“Right, where do I buy this fruit you mentioned?”

We sat and talked – with the exception of Darina who was still angry at not being consulted – for a while, but I was itching to be on my way back; this trip had been mostly to lend Cad a hand, since he had helped out, but I was really starting to miss having a second hand, and the sooner we got back to a place where it could be regrown, the better.

“What’s the rush, Sparky? I’m sure the Commander’d be willin’ to let us stay here f’th’night.”

“Well, I mostly miss my arm and-”

“-And we should not delay longer than we must. I was given a task by my Master, and that task is now complete.” Darina spoke up for the first time since Cad had announced he was coming with us. Her tone had reverted to the formal tone it had held when we first met, but I thought that she would probably calm down soon enough. Hoped, anyway.

“That too. So, since we have taxes to pay, who do I speak to?”

“Alchemist Garm is the senior alchemist here, I believe, Sparky. Come on, I’ll show you th’way.”

Nodding I stood and stepped out away from the bench.

“Guys, this shouldn't take long; should we meet out front?”

Receiving two nods and a scowl, Cad and I walked away; I could feel the apprentice's cold glare on the back of my neck, but I managed to refrain from looking back or rubbing at it.

As we made our way out of the dining hall and through yet more almost identical stone hallways, I decided to give the Association’s representative a word of warning.

“Uh, you may want to hold back on the humor, a bit, until Darina calms down. She seemed fine-ish with it on our way here, but can be a bit... prickly when she feels her dignity has been needled.”

“Aye, not a worry, Sparky. I can see she’s likely to give me more than the sharp side of her tongue, if given the chance. I’ll behave as far as I can.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it Cad. By the way, what’s with the accent? Pretty much the only people I’ve met with significantly different speech patterns have been from off-world. I don’t suppose you came through a portal during a war?”

“Met a lot o’folks from other worlds, ye have. More than most, I think! But not I. Born and bred right here; well, not right here, I’m from the Northern half o’the world. Almost as far North as ye can go, and not freeze t’death.”

I almost asked him where exactly on the world we were, but managed to catch myself before I let anything slip, simply nodding before replying in a way I hoped was less suspicious.

“I’ve never been that far North, what’s it like? Other than cold, I mean.”

“Fair enough, s’pose. Where I’m from, we build our houses on stilts, so as not to melt the frost ‘neath ‘em. I saw a man build his house flat on the ground once, and the heat from his fire sank it right down into the earth as the ice melted. He built the next one on stilts.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“Not that dangerous, if yer not an idiot. Does make me particular passion a might riskier though! Getting drunk and passing out in th’night is a quick road to a long sleep.”

Cad’s voice had lost its usual jocular tone, and in fact sounded vaguely melancholy which was very strange to hear coming from the self-proclaimed life of the party.

“After me Da vanished, I remember seeing a dragon – a massive thing, miles across; it glittered and shattered the light around it into every colour ye can imagine. I reckon ‘twas the Apex of the Crystal Drake, as I’ve never heard tell of such a beast ‘fore or since.”

“You dad disappeared? I’m sorry to hear that, Cad. I guess you... don’t know what happened?”

“Knowing me Da, he set himself against a thing that should not be stood against. But that was not the point of me story, Sparky. I saw the Apex of the Crystal Drake! I think. He’s from near me home, originally, ye know? Jorl Snowblinder... It’ll be nice to meet a man from me neck’o’th’woods, it’s been a while.”

I was about to speak up again, to ask him why he had left, as he seemed to miss his home, but we came to a sudden stop, and he spoke before I had chance.

“Here we be, Sparky. This is Alchemist Garm’s lab.”

Without waiting for my response, Cad wrapped loudly on the door and opened it before walking in.

“What... Thatch? And the boy Brannigan was interrogating. Interesting. What can I do for you, since you’ve seen fit to disturb me. For the second time today.”

