Frost 19th, Year 119, Age of Steel
The air in the forest always smelled sweeter than it did in the cities. At least to Alyssum. It didn't carry the scent of people, a pungent kind of odor that Alyssum as a sharvalain was predisposed to hate and fear. Sometimes she wondered if that was why Isra avoided towns when Alyssum was little. She always used to get so scared and cling to Isra, especially as a pup. Or maybe Isra didn't like towns much either. It was hard to tell. Either way, Isra was the one person who didn't smell absolutely awful aside from other rathari. So Alyssum, in turn, grew up loving the forest for than cities and towns.
The forest was always alight with new life, fresh and new. Even in the cold season, there was still life quietly teeming all around her. It was just a matter of actually knowing where to look. That was why Alyssum made such a great Alchemist.
Her eyes quietly scanned the ground for ingredients, walking slowly and carefully as to not accidentally step on something which could be an ingredient. Obviously, it was going to be harder to find stuff that was plant-based since it was Frost, but Alyssum knew a couple of plants off the top of her head which she was still confident would be growing. Ones that she could probably use for potions that she knew she could get out the door. That was the thing she'd discovered about the alchemist here in Kalzasi. He was just so tame, not to mention secretive. All of his potions were primarily, well, boring. You'd think if you've lived in a city long enough you'd come up with ideas to make life in that city better via alchemy, especially when Alyssum could identify a problem and a solution in a matter of days!
Well, maybe it wouldn't be a widespread problem, but if there was one thing she was always able to sell it was these potions. These special little potions that frankly she found hilarious.
It was amazing how much men struggled with 'keeping it up' that they grew desperate enough to go to some strange alchemist in the back of an alley. And yet, it seemed to be the one potion she was always able to sell regardless of what city she took up temporary living in. Mortals were weird, but a market was a market, and she needed the money so she wasn't going to ask questions if they didn't ask her what the potions were made from. She wanted to try buying, or perhaps even making, a gift for Talon as thanks for taking such good care of her so far. It would have been a lot harder surviving in Kalzasi if he wasn't willing to let her sleep inside of the Skyforge, not to mention give a job to a complete strange who for all he knew would burn the place down in a day.
Luckily Alyssum wasn't that kind of person. Lucky for the both of them.
Before she could get too lost in her own thoughts she came to a complete stop when she saw a rare stalk of what looked to be something thin and brown sticking up from out of the layer of snow covering the earth. She approached the stalks, kneeling down and carefully uncovering the snow. Oh, she hoped this was what she thought it was. After enough digging through the snow she discovered the fine brown stalks had tiny brown bulbs at the bottom, resting just above the earth. The bulbs themselves were fat and pinching them proved that they were covered in some kind of hard shell.
Perfect.
The ingredient she was currently looking down at, most tended to call Sugar Grass. Not because it was sweet. The grass itself was actually rather bitter, something she'd learned from personal experience. It had a unique taste that was hard to always pinpoint. Like a really bitter lemon. She ripped off a piece of the stalk, putting it in her mouth and spitting it out almost immediately. That was definitely it, but she just wanted to be safe and make sure it wasn't a look like. There was a sweet variation that was called Sap Grass, but it didn't have the same alchemical effect as Sugar Grass. Especially when putting into a potion with the same ingredients that Alyssum was planning on using. Instead of making what essentially equated to an erectile dysfunction potion, it could make a terrible poison.
While Sap Grass was usually exclusive to colder climates, Sugar Grass could be found just about anywhere. It bordered on an invasive weed. Which was why there probably wouldn't be any issues with Alyssum plucking a couple of handfuls for her potions.
She dug her fingers into the dirt, being careful to also pull out the roots which could be used in the potion as well. The important part was really the little bulb at the base of the stalk, the likes of which she'd need to crush up in order to adequately brew. She was careful not to break any of the bulbs, since the moment the shell cracked the actually important stuff, the liquid inside would come out and the grass would be rendered mostly useless. Not to mention the potion would be rendered useless.
Sure, she was intending to sell these potions in a back alley, but she wasn't a scam artists and she had something of a reputation to keep. She'd been very careful with cultivating the air of mystery and quality around her common alias of Hemlock. The alias was finally starting to build up enough of a reputation that it could, on occasion, preceded her in cities that she'd been to once or twice before.
After she was done trying to pull out all of the plants, missing no root or leave, she very carefully placed it into her pouch. Sugar Grass was good for these kinds of potions because it tended to cause a spike in energy in those who ingested it. In its raw grass form, it typically wasn't a noticeable difference, but when Alyssum put it into a potion then she could boil it down to its raw aether and in its liquid state, the energy-providing substances became more pronounced. Alchemy was interesting in that the effects of the regent still needed to be brought out much like Runeforging. The difference was that alchemy was a bit more varied when it came to the end product. She could boil it down to make a liquid, grind it up into a powder, or even freeze that liquid to make it into a solid again. Heating it up enough could even turn it into a gas. All of which could produce an entirely different effect in the end product.
While boiling it down could make a potion with a spike to energy, who knew what would happen if she decided to freeze that liquid again or keep boiling it. It could make the effects stronger, or perhaps they'd get weaker instead. Maybe she'd even be able to bring out something new. She wasn't limited in what the end product would look like either. Perhaps depending on the steps she took she could apply it to a blanket, or make it into a bar of soap. All of which could vary in form and function of the end result.
That was probably why her adopted uncle had taken to Alchemy instead of Runeforging. Sure there was the half-life to worry about, but a powerful Alchemist knew how to extend that half-life and apply the variety of alchemy in ways that Runeforging didn't always allow for. The big thing was just the tools. The tools of an alchemist didn't need to be fancy either. As long as the proper runes were Scrivened on, it could be anything from a magical pot created by a master Runesmith to some novice smith's cooking pot. The end results might differ but it was still possible.
She moved on to looking for the next ingredient on her list. Rabbitwood trees were a special kind of tree that tended to be unique to colder regions. While easy enough to replace in a recipe it was special for its strength. While still very much a basic ingredient, rabbitwood was known in the alchemical community for being one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs available without hunting down advanced ingredients. It caused a very powerful spike in libido that was hard to replicate with other ingredients. She usually grabbed more ingredients than she actually needed so she had some for the road. Especially ingredients that could be stored or preserved.
After finding the Sugar Grass it didn't take long to find the Rabbitwood. The tree was tall, standing proudly even. At its base were large chunks of bark that had seemingly fallen off. The Rabbitwood tree was unique in that once it reached about its 5th year of growth it never got any larger. Instead, the old bark was simply shed, sloughed off during winter and grown back during spring when the tree created new xylem to replace the old ones that broke through the course of winter. It was collecting up the large chunks of bark, the bit that she actually needed for the potion, exceptionally easy on her.
The only problem with Rabbitwood tended to be the fact it was... mildly toxic. Okay, really toxic. But she had a way around that! She had no intention of poisoning a paying customer. She needed them to be willing to come back. She had an ingredient she knew would help with that, one she actually knew exactly where to find, but that would be an outing for a different time. She was getting cold and the Skyforge was probably warm. Not to mention it was probably getting to be her turn to work the forge.
Weighed down by her new ingredients she waddled home.
