The next day Thane knocked on Helga's door. This morning he had to sit through an hour of the Chapter's blacksmith taking his measurements for his armor.
Until his armor was ready, Thane was excused from having to do any Chapter duties. After rapping on the iron door again, he heard the distorted voice of Helga as she opened the door.
"You're late." She said pointedly, before letting Thane into the workshop, "I didn't know we had agreed on a time. After all, you kicked me out." Helga huffed, "It doesn't matter. All Alchemists should wake up before everyone else."
Rolling his eyes, Thane looked around the room again and saw that a corner had been cleared out and set up with another table, "That will be your area. You will not touch anything until you can at least grasp the basics. And won't kill yourself in some spectacular blunder."
Thane sighed but sat down at the table, "So am I going to learn the basics today? Or am I just going to watch from this corner, like a kid put in a timeout?"
Helga shook her head, "Fine, the first thing you must learn is the definition of Alchemy. Alchemy is not only making potions but encompasses the entire field of taking one thing and changing it into another. While it applies to potions, there are also other specialized fields where the Alchemy skill comes into effect."
Thane nodded, 'So it's like the old definition of Alchemy, turning lead into gold and stuff like that.'
"Speaking of skills, the way Alchemy levels up is similar to other skills. By practicing and using the skill will increase its level. This means that there is no set rate for how fast you can grow. When you reach the upper levels, it may take you years until you have a breakthrough, or you might find a new potion recipe that allows you to jump to the heights of alchemy." Helga continued to breach, and Thane absorbed every bit of it.
'So it was like Annabelle was saying, you can't just gain levels by swinging your sword over and over again. You have to learn stances and forms to increase your knowledge and skill.'
"Now, this is where crafting skills like Alchemy come in handy. When you create potions or anything else that falls under the umbrella, you will gain XP towards your personal level."
Thane couldn't believe how much information he was getting. So far, the only way he had found to gain XP was by killing something, 'Annabelle should learn a crafting skill as well. I don't think she would fare well in combat. At least not yet.'
His train of thought was interrupted as Helga knocked him on the head with her cane, "Pay attention, Alchemists need absolute focus at all times. One minute can be the difference between creating a healing potion or a poison that causes permeate paralysis."
Surprised again by the amount of force she put behind the blow, Thane nodded, "Now Alchemists are also ranked on their ability, skill level. From Student to Novice, to Apprentice, then Journeyman, then Professional, to Expert, and finally Master. These ranks require Alchemists to undergo a test authorized by the Alchemist Guild. They must produce a potion of the corresponding quality in a set amount of time."
"What rank are you?" Thane asked, which caused Helga to smile, "You're looking at a Journeyman Alchemist. Even in the capital, there are only three who can claim to be of the same rank." Thane didn't know whether to clap or not, so he just sat there.
Clearing her throat, Helga moved on, "But, to become a novice alchemist, there are different criteria to meet. You must possess an Alchemist Flame. An Alchemist's Flame comes from within and requires mana as a fuel source."
"Is that what you used yesterday, the purple flame?" Helga nodded, "An Alchemist's Flame burns hotter than any normal fire to unlock the full potential of the ingredients we use. Speaking of ingredients, there is another skill you need to learn."
Helga stood up and returned with a hefty tome. Taking the book, Thane read the title out loud, "The 100,000 Herbs of the Realm?" Helga nodded, "Any Alchemist worth their snuff can list every single entry in this book. But since you just started, I'll limit it to the first five thousand. We can move one once you memorize all of them."
Thane looked at her as if she was crazy, "You're crazy. How am I supposed to do that?" Helga shrugged, "I don't know or care. If you can't do that, you're not meant to be an Alchemist."
Rolling his eyes, Thane stood up, "Fine. I'll be back in a few days. Just don't be too shocked when I ace your test."
Helga cackled, "If you say so."
Closing the door behind him, Thane quickly stored the book in his ring before walking towards the training room. Looking down from the observer deck, Thane looked down at Annabelle fending off attacks from a thin, lanky man garbed in Shadow gear.
Both of them used wooden weapons, but the man was dual-wielding daggers while Annabelle grasped a short sword with two hands.
Thane could definitely see why Annabelle had gained two levels as she deflected attacks with the skill of a novice. The man attacking Annabelle feinted, causing her to move her sword to block the overhead strike leaving her midsection open.
