The Brewer's Ascent - Chapter 2

Exiting the hunter’s guild, Cassia felt the embrace of darkness. The sky over head an inky blackness devoid of light.

The buildings of Jaskar city were decorated with a light purple stone that emitted a soothing light that served to fight off the darkness. And, along the streets of the city, caged fire served to illuminate the path.

Despite having spent his whole life in the darkness of Orgas, Cassia still felt unnerved by the pitch of the world’s eternal night.

Rummaging through his close, the drow found the purple lightstone wand that he always carried. His breathing mellowed as he pulled out the wand and found his way more easily on Jaskar’s streets.

The drow man thought about the next mission that he would be undertaking with his partner Clay. He’d never pursued a B rank mission before. The last assignment he’d taken with Clay, the crimson dart frog mission had been as difficult an assignment as he’d ever done. And, now, he’d be undertaking a task to eliminate flame elementals.

He thought about the aquastone bombs he’d need for this mission. He didn’t have any of the stones on hand, so he’d need to purchase some from the reagent store.

Determining his first destination, Cassia made his way to the vendor.

Along his path he encountered numerous people as eager as he to find refuge from the darkness in one of the buildings that lined the city streets. A few of them carried a similar lightstone wand to his own, illuminating their path. But, the majority of the people plodded along in darkness.

The drow man thought about his friends goal of leaving Orgas. It seemed ludicrous to the drow to leave this world behind. It had been his home since birth. He didn’t know what the worlds beyond the firmament were like. The dangers to be encountered in traveling beyond his known horizon were daunting to the elf.

Making his way through the city, Cassia found his way to the familiar buildings of the trade quarter.

Turning down the street he followed the path until he found the building he was looking for. The purple lightstone that served to illuminate the buildings outhlined the door for him.

At the doors side a sign read ‘Wolfred’s Reagents’ in the purple light.

Cassia walked up to the door and with a turn of the handle entered the building where he purchased his supplies.

“Welcome.” Came a disembodied voice from the depths of the store.

“Hello.” Cassia called out to the voice.

Along the shelves a large number of exotic items populated the store. Various plants and dusts were bottled on the shelves. Cassia examined the arrayed items in the illumination of the lightstone that decorated the insides of the building.

He’d seen the items before, dusts and vegetation. Tinctures filled with essences. Many of the items far exceeded his price range.

Cassia wandered deeper into the building until he found a wall filled with ores. This was what he had come here for.

Numerous ores filled out the shelves. The drow recognized most of them. Each carrying a different coloration denoting a certain aspect of its nature.

Scanning the assorted ores, Cassia found the blue aquastone ore that held water elemental properties. Picking up a jar of the powdered ore he thought about the refinement process that he would use on it.

“Ah, good day Cassia.” A voice called out from behind the drow man.

The elf turned to the voice. “Good day, Wolfred.”

“So, what can I help you with?” The friendly man asked.

Cassia looked up from the blue powder in the jar to the smiling face of a bearded man of significant age. His beard cascaded down in knotted tufts of white hair under his curled lips. A shining gleam struck the top of his bald head as the man assessed the item that Cassia had picked up.

“Well, this is what I was interested in purchasing.” Cassia held the jar up to the elderly man’s eyes.

“Aquastone. Interesting choice. If you were planning a long trip, you could just bring some flasks of water with you.”

“Actually, I’m going to brew something up with this ore.” The drow said.

Wolfred raised an eyebrow at the elf’s words. “Okay then, will you be needing anything else for your recipe.”

Cassia thought about the question, “Some dragon’s hair should do me.”

“Right.” The elderly man wandered deeper into the store while Cassia fell in step after him.

Finding the item he was looking for the bearded man picked up a jar from one of the shelves and said, “Will this amount do?”

Cassia looked at the jar appraisingly. “Yes, thank you.”

The pair of men found their way to a counter where various papers were strewn about. The proprietor of the store wrote down some figures for the items Cassia was purchasing and quoted the elf a price.

An exchange of coin shortly followed and Cassia expressed his gratitude to the owner of the reagent store. “Thank you, Wolfred.”

“Of course, please come again.

Satisfied with the transaction, Cassia turned from the elderly man. And, passing a great variety of reagents on his way, left the reagent store for the darkness of Jaskar’s city streets.

With the reagents tucked securely under his coat, the drow hurriedly pulled out his lightstone wand and began to walk in the direction of the brewer’s guild.

He never could get used to the darkness of his home. He thought about Clay and Celeste’s insane plan to leave Orgas. Perhaps he was exaggerating the dangers of such a journey.

Like so many others, Cassia had heard the fables of the Calamity that had separated the worlds. The firmament had been established eons ago to divide the armies of the gods.

So long ago, Cassia’s own ancestors had been trapped in this darkness. For him this darkness was home. But, the drow had at one time thrived under a sun. Cassia couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for his forebears.

The notion of traveling with his friend Clay into the worlds beyond scared the elf. Were he to join his partner in his travels he might never return.

