Waving to William as we leave, I drive the pedicab back into the city. I offered to take Edsel to his shop, but he just had me drop him off near a free carriage.

"Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen a messy street." I say as we turn in the direction of the guild house only to find several road apples dotting the stone street.

"It doesn't happen often, the Baron likes to keep the streets clean, but not many are willing to work as street sweepers. So, if a couple quit or get sick at the same time, you get streets like this." She pauses for a moment. "That, or someone on the street did something to annoy the sweepers. That's even more rare, but has been known to happen."

"Heh." I snort out a laugh. "You never want to annoy the garbage collector, or the street sweeper, in this case."

"Mhm, ain't that the truth." She chuckles. "Oh, there's Eliot, he works at the guild and it looks like he's heading that way too. Can we offer him a ride?"

"Sure." I pull up alongside the man after using cleanse to clear the way.

"Eliot." Melanie calls out to her fellow alchemist. "You heading to the Guild too? We've got room for one more."

"Oh. Hey, Mel." He didn't even notice us until she spoke. "Interesting carriage. And, yeah I wouldn't mind a ride. Any idea what's up with the street sweepers?"

"No, we were just talking about it. There's probably just some summer cold going around, it wouldn't be the first time. Remember a few years ago when half the city was coughing after that big wagon train passed through? Master Keegan went through his whole stock, and then some, of everything that even remotely dealt with coughs and cold."

"Ugh! Don't remind me, I was miserable for two weeks straight." He puts on a show of shuddering. "Mom caught it early, so I gave her my good ginger tea and by the time I got sick I was lucky to even find some thyme."

"Sorrel." Melanie brings me into the conversation. "How do your people treat coughs?"

"Oh, ginger tea with honey and lemon was my mom’s favorite remedy." I answer over my shoulder. "But, most people use menthol cough drops in a variety of flavors. Cough drops are just cough remedies made into hard candies." I add after sensing their confusion. "Menthol is extracted from distilled corn mint or peppermint oil by freezing it until white crystals form."

"Really?" She seems interested. "I know a few alchemists who've tried to extract the soothing properties of mint, but I don't think anyone tried freezing it."

"It needs to be a fair bit colder than ice, think mountain top in winter." I explain.

"Hmm? That might be difficult, but not impossible. Maybe you could get Amelia to help, she's a water mage, right?"

"I'll add it to the list of potential money makers." I laugh and pull to a stop in front of the guild. "But, that reminds me, I should refine a big batch of sugar. We bought some at the market, but I could feel Amelia wince when she handed over the coin."

"So, you're the one that bought up Keegan's lab for Melanie. I'm sorry I mistook you for a coachman." Eliot gives me a shallow bow after we get off the bike. "Thank you for that, the rest of us were none too happy with his son selling everything off like that. Especially not when we found it was meant to go to that bastard that caused that little girl to get hurt."

"Sorrel is the one who healed her too." Melanie says after we enter the guild. "That's how he got the coin to buy everything."

"Hah! Serves that bastard right." Eliot's laugh draws the attention of the receptionist who blanches slightly when he sees me. "You need anything from the guild, you just ask."

"Well, actually..." Melanie tells him about the new lab and our quest to get it certified.

"Hmm?" He strokes his chin. "If you copied everything from Keegan's then it should be fine, except that it's made from wood. But, since it's outside the walls and not near any other structures, that should be alright."

"I guess I can ask Ed to coat the walls in stone." I pause as an idea strikes. "But, what if I mix stone dust directly into the wood? Ooh, baking soda, that might be even better since it'll help counteract any spilled acids."

I retrieve some lumber and baking soda from storage and start mixing them together, compressing it as I go. Extruding out a thin stick, I then test it for strength and fire retardance.

"Nnh, Cleanse. I may just need to call in Ed." I clear the smoke from the air, rather dissatisfied with the wood's performance. "The stuff doesn't burn, but that's more smoke than I'd like. And, it's not very strong either, not for the weight."

"Maybe just a thin layer until Edsel can come out again?" Melanie offers.

"Yeah, we're not working with anything too dangerous, so that should be fine." I nod.

"May I ask what it is you are working on?" Eliot asks sheepishly.

"This." I pull out the last tire I made after getting a nod from Melanie. "I'm working with Edsel to make some more cycles like the one we came here on. It's called rubber, and bike tires are only one of its many uses."

"That one is from the first batch." Melanie already sounds rather proud of our accomplishments. "We just need some lamp black, Sorrel says that will make it tougher and more durable."

"Speaking of, how much coin will you need?" I ask. "Amelia has most of it, but I kept a couple gold in small change."

"Just a few laurels should be fine." She replies after thinking it over. "But, we'll have to look into making our own soon. At least, if we're going to be using a lot of it."

"Mhm, that shouldn't be too hard, I can make all the oil we need." I think over the best way to make some carbon black. "I have a couple of ideas, but I think copying the basic principles from your alembic might work best. I'll have to talk to Rozelle, but judging by the carriages I saw when we passed the Baron's, they're still caught up in the party."

