• Graded • The New Job

[Vluharqih]

Arc 716, 73rd trial of Ashan

Alex pushed open the old door, a stirring of excitement in her stomach. She had just made it back the previous day, but had no patience to take a day off, nor would her meager purse strings allow it. Since she had been required to hire Kydrel for the trip, paying him took a sizeable chunk out of her profit for the Eye of the Death Worm mission. Oh well, it got me this job, so it all worked out well in the end.

She peered inside, and saw Mr.Gardener busily working away at his workbench. She picked her way through the crowded shelves, her eyes glancing across the rows of jars. Those closest to the doors were mundane- common dried herbs or minerals, and powdered bone or teeth. The further back she went, the more exotic the labels became. Her eyes picked out names like Leechbane or Night Scarf. Like the last time she was here, she still didn't recognize most of the names, but her ignorance only spurred her on to learn more, to achieve perfection.

"Good Morning!" She cheerfully greeted him. "I'm ready to get to learning!" She expected that it would be a steep learning curve- she had no formal education in medicine. She knew that the more she could learn, and the faster she could do that the sooner she could find the underworld here and actually have skills to break her own way into it.

He straightened at her voice, and looked up from his series of distillations to nod at her, holding up a finger. She settled in, content to watch him work for now. When it became clear that he was far from finished, she took a deep breath, and relaxed, her meditative trance settling over her. It still took her half a break to relax enough to get it, but had noticed that she was much faster than she remembered being.
A break later, he stood and approached her. Alex shook herself out of her trance, and rose to speak to him.

"Good to see you Alex." He vigorously shook her hand, and gestured towards the room. "Shall I give you the grand tour?" His voice held a hint of mockery as he spoke, though it didn't seem to be directed at her. She ignore it for the moment as he led her back towards the door.

"Here is the front door. The main area up here is the only place where civilians are allowed." He led her around the shelves, attempting to explain his organizational system. "It's a bit odd at first, but it makes it much faster once you get used to it. You'll see." His voice held the ring of confidence that hinted at the truth behind his words.

After he had pointed out where most of the stuff was located, he led her past the counter, and into the back. His workbench wrapped around the side and back of the room, and he quickly rattled off several of the jobs he was working on, pointing out the processes that were ongoing. What had originally appeared to be chaos to Alex was quickly revealed to be a closely balanced system, everything with a place and a role.

On the other side of the room, behind the counter, a terrarium stood covering the wall. Condensation obscured the walls, but Mr.Gardener skipped over it in his description. Alex stared at it in curiosity, but figured he'd tell her what it did soon or later.

They continued into his office in the back, and down into the lab beneath the shop. This is obviously the... shadier side of the business. Alex thought as he pointed out several species of mushroom and algae, quickly rattling off their uses to her. She nodded along, and promptly forgot as soon as he moved on to the next one. He pointed out several jars, and she nodded knowingly at the Mind's Eye sitting in a new jar, already floating in a supply of amniotic fluid.

They returned to the upper floor as he explained what she'd be doing.

"I'm fairly confident that I can gauge your abilities, and from what I can tell this is the plan. For the first couple seasons I'll have you working as I would any younger apprentice. But since you have some experience, and are significantly older, I'll be giving you more responsibility, and expecting more from you. After that, you'll likely begin to take on jobs all by yourself, and we'll see how it goes from there. Sound good?"

His voice was even, and calming. He met her eyes as he talked to her, and Alex returned his gaze.

"Sounds good to me. Where am I going to start today then?"

"Well, where to begin..."

[Vluharqih]

Alex looked around. She had been given the back wall to work with, and had spent the last half a trial helping Mr.Gardener clear the space. She had asked him question after question as they shuffled the various cylinders and decanters around to make room for her to work. Finally, after readjusting things around he turned to speak to her.

"So, here's the plan. Most of my supplies have been running low over the last week. I sent someone out to collect a large list of various herbs and plants for me, and now I'll be having you prepare them. Basically you'll be doing all the...simpler herbalism tasks for me, while I focus more on the more complicated, or volatile, mixtures."

Alex nodded at his words. Perfect. It'll give me chance to get better at using herbs, and I'll be able to actually use some of my previous experience. She smiled at him, and nodded again. He gestured towards the back of the shop, and Alex followed him to a large pile of wooden crates. They towered over Alex, and Mr.Gardener climbed a small ladder to pull down the top most box. A crowbar opened it for them, and inside was row upon row of a small, light blue mushroom. Mr.Gardener's eyes opened wide, and he quickly closed it.

"Well, that should not be up here. I'll grab another one."

"Wait, were those Tear Bower Mushrooms?" Alex stopped him with her question, and he sighed as he turned back towards her. She had seen them before, in her mothers shop, but only ever in very small doses. She knew how expensive they were.

"Yes, they are." He ruefully smiled at her. "I should've known that you'd recognize them. How much do you know?"

Alex looked down at the box, and tried to remember what she could. "I know that they're used for a bunch of different purposes. I know they're really expensive, and but some really strong medicines can be made from their caps, and most of the time it's used to make a sleeping draught."

Mr.Gardener peered into her eyes, studying her. The silence stretched, and Alex shifted, uncomfortable with his scrutiny. Finally, he nodded to himself and broke the silence. "That's typically what they're used for... but I've found another use." His voice had grown quieter, and Alex had to lean in to hear him speak.

