Alchemist's Cookbook

Page 7

       First, a spare tome. I happened to have the one from the armored Fisch I had dealt with on Earth. I had already translated it to my other tome, though I was missing one key element, Royal Amber. According to the tome, the protagonist found some in a desert, within the last drop of sap from a bush Ent’s heart. It doesn’t get much more specific than that. Of course, from what I can tell on the Fisch Wiki no one has ever heard of such a thing. Yes, there is a Fisch Wiki. According to June it is about as reliable as Wikipedia, but it provides a name and illustration. Besides, I can always fix it up.

       I really hit the tomes for supplies. I even returned Wally’s tome and looked for a few others for anything pertaining to supplies. Fortunately one particular Fisch had a habit of taking ANYTHING of value with him, and another was a water carrier for desert warfare. I quickly transcribed the information and by the end of the day had a dimensional pack and canteen, each of which could hold much more than what their size would suggest, but they were each a little heavier than one would think because of what was actually in them.

       “Hey, what’cha doing?”

       I glanced over at May who had walked in. “Packing.”

       “That desert trip with Casita?” She asked. “Sounds like fun.”

       “Are you coming?”

       “Nah, too awkward. You know, we dated for a few days.” She paused. “I was new here, he was showing me around, it just didn’t work though.”

       “But you have me now, right?”

       She kissed me. “Of course, be careful out there.”

       I kissed her back. “Don’t worry. Who knows, maybe we’ll find something useful.”

      

       When everything was prepared I got a call and met Casita right next to the wall.

       “Jason, good to see you.” He said, making some sort of hand gesture I didn’t recognize. I later realized it was a sort of handshake. Just over his shoulder someone was arguing.

       “Glad to help. I can’t wait to look though what writings were left behind. Who knows what secrets we could uncover?”

       “Don’t forget the treasure.” Casita’s entire face broke into a grin. “Imagine, enormous piles of gold, diamonds, minthril, and more.”

       “Yes, but the knowledge could prove even more valuable.” I responded. “Think of the advantage we could have over the Fisch if we found the plan for a Wunderwaffe that could wipe them all out without killing ourselves in the process. Maybe we’ll even find their origin.”

       Casita laughed. “I think Laura’s going to like you.”

       “This is Army business, NOT SOME TREASURE HUNT!” An officer practically screamed at a woman who, though I guess she was either there for her skills with a gun or a cypher, looked like some sort of model. Then again, a lot of the girls looked like that. An effect of all the breaches, if you didn’t die, you got REALLY fit. The Lower Earth air didn’t hurt. She wore a blue tank top and tan jacket with dark brown shorts.

       “We have the express approval of Colonel Grit for this expedition.” The woman said. “We have more than enough guns for this mission! Every soldier you bring is one more expert we have to leave behind!”

       “You think your idiotic archeology club can hold a candle to the sheer analytical prowess of the United States Army?”

       “If we had relied on the United States Army we’d still be shooting lead bullets instead of Ferrin! What about when the next president decides the Army won’t be helping here anymore? Face it, you’re not reliable enough.”