Steele Alchemist

by Deck Davis

  “Which is….”

  “A potion of mental fortitude. The more focused I am, the better chance I have of casting a spell I actually mean to cast. And that’s all it will take, I reckon. Just one well cast spell, and I’ll start to cure myself of wild mage. Unfortunately, twenty-eight years after all this trouble started, I still haven’t managed to cast a spell that I actually intended to.”

  “I can see how this meeting is great for you,” said Faei, “But we’re waiting for the part where lady fortune puckers her lips for us.”

  Solly walked over to the tree lined with potions, reached behind it and pulled out a mahogany-colored leather bag. He held it next to his face and gave it a tap with his free hand. He winked at Jake.

  “In here, I just happened to have a few of the most fragrant shadow vine leaves. Yours for the cost of a few meagre mental fortitude potions. What do you say, young pot stirrer?”

  “Pot stirrer?”

  “It’s a nickname for alchemists,” said Faei. She spoke at a loud volume, evidently not caring whether Solly heard her or not. “Don’t make a deal with this guy, Jake. We don’t know him, and he can’t even cast the right spell. He’s a danger to himself. Probably summons a hoard of angry tuskbeasts when he farts.”

  Jake put his hand to his chin. He thought about it. According to the herb lore book, the shadow vine leaf had only been spotted in this forest, and one other, which just happened to be on the far side of Reaching Crest, a fortnight’s travel away. Faei didn’t have that long before the demogoth started to take over.

  He clicked his fingers, and then pointed them like guns at Solly.

  “Let’s brew this thing.”

  “God damn it! I told you to never, ever use that phrase again!”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Despite catching a glare from Faei every time he looked her way, Jake led Solly back to the shack. It wasn’t lost on him that he wasn’t exactly being cautious, but he just didn’t pick up a bad vibe from the mage. He got the same feeling about Solly as he had about Cason.

  Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t such a good thing, since when he’d first met Cason, he thought he was a serial killer.

  At any rate, when they reached the hill near the hut, Solly put Jake’s doubts to rest.

  “This is Cason’s hut,” he said.

  “You know him?”

  “I buy from him sometimes.”

  That settled it. If Solly had bought potions from Cason in the past, that meant he’d gotten by the runes. In turn, this meant he wasn’t hostile.

  They went inside the hut. Solly looked around, and he seemed confused.

  “It’s different than when I was last here.”

  “How?”

  “Well, it looks tidy, for one. And it doesn’t stink of spilled moonshine. Where’s Cason?”

  Faei started to answer him. “Mind your own-”

  “He’s gone on a trip,” said Jake. “Won’t be long.”

  “A trip, indeed? Ah,” said Solly, and tapped his nose. He leaned nearer to Jake and whispered. “Brothels, eh?”

  Jake nodded.

  Solly lined up his potions on the alchemical counter. He arranged them in a perfect line. He swiveled them, and Jake saw that each one was labelled with tiny pieces of parchment covered in blue ink. Solly made all the labels face exactly the same angle.

  As he arranged his vials, sunlight shone through the window and lit the red welts on his left cheek. They seemed to be scars, of some sort. Whatever had done them must have been nasty as hell.

  Solly caught him looking.

  “I was trying to impress a girl,” he said, tracing a finger across one of the welts. “I wanted to conjure a rosebush in her garden, so that she could pick them whenever she wanted. Instead, I conjured a swarm of angry hornets. I told the girl to run and I let them attack me so that they wouldn’t follow her. Most painful experience of my life.”

  “You don’t see the signs, do you?” said Faei. “Maybe you better give up the magic.”

  “I did. For a whole year after that. But it always calls me back in. I can’t resist it. Ever since then, I wrap up all my clothes so if I conjured anything that flies and has a sting, it can’t crawl inside my shirt.”

  “Why not just give up for good?” said Jake.

  “Wild mages are born with power that most mages won’t ever come close to. Take the giant bees you saw. That is a high-level spell. One that should be quite beyond my capabilities. Being a wild mage grants me tremendous power that most mages would spend years earning. With that, though, comes the loss of control. If I could just find a way to control my spells, I’d have power that…well, I’d go back to the college and show those uppity wand twirlers, anyway.”

  With his potion vials lined up in perfect order, Solly then began to walk through the shack. He checked every corner of every room, inspected the ceilings, and even kneeled by the floor. Jake had no clue what he was looking for.

  “We need to talk about your woodlice situation,” said Solly.

  “Come again?”

  “Since the hornet incident,” he said, and shivered, “I can’t stand insects. They get through the tightest spaces, you know.”

  “Okay, stop with the antics,” said Faei. “Either give us the shadow vine, or get out of here before I shoot a hole in your chest and fill it full of fire ants.”

  Solly stood up. He looked at them both strangely. Rather than Jake and Faei mistrusting him, it seemed it was the other way around.

