Sign: Snake
Buffs: Serpent’s Kiss (Romance twice as easy)
Debuffs: Curse of the Unspecified (Start the game with no gender, no name, and no other identifying feature)
EXP: 1,338
Alchemy
Coagula (LVL 1, 44 SKP)
Solvé (LVL 1, 19 SKP) Ready to level up!
Theoria (LVL 1, 48 SKP)
Botany
Sowing (LVL 0, 5 SKP)
Tending (LVL 0, 80 SKP) Ready to level up!
?
Cooking
Fire (LVL 1, 28 SKP)
Water (LVL 0, 39 SKP) Ready to level up!
?
Homesteading
Fire Tending (LVL 0, 7 SKP)
Tidying (LVL 1, 124 SKP) Ready to level up!
Mending (LVL 0, 15 SKP)
Speech
Logic (LVL 1, 23 SKP)
Linguistics (LVL 0, 41 SKP) Ready to level up!
Cajoling (LVL 0, 10 SKP)
Total SKP: 441
Inventory:
Auros: 2.65
Cards of Destiny: 5 of ?? Discovered
Names: 4
Evengeline, The Pure Snow (Holly)
Vitas, The Wind Thief (Sparrow)
Gillygad, The Stitched-Up Wonder (Pitchfork)
Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress (Snake)
Anjelica, The Keeper (Ladle)
Passive Skills:
(Theoria LVL 1) Pure Substances: Some metals are especially luminous. Some hands are more precise than others. These hands shall become sharpened scalpels, made of the most luminous Silver. Higher maximum Quality points are possible for all potions.
(Coagula LVL 1) Coalescing Membranes: The membranes of the parts which make up the whole shall be in accordance. Ingredients combine more smoothly, producing higher-quality potions.
(Fire LVL 1) Ignited: The Elemental branch of magic lends this Sorcerer the ability to cook faster using fire. Prepare fried or baked meals twice as quickly. Get burnt less.
(Tidying LVL 1) Dirt Buster: The magical branch of Purification lends this Sorcerer the ability to ‘Bust Dirt.’ Dust and grime accumulate at an infinitesimally slow rate on objects you have cleaned.
(Logic LVL 1) Rhetoric: The magical branch of Entreatment lends this Sorcerer the ability of heightened ‘Rhetoric.’ The structure of your arguments is smooth, regular, and orthogonal. Spirits and people are more likely to agree with you.
Active Skills:
(Solvé LVL 1) Dissolving Lines: The understanding of how a menagerie of elements comes together to make common items; skin, bark, atlases, all are building blocks, of building blocks of building blocks. The understanding of how to dissolve the whole into parts, to learn of its nature. Boil or burn an unknown ingredient to discover its essence.
Spells:
Wild and Overwhelming Growth (LVL 1) Accelerate the growth of plants and fungi. Enchanted plants grow ten times faster (Overwhelming Influence), BUT enchanted plants sometimes disregard their original form.
Mated With A Strong Bond, Lesser Baptism (LVL 1) Skill actions performed by the enchanted object grant the Sorcerer one-fifth of their SKP and EXP (Strong Influence) but the objects must be enchanted in identical pairs.
My step was light as I brought the teapot to the table, and poured out two steaming cups. For just this morning, my poppets’ impending doom, the Sorceress’s and Aleister’s extended absence, and the filth between the pages of Ma Chère lay momentarily forgotten.
I had a visitor!
Solomon Beaugiron sat across from me, two pristine white paper boxes in front of him.
“I have brought these pastries, as promised.” He said, unwinding the twine and opening the boxes, “we shall have a fine breakfast! Or, perhaps lunch. What does it matter?”
He had written to me some time ago, asking for me to visit (and bring Mistress Addlebern, of course). Since I was sans Mistress, and could not so easily travel, I had written out a hasty reply on the back of his letter.
Mr. Beaugiron,
It would be so nice to see you again, but I can’t leave the house for too long! Would it be much trouble for you to visit here?
The address is 735 Austere Way. Please come, if you can!
Andy
I did not mention in my message that Mistress was gone. I suspected that Solomon was much less interested in my company than the Sorceress’s. My suspicions were confirmed, when the man showed up on our doorstep and asked immediately after Tess. I saw the brief shock of disappointment when I told him she was out traveling, but he recovered quickly and was much too polite and well-mannered to mention anything out loud.
I wasn’t exactly sure what had transpired between the two, but I was secretly rooting for Solomon to get back into her good graces. I suspected if he did, I would see much more of Mr. Beaugiron. It was hard to say why, but I liked him. He had a forlorn sort of charm, like a fine jewel that was left to gather dust for too long on a dark shelf.
“I must say, your creations are rather adorable,” Solomon said over his steaming cup, his hazel eyes following Hansel and Gretel, as they chased each other through the kitchen, muttering in their poppet-language.
I nodded in reply, my mouth too full of cream puffs to get any words out.
