Lesson One [Closed]

[Alyssum Crow]

Frost 15th, Year 119, Age of Steel

Alyssum wasn't the best teacher in the world, but she was willing to give anything a shot. That included imparting everything she knew how about alchemy onto another person. Scrivening too. Before they could start one they'd first have to start the other. Before you could start using Alchemy, you needed tools that allowed for Alchemy. Which meant the use of Scrivening.

Luckily the weather was okay. It was still cold, and it wouldn't exactly be fun, but it was bearable. The sun wasn't out but the clouds weren't throwing down snow at her which meant it was a bit nice of a day for someone with as little temperature tolerance as she possessed. That being said she could still feel the sting inside her lungs from the icy air.

She'd given Talon a simple task before they started their first session. Bring her a pot and a mixing spoon he didn't mind never being able to use for anything else ever again. Preferably something along the lines of a large stew pot. She was currently waiting outside of the Skyforge for Talon to appear with the requested materials, a bag of her own strung over her shoulder. She'd need to think about getting some potion brewing supplies herself, but she could focus on that later into the season. After she'd taught Talon. She would need to eventually since an... accident, caused her to lose a lot of her old potion brewing kit. In fact, it would probably just be better to shell out the money to buy a new one. But she couldn't really waste the money on a new potion kit until she made that money. Which would require either working at the Skyforge or selling back alley potions. Which required the ability to make potions.

As such, her solution was perhaps a quick and dirty one, but it was good to know these kinds of things. Especially for a young alchemist who might not have the resources to buy a kit. Heck, even an expert should know how to make temporary tools in case something goes wrong. She kept glancing up at the sky, keeping account of the time they had left. If Talon didn't hurry it up they'd only have the time to go over the Scrivening portion of their lesson in order to actually get the tools made... Thankfully just as she was dreading the idea her boss decided to make his appearance. "Ah, wonderful, there you are! Do you have the stuff I told you to get?"

[Talon]

“And you’re sure this has everything she’ll need in it?” Talon studied the assembled bottles, tools, bits and baubles assembled before him. They were neatly strewn out in front of an ornate box that looked distinctly like it was supposed to be arcane. It was an ordinary wooden box but Talon could appreciate the mystique its designer was trying to replicate. His eyes met Jacun’s, the skinny old man just chuckled at him.

“Of course, Your Highness.” He gave Talon a grandfatherly smile before assembling the pieces and placing them neatly in the box. Closing the lid he locked it with a brass key then handed it to Talon. The kindly old Jacun then lifted the box allowing Talon to tuck it under one arm. Without hesitation, the Avialae drew out a few bank notes and placed them on the alchemist’s counter. Jacun frowned but before he could speak, Talon held up a hand.

“It is a gift, Sir. I wouldn’t feel right purchasing it for anything less than what it is worth.” Jacun shook his head with a smile.

“Ah, you are so like your father. I remember when he was a young man, always the first to throw himself into the fray of battle, always the last to leave it. Stubborn and insistent upon everyone and everything be given what they’re due.” Talon didn’t know what to say to that. The old man’s blue eyes rest upon him. Despite Jacun’s apparent age, his gaze was always incisive to the point of being unsettling. It was as though he could see into the core of a person and with but a glance know everything about them, sometimes more than they knew themselves. The young man simply bowed to the wisdom of his elder, paying respect to a respected figure in the city’s community.

“Thank you, Sir.” With that, Talon exited the shop making his way through the marketplace. As he walked away from Jacun’s Alchemical Goods, he pondered on what the old man had said. Talon had mixed feelings when it came to his father on most days. He loved his father. The man was stern and had firm expectations of his children but he was not unfair. Except where one area was concerned, at least in Talon’s estimation. It had been a point of contention for the two of them for years. He pushed those thoughts aside as he came upon his own shop. Alyssum was already standing outside, observing the skies until her head swiveled in his direction. He smiled at her and waved with one hand while the box was tucked under the other.

“Apologies for being late.” Extending the box to Alyssum he smiled softly. “I got you this. I thought it might be helpful to you in the days to come. Especially when you’re traveling and can’t get to a laboratory.”

[Alyssum Crow]

Judging by the position of the sun if they got started soon then they'd have just about enough time to hopefully get through a whole lesson before it got too terribly late. She knew the ingredients in the area from exploration prior, enough so that she'd tracked down the ingredients for one of her favorite potions. A very basic acid that wouldn't melt through anything like glass or stone, but could very easily melt right through flesh. She liked to have a couple batched on hand in case a situation turned particularly nasty and she needed to pull something of a quick escape. Putting the stuff in easy shatter bottles was a good way to distract a foe as long as you were careful enough in the transportation of them.

It wouldn't cause any lasting damage but she'd ruined the eyesight of a couple of different bandits with the stuff. As weak of an acid as it was, it was still useful, and a lot of the basic methodology for potion making ended up being used. The problem really came down to tools.

A lot of stuff she could make by herself, even poorly. Admittedly what she made also didn't last her long. She wasn't very good at permanent pictographs yet, so her tools needed to be refreshed. She'd need to teach Talon how to do the same if he wasn't willing to shell out the cash for a proper potion set. Alyssum knew she probably should but...

As she was running through those thoughts her attention snagged on the box tucked under Talon's arm, ears perking up in curiosity. Then he held the box out to her, expression warm and bright and Alyssum froze.

She completely went rigid for a solid moment, lips slightly parted in silent surprise, gaze locked on the box being held out to her. She was still enough that for a second it appeared as though she'd suddenly stopped living, her existence passing on in a single breath.

The ice that apparently froze her entire being over suddenly melted and she let out a noise somewhere between a startled yelp and a whimper. Without any kind of warning, she started crying, eyes watering up with tears as she looked at the box. "I'm sorry," she muttered, pressing her palms into her eyes for a moment. "I'm, just give me a moment," she said as she pathetically tried to compose herself. "I just," she said, entirely unable to string together a single sentence.

"Just give me a moment to compose myself," she finally blubbered out, still pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. "Thank you, thank you. This is probably the first present anyone's gotten for me in years," managed to force out of her quickly closing throat.

The last presents she ever got were probably from Runar and Isra, and that was for her 24th birthday. She couldn't actually remember anyone else getting her any presents after that. So the emotions hit her full force like a freight train all of the sudden, taking her a bit off guard. She hadn't expected to receive a gift, any form of gift every again. So the little box regardless of what was in it took her off guard enough that she couldn't stall the silent flow of tears that was her natural reaction.

"I'm sorry, thank you again," she said as the tears finally started to slow and stop. It was obvious her nose was stuffed up now, but she very quickly went from crying to smiling as she took the box. Her first thought as she took the box was that she absolutely could not under any circumstance use this for illegal purposes. At least, not in Kalzasi anyway. Or dubious purposes, that included brewing and selling potions street side.

She could recognize the box from when she was working for the local alchemist. She struck her nerves in every possible way, but he wasn't a bad man. In spite of her perpetual complaining that he was. It was actually something she'd been eyeing for a while, but she'd very quickly decided she didn't want to pay the money for it if she could make her own tools. She ended up taking the box so gently that it was borderline reverent. She definitely could use this for her streetside potions. Even if her morals could occasionally take on the shape and form of a roulette wheel there were at least some there.

"Alright, come on. This should make today a lot easier. The first thing I'm going to be teaching you how to do is to look for ingredients, so we'll be going out into the forest."