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Alchemical Chemistry

Started by DragonSong, December 10, 2017, 06:20:01 PM

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DragonSong

@Wrathwyrm



"Ashir!"

He winced at Layla's screech and fought against the urge to skitter back and hide behind the counter he was busy cleaning. Ashir glanced up as the alchemist came storming into the shop, face thunderous. "Yes, mistress?"

She snarled at him wordlessly and he kept his expression carefully blank. Like a lion on the plains. Don't attack, don't run, maybe it'll leave you alone.. Judging by the bangings and crashes that had been coming from the workroom, he assumed his owner and mentor had been having trouble with her latest concoction.

"I'm going out," Layla snapped at him, as though her failures were his fault. "I have a meeting with that pompous merchant prince- the one with the massive mole on his nose, what was it-?"

"Prince Neeraz, mistress?"

"Yes, that one." She waved a hand at him airily and he tried not to flinch away, having been condition to expect that had to strike as often as not. "Mind the shop while I'm gone. I expect at what's in the coin box to have at least doubled by the time I return, or there'll be hell to pay," she added with a warning glare and a curl of her lip.

Ashir nodded, keeping his eyes lowered as he adjusted the veil over the lower half of his face. "Of course, mistress," he murmured.

Fuck her. How the hell am I supposed to do that- we've only had one customer today, and she knows it! It's not my fault the bitch is losing custom since she's started getting meaner. Well, that wasn't strictly true. When others were around, Layla was the same woman he'd known since childhood, cool and blunt, but not unkind.

But now, when it was just the two of them... Her hand moved quickly, peevishly, searching for her coin purse, and this time he couldn't stop himself from flinching.

His back still stung from her last fit of temper.

With another scoff, and without so much as a backward glance, the alchemist stormed through the door and out onto the street.

Ashir sighed and allowed himself to slump against the counter slightly, closing his eyes as he forced himself to breathe. A part of him was disgusted with himself. There were plenty of slaves in Essyrn much worse off than he was- he should probably be grateful it had taken her this long to treat him the way she was now.

With a small sigh he straightened up and finished cleaning the counter, then slipped behind it to count what was in the coin box. She wanted it doubled, after all.

Hateful bitch.

Wrathwyrm

In a land where Prince Ali - fabulous he - Ali Ababwa, would not seem out of place, there was someone else about who kind of DID.  Meet a Connlaothian who - while she didn't really think much of magic - did not really fear it.  That's unusual, as is.  Now, a look at this foreigner...  She's light-skinned, brown-haired, in male clothing, and looked like she worked for a living.  This was odd for even Connlaoth, somewhat, so imagine the kind of looks she might be getting here.

The other thing was that she was apparently armed and inquisitive.

Normally, it's suppose to be 'dangerous', but while the danger might go without saying, her curiosity was a much more powerful source.  This girl was some kind of inventor, 'Innovator' was the official title.  Actually, she was the innovative daughter of another innovator.  From her belt hung a few interesting things on clips attached to the loops.  First of all, Tri-Claw Mark-Ones, which are her wrist-worn claw weapons with leather wrist-guards, made by her and patented by her mother, who negotiated payment for the credit due to her.  Second thing, also a recent patent, The Grappler Gun, which is for climbing and swinging around.

These things are unusual and very dangerous in their own right, but right now...she was running around town in the market district, looking over everything her eyes could take in.  And as she was both quick and agile, she was all over the place, because this girl's unusual leaping and balancing skills have also made her the unofficial inventor of Parkour.  Yeah, it's weird like that.  But now, she had jumped down from a stall's roof to cool off for a moment.  She took the third thing on her belt - the waterskin - that was near the fourth thing - her money pouch - and had a drink.

A kid tried to run by and grab her pouch.  She hopped right out of the way and poked him in the nose before talking to him in a sing-song voice.

"If you're hungry, you should just ask."

"Uhh...yes, please."

He'd honestly been pretty hungry and figured her too tired to give chase at this point, but he'd been stunned by her reflexes, and now she put a couple coppoers into his hand.

