The Autocraft Alchemist

Bearing groaned as he plopped onto the ground. He had been spending all day supporting the battle. Running around healing those that he could, or sending them on to someone with more skill. Which was usually the old timers that had appeared from nowhere. They were of a much higher level than him, and that showed in their ability to just pump out healing. Where they had come from was unknown, but they were better healers than any others he had met before.

"Here," that man that he had been subordinated to said and offered Bearing a potion as he sat down beside him. "It's just a weak one, but that's mostly what we have."

"Thank you," Bearing said and downed the potion. As he felt his empty mana reserves fill again he eyed the translucent black potion vial. While they may have been weak, there were some of the better tasting potions he's had. The ones from the dungeons were usually tasteless, and the few poor ones that the Swords had been able to get their hands onto were rather bad tasting. Enough that if he had to quaff one in combat there was a chance that he would choke. He shuddered at the memories of paint thinner and hot garbage that his mouth remembered.

"You've been doing well so far. So just keep it up. Though there's no sense passing out if you run out of mana. Then we'll just have another body to move around."

"I know Rutger, it's just… this is a first for me. As well as for most of the people here. Not many have had a chance to fight in," Bearing waved his hand at the battlefield in front of them, "this. Whatever this is."

"A fight for survival. I would say that you'd need to get used to it. But we should have taken care of all this crap before. Who knows where they are even coming from at this point."

Someone had a fit of coughing off in the distance. "What do you think they are talking about?" Bearing asked and pointed to Jackie, Rockford, and the recently reclothed orc woman. That had been quite the surprise. Not only that an orc would try to speak with humans, but also that the old timers would even consider it.

"That… I can't really say. I'm surprised that we are even able to communicate. I wouldn't have thought it possible for a human to know orcish, or the other way around."

"But Rockford is able to communicate somehow?"

Rutger showed a wry smile. "Rockfort… he's his own special case. A case that will need someone to figure it out at some point. But neither of us need to worry about it for now."

Some more coughing could be heard. Only it appeared to be from multiple sources. Rutger stood then and walked to the nearest person. She was dressed in heavy armor like a tank. Only she was doubled over coughing. An enforcer from the black coloration of her armor.

"What's wrong? Did you come to the battle sick?" Rutger asked.

"No. I was fine this morning. And yet at some point today it's gotten harder to breathe. And now I've started coughing."

"Hmm," Rutger said and placed a hand on her shoulder. She visibly relaxed for a moment before her hand shot in front of her mouth and she started coughing again. Her face went red from the effort.

When she finally got her coughing under control she spoke, "Felt better there for a moment. But now it's maybe just as bad."

"It shouldn't be a curse… orcs haven't been known to use them. However, they did crush a ratter warren. But that doesn't mean they would be able to somehow figure out the how..."

"I've been pretty lucky all day. And, while I'm not uninjured, I should only have taken some bruises. At least so I think. No cuts or anything."

"Right," Rutger said and turned to Bearing. "Get as many as who will listen to you, start checking everyone who is coughing and gather them together. Just to be safe. And then use your skills to try and see what you can find." Bearing nodded as he stood.

"Am I going to be okay?" The tank asked.

"I'm sure that you will be, we have some of the best people on the planet here today," Rutger said. Then he started walking across the battlefield towards Jackie and the others. Bearing watched after him for a moment before he started shouting to the other healers in sight. Hopefully the sickness was something that they would be able to deal with.

***

Chuck checked his appearance in the mirror one last time. His tie was straight. His suit was crisp. And he looked the very perfect image of what the President of Buying should look like. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was ready. As ready as he could be. And he would get what he deserved and take the next step onto the ladder that was the Crafter's Union. No need to worry. It was just another step of many as he climbed towards the top.

He closed the door to his office and made for the boardroom. Not having to move up or down a floor was one of the benefits of his office being on the same floor. It also meant that people needed to come to him in order for the meetings to happen, and he liked that.

The door had been left open, and when Chuck entered he closed it behind him. The 5 Presidents were sitting there alright along with an old man who he didn't recognize at all. And since that was the case, the old man wasn't any one that needed to be paid attention to.

"Thank you everyone for meeting with me today. I'm pretty sure that you all know the reason why I called this meeting. But to make sure that we are on the same page I'll just come out and say it. Nora is stretched too thin dealing with the sales side of things. And I feel that I would make a good choice to be promoted into a new position, from Vice-President to the President of Buying.

"Yes, this would be taking away from Nora's role. But considering everything that I have been doing already for her. It would be only a small increase in my responsibilities. Responsibilities that I've already proven that I can be trusted with.

"I have many ideas on how the guild could be bringing in better profits, as well as how we can reach into other markets for better prices for ourselves."

As he talked Chuck made sure to make eye contact with everyone present. Nora didn't seem to be too impressed and was sitting there with her arms crossed. Thought that was a given since he was gunning for part of her role. While Sita, President of Operations and Fernando, President of Product Development were on his side. However, Sita had a bit of a perplexed look on her face. And Fernando was avoiding eye contact. Then there was Hertha, President of Finance, who looked a lot more entertained than she had any right to be. She had promised to consider him and her manner was somewhat off putting. Finally there was Blanc, who was a wildcard he didn't bother with. And he just sat there frowning and glancing at the old man from time to time.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Chuck's confidence was somewhat shaken by the reaction of the Presidents. He had done his best to eliminate any risk, but even with what little reminded it was still a risk worth taking. They would see his reasoning as sound he knew that he would be able to obtain the role today. Even though he wasn't able to come through on his promise to Fernando for the recipes. There would be enough extra gravy being sent his way to eventually calm him down. And Fernando didn't need to know that was all he would get until after Chuck had settled into the new role.

