The Alchemist's Practice Chapter 3

Her eyes always captivated him. As blue as the sky, even in the dimmest light, but only on the surface. It only happened on rainy days or rarely when the clouds were just right, but Wynn's eyes were a fierce smokey grey. Not many seemed to notice, or if they did, none had mentioned it when they were young.

She set down a tray of meals she had in hand, nervously adjusted her chestnut hair, and took a step forward. "It is you? Isn't it?"

Edric tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. The sight of her, and his exhausted state, struck him dumb. He could do nothing but nod his head.

She stepped forward again, hesitant, and then with what seemed a burst of her old adventurous spirit, she leaped towards him and enveloped him in a hug.

She smelled of ale and sweat, but strangely not in a foul way. It brought him memories of running through the brook behind his parent's home in search of the fae. He remembered trees and moss and fresh water and raw strawshrooms under a noonday sun filtering through leaves. She smelled of home.

After composing himself, Edric returned the embrace. Wynn held onto him as though he were a steer about to bolt.

"Welcome home," she said.

She looked up at him, her grey-blue eyes shining, and then she pulled back from the embrace, suddenly looking embarrassed.

"Sorry, Edric, I just… It uhh,"

Edric smiled. "It's been too long, Wynn."

Wynn seemed to regain her wits and returned the smile. "Yea, too long." Her smile turned into her old wry grin, and she placed one hand on her hip. "Least you could have done was write a letter now and again."

Edric felt a sudden pang of nerves. "I suppose I should have. I hope my parents passed along some of my messages, at least?"

She nodded her head as her mouth turned into a line, and she suddenly looks as though she didn't know what to say.

"Wynn!" One of the patrons at the bar called. "Where's that mutton? Fillith will come to wilt my rose afore long."

Wynn leaned to one side to speak around Edric, and Edric instinctively moved aside as well. "Shut it, Cole, you'll have it soon enough. I've got a customer 'ere." Cole waved his hand and turned back around in his seat. Wynn gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I wish I could catch up right now, Ed, but I've got to get back to it."

Edric shook his head. "No, no, alls well. I actually came in to get a room. The journey took its toll." Though he said it was fine, from the sight of her, his exhaustion seemed to have waned a bit, and he felt he could have talked with her for hours.

"There's plenty free. Take the farthest on the right on the second floor. It's the quietest," Wynn said with a wink before picking her tray up again and taking the food over to the patrons.

Edric watched her for a moment, then picked up his things and went to the room she had mentioned on the second floor.

The room was small but not much smaller than his room in Sybold. Cozy, in the way an old country inn could only be. It had a bed, side table, a writing table, and a tall wardrobe next to a washbasin in the corner. At the back, there was a window facing the road to Tishani, where he could see the wagon he had just left.

No sooner than Edric dropped his things on the floor and sat down in the bed did his exhaustion hit him again suddenly and with force. He laid his head down and closed his eyes, letting the bed take him to a dreamless sleep.

…

A hard banging against the door woke Edric from his sleep. As his eyes adjusted, he began remembering where he was, and he rose to his feet to answer the door. When he opened the door, he questioned in his mind just who it could be knocking when only Wynn knew he had arrived.

When he opened the door, he saw two faces that looked slightly familiar to him. One had brown hair, a square jaw and muscular features, while the other was blonde with an angular chin and spectacles.

"Garrick? Kennard?" Edric exclaimed when it finally dawned on him.

"Didn't forget us did you?" Garrick, the muscular one, said with a grin spread across his face.

The shock wore away, and Edric matched Garrick's enthusiasm. "How could I forget reasons one and two for leaving?"

Garrick's jaw went slack, but after Kennard chuckled, his grin returned, and he stormed into the room. "C'mere, and I'll give you a third reason to leave," he said with mock severity.

Garrick picked Edric up off the floor in a great bear hug as he laughed boisterously and full of mirth.

Kennard was far more reserved and watched to spectacle unfold as he leaned on the doorframe with crossed arms and a smirk.

After a few seconds, Edric said, "Alright, Garrick, if you don't want my lunch coming back up, you'd best set me down."

Garrick's laugh turned into a guffaw as he set Edric down and slapped him on the back. Kennard stepped forward and placed a hand on Edric's shoulder.

"Good to have you back," he said.

"Glad to be back," Edric replied.

Garrick was unable to contain himself any longer, and this time he grabbed both of them up in his massive arms into one embrace.

"As you can see, Garrick hasn't changed," Kennard said.

"You can't change a rose's colour, as they say," Edric added.

Garrick beamed. "So why try?" he said as he finally let his friends down. "Now, who wants a drink?"

"I think I need one after that. Lead the way, friends."

