BlaiseCorvin
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Reincarnator RB Dragon, ch 40
🕑 Added 2024-06-22 12:53:36 +0000 UTCKevin faced his cousin inside a nearby park. He didn’t know whether the place was usually popular or not, but Lydia wasn’t suppressing her aura very well ever since she’d let a bit of it slip at Lord Alex’s mansion. The normal evening noises were gone. No birds chirped, even the insects were silent. As long as she was here, most people would avoid the area and not even consciously know why.
The fact the weather was so nice and the park so beautiful were a ill-fitting backdrop for his cousin’s smirking expression. Suddenly, she unleashed the full force of her aura. It was only for a moment, probably not enough to alert even a powerful or sensitive mage unless they were close by, but if any normal person were standing where Kevin was, at ground zero, it probably would have knocked them out or at least made them lose control of their bowels.
It just irritated Kevin. He glared at Lydia. “So I guess you found me.”
“You knew I was trying to find you!?”
“Yes.” He didn’t try to deny it. “I can also imagine why you were sent. But I don’t want a guard and I definitely don’t need a sitter.”
“That’s not what your mother thinks.”
“My mother has a big heart and…some blindness where I am concerned. You know this.”
“Of course I do.” Lydia scoffed. “But how is it my place to refuse the Eastern Matriarch, especially when she is also my aunt, and especially when accepting her mission gets me out of the cave and on my own?” She smiled. “I must sacrifice for my freedom, watching over and protecting my weak, adopted cousin. Perhaps guiding him. This will be my first leadership position, after all.”
“The hell it is.” Kevin frowned. “This was my mission. You weren’t there, and you are not even a mortal race. And you’re not qualified for this.”
“Of course I am. I am a dragon.”
“First of all, dragons are not supposed to meddle. Second, you are a hatchling.”
Lydia’s self-satisfied expression dropped. “I am over one hundred years old.”
“I think you’re one hundred and thirty six. Which is a dragon hatchling. You are nowhere near the power of your parents, and relatively speaking, I am much older than you as a goblin, based on goblin lifespan.”
“It doesn’t work that way. All races are young to dragons.”
“Sure, to adult dragons. But not hatchlings. If you are really trying to use age to turn this situation into you being in charge, well, that was a foolish angle to take. From my perspective, I’m the oldest. You aren’t the most mature, either.”
Lydia ignored his jibe and her eyes lit up. “But you agree you must travel with me, yes?”
“I don’t have much of a choice. Even without magic of my own, I can guess you’ve put a marker on me and I won’t be able to give you the slip again.”
“Yes, uh, that is, uh, rational…” Lydia foundered. She definitely hadn’t expected Kevin to be so logical and matter-of-fact. “But even if you are theoretically older, which is a ridiculous argument, you have no magic. You can only use some dragon life skills, and you have a weak body! Since you need to be protected and don’t even have any skills worthy of respect, that makes me the more senior hatchling.” She looked down her nose and put her fists on her hips.
Kevin had to put energy into keeping a straight face and not laughing. The truth was, although his cousin could be bossy, arrogant, and short-sighted sometimes, he really did care about her. If not for Lydiamsominica, he would not have been able to learn his fish polymorph form. She’d protected him from predators and even spent time with him when he was lonely as a teenager.
It amused him sometimes that although she was much older than he was, even with all of his lives added together, he usually took the role of the older cousin, especially in the last five years.
Lydia was not a bad person, sometimes she could just be a little…extra. Others might be confused by her adult appearance in human form, but she really could be immature in some ways. Luckily, through long experience, Kevin knew how to deal with her.
He said, “Alright, so I agree you may accompany me, so–”
“‘May!?’ Kevin, you–”
He interrupted her smoothly. “Since we have no disagreement about traveling together, the only conflict seems to be who will be in charge of our excursion. After all, every adventure needs a leader. Do you agree that our excursion needs a leader?”
“Well, yes. That is, our excursion–”
Kevin knew he had her now. He could see the hints of stars in her eyes. This was the first time Lydia had been away from her parents for more than a day. Kevin secretly guessed that she’d been sent after him as much for her own benefit as his. His mother was emotional, but she was not stupid–far from it. Also, Agara and her sister, Lydia’s mother, were close.
The two of them traveling together was definitely as much for Lydia’s benefit as for his own.
He really did need to be in charge, though. It would help greatly–Lydia would be more likely to listen if she agreed he was the leader of their little group. He needed to help keep them out of trouble, too. Lydia’s alien nature and natural self confidence was enough to get through some social situations with mortal races, like how Lord Alex had just assumed she was a high ranking mage with a youthful glamor, but sometimes that would not be enough.
Lydia was bullheaded and was exactly the type to walk right into making life harder for herself and for Kevin.
