Chapter 59 - A Steaming Pot of Soulbrew

“You will not touch us with your dark magic, Witch,” Albry spat. He was shaky on his feet, his skin pale, the damage from the spirit was showing. He was in no condition to argue.

“Don’t make yourself any more of a fool than you already have,” Vivienne said. “You look halfway to heaven. Those spirits attack the soul, Albry. Wounds like that don’t heal without proper treatment.”

“We do not need your filthy power,” Albry said. “Hestia’s waters shall cleanse us.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Vivienne said. “The spirits have temporarily retreated, but the night is far from over. I need to command the beacon before they return unless you want a flood of soul consuming monsters flooding your town.”

“It was your witchcraft that brought this upon us!” Albry said.

“I won’t force you,” Vivienne said. “If you want to face this on your own, be my guest.”

“We’re leaving,” Albry snapped to his followers. “Pick up the wounded.”

“High Priest, I think we should stay,” one of the priests said. The middle aged woman was kneeling beside an unconscious young woman of their clergy. “Zera’s in bad shape. She’s as cold as ice, I don’t think we have time—”

“You would trust in this witch instead of Hestia’s will?” Albry interrupted.

The priest looked away, glancing at her fellows. All looked uncertain.

“They’ve drained her essence,” Hump said. “One of them caught me for a moment and I felt it. She’s effectively suffering from essence overuse, and if she’s not properly treated, she could catch hypothermia. Death is a very likely outcome.”

Albry’s face twitched, and Hump expected him to argue more, but Bud stepped in.

“Priest Albry,” he said. “I implore you to give Wizard Vivienne the chance to help. I understand your apprehension toward magic, but let’s make sure everyone is okay before you go on your way. I’d be happy to standby and observe the process if that would help you feel more secure. You know how effective Kelisia’s fire is against dark magic, you will be safe.”

“You might be Chosen, boy, but you are far from experienced. I will not risk the lives of my people in the hands of a heretic. We are leaving.” His eyes roamed over his followers. “Now!”

The others shared an awkward look. The same woman that spoke before was first to raise her voice again. “I’m sorry, Albry. I won’t risk their lives. I highly suggest you accept the wizard’s offer of treatment too.”

Albry glared at her, his face contorted in rage. He reminded Hump of a caged beast, barely containing its snarl. This was not a man used to being disobeyed. “The gods do not forget, and they do not forgive heresy.”

With that, he stormed back down the ridge and back toward town, robes billowing in the wind.

“I’ll see him back to the town safely,” Bud said. “Perhaps some spirits fled in that direction too. I’ll have a look around and then return.”

“I’ll come with toy,” Celaine said. “None of us should be walking around alone right now.”

“I’d like to get back to my men if you have no more need of me here,” Winfrey said. He turned to the other priest. “Elowen, you’ve made the right choice. Albry will come around.”

The man gave him a smile. “Thank you, Captain. We will see to our people, you take care of yours.”

“Dylan, you’re in charge,” Vivienne said to the man at her side. “I’ll return to the beacon.”

“I’ll take care of everyone, but please be careful up there.”

“Everything will be fine,” Vivienne said softly. “Someone needs to help these priests, and unless Hump has sprouted roots since I last met him, he’s pretty much useless with nature magic.”

“Understood, Master,” Dylan said.

Vivienne turned her commanding gaze on Hump. “You can make Soulbrew, can’t you?”

Hump nodded quickly. “Yes, I can do that.”

“Good. Then come with me, I’ll take you to my greenhouse on the way up.”

Hump followed her inside, giving Dylan an awkward nod in way of greeting as he passed, and Dylan smiled back. He looked a little older, maybe eighteen or nineteen. He had short rusty, red hair, and extremely pale skin. He carried a hatchet and a knife on his belt and wore simple cloth clothes. If Vivienne hadn’t mentioned his ability with nature essence, Hump would have mistaken him for a woodsman.

“We’ll speak in the morning,” Vivienne said as she led him up a stairwell. “For now, I need you to focus on the job at hand, and I have my own work to do.”

They left the stairwell on the third floor and stepped inside a wooden door. Hump stared around the greenhouse with wide eyes. The strong of pungent herbs and spices hit him as if he’d stepped foot into an apothecary. Essence stones lined the ceiling, shining essence infused light down upon a shelf of potted plants.

