The morning of the last day of the month, Marie still had a hangover.

  She leaned on the guild counter, gazing longingly at the bottles of effervescent cures that were stacked up to one side, and regretted her decisions.

  But money was tighter than she’d like and there was no way she could justify almost two days worth of pay to rectify a big night out, even if the Spellswords and Evermore’s were letting her crash on their settee for now.

  A burly woman with the look of a farmer came in and ambled over.

  “Hey there. Who do I speak to ‘bout chasing some vermin off my land? Got a nest of dire rats somewhere and my ol’ cat won’ go near ‘em.”

  Doing everything she could to keep her stomach settled as she attempted a smile, Marie pushed her glasses back into place and gestured to the board behind her.

  “I can most certainly help you, madam. Dire rats are classified as a bronze rank threat unless they are overwhelmingly numerous or are led by a rat queen. If it is a normal nest I might suggest our bronze-ii category. Three gold each per day - or half that if it can be done in a morning or afternoon. Normal team size is four or five, but I’d recommend six if you want them to finish quickly, just in case.”

  “That’s more than I was expectin’.”

  “Well, adventuring is dangerous work, and surely it is worth the price to keep your property safe?”

  “Aye, I suppose so. Don’t mean I have to like it though. Okay. Put me down for six adventurers for half a day. I got the gold on me. You need it now?”

  “If it is no trouble for you, it will save you making a return trip.”

  The woman counted out nine coins and pushed them across the wooden countertop.

  “I’d like it done sooner than later. Rats ain’t gonna eat any less if we leave it.”

  “I will mark it down as a priority. Within the next few days if possible. Where are you located?”

  The woman picked out a spot just beyond the town walls to the north.

  “That’s me there. Tell ‘em to knock, but if I don’ answer I’ll be out working - they just need head to the biggest storehouse - the little beggars are around there somewhere.”

  Marie nodded, holding the information loosely in her head.

  “[Post Quest: Wayfarrow Adventurer’s Guild].”

  The farmer watched as a line of text filled in the quest log book and a note appeared on the quest board.

  “Nice Skill! Thanks for your help - I’ll let you know if I get any more work for you lot.” She turned to go and then paused mid-step. “Oh, I guess it goes without saying, but I don’ want no allagi scum working on my land. Bye!”

  Marie could only stare and blink as the woman wandered out of the guild.

  On the other side of the hall, Napoleon sat up from where he was gnawing on a chair leg and went into a low crouch as if to chase after the woman, but with a shake of her head, Marie dismissed his instincts.

  She turned to Rudi.

  “She cannot request that, can she?”

  The younger man glanced up from his work, visibly having to replay the last part of the conversation.

  “No allagi? They can ask, but there are no rules to say we need to follow it.”

  “Good, because I am going to give the job to some of Algar’s Hunters if I can.”

  The band of allagi [Hunters] and [Trappers], as well as a few more specialised Classes, hovered around thirty in number, but in the teens for levels. Whenever they went out, they tried to take as many as possible, and Marie had been informed by more than one person - and no few books she’d been reading - that having so many tackle problems was a poor way to level, and without levels, they wouldn’t get the big jobs that paid best.

  Rudi shrugged and returned to cataloging the various flowers and herbs the guild was now asking for and analysing how much they could offer as a bounty on them.

  “Okay, well, I should probably not ask them today. If you could avoid bringing it to anyone’s attention until I have a chance to ask Algar…”

  Rudi grunted, which she decided was assent, before she continued.

  “...is Osric in?”

  “Since sunup.”

  Marie wandered across the guild hall, tapping her thigh to call Napoleon to heel, entering the rear corridor and passing the many rooms that she was still trying to organise.

  The one set aside for Osric’s alchemy work was a couple away from one of the back exits - ones that headed out towards the north of the town. She’d issued him a key so he could come and go and check on the potions he brewed as necessary. Perdy had helped him set it up using a few of his spare supplies at a discount, and she’d finished by filling out some of the pieces she’d been able to find lurking in forgotten corners with [Inventory Intuition].

  Even with the kind-hearted [Brewer] and [Alchemist] stopping by every now and then to help Osric in the initial stages of learning the craft (in exchange for a discount on the herbs he needed to brew some choice spirits - he wasn’t that kind-hearted), there was plenty of space, but as Marie and Napoleon entered, the boar-headed beastkin was the only one in the room this morning.

  Bending over a bubbling vial and checking a book that was propped up on the desk next to it, the man was absorbed in his task and didn’t notice Marie enter as he pulled the small enchanted fire-stone out from under the glass and blew on the concoction to cool it down. She waited until his hands were well away from anything dangerous to announce her presence.

