章節 182: Alchemy Guild

The plague had similar symptoms to the Bubonic plague or Black Death on Earth. This plague made the skin take on a sickening black mushroom-looking sore that would cover the body. By the fourth day, the sores would grow into boils. Then on the seventh day, the boils would erupt with rancid yellow pus. On the eight-day, the infected person died.

On Terra, this disease was called the 8-Day Plague, because people died eight days after the first black sore appeared.

As news of the plague spread in Albania, Will thought it prudent to visit then the Church of Gaia and then Alchemy Guild for solutions.

When this happened on Earth, medieval alchemists had no way of dealing with the Black Plague.

"But surely in this magical world there existed a spell or potion," Will thought.

The church was a short walk from the Administration Building. Will heard the clock tower behind him strike the 14th bell. Loud clangs rang out as he walked to the Church of Gaia.

"Greeting Bishop vont Omar," Will bowed.

"Greetings City Lord vont Ballard how may I serve you?" he asked.

"No doubt you've heard about the 8-Day Plague in a Duress, I'm here to inquire about what can be done," Will asked.

"Indeed, I have, but I'm sorry to tell you there is no magical cure," Bishop vont Omar said taking off and pinching his nose in frustration.

"The best we can tell this plague is a scourge from a god of Tartarus," Bishop vont Omar said.

Will saw the deep dark circles under his eyes. He could tell Bishop vont Omar had stayed up with his adepts researching the disease and potential cures. Will was certain, Cardinal vont Gaius had her priests, adepts, and bishops searching for a cure around the clock.

"Have you heard from the church in Duress? What do they say?" Will asked.

"As a Champion of Gaia, you are honorary bishops, and as such privy to secret information, we gathered. I ask you not to share, what I'm about to divulge.

Again, please do not spread this information, as a rumor as it may negatively impact the image of the church.

There is no cure," Bishop vont Omar said sadly.

"What do mean no cure? Are you telling me [Purification], [Recovery], and [Healing] won't work? Are there no secret high-level spells or potions the church can try?" Will asked also frantically.

"There are but…they don't seem to work either," Bishop vont Omar said depressed.

"Does light magic counteract dark magic?" Will asked.

"Yes. Light magic works by purifying the dark miasma in the body or speeding up the body's recovery.

But this plague does not kill its victims with miasma. This plague corrupts the mana pool stopping the body's natural recovery. Next, it attacks the victim's heart, corrupting the victim's blood. We have no remedy for this type of plague.

Truly, this plague is demonic," Bishop vont Omar said.

"Thank you, Bishop," Will said resolutely.

"Viscount I got word this morning, 40% of Duress citizens are dead. You should prepare for the worst. I recommend you get the gravediggers to dig a mass grave," the bishop advised, before turning around to leave.

After leaving the church, Will jumped in his carriage and rode to the Alchemy Guild.

This time when he walked in, the receptionist bowed her head in shame and led him to the Guild Master Horatio vont Xuan.

"Greetings City Lord vont Ballard, I expected to see you soon?" Guild Master Horatio vont Xuan said with a nervous smile.

"You know why I'm here, what can be done to cure the ill?" Will asked.

"I'm sure you spoke to Bishop vont Omar first, if so, you already know there is no remedy. Only death awaits its victims. The 8-Day Plague is a tempestuous mistress, she leaves no survivors," Guild Master Horatio vont Xuan warned.

"Are there no concoctions, herbs, or pills? How can one disease be so incurable?" Will asked in infuriation.

"My lord, please know we're doing everything we can. Under orders from the king, every guild is searching as fast as possible for a cure.

Just yesterday, I sent a letter to the alchemist guild master in Yorkshire, recommending bathing in a mixture of tree resin, rose soap, and aloe.

Others have suggested using mixing wild roots, myrrh and saffron in a clay pot and smearing it in the body.

Another colleague suggested eating roast pheasant eggs and drinking warm beer every morning and night. But we won't know who's right until the plague arrives," Guild Master vont Xuan vaguely assured.

Will was astounded, what kind of stupid voodoo was that. It sounded like these men just created solutions they enjoy already.

Will quickly redirected the conversation to something more practical.

"How many barrels of gun powder have you stored?" Will asked.

Will had a standing order of bat guano and sulfur delivered to the Alchemy Guild, where their apprentices made gun powered for Will.

"We have about five barrels. It's a slow process due to the volatility of the mixture. Hopefully, we'll have over 15 barrels in another two months," Guild Master vont Xuan said cheerfully. The City Lord paid him a monthly premium to make the substance.

"Good, I'm glad to hear such," Will said thinking about the fireworks for the upcoming River Festival, but also whether he should create guns for his soldiers.

While the fears of the plague had put a stop to Will's defense problem, for now, he knew in the future he needed to enhance the protection for his fief. Already he'd received threats from lords in Albania and Fermion due to labor shortages. Regretfully, the plague increased the labor shortage.

"It's an honor to serve the City Lord and to be so handsomely rewarded. As you know alchemy is an expensive business. It's due to your patronage, that we can offer such a great selection of products.

We also offer an exclusive selection of pills. If you desire, I can sell you a [Master Bone Marrow Pill] to help you advance in rank. You may also be interested in [Spirit Grass Pills] to help your spirit animal rank up," Guild Master vont Xuan pitched.

"How much for a pill for me and my spirit animal?" Will asked curiously.

