Chapter 13: Another Anomaly

It probably would have been better to take Alchemy in the Spring.

White mist rose from his breath as he warmed his hands. His sheepskin gloves barely kept the frigid morning cold out. He looked up at the ribbons of peach, blue-gray, and gold that made up the early morning sky.

Those dark clouds do not look promising. It is going to snow again.

His boots plodded through the fresh snow that fell overnight as he followed his Alchemy class through the path beyond the student dormitory. These woods are expansive. I wonder what we will be collecting out here. Mostly everything looks dead.

He looked ahead at Professor Awldriver and Magnolia. The two women pressed on.

Casimir checked the map he kept in his inner coat pocket. They were travelling northwest away from the campus. We are near a wetland. Maybe we will dig up some roots. They gave us a shovel.

“Ah, it is ghastly cold outside.” Cornelius shivered. “How far out are we going?”

He was bundled up from head to toe only his reddened nose and eyes could be seen between his hat and scarf.

“We are almost there!” Awldriver called out.

Cornelius grumbled. “I should have skipped winter.”

Casimir heard a sneeze behind them, followed by a “bless you” from Tristan.

“Bless you.” Casimir glanced over his shoulder and saw Bryson wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“Thanks.” Bryson returned his left hand into the warmth of his pocket, while his injured hand rested inside his coat.

Tristan gave Casimir a nod.

I guess his injury isn’t that serious.

Eventually, they arrived at a frozen creek. Awldriver’s eyes scrutinized the soil near the creek and smiled. “This is a good spot. We will stop here.”

“Finally!” Cornelius dropped the pack off his shoulder and stretched.

Professor Awldriver addressed her students, “As alchemists, we must be self-sufficient and resourceful. Sometimes we must find our own ingredients in the wild and synthesize medicine with minimal resources. Here is your assignment. You will make a pain-numbing, antibacterial salve from three ingredients.”

She counted them off on her fingers. “Poison from a hibernating bogtoad, sawberry root, and pine resin. You should be able to create it with the materials in your packs. You have today and by the end of the next class to complete it. Magnolia and I will be nearby to offer you hints on the way. You may begin.”

Casimir turned to Cornelius. “So, how should we divide the work?”

Cornelius knitted his brow and lowered his eyes. “Okay, please listen to my proposal.” He sounded slightly embarrassed, unlike his usual suave voice. “How about I set up camp and keep the fire going while you collect the ingredients? I’ll synthesize the salve while you rest.” The ends of his lips twitched as he pleaded with Casimir with his eyes.

Casimir checked his watch. That walk here ate up most of our class time. We only have an hour and fifteen minutes left. If she is giving us so much time, these must be difficult ingredients to harvest, or the salve has a high failure rate. Casimir shook his head. “It will probably take the rest of the class period to collect everything, and it would be quicker if I had your help.”

Cornelius sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Uh, fine,” He dragged his words. “Let’s hurry up and get everything. I’ll gather the pine resin, and you’ll collect the sawberry root. We will look for the toad together. They are tricky to find.” Cornelius fished for a glass jar and a knife from his bag.

“Sounds like a plan.” Casimir consulted his herb field guide. A woody shrub with teal berries. They enjoy rocky soil and partial shade. Sounds easy enough.

Casimir searched the rocky terrain near the bank. He traveled upstream and reached a fork of the creek that was blocked with fallen trees and rocky debris. This section of the creek formed into a gully. Two steep slopes form a ‘v’, with a grove of overarching trees. He spotted a patch of shrubs that fit the description. There they are.

Casimir slid down the slope, and once he reached the plant, he started digging. The root of the plant slowly began to appear as he overturned dirt and shifted stone. I’m half tempted to cut a piece off and call it a day. How deep do these roots go?

He heard someone slide down the gully behind him and turned. Ah, it’s just Tristan.

“There are quite a few of these here.” Casimir pointed at a plant to his right.

“Thanks.” Tristan gave Casimir a tired smile before heading over to the plant. Silently, he dug, stress cut creases on his forehead as he pierced into the rocky soil. Part of his focus seemed to be elsewhere because he would pause in his thoughts.

Casimir raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

“Yep, I’m fine. How about you?”

“Freezing, but I’m well.”