He modulated his tone, as if he were a professor. “Alright, then right now, our respective ranks are roughly equal. You are a dragon hatchling of some power and beauty–” As he spoke, Lydia was about to angrily interrupt, but she suddenly rocked back on her heels with a pleased smile. Flattery always worked on Lydia. “--and I am technically older than you are, considering our lifespans, and perhaps more important, I am the rightfully appointed diplomat of this mission. By joining forces, that makes you a member of a diplomatic party, but only after we set off. Either way, right now, we have roughly similar ranks. So the solution is obvious.”
“It is?”
“Yes. Before leaving Clearmine, I just must prove my qualifications to be the senior diplomat.”
“How?”
“By demonstrating proficiency in a skill or talent that raises my status.”
“Like what?” Lydia looked skeptical.
Kevin pretended to think about it. Then he threw the bait. “Perhaps…learning magic.”
“Oh, this again. Are you ever going to get tired of trying to learn magic? Not everyone–who is not a dragon–can.” Lydia laughed.
“I will learn some one day. Magic, or maybe some other skill. Something that most mortals would respect.”
“Okay, fine. If you can prove that you deserve your status before we leave, I will let you be in charge.
“And how exactly do I do that? Let’s agree on it.” Kevin was getting close to the Hail Mary gamble he was manipulating Lydia into agreeing to.
“How about learning magic like you said? But nothing small. Real magic. Powerful magic. Something that would impress most other mortal races.”
Kevin pretended to think about it. “If the goal is to be worthy of my title, that just means the ability to earn money or have respect based on something I know or can do, right? Something rare or powerful.”
Lydia made a face. “Yes, but your Magi Guild membership doesn’t count. I know about that, by the way. It can’t be your knowledge or education. It has to be something you can actually do, not just another title.”
“Being a scholar is something I can do that commands respect.”
“Fine, maybe. But it’s not enough. It has to be something that is universally recognized, not just something that mortals who love books will care about.”
He pretended to be thrown for a moment before suggesting, “Well, you already said learning magic would work. What about another magical discipline as well? Like rune carving, or enchanting, or alchemy?”
“That should work, yes, but you need to have an actual master endorse you. You can’t just read a book somewhere and claim that satisfies the conditions of our bet.”
“Fine.” Kevin acted like he was frustrated. “So you swear on dragonkind?”
“Yes. In fact, as the god Haradrim can witness, I swear on dragonking that if you learn magic or some other significant skill or talent for mortals, I will recognize you as our group’s leader.” A glow sprang up around her. As quickly as it had appeared, it faded. She folded her arms. “I don’t know why we need such a strong oath when you are just going to lose, but I swear on dragonkind, fine.”
Gotcha! Thought Kevin. …hopefully. Out loud he said, “So it’s settled. If that is all, I would like to go back to my room. It has been a tiring day.”
“Fine. Don’t run off. I’ll find you. I am staying at the Lone Peak Inn if you need me.” And with that, she retracted every trace of her aura and left.
Branch flew down a minute later. “I saw the entire thing from a distance. You have a strange family, don’t you?”
“You don’t know the half of it. But you knew what Lydia looked like from when you spotted her way before we got to Clearmine. Why didn’t you give me a heads up that she was in town?”
“I didn’t know she was here.”
“What have you been doing, then? We’ve barely even talked. You haven’t been busy!”
“You’ve been doing a lot of things that make me stay away. So I was frolicking.”
“Frolicking? Sounds like goofing off.”
“Frolicking,” insisted Branch solemnly. “Fairies frolick.”
“Well, I wish you would have frolicked into delivering some information earlier.” Max sighed and calmed down, reminding himself that Branch worked for free and usually pulled through for important things. “Sorry for the frustration. Just…don’t lose track of her again, please.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
***
The next day, Kevin checked in with the Magi Guild to find out when exactly he could go to his next job. After he got the all clear to immediately head directly there, that’s what he did.
Once he reached his destination, he grinned. This was why he’d taken such a gamble with Lydia. “Potent Potions,” might not look like much–the shop was old and worn down. But if he was going to be working at a potion shop anyway, his odds of learning Alchemy were much higher. Of course, not many people had an aptitude for Alchemy, but Kevin had [Perfect Seasoning]. He reasoned that even if he didn’t have talent, his ability meant he could still make potions…maybe. Hopefully.
Of course, Alchemists usually didn’t teach anyone other than an apprentice. But Kevin was going to be working in a potions shop. It was a great opportunity.
A bell over the door rang as he entered.
A smell of herbs and oils hit Kevin’s nostrils as he looked around. The actual public portion of the shop was fairly small. There were a few vials and bottles that were labeled on shelves, but most of the wares seemed to be behind the counter. Kevin suspected, based on the layout, that anything expensive was actually hidden in one of the back rooms.
