According to the author of the book, the Landwaker trees were originally a natural occurrence that could be found all over the Shardlands. Later on as alchemy and enchanting began to develop to a high enough level, spell casters began to create artificial ones to increase the number of new trees beyond the naturally grown saplings nurtured by the very few druids capable of doing so.

The book meticulously detailed that while the trees could take many shapes and produce a large variety of fruits such as apples, pears and even peaches, they would still be placed into one of three categories. The first main category was only referred to as the tree of sustenance. It was the most common one with the singular purpose of feeding the population with its bountiful yield, but without any special effects.

The second type would have fruits with some kind of special trait such as a slight healing or arcana regenerating effect, marking them as a sort of natural elixir. The third one was a combination of the first two, having multiple traits as well as a bountiful yield, however these were a lot rarer and thus people would contend for them in the bloodiest ways. The trees themselves had a grade to their quality just like any item or potion would, starting from the lowest ‘trash’ grade, all the way to the 'mythical' ones.

What made Regis swallow hard was the small side note that mentioned how the Landwakers we’re mostly created and altered through transmutation alchemy, going as far as even recording the materials that were known to have been used in their creation and alteration. ‘If Khan would be here,’ he amused to himself as he looked at the small pouch of seeds Letty gave him. ‘He’d say that this is one of those moments when I get to cheese the system to my advantage on the most unfair and broken MC level.’

It was a funny yet disturbing thought as he wasn’t sure if it was him that was lucky enough to find this knowledge after possessing the skill to make use of it, or if it was a higher power at play, dragging him along like a puppet on a string. Either way, he would be an idiot for not taking advantage of the knowledge when he had the chance. Although he wasn’t skilled enough to create some 'mythical' ranked seed for them to plant if needed, he was quite sure he would be able to create a seed that would grow a Landwaker to suit their needs.

‘One more thing to thinker with.’ He thought as he finished reading the book and went on to the next one. The ‘Law of inheritance’ was quite clear cut with its words, but the deeper meaning behind them was still a bit hard to understand. The Shardlands was pretty much a living being with its own soul and consciousness. Regis experienced this first-hand through his sigil.

Although there were kingdoms with nobles and other such things, that was just another form of control. The law of inheritance was as old as the land itself and just as unbreakable. Any plot of land could be claimed by those deemed worthy. After the land was claimed, it would be inherited by the descendants or the one named by the previous owner. In case the lineage died out or decided to abandon the claimed territory, it would become available for others to take.

The right of conquest was an actual thing here, enforced by the world’s soul. Claiming a piece of land would elevate one’s position and it would also allow them to rule over the land to some extent. The book was lot less clearer when it came to explaining the benefits of claiming land, but one thing was clear. A vagrant could settle down and become a commoner. Any commoner could become an ordinary landowner, but even if the Shardlands would grant you you the caste of nobility for your deeds and efforts, you would still only be a landless noble. Only through claiming a large enough piece of land would someone become true nobility.

And nobility meant power. Once someone became a noble, people would instinctively treat them differently. How much power would the title have behind it would depend on not only the Shardlands, but the nobles themselves as well. On paper this sounded all nice and fancy, but in real life if it held a lot of danger to it. Even if a commoner decided the claim a small piece of land, no one would stop any random bandit from killing them and their family in order to claim the land for themselves.

It was an interesting read, and most likely useful to know in the future, but he currently lacked the power to make an actual use of it. Regis tried to clear his head of the many stray thoughts that threatened to distract him once again as he switched to another book. Time trickled by as he read about the laws of the kingdom or the many precious materials scattered around the Shardlands. By the time he was through his fifth book, a familiar voice broke the silence.

“Guys,” Valerie popped her head through the gap that opened between the door. “Dinner is ready, so come down and join us.”

“Already,” Osmond mumbled. “How long we’ve been up here?”

“A bit over two hours.” The answer came as both of them stood up and headed toward the door to join their companions.

