When they returned to the familiar sight of Aiden's new vehicle, the trailer had already been unloaded.
Six basic sleeping spots had been set up with blankets and mats arranged around the camp. In the center of them, a small fire crackled away. It was not roaring yet, but give it a few minutes and it would be doing its best impression of a proper campfire.
Everyone found a seat on their various bedrolls while Kaelen pulled out the traveling rations Selene had grabbed on the way back from the inn.
The meal was a variety of nuts, dried berries, and strips of beef jerky.
It was not exactly a tavern dinner, but it was food. Sometimes that was the best praise rations could hope for.
They all ate quietly for a while before Liora broke the silence.
"That trapdoor was a bit out of the way," she said, looking toward Thalia. "May I ask how you found it?"
Thalia looked up.
"System."
A blue window opened in front of her.
Name: Thalia Platinum
Age: 39
Race: Dwarf
Class: Puppeteer - LV. 5
XP: 8,512 / 9,000
HP: 18 / 18
Mana: 35 / 62
Stats:
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 28
Charisma: 10
Soul Skill:
Clairvoyant Puppet Show (D)
25 Mana per Puppet
If Thalia possesses a puppet with a recognizable likeness of a specific individual, the puppet will mimic the exact movements and actions of that individual for 1 minute.
Skills:
Mana Strings (E)
5 Mana per 15 ft.
The Puppeteer creates mana strings from their fingertips, functioning like thin steel wires used for control and manipulation. Up to 30 feet of these strings can be generated as an action, allowing the Puppeteer to tether to objects or creatures within range.
String Utilization (E)
Passive
The Puppeteer gains greater control over their strings, allowing them to connect to targets, manipulate objects, or use their strings for grappling and positioning.
Marionetting Fingers (E)
10 Mana
As a reaction or action, the Puppeteer may attempt to either move a target or redirect their attack toward another target. This skill enhances the Puppeteer's battlefield control, allowing them to manipulate enemies effectively.
Vibration Sense (E)
Passive
The Puppeteer gains tremor sense within the range of their mana strings, allowing them to detect movement or presence in the area the strings occupy. This enhances battlefield awareness and makes it difficult for enemies to approach unnoticed.
Aiden looked over the skills for a moment.
Thalia pointed down to her Vibration Sense skill.
"When I deploy my strings, I am able to detect my surroundings through them. When I was gathering sticks for the fire earlier, I used my strings instead of running around and searching manually. I detected a hollow space underground, then followed it to where it led to a flight of stairs. Does this answer your question?"
The way she said it was not accusatory.
It was not even mean.
It was simple. Matter-of-fact. Efficient.
Somehow, that made it harder to respond to.
Liora seemed a bit flustered, but before she could say anything else, Jax cut in like he was trying to throw himself between two wagons before they crashed.
"So, how are we doing guard shifts tonight?"
Kaelen finished off a strip of beef jerky and turned to his dried berries next.
"Well, since Aiden and Thalia were up all day driving and navigating, I would say they should take the first shift. That way, we can wake them later in the morning, and they will be well-rested for the drive tomorrow."
Aiden quietly chewed on his own piece of jerky.
That worked well enough for him.
He could keep an eye on Thalia and still get a good amount of sleep.
"D-do we have any way of knowing what to expect in the dungeon tomorrow?" Selene asked, chewing on some cashews.
"I believe it will be related to the undead," Thalia said.
Everyone turned to her.
Liora narrowed her eyes.
"How would you possibly know that? Are you sure you didn't open the dungeon already?"
"It is because of the graves I saw underground," Thalia replied. "I believe the dungeon formed from an item buried with someone who died. Thus, the inhabitants of the dungeon may be related to the undead."
Everyone stared at her for a moment.
Aiden tried to focus on eating dinner.
How do you just say something like that so matter-of-factly?
Conversation seemed to die after that.
Once everyone finished eating, the others began settling down for sleep. Thalia and Aiden remained awake for the first watch.
Liora gave Aiden a meaningful look before pulling her blanket up and lying down.
Subtle.
Very subtle.
Aiden took the opportunity to pull out sixteen stalks of Amrans and eight stalks of Cofrail. He set them aside, then reached into his bag and pulled out his mortar, pestle, and small cauldron.
"Can you watch the camp for a moment?" Aiden asked, standing. "I'm going to grab some sticks to make a spit."
Thalia nodded.
Aiden made his way toward the edge of the forest.
Night had settled over the area, and less and less light remained to see by. It took him a few minutes, but he gathered the sticks he needed and brought them back to camp.
Once there, he started trying to make a makeshift spit over the fire.
"If you would like, I can use my strings to tie it together for extra strength," Thalia said, walking over to stand beside him.
Aiden paused.
He tried to think of some ulterior motive she could have for helping him tie sticks together.
After a few seconds, he came up with nothing except the terrifying possibility that she simply wanted to be helpful.
He nodded.
Thalia sat down and began forming strings from her fingers. She worked quietly, tying the ends together with neat, precise movements. After a few moments, the spit was finished and set over the fire with the cauldron hanging from it.
Aiden was surprised by how dark the night had become.
The only light beyond their camp came from the faint colors in the sky outlining the trees and the stars overhead. Their fire acted almost like a beacon, which made him a bit nervous.
Trying to get his mind off that, Aiden began grinding the Amrans and Cofrail.
Thalia stared at him as he worked.
Aiden paused.
"Do… do you need something?"
"I apologize," Thalia said. "I have never seen alchemy being done before and am curious to see how it works. May I ask what potion you are brewing?"