The man standing behind the counter was middle-aged and overweight, with a patchy beard. He had a pair of spectacles that Kevin thought looked way too small, perched precariously on his nose. When he looked up, his neutral expression immediately darkened.
"You must be the goblin that the Magi Guild sent over. Strange days we live in when the best helper I can get from the Magi Guild is a goblin. And yes, I'm assuming you are from the Magi Guild because you are the first goblin who has walked through my doors in months."
Kevin blinked. He didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so he just said, "I've come to work."
The man scoffed and opened a little door to the area behind the counter before heading to the rear of the store, out of sight. Kevin blinked again before following him. Only a day after his disastrous dinner with the mayor, his patience was feeling a bit frayed. He didn't know if he'd just been lucky or not noticed much overt anti-goblin sentiment before in Clear Mine, but it felt like the last few days he kept getting hit in the face with it.
Luckily, Kevin had interpreted what the alchemist wanted correctly, and he was waiting for him, tapping a foot near a table in the back. On the other side of the room, there were rows of labeled bottles and other potion-making paraphernalia and ingredients. But the side of the room where Kevin and the potion master were at was all dedicated to production.
"My name is Adam Addison. You will refer to me as Master Addison. The other side of the room is off limits, no snooping around. What I need you to do is very simple but requires basic math, so I cannot hire many other people from other guilds in the city. Of course, this is incredibly sad, but I don't expect you to understand my feelings on it."
Kevin didn't nod or shake his head. He just stood there and watched the man. Apparently, Master Addison had expected some sort of reaction because he scoffed and then continued talking.
"You will be making a very simple potion that I need a large amount of before next month. This is not worth my time and I must watch the store. However, I have a large order, so right now I'm going to show you the sequence of measuring, mixing, and moving you must do in order to make one small batch of this potion. It is a very tedious, time-consuming process. If you make mistakes, the ruined reagents will be docked from your pay."
This time, when Kevin didn't say anything, the man growled, "Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," said Kevin. The man glared at him, and Kevin finally added, "Master Addison."
It was petty of him, but Kevin felt himself grow more irritated in response to Addison’s pettiness. After all, as a scholar Kevin could technically require others to refer to him as “Master Kevin.” He knew that approach wouldn’t fly in this situation, though. Addison seemed to be hoping Kevin would quit or so something to get himself fired.
The unfriendly man grunted and turned to the table. Then in a rapid fire manner, Master Addison showed Kevin how to make one batch of potions. He didn't actually make it himself because there were several steps that required carefully watching until a liquid boiled or waiting until two parts were fully combined while mixing. That particular step on its own took thirty minutes.
When the man was done, he turned and said, "I hope you memorized all that. I am a busy man and I do not have time to show you again. If you ruin enough potions today, you will not be paid anything. Again, I will dock wasted ingredients from your pay. These potions will have my name on them, so they must be done exactly how I just showed you. And I will carefully test the quality of each one at the end of the day. Once again, do not step foot over the line dividing the store in half. Stay out of the storage area. The restroom is in the rear of the store. Do not mess it up. And you will be responsible for cleaning it before the store closes every day. Do you have any questions?"
Kevin thought, What the hell did I just get myself into? Out loud, he said, "No, Master Addison, I think I have it."
"Good," the man said before going back to the customer-facing side of the store and disappearing there.
Luckily, Kevin believed that he did actually remember everything that Addison had just shown him and that, given time, he could create the potion. However, he didn't know what kind of potion it was, and none of the ingredients on the table were actually labeled. His initial plans of learning to be an Alchemist from this job were quickly fading. He actually considered just quitting, but knew that it would be reported to the Magi Guild. More importantly, this was still his best lead so far on learning a skill to win his bet with Lydia. With nothing better to do, he began the process of making the potions that Addison had instructed.
Everything was going fine until about two-thirds into his work, after about two hours of solid effort, Kevin's [Perfect Seasoning] kicked in and grabbed his attention like a cat scruffing one of its kittens. With the same matter of fact way the he could feel his own arm, he suddenly knew that the ratio Addison had told him to add a specific powder to the mixture could be optimized if Kevin added slightly less. He decided to go with his gut, and his skill, and Kevin made the change from Addison's instructions.
An hour later, he was done with his first batch of potions. He'd already begun a second batch when Addison walked through the back room area to use the restroom before wandering over to Kevin's table. He began to take a long, detailed look at what he was doing.
At first, Addison seemed at least mildly pleased while observing Kevin work. But then, he moved to the potions that Kevin had created, already poured into individual bottles and corked. Addison frowned. He held one up to the light, shook it, and turned to Kevin with a full-blown scowl on his face.
