Breaking Bardon: An Unseen Fanfiction

Chapter 2

...

"This is an awful idea," I muttered. I had just laid the ten formulas that I had stolen onto our coffee table. My hands were trying to shake, but I was stopping them by pressing them very hard against the table.

"What the hell do you mean, man?" Harry said, laughing. "This is the best idea you've ever had!" Of course, that was always the problem with Harry. He only saw the upsides to these things. To him, it didn't matter that we might die. It didn't matter that we were cementing our reputation as bad members of the Unseen World. What mattered was that we stood to make an utterly ridiculous amount of money.

On the table before us were some of the most complex, valuable formulas I had ever seen. A few I had seen hypothetical versions of in some very advanced textbooks, while others I had never seen before. Some were properly old, while others looked like they had been written in pen within the last few days. Whoever had written these must have been some sort of prodigy with Hermetics or otherwise been creating copies from something much older.

There was a formula for Homunculus creation, for chimera creation, for a theoretical formula to merge two different souls. There were some on making powerful regenerative elixirs, a serum that would make an individual utterly immune to any poison or toxin so long as the serum was in their body, a solvent that would dissolve any Glamourie, and a liquid that can absorb and freeze any spell that hits in, that can be shattered at a later date to utilize the spell. More still, a gas that prevented magic use within it, as well as a powder that could temporarily reverse time on an object or entity. All of these were incredibly complicated, powerful acts of Hermetics. Things that shouldn't have even been possible in the modern age, particularly in a makeshift lab in the back of a damp cafe. There was one more formula, however, that held the most potential for making a lot of money very fast.

A formula for Phoenix Fire.

Cha-ching.

Phoenix Fire was rare. Ridiculously rare. It occurred naturally, something gifted by the phoenixes to the world before the Caul manifested eight hundred years ago. Since that day, no more phoenix fire has been produced. What this meant was that there was a very finite, very small amount of Phoenix Fire left in the world. It was a particularly useful substance, as well. Anyone, whether they were the most humanitarian individual or the most malignant force of evil, could use Phoenix Fire. Any magician could find a hundred and one, or more, good uses for the stuff. In short, it was a ticket to an extreme amount of wealth in a very short time, if you played your cards right.

Hermeticists have been trying to fabricate Phoenix Fire for a very long time since even before the Caul fell over the eyes of humanity. None had ever been successful, however. It required too much energy, too much matter. And, should you be capable of harnessing and gathering that amount of resources, there was always a very large risk of creating a very powerful bomb that could kill you at literally any point during the creation process. While at Alethia, I had seen a few textbooks that had very general, very theoretical formulas that hinted at the idea of creating some sort of similar proxy to Phoenix Fire. It seemed that whoever had devised the formula I had on the table had taken those core ideas and extrapolated them into a full formula.

A very dangerous, very likely to fail, very valuable, formula.

Harry didn't understand that, of course. He thought I'd be able to whip all of these up, no problem, and we'd be able to sell them. He didn't understand the sheer amount of resources we would need, or how we would probably get caught long before we even have a chance to produce even one of these formulas. I sighed and took out a pen and a blank notebook.

"Well, Mark?" Harry asked expectantly. "Are we gonna do it?"

"First, I need to make copies. Lots and lots of copies. I'm not hedging all of our bets on a bunch of unique, unbound formulas. I'm going to fill this entire damn notebook with copies of these formulas, which might take a while." I winced slightly. It had only been a matter of minutes since I had been copying the formulas, and my hand was already cramping. But I wasn't going to stop. We were in it now, neck-deep in this awful idea. I had to see it through.

"It makes sense to have a few copies, y'know, just in case. But why the whole notebook?" Harry asked, scratching his chin.

"Because, Harry. Even if we can't make all of these, we'll at least be able to sell the formulas to people who can. And still get pretty damn rich from that."

Harry nodded slowly, shrugging. "Yeah yeah, fair enough. Though, I think we should try to make them."

It was about another minute until I spoke, as my mind was occupied with transcribing some very complicated formula requirements. "Well," I began, "I'm certainly down to try most of them. But that's only if we can figure out how to do them safely after we get the required reagents and materials. I'm not in the business of blowing myself up… Well, not blowing myself up again. Agreed?"

"Fine, deal," Harry said with a sigh. "Let me know how I can help, though. This is all your realm, I don't have a single damn clue about this alchemy stuff."

"It's Hermetics, Harry. There's not much you can do yet, but feel free to grab a notebook and help me copy these down. Having two notebooks would be even better, and you don't need to understand Hermetics to copy circles, symbols, and words. Just make sure you are very, very neat."

"Really?" Harry groaned. "There's nothing else I can do? Something that doesn't involve cramping my hand?" I paused to stare at him for a long moment. He grunted, then, saying, "Fine, fine. Scoot over."

With a heavy plop, Harry sat next to me on the couch, taking one of the other notebooks and beginning the same process of transcribing these formulas. This took us a solid three hours, and by the end, we were both dead tired. We had not slept, given that this was directly after the events at Mildred's, so it was nearly six in the morning when we finished. So, we both agreed to call it for the night and to finally get some rest.

