Following a bath and a change to an intact tan cloth shirt and denim trousers without tears, a far less haggard-looking Leif joined Raed in his room.
"Welcome back to civilization," Raed teased the younger man. "Are you calm now?"
Leif nodded.
"I was wrong for trying to blame you," he said.
"I'm not saying there's no value in trying to help others if that's your thing," Raed said, "But can you at least realize how there was no point getting angry with me for something that already happened?"
"You're...right." Leif admitted with contrition. "I'm sorry for raising my hands against you."
"I've already forgotten about that part. Like I said, not the first time I got involved with in-fighting," Raed waved a hand.
"It's unforgivable as part of the Volkundian code I follow," Leif said. He sank lower his head and arms.
"Volkundian code? What is that?" Raed asked.
"The Volkundian code is my clan's traditions that take priority over any country's laws. Master Valter took me as his apprentice when I had no family and he taught me a trade so that I might live. By the code, my loyalty is to him above all else. When Master Valter sent me to travel with you and assist you on your quests, then I give you my loyalty in lieu of Master Valter, so long as we have quests to complete."
After listening to Leif's description, Raed said, "Ah, stop being so serious Leif. You're young and passionate, and it's clear that you have ideals of what's right and wrong. But now is not the time for us to talk about ideals and fight over them. That won't save the one that's still alive, assuming she is anymore."
"You mean you'll help me save Tiryui?" Leif questioned, unsure of Raed's intention.
Raed clarified his stance. "I will eliminate the group responsible. From the sounds of it there are demons mixed in with the bandits."
"What do you suggest, Mr. Tening?" Leif asked with hopeful voice.
"First of all, now that you seem to have recovered your spirits, this has bothered me for a while but I didn't mention anything back in Finulid City in front of Valter. My last name. It's Kening, not 'Tening'," Raed said.
"I'm really sorry, Raed. The 'K' and 'T' sounds are very similar in my native tongue," Leif said. "I learned Galesian in my teens, and I can pronounce most words correctly. But the Galesian 'K' gives me trouble still."
"Ah. I see. My bad. From now on, you can just call me Raed, even when it's more formal."
"Understood, Raed."
"Back to that part about what I think we should do. So I was thinking, bandits are never cautious enough when it comes to valuables. Give them something that looks expensive and they'll forget everything else including their own names."
"Yes, bandits are greedy killers. How can I help you with your plan?"
"If you want to help me, then you can start by transmuting some gold with me."
"Transmuting what?!" Leif yelled.
"Gold," Raed said in an unimpressed voice. "What better bait for greedy bandits? But we'll add a twist."
"I heard you, but transmuting gold? That's one of the myths of peak alchemy, like the immaculate ore is to blacksmiths!"
"I don't know what 'immaculate ore' means, but creating artificial gold isn't a big deal. I know all the alchemists think it has to do with lead just because they are both heavy, but we're going to use mercury instead."
"Quicksilver?" Leif said. "Wouldn't that result in toxic gold?"
Raed was surprised Leif said that. "I would ask you to explain how you know that, but it's irrelevant to the process and I'd rather be done with our work in time for dinner. So to make the answer short, yes, exposure would be quite harmful. That's why we're going to use these two lead boxes to carry them." Raed tapped on a black metal box the size of a loaf of bread. "See, those alchemists were right about one thing: Lead is useful!"
Raed lifted one box and set it on the floor. He sat down cross-legged and opened the lid. "Come bring another one of those boxes here."
Leif did as Raed asked and took a seat next to him with box in hand.
"We're going to fill the insides with gold coins. If we use the Galesian aurun, then a box this size should fit over five thousand of them. Let's stop once we synthesize around five thousand," Raed said.
"Understood. But Raed, you said we were using quicksilver. Where is it?"
"Ah yes, I forgot." Raed got up and walked over to a large vat standing next to the window. He pushed it along the floor until the vat was next to one of the lead boxes.
"Help me pour this out," Raed said. "And careful not to spill it."
Under his breath he added, "This violates so many safety procedures."
Leif stood up and assisted in pouring out the silvery liquid metal, being careful not to let any splash outside the lead containers. When both boxes were filled near the brim with mercury, they set down the vat and once again took seats on the floor.
"Remember how you repaired my dagger? This will be similar, and easier because we are changing something that exists and not creating something new. Does that make sense?"
"I have never done transmutation before, Raed."
"Have you appraised pure gold?" Raed asked.
"Not pure gold, but I have appraised weapons and armor that contained gold."
"Good, then you can replicate it?"
Leif waited before providing an answer. He looked uncertain.
Growing impatient with the time that was passing, Raed hurried and said, "Look Leif, I'm not trying to destroy the entire continent's economy. I'm asking you this because I want you to help me create some temporary gold."
"Temporary?"
"Yes, temporary, as in they'll return to quicksilver after enough time passes. If all goes to plan I'd give it two or three hours at most."
Leif appeared to relax at that explanation. "I can replicate temporary gold in that case," he said.
"That's the spirit," Raed said. "Now the difference here is that we will switch quicksilver with gold. The way to do it is roughly the same as your replication. You will use your appraisal or identify, whatever you want to call that system, to find you the entries for mercury and gold. After that, you will want to apply the gold entry directly on the mercury entry, like you would paint over a wall. Once you set that in motion you can wait for the background systems to finish up. At least, I assume that is how your replication works?"
Leif nodded. "I think I follow the process. What you said sounded like substitution repair. We used that in the shop on uncommon equipment that we didn't have the exact materials for, but were too extensive for me to use magic on."
"In that case, things should go smoothly, though there is one more thing I want you to do, if you can. If not, then I'll handle it after you finish making your gold."
