Viewing the materials that came stocked it seemed to be mostly common plants, neatly labeled and organized alphabetically. Nothing jumped out to him as particularly interesting or powerful but he’d make due. This was more for his skills than the end product. First he started with some wound treatment potions. They weren’t nearly as good as his [Heal] but if he was out of energy or they got separated they were good at clotting wounds and encouraged healing faster than normal.

He measured out some goldenrod and the root of lady’s mantle into a flask with some water and put it over a lit burner. While that was heating up he added deer hoof to a mortar and started to grind it into a fine powder. Once the liquid in the flask was boiling he used [Extract] on it, allowed it to boil for another 5 minutes then strained the fibers out and the liquid into the bowl with the hoof powder. As the liquid cooled he stirred and triggered [Concentrate] and [Increase Potency] on it several times. The solution thickened until it was a paste which he spread out in a thin layer on a metal sheet and left to dry.

Moving on he pulled out yarrow, coffea seeds and coca. He pocketed some of the seeds while roasting the rest until they were dark brown and fragrant, before grinding them down. He peeled the yarrow root using [Mana Blade] then grated it while the coca was chopped finely, also with his skill. All were combined in a flask filled with water and heated to boiling. As soon as it hit its boiling point he removed it from heat, used [Extract] and [Increase Potency] then left it to cool fully.

Next he did a simple dry processing of poppy and chamomile before encapsulating the resulting mixture in pills. Angel’s trumpet and vervain were combined and stewed together before being strained and bottled in small vials. His final product was made with poppy and angel’s trumpet. Hopefully by making the two previous mixture’s the guild wouldn’t realize he was making this one. While it wasn’t technically illegal it was definitely frowned upon. First he made a tea of the poppy with liberal usage of both [Extract] and [Increase Potency]. Once that was set aside he moved on to grinding the angel’s trumpet before adding it to the tea, followed by another round of both skills. Alcohol was added to the mixture and the flask was added to a distillation column before being returned to the heat. Slowly the mixture made its way up the column then hit the condenser, falling into a waiting vial, leaving a brown sludge in the flask.

Capping the last vial Linus then scraped the powder from the dried paste into a paper envelope and vialed the finally cooled mixture from the yarrow, coffea and coca. Ready to call it an evening he used [Analyze] on his products in the order he’d made them.

Wound Treatment Powder Weak powder that promotes blood clotting and increased regeneration at application site. Speed Potion Induces period of increased reaction, processing speed and metabolism followed by a sluggish recovery period. Pain Reducer Pill Reduces pain and inflammation. Waterbreathing Potion Improves breathing and enables breathing in aqueous environments for a short timespan. Eyes Deceive Potion Produces strong but typically pleasant hallucinations.

A great yield for a long afternoon. Pulling up his notifications he was disappointed to get no levels in [Extract], though it wasn’t too bad since he was planning to wait until [Increase Potency] got to level 5 before classing up anyways.

Concentrate has increased (5/10). Increase Potency has increased (4/5).

Only one more level to go. Before he left he went through all the herbs and plants available and took any seeds he could find, that new garden wasn’t going to grow itself. Making his way to the front he quickly found a free attendant to check his usage and return the majority of his deposit. A quick peek into the courtyard found it bereft of his companions so he made his way back to the inn.

Entering the inn Linus found multiple people calling for his attention.

“Welcome back, Archie already confirmed you were staying for a second night. Want your dinner and another jug of wine?” Greeted Frannie from behind the counter. Meanwhile Jeremy and Janette urged him to join them and some friends at a table near the dartboards. Archie gave a nod and Alia a wave from their table where they were having dinner with Luke.

“Yes to both.” Linus replied to Frannie, pointing to the table with Archie and co while swinging by the table of drunks to assure them he’d be with them in no time. “How was the rest of the afternoon with Jude?” He asked as he sat down.

“Quite productive.” Responded Archie. Luke grunted in agreement before responding.

“Now that you’ve gotten in that training I must insist we get on the road first thing in the morning.”

“Of course, of course. That was always our plan, two nights in town to train up and relax then we are on our way.” Archie sighed at his boss while Luke frowned. “But in all seriousness I’ll be ready to go whenever you want tomorrow. Just wake me up. Now Alia, I must insist you join me again after dinner. I need my throwing knife partner to put Jeremy and Janette in their place again.”

“Deal but only if you are buying.”

“Of course! Let’s eat up so we can get to the fun.” Soon they had finished their food and joined the other table while Archie and Luke retired to their rooms. The group was larger and rowdier than the night before, apparently Jeremy and Janette had told the more questionable part of town about last night’s antics.

“Jeremy and Janette, nice to see you again. Same game as last night? Always glad to meet new people but think we have too many for normal teams.”

“Ah no worries, they are just here to drink and bet. Told them about how interesting you made things last night and they wanted to see it for themselves.”

“Excellent, I love an audience! Now who’s in charge of the betting and what are the odds? Cause I want in on the action.”

“That’s fine, only rule is you can’t bet against yourself or on specific outcomes.” Said one of the larger men sitting at the table with a wad of papers and wearing an old oversized green leather coat.

“And the odds?”

“Depends on the teams and game. We’ll bet before each round.”“Excellent, shall we get started? I’m thinking we all start with a goblet of wine before the first round.” And so began the games. Alia refused to bet on any rounds while Linus bet on every one, regardless of the odds. Initially the odds were long against their team which worked for him. As he and Alia kept winning the odds went down and the drinking increased. Linus felt several of his skills engaging as the night went on, likely [Inebriation] and [Altered State] in addition to [Blades].

At some point the bookie wouldn’t offer any more bets unless they changed up the teams. Linus wasn’t thrilled but went along and continued to bet as long as Alia wasn’t on the opposing team. At a certain point people started to drift out, too drunk to continue. It wasn’t until Frannie kicked out anyone that wasn’t staying at the inn that Linus realized how relatively sober he was compared to everyone else and he'd made a small fortune on the betting. Finally pulling up his notifications for the evening he soon realized what was going on.

Minor Regeneration has increased (2/20). Blades has increased (2/5). Minor Regeneration has increased (3/20).

Fuck, his [Minor Regeneration] was combating the alcohol's effect. When he finally got to this godforsaken outpost he was going to have to make a stronger wine to actually get drunk. For now it was time to call it a night.

To everyone’s surprise, including himself, Linus was the first one up. He was waiting in the common room, eating breakfast and chatting with Frannie by the time Archie and Luke made their way down.

“Are you still up and drunk from last night?” Was Luke’s opening question.

“Nope and nope. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast, I thought we were in a hurry.” Luke grinded his teeth biting back his reply as Archie just moved to the table to get started on breakfast. Soon they were all done with their meal and back on the road. This time Linus and Archie were wearing armor and weapons. Despite both Archie’s and Luke’s protests Linus insisted upon wearing the whip sword over his shoulder with the shortsword on one hip and the throwing knives and punch dagger on the other hip.

“You are overloaded and look insane.” Protested Luke.

“I have to agree sir. You are more likely to hurt yourself with all those weapons than any enemy.” Added Archie.

“Come now, I look grand. Plus how will I ever learn to use this marvelous weapon if I never even touch it?” His companions gave up on trying to talk sense into him and rode forward in silence. Once he realized no one was willing to agree with him he sulked behind them, letting his horse set its own pace. Bored and resigned to a long day of riding he decided to play with [Sneaking]. It was easier and more effective at this higher level, possible to mostly conceal even the horse if he really pushed it. That was when the bandits jumped out at Archie and Luke.