The hermit inspected the thorny devil. “The scales have been meticulously harvested. Who do you sell the molt to?”


    Harper bristled at the implication that Briar had been cleaned only for profit. She would ensure he was clean whether there was money to be made or not. Regardless, she answered. “It goes to Susan Alvera of the Arboren Apothecary. And I don’t sell them, they are in exchange for alchemy training.”


    He shook his head. “A waste of time. You don’t have the temperament required.”


    “You’ve known me for all of ten minutes. How would you know?” She had started to grow irritated at the man. It was no wonder he was known for his cantankerousness. They hadn’t exchanged two dozen sentences and he was insulting her.


    He ignored her question. The old man picked Briar up, looking at him from different angles. She made no move to stop him, the reasoning from earlier still applied. If he wanted to harm them, there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, he had earned quite a bit of goodwill from giving her that healing draught.


    After a few seconds, he gave a hmmm. He set Briar down on the table and walked away once again. He emerged a few minutes later. His intention obvious as he made for Briar with another vial in his hand. Harper did feel the need to interject here.


    “Wait! What are you giving him!?” The man looked over at her exclamation absentmindedly, as if he forgot she was there.


    “Just an experimental growth draught. It shouldn’t harm it at all. This is an excellent opportunity to test an exotic specimen. Here, hold the lizard still for me.” The hermit gestured at Briar.


    “Him,” Harper corrected, but she moved to help. Prior stories and her own experience with the earlier healing draught assuaged her worries. Anything that could help Briar, especially something free, could only be a good thing.


    Just before he tipped the vial down Briar’s throat, he paused. “Ah, is he of the Telluric Domain?”


    Harper frowned, puzzled. “No, he’s got the Solar Domain? Why does that matter?”


    The hermit recapped the vial. “No matter. It would only have made him sick. Probably.”


    Harper’s eye twitched, but she only watched as he left the room and came back with a different vial. She was suddenly much more wary but still helped him pour the concoction down Briar’s throat.


    The lizard was not pleased with them. He swallowed the drink but squirmed out of their hands after angrily. He nipped the hermit’s fingers. The man didn’t react at all, only setting the now empty vial aside.


    He spoke to her as he picked up his notebook and jotted down more notes. “Feed him twice whatever you were feeding him before. Make sure his meals are very protein dense. If he excretes anything purple, do not touch it with your bare hands. Find somewhere to bury it to be safe.”


    Harper didn’t have time to formulate a reply before he picked Briar up and shoved him into her hands. As soon as she had him tucked in his bag, he shoved another bundle into her hands. The potions she was sent to retrieve. From there she was rushed out the door.


    “Out with you now. You should have plenty of time to get out before dark. Don’t linger, a drake was around here yesterday. They are quite fond of eating other reptiles.” Harper’s eyes widened, about to protest before he cut her off. “You are to come back next month. Bring the lizard.”


    With a final light shove, she was out the door. It shut behind her. Harper looked back flabbergasted, and then at the surrounding forest, nervously. Eventually, she sighed and readied her horse. She was obviously not welcome to stay the night. The sooner she got back the better.


    After loading her flintlock and putting the potion inside her aetherspace, she jumped atop her horse. While alchemical concoctions were not as alluring as cores to wild Domain creatures, they could still attract them. They were effectively distilled in aether after all.


    Harper set a fast pace. The mention of the drake caused her to be even more nervous than when she came in. Luckily, nothing accosted her. She once again gave the tree that she thought she saw movement in a wide berth. If something had been there, chances were it had already moved, but it cost her nothing to spend another thirty seconds taking a detour off the trail.


    Half an hour later, she relaxed marginally; she was in the clear. Harper still kept an eye out for danger, of course. Her ambush had made her far more paranoid, but this was a fairly safe area. There was no need to scan every potential hiding spot with alacrity. Keeping a wide view was adequate.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The courier made good time. She not only got back before dark, but with several hours to spare. The fact that the delivery to the hermit was comfortably a day trip had factored heavily into her decision to take it.


    Harper stopped at the courier room to hand off the potions. She did take a quick glance at the descriptions that came with the brews. The first had a niche but potent effect, if the tag could be believed. It was a mouthwash that revitalized and strengthened teeth, even purifying cavities. Some wealthy merchant that ate too many sweets as a child would get this, she was sure.


    The second was more practical. The potion could temporarily mimic the effects of the Biotic Domain on the body. One’s senses would be enhanced. Their eyes would be clearer, their hearing sharper, and their sense of smell enhanced. The degree in which they were boosted or for how long it lasted wasn’t specified.


