The Potion of Life

Randar

Randar thinks bitterly, "He did it, he's king now." The past three years have completely transformed his life. It all began at his brother Timel's 24th birthday party, where he met Nubé Savos. Nubé was the first person in his life to take him seriously. His father would have preferred that he had never existed. He preferred only Timel and a life with Celine Filony. 

None of his mother's family ever gave him a fair chance. His aunt, Astrid, only spoke to him when there was no other choice, and her daughter, Kimana, also paid him little attention. She clearly took her mother's side, as she looked at him, Ugmar, and Timel with a bitter gaze. Her current husband, Gorult Soyfeld, is also much too old for her. Kimana is 38, and he is 63. 

Randar doesn't understand why Astrid paired her daughter with someone like him.Not every Filony completely ignored him. Herald was someone who had no problem with him, but Randar felt that you could never have a decent conversation with him.

Then there was Alissa Roffiret, Kimana and Herald's grandmother. He has only seen her twice, yet she has shown him more love than his own father. She considers him her great-grandchild, which he is. She is currently 88 years old, and Randar hopes to see her again someday. However, due to her old age, she stays in Toro and will never come to Clarus on her own.

He had a special relationship with Timel. They always liked each other as brothers, but thanks to their father, there was more distance between them over the years. Randar sees his brother every night before falling asleep. He just can't forget how Timel transformed into a gigantic bow before his eyes. What has he done? Was the throne really worth it to him? Nubé used him, and now he has to collect the three objects for him. He has no idea why Nubé wants the three objects. If he has all three, Nubé could technically become the new king of Borgon.

However, he is fairly certain that this is not Nubé's goal. Nubé wants the objects for another reason, but he doesn't know what.The last year Ugmar lived was actually the best year he had with his father. Ugmar continued to search for Timel until shortly before his death. He kept paying people to find his son. Initially, he believed that this would help Timel regain his status as crown prince, later to be able to bury his son. As Ugmar got sicker, he let go of his resentment towards Randar.

During the last months of his life, Ugmar came to realize that he had treated Randar too harshly. He wanted to properly prepare his son for the impending kingship but also build a connection with him.Because Ugmar apologized, Randar feels like a worse person every day. His father finally loved him, just as he was responsible for the disappearance of his eldest son. When Ugmar died, Randar was in mourning.

The crown that came to his head mattered little to him. Nubé made it clear that it was thanks to him that Randar is king. Nubé has the power to claim that he made Timel disappear. Nubé also has Timel lying somewhere as a bow in his country estate. Randar realizes that if he does not listen to Nubé, he can simply break the bow, and his brother will be dead. To prevent this from ever happening, Randar has decided to obtain the three objects. 

He does this not only for Timel but also because he fears for his own life. Nubé promised him that when he has all three objects in his possession, he will leave him alone. He wants nothing more than to be left alone. The sooner Nubé disappears, the sooner Randar will have peace of mind.The first object he thought of was Duke Jordaan Frasiër's red gemstone. 

Jordaan has a bad reputation since the incident in the city of Morala, where a fourth of the population died in a single day, and no one knows why. However, many people blame Jordaan for this. If Jordaan were to lose the gemstone, few people would care, Randar thinks. His own people want a different duke, so they might even welcome such a disappearance. 

To obtain the gemstone, Randar ensured that he made contact with Kurt Holger, the leader of the Schatzenheimer gang located in the city of Uzés.Uzés is in the Batavia realm and is known for its crime.

The different criminal gangs have more power there than the city's count. Everyone knows this in Borgon, and that's why most people avoid the city. However, a gang of thieves is ideal for stealing Jordaan's gemstone. Randar made sure that Kurt Holger learned that the king of Borgon wanted to meet him. 

He met with Kurt outside the city walls of Clarus and gave him the task. Kurt would receive a reward of a thousand ducats. Two hundred and fifty were given upfront, and the rest would be delivered once he had the gemstone in his possession.However, three weeks have passed, and Randar has not heard from Kurt Holger. He knows that a week ago, there was a break-in at Jordaan's castle, and the gemstone was missing. Randar is sure that Kurt and his gang are responsible for this. However, after that, Kurt and the gemstone vanished into thin air. 

Randar must have the gemstone, or he does not know how Nubé will react. It could be possible that Kurt has simply returned to Uzés to his gang. Maybe he wants to resell the gemstone or even become the duke of the Batavia realm. To be sure of where the gemstone is at this moment, Randar needs to send people to the Schatzenheimer hideout.

Randar himself does not know where the hideout is, only that it is located somewhere in Uzés. However, there is a man who has a residence in Uzés who can find this out. That man is François Oudenhuysen, a name that Randar has known all his life. 

Oudenhuysen is perhaps the most famous trader in all of Midbad. Every king in Midbad has spoken to Oudenhuysen at some point. He is a man with a lot of ambition and someone who always makes good deals. He is someone with a lot of connections, and therefore he can get a lot done, all for the right price. Oudenhuysen should be able to find out what happened after the theft of the gemstone. Randar even sees him capable of obtaining the gemstone from the Schatzenheimer base if it is there. For these reasons, Oudenhuysen is coming to Clarus today to negotiate. 

The only thing Randar is afraid of is the price Oudenhuysen will ask for this.