The Way Ahead

Edwin ended up giving a brief overview of his experience attempting to join the Guild and how he had ended up in Cope’s research group, with the guildmaster occasionally stopping him to ask a clarifying question and prod him along his tale, until he’d explained essentially the entirety of his work to her.

“Most interesting indeed. Much obliged. Now, tell me what you know of Geoalchemist Hawizeh.”

“Who?” Edwin genuinely had no… oh wait, it was probably-

“Talented Veteran Geoalchemist Othniel Hawizeh. You referred to him by name several times in your story, and as an assistant to Alchemist Cope, it is generally assumed you know Geoalchemist Hawizeh.”

“Yeah, sorry. As soon as you said it, I realized who you must have been talking about,” Edwin apologized, “Umm… I don’t really know much about the guy at all. I also thought Othniel would have been his last name, but… anyway, that doesn’t matter. I’ve never met him,” he shrugged, “just heard secondhand about him and his group. I never took part in any of the seriously over-the-top sabotages, just sort of rolled with them when I had to deal with them in turn.

“Actually, what is up with that? Is it just some sort of game to them? None of the sabotages were ever that severe, not like they were ever trying to do anything more than just mildly inconvenience one another. That’s not how you do professional sabotage.”

“I will answer questions to the best of my capabilities once you have.”

It took Edwin a moment to parse her statement, but nodded in understanding, “Okay. So, what next?”

“I wish to know of your history prior to Vinstead. It is almost as though you appeared from thin air one day. Is that related to your unusual knowledge by any chance?”

“Yesss….” Edwin cautiously agreed, “Though Ta- Enforcer Lisana advised I not talk about it, I can say that she told me it was alright to explain I’m from Fierisal and that I ended up here… somehow. That’s not me being coy, either, just genuinely not knowing how I landed in the Lirasian Empire, more or less. Technically I landed in the Verdant, but… that’s not important. I can’t really say much beyond that, sorry. My home was much more advanced in non-magical science than here, I will say, though adding magic throws everything I knew into chaos. That’s actually why I became an alchemist, really. I wanted to incorporate magic into my knowledge of the world.”

“Interesting. A mage with little experience with magic.”

“I did say I wasn’t a very good mage,” he defended himself.

“That you did. Very well,” She paused for a moment, and moved to clasp her hands together and rest them on her desk, “I believe I am prepared to render a verdict.

“Alchemist-Errant Edwin Maxlin, you have been found guilty of working with the guild whilst not having an approved Alchemist class.”

“Hey! I didn’t-”

“Allow me to finish, Alchemist-Errant Maxlin.”

“But I didn’t know that…”

“Allow me to finish, Alchemist-Errant Maxlin.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Alchemist-Errant Edwin Maxlin, you have been found guilty of working with the guild whilst not having an approved Alchemist class. Now, as you did not ever attempt to impersonate a Guild member, the onus was upon your employer to confirm that your Class was indeed viable. Given your employer was Alchemist Shorob Cope, I shall be investigating him once this incident has passed, and render due judgement upon him. Thus, while in violation of Guild policy, you are deemed not culpable for this transgression and are thus free from monetary fines or further punitive actions.”

“Thanks? I was kind of expecting that to go another direction, honestly. I was kind of worried I might have to run away from another unfair debt-based indentured alchemy tenure.”

“You have had that happen before?”

“I… probably shouldn’t have said that. But yes. Not in the bounds of the Empire, though.”

“The Shandin Kingdoms or Quoena?” she barely paused before asking.

“Wait, what?”

“You ‘landed’ in the Verdant, and prior to that you were not an alchemist. Thus, your imprisonment-by-alchemy must have occurred in the time between your landing within the depths of the Verdant. Thus, The Shandin Kingdoms or Quoena.”

“Um, the Highpeak Kingdoms? Is that the Shandin Kingdoms?” That was… impressively fast deduction.

She stilled for a moment, “Ah, of course. Polyglot. Yes, the,” she paused for a moment in concentration, “The Shandin and Highpeak kingdoms are one and the same.”

“So then what’s Quoena?”

“The elven city. I did not believe that it would be them, but it is always prudent to cover one’s base assumptions. But no, we do not place the fault or debt with those liable to be taken advantage of. You may thank Emperor Xares for implementing that ruling in the time of my predecessor. One of the few mandates he has given directly, as the case may be.”

