Chapter Twenty-One - Gifts

  Lochlann draped over the counter with all the grace of a berthed whale. “You look way too chipper for what you just put us through.” The words were practically a groan as he struggled to push himself upright.

  Giving him a considering glance, she finally admitted, “I didn’t think it would hit you that hard. You must’ve had a lot more toxins built up than I thought. I should’ve guessed the alchemists who imbibe their concoctions regularly might have a bit more trouble.”

  “A bit?” Apollos was doing his own approximation of dead fish in the corner. They’d all dragged themselves one by one into the room, helped by worried looking guards as they collapsed onto whatever nearby surface was clean. Or at least not covered in breakable items.

  “An oversight on my part. My apologies. Although on the bright side, you guys should be much healthier after you get over this little…episode.”

  Katie moaned from where her head was on her cousin’s shoulder, “I don’t think there’s anything left in my system. That was…horrific.”

  Craig looked the worst out of them all, pasty as a sheet as he agreed, “I’m not sure my old bones would survive another round of that. The amount of residue left over means that while concoctions like Apollos’ help, they aren’t getting everything.”

  Jade nodded. The man looked like he’d lost a few pounds too, what with years of accumulated drudge. “Honestly, you should probably do something like this regularly. To be fair, I’m in decent shape right now because this is…not an abnormal experience for me. Every morsel you eat, every potion you take adds impurities into your system. It also targeted any latent viruses you might’ve been carrying. Now, maybe you don’t need to do it all at once, because what I made was extra-strength. But if you’re going to keep testing or taking your potions, it needs to become a habit.”

  “I think I might rather die than experience that again.” Katie announced morosely.

  Tilting her head, Jade said casually, “Well, you’re certainly pushing yourself closer to death if you don’t.” More groans met that announcement. Even Camille looked green at the thought, slumping against the wall she’d chosen when they entered. There were no bothers given for formality.

  “Anyway, I have some news I think you’ll like.” Jade spoke above the grumbles. Lochlann and Craig’s heads perked up, but everyone else chose to remain stationary. She held up the two rings she’d made as she informed them, “I’ve made the first two rings of your order, but I’m pretty much exhausted now. Given the state everyone is in, I figure we should postpone any further lessons to another day. I’ve learned enough to get me started, so I’ll tinker on my own for a bit and come back when I have more questions.”

  Flicking the rings through her fingers, she stared at Lochlann as she finished, “And I know what I want in return for these.” Pointing at the wall of ingredients, she made her demands…er…requests. “I’d like one preserved plant and like five seeds of everything you have. I need a bunch of the preserving bottles for potions, although we can skip the other equipment since I don’t really need it for now. And lastly, I’d like books.”

  Her eyes narrowed as he looked resigned and she said, “I’m positive you have books on the identification and care of these plants, as well as on alchemy. I’ll take whatever you have on the subject. However, I wouldn’t mind adding on any you have about the history and culture of Saibreh. And any paintings of the country you might have.” She was curious about the place, and getting information directly from the source seemed like the responsible thing to do when it came to accuracy.

  Well. Very little about written history was often accurate, but it was the best available. Too often people tended to beautify their faults, and she was sure anything she got handed would be polished to perfection to show them in the best light. The truth, if it was to be found, would be secured in vaults like the ones Caoi hid in the libraries.

  “We don’t circulate alchemy books outside of our country…” Duke Telemar quietly spoke.

  Jade nodded as she replied, “And no other country has received my spatial rings. There is a give and take between all things, and I’ll get the information I want one way or another. The only question is if you make me do it illegally, or whether you take the equal benefits and relationship I offer.” It was something of a threat, but not really. A promise.

  Alchemy was too important to her, especially after the gods had intervened. She wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers, and what she offered was literally the best technology she created. Something only she could do.

  Thankfully, Lochlann chose to cut in. “That was our deal, and we will honor it. However, I must add the stipulation that this is for your personal use, and will not be made publicly available.”

  After a moment of thought and a glance at Camille, who nodded in agreement, she confirmed, “That is acceptable.” There were some loopholes there, but she was pretty sure he saw them too. Just like she didn’t stipulate that they couldn’t share her technology. There was little point. Once you saw it, keeping it contained was an entirely separate matter, and they’d already broken the barrier by teaching her today.

  “All right. You seem eager to get started, so let’s get you what you want.” He turned to Craig as he asked his teacher, “You can supervise getting the items here? I’ll need to collect the books personally.”

  She thought it interesting that they had everything she’d asked for available. The mystery fell away when she realized they’d come to entice her back originally. They probably wanted to prove the advantages there were from allying with them. The things she was requesting…might have already been prepared for her from the start. That put a small damper on her enthusiasm, but she chose to ignore it.

  Holding the rings out to Lochlann, she said cheerfully, “Here, if you’re collecting books, it’ll be lighter to bring them back in one of these.” Plus, it would help him sort out any kinks and ask questions if needed, but she preempted, “All you should need to do is insert a bit of mana and touch whatever you’d like to put in.”

