Purple Painting No.1
5th Ymiden 720 in Volta
PART TWO
PART TWO
Yrmellyn sits in a tavern in Volta. (She and her partner Ha’zel has been staying there since Culys, as Yrmellyn was ill after travelling too much in the winter.). Volta is a town in the Rharne Area, infamous for its alchemy. In the tavern she has run into Jack Hector, a drug peddler she met in the fall of 718. He looks like a man who has tried almost everything and so far survived. Yrmellyn finds him an interesting motif for a painting. She has begun to soften him up by speaking about a common interest, alchemy. A new contact is a fact and a red-haired maid named Janey has gone to fetch more Aqua Volta to baptize it in!
Janey came back with a bottle and an extra glass, put them down on the table and pulled out the cork. Thin white smoke rose from the bottleneck and blended with the smoke from Jack’s cigar. The concerted effect made Yrmellyn feel a wee bit dizzy despite that she hadn’t tasted the brew yet. To conceal it she smiled at the red-haired maid again. “Thanks!”
Janey stared at her like she saw a strange animal. She opened her mouth but shut it again. Then she shrugged and went back to the bucket and continued scrubbing the floor. Yrmellyn could see that the floor needed it. But, it must still be a terrible drudgery to crawl around on your knees to do the job.
”Couldn’t she use a brush with a long handle?” she asked Jack.
The man looked perplexed. “Who? What?”
“The maid. Janey. Couldn’t she use a brush with a long handle? I mean, like those mops they use onboard ships and so ...”
“Heh. Who cares?” Jack was pouring a generous amount of Aqua Volta into his own glass. That done, he pushed the bottle closer to Yrmellyn and nodded at her to pour herself a drink. The thin smoke was still rising from the brew. In passing by he threw a small coin on the floor, a tip for the maid. Janey picked up without looking at him.
“I care.” Yrmellyn felt annoyed at Jack’s attitude. “If not my partner still was handling the money, since I was ill, I would give her a better tip!”
“Your partner seems to be a sensible man then. Taking care of your money so you don’t walk around squandering them on mops and tips for tavern maids. So, he’s the one I should speak business with, I guess.”
“Ha’zel isn’t an alchemist. And it’s only for practical reasons he takes care of the money. I don’t want to be robbed. Volta is not a particularly safe town.” Yrmellyn watched Jack’s smug smile and felt that she would lose the discussion. It didn't matter what she would say. If not for her plan to make a portrait of Jack she would have excused herself and left. It could be hard to get over good motifs though.
Yrmellyn decided to focus on her goal instead, to make an interesting painting. She planned to sell it in Zynyx market on the other side of the river. There was always a lot of commerce there. She should be able to make money. But, first, she must make Jack agree to be her motif. It was no idea to speak more about the maid's work situation, that much was clear. Jack couldn’t be less interested in brushes and mops. She would speak about liquor instead.
“What is Aqua Volta?” She lifted the bottle, hesitated a bit but decided that I was best to pour a bit of it into her glass and taste it. “I’ve never had it before.”
“The best liquor in Idalos. A local speciality. The production is ... limited. ”
“The smoke ... smells a bit burnt and ... metallic... or something... ”
“Yeah. It’s the smell of lightning! We have a lot of lightning here in Volta if you noticed. Flashes. Eclairs. Sometimes it strikes a distillery and affects the produce. That’s their lucky trial because it turns regular Whiskey into Aqua Volta. Burnt, strong and very smokey. The best random stiff drink you can get anywhere in Idalos. Lightning-water, as we call it. ”
Yrmellyn nodded. She had never heard about this before but supposed it might be true. Volta was known for producing weird drugs so why not weird liquor too. Testing the brew she found that it did indeed tasted burnt, strong and very smokey. Coughing a bit she tried her best to keep a straight face. “It’s very special, “she managed. “Which distillery does it come from?”
“Some home-brew distillery. It uses to be homemade.”
“Oh.”
“You like it? Yes?”
“I do!” Yrmellyn took one more very small nip of the alcohol. “Jack, now when we know each other ...I wonder if I can paint a portrait of you?”
The alchemist laughed out loud. “Never. Are you crazy? Why would I agree to such a dumb idea?”
“I’m a good painter. I could sell it at Zynyx Market and you could get a percentage for being the motif.”
“Would you pay me? For being a ... motif?” He laughed again. “No way! I’m many things, but I’m not one of the pretty little things you want to see in a painting.”