If only he had been able to get a hold of that alchemist. Richard didn't know what was good. What Chuck could do for him. And since he hadn't taken the hand that was held out to him, Chuck would make sure that he paid for it. While he couldn't run Richard out of the guild right away, there were always ways to make it harder on him. Where Argence had failed another would be able to squeeze him for whatever they could. Chuck wouldn't let one crafter stand in his way.

Chuck finished going over a preview of the things that he would change if he was running things. He found that if someone was provided with just enough information, then they would make up the rest on their own. Whether that matched with what would happen in the end or not wasn't his fault. And it would be on that person for making an assumption. He finished speaking, smiled at the room, and asked, "Any questions?"

"There have been some reports about some misconduct on your part," the unknown old man said. It took everything that Chuck had to not sneer at him. "I wonder if you could somehow justify harassment of one of the guild's crafters?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You don't? Well that's a shame. As that I had been convinced to give you a chance to explain yourself. But if you aren't willing to come clean then I guess that's it."

Chuck looked at the old man again. He wasn't anything special and was dressed in a crumbled dress shirt, his forearms looked to be rather thick, and his hair was cropped close while his beard was long and there was a braid on each side.

"I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage. I'm not sure who you are, or why you were invited to his meeting. Or really why your opinion on such matters, well, matters."

"Ah. Well. You don't have the right to know. So," the old man pulled a laptop out from under the table, "what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked and placed the laptop down.

"That's my personal laptop. My personal property." That should have been on his desk back in his office. "How dare you take that from me."

"Well. Yes. But it also contained quite the plans. Ones that are a little more than what you shared with us today. This guild was founded-"

"I know why the guild was founded. Now so much time has passed that those geezers are dead and buried. Why do we need to follow after them? The world is changing. We need to change along with it."

The old man laughed. "Nora you said he was a live one, and I had wondered what you meant." He stood then, was shorter than Chuck expected, and walked to look out the window. "We founded this guild in order to provide a safe place for crafters. As well as the means to propel the people still alive towards greater heights. To fight against the threat to the world, dungeons, break species and the basic greed that appears to be present in all species."

Chuck shook his head and then bit his tongue. There was something about what the old man said that didn't sit right with him. He frowned when he finally figured out what it was. "What do you mean by 'we'?"

Hertha cleared her throat. "This is Stonard. One of the founding members of the Crafter's Union."

Chuck pinched himself to force his brain to work. Such a revelation… "Even if that was true, most of the shares should have been passed on by now."

"Oh they have," Stonard said and laughed. "To me. The last member. So really I am the one who has the final say in anything around here. While I have been trusting things to the presidents that I put into place, and enjoying my retirement I might add. I was called into this meeting. So far you, and your methods, have failed to convince me of anything." Stonard shook his head, walked back to the table, and placed a hand onto the laptop. "Or rather there is one thing that you have convinced me of, how unfit you are for the role you currently hold."

"What? This place wouldn't be able to run without me." Damn it. Just who brought Stonard's attention to him?

"While that may have been true at some time. Even if we ignore everything else, we would need to cut ties with you over one single fact. One single thing that you probably never put a gram of thought into."

Chuck couldn't stop himself from sneering. Everything that he had done had been perfect so far. And somehow this old man had found problems with what he had accomplished? "And what was that?"

"The knowledge of them had been suppressed pretty badly. I can't say if it was a good thing or not. But once upon a time there were a great number of clans in this area. Some of them were rather powerful."

"Clans?" Chuck laughed. "They no longer matter. Dead and forgotten." Did he overlook them? No. Clans hadn't been a thing for so long that any clout they had in the world should have waned long ago.

"Like I was?" Stonard said with a grin. "One of the strongest clans in this area was the Morning Horns. And were fighting against the orcs with the provincial guilds and enforcers just yesterday. They are still very much alive and willing to go toe to toe with their enemies."

"I'm still waiting to see the point."

"This Richard that you were harassing. Assuming that he talks with the right people it could be enough to bring down the entire guild."

"He's just a nobody. I had him checked out. Started as an explorer September of this year. No connections to anyone of note. No family, friends, or work connections. Just an unemployed bum all but mooching off of the system. I wouldn't be surprised if he was on UBI."

"Right. I just heard from a little bird that Richard has been working with the Horn. Followed in his parent's footsteps and joined the clan even. I knew his parents. Nice people." Stonard picked up the laptop. "Now. How do you think that the former rulers of a third of the province are going to feel after hearing about you harassing a member of their clan?

"They are the reason that the Alark province was almost lost to a break all those years ago. Some of the Horn's people were kidnapped by the Hunters, and well, they paid them back a little too well. And there were too many injured to keep the dungeons clear.

"So what kind of resistance can a small guild, one filled with crafters, put forward?"

Hunters? Probably Body Hunters… Chuck swallowed. Maybe he had gone a little too far. "Alright. I may have let my ambitions get the better of me. But it's Richard's fault for refusing to even meet with me. And I'm sure that we'll be able to see eye to eye with the clan should we properly explain the situation to them."

Stonard shook his head. "I'm afraid that you are mistaken about one thing Chuck. There is no longer any we. There is a you, all by yourself, and us, the guild that you used to be a member of. I'll have the security standing by to help you empty your desk. And then you are banned from the building." He slid the laptop across the table.

Chuck's hands landed on the laptop. "What? No you can't-" The door opened and he found himself dwarfed by the two enforcers that had appeared next to him. Each one of them grabbed an arm and dragged him from the room. "I deserve better than this! I've given this guild my blood, sweat, and tears! For years! You'll regret this!"

As soon as they were in the hallway the door was shut in his face.