“Oh, that’s nice. He did… actually, back up a moment. The elven city? In the Verdant? That’s real?”

“Naturally. Now, while you are not to be fiscally responsible for this fiasco, you do remain responsible for your actions now that you have been informed of Guild policy, and you must therefore cease your assistantship with Alchemist Cope or genuinely be found responsible for your actions.”

“Is it assistantship if I’m not actually paid? He kept saying he was going to, but I still haven’t seen so much as a ves for my work. I don’t care that much, I was much more interested in learning about alchemy- which I certainly managed- but…”

“I shall be speaking with Alchemist Cope on that subject, I see. If you remain in Panastalis by the time my investigations have concluded, you will be duly compensated.”

“You don’t mess around, do you?”

“It is my duty to ensure the tenets of the Guild are upheld. Doing less would be a disgrace. Now, should you leave Panastalis for some cause prior to the investigation has come to a close, you are capable of retrieving the full amount owed unto you by returning to the city at some point within the next two years. After that point, you may retrieve half your owed amount, and that amount will be halved once more for every year which you do not take your payment. Should the owed amount ever pass under the sum of one ager, you will no longer be able to collect it. Do you understand?”

“I… I think so? I don’t suppose I could get that in writing? Actually, no. I can just…” he quickly Almanaced himself a reminder, “Okay, I got it.”

“Now, with that settled, I do believe you had some questions for me?”

“Yeah! I guess I did. Um, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’ll try and keep them focused. But what’s up with Cope and Othniel? I’ve heard Cope’s side of the story, and he of course makes his rival sound like the devil incarnate, but I’m curious what is actually going on.”

“Those two…” she sighed in the largest expression of emotion Edwin had seen on the woman, “They used to be such great friends. A bit aggressive in their competitions, yes, but both quite promising in the field of alchemical classifications. Between the two of them, they had catalogued nigh a hundred and fifty new flora, fauna, and minerals. Then one day, Geoalchemist Hawizeh bribed a harvester to divert new findings to him in preference to Alchemist Cope, and the two never saw eye to eye again. Their reports began to devolve into bickering, and things only deteriorated from there.

“The two would send teams into the field to throw rocks at the other’s group, to burn down interesting bushes or drive off native fauna. In their haste, they would frequently misidentify or both identify the same type of specimen as different. Alchemist Cope was particularly egregious in this regard, and would scarcely stop short of direct coercion and slander in his… endeavors.

“Their current level of squabbling is the result of several injunctions towards the both of them. While undeniably brilliant, they were causing untold amounts of damage to the credibility of other Cataloguers, many of whom petitioned me to put a cease to their open hostility. I do not know how they settled upon attempting to replicate porcelain to prove their respective superiority, but I and the rest of the guild are more than content to allow this state of events to continue, provided it does not escalate overmuch.

“I hope that helped ameliorate your curiosity?”

Edwin nodded, “Yeah. So… yeah. It makes sense. Interesting that they chose porcelain, though.”

“It is quite a valuable material. Do you know of it?”

“Yeah, I think I remember how to make it, even. We had it back home.”

“Truly? Do tell.”

Edwin opened his mouth, then, thinking better of it, closed it and shook his head, “Nah, you know what? I think I’ll keep that one quiet. You never know when knowing how to make something more valuable than gold would be useful.”

Kertoa looked at him for a moment in thought, “Very well. Do you truly have knowledge of so many things?”

He shrugged, “Basically nothing about magic, and I haven’t the faintest clue about half of the System, but this sort of thing? Science, materials science? I spent years learning all of this before I came to the Empire.”

“So do we, and yet you are so utterly certain in your knowledge, beyond even many experienced researchers,” She tapped her fingers on the desk. “Perhaps we ought to look into this ‘germ theory’ of yours. Let it not be said that the Alchemical Guildmaster is scared of being proven wrong.”

“Wait, what? I wasn’t expecting that.” Edwin was taken aback, “Just like that?”

“We will not take your claim at mere words, for they are indeed mere words. However, what harm might there be in investigating the claims of someone whose history and knowledge are of interest to the Emperor himself?”

“Wasted time, wasted resources?” Edwin shrugged.