Cassia thought about the family that he would be leaving behind. A dispassionate family, already disconnected for years. His father and mother were uninterested in the affairs of their youngest child. And, his siblings had no interested in his life.

In truth, his leaving would likely go unnoticed by most anybody he knew.

Cassia was lost in thought as he traveled through the dark streets of Jaskar. His path was leading him to the brewer’s guild where he would refine his aquastone bomb.

The guild hall was relatively close to the reagent store, and Cassia soon found himself walking up to the familiar building.

Opening the door, Cassia walked into the well lit hall. Wafting over to him came the strange aromas of a brewer’s concoction. The drow didn’t recognize the smell. But, that was hardly surprising. The men and women who conducted their business here were always brewing something new and exotic.

At a desk across from the door sat a portly human male. Looking up from his work, the man acknowledged the newcomers presence with a nod.

Returning the man’s nod, Cassia turned into the hall. A number of his fellows busied themselves with meals and drink, while others were occupied at arrays of cauldrons. The drow man turned in the direction of the open tables, eager to begin his work.

Fortunately for him the aquastone he’d purchased had come in powdered form. It would be a simple matter of mixing the ore with the dragon’s hair.

Dragon’s hair didn’t actually come from dragons. Instead, it was a highly combustible herb that grew on the Orgas plains. Combining the herb with some metal shavings would create an incindiary reaction that would set off the aquastone.

Finding an open table, Cassia busied himself with a mortar and pestle refining the dragon’s hair. Fortunately the drow had the necessary metal shavings as well as vials that he could layer the reagents in.

As he worked, he felt the satisfaction of making something new. His family had never been interested in the practice of brewing. Though he had always felt an affinity potions and powders.

Filling up the small vials, Cassia layered the ore and the incendiary herb. Before long he had spent all the ore and dragon’s hair and had a tidy number of aquastone bombs to use on the flame elementals.

Tucking all the vials into his coat, Cassia got up from his seat and made his way to the door. It was time to return to Clay at the hunter’s guild.

“Take care.” Came the voice of the portly receptionist.

Cassia thought about his next mission, he would need to be careful. “Yes, thanks.” He said to the man as he walked out into Jaskar’s eternal night.

The drow man hurried through the dark streets, led by the illumination of his lightstone wand. He could only imagine what it would be like under a sky filled with light.

His travel through the city went smoothly as he neared the hunter’s guild. He would be meeting up with Clay soon and then they would engage in the difficult flame elemental mission. He had never engaged in a B rank mission before. The previous mission with his partner had been as difficult as he had done. The risks were real. But, Clay had succeeded in taking down the outlaw Hamor. He was sure that if Clay was with him he’d be successful in the hunt.

Walking up to the door to the guild hall, Cassia reached for the door handle and opened the door. Inside a woman sat at the receptionist’s desk, busying herself with an assortment of paperwork. He recognized her. This was Mindy, an enthusiastic human.

“Welcome.” Mindy said as Cassia entered the building.

“Hello.”

Turning to the dining hall, Cassia scanned the room for his partner. Unfortunately, Clay was nowhere to be seen.

Cassia decided to take a seat and wait for the man.

Seated, he looked to the waitress, “Excuse me. One ale, please.”

The woman gave him a nod and turned to the back room.

Left to himself, Cassia pondered where Clay could be. It was possible he was sleeping upstairs. After his drink, he’d ask Mindy which room the man stayed in. But, first, he’d enjoy his drink.

“If it isn’t Cassia.” A voice disturbed his musings.

Looking up, he saw the man that stood before him. It was a drow elf male.

“Hello Gregory.” Cassia greeted the man.

“May I?” The drow gestured to a chair across from Cassia.

“Of course.”

Pulling the chair out, Gregory seated himself. Cassia looked to the back room, hoping his drink would arrive soon.

“So, what have you been up to recently?” The newcomer asked.

Cassia thought about his answer, “I’ve developed a new tincture using the glands of crimson dart frogs. If thrown at an enemy it will encase the target in a sticky fluid that will inhibit movement.”

Gregory thought about the words Cassia had spoken. “Interesting. But, aren’t the crimson dart frogs a C ranked mission. Last I heard, you were stuck in the D ranks.”

Cassia tensed at the reminder of his low tier success. In truth, if not for Clay he would not have been successful in the previous hunt. He’d tried to hunt the crimson dart frogs numerous times before with no success.

“Yes, well, I’ve found myself a partner. We took on the mission successfully together.”

Gregory looked penetratingly at Cassia, “That’s good. Glad you’ve found someone to carry you.”

Cassia’s breath caught as the waitress returned with his ale. “Here you go.”

Gregory stood up from his seat and said, “Alright then, just checking up on you. I’ll let you enjoy your drink in peace.”

“Happy hunting.” The man said as he turned to leave.

Cassia stared down at his ale, his mood soured. Sighing to himself, the drow man lifted the drink to his lips and took a swig of the ale.