"Well, since we're going into a dungeon tomorrow, I figured I would make some healing potions."
Thalia looked from the herbs to the cauldron.
"If it would not be too much trouble, could I attempt to make one?"
Aiden was a bit surprised by the request.
The others knew he practiced alchemy, but none of them had ever shown much interest in it beyond being happy when his potions stopped them from dying.
A suspicious part of his mind whispered that she was trying to butter him up.
Another part of him asked what harm there was in letting her try.
He had extra herbs.
He reached into his bag, grabbed two more stalks of Amrans and one Cofrail, and set them aside for her. He made a mental note that he only had two Amrans left and needed to restock soon.
Then he reached into his bag and pulled out the six vials of Liquid Crystal he had prepared ahead of time, along with three more empty vials.
Holding his hand over the empty vials, he focused.
You have used skill Liquid Crystal Consolidation (E).
You have used skill Liquid Crystal Consolidation (E).
You have used skill Liquid Crystal Consolidation (E).
The familiar sensation of mana draining from his body settled in as sparkling clear liquid poured from his finger and filled each vial.
Aiden handed one vial to Thalia along with the herbs.
"The first step for a basic healing potion is gathering the three ingredients. One vial of Liquid Crystal, two Amrans, and one Cofrail. From there, you grind the herbal ingredients into a powder before adding them to the cauldron with the Liquid Crystal. Then you let it heat for thirty minutes before cooling and bottling it."
Thalia looked over the ingredients.
"This seems rather simple. May I ask why more people do not pursue alchemy if potions can be made with so few ingredients?"
"There are three main reasons," Aiden said as he added his own ingredients to the cauldron. "The first is that unless you have the alchemist class, you have to buy Liquid Crystal, and it can go bad if left too long."
He held up a finger.
"The second is that while E-rank potions are simple, higher-rank potions get more complex. I have even heard that some B-rank potions need other potions as ingredients."
He raised another finger.
"The third reason is practice. Why would someone buy Liquid Crystal, gather or buy the ingredients, and spend time practicing a recipe when they could buy the finished potion for only a few gold more?"
As he finished, he handed the mortar and pestle to Thalia.
She began grinding the herbs.
Her method was forceful.
Very forceful.
Aiden could see chunks being mashed instead of properly ground, but he did not stop her. That was how he had learned. One or two failed batches could teach a person a lot.
At least, that was what his grandfather had said after one of Aiden's early attempts had created a smell that forced them to leave the house for an hour.
Once Thalia finished mixing her herbs, they had to wait for Aiden's cauldron to finish before she could add her own batch.
"Would you know how one discovers potion recipes?" Thalia asked. "It seems like there must have been a lot of trial and error."
Aiden chuckled.
Maybe it was because, for once, he knew more than someone else and was the one explaining, but it felt kind of nice.
"There was, but each herb has different things it can do even without being made into a potion. Take Amrans, for example. They can be placed under a wrapping to help stop infections and bleeding. Cofrail is known to be eaten to speed up the healing process."
He gestured to the ingredients.
"So while it was probably a lot of trial and error, the plants themselves give little clues based on what they already do."
Thalia nodded.
When the potion finished heating, Aiden poured the completed healing potions into bottles and placed them carefully along the side of his bag.
With nine healing potions prepared, he felt much more confident about attempting the dungeon.
Not completely confident.
That would be foolish.
But confident enough that his imagination had stopped immediately jumping to skeletons gnawing on his bones.
Thalia added her ground herbs and Liquid Crystal into the cauldron and began to stir.
And stir.
And stir.
Aiden watched.
Part of him wanted to tell her to let it settle.
He stayed silent.
Experience could be the teacher.
When she finished, the liquid inside was not the simmering red mixture a healing potion should have been. Instead, the herbs and Liquid Crystal seemed to be refusing to mix, almost separating from each other in stubborn clumps.
Thalia looked it over before turning to him.
"Why did it not work? Did I do something wrong?"
Aiden was a bit surprised by the question.
He had expected her to ask for more herbs and try again, not ask what went wrong. The System window should have told her.
"Well, doesn't the System window tell you what steps failed?"
Thalia shook her head.
"No System window appeared for me."
Aiden got up and walked over to the cauldron.
As he looked inside, a window appeared.
Alchemy Attempt - Basic Healing Potion (E)
Attempt Status - Failed
Stage Status:
Grinding - Failed
Reason - Chunks
Heating - Passed
Mixing - Failed
Reason - Overmixed
Thalia looked at the window, then back at Aiden.
"I believe the alchemy attempt report may be something that appears specifically for alchemists."
"I think you may be onto something there," Aiden said with a nod.
The herbs were ruined, so they tossed them out. Then they poured away the tainted Liquid Crystal.
They waited for another two hours.
Thalia, seeming satisfied that she had at least attempted alchemy, did not ask to try again.
When the fire began to die down, signaling that their shift was over, they woke Liora and Kaelen for the next watch.
Liora woke up easily. She sat up, stretched, and started poking at the fire before adding more sticks for her shift.
Kaelen, on the other hand, had to have water from a canteen splashed on him before he woke up.
Aiden was starting to suspect that priests of love and family were not morning people.
As Aiden and Thalia settled onto their mats, he thought about Thalia's attempt at alchemy.
Honestly, he did not think she was bad.
Weird, sure.
Hard to read, definitely.
But not bad.
If anything, he was more curious about what made Liora so on edge around her.
That could wait until morning.
For now, Aiden was tired, his mana felt hollowed out, and no one had elbowed him in the stomach in at least several hours.
By his current standards, that counted as a peaceful night.