“Honored Alchemist Garm, I’ve been tasked with journeying with this lad back to The Council of Apexes, and it seems we’ll be passin’ through the territory of an Elder who demands tribute in the form of fruit. Any chance we can have-” The alchemist’s eyes narrowed at the word, ‘have’, and Cad quickly switched gears, “-I mean buy some of yer special fruits? Might go a ways to establishin’ good will with the local powers?”

“I cannot sell you any finished products – this is a research facility, not a shop... however I may be able to sell you the base ingredients. How many would you be looking for?”

“Uh, I think we need fourteen?”

“Fourteen... fourteen of one fruit would be too many, as that many may allow you to refine the properties we’re using.”

“Uh, they don’t have to all be the same fruit, Alchemist Garm.”

“Oh, I see. Well, in that case I should be able to accommodate you. Fifteen-hundred should be sufficient.”

Fifteen-hundred seemed like a lot for fifteen pieces of fruit, but it would probably save some time on the way back... though I did still need to do some hunting; clothes were expensive and it was not like I had a steady income. Still, I tried to haggle him down.

“Fifteen-hundred seems like a lot for some fruit; the phoenix Elder gave me a Thousand Year Pineapple for free, and that thing is awesome.”

“They gave you a Thousand Year Pineapple? I’d love to study it. The way they gather Experience may somebody result in a plant-based Elder! Nobody has ever had the chance to study one before! I’ll trade you for the fruit you’re asking for.”

“Uh, it’s sort of ear-marked for the thundering ape Elder. The number we need is actually three each, so fifteen in total. But you could always ask Flame Ever Dancing yourself, they’re pretty nice. Just, you know, announce yourself? Maybe take something in case of fire?”

The alchemist looked disappointed, but did not seem willing to attempt to snatch it from the proverbial maw of an Elder.

“I believe you have done our Association some favour, so I will sell to you at cost, provided you swear to tell no-one what that cost is?”

“Sure, I’ll swear.”

If wearing an oath about pricing was going to get me a cheaper deal, I was all for it.

“Good. In that case, the price would be one-hundred and fifty.”

Okay, so I could totally see why he wanted me to keep that secret. If they were marking up the price by ten for the raw ingredients, I shuddered to think what the end result would cost. Before he could change his mind, I pulled the money from storage and handed it over; Garm accepted the slices of different fruits and walked away without another word, disappearing through a doorway with heavy violet bands.

“So, uh, I guess the Alchemy Association is pretty wealthy, then.”

“Aye, Sparky. One o’the Great Powers o’the world. Bein’ on their good side is a thing ye should be grateful of. If the Council of Apexes weren’t already lookin’ to smash this, ‘Cult of the Too-Tall Stools” or whatever ye called it, I imagine the Association would ground ‘em to powder, eventually.”

“... You know they’re not actually called The Council of Apexes, right?”

“There’s no doubt they are, lad. If only by meself.”

Cad winked at me and I had to admit he had a point; I supposed they were called that, even if it was not their actual name.

As we waited for Garm, I looked around the room; it was similar in many ways to the lab I had seen at Ro’s shop, even down to the weird cauldron in the centre of the room, though this one looked fancy in a number of ways. It looked to be made of a deep blue, almost indigo metal that reflected an odd shade or orange if I moved my head catch it from different angles. The air smelled of ethanol and something similar to mint and I imagined that people who were messing with anything chemistry adjacent were probably keen on keeping the lab clean.

I was quickly interrupted before I had a chance to snoop; I really wanted to take a closer look at the cauldron, because in most fiction they were things witches used to brew potions. Macbeth sprang to mind as an example it and really made me wonder if it was literally just a big stirring pot; few things had been quite so mundane since my arrival. But, as I said, it was not to be, as at that moment Garm walked back into the room, carrying a medium sized sack of perfectly white cloth.

“Here you are, fourteen varied fruits, only found here at the Farm.”

I accepted the sack and dropped it into storage, offering the alchemist a small bow before thanking him.

“Thanks! It really is amazing, the way you’ve tamed the jungle. I saw some of the trees on the way in, though I imagine there are more; Darina – one of my companions – said you guys had started out here due to a single plant?”

