The Time Alchemist

            The timing was off; one second later, she wouldn’t have been hit by the car, and one second earlier, he would have been hit in her stead. No, the circumstances were just right as to result in one of the many times life isn’t fair. It was a tragedy, losing her, although technically she was still around. Comatose, and unable to respond, Marie was kept under a watchful eye at the hospital. The rich owner of the car was unable to say anything to comfort Curtis, but he paid for her hospitalization. Curtis visited her everyday. Eventually, he couldn’t take the pain of watching her waste away in a hospital bed. He resolved to learn what he could to reverse her condition. Curtis had heard stories about alchemists who could do amazing and miraculous things, and he figured with that power, he could save Marie. Therefore, he spent time studying the arcane science required to perform alchemical transmutations.

            Over the course of a year of training with a local alchemist by performing odd jobs, and plenty of private study time, Curtis developed his own style of transmutation. He kept this particular version of Alchemical transmutation a secret, fearing his teacher’s anger. Curtis had a feeling that one day, the new alchemy he came up with would be important in his attempt to find a way to save Marie from the coma.

            A year later, Curtis had learned two valuable lessons. These lessons were that he should trust his instincts, and that for anything to happen there must be a price paid. In alchemy it was a concept known as equivalent exchange. A keystone of alchemy, equivalent exchange states that in order to make something, something of equal value must be given.

            It was mid-summer when Curtis had learned the basics of his alchemical research. During his time traveling, he had heard about a man who was a medical alchemist. This man had done incredible things. Being the foremost medical expert, Curtis figured that Dr. Phillip Madrix would know something about how to bring a person out of a coma. Not just any person, the most precious person in the world to Curtis was Marie. He spent a portion of the money he had saved to take a train to the Southwest Station.

            Curtis arrived in a town just south of the city of Weston, the capital of Antila and home of the famous Madrix laboratory. Carrying his satchel of basic supplies, Curtis went to the town bulletin board for a job he could do to earn money for lodging. Several jobs were posted, many of which were marked as taken. One job listing, however, stood out to Curtis and he took the paper from the board. The paper read: “Wanted: Cook, temporary position needed for the upcoming banquet celebrating the anniversary of Mayor Theodore’s wedding. Pay: 37 silfers and leftovers from the banquet.” Beneath the writing about the position were the location and the contact information of the employer. Curtis was pleased, for his alchemical studies had included cooking, and 37 silfers was a good wage and could pay for a nice room at an inn, plus some.

            On his way to apply for the position of cook, Curtis felt a twinge of instinct while passing by a general goods shop. He entered, and saw that there were numerous vials on the back wall, watches in display cases, and numerous other items. Nothing in the store was especially interesting. Two of the bottles on the back wall caught his eye, one with a cloudy liquid inside, and the other with a few dusty green herbs within. With the little money he had in his pouch, Curtis purchased these two things, leaving his coin purse empty. Exiting the shop, he headed once more toward the manor where he would be preparing the meal.

            Unsure of what use he would have for the liquid, he examined it closely while he walked. He was able to tell what its chemical composition was, for the most part. A young girl was running down the street, cradling a loaf of bread almost as big as she was. Since Curtis wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going, and the girl was in such a hurry that she was being careless, it was no surprise that the girl ran directly into him. The full force of a charging little girl slamming into him caused Curtis to drop the vial he had been holding. When it hit the ground, it shattered and the liquid seeped into the stone street. Somehow, the girl had held onto the bread tightly enough that she didn’t drop it. She was, however, flat on her back.

            “Excuse me, I wasn’t paying much attention. Are you ok?” Curtis asked the girl, as he offered her a hand up. The little girl seemed wary of Curtis, but she took his hand long enough to get back to standing. She promptly checked to see if the bread had gotten dirty, and when she saw it hadn’t, she began patting the dust off her dress.

            “Gee, mister, you should know better than knocking a poor little girl down as she’s bringing bread home to her mommy!” She scolded him. Curtis was caught by surprise. It came to him that she was probably mimicking her mother or something.

            “I’m sorry about that. As I said, I was… distracted. Are you going to be ok getting home?” He asked politely. The little girl looked up at him, puffed out her cheeks and then stuck her tongue out at him.

            “I don’t need an old geezer like you asking me something stupid like that. Of course I’m ok.” Then, suddenly a look of astonishment came across her face. “Oh no! I’m wasting time talking to some old guy while mommy’s waiting for the bread! Oh… I’m going to be in so much trouble!” She glared at Curtis one more time and said, “Watch where you’re going next time!” and then rushed off again into the crowd.

