A special order (Solo)

[Lyra]

40th of Ash, 120 AS

Lyra stared at the outside of the unusual shop, an eyebrow raised as she examined the property with skepticism. Jacun's Alchemical Goods had come highly recommended, even lauded by many she spoke with. Because of this, the elf had built up quite an image in her mind of a grand complex of alchemical wonder. Perhaps several floors, large wood doors that opened into a store filled with plants and bubbling concoctions. Instead what she saw was something closer to a restaurant, or a teahouse? It was a smaller building that Lyra had originally anticipated, and the sign, as well as the decorations in the windows, told one that the shop was something almost frivolous. It was inviting certainly but spoke nothing of the intent or content of the shop itself. Looking over her shoulder at the Inn across the street Lyra read the sign, once more checking if she was, indeed, at the right place.

With a frown, the woman crossed her arms over her chest, simply staring at the door for a time as she considered simply going back. Just as she was about to do so, however, the door suddenly opened, and a man stuck his head out and smiled.

"Were you planning on coming in? I've already prepared a pot of tea for us in the sitting area."

She stared at the man, eyes widening slightly as she took in his dark hair, well-structured features, and those dazzling blue eyes. One second past, and then another before Lyra shook her head, turning her back to the man with a wave of her hand, "No. It appears I have come to the wrong place. If you will excuse me..." Lyra managed to take a single step before pausing, looking back over her shoulder at what the man said next.

"I am an alchemist and quite an accomplished one at that." His eyes shown with mischief and he opened the door wider. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit, the bowtie undone, and simply hanging around his neck. He gestured toward Lyra and stepped back from the entrance. He dipped into a half bow, one hand over his heart, "I am Jacun, owner of this establishment." When Lyra did not immediately respond Jacun glanced up, his smile slipping slightly as he straightened and rubbed his neck, "Sorry... I saw you standing out here for some time, and most people who come looking for my shop are a bit put off by the appearance."

Still, Lyra stared, half-turned as she chewed on the man's words. It didn't ring of falsehood, and the wan Jacun moved seemed to suggest a geniality that was hard to mimic. For a few moments longer, Lyra stared until the silence stretched to an uncomfortable length. Then, at last, she sighed and shrugged, "Very well."

The Alchemist brightened and stepped to the side, waving to the inside of his shop, "Please, come inside. I am sure we can find just what you are looking for."

[Lyra]

The entrance of the shop opened into a spacious open floor, clean and swept and lit by a combination of natural light and lanterns that hung from the ceiling. It was cool, and the air somewhat humid despite the temperature. She could smell a nearly overpowering scent of lavender in the air, and without meaning to she touched her nose, grimacing slightly as she looked around curiously.

"This way." the voice pulled Lyra's attention to the adjoining room, where she saw Jacun standing next to a table and chairs, one of which he held pulled out for her. On the table, itself rested an elegant black teapot, and two cups made of what looked like carved obsidian. Once more Lyra felt her eyebrow raise and she examined the Alchemist, but she made her way over to the man anyway. Without thought she allowed Jacun to help her into the seat, the man taking her hand with such an elegant nonchalance that the woman did not realize he had done so until after she was seated and her chair pushed up to the table. Frowning Lyra looked at her hand, wiggling her fingers that could still feel the strong yet delicate touch the man had used.

"Wormwood bark, silk vine, and Silverhorn caps." Jacun said as he handed a steaming cup to Lyra.

"Excuse me?"

He smiled, motioning for Lyra to accept the cup, and picked up his own once Lyra had brought it to her lips. The taste was subtle. At first, it tasted like just warm water, the warmth spreading quickly through her chest and filling her with a slight tingling sensation. As the last drop passed over her tongue however her senses became alight with an earthy taste. The flavor lingered in the back of her throat, and when she breathed in she could almost smell the forest after the rain. Taking a second sip Lyra looked down into the cup, swirling the dark liquid there as she considered if she liked it or not.