Alchemy was a subject Will failed to comprehend, but he did appreciate the ridiculously high markup price. Some retail sales were as high as 500% from the wholesale price. Alchemy was legal price gouging and collusion at its finest.

"780 gold, and that's a with a 10% discount," Guild Master vont Xuan greedily smiled at Will.

Will wanted to negotiate the price lower, but he had millions in his vault. He would feel petty to argue over such a small sum.

"Fine, send it to my estate. I'm sure Nisha shall be grateful," Will said.

"I thought you might say that. After all, you're a Master Spellsword. The city depends on you for protection. Naturally, it's in my interest to help you," the Alchemy Guild Master smiled coyly, accepting the gold.

"Oh, before I go, I just remembered something. I am curious…do you sell rat poison?" Will asked.

"We do, it's quite effective too. I use it here to keep them out of the herb cabinet," Master vont Xuan nodded.

"How much?" Will asked.

"How much what, my lord?" the guild master asked confused.

"How much do you have, and the cost per kilogram?" Will asked curiously.

"It's cheap. You can purchase rat poison for less than 20 coppers a kilogram," Master vont Xuan said scratching his white beard. He was confused, as to why the City Lord vont Ballard would ask such a random question.

"How much for a ton, then?" Will asked.

Will just remembered, back on Earth the bubonic plague was carried by fleas on mice. If nothing else, his goal was to kill all the mice in Gadreel until the threat of plague ended.

"If my math is correct, that should be around 2 gold per ton," the perplexed guild master replied.

"I'll take ten tons," Will said, handing the guild master the extra gold and walking out the door.

"Ten tons!" Guild Master vont Xuan exclaimed. He was shocked by such an absurd amount.

"How big is the city's rat problem?" Master vont Xuan asked the City Lord vont Ballard as he was walking out.

"About a plague size," Will punned.

"I'll make sure to spread a little extra around my herb cabinet then," Master vont Xuan laughed, missing the pun.

"Expect Captain Bubba tomorrow, he shall collect it," said Will.

"Stop!… Wait!… Just a moment," the Guild Master vont Xuan called out to Will, following in out the store onto the street.

"Yes?" Will replied, wanting to know what was important enough that the alchemy guild master had to chase him down.

"I just remembered something, too. There's a slim chance your master can improve his health," he breathed heavily.

"How?" Will asked excitedly.

"There's a rumor that a stalk of [Fire Dragon Grass] may be auctioned off at capital next month. Tell me are you familiar with it?" Master vont Xuan asked.

"No, I've never heard of it before," Will said.

Master vont Xuan pulled out an old alchemy book and showed Will a picture.

"[Fire Dragon Grass] is a rare medicinal herb. Look here, it has ashen stems, faint yellow veins on the fiery-red petals, it exudes a fearsome fragrance. You put the grass in cold bathwater. The colder the water, the hotter the grass becomes," Master Xuan said pointing to the description in the book.

"Tell me why is rare, and what is its purpose?" Will asked feeling the slightest bit of excitement.

"These stalks are rare. They only grow in dense mana areas. This grass grew next to the mana pool by the wyvern roost.

This is the only stalk of grass in the entire kingdom. This grass has the properties of stimulating and expanding a person's mana pool, but at what cost? Bathing with it is dragon grass is very dangerous.

People have died thinking they could wake their or their child's dormant mana pool," Master vont Xuan spoke of the grass almost mythically.

"Surely, this story is fiction," Will said doubting such a thing exists.

Will found that news alarming. Someone was already trying to copy his airships. Why didn't Marcus inform him about those quests? He'd talk with his brother later.

"Ha-ha, I can see you're surprised. I'm surprised you didn't know," the old man chuckled at Will's aghast expression.

"Did they capture any wyverns?" Will asked.

"No, they had not returned. The expedition was sponsored by the Yorkshire Alchemy Guild.

With the wyverns gone, this was the perfect opportunity to explore around the roost. They came upon the grass by accident.

When they arrived, they found the grass by the wyvern corpses. According to my colleagues, the grass sucked the mana out from the corpses," Master vont Xuan said staring excitedly into Will's eyes.

"Imagine, this blade of grass could have consumed the energy of hundreds of deceased wyverns over millennia? No one knows how long it's been up there. The grass is like ginseng, the older the plant, the more power its effects," the guild master finished.

"I must have this," Will said unknowingly out loud, his fists clenched tightly together.

"Now, that I have your attention. I have a surprise for you…I've shown you the description for Normal [Fire Dragon Grass]. But the Yorkshire Alchemy Guild Master believes, this [Fire Dragon Grass], has the power to wake sage's dormant mana pool. This could cure your master. He could return to peak health, or maybe even advance to sage.

Considering the manpower and resources to find and protect the herb, it's an invaluable treasure!" Master vont Xuan said his eyes wide in excitement.

Will stood there. The Master Alchemist had fully convinced him. He desperately needed to purchase that grass at all costs.

"I see the desperation in your eyes, young man. Very few people have your wealth in this country. But there's still a handful of people that can compete with you," Master vont Xuan advised Will.

"I must get it!" Will's eyes held determination.

After thanking Guild Master vont Xuan, Will went home and teleported to Mei's office in Yorkshire. He told her to purchase the [Fire Dragon Grass] regardless of the price. How could be he put a price on his mentor's life?