            What a strange little girl. I wonder if she’s always like that. Oh well, Curtis thought, I should probably get going. Darn, and I didn’t even get to see where that acid would be useful.

            When he had finally arrived at the manor, it was getting late. The sun was already beginning to set, and the kitchen doors were letting out a variety of tantalizing aromas. Curtis entered to find the kitchen was bustling with activity, there were several people chopping and peeling vegetables, a person was checking on some meat cooking in a stove, and a few people were stirring soups and sauteing sauces. The most memorable trait of the kitchen was the man slightly taller than the rest who kept barking out orders to the other cooks, and criticizing the taste of the food. It seemed quite plain that this large man, covered in flour and his apron stained, was the head chef of the kitchen. Taking a quick glance at the flier from the bulletin board, he walked to the imposing figure and made to talk with him about the position.

            “Excuse me, sir! Would you happen to be Fredrik Spencer?” Curtis yelled over the rest of the noise. The man turned to face Curtis, and looked genuinely displeased with the interruption of his criticism of the bisque one of the other cooks had just dished up.

            “Of course I am! Master Chef Fredrik Spencer, whose culinary cuisine could chance charm cadavers back ta life. Who’re you and what’re ya doing in my kitchen?” He barked at Curtis in the same tone he used with everyone else in the kitchen. In response to this, Curtis held up the flier from the bulletin board in town.

            “I come seeking employment for the feast coming tomorrow. I should like to mention that I happen to have some culinary prowess of mine own, even if it’s not enough to charm the deceased back to the world of the living.” Curtis replied.

            “Ya might be here for the job, but that doesn’t mean ya can just walk in saying that ya can cook and expect ta get it! If ya want ta get this job, I’ll have ta make sure ya can cook first! A bumbling idiot prepared this soup. I wouldn’t even dare ta call it a bisque, given that it’s runny, and has no flavor. If ya can fix this tasteless concoction, then ya can have the job. Is that fair?” Chef Spencer asked.

            “Of course” Curtis replied, “I won’t disappoint you.”

            “Ya have ta use the soup exactly as it is now. We can’t be wasteful, ya know. Now get on with it, I’ll have no slacker in my kitchen!” Spencer yelled.

            In a few minutes, Curtis had thickened the soup, and added precise amounts of each ingredient. Hmm, not quite delicious to revive the dead, Curtis thought jokingly to himself when he tasted it, it’s still missing something… but what? Curtis had no idea, so instinctively he reached for his chalk, drew a transmutation circle, and infused it with energy. Nothing seemed to happen, and then an idea came to him. I know, that herb should work perfectly! He reached into a pocket, and pulled out the vial with the dusty green herbs. He quickly chopped the herb, and put it in the soup. The master chef strode up to him, looking impatient.

            “I’ve been waiting for ya ta finish your soup. I’m tired of being surrounded by nothing but idiots who don’t know the difference between an onion and a cabbage! You’ve better have made something edible, or I’ll roast your goose!” Fredrik yelled at Curtis. With a practiced flourish, Curtis skillfully dished up a single steaming bowl of bisque. He handed this bowl to the chef, and waited for his reaction.

            Fredrik took a spoonful of soup, and ate. When he finished, Spencer placed the bowl on the counter next to the sink. “Son, that was one of the best bowls of bisque I’ve ever tasted, and I’m a master. Still, I’m not sure why, but there’s something odd about your cooking. I could swear on my honor as a master chef that there’s no way ya could have made a soup this good with the ingredients I offered ta ya. Tell me, boy, how did ya do it?” the master chef asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

            “Well, sir, I will admit that I added an ingredient that I brought with me. Rosemary is the missing piece. A person can make a good soup with just about anything lying around but a person can’t make a great soup without all the necessary ingredients. I thought that the missing ingredient was the Rosemary I bought on my way here.” Curtis replied.

            “Son, I gotta say, we could make a master chef outta you yet! Ya’ve got yourself a job! As for the payment, we’re going to serve this soup tonight, but you can take a portion of it with ya now. Here’s a few silfers for your trouble. If ya make it ta the kitchen tomorrow night, I’ll make sure ya get every silfer you’re promised and a full belly at that.”

            With that, the tough Master Chef Fredrik Spencer wiped a tear from his eye, and handed several coins to Curtis. There were enough silfers in what he received to pay for lodging for that night, so Curtis left the manor and found a place to stay.

