Carl dropped the small sack on the table. It made a heavy thud as it hit.
“What is that?” Orion asked.
“Your cut. I know we discussed giving them away at cost to townsfolk, and at a discount for adventurers, but things changed. With the looming threat, and the annihilation of the town a very distinct possibility, Valbrand’s coffer has bought and paid for all the potions so far. I collected this from the treasury last night after handing over the eight complete Bountiful Potions of Miraculous Healing.”
Orion picked up the small sack, opening it up to see the gleam of gold peaking out at him.
“This… this is too much, Carl. I can’t take it.” He slid the small fortune back over toward Carl’s side of the table. “People’s lives are on the line. I can’t accept this. Spend it on something else to help.”
“Lad, I appreciate your concern and selflessness, but there is really nothing else to be done with the money.” Carl stood, walking over to a window and opening the shutters. “The town’s treasury has paid for them—at an extremely fair price, mind you. The emergency fund in the treasury exists for situations exactly like this one, and there is nothing else the gold could be spent on. Most of the profit has been spent on the acquisition and fit-out of the warehouses-turned-laboratories. What sits on the table in front of you is just the small percentage you requested if adventurers were to buy it.”
He gestured for Orion to stand. Orion joined him at the window, looking down at the workstations below, seeing the grand-looking room from above.
“Your discovery and invention of this potion is a lifeline for the adventurers and townsfolk stuck here. Simply knowing we have a miracle potion available, as some have dubbed it, is doing wonders for morale. Take the money. If we live through this, you’ll need it on the floors above, and if we don’t…” Carl walked over to the table, scooping up the gold then holding it out to Orion. “Then we’ll all be dead anyway, and the gold would rot in the treasury, untouched.”
Orion took the proffered sack reluctantly, adding it to his inventory. His eyes bugged out, seeing his stored gold tick up by over 2000. The pouch had seemed heavy, but it didn’t seem like anywhere near that much.
And this was only from eight potions… how much gold will discovering this recipe continue to garner me in the future?
“That reminds me…” Orion said. “I’ve discovered a new recipe.”
Carl’s eyebrows shot up, and a look of shocked delight spread across his face. “You did? Well, what are you waiting for? Show me!”
“Alright, I see that you’re excited, but I need you to tone it down if I’m going to hand it to you.”
“What, is it delicate? These hands have been handling delicate instruments for decades, boy. I can handle it. Show me already. I can’t take the anticipation!”
Orion withdrew the volatile potion was stored in the ring on his finger, handing it to Carl. The excitement and joy drained out of Carl as he inspected it, his face going pale.
“You didn’t say it was volatile! Are you trying to kill us all? I’ve never seen that before in all my years, Creator above!” Carl swore, handing it back to Orion, who promptly stuck it back in his ring. “How did you make it?”
“I can do one better,” Orion said.
Orion held his hand out and willed the recipe to be shared. Carl hesitantly took his hand, and a look of understanding washed over his face. He sat for a while, pondering the recipe he’d just been shared.
“What do you think?” Orion asked. “Should we work on making more, maybe in another warehouse?”
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“Are you out of you damned mind? It’s a miracle you pulled it off without blowing yourself into little alchemist chunks. I don’t trust any of these fledglings to even attempt it. They fail a Potion of Miraculous Healing, no big deal—they fail one of those, it could be lights out.”
“What do you mean? It can poison, but even if you detonated one of them, you’d be able to get out of the zone before you died. It’s risky, sure, but they could be instrumental in our victory.”
“This is my fault.” Carl shook his head. “You seem so capable with Alchemy, but I constantly forget how long you’ve been in this world. Messing around and experimenting with the ingredients used for this thing… if things go bad while brewing, the effects will be much, much worse than simply the finished product going off. For something of this calibre, with these ingredients, I don’t think you would have survived. Even I’m hesitant to craft this thing, even knowing the recipe. I would succeed, of course, but just knowing the price of failure…”
Orion blanched as he learned he’d had a brush with death without even realizing it.
That had actually been a close call, he thought. If I hadn’t managed that last push…
“Don’t get all introspective on me now, lad. You survived the creation, so now it should be a walk in the park for you. Just… do not attempt this if you’re fatigued or unwell, understand?”
They chatted for a few minutes more on smaller things. Orion learned that Tash had been instrumental in the organization of other alchemists, Carl urging him not to be hard on the overworked, stressed-out administrator. Carl also told Orion of the large flasks, stating that storing so many bountiful potions in cauldrons was getting cumbersome, so they had worked with artificers to create the large containers. The only downside was that they were, as demonstrated, quite fragile.
Orion was about to tell Carl of the storage rings filled with ingredients and potions they’d found when he felt something small well up inside him, something like a small bubble trying to burst. It felt like advancement, but on a much smaller scale.
“What the hell was that?” he said aloud.
He realized Carl was looking out the window again, something below drawing his attention. Orion joined him, seeing that his party and a few other people were all crowded around one of the vats downstairs.
“I have no idea, lad. Let’s go see…” Carl headed for the door.
As soon as the door was open, Orion could hear the voices of his party members all rising in pitch. He couldn’t quite make out much of what they were saying over the mixture of words, but he could tell they were excited.
“This is a workshop!” Carl hissed as they arrived at the group. “People are working, so please, keep it down!
Orion noticed that one of the other people standing with his party was Dave, along with Tash, and one of alchemists that had previously been crafting.
Ignoring his brother, Dave asked, “Does this belong to you, Orion?” Dave was pointing down at Gizmo, who appeared to be the cause of the commotion.
“Uh, yes. Sorry if he did something wrong, he—”
“Something wrong? No, lad. Not that. He just learned Engineering by hearing about how I designed these vats and their flow system. Just from hearing it!” The aged engineer was overwhelmed, eyes darting back and forth between Gizmo and Orion. “They tell me he’s your familiar. Is that right?”
“That’s… that’s right.”
Gizmo learned a profession? Hadn’t he said that it was impossible for him to learn professions?
“You have to let him come with me. If he’s as prodigal at Engineering as you are at Alchemy, he could be instrumental in some of the designs I have been tinkering with.”
“I mean, of course, as long as he is happy to.” Orion looked down at his familiar. “How did you learn Engineering?”
“I, too, am shocked that I have managed to learn a profession. I was under the impression that such a feat was impossible for someone in my position. However, I am not shocked by my natural talent and aptitude. I am as I have been created: a perfect image of superiority.”
“And humble,” Honeypot added, nodding at Gizmo’s response.
“So, will you come with me, Gizmo?” Dave asked, not having to bend down much to become eye level with the automaton. “Engineering is extremely rewarding. I have to be honest with you, though… we do not have much time, and you have a lot to learn to before you can work on the contraptions I have planned. I can’t promise that it won’t be painless, but—”
“I will go with you,” Gizmo blurted out, his flat voice sounding desperate. “Let us begin immediately.”
“Yes! Let’s begin immediately!” Dave led Gizmo out of the warehouse, instruction already beginning to spill out of his mouth.
They all stood there dazed at the speed at which recruitment had occurred. Orion worried for Gizmo for a moment, but then he worried for Dave.
“I can’t believe it…” Carl stared after the retreating two. “I never thought I’d see the day my brother took another student.” He turned to Orion. “My brother is, uh, passionate and spirited. Are you sure your familiar will be okay?”
“My good man.” Honeypot shook his head with a smile. “It’s not Gizmo you should be worried about.”
Orion couldn’t agree more.