"Go back five stalls and a little to the left.  He's having a sale because business hasn't been so good.  Now, go on!"

This girl was a kinder, stranger sort.  She'd rather solve a problem than leave it sit, especially if she could afford it.  So now, she turned around and saw...oooh...an alchemy shop.  She always wanted to know more about foreign alchemy!  What was it like?  What could they do?  It wasn't magic, was it?  They'd never let her mess with it at home if it was!  She opened the door and literally rolled inside, so that she'd spring up all of a sudden at the counter.

"Hey there, can you tell me everything?"

DragonSong

"Ack!"

Ashir nearly fell over he stumbled back so quickly, eyes wide as he took in the foreign woman.

Was that entirely necessary?! Damn northerners.

Swallowing the curses he wanted to snap, he kept his eyes downcast and murmured, "Forgive me, young mistress, I don't understand... Is there something you're looking for in the shop?"

Wrathwyrm

After he seemingly flew back, Kate began to lean on the counter as the question was posed.

"Yes, of course.  I wanna learn about alchemy.  I'm an innovator, creating new things and improving old ones.  I work with alot of materials.  I wondered if I could learn about the ways of alchemy to expand my understanding of things, so I can create even more."

If 'Being earnest' had an avatar, this might be what it looked like.  The young lady was clearly {A} interested, {B} knowledgeable, and {C} rather excited by the practice.  She might be able to understand it, right off.  And why not?  Kate was educated at the college of Uthlyn, and had a highly-educated mother.  It might be possible.

DragonSong

Ashir did his best not to glower at her. Foreigner she may be, but surely she knew by now what his veil meant? Why he was standing behind the counter with his eyes downcast and his shoulders hunched, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"Mistress, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. If you'd wait for Mistress Layla to return, she may be able to help you." Regardless of the fact that he knew at least as much about alchemy as his current owner.

Wrathwyrm

Funny story about that.  Kate didn't really know about that, at all.  If she was told by anyone at any time, she filed it away as unimportant.  Yes, slavery was a thing, in this and her own country, but she didn't really let it bother her.  She was not judgemental in that regard.  Chances are, even if she had one, said slave would be treated like a friend and employee because that's the only kind of understanding she'd want to have with a person considered to be working for her.

So, there was this problem, then.  The guy behind the counter was stating that his mistress - His Boss? - was the one she was looking for to talk to, but that was no good!  He worked here!  He should know where to begin on the subject!  That would save loads of time, for him AND his mistress!  She decided to put a voice to this line of thinking in her head.

"How long will she be out.  I'm essentially asking to learn.  That means from step one.  It would save her a great deal of time and effort if I got the basics down while she was out doing something important."

DragonSong

His eyes moved warily from the girl to the door to the counter in front of him and back. "I...can't," he said slowly, eyes slightly narrowed. "Really. Even if I wanted to, I can't."

He looked away, eyes slightly downcast as was proper. "It is not a slave's place to teach, young mistress. The shop's proprietor will be back within the hour, I should think, if you are inclined to wait for her." He shrugged. "If not, I'd be happy to assist you in a purchase, if you wish."

Wrathwyrm

Naturally, Katherine's eyes were expressing something of a 'But...' when he said he couldn't.  The notion of it didn't make sense to her.  Even a slave, he had to do the work of whom he belonged to, and that meant taking part in alchemy, which meant if she needed to learn it, he could teach it, but...he said he couldn't.  That was...a bit shocking to her.  At any rate, he said that he'd have to wait for the owner, and in the meantime asked if she wanted to buy something.  This put Kate's mind to work, as she thought of a way to get him to teach her.

"Well, I don't know much about the art of alchemy, so if you really want me to buy the materials...you should probably tell me what you have and why they're important.  After all, whatever they are, they must be used properly or - I assume - things go wrong, right?"

Things have gone slightly wrong here.

DragonSong

Ashir sighed and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, a habit he'd picked up from Layla. "Mistress, as I've said, I am not in a position to offer you instruction. However, if you have some idea of what you would like, I can help you locate it."

Wrathwyrm

"I can't tell you what I want unless you tell me what you've got."