“Come along,” she said, leading him to the alchemy station on the far side of the room, with every chemical and alchemical apparatus under the sun stored nearby. There was a shelf of packaged goods nearby, and she removed a couple of vials and a paper wrapper. “Here’s what you need. Get essence water from the tap, and there’s an everburner here.”

“This is incredible,” Hump said. “I can’t believe you grow all of this indoors.”

“You’d be amazed at what certified wizards are capable of,” Vivienne said. “Sethril had his talents, but he was a terrible study. He didn’t have time for anything that wouldn’t help him on his next quest.”

Hump smiled softly. “He made me do those bits.”

“Good,” Vivienne said. “Then hopefully you won’t butcher this. Call Dylan if anything catches fire, and Hump,” Vivienne stared at him with serious eyes. “Do not take anything other than what you need for Soulbrew.”

“I would never…”

She gave him a hard look, and he inwardly cringed.

“Okay,” he said. “That was just the one time. And that was your fault for leaving a kid with Wizardfire lying around. What did you expect to happen? And my master paid you back for it anyway.”

She looked anything but amused. “Dylan has some healing capabilities, but he’s no healer. Don’t take long.” With that, she left, her footsteps echoing up the stairs.

Hump gazed at the door for a long moment, a hollow feeling in his chest. A door opened above, and wind howled down the stairwell.

She’d spoken of his master in the past tense. He almost laughed at himself for being bother by something so minor. Of course she did. Dead is dead, and the dead don’t care.

Being around Vivienne brought back the memories of their travels. Hump had always had the feeling that his master and her were once more than just friends or comrades, but something stood between them since before he had first met her, and now that rift would never have a chance to heal.

He turned back to the alchemy station and set about working on Soulbrew, trying to distract himself from thinking of the old days. It was a simple enough concoction; one he didn’t need his spellbook for the recipe. What made the brew unique was that it was absorbed as steam through the lungs. The evaporation point was so low that even at room temperature the liquid would bubble and steam would billow from it in thick trails. A cupful would only last a couple of minutes once it was left out in the open, which made it difficult to work with. One had to manipulate its essence to prevent it boiling off too quickly, and to guide its administration. Vivienne had all the equipment he needed to keep it from happening, but out in the field it was a particularly ineffective solution.

He hurried through the procedure, boiling Essence Water with the everburner, then mixing in the ingredients, conscious of the wounded clergy needing his help. They dissolved immediately, turning the liquid thick and grey. The moment the colour turned completely opaque, he inserted a glass tube, sealing the opening of the brewing pot. The steam moved through the tube-like smoke, condensing in a collection vessel at the other end, enchanted to maintain a cool temperature within. At these temperatures, it took less than a minute for all the liquid to evaporate, leaving behind the powdered remains of the ingredients.

Once done, Hump held up the collection vessel to one of the essence lamps, peering through the murky grey liquid, almost like charcoal mixed with water. The bottle itself was warm to the touch, a side effect of the enchantment that kept it cool.

Hump headed back downstairs to find Dylan and the clergy in one of the rooms off the main entryway. The ground floor was as large as a reasonably sized house. The clergy had been carried inside to a small living room, where a fire warmed the room. Chairs and tables had been cleared to the side of the room and soft blankets were used as makeshift beds for the wounded.

Dylan knelt over the most severely wounded of them, the woman still pale as a corpse, her breathing quick and light. The man’s hands shone with leaf green essence that reminded Hump of Emirai’s visit in Sheercliff City, rather than the darker green power of Celaine’s.

Hump knelt beside him, pulling out the bottle of Soulbrew from his pouch. “How is everyone?”

“The others will be fine,” he said. “Zera, here is dangerously cold though. Is that the Soulbrew?”

“Yes,” Hump said. “Shall I give it to her now?”

“Go ahead,” Dylan said, intent on his power.

Hump lowered the bottle so that the nozzle was beneath the woman’s nose, then removed the lid. The moment the seal was broken, the liquid inside began to bubble fiercely, vibrating through the glass. Steam trailed up through the neck, and Hump let his essence mix with it, directing it into the woman’s nose in two grey streams. She inhaled deeply, her body reacting on instinct to draw in more of the nourishment. Instantly, a shade of colour returned to her skin. Her breathing steadied. Hump counted seven breaths and then drew the bottle back, putting the lid back on.