“No kidding, she couldn’t have picked a colder morning. I swear I could spit and it would freeze in minutes.”

Casimir laughed, and he waited until Tristan began digging again before he asked his next question. “How is Bryson faring with his hand?”

“He is fine. It was just some minor burns. The nurse gave him the okay to take the gauze off after a week.”

“He is probably going to have to sit out of our Pattern and Combat class.”

Tristan frowned and continued digging.

That was probably a yes. Casimir managed to free the root ball from the ground and snipped it from the rest of the plant. I can probably use the berries for another assignment. He placed his spoils in his bag and glanced back at Tristan. “I’ll see you later.”

Tristan nodded.

***

Casimir returned to the place where he last found Cornelius. Smoke rose from a fire started by the redhead, who happily sat on a log as he stirred a pot over a wired rack.

He waved when he saw Casimir approach. “Hallo, I started rendering the pine resin. Do you have the sawberry root?”

“Yes.” He pulled out the root ball and showed it to Cornelius.

“Nice.” He adjusted his monocle. “You got a good amount, and it appears to be good quality. I see no root rot or bites from weevils.”

“Most of the shrubs appeared to be healthy. We have about 35 minutes left. Do we have enough time for the toads?”

Cornelius pursed his lips. “How far are we from the bog?”

Casimir consulted his map. “It is a short trek north. So about twenty minutes if we walk. Faster if we run.”

Cornelius turned and looked into the frigid forest and back at the warm, inviting fire. He gave Casimir a persuasive grin. “Friend, take a seat. We have several days between now and the deadline. We should process the ingredients we already have and come back here another time.”

“Right,” Casimir said, and sat down and began chopping up the root into smaller pieces. “Have you seen the professor and Magnolia?”

“Magnolia is nearby, collecting herbs. I’m not sure where the professor is, but she is probably doing the same.” He glanced at Casimir suspiciously. “You can sense Aether, right?”

Casimir shot him with an annoyed look.

Cornelius chuckled. “It isn’t my fault that I expect a former inquisitor to be more observant.”

Casimir sighed. “How much did your uncle tell you about me?”

He gave Casimir a cursory glance before returning his attention to the pot. “Nothing that is a big secret. You were an Inquisitor living with your mother’s family. Sageman attacked you, and you somehow survived. Then your father’s family intervened out of fear of losing a viable heir, and now you are here.”

He did not mention anything about my Aether heart.

Cornelius tapped the spoon on the pot before meeting Casimir’s gaze. “My only question is, why didn’t Lord Mindrattler interfere sooner? It does not make any sense that they will let you work in such a dangerous profession. You Mindrattlers aren’t as large as us with members to spare.”

“Isn’t being a Weaver just as dangerous?”

“There are some risks, yes. But most of the time we aren’t being pitted against dangerous Weavers who want to kill us. At worst, we will face up against a non-Aetherian, and most of them can’t do much against a skilled Weaver, even with a gun.”

Casimir sulked. Most of our job was collecting fees and filing paperwork. Sometimes we did inspections of Weaver businesses. The larger cases involving dangerous Weavers were handled by the main family members who could control Aether. My capture of Sageman’s apprentice was rotten luck. “True, from my experience, the average Weaver is over-reliant on their patterns and can’t do much in a physical fight.”

“Oh, right, like what happened between you and that girl, you threw her over your shoulder like some prize,” Cornelius teased.

Casimir’s face flushed. “It would have been brutish of me to tackle her.” He averted his eyes from Cornelius’ impish gaze. “It was the best alternative.”

“No need to be coy about it. She’s cute. Has nice legs that you seem to notice. Comes from a decent Weaver family. I’m sure your family would approve. Unless you already have someone.”

Casimir shook his head. “No, no, no. I was too focused on my training to even think about–.”

Cornelius looked at Casimir, confused. “Really, that is odd. I never pictured Lord Mindrattler being so laid back.”

“Hey!” They heard Tristian call out and turned to see him running up to them.

Although relieved that Tristan saved him from that conversation, the worry on his face put Casimir on high alert. “What is it? Is something a matter?”

Tristan caught his breath. “Have you seen Bryson? I don’t sense him anywhere!”

