Chapter 4: Iris, The Alchemist
Lucas slowly opened his eyes to see a woman in her early twenties standing over him. She had brown eyes and long, flowing silver hair. She was dressed in a white robe. Two blue sapphire earrings dangled from her ears as she stared down at him.
“Excellent, you’re awake,” she said with a soft smile.
“Where am I?” Lucas asked. “Who are you?”
“My name is Iris Ivaska,” she replied. “You’re currently located in the town of Azure. A local hunter named Hagan discovered you in the woods nearby struggling to combat a large creature.”
Lucas attempted to sit up but was met with sharp, burning pain. “Ah!” he yelped.
“You must remain still,” Iris informed. “You’ve been wounded greatly. Relax. I’ll return momentarily.” She exited the room.
Carefully lifting his head, Lucas could see that he was in a living room, lying on a sofa. Not far on his left side was a coffee table and beyond that, a lit fireplace. Its warmth was a welcome change from the bitter, freezing climate he had previously endured.
Iris returned several minutes later with a glass and a corked bottle containing a pink liquid. She set the glass on the coffee table beside him. Uncorking the bottle, she poured its contents into the glass. “This will alleviate your pain,” she explained. “Take a sip every few minutes until the glass is empty.”
Lucas took a small sip. It tasted strange. Not bad, but certainly not delicious. “Thank you,” he said. Iris nodded.
Lucas felt calmness in her presence. The sense was much like a pond without ripples; her emotions didn’t seem to stray very far in any direction. It was somewhat similar to the feeling he often got around his grandfather. He found it soothing, especially given his current physical condition. “My name’s Lucas, by the way.”
Iris smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m pleased to see that you haven’t suffered amnesia.”
Lucas chuckled. “Yeah, that’s good to know.” He paused for a moment before going on. “You said a hunter found me? Where did he go? I feel like I should thank him. He saved my life.”
“Unfortunately, he’s been gone for several hours,” Iris responded. “You’ve been unconscious for a considerable duration.”
Lucas sat up quickly and was again hit with an intense pain. “Ahhh!!”
“I highly advise finishing the elixir before attempting to sit up,” she told him.
Lucas slowly turned his head to her. “My grandpa has no idea where I am. I need to go home.”
“I cannot allow you to leave in this condition,” said Iris.
Lucas sighed. Changing the subject, he asked, “So, are you a doctor?”
“Not at all,” she answered. “I’m simply well versed in the field of alchemy. I departed my hometown, Ivyvyne Village, at the age of sixteen to attend Azure College for the Magically Gifted. While my progress was hampered when the school closed temporarily during the monster invasion, classes quickly resumed once the Knowms arrived. I eventually received my degree in alchemy and currently work here, from the comfort of my home. I brew healing potions used by medical doctors, though I am not a doctor myself. Hagan, the man who brought you here, is a good friend of mine. He explained that he carried you to my home since the nearest doctor lives several miles away. He felt that you required immediate treatment, and he was correct to assume so. While you were unconscious, I burned vitam leaves and applied sanatio cream to your wounds.”
“Vitam leaves?” Lucas asked, taking another sip of the pink concoction.
Iris picked up a small dish on the far end of the coffee table containing ashes. “Used in only the most extreme circumstances, these leaves are a key ingredient in Sitaraanju Potion. When burned, they can be ingested through the respiratory system as smoke. However, the leaves are becoming increasingly difficult to attain considering the multitudes of patients which have resulted from the monster invasion.” She walked out of the room with the dish.
It was then that Lucas had an awkward realization. Under the thick warm blanket that rested over him, his clothing was gone with the exception of his undergarment. Lifting the blanket, he inspected the various bandages and bruises which covered him from his chest to his legs. That thing really did a number on me.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Iris said as she reentered the room, “what exactly were you doing out in the wilderness?”
Taking another sip of the elixir, Lucas hesitated to answer. “This is going to be hard to believe,” he finally said, “but bear with me...” He proceeded to tell Iris all about his encounter with Morice, the old man who was murdered by imps. He explained that after he had received the disk fragment he was sent to Roshan, who explained the object to him. “He said it was half of an object called Damiano’s Disk.”
“That’s impossible,” Iris interjected. “Damiano’s Disk is a mythical object.”
Lucas took another sip. “It’s not a myth. Apparently it unlocks some source of power sealed in a temple on Nazareno Island.”
Iris seemed slightly irritated by his response. “The rumors surrounding the structure on Nazareno Island are highly falsified,” she argued. “It’s nothing more than a remnant of an ancient culture. This man claimed he was a member of the Spades guild, correct? They’re thieves, Lucas.”
Lucas shook his head. “You don’t understand. There’s more.” He continued to elaborate, telling Iris all about the Knowms, Lord Quinn’s plot, the true purpose of the Spades, and finally The In Between. After telling her about how he had met Zoe, he could sense that Iris did not believe a single word. Still, he finished his account of what had happened. “...and that’s when I was attacked by that blue thing.”
There was a short pause after he finished his tale. He was taking another sip of the elixir when Iris spoke. “I know this might be difficult for you to understand right now, but I believe you’re suffering from delusions. Likely a result of the trauma you’ve recently endured.”
Lucas sat up. “I’m not delusional!” he protested. “It really happened! I swear!”
Iris looked surprised. “The elixir appears to be working rather quickly on you.” She was right. Lucas had sat up without feeling even a fraction of the pain he had experienced when he first tried.