“I want for neither, Alchemist-Errant Maxlin. This is done for my personal curiosity, not because I believe you in preference to thousands of years of tradition.”

“Well, regardless… thanks, I guess. For listening to me.”

“Certainly, Alchemist-Errant. Now, was there anything else?”

“Not really, I guess. I know I’ll have a thousand questions the moment I walk away, but that’s it for now, I suppose?”

“Excellent. Recall your limitations.”

Edwin nodded, “No more working with Cope, stick around if I want to be paid right away. Any idea how long that might take?”

“A few weeks, perhaps.”

“Hm. Yeah, I’ll probably head out tomorrow or the day after, then. I wasn’t planning on sticking around for too much longer anyway, so this works out well, all told. I just need to wrap up a few things- not alchemy stuff, just personal stuff,” he quickly clarified.

He nodded his farewells and took his leave, going out the main door this time as he was directed. Right as he was nearly out, though, a thought struck him, “I don’t suppose there’s any way I might be able to buy some magnesium and phosphorus, is there?”

The guildmaster looked up at him with a quizzical expression, “I shall see what I can accomplish.”

Overall, Edwin would rate his time in Panastalis a success. He may not have managed to get a medical license, but he had certainly learned a lot about alchemy and had a list of locales to visit. But most amazingly of all was the giant boxes of phosphorus and magnesium he’d managed to get. Kertoa had surprised him by pointing him towards the arycal manufacturer.

Sure, it had cost him an entire grai for the two (tightly sealed) containers, but he could make legitimate weapons now! Not just his cobbled-together stuff made from vaguely magical plants, but genuine- albeit still cobbled-together- smoke bombs, flashbangs, and incendiary grenades!

His departure had been relatively smooth. Cope, of course, had been outraged that Edwin would leave, but when he mentioned Master Kertoa and her demand that he stop working for him, he made a pretty strong turn.

Edwin felt much less guilty about leaving when the man started blaming Edwin for not telling him that he wasn’t an ‘Empire verified’ alchemist, and mad at Thoril for directing him at Cope instead of at Othniel when he was looking for a sponsorship.

Rhita and Keir nodded like they knew Edwin’s secret all along, the dirty liars, and Wendell took Cope’s side in berating Edwin or Thoril, whichever his mentor wasn’t picking on at the time being. Fissath, for her part, shook her head in exasperation and glared at Edwin in envy that he got to leave the madhouse.

He had just smiled and said his farewells to the avior under the shouting and grabbed what few things could be genuinely considered his, as Wendell and Cope started yelling at each other over something Wendell had said that Cope disagreed on….

He was so glad to be gone. He hadn’t really realized just how stressful he’d found the place until it was wholly behind him.

But Inion was with him! The sun was shining! He could see the blue sky! Inion was humming a tune atop the carriage, and Bill was trotting along after having been confined to a (spacious) pen for nigh on three months now, happy as he could be. The birds were singing, and there was a light breeze in his face carrying the scent of…. Blood?

Edwin double-checked his arsenal, making sure everything was back in place after three months of being locked away. He even retrieved his stick from where it was resting in the wagon as he foraged ahead, waiting for whatever horrid thing awaited him down the road.

This time, he’d be ready.

Congratulations! For explaining the basics of how biological diseases work, you have obtained the Medical Lecturer Path!

Level Up!

Skill Points 661→692 (Average level: 40)

Adaptive Defense Level 26→27

Alchemical Analysis Level 26→27

Anatomy Level 28→32

Arcadian Elixir Level 19→24

Basic Thermokinesis Level 20→22

Memory Level 61→62

Polyglot Level 65→66

Prototyping Level 22→25

Sapper’s Apparatus Level 40→46

Skillful Assessment Level 33→34

Watchful Rest Level 26→27

Status.