Cornelius searched. “No, he is not within my range, which is odd. The last time I saw him was when he was struggling to collect pine resin, but he should have been back by now.”

Tristan’s eyes widened from a sudden realization, and he gritted his teeth in anger. “That idiot! I told him to wait!” He turned and ran.

Cornelius sighed. “That stupid fool. We might actually be down to three after this class.”

“He went to the bog, didn’t he?” Casimir stepped away from the fire and activated his Aether heart. He sensed Cornelius’ pool of Aether, Magnolia’s, which was just beyond the treeline, and Tristan’s running farther away from them. He pumped his Aether heart harder and expanded his search. He picked up concentrations of Aether that, by their shape, appeared to be a deer. No, not that. “Drat, I don’t sense him.”

“Yes, that is because he is probably out of range and went to the bog.”

“I’m going to go help find him.” Casimir got up. “If I don’t come back in time, go get Magnolia.”

“Alright. Don’t slip.”

***

The trees blurred as Casimir sprinted through the forest, following the disturbed snow and boot prints that stumbled towards the bog. I’m fortunate for him being a lummox. He leapt over a rotten, worm-eaten log and dodged a hanging branch heading for his face. There are some more broken branches over here. I’m getting close.

The trees thinned away, and the fresh air was tainted by the smell of sulfur. Underfoot, the soil softened to thick mud with rich rotting plant material. This should be it. Black icy pools with false islands of snow-covered moss dominated the landscape.

“Bryson, hold on!” Tristan’s plea directed him to the pair struggling near one of the pools.

The poor sap was submerged up to his chest, struggling to keep his eyes open. Tristan’s face turned red and strained from pulling on Bryson’s arm with all of his might. Casimir carefully traversed the muck, making sure not to fall and become a part of a deceitful patch of decaying organic sludge.

“Tristan! Bryson, I’m here!” Casimir called.

Tristan looked up at him, and a bit of hope appeared in his eyes. But before any of them could take a breath, something moved underneath the water and jerked Bryson under, threatening to take Tristan down with him. The sudden pull caught Tristan off guard, and he stumbled into the muck. He was waist-deep now and steadily sinking. By some miracle, he managed to keep a hand on Bryson and another gripping on the grass of the bank, his only lifeline.

Drat, he fell in, too.

Casimir rushed over, reached down, and pulled. He gritted his teeth and strained to drag them out. Part of Tristan was back on solid ground, and Bryson’s head re-emerged from the sludge.

Bryson gasped for air. His face twisted in pain. “He–he got my leg.”

Casimir noticed the bubbles rippling through the water. He pumped his Aether heart, sending out his Aether towards the disturbance in the murky pool. His Aether pushed through the resistance of the water, and he managed to sense a large concentration of Aether wrapping around Bryson’s leg.

What is…?

He focused on the mass, feeling around its shape with his Aether, and let out a gasp when its Aether clashed with his and disappeared.

What in blue blazes! Is that a person down there?

Suddenly, a jerk dragged him and Tristan further into the dark pool, and Bryson’s head dipped under the water. Casimir quickly weaved Iron Sinew, fortifying his muscles with Aether, and pulled. Tristan fell back into his arms, but Bryson was not with him.

Tristan’s face twisted into a look of pure horror as he looked at his empty hands. “No, Bryson!”

In one motion, Casimir threw off his coat and pushed Tristan back, then dove into the pool before Tristan jumped in himself. The bone-chilling cold made him forced down a gasp for air, but he clawed deeper through the viscous sludge towards Bryson’s Aether.

No! I won’t let you get away. He grabbed hold of Bryson’s arm and managed to get a firm hold around his waist. Kicking with all of his might, he began carrying Bryson and the creature out of the water. The resistance pulling Bryson down disappeared, only for it to then seize Casimir’s ankle with a large bony hand.

Instinctively, Casimir kicked downward at where he believed the head would be and succeeded in striking it. Its hold loosened ever so slightly, and it tightened again. Casimir smote it again, this time, with more Aether infused in his kick, and he slipped out of its grasp. He swam in full gear, despite his burning lungs and his body becoming numb.

When they broke the surface, Casimir took in a gulp of precious air and dragged himself and Bryson out of the bog as fast as he could.

