles.  "And... that's the last of my collection."

"Okay, I'm almost done with the silica."  I have to pack it down into quartz again.  "I'll get the alumina next, there's bound to be a ton of that too.  And, then I can start working my way up the periodic table."

It takes a few more moments of work but, by the time I'm done, his collection is just small enough to all fit on the table.

"Now, this is far from my area of expertise."  There's an understatement.  "But, I do remember that there are very few metals that occur natively.  So, I'm mostly looking for oxides or 'rusts', but I'll check for stuff bonded to chlorine and carbon too since those should be relatively common."

I started with lithium and decided to work my way up to bismuth, since I don't want to mess around with anything more radioactive than that.  I know those ores are mostly safe, but I'd rather not take any chances.

Edsel was fascinated by the whole process... well, aside from the few times I was able to extract common metals that he missed.  That made him grumble about over-powered Plantkin.

"Well, as you can see I wasn't able to extract everything, but I did find quite a bit more than I was expecting."  There is still a good chunk of stone left over, but I was able to find at least a few grains from almost every element.  "The way I visualize things does limit me somewhat here, so you may be able to extract more after you get a feel for the different elements."

"I both love and hate you right now."  Edsel booms out a laugh and slaps me on the back.

"I don't want you hating me, but keep your love for Melanie."  I chortle when he full-on blushes this time.  "Speaking of, I'm sure she would be interested in some of this stuff."

"I'll go get her."  He rushes off into the lab, I think just to give his face a chance to cool down.

While he's inside, I play around with the barrel of quartz.  I have to wonder if I can't just make the labware out of plain quartz and save myself the hassle of making glass.

"Hey, Mels."  I call out to her when she and Cat reappear with Ed.  "Do you know if plain quartz can be used in place if glass?  It would sure be a lot easier to make your labware out of this than to go through the hassle of making glass."

"Hmm.  It should be alright for most stuff."  She tilts her head to one side while peering at the chunk of crystal in my hands.  "But, I was hoping you could make some pure silica glass, it has much better thermal properties than regular glass or quartz."

"Alright, I'll have to look into electrolysis later."  I nod.  "Just because I can refill my mana from the sun doesn't mean it's not a pain to use that much at a time.  Even still I should be able to reuse the trick I did to make charcoal yesterday.  Oh, that reminds me I have a new spell for you, and a couple of experiments to run, if you're up for it."

"Did you manage to invert the draw matter spell?"  Her eyes light up.  "And, I'm always up for a good experiment."

"Yeah, I've named it Separate because... well, that's what it does.  I used it to make some ultra-pure charcoal, and it's that what I want you to test."  I bring a piece out of storage so she can hear the glass-like crack when I break it up.

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"Did you manage to remove everything but carbon from that?"  Ed interjects.  "If so, then I know a few smiths who will be very interested."

"Yes."  I nod and fill a small bag with charcoal for him, and another for Melanie.  "And, this is what I want to experiment on.  This is in regards to that air filter I was talking about yesterday.  I want to see how this holds up to regular charcoal and the activated stuff I'm going to make for the filters.  You just need to measure how much it takes to filter out a set amount of iodine."

"Easy enough."  She agrees right away.  "But, I want to know about this activation process."

"Basically, it just increases the porosity so that a much smaller amount is needed than regular charcoal."  I explain and draw a sponge-like picture, first with a few large holes and then with many smaller ones.  "I know three methods, two of which are fast but dangerous, and one safe but time-consuming."

"The pickle crisp?"  She cocks an eyebrow.

"Yup."  I confirm with a nod.  "The other ones require hot acid, or superheated steam.  I'll try all three just for completeness, but I'm hoping the safer method is just as viable.  But, enough about that.  You came out to look at all this stuff."  I gesture to the table.

I answer hers and Eds questions about each element to the best of my abilities while Catherine just takes notes.

"...So, anyways, the leftover rock is either the heavier elements that I didn't want to mess with, or stuff that I just didn't match my visualization."  I say to conclude the impromptu lesson.  "Ed or you will probably be able to extract some more of the elements once you get a good feel for them.  But, I hope to get over this mental block of mine sooner, rather than later."

"Umm..."  Catherine raises her hand with a hesitant word.

"Go on."  I almost added 'I won't bite' but I'm sure that would have made her blush.'

"You're so good at magic, why can't you do this?"  Her voice is barely above a whisper, but she manages to get the whole sentence out.