"Wormwood bark, silk vine, and silverhorn caps." Jacun repeated, tilting his own cup back and closing his eyes slightly, "The ingredients that I put into this particular brew. Wormwood is a common shrub-like tree that grows at the base of the mountains around Kalzasi. The wood of even older wormwood trees is supple and pliable and popular for making wands or arrows that need to receive a form of enchantment." He tapped the side of the cup, now looking at Lyra was a gleam in his eye, "Silkvine grows only in the Wildking's Forest and is something of a parasite that clings to the larger trees there. It is known to suffocate smaller plants before they can grow to maturity. Silverhorn caps are a form of mushroom which grows along the edge of Lake Udori, in the muds of the banks closest to the Astralar Mountains. They appear only after heavy rainfall which accompanies strong thunderstorms. Together these ingredients create a blend that eases the strain on joints and or weakened tissue. It is especially useful for older women who have difficulty maintaining their flexibility with age or degradation over time. The three ingredients are all rich in the aether as well and help revitalize damaged or aether deprived muscles and bone and have been shown to low the ravages of age. "

Lyra paused her next sip, slowly setting the cup down and looking sidelong at the pot. It was quite an unusual, and oddly specific, set of ingredients that the man had chosen for her. Indeed even as she took stock of herself she felt a spreading warmth through her limps. Perhaps she was imagining it, but Lyra thought that her body felt somewhat lighter.

"Do you usually make a habit of adding fungus to your mixtures?" Her gold eyes switched to looking at Jucan, who suddenly seemed a bit perturbed.

"Do you find this blend, not to your taste?" he asked, setting his own cup down with a frown, "I admit I do tend to experiment with the ingredients in my brews, so if you do not like the taste or the idea of drinking mushroom tea, I can make you something else."

Shaking her head with a smile Lyra brought the cup to her mouth and sipped once more, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of the tea, "That will not be necessary. I was simply taken aback at the implication that I was an old lady."

Jacun stared at her blankly, and suddenly his eyes widened in realization as he stuttered a response, "N-no I, that wasn't what I was trying to imply."

"I know." She had to suppress a chuckle, "I am just being a tad bit contrary. The tea is quite good, though it is the first I have had of this nature."

Silence lapsed between the two once more, both simply nursing their cups. It wasn't a truly comfortable silence, but Lyra found herself struggling to find the words to move on to her reason for being in the shop in the first place. For his part Jacun seemed content to simply sit and wait, his blue eyes watching her with interest. A thought came suddenly to her mind and Lyra once more set her cup down, looking at Jacun with a mixture of curiosity and surprise.

"You speak the old tongue?"

At this Jacun smiled once more, but merely winked in reply. Thinking back Lyra realized that from the moment he had opened the door the Alchemist had been talking to her in Vallenor. It had seemed so natural that Lyra had not even noticed, and even now this man held their conversation with ease and fluency that the ancient elf had not seen in anyone else. Somehow Lyra felt she should have a sense of caution, but somehow this man speaking to her in her own tongue had the opposite effect. She felt more at ease, and after a time she sighed.

"You came here for something, didn't you?" It was Jacun that reinitiated the conversation. He leaned with his elbows on the table, fingers steepled over his cup as he looked at her expectantly.

Hesitating slightly Lyra nodded, still a bit unbalanced after the recent revelation of this child's fluency. With one hand Lyra reached into her robes and pulled out three glass vials. Inside was a swirling mass of what looked like black smoke. It was, in fact, pieces of her own essence. Jacun reached for one of the vials, turning it over in his long fingers as he examined the contents curiously.

"You are an alchemist." She waved at the vial, "This is an aetheric construct, found naturally in a gaseous form. While useful in that state I require I to be condensed into a liquid form."

Jacun 'hmm'ed' in thought, holding up the vial to his eye and staring through it at Lyra, "That is not exactly a difficult request. Transforming aether states is a basic tenant of alchemy, used in many parts of the crafting process. I would call it trivial if important none the less." He lowered the vial to gaze at Lyra unobstructed, "Why not do this yourself?"