“I got you!” Tristan grabbed hold of Casimir’s arm and pulled him and Bryson ashore.

What was that? No who? Casimir wiped the gunk off his face and rested on his back as he caught his breath.

He watched Tristan sit Bryson up. He shook uncontrollably from the icy grime that covered him from head to toe.

At least he is still shivering. Hypothermia has not set in. He noticed Tristan offered his coat to Bryson, and the boy weakly accepted it with a half nod.

Casimir shivered underneath his soaked V-neck sweater that permeated with the stink of the bog, and got up and retrieved his coat.

When Bryson could stand, they began their trek out of the bog and back to safety.

“Why didn’t you wait for me, you idiot!? We agreed that you were only going to get the resin!” Tristan snapped.

Bryson tightened his jaw. “I did, but I wanted to help you out more. How was I supposed to know that the bog was going to try to eat me?”

Tristan’s face turned beet red. “Some help! All the resin you collected is gone at the bottom of the bog, and you almost got yourself killed!”

Bryson gritted his teeth and turned away.

“Idiot,” Tristan mumbled under his breath.

Halfway into their journey back to the camp, Magnolia arrived and quickly attended to Bryson with a scowl. “Ah, it is so filthy, we have to change these dressings immediately.”

When they returned to their spot near the creek. Professor Alwdriver returned, and Cornelius had already cleaned up. Casimir smiled. He could not have asked for a more reliable teammate.

Cornelius observed Casimir’s disheveled appearance and glanced at Bryson. He smirked. “It could not have been me.”

Casimir grunted.

Professor Awldriver frowned when she scanned over the weary faces of her students. She did not seem concerned but disappointed. “Class ended 30 minutes ago. What happened here?”

Bryson broke away from the group and waved his good arm with a mixture of excitement and terror. “Professor, a creature at the bog tried to kill us!”

“A creature? What was it?” She raised a skeptical brow.

Bryson bit his lip. “I didn’t see it, but it grabbed my leg! It tried to pull me into the bog and drown me! I swear!”

“I sensed it.” Casimir stroked his chin. “It was not shaped like an animal but a person.”

A stern expression appeared on Cornelius’ face.

“A person!” Tristan was taken aback.

Bryson arched his body forward. “See! Something terrible is going on here, Professor! We shouldn’t come back until we find a squad of experienced Weavers to kill it. ”

Professor Awldriver snickered. “It was a toad.”

“What!” Both Bryson and Tristan exclaimed.

Magnolia nodded. “You probably scared an unusually large one out of hibernation.”

Casimir narrowed his eyes. “So it was another one of the school’s mutated wildlife. But it was not shaped like a toad?”

Mild interest flashed in Professor Awldriver’s eyes before she looked at him sternly with her usual dominating presence. “Like looking through a pool of water, how you sense Aether can be distorted by the material between you and the target. It is impressive that you manage to sense anything.”

She turned to Bryson. “If you are fearful of a little toad, you can wait until Monday after the hunting squad sweeps the area this weekend. But I would not recommend it, you will be tight on time, because it will take a while to process the toad poison and synthesize the ingredients.”

She ignored Bryson’s dumbfounded expression and checked her watch. “I have to go. Magnolia, be a dear and escort them back to campus.”

After a silent nod from Magnolia, Professor Awldriver weaved a semicircular pattern, and a gust of wind whipped through the trees and blew her away.

“Why didn’t she warn us about the mutant toads?” Tristan muttered.

“No, there is no way that it was a toad!” Bryson protested. “You heard what Casimir said!”

Magnolia gently turned Bryson in the direction of the campus. “It tried to drown you, so it would be easier for it to eat you.”

“But!”

Tristan pondered. “Well, you did say a deer tried to eat you when you first got here.”

Magnolia nudged Bryson forward. “Come on. I’ll guide you to the nurse’s office.”

Cornelius looked at Casimir and shook his head. “You didn’t take anything I said to heart.”

Casimir ignored him and crossed his arms. “I wish she had taught us that wind pattern. It would have been convenient.”

“Take this as a learning opportunity to learn Lightstep,” Magnolia droned.

Casimir nodded and scanned the trees for any form of movement. He activated his Aether heart again, but sensed nothing. Well, who or whatever it was is gone for now, but I should remain cautious.