Duncan’s day was turning for the better. At least that is what it felt like to him. As he backtracked towards Wazsh’s bar he started thinking about what to do until his appointment in the evening. Passing by Elland’s shop he remembered Elland talking about some new Alchemy recipes he could try making.

Since he had time, he decided to visit again. The familiar chimes as he opened the door rang again and Elland ran from his workshop at the back.

“Hello again. You said you have some Alchemy recipes before we could try?” Duncan said with a smile.

Elland frowned before asking, “What happened with you in the past hour? Were you possessed or something?”

“What do you mean?” Duncan asked, frowning.

“What I mean is that you act now like a totally different person,” Elland said with frustration on his face and voice.

Duncan shrugged and thought about his interaction before.

“I was just distracted a bit and, in a hurry, before,” he tried explaining.

“I see,” Elland replied and stared at Duncan as if expecting a further explanation.

“I have time now though,” Duncan continued.

“Alright. I just finished extracting some blood from one of the Ghouls you brought. Let’s try to make an antidote for their poison,” Elland said and moved back towards the workshop.

Duncan followed and met him by a table with a big pot of dark liquid. He used [Identify] on it.

[Ghoul blood – Good quality]

“So, what do we do with this?” Duncan asked as he looked at the dark brown liquid warily.

“I am not sure,” Elland replied.

“What do you mean you are not sure?” Duncan asked, frowning.

“According to the book I translated we need to mix this with the purified Wraith essence and we should get a clear liquid which acts like an antidote. I never tried it before so I am not sure it works,” Elland replied.

“Are you sure this can become a clear liquid,” Duncan said as he used a stick to stir the brown viscous sludge.

“The recipe is mentioned in the book briefly as a standard antidote against all Death and Dark aligned poisons,” Elland said and shrugged.

“How will we even know if it works, even if it does change color?” Duncan asked.

Elland was in thought for a while before he responded, “We can try mixing a drop of the finished concoction with a drop of the unprocessed blood. If it turns out clear, it is working.”

Duncan frowned.

“I guess there is no such thing as clinical trials and FDA approval here,” he thought and nodded as Elland was waiting for his response.

“The other thing is that if you get infected by a Ghoul you really don’t have much of a choice unless you have a paladin or a priest nearby. Only those who can use Life or Light magic on you will be able to stop the infection,” Elland stated and shrugged.

“Do we have a paladin or a priest in this village?” Duncan asked.

“No. Even a minor cut from a Ghoul would mean a slow and painful death if you don’t find one in the span of a day,” Elland said as he shook his head.

“So, what you are saying we were a scratch away from dying and didn’t even know it?” Duncan asked disturbed by the new information.

“Ignorance is bliss sometimes. Isn’t it?” Elland said and shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess so,” Duncan quietly replied.

“So, if the choice is slow and painful death versus an untested potion, which one will you choose?” Elland asked.

“Alright let’s do it. I guess there is not much to lose,” Duncan replied.

“According to the book we have to heat Ghoul’s blood to a boil before adding the purified Wraith’s powder until the blood turns into a clear liquid. It’s simple,” Elland said and moved a small quantity of the blood into a smaller pot with a ladle.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Duncan activated [Observe] as Elland started heating the pot. As it started bubbling, he used a small quantity of the powder and mixed it. It was still dark brown so he repeated the process until it suddenly turned crystal clear. He took the pot off the flame and let it cool.

Duncan’s Observe skill deactivated at that and he looked at the concoction.

“It worked?” he asked Elland.

“In theory. Hopefully, you will never need to find out in practice. IF you do by any chance find out let me know,” Elland replied.

Duncan nodded, “I think Fenris wants to go again after a few days. I will try to persuade him not to or at least give him a couple of antidotes just in case.”

“Do you want to do the rest? The Wraith powder is limited so it should not take you long to use it up,” Elland asked and Duncan nodded.

He ladled some Ghoul blood into another pot and focused on it and waited for the [Make] option to appear. He got an option of [Undead poison antidote] and he activated it.