  Now, her ring could do a bit more than that, and so could most of the royals’, but she hadn’t included the functionality of touching any part of her body to the basic rings. She had to save something for themselves. Her own had grown such that she could grab things from a few feet away without anyone the wiser, if she so chose. But she also felt that was not actually the ring, and more her domain declaring the sphere around her as an extension of her territory and control.

  Advertising that was not in her best interests. You never knew when you needed to do something stealthily. “That would be helpful. Thank you.” Lochlann interrupted her train of thought as he took the rings.

  She half-shrugged. “They were going to you regardless, might as well make use of them.” He turned, handing one to Craig as they silently communicated through looks, the older man bowing his head slightly in acquiescence as the prince turned to leave.

  “I’ll be back shortly.” She nodded politely, as did Camille, and he smiled before heading out the door, still clutching his stomach and walking with a bit of a stilt.

  Craig finally hauled himself upright, putting the ring on his small finger and giving her a contemplative look. Finally he said, “All right, you might as well come over here. Even if you’re getting a book, hands-on experience will teach you more. Apollos, Tao, fetch one of the chests.”

  The two boys groaned as they hauled themselves to their feet, leaving Katie to drop to the couch with a muffled whump and a soft whine in the sudden absence of her cousin’s support. They staggered over to an adjacent doorway, disappearing through it before returning a moment later, hauling a box that was basically a miniature version of the storage wall.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  It was actually a beautiful work of art, carved in leafy fashion amongst the many drawers she assumed were made to keep ingredients separate. They hauled it over to Duke Telemar before setting it down gingerly.

  Looking at her, Tao explained briefly, “I’m not great with spatial magic, but I’ve locked down the different compartments so they won’t bleed into or interfere with one another.” He still looked a little proud of his accomplishment, and she oohed appropriately as she inspected it, pulling out a drawer to see the magic.

  “It’s very well done, and I imagine it’s perfect for transportation.” Unwieldy? Yes, but that mattered less when you had giant pandas to haul them around, or could shove them into a ring like her. He nodded and stepped back respectfully before his stomach gurgled and he blanched, choosing to sit back down next to Apollos, who’d deserted to flop onto it as soon as they got rid of their burden. She imagined they’d make smaller boxes of a similar style once they figured out how much space they could spare in their rings.

  Craig coughed slightly to get her attention as he opened the first compartment on the wall, plucking out a plant that smelled similar to cinnamon. It looked like small branches had been cut off, so she supposed it could have been whatever variant this world had. “This is a branch from the cranneil tree, and its bark holds a variety of uses…”

  Box by box, he stood straighter as he pulled out various herbs and introduced them to her with their most common applications, carefully setting one aside with a few seeds every time. Occasionally, Willow mentally piped in with her own observations, giving her insight into how non-humans viewed the world of plants. It made sense though, since the fellacai considered the greenery their food.

  The process took significantly longer than it would have if he’d just plucked them out and shoved them in the box, but she didn’t rush him. Instead, she stayed by his side, expediting the process where she could by choosing which compartment to put them in herself. He seemed to agree that it would be best if she knew where things were in her own storage. She memorized the touch, the smell, the look, and the description of every plant he passed to her, imprinting them into her memory. And the crystal she surreptitiously held in her left hand, since it was useless anyway.

  Lochlann returned when they were only about halfway through, but he waited patiently at the side as everyone slowly started perking up, recovering from the ordeal. His faster recuperation made sense when you realized he didn’t spend near as much time doing alchemy as the others obviously had. It was a reminder that while certain things might provide advantages, the disadvantages clearly lingered.

  It was almost an hour later when they finally filled every compartment. Her head subconsciously tilted as she pondered the box, asking, “So, is this the extent of the normal collection, or did you specifically make it bring these herbs?” The fact that there hadn’t been a single leftover compartment spoke of precision.

  Duke Telemar gave her a knowing smile. “These are considered the basic set for us, to cover a vast variety of situations. Most of the more specialized herbs are collected with a purpose in mind and don’t travel well. Although with your rings, perhaps that will change. In the past, alchemists frequently had to travel to the sites to process the more delicate ones immediately.”

  She could see how stasis would make all the difference in alchemy. Between collection and storage, the ability to stop the degradation along the way and keep it for long periods without consequence was substantial. It actually made her feel better about the deal. Because for personal use included having other people make stuff for her. The fact that her storage was specifically incredibly helpful to them soothed the last vestiges of guilt she might have felt.

  “Fair enough.” She nodded and then touched the chest, letting it vanish into her ring in satisfaction. She’d still have to pull the whole thing out if she wanted even one item from it, but having her own personal traveling alchemy set was still on her list of awesome improvements. Looking at Lochlann, she asked, “So, you have my books?”

  Nodding, he laid his hand over the table, carefully placing the tomes one by one as they appeared. She recognized three volumes of herbs, four for alchemy, and seventeen that were about Saibreh. Blinking, she stated absently as she swept them all up into her ring, “These were already prepared for me, huh.”

