Dagna’s chest swelled with pride as she nodded. “Yes! I learned mechanics at my second cousin’s pump workshop. That’s where Iwork, too. You can’t believe how boring it is to just makepumpsall day.”
Kraghtol didn’t need to see Valir’s face to know the noble was pondering if Dagna’s second cousin was the same person as the innkeeper’s second oldest cousin. It was certainly possible.
“Maybe we can help each other,” Kraghtol said while inspecting the unfinished parts. “I’ve got a Dwarven lockbox I need opened. And in return, I think I may be able to do something about the seal keeping you from Voldrik’s workshop.”
“You can?” Both Dagna and Valir asked at once, although the former sounded pleasantly surprised, while the latter was clearly skeptical. In truth, Kraghtol wasn’t very sure about it either, but at least in his head, it sounded logical. If he applied the knowledge from his dream, it seemed like an easy enough task.
“Alright Kragh! You’ve got yourself a deal!”
They went to work immediately. With the three of them, the room was packed, but Dagna didn’t seem to mind. She whistled and hummed as she prodded the lock with her tools. All the anger and insecurity from before were gone, replaced by apparent joy once she immediately concentrated on her work. Kraghtol envied her for that ability.
He tried to gather his thoughts. It was difficult, since he couldn’t stop thinking about how he didn’t really know what he was doing. What if Dagna found out that he wasn’t half the alchemist he had implied he was by that bold statement? What if he made a fool of himself in front of Valir? And why did he care about that? He stole a glance at the noble, who seemed preoccupied with rocking on a chairwhile fiddling with cogs he had found on one workbench. Still, he had a good feeling about the whole thing. When he finally left the hidden room to gather ingredients, Valir got up from his chair and followed him immediately. Once outside, he furrowed his brow.
“What are you doing? Do you really know the recipe to open a sealed door? We didn’t learn that in class.”
“I know. I’ll need to experiment.”
That didn’t seem to ease the noble’s mind. “You mean you’re just going to throw ingredients together hoping for the best? Mrs. Hawke was pretty clear that this is a fool’s errand. Are you trying to trick Dagna?”
The last part was a sharp whisper, but Kraghtol shook his head. “It’s difficult to explain. Things… No,Ihave changed. I think I understand now how it’s supposed to work. Experimenting is impossible as long as you believe the things they teach you in Alchemical Basics. But with the Principles…”
He stopped. Even to his own ears, he sounded like a lunatic, and that was exactly what Valir’s face reflected.
“So, you know the mysterious truth about alchemy. The one that is not being taught in the class for exactly that. After not attending the last few weeks of lessons, getting expelled and fleeing the city. Did I get that right?”
He felt tempted to tell him about his dream now, but that wouldn’t have strengthened his position. So, he just shook his head weakly. “No; I mean yes, kind of. I’m notcertain. I just… want to try.”
Valir looked at him for one moment longer and finally shrugged. “Suit yourself. Oh, by the way: a bard? Really?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted to do?” Kraghtol answered, and could nearly see the wheels turning in the noble’s head.
“Well, yes, but…” he paused, but seemed unable to come up with a proper argument. “It’s unfamiliar. You are not wrong, though; I wanted to stay incognito, so that is as good as anything else, I suppose. I might have to buy an instrument to play the part, though.”
It was hard to believe this was the same Valir he had met in his first lesson. He had seemed so shallow then, and now, Kraghtol discovered more and more unexpected layers to the noble that made the latter more likable every day. By now, he even enjoyed the unexpected company, even when Valir was criticizing him.
What he had said about himself was true as well. Hehadchanged. Earlier, when Dagna had threatened them, he had felt the familiar anger rising deep within him. But it had been easier to control somehow, and once he had looked at his temporary companion, it had naturally transformed into the impulse to protect as if sprinkled with Activator powder. He didn’t understand why, but it had to be his time as Krasen, the human, he reasoned.
“Oh, and speaking of unfamiliar,” Valir interrupted his thoughts. “You’re not sure about your age?”
Kraghtol had almost forgotten about that until Valir reminded him in his mocking voice.
“It’s hard to keep track of time when you’re in a wooden box on a ship,” he said defensively.
“Ah! So it was your birthday, and your twentieth even. A pity you didn’t get to throw a party down there. I imagine you have the wildest celebrations back in Misttree.”
“Mistpine,” Kraghtol corrected, and his face darkened. So much for enjoying the noble’s company.
“Right. Mistpine. What was I thinking?” Valir said. Apparently, he had picked up on Kraghtol’s souring mood, and his next words were decidedly less hostile. “You know, my father actually organized a big party for my twentieth birthday. Not a party, but a ball. He gifted me a second horse. I hated everything about that day. There were about, what, a hundred guests, and I didn’t know half of them. The whole thing wasn’t about me at all. It was a pretense for politics, as it always is.”
He smiled sadly. “Even the horse was part of an intricate deal with the stud farm, involving the son of the Duke riding one of their horses.”
Kraghtol shook his head in disbelief. “So, they gave you ahorse, and you hated it because it was not about you.”
Valir chuckled. “Now you make me sound like a brat. But yes, it’s true. I’d rather have received some genuine affection for once instead of a ball and a horse, but alas. I guess you always want what you can’t get the most, huh?”
Suddenly, Merricks’s buttery cake didn’t seem so bad anymore. At least from his foster father Kraghtolhadreceived genuine affection, if not from many other people.
“I doubt they have suitable horses around here under the mountain, so let’s at least get you something fancy to drink for your birthday. My treat.”
