nagpurpolice Chapter 84a: Recipe for Success
Chapter 84a: Recipe for Success
Chapter 84a: Recipe for Success
While a few people had naturally taken note of Edwin rattling up to the entry of the town, none paid him much attention. It made a certain amount of sense, they probably had loads of travelers and merchants coming in and out of the town on a regular basis.
In fact, he could even tell where the inn for the town was thanks to the row of wagons that had pulled up beside it, a few individuals milling around them. A few individuals caught his eye- one Skyguard and two Hired Guards already had Almanac tags on them from when hed last traveled with a merchant caravan. He was vaguely hopeful hed spot more familiar faces out and about, but it seemed that the trio had simply been hired by a different set of merchants. Even the wagons werent the ones that he had seen before, and Edwin couldnt imagine they had an excessive number of those lying around.
As they pulled up to the inn, Edwin allowed Bill to loiter as he hopped down and drifted inside. The tireless pony lowered his head and started nibbling at a few tufts of hardy grass that had survived on a hard-packed dirt road.
While Edwins eyes didnt need to adjust too much as he entered the building, the massive leafy boughs of the tree Panastalis was built around already casting the entire city into shadow, his ears certainly did. Inside, a couple dozen individuals with a mix of travel-related classes and more typical Identify results sat around, eating, drinking, and enjoying a Melodic Wanderers song as he sat, playing a stringed instrument that Edwin recognized from the road.
The innkeeper- a Canny High Merchant- looked at Edwin with a skeptical eye as he approached, We dont serve your type here.
Edwin looked down at himself, Look, I know most people dont like adventurers, he started, confused, But I assure you, I have dispensation for-
No, not adventurers, you daft fool. Alchemists.
Hold on, what? of all the things he was expecting to potentially run into trouble for, being an alchemist in the alchemist town was not one of them.
Youre not Guilded. I serve you, Im inviting all kinds of trouble onto myself.
Well, okay, but-
Out! Dont want your trouble.
I was sent by the emperor? it was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but not that much of one. He would argue that the emperor telling him to go and learn stuff on his own merit did include visiting Panastalis and learning about alchemy. He might not have specifically said to do so, but
That caught his attention, Youre lying.
Nope! Talked to him just a month ago.
Youre either brazen or stupid.
Edwin gave a slight shrug and a smirk.
Five ager a night.
Edwin scoffed, Thats robbery! Back in the city I got half a month for that price.
This isnt the city. He shot back, and Edwin noticed a Skill interlacing the words, Its a lot more expensive out here. Four.
Thats not how money works at all. Things are always pricier in a city because more people want the stuff.
Yeah, well look around. Im not exactly hurting for business, and they wont get the place burned down by just existing. Non-guild alchemists are not welcome here, and Im not taking that on my head.
Ill look to join the guild? Actually, how do you know Im not already part of it?
Well if you were, you wouldnt be staying here.
Any idea how I join the guild?
Nothin specific.
Anything general?
Well, I dont know where you come from, but its usually considered bad business to give something away for free.
Where I come from, helping out potential customers is a great way to get on their good side and make them want to choose your place.
Ha! Where else would you go?
Well, apparently where- ah. I see. Edwin sighed and grabbed a few ves from an internal pocket, Will this do? he slid the coins over.
Its a start. The avior swept a wing over the counter, making the coins vanish with the hint of a Skill, You can find the guildhouse on Stalis.
The tree? Edwin guessed.
The avior gave a quick nod, You cant miss it.
Sounds like I didnt get my moneys worth, Edwin grumbled, So a room?
If you join with the guild, then you wont need one.
I have a traveling companion. Would she be really welcome in whatever guild-approved housing they have?
Two of you?
I would have asked for two rooms, but not at those prices. Well settle for one.
Hmmm, The innkeeper tucked his head into his shoulder and preened some of the feathers there in thought, I suppose thered be no harm in renting to a passer-by. Shes not an alchemist, right?
Edwin shook his head.
Two ager a night for the two of you, you get the largest room I dont already have claimed.
Please, Im not a fool. I can sleep in my cart if nothing else- I did it on the road. One. Though I do have a pony that needs stabling, I could go up a bit for that.
Three per two days, and we feed and stable your horse.
Deal.
It didnt take long for him to get Bill and Inion properly situated in their respective places- though the latter immediately fled the inn, claiming she wanted to play in the river. Honestly, he felt like a parent at times, despite Inion being at least a hundred times older than him.
He didnt waste any time once he was free, and quickly made his way to Stalis. In some ways, Edwin felt that his sense of grandeur had perhaps shifted slightly since he had arrived in Joriah, in large part thanks to Vinsteads garrison and living in a literal fairy-tale home for a year. It was perhaps the primary reason the massive guild hall-complex built into a tree larger than a football field didnt amaze him, with its grand, sweeping roof and skylights spilling golden shafts of light across the floor.
The latter feature caught Edwin off-guard, though it took him a moment to put his finger on why. Then it hit him. There wasnt any direct sunlight underneath Stalis- the apparent sunlight spilling into the room was artificial, mimicking the lighting away from the massive tree that was the towns namesake. That was Well, Edwin didnt even know how to begin doing something like that.
