The first thing Raed saw when he woke up was a notification on his phone (he was careful not to call it that in public) of a text he received from Leif last night. He unlocked the phone and opened the message.
{Tiryui captured, Chaibi dead. Purple mist got them. 5 men total. Bandits? I escaped. Going back to Landis.}
Raed looked over the messaged with little investment. He noted that Leif kept his sentences short, but he used actual punctuation in a text. Then again, to Leif, this might have been just another way to write a letter.
{meet me downstairs at inn tomorrow}
After typing his reply, Raed changed to his guild alchemist uniform. He buttoned the fine white linen shirt and tucked it into his durable black cloth trousers. He then buckled his wyrmleather belt and hung his dagger and amulet on it. Forgoing a tie, Raed completed the uniform with a light brown cotton jacket with multiple pockets for holding vials and bottles. Finally, he pulled on a pair of thin white spidersilk gloves. He picked up his pack and slung it over his back, checking the room once to ensure he left nothing behind before exiting.
On his way to the next quest location, Raed mulled over the details in Leif's text. A purple light followed by violet mist that ensnared demons and not humans sounded like a Canterous Fiend Snare. But the last time Raed saw it used was by demon officers to capture deserters in the war.
He frowned. This was another wrinkle in the what he hoped would have been straightforward quests involving demon slaying. Something did not sit well with Raed. The riverside road was long and there were no other travelers on the path, so he had ample time to think about that bothersome feeling.
The cabin in the woods was off. None of the eight quests mentioned a cabin in the Poran Forest. For that matter, none of the quests mentioned a cabin at all, much less a demon mother and son pair. The part about mother and son could have been an unintentional omission, Raed admitted. But all eight local demon hunting quests called for either one or several targets. None of them included exactly two. That type of error was extremely rare for the guild, to the point where adventurers would get compensated triple the reward, with a sacking of that quest's guild editor.
It was also possible that they were added after he left, but then Raed remembered the posting period required at least three days for the guild to verify details before any new quests were released. It had been only one day, so that was also unlikely.
Without further ideas, Raed pushed those thoughts to the back where low priority thoughts went. He already planned to reconvene with Leif the next day. He could get details from the apprentice smith at that point.
Instead, Raed shifted his attention to the part about a group of five bandits. It was not unheard of for brigands to stalk the forest and prey on anyone in the woods at night. But the Canterous Fiend Snare was high level demon magic and only two human mages were known to have cast it successfully. One of them died from massive hemorrhage due to the spell's recoil effect, and the other one, Raed was sure that one was not living a life of banditry.
That meant the most probable scenario was a group of demons, or a mixed group.
Raed took out his guild license and checked one of his three expiring quests.
[Quest: Marauding Demon Threat]
[Expires in 5 days]
[Description: A group of demons is harming the peace along the roads between Landis Town and Kamor Town. Reports indicate that three demons are working together to rob, kidnap, and kill innocent human travelers on the roads and in the forest. Bring justice to these demons and eliminate them to protect the peaceful lives of the kingdom's citizens! Note: There is no alternative capture condition for this quest.]
[Objectives: Slay the demons: (0/3)]
[Rewards: 300 lei, 3 class-specific uncommon crafting materials]
[Completion awarded upon proof of elimination]
It wasn't the one he was going for at the moment, but he still had time to finish it after. If Leif was attacked by that group, then they could not have gone far. Hunting them in the Poran Forest without a plan would be pointless and perilous, though, so Raed pushed a brainstorming a strategy to medium priority. He would handle that one after the current quest, but he allowed himself to think about the rewards, since that quest had by far the highest reward potential so far.
If there were demons working with human bandits, then he could get rewards from the guild quest and the standing bounty on bandits. Just the quest rewards would be enough to afford all food, travel, and lodging expenses for two weeks. The crafting materials would be a welcome bonus. And if he could prove the human bandits were working with the demons...He wouldn't have to work hard to prove it, Raed thought. Dead demons next to dead bandits, no one would question it, and the bonus bounty would be his to take.
