When I arrived at my destination, Hagmar and Nelaeryn’s animals were out in full force, strolling through their respective yards. Unlike what one might imagine, the scene was far from chaotic. The lazy meandering of the sheep created a peaceful atmosphere. While the chickens did raise a bit of a racket, their colorful plumage made for a pretty sight under the afternoon rays of the sun.

  Hagmar and Nelaeryn were outside, sitting close together on chairs so rough that they couldn’t possibly be Alys’ make. Covered by a shared blanket, both dwarf and elf were sipping some kind of warm beverage that sent up plumes of heat to obscure their faces. A kettle on the ground, placed next to Hagmar for easy access, contributed even more mist.

  The duo seemed so lost in their own little world, savoring their drinks and exchanging whispers, that I thought it best to announce my presence.

  “Hello!” I called out long before I reached them.

  They startled at my call, but then a hopeful expression flitted over Hagmar’s features while Nelaeryn’s face lit up in a smile.

  “Thorn! It is good to see you again,” the elf exclaimed, only staying seated because the dwarf had a protective arm wound around her waist. “Please, come join us.”

  “Thank you for the kind invitation.” I smiled as I passed through the gate into the dwarf’s yard. “I see you are past denying any allegations of affection?”

  The dwarf huffed. He probably would have crossed his arms defensively if he weren’t holding his… I wasn’t sure what she was to him at the moment, actually. Wife? Lover?

  “Aye. Felt silly to deny it anymore… even if I feel odd about it now,” he grumbled, earning himself a glare.

  For a moment, I was worried some kind of fight would break out between them, but Nelaeryn simply shook her head and looked back at me.

  “What this idiot is trying to say is that we are now officially married. We’re living in his house, since he won the argument there.” She scowled, clearly unhappy about that tidbit. “But I’ve moved some of my things over, so the place is actually livable now.”

  “Oi, it’s not my fault you are freakishly tall!”

  “And it’s not my fault that the only large thing about you is —”

  The dwarf cleared his throat loudly to cut off his wife, his face reddening. “Anyway, what are you here for, fae? The animals? Or… the other stuff we talked about last time?”

  “Since you brought up our little experiment, I assume something’s happened already?” I asked, ignoring his subtle urging to turn my attention to his wife for now.

  “Aye,” he replied gruffly. “It’s subtle. And not much time has passed, as far as these things go. But the chickens we’ve been feeding with those special aphrodisiacs of yours have started growing bigger. Their eggs are larger and of higher quality, too.”

  “The product is not an aphrodisiac!” I rushed to say, fighting down a flush of my own.

  Perhaps it was an aphrodisiac, strictly speaking, but that didn’t mean I wanted it referred to as such!

  “According to the way my chickens have been behaving, I’d argue otherwise,” Nelaeryn teased, her grin clearly signaling that she didn’t mean any harm by it.

  It was a true exertion of my superior poise to keep emotions off my face. “Can you elaborate on these physical changes you’ve noticed, please?”

  The elf looked pensive. “Not much more to say. The chickens are growing bigger, and so are the eggs. They’re also laying more eggs than ever before.”

  “I know it’s difficult to tell such things without killing the animal, but…” I hesitated, then pressed ahead. “Have you noticed any signs of negative change? From a farmer’s perspective?”

  Some of my fears were clearly coming true. The feed was physically altering the animals. Now I just needed to find out if it did so in a way that ruined their meat and other products.

  “I’m not the best at this, I’m afraid.” Nelaeryn paused for a moment, gnawing on her lower lip. “We do have some spells to inspect the health and status of our animals. As far as I can tell, though, the changes are purely beneficial. I’ve even wondered if the chickens are growing larger simply because they’re healthier.”

  “That would be an optimal result, yes.” I sighed, tapping my fingers against my leg as I thought. Perhaps I could inspect the chickens myself? I wasn’t sure how much my own diagnostic spells could tell me, but I was willing to try. “How long will it take those eggs to hatch?”

  “We saved the first few batches for hatching. Some of the latest, we’ve actually cooked and eaten. As far as the taste of the eggs goes, I can say my family never produced better.” Nelaeryn’s grin widened. “For that alone, the feed would be worth using. With poultry, at least.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Returning her smile, I turned to Hagmar. “What about the sheep? You said you’d start feeding one of them, too.”

  Understandably, he had been unwilling to take large risks with his flock. Only one sheep, which was expected to bear young in the near future, had been selected for my experiment.

  “Can’t say I noticed her getting bigger,” the dwarf mused, running his fingers through his beard. “As for the milk… well, that might have actually gotten better, too. She’s been producing more of it, at least.”

  My worries lifted further with every word. I was still concerned about the taste of the animals themselves, especially the chickens, who were clearly being altered by the experiment in some way. Yet the fact that the animal products weren’t being affected negatively was definitely encouraging.

  Even better, I knew this news would absolutely delight Alys.

  “That’s good to hear,” I said. “Perhaps you would be willing to part with some of the milk and eggs for Alys and me to try?”

