Full Mushroom Alchemist

"Let's stop for a bit. I'm getting kind of hungry." Cal said.

We pulled the cart off to the side of the road. He set up a campfire and started boiling some water.

"What should I throw into the pot? We've got all this produce, might as well use it."

He kept trying to make small talk with us. There was an awkward silence. Neither Erika nor I spoke. I wasn't sure what he expected, considering he was essentially holding us hostage.

"Aw, come on guys don't be like that. I know some things happened, but let's put that behind us."

"Will you un-poison me if I do?" Erika asked.

"Well... no. I can't do that until our job is done."

"Oh, then I'll be going to bed... please do me a favor and don't talk to me, Cal."

Erika laid on the grass, facing the opposite direction as us. She used a log as a pillow. All our things were left at our camp at Stercusville, so she didn't have her sleeping bag.

Only a few minutes passed...

*Growl*

Erika sat back up.

"I'm still not speaking to you, but I’m taking some of that soup."

She dished out some of the vegetable soup and quickly shoveled it down in a very unladylike manner.

"Listen Eri-."

Cal tried to talk, but Erika stopped him.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm going back to bed."

She laid her head back on the log and was out within a few seconds.

"Huh, she's kind of in a bad mood tonight." Cal naively said.

"Why wouldn't she? You just poisoned her." I responded.

"I guess, but I don't see the big deal. I'll eventually give her the antidote."

"Are you actually that delusional?"

"Heh, maybe I am... Anyways, what I'm curious about is you, Arno. How did a skeleton and a sweet girl like Erika end up together?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything."

"Ah, come on. I won't tell anyone about you being undead. In exchange, I'll tell you anything you want to know about me."

"As tempting as that offer sounds, I think I'm good."

He leaned forward a bit. I noticed in the light of the campfire that his eyes were a little bloodshot.

"Erika's completely out so it'll just be the two of us for a while. Time will fly faster if we chat."

"At some point you'll fall asleep. I haven't been able to sleep for over seven decades. You think a single night means anything to me?"

He chuckled a bit.

"That's where you underestimated me once again, Arno. I was afraid you might try and kill me in my sleep, so I ingested a special root that makes it so I can't sleep."

This guy was annoyingly persistent. At this point, I decided to give in a little just to shut him up. He already knew I was a skeleton, so it's not like it really matters. I might even be able to get some useful information out of him.

"Fine..."

I went through a brief overview of Erika and my ordeal back at the labyrinth about a week ago. I of course left out certain details, especially ones that pertain to my past.

"Hm interesting, so technically Erika is your master. I don't really understand what she gets out of this relationship though?" Cal said.

"I agreed to mentor her in magic." I responded.

"I had a feeling you two were mages. It's pretty obvious considering the way you two are dressed and that wooden staff you carry and that goofy wand Erika has."

...there was an awkward silence.

"Aren't you at all curious about me being an Alchemist?" Cal said.

"Not particularly, it's not like I haven't seen an Alchemist before. I will admit though, I didn't think any of you were left." I said.

"Yeah, as of now, I may be the only one left. There used to be my mentor and his other student... but they're not around anymore."

"It doesn't surprise me that it's just you. Alchemy was already a dying practice back when I was alive."

"So were you around when the Order of Alchemy existed." He asked.

"Yes, but I really wouldn't call it much of an order. It was more of a loose association of alchemists that wanted to pretend to be an organized group."

"Well, us alchemists are free spirits. Our craft is art. We all strive to create our magnum opus."

Alchemists are individuals who seek to control the natural world through potion making and transmutation. Back in my day, they all had a very similar spirit to cal, meaning they all were incredibly eccentric and obnoxious. Like Cal mentioned they treat alchemy like an art form. All of them have a goal they refer to as "magnum opus", meaning "great work". This varies between all alchemists and includes feats from immortality elixirs to transmuting lead to gold. For obvious reasons most of these magnum opuses weren't achieved. Over time the craft declined in favor of things like modern medicine.

"And what exactly are you trying to achieve?" I asked.

"I want to create an elixir unlike anything my predecessors have. I don't exactly know what it's supposed to do, but it's going to be something spectacular."

"How does being in the Western Mafia exactly help you achieve that?"

"I'm not technically a member of the mafia. I just happened to make a deal with them in exchange for helping me with something."

"What exactly is that 'something'?"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

Cal smiled.

I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean... The conversation quickly became stale and shifted back into him babbling on about his many bar stories. I had to endure his nonsense for the remainder of the evening.