Watching the poppets for a minute, I noticed that Hansel was chasing Gretel, with his arm reaching out. A few more loops around our kitchen table, and he finally managed to snag a hold of Gretel’s dress.
There was a high-pitched squeal, and the poppets both stopped. Panting, they chittered back and forth, then resumed running, this time Gretel giving chase.
I felt the familiar tug in my chest, looking at their game. I had to figure something out, I just had to, before it was too late!
I put the thoughts from my mind. Surely, I still had some time, and it wasn’t every day that I had guests.
I was initially worried about what Solomon might think of my poppets. I wasn’t sure if what I had done was sanctioned. Were there any rules against it? Had I gone about it the right way?
I had briefly considered locking the poppets upstairs when I heard someone knocking on the door but immediately discounted the idea. It seemed like something Gigert Giger would do, and I did not want to be like him at all.
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But, to my surprise, Solomon was delighted with the poppets.
He fed them bits of sweet cake, as they ran up to the table, with their hands out.
The poppets, having acquired their prize, scurried off again.
Solomon smiled indulgently and sipped his tea.
“I was never much for enchantment. It has its uses, and of course, I have enough proficiency to have been granted the title of Master Sorcerer, but it was never my strongest skill,” he said to me.
“Oh?” I said, not sure of how to question him further.
“Indeed. My specialty has always been speech. I am much more adept than the average Sorcerer in the magical branch of Entreatment, and so, I have rather derelicted my skills in the other branches,” he explained, but I was still confused.
Speech, and consequently Entreatment, as I remembered from Mistress’s closing ceremony, was the power to call forth furry, many-armed monstrosities from the twilit realms, and have them clean your bedroom.
“Do you know how to extend enchantments?” I asked, a hopeful bubble rising inside of my chest.
“No, I am sorry, I do not. As far as I know, once the object is enchanted, there is no way to increase the duration. You can work on your Botany skills prior to the next try, as that will make your enchantments stronger…” Solomon answered, and the bubble in my chest popped. Solomon did say that enchantments weren’t his specialty, but…
Suddenly, a poisonous thought floated to the top of my mind. I put a cream puff, destined shortly for my mouth, back down on the table.
“I guess enchantment must be Tess’s forte, right?’ I asked, my stomach flipping over itself. What was in my chest, if I carved it open? Would there be a heart, or only dough, soaked in red wine? Did the Sorceress pour her blood and spit into my mouth, as I lay motionless on this very table before I woke up alone in the house on Austere Way?
Solomon shook his head.
“No, I believe Tess has always preferred the magical branch of Purification. Although, I do believe she is more than competent in all the Sorcerous Arts. Unlike me, she has never neglected her studies.” He answered, then continued, “Where did you say she was traveling?”
“I think she went to Celine City.” I lied hurriedly, “So, Purification, why?”
I was trying to distract Solomon from asking too many questions about Tess’s travels, but I was also genuinely interested. I had not come across any spells in the branch of Purification, and I did not know much about it.
“You will have to ask her yourself. Despite knowing her for many years, I have never gotten a straight answer. Why a Master Sorceress as accomplished as Tess prefers it, when it is, how shall I say, not the most glamorous of the magical branches, I never did find out.” He said, then looked out the window, smiling, no doubt reviving some pleasant memories of his past with Tess.
I plowed right on with my questions.
“What’s a Master Sorcerer?” I asked, picking up the cream puff again.
Solomon looked up, momentarily surprised to find himself back in my kitchen, and out of his reverie.
“There are three ranks, besides Apprentice.” He explained, “Sorcerer, Master Sorcerer, and Grandmaster Sorcerer.”
“That’s easy to remember,” I said.
“Yes. There are only a few Grandmasters, and they’re usually ancient. And anyone who has gotten through their initiation can call themselves simply: Sorcerer.” He added.
“Then what about Master?”
“That’s what me and Tess are. When we were both confident in our powers, we went back to the Academy to demonstrate our Mastership. That was back when me and Tess were- well, never mind,” He said, uneasily.
I nodded along with his explanation.
“Do you know, when we studied for our Mastership in Celine City, we took the examinations together. I remember those days very fondly.” He said.
Solomon recounted an anecdote from this time in his life.
When they were studying, Solomon had leveled his speech skill early on and relied on it to the exclusion of all his other skills. Apparently, this irritated Tess to no end. She tried and tried to get him to practice his other skills, but Solomon managed all the tasks required of him by simply calling in the nether-things to accomplish it for him. He had gotten a good way through his Mastership on this strategy before it all came to a head.
He did not explain the precise nature of the task (because Mastership examinations were classified, and could not be divulged to those who have not earned the title), but it absolutely required Solomon to have his tidying skill at a much higher level than he had.
So Solomon, who had less than a week to level his tidying skill to a substantial level, was in trouble.
“Tidying was by far my lowest skill. Really, who likes cleaning?” He explained, and I nodded along vigorously; no one really likes cleaning. “As soon as I learned how to command nether-things, they were my personal maids. I never touched a mop after I gained enough speech to have someone else do the job for me.”
