MMA: Chapter #11 (Patreon)

“Alph? Nope, never heard of him,” Master Nordem said, shaking his head and trying to slam his door shut.

Quickly sticking his staff into the door to keep it from shutting, Ruith rubbed his forehead as if a headache was starting to form. As if one mad alchemist wasn’t enough, it was clear that he had just struck up a conversation with another.

“Master Nordem, please cooperate seriously,” Myril called through the small gap in the doorway. “He claims to be your student.”

Glaring at them suspiciously from behind the door, Master Nordem snorted in derision.

“So? Lots of people want to be my student. Just because he said so, doesn’t mean he actually is. I don’t have students that warrant visits from the local druids, and if I did, I would disown them anyway.”

“He has a journal that appears to be yours.”

“Huh, he probably stole it.”

Gritting his teeth, Ruith took a deep breath to calm himself down and glanced back at Alph who appeared to be completely oblivious to the conversation. In fact, the human alchemist was currently crouched down by one of the planter boxes, examining a yellowish leaf while mumbling to himself. Deciding that it simply wasn’t worth his time, the druid turned back to the door.

“We have reason to believe that he is under your care, so we are charging you with keeping him in line from now on. If you don’t like it, you can go protest at the city hall in Thilvena. He nearly burned down the forest while hunting lopsy, and is hereby banned from hunting in the Old Wood for the next year. If we, or any other druids, catch him hunting, he will be executed.”

With a creak, the door opened, revealing Master Nordem's curious face.

“He nearly burned down the forest? How did he do that?”

“I didn’t burn down anything,” Alph said, popping to his feet. “The fire was controlled until you tried to put it out with water.”

Myril nearly blew her top at his protest, but Ruith held up his hand to stop her from responding. With a slightly reluctant nod, the elven druid agreed.

“Technically, that is true, though controlled is a stretch.”

“Hold on, why did water make it worse? Shouldn’t flame have been controlled by water?” Master Nordem asked, taking a step out of his house.

“The mixture has an oil base, so it doesn’t mix with water,” Alph explained. “And that transfers to the foam. It's sort of like a napalm, and since it explodes on contact with water, trying to douse it will just scatter the flame.”

“Is it a potion?”

“I would call it an improvised incendiary mixture,” Alph said, shrugging. “It's made from commonly available material, but I don’t think it qualifies as a potion. I might be wrong, however, since it was way more effective than I thought it would be.”

Listening to the two alchemists talking back and forth, Ruith interrupted with a stern glare.

“You can talk about the specifics of the offense when we are gone. Do you acknowledge that we have turned the alchemist, Alph, over to you, and given him a one year hunting ban?”

Irritation flashed across Master Nordem’s face and he returned Ruith’s glare with equal force.

“Don’t get snippy with me, druid. And anyway, isn’t a one year ban too much? What if he needs to go collect materials? How is he supposed to do that?”

“Or what if I get attacked?” Alph asked, glancing between the two druids. “I’ve already died half a dozen times.”

Taken aback by Alph’s choice of words, all three elves stared at Alph for a moment before remembering that he was an immortal traveler.

“Mostly it was the wolf, but those rabbits were really dangerous as well. They killed me just as quickly as the wolf did.”

“You died to a lopsy?”

The incredulity was so thick in Myril’s voice that Alph suddenly felt self conscious. Looking at the other two elves didn’t help, however, as they were both staring at him in disbelief.

“Are… are you serious? How…”

Trailing off, Ruith seemed completely thrown off by the revelation.

“They caught me by surprise,” Alph said, crossing his arms defensively. “Once I was prepared I beat them easily.”

Rolling her eyes, Myril pointed an accusatory finger at Alph.

“By transforming their meadow into a raging inferno. That potion is hereby banned. Do not use it in the Old Wood again.”

“I told you, it's not a potion,” Alph said, grumpily.

“I don’t care what it is. If I catch even a whiff of it, I’ll hunt you down and string you up by your toes for the lopsy to practice their charges.”

“Fine, I get it.”

Nodding, Myril turned to Master Nordem.

“We will leave him in your care, but please be careful. I don’t know what sorts of concoctions you have been playing with, but if the Old Wood is harmed, your heads will roll. If you have any questions, take them up with the city hall.”

