Kalar´s Continent

"A Mana- and Darkness-resistant infection? Oh, that will need a pretty strong Light Element healing Elixir and coupled with the recuperation from critical wounds this could prove to be quite the challenge," the Alchemist remarked after listening intently to Teo's description of the patient's condition. It did not sound too optimistic but it was also not a 'there is nothing I can do'.

"So, do you have an Elixir to treat something like that, Sir?" Teo asked respectfully while trying not to appear overeager. 

"No. This is too special of a situation for a generalized treatment... But I could make one. It is a difficult process, however, requiring dozens of precious ingredients which would need to be compensated for," the Alchemist explained, the leathery skin of his face warped into a thin, regretful smile. 

"That's fine with me! How much do I need?" the boy replied. What did it matter if he paid one gold coin or two, five or a dozen? It was just metal anyway. As long as it was in his power, he would gladly pay up.

"I am afraid, just money won't be enough to compensate for this order, young man. It is a difficult task, requiring hours of undisturbed focus and precious ingredients. I fear I will have to ask for another service in return... Unless you can provide an ingredient of appropriate worth and rareness, as old Alchemist tradition dictates, of course, but what are the chances of—" the Alchemist elaborated until he got cut off by the sudden exclamation of the young boy beside him.

"I think I have one!" chimed Teo joyfully, remembering the precious herb he still held in his pocket dimension through the workings of fate.

"What?" the old man queried in shock.

"A rare herb! You just said I could pay for your services with that," Teo said optimistically

"Eh, yes. As old tradition has it, any ingredient of suitable worth can be traded to acquire the services of an Alchemist, but this rarely happens. You don't seem to understand, I will need to sacrifice several special herbs from my private collection in order to finish your order, there is no way they could be compensated for by ordinary herbs you may find on the edge of the forest, boy. Without even taking the effort of crafting an Elixir into consideration, there is no way that—" the Alchemist tried to explain why this was not a real option and more of a courtesy towards the customer, but he was interrupted by the spirited boy once more. Not with words though, but with action.

As if it was the most natural thing to do in such a situation, Teo pulled a golden-green bundle of dried vegetation from the small bag which he always carried around and all of a sudden the herbal scent in the room amplified exponentially. Naturally, he did not store anything important in there usually, it was merely a cover to use Goliath's storage space more freely without arousing suspicion. After giving the small Golem a quick heads-up, all he had to do was to stick his open hand into the depths of the bag and whatever he d.e.s.i.r.ed would magically appear — a very neat trick and an extremely inconspicuous one as well since the faint vibrations it caused in the fabric of space were imperceptible to most humans. The Alchemist, on the other hand, could not believe his eyes once he took a closer look at what Teo put on the table.

"That! T-That's a Scythian lamb! Where... How?! How did you manage to get this, boy?" the Alchemist burst out, completely taken by surprise. How had he not noticed such a precious herb in such close proximity until the boy chose to reveal it? The strong, characteristic smell of this herb was hard to mistake and even harder to ignore... More importantly, how in the world had this youngster managed to get his hands onto an ingredient like this?! Even he had not seen one in years, they only grew deep in the heart of Thorn Forest and were exceptionally hard to retrieve. Too dangerous to acquire for mercenaries and not powerful enough to catch the eye of a Magician, this type of herb was both rare and precious alike, causing his mouth to water and his eyes to sparkle with greed faintly.

After acquiring it in his fateful battle with Beast, Teo had not paid much attention to and almost forgotten about it with the ensuing complications. He simply had too much to deal with to take care of it and it became less and less important to him. He did not even have the time to look into its real value yet but he was sure of it being a very rare herb and from the shocked expression on the Alchemist's face it seemed to be exactly what he needed too.

Both looked at the bundle of greenish hair laying on the table. After Goliath had cut the vine connecting it to the ground back then in order to collect the herb, it had quickly dried up in a matter of seconds and both the vine and main plant it connected to completely turned to dust, only leaving the dried up 'body' of the lamb behind. It was originally almost half a meter long but shrunk to around half that size while drying and could now easily be held in one hand. Apart from the four small limbs curled close to its shriveled body it largely resembled a normal ball of dried up fern and moss and gave off a strong, pleasant smell of earth and wood.

"So, would that be an appropriate compensation for your services, Sir Trismegistus?" Teo asked and thus broke the silence.

"Ah... Yes, yes. It is not too rare of a herb and the quality is lacking as well... but I will accept it as a show of good faith anyway. Just do inform me should you manage to acquire anything like this again, I might be willing to take it off your hands as well," the Alchemist said after composing himself once more.

"Thank you, Sir! I will definitely inform you when the time comes!" Teo said with a bright smile; so far everything went according to his plan or even better.

"Let's discuss the details of this specific affliction once more and I will start with the crafting procedure right this instant."

***

A boy walked down the worn-out lane in large strides, carrying a satisfied expression on his face. The alleys where dim-lit in the hazy twilight of the early evening and most buildings in this district seemed to be on the verge of falling apart from old age, but this did little to hamper the bright mood of this enthusiastic young man.

'Don't you think that Alchemist seemed kind of odd?' a sonorous voice appeared in his head without prior indication yet the boy did not seem surprised at all — he was used to it.

'Let him be, Goliath. He is an old man, have you ever met one who didn't seem kind of odd?' Teo replied unhesitatingly.

'Fair point, but I still have a weird feeling about this. Do you really think it was a good idea to pay in advance?' the Golem shared his doubts.

'Sure! Why wouldn't I? He even gave me a receipt and he wouldn't dare to scam me in open daylight like this,' Teo answered leisurely. He was just glad that he would be able to cross the matter of saving beast off his list once and for all tomorrow.

'Suit yourself then, I would not be so trusting though,' the magical construct replied as if the matter had nothing to do with it.

'Goliath, please. What could possibly go wrong, now that we have already discussed all the details with him? I don't think he would accept our order if he wasn't up to the task; he has a reputation to uphold after all,' the boy said telepathically to his companion and continued to head down the lane.

From the window of a nearby tower behind them, a scrawny old man observed them, unaware of their ongoing conversation.

"What a fool!" he said with a thin-lipped smile and pulled shut the embroidered curtains made from red velvet, retreating back into the safety of his office.