Alchemist’s Apprentice

"When you mentioned selling to other merchants, I thought you meant like resellers or something?" I commented as I walked alongside my sister. "Other alchemists, or apothecaries. People who'd be reselling our potions. I didn't think you meant just selling directly to other merchants."

Cat shrugged, "That's certainly a possibility. Not other alchemists, they're our competition, but we could think about going through resellers at some point. What I'm thinking though is there's trades that are dangerous, right? People get hurt, suddenly they can't work, their livelihood is threatened. Professional craftsmen might see a powerful healing potion as an investment."

A smile spread on my face as I responded, "That's really good thinking sis. So that's why you want to visit Lucas, his work is dangerous."

She grinned back at me, "Exactly. He spends all day surrounded by molten glass and white-hot furnaces and whatever other unpleasant stuff goes on back there. If we can convince him how effective our potions are, I'm sure he'll see his way to buying one or two. And with luck he'll mention it to other tradesmen as well."

I didn't get a chance to respond as we reached Lucas's glassworks. Cat and I braved the heat as we stepped into the front room. I felt sorry for my sister, she had a lot more clothes on than I did. All I had was one of my light sleeveless linen dresses and a pair of sandals, while Cat was dressed more appropriately for a master alchemist. She wore her leather boots, a proper dress, and she had a belt with her knife, a coin purse, and a pouch containing a dozen vials of healing potion.

"Cathryn!" Lucas called when he spotted us. He walked over to greet us as he continued, "And Valeria, what brings you two girls here? Shopping for more glassware again?"

My sister and I both greeted the big craftsman, then Cat responded "Perhaps we can talk about glassware afterwards, but I'm actually here to see if I could interest you in the best, most potent healing potion in the realm?"

Lucas grinned, "That's a very big claim Cathryn, and something tells me you'll be asking an equally extravagant price. I'll listen to your pitch, but it's up to you to impress me."

She smiled back as she pulled one of the little vials from her pouch. She held it out as she started her spiel.

"I know you're a master of your craft Lucas, but you've often bragged about your staff and your numerous apprentices in one breath then cursed and complained about them in the next. Yours is a dangerous line of work, with molten glass and red-hot tools. It's not hard to imagine the havoc an unexpected accident might cause to your health and your business. The contents of this vial are potent enough to cure all but the most serious of injuries and ailments. And what you cannot cure with one, a second will certainly do the trick. To the best of my knowledge, the only thing this potion won't cure is death itself."

Lucas listened with an interested but amused look on his face. When my sister was finished he asked, "And what price are you asking, for this most wondrous elixir?"

"Two gold crowns for a vial," Cat stated calmly. "But I would be willing to part with six of them, for a mere ten crowns."

The glass-maker laughed, "You've got confidence child, I'll give you that. You know I make glass for a number of other trades. Your little vials barely hold eight drams, and you want two crowns for that? I've got a flask of healing potion in the back that only cost me a single crown, and that flask holds an entire gill. That's four times the potion for half the price, Cathryn."

My sister didn't bat an eye as she stated, "And my eight-dram vial is ten times as effective as that entire flask. At twice the price it's a steal."

The big man looked like he was going to argue, or perhaps just send us on our way, but Cat spoke up again before he could say anything.

"Tell you what Lucas, do you know anyone who's been injured recently? I'll heal them right now, for free, as a demonstration of my potion's effectiveness."

Hearing her say 'for free' made me cringe slightly. I wanted to tell her to at least get a promise he'd buy one if she proved it worked. Alas, as the apprentice it really wasn't my place. Not in public anyways.
I'd definitely have some words with her when we got home later, especially if she wasted a potion without getting a sale out of it.

Meanwhile Lucas had a thoughtful look on his face. "For free you say? No strings?"

"Correct," Cat stated. "I'm that confident, once you've seen what my potions are capable of you'll be convinced."

"Very well Cathryn," he stated. "Free is a price I can't refuse. Excuse me a moment, while I fetch your patient."

Cat nodded, and the two of us watched as Lucas turned and headed back into the workshop. Once we were alone I gave my sister a worried look, but she remained the picture of confidence. And a minute or so later Lucas returned, with another man following him.

"This is Leo," the master glassmaker said as he gestured to the other man. "He was a talented glassblower, until a week ago when a clumsy apprentice cost him his hand. Now the best he can do is push a broom and offer instruction to the other apprentices."

Leo stepped forward and bowed slightly to my sister. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, he had short dark hair and a scruffy beard. He was dressed in a simple linen tunic and trews, and wore leather shoes on his feet. And the reason he was here was clear as day, as he was holding his right hand out in front of himself.

I winced then quickly looked away, but my stomach had already tightened up and I was pretty sure I wouldn't forget what I'd just seen.

Most of his fingers were gone, only his thumb and part of the last finger remained. The skin of his hand was swollen, blistered, cracked and broken, up to his wrist. I could only imagine what happened, but I knew it probably involved molten glass and it had to have been awful.

Meanwhile my sister stepped closer and inspected the man's injury with a slight frown. After a few moments she stated, "I'm going to give you a healing potion. It might feel strange but don't worry, it's going to help."

"Yes ma'am," Leo replied. His voice was quiet and strained, revealing the pain he was probably struggling to ignore.

We all watched as Cathryn broke the wax seal then pulled the cork free. She offered the injured glassblower the vial, and he took it with his left hand.

"Drink it all," she told him. "Don't worry about the taste, it'll be fine."

He nodded once then tipped the vial up into his mouth and gulped it down. His eyebrows went up and he sounded surprised as he remarked, "That tasted kind of nice actually."

Cat smiled as she carefully took the empty vial back. She stuck the cork back in and tucked it away so we could wash it out later.