He was done by his time in a few seconds and he repeated the process until he ran out of powder. There was a bunch of pots cooling off on several tables and Elland was pouring the earlier ones into bottles. This time he also put labels on them.

Duncan checked his [ LOG ] and saw his alchemy skill leveled only one time.

[

You have Learned Alchemy Level 10.

Intelligence +1.0

Wisdom +1.0

Perception +1.0

]

“I only got one level in Alchemy from all that,” Duncan complained.

Elland shook his head, “I am surprised you even got one considering how easy the recipe is.”

“But look at all the bottles we made,” Duncan responded.

“Stop whining. It gets progressively harder the higher level you are. You did what? 3-4 recipes and you want to be level 10?” Elland said angrily.

“Actually, I got Alchemy to level 10 just now,” Duncan replied.

Elland stared at him before he let out an angry outburst, “And you actually have the gall to complain? I needed 4 years to reach level 10.”

Duncan looked at the floor before trying to explain, “I am sorry. With my class’s bonuses, I don’t really know how hard it was for other people.”

“Go now! Before I say something, I will regret!” Elland said and pointed at the door.

Duncan quickly rushed out before he heard Elland say, “I will bring you these potions to Wazsh’s in the evening.” As he reached the shop entrance he started walking again in the direction of the bar.

He decided to visit the barracks to dissuade anyone from entering the mine before they at least had the untested antidotes at hand.

As he got there, he saw Petris exit the communal area.

“Hey, Petris!” Duncan greeted.

“Oh. Hello Duncan. What’s up?” Petris replied.

“Is Captain Fenris here? I need to talk to both of you,” Duncan replied.

“We leave soon, but yeah he is in his office. Let me take you there,” Petris replied.

They soon found themselves in front of Fenris who dropped the paperwork and greeted Duncan.

“First here is your cuirass and your helmet. They should be curse free according to Elland,” Duncan said as he gave each of them their loot back.

“See he was right!” Petris said with glee as he put on the helmet.

Duncan asked, “Right about what?”

“Your character,” Petris replied and froze when he saw Fenris watching him.

Fenris coughed before saying, “So, if there is the first thing, what's the second one?”

“Did you know Ghouls can infect you with just a scratch and that without a cleric or a paladin you are a dead man?” Duncan asked.

Fenris frowned, “Who gave you that information? And no, I didn’t know that,” he replied.

“Elland. I got a lot of books from the crypt last time and he is translating them,” Duncan replied.

“This makes things more complicated,” Fenris said as he gritted his teeth.

“I finally thought we found a good place to level and now this!” he said and sighed.

“That brings me to the third… We made an antidote for the Ghoul’s poison. Unfortunately, we don’t know if it really works,” Duncan replied.

Fenris’ emotions were on a rollercoaster at the mention of the potion and that it is untested.

“Well, at least now we have an option should someone get hurt,” Fenris stated and Petris nodded his approval.

“I told you it’s untested and you still want to go?” Duncan asked.

“Well, at least there we know that the levels are not really high. Out there beyond the door, there are creatures roaming that would eat me without flinching. The risk is always there,” Captain Fenris replied.

“And we can’t get out beyond a hundred feet from the wall anyway,” Petris added. Fenris looked at him and then at Duncan as he almost let the cat out of the bag.

“I still think it’s too risky,” Duncan said and shook his head.

“We knew the risks when we took these jobs. We know the risks when going down into the mine. It’s our choice. Thank you for worrying about us and providing an antidote even if untested. Hopefully, we don’t have to test it but at least we have a possible solution,” Fenris replied.

“Alright. Do as you want. I will bring the antidotes here in the next few days. Until then please don’t go to that part of the mine,” Duncan said.

“It’s not like we have time anyway. Which reminds me, we should get going to the mayor’s,” Captain Fenris replied and made a move toward the door.

“Alright I will be leaving you to it,” Duncan replied and started to leave.

“I saw Shaya at the target range,” Fenris said which made Duncan stop in his tracks.

“I have no business with her,” Duncan replied with a frown.

Fenris smirked as he replied, “As you wish.”