They walked through Riverwall, out the west gate and onto the sparse buildings just outside the walls, and kept going for another few minutes, eventually arriving at what seemed to be a mostly abandoned section of the town.

  The farther they went, the more dilapidated the buildings were, eventually being little more than crumbling ruins being reclaimed by nature. Then, just as he was starting to think Niala was living in a cave, they rounded a thicket of trees on a mostly faded path and arrived at a small clearing, the remnant of a plaza, judging from the paving stones he could see poking through the short grass.

  Standing over this forgotten area was what had obviously been some sort of storefront. It was a well-sized but compact two-story house built of masonry, with a large wooden arch accenting the front. It was attached to a crumbling stone wall, which seemed to be part of a walled garden.

  The structure seemed to be relatively well preserved, at least compared to the ruins he had seen along the way. The roof definitely leaked, and the mana wiring was probably rotted away, but it seemed structurally sound.

  As he observed the location, Niala beckoned him over.

  “Come on, we'll set up in the front, the counter there is still sturdy and it's well aerated.” She said as she walked to the front door, putting her weight onto it as it protested being moved with audible groaning.

  Walking up the single step into the front area, he saw the mentioned counter and deposited the crate with some relief as the weight left his aching arms. Niala busied herself by removing debris and dusting the counter with a rag.

  He eyed the crate.

  “Do you have some tools? This thing is nailed shut.”

  “Ah, there's a shed in the back. I saw a bunch of things in it. Maybe there's a pry-bar or a claw-hammer?” She answered as she retrieved a notebook that was missing most of its pages and something that looked like a pen. “Just go through that door and straight out.” She pointed towards a door before returning to her preparations.

  He nodded and made his way through, passing by a few more doors and a set of stairs that led upstairs. The back door was unhinged and simply rested askew. He carefully moved it out of the way and out into the backyard, which was indeed a walled-off garden area, complete with an overgrown vegetable patch, a small caved-in gazebo, one old tree in a corner about as tall as the building, an old well with a clearly recently used bucket next to it and the aforementioned door-less shed.

  Looking inside, he found mostly gardening supplies, but there were also a few other tools strewn about, including an old, slightly rusted crowbar.

  As he retrieved the tool, he took a moment to observe the small backyard. There was a certain air of... contentment? As if this place simply accepted life as it came, somewhere where time was left outside as you crossed through the door.

  He shook his head out of his reverie and walked back inside and to the crate, with Niala having finished her preparations and impatiently waiting for him.

  “Oh! Good, you found something! Hurry up and open the crate, I want to see my new set!” She said with a little wiggle, like a little girl in a candy store. “Come on, come on!” She was practically jumping in place as she eyed the crate, her tail rapidly swishing back and forth.

  He grinned at her clear joy and opened the crate without further delay.

  They both peered inside. Everything had been packed tight with straw and cotton rags and smelled a bit musty. With forced reverence, Niala began unpacking everything.

  Soon she was done, and on the counter lay a variety of glassware: tubes, flasks, beakers, retort flasks, condensers, distilling columns, pipettes, funnels and other things he couldn't name. There was also a set of metalware: tongs, spatulas and clamps, two mana burners and a small tin with a few mana pellets rattling inside.

  Everything was... ancient. Scuffed, scratched or dented. Nothing appeared outright broken, but while it clearly had been a good quality set at one point, age and use left it looking worse for wear. He looked to Niala to judge her disappointment at her “new” alchemy set being so scuffed and-

  Saw only star-shining amethyst eyes and a face-wide smile that wouldn't budge, her tail swaying enthusiastically.

  “Look! A full set! I have a full set! I can brew by myself again!” She looked at him with her too-wide eyes.

  “Ah, huh, yes! You're not... disappointed at its state? You think it's still usable?”

  She blinked. “Well, I guess it's a bit old, but it's evidently been well-kept throughout its life! Everything looks perfectly usable. Although... the burners might be a bit problematic.” She picked one of them up and inspected it as she spoke.

  “What do you mean?”

  She fiddled with the burner some more. “For the majority of formulas and brews, a small variance in heat output isn't a huge deal. It might keep you from getting the best quality possible, but you'll still end up with a perfectly usable potion.”