After that we all stood there watching expectantly. Within about a half minute Leo gasped quietly as he looked down at his mangled hand. The skin was already starting to change colour as a healthy pink tone replaced the black char and the angry red. The blisters began to shrink and fade, while new skin formed over the cracked areas.

By the time a full minute had passed the real miracle was evident. The missing fingers were re-growing, one joint at a time.

In all the process took just over two minutes, and at the end of it the glassblower had his hand back. He stared wide-eyed as he flexed the fingers and turned his hand around in wonder.

"I'll wager your gill's worth of cheap potion can't do that," Cathryn stated triumphantly.

Lucas was just as shocked as his employee, but he quickly got control of his expression. He looked back at my sister and admitted, "I didn't think such a thing was possible. And certainly not with one tiny vial. I might have believed eight gills rather than eight drams, and if you'd told me it cost a dozen crowns!"

Cat smirked, "Maybe two crowns is too cheap? Should I raise the price?"

"Now let's not be too hasty!" Lucas laughed.

I saw a look of shock on Leo's face when he heard how much the potion cost. Two crowns was probably more money than he'd earn in a month, and I could imagine he was suddenly worried that someone would want him to pay for the potion he'd just drank.

The master craftsman probably saw the same thing, he stated "You can give thanks later for the miracle that just restored your hand. Back to work for now Leo."

"Yes boss," he responded. He added to Cathryn, "And thank you ma'am, thanks very much!"

My sister just smiled, then we watched as he turned and headed back into the workshop.

Once his employee was gone Lucas looked to Cat and I and commented, "That really was a miracle Cathryn. I've never seen such a thing, and never dreamed it'd be possible with just a few drops of elixir."

"Not a miracle," my sister replied. "Just top-quality alchemy. Had he lost an entire arm or leg, it might have taken two of my little vials to fully cure him, but a hand was nothing. A single potion can easily restore a hand or foot. It can restore lost sight, regrow a missing tongue, lost hearing. And perhaps I will raise the price next time, but for now my original price stands. So what do you think Lucas? Is two crowns worth it?"

The big man asked, "What if it was just some burns? Would that vial have been wasted on a lesser injury?"

Cathryn replied, "A drop or two would be enough for that. No need to drink the whole vial when you only need a few drops."

"Very impressive," Lucas admitted. "All right Cathryn, you've made yourself a sale. I'll be right back with some money."

I had to fight to suppress my smile. Our very first sale was a big deal, and Cat asked for two crowns. If she could sell the whole batch at that rate we'd have made back almost double the funds we had when my sister first returned home a few weeks ago.

Lucas returned a few moments later with a coin purse in hand. And instead of two crowns he pulled out ten. My eyes widened and I couldn't help staring. I hadn't seen that much gold since dad lost the family fortune on his risky gamble.

He didn't just hand over the coins though, first he did some haggling with Cathryn. And in the end she gave him seven vials of the healing potion for ten gold crowns. It was a little more of a discount than either of us wanted, especially considering she already used one as a demonstration. That left us eleven more out of the first batch to try and sell.

On the other hand, ten gold crowns was still huge. In just one transaction we'd turned a small profit over the funds we'd set aside for Cat to start with.

I watched as Cat handed over the potions then slipped all but two of the coins into her own small purse. With two crowns in hand, she haggled with Lucas over another purchase of small vials and other glassware.

It took the pair another minute or two of debate before she finally handed the two crowns back to him. Then she and Lucas shook hands, and I was given a couple more large glass vessels to carry home. And with our business completed, the big man headed back to work while the two of us finally escaped the oppressive heat of the glassworks.

Outside in the sun was only a little better, and as we walked away I asked "Where to now sis?"

"Let's head home," she replied. As we walked back towards the market part of town she added, "I feel like we've done enough for today. With luck Lucas will tell others about my potions, and soon more customers will be coming to us."

We were both quiet for the rest of the trip home. When we arrived she put away the remaining potions while I placed the new purchases on her workbench, then the two of us headed upstairs.

My sister grabbed our cups and poured us both some wine, then slumped into her seat at the table and admitted "That was harder than I thought."

I thanked her for the wine, and after a gulp of my drink I asked "What do you mean?"

"Healing that fellow," she replied. "I was expecting to see some minor burns. I thought I'd tip a few drops on someone's tongue and that would be all. Seeing such a grievous injury was more than I bargained for."

I grimaced. "I know Cat, it bothered me too. But you healed him, you gave him back his hand."

"You're right," she agreed. She had a gulp of her wine then admitted, "Making and selling healing potions is ok. Better than ok, it's nice to help people. But I don't want to have to see the people my potions heal. Or at least, not till after they're healed."

I nodded quietly, and we both continued enjoying our wine in silence for a while.

Eventually I commented, "I already knew from working with dad that some trades were dangerous, and I know that a lot of apprentices have it really rough. Seeing that guy today kind of drove the point home though. It made me realize just how lucky I am to be apprenticed with you, making potions instead of doing something really hazardous."

I had another gulp of wine then smiled, "The worst thing I've had to contend with was getting used to being milked on a daily basis. And even that's been fun. Compared to what other apprentices have to go through, I'm positively blessed to be your assistant."

Cat grinned, but after a few seconds it faded and she was left with a thoughtful expression.

Finally she drained the last of her wine before saying, "Alchemy is an odd profession I think? We straddle the line between artisans and mages. Our potions are more than the sum of their ingredients, our work is as much magical as it is chemical and cookery. Witches and wizards and sorceresses all work directly with magic, for us magic is just another ingredient."

"And speaking of magic," she added with a little smile, "Perhaps it's time to continue your lessons on cultivation, little sister."