Not giving the master alchemist a chance to respond, she turned and tugged on Ruith’s sleeve, pulling him away from the cottage. As he walked away, Ruith nodded politely to Master Nordem and Alph, though his expression made it clear he was relieved to be leaving. The two druids quickly vanished from view, leaving the two alchemists standing awkwardly in the doorway, staring at each other. Unable to bear it anymore, Master Nordem coughed into his fist and sighed.

“You might as well come in and explain what just happened. Believe it or not, I still don’t understand.”

Sheepishly following Master Nordem into the cottage, Alph explained his encounters with the lopsy, and the subsequent fire and arrival of the druids. Listening in silence, Master Nordem’s expression remained impassive, though a strange gleam seemed to appear in his eyes every time Alph referenced the firebomb he had created.

“Tell me, if they had not smothered it, how long would that mixture have burned?”

Doing a quick calculation, Alph scratched his cheek as he offered up a guess.

“About half an hour? I’m not exactly sure, since it was my first time using it.”

“Half an hour? Don’t you think that it was a bit of overkill to use on a bunch of lopsy?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Alph said, nodding seriously. “But that was a function of unexpected interactions. My tests were not nearly as effective, but somehow, when I used it, both the heat and force it produced were much higher. I’m not sure what happened.”

“May I see it?”

Nodding, Alph took two vials out of his inventory. The first held a green, soapy liquid, while the second contained the clear liquid with a silver sheen that acted as the trigger. Separate, they were completely inert, so he handed the larger vial to the master alchemist without any worry. Taking it over to his desk, Master Nordem opened the vial up and extracted a few drops, examining them on a glass plate. For a full half an hour he tried to understand what he was looking at, but finally, after a dozen failed attempts, he shook his head.

“This is strange. It's not like anything I’ve seen before. What plant did you make this from?”

“Not a plant,” Alph said, leaning on the table. “It’s a mix of extracted elements and compounds set in a special solution I came up with.”

“Elements? You are using raw mana?”

“Mana? I’m not using mana at all. No, like, periodic elements?”

“What does occasional mana have to do with anything?”

Growing more confused with every sentence they exchanged, the two alchemists kept it up for a good five minutes before Master Nordem finally slapped his work table, causing the glass plate to jump.

“Speak sense! Why is everything you say completely unintelligible?”

“Sense? I am speaking sense,” Alph said, offended. “I’ll have you know I--”

“Shut it,” the old elf said, cutting him off with a wave. “I don’t care how you did alchemy in whatever world you come from, but here in Angoril, we follow our own principles. If you want to learn alchemy from me, you have to put all this nonsense aside and embrace our methods. Now, show me how to make this explode.”

Falling silent, Alph could feel his naturally rebellious spirit starting to bubble up, but he did his best to hold it at bay. Ultimately, he was here to learn, and as confident as he was in his knowledge, there was clearly much he could learn about alchemy. Taking a deep breath, he resolved himself to do what he needed to in order to learn from Master Nordem.

“May I suggest that we go outside to test this?” he asked, shaking the small vial of clear liquid. “It gets pretty explosive.”

“Fine,” Master Nordem said, skillfully depositing the drops of green liquid back in the vial it came from and getting up from the table.

Out in the backyard, he set up the plate on a stump and poured out a few drops of glittering green liquid into the middle of the plate. Taking the other vial from Alph, he used a long, thin glass needle to pull a drop of the clear liquid out and with a flick of his wrist, sent the drop flying toward the stump. With perfect accuracy, the drop landed in the green mixture, causing it to explode with enough force to crack the plate and gouge the top of the stump. Thick foam spilled over the fractured wood and with a whoosh, the entire thing lit on fire.

“What…”

Staring at the fierce flames, Master Nordem looked at the vial he was holding and then back at the stump. He had no idea how it worked, but the amount of mana packed into the two drops had abruptly shot up when they were combined, and the mixture was attracting more mana every second, pumping it into the foam and flames.

“I can see why they were so upset,” the old elf said, staring at the foam with an intense gaze. “If something like this got spread through the forest the damage would be tremendous. Tell me, is there a way to neutralize it without smothering it with the earth element?”