“Some people prefer other kinds of art. A painting of a craftsman from Volta could be right for a merchant selling potions and such. I think it can boost their sales if they hang it in their shop.”
Jack Hector leaned forward a bit. “So? Well ... it that case I might be interested in it on behalf of the people who buy my products and then sell them in Zynyx.”
Yrmellyn grabbed her painting kit, opened it and made everything ready for the painting. She found it best to act as if he had already taken the decision and said yes. “Let’s speak about alchemy while I work so you don’t need to sit there and feel bored. You seem to have a lot of experience in alchemy. If you can tell me a bit about yourself and your work I’d be very interested in it. It would also make for a better portrait as people sort of are at their best when they speak about a job they are passionate about. ”
Jack hesitated for a fraction of a trill but then he nodded. He was now a willing motif! “Well ... I don’t want to exaggerate ... but I do know a bit about the art of alchemy, yes. And as I said before, Volta is the best place for alchemy. The conditions are very special here. It’s the flashes you see. High power, high tension, high potential for creative research and development. We can make potions and elixirs like no others.”
“Well, those drugs you sold in Rharne ... “ Yrmellyn prompted him to speak on while she worked as fast as she could. She had been a painter for fourteen arcs. By now she had practised and developed her skill and become much better than she had been in her novice trials. She had achieved a certain degree of expertise and was a beginning master painter if you asked her. She seldom made mistakes anymore. The experience enabled her to work fast and still do an excellent job of the portrait. She took the creative liberty to use a lot of shades of purple. It felt right.
Jack sighed like she had said something that hurt him. “We alchemists all have our bad trials, don’t we? It’s a complicated art and it’s inevitable that some potion batches don’t turn out as planned. There’s nothing else to do than peddle them away to get some of the money you invested back. People in Rharne seem to always be eager to test new stuff, so it’s a win-win, right? Otherwise, we’d have to dump the destroyed batches in the sea. It might start a war with merfolk or whatnot. We can’t have that. ”
Baffled, Yrmellyn tried to appraise what he told her. It sounded like the suspect defence of a ruthless alchemist. It wouldn’t surprise her if Jack had as long experience at coming up with creative explanations as he had of alchemy. She supposed it was so. But, it was not her business to interrogate him and try to squeeze the truth out of him. She ignored the words about the shady drug business saving them from merfolk wars. Instead, she asked about other and more interesting things.
“I’m very interested in this high-power alchemy you are speaking about,” she said. “Maybe I should begin to work more at my own alchemy ideas. Do you think it would be possible for me to establish myself as an alchemist in Volta?”
“Hmmmm ...” Jack leaned back, watching her. “It depends. The alchemists of Volta are a close-knit community. The magic practice of Alchemy is not for all and sundry. It’s not just to come here and take advantage of our special conditions. It’s about taking and giving. Helping each other, if you see what I mean. Knowledge in return for knowledge. The secrets of our art have been earned by hard work and many personal risks. It’s nothing you get for free.”
She was silent for a while. Yrmellyn outlined the portrait and painted all the major parts of it. The face of Jack Hector was emerging on the canvas. She moved on to the finer details. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the furrows on his brow took time. But, she wanted all those small traces of experience that made him look like the real thing. A creative alchemist. A man who had lived through a plethora of experiments. A man of knowledge.
Time passed.
“I’m not looking to get something for nothing,” she said, later. She was giving the portrait the final polish. She could see that Jack was getting tired of sitting for it. He glanced at the tavern door time and again. “But, I suppose we can speak about it when the portrait has dried and is ready for sale. ”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’m a bit busy, so I’ve got to be on my way. We can speak more when you come back to me about the portrait.”
Jack got to his feet and they shook hands on the agreement. Then he left. Yrmellyn lingered a bit and washed the painting tools in what remained of the Aqua Volta. It was, in her opinion, a better way to use that brew than drinking it.
Meanwhile, the tavern maid Janey had finished her scrubbing of the floor and walked over to have a look at the portrait. “Looks like him,” she commented. “The bastard! I heard what you were speaking about. If you do business with that one you’ve got to watch out or he will swindle you.”
“Thanks for the advice! And ... I wondering where I can leave this painting to dry ...”
“Not down here. You’ll have to take it upstairs to your room if you want to keep it safe.” Janey made a brief pause. Yrmellyn looked from the painting kit to the wet painting, trying to figure out how to do this. Then Janey continued. “I’ll carry your things and you can carry the painting. I’m not going to touch it. It something happens to I don’t want to be blamed. But, I can carry your other things.”
