The Term is Hoard

Aiden relaxed in the steaming hot bath, joy filling his whole being. The whole world seemed to be perfect at this moment. He was free from the oppressive Moore family, his attainments in alchemy were promising, he had his own money, and most of all he had a safe place where he wasn't worried about his safety. Marcus was very kind to him and seemed to be determined to give him whatever he needed to grow. In fact Marcus had sworn on his soul to do such, but it wasn't until now that Aiden was able to truly believe it.

 He was in a position of weakness and Marcus could very well have dealt with him after revealing his inheritance, but he didn't. He swore to protect him and help him become a magnificent alchemist. In the warm water with his long maroon hair spread out like dark red flames swaying gently with his movements, Aiden finally let his heart settle. He was sure now that Marcus was trustworthy and he could give his back to him.

 When he finally managed to bring himself to part with the bath, an hour had passed. He used a towel to gently dry his hair as he exited the bathroom, his fair skin still flushed from the heat. Aiden was taken aback by the figure who seemed to be sitting on his bed waiting for him. It was Marcus! 

Aiden rushed over, "Marcus what are you doing here? Did I keep you waiting long?" 

"Well I wanted to give you something, I hope you don't mind me taking a seat," Marcus stated while looking at the flustered little alchemist in front of him.

 Aiden's attention was immediately attracted, "Give me something? What is it?" Marcus laughed as he watched the little alchemist's eyes brighten as if pure sunlight was trapped in those amber orbs. He reached behind him and slowly, so as to not appear to struggle, pulled a heavy sack towards him.

 "I brought you this, I felt as though you may enjoy it," Marcus said while gently patting the sack. Aiden quickly moved to open the sack under the encouraging green eyes of the older boy. When he managed to untie the opening, Aiden was almost blinded by the glittering sight of golden coins. He couldn't help but reach a trembling hand out to touch them, as if afraid that they would shatter like a dream. Gently caressing them he heard them clink together softly proving their reality. 

Aiden turned a disbelieving gaze on Marcus, "For me?" 

Marcus smiled and rubbed the slightly damp maroon hair, "You seemed so excited at the prospect of getting paid, I thought you might like to have the physical coins rather than just an open account with Gwyneth." Aiden nodded his head so fast that there seemed to be after images, yes I really like it! He subconsciously hugged the sack into his chest, he really liked this gift. Seeing his actions, Marcus burst into laughter again pleased that the little alchemist was happy with his gift.

 "I will let Gwyneth know that you would like cash from now on. It is late, so I will retire for the night," Marcus stood up from the bed, giving Aiden one last gentle rub on the head before leaving the room.

 After the door closed, Aiden waited a full minute before he couldn't contain his joy anymore. He pounced on the sack clutching it tightly. He felt like a small dragon curling around his treasure, his eyes gleamed even brighter as he thought proudly, it might as well be a small hoard!

 Even though he was reluctant, Aiden knew that he couldn't sleep with the sack of gold comfortably. So with a face full of heartache he placed the gold in his personal room in the palace that was bound to both he and Marcus. Although he had no reason to mistrust any of the servants here, he felt safer if his stuff was stored where no one else could reach it. Well, except Marcus of course. But, Marcus gave him the gold so it wasn't very likely that he would then take it back from him. With an eager and giddy mood, Aiden drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with gold coins. The next morning, Aiden arose with a new vigor. He was determined to earn even more gold coins today. 

Many days passed like this, after cooking soothing and rejuvenating medicinal meals he would practice alchemy all day. After a week or so, he had been able to consistently fry nine mid grade Swift pills in each cauldron, and the color was even richer than the early mid grade pills he had completed. Aiden could sense that there seemed to be a bottleneck in his progression of this recipe. There was something that was preventing him from being able to achieve a higher quality. 

His small hoard of gold had grown to a large hoard of almost ten thousand gold. He was now a rich little alchemist! Today, though, Aiden wanted to make a different recipe since he had reached a bottleneck in the other one. It was actually one he had tried before, the Snapfire pills. Although he was very safe here, emergencies happened and Aiden wanted to have a way of defending himself. He was also very curious about the difference between low grade and mid grade Snapfire pills. 

He had already asked Dylan to prepare a good number of Black Spark rocks, which was the one ingredient that he didn't have stock of in the alchemy room. This was simply because in the limited view of the Golden Lion Kingdom, alchemy only used magical herbs. Black Spark rock was used in blacksmithing. 

Aiden sat in front of the cauldron, ingredients in hand. First the Jade Moss was tossed in, he began to dissolve it allowing vivid wood energy to fill the cauldron. Then the Coal Peppers were thrown in, fire energy spread voraciously devouring the vibrant wood essence. Aiden waited for the moment when the fire seemed to slow as the vitality of the wood energy was too strong for it to overcome in one shot. 

When it did, the bulbs of the Swaddlegrass herb were squeezed in, the juice bringing a faint gust of wind as it fell into the cauldron. The wind essence immediately bolstered the fire energy's assault. As it gained the upper hand the Black Spark Rock was added, the lightning energy igniting the fire in what could be a deadly reaction, but Aiden was prepared. The roots of the Swaddlegrass were added into the cauldron, a powerful wind energy rising up. Aiden's palms moved furiously as he used that wind energy to suppress the explosion. 

Sweat formed on his brow as the energy struggled to fight free of his grasp. The Snapfire Pills are far more volatile than the Swift Pills, and Aiden needed to expend far more energy during the concoction process. As the raging energy calmed, the essences split into nine pill embryos. His experience with the Swift Pills had given him greater control and finesse and the benefits were beginning to show. The final stage of condensation approached as Aiden's palms moved one last time in a grand display. The energy compressed to the extreme forming the pills, and steam exploded out of the cauldron. 

Aiden's breathing was slightly hurried, the process was intense and exhausting. He took a few moments to regain his breath before peering into the opening of the cauldron. Waiting there were nine beautiful red pills. Six of them were the dull red that he was used to, but the remaining three were closer to a crimson red. 

Aiden smiled widely, three mid grade offensive pills! Although nowhere near his success rate for Swift Pills, all in due time. He gently gathered the pills into unique porcelain bottles, trying not to jostle them too harshly and causing a nasty reaction. When they were safely in the bottles Aiden tidied up the alchemy room before heading off to see Marcus. 

He wanted to show off and also have them tested. Although these pills may not be much in the eyes of many warriors, for alchemists or young novice warriors, these were life saving secret weapons. Aiden didn't dare to hop or skip like usual fearing that in his excitement he would drop and shatter the bottles leading to an explosion. That is the last thing he needs. It would also be a very embarrassing death, it wasn't an enemy but his own clumsiness. He could just imagine the laughs as his eulogy was read. 

When he reached the familiar wooden doors, Aiden couldn't help but speed up and knock cheerfully on the door. "Marcus, it's me Aiden! I have something to show off- I mean show you!" Aiden coughed changing his words halfway. 

"Come in." A slightly helpless voice answered as Marcus struggled not to laugh at him.