by Ian Rodgers
The dwarf rogue chose to ignore me and waved a greeting to Rosa. “Hey there, little lady! Keeping out of trouble?”
(Uh-huh!) Rosa said, darting over to Katherine and giving her a hug. (Play with me!)
“She wants you to play with her,” I said, still focused on my work. “Which is fine by me. You can’t be that much more of a bad influence. Just don’t teach her how to pick pockets, or I’ll never hear the end of the complaints!”
Rosa rolled her eyes and turned to me, no doubt with a witty comeback planned, but she froze, eyes locked onto me. I wasn’t initially sure why she was so shocked. She’d seen my true form several times before, and hadn’t commented on it. So, I couldn’t comprehend her sudden pause.
“Hey, Jellik, have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?”
“No, why?” I asked, a touch of concern permeating my voice. “Was my disguise faltering when I was on the street today? Did something happen to my illusions?”
“Um, no, it’s just, well, is your core supposed to look like that?”
“Like what?” I asked, trying to see what she was looking at.
“It’s just, I was under the impression an Ooze’s core was smooth. Yours seems to have gained some… decorations.”
I couldn’t tell what it was Katherine was on about, but Rosa flitted over, peered closer, and gasped.
(Jelly, your core! It’s covered in runes!)
“WHAT?!” I shouted, ditching my potions-in-progress and rushing over to a mirror hanging on the wall. I skidded to a halt in front of the polished silver disc used as the room’s reflective surface and stared at myself.
It had been a long time since I had looked at myself in a mirror. Looked at my true self, at least. I was a rich, royal purple, but also slightly transparent. In the center on my gooey mass sat an orb seemingly made of solid gold. My core. The heart and soul of what I was. All my ‘organs’ rested inside this fist-sized sphere. It was where I processed the food I ate, and where my mana rested when I wasn’t using it for spells. My core was the anchor of my Dimensional Pocket, and was easily the most important part of me. Without it, I’d be the equivalent of a brain-dead mortal.
And it was currently covered in intricate whorls, swirls, and vaguely runic symbols, all etched into the golden surface.
I had not interacted with my core in a while. Not since it had been cracked while fighting the Urdrai outside of Arv Prith last autumn. During the time of recovery, I had carefully observed its healing process, and not once had anything like this shown up.
How new was it? When had it appeared? These questions and more screamed through my mind, and I felt panic settling into my body. I started to quiver and tremble, desperately trying to understand what had happened to me.
I felt violated. This was not done to me with my permission! Was this a side effect of the gods-damned prophecy?! How much more was that accursed piece of fortune telling going to try to influence my life?!
“Jellik, are you alright?” Katherine asked hesitantly. Rosa hovered next to her, an expression of sorrow on her face. I shuddered, trying to grab ahold of myself.
~It’s alright, Jelly. We’re here for you. Rosa, Katherine, and I are all here for you.~ Tara’s voice cut through my agitated mental state, and I slumped, feeling a trickle of relief drip into my soul, and sooth my mind.
“I’m fine,” I eventually managed to utter. A tremor occasionally surged through my body, but I’d regained control. For now.
“Sorry about that,” I said, morphing back into my bipedal humanoid form. I then reached out with a tendril and grabbed my robe, slipping it on. To finish it all off, I draped myself with my illusion magic, turning human once more. After checking my disguised self over in the mirror, I turned away. I didn’t want to look at myself at the moment. I didn’t think I could handle it.
“So, what’s the plan for the robbery?” I asked, my voice quiet with a sense of defeat.
“We can discuss that tomorrow,” Katherine said after a moment of pensive silence. “I think what you need right now is something nice to eat.”
She reached out and grabbed my left ‘arm’ and gently tugged me towards the door. “Come on, my contact mentioned this place nearby that serves a lizardfolk dish called ‘tacos.’ Let’s try it out.”