On the way down the hallway, Regis heard a slight humming that prompted him to open the door of the alchemy room. Letty was still inside, cheerfully working behind the alchemy table. Near two dozen vials of red and blue liquid were already lined up inside a couple of wooden vial racks. She barely noticed the dark elf enter the room, only raising her head up from cutting the dried materials when he called out to her.

“Dinner is ready.” He said as he walked closer, his eyes glued to the vial racks.

“Oh,” the wood elf let out a slight sigh. “I was just about to begin the next potion. I’ll be down in five minutes.”

“I’m sure they can wait that much,” the spell weaver noted. “Do you mind if I stay and watch? I’ve never seen a potion being made before and I’m quite curious about it.”

“Sure,” Letty nodded. “Lesser potions aren’t too difficult or time consuming to make. So, have you found anything interesting in the library?”

“Quite a lot actually,” Regis said as he watched her neatly cut the dried herbs, grinding some in the mortar. “The enchanter’s tome alone gave me a lot to think about. If everything goes according to plan, then I should be able to create both the runic fireplace and forge once we find a suitable place to settle down.”

“That sounds good,” she smiled for a moment. “I’m sure Amanda and Fabien would be happy to hear that.”

“I also found a diagram that would allow me to enchant vials that would keep the potions’ potency from dissipating a bit longer.”

“That would be nice, but these vials are very thin. I’m afraid they would easily break, making the enchantment to go to waste.”

“I thought about that too,” he admitted. “And I came up with an idea, although I have to test it out later.”

“An idea?”

“Yes. I figured that I could create a clear quartz crystal and then reshape it into a thick walled vial. That way it should be a lot sturdier then these.”

“Sounds good,” she chirped as she measured clean water into the beaker, before adding in the first ingredient.

Half a minute or so later the water began to boil as she lowered a thin bronze rod into the beaker so she could stir the bubbling liquid. Soon the second ingredient was added to the brew and not long after the third one followed. It seemed simple from the outside, but watching her unwavering concentration and the rhythm with which she changed the steering from clockwise to counter-clockwise made it obvious that there was more to it than what met the eyes. Once the boiling potion reached a certain red hue, Letty grabbed the beaker with the wooden tong and poured its content into a cloth covered vial.

“Done,” Letty said as she wiped her forehead. “Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Not at all,” Regis stood up from the chair he was sitting on. “It was quite fascinating to watch you work. It seems like you really do have a talent for alchemy.”

“Thanks,” she flushed red slightly after hearing the compliment. “Lesser potions aren’t too difficult, since they usually only require three ingredients. Some of the minor potions I’ve read about in the book are made up of four or five ingredients. They also require extra steps in the process such as distillation and arcana infusion. By the way, one of each from these is for you.”

“Thanks,” the dark elf nodded as he shoved a blue and red liquid filled vial into his potion pouch. “I’m sure you’ll be able to do those as well once you get some more practise. But for now, we should get going or Khan might eat our share as well.”

The two of them headed down the stairs with hasty steps, reaching the mess hall of the guild, only to find everyone already sitting at the long table that was packed with freshly cooked food.

“Took you long enough,” Cruz said between two bites. “I was starting to think, that I’ll have to drag you away from your precious potions by force.”

“Sorry,” the wood elf apologized. “I already began to make another one when Regis came to tell me about dinner and I didn’t want to leave unfinished.”

“Smells good.” The young spell weaver said as he sat down beside his companions, reaching out towards the nearest pile of cooked meat with his fork.

“It tastes even better,” Amanda praised. “Fabien and Mary really outdone themselves.”

“So, how did it go in the alchemy room?” Fabien asked, trying his hardest not to take notice of his sister stealing a peace of sausage from his plate.

“It went well,” Letty answered. “I managed to make a bit over a dozen lesser arcana replenishing and healing potions.”

“That’s quite the number,” Osmond nodded while stuffing his face with a near fist sized baked potato. “That would mean at least one of both for everyone.”

