“Now, Graca, could you be careful while preparing the specimen?” Jahid’s tone betrayed a level of impatience and annoyance underneath his sunny demeanor.
He leaned over Graca’s shoulder as she carefully cracked a blue-spotted egg larger than her head. She looked at him, a deep line between her eyebrows as she concentrated. She used a sharp instrument to cut carefully around the perimeter of the egg.
As she did, a gooey essence slipped out of the hole, growing larger in the basin. When finished, she held the two halves upside down, ensuring all the insides were drained. She turned to hand the leftovers to Jahid, but he quickly backpedaled.
She let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, sir. Forgot you’re allergic to eggs.” She set the shell aside on the table, focusing her efforts on the innards.
“Good,” he commented as she stirred various chemicals into the basin.
She poured a sizable green flask into the mixture, hissing as a little struck her inner wrist. She pulled it away instinctively, trying to lick the remaining liquid.
Jahid hit her hand away from her mouth. “Graca! That can kill you!”
Graca sheepishly looked down, not responding. She continued the process of creating the elixir.
Eventually, she added all the ingredients. She stirred it counterclockwise, muttering incantations under her breath.
He stood right behind her still, ears straining to hear the pronunciations of the spell. He prayed she had practiced it enough times. The feeling of trusting someone else with his master’s life was horrific. If only he weren’t allergic to eggs, he would be able to prepare the concoction himself, ensuring the work was correct.
Jahid prided himself on being the Head Alchemist of the Marsh. Graca frequently worked as his second, but she was prone to distraction, making her unreliable – something Jahid hoped she grew out of as she continued in her studies of magic. One day, she would succeed him. Jahid desperately hoped that day was far in the future.
He held fast the urge to correct her pronunciation of a word as she blazed through the incantation.
A minute later, she stopped mixing. The white, gooey substance from the original egg had transformed into a shimmering gold.
She poured the new liquid into a vial, decanting the large batch into smaller doses. Once done, she used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. The fire heated the room too well, sometimes.
Jahid snatched one of the clean crystal bottles full of the gold liquid. He hurried toward the bedroom of his master, but not before thanking Graca. He was grateful she was here, even if her training had been haphazard up until this moment. He vowed to continue her education if this liquid served its purpose.
He knocked once on a little wooden door before pulling it open. The room was small and dark, with only bits of light streaming in through a window stained with dirt.
Jahid scampered over various piles on the wooden floor, keeping the liquid as level as possible, his hand clenched tight around the top of the vial.
A figure lay in the bed, covers drawn up nearly to the top. Upon nearing the bed, he said in a too-happy voice, “Master! We have found it; we can cure you!”
The figure did not stir. Jahid hurried over, pulling back the covers to reveal his master’s true form: a giant frog wearing deep purple robes. He usually covered his true form with illusion magic, but had come down with an illness some weeks ago. Jahid’s compatriots still searched for ingredients to restore the Master.
Jahid shook his master, trying to get him awake to take the potion. “Please, Master. We’re almost there.”
After a moment, the Master regained consciousness, though groggy and generally out-of-it. “Drink.”
The Master drank the liquid, gagging as it spilled into his throat. Jahid held the vial to his mouth, ensuring he swallowed every drop. The Master finished and burped. His skin was already returning to the typical hue of his human illusion.
Story Arc Index:
Part 1: Wizard #4856
Part 2: Wizard #399
Part 3: Wizard #8004
Part 4: Pony #308
Part 5: Wizard #8441
Part 6: Pony #312
Entered by: 0x24D7…e52b and preserved on chain (see transaction)