"You changed something," he accused. “This color is not what I was expecting.”
Kevin nodded. "That's correct. On the step that uses this powder," he pointed at one of the unmarked ingredients, a blue powder, "I added about one-twentieth more to the mixture. It should give a better effect."
"Who do you think you are?" asked the apothecary. "Do you even know what this ingredient is?"
Kevin's heart sunk. This might not have been a good idea, he admitted to himself. "I can't say that I do, Master Addison, but I feel very strongly that it will make a better potion."
"You feel strongly, huh?" The potion master narrowed his eyes. "Let me be very clear about how I feel about your feelings. I feel like I am going to dock all of the ingredients for this first batch of potions from your pay for the day, and I feel that you need to follow my instructions exactly. And I also feel that if you don't, and you deviate like this again, I feel like I am going to fire you. Do you understand how I feel?"
Kevin withheld a sigh and said, "Yes, Master Addison." The terrible man might still be trying to make Kevin crack, but after working customer service on Earth, it took a lot more that this for Kevin to lose his cool.
Addison huffed before going back to the front counter. Kevin stared at the table for several minutes, getting his frustration, irritation, and shame under control before slowly resuming where he'd been on the second batch of potions. The first batch, the ones that Addison had rejected, he set to one side.
After the second batch was done, he went to the front counter and found Addison staring at nothing and picking his nose.
"Excuse me, Master Addison, I'm done with the second batch."
"Oh, really now?" The big man turned and brusquely stomped his way to the table where Kevin had been working. "Let's check this batch then."
He took one of the new vials and held it up to the light, shaking it like he had before. Then he made a thoughtful expression before opening the stopper and gently getting one drop on the tip of his finger before touching it to his tongue. He cocked his head, considering, and then slowly nodded.
"This is acceptable. Barely. With this, you actually have some pay for the day. Congratulations. However, there's not enough time today for you to finish another batch, so you might as well leave."
"I understand, Master Addison," said Kevin. He walked to the first potions he'd made and began carefully putting them in the backpack that he always carried and had put against the wall while he worked.
"What are you doing?" said Addison.
"Master Addison, since I've already paid for the ingredients that I used for these potions, they belong to me now."
The Apothecary opened his mouth like he was going to shout an objection before closing it again. He was obviously irritated by Kevin's actions but didn't have a good logical way to refute anything that he’d just said. After all, he was charging Kevin for the reagents, and he didn't want the potions either. Not only that, despite the man’s obvious problem with Kevin, he was still a B-rank member of the Magi Guild. Finally, he just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself," before stomping his way back to the front counter.
After Kevin was done securing his mystery potions, he walked out of the store, and as he did so, Addison didn't say anything. It was like the man was pretending he didn't exist.
Once he was back on the street, close to the time that most everybody in the city got off of work, Kevin went on a walk. He had to; he needed to have a serious conversation with himself about whether he intended to go back to Potent Potions the next day. Addison was an absolute ass, and Kevin already actually had a great deal of money. The amount of money he was making for this job was not enough to put up with any kind of irritation, much less verbal abuse.
If only I didn’t make the damn bet with Lydia! It seemed like Addison just wanted to use him as some sort of cheap labor, not actually share any knowledge with him. But on the off chance Kevin might learn something, could he afford to leave? Knowledge of arts like alchemy could not be found in regular books.
So much for that book I got from the ruins, he thought. Even if Addison was willing to buy it, there was no way Kevin would sell something interesting or precious to such an ass. He briefly ducked into an alley to look at the book again. Reading it was getting easier with practice. Now, even though he still didn’t know anything about Alchemy, he recognized a few symbols in the books that he’d seen on labels in Addison’s shop.
It was basically confirmed at this point that the book had Alchemy recipes, or research to develop new potions.
Overwhelming curiosity about the text in the book and potions in general was growing.
On a whim, Kevin suddenly decided to try finding the alchemist he'd heard about during the mayor's dinner party. The famous mage.
When he first left the alley he’d been in, all he’d had was a vague description of a powerful mage. He’d figured that finding them was a long shot of an idea. But in a surprising turn of events, about half the regular people on the street he approached had actually heard about an eccentric Alchemy master who shielded the mines. Considering most people in the city were either miners or tradespeople who supported the miners, Kevin eventually decided it was not as surprising as he'd originally thought.
Most of them even mentioned a tower.
Finally, after following directions and before the sun was about to set, he found the home of the mysterious alchemist. Kevin looked up at the imposing-looking tower and was quietly impressed. After his bad experience at Addison's shop, he'd expected something a little bit dingier and more run-down. The tower he was observing now was much more what he'd expect a potion master or reclusive mageto live in.
Screwing up his courage, Kevin walked to the massive, substantial, bronze-clad front door and knocked.