“There’s enough dried herbs there for another similar sized batch. I also want to try making a few other types of potions as well. I think there’s enough spare ingredients to make a lesser stamina potion and an all purpose antidote for everyone.”

“Nice,” Cruz ruffled her sister's hair. “I knew you could do it sis.”

“What about the storage of the room?” Sophie asked.

“There are a couple of lesser potions in one of the cabinets, but I think most of them were taken away by the locals when they went to join the war.”

“We should leave the spares in the cabinets here for sir Derris,” Quentin suggested. “Along with at least a couple of healing potions and a few antidotes. He might need those after we leave.”

“Agreed,” Regis nodded. “I also found a way to create barriers like the one at the entrance along with a key to open and close them. I’ll make one tonight for sir Derris, so that he could move about freely once things get peaceful in East Fork once again.”

“Thank you,” the elderly scholar spoke up finally. “I hope that once things settle down, the young ones will be able to return from the inner town. They are good children, uncorrupted by Qadir’s arrogance and hatred.”

“Don’t mention it sir,” The paladin nodded before turning toward the dark elf. “Osmond mentioned while you were away that we are to gather in the library after dinner, but he didn’t tell us why. Care to share?”

“There is a map of the Kingdom on the wall of the library,” Regis answered. “We wanted to gather everyone so that we could talk over our plans for the future.”

“A map,” Cruz raised her eyebrows. “How accurate is it?”

“It is a finely made map,” old Derris said. “Although we don’t know the current state of the other settlements, but it still should prove useful to you youngsters.”

“We also hope for your help as well, sir.”

“Mine? What help do you need from an old man such as I?”

“Your knowledge,” the curt answer resounded. “We don’t know anything about the settlements on the map beside the names we can read. I hoped that you would know about a book that has record on them, or maybe some personal knowledge.”

“There are a couple of ledgers mentioning some general information about most of the villages and towns,” the aged scholar claimed. “And I also know a thing or two about them from the things I heard from other travellers.”

“We can talk all about that later,” Amanda reminder them. “Now is the time to eat.”

“I really wish we had some ketchup,” Khan grumbled. “Or some hot sauce.”

“I wouldn’t say no to some freshly baked baguette either.” Valerie sighed wishfully.

“If I can get some proper flour and a few fresh eggs,” Fabien mused aloud. “I could make some fresh baguette. Maybe even a couple of croissants as well.”

“Less daydreaming and more eating.” Cruz mumbled with her mouth full.

A quiet laughter made everyone stop as they looked at the old scholar.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised. “It’s been a while since I had such lively company here.”

“I hope the students of the tower can return from the inner town soon,” Quentin said as he looked at the elderly man. “That way it would become a lot livelier here.”

“I hope so too.” Elder Derris nodded before returning his attention to his meal.

Half an hour of lively yet peaceful eating later the group finished their early dinner and cleaned up after themselves. Once the last bowl was washed away, the paladin turned toward is companions.

“Should we head up to the library?”

“Let’s get this out of the way,” Amanda said as Sophie nodded in agreement. “It’s high time we set an actual course to follow.”

“After that we should also check out our rooms for the night.” Sophie added.

“And get a bath.” Letty joined in to the conversation.

“The cleaning spell is fine and all,” Valerie admitted as they walked along. “But I could definitely use a proper hot water bath.”

“Khan,” the infernal young man whispered in a low tone. “Stop grinning or she’s going to whip your ass.”

“No thanks,” the bladedancer shook his head. “I’m not into that kind of thing.”

“And we’re not interested in that information.” Osmond rolled his eyes.

"Is that the alchemy room?" Fabien asked as he looked towards the slightly ajar door along the hallway.

“I can show it to you later if you’re interested.” Letty offered.

“Maybe I'll take a quick look later, but I’ll leave the potion duty to you.”

As the group entered the library, a few low whistles of acknowledgement could be heard.