Flames of Fate

Aquatic Flames

I followed Rivorio into another room in the house, small and gloomy. There was only a source of light that came from the ceiling through a circular oculus.

This illuminated above all an open gilded casket, placed above a low column of white marble in the Corinthian style.

"W-what is it?" I asked.

The casket was not very large. This featured, on the front face, a bas-relief depicting a man plucking a heart-shaped fruit from an apple tree.

"HEHe" He laughed smugly, "This is my greatest invention!" He said fiercely, "It's a magical crafting box, specializing in healing and buff potions ..." he smiled at me.

Seeing me not entirely enthusiastic, he made a face and spoke again, "Tsk ... look ...".

The old man turned to a shelf on his left. He picked up a glass bottle, a twig of something, and a blue leaf, and placed them inside the casket, closing it later.

I watched the process and was confused by it. After all, when he told me we were going to make a potion, I imagined she was using a cauldron, like those of movie and cartoon magicians, or something like that.

After a few seconds, the sorcerer Rivorio reopened the casket and now inside the bottle was full of blue liquid, the twig and the leaf had disappeared.

I opened my eyes wide, shocked. I let out a "that's all?!"

"EHH ?! Like everything here! You don't understand how special this thing is! " He said, misunderstanding my words.

"No, I mean that ... I thought it was more complicated to make potions ... instead ... it was enough to put the ingredients in there ..." I said incredulously.

"Oh… so you understand how awesome this invention is too, hehe ..." His facial expression was repainted with pride, "Normally it would take hours and hours to create a potion, even for a simple one like this I just made ... however, with my invention it only takes two to five seconds! " He said enthusiastically.

I looked at this invention, trying to compare it with the technologies of my world, few could rival it.

"Oh, right ... so this is the potion we were supposed to make?" I asked him intrigued.

"EHH, no, of course not, this is a simple anti-stress potion, it also helps you sleep ..." He said, then turning back to the shelf from before.

He took a few things, a small tusk, a white dried flower, and a few leaves of what looked like laurel.

"Mmh ..." He looked around, he also went to look at the shelf on the other side of the room, "Mmh ... I can't find it ... help me look for it ..." He said then.

"Look for what?" I asked.

"There should be a red flower around here ..." He replied.

"A red flower ..." I repeated in a low voice starting to search, "A flower now dried, right?" I asked, thinking that, as I thought it was logical, one flower after picking first withers and then dries...

"No, of course not, red flowers never wither, never dry out ... mmh ... I'll have to teach you many things ... what a drag ...".

… However, I had forgotten where I was.

'Well, rightly…' I thought wryly.

After a few minutes we realized there was no red flower in there, the old man pouted, and then made an expression as of one who has come up with a great idea.

"Hmm, you have to go and pick it in the forest, it's the key ingredient ..." the old man told me.

"Huh?"

"EHH, I can't go there" He added, "Think of it as your first training ..."

I tried to discourage him, the thought of walking again in the forests of this world did not thrill me at all. However, I also realized that I would have to fight this fear sooner or later, and so I accepted his request.

'Ahh ... find myself again walking the paths of this forest ...' Remembering my encounter with the undead errant of the day before, a shiver ran down my spine.

'So ...' I looked around, 'It should be this way'

Rivorio showed me the way forward to get to the place where the flowers that I should have picked grow.

"Aquatic flame", that was the name of the flower I had to look for, a very particular name, but which reflected its two peculiar characteristics: their growing only near cold streams and their flame-like appearance.

He then gave me a map of the area. I should have reached a small lake near where I was.

In short, starting from the Rivorio house I would have to go to the inn of the Bruno Bear and go around it. Behind the inn, I should have found an old path that would take me to the lake, which, according to the old man, I would have reached in about 15 minutes of walking.

For safety, before taking the path that would take me to the lake, I also asked my magic compass to point me in the direction of the closest lake to me.

'Well…' I plucked up my courage and plunged into the forest.

During the journey, I noticed how nature became more luxuriant and how the path became more and more difficult to walk the closer I got to the lake.

The tall pines that dominated the forest were now replaced with low conifers, red berry bushes, and tall weeds. However, even all of this luxuriance still seemed to lack color. The sun, as it was yesterday, was covered with grayish clouds.

I kept walking, now relying solely on the magic compass.

After a few minutes, I arrived at a point where nature had completely submerged the path to the lake, so I decided to make my way with the sword.

*Rustle

"MH?!"

I heard a rustle coming from my left, my body stiffened slightly with fear. I stood for a while, hoping it was nothing, or that it was just an animal.

The rustling continued, however, whoever was causing it seemed to be moving away. Finally, the rustling stopped, leaving the screeching of crickets and cicadas as the only sounds.

Slowly, the trees around me became sparse, and with them the bushes of wild berries, leaving room only for the tall wild grass, which reached up to my knees, and, above all, leaving room for a magnificent view.

I had finally arrived at the lake.

'What a beautiful sight, shame about the always cloudy weather of this world…'

The lake was positioned in a valley placed in the center of a "U" shaped basin formed by the hills that surrounded it on almost all sides, all except the one where I came from.

Among the hills in front of me, I also glimpsed a stream, which then gave way to the lake.

'it's as Rivorio described it to me ...' I thought, observing the small island of land, positioned in the center of the body of water.

It was on that little island that the flowers I was looking for were present.

I went to the lakeside to feel how cold its water was, it was as cold as that of a mountain stream.

Fortunately for me, however, I would not have had to reach the island in the center of the lake again, as, although now decadent, there was a wooden bridge in the shape of an arch. This was positioned, relative to where I was, to the right of the lake.

I hurried to reach the beginning of the bridge. The closer I got, the more I became aware of its pitiful condition, the wood seemed rotten in many places, and the two parapets it had on both sides now seemed to be unable to bear even the weight of a butterfly.

'Mmh ...' I looked at the bridge with an uncertain look, 'Who knows if it holds me ...'

I was now in front of the bridge, I took a step on the first wooden plank of which it was formed, this creaked loudly.

*Gulp

{TO BE CONTINUED ...}