I consented, and let myself be dragged out the door and into the night, Rosa reaching out and grabbing my other ‘hand’ and pulling me along as well. I forced a smile onto my ‘face’ for Katherine and Rosa’s benefit, and followed after them.
I decided I would not deal with my problems that night. At the moment, I wanted to simply forget, and try to pretend I was normal.
Chapter 5: Like a thief in the night
The time had come. It was all, or nothing. I either succeeded, or I failed. This was a test, after all. A test of my skills I had honed for years now!
“You may begin when ready.”
“Yes!” I cheered, bobbing up and down excitedly. I then reached out with a pair of tendrils towards the large collection of alchemical tools and ingredients laid out on the workbench before me.
It was the day of my alchemy exam. Passing it would mean I would be recognized as a full-fledged potion maker! Low ranked to start with, of course, but if I succeeded I could legally sell my potions. Oh, up until now I could brew up a few if there was a request for one at a Guild somewhere, but otherwise it was illegal for me to make potions and sell them.
“According to the information your headmaster gave to me, it says you’ve been self-taught in the ways of alchemy?” my examiner inquired as I went to work.
“Yes, Grandmaster Alwaith,” I replied respectfully. And with just a hint of awe. I had not expected the head of the Varian Alchemist’s Circle to conduct my examination personally.
Grandmaster Edel Alwaith was a genius alchemist, and looked surprisingly young despite being around Headmaster Arnolt’s age. His brown hair was streaked with grey, and he walked with the assistance of a cane, but his sharp eyes watched everything I did with the practiced gaze of a man who’d spent his life brewing, distilling, purifying and creating.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking you questions as you work. An alchemist should be able to perform despite interruptions or distractions.”
“Not at all. Please, continue,” I said, reaching out for the dried black Shadowbloom petals and grinding them up alongside a small chunk of amber.
“Tell me, Mr. Jellik, what do you think the duties of an Alchemist are?” Alwaith inquired while observing me closely.
“Do you want what they do, or what they represent?” I asked, and he smiled.
“Both.”
“Well, if we go by definition, Alchemists are those who take things that exist in the real world and alter them so they can be useful. It’s not just potions they create, Alchemists also purify and refine metals and ores. Without an Alchemist having treated certain materials, it would be much harder to enchant them,” I said, adding a dollop of pine resin to the earlier powdered substances.
“Oh, and they make the gold and silver used in the coinage,” I added as an afterthought. “Without them transmuting mundane materials into more precious ones, the cost of living would be much higher, and harder to manage. Before the Alchemist’s Circle worked with the royal mints, one gold coin was worth a hundred times more, but that made it harder for the average person to afford anything.”
“Very good. A text book explanation backed up with an example of real world applications,” Alwaith praised. “Now, can you tell me what an Alchemist truly does?”
“An Alchemist does not merely create, they take the mundane, and make it magical. They pursue the truths of the world, and harness those truths for the good of the people,” I recited as I poured the mixture into a beaker of boiling rose water. The liquid contents turned tangerine orange as it swirled and bubbled away.
“Yes. That is what we do,” Grandmaster Alwaith agree, tone bordering on reverent as he spoke. “We might not be as widely rec
ognized or celebrated as mages or even adventurers, but what we do is a vital task that, without us, would see the stability of the land crumble.”
He swept his hands across the room. “Without us, civilization would have stalled and stagnated. It was the study of alchemists who figured out the secrets of concrete after it was thought lost following the fall of Val’Narash, and it is the alchemists who keep the economy of Orria stable. Ours is a task that is often overshadowed by others, but we do not need praise, because we know how important our services are.”
As I listened, I continued to work on my potion. I stirred the contents of the beaker before pouring it into a flask, and placing it in a tray filled with sand. The tiny granules conducted the heat from the boiling potion, and helped cool it down.
Once it was cooled enough for human hands to touch, I plucked it out and passed it over to the grandmaster, who took it and examined my efforts with a critical eye.