  “Would it be useful to have a stand that could raise and lower the potion?”

  The [Potion Maker] - now level 3 - gave a start, and flinched as he spotted the undead hound, but avoided knocking anything over.

  “Good morning, Marie. That might prove useful yes. Master Perdy has a Skill that helps in keeping the right temperature but I’m not at that level yet. Sorry.”

  “No need to apologise monsieur Osric. We knew we would be training you up when we offered you the job. How is the latest one coming along?”

  He leaned in to examine the mixture, now no longer bubbling.

  “Still weak, I think, Miss. The problem is getting the extract out of the plant. That’s what I’m trying to do at the moment; I’ve dissolved it into the mixture here and filtered out all the gunk and now I need to evaporate the… the…”

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  [Improved Recall] Evaporate the solvent, leaving you with the residue.

  “The solvent?”

  “...yes that’s it. Evaporate the solvent and then I get one of the main ingredients left behind in the jar. If I don’t burn it or evaporate it.” He blushed a faint pink. “Perdy gets five or six times the potency I manage. I could use more flowers but it would be too expensive, and Perdy insisted I only use one per potion. He says I’ll get better and maybe get the right Skills if I keep trying like this.”

  [Improved Recall] Crushing, grinding or finely chopping can aid dissolution. Distilled water can be used as a solvent.

  The image of a lycée chemistry lesson came into her head.

  “Can you show me the process, from start to finish - or just talk me through the steps?”

  She watched as he took one of the plants and a spare beaker. Moving over to the water barrel in the corner, he half-filled the container and mashed the plant up as he set it to an initial low heat, then passed it through a sieve into another glass jar that would later sit above the fire-stone where he’d watch the water boil off until he was left with a purple syrupy essence that (hopefully) wouldn’t burn onto the bottom of the container.

  “This is the process that Perdy showed you?”

  “More or less, Miss Marie. There's more that goes into the final healing potion mix but this is the base of it. Wait, not the base - that means something else in alchemy. This mixture forms the… bulk of the potion.”

  “Very good. I am not an [Alchemist] but I may have some suggestions that could help you, if that is okay with you?”

  “Of course, Miss Marie.”

  “In that case, what I would like you to focus on for the next week is to repeat this process a number of times, but to alter just one thing each time, and to see which of them works best.”

  “I can do that. What should I change?”

  “First off, I would like you to look at how you add the plant to the solvent. Was mashing it in the jar Perdy's method?”

  “I'm not sure; he had it all ready to go when I got there.”

  “Okay, then I would like you to try three different methods to prepare the plant before it is added to the beaker: finely chopping it, crushing it, and grinding it - do you have a mortar and pestle?”

  “Yes Miss. Brought my own from home.”

  “Parfaite. Keep everything else the same - and try each variation at least three or four times if you are able - just replace the step where you mash it in the jar, and see which one gives the best results.”

  Pulling a quill out from somewhere, Osric made some notes in a dog-eared journal. As soon as he'd finished writing, Marie moved on.

  “The water you are using - is it distilled?” She glanced at the barrel with a sceptical eye.

  “It's just water, Miss, it's fairly still.”

  Suppressing a sigh, Marie walked him through a simple distillation process.

  “Oh, that's like how Perdy makes his spirits.”

  That triggered something in her [Improved Recall].

  “Exactly like that. It will remove impurities from the water. It may help the process, but only if you make sure to keep the equipment and your work space as clean as possible, and store the distilled water carefully. I will see about obtaining a large glass container, perhaps with a tap built in.” If only plastic was a thing here. How do you make plastic? “But there might be a possibility to use a different solvent if Perdy can supply us with pure alcohol. See if distilling the water improves the process first and I will speak to him about alternatives.”

  The boar beastkin scribbled down more notes and she continued.

  “The last thing I would like to suggest for now, is that instead of boiling off the water, you set up another distillation system and use it when you evaporate the solvent.”

  “Okay.” The scratching of quill on paper continued, blending in with Napoleon scratching his skull with his hind leg. “What do I do that for?”

  “You need to make sure that you measure the amount of distilled water you use as a solvent when you start the experiment - oh, and you should make sure you are using the same amount each time -” and we need work out which part of the plant is providing the useful element and control the amount of that too, but one step at a time “- then, when you see the solvent condense into the second beaker, you can gauge how much has boiled off and remove the heat before the extract begins to react with anything else. Stop it burning.” She hesitated before adding. “You should probably use a consistent heat that's just enough to get the mixture to bubble.”

  Oscric was beginning to nod excitedly.

  “I'll get right on it Miss Marie, I’ll need the distillation equipment to try all the options, but I'll start with the plant preparation methods.”

