[hider=Alchemist Curiosity Part 2]
Life was finally starting to return to Fishgrove. The streets that were once filled with debris and ash were now cleared and the residents were even laying the old dirt paths with stone. Around half of the burnt down buildings were under the process of being repaired with materials far superior to what they were previously made out of. While the residents of Fishgrove were still bitter towards the De Reimer’s, they weren’t going to turn down the money and materials that they were supplying. While the destruction of Fishgrove still weighed heavy on the Raldian’s hearts they were determined to rebuild their kingdom’s capital to a state greater than it had ever been. However Ignocious had little time to focus on the reconstruction efforts, right now he was more interested in getting Kiseo to the inn so that he could better treat her wound. Their approach into Fishgrove drew many stares but he Ignocious didn’t care. His bodyguard, who’s name he had now learnt was Bailey, had taken over carrying Kiseo from the farmer. Ignocious thought it best, he had already put the farmer in his place and Bailey was far gentler with Kiseo than he had been.

“You holding on in their OK” Bailey said to Kiseo. 

“I’ve had much worse. My mistress will not be pleased to hear about this so… could we keep this from her?” Kiseo asked in a meek voice. 

She had curled into a ball within Bailey’s arms as he carried her. Her tail wrapped defensively about her and kept out from the man’s legs. She enjoyed the fact he was more gentle than the earlier man who seemed to care little for the additional damage caused by the rougher treatment. 

Her eyes flicked to Ignicous and asked a question that was burning insider her conscious since the conflict between the farmer and him. 

“Ignicous, you weren’t intending to prosecute the child, were you?” 

Ignocious looked at Kiseo with surprise. 

"After everything, that's happened and that's what you're worried about"? Though if you're curious I wasn't planning on it, far too much effort for some random farm boy. Anyway, follow me" Ignocious said as he walked towards the tavern door. 

“Living as a slave, you become used to pain,” Kiseo admitted, quietly. 

Inside, the tavern had been cleared. No patrons or even staff were seen at the tables when the three entered. Just one elder man. He was dressed in butcher garb with a bloody apron on his front. His eyes snapped to the three before he spoke. 

“Set her over there,” his thick finger pointed to a clear set up of two tables pushed together. 

His kit, consisting of one or two healing herbs and a knife, were set up on a side table. It was clear healing wasn’t his prime career, but a secondary one. 

Ignocious looked on in disgust at the so-called surgeon in front of him. 

"Are you really the best person they could find. This requires a surgeon, not some butcher who'll wield his knife like a cleaver." 

The man pursed his lips and spoke, “Look, I’m the best you’ll get. Our healer died during the slaughter a few months back and there’s been no replacement.” 

He moved toward the table, checking his tools while he continued. 

“I’m the closest thing we got. If you have a better option and she,” he pointed to Kiseo, “can last, then you’re free to find someone else.” 

He turned back to face Ignocious as he placed his hands on his hips to wait on the man’s answer. 

Ignocious turned to face Kiseo “Your the one he’s operating on, what do you think,” he said with a shrug. 

Kiseo turned her head towards the man. She wasn't a fan of the idea, but she saw no other option. 

"I think I'll take the risk. Either way, I do not see another way and leaving a wound to fester is not good." She pointed out the hard facts out. Ignocious simply turned to the man and shrugged once more 

“Place her down on the table Bailey”. Bailey slowly walked over to the table and lay Kiseo down as gently as he could.

The butcher examined the wound. He pulled back the simple tunic Kiseo was wearing and revealed the point where the arrow buried into the fur. Bloodstained the black and dirty yellow coat as he examined the wound. 

“I’ll need your help holding her down while I take out the arrow. She got lucky, whatever she wore kept it from going too deep.” The Butcher’s words were mildly curious and confused. 

“Are you [i]sure[/i] she got a direct shot?” 

He turned to his table and retrieved his knife, then gestured for Bailey to hold Kiseo down. His fingers pressed into the wound opening and fished around to find the arrowhead. It appeared to have not detached far from the shaft as he carefully pulled it out, widening the wound in the process. More blood squirted out onto the table causing the butcher to curse briefly before he pressed a fresh cloth to it. He then jerked the arrow shaft out, allowing his hand to starch the flow farther. 