The wooden weapons, while blunt, still packed a punch, and Annabelle fell to one knee as the wind was driven out of her.
Looking up at Isikeal, she gritted her teeth, "You overcommitted. You need to sharpen your gaze. To spot a feint look at the body, remember the waist drives the force of the blow. And if you're unsure, retreating is always a better option. Now let's try that again."
Annabelle nodded before getting to her feet. Feeling someone watching her, she looked up to see Thane watching her from the observation deck.
When they made eye contact, Thane grinned and vaulted over the side of the building, "Who is that?" Isikeal asked, looking at Thane with narrowed eyes.
Thane offered his hand, "The name's Thane, I'm the new Shadow, are you Annabelle's trainer?" Isikeal looked at his hand in disdain, "Sonya assigned me to train her, now. If you would please leave us, we have forms to go over."
"Man, you're an asshole, but fine I wouldn't want to piss you off. I wouldn't do that to Annabelle." Thane walked away, not wanting to make Annabelle's training any harder.
Leaving the Library, Thane decided to explore the town, "Man, how do I always find a way to become bored." Passing by the tailor shop, he reminded himself to pick up the clothes that should be down tomorrow.
As he walked further, the buildings became less and less permanent until Thane found himself in the middle of a bazaar. Moving with the crowd of people shoulder to shoulder, Thane tried to find his way out of the tide before he gave up and shoved his way through.
Looking around, Thane was in the middle of a plaza where a large stand occupied a vast majority of the available space.
Thane's nose wrinkled as the smell of animals not properly taken care of assaulted him. Beasts of all sizes were contained in cages. As Thane's eyes washed over them, he could spot several beasts from myths and legends.
Smiling, Thane looked up at the giant six-legged elephant with sharp tusks and dull red skin, 'Imagine what I could do with that thing as my mount!'
Searching for someone in charge, Thane spotted a man in elegant robes directing and shouting at people. Knowing a boss when he saw one, Thane walked over, "Are you the ring leader of this operation. If you are, I must say you're doing an excellent job."
Sensing a potential customer, the Beastmaster turned, "Why yes I am, and how can I help you today, sir?" Thane pointed at the elephant, "How much for that thing?"
"The Bloodtusk, for a Tier 3 Mortal Grade beast, the price is about 50 gold." Thane coughed, "F-fifty gold, are the prices usually so high?"
"Well, it is Tier 3 beast, sir. It took fifteen of my men to wrangle the beast to submission." Thane's mind went blank for a second, "What's a Tier 3 beast?"
The man looked at Thane as if he was a simpleton, "Beasts, while graded by their rank, are also broken down by tiers. A beast's tier depends on their strength and their potential to evolve and mutate."
Thane nodded as if he understood, but in reality, he had no idea, "Okay, are there any beasts you have that are cheaper than twenty gold?" T
The Beastmaster flinched as if he had been physically struck, "Taming beasts is a costly process sir, even a Tier 1 beast trained by us can cost up to 30 gold."
Thane sighed, "Well, sorry for wasting your time." Thane turned to walk away when the Beastmaster suddenly grabbed his shoulder, "Wait a minute, I think I have something."
The Beastmaster walked towards the wagons his people were packing, and after a moment, he pulled out a small wooden crate.
"This is our last stop before the Capital, and this item has been passed over in every city we visited, so I can sell it a lot cheaper without drawing much attention." The Beastmaster set down the crate on the ground.
Kneeling, Thane looked into the box filled with straw and down, sorting through the fluff his fingers brushed against something scaled.
Pulling the object out, Thane looked at the black scaled egg sitting in the palm of his hand, "An egg. What beast does it belong to?"
"That's why I can't sell it. I don't know. Raising a beast from birth is much more difficult, and no one is willing to risk the chance. I can go down to 10 gold, but I understand if that's too high."
Thane put the egg back and smiled, "I'll take it, also. Do you have any books on beast taming? I'm diving into this without any prior knowledge."
The Beastmaster nodded, "I'll have it all arranged." Thane paid the man before taking a book along with a free bag of treats and, of course, the egg. Quickly making his way back to the Sphinx's Horder
Thane was quick to place the box underneath a lamp in hopes that the egg would start incubating at the least.
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