“Thank you, it has been a great deal of work. The locals have been instrumental, but the variety of plant life in the area is astounding; we came for a single plant but found so much more...”

“Did you guys – the Alchemy Association, I mean – never think to look here before? I’d think that a culture that’s been around as long as yours would have checked this place out.”

“The world is wide and time is deep; there are still areas of the world which have gone unexplored to this day, and while the Sha Forest is relatively close at hand, it is not the most hospitable place, and keeping the jungle back requires a great deal of effort.”

“Yeah, I heard forests could be hard to restrain, Everwood for example. No roads.”

“Precisely, though the jungle is even more aggressive about such things than the Association’s home.”

I was about to ask about their origins when Cad nudged me, and I looked over at him with my eyebrows raised in question at the interruption.

“Ye said we’d be meetin’ the others in about ten minutes, Sparky. We’re likely already late, so we should probably be off.”

“Thanks, Cad. It’s been nice to meet you, Alchemist Garm. I’ve only met Ro and Tang before, but overall, your Association leaves a good impression.”

I offered another bow and turned to leave, but was interrupted once more by the alchemist.

“Ro...? Ben Won Ro?”

“Yeah, I met in him in Everwood City. Nice guy; likes money.”

“I see. And you... know him well?”

“Uh, I guess not that well. I was kidnapped with his apprentice, Tang and we escaped together.”

“I see. You are that person; I was not aware. Where will you be heading next?”

“Uh, back to the Blacksand Citadel. I’m not sure after that. Actually, have you ever heard of Anan Al’monhad?”

“Never heard of them, I have to say.”

Huh. I had thought I had seen a flicker of recognition in the alchemist’s eyes, but it may have just been him thinking about it, though his reply had been awfully fast for that. For a moment, a suspicion grew in me that the Association was involved, somehow, with the Risen Throne, but that doesn’t make sense; there would be no need to kidnap Tang to get their hands the Grand Harvest pill, if they were working together. Shaking my head free of the suspicion, I smiled at the alchemist and thanked him one least time before leaving with Cad.

“Everyone seems to make a big deal over Ben Won Ro, even you. Is he a big deal?”

“Honoured Master Alchemist Ben Won Ro is th’most accomplished alchemist ever known, or at least that’s what the other alchemists tell me. High up in the association. I think he invented about half of the Association’s assortment, and refined the rest.”

“Wow, I can see why Walker said to be respectful. Actually, he might have also called him the best alchemist in the world...”

It was difficult to recall, precisely what had been said. I had been pretty new to the world, and a lot of things were happening close together. Though, thinking back about the way Walker had gone to fetch him, I supposed he was probably somewhere in the Pinnacle stage, which put him in the top 1% of the world at any given time, from what I had been able to gather. I made the decision to be extra nice to him the next time we met...

“Aye, well, whether he is or not, if I meet him whilst in yer company, I’ll be layin’ it on thick, like me youngest sister and jam. Always hogged it, she did.”

“It’s kind of surprising you had enough fruit to make jam, in a place as cold as you describe.”

“Nah, there be plenty of trees about, and fruit too. Iceprecots be damned delicious... if ye can avoid the explosion.”

“Explosion?”

“Aye, the Void blasted things can explode if ye heat ‘em too quick. Ye have t’take it a might slower than ye might like. Just a tip, if ye ever find yerself up’n’th’North.”

“I’ll keep it in mind...”

It was not long before we reached the front of the building we had entered, and I let everyone know I had the fruit tax covered. Everyone seemed happy that we would not need to go hunting for fruit in the jungle, and seemed eager to finally be done with the place; Reff’s control of heat was a godsend, even Darina seemed to cheer up a little at the idea of leaving.

“Uh, I don’t suppose we could do some hunting, on the way? I’m going to need new clothes, and I don’t think this is going to be the last time.” Seeing the apprentice begin to glare again, I hastily added, “only things on the way, that won’t slow us down, of course.” That seemed to appease her, but I knew I was probably in for a few more, ‘idiots’ than had become the norm, on our way back.