"I don't know if Melanie has shared with you those papers I wrote for her.  But, when I was first messing around with the spell, I only got it to work by thinking about matter along those routes."  A rueful smile creeps onto my lips.  "And, well, my brain just sorta got stuck thinking that's how I have to do it."

"That's a good lesson to keep in mind when you're practicing magic."  Melanie takes this as a teaching moment for her apprentice.  "One's mental state while casting can greatly affect their spells.  Even the strongest of mages can be worse than useless if they don't have the right mindset."

"She's right about that."  My head bobs up and down.  "And, not just about magic either, everything you do can be affected by your mood.  For most people that just means they might have a good or bad day at work.  But, for strong mages, or people who work with dangerous substances, a bad mood or cloudy mind could be deadly.  Learning when to step back and center oneself is vital."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."  Melanie agrees with a sharp nod.

"Speaking of bad moods..."  Edsel prompts.

"Do you remember the scum that your master's son was going to sell the lab to?"  The snarl on her face is all the answer I need.  "He tried to break into the lab last night, and was very lucky that Apricot and two guards were with me when I discovered his identity."

"How?"  Melanie looks off in the distance with a pale face.  Following her eyes, I see little Myra and her sister playing in the jungle gym.

"A sleeping draught and a stolen boat."  Which I thought would have been collected by now, but is still sitting in my yard.  "A trick that I very much doubt will work twice, and I have to imagine that he will be receiving a much stiffer punishment after this than just cleaning the sewers for a month.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I really should go tell William."

Cat looks a little confused as I walk away, but I'll leave it up to Ed and Melanie to explain this mess.

"Morning, Sorrel.  Come to check out the fields?"  The farmer greets me with a wide smile.  "I've been keeping a close eye on the crops and haven't seen even a hint of the blight returning."

"That's great, but I just needed to speak with you about something."  He catches onto my sober mood and lets me guide him far enough away that the girls won't overhear.  "The one responsible for what happened to Myra tried to escape from the guard last night, I caught him and handed him back over when he tried to break into the lab."

"W-what?"  He nearly shouts, but manages to control his voice at the last second.

"You don't have to worry."  I try to calm the furious man down.  "He's in custody again and the guard will be keeping a much closer eye on him from now on.  I'll be very surprised if they don't send him off to the mines for this."

"I wish you had just called me over."  His voice has skipped right fiery hate, and settled into the cold ice of rage.  "They wouldn't have had to worry about watching him anymore after that."

"You don't want to walk that path, Will."  I know exactly what he's feeling right now.  "Your family is safe and healthy, and that scum will never bother any of you again."  I don't add that if I ever see that slime around here again then there won't even be a body for the guards to find.

The family man takes several moments to collect himself before speaking again.  "Thank you for being the one to tell me.  I don't know how I would have reacted if I'd overheard the guards or someone else mentioning this."

"Don't thank me."  I can't accept gratitude for something that I'm at least partially responsible for.  "The only reason that scum was here is because the lab is here.  I have a seamstress coming for a meeting later, but after that, I'm going to find a new spot for it in the city."

"You don't have to do that just for me."  There's a complicated mix of emotions on his face right now.

"It was always the plan in the first place."  I say to reassure him.  "This just moves up the timeframe a bit.  But, I'm going to be busy helping at the healing fair tomorrow.  So unless I luck out finding a property today, it will probably still take a few days before I can get it moved."

"As long as you're sure."  He sounds a little relieved.

"I am."  I pat him on the shoulder.  "Honestly I was going to go look for a new property today anyways.  I don't want Melanie's new apprentice spying on me in my underwear anymore."

"Hah!"  That seems to have done the trick and washed away the remaining tension in his features.  In fact, he even gets a bit of a twinkle in his eyes a moment later.  "Hey, I didn't want to interrupt your party yesterday, but it looked a lot like you were making wine."

"Yeah, I have to grow the dandelions to make the rubber anyways."  I explain.  "I just felt it would be a waste not to do something with all those petals.  And, you know, I could always use another taste tester."  I add with a wink.

"Well, you've already done so much for us, how could we deny such a simple request."  He says with a grin.  "It just wouldn't be neighborly."

"Alright neighbor, I'll stop by with a couple casks for you later.  I still want to tweak the recipe a bit."  I turn to head back home in a better mood than when I arrived.  "Maybe more than a couple, I need to test how they age after all."  I add over my shoulder and we share matching grins.

...