Yrmellyn accepted the offer of course. It was more service than she had expected. She carried the painting up the stairs at a slow and careful pace. Later, when Ha’zel would be back, she would make sure to give the woman a generous tip for her help. She deserved it. Besides, it could be good to have friends in Volta.
Janey came back with a bottle and an extra glass, put them down on the table and pulled out the cork. Thin white smoke rose from the bottleneck and blended with the smoke from Jack’s cigar. The concerted effect made Yrmellyn feel a wee bit dizzy despite that she hadn’t tasted the brew yet. To conceal it she smiled at the red-haired maid again. “Thanks!”
Janey stared at her like she saw a strange animal. She opened her mouth but shut it again. Then she shrugged and went back to the bucket and continued scrubbing the floor. Yrmellyn could see that the floor needed it. But, it must still be a terrible drudgery to crawl around on your knees to do the job.
”Couldn’t she use a brush with a long handle?” she asked Jack.
The man looked perplexed. “Who? What?”
“The maid. Janey. Couldn’t she use a brush with a long handle? I mean, like those mops they use onboard ships and so ...”
“Heh. Who cares?” Jack was pouring a generous amount of Aqua Volta into his own glass. That done, he pushed the bottle closer to Yrmellyn and nodded at her to pour herself a drink. The thin smoke was still rising from the brew. In passing by he threw a small coin on the floor, a tip for the maid. Janey picked up without looking at him.
“I care.” Yrmellyn felt annoyed at Jack’s attitude. “If not my partner still was handling the money, since I was ill, I would give her a better tip!”
“Your partner seems to be a sensible man then. Taking care of your money so you don’t walk around squandering them on mops and tips for tavern maids. So, he’s the one I should speak business with, I guess.”
“Ha’zel isn’t an alchemist. And it’s only for practical reasons he takes care of the money. I don’t want to be robbed. Volta is not a particularly safe town.” Yrmellyn watched Jack’s smug smile and felt that she would lose the discussion. It didn't matter what she would say. If not for her plan to make a portrait of Jack she would have excused herself and left. It could be hard to get over good motifs though.
Yrmellyn decided to focus on her goal instead, to make an interesting painting. She planned to sell it in Zynyx market on the other side of the river. There was always a lot of commerce there. She should be able to make money. But, first, she must make Jack agree to be her motif. It was no idea to speak more about the maid's work situation, that much was clear. Jack couldn’t be less interested in brushes and mops. She would speak about liquor instead.
“What is Aqua Volta?” She lifted the bottle, hesitated a bit but decided that I was best to pour a bit of it into her glass and taste it. “I’ve never had it before.”
“The best liquor in Idalos. A local speciality. The production is ... limited. ”
“The smoke ... smells a bit burnt and ... metallic... or something... ”
“Yeah. It’s the smell of lightning! We have a lot of lightning here in Volta if you noticed. Flashes. Eclairs. Sometimes it strikes a distillery and affects the produce. That’s their lucky trial because it turns regular Whiskey into Aqua Volta. Burnt, strong and very smokey. The best random stiff drink you can get anywhere in Idalos. Lightning-water, as we call it. ”
Yrmellyn nodded. She had never heard about this before but supposed it might be true. Volta was known for producing weird drugs so why not weird liquor too. Testing the brew she found that it did indeed tasted burnt, strong and very smokey. Coughing a bit she tried her best to keep a straight face. “It’s very special, “she managed. “Which distillery does it come from?”
“Some home-brew distillery. It uses to be homemade.”
“Oh.”
“You like it? Yes?”
“I do!” Yrmellyn took one more very small nip of the alcohol. “Jack, now when we know each other ...I wonder if I can paint a portrait of you?”
The alchemist laughed out loud. “Never. Are you crazy? Why would I agree to such a dumb idea?”
“I’m a good painter. I could sell it at Zynyx Market and you could get a percentage for being the motif.”
“Would you pay me? For being a ... motif?” He laughed again. “No way! I’m many things, but I’m not one of the pretty little things you want to see in a painting.”
“Some people prefer other kinds of art. A painting of a craftsman from Volta could be right for a merchant selling potions and such. I think it can boost their sales if they hang it in their shop.”
Jack Hector leaned forward a bit. “So? Well ... it that case I might be interested in it on behalf of the people who buy my products and then sell them in Zynyx.”