“A Potion of Cure Disease, hmm? And a Medium-grade one at that. Nice solid orange color, and no dregs or undissolved pieces floating around inside,” Alwaith mused, peering at the liquid. He poured a drop on his tongue, tasting my efforts.
“Smooth texture, no lingering aftertastes, and it doesn’t make me heave when I consume it.” He peered at the potion for a moment longer before smiling.
“Well done. I believe this is worthy of a passing grade.”
I let out a whoop of joy and bounced up and down in glee. Hearing my hollering, Arnolt peeled himself from the shadows where he had been watching and walked over.
“Congratulations, Jelly. Now you’re an Alchemist. Good job!”
“Thank you, headmaster! And thank you, grandmaster!” I replied, elongating my body so I could make a bow towards them.
“No, it was all your own skills and effort,” Alwaith said, waving it off. Arnolt nodded.
“So, Jelly, what are you planning to do now? Go out and celebrate?”
I went still, and my good mood was put on hold. “If I don’t tell you, you can’t be treated as an accessory.”
Both of the elderly men shared a glance with each other, before muttering about ‘kids these days’ and shaking their heads.
“Well, on that ominous note, I’ll take my leave,” Grandmaster Alwaith said slowly before exiting the testing room. Arnolt just sighed while giving me a scolding look.
“Just don’t get arrested.”
“I make no promises,” I replied, before hopping off the workbench and into my glass tank. I immediately shuffled my consciousness out of my clone body before my mentor could give me a proper talking-to about the dangers of breaking the law.
Seconds later I woke up in my original body, with Katherine sitting in a chair watching me sleep on the desk.
“You done?” she asked, and I bobbed up and down, mimicking a nod.
“Yup. I’m now a legally registered Alchemist,” I said proudly. Katherine smiled, glad for my success, before the grin turned sharp and somewhat sinister.
“Great! That means we can now plan the heist!”
I trembled at that somewhat. Why did I keep getting involved with women who were both short and criminally inclined? First there was Tilda back at the Academy, and now this!
Was I cursed? Was this an unmentioned part of the prophecy?
“Look, Katherine, I know that this is an important task, but I don’t feel comfortable partaking in criminal activities,” I began nervously. “Can’t I just stay back and help with logistics or something that doesn’t involve actually participating in the breaking, entering, and stealing?”
The dwarf maiden folded her arms and shot me a stern look. “No, I don’t think there is a chance of that.”
“Is the mansion really so defended?” I asked helplessly.
“Not really. But you have to join me all the same. See, this is a test. A test to tell if you’re really on our side or not.”
“I’m not on the Dark Guild’s side! I’m on my side, which involves finding the Soul Oozes!” I protested. Katherine shook her head.
“If you want our help, you have to do this, Jellik. And, if I might add, not having the Dark Guild as a friend means you might become our enemy. And I’d really rather not see that happen to you. I like you, and think of you as a friend, but if my superiors say otherwise, well…” she trailed off, leaving what might happen if I crossed the Dark Guild to my imagination. And sadly, I had a decent one.
I looked at the expression on Katherine’s face and sighed in defeat.
“So, what do I need to do?”
.
Night had fallen, and the darkness seeped into the surroundings. Even with the moon and stars shedding light on the port town, there wasn’t much visibility.
A bit before midnight, Katherine and I had slipped out of our hotel room, and ventured into the night. I had shed my clothes and illusions, choosing to go au natural for the heist. From the Wood Duck Inn, we had slipped silently through the alleyways and backstreets, keeping out of sight from anyone still out and about. There wasn’t much nightlife in Pollastra, so the majority of people still around at that time were drunks and guards. And both groups were easily avoided.
It also helped that the dwarf thief was dressed to steal. Katherine wore black leather armor, complete with a hood to cover her hair, and similarly colored boots and gloves. Interestingly, everything was smeared with a thin layer of soot to prevent any stray light from reflecting off of it.
