The Alchemist's Apprentice

Awakening

The word spread across the city. A great alchemist had arrived, torn open the doors of the association, taught the members a lesson and like some gang boss- taken over!

The city had few real ‘master alchemists’ but plenty of journeymen who were half-step experts with their own stores. All of them went to investigate the truth of the matter with their apprentices and all were pulled forcefully into the ‘Great Undertaking’.

Anyone who entered the guild hall either left with their hands filled or stayed stuck to the wall. 

The ‘Final Push’ only ended at two in the morning. The guild secretary would tell anyone who would listen that the girl had synthesised over two thousand items. The apprentices whispered that she was possessed by the ghosts of the great master alchemists. The Mayor Dence, the head of the city chamber of commerce Indrick, the Bishop Torag, the master of the cities adventurers and mercenaries Darsh, captain-commander of the guards Byron, Archmage Alistor and lastly the de-facto head of the city’s organised crime families Madam Gunter- all the highest level of officials had ultimately ended up holding court in the lobby of the alchemist guild.

“Fel, I think my ears were failing me.” Alistor the last to arrive had just been brought up to speed, “Are you certain it is the truth?”

“Absolutely. I checked. Also it matches the timeline well.” Fel, confident as ever, kicked back in her chair. Some of the alchemists had taken the time to bring seats and a table for the city’s highest level of officials to use from their own conference hall. The second floor was abuzz, and nobody wished to disturb the fearsome girl commanding the exhausted alchemists with seemingly endless vigor.

“The timeline?” Alistor was answered by the impassive and stony faced (literally, for he was a golem carved from granite) Byron, who slid over a document.

“First sighting of monsters emerging from ‘rifts’ was three months ago. They’ve been roughly doubling every six days. Three months ago, all the apprentices arrived to learn this ‘Ablation Alchemy’ from mister Wallace, after he advertised the opportunity widely.” Byron was a dry speaker, stating fact rather than his own observations or inference.

“When questioned about the correlation two weeks ago, Wallace pointed out that ablation alchemy has been used here for many years without adverse effects. Ma’am Fel has informed me that he is wrong and stated that the tower-“

“Enough Byron, please.” Mayor Dence sighed, “We get the idea. I know very little about alchemy, but I do know that eight people have been killed so far by monsters from those tears. Indrick, how are our finances if we ban Ablation Alchemy?”

Indrick was whipcord lean, with a sharp aquiline nose and white hair tied into a short pontyail. Pulling a small velum book from the pocket of his jacket, he took out a pencil and scribbled away for a moment. 

“Gross, probably six percent loss over the next quarter.”

Madam Gunter chortled, flicking her fan open in front of her wide face and leaving only her piercing blue eyes showing.

“I’ve never much liked that purple smoke- or the idea of Ablation Alchemy. Something for nothing? In this world? How unsurprising, that a razor lay hidden within temptations apple.” 

Ma’am Darsh prodded the crime lord.

“First I’ve heard of it… Profits and punishment can wait, Fel. I need to know, should I be getting everyone ready if this doesn’t work. When will we be attacked?”

Fel let her chair fall upright.

“I’ll repeat what she said to me when I helped her break into the tower this afternoon.” For the first time Fel’s expression became truly serious.

“It might already be too late. If it is, then without any warning, this city and everything around it, will be destroyed. It may happen at any moment, and we will all die without being able to do anything.”

Darsh narrowed her eyes.

“How far?”

“Furthest distance we’ve seen those rifts occurring plus twenty miles- I give it three or four days on foot for most people.”

“Is there no way of finding out how much time we have?”

“… I don’t really understand it myself.” Fel shrugged and added, “But I asked that too, and it seems like the only reason we can sit here and chat right now is because an ancient machine who knows how many miles away is preventing the city from being turned inside out or something.”

“Bloody alchemists.” Torag broke the silence that followed.

Fel looked up at the second floor and remarked helplessly- “I could probably run fast enough, but if she’s right, then It wouldn’t change anything. There are more alchemists out there.”

Mayor Dence felt a headache coming on.

He wanted to Quiz Fel further, when a great cheer rang out from the second floor. 

The alchemists carrying various parts began to stream out of the building and down the street.

Lilly was still on the balcony, shouting orders and handing out instructions. A team of alchemists had pushed a strange device into the rift she’d pulled her equipment out of. She waited for them to get clear before taking out her key once more and closing the gap.

Fel noticed the girl was swaying a little, and without a word, scooped her up.

“Where to?”

“The tower. We need to install the piece I’m carrying and start the pumps.” Lilly’s voice was hoarse, but her eyes were still bright and full of fire.

The third sub-basement of the tower had been sealed for years. Today hundreds had poured through the inner workings, following instructions to repair the ancient device with little understanding for why or what they were doing. However, when Lilly reopened the rift, and a team of twelve burly alchemists, assisted by Byron and Fel pulled out the final piece- everyone present cheered. 

“The tower is functional! We just need to start the engine! Apprentices, are all the breakers open?”

Lilly’s voice was a harsh croak- she hadn’t stopped answering questions or giving directions even as Fel carried her to the tower.

“Yes Ma’am!”

“Journeymen and masters, are the pumps filled and the lines connected?”

“Yes Ma’am!”

“The tower, is almost, ready. Someone go to the lowest level and turn every lever on along the left wall of the room…” Lilly’s voice turned to a whisper and Fel began relaying her orders.

Finally, the tower awoke with a series of deep thumps and hums as long dormant pumps churned to life and mechanisms unseized.

A panel in the large chamber on basement level three opened, with an immense metal switch within, over a meter long. Lilly went to flip it up, only to be stopped by Fel, who grabbed it and with two mighty heaves, flipped it all the way open.

Metal shutters all along the tower's spine snapped open, the sound of roaring wind filled the chamber and Lilly found her voice for a few more words.

“We have done it. The tower is awake.” “Well done lads She said you did it!” 

The alchemists looked around, as if they’d snapped from an illusion with Fel’s shout.

They were within the inscrutable object who’s makers and technology they’d deified only this morning. But this was no longer the corpse of some ancient design. It was alive, humming with a function they still did not understand, but no longer felt beyond their reach. They had done it. 

Not an ancient alchemist, or some tale of a legend. They had. They’d only been following instructions, but the impossible had been done.

In Lilly’s vision, the local corruption was going down as she watched, Levy and the others were cheering inside her head and the world was spinning like one of Fel’s grabs.