Meanwhile, Kiseo tried not to thrash from the pain spreading across her muscles. Her body didn’t seem to care as she jerked once or twice during the process. If it wasn’t for Bailey, she might have caused more damage. He cartelized the wound with a knife sitting in the tavern’s embers before wrapping her up. 

When the operation drew to a close, the butcher suggested bed rest for the next three days. He turned to clean his tools and left them to take care of Kiseo. 

After the butcher left Bailey, who had been trying his best to comfort Kiseo during the operation knelt down by Kiseo’s side.

“Can I get you anything?” he said as softly as he could, even with his gruff voice. 

Kiseo cautiously sat upright. Her right arm wrapped about her throbbing side and her legs slid toward the floor. With whatever energy she could muster, she lowered herself onto her feet. As gravity pulled her down, she caught the table’s edge. Leaning heavily on it, she nodded. 

“Some water, please.” She moved into a seat to stop the room from spinning. 

Bailey quickly left the room with a new mission on hand. Ignocious, who until now had been silently dissecting the operation, made his way over to Kiseo. 

"It seems Bailey has taken a liking to you. He shows you more affection than he ever showed me" he said with a smirk "how is your wound feeling? That brute wasn't nearly as oafish as I expected him to be" 

"People often connect better when they feel equal to one another." Kiseo pointed out as cradled her side, examining the bandage to see any blood seeping through. She felt relieved at seeing the clean surface. 

"Fishgrove is full of surprises, especially in its people. I have seen them struggle to stand on their feet when it was knocked out from under them. Despite their distrust, some are good of heart and worth getting to know." 

She paused to inhale then continued.

"I think in about a day I will be able to breath without pain." 

"Indeed, most fortunate" Ignocious said "and most unlikely" he continued, he got closer to Kiseo examining her wound "a shot like that should have killed you before we even made it to Fishgrove. Yet you're injury is nowhere near as severe"?

" I'm… lucky. I guess." Kiseo's head leaned back as her eyes didn't look directly at him. Unlike her mistress, she wasn't trained well enough to lie on the spot. She tried to hinder his examination by having her arm remain in place and block most of his view. 

Ignocious looked annoyed as Kiseo evaded his question "After helping you out back there, I would have thought honesty would be the least you could give me in return" Ignocious replied. 

"You don't know what happens to slaves that have shown magical potential. If you did, you can't blame me. I worry about how Dyril will react if she found out." Kiseo sighed, unsure if she could trust Ignocious to keep her secret. 

"She would discard me to protect me. I made a promise to protect her, but I can't do that if I'm not beside her." 

After a momentary pause Ignocious responded with a simple “I see” before continuing to look at her wound “I may not be a mage myself, but my experiments led me to research the arcane arts. I have never seen, nor read about magic manifesting itself like this, at least not without sufficient training. How long have you known you were gifted with magic”? 

"I don't know for sure, but when I was seven… Dyril was gone for the day and one of her cousins stepped on my tail. I dropped the drinks I was carrying, spilling them across the expensive rug. One of the aunts felt it was proper punishment to string me on the flogging tree, letting the rawhide whip bite into my bare back." Kiseo`s arm wrapped about her other arm. She seemed to recall the day in vivid detail as she continued. 

"I was left out there until night. Ting mentioned how odd it was that the wounds appeared so shallow despite how relentless the whipping slave was known to punish others. Mainly to spare himself from suffering the same fate. I knew it had to be magic that saved me…"

Ignocious shuddered upon hearing about Kiseo’s ordeal. Despite his apathetic nature, even he was disturbed by the brutal treatment that Kiseo had received. Regardless he put aside his disgust and focused on the matter at hand “So your magic hardens your skin when in danger is that it? Has it ever manifested itself in any other way”?

"Yes, it's been instinctual for four years now. It has not done anything else that I'm aware of. I've never tried anything else and I mainly hoped it would go away. Dyril can't protect me if we are forced to return. Not without being killed." 

Kiseo sighed then explained more. 

"Any magic potential found in slaves is required by law to be reported. The slave is then bought from the owner and resold to a priest. They do experiments which can lead from deformity to death. Those who die… are the lucky ones." 