When I woke, it was time to get to business. I shook Harry awake first. Left undisturbed, he probably would have slept until five or six in the evening. As it was, I bullied him awake at one in the afternoon, with a task for him. He was to go scout out some more unsavory magical places in the area, somewhere where we might find a potential buyer. I told him that he was, in no uncertain terms, not to tell anyone. He wasn't trying to find a buyer, just scoping out for the best way for us to find one in the future. I made sure he understood this before I let him leave.

Then, it was time for my part. I left a few minutes after Harry, heading towards a small magical shop I had visited a handful of times in the three months we had been in Chicago. It was the closest place to get what I needed. I doubted I'd be able to get everything from such a small place, given that it was the Unseen World equivalent of a convenience store, but it would be a step in the right direction. Besides, beyond valuable reagents, I needed basic Hermetic equipment. Like hell I was going to be doing very dangerous Hermeticism using the rusty pots and pans in our apartment.

I arrived after some minutes of transit, spent rushing between crosswalks and trying to not get hit by cars. I managed to make it through unscathed and pushed open the door to the store. The twinkle of a door chime announced my arrival, and a bored-looking cashier looked up. In a voice filled with fake enthusiasm and barely veiled agitation, the young woman said, "Hello and welcome to Monty's Magical Equipment and Arcane Apparel! Let me know if I can help you in any way." Though she didn't visibly roll her eyes, it was heavily implied by her voice and body language.

As someone who has worked a dead-end job like this before, I understood her frustration and chose to not bother her sulking. Instead, I nodded to her and then made my way to the "Alchemy" section. There, I picked out as much quality equipment as I could. Given how little money I had, it wasn't as much as I would have liked. Doing this virtually wiped out the money I had been setting aside for rent. We really were hedging all our bets on this.

I picked out an alembic, a set of vials, a hessian crucible, some beakers and flasks, and an aludel. Decent equipment, though about as basic as it comes. It was the best I could do, however. If we needed anything else, we would have to make do with what we had in the kitchen. As far as furnaces go, we'd have to hope the oven in our kitchen was enough. It ought to be, for at least a few of the formulas, given that their heat requirements are within the range of what our oven was capable of.

I had set aside some of my funds to purchase reagents, which is where I went next. I couldn't get nearly as much as I would like, but I managed to snag some decent deals in the clearance section. A couple of vials of mercury, a set of base metals, some nitric acid (or aqua fortis), a few bismuth samples, sulfur, cuprite, antimony, and a few other basics. From what I read of the formulas, it would be enough to get us started. We may have to pursue a few other specific reagents, but we could always create our own. A grocery store is a good place to find reagents if you're willing to break the honor of purity in academia and separate food products.

With that, I checked out. I offered the bored cashier a smile, but she didn't seem keen on returning it. I shrugged and made my way out of the store. It was particularly slow going, given the sheer amount of things I had to carry. This meant that it took me nearly an hour to get home, taking the safest and slowest route I could. Even then, there were still several moments where I thought someone bumping into me might smash some of my mercury vials, or that a speeding car may hit me and cause me to drop everything. I managed to survive and wished not for the first time that I could afford a damn car.

Of course, I carried these things in broad daylight. Any Unveiled individuals would likely assume I was just a random Hermeticist picking up some tools and reagents to do my craft. I suppose that was exactly what I was doing. The Veiled humans around me, the majority of the people walking down the street, just seemed to have their eyes skip right over me. While they probably saw me and what I was carrying, they likely just saw scientific equipment or an elaborate chemistry set, even if the bags I was carrying said, in bold purple text, "Monty's Magical Equipment and Arcane Apparel." In a way, they aren't exactly wrong.

That's the most interesting part of Hermetics: it is just on the cusp of the Caul, something that can be almost understood by the Veiled. While Persuasion and other forms of magic rely on mental gymnastics and belief, Hermetics is an extremely well-researched academic pursuit that relies on tricking the universe using its own laws. It is, fundamentally, the same as science. That is why there are many Witnesses who, even though they can't do a scrap of Persuasion, usually meddle in Hermeticism. So long as you can see magic, understand the world around you and what you are doing, you can do Hermetics. It doesn't require the same natural inclination as Persuasion, Oubliation, or Glamourie. All it takes is an understanding of the world and a desire to change it.

Finally, I arrived back at our apartment. As I had expected, Harry hadn't returned yet. I let myself in and began to convert our kitchen into a Hermetics lab. This took an extreme amount of time, multiple hours wiping down every surface and dismantling every unnecessary feature. I kept the fridge and microwave, though. We are only human, and still need the bare necessities, such as a microwaved burrito or a fridge to keep our takeout in. Those got moved into the corner, however, giving us the majority of the kitchen to make our attempt at Hermetics. Then came installing and placing the equipment I had purchased. The kitchen table was relegated to the primary research and development space, with the copies of our formulas, our empty vials, and flasks, etc.