Okay. Thats not entirely true. The first step would be figuring out if they have some sort of light-storing or light-transmitting material that they could use to bring sunlight in. It might even use sunstalk. Perhaps by making some sort of transmission method or alchemical preparation to keep it active? Though that would just diffuse, not stick in cohesive sunbeams. Unless they had some kind of focusing effect. Maybe an alchemical crystal of some kind? Though thats basically just saying magic. Just saying A Wizard did it is not a real answer, darn it! How did the wizard do it, and how-
Physical
Overcharge 8, Longstrider 29, Fresh Air 14
(Athletics: 81), (Breathing: 76), (Flexibility: 74), (Nutrition: 73), (Packing: 92), (Seeing: 72), (Sleeping: 73), (Survival: 76), (Walking: 74)
Mental
Numeracy 14, Prototyping 16, Anatomy 28, Polyglot: 60, Memory 60
(Language: 36), (Mathematics: 74), (Research: 50), (Visualization: 80)
Combat
Bomb Throwing 49, Adaptive Defense 26
(Throwing Weapons: 48)
Utility
Outsider's Almanac 130, Watchful Rest 18, Skillful Assessment 32, Arcadian Elixir 16, Improbable Arsenal 23
(Firestarting: 94), (Improvisation: 14), (Status: 22), (Identify: 80), (First Aid: 82), (Harvesting: 76), (Construction: 77)
Paths
Skill Points: 576
Combat
Assassin 0/60, Bomber 0/60, Giant Slayer 0/60, Heedless Hunter 0/60, Hunter 0/30, Killer 0/30, Titan Slayer 0/90, Warrior 0/60, Way of the Empty Hand 0/60, Trapper 0/60,
Alchemy
Alchemical Medic 0/60, Demolitionist 0/60, Makeshift Alchemist 0/60, Potioneer 0/60,
Science
Chemist 0/60, Experimenter 0/60, Researcher 0/60, Purifier 0/30, Scientific Revolutionary 0/90, Scientist 0/60, Engineer 0/60, Physicist 0/60, Mathematician 0/60, Material Scientist 0/60
Magic
Aerialist 0/60, Fey Friend 0/60, Feybound 0/60, Feycaller 0/60, Mage 0/60, Magical Gardener 0/60, Micro-Biomancer 0/90, Primal Constructor 0/90, Primal Ritualist 0/90, Realm Traveler 0/120, Skilled Arcanist 0/60, Fey Supplicant 0/60, Feykind 0/90
Mental
Dedicated Student 0/60, Lecturer 0/30, Scholar 0/60, Unbowed 0/90, Canny 0/60, Steady Mind 0/60, Mentalist 0/60,
System
Almanac Administrator 0/60, Forerunner 0/60, Outsiders Almanac Specialist 0/90, Pioneer 0/60, Skill Researcher 0/60, System Scholar 0/60,
Trophy
Blackstone Conqueror 0/60, Deepwoods Panther-Hunter 0/60, Stonehide Vanquisher 0/60,
Career
Brickmaker 0/30, Butcher 0/30, Diver 0/30, Gardener 0/30, Lumberjack 0/60, Merchant 0/30, Potter 0/30, Scribe 0/30, Woodsman 0/30,
Physical
Ascetic 0/60, Daredevil 0/60, Physical Alchemist 0/90, Survivor 0/60, Physical Laborer 0/30,
Traveling
Escapee 0/30, Exile 0/30, Traveler 0/30, World Traveler 0/60
Medical
Field Medic 0/60, Medic 0/30, Steadfast Medic 0/60,
Misc
Arsonist 0/60, Autopyromaniac 0/60, Burglar 0/60, Child 0/12, Expert 0/60, Imperial Ally 0/60, Novice 0/12, Pyromaniac 0/30, Razer of the Ruined Tower 0/60, Rebel 0/30, Slave 0/12, Trainee 0/60, Traitor 0/60, Brushed by Power 0/60, Lirasian Citizen 0/30, Royal Advisor 0/60, Favored by Power 0/90
Completed Paths
CharLimitCanttalkmuchNocluewhathappenedDidmybesttohelpyouli, Mage, Skilled Arcanist, Physical Alchemist, Bomber, Linguist, Beginner, Warrior, Path Less Traveled, Athlete, Scout, Unkillable, Superior Alchemist, Adventurer, Explorer, Outsider, Skill Researcher, Wanderer,Alchemical Warrior, Novice Pyromancer, Novice Ritualist, Alchemist, Physicist, Engineer, Physical Arcanist, Biologist, Practical Alchemist, Fey Scion, Feytouched
He idly toyed with the message, musing about what he wanted to evolve Flight with. Aerialist was the boring option, no doubt. If he were to hazard a guess it might improve his maneuverability in-air? Meh. What he really wanted was telekinesis, because that was perhaps the single most awesome and broken superpower ever.
Plus, it would be great for sealed experiments and making volatile stuff without risking his own life and limb.
But mainly it was just obscenely broken. Be able to flatly violate the 3rd law of motion? Yes please. Hed tried picking up a Tactile Telekinesis skill by messing around with Packing and Mana Infusion again, but to no avail. He just couldnt get it to click quite right. Maybe one day, unless there was some sort of strange one-new-skill-per-combination rule to the System, which he didnt think was the case but he couldnt totally rule out either.
He didnt really know what he should try to use to get Telekinesis from Flight. None of his Paths particularly seemed to lean in that direction. Hmm
Ah well, it wasnt like he was in any kind of rush. He didnt want to evolve Flight until it was at least level 60, and he had a pretty solid spread of abilities already. Tier 3 would bring with it a whole suite of awesome new powers, sure, but why rush it? Leveling all of his current Skills to super-high levels would help a lot too.
Satisfied, he dismissed the notification and rose from his bed, looking outside. Hm. It was starting to get dark. Inion had yet to return, but that was hardly a surprise. Shed be out playing in the water for a week if she could. Theyd spent relatively little time traveling by rivers, so this was the first time in quite a while where shed had extensive time submerged.
Well, maybe hed hear from the guild tomorrow.
Bedtime for now.