“These won't fit in my pouch, will they?” I asked, looking at the pair of men who were watching me with barely concealed amusement.

“Nope,” Darius agreed, lips twitching into a smile, while Noctus gave me one of his predatory grins.

“As an enchanter, I could assist you with acquiring a larger bag of holding,” Noctus crooned, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

“At what cost,” I asked, not believing for a second the former rogue would simply give me a bag.

“I want you to try making something for me, a salve. As a vampire, I am restricted by the sun and can only walk around during the day when wearing a salve which is applied to my skin to prevent me from burning. This salve is horribly expensive and made by the Dreadmere guild's pet alchemist who is, well, not a friend, shall we say.”

“Do you have a sample of the salve, any information at all about what is used in it? Can you get the recipe?” I queried, watching with interest as the vampire pulled out a round bronze container from a pouch attached to his belt.

Catching the palm-sized container that Noctus tossed towards me, I twisted the lid off and inspected the thick, waxy-looking substance inside.

Interesting, does the wax form a protective coating to protect the skin or does it absorb into the skin? There is a faint smoky scent to it, and the color is an ashy white, almost gray. The texture is reminiscent of tallow, but it doesn’t smell like animal fat, and there isn’t a masking agent to cover up the unique smell of the animal fat used to create the tallow, so perhaps a plant-based tallow mixed with ash?

“Alchemists are very possessive of their recipes, you won’t find many willing to share or sell them. They get more gold selling the products they create,” Noctus explained, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance at his expectation of me creating something with no knowledge of the ingredients.

“I can’t make the salve without more information, I have some ideas on how it was made, but I lack the knowledge of what plants may have been used.”

“I have some idea of what plants were used, as the ash from Muroosa wood can be infused into oil and rubbed onto the skin to provide limited protection, allowing for my kind to move about in shaded areas. With the salve we can stand up to an hour of direct sunlight, before our skin blisters and burns. The infused oil is used by all vampires, it’s common knowledge. The salve is similar enough in scent that I know the Muroosa wood has been used, but I don’t know if any other plants were used or how the salve itself was made.”

“Do you have the Muroosa wood already? What kind of plant is it? A bush? Tree? Does it produce fruit? Is only the wood burnt or do you burn the leaves as well? What ratio of ash to oil do you use? What type of oil is it? Plant or animal based and what animal or plant is used?” I asked, tail swishing wildly as I shot question after question at the vampire.

“No set ratio, just a handful of ash into a jug of oil. I have some wood I haven’t burnt yet, and I think it’s a bush? I don’t know about fruit, the wood is purchased without leaves. The oil… I’m not sure, it’s just sold as oil.” Noctus replied, and I scowled at him in annoyance at the lack of information his answers provided.

“Give me the wood, and the oil you use. I’ll also need any information you can find about the Muroosa plant and, if possible, an entire Muroosa plant or if it’s a tree, see if you can get me a sample of the wood, leaves and any fruits.” I told the vampire, wriggling my fingers toward his pouch as I waited for him to produce the Muroosa wood.

“I don’t have the wood on me, but I will get it for you once we return to the guild hall. I’ll also look into getting more information on the Muroosa plant,” Noctus said, placing a hand over his pouch.

“Fine, but I’m keeping this,” I said, waving the container in the air and shoving it into my pouch before the vampire could protest.

“I have another tin, so that’s fine,” he said, shaking his head with a small grin.

“So, about that bag?” I inquired, gesturing to the crates of mushrooms.

“Right, I will give you a satchel which will hold up to a hundred kilos as payment for you working on the salve. I will also provide the Muroosa for the initial attempts at recreating it. Once you have a workable recipe, we can discuss the viability of mass production and the costs.”

“Mmm… No, not enough. I want the bag, and the book on druid magic you bought tonight. In exchange, I will work on the salve,” I countered, remembering the book the vampire purchased earlier.

“The druid book? Why?” Noctus asked, eyes narrowed, and I shrugged, seeing no reason to lie.

“The symbol on the cover is called the alchemic key, comprising twenty-two symbols representing different elements. I wasn’t sure when I first saw it displayed on the stage, but when you collected it, I got a closer look. I don’t know why they thought it was a book on druidic magic, maybe because the cover is engraved to look like a tree?”

“Give her the book, Noctus,” Darius said. “If it is related to alchemy then it is of better use with her. I will compensate you for the cost from the guild funds. Kadia, I will allow you to borrow the book from the guild. But, if another member of the guild also chooses to follow this profession they will also be allowed to learn from the book.”

“That is fine, but only after I’m finished with it,” I said, fighting the urge to snatch the book from Noctus as he withdrew it from his pouch.

The thick book was similar to the vampire’s other tomes but was bound with polished wood rather than leather.The front cover was carved into an intricate design of a tree, with the twenty-two symbols of the alchemy key encircling it. There was no title, but the words on the first page confirmed my belief that alchemy was the book’s subject.

“Come forth my student of this Discipline,

'Tis natural Philosophy you shall learn within.

To ease your hardships in study, I am prepared,

But remember well, not all secrets should be shared.” I murmured, tracing my fingers over the scripture, which glowed as I spoke.

“A grimoire! Darius, you prick, do you know how much money I could have gotten for that thing?” Noctus hissed, though I paid him little heed as I stared down at the book with its glowing letters.