The rest of it, the alembic, crucible, and aludel were placed on the kitchen counter. They were pushed back as far as reasonable against the wall, to prevent any accident (like Harry getting too close) from knocking them off. Given that they were made of glass or ceramic, the risk of them shattering was real, and we couldn't afford to buy a spare. I scrubbed and cleaned as many of the decent pots, pans, and trays that were sitting in our kitchen cabinets. We would need them for several different formulas, and they needed to be as clean and as rust-free as possible. This was also a particularly time-consuming process, given that neither Harry nor I had taken much time to take care of our kitchen tools as we rarely ever used them.

Finally, it was starting to look a little bit like a Hermetics lab. I even opened a window to get some airflow, since the kitchen was a little bit musty and damp. Then, I sat myself down on the couch, to wait for Harry's return. If you combine my trip to the store, as well as the work I had just done, about six hours had elapsed. This made it about seven in the evening, which was relatively late. I had assumed Harry would get home sometime while I was working on the kitchen. However, even now that I was done, he hadn't returned. I was starting to get worried. What if he had gotten mugged in the more unsavory part of town? What if he hadn't kept his mouth shut and had let some information out that he shouldn't have?

I grew more worried as time elapsed. Ten minutes. Half an hour. Forty-five minutes. How could he not be back by now? Eight o'clock rolled around, and I was getting tempted to go look for him. Then, I heard the key turn, and Harry stumbled inside. He looked tired, and a little bit distracted. I was relieved, offering him a wave. "Hey, Harry. Run into any trouble? Took you a while."

Harry cleared his throat, chuckling nervously. "H-hey, Mark. No, not any trouble, everything is fine." He said with a small laugh. My relief was starting to turn sour, however.

"What happened today?" I asked, eyes narrowing as I looked at the pale, sweating Harry.

Harry cleared his throat, stammering, "Nothing! Nothing. Nothing at all. Everything went great. Nothing… nothing is wrong."

"Walk me through it. The whole thing." I said, rubbing my temples. "I want to know exactly what's going on."

My roommate gulped, before taking a breath and beginning to speak. "I did what you asked. I went out, looking for some magical areas, ones that would like what we were going to sell. It was going well, and I did that well. I have a knack for finding those kinds of spots, and I knew a guy who pointed me in the right direction. So I got to this alley, right? You walk down it, and you arrive in this little magical community of… individuals who do unsavory things. It's like a little city square, they called it the Pulse.

"I went looking around. There were different shops there, and I th-thought that hey, maybe one of these shops would be interested in buying our stuff. I found a sketchy-looking Hermetics shop, and I thought, 'Hey, that's perfect!' So I went inside."

Harry paused then, pursing his lips.

I pressed him. "Well? What then?"

He continued, saying, "It seemed alright enough. I talked a little bit with the store owner. I know you said not to talk to anyone, but once I went inside he started talking to me, and I thought it would be really suspicious if I didn't talk to him in return, so we had a conversation. His name was Orist Kelthana, and he was an older fae. He seemed nice enough, so I… maybe sort of put my guard down for a minute or two. He asked if I were here to buy or sell, and I said I was just looking.

"Then the situation seemed to… change, slightly. Kelthana's smile became mean. He told me that 'people don't come here to just look' and that I had to have a reason. I stuttered, mumbling something about being interested in Hermeticism. Then something very heavy landed on my head, and I passed out."

My eyes widened as Harry said this. "Are you alright, man? Come sit down or something, head wounds are serious."

Harry shrugged, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. He moved over to the couch, taking a seat and continuing his story. "When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in the back room of his store. I could even hear him out there, selling some sort of poison to a shopgoer. After the bell rang and the customer left, he opened the door and came into the back room. I don't… really want to talk about everything he said to me." Harry said uneasily. "But he threatened me with a very painful death if I didn't tell him exactly what I wanted with him and his shop."

"So you told him," I interjected while Harry paused.

He nodded, sighing and closing his eyes. "I told him all of it. I was terrified, I didn't want to die. I'm sorry, Mark."

"It's alright, Harry. You were being threatened. I don't expect you to die for this, though this is rather… bad. What happened after you told him?"

"He asked what specifically you had found. I told him about the one that interested me the most, that acid that melts Glamours. He was… very, very interested in that. He told me to return home, and have you make some. Then, we should both return to his shop, to do… business. He also added that, if we didn't come to find him…"

"... He will come to find us." I finished for Harry.

He nodded, sighing again. "Again, I'm sorry, Mark. I couldn't have fucked this up more."

"That's not expressly true," I said thoughtfully, tapping my chin. "You could have given us away to the Blackstar if you talked to the wrong person, so really it's not that bad. We just have to hope that this Kelthana fellow has respect for proper business and that we'll be able to actually make the Glamour Solvent."

"But what if he tries to kill us as soon as we bring him some?" Harry asked, crossing his arms.

I shrugged. "Then we die. Something tells me that he's going to keep wanting more and more, though… I don't think he's going to be satisfied with just one thing."

I stood up, rubbing my hands together. We were in the thick of it now, and there was no going back now that someone else knew what we were doing. "Well, Harry, get some rest. Tomorrow, we have some Hermetics to do. We have a business partner to impress."