            In the middle of the night, Curtis woke up. He had a keen sense that there was trouble nearby, and that he needed to take action. Curtis ran outside in his pajamas to find that a girl was being chased down the street by several large creatures. They looked humanoid, but they had the features of wolves, the eyes of a spider, and where they should have arms, there were instead sharp blades. As she ran closer to him, Curtis realized he recognized her as the girl who had run into him earlier. Curtis drew a transmutation circle on the street with the chalk he had with him. The girl still had a fair lead, and when she got close enough, Curtis yelled to the girl to get behind him. As the creatures drew closer, he infused some of his energy into the circle, which glowed faintly. Suddenly, the ground beneath the creatures collapsed, and they were buried in the tunnels that ran under the city streets.

            “Are you ok? I never caught your name, but I’m glad to see you’re safe.” Curtis spoke gently, addressing the girl who still seemed a bit shaken after being chased. When she had finally caught her breath, she looked at the hole in the street. She was shocked at what had just happened. She turned around suddenly, and stared at Curtis for a second.

            “Wait! You’re that old man from earlier! What happened?” After a few seconds, the girl realized that Curtis was waiting for her name. “Oh, I’m Angela, and yeah I’m fast there’s no way they would have caught me. So, are you going to tell me what happened, or what?”

            “Well, Angela, I’m an alchemist of sorts… and I caused the road to collapse, I guess. I’m not so sure you’d have been able to keep running from them for very long, though. You were already starting to look tired when I intervened.” Curtis responded. Curtis expected Angela’s reaction. Namely, she scoffed and seemed unimpressed.

            “You ‘guess’ you caused the road to collapse? Puh-leeze, if you were a real alchemist, you’d know what you did, and how you did it. Still, it’s odd that the road caved in at the same place where we met earlier. I guess it was just fate. Well, I’m going to get moving then.” Angela said turning around and walking away, headed north.

            “Wait a second! Care to tell me why you were out this late at night?” Curtis asked, feeling that something suspicious was happening.

            “Uh, no. I don’t feel like telling you. I’m a big girl, I can handle myself. Besides, I don’t have any reason to tell an old geezer like you anything.” Angela replied curtly. Curtis sighed, knowing he probably wasn’t going to get any new information out of her.

            “Well, at least I can promise you that it wasn’t just a coincidence that our paths met, or that I managed to cave the road in to stop those creatures from chasing you.” After hearing this, Angela stopped for a second and turned around to face him.

            “Really? So you’re sticking with the story that you saved me? Sorry, but I find it a bit hard to believe that you did anything really helpful. Besides, even if I did believe you about that, I know you didn’t just decide to ‘save me’. You were probably doing something suspicious and then randomly ran into me.” Angela retorted.

            “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you. I was asleep, and soundly, but I suddenly felt that something was wrong, and I came out here to investigate. That’s when I found you. Also, if you were a bit more observant, you’d see that I did cause the road to collapse. Proof of it is this transmutation circle.” Curtis pointed down at the circle, still visible in the moonlight. Angela examined it carefully and had a puzzled look on her face. Finally, she looked up at him.

            “Uh, mister… I don’t get it. You say that this is the transmutation circle you used to cause the road to fall but… I don’t see anything drawn on the circle used as a symbol for changing the properties of earth or stone. How did a simple circle like this cause such a huge collapse? This circle doesn’t look anything like the circles I’ve ever seen. Why are there gears drawn in the circle?”

            “Well, it doesn’t contain an earth glyph. I would have to take a lot of time to explain how it works, but I assure you that this circle is my circle and that hole over there is the result. Hey, wait a second. How do you know about this stuff? You’re only a kid! What do you know about alchemy or transmutation circles?”

            “I happen to know a lot about alchemy. Really I do! And don’t say that I’m just a kid; I’m a big girl you know! I’m able to do lots of grownup things! I mean it! Besides, who are you to talk about age, geezer?”

            “What? Hey! Stop calling me geezer! I’m only eighteen, and from where I stand, I think that makes me pretty young still. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me, but you’re just a little girl. You’re, what, six? I bet these ‘grownup things’ you do are like the running into strangers, and fetching bread right?”

            Angela was so offended by his statements that she stuck her tongue out at him. “See what you know. Stupid.” She got up and ran away again. Curtis got the feeling that she had gotten plenty of practice running away from people. Looking back at the hole for a second, he noted to himself that she’s probably gotten practice running from things too. Curtis went back inside the inn, and went back to sleep, although he still had no idea why the girl had any knowledge of alchemy.