  She put the burner back on the counter and took out the anti-venom formula, tapping at it. “For some formulas, though, very precise heating at specific times is required. This is one of those. The problem with old burners is that their control circuits degrade with time and they can have trouble regulating the release of heat mana from the pellets, so the heat can vary, especially at lower intensities...”

  She remained quiet for a moment as she looked at the assembled tools and then back at him, offering him a reassuring smile.

  “But don't worry! I'm the second-best alchemist in the kingdom! If anyone can make this work, it's me!” She confidently said as she wiggled her ears.

  “Now go get me some water, and show me the ingredients! I need to prepare! After that, you could wash yourse- I mean wash off that grime!” She glanced at him with the tiniest of blushes.

  David raised an eyebrow as he gave her the last set of ingredients before sneaking a sniff at his armpit. He... did stink a bit. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't taken the time to shower in the last few days as he was busy scouring the countryside. He really was quite grimy by this point.

  “Right... hum. The well?”

  “Yes, the well. You can use the rags that were in the crate. Now shoo, let me set up. You can come back to watch, but don't disturb me. It's a very tricky formula.” She said without looking at him, already planning the whole process as she carefully laid out the ingredients while taking notes and referencing the formula.

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  He had to admit, she at least had the demeanour of a practised Alchemist.

  As he grabbed a few rags and made his way out to the well to get her some water, he hoped she also had the skills of one. This really was his last chance.

  A quarter bell later, a washed-down David, sporting a fresh set of clothes, cautiously walked back to the front area, careful not to make any noise, as he leaned against the wall and observed Niala at work.

  He found her deep in concentration, with ingredients measured and prepared in several small dishes around her, intently staring at a gently boiling beaker. As if responding to a secret signal, she dumped one of the ingredients in, turning a small sandglass set to 3 minutes.

  Putting a check mark in her notebook, she mumbled a few measures and ingredients as she carefully pinched some grains with her stubby claws and slowly ground them over the beaker with deliberate, controlled movement and undivided attention.

  As the sandglass chimed, signalling the 3-minute mark, she quickly stirred the contents and removed it from the burner, resetting the sandglass for another 2 minutes, before referencing her notes once more and preparing the next step, this time lighting up both burners to a somewhat lower intensity.

  Throughout the silence broken only by Niala's precise movements and handling, David properly observed the young catkin woman.

  She was short, maybe 5 feet 4 inches or so. Sporting the slightly tanned skin of the people who lived south of the Spireridges, with a somewhat stocky build, but very generous in its curves. A small patch of light brown fluffy fur sat at the base of her neck, and a full mane of likewise-coloured bushy hair atop her head, incredibly soft-looking and expressive cat ears poking out at the top, with a fluffy-looking cat tail gently swaying behind her.

  Her movements were calculated and efficient. Methodical and practised. Watching her work was... enthralling. He stared at her eyes, through which you could clearly see the planning and care given to the task at hand. Those wide, bright amethyst eyes seemed to track everything happening in front of her like a predator locked on a prey and shone with clear intellect.

  She was...

  Pretty cute, actually.

  He vigorously shook his head, dispersing the errant thoughts away.

  With the sandglass chiming after 2 minutes, Niala returned the beaker to one of the burners, adding another ingredient and once again resetting the sandglass.

  She stared at the steaming brew and -

  *WOOSH*

  The burner began erratically sputtering and flaming up.

  “Bleeding pits!” Niala cursed as she quickly moved the beaker to the other burner that she'd prepared, intensely looking at the brew. She glanced up at David, who'd stood away from the wall reflexively but hadn't moved.

  “It's alright. The heat at this stage is very crucial; it's why I prepared the other burner.” A bead of sweat fell down her temple as she whispered. “Of course the burner decided to act up now...”

  And then, as if wishing to play a cruel joke on her, the second burner... shut off.

  “No! No no no no no!” Niala scrambled after the burner, burning her fingers in the process. Fighting through the stinging pain, she ejected the mana pellet and replaced it with another, restarting it. It flared up petulantly but returned to its set intensity. She quickly replaced it beneath the beaker and glared at it. As it seemed to behave, only then did she look at her reddening finger tips and winced.

  “I'm sorry it's... it should be ok. I swear,” She said as she looked at him with forced confidence.

  He stood, uncertain, before sighing and nodding. He unpacked a cargo cloth and retrieved a burn unguent, offering it to her wordlessly.