“Like I said, I might not be a mage but one thing I know for certain is that magic does not go away, it simply becomes more potent as the individual ages. It’s why most mages in Formaroth are sent to the circle so they can learn how to control their power, else they become a danger to themselves and others” Ignocious paused as he reflected on what Kiseo had said “Wait, you say this happened four years ago when you were seven? You telling me your only eleven years old”?

"Yes. I am. Why are you looking shocked? Mao age faster than humans and especially elves. I'm currently a fully mature adult. Dyril is only thirty-one years old and just hitting adulthood." Kiseo pointed out as she debated on her next step. 

"I can't leave here because if I do, the crop might fail. I can't allow that. But I don't want to hurt Dyril or anyone else by mistake so… I'm in a...what's the phrase? Stuck between a rock and something else?"

She looked to the man for help. 

Ignocious was shocked at Kiseo’s apparent youth but didn’t doubt it. Her explanation made sense; if elves matured at a different rate there was no reason to believe the same couldn’t be true of Mao. “I’m pretty sure no one wants to risk your crop failing, least of all me. If you are concerned about losing control your best course of action would be finding a mage who can train you. Though as you would imagine those are not exactly in high supply here in Formaroth” Ignocious pondered for a moment as he formulated an idea “I could potentially write a letter to magister Lanaya Dionisa. From what I gather she has an extreme interest in helping mages develop their talents. The fact that you are a Máoróngrōng will likely peak her interest even more”.

Kiseo felt her spine raise up a bit at the mention of the name, her tan, flicked nervously. She began to confess. 

"I have met her when we first arrived. I did ask a few questions over mages and I… lied to her. I don't think it was a good one as she didn't seem to believe me, but she didn't press for answers too hard." Kiseo`s face took on a sheepish expression for a cat. 

"She also warned me of the same thing you said but I was afraid. I still am."

“I see, so you had the chance to receive training from a magister and you hide the fact you were a mage from her” Ignocious said with a raised eyebrow “At the very least you are getting a second chance at such a golden opportunity. Not many can claim to be so lucky”.

"I won't say my actions were smart, but they aren't unreasonable. Dyril, next to Claus, is the only one I know here and trust. Risks often can lead to death for slaves or worse." Kiseo let the words sink in for the judging man. 

"It would be better if I write a letter for her, if you would be kind enough to deliver it?"

“I should be able to see that this letter reaches its rightful place, unhindered and unopened. However what do I get out of delivering it” Ignocious said with a devious smile “Having access to your best stock seems a fair enough deal to me. Ensuring the stock is kept off the king’s ledger if you get what I mean”? Ignocious knew that after the incident he pulled with the spark powder his inventory was being closely monitored by his accountants. All of the mandrakes purchased would now be expected to be used on the golems and nothing else. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to have some mandrakes kept off the books for his own personal experiments.

Kiseo knew deep inside there had to be a price. She sighed and hopped up onto the table, considering his suggestion. After a moment of adjusting to the pain, she decided on another tactic. 

"I am surprised you put profit before your safety. We both established that an untrained mage is dangerous, especially during times of stress. We might've gotten lucky that I didn't just engulf everything in fire." She waited to see his reaction and his answer might change. 

“I’ll take my chances,” he said with a smile, “Your talking to a man who spent the past few months in a room of highly volatile materials that could explode upon the smallest contact with flame. All so I could pursue my true goals, I was not deterred then and I will not be deterred now”.

"I can't do that. It takes money from the farm which means less hired help and less mandrakes." 

She sighed then made a counter offer. 

"What if I send letters keeping you updated on the mandrake development? This would ensure you can arrive first and gain the best stock. Dyril usually sells on a first come, first served basis." 

Ignocious considered for a minute, on one side he wanted to push for the chance to get free mandrakes. However he knew that if she wanted to Kiseo could probably get a letter to magister Lanaya with or without him. Through this way he could send Bailey up whenever a fresh batch was ready. He imagined he would enjoy the chance to see Kiseo again, and visa versa. “Very well then, it’s a deal” Ignocious said as he put his hand out for Kiseo to shake it.

For a moment, Kiseo became confused and then it dawned on her. She extended her hand out and carefully took his. Her claws remained in her fingers to avoid cutting him. 

"After we load up those mandrakes, I'll work on that letter. I will also send you a heat stone to keep them warm during the trip. It will only last a few weeks so I hope you can create a place to store them." 
[/hider]