The God of gold

The beginning of the story is always nothing special, just as daylight invariably passes through the window of the morning.

"So I'm ready to go," Palikti said, packing the necessary protective gear into his suitcase. "Breakfast is in the insulated box in the kitchen, and Pippi has been fed."

Clavia struggled from the covers and barely opened her eyes: "I was going to get up and cook for you." Did you miss any protective equipment? The skin of the Noze tree is so toxic, and the spirit of the tree is never easy to communicate with, even if you are an elf, it may not buy it..." As the worries piled up, the last of Clavia's sleepiness vanished.

She sat up and looked at her lover. "No. Nozlin is too dangerous. I'll come with you."

Palikti smiled uncontrollably, reached out and smoothed her upturned hair behind her ear: "How many times are you coming with me? We agreed yesterday. I'll get the ingredients, you stay here and prepare the potion for Warren. And even if you did, you wouldn't be able to get into the woods. We're just doing what's better for us -- don't worry too much, as you said, I'm an elf."

Kravia looked at him and then at herself, regretfully admitting that her physical fitness and agility did not seem to make her an effective companion in the quest to collect the plant.

In that case, then

"Take some more," she said, going to the pharmacy and pulling dozens of tubes from the display case. "I hope Warren will be refreshed. But I don't want to trade that for your health."

"Of course, I swear -- well, Pippi, why are you getting fat again?"

Pippi is a hairless cat that was picked up by Clavia six months ago, and when he arrived home, he was so skinny that people wondered if he was some kind of mutant abyss demon, and now he has become a fat pig under the fancy care of the two people.

It jumped steadily from Palikti's lap and, with a speed that was out of place for its stature, climbed quickly into the arms of Kravia, where it peered -- all the while without glancing back at the elf it had half-kicked off.

Once the mood of separation was broken, it began to seem a little pretentious, and Clavia was embarrassed to get up, holding Pippi and turning to the kitchen to find breakfast.

As a result, Palikti was rewarded with a sandwich-flavored kiss before setting off.

After saying goodbye, Kravia ate the rest of the bacon in a couple of bites, washed her hands and went back to the pharmaceutical room.

Warren was injured by the light of the gods during the war, which meant that many commonly used herbs would not work for her injuries. In addition, her condition is getting worse every day, and the potion she was prescribed earlier has become a placebo, and if it does not succeed this time, then her body will not give her a second chance to try.

Kravia hammered out the final recipe for the potion after half a month of nights.

-

The refining room.

Standing in front of the operating table and unwrapping the folded parchment, Kravia reconfirms the medication and procedures.

Lozenghua, alfalfa, rattan berry.

This combination is very good, together the effect is enough to replace or even exceed the multi-tongue fruit - the continental war for a long time, many of the scarce magic plants gradually extinct in consumption, potions had to rack their brains to find a similar effect of the substitute.

The sweetballs are mild, but require special treatment with a crystal crucible - they are used first to make a higher-order stabilizer.

Alternative herbs such as cymbidium, longren, and polyglossum - take care to put stabilizers in immediately to prevent changes in properties after success.

Sunflower wood, lotus root and white apricot - boil for two hours and then add the potion already processed in the previous step.

The purple apricot can only be cut with a silver knife, and it is as fickle as the heart of the Noze tree, which cannot be prepared in advance, and can only be put into the cooling liquid at the end to wait for them to melt.

Knotts Tree heart... I hope Parlichti has a good trip. But only half a gram is needed, and the heart of the tree can regenerate quickly, perhaps the spirit of the tree is ready to do a good deed today.

Clavia shook her head to clear her mind and quickly ran through her priorities. After she had arranged the herbs and the cauldron, the fireworks beneath the instrument burst into flames with her gesture - no magic, just plain mechanical devices made by elves.

The liquid in the pot quickly rolled, and the boiling appearance reminded the abyss of those dead bones scattered on the ground after the hysterical battle. The smell of medicinal herbs slowly filled the pharmaceutical room, the warm and safe mist gradually smoothed the burst bubbles, and the liquid returned to calm, transforming into a thick transparent substance under the licking of the fire - this time the quality of the stabilizer was quite good.

The umbrella orchid is splashed with water, but Longren grass is its natural sedative. Add monseiglia, alfalfa, and tengberry, and it's a bit much to mix - but the result is a beautiful pale blue anyway.

The rest is up to time. It floats and sinks, giving off a flavor similar to spices; Lotus roots and white apricots shrivel and disintegrate silently in the cauldron...

"Crackle --"

Pippi scratching the door?

"Crackle --"

No, he's a little Wilder, but he's always nice and never disturbs Kravia while she's cooking potions.

"Crackle --"

The sound came nearer, and on her guard she grabbed the parchment and rolled it into a solid fist, barely a weapon.

Scanning the room, she did not notice any change in it from before.

Maybe I'm just too nervous? Perhaps, Clavia thought, it was just the sound of boiling herbs. She returned her eyes to the cauldron and noticed that the lines rising from the surface of the potion liquid had become unusually clear. She moved closer to feel it, and then determined one thing before she passed out: her five senses had somehow become unusually sharp.