The three reunited companions went down to the inn's dining room. They took a seat in a secluded corner with a bit of privacy. It was the time of night where the whole town would soon be filtering in after a long day's work, and Edric's friends instinctively knew better than make him the centre of attention. That, or they simply wanted some time alone to catch up without interruptions from those wishing to pass the white to Edric. There would be time enough for that later.

Before long, Wynn stopped by to take their orders. Edric's friends made no mention of him being there, telling him that Wynn was the one who let them know he'd arrived. Garrick ordered double rashers of bacon, a heap of mash, and double mixed local vegetables, with a tankard of pale ale on the side. Kennard ordered bread, dried meats, cheese, and wine.

"And for you, Edric? We don't have anything as fancy as they might in Sybold, but everything's hearty and proper for after a long trip."

"Any fish today?" he asked.

"How about a fried cod?"

"I'll have it, half as many sides as Garrick ordered, and some of that stout I smell," he said with a smile and a wink.

Wynn grinned and winked back at him. "It's yours," she said.

After Wynn left, Garrick's brow was raised, and he tried to suppress a laugh.

"What?" Edric asked.

"Oh, nothin," he said first, then continued. "Just haven't seen Wynn smile like that in a while." Garrick looked from Kennard to Edric and back a couple times before he ribbed Edric. "I wonder why that might be." He winked the raised one brow, mocking.

"Come now," Edric protested. "She's not even as happy as you are to see me. It's normal."

Garrick shook his head but didn't say another word. Kennard changed the subject.

"So, how goes your studies?" Kennard, ever the scholar, leaned in with an ear perked Edric's way.

"It is well," Edric replied. "I'm in my final year of apprenticeship with a master Alchemist in Sybold. We make potions and salves and treat the sick and injured."

Wynn came back with their drinks in tow. She passed them out quickly and deftly before moving on to another table.

Edric looked at the dark black drink and the caramel head with a longing. He smelled the stout first, and it gave a chocolatey aroma as the bubbles at the top tickled his nose. He knew a little of brewing from his own work and knew that this dark aroma was only possible from a long roast of the grains.

It was by far his favourite drink, and this did not disappoint. It reminded him of a high-end coffee house his master took him to that served coffee with dark liquid chocolate. The coffee he'd had was too expensive to have any more than a few times a year, but a chocolate stout was the next best thing.

After they'd all had a sip of their drinks, with Edric taking noticeably longer to savour his, Kennard spoke up again. "So you majored in Alchemy?"

"It seemed the most practical at the time. What area doesn't need a healer?"

Garrick grunted in agreement. "Here is no exception. Why, we could have certainly used one back when old Jeb's leg soured. We sent word to Tishani, but before a healer arrived, he'd passed. His family were right devesta…" Garrick trailed off as his eyes wandered to Kennard.

Edric followed Garrick's gaze, and Kennard was glaring at Garrick with such intensity one could mistake it for the eyes of Fillith. The silence between the three soon became tense as his old friends didn't know how to move back to a more light conversation or dispel the awkwardness.

Edric cleared his throat. "We all know why I'm here," he said after a moment. "It's no secret, and so there's no sense in tiptoeing about it." He looked at his friends, but they still couldn't meet his eye. "I am well, see?" He grabbed hold of Garrick's shoulder to take the man's attention before chuckling. "The weariness you see is from the trip. It's been nigh on a month since I received the news. My sadness has withered and gone."

Kennard spoke first. "Then let us be done with it," he said as he slapped his leg to give the statement more finality. "A white rose to you, my old friend. May this time pass swiftly so you can finish blooming in Sybold as intended."

"A white rose to you, Edric," Garrick looked as though he wanted to say more but stopped himself and instead gave a weak smile that showed his sorrow and placed a hand on Edric's.

"Yynndal's blessing on you both," he said. "There, now that we have that out of the way," Edric grinned, "let's drink."

Garrick and Kennard both smiled and lifted their glasses together. The three went back to catching up with each other after Edric's long absence. They reminisced, filling their hearts and bellies, as though not a day had gone by.

In a night filled with more drinks than any of them were able to count, Edric learned all the local gossip, congratulated Kennard on his marriage and his firstborn, and laughed more than he had in a long time.

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Thanks for reading Chapter 3. Please be sure to heart it at the bottom and share it with friends. If you like this then check out www.mcleansnovels.com to see my full length novels.

I don't really know what else to put in this space, so I'll mention how, at the time of writing this, I've been listening to the audiobook version of the Earthsea series. The narrator is great, except for the voice he gave a dragon. For some reason he chose the dragon to have a shrill voice which didn't seem to suit something like that. The book itself is interesting, and I can see why the Earthsea series has been inspiration for other authors.