บท 5: 5 - Burning Ember
A busy lord had no rest, and one who shouldered the burden of a crumbling county would spend the nights awake sorting through the mess that was pilling faster than he could deal with.
Karl would spend half of his night confined to his station. It had become a routine of his that Ronald would've to come and take him to his bed. So, it had been a pleasant surprise when he left early that day.
The young count ordered the food be delivered to his room and went to the meet the man who was supposed to have collected the materials for him. He had expressed the urgency in his message and told the man to make haste.
"My Lord, I have done as you asked." The man was looking old with slightly rotund belly and bushy moustache. He wore a black suit and carried a leatherbound ledger in his left hand.
"Show me." Karl ordered. The man bowed slightly and motioned to the room behind him.
Karl followed the older man who showed him an assorted set of materials all in specified quantities as he had requested. He nodded and expressed his approval, pleased with the handling of matters.
"You did good." He said. "Have these delivered to my room, alongside food. Also prepare a fine drink of Snow Elk tomorrow, Aurelia is coming home."
"As you say." He bowed and left. Karl took one sweeping glance at the room and left to make his away over to the different part of the castle. He found the room quick enough and entered.
Usually a castle like Bloodrock ought to have a potions chamber dedicated to the family. Their very own potions factory for readily available stock of magical water for all sorts of purposes. They used to have one many years ago.
Due to the decline in profits and widespread migration of the residents, followed by a number of resignations there just weren't enough personnel to handle this sort of thing. And it cost a pretty penny to hire an Alchemist from the outside which the county wasn't capable of sustaining currently.
After the chamber was shut down, the equipment was moved to this room in case they needed to sell it or something. Karl was just glad they hadn't gone through with the idea.
The room itself was spacious and quite clean, unlike the dungeons below. He quickly identified the set of beakers, a petri dish, some of the reagents and other specialized equipment used for distillation, filtration and precipitation among others.
It was going to be a chore to carry if Cinis hadn't informed him of another major function the grimoire carried.
When not manifested, the grimoire would store itself inside a pocket dimension it was connected to. This sort of place was basically like a fold in space that was hard to gain access to. His knowledge on such a subject amounted to some stories he had read about Mages.
He called forth the grimoire and watched as it burst into existence in a shower of sparks and radiant light. "Are you sure I can do this?" He asked, doubt lacing his words.
According to Cinis, he would need to use his Mana to activate the medium for the usage of pocket dimension. Normally that wouldn't be a problem at all, but with his diminished magical pool he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to accomplish the task at all.
"Don't worry," Cinis assured, "this much stuff is easily displaced."
He sure hoped it was, otherwise he would be in quite a conundrum.
If Cinis' concerns were real and the revealing the existence of Grimoire could land him in trouble than he needed to keep quite about his potion making. He knew that this castle was filled with spies and trusting others would be the epitome of naivety.
Cinis waved her tiny hands and the grimoire glowed slightly, the pages magically turning until it stopped on one page with a black hole swirling inside.
"Alright, your turn." She motioned for him.
Karl nodded and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
Channelling the mana through his body and into the grimoire, he watched in fascination as the hole started rotating and wind picked up. A violent gale pulled all the gathered apparatus and sucked it into the hole one by one. As each one disappeared, Karl felt a chunk of his mana whittle down.
When the last object was sucked, he dropped to the ground feeling exhausted. He had just barely made it.
"I need my strength back, and I need it quick." He muttered determinedly.
With that done, he headed back to his room to find both the food and materials there. A young maid of common blood stood bent at the door.
"Prepare a bath for me." He ordered and strode inside, closing the door shut behind him.
"You should eat first," Cinis suggested, "and recover your mana before you can pull those objects out. And besides you would need your magic when concocting the potion."
Despite the excitement eating at him, he understood the merit behind her advice. A meal would give him much needed energy and also provide the buffer period for his mana to recover.
He made quick work of the meat and sipped on his cheap wine, frowning at the unpleasant sensation welling up within him. Among all the luxuries he had to forsake, food was the only one he found painful to let go. If not for the sake of his county, he had to stabilize he situation so that he could go back to savouring the tender meat of a wild boar and drink the blood of a Razor Whale. That was a rare delicacy in the Night Realm, and even beyond.
By the time he finished his meal, his mana had recovered entirely being so little in quantity as it was. He followed the same process as before and brought the equipment out and hid it in his trunk. Just then a knock sounded out, alongside the voice of the maid.
"My Lord, the bath has been prepared."
Karl frowned and looked down at the equipment. He shut the lid and returned his grimoire back to its place.
"Keep the place empty, I wish to bathe in solitude tonight." He replied.
"As you wish, my Lord," came the reply followed by the sound of receding footsteps.
"Are you ready?" Cinis sat on his shoulder and tapped lightly.
He took a deep breath and nodded. "After the bath."
It would help him relax, keep his thoughts in order, and most of all give time to recover his reserves.
Karl walked toward the bath to find a group of women waiting near the doors. They all wore thin gauze drapes and hung their heads low.
"Leave." He ordered. The women bowed and left the place silently. Although he had ordered them to keep the place empty, it seemed they had gathered outside in case he changed his mind. Truth be told, Karl was slightly afraid of these women. Who knew whether one of them could turn out of be an assassin, otherwise he wouldn't shy away from the pleasures of flesh.
Stripping himself naked, he stepped foot in the warm water, illuminated only by the circle of candles around the rim. At one point the water used to smell of Blood Roses and Jade Lilies, but long has it been since he had enjoyed the feel of their petals against his flesh.
Karl didn't let the annoyance surge, instead trying to find solace in these still waters. He closed his eyes and envisioned an empty plane of darkness. He was on his lonesome, drifting across the void, a single spark of light, like an ember burning bright.
Karl was roused from his state of sleep by a pair of tiny hands rubbing against his cheek. He cracked open an eye lid to see the face of Cinis so close to his. Another slap forced him awake, and he sprang to his feet.
"What happened?" He questioned.
"Thank goodness." Cinis sighed. "It would seem you were quite exhausted and fell asleep. I tried to wake you up, but you barely felt my nudging, so I had to slap you awake."
His brow twitched at that. "Thanks."
Drying his body with a towel, he changed into his sleepwear and left the bath. Walking back into his room, the first thing he did was draw the curtains and close the door shut.
He cleared his study desk next and moved it to the center. As weak as he had grown, he still had enough strength to break apart wood, much less moving it around.
Next he took out each piece of equipment and placed it on the desk in an orderly manner. Once that was done, he finally gathered the materials and moved each one into its place.
The bath had given him enough time to recover his mana, and stave off some exhaustion. He could even feel his thoughts flowing much smoother. It was time to start the potioneering.
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