            The next morning, Curtis went into town and used most of what was left of his money on supplies he felt would make for a better recipe than what most cooks would probably use in the banquet cooking. Aromatic herbs, a few exotic spices, and a variety of flavor-infused salts were among his purchases. Around midday, he relaxed with a lunch and a cup of tea while he looked over the information he had gathered for the past few months about how to cure Marie. Just like he had told Chef Spencer, a person could make a good soup with just about anything, but a great soup required the right ingredients. Alchemy was no different. In order for him to help Marie, he needed an essential ingredient that he just didn’t have. An ingredient that Dr. Phillip Madrix had, and for that very reason, Curtis had to meet with him.

            That evening, Curtis reported to the manor, and cooked a large portion of the banquet dinner, as Spencer trusted Curtis’ cooking over the other chefs’. When the banquet was over, Curtis was paid a full 40 silfers for his excellent cooking, as well as receiving a full dinner of leftovers.

            Curtis decided to leave for the capital right away, and so he left that evening and headed to Weston as the sun’s last rays vanished over the horizon. The distance from Weston was not far and before midnight, he had reached the city. He found an inn, and purchased a room for the night. The rest of the night, he slept soundly.

            The next morning, Curtis arrived at the Madrix laboratory, but the security at the gate was being difficult. Apparently, being as important as he was, Dr. Madrix was in danger of assassination by opposing countries. It was true, if Dr. Madrix were killed, the country would suffer greatly. No matter how Curtis pleaded, the security guard would not let him in. He drew a transmutation circle in the dirt with his shoe, and sent energy into it, but nothing happened. He waited for a while, but he still couldn’t convince the guard to let him in. As he turned to leave, a girl came running up.

            “Ah! Angela! What are you doing here? Are you visiting your father? He’s inside doing some research, but I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.” The guard addressed the girl. When Angela saw Curtis, she chose to speak to him before answering the guard.

            “Oh, hey, it’s you! What are you doing here? Do you have some business with daddy, I mean Dr. Madrix? I could get you inside, you know: after everything you ‘did’ last night.” Angela whispered to him.

            “Yeah, I do need to see him. I have to find out something very important from him. He may be my only chance at saving someone I care about greatly. Please, just help me get to him.” Curtis begged, and Angela smiled. She walked boldly to the guard standing in front of the door, and held out a badge.

            “Yeah, I’m here to see my dad. Let me in, oh and this guy here is with me. Let him in too. He kinda saved my life last night, and I wanted to introduce him to daddy.” Angela said boldly to the guard. He let both Angela and Curtis pass. Curtis wondered why she had been so willing to help him get inside. Then he figured it out. She thinks it’s fun to boss adults around, and she likes that I begged her to get inside. Truly, she is a kid, but at least she’s a kid with connections.

            Once they were inside, Angela led Curtis to the front offices, so they could find out where Dr. Madrix was located. Apparently, he was in the library, and so that’s where they headed. When they arrived, Angela gave her father a hug, and for a moment, they talked. Eventually, Dr. Madrix noticed that Curtis had just been watching without saying anything. He addressed Curtis.

            “Is there something I can do to help you, young man?” Madrix asked. Curtis briefly explained his situation, and Madrix looked gravely serious. Finally, he agreed to help, although it seemed that he was reluctant to do so. “I’m headed to the basement to finish an experiment that I’ve been working on for a while. Meet me there in an hour, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

            An hour later, Curtis made his way down to the basement, but when he arrived, the situation that he stood before was one that left him horrified. There was a hole in one of the walls, and through it, a person could see straight into the tunnels that ran under the area and connected to the town just south of the city. In a corner, surrounded by rubble and blood oozing out from bites and slices all over his body, Dr. Madrix was dead. On top of his corpse was the body of a creature, like the one he had encountered the previous night. Impaling the creature was a metal pipe that had been broken from the wall. There was water spilling out onto the floor from this pipe, and leaving through the tunnel, taking the blood of the doctor and the creature alike with it.

            I’ve lost everything. Marie, and any hope I had of saving her. I can’t imagine her dying in a hospital bed, I just can’t! This is just too much. I have to find a way to save her. There must be a way! Curtis thought. Finally, it dawned on him that the late Dr. Madrix’s library would probably have something he could use to find a cure for Marie. Hurriedly, Curtis rushed to the library.