With a grimace, Lyra shook her head, "I have neither the equipment nor the experience to do such a thing. Unfortunately, I have found myself in a rather unenviable position." At a look from the Alchemist Lyra reluctantly continued, "I am new to Kalzasi, and have limited funds. I am in the process of preparing a method of earning funds soon for myself, but I am limited to those skills I already possess."

"Something to do with scrivening I suspect." At the woman's frown Jacun pointed at her skin and the tattoos that marked her, "You do not see a branching corridor schema every day, and especially not on a person. The fact you even thought to use it on yourself suggests you have quite a bit of knowledge on the subject."

Again Lyra found herself staring at the Alchemist, mouth opening slightly and closing swiftly. She made to take another sip of tea but was surprised to find that the drink was now fully consumed. At a slight sound from the Alchemist Lyra looked up once more to find him examining the vials.

"As I said I can do what you request. 2 Silvers, and you can pick it up tomorrow." He looked at Lyra once more, "Is there anything else you need?"

The question seemed a genuine one, and Lyra thought for a moment before shaking her head, "For now that is all I am aware of. I would not know what else to ask of you."

It was Jacun's turn to raise an eyebrow, "What about infused ink?"

[Lyra]

"What makes you assume I require infused ink?"

Jacun shrugged, the three vials on the table swiftly disappearing into an inner pocket in his coat, "You are a scrivener, a talented one, and low on funds. You need to make a living for yourself, and it seems the simplest method would be to apply your own craft." Taking up his own cup Jacun downed the rest of his tea with a tilt of his head. With that he stood, taking both his and Lyra's cups and setting them on a counter against the wall, "It is a safe assumption that you will require a steady supply of ink to work with." He turned back to Lyra, leaning casually against the counter and crossed his arms, " Or am I wrong?"

With a shake of her head, Lyra stood as well, resting a hand on the back of her chair as she leaned her weight onto one leg, "Not wrong, but quite presumptuous." Pausing Lyra almost wanted to refuse the Alchemist, but practicality won out in the end, "You are correct, however. I will require a steady supply of ink, spellwright, and infused. I assume you are open to an agreement of sorts?"

Opening his arms the Alchemist grinned, "Of course. I am running a business after all. I am sure we can work out a fair discount if you were to make my little shop a primary resource of yours."

A chill ran up Lyra spine at this comment, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Something about the way the man looked at her, and his words, gave her a sudden sense of unease. Like he was looking at something just beneath the surface.

"Ma'lakim?" He asked, using a word which meant 'honored lady' or 'elder woman'.

The title made Lyra blink, and a frown returns to her lips, "Why do you insist on calling me an old woman? Have you not eyes that see?"

Resting his hands on his hips Jacun shrugged. Those stark blue eyes caught hers once more, and Lyra found she had to look away.

"My eyes see well enough." She heard him walk past her, toward the front of the shop. Once there he stopped and opened the door, motioning at Lyra with a smile once more, "You just seem like someone older than you look. I meant no disrespect."

Approaching slowly Lyra folded her hands at her waist, looking sideways at Jacun as she came to stand in the doorway. She forced herself to hold the man's gaze, and spoke with a crackle of power in her voice, "Lyra. Call me Lyra."

"Lyra..." he looked up, saying the name several more times as if tasting it. Then, with a nod, he smiled down at his new customer, "Very well. Call me Jacun. I will see you tomorrow." at her look he continued, "to pick up your order."

"Yes, of course."

[Paragon]

R E W A R D S

Lyra
XP: 5. Can be used for magic. (Mesmer)
Skill Lore
Mesmer: Using mesmer to force emphasis
Alchemy: Used to transform aether states
Alchemy: Condensing gas aether is a simple process
Alchemy: Can produce Infused Ink
Persuasion: If unsure, remain silent
Acting: Hiding discomfort with humor

Non-Skill Lore
Jacun: Unsettling gaze
Jacun: Brews oddly specific tea
Jacun: Cunning businessman
Jacun: Extremely observant

Loot: 3 vials of condensed ethereal essence (Lyra's)
+1 contract for infused ink between Jacun's Alchemical Shop and Ale'Ephirum