"What did you find?" Her voice had unconsciously mimicid his, almost whispering as she leaned in close.

"Well you know that the mushroom grows from the corpse of animals, correct? Well my hypothesis is that there are slightly different beneficial effects to long term consumption of the mushrooms, dependent on the host species."

Alex didn't know how the mushrooms were grown, but she remained quiet, thinking it better that he assume she had the knowledge already. His voice became animated, and his eyes danced as he spoke. The thrill of discovery obviously drove him, and Alex couldn't help but feel the infectious enthusiasm.

"So...what have you found?"

At her question, Mr.Gardeners' face split into a smile. "Well I had one of my long-term suppliers set up a small crop on his land that was grown from a Scython. You know, the large cat? Well anyway, I've been using a small group of volunteers as test subjects. Since the mushrooms are coming from a friend, the cost is quite a bit less than market cost, but it's still an expensive process. But the profits I could make if it works..." His voice trailed off.

Alex looked interested; if there was that big of a profit margin, odds were a criminal organization could make good use of the knowledge...Maybe the info could get me a position.

He disappeared downstairs with the box, and Alex tried to peer inside the other crates, wondering what else could be in them. He soon clomped up the stairs, and Alex darted quickly backwards to return to her spot. He pulled down the next box, and opened it.

This time, however it simply contained hundreds of dried flowers. "Ahh, this is more your level. These are Iffloil Flowers. The seeds have already been removed, but I need you to grind them up."

"That's all? Just grind them up?" Alex felt slightly dejected. I can do more than just grunt labor.

"Yes, just grind them. I need to see that you can follow simple instructions before I give you more responsibility. Now the mortar and pestle are on the far side of the bench, and I want you to go grab the jar of Iffloil Petals from out front. This should be enough to fill it up." With that, he turned and returned to his task, humming a soft ditty under his breath.

Alex ground, her hands soon sore and red. This is a lot harder than it looks! She thought to herself as she added yet another flower to the bowl. The petals weren't exactly hard, but they were fibrous, and it took a lot of energy to separate it down into a powder.

She settled into her task, her mind going blank as the repetitive motion sent her into a trance.

[Vluharqih]

Alex poured the last of the ground leaves into the jar, tapping the side, causing a few particles to tumble to the tabletop. The lid closed snugly, the Iffloil Petals filling it perfectly. She tidied up her work space, finding a broom and wet rag. After she had cleaned up, she went off to the washbasin, and scrubbed her hands vigourously. The dust and dried herbs had settled in the nooks and crannies of her nail beds, and she felt a stirring of anxiety. She stifled it, refusing to allow it to control her. After four washes, they were finally clean and the tension in her gut dissipated.

She walked over to Mr.Gardener, who was busily working away. His back was to her, and he was so wrapped up in his task that when she tapped his shoulder he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, all done?" When Alex nodded, he clapped his hands together, then rubbed them vigorously together. "Well, well, well. What shall I have you do next..."

His eyes drifted across the shop, and darted between crate labels. Finally they settled on a smaller box, almost hidden behind the stacks. He leaned down and pulled it out, revealing a number of large green leaves.

"These are Brain Berries. I assume you've heard of them?"

Alex had heard of them before, but she never actually knew what they were. He continued his explanation when she shook her head.

"They're a mild hallucinogenic. Slightly addictive, but its more akin to alcohol than anything else. Hardly even a drug. But what I want you do to is to make tea packets from these leaves. I can sell the things for twice as much if they're pre-packed. About 3 spoons per packet, okay?"

Alex smiled at his rambling explanation. It was obvious he didn't see anything wrong with selling drugs, and that was fine with Alex. Anyone who gets themselves addicted to ANYTHING is just weak. It's their fault they're addicted.

She grabbed the small box of leaves, and returned to her station. She took the small tea bags from beneath the counter, and found a spoon hidden away under Mr.Gardener's papers.

She began crumbling up the leaves, and filling the packs. After they were sorted, they were placed on a small scale that he brought over for her, and as long as they were fairly balanced, they went off into a smaller, airtight glass box to be put beneath the front counter. She carefully filled each baggie, and tied it off gently, making sure she didn't spill any.

Finally, nearly three breaks later, the day was done. Mr.Gardener sent her off with a smile, and told her to come back at the same time the next day.

"There's lots to do!" His voice followed her as she returned home, the winding streets seeming longer than she remembered to her tired feet.

[Maltruism]

Come and get your Loot!

(There's plenty more where that came from)

VLUHARQIH:

Skills:

• Business Management +2
• Detection +2
• Logistics +2
• Medicine +3
• Research +2

Knowledges:

• Basic
  • Addiction: Deserved Self-Punishment for Weakness
  • Gardener's Grace Floorplan
  • Starting With Grunt Work
• Specific
  • Gardener's Grace: No Customers Beyond the Counter
  • Gardener's Grace: The Basement is the Exotic Laboratory
  • Gardener's Grace: The Stocking System
  • Gardener's Grace: Work Stations in the Order of Processes
  • Medicine: Use of Brain Berries
  • Medicine: Use of Tea Bower Mushrooms
  • Mr. Gardener: Scython/Mushroom Project

Loot:

Nothing, but this will earn you your wages

Injuries:

Nothing except whatever you bring back from your quest for the Death Worm Eye.

Comments:

PM me with any comments or concerns