Name

Edwin Maxlin

Age

1 year

Race

Extraplanar Human

Class

Alchemist-Errant

Attributes

Health 25

Impact 7

Mana 33

Perception 19

Stamina 30

Skills

Alchemical

Alchemy 86, Alchemical Analysis 27, Refine 1, Alchemical Dismantling 18, Sapper’s Apparatus 46

(Purify: 75)

Magical

Basic Thermokinesis 22, Fey’s Caress 36, Ritual Intuition 25, Mana Infusion 86

Flight 37, (Basic Mana Sense: 82), (Basic Mana Manipulation: 9)

Physical

Overcharge 8, Longstrider 30, Fresh Air 31

(Athletics: 81), (Breathing: 76), (Flexibility: 74), (Nutrition: 73), (Packing: 92), (Seeing: 72), (Sleeping: 73), (Survival: 76), (Walking: 74)

Mental

Numeracy 35, Prototyping 25, Anatomy 32, Polyglot: 66, Memory 62

(Language: 36), (Mathematics: 74), (Research: 50), (Visualization: 80)

Combat

Bomb Throwing 49, Adaptive Defense 27

(Throwing Weapons: 48)

Utility

Outsider's Almanac 132, Watchful Rest 27, Skillful Assessment 34, Arcadian Elixir 24, Improbable Arsenal 26

(Firestarting: 94), (Improvisation: 14), (Status: 22), (Identify: 80), (First Aid: 82), (Harvesting: 76), (Construction: 77)

Paths

Skill Points: 692

Combat

Assassin 0/60, Bomber 0/60, Giant Slayer 0/60, Heedless Hunter 0/60, Hunter 0/30, Killer 0/30, Titan Slayer 0/90, Warrior 0/60, Way of the Empty Hand 0/60, Trapper 0/60,

Alchemy

Alchemical Medic 0/60, Demolitionist 0/60, Makeshift Alchemist 0/60, Potioneer 0/60,

Science

Chemist 0/60, Experimenter 0/60, Researcher 0/60, Purifier 0/30, Scientific Revolutionary 0/90, Scientist 0/60, Engineer 0/60, Physicist 0/60, Mathematician 0/60, Material Scientist 0/60

Magic

Aerialist 0/60, Fey Friend 0/60, Feybound 0/60, Feycaller 0/60, Mage 0/60, Magical Gardener 0/60, Micro-Biomancer 0/90, Primal Constructor 0/90, Primal Ritualist 0/90, Realm Traveler 0/120, Skilled Arcanist 0/60, Fey Supplicant 0/60, Feykind 0/90

Mental

Dedicated Student 0/60, Lecturer 0/30, Scholar 0/60, Unbowed 0/90, Canny 0/60, Steady Mind 0/60, Mentalist 0/60,

System

Almanac Administrator 0/60, Forerunner 0/60, Outsider’s Almanac Specialist 0/90, Pioneer 0/60, Skill Researcher 0/60, System Scholar 0/60,

Trophy

Blackstone Conqueror 0/60, Deepwoods Panther-Hunter 0/60, Stonehide Vanquisher 0/60,

Career

Brickmaker 0/30, Butcher 0/30, Diver 0/30, Gardener 0/30, Lumberjack 0/60, Merchant 0/30, Potter 0/30, Scribe 0/30, Woodsman 0/30,

Physical

Ascetic 0/60, Daredevil 0/60, Physical Alchemist 0/90, Survivor 0/60, Physical Laborer 0/30,

Traveling

Escapee 0/30, Exile 0/30, Traveler 0/30, World Traveler 0/60

Medical

Field Medic 0/60, Medic 0/30, Steadfast Medic 0/60, Medical Lecturer 0/60

Misc

Arsonist 0/60, Autopyromaniac 0/60, Burglar 0/60, Child 0/12, Expert 0/60, Imperial Ally 0/60, Novice 0/12, Pyromaniac 0/30, Razer of the Ruined Tower 0/60, Rebel 0/30, Slave 0/12, Trainee 0/60, Traitor 0/60, Brushed by Power 0/60, Lirasian Citizen 0/30, Royal Advisor 0/60, Favored by Power 0/90

Completed Paths

CharLimitCanttalkmuchNocluewhathappenedDidmybesttohelpyouli, Mage, Skilled Arcanist, Physical Alchemist, Bomber, Linguist, Beginner, Warrior, Path Less Traveled, Athlete, Scout, Unkillable, Superior Alchemist, Adventurer, Explorer, Outsider, Skill Researcher, Wanderer,Alchemical Warrior, Novice Pyromancer, Novice Ritualist, Alchemist, Physicist, Engineer, Physical Arcanist, Biologist, Practical Alchemist, Fey Scion, Feytouched