Meine Gesetze [open]

[Adrik Steinmetz]

"Before one can understand the basics of Alchemy. One must understand the world around him or her." Adrik's spoke out as he dodged a punch from the local hoodlum. A boy from the town whom thought he would sneak up to his house and try to steal some of his books to sell for a little cash. To his surprise Adrik was more then just an old man. When Adrik tried to stop them he attacked in defense, but would soon see he was mistaken to even try.

Adrik's movements were far more then the boy could keep up with. To the untrained eye it was as if he was only swinging back and forth. The boy thought that Adrik was toying with him. After a few punches the boy pulled a small dagger and lunged at Adrik. Before he knew it Adrik's hand was slamming into his shoulder. He dropped the dagger and fell to the ground to hold his shoulder which was now in much pain.

"Let this be a lesson to you and your friends. Try and steal from me again..." He clapped his hands together and within seconds the tattoo on his right palm changed slightly. It remained the same size, but the lines and markings were in a different order. After it changed he place his palm lightly on the ground on front of the boy and started to transmute a sword. Once it was complete he aimed it at the boy. "...and this will become a far bloodier end."

The boy, still hold his shoulder, jumped to his feet and took off running back toward the town. Adrik watched for a moment before re-transmuting the sword back into the ground as best he could.

[Azerik]

Azerik stepped to the side of the rough path, as a boy who looked about his age ran past, and back towards the town of Rush Valley. It would seem much had not changed in a month.

As made it to the top of a particularly rocky hill on the mountain path, he saw the old man, standing in front of a cottage, watching the boy run, and transmuting a sword into the ground.

'That really is an interesting way to transmute things,' Azerik thought to himself, 'if the old man could stay satisfied with one branch of Alchemy at a time he might have been able to discover what I did.'

"Hello Teacher," Azerik called to the man in a middle pitched voice you would expect from a teenager, "my family visit took longer than I thought it would. My mother was sick, so I stayed to take care of her."

[Adrik Steinmetz]

"I see. I hope you at least completed that lesson I gave you to do while you away. If you didn't I'd have to...make you try my latest dish." A kind of evil smile came across his face. He was using his own food as a threat in a way. Next thing ya know he started to laugh in a joking manner.

"Oh no matter. Tell me about you trip. Meet anyone interesting? A young girl maybe?" He winked at the boy and laughed some more as he joked around with his student.

[Azerik]

Azerik shuddered at the mention of his teacher's cooking, and let out a fake sigh of lonliness when the old man asked if he had 'met' anyone.

"I fear I may have forgotten which lesson it was in all the confusion over my mother's illness. But the trip went well, Azerik said and started to walk towards the cottage, "the weather held up. I heard things aren't going well in the East though. Apparently the rebellion is getting out of hand really quickly out there."

[Adrik Steinmetz]

Adrik didn't like the mention of the rebellion taking place. It kind of made him want to rejoin the military again. Those thoughts were quickly overcome by his want to understand and learn all forms of alchemy. "I'm sure the military can handle everything. As long as they run themselves the same way as when i was there. I'm sure nothing can go wrong."

[short post, bbl]

[Azerik]

I'm sure you're right," Azerik said smiling in his mind, "but we're still without a leader. The Senate still hasn't decided on a new Furher, and there's only one capable General on commission right now."

Azerik decided to stop at that. If he revealed how much he knew of the military's affairs, even this old man would become suspicious. Reaching his hands up, he tossed back his hood, and used his left hand to shade his one eye from the sunlight.

"Have the kids from the town been bothering you much lately?" Azerik said as he remembered the boy who had been sent running, "Perhaps we should just barricade the road so that only you or I could get through?"

[Adrik Steinmetz]

"Those kids are always trying something, but no matter. At least most of them have realized by now to leave me alone unless they want to be missing a limb." Adrik started to think for a moment. He turned to his student and smiled before saying what he had to say. "Do you remember the laws I set down when you 1st came here to train?"

He folded his arms and eyed his student hoping he'd realize that he lesson was the laws of Alchemy. Well Adrik thought of them as laws. Other look at them as simple guild lines.

[Azerik]

'Why must I put up with this infuriating pop quiz every time I come back!'

"I believe it was something along the lines of 'don't expect me to give you something for nothing'," Azerik said pausing to think, "which eventually led into my first lessons, concerning Equivalent Exchange."

Azerik looked around him, trying to find something that would give him a viable excuse to escape the old man's company. He then realized that under his large cloak he was still carrying a large pack containing his 'belongings'.

"If you'll just give me a minute Teacher," Azerik said without giving Adrik a chance to speak, "I'll go put my stuff in my room. I've got something to show you as well."

Taking advantage of his teacher's bafflement, Azerik dashed towards the cottage, faking a stumble to keep up his 'clumsy and eager' appearance. When he'd gotten inside, he went straight to his room, and dumped his pack onto his bed and began to rummage through it. He pulled out a compact sphere of metal that weighed about 10 pounds, and placed it in a pocket in his cloak. Then, he pulled out a light red stone fragment. He wanted to see if Adrik had the brains to make a Philosopher's stone. He had concocted a story about some Alchemist in Central who had give him this stone, claiming it to be the Philosopher's Stone, and would say that he really believed it was, having tested it on the journey back. If Adrik was really as good as he claimed he would of course realize this was just the stone made from Red Water.

An Alchemist in Central gave this to me," Azerik said a few minutes later as he came out the door tossing the stone to Adrik, "he claimed it was the Philosopher's Stone, and I must say I'm hard pressed to prove him wrong. I used it, and I managed to turn a pile of charcoal into diamonds. I left the money with my parents to pay for Mother's treatment of course."