Unaware most of the day had passed, Floris remained in the basement of the Mages Guild, experimenting with the new resources the guild had to offer and testing out some of the potions he was able to make. His newer ones weren't very good due to him being unfamiliar with the new herbs and ingredients he had at his disposal, but he was able to make some extremely powerful potions and restock his poisons from using the plants he was more familiar with. He felt strange testing new plants for his potion-making, but he understood that the resources he could use would change from place to place. He was practically a master at making potions and poisons from plants from the swamp, but he was little more than a novice now that he was in a new area. The more they moved, the more he would have to learn of the environment he was in. And while the guilds' supply of alchemical resources was impressive, it wasn't infinite. If he were to truly spread his wings as an alchemist, he'd need far more than what was currently offered.
However, the guildhall served as a good refresher. He hadn't made any potions since they left the village nearly four weeks ago, and he was in need of some practice. His experimentation had taken a slight toll on the resources of the guild, but he assumed restocking wasn't going to be much of an issue. Most of the plants were probably from other regions of the country and possibly even foreign. The minuscule amount of herbs he had used would easily be replaced in a very short time span.
It was now late in the evening and the sun had already gone down. Floris had gotten so carried away with his experiments that he never bothered to eat anything after his breakfast earlier. Now that he was done, he paid attention to his growling stomach and decided to call it a day. He reached down and grabbed the containers full of his potions, then started walking up the stairs to the first floor of the building. He was carrying six boxes that each held eight potions. The bottles he was using now were fairly large and held a little less than half a gallon. They weren't the most convenient things to carry, but they were also part of an experiment. Since they weren't in any real hurry anymore, Floris wanted to do what Elizabeth suggested and try selling his potions to some of the local merchants, which was what he had planned to do first thing in the morning.
As he walked through the rooms on the ground floor, Floris kept to himself and minded his own business. He didn't stop to talk to anyone, nor did he pay any attention to some of the conversations he could overhear. However, he couldn't help but notice people were watching him. There was a certain glow in most of the peoples' eyes that reminded him of Abigale from Swamp Watch.
"Seems word travels fast around here." Floris thought quietly as he rolled his eyes to look at his surroundings. He made his way to he and Alvis' room and opened the door. Alvis was gone, which was to be expected, but Floris couldn't help but wonder where he would have gone. A slight fear of Alvis repeating what happened in Swamp Watch came to Floris' mind and he quickly sat his potions down on the floor, then made his way to the diner. "I swear if he does anything stupid again I'll turn his drink into hog piss when he's not looking!"
When Floris reached the diner, he was taken aback by how many people there were. Men, women, boys, and girls wearing a vast selection of different colored robes filled the room. There was a loud rumbling that filled the air with hundreds of conversations going on at once. There was no way he was ever going to find Alvis in a crowd of this many people and he didn't like the thought of eating with thousands of eyes staring at him while he ate. He turned his back to head back down the stairs but bumped into Etrix who was just coming into the room.
"Ah! There you are, Floris! Did you have any success with your experiments in the lab?" Etrix asked curiously.
Floris nodded before his response, "Yes, I did, actually. I was even able to learn a little about some of the new ingredients you had downstairs."
"Good. If you're looking for Alvis, he's with Elizabeth. She's trying to teach him how to read. "Trying" being the word to note there." Said Etrix.
Floris smirked a laugh and turned to walk into the room with Etrix, "Good luck to her. I tried to teach him for months, but he has the attention span of a blind fish. Reading has never really been his thing."
"I'm starting to believe it. Anyway, let's get something to eat. I'm sure you must be hungry after spending the day downstairs." Said Etrix.
Floris nodded and followed Etrix to get their plates. They gathered their share of what looked tasty, then found a place to sit down. Floris lowered his scarf to uncover his mouth, but his hood protected his identity by hiding his eyes in a shadow.
"So, how are you liking the guild so far?" Etrix asked.
"I like it. The beds are comfortable, the food is good...there's not really anything for me to dislike here." Floris answered.
Etrix nodded in approval, "Glad to hear it. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what I have planned for you an Alvis. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to put you in one of our classes. We need to find out if you have any potential skill with magic and with which element or type of magic."
"Type of magic?" Floris asked curiously.
Etrix nodded, "Exactly. The guild needs to know if you're going to be a summoner, healer, destruction artist, an illusionist, or some other type of mage. We know you're good at alchemy, but we need to know if there's something else you can excel at. Tomorrow, you will meet your new teammate and your elemental instructor. He or she will then be your personal trainer."
"And what happens if it turns out I can't do magic?" Floris asked.
"For you, it won't matter. But for Alvis...he will not be able to advance in the guild and will have to stay here until further notice."Etrix answered.
"Until further notice?" Floris asked.
"He would have to stay here until he either turned eighteen or learned a skill that would benefit the guild," Etrix answered.
Floris went silent for a moment. The thought of being separated from his best friend after fourteen years was a strange feeling, and not one he had expected. Could he live without Alvis? They had always been together through thick and thin. The thought of leaving Alvis behind was completely alien, and Floris didn't like it.
"I know what you're thinking, Floris. You and Alvis were through it all throughout all your lives. You can't imagine living without him, which is completely understandable. However, nothing in this world lasts forever. Mountains crumble, oceans dry up, and friendships split apart. If you pursue a career in the Mages Guild, Floris, you'll have a destiny few have ever dreamed of." Etix said.
There was truth in what Etrix said. Even stones will wither away eventually. But it still seemed wrong to just leave Alvis behind like that. They had both lost everything recently, and if Floris were to leave, Alvis would truly be alone.
"I know it's hard. But this is the reality you face now." Etrix said.
Floris remained quiet for a while as he thought, then started eating what was left on his plate.