  “Can be arranged, I suppose,” the dwarf grumbled. His wife rolled her eyes before smiling and nodding. “Now, about the other thing…”

  He trailed off, clearly not wanting to push. I simply grinned. It would be amusing to see how long it would take him to make an outright demand, but I pushed that thought aside and decided to deliver the good news.

  “The report there is excellent,” I began. “First, though: have the candies helped?”

  I looked the elf over critically, noting various unmistakable signs of better health. Her hair was a little glossier, her face was free of any unnatural paleness, and there were no shadows under her eyes. She had looked a little worn during my previous visit, but even that was gone now.

  “I have been feeling great!” she assured me. “Those candies are amazing. I can’t thank you enough for supplying us with them. Even those first signs of something going wrong with my pregnancy have vanished.”

  “First signs?”

  The dwarf scoffed, earning himself a swat. “She was terrified the first few days after you told us what was wrong with her. She kept obsessing over the curse and seeing signs of it in everything.”

  “Please. Don’t talk like you didn’t insist on inspecting every inch of me every morning and evening,” the elf groused playfully.

  Hagmar flushed and sputtered. “T-That wasn’t…!”

  “Yes, dear husband? Then why did you pay so much attention to me, hmmmm?”

  He coughed and looked away, taking a long drink to buy himself more time. This ended up being particularly effective. His wife glanced at his cup, blanched a little, and suddenly looked at me with a wide-eyed expression.

  “Oh my, we’ve been rude! Would you like some tea, Thorn? It’s a special blend from my home. I wrote to my parents to see if they could send more with the last caravan, so we have been freer with its use.”

  “No, thank you,” I assured her quickly. “Truly, do not mind me. I am just happy to hear you are in such excellent health. Speaking of which…” Reaching into my storage bag, I extracted a large box full of carefully arranged powder packets and held it out to the elf.

  She floundered for a second, looking around wildly for a place to put her cup down before her husband took it from her trembling hand. Giving him a thankful smile, she snatched up the box in the next moment. She pulled it to her stomach like it was something precious and slid the top away to reveal the packets.

  “This is…?”

  “The immune system boosting powder. You can dissolve it in water to drink it,” I told her.

  Technically, she could just swallow the powder if she wanted, but the taste was rather potent that way. Overwhelmingly so.

  “This will guarantee your health for the duration of the pregnancy and beyond,” I explained. “If you keep taking it, your immune system should slowly improve overall, making it much harder for you to get sick. Those effects should linger even if you stop using the powder in the future.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from puffing out my chest at their startled looks. The effects of my powder did sound impressive as I described them, even if the product’s creation process hadn’t been quite as smooth as I would have liked.

  I could’ve finished my work on it several days earlier if I hadn’t overlooked the more sensitive constitutions of mortals at first.

  The powder would have worked even then. It would have worked better than it did now, in fact. So long as the person kept using it, they would be almost completely immune to all regular diseases.

  And if they stopped, their immune system would collapse faster than a shoddily built shack.

  It had taken me a frustrating amount of time to eliminate this flaw. The completed version of the powder traded away some of its potency, but it was now safe for mortals to use or stop using at will, which I thought was rather important.

  I sort of resented my training for immediately pointing out that I now had another tool in my arsenal, in case I ever needed a convenient way to eliminate a ‘problem.’ Yet despite that resentment, I had been careful to note the differences in the formulas and preserve the original.

  I didn’t want to use my alchemy just for the sake of bringing death to others, but the eel attack had already proved that I was quite willing to use it in defense of those I cared about.

  “That’s… Thank you,” Nelaeryn breathed, choking up for a moment before getting herself under control. “I can’t express how I feel properly right now. I was so worried about… if I got sick…”

  “The powder should also have some effect on your unborn child,” I stated gently.

  “Effect? Of what kind?” the dwarf immediately demanded.

  “The positive kind. The powder will provide an initial boost to the child’s immune system, and even improve that system in the same way it will your own. Actually, it’s quite possible that the boost to your child’s immune system will be more substantial than yours. The permanent boost, I mean.”

  In theory, the powders should work much, much better on the developing child than on an adult mortal. How much better, I did not know. What I did know was that the powder’s impact would be purely beneficial. Limited as I was to diagnostic spells and trying it myself, none of the tests I’d done on the powder had even hinted at any negative side effects.

  “Then, the curse…?”

  Nelaeryn was gazing at me so raptly that I felt briefly uncomfortable. Ultimately, I hadn’t put in all the work for her, so to be met with such sincere thanks was disarming.

  Shaking that off, I nodded. “The curse should have much less effect on any daughters you might have, yes.”

  I felt particularly proud of that. I had already done so much to lessen the impact of the curse, without ever having to meddle with it directly! And this wasn’t even factoring in the potions I was planning to prepare for the birth itself. Those, with their superior core ingredients, should have an even more profound effect on the health of both mother and child.

  Returning the happy couple’s grins, I allowed myself to savor this moment. I had been able to experiment. I had used my alchemy to help others in a tangible, measurable way. These powders would have a significant impact on the future prosperity of Swiftband.

  And I knew Alys would be happy with me. Somehow, that was the best part of all.