Carefully, wasting not a drop of the precious brew, Val poured equal amounts into a dozen of the small flasks he had liberated from Christine's laboratory only hours before.
"Stay with me Gregor," Val whispered, only now allowing his anxiety reign once more, carefully propping up his diminutive friend, alarmed by how light, how frail he felt. Surprised by his own trembling hands, he carefully trickled a single dose down Gregor's throat, drop by careful drop, massaging the throat so the tiny man would swallow.
"Gregor?" Val whispered, hoping against hope when his increasingly thready heartbeat seemed to get stronger, Gregor's tiny hands clenching Val's wrist like claws, his gnomish little friend letting out a sudden breathless cry as his eyes popped open, gazing all about him in sudden panic.
"The potion. Val, check the potion! We dare not let the ingredients burn!"
Val gazed sadly at his friend. "I'm sorry, Gregor. But whatever you were cooking up, it was already ruined by the time I arrived."
Gregor violently shook his head. "No, impossible. I couldn't have blacked out for more than a moment." His gaze turned panicked. "Val, I found it! Even as we raced against death, Elise and Sten gaining ghastly bruises, begging me to hurry, I found the cure! It's right here…"
Trembling hands flipped open the exotically bound book of alchemical formulas that only one who could synergize the most complex of mathematical interrelationships alongside far more abstract concepts could possibly have understood, Val rubbing his head and gazing intently at the exquisitely complex chart, still finding a certain amount of wonder that he could at least understand the nuances as it pertained to magic, though the actual quantities and specifics of the more mundane herbs were horrifically difficult for him to puzzle out.
"Never mind that, Val. I can tell you the herbs we need for the ratios we are using. The problem is we are missing three of them, and I had to make do with what we had!"
Gregor took a sudden sniff, eyes widening in alarm. "Oh no, that's not a Cure-all potion. You've made a basic healing potion, Val!"
Val furrowed his brow. "Yes, I did. And it's why you're even talking to me now."
Gregor blinked, gazing down at his sore-covered hands. "I'm still sick... but I do feel better, at least..."
Val handed Gregor a glass of water. "Drink. My potion might not cure you, but it's rejuvenating damaged cells, giving your white blood cells more time and vitality to mount an even more powerful offense against the invaders. You'll probably sicken again soon enough, but it shouldn't hit you quite so quickly this time."
Gregor nodded. "You do have a knack for healing potions, Val. You might have brought me days when before all I had was hours. And although I feel a bit weak and lightheaded, the pain is gone, as long as I don't press the sores too hard. Thank you for that, at least, Val."
Then his eyes widened, the sores on his arms visibly disappearing. "A miracle!"
Val shook his head. "It's healing the damage, but the infection is still burning through you. I have no doubt new sores will pop up within hours, but hopefully they'll be smaller. Like you said, at least I bought you some time."
Gregor's eyes blazed with desperate hope. "Val, I hate to admit this, but you truly have a knack. Your healing potion, it didn't just bind flesh wounds, it rejuvenated Sten's broken patella!"
Val shrugged. "Might have been a hairline fracture. Thank god it did, though."
"Gods," Gregor corrected absently. "But that's hardly the point. The point is you craft the most potent healing tinctures I've ever seen! Okay, here's what we'll do. You mix some more batches of those healing potions while I race to dispense them to our friends! Maybe, if we're lucky, if we can keep up, at least some of them will pull through." He then caught sight of Val's gaze, visibly paling. "That is, unless you want to do something else?"
Val smiled and shook his head. "Actually, you read my mind, Gregor. I'm not even sure where everyone is. Please tell me you know where Julia is?"
Gregor nodded enthusiastically. "Your friends recovered, Val, and they show no signs of infection! Julia... I'm sorry, Val, but she did have a fever. No sores, though. Her mother thinks your mixed heritage is what has given you both such a high resistance to this plague." He swallowed, lowering his head. "I'm sorry I called you a Homunculus before."
Val shook his head ruefully. "No need to apologize. You were more right than you know."
Gregor's eyes widened at this.