  “Super. Just remember - only change the mashing method at first. Then I will go talk to Perdy and see about the alcohol.”

  —

  The [Brewer] and [Alchemist]’s shop was as pungent as ever as Marie entered in the late afternoon.

  Perdy was hunched over one of his workbenches and barely looked up at the sound of the door opening.

  “I’ve already told adventurers and the Watch and the host of anxious citizens that have come in today: I don’t have anything that makes you more resistant to diseases and infections.”

  The heat in his voice was unusual, and Marie raised an eyebrow at Napoleon, wondering just how many times he’d had to repeat himself to reach this state.

  “It is a good thing then that I am not looking for such things.”

  “Then you are the first welcome visitor I have had this day Marie.” Perdy turned with a smile. “How is Osric coming along?”

  “He is making progress. I talked to him this morning about how he could improve. That is why I have come to see you.”

  “I may be limited in my further contributions to his education. You’ve experienced my standard output for potions - I was never much interested in that side of being an [Alchemist].”

  “You are the best one in Wayfarrow.”

  “I’m the only one in Wayfarrow.”

  “Regardless, it is your brewing skills that I am here for.”

  That got the short man’s interest.

  “You wish to purchase spirits to mix with the potions? It makes them more palatable but it will eat into your profit margins much as it has mine.”

  “In a way, yes. It is more about your distilling process. Firstly I need equipment for Osric to use for distilling, but I also wanted to ask how pure of an alcohol you can produce.”

  “How pure?”

  “Yes. How many times do you distill it?”

  “...Once?”

  Marie frowned.

  “You do not double or triple distill?”

  “Why would I? It only requires a single time to make a drink. I’m not trying to poison people.” His eyes glazed over for a second. “I tried it a while back - well, I actually accidentally put a batch I’d already distilled back in - and it lost almost all the flavour.”

  “That makes sense, but if you distilled it until it was as pure as you could make it, you could then mix it with other flavourful ingredients.”

  “Why would I remove the flavour only to add flavour back in?”

  “Because it makes the drink mo-”

  She stopped and took a deep breath, stopping before she choked on the fumes.

  This is irrelevant.

  “- do not worry about it. I simply wished to ask if you could distill a batch of spirits three or four times for me.”

  “I mean, I could…”

  “Excellent. I would like to purchase enough to replace water as the solvent in… ten healing potions… and if you happen to have a spare, I would also like to purchase a distillation set from you.”

  The confusion in Perdy’s eyes gradually shifted to interest as she spoke, and when she finished he began to rummage round the workshop before moving into a back room to have a look.

  “That’s an interesting concept to replace the solvent. May I ask what prompted the idea?”

  “...I think it might dissolve the plants better than simple water, and it would be very clean. It also boils at a lower temperature so there is less chance of Osric burning whatever it is he is extracting from the plant. You used alcohol to improve your own potions, so perhaps it will work better in other parts of the process too.”

  The explanation seemed to satisfy his curiosity.

  “And you require a distillation kit to eventually make this yourself?”

  “No actually. I was hoping that if it worked well enough then I could simply purchase the alcohol from you. The kit is to try to distill the water Osric is using. To remove any impurities and see if that improves the process, and if not, to distill the herbal mixture rather than simply boiling it.”

  Perdy nodded.

  “I could cobble something together out of the bits I have, but why don’t you ask the other adventurers for one of their field kits?”

  Resisting the urge to smack herself in the head, Marie mentally activated one of her Skills.

  [Inventory Intuition].

  “Thank you Perdy. There is something I can use back at the guild. How long would it take you to produce the distilled alcohol? And how much would you charge for it?”

  “I’ll do a batch for free in a few days if that suits? With the proviso that I can observe the process. I’d like to see how it affects the outcome - there are a few projects of my own I could try it on if it works well for the potions. I’m assuming it doesn’t need to be high quality ingredients?”

  The two shook on it, and Marie returned to the guild to look out the distillation kit and give Osric the good news. Though whether the beastkin was as comfortable having Perdy come to watch and probably critique his work she wasn’t sure.

  She was still chatting with him and monitoring the current potion being brewed when the door to his work room opened and an exasperated Wilhelmina looked in.

  “Finally. We were wondering where you’d got to.”

  “Me?” Marie blinked at the frazzled [Secretary].”

  “Yes, you. You’re registered as an adventurer aren’t you?”

  “Yes…”

  “Well then, move your arse to the main hall and get your instructions for the beastwatch.”

  Marie stared at Osric as they both realised how late it was, and she felt a twist of nerves as the other woman left and she looked at Osric.

  “I’d almost forgotten it was tonight.”

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