(Preview) Shattered Ladder 1-10
Iron-vine root smelled almost exactly like blood.
Not just blood, but fresh blood, metallic and earthy like it was just spilled onto the ground.
It… it wasn’t his favorite smell.
It brought back memories, one particular memory actually, and nothing about it was something Ken liked to think of. He certainly didn’t need help bringing back something he still had nightmares over, anyway.
His likes or dislikes didn’t matter much though, because iron-vine was a common smell in the shop. They couldn’t afford not to have some constantly ready, considering Scarlet Tonic was a common purchase, and iron-vine was the base ingredient in that specific serum. He’d grown used to it by now, anyway, years and years of it allowing Ken to ignore it half the time.
Half the time included now as the scent drifted through the air, the aroma coming from the pot on the hearth bubbling constantly behind him. More than anything, the young apprentice of Wei’s Apothecary had better things to think about than old memories as he sat at his own little workstation with his eyes firmly on a heavy, leather-bound book on alchemy, one of many with a snake on the cover.
Ancient pages made from thick yellowed paper held recipes so complicated he still barely understood them after three whole years, but Ken read them anyway. After all, that was the only way he was going to get anywhere and, more than that, he could almost swear that the words on them seemed to make more sense every day that passed.
Even now, his fingers, barely trembling at all, traced the intricate lines of a symbol for purification, the page across from that showing a detailed illustration of a bundle of gold-leaved roots.
The soft shuffling of cloth shoes on worn wood reached his ears, the sound familiar. Ken didn’t look up, though. He didn’t need to, the presence behind him could only be one person and he doubted he was wrong. Master…
That wasn’t what left his mouth.
"Old Wei," the nickname slipped out the way it often did, more than anything else, Ken’s voice still low and respectful. Even with the address, he didn't turn around, all his focus still on the complex script of the book. Mourning Silk powder needs a binding agent, sure, he knew that much, but the book said a water-base would dilute the qi in it. Oil, maybe? But which kind?
A few seconds passed, with the old alchemist silent despite Ken’s greeting.
Ken blinked as the quiet stretched on, actually confused as it went on just long enough for it to feel strange, the bubbling from the hearth suddenly too loud. Maste-
A soft hand came to a gentle rest on his shoulder. The feeling of it was warm, as Wei always was, but there was a strange stillness in the touch; not the usual light, passing gesture.
No, this had a heaviness to it, more deliberate and serious than Wei almost ever was.
What is… The fifteen-year-old finally looked up, turning around to face his master with a question on his lips.
Wei’s round, friendly face stared back at him, the usual smile still there, but…
“Master?”
It didn’t reach his eyes this time. "Good morning, Kenshi.” No, the purple gaze of his master held a different light today.
“...good morning, master?”
“You up early.” Wei’s voice was a little softer than Ken remembered it, the sing-song cadence drawn out for some reason, like the old man was tasting each word just a little more. “You study hard. Good, good." Ken blinked as that heavy hand on his shoulder squeezed, a tight grip that almost hurt, before Wei set him free. "I must go out. An important errand."
A familiar, slight disappointment pricked at him, settling in his chest like one of the dense herbal pills he had helped Wei make over the years. You just left two weeks ago. The thought came with that same disappointment thickening and condensing, the feeling inside him hardening like a rock.
Yes, it was selfish, he knew that. But Ken couldn’t deny that he hated everytime Old Wei headed out and left him behind in the shop. The city was still a big, scary, unknown thing, a hungry beast just outside the door, and the thought of being alone with nothing but wooden walls to protect him from the world outside them…
Ken gripped his fingers tight into fists to keep from shaking again. "...for ingredients, Old Wei?"
"For something better.” Those purple eyes almost seemed to flash as they looked at him, Ken staring right into those eyes he used to have to look up at.
Wh… no? The idea of letting himself believe it was almost too much, Ken unsure if he could even allow himself to hope. He can’t… he can’t mean…
“...master?” The apprentice leaned in a little, voice dropping to a whisper as his master’s long white beard brushed his skin, the smell of dried herbs coming off the old man suddenly too strong for his nose.
"When I return... I have gift for you, Kenshi. A special gift."
The alchemist paused, letting the words hang in the air.
"It will change your life. Forever."