"No time! Your idea's a good one. Take these potions, give them to Christine, Julia, and our friends. Have Dirk, Yin, and Chris come over here as fast as they can. They can assist us. And while you’re at it, have Christine send as many vials as she can our way, alright?"
"You got it, Captain. I mean Val!" Gregor said, racing out the door on surprisingly fast legs, Val certain his potion boosted stamina as well as health, and grateful for it.
Val wasted no time, quickly preparing what he needed to make his second batch, and before he knew it, he was fully submerged in his craft, feeling the flow of power catalyzed, nurtured, and concentrated through the maze of beakers, flasks and boilers that made up his Tier 2 Alchemy station. He felt a delicious sense of satisfaction when his ruby mixture catalyze fully, brimming with all the power and potential a minor healing potion could contain.
But there was more he could do. There must be! He just had to concentrate. To focus. To master the flows of power percolating through the vast, interconnected web of tubing, coalescing at last into something miraculous... and almost of its own accord, his hand abruptly plucked a few slivers of silver ginseng from Gregor's flask as Val's third batch neared completion. Val blinked, only aware of his actions after the fact, immediately pouring all his will into stabilizing the reactions he sensed occurring in his brew, deepest crimson turning to a rich shade of violet as the Silver Ginseng permeated the brew, its promise of vigor and vitality synergizing perfectly with the restorative properties of his basic healing potion, making something wholly unique and his own.
Arcane Perception check made! Greater Alchemy skill check made! Congratulations! You have created your first Greater Regeneration potion! Your potion will regenerate wounds, injuries, and fatigue suffered at the equivalent of 2 health and 2 stamina per second, for as many hours as you have Greater Alchemy Ranks! Synergism detected! Double effectiveness with PRM regeneration! - Note. This is an advanced concoction. As much inspiration and raw power as finesse and skill. Only someone with both Arcane Perception and Greater Alchemy can force this highly volatile concoction into a stable brew! 60% chance of success at your level of skill, modified by experience crafting said formula!
Val was so surprised by the notification that he almost dropped the flask.
Finesse check made! How easily good news distracts you, Val!
Carefully separating it into separate vials, he was surprised and grateful to see a very Earth-like leather-bound journal, ink, and quills set up on a stand in a discreet corner, noting that Gregor had been keeping some sort of notes Val could make neither heads nor tails of, Val quickly flipping to the back of the journal to make his own notes. Phonetic language may lack the grace and information storage capacity of a single illuminated chart, but at least he could read his own scribbles.
At that very moment he spun around, Psiblade instantly catalyzed before a shocked Yin stumbling back, looking incredible in silken clothes that fit a form even more voluptuous than he remembered, her beautiful violet eyes locking upon his own.
"Gregor says you made healing potions? We need them... Val, stop, it's me!"
Val grimaced, immediately loosening his will upon the blade. "Sorry, you startled me," he admitted.
"Remind me not to do that again!" She laughed, gazing at Val strangely. "Did you grow taller since I woke up, or am I still feeling whatever Christine did to us?"
Val shrugged. "It's been a hectic few days, and I feel like I should be asking you that question. Beautiful eyes, by the way."
"Aren't they? It's wild, Val! My skin is flawless,
my hair's never felt silkier, and the only reason why I'm wearing these clothes is because my shirt popped open and my old pants won't even fit! Julia said her mother's parenteral nutrition is light-years ahead of Earth's, and I think I must have put on ten pounds! I'm almost embarrassed by my hips and chest, but I'm pretty sure I'd turn heads left and right if I went back to school now."
Val nodded. "You look incredible. Those extra pounds are in all the right places. I think Christine's as obsessed with fertility as she is raw power. Maybe you already figured that out. Anyway, here. Take these vials and give them to whoever's sickest, stat!"
Yin swallowed, her mind back on the present. "You're right. Thank you, Val. Things are a mess in the patient ward. But thanks for making me smile. I needed that. I'll be back as soon as I can, just please don't cut me in half next time!"
Val winced. "I won't. That's a promise."
Greater Alchemy skill check failed! That's one purple brew you don't want to touch, Val!