While Raed imagined the generous payout for taking out two demon-consorting bandits, those thoughts were interrupted by a figure coming toward him from the riverbank.
"Alchemist, please, help my friend!" A bespectacled woman in a dirty lab coat ran up the sloped side to the dirt road.
"How do you know I'm an alchemist?" Raed asked in an impatient voice, unhappy to be interrupted from his mental accounting and delaying him from reaching the next quest objective.
"Your gloves, those are catalysts to enhance your transmutations? And your jacket has all those pockets for holding your potions."
"That's right. But how do you suppose I can help your friend?"
"I think he's been poisoned! Please, if you could make an antidote!" The woman began walking closer.
The amulet on Raed's belt buzzed violently as the stranger approached. Raed narrowed his gaze and put up a hand. The woman's skin was pale but smooth, and her black hair was messy but there were hints of violet streaks in them. "Stop. Are you a demon?" He asked.
The woman raised her hands in the air. "Adventurer, please don't hurt me. I'm a scientist, I mean you no harm!"
Raed frowned at the memory of his previous encounter at the cabin involving a demon mother and son. "Calm down," he said. "I'm not here to fight you, but I'm not here to provide charity aid."
"I-I can pay you!" She said.
"How much?"
"I...think maybe two coppers?"
"Like I said, I don't do charity work. Good luck to you and your friend." Raed resumed his walk along the path, doing his best to ignore the frantic demon woman. He checked the details for his actual intended quest, filtering out whatever the demon scientist was saying behind him.
[Quest: Riverside Horror]
[Expires in 4 days]
[Description: The fishing village of Kamor Town is under threat by an aquatic demon that is poisoning the river, killing all the fish and ruining the livelihoods of the hard-working people of Kamor Village! Find and eliminate this threat to protect the peaceful villagers!]
[Objectives: Slay/capture the demons: (0/1)]
[Rewards: 50 lei, 1 high quality fishing rod, 10 high quality lures]
[Completion awarded upon proof of capture or elimination]
Jeopardizing 50 lei for 2 copper? Ridiculous, Raed thought.
"Adventurer, please! They're poisoning the water!" The scientist demon said.
Raed stopped mid-stride. He turned his head to the right, where the scientist demon was still waving her hands around. "What did you just say?"
"The poisoned water?" She asked. She stopped waving her hands.
"Explain that," Raed said.
"Eight days, four hours, and about ten minutes ago, a Benian monk left us a box containing water purification pills. We dissolved the tablets according to the instructions. However, when members of our camp consumed the treated water, four of them became highly irritable and anxious. All four of them also began to experience auditory hallucinations within two hours. We detained three of them for observation, while the fourth escaped into the river. Six days, seven hours, and twenty-two minutes ago, we discovered the unconscious fourth individual at the near side of the river, five and three-tenths of a kilometer downstream from our camp. We succeeded resuscitation, and all four affected individuals have since recovered with no persistent effects."
The scientist demon took a breath and continued talking. "After the incident, the camp leader sealed the water purification tablets and forbid any consumption of the product. Ten pills have been distributed to my colleague and I for research purposes, to discover if there is a possible link to the aggressive behavior. One hour sixteen minutes ago, my colleague tested what he believed to be the isolated compound that is responsible for the behavior changes, which I thought was really risky and stupid, but he did it anyway. And now, here I am, begging you for help because I don't know what is wrong with him."
Raed took a deep breath. "That was a lot to take in at once you know. But if I'm getting the idea right, someone you thought was from the Benian denomination gave you some pills that ended up making some of your people crazy. Then your friend tried to figure out what part of the tablet did that, and succeeded. So now he's also crazy?"
"He's...well, perhaps you should see for yourself."
Raed prepared to refuse until an idea suddenly came to mind. The [Riverside Horror] might have been referring to the aggressive demon that escaped to the village and ended up washed down the river. Even if the scientists were not the objective, he could gain access to their camp if he helped them and find the quest target.
"Lead the way," Raed said.
"Please, follow me," the demon scientist said. "My name is Kenna, by the way."