  Niala looked at it and shook her head. “No, I can't put anything on my fingers; it might get into the brew.” She gave him a small smile. “It's not the first time I've burned my fingertips during a brew. I'll be fine, but thank you.” She said as she returned her attention to the brew.

  He nodded and left the unguent at the end of the counter, repacking his cargo cloth and leaning back on the wall, willing his heart to calm down.

  He continued to observe her as she gradually worked through the formula, frowning here and there, uncertainty flashing through her features a few times.

  As the late afternoon turned to early evening, the sky progressively turning shades of orange, Niala turned off the burner, shook the distilling tube as she finagled the final few drops into the flask before stoppering it.

  She picked up the flask and gently swirled the liquid inside, looking at its colour and viscosity, frowning as she did so, ears forward in concentration and then... flattening in defeat.

  She finally looked up at him, subdued.

  “I... I'm sorry.”

  His heart sank. He forced himself to ask. “So it failed then?”

  She winced. “Not... entirely, but it's unstable. The mixture isn't properly homogeneous; too many particulates, they're going to coagulate and sap elements away from the rest of the potion. It's effective right now, but I don't think it'll last more than 7 or 8 bells... I'm really sorry.” She said plaintively.

  David eyed the flask, calculating. There was still a chance... “Eight bells? Are you sure?”

  Niala frowned. “I... no, maybe a bit more or less. If we keep vigorously shaking it, it'll be a bit more, but not for the 9 to 10 bells it takes the auto-carriage to make it back to Bellharbour, even if you could get one to leave right now.”

  David approached Niala and held out his hand for the flask. “I know, but I can make it.”

  She looked at his hand, then at the flask, then at him. “You can make it? How?! Do you... do you secretly have an Avilem? Are you going to fly there?”

  David looked straight at her. “Just give me the flask, please.”

  Dazed, she handed him the flask. As soon as it was in his hands, he turned on the spot and marched out the front door.

  Before he was halfway through the small plaza, Niala rushed out the door behind him and called out.

  “Wait! If you have a way to get there in time, bring me with you!”

  He stumbled on his next step. Finding his footing and turning back, he called back. “What? Why?”

  Niala sprinted up to him. “Because, I'm not sure what's going to happen to the potion. If I'm there when you arrive, I can determine if it's still safe, and there's a few things I can do as a last-ditch attempt right before it's used.” She explained, looking intently at him.

  David hesitated, observing her, trying to come to a decision.

  Her ears flattened. “Please. It's my fault the potion is like that. I want to do everything I can to make it right.” She said pleadingly.

  He sighed.

  “Alright, follow me, but quickly. We have to get out of sight of the city guard through the south gate.”

  “What? Out of sight for what... You really do have an Avilem, don't you!?” She asked, excited.

  “No, I don't have an Avian Golem to ride. You'll see when we get out the south gate. Now come on.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

  “Waaiiit, I told you, you walk too faaaasstt!”

  Half a bell later, with Niala out of breath and stumbling forward, they finally passed a bend in the south-bound road and out of sight of anyone. The reddening sky promised that the trip would be throughout the night, which suited David fine. Harder to see.

  Niala deeply exhaled.

  “So... where's... our... ride. Huff...” She managed to say as she scanned left and right.

  “I'm the ride,” David said.

  “Wh... what!?” She stammered, hiding her blush with her hands. Then she saw David turn his back to her, beckoning her to piggyback on him.

  “Get on. And Niala, deathly serious. You talk to absolutely no one, and I mean not a single soul, no matter how much you trust them, about what's going to happen. Do you understand?” He said, looking over his shoulder at her.

  She looked at him for a moment, not fully understanding what was happening. As he beckoned her again, she hesitantly stepped forward before hopping onto his back, lacing her arms around his shoulders as he hefted her legs to his sides.

  “Niala, do you understand what I said?”

  She blinked. “Ah... yes. No one. Secret to my grave... what secret?”

  He huffed, closing his eyes as he concentrated.

  “This secret,” he said, as she saw from the back of his neck bright blue lines and blurry arcane script glow from within David, before he took a step and positively exploded forward so quickly that she lost her grip around his shoulder, held on only by his vice-grip-like hands on her legs.

  “What in the bleeding pits is thiiiiiiis!?!” She cried out as her arms flailed like kites behind them.