As Donovan crawled through the caves, patchy orange blobs of moss remained his only hint at the distance to the ceiling. He still managed to knock his head into several unseen outcroppings and so he was now staying as low as possible. His knees were getting sore but the tunnel was too cramped and he was too weak to use his feet to any great effect. The tunnel hardly changed in elevation but it wound a crazy circuitous path through a branching network of similar tunnels. His arms were burning from the effort of alternatively crawling or dragging himself along depending on the height of any particular tunnel section. he was just about to ask for another break when he heard something peculiar.

Scrape, tak-tak, scrape, tak-tak,

The sounds echoed, like everything else in these caves, but even the echoes couldn't mask the deliberate rhythm. It was the constant rhythm of industry, repetitive tasks put to purpose, but there were slight, imperfections. A longer stroke here, a pause there. The disconnect was a little unnerving, like an itch inside his head. It just didn't belong and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

A section of the perpetual darkness peeled away as Don came around a corner. He wasn't looking at fire, thank God, Don had come to another open dome. It took Don a moment to realize Kat hadn't just led him in a big loop. This dome was less cracked and the ceiling was practically covered in an inverted forest of dried plants. The plants helped to block out most of the feeble light that made it through the cracks but there was enough for Don to make out the shadow rocking back and forth in time with the sounds. Kat stopped pulling Don forward and he could just barely make out his outline next to him.

"This is the alchemy round, Sik is in charge here so do what he says."

"Okay," Don said

"Wait for him to finish, then tell him Grey wants you to learn." Kat continued

"Okay," Don said again.

Without another word, Kat just turned tail and scampering away. In moments, his glowing tail was out of sight, in seconds, the scratching noises of his retreat faded into the distance and Don was left with that horrible, misaligned, grinding, machine. He couldn't help but to go inspect it.

Don waited to catch his breath, soaking in the new, strangely pleasant smells, then scooted across the room. It wasn't until he was right next to the machine that he realized it was actually another ColoColo. It was too dark to make out any details but the distinct, slightly musky smell he had come to associate with the ColoColo cut through the sweet medley of scents permeating the air.

Don watched in fascination as the monster worked. Its paws reaching down into the darkness but now Don could understand the grinding. It wasn't the sound of rusted joints wearing themselves down to nothing. It was the sound of rocks grinding something softer between them.

Scrape tak-tak, scrape tak-tak...

Don didn't know how long he listened for and was jarred when the dome suddenly fell silent. It was like the feeling when you think there is one more step on a flight of stairs than there really is. Don opened his eyes and looked for the shadow. It was gone. Don stared around him but couldn't find the monster in the gloom. A rattling to his left drew his attention and he found the shadow in the dark. It shuffled over to a wall and Don heard a splash. Water rushed past something and Don heard another strange noise he had no context for.

Glug, Glug, Glug...

The noise stopped and the shadow shuffled to one corner while vigorously shaking the gourd it had just filled. It deposited the gourd in a corner where Don heard it tumble down a short pile of similar containers. The shadow lowered, and made a few unenergetic hops back to Don at the center of the room.

"What do you want?" Sik asked in a reedy voice.

"I want to help, Grey sent me here to learn!" Don reported proudly

"What!? Of course, she did. Already has me working late into the day and now wants me to babysit some hatchling without so much as a please! I've had enough! Do you know how many salves I have to prepare now because of you? It's going to take me hours." Sik complained, "Tell me you at least know the basics of Alchemy."

"I, don't know what alchemy is," Don admitted apologetically.

"Of course..." Sik sighed heavily "Well hurry up then, we better get started." Sik said. Even Don could pick up on how unenthusiastic his teacher was.

"I said hurry up! Get your big red butt ov-" Sik's outburst was interrupted by a fit of coughing. The high pitched squeaks would have been cute if Don couldn't see how violently each one racked Sik's body.

"Are you okay?" Don asked, concerned for the moody ColoColo. He scooted closer though there was nothing he could do to help. When the coughing fit passed, Sik took a few seconds to gather himself before wheezing a reply.

"-m fine, I'm fine. Just get over here." The shadow shuffled to a shorter patch of hanging vegetation. Don could see dry brown stalks ending in shriveled bulbs by the brightening light seeping through a nearby crack. Sik reached for them but then collapsed back in on himself as a mini coughing fit interrupted him. Don pulled a few of the plants off of the ceiling and held them out to the ill ColoColo. When the coughing stopped, Sik angrily swiped the ingredients out of Don's palm, scoring it with his needle-sharp claws in the process.