    The last was the most interesting to her, not for its usefulness, but rather its oddness. It would cause the drinker to emit a pheromone that would attract freshwater fish. She supposed if someone wanted to lure a lot of fish quickly, this could do it. Overall, though, she didn’t see why he wasted his time creating such a potion.


    Then again, he seemed to care a lot more about the craft itself than anything it could produce. Maybe the process of making it was interesting. Harper wondered what kind of creature or creatures were used in the making of it. At least one type of fish, she decided.


    Harper made a note on the board that she would deliver to the hermit again the following month, as well as an explanation that he had specifically requested her. She looked at the board, considering doing another riskier delivery the next day, before ultimately deciding against it. Her free time was limited. Better that she find Vayuhn and see if he had a hunt lined up.


    he set off for their spot, exiting the west gate as was her custom. Some of the guards found her odd for spending so much time out in the woods. At being questioned about her activities, she just claimed to be hunting, which was often true anyways.


    Harper walked into the glade with the peryton statue, glad to see that Vayuhn was here. He had taken to spending a lot of time in the area, when he wasn’t prowling the woods or doing whatever task his master had him doing. She couldn’t believe that his master asked more of a slave that got him a core every week. Few could hope to have a slave that turned so much profit.


    Harper hesitated at seeing him meditating. She had walked over quietly, something she had started doing habitually in the last few months. Her good mood from the aetherspace healing draught and successful delivery put her in mind for some mischief. She thought of the first time she met Vayuhn outside the gates. He had jumped from a tree, startling her.


    Harper didn’t think she could quietly navigate the trees, but she had the next best thing. She shifted into her Alius for the first time since its pervious incarnation’s death in the lake. She had just restarted growing it and was not much more than an infant anaconda.


    If she hadn’t had previous practice growing it, then it would be even less developed and not worth the risk to shift into. As it was, her senses were immediately overwhelmed, and she had to take a few minutes readjusting. Harper would definitely dedicate more time to moving around like this.


    Even if the fight hadn’t been in water, Harper would probably have fared poorly. Her control was rudimentary and her instincts uncoalesced. A few hours of practice were not enough to get down the required muscle memory.


    Her senses adjusted; she slithered in the direction of the big red blot in her vision. No movement, perfect, she thought. There was something satisfying about using her Alius as the actual creature might. She would have to hunt with it in the future. For certain creatures, it may be preferable over fighting as a human.


    Harper slithered right under his unsuspecting form. She would have to have some caution. While he should recognize her quickly, she didn’t want to get squashed in his knee-jerk reaction.


    Just as she was about to nip his leg, right above his boot, something picked her up from her middle. Vayuhn lifted her, looking at her beady eyes. “Not quite good enough, Harper.” He said, or at least, something like it. Hearing was odd as a snake. She could still see the grin on his face though, snake vision or not.


    Shattered Domains, she cursed. Vayuhn set her back on the ground, and she shifted back, growing in a white light from the small serpentine form, eventually solidifying. She sat up, dusting herself off. “How’d you know?” she grumbled.


    “You’re not as quiet as you think you are,” his cocky grin still in place. “A leaf you went over made a crinkling sound.” He sat back on the bone peryton. “I’ve got a hunt for tomorrow. Rumors of a pack of wolves from down south have begun spreading. There’s even supposed to be a dire wolf among them. I want to see if their hunting has shaken anything else out of their hiding spots.”


    Harper nodded. “We’ll do that, but we need to do your lessons first.”


    Vayuhn groaned. “I’ve already told you that’s not necessary. I’m still going over what we talked about last time.”


    Vayuhn’s interest in education had waned as time went on. He had learned the alphabet, and other basics, but didn’t seem very motivated to continue. He was even slacking on the Domain portion, preferring to meditate.


    Harper would not accept it though. They had made a deal, and she would follow through. It already sometimes felt like she owed him. She just joined for hunts he had prepared, and she often only played a minor role. That she walked away with half the profits felt unfair.


    So, despite his misgivings, she would make sure his education was thorough, if he wanted it now or not. It also helped her newly soured mood to see him irritated over something she knew so well. He may have practically grown up in the forest, but she grew up surrounded by tutors and books.


    “So, how goes the manifestation of the Domain of Sun?” she asked.


    “Same as last time,” he waved off. “None of those facts about matter and places and temperature seemed to help.”


    “It was how the state of matter changed dependent upon temperature.” she corrected. To Vayuhn’s frustration, she launched into another lecture on the topic, trying to instill the basic idea. The effect of heat on materials was a vital part of the Solar Domain after all.