Adell had always wondered if the common alchemist knew more about the fine arts of potion making as compared to the teachers at the Grand Academy. While the teachers were said to have cured kings and plagues, the bounty of herbs within the countryside was staggering.<br/><br/>Within her little adventure outside her homeland, the Kingdom of Naples, Adell had discovered a great number of different herbs. It was not an alchemist's policy to taste wild things just to see their effects, but the herbs she found were great at flavouring foods. Nobles did not typically learn to cook, but she fancied the idea of trying it out.<br/><br/>But as her nose pricked up the irritating scent of a failed alchemy experiment from the edge of the door of the local alchemist in Genoa, she guessed that her hypothesis about the local talent was not easily validated. The wooden building that probably housed one of the world's most foolhardy alchemists was nothing special to the eye, but an especially potent smell wafted to her nose from the open doors and windows when she drew close.<br/><br/>"Damn it," she cursed. Adell took a few steps to a wooden wall opposite the house, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. She was disgusted by the need to stay in Genoa for longer. She had always felt that a moneyed merchant republic, where coin mattered more than the word of honour between gentlemen, was a hard place to be for her. Corruption was quite common, and while Adell did grudgingly take advantage of it to expedite some of her difficult moments here, the young noble wished to be back home as soon as possible.<br/><br/>"Excuse me, sir. You're waiting for the alchemist?"<br/><br/>Adell opened her eyes to see a local town guard, just slightly shorter than her. A slight smirk edged across her face; she did find it amusing at times when her genetics just seemed to betray the common sense of biology. The 'sir' uttered by the guard rolled off her mind like water off a duck. No one had called her 'lady' at first sight for a very long time. It bothered her less than she would like to admit.<br/><br/>But her thoughts went back to the guard, who looked at her expectantly for an answer. "Yes. He appears to have blown himself up."<br/><br/>"Idiot does it all the time. He's hardy as hell though," replied the guard. His eyes wandered off to look at the alchemist's house, as if trying to see if any signs of life were in there. "You should wait an hour, sir. He'll probably be back on his feet, and maybe you'll have another half an hour before he tries to blow himself up again."<br/><br/>Adell nodded. "I will do that."<br/><br/>An hour wasn't that long to wait, she thought. There was the auction house to see, after all. It had not been at the forefront of her thoughts, but her interest was piqued by the stories of legendary items for sale at the auction house, or great deals in the backrooms of haggling merchant princes.<br/><br/>Maybe a merchant prince would be quite handsome, she thought.<br/><br/>The issue was settled. She was heading there.<br/><br/>---------<br/><br/>A slow 10 minute walk ended up with Adell within the auction house, sitting on a velvet bench in a semi-empty auction hall. A couple of noble ladies at the opposite corner waved at her, and giggled amongst themselves when she returned the gesture. The ladies were quite adorable in anyone's eyes, but Adell wasn't that sort of lady to consider romance with any of them.<br/><br/>The entry into the auction house was quite simple. Adell had expected the receptionist to charge her some sort of entrance fee, but all she did was wink and smile at her before allowing her entrance.<br/><br/>The auction hall itself was decorated in a ghastly display of opulence, with scarlet carpeting everywhere and velvet curtains embroidered with gold thread hanging from every single window. Every single auction hall seemed to try to intimidate its patrons with the ceiling heights of cathedrals, even as there was little practical use for a ceiling that probably was taller than ancient dragons.<br/><br/>It was too bad she didn't see a single merchant prince on the way. Adell sighed, and crossed her arms in boredom.<br/><br/>"I hope that alchemist wakes up soon."