"Listen here hatchling," It scolded "This is my alchemy round. That means I am the one who is responsible for keeping the whole nest alive. I do not tolerate waste. If you do something I don't ask you to again, I'll kick you out of here permanently. I don't care if you're Grey's new favorite. You will follow my instructions or you will leave."

Don smiled, he liked this ColoColo. He was a little gruff but he knew how things should be done. This was the first semblance of order he had seen in the chaotic nest. From the maze of dark tunnels to the insane feeding practices, Don was beginning to worry he would have to go without any concrete purpose but 'keeping the whole nest alive' sounded like a pretty valuable job. Don was even more eager to learn now. He followed sik back to the center of the room.

"Watch closely, I'm only going to show you this once," Sik instructed as the grinding noise began again. This time it was just one long grind after another with none of the tapping from before.

"Um, Sik?" Don asked hesitantly

"Just watch." Sik admonished

Don took a few more seconds to build up enough courage to interrupt again.

"...I can't see what you're doing."

The grinding stopped. A moment later a strangled scream broke the silence. It didn't take long for a coughing fit to silence the anguished monster.

"Ancestors give me strength." Sik prayed. "put your hand here."

Don felt his hands being guided to the floor. A pedestal rose from the ground. Its top dipped in like a shallow bowl, longer than it was wide. Don could feel the dried flowers from before, already breaking apart into petals, dust, and fragments of stem.

"This is the Mortar. We put dry ingredients in here. Only dry ingredients. Don't let me catch you mucking up my equipment."

Don's hand was led to an elongated stone with a rounded end, much like the one Grey used to smash the nuts.

"This is the Pestle. We use it to crush the ingredients in the Mortar. Don't ask me what the names mean, I don't know. That's just what they're called. Now get your hand out of the mortar."

Don felt it as Sik pushed the pestle from one end of the mortar to the other. His hand was guided to feel the small mound gathered in front of the pestle. Sik lifted the stone and dropped it on the other side of the mound before pulling it back to himself. He once again repositioned the Pestle. Don felt Sik go through the repetitive motion again, and again, falling into a rhythm. Don lost count of the number of times they ground the flowers but eventually, his hand was taken and he felt the fine powder in the bottom of the mortar. Sik led him to a stack of gourds, showed him how to put a thumb over the opening and shake it to see if it is empty. Next, he scooped the powder out of the mortar and dropped it into the gourd, then dropped the gourd in another pile.

"That is how you prepare a basic healing salve. Just add water when you need to use it. Keep it dry until then or it will lose its potency. Don't try to drink it either, It will just give you an upset stomach but it does wonders for healing small cuts and bruises when applied directly to the skin." Sik seemed to be getting into the teaching mood. Don might have thought the ColoColo was switched out for another one if he hadn't been so close to the monster the whole time.

Being pressed up against the ColoColo also made Don aware that this one had partially molted. Patches of skin fought for territory against the feathers all the other ColoColo wore. Don was starting to really feel sorry for the hard-working monster.

Next, Sik told Don to try and make some salve on his own. Don focused on each step, feeling the different components repeatedly. He checked to make sure he wasn't missing the plants with his faltering attempts to use the pestle. He kept grinding for 30 passes after he thought the plants were reduced completely to powder just to be sure. He picked up gourds from the wrong pile a few times before finding an empty one. He spent a little too much time carefully picking up pinches of powder and dropping them into the gourd, doing his best not to spill anything. When he was finally done, he looked around for Sik. He couldn't spot the monster until he listened for him. A soft rhythmic humming came from the sleeping ColoColo. Don decided to let him sleep, he deserved a good rest from what Don had heard.

he was surprisingly worn out from making the salve and decided to rest some himself. His arms felt rubbery and slow from pushing the stone back and forth for so long. The stone wasn't that heavy. In fact, it felt surprisingly light but he still struggled for some reason. Don refrained from slipping back into a trance. He just listened to the softly humming ColoColo and looked up at the plants above him while hugging his knees. Unbidden, a procession of thoughts marched through his head.

How did I wind up here? I still don't have any idea who I really am beyond my name. Can I even trust these screens? I guess it doesn't matter. My name could be anything and it wouldn't make a difference. It's not like I can go back to who I was before.

The thoughts left him alone for a while after that. He watched the light filtering through the cracks. It wasn't constant but it didn't have the same wild nature as fire. It faded and brightened but not all at once, or at a consistent rate. Don couldn't find any pattern in the shifting light.

If I can't go back, I just have to move forward, even if that means living in a hole and grinding up plants for the tribe. I still have to pay them back for saving me, so long as they don't eat me before I can... Why am I helping them again? Oh yeah, I stole a bunch of their food, after they healed me...