Yrmellyn grabbed her painting kit, opened it and made everything ready for the painting. She found it best to act as if he had already taken the decision and said yes. “Let’s speak about alchemy while I work so you don’t need to sit there and feel bored. You seem to have a lot of experience in alchemy. If you can tell me a bit about yourself and your work I’d be very interested in it. It would also make for a better portrait as people sort of are at their best when they speak about a job they are passionate about. ”
Jack hesitated for a fraction of a trill but then he nodded. He was now a willing motif! “Well ... I don’t want to exaggerate ... but I do know a bit about the art of alchemy, yes. And as I said before, Volta is the best place for alchemy. The conditions are very special here. It’s the flashes you see. High power, high tension, high potential for creative research and development. We can make potions and elixirs like no others.”
“Well, those drugs you sold in Rharne ... “ Yrmellyn prompted him to speak on while she worked as fast as she could. She had been a painter for fourteen arcs. By now she had practised and developed her skill and become much better than she had been in her novice trials. She had achieved a certain degree of expertise and was a beginning master painter if you asked her. She seldom made mistakes anymore. The experience enabled her to work fast and still do an excellent job of the portrait. She took the creative liberty to use a lot of shades of purple. It felt right.
Jack sighed like she had said something that hurt him. “We alchemists all have our bad trials, don’t we? It’s a complicated art and it’s inevitable that some potion batches don’t turn out as planned. There’s nothing else to do than peddle them away to get some of the money you invested back. People in Rharne seem to always be eager to test new stuff, so it’s a win-win, right? Otherwise, we’d have to dump the destroyed batches in the sea. It might start a war with merfolk or whatnot. We can’t have that. ”
Baffled, Yrmellyn tried to appraise what he told her. It sounded like the suspect defence of a ruthless alchemist. It wouldn’t surprise her if Jack had as long experience at coming up with creative explanations as he had of alchemy. She supposed it was so. But, it was not her business to interrogate him and try to squeeze the truth out of him. She ignored the words about the shady drug business saving them from merfolk wars. Instead, she asked about other and more interesting things.
“I’m very interested in this high-power alchemy you are speaking about,” she said. “Maybe I should begin to work more at my own alchemy ideas. Do you think it would be possible for me to establish myself as an alchemist in Volta?”
“Hmmmm ...” Jack leaned back, watching her. “It depends. The alchemists of Volta are a close-knit community. The magic practice of Alchemy is not for all and sundry. It’s not just to come here and take advantage of our special conditions. It’s about taking and giving. Helping each other, if you see what I mean. Knowledge in return for knowledge. The secrets of our art have been earned by hard work and many personal risks. It’s nothing you get for free.”
She was silent for a while. Yrmellyn outlined the portrait and painted all the major parts of it. The face of Jack Hector was emerging on the canvas. She moved on to the finer details. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the furrows on his brow took time. But, she wanted all those small traces of experience that made him look like the real thing. A creative alchemist. A man who had lived through a plethora of experiments. A man of knowledge.
Time passed.
“I’m not looking to get something for nothing,” she said, later. She was giving the portrait the final polish. She could see that Jack was getting tired of sitting for it. He glanced at the tavern door time and again. “But, I suppose we can speak about it when the portrait has dried and is ready for sale. ”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’m a bit busy, so I’ve got to be on my way. We can speak more when you come back to me about the portrait.”
Jack got to his feet and they shook hands on the agreement. Then he left. Yrmellyn lingered a bit and washed the painting tools in what remained of the Aqua Volta. It was, in her opinion, a better way to use that brew than drinking it.
Meanwhile, the tavern maid Janey had finished her scrubbing of the floor and walked over to have a look at the portrait. “Looks like him,” she commented. “The bastard! I heard what you were speaking about. If you do business with that one you’ve got to watch out or he will swindle you.”
“Thanks for the advice! And ... I wondering where I can leave this painting to dry ...”
“Not down here. You’ll have to take it upstairs to your room if you want to keep it safe.” Janey made a brief pause. Yrmellyn looked from the painting kit to the wet painting, trying to figure out how to do this. Then Janey continued. “I’ll carry your things and you can carry the painting. I’m not going to touch it. It something happens to I don’t want to be blamed. But, I can carry your other things.”
Yrmellyn accepted the offer of course. It was more service than she had expected. She carried the painting up the stairs at a slow and careful pace. Later, when Ha’zel would be back, she would make sure to give the woman a generous tip for her help. She deserved it. Besides, it could be good to have friends in Volta.
A Portrait of the Alcemist Jack Hector from Volta. By Yrnellyn Cole, 720.
