AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Year 5, Spring, First Month, Fourth Week.

“Lady Mage… We need to return soon… The second section can’t stay without a Captain any longer…”

The Captain refused to say that his men were starting to suffer from poisoning, as was he. He couldn’t bear to be looked down on as a weakling by the egocentric Mages. Although he also used his noble birth as a ladder to step on the common-born, he hated Mages. In his opinion, they received everything undeservingly, without needing to fight for it.

Even trying to feint politeness, the Captain forgot with who he was speaking. As a sound Commander and a member of the Chorus, the leading Mage could clearly grasp the disgust and disrespect hidden in his voice. Fortunately, the Mage only decided to give him a strong and long-lasting headache later instead of making him deaf.

For a week, while the Guards circled the lake to gather more information, the Mages unsuccessfully tried to probe the lake dozens of times. In the end, the Mage would have to resort to his last and most shameful option, contacting the Wind Lord and admit failure. The sound Commander dejectedly turned to the west and started to chant in a low note.

The sound formed a spell that traveled hundreds of kilometers, passing through the trees and the land, guided and sustained by a magic sound wrapping. After a few seconds, the sound Mage started to shape the melody to form a message that would only be understood by another capable sound Mage.

After finishing the Sound Message, the Commander waited silently for an answer. The other Mages stared at him, afraid of the consequences of their failure. Almost ten minutes later, which either showed their Master’s uncertainty or anger, the reply came. Different from the sent message, the Commander received a Silent Whisper, something that only the strongest sound Evoker would be able to cast over such a long distance.

Without answering the questioning gazes, the sound Commander turned abruptly and pushed a concentrated Sound Wave against one of the Guards. The sudden move shocked everyone present, but nobody dared to react. The man was launched into the lake, undoubtedly screaming, though the attack was muffling any sounds.

Usually, sound Mages wouldn’t be capable of causing enough disturbances in the air to throw someone, but as one of the chorus, the sound Commander was stronger than most. Even so, the normal approach would be commanding one of the wind Mages to do the job because the attack would drain too much energy from him. By choosing this approach, the other Mages could guess that he was actually venting some anger.

The launched Guard was stunned but was still lucid enough to struggle and try to swim out of the lake. Unfortunately, he only moved a few meters before being dragged down, leaving behind only a trace of blood in the water.

“So, the lake is truly filled with beasts… Captain! You may return to your post.”

The Captain stared at the Mage for a few seconds, before realizing he wouldn’t explain anything. Then, he quickly left after remembering the danger he was in. The Commander turned to the other Mages and said:

“The Wind Lord ordered us to stay for a few more days and try to contact our spy in the group that is coming from Twin Suns. They should be here soon… Let’s see how they react to the lake...”

***

“How am I supposed to bring my cart and beasts out? I took the boat to see how it works, and although it’s great and smooth, it’s not big enough for the cart and the beasts…”

Keller knew they already had thought and solved this, but he was too curious to wait until tomorrow to see how they would move his carts outside. In fact, he wasn’t the only one curious about this, other Adventurers also used mount beasts and could barely wait for tomorrow. When they recovered from the shock of being on an island, many questioned Lew about this. Fortunately, he promised everyone that they had a solution and they would just have to wait a little longer before they could leave with their mounts.

Many felt a little uncomfortable with the situation, but once they were allowed to leave by boat and do some small jobs close by, they calmed a little. Surprisingly, nobody doubted AP’s ability to solve this problem, after so many unusual things they got used to the improbable.

“Don’t be impatient and wait for tomorrow. I told you, we have everything figured it out.”

Keller complained about distrust and unfair treatment in their partnership but ended up giving up once he confirmed Lew wouldn’t back down. The Merchant and the Minister continued to drink while discussing other things.

“When do you plan to start selling your heavenly concoctions? You could be earning a lot of crystals from it… Only a few can afford the Kingdom’s potions, but this doesn’t prevent the Sacred Order from being the richest group in the whole Serion Kingdom… I still don’t believe you can make them without a Mage… If you give me enough potions, I would be able to get anything…”

The dangerous spark in Keller’s eyes didn’t escape Lew’s attention, even though they had an important partnership with the Merchant, it would do them good to take a safe distance.

“We planned to start in Summer… We can’t sell it to the Kingdom, though. Anything that strengthens them is bad for us. It might also drag unwanted attention when they realize our potions are different.”

“Fair enough… I have been thinking about diversifying our customers, what do you think about…”

***

On the morning, after having breakfast, a line of Adventurers waited in front of AP’s stable. Everybody was anxious to see how the beasts would be transported. Ben, who was leaving the pub, stopped by the stable and asked why the Adventurers weren’t in the pier waiting for the boat.

After they talked about being there to get the mounts, Ben explained that the beasts were already waiting for them at the other side. The confused and disappointed Adventurers only agreed to leave after he opened the stable and showed them the empty spots.

Keller, who was watching from the side, was relieved to see that his cart and beasts were still there. After the Adventurers left, the caretaker asked if they were ready to leave before inviting the Merchant and his subordinates to enter the stable.

The stable was a large building with 40 simple stalls and a paddock at the side. Once they entered, the caretaker closed the entrance door and opened an internal one. Keller was surprised to see a ramp that led to an underground illuminated room. Both the doors and the passage were wide enough for the beasts and cart to pass. Understanding where this was heading, Keller ordered his subordinates to pull the carts and followed the caretaker.

They continued to travel inside of the seemingly stable and well-illuminated tunnel for almost an hour until they finally exited it through a cave in the forest. Keller only overcame his shock when he saw Samia waiting for them outside. Although he had experienced AK’s ability with magic tools and building the wooden huts, this was his first time seeing their prowess with tunnels.

Of course, the basement was an indication, but what he just saw, was on a completely different level. Through the passage, he counted almost four kilometers and they should have gone at least ten meters deep. For the umpteenth time, he promised to never underestimate AK again.