5.54 - Veil

5.54 - Veil

Theo pinched a fluffy, sand-colored piece of Khahari Cotton between his fingers. Despite the spines underneath the blossomed flowers, this plant felt much more inviting than the one that produced the Venom property. That small, cotton producing bush had many more flowers than the Nights End plant. It was a fact the alchemist was grateful for.

The plants Theo had bought from the trader werent in their proper spots yet. He could place the cactus and cotton bush within a greenhouse without issue, but had concerns about the Nights End plant. The alchemist turned away from his Experimental Garden Plot, plucking the tiny seeds from the underside of the cotton. He pulled those into his inventory before making his way back to the Newt and Demon. The scent of something foul wafted from the lab upstairs.

What is going on? Theo asked, waving his hand to clear away the thick smoke. Alise was coughing in the corner. The alchemist popped a window open, allowing some of the smoke to escape.

Once it was clear, Alise could finally speak. There were tears in her eyes from the acrid vapors, and she had a guilty look on her face. Sorry. Tried to do something I wasnt ready for.

No kidding, Theo said, approaching the offending still. It was hard to tell what had gone wrong, but the piece of alchemy equipment was covered in a layer of soot. Did you try something out of your reach?

Yeah. I wont make that mistake again.

Interesting reaction, Theo said, running his finger through the soot. He could feel that the resulting reaction was alchemically inert. There were no traces of what this once was left behind. What were you going for?

Hallow the Soil. But the Suffuse step threw me off.

Theo withdrew his knife, scraping some of the crud from the side of his still to place in a glass vial. He stowed it in his inventory, not sure if he would ever have a use for it. Being a packrat meant filling ones inventory with as much crap as possible. He placed the Custom Drogramathi Iron Still back where it belonged, having shoved that in his inventory before coming in. The alchemist then withdrew some Cleansing Scrub and cleaned away the equipment tainted by that soot.

Im really sorry about that, Salire said.ReAd latest chapters at n0v(e)lbin.co/m Only

We need a list of rules on the wall. Rule one Alchemy is messy, Theo said, winking at his apprentice.

Salire nodded, regaining her confidence. I was close, though. It almost worked. Maybe I could get a hand?

Theo agreed, but wanted to start the small batch of the Khahari Cotton first. While his plan was to use this stuff for textiles, it didnt hurt to investigate the properties first. He shredded several bulbs of cotton by hand, reserving one for his Reagent Deconstruction skill, and filled the still with enough Enchanted Water for the batch. The alchemist held the single fluffy piece of cotton in his palm, injecting it with Drogramathi mana and watching as it went up in smoke. The scent it produced was strange. Sand didnt really have a smell. But the smoke it produced smelled like sand.

Strange, Theo said. The property revealed was Veil, and he couldnt wait to test it out. He carried the handful of Primal Veil Essence to a Dimensional Storage Crate, dumping a few other items in while he was there. He turned back to Salire. Lets get working on those potions.

While Salire could create the base components for the Hallow the Soil potion, she couldnt complete the batch through the last step. She had ruined a good amount of the essence, but it hardly seemed to matter. The Plant Golem managing the caves worked day and night to make sure they had enough truffles to choke a dragon.

At least the Sow property was easy enough to source. Theos Small Farm had been destroyed before, but it didnt bother the golems. When he ordered them back to work, replanting everything that had been lost, they did so without complaint. As the alchemist worked on preparing the Hallow the Soil potion, he thought about expanding that farm. He had picked every seed from the Khahari Cotton, giving him enough for a starter crop. As long as he kept a sample of the cotton within his Experimental Garden, he would be fine.

Theo and Salire worked for several hours on a batch. The alchemist found the act of working on potions meditative, and fell into a groove with his apprentice. Her skill with the art came from patience. Unlike Theo, who always wanted to run head-first into problems, she took a step back to evaluate what was going on before committing to anything. When she reached the same level as him, she would do great things. Even without being a champion.

Come on, Salire said, laughing as Theo sealed the last brewing barrel of Hallow the Soil. Lets see what the new essence does.

Theo removed the flask containing his Refined Veil Essence, holding it up to the light to get a better look. The essence within was, unsurprisingly, sand-colored. It swirled with the glass container, seeming to move as though blown by those warm desert winds Khahar used to talk about. The alchemist took the ornate vial handed to him by Salire and began mixing. He added a unit of the essence, a single shaving of Drogramathi Iron, and a unit of Enchanted Water.

Lets see what we get, Salire said, taking a healthy step back but watching with an intense gaze.

The mixture swirled within the vial, turning a transparent color of the same shade. Both Theo and Salire didnt wait, they inspected the resulting potion.

[Potion of Veil]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Shield yourself from prying eyes.

Effect:

Imbibing this potion shields the drinker from unwanted attention, magical or otherwise.

Owners: Theo Spencer

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (5%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Expansions:

[Speed Planting]

[Enhanced Growth]

[Scaling Expansion]

[Drogramathi Cultivation]

[More Fields]

[Persistent Water]

Theo found one of his Dimensional Storage Crates he kept nearby for supplies, adding the Khahari Cotton Seeds. He accessed the nearby lodestone network, adding new instructions. The two new fields would house the Khahari Cotton, leaving the original two fields for the Earth Wheat. After fiddling with those settings for a few minutes, the alchemist noticed a group of people coming down from the wall, led by Luras. The alchemist waved as the half-ogre approached.

Some kids said they were nearly eaten by a demon, Luras grunted.

Theo shrugged. Im not sure how everyone doesnt know who I am. Im not a bad demon, Luras! I promise.

Luras tried not to smile. But he did. Are you scaring kids now?

They were holed up in my farmhouse, Theo said, gesturing to the building. Eating raw wheat. They were basically eating straw, which has to be a choking hazard.

Youre feeling smarmy today, Luras said.

Theo waved the lingering concerns away. They got scared when I upgraded the building.

And the earthquake?

Oh, check it out, Theo said, reaching his will out to a section of dirt beneath Lurass feet. He carved a square section out, just as he practiced, and held it together as he lifted.

Luras narrowed his eyes at Theo, hovering about three feet off the ground.

Pretty cool, right? Theo asked.

Luras grumbled. Yeah. It is. Does it work on rocks?

Yep.

Can you throw one?

Uh-huh.

Theo placed the cube of dirt back into the ground, then rooted around with his will to find a good rock. He found one that was roughly the size of his head and pulled it out with his core, pushing dirt away as it went to make the process easier. The gray stone hung in the air as the alchemist looked for a target.

Can you get it over the river? Luras asked, coming closer to stand next to the alchemist.

Absolutely, Theo said. He let his willpower and mana go wild, dumping everything he had into the rock. It shot through the air, swifter than an arrow, clearing the river with ease. Hey, didnt you come out here to yell at me for scaring the children?

Yeah. How big can you go? Luras asked, gesturing to a boulder near the road. Is that too big?

Were just gonna have to find out, my dear friend.