            Once he was inside, he gathered as many books as he could find, and medical journals as well, which concerned the secret element he needed to cure Marie. A thing known as the violet crystal was supposedly capable of being a reagent in alchemy to allow a person to transmute the incorporeal. In the most basic of concepts, with it he could transmute the mind and body together, instead of just being able to transmute the body. With the violet crystal, Curtis would be able to pull her out of her coma, and help get her back.

            Curtis poured over volumes of text, and at last he found what he was looking for, in a book that was tucked away in a dark corner. Inside, there was a recipe for the violet crystal. According to the book, there was only ever one instance in which it had ever been crafted. It was clear why it had only been made once. According to the documents, there was a price for this great power. In order to craft the violet crystal, 120 people had to be transmuted in the process. Of course, doing this would kill them all. When this happened the one time before, it led to such outrage that such things were banned from ever being researched again for practical use. The last page held two important things for Curtis. The first disheartening piece of information was that the only known violet crystal had apparently been destroyed. There was apparently a limit to how many times it could be used, and the larger the scale of transmutation, the faster it disintegrated. The second piece of information, however, filled Curtis with hope. It was the blueprint of the alchemic transmutation circle required to create a violet crystal.

            To Curtis, Marie mattered more than the whole world. What more would 120 people be to him? Nothing, and so it was that Curtis created the transmutation circle around the capital of Weston. That day would ever be remembered as a tragedy; for Curtis succeeded in making the crystal and many lives were lost. In a split second, the people all changed into pure energy by the transmutation, coalescing in the center of town as the violet crystal. It would be considered a tragedy, but it did not end there. Curtis traveled in secret, and soon arrived back at his home village, where Marie awaited.

            When Curtis arrived, Marie was still in a coma. She wasn’t able to respond, and Curtis did the seemingly impossible. Using the power of the violet crystal, he pulled her out of the coma, giving her back what she had lost that fateful day. However, Curtis did not expect her reaction in the days to come.

            Less than a week after Marie had been revived from the deep coma she had been in, she heard the news. There was trouble in the capital, namely that there was no capital anymore. Everyone within it was gone. The buildings still stood, but nobody remained. It was as if everyone had been spirited away magically, for everything inside looked as if life had stopped in the middle of daily activities, and all that remained were the clothes and remnants of those who had been living it. There was a rumor that someone had done something terrible, and that had caused the disaster. According to the rumors, there was a huge circle drawn around the capital. Some people suggested that a terrible person had used alchemy to kill all of the inhabitants. Marie confronted Curtis about this, and found out everything he had done.

            “Oh, Curtis, why? Was I so important to you? You sacrificed an entire city! All those poor lives gone! And for me? I can’t live with myself, knowing that I’m the reason all those people were killed!” She yelled at him, as she ran away crying. The next day, Curtis found her dead in their old secret hiding place. The world didn’t exist for Curtis anymore, for what kind of world was it if Marie was no longer a part? If she hated him, he could still live with himself, as long as she were alive. Now, not even that was possible. Then an idea came to him.

            There was enough of the violet crystal left for one final transmutation of huge proportions. So, he drew the most complex transmutation circle he had ever made. His intent was simple, and written along the edges. “May Marie never have fallen into a coma at all.” Although this would seem impossible, Curtis had been using alchemy in this way from the start. Time alchemy, he called it, for it transmuted the path between the past and the future. It only worked on him, though. In the end, he could only change short bursts of his own actions in the past. With the violet crystal, however, he could reach back to before any of this had happened. And he did, Curtis transmuted his last time.

            The timing was perfect. Marie was saved, one second later, and the car would have hit her. Curtis was not so fortunate. From the angle of the impact, the doctors were able to tell that he had died instantly. Marie mourned, and visited his grave everyday for a while, but eventually she moved on.

            A year after Curtis’ death, there was a huge uproar about a new cook from a small town just south of the capital. The kid had apparently gotten his start at a banquet in celebration of the anniversary of the mayor’s wedding. He went on to become a master chef, and whenever someone asked him how it all began he said, “It all started when I came across this flyer for employment on the town bulletin board…”

            Around that time, a man became a local hero by saving a girl named Angela from some ferocious and mysterious creatures. Angela’s father, Dr. Madrix discovered a cure for the pox the following day. Marie never knew how much the world had changed since Curtis had died, from what it would have been… if the timing were off.