  Lochlann stilled for a moment before acquiescing. “Yes, but how did you know that?”

  Shrugging, she answered honestly, “I was thinking about it earlier when you said you had to go get them, not find or look for them. Not gather. Just collect. That means they were already set aside. And I mean… It’s not really a secret why you all came here. Showcasing the best of your country seems natural. It also explains why you didn’t push back too much. These are already curated to only show what you’re willing to share.”

  He winced ever so slightly, but her enhanced senses caught it. She decided to put him out of his misery. “It’s fine. Even if you call a rose by any other name, it’s still a rose. You wanted to win me over, not expose state secrets.”

  Letting out a long sigh, he nodded. “Yes, you have a point. But it makes my other gifts seem…calculated.”

  She raised a brow. “Weren’t they?”

  “Yes, but people don’t like you calling them out on it. I get in trouble for that a lot.” Apollos interjected from the side, and she sent him a wry smile. Indeed, she hadn’t appreciated him blurting out her condition earlier. It seemed he was aware of his tendencies, but that didn’t stop them. “Also, what is a rose?”

  Pausing, she thought about it. She hadn’t seen any roses here before, but she’d definitely grown them in the fellacai enclosure. Pulling out another hunk of rock and dirt, Jade set to growing a small rosebush for Apollos. It wasn’t anything fancy, and the only magic used was nature magic to make it grow a basic red rose. Once it bloomed, she simply said, “This is a rose. A mostly ornamental flower from my world.”

  “Mostly?” Duke Telemar asked curiously.

  Nodding, she explained, “The petals are frequently used to make scented things, and once they fall off…” She demonstrated, maturing one of the flowers until it wilted and was left with a bright pinkish rosehip. “The seed pods are harvested. They’re a decent source of vitamins and you can make them into tea, syrups, and well, just about any of the normal fruit things.”

  She knew about them because of a novel that talked about treating scurvy in sailors using them. How they were easier to preserve on long voyages than fresh produce. “We do like tea.” Katie said as she hauled herself up to look at Jade’s latest growth. “And flowers. It’s pretty.”

  Lopping off the rosehip, Jade cut it open with a thin blade of air, exposing the seeds. She scraped them out, along with a bit that felt almost like plant hair. “You’ll want to remove that before eating, I’ve read it’s not pleasant.” In her hand were eleven seeds, so she simply put them down on the counter, knowing the alchemists would claim them later. Holding up the shell, she finished, “And this is the edible part. Although people do eat the petals too, now that I think about it. They were used as garnishes a lot.”

  She paused, then shrugged. “I’ve never tried them before, actually.” And with that, she plucked two rose petals, sticking one in her mouth, chomping on the delicate offering as she offered the second to Willow. One petal really wasn’t a lot, but there was a faint hint of sweetness.

  “Mmmm. Grow more.” Willow quietly demanded, and Jade mentally promised to add more to the enclosure and her own rooms.

  Her actions released the floodgate, and everyone else grabbed a few petals to munch on, demolishing one of the flowers. “You’d have to eat a lot of them to get much out of it.” Apollos finally concluded aloud.

  “Yeah, you’re likely to get a lot more out of the rosehips.” She said, poking the far sturdier fruit. At least eating it would feel like you actually had something between your teeth instead of merely tickling the tongue. “Anyway, y’all can have this. Consider it a gift.” She grinned as Apollos immediately snatched some of the seeds. He looked like he would have taken the pot whole, but Craig gave him a look that convinced him to leave it alone. Katie had also grabbed some seeds, though Tao seemed content to share with his cousin.

  “Oh! I have another gift for you.” She said as she looked at them. “Or well, maybe it’s not so much a gift as it is advice. Katie, you use dark magic, but I’ve been correcting people here, because if you have one, you have the other. So yeah. Moral of the story is, you’ve got light magic, but you haven’t been using it.” Looking at Apollos, she said, “And you’re the opposite. Learn to harness the darkness.”

  Looking at Tao, she went on, “Yours is a bit harder. I know it’s gravity magic because I have it, but it doesn’t seem to be a normal concept in this world. Most commonly used to make things lighter or heavier, it changes the pull of the world. So, for instance, I could make a focal point on the wall and anything within that well of gravity would act like that was the ground.” She demonstrated briefly, causing a cauldron to stick to the wall before she removed it and sent it back to normal.

  Glancing at Lochlann, she dashed his slightly hopeful smile as she finished, “Sorry, you’ve tapped all your affinities already. No new ones for you.”

  Letting out a sigh, he grumbled, “Of course I have. Well, if you’re done, I have a few more gifts to give you.”

  Pursing her lips, she nodded. “I think I’m done for now. Go ahead.” She couldn’t think of anything else she planned to give them, but there was always the possibility that inspiration would strike. She kinda liked exchanging gifts. It felt like Christmas morning.