"Raed," the human replied.
They stepped off the road and through the grass until they reached a part on the riverbank where a male demon was rolling on the ground spitting and screaming. The subtle purple aura that accompanied demons was, in this case, flaring with visible indigo light.
"This is my friend and fellow scientist, Rurenken." With a look of great concern, she told Raed, "I'm sorry you have to see him like this. He's usually much more composed."
The saccades in the demon's eyes gave Raed a hint to the problem. "You said he isolated a compound? What did it look like and how much did he take?" Raed asked, cautiously stepping closer to observe the demon, who was tied up with ropes.
"It was a clear aqueous solution," Kenna described. "He consumed approximately ten milliliters of solution. However, I do not know the concentration of the solution."
"And you said this was all because of water purification tablets. Was there something wrong with your water supply?"
Kenna nodded. "Yes," she confirmed, "Our refugee camp has recently fallen ill with something that we believe to be in the water. We sent a message to the Benian sanctuary requesting aid, and that's why we accepted the pills."
"Do you boil your water?"
"We don't have the means to boil enough for all of us. Most drink directly from the river or take back what they can."
Raed knelt near the restrained demon, leaving enough distance so as not to be caught in any thrashing.
"Let me see what I can do," Raed said.
"Thank you, alchemist."
Raed closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to the writhing demon, searching for the cause of pain. A dim white glow appeared in his inner vision. Raed followed that light to its core, allowing the background systems to process the structure and translate the phenomenon into a form he could comprehend. In seconds, the visualization of chemical bonds and element symbols entered Raed's internal vision. He recognized the structure at once. There was no antidote, but he could at least dampen the symptoms.
Raed switched from 'Identify' to 'Synthesize' in his internal alchemic slate and opened an empty glass vial to direct his focus. He began to configure the carbon chains, setting bonds and attaching groups where needed, allowing the background system to complete the process and translate his blueprint into a working final product. When the process finished and he opened his eyes, Raed held a vial of clear liquid.
"Have him drink this," Read instructed, extended the glass container to Kenna.
The demon scientist gave Raed a skeptical look.
"It will calm him down. Do it, unless you want him to escape and kill you!" Raed shouted.
Kenna took the bottle from Raed and ran to her comrade. She knelt beside the restrained demon and poured the liquid into his mouth, spilling most of it while the struggling demon spat out most of the remainder. But even a drop of Raed's extremely concentrated antipsychotic was enough to create the desired effect. Within minutes, the tied-up demon's breathing slowed and his muscles relaxed.
With Rurenken calmer, Kenna turned back to Raed. "Adventurer, for what you just did, I am grateful to you." She stood up and bowed to him.
"Sure," Raed said, "Now about your camp..."
"Wait, please allow me to ask first, how did you do that?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you created something from nothing! I saw what you did. If it was transmutation then no matter how skilled you are there will always be a conversion artifact." The demon scientist adjusted her thin black-rimmed glasses. When Raed saw that he had to hold back an involuntary chortle. Kenna continued in an excited voice, "To put it simply, take a rock and transmute it to iron and you will still see residues of the former rock. You had no such thing."
Raed tensed at the demon's observation. "You know, you're the first person, er, demon...Individual, to have brought that up." He shrugged. "Well, it's nothing important, and I'll ask you this once to forget about it. Your friend will be fine soon."
"I'm so sorry, I won't ask again!" Kenna bowed once more. "Thank you for saving Rurie!"
"Now about your camp, I was wondering if you might take me there so I can assess those tablets. I'd also like to speak with the one who escaped into the village."
"Oh, yes, of course. Let me load Rurie into a stretcher first and then I'll take you there!" Kenna unfolded a stretcher in front of Raed's surprised eyes. She rolled the docile restrained demon onto the stretcher, face up. Squatting at the front, she turned over to Raed. "Adventurer Raed, if you wouldn't mind, could I ask you to help me carry him back to camp?"
"Sure," he said, grabbing the stretcher at the sides while avoiding Rurenken's spasming legs.