  “I don’t recall seeing you here, lady, the last time I visited Cason. And you, boy, your manner of speaking is awfully strange. Where’s Cason? Don’t give me this ‘trip’ twaddle.”

  “I told you. He’ll be back soon,” said Jake.

  The look on Solly’s face changed. He looked worried. He glanced behind him at the door, then at Faei and Jake.

  He raised his hands.

  Faei drew a dagger from her belt. “Don’t even think of shooting a spell in here. If you do, I’ll stick this somewhere where sharp, metal objects shouldn’t go.”

  Solly sighed. “I can’t anyway. Cason’s runes would stop me.”

  Jake looked at Faei. “He still thinks the runes are active, and he came here knowing that. If he knew about the runes but had hostile intentions, there’s no way he would have come. I think we can trust him, Faei.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Look,” said Solly. “you buggers are obviously in some sort of trouble. Why don’t you tell me what it is? Then, we can all see if we trust each other.”

  Jake decided that he needed to take a chance. Without Solly’s herbs, there was no way he could cure Faei. Besides, he knew they needed a party if they were to get Cason back. Maybe Solly could be part of that.

  “Cason’s missing,” said Jake.

  “Missing?”

  “Did he stammer?” said Faei. “He said the old man is missing. Gone.”

  “How?” asked Solly.

  Jake explained what they knew about Cason’s disappearence up to now. It didn’t take long. When he was done, he watched Solly and waited for a reaction.

  The mage backed toward the door.

  “Something isn’t right here,” he said. “I’m leaving. Don’t try and stop me, or you won’t like what I conjure.”

  Jake widened his eyes at Faei and nodded at her, hoping she picked up the gesture.

  “What?” she said.

  “Do something. We need him.”

  She huffed. “Fine. Listen, mage, give me one minute, okay? I think I can change your mind.”

  Faei exited the shack, leaving Solly and Jake alone. The mage looked around the room, finally resting his gaze on one corner, near the ceiling. He started to scratch the back of his hand. He shivered, then looked away. Jake saw what he was looking at; there was a giant cobweb in the corner.

  “We aren’t responsible for this,” said Jake.

  “Cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility. Let the wozzacks spin webs in your house, and t
hey’ll take over.”

  “Not the damn spiders. Cason going missing. It wasn’t us, you know?”

  “No, you pillock, I don’t know,” said Solly. It was the first harsh word Jake had heard from the mage. “I don’t know you from G’ydor. I’ve known Cason for years, and I’ve never seen him take on an apprentice since the unfortunate business with the lad who stole from him.”

  “What about Faei? I can’t believe you never met her. When we you last here?”

  “I’ve been living out east for the last few years. So, the last time I was here was just before then, I expect. I saw Cason not too long ago, though. Does she live here, the girl?”

  “She has done for a while.”

  The shack door opened and Faei stepped through it. Jake didn’t know what she’d gone out for, but he hoped it would persuade Solly to help them. It was clear Faei didn’t trust him, but he just hoped she’d play nice, for Cason’s sake. Solly seemed jittery, and it wouldn’t take much to spook him. They needed to handle him carefully.

  She held up a large jar. Bees buzzed around inside it. She must have gotten them from the hive near the shack.

  “Okay, you bald, wild mage imp-screwer. Stick to the deal and give us the herbs, or I’ll release your favorite insects.”

  “But I…I…”

  Faei began to pull out the cork. The bees knocked against the glass and sought their escape.

  “Okay, damn it, you hell wench! I’ll give you your bloody herbs. And there’s something else, too.”

  “What?” asked Jake.

  “I saw Cason a few weeks ago. I didn’t say anything to him, because he was in the distance and I wasn’t even sure it was him. But now, it all makes sense.”

  “Where was he?” asked Faei.

  “On the Forlowe road.”

  “That’s the one that leads to Widow Leaf.”

  “The same.”

  “Was he alone?” asked Faei.

  Solly shook his head.

  Faei set the jar of bees on the counter. Solly couldn’t take his eyes off it.

  “I don’t know what to make of this,” said Faei.

  Neither did Jake, but he knew one thing. He knew what he was about to do. Solly was knowledgeable about Reaching Crest, he knew Cason from before, and he had a tremendous power, even if he couldn’t control it. They needed him.

  “Listen, Solly,” he said. “We’re going to Widow Leaf to get Cason back. Not right now, but eventually. Come with us. I’ll be your alchemist and I’ll work for free. In exchange, you help us however you can.”

  “Damn it, Jake,” said Faei.

  Solly furrowed his eyebrows. “In the meantime, can I stay here? I’m between roofs at the moment.”

  Jake looked at Faei, who shook her head vehemently.