She had him in sort of a bind here.  Kate had nothing to do until his mistress got here.  That meant that she wasn't leaving.  And in the meantime, she was still a customer, which meant he had to accommodate her desire for product if a desire is made.  Obviously, she was interested in learning about alchemy, and that meant she would need to buy things, but she wasn't going to go in blind.

"See, you can't do business with a closed face.  There's a guy on another street going 'Welcome to Akbar's Emporium!' who starts suggesting things to see if they might want them."

Akbar The Third...the shopkeeper stocked with curiosities, knick-knacks, weapons, potions, and other things.  He was a very special kind of trader in goods.  No doubt Layla felt the sting of his business presence, at times.  He had dealt in alchemical things before, even star metal.

DragonSong

It took all of his considerable self-control not to snap at her that she may as well go see Akbar then, because he wanted nothing more to do with her!

Swallowing a few choice curses, Ashir kept his eyes safely lowered and murmured, "We have all of the basic alchemical tools and compounds available, mistress, if you'd like to take a look around while you're waiting."

Wrathwyrm

It really didn't help that she was trying to spur him into some action.  Kate didn't really like being stonewalled for things, especially for reasons that...basically did not make sense to her.  Surely being a slave meant you had to more readily look into the customer's needs.  Well, whatever.  He offered to show her the alchemy wares, and that was progress.  Kate smiled and nodded.

"Please, by all means, show me what you've got.  I have nothing else to do right now."

For someone so studious and deep into calculations and such, she had little timeframe at the moment.  A strange dichotomy for those who work in the precise.

DragonSong

Ka sighed, quickly swallowed the noise, and stepped out from behind the counter. "Basic vials and casks are along that wall." He pointed. "Most basic compounds are on that one." Again, he pointed, then bowed at the waist. "Please, if you have any questions specifically about the merchandise, call for me."

Wrathwyrm

Okay, so she had been shown to some of the basic stuff and materials used in alchemy.  They were all on display, and - Oh look! - they even had labels!  This would make things...uhh...easier?  Hold on...  Kate began to examine all of the things with intense scrutiny and the occasional "Hmmm...", but the truth is, it wasn't so much the elements and compounds she was looking over, but the labels.  After a couple minutes of this, she straightened up and said...

"Yeah, I can't read any of this.  Can I have this translated to Common?"

A working girl from Connlaoth who doesn't get out much wouldn't know.

DragonSong

Ashir was so used to just telling this woman no at this point that he opened his mouth to do just that- then realized he could actually help with that.

"N- Oh. Yes, of course, Mistress." He hurried forward to stand at her shoulder, head lowered respectfully. "Which objects do you need identified?"

Wrathwyrm

This led to her giving off a brightening smile as she said...

"All of them.  I can't read a word of Essyrni.  Not one bit."

She wasn't lying, either.  Kate knew Common, which was the general tongue of Serendipity and Connlaoth, and did not know any of Essyrni, Thanati, Yoreiqi, and certainly not the ancient and forbidden texts of the old civilization which resides in the area simply known as Fell.  She basically had him over a barrel here now.  He had to translate, or she couldn't really know one component from another.

DragonSong

Oh boy.

He bit back yet another sigh. "Very well. Which would you like me to start with?"

Wrathwyrm

"Probably best if you started from one end and worked your way over to the other, so I can keep it all straight in my head."

It wasn't the most direct way to get what she wanted out of him, but the language gap DID seem to help.  Katherine patiently waited for answers to be forthcoming now.

DragonSong

With a huff of breath that he tried to hide behind his veil, Ashir began pointing and translating: bottles and tins and vials, the components that were the very foundations of the universe, according to his mistress. Though he kept that opinion to himself.

Wrathwyrm

The young lady listened quietly, her mouth upturning to a smile as thoughts and ideas began to blossom and grow within her mind.  Much of it was about the possibilities there might be with these elements and compounds.  The other part went thusly, once the man was finished.

"You know, you really do seem to know your stuff.  It's a shame you're not allowed to teach.  I'm getting all kinds of fun feelings about using this stuff."

She was going to end up buying alot, probably.

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