"I can try," Leif said.
"I'll handle it for you then," Raed decided. "You just focus on creating gold coins in your box. Remember, we want authentic looking gold auruns."
"Understood." Leif placed his hands around the box in front of him. He took a deep breath, and prepared his appraisal skill.
"Wait." Raed held out a hand to stop Leif from beginning. "Closed boxes, Leif. We don't want to fry ourselves."
They shut the lids on their respective boxes. Placing their fingers over the tops of the lids, the two men each started their unique processes that initiated the transformation of mercury to gold.
The process of transmutation was a quick and simple one for Raed. The advantage of knowing why mercury could become gold made it trivial to achieve the so-called 'unattainable pinnacle' of alchemy. As the background processes analyzed the structures of the metal inside the box, Raed concentrated on altering the half-life to accelerate decay. There would be a tight window to bait out the bandits while the gold was still active. Placing a time limit added a layer of difficulty, but a necessary one in Raed's opinion. He had no interest in polluting the Poran Forest for centuries to come. They would have to hurry.
While Raed was finishing his alchemy in speedy fashion, Leif took a different approach with similar ideas. After appraising the mercury sitting inert in the lead box, he searched his memories for the last time he held a real Galesian aurun.
It was earlier that year, on a frigid windy day. It was cold by Galesian standards, but Leif did not recall anything remarkable about the temperature. The cold and wind were much worse in the Northlund, where he spent his childhood.
He remembered that day because a very pretentious, very rude, and self-centered noble demanded that his entire set of ceremonial armor be polished for a tournament in the afternoon. Valter already had his schedule filled with orders from local and visiting knights who also wanted to top up their gear before their competitions. The nobleman's armor, on the other hand, was only for show, and he was not going to participate in any competitive event.
But he was a noble. That was what Leif remembered. Because the rotund red-haired, red-mustached, pink-faced noble held the title of baron, he held priority over the knights, some of whom were sworn to him. That day, he and his master scrambled to complete the baron's ridiculous order. That armor set was made from nickel-reinforced platinum. Leif could not imagine where the man got that much platinum to make a full suit of armor, especially one that required extra material just to be large enough to fit his spheroid shape.
Since replication would not work on platinum, and Leif did not know at the time the extent of his replication magic, he and Master Valter attempted to use silver in a substitution repair. That day exerted Leif's magic reserves beyond anything he had experienced before. The fatigue he felt after finishing the baron's armor was so deep that he was unsure whether he remained alive for several days after that.
Master Valter finished the rest of the orders alone that day, letting Leif rest. The apprentice felt much shame in leaving his master to do all the work with very little time remaining, but Master Valter insisted that Leif rest at the time.
And why Leif recalled the aurun from that time was because, for all the trouble he and Master Valter went through to complete the baron's request, they received a single gold aurun. While that was a decent amount for a single job, they had several pending orders that day from less wealthy knights who paid multiple gold auruns in hopes that the famous blacksmith of Finulid City would improve their equipment. That single gold coin the baron gave was an insult to him and Master Valter, as well as all the knights who paid a large portion of their salary to wait in line.
With the vivid memory in place, Leif focused on the image of that mocking gold aurun. He reproduced the profile of the Galesian King Florian Thane I, placed markings for the year of minting, added the Library of Akrosus on the back. Then with that model complete, Leif replicated the image until all the mercury in the box was consumed and transformed into those vile gold coins.
When Leif opened his eyes from his trance, Raed was already up and hauling a large sheet of glass.
"Hold on, before we open the boxes, we need to do something else." Raed held up the square glass panel.
"Is that a window?" Leif asked.
"I borrowed it from the room next door. I don't think they'll miss it. Now hold this for me while I infuse lead into it." Raed passed the windowpane to Leif, who held it by the sides in front of his chest. Taking a block of lead from the table, Raed placed a hand on the glass and in seconds the lead disappeared from his right hand. The glass appeared unchanged, but Leif felt the increased weight, adjusting his grip so that he did not drop it.
"Right, place it here," Raed pointed at the lead stand.
The two of them held the heavy glass and lowered it into the dark metal slot.
"Stand back, Leif." Raed used a broomstick to lift the heavy lid on the left box.
Piles of glittering gold shined in the room. The reflected sunlight made the interior of the room gain yellow walls. He then moved on to the box on the right. When he opened the box, he had to blink to confirm what he saw.
Inside the chest that Leif transmuted were gold coins, all the same size and shaped in perfect circles. From that distance between the boxes and the lead glass, Raed could see the details in the coins. Then he looked at the contents in the box to the left, his box. It was filled with misshapen lumps of what was still gold, but somehow Raed felt irritated looking at his work.
"Impressive craftsmanship," Raed said.
"Thanks."
"And you say you've never transmuted before?'
"First time ever, I swear."
"Huh." Raed said with a slight hint of envy. He used the stick to shut the lids on the two boxes.
"Safe to move this window out of the way now," He said. "Help me get this off the stand will you Leif?"
The two of them lifted the glass panel and let it rest flat on the floor. They sat in chairs at the table, next to two lead boxes filled with rather deadly loot.
Raed tapped on a box, causing the contents to jingle inside. "You realize that these could be considered counterfeits right?"
Leif shrugged.
"And so you're aware, exposure to these coins will make whoever touches them or stands too close to them suffer a very painful illness. They might even die."
"If it happens to the bandits, then that is their desserts," Leif said.
"Glad to see that you have as few scruples about breaking laws as me then," Raed chuckled. "Right, let's secure the locks on these and pack up. We have to get in the forest and leave before nightfall."