"An enchantment to block smoke like an alembic blocks steam?" Eliot sounds interested. "That's a good idea. Please let me know if you can get that to work, I know a few people that would be interested in buying that."

"Well, I'm just an apprentice enchanter, so don't hold out too much hope."

"Alchemy not enough for you?" He chuckles.

"I'm not an alchemist, just a scholar that knows a lot about plants. Once we get everything up and running, I plan to have Melanie run the business while I just supply the raw material. Speaking of..." I hand her a coin pouch and a small notepad. "...here's a gold."

"Oh, I don't need that much." She tries to hand it back.

"Keep it." I wrap her hands around the pouch. "Just make sure to get receipts for anything you buy, and consider the rest as an advance on your first payday. We still need to work that out by the way, but I'm happy to pay you whatever's fair until the business gets going, then you'll get a share of the profits."

"That-th-that's too much." She swallows like her mouth has gone dry.

"Don't be silly." I fight not to laugh at the look on her face. "This is a side project for me, at best. I'm really only doing it because the rubber is too useful not to have. Giving you a share ensures that you'll do all the hard work I don't care for."

"Hahaha." Eliot cracks up laughing. "Oh, I like you. Come on Mel, if you need lampblack, I know just the person to talk to."

"..." She just nods, still somewhat stunned by my revelation.

"Alright, I'm going to swing by the warehouse to see how the girls are doing, but I should be at the farm later if you need me." I wave and leave the guild house, not having gotten farther in than the last time I was here.

***

"Sorry, Sorrel. You just missed them." Roddy tells me when I ask after his sister and Apricot. "Things are pretty much settled here, so Amy wanted to go look for a new horse."

"Oh." I pout, but just for a second. "Well, please tell them I stopped by; I'm going to go work on her book some more, maybe build some furniture so the place doesn't look so empty."

I hop back on the bike and head back home, feeling somewhat dejected. At least, I try to head back home. I'm only a block away from the warehouse when a crazy girl jumps out in front of me.

"Didn't you see me hailing you?" She sounds a bit frazzled.

"Oh, sorry." I shake my head. "I'm not for hire, I was just heading home."

"No." She whines. "There's no other carriages around, and I need to get there soon."

"Look, I'm heading for the north gate." I tell her. "If it's on the way, I guess I can give you a lift."

"It's mostly on the way." She says half-worried, half-hopefully. "But, I'll pay extra."

"Whatever, just get on and give me directions; I'm still new to town." She rattles off a list of directions which isn't too far off the route I was going to take. "Oh, not this again." I grumble after making the first turn.

"Yeah, I haven't heard anything." My passenger speaks up. "But, there must be a cold going around, this isn't the first un-swept street I've seen today."

"Mhm, the street outside the alchemist guild wasn't this bad though." I pull Blackthorne from my back and use it to decompose everything before blasting a clear path with some conjured water.

"Uh..." She draws out the word.

"Hahaha, don't worry about it." I chortle after looking back at the expression on her face. "It's all part of the service."

"Y-you're not a coachman are you?"

"Not even close." I laugh again.

"I should have realized when I saw this weird carriage, but I wasn't thinking. Look, you can just drop me off anywhere."

"Like I said, don't worry about it." I send her a smile over my shoulder. "It was worth it just to see that look on your face just now. This just gives me a chance to learn more about the city."

"I-if you're sure." She sags in relief.

"It's no trouble." I send her another smile before turning around to focus on clearing the road. "So, you native to the city?" Her accent sounds the same, but there was a bit of hesitation when she gave out the directions.

"Just over the border, actually." There's an odd note to her voice when she says that. "But, it's not my first time in town. I'm just passing through this time, though. Trying to, at least. I'd planned to join a caravan heading to the Capital, but it's proving harder than I thought to find one willing to take me on that doesn't want me to pay with my body."

"Shit." I don't know what else to say to that.

"Yeah."

"Look, my girlfriend's family owns a warehouse near where I picked you up." I say after a moment. "She told me she has an uncle Charlie that's a caravan owner. I don't know if he's in town or not, but if not I'm sure they can recommend a decent team to ride with."

"Is she a Rialta?"

"You know her?"

"Not personally, but they've done business with my family before. I had just asked them for a recommendation right before we met." I can hear the smile in her voice. "They sent me to meet an Uncle Charlie who's leaving tomorrow."

"Well, that's all good then." I laugh. "The way she talked about him made him seem like a good guy. Well, aside from his tendency to use nicknames she doesn't like."

"Let's hope so." She takes a deep breath. "Ah, that's the inn they told me he likes to stay at. Thank you so much for taking me all this way."

"Don't worry about it." I lock eyes with her after she gets off the bike. "Just be sure to recommend Sorrel's Pedicab Service to all your friends. And, good luck getting to the Capital."

"Thanks again." She gives me a nod and a shy smile before ducking into the inn.

***