Bahir burst into the kitchen of the castle, scanning the whole space with his eyes. It was vast, with a large stove capable of heating several objects at once, such as cauldrons placed nearby on the ground or pans hanging on the wall above.

There were tables covered with vegetables and meats in the middle of preparation, and among them, the cooks were busy working, with other helpers roaming around, carrying out their own tasks. It all came to a halt when they registered the presence of the treasurer.

One by one, they all bowed, showing their respect.

Behind the old man, a guard entered the space. His expression, combined with carefully measured footsteps, hinted at fear.

„I want every dish cooked for the king first tested by this man!” Bahir shouted.

„Y-yes,” one of the cooks responded. He waved his hand at one of the errand boys, who quickly brought a chair to one of the bigger tables, and then cleared some space. „Please,” the cook invited the guard to sit down.

Without a word, although stealing a begging glance at the old man, the soldier took the prepared spot. It appeared that the decision made by the treasurer was non-negotiable.

Bahir waited there, observing as one by one, the dishes were brought, and the man consumed the portions, one by one. At first, quite hesitantly, scared of his demise, but as time passed and nothing happened to him, his courage grew.

In the end, the food appeared not to be the source of the king’s stomach problems.

A single day passed with no disturbance for Bruno, but the next one started with two guards entering the dungeon, and approaching his cell, where in the dim light, he sat on the ground, playing with the grains of sand.

"The king wants to see you," one of them said.

"Of course he does," the young alchemist retorted before getting up with an audible groan. He approached the door that was getting unlocked for him.

This time the guards didn’t grab him, but only gently pushed forward, directing him toward the exit from the underground part of the castle. He didn’t need it, as he already knew the way, but they still provided this additional encouragement.

They marched across the corridors, slowly making their way through the castle, until they finally climbed all the necessary staircases and ended in front of the door to the king’s room.

A guard, accompanied by Bahir, was already standing there. Without a need for any order, the soldier quickly opened, allowing the young alchemist and the treasurer to enter the chamber.

Katyan was sitting by the table, with some food and wine in front of him. He was not eating it. Two naked women lay in his bed, covered quite well by the sheets.

"Your majesty," both Bruno and Bahir said at the same moment, which caused them to take a glance at one another before their eyes shifted to Katyan.

"It’s you… The leech," the ruler observed.

"I prefer alchemist, or simply Bruno, as that is my name," the young man replied, arming himself with a charming smile.

"Bruno… Your medicine worked. I felt better yesterday, but as I sat to eat this," he gestured with an open hand at the food on the plate – mostly meat, with some boiled vegetables, "I started to feel sick again. I called for you because I believe you can help me."

"It would be my honor, Your Majesty," the young alchemist stated.

"Good. I sent the soldiers to bring the equipment you could need in here. It should be in a chamber prepared for this cause. Now go, make the medicine," he waved his hand dismissively, before his eyes moved to the old man, and the king stared at the treasurer for a moment.

Bahir looked back but rather quickly followed in the footsteps of the guards who escorted Bruno out of the room. They led him downstairs, where, as Katyan said, several other soldiers were already working on bringing and arranging the alchemical equipment taken from the local alchemist.

They had to wait in the dimly lit corridor for quite a while until everything was finished, only then they could enter.

The room was spacious and well-illuminated thanks to two large windows with wooden shutters. The arrangement of furniture heavily resembled what he was able to see two days before while taking the medicine for the first time, so the young alchemist quickly concluded that everything had either been stolen or bought from the local leech. Although the guards mixed it up a bit, he easily found himself in this slight mess, immediately starting to work, but also discovering that some of the equipment belonged to him. They clearly brought it all the way from Zor, which suggested that Bahir was planning to assemble a laboratory in Razun, where he could oversee Bruno’s work.

Now, without any prying eyes of somebody with the proper skills to follow his recipe from the produced reagents, he didn’t have to arrange the glassware in a way to later destroy the efforts of his work, which significantly lessened the burden on his mind, allowing him to only focus on the alchemy.

He moved fast while sustaining precision in his movement, which became quite interesting for his audience of three. Although Bahir’s reason for observation was to catch Bruno on any possible attempt to harm the king, the other two were simply intrigued.

Like previously, the young alchemist prepared two vials of the same liquid, which he poured down from a single bottle, to make it absolutely clear he was not trying to pull any tricks.

"It’s ready," he finally announced.

"Let’s go," Bahir ordered, nodding to the guards, who responded by moving to flank Bruno.

In such a way, they all moved back to the king’s chamber, where Katyan awaited them sitting behind the table. He was slightly pale. A little bit of sweat hid in the hairline on his forehead.

"Is it done?" he gasped as the group barged into his room.

"Yes," Bruno retorted, presenting him with two vials.

Katyan got up, knocking the chair which he heavily relied on to support himself in the process of standing up, then rushed to the young alchemist and snatched the vial from his hands.

"Stop!" Bahir shouted before the king was able to drink it. "Your majesty, take the other one," he proposed.

Katyan gave him an angry glare, but then his eyes shifted to Bruno, and he gestured to the young alchemist, indicating that he wished to switch vials. He obeyed, giving the ruler the other vial, and then drinking from the other one. After that, the old man finally gave his nod of approval, and then the king consumed his medicine.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, your majesty?" Bruno asked.

"No," Katyan replied, putting the vial on the table before he slowly walked to sit on the bed.

The two women, who were lying there previously, now vanished.

"Take him to the dungeon," Bahir urged the guards.

"No!" Katyan raised his voice. "He is going to sleep in a proper room with a proper bed. Guards will accompany his every move. You are not to leave the castle, but consider yourself now my guest," the king informed.

Although the old man's eyebrows frowned, and his face got briefly twisted with discontent, he didn’t argue, giving the soldiers a sign to proceed. In such a manner, Bruno was escorted out to his new living quarters: a simple room on the second floor of the castle.

Upon entering, he witnessed a small bed in the corner, a table to eat at, with two chairs, a cabinet for clothes, and the most important window, with wooden shutters, which provided him with light and fresh air.

The soldier shut the door behind him, but the young alchemist didn’t pay much mind to this rude action. Instead, he approached the window and took a deep breath, savoring the newfound freedom.