When Chris and Dirk popped by moments later, Val was glaring over his second failure. He didn't understand. It had worked brilliantly the first time, but he hadn't been able to get the silver ginseng's arcane properties to flow in proper sync with the basic healing potion, and he knew he couldn't afford to waste any more of those precious ingredients.
Chris whistled. "You're looking good, my man Val! Healing potions to save the day, huh?" He tilted his head, flashing his friendly smile. "Have you been working out?"
Val grinned, noting the transformations that had occured in his friend. "Mostly surviving, buddy. Mostly just surviving. Nice eyes, by the way.”
Chris chuckled softly as Val gazed into orbs of shimmering mercury, or so it seemed. There was no separate iris or pupil, just orbs a uniform shade of quicksilver. “Aren’t they, though? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, my friend. But never mind that. We got lives to save.”
“You’re right about that,” Val said. “Here. A fresh batch of basic healing potions. It won't cure the plague, but it will bring the victims back to health, if we're lucky. They will still be flooded with pathogens, but at least it gives their better prepared immune systems a second chance to mount a strong defense.”
"That's basically what Christine said when we gave her that first dose,” Dirk replied. “Everyone's also instructed to drink plenty of water. The potion might be a miracle worker, but it's best to take when well hydrated."
Val nodded, turning to his friend. That’s when he finally noticed the golden irises, hair that seemed to shimmer, and features about a decade younger than what he remembered. Val blinked, astounded by the changes in his friend.
Dirk's lips curved into a bemused smile. "You were right. It's the real deal, Val. Christine might have been keeping some pretty deadly secrets, but even I know I could never have hoped for this otherwise."
"How do you feel?"
Dirk paused a thoughtful moment as Val loaded him up with basic healing potions. "Honestly? I've never felt better. Worried as hell for everyone dying of this god-awful plague, grateful as hell that we seem to be immune, but I feel stronger even than I did after my last level-up, and like a whole new world has been opened to me."
Val smiled into his friend's golden irises. "I'm not surprised. Can you read me, yet?"
Dirk chuckled. "It's only been a few hours, but... oddly enough, I do think I sense something." His handsome brow furrowed. "You were just admiring Yin, weren't you?"
Val winked. "I don't know exactly what Christine's formula did, obviously playing patty-cake with her genetic makeup, but I know Highlords value fertility just as much as they do psionic potential or arcane might. Personally, I think she looks absolutely stunning." Val tilted his head. "What do you think, Dirk?"
Dirk's gaze hardened. Then he flushed. "I think if you really did seduce her in your dreams, I owe you an ass whipping."
Chris's eyes widened at that.
"And my thanks. You saved our lives back there. Somehow. Christine's miracle enhancement almost didn't take." Dirk slowly nodded, Val carefully saying nothing. "Yeah, I remember that dream, or maybe I'm just seeing it in your eyes now. Either way, I owe you one, kid. And stay away from my girl. You have your own." He smirked, chuckling softly, wrapping Val in a fierce hug before stepping back. "Well, get to work, Sergeant. There must be hundreds of sick souls pouring into the infirmary and the rooms beyond. God knows how many people actually live and work here, but we need all the healing potions you can make!"
Val nodded as his friends left, still preoccupied with his recent failures.
He looked down at his trembling hands. Who was he kidding? He was anxious as hell about Julia and everyone else. And after seeing Yin... his focus had been shot. It was time to center himself and do what he had to do without excuses. If Chris and Dirk could get into the game just hours after being permanently altered by god knew what experiments, he could do no less for the hundreds counting on him.
First, he put together a few more batches of basic healing potions, truly in the zone, merely pointing at finished batches of ruby liquid when his increasingly harried friends stopped by, at last feeling ready to try infusing silver ginseng into the brew again.
And this time it worked.
Critical success! Future failure risks halved! Greater Regeneration formula is now a permanent part of your repertoire! As long as you keep your focus, you are confident you can replicate your success when mixing this formula.