With the task looming, he had to scramble to level up his tidying skill. He spent his days, and a good portion of the nights, doing nothing but sweeping, dusting, and scrubbing.
Much to Tess’s amusement, Solomon ended up cleaning her room, then the entire Guild house (a large complex, with dozens of rooms), and it still wasn’t enough.
“I was not actually very good at housekeeping, so I could not, in good conscience, accept payment. But, to get my skill to a sufficient level, I ended up cleaning other people’s houses. Complete strangers, mind you. I went door to door, and offered my services, free of charge. That was a very long week, and Tess hardly ever let me live it down, afterwards.” He finished.
“But you passed, right?” I asked, hanging on his words.
“If I had not passed, after all that, I would simply have died of humiliation. And as you see, I am not dead.” He finished.
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“I know you like riddles, Andy,” Solomon bent awkwardly in his chair and produced a folded piece of paper from his pockets. I did like riddles, and I had told him as much when I accidentally visited his cottage in the woods.
“I do! Have you brought me one?” I asked, trying to see what was on the paper he held in his hands.
“I have. But this one is a little different. Here, I want to see what you think.” He handed the paper over to me.
I expected the same formatting that I had seen before, but this riddle was on a page of lined notebook paper. It was copied in pen, and the slanting and graciously curving handwriting must have been Solomon’s.
I read it:
The Missing Castle1
Three travelers came to stay the night at a tavern. The innkeeper said the bill for staying the night is 30 silver castles (a type of coin), so each guest paid 10 coins. Later the innkeeper realized the bill should only have been 25 coins. To rectify this, he gave the maid 5 coins to return to the travelers.
On the way to the travelers' room to refund the money, the maid realized that she cannot equally divide the five coins among the three guests. As the guests were not aware of the total of the revised bill, the maid decided to just give each guest 1 coin back and keep 2 coins as a tip for herself. She proceeded to do exactly that.
As each guest got 1 coin back, each guest only paid 9 coins, bringing the total paid to 27 coins. The maid kept 2 coins, which when added to the 27, comes to 29 coins. So if the guests originally handed over 30 coins, what happened to the remaining 1 coin?
I read and re-read the riddle, trying to figure out how to start solving it.
“Solomon, I’m not sure how to proceed.” I finally confessed.
The best idea I had was to grab thirty pebbles and simulate the exchanges happening at the inn, to try to figure out what happened to the missing coin.
I was just going to get up to do that when Solomon grabbed my hand.
“Take your time, there is no hurry. Make notes, try to solve it, then tell me what you think.” He said.
“Okay,” I answered, “Where did you find it? Is this from Old Toad’s addendum?” I asked.
“No, it is mine,” he answered.
“For real? Like you wrote it?” My eyes were wide with surprise.
“More or less. Riddles are older than time. Most have already been written. Usually, it’s just a matter of putting a new dress on an old frame.” He told me, and I nodded, pretending I understood.
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With the orange glow of sunset filtering through the window and Solomon’s shifting movements signaling he would soon be setting out, I was driven to desperation.
“Solomon,” I started, hesitating over each word, “did you ever find out who you were, before? I mean, before the Snake curse?”
If only I could find my real identity, my real name, then I would know for sure that I was not enchanted clay, but a real person.
Solomon looked at me for a moment, his expression solemn.
“Yes, I did, Andy.” He answered.
“Really!? How? Who were you?” I asked. If he had gotten around the curse of the Snake, maybe I could too!
“It was not hard in my case, as I was able to keep my name. I wish that I had not. I wish I had shed it along with my face and my memories.” Solomon said. His face was growing darker, the mild, polite mannerisms of earlier giving way to a brooding and stormy countenance.
“But did you find your parents and your family?” I said with longing.
“I did, Andy. And they were as disappointing as you could imagine. No, please don’t ask, I will not tell you the details. It still pains me, and it is not something I like to remember.” He said, and I shut my mouth, “There is a reason you picked Snake, whether you remember it or not. Do not second guess yourself.” Solomon said.
“I’m sorry for asking,” I said, quietly.
I sat there in silence, staring at the man.
How could I tell him, without sounding nuts, that I wanted to prove to myself that I was a real human and not an enchanted object?
“I just really wish I knew why I was here. I mean, I wish I knew my purpose, is all.” I said. Was my purpose to sweep, mop, sell potions, and then quietly fall lifeless after my own enchantment ends? Was I shaped and molded from a ball of dough with this purpose in mind?
Solomon had a quizzical look on his face, like that kind of question had never entered his mind.
“This query is rather philosophical, and as such, lies in the domain of Teresto, the Wheel,” he answered, “not in your lost, or rather discarded, identity.”
I nodded my head. I didn’t think he understood, and I didn’t know how to clarify.
My time was up. Solomon was leaving.
I walked him to the door, wished him a warm farewell, and we promised to keep up a correspondence. I waved goodbye as I saw him disappear down the road.