Good men pnt seeds of trees whose fruit they shall never taste.

  - A Quassian Aphorism.

  I realized now that it was more than a whim that had led me to choose to visit the Alchemist's first. After a long day's weary march, making my way back to a familiar pce brought a rare and welcome calmness, as this day had been just another incredibly long one. I took off my gloves and hung them on my belt, before removing my helm and tucking it in the crook of my arm.

  Instead of feeling disgusted by the rank smell wafting from the tent that served as his abode and pce of business, I felt a slight sense of relief. A grin found its way to my face, despite the stench hitting me like a brick as I entered. My companions had, perhaps rather wisely, chosen to stay outside to watch over Patches and our belongings.

  "Hamsa!" I half-shouted in the smoky gloom, my eyes searching for the alchemist as my nose crinkled in response to the caustic smell.

  Soon enough, a wheezing cough signaled his approach, and a figure coalesced, seemingly from out of nowhere. In the dim light, I could see him squint behind his dirty spectacles as he came closer.

  "No need to shout! I swear, young people are getting so hasty these days. Always rushing off this way and that! And LOUD!" reproached the hunched man, his gray eyes roaming over me before recognition lit across his pale, sickly features.

  "Ah, it is you! The welcomed and most-honored customer has returned! The young master Gilgamesh of Uruk himself!” he excimed.

  The man took a moment to dust himself off from his test experiment before wiping his hands with a dirty rag. Putting the ratty piece of cloth into a pocket of his leather apron, he smiled somberly at me.

  “You have it, don't you, outnder?" the Alchemist said tersely in his cultured voice and held out his hand commandingly, like a noble awaiting his tithe.

  "Yes, we were able to find some," I answered as politely as I could, though something in his choice of words struck a small part of me.

  Shrugging off the feeling, I reached into the pouch and handed the man the strange-looking mushrooms he had requested. Idly, I wondered about what use the man would have for them, what mysterious concoction he would be able to make.

  "Good, my breakfast has been cking without them. Did you know they are wonderful on toasted bread in the morning? It is good to see that young people still stand by their words with deeds," he said, nodding in appreciation.