Haldryn returned every herb except Starflash to its place and stared at the recipe, lost in thought.
After a while he rose, fetched a massive volume, and set it on the table. The cover read Greenhild Pharmacopoeia.
Asgard's most important herbal treatise was enormous—almost as large as Haldryn himself when opened—and correspondingly deep.
He hesitated, then purchased another [Contemplation (Fragment)] from the Tome and activated it.
The previous fragment had already been used. The effect was remarkable. In the Contemplation state he had resolved, in only two hours, several problems from a month of studying the Greenhild Pharmacopoeia that had previously refused to yield. The cost in Holy Power was high; he estimated he could manage the spell only twice a day at most.
Now he entered the state again, this time to apply his growing pharmacological knowledge and deduce the most likely local substitute for Khadgar's Whisker. He was certain it would save a great deal of time.
As Contemplation took hold, his expression grew distant, as though the outside world no longer existed.
An hour passed. He remained immersed.
Uncle Peter entered, glanced at him in mild surprise, said nothing, and began searching for something of his own.
"Bald…" Haldryn muttered without warning.
"What did you say?" Peter turned.
Haldryn did not answer. He simply continued staring into space.
After a moment Peter frowned, touched his own thinning scalp, and gave Haldryn a puzzled look. Finally he snorted and left the room.
Another half-hour passed.
Elle came in and began her own work. In the middle of measuring a potion Haldryn suddenly slapped the open pharmacopoeia.
"I've got it!"
Elle jumped, nearly spilling the liquid in her hands. She pressed a hand to her chest. "What?"
Only then did Haldryn notice her. He hurried over. "Elle, do we have any Horn-Pattern Mushroom or Greenchou Grass in the shop?"
She thought for a moment. "There are two Greenchou plants in the herb garden. We use them occasionally. Why?"
"I… thought of a possible formula. I need to test Horn-Pattern Mushroom or Greenchou Grass to see if it works."
"You invented a formula?" Elle blinked, skeptical at first, then smiled as something occurred to her. "Like the one you invented when you were eight?"
"Maybe. Right now it's only a sudden idea. But my instincts say it might actually work."
Both herbs were expensive—usually more than a Rune coin each. Without Elle's help he would have no easy way to obtain them.
"All right. Wait here. I'll bring a Greenchou plant." She spoiled him more often than not and agreed without further question.
She returned a short while later with a herb that looked rather like a small scallion and handed it over.
Haldryn placed it on the Tome. To anyone else the book was still blank paper; Elle noticed nothing unusual.
To him, the moment the plant touched the recipe page a line of text appeared:
[105% substitute for Khadgar's Whisker]
105%?
It could exceed 100%?
He stared, then understood. Alchemy recipes, like blacksmithing plans, possessed completion grades. Since those grades included "Transcendent," a substitute rating above 100% was not surprising.
His paper deduction had been correct. Greenchou Grass performed a function highly similar to Khadgar's Whisker—at least in this particular formula.
"What are you planning to make with it?" Elle asked while continuing her work.
Haldryn did not answer at once, still settling the joy in his chest. "I can't tell you yet, dear Elle… but I think you'll have a surprise before long."
She shook her head with an indulgent smile, as though he were only daydreaming again.
He set to work at once, processing the Greenchou according to the recipe's instructions.
Several hours later the bright green plant had been reduced to a small jar of clear, slightly viscous liquid shot through with tiny bubbles.
It was already late.
"Well done," Elle said, nodding approval. She ruffled his hair. "I'm turning in. You should rest soon too."
After she left he began processing the Starflash. Perhaps the success with the Greenchou had made him careless; he ruined one plant with a single misstep. Starflash was plentiful, so the loss barely registered.
With the two primary materials prepared, the remaining minor ingredients required far less precision and took little time.
By the small hours of the morning he had a finished product: a bottle of thick black liquid.
He set it on the recipe page. Text appeared at once:
[Completion: Excellent. Item level: 2. Its effects will be very close to those of a Perfect Andorov's Hair Growth Tonic.]
Success.
Haldryn smiled at the crystal bottle.
Asgardians possessed extraordinary constitutions; the problems they faced were correspondingly extraordinary. Curing "divine baldness" was far harder than curing the ordinary mortal variety. Existing Asgardian tonics and hair-growth magics worked, but they cost at least a thousand large gold coins.
Andorov's tonic, effective on any creature that could go bald, cost little more than a hundred large gold to produce. The profit margin was enormous. For a fleeting moment the thought of monopolizing high-grade hair restoration across the entire cosmos flickered through his mind.
That, of course, was a concern for the distant future.
Right now he only wanted to know which lucky Asgardian would wake up tomorrow free of a bald head.
^^^
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