After ten minutes of slinking and sneaking, we reached the upper-class part of town. Bigger houses, more space between the streets, and of course, a greater degree of cleanliness on display. If that didn’t say ‘we’re well off!’ then I suppose the fancy statues and ostentatious decorations proclaimed the inhabitants’ status. That, and the strong magical wards here and there set up to protect their valuables. The magical defenses shone brightly in my eyes.
Katherine proceeded to climb onto the roof of the nearest shop, and I followed after her, secreting a sticky film from my body and using it to roll up the side of the wall. From the roof, there was a clear view of a much larger building two streets over.
“Is that the place?” I asked Katherine, pointing at it with a tendril, and she nodded.
“That is the governor’s mansion. Nice, isn’t it?”
I looked it over with a critical eye, comparing it to the manors and palaces I’d seen back in Orria. The building was one of the few not entirely made of wood. Instead, it was partially made of locally quarried stone. Easily the largest structure in Pollastra aside from the Divine Family’s temple, it had four stories and a strolling garden. All of it was kept separate from the rest of the town by a stone and wrought-iron fence.
There were a number of magical defenses as well that I could see. Alarm wards, barriers that would stun anyone passing through them, and a plethora of others that were laid bare before my sight.
And as an extra layer of security, several guards were patrolling the grounds, both inside the manor and outside, their torches and lanterns creating little blobs of light in the midnight darkness.
“There seem to be a lot of guards,” I mused as I counted no less than two dozen of them keeping watch around the property.
“At the moment, the governor is under house arrest while being investigated for smuggling and consorting with pirates,” Katherine explained. “and not Dark Guild sanctioned ones. Seems this guy was working with none other than Bolos Stormbringer.”
“Oh yeah, that B-rank pirate that got killed earlier this year,” I said, recognizing the name. “Who did him in again?”
“I dunno, some adventurers who stumbled onto his secret base. Look, that part’s not important,” Katherine said dismissively. “What is, is that since the governor betrayed his contract with the Dark Guild, we are going to take back some of the wealth he made with us. And that includes the deed, which is the main thing we’re here for.”
She gestured lazily towards the men marching around. “Those guys are just here to keep th
e governor inside while investigations go through. We shouldn’t have any trouble getting past them.”
“And what about once we’re inside?” I asked. “I can see the various magical barriers and wards set up around the place and can take care of those easily, but I have no idea what kind of non-magical defenses he has.”
“That’s where I come in,” the dwarf said confidently. “Are you ready?”
“Not really, but let’s do it anyways,” I said wryly, and she stifled a giggle before becoming deadly serious.
“If I tried to climb over the fence to get in, I’d be spotted too easily. Therefore, I need you to make me a way inside,” Katherine said. She drew a dagger and pointed it at a section of the enclosed mansion that had a tree in the garden with a few branches poking out over the top of the fence.
“See that tree? I want you to climb it, then use your Earth magic to open up a tunnel for me to sneak in from underneath. You’re small, and even with that golden core of yours, your sneaking ability is surprisingly high, so getting onto the other side shouldn’t be a problem.” She then snickered. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed you’d been a bad little pet and went around exploring without your princess’ permission.”
I remained studiously silent. That was exactly the truth of the matter. Back in Sanc Aldet I used to spend many evenings slinking around the corridors and halls of Palestone Palace, exploring and keeping an eye out on behalf of my owner and her family.
But I wasn’t going to let Katherine know that. She was smug enough already. Having her know her guess was spot on would only make her that much more insufferable.
“Alright, I’m off,” I declared, jumping off the roof and landing on the ground with a wet squelch. I quickly zoomed off, rolling through the dark streets as fast as my round body could roll.
I came to a halt in front of the fence and extended two long tendrils up to the closest overhanging branch. Using them, I hoisted myself up into the tree, where I was hidden by budding flowers and a handful of green leaves. Just in time, too, as a guard patrol wandered past seconds after I shrank down even smaller and cowered in the foliage.