“You didn’t even know it was a grimoire until she activated it, and even if you knew it was a grimoire, we both know you wouldn’t have sold it. Chances are, we would have given it to Kadia anyway as our guild's only alchemist,” Darius countered.

Turning the pages of the book, I discovered that only the first five pages contained any writing, the remaining pages all appearing blank.

“I doubt you would have gotten much money for this book Noctus, it’s just talking about the instruments used in alchemy. I already know what a retort is, though, the part about different materials used to create the retort affecting the properties of the prima mater being distilled is interesting. Beyond that, it’s useless, ouch.”

Yelping in pain, and holding my wagasa up in front of me, I stared in shock at the book. Which had just leapt out of my hands and smacked me over the head before falling to the floor with a thump.

What the heck just happened? Did I just get smacked by a book? Is it a mimic?

“Yeah, don’t insult the grimoire, Kadia. I did that to mine once, the damned thing set itself on fire.” Noctus said with a chuckle as I poked the book with my wagasa.

“Isn’t ‘grimoire’ just another name for a book on magic?” I asked, staring down at the motionless book with trepidation.

“A grimoire is a semi-sentient book which has absorbed a portion of its creator's life force, these books are passed down from master to student or parent to child. Noctus and I both have one which we gained through a special encounter, and Markion has one as well. Whoever sold this book must not have known what they had; it happens occasionally.” Darius informed me and gestured to the book on the floor.

“You’d better pick it up, it won’t hit you again so long as you don’t insult it,” he said, and I stared at him in silence for several seconds, searching his face for any signs he was joking before reaching down to pick up the book.

“If it is a grimoire, then why are there only five pages filled out? Something that’s been passed down through the ages should be full of information.” I muttered, and almost dropped the book when it gave a little jolt in my hand.

“A grimoire will only show what it feels you are worthy of knowing.” Noctus explained. “When you progress through your craft it will reveal more. Grimoires can also choose to leave if they feel that you are not worthy of their knowledge. Many people have found, or bought one, only for it to disappear from their possession soon after. It’s a good way to make a nice bit of gold, there is even a small guild dedicated to finding and selling grimoires.”

Tucking my wagasa under my right arm, I used both hands to hold the grimoire as I flipped it open once more to the page about retorts. I then proceeded to lecture the book about everything I knew about the tool. For almost ten minutes I talked to the pages about the use of a retort and its failings when it came to distillation, such as the lack of proper heat distribution, and subpar condensing method. As I started talking about the more modern methods of distillation, the pages of the book turned until they reached the sixth page where lines of text appeared.

“There now, that’s much better.” I told the book as I looked at the newly displayed information, only to scowl in annoyance as I saw the book had only added the information I’d told it about modernized distillation processes.

Slamming the book closed, I took a deep, steadying breath before tucking it under my arm and shifting my wagasa to rest over my shoulder. A soft scraping noise reminded me of others' presence, and I turned to see them emptying the crates of mushrooms into a leather satchel.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” I said, walking over to where the men were emptying the last crate.

“It’s fine, Noctus argues with his grimoire all the time,” Darius said, inclining his chin in the vampire's direction who was holding open the satchel.

“You’re just jealous that yours doesn’t talk back,” Noctus teased, then glanced at me with a smirk as he added.

“Darius’s grimoire only lets him see three pages, even after four months in his possession it refuses to show him more no matter what he does.”

“What kind of grimoire is it? I thought you were a fighter class again,” I said, glancing at the two swords sheathed at the guild leaders back.

“It’s a grimoire for Conjuration, my race is gifted in that school of magic. But, I’ve never been the sort to rely on magic in battle. I’m more of a hack and slash guy. Surprised it’s still hanging around, I thought for sure it would have disappeared by now.” Darius admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that and luckily I didn’t need to as Noctus approached, holding out the satchel containing the mushrooms.

“Here, this is yours,” he said, offering the bag to me.

The satchel was a light brown color, with a single strap and two smaller straps with copper buckles used to close the flap. It was a plain leather satchel, not a single thing about it looked magical, but the vampire assured me it was enchanted to hold a hundred kilos.

“How do I know if I’ve added more than a hundred kilos?” I asked, sliding the satchel over one shoulder before putting the grimoire and my wagasa inside.

“It will get heavier as you get close to its weight limit. Once you reach the limit, the weightless enchantment will fail, and you will be left trying to carry a hundred kilo bag. Ah, don’t put that in there.” Noctus said, stopping me just before I put my silk pouch into the bag.

“You can’t carry a bag of holding inside a bag of holding,” he explained, and I frowned, looking at the larger pouch he had strapped to his belt.

“But, didn’t you take this bag out of your pouch?”

“It was inactive. I always carry a few bags around just in case I need an extra, never know when you’re going to stumble on some good loot and need more bags. First time I’ve used one for mushrooms though,” Noctus said, and I nodded, tucking my pouch back into my sash.

“Market next?” I prompted, looking over at Darius who nodded with a smile.

“Market,” he agreed, then pointed at my satchel.

“Shift that to the same side your pouch is on, so it sits over the hidden pouch. You can leave your wagasa in the bag now that Noctus is with us, he will notice any thieves well before any of us do.”

“Makes sense, like recognizes like,” I muttered, moving the satchel to my other shoulder and ignoring the pained whimper the vampire gave as he dramatically clutched at his chest.

“Exactly.” The guild leader agreed as we left the storage room, leaving a sulking vampire to trail behind us as we headed out of the auction house.