She was woken by the sound of the potion chugging.

[The herb's heartbeat].

It was the first phrase that came to Kravia's mind when she woke up.

The potion in the cauldron had thickened a little more than it had before her coma, and aiming at the scale on the metal wall, she judged that she had been unconscious for about an hour and a half.

Fortunately, no time node for the operation was missed.

She calmed herself, trying again briefly to capture the soul-pounding rhythm and rhythm of waking from the chug of the potion. This is a great time to improve, don't miss it, says a voice in your heart.

The beat of The law of Strong and weak Contrast with

The prepared semi-finished product is poured in, the pale blue liquid is merged, and the potion changes into metaphorical ripples in the cauldron.

There is meaning behind them!

Kravia was amazed by the unexpected idea.

Ripple, boil, foam... What had once been invisible to her suddenly opened a corner of itself to her, and any seeker interested in potions would weep for joy: what a new subject of study.

So -- don't worry, she reminded herself. That's not the most important thing right now.

Pour the potion into the bottle. All the previous work has been completed, and only one last step remains.

The purple apricot must be put in at the same time as the Noz heart, and all we need to do now is to keep the chemical properties unchanged until the ingredients are in place. I hope Parlichti doesn't keep her waiting too long.

The brass bird flew out of the attic on top of the mechanical clock, and the crisp sound reached the ears through several doors.

The air around him suddenly tore, and the spirit's hand reached out through the broken cracks, and in it lay the throb of the Knoz heart.

All the problems are solved.

The herbs dissolve in the liquid and cling to strings of tiny bubbles as they fall.

...

"That's lovely."

Warren studied the potion in the glass bottle.

The thick, milky liquid is mixed with some light blue, which does not fit the conventional image of potions.

"Is this a new yogurt from some restaurant?" Warren took the lid off the bottle and sniffed it closer. "There was something sweet about it, like you would find in a bakery in the middle of town -- the one that sells the most."

"I also thought I could use it to inspire restaurateurs." Kravia tried to liven things up, but realized that her voice was dry.

On the way to Warren, she told herself numerous times to act as if it were a normal visit, but when it came to life and death, it was difficult to pretend that nothing had happened. Not to mention she's the one who made the potion, who thinks she's responsible for Warren's life or accident.

Is this really the best recipe? Kravia asked herself a thousand times.

So far it seems so.

Could it have waited, and a better option would have come along?

Kravia doesn't know.

Warren looked at her face and laughed. "Clavia, the famous potions master, my dear friend, when did you become such a tangled person? No matter what happens, I'm grateful to you. I should have turned to dust a long time ago, but with your help I extended my life for so long. In fact, I've earned too much time, "she said, looking out of the window," and it's a fine day, so there's nothing to regret."

Without further doubt or hesitation, Warren uncorked the bottle, looked up and drank the potion.

She even did not forget to make a comment: "Well, like a not too sweet dessert." It tastes great."

Kravia looked at her without blinking.

Potions work quickly, often showing their effects in tens of digits.

Ten, nine, eight, seven --

Warren seemed to sense something.

She rolled up her empty sleeves.

Under the attack of the divine light repeatedly festering skin is no longer dark and terrible; The traces of decay return to flesh; Deep bone wounds no longer gush blood. Ecstasy swept through her thoughts in an instant. Within a few breaths, she even felt an itch on her skin for the first time in a long time - the kind that means new life. This feeling told her that the damage in her body was beginning to be repaired.

She is recovering.

"Is this the power of dessert? " Overwhelmed by the joy of being blessed by the Goddess of life, Warren blurted out: "Let's go to the most expensive restaurant in Central District and have a big meal!! Oh, and Palikti, without him to help me get the heart of the tree, I'm really screwed! Where is he now? Get him and the three of us will order the signature menu from start to finish!!"

Who refuses to relax after a near-miss HE ending?

Kravia: "Give me a break... Noooo! Go now!"

Under the emotional warm light, the food is more touching

Roasted lemon chicken leg with Cream of mushroom soup in Bacon and gold needles and French fries. Grilled steak seafood macaroni Pan-fried foie gras salt Baked lamb loin with mashed potatoes. Hazelnut cake chocolate pudding green tea cheese bread.

The three meow at each other.

As they parted, Warren gave Kravia a big hug.

"May we all sleep well tonight."

But reality sometimes runs counter to hope.

In the middle of the night, Kravia was gripped by a strange sensation.

The silky soft light poured out from the distant sky, and she seemed to be a fish whose tail had been stranded on the reef at the moment of high tide, and then she dived back into the cool calm sea with her scales baked to the heat. The flowing halo of light enveloped her gently, the atmosphere of the wilderness gathered from all sides, delicately weaving the cocoon, and she immersed herself in it, feeling an unparalleled peace.

The rhythm of life is the same frequency as the heartbeat, the rhythm of the shimmering smooth the lines and corners of the storm, the fatigue and fear are far away, and the pearl is born in the deepest shadow of the fritillary mother. Strange runes flashed before her eyes, and she tried to recognize them but could not find them. The world suddenly began to shake slightly, and she seemed to hear her name being called over and over again...

Clavia... Clavia...

It wa