He took a moment to study Dylan’s magic, frowning as he realised something. There was a foreign power to his essence, something that made it untouchable to Hump. A divinity. This wasn’t magic, it was a blessing. Dylan was Chosen. Hump opened his mouth to question him, then stopped himself. Now wasn’t the time. “I’m going to see to the others.”

Dylan nodded.

The conditions of the others were hardly comparable. They’d been wrapped up tightly in blankets to help get some warmth back into them, but their breathing was steady. One of them had already regained consciousness and another woke up after breathing in the Soulbrew. Hump didn’t expect the other to take much longer either.

Priestess Elowen had taken charge of the group in Albry’s absence, and thanked Hump for his help. The room was fairly quiet after that, leaving Dylan to focus on his work. Bud and Celaine returned shortly, reporting that everyone had made it back safely and that there were no spirits in town. Only a few of them had returned to the beacon; whatever spell Vivienne had cast, it must have scared most of them off.

Hump passed the time in meditation, cycling through the motions of the River and Waves, his attention only broken when Dylan approached him. The man looked tired, which was no surprise after channelling essence for so long.

“You were injured too, were you not?” he asked Hump.

“I’m fine,” Hump said. “It just took a little of my essence, I don’t think it did any harm.”

“Are you sure?”

Hump nodded. “I’ve got my own way to repair any minor damage that might have happened. Don’t worry.”

“Very well.” Dylan glanced at the stairwell.

“Celaine said there were few spirits left when they returned,” Hump said. “Vivi will be fine.”

“There’s nothing we can do for her now anyway,” Dylan said. “The formation that activates the beacon requires her full attention. We shouldn’t disturb her.”

“You’re her apprentice?” Hump said.

“Correct.”

“But you’re a Chosen,” Hump said. “Why would you take a wizard for a master?”

“My reasons are my own,” he said. “If you don’t need my help, I’m going to get some rest. I’ll be in the kitchen over there, alert me if any of the patients show signs of distress.”

“Okay,” Hump said. “I’ll let you know.”

As Dylan left the room, Hump glanced at Bud and Celaine who had been watching their exchange. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

“Sometimes I wonder if you’d be better off not opening your mouth at all,” Celaine said.

Hump laughed softly. “Come on, I’m serious.”

She shook her head. “He’s probably just tired, don’t worry.”

***

All four of the wounded returned to consciousness during the night, before quickly falling back asleep. They would have a bit of a chill for a few days, but other than that, Dylan expected them to be fine. Despite not sleeping, the River and Waves technique left Hump feeling somewhat refreshed.

At the first sign of light, the door at the top of the lighthouse opened and a soft breeze wafted down. Dylan emerged from the kitchen as Vivienne’s footsteps echoed. Hump and his party joined him in the hallway, along with Priestess Elowen.

Vivienne looked exhausted. Her hair was dishevelled, as if she’d just sat through a storm. Her face was pale, and she had dark bags under her eyes. “How is everyone?”

“They all made it,” Dylan said. “All of them are awake now.”

“Good.”

“Wizard Vivienne,” Priest Elowen said. “I just want to thank you. I fear the worst would have happened if you had not come.”

“You’re lucky the worst didn’t happen even with me there,” Vivienne said. “If not for these three, I wouldn’t have made it in time.”

The priest smiled softly. “I am aware. Be sure, I will be taking the issues of Albry’s… command, to the church. I fear Fishers Lake may not long have a place for him.”

“Remember he is not of sound mind right now,” Vivienne said. “When the soul is harmed, the body reacts in a variety of ways. Irrational anger and paranoia are very common.”

“Unfortunately, Albry had both of those problems before tonight,” Elowen said. “But it is not my place to decide his fate. I shall report him to the temple and at the very least he will receive the care he needs.”

“That sounds wise,” Vivienne said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to have a few words with young Hump here. Step into the kitchen, Hump. The rest of you, leave us.” Dylan opened the door for her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ll be alright once I rest,” Dylan said.

“Good.”

He smiled at her. “Do you want me to make you both a cup of tea?”

“Not for now,” she said. “I don’t want our guest to be too comfortable until I’ve heard what he has to say.” She took a seat inside the kitchen.

Hump glanced at Bud and Celaine nervously. “I guess I’ll see you both in a bit.

“Good luck,” Celaine said.

Bud gripped his shoulder. “We’ll be outside.”

“Why do I feel like I’m about to step into a dungeon?” Hump said.