71: Alchemy Shop

The next morning, everyone was in high spirits. I successfully carved a rune into two more melons and reached Level 2 in Carving Touch. But when I looked through Char’s notebook, I was immediately reminded of how truly out of my depth I was.

Even the most basic runes in that notebook looked incredibly complicated compared to the barrier I had done. Still, I would persist.

I also cooked up several more batches of cookies that night until Hari suggested we visit an alchemy shop before we headed out on patrol for the next couple of days. The idea was to see if we could purchase herbs related to health and restoration—maybe even create cookies that provided regeneration.

After a simple breakfast of smoked boar belly, eggs, and rolls, Hari, Liane, and I went out to find the alchemy shop. We’d need to head to the guild, since there was only one other alchemist in town—and they only sold end products, never raw materials.

“It’s really busy compared to the last time we were here,” I said, looking around. The streets were bustling with life and activity.

“A lot of people are stranded here at the moment,” Hari replied. “We caught up with Londor yesterday—he mentioned most people got out in time, but a few quarry workers are still unaccounted for.”

That was upsetting. I didn’t like the idea of more death because of all this. Over the past week, I’d been doing my best to push down that lingering guilt.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the most wonderful smell. Freshly baked bread, with something sweet mixed in. The scent was intoxicating.

Looking around, I spotted the source—a bakery, loading up racks with fresh rolls.

“Uh, sorry—could we stop at the bakery?” I asked, glancing at Hari, who just shrugged.

As we entered the store, I saw they had more than just rolls. There was an assortment of sweet pastries as well. I wanted to buy everything, but I knew that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the townsfolk.

I caught the attention of the baker behind the counter, who seemed more focused on convincing Hari and Liane to buy something.

“Excuse me, sir—do you take bulk orders?” I asked.

The question seemed to take him off guard. “Is what I have here not enough?” he asked, looking around.

“Oh, sorry—no! That’s not it. I didn’t want to buy too much and leave nothing for the residents,” I said quickly, feeling a bit silly. Of course he’d take it as an insult if I acted like his stock wasn’t good enough.

To my surprise, the man let out a laugh. “I’m just playing with you, kid. What did you have in mind? I’ve still got a large amount of dough out back for rolls I need to prepare today,” he said, folding his arms but still smiling broadly.

Then the thought struck me—could I cook the dough and infuse it?

Nobody had cooked it yet, and the storage should stop the yeast growth, right?

“Actually, that might be perfect. How much for the dough, not cooked, for say, a hundred or so rolls?” I asked curiously. “I’ll also want to get some sweet pastries from you, but the dough would be really useful.”

The man clearly hadn’t been expecting that question. “The dough? Err… unbaked?”

“Yeah, if you’d be willing to sell it?” I wasn’t sure he would go for it, but to my surprise, he did.

“Sure, I’ll sell you the dough. Usually it’s two copper a roll, so let’s say four silver for the whole dough ball I’ve got sitting out there. You’ll get a couple hundred rolls from it. But how are you even going to take it?” he asked, curious.

“That’s perfect! I can store it right now,” I said, pulling out the four silver. Two hundred rolls would last me a long time.

“Whoa, hold up,” the man said with a chuckle. “It’s not finished proving yet. It’ll be another half an hour or so. While we wait, you said you were interested in pastries too?”

What followed was Liane excitedly pointing to all the pastries she thought looked good—from sweet buns to fruit tarts—and I purchased… most of them.

After chatting with the man and explaining why I wanted the dough (though I didn’t tell him about infusing it, just that I wanted fresh bread on the road and couldn’t resist the smell), the time finally came. He pushed a finger into the dough, and when it slowly rose back up, he declared it ready. He cut it into five even-sized chunks to make working with it easier, and I stored it all.

We shook hands—his name was Smith, which I’d somehow only just learned. He wanted to chat more, especially after asking about Crisplet and finding out it helped me cook and bake. He actually looked a bit sad to see us go, and I promised I’d return one day to say hi.

From there, we made our way to the guild. Entering, we headed to the secured door that led into the merchant area of this guild. I wondered if the loot house would still have any of the Treant wood we sold them, and if it would be worth seeing if we could buy some back?

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Honestly though, without Milo here to haggle, I wasn’t too comfortable with that.

As we entered the store, I noticed Liane had vanished again. I knew she’d be close by, but it was always unnerving to see her simply gone. The next thing that hit me was the smell—an intense blend of dried herbs and potions that stung my nostrils.

“Greetings!” a young-looking woman called from behind the counter. “If you need help finding anything, just ask!”

“Uh, actually, I will need a hand,” I said, unsure how to approach it.

“Oh, absolutely. How can I help today?” she asked brightly.

“I’m looking for any raw ingredients that would be useful in the production of health or mana potions. Fresh or dried,” I said.

“You’re an alchemist? Didn’t know we had any others in town. Hmm, hold on—I’ll get Sal. I’m just the apprentice, so he’ll know better.” She disappeared into the back room, and a moment later, a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties—barely older than Hari or Milo—appeared at the front.

“Hello, my name is Sal. I was told you’re looking for ingredients. Did you have specific ones in mind?” he asked, glancing between me and Hari. His eyes lingered on Crisplet for a moment, clearly surprised, before the polite smile returned.

“No, not in particular. I’m familiar with Virfolium, Mana Tears, and Blood Tears,” I said, surprising him a little—he must’ve expected Hari to be the one speaking.

“I see. The basics, then. New to alchemy?” he asked.

“Something like that. Sorry—I’ve not had a lot of training,” I replied, trying to brush it off.

“That’s fine. Yes, we have those dried. The Blood Tears we carry as a powder. I also have some Whisperbark and Virella, which is mostly used in mana restoration potions. Although, I warn you, you’ll need to remove the toxic nature of Virella before using it,” he said, his tone turning serious.