  “Deal,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  With the scent of freshly-picked herbs competing against the stale air of the shack, it was time to brew the demogoth potion. Then another. After a dozen attempts, cutting the herbs in various ways, boiling them, scorching them, grinding them, his ingredient supplies dwindled. One full day of non-stop brewing yielding nothing but twelve vials filled with useless slosh.

  Faei checked on his progress every so often. She was trying to act aloof about it, but he saw through the act. He could tell how anxious she was by the way she scratched her neck when she casually said, “How are things going?”

  Jake decided he wouldn’t sugar coat things. “Not good. Almost out of herbs, and I don’t have anything to show for it. Something’s missing, I just don’t know what. It feels like I’m close.”

  The shack door opened, and Solly walked in. He wore a thick woolen coat and carried four eggs in his hand. When he saw Faei, he spread his arms out wide.

  “Faei, my fire-kissed princess! You look a delight. Jake told me you enjoy an egg, and I happen to know a farmer not far east who is lax on watching his hens. I went out and got some.”

  “You stole them?” asked Jake.

  “He won’t miss an egg or two. Or four. Believe me on that. Now, who’s ready for the best poached eggs you’ll ever had?”

  “Don’t want any,” said Faei.

  “My darling, you need to-”

  “I’m not your darling, wild mage. And if you call me that again, I’ll ram my darling dagger up your perfumed rear-end. Now, I am going to have an egg. Alright? Only because I need to keep my strength up. Not because we’re friends.”

  While Solly went off outside to boil water in the cauldron and then poach the eggs, Jake turned to Faei.

  “Imagine you’re drinking the potion,” he said.

  “Not this again.”

  “Just humor me. Close your eyes. Imagine what it looks like, how it smells, the taste when it touches your lips. Just think of anything you didn’t tell me yesterday.”

  “Nope. Nothing.”

  “Try harder.”

  “Damn it, Jake! Fine. Let’s see…it’s got a sulphury taste to it. It’s only a hint of it, more like the leaves grew near something that smelled sulphury, and that the smell didn’t leave them.”

  “That means something burning, right? So, we’re thinking volcanoes, that sort of thing? It has to be burning regularly enough to give everything nearby a sulphur taste.”

  Solly approached them carrying a metal tray at shoulder height on his upturned palm, as if he was a waiter in a Michelin star restaurant. He popped the tray down on the counter.

  “Breakfast is served,” he said. “Dig in. There don’t seem to be plates here, so I am afraid I can’t supply them.”

  “Cason doesn’t believe in plates,” said Faei.

  Jake eyed the eggs. His stomach start to knot. He’d been up for three hours and hadn’t eaten yet. When he stood over the metal tray, he lost his appetite. The eggs were a dark green with bulbous yolks that looked like they were filed with puss.

  “What the hell is this? These eggs are rotten.”

  “They’re gren-hen eggs,” said Faei. “They’re supposed to look like that.”

  “A delicacy,” added Solly.

  “I might try one later,” said Jake.

  “What are we up to this morning, young ones?” asked Solly. “What japes have we got planned for the day?”

  “Japes? Someone get me out of here,” said Faei.

  Jake walked over to the map of Sarametis stretched out across the east wall. The island of Reaching Crest took up just one quarter of the map, but it was big enough that the island was shown in detail down to patches of trees and blue lines to show rivers and streams.

  “We’re looking for somewhere that will stink of sulphur,” he said. “A volcano, or something like that.”

  “They have volcanos on Sarametis mainland, but not on Reaching Crest,” said Solly.

  “Then there must be somewhere were its always hot. I don’t know, maybe a lava pit underground, or something. Damn it, I just don’t know.”

  “Ah, young pot-stirrer. I think I know the place.”

  Solly marched across the room. As soon as he turned his back to Faei, she scooped one of the eggs onto her fork and ate it.

  The mage crossed his arms and studied the world map. Then he pointed at a remote place to the west, miles away from the shack.

  “Here. A place where the fire always burns.”

  Jake looked at the name of the place. “‘Singe Skin Canyon.’ A welcoming, wholesome place if he ever heard of one.”

  “This’ll be dangerous for us,” said Solly. “Nobody ever goes there. I’ll need to bring all my potions.”

  “You don’t have to come.”

  “And leave my new friends alone?”

  “Well, thanks,” said Jake.

  He looked at Faei, hoping she’d thank the mage too, but she didn’t. Despite how much disdain she showed him, it wasn’t lost on Jake that two of the three eggs on the tray had already been eaten.

  “Okay,” said Jake. “Let’s get ready for the trip. We need food, water, supplies. Anyt
hing that might possibly save us when we get to Singe Skin Canyon. Solly, I still owe you a potion of mental fortitude, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “And do you have an old vial of one? I just need a drop of it so I can work out what goes into it. It’s a pretty standard potion, so just a tiny bit will do.”