Don watched the shifting light for a while longer as a sour taste lingered on his tongue.

Grey is totally outnumbered. It would be hard for her to manage all these monsters even if they were well behaved. Sik is, well, for someone who makes medicine he certainly looks, sick. They need help. It doesn't matter who I used to be. All that matters is who I am now and who I can become.

Character Sheet

Name: Donovan Shepard

Race: Demon

Title: -

Pet: Fairy (Soul Bound)

Level: 0 (0/100 EXP)

STR: 10 --> 11

CON: 18

INT: 10

AGI: 10

END: 12

WIS: 11

Time to figure out who I am. Don asked Cel about a little of the info here but he had totally ignored the unfamiliar readings at the bottom. One of them had increased again since the last time he looked at this sheet and it was time he figured out what they meant. It turned out to be as easy as a thought. When he focused on STR the window expanded and filled in with more description.

STR: The Strength attribute governs how much physical power your body can exert.

It affects Melee Damage, Inventory Slots, and SP consumption among other physical qualities.

Strength! This must be some kind of measurement to gauge how strong I am. I don't really get the bit about Inventory- A box popped up cutting Don off mid-thought.

Ohhh, Inventory. The box closed again. Is that some sort of program to keep track of my belongings? Easy enough to do when you own nothing but the loincloth on your butt.

What about this SP stuff? No screen appeared this time. Well, I guess that would be too much to hope for. So STR represents physical strength, and mine increased recently. Hopefully, that means I won't feel this weak forever.

Don almost groaned at the thought of the effort it would take to get into shape. He remembered Sik at the last minute and kept quiet. he checked the rest of the symbols, learning their meanings and effects one by one.

AGI: The Agility Attribute governs how fast you can move your physical body

It affects Movement Speed, Dodge, and Stealth among other physical qualities

So the first two revolve around my physical strength and speed. More of those would certainly make alchemy easier.

CON: The Constitution Attribute governs your health reserves and physical energy recovery

It affects Maximum HP, SP Regeneration (CON/minute), and body mass

Wait, what? Body mass? Don glanced at his CON, his highest attribute. It was a whole 18 points. Does that make me some kind of giant? Are these tunnels actually big? Are the ColoColo?

Don shrugged. It didn't matter. Everything was relative after all. But relative to his CON, his STR was just too low. Well, at least Don knew how to fix that little issue. he wasn't avoiding it, honest. He just had to finish checking the other attributes first.

END: The Endurance Attribute governs your physical energy reserves and health recovery

It affects Maximum SP, HP regeneration (END/day), and food/sleep requirements INT: The Intelligence Attribute governs your mental capacity.

It affects Maximum MP, Spell-Power, and Memory among other mental qualities.

Can I get smarter if I increase this? Should I be worried that it's one of my lowest attributes?

Attributes:

STR: 11

CON: 18

INT: 10

AGI: 10

END: 12

WIS: 11

Well, that's helpful, but not what I need right now. What's this last one?

WIS: The Wisdom Attribute governs mental alacrity.

It affects MP regeneration (WIS/hour), spell-control, and perception among other mental qualities.

Some of the ideas didn't make sense to Don. Spells, SP, HP, and MP all remained stubbornly mysterious when Don focused on them. He did understand enough to get the main points.

So all in all, I'm a healthy, heavy demon baby. Don only let himself be dejected for a second.

No, the main takeaway is that I can change. My STR and END increased when I wasn't even trying!

After all the time Don spent looking at his Attributes, he was feeling completely restored. Armed with the knowledge that he was improving, Don continued with the last task Sik gave him. Don went back to the patch of hanging flowers and pulled down another few.

Don soon got used to making salves, even in the darkness. Once he got a rhythm down, he lost track of time. The small pile of filled gourds next to Don grew as the patch of flowers shrank. It wasn't until the light in the cracks was fading, and don was having trouble telling the different plants apart that he finally stopped.

Don was tired. The simple actions pushed him to the brink of exhaustion again and again but he always recovered in short order. He held up his hands. He couldn't see them, he couldn't even feel them, they were so numb from the constant vibrations from his grinding spree. All the same, they felt different. They made something. He didn't just set parameters, or order a result. He had personally, physically, gone through the steps of a manufacturing process. The pile of gourds next to him felt like a monumental accomplishment. Don exhaled a contented sigh. He almost slipped into a meditative trance to wait for Sik to wake up when he noticed a familiar blinking in the corner of his eye. How long had that been there for?

Don glanced at the icon and another bright screen replaced the darkness. Don winced, expecting discomfort but none came. His eyes had no trouble with the transition.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Alchemist profession!

Would you like to become an Alchemist?

[Yes] [No]