“You mean dirt? That is probably most effective,” Alph said, scratching his chin as he thought about it. “Enough water will actually work, but it would be terribly messy, so reducing the temperature might be the best bet. I mean, fire needs oxygen, fuel, and heat, so as long as you attack one of those, you should be able to turn it off.”

Telling Alph to wait, Master Nordem walked into the cottage, returning a moment later with a small, bluish white potion.

“Your methods are interesting, but uncontrolled and dangerous,” he said, uncorking the potion and swallowing a small sip. “But your genius is clear. If you are willing to study under me properly, you may even be able to reach the level of grandmaster.”

Turning to the flaming stump, Master Nordem puffed his cheeks and blew a stream of cold air. Ice formed wherever the freezing breath passed and with a billow of steam, the foam mixture froze solid, transforming into glittering green ice. Stunned, it was Alph’s turn to stare.

“What was that?”

“That was a Frost Breath potion,” Master Nordem said, a hint of pride in his voice. “It mimics a Frost Blast spell, allowing the person who drinks it to cast the spell at will until the effect of the potion wears off. I only took a sip, but that will give me about a minute of use.”

To demonstrate he blew a little into the air, causing a glittering web of frost to appear.

“If I drank the whole potion, I’d have nearly twenty minutes of use. And frost is just one of the many elements we have access to. Need fire? We have a potion for that. Want to crush something with earth? There is a potion for that. Lightning, shadow, nature, it doesn’t matter. If mana can form it, we can create it. However, if you wish to learn, you must agree to taking things one step at a time. You’ve been given a ban by the druids, so unless you leave the Old Wood, gathering material will be hard. If you agree to stay with me for a year and learn the basics, without creating any more of these insane mixtures, I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

*ding*

Quest: The Master’s Knowledge

You have fulfilled a hidden requirement by scaring Master Alchemist Nordem with your alchemical creation. Seeing an opportunity to train someone who could surpass him, Master Nordem has decided to pass on all of his knowledge to you, offering to make you his last disciple. Originally, he was only going to teach you the basics of apprentice level alchemy, but your latest creation has changed his mind and now he wishes to commit himself to your training wholeheartedly. Stay with Master Nordem for a full year as his disciple, learning to make potions and handle materials.

Requirements:
Stay with Master Nordem for a full year.
Raise your Potion Crafting proficiency to Journeyman.
Successfully create one of each Apprentice potion, and a single Journeyman potion in Master Nordem’s Recipe Book.

Reward:
Master Nordem’s Recipe Book
Master Nordem’s Insignia

Alph didn’t need more than a few seconds to accept the quest that popped up. Even though the quest would last for a full year, he had no hesitation. Learning alchemy was his current obsession, and he would have been willing to commit himself to a lifetime of staying in one place if it meant he would be able to plumb alchemy’s secrets. Bowing down, Alph paid respects to the old elf.

“It would be my honor to study under you.”

*ding*

Title Gained: Master Nordem’s Disciple

You are Master Alchemist Nordem’s final disciple. Understanding the composition of plants has become easier.

Pleased, Master Nordem stroked his beard and spoked to Alph sternly.

“I am a hard master, but if you are dedicated, your advancement will be guaranteed. I only have two rules. First, do nothing that would embarrass me, or our line of alchemy. Second, do nothing that would harm the Old Wood. If you fail to keep either of these commands, you will be cast out. Oh, and don’t make any more of these potions, at least until you are a master alchemist. It is too dangerous playing with things you don’t understand. Three rules.”

“Yes, master,” Alph said, committing the few rules to memory.

“Good. Many of our potions use both plant and animal materials, and since you can no longer hunt, I will provide the base material you need for apprentice level potions. But you will need to begin to think about how you will secure your material for journeyman potions. For now, however, come. We will begin with health, stamina, and mana potions like you were supposed to before you tried to burn the forest down.”

Following Master Nordem back toward the shed, Alph tried to protest.

“I told you, I didn’t do it. It was those druids.”

“Don’t argue with your master,” the old elf snapped. “That’s the fourth rule of being my disciple.”