Arcane Innovator

Shortly after my birthdays, the winter struck, with its full might, thus forcing us to remain inside. As the relentless blizzards raged on, I spent most of my days curling up near the fireplace, watching the endless stream of snowflakes pounding against the glass.

During this time, I dutifully continued my quest to master the second-tier spells without fail, enjoying the rare moments of peace and quiet when nothing disturbed me.

Like this, the rest of the winter passed out uneventfully, and before I noticed it, the first signs of coming spring were manifesting all around the city. I couldn't wait to continue my efforts to expand our elixir-making business as I began to plan out my next steps.

The first order of business was to get hold of my massive herb order. I couldn't help but clench my fists as I anxiously waited for a word that Clovis's caravan had made it safely to Ereneth.

As the first caravans began arriving in the city, my heart raced in anticipation. Every passing day without any news felt like an eternity.

The uncertainty was killing me, and I was going through everything that could go wrong in my head, being painfully aware that our fortunes rested upon the success of this transaction as I had no more money to procure the herbs elsewhere.

Then, finally, I received a message informing me that the caravan had made it unscathed. Relief swept over me as I rushed toward the western gates to welcome the merchants, not waiting until they got in touch with me themselves.

"It's good to see you, Master Clovis!" A wide smile spread across my face as the portly merchant stepped out from one of the armored carriages in front of me.

"Oh! If it isn't the honorable Master Darian!" He chuckled with amusement as he quickly moved forward to greet me and extended his hand in a warm welcome.

He then pointed at the rest of the caravan and said, "The gods were merciful to us, and we didn't encounter any problems on our journey."

He then started walking toward one particular carriage, and I quickly followed him. "I'm guessing you would like to see your order, right?" He smiled mischievously before lifting the canvas.

"Here it is! You can't imagine how much trouble we had to procure so many herbs, but seeing the miraculous effects of your elixir kept us going, and we managed to get it all."

"Perfect." I nodded happily. "Can you deliver them to my house? I'd like to begin production as soon as possible since we have many outstanding orders..."

"Of course!" He eagerly agreed before ordering a driver to take it to my address.

I then turned back toward Clovis and asked."How long will you be staying for?"

Clovis thought about it for a short while and then said. "I'm guessing for about a week. We need some rest after the long journey and to refill our stocks."

"That's perfect." I smiled at him. "In a week, I will prepare for you a carriage full of elixirs to take with you back to the Capital."

The portly merchant froze momentarily, looking at me in confusion, not quite believing me. But since my expression was sincere, he quickly stopped doubting my words, and his face broke into a wide grin. "My friend, I have a feeling we are going to make a lot of money together..."

I simply chuckled and said my goodbyes to Clovis as I was hurrying after the carriage so that I could make sure all the herbs would be properly stored in my basement.

As I made my way back home, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The future of our elixir-making business looked nothing but promising, and my previous anxiousness was all but forgotten.

Upon reaching my house, I quickly inspected the herbs to ensure their quality before ordering my servants to deliver the boxes to the workshop entrance, from where I transported them with my magic into the storage room as I didn't allow anyone except Theo and the orphans to step inside.

After a quick lunch, I decided to take care of the next step of my plan. Now that I had the herbs, it was finally time to approach the other herbalists in Ereneth.

Seeing our trial run at Isadora's store being a glaring success, I was in no doubt that the rest of them would jump at the opportunity to get hold of our elixir themselves despite the inevitable backlash they would receive from the Alchemist Guild.

First, I decided to seek out Norbert, the very same person I used to buy umbrifila some time ago when I was still an apprentice at Isadora's. I remember him being quite rude toward me the last time we spoke, but I noticed that his current attitude couldn't be more different.

"Sir! It's such an honor you decided to bless us with your visit!" He began as soon as I stepped foot inside his store.

I smiled at Norbert's sudden change of attitude towards me. However, I was in no doubt it was only because of my new status as an Aspirant.

Nonetheless, I smiled at him amicably and said, "Thank you for such a warm welcome, Norbert. I was hoping we could discuss the possibility of a partnership..."

His eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly composed himself and ushered me to a back room. "Of course, sir. Please, have a seat."

I sat down, and he disappeared briefly before returning with some refreshments. "What do you have in mind, sir?"

I was pleased by his apparent eagerness. It seemed that the word about our success had already spread, which should make my job much easier.

"We are in the process of expanding our business, and I'm hoping you would be open to entering a partnership with us... I'm sure you already heard that we had great success with Isadora, and I'm hoping we can work together to create even greater profits for both of us."

Norbert nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I heard about that... But forgive me for my boldness, sir. I also heard about your run-in with the Alchemist Guild. You have to understand I'm but a simple herbalist. I don't want any trouble..."

I looked at him with a mischievous smile as I very much expected such a response.

"Ah, well, I'm sure you are well acquainted with our elixir and how effective it is, rendering all other elixirs and ointments meaningless... You can either join us and enjoy a steady income stream or be left behind..."

My words seemed more than effective as Norbert's eyes widened, and he leaned back in his chair, sweat appearing on his forehead. "I see..."

Seeing him squirming under my gaze, I decided to deliver a finishing blow. "But I'm sure if you decide to join us, I'll be able to make it worth your while."

This seemed to do the trick as the doubt in his eyes was replaced with hardly disguised expectation.

"How much are we talking about?"

I leaned forward, realizing I had him hooked. "What would you say to a 20% margin?"

***

With Norbert's cooperation secured, I was able to use this fact to convert two more herbalists to our cause in the following days, so now almost half of Ereneth's herbalist shops will be offering our elixir.

With such large orders, we couldn't dilly-dally, so I quickly delivered the exciting news to Theo and Hans so that we could prepare to start mass-producing our elixirs.

They, however, didn't seem to share my optimism. When I told them how many elixirs we needed to make, they visibly paled and tried to talk me out of it.

Well, mostly Theo, as Hans was still more than grateful to me for saving his sister, so despite his initial reluctance, he was willing to give it his all.

Seeing Hans's enthusiasm, Theo eventually relented, too, and we promptly began crafting. As I took in the sight of our storage overflowing with so many herbs, I was in no doubt that we could rake in a mind-boggling amount of coins.

Thus, our new routine of daily elixir-making was born, and we sweated in our workshop from morning till dusk, dutifully crafting hundreds upon hundreds of elixirs. Seeing how everything progressed smoothly, I couldn't help but hum a happy tune.

However, I didn't forget to practice magic even during our surge. I also once again began meeting with Jenny in the Fortress during the night. It seemed like she carried her solitude harshly, although she did her best to hide it.

I tried to compensate her for the books she was bringing me with tales about city life and anything exciting I could think of that happened recently, and Jenny very much enjoyed it.

And we began to develop a certain kinship that I hoped could turn into a friendship one day, as I would very much like to have a friend inside the Fortress.

Still, my newfound routine didn't last for long, as shortly before the spring equinox, I received an official invitation to attend a ball in the Fortress' Keep organized by the Count himself.

I gulped nervously as I read the fancy letter, immediately realizing with dread that I wouldn't be able to wiggle my way out of this one.