Though he was relieved to be able to move a little more than before, Lucas was still upset that Iris considered him to be delusional. “If I made the whole thing up in my head, why am I here? It doesn’t make sense!”
Iris shrugged. “I’m uncertain. I apologize if I have offended you, but I simply find it hard to believe.”
With a little more thought, Lucas concluded that it would only be a waste of his time trying to argue with her. Oh well. I know what happened. That’s all that really matters, I guess. “Where are my clothes, anyway?” he asked.
“I put them in the washroom,” Iris answered. “Your pants are damaged, but your shirt, socks, and boots appear to be in good condition. I will wash them before returning them to you, though I would suggest that you purchase a new pair of pants.”
After a little more time had passed, Lucas finally finished the pink elixir. Though Iris did not allow him to leave, insisting he would require several days of rest, he was now able to sit up completely and even walk short distances without experiencing pain. He noticed a bookshelf in the corner and decided to rummage through its contents.
Lucas grabbed a poetry book from the shelf. “My grandpa wrote this,” he said, turning to Iris.
A look of surprise appeared on her face. “Your grandfather is Marvin Bardsson?” Lucas nodded. She smiled. “I absolutely adore his work. He’s a brilliant poet.”
Lucas put the book back. “I’ll tell him to mail you an autograph when I get home.”
He turned his attention to a chess table sitting in the corner. Iris noticed him eying it. “Do you play?” she asked.
Lucas turned to Iris. “Yeah, Grandpa and I play all the time.”
“Care for a game?” she offered, intrigued.
He smiled. “Alright, but I’m warning you, I’m pretty good at this.”
Iris slid the chess table out from the corner and collected two chairs from another room. “Do you prefer white or black?”
Lucas thought for a second. “I’ll play black.” They sat at the table. Lucas examined the board. Across the bottom and top perimeters, letters marked each square. From his side, ‘A’ was marked beneath the rightmost square proceeding to ‘B’ for the next, all the way through ‘H’ on the leftmost. The side perimeters were similar, only they were marked with numbers. ‘8’ was on both sides of the row closest to Lucas’s end, while ‘1’ was marked on the ends closest to Iris. This thing looks a lot fancier than the one we have back home.
Iris began by moving a pawn forward two spaces to E4. Lucas thought carefully for a moment, unsure of which piece he would move first. He decided to move his pawn to E5. The moment he removed his hand from the pawn, Iris quickly slid her queen to H5. “You’re going to risk your queen for a pawn?” Lucas joked. “You should take your time with that thing.” Iris chuckled at the remark. Lucas moved a knight to C6. If she goes after it now, that queen is all mine.
Iris placed a bishop on C4, nodding to indicate it was Lucas’s move. Taking his other knight, Lucas placed it on F6, positioning his piece to take Iris’s queen in his next move. When he removed his hand from the piece, Iris moved her queen to F7 and softly said, “Checkmate.”
Lucas was shocked. “Already?!” He eyed the board. She was right. If he took out the queen with his king, her bishop was in place to capture it. Considering he could not put his king into direct danger and no other pieces were positioned to attack the queen, Iris had won.
“Good game,” she remarked. “Would you like to play again?” Lucas continued to stare blankly at the chess board. Iris smiled and rolled her eyes as she got out of her chair. “It’s only a game, Lucas.”
There was a knock at the front door. Lucas returned the chess pieces to their starting positions as Iris walked to answer it. She opened the door. “Hagan! Come inside. He’s awake.” Lucas turned around to see a large, muscular man in his mid-twenties. He had blue eyes and strong, defined facial features. Dressed in a brown cloak with massive black boots, he removed his hood and revealed that he was completely bald. He walked inside as Iris closed the door behind him. Lucas got a similar feeling from Hagan as he did from Iris. It was somewhat different in a way that was hard for him to comprehend, but he could understand why they were good friends.
“How’re you feeling?” Hagan asked. “That thing gave you a pretty good ass kicking.”
Lucas slowly got up and approached him. “I’m doing alright. I can’t thank you enough for saving my life.” He extended his hand. “Lucas Bardsson.”
Hagan took his hand with a mighty grip and shook it. “Hagan Caine. Don’t mention it. You’re just lucky I was in the area. I’m surprised you’re even walking.”
“As am I,” Iris commented. “I find it quite intriguing that he was capable of walking after merely one bottle of Anodynum Elixir.” She turned to Lucas. “I had expected that it would take several doses over a period of days to achieve such results.”
Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just lucky.”
Hagan eyed Lucas. “Any reason you’re still half naked?”
Lucas felt slightly embarrassed. He had completely forgotten that his clothing had been removed.
Seeing the look on his face, Iris explained, “I have not had a chance to wash his clothing.”
Hagan chuckled, casually walking toward the kitchen. “You got any ‘magic potions’ in here that’ll get me drunk, Iris?”
She followed him into the other room. “I do not participate in the consumption of alcohol! You’re well aware of this! Why would you suggest such a ridiculous idea?”
Lucas heard Hagan laugh from the kitchen as he heartily said, “I’m just messing with you! Calm down, I brought my own flask.”
Shortly after the pair had left the room, Lucas went back to the bookshelf. I guess I’ll find something to read to pass the time. His grandpa’s book caught his eye. I hope you’re alright Grandpa. I’m sorry about all of this. Scanning the shelf, a particular book grasped his attention entitled, The Basics of Light Magic. Remembering his conversation with Zoe in the In Between, he took the book and sat down on the couch.