Chapter 5: The Apothecary’s Choice
The path twisted downward.
Kael followed Elric through a narrow ravine choked with moss and wet stone. Unlike the forest before, there was no mist here—only silence. And the faint smell of copper and crushed herbs.
Verdant Hollow was not a grand sect with courtyards and flags. It was hidden, sunken, coiled like a snake beneath the surface of the mountain.
By the time they reached the first gate—an arch of stone etched with faded runes—Kael's feet were numb, and his shoulder still ached from the earlier fight.
Elric didn't ask if he could keep walking.
He simply opened the gate.
Inside, a low courtyard stretched out beneath a cliff shelf, where ivy-cloaked walkways and hanging gardens lined the rock face. Wooden doors embedded in the walls hinted at rooms beyond, but no light came from within.
A few robed figures moved silently between alcoves, faces shadowed, their steps measured.
It wasn't a place of welcome.
It was a place of observation.
Elric led Kael to a small chamber near the edge of the courtyard. A single candle flickered on a stone table, surrounded by shelves filled with jars, dried roots, powders in corked glass, and bundles of black string.
"Sit," Elric said, motioning to a three-legged stool.
Kael did.
Elric turned, selected a vial, and poured a crimson liquid into a bowl. He stirred it with a rod carved from bone.
"This," he said, not looking up, "is extract of ferric bloom, suspended in rainwater and marrow oil."
Kael's eyes flicked to the deep red mixture. "That's a stabilizer."
Elric raised an eyebrow. "You know it?"
Kael nodded. "Used for fever spikes and blood-thin curses. Too much, and it stops the heart."
Elric smiled. "Good."
He poured the mixture into a second vessel and placed both in front of Kael.
"One of these is tainted. Drink the correct one, and you live. Drink the wrong one…"
Kael stared at the bowls.
"You said the trial was over."
"This is not a trial," Elric said. "It's a choice."
Kael's throat tightened. "A choice to die?"
"No," Elric said. "A choice to trust yourself—or walk away. I won't stop you."
Kael looked at the two bowls. No labels. No heat. No smell.
He closed his eyes. Thought back to the scent. The ratio. The sheen.
He reached for the bowl on the left.
Paused.
Then swapped hands.
And drank from the right.
The taste was foul. His stomach twisted. But his heart kept beating.
Elric nodded. "You'll live."
Kael exhaled.
Elric poured the second bowl out onto the stone floor. The liquid sizzled—then hissed violently, burning a black pit into the stone.
"You hesitated," Elric said.
Kael didn't deny it.
"You'll hesitate again. That's good. Caution is the seed of precision."
He stood, placed both hands behind his back.
"I don't take many students. I don't need obedience. I need aptitude. Resolve. And the willingness to risk everything."
Kael met his gaze.
"I'm not here to be safe."
Elric's smile was razor-thin.
"Then welcome to the Hollow."