But the sardonic voice was only rehashing what Val already knew, having sensed with that last batch silver ginseng's well-kept secrets, knowing he had to unlock his potency at the very instant he mixed together Dragonberries and Purple Elderoot. There was always the chance of failure, but he thought he understood most of the risks as he proved to himself over the next eight batches, seven of them absolute successes.
And then his friends had no more healing potions to distribute, having no choice but to grab some of the purples.
"Are you sure this is safe, Val?" Yin asked. Val smiled, carefully opening and sipping the contents of one, eyes alighting upon Gregor even then making his way back.
"How are you feeling, Gregor?"
Gregor sighed. "Like I should be doing all I can to research that Cure-all formula. And what the hell did you cook up while I was gone?"
Val grinned. "Greater Regeneration. Would you like to try it?" Gregor grimaced, looking down at his hands and sighing. "Considering that we're probably all dead, save for your beautiful friend and her companions, of course..." Yin grinned at the compliment. "I'd say I'll take whatever you got. I can tolerate far more potions in a single day than most, and your purple can't be any worse than the disease. And if it boosts my healing capacity..." Hesitating no longer, he cautiously sipped from the vial Val handed him, eyes widening as it slid down his throat, before breaking out into a surprised smile. "Not bad, Val. Not bad at all. I can feel it doing something... maybe..." He furrowed his brow. "But no time to waste. You drop those off, then we have research to do. We need to find some way to adapt the Cure-all potion to our present situation."
Val nodded. "You said we were missing three ingredients, right?"
Gregor grinned in approval. "You were paying attention. Good! Yes. Sweet Lingonberry, Infused Peppermint, and Black Hawthorn."
Val was gazing intently into Gregor's eyes as he said those words, knowing he needn't fear Gregor reading him, recalling one of Elise's lessons, what seemed a lifetime ago. His mind might lack some of the neuro-clusters that gave his Jordian friends a mathematical framework to view life which he completely lacked, and he dare not pit his fragile mind against any Highlord. But when it came understanding what people were trying to convey with his Cypher skill, really just a subtle form of telepathy, he was as gifted as any Psionicist. And with focus... there it was. Val felt a certain sense of exhilaration as he suddenly understood exactly what each of those ingredients looked, smelled, and tasted like. He would recognize them instantly if he stumbled upon them.
; Yin gently clasped his hand. "Come on, Val, we need to hurry!" Her eyes widened in awe when Val put all the regeneration potions she couldn't carry into his pocket dimension. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Val?" she teased, but Val paid it no mind, racing back to the central building, suddenly feeling the tension he had pushed aside for hours crashing into him once more as he heard the groans and sobs of the infected and the dying, heart in throat as he caught sight of Julia smiling with relief, for all that she looked pale and wan.
Her gaze only hardened momentarily upon seeing Yin beside him, Yin's hand having slipped like magic from his grasp the moment Julia glanced their way.
But Val didn't give a damn for misunderstandings, his fierce hug at seeing her all that was needed to ease her worry, tension melting to tears and relief, her grip far stronger than it had any right to be, her Highlord heritage manifesting like never before.
"Thank you, Val. For those potions. They may not be a cure, but they’re helping!"
Val nodded and swallowed, saying what he had dreaded even thinking about until that moment.
"How is my dad? How is your own father?"
Julia squeezed his hand. "Mother says they're fine for now. We made sure they got some of the first batch of healing potions, along with ourselves."
Val nodded, feeling a dreadful tension suddenly drop away. "Good. I have some more. Even stronger. Make sure our parents and friends each get a purple. Then distribute the rest to whoever needs it. At least it will buy us some time."
Julia's eyes widened as Val pulled out dozens from storage, Sten himself approaching and whistling in approval.
"Well done, Val. I knew if there was one lad who could pull our asses from the fire..." He caught Julia's gaze and flashed a thousand-megawatt grin. "Every time I see you, I know why Val was so willing to look death in the eye. If you're going to gamble with fate, make it count."
Julia grinned. "And every time you flash that smile, I know why Elise fell for you. You look just like